Basically, he never said a word. We were a pilot group using SMSG textbooks (known as "Some Maths Some Garbage") for first time. It was the "new math" and it gave me a grounding to be a teacher of it 1970. We moved through a four year course during those two years. At one stage he let us work through the books each at our own speed. I loved it, especially the geometric theorems and solving problems with them.

Immaculate, he had a special chalk holder to keep it off his hands. I often wish he would have been a "person" and more open to conversation. I ended up using a few of his styles when I taught, especially self-paced classes.

One day someone put an apple on his desk and then Joel Chaney took a bite out of it. The whole class waited in anticipation for Brother's arrival. We found out that he didn't have a sense of humor.

I recall the day when I was the "office runner". I was in the office waiting when he came in and then joked around me. I was in shock.

I was the class president so I had meetings with him. He had a hard time with me, because of my rank. So the time that I pulled Foss' chair out from under him and he ended up on the floor, Brother only gave me a dirty look.

Kelley was my desk partner and he was always talking to me. Kelley was upset about a teen-age girl by the name of Mary Bell was savagely killed by Lake Nokomis, and I wondered out loud if it was suicide. Brother exploded over it and proceeded to tell the class (but meant mainly for Kelley) about the time he lost his temper and slapped a student on the side of his head, breaking his ear drum. The gist was "don't make me mad".

I think Brother must have moved us to right in front of his desk as I remember sitting there with Iserman and Hedman were behind us and at times the four of us would team up to do an experiment.

Another time the class wasn't doing too well over some competition and he felt we needed a pep talk. So he began to rant and rave and slammed him hand on his desk. Then with shock on his face he looked at the watch and broke down. We had made him destroy the watch his dying father gave him. With tears in his eyes he left the room. The idea being that we would then talk amongst ourselves and get our asses into gear and perform better and win whatever it was. Later on he confessed and said that he uses an broken watch and it was all an act. So it made me wonder about the ear drum story. I thought Brothers weren't allowed to lie.

Brother drove the school bus - I recall going somewhere with him at the wheel one day for a Physic lesson (momemtum??). It seemed stranged as you don't think of cloistered people to have real life skills.

Poor guy was an alchie and some days he would simply sleep at his desk, other days he would be silly and giggle over some verse or prose he was reading to us.

From him I learned the importance as a teacher to maintain the respect of your charges.

This is an interesting one as I really don't have many memories about the class. I know that we covered the Civil War in great detail. He was the football coach and definitely fit the stereo type, sleeves rolled up and with his feet on the desk throwing chalk at any miscreants.

Sadistic little man, he actually reminded me of Hitler despite his red hair. He would stroll about the room while we were to be reading and dish out punishment. He once bonked me on the head with the thick textbook and when I asked what it was for, he said it was for anything I would do in the future. He gave me the only "F" on a test that I ever got in my life. I couldn't believe it.

Then there was the time in the hall when he asked a kid if he wanted to make an impression at school. When told "yes" he bashed the kid's head into the locker.

A beautiful soul, no doubt, but he could release the fire if needed. From him I learned courage. He was dying from stomache cancer and could only digest small amounts at a time, so we would eat continually - usually a sandwich.

This is the fellow who told me that I would never make it as a Brother. But then he and I didn't exactly see eye-to-eye. The main strike against me was purely circumstantial. You see I was in a carpool driven by Bob Howard. He and the others were basically a gang of smokers and that tarred me by association. The other reason that he didn't like me was because I called him a lousy teacher. See, one day the class went wild, he walked in and exploded. He demanded a 1000 word "Explication on the Importance of Orderly Behavior in the Classroom". You have to remember that I had just moved up to this group and I found them to be unbelievably cocky and self-centered. They were also a great bunch of wise-ass clowns that I loved very much. I pointed this out in my dissertation and pointed out this episode would not have ever happened if Brother had done his job and maintained order. He wrote on it that my statements were very misguided by my pre-conceived biases. Which I took to mean that he felt that I hated teachers. After that we couldn't speak to each other.

Narccistic and fast riser he went on to become principal. I used that weakness to gain better marks, of course. For a speech I created Brother Fidelis' Rules of Enunciation, complete with a portrait I sketched for the cover. I onlyh got 88% so maybe I made too many jokes about him. He asked for the cover and had to show it to all the other teachers.

He did something that I could never forgive. Maybe Breitenbucher, who was one of the nicest guys in the class, did. One class Jim let out one of his horse-type laughs, Brother took exception and sent him into the hall. Later Brother goes out, we hear a loud slap and Jim comes back into the room with his nose bleeding.

Closest thing we had to a dinosaur. His ties were from the 1940's. He used the same textbook for so many years that he had it memorized and would go into great detail over a particular section or photograph. But mostly he would ramble on, and we just let him.

"Wiemer" - he was a weakling and definitely couldn't control the class who loved to get him into semantic arguments. I actually felt sorry for him, as he seemed to be in over his head.

The terror of C Block. He lived in the basement, though he prowled the whole building looking for someone to pounce upon. He was about 90 years old (almost as old as the building itself) and about 4 feet of nothing. Not only did he look mean - he was. I recall the one time that I wasn't feeling well and I asked him if I could go home. He wouldn't, but changed his mind when I threw up. I imagine that there was a nurse, but I don't remember one. I was late one day and he gave me hell, if you'll pardon my French.

A jovial fellow who had a group of ten of us meet him once a week after school.

For the yearbook "What I remember most about De?" I answered: Mr Buron's ties. They were very wide at a time when thin was in. He had probably worn the same ones for his whole adult life going back to WWII. Not just wide but with ridiculous prints and pictures on them. It wasn't a big surprize when the class gave him a thin tie for Christmas. I don't remember him ever wearing it. From him I picked up the tatcic of sending a kid to the board to work out a problem.

Probably the most loved of our teachers. His story was that he was a pro football candidate when he was cut down and ended up where a leg brace that slowed him up a bit but didn't affect his smile. And man could he shoot a basketball. Consistantly swishing from half court - in fact making the net crack like a whip. Room 21C had a spirit and we rose to all competitions and won quite a few.

Ex-Marine and teaching Latin???? He was most known for his bad jokes. But the thing I picked up from him as a future teacher was this rather intriguing ploy. You see, at the beginning of every class I would get the first question. EVERY CLASS. So I had to be on my toes and know everything. But then for the rest of the period I was fairly safe and the pressure was off. It was funny to the class, more so than to me. I'd like to think that it meant I was a favorite.

Joe was a relative - like a cousin of my father once removed. He was a triplet and everyone back around Bechyn knew about the boys. He was very cool and I heard from Casanova years later that he rated Joe as the best councillor he ever knew. Joe went from De to a vocational school in Minneapolis.

A distant relative being a Bohemian from the Winona area. A gentle giant with big hands. I reckon he was a farmer before hitting teaching. We had the sadness of being with him while he lost his wife to cancer. He called me "the guy from Richfield Flats"

He had a permanent sneer in the manner of Mr Bean. Didn't seem much like a religious person. Didn't seem much like a teacher. He was more interested in two monkeys, George and Katie who had the run of the room, which made for an intersting class at times. Chain smoker, he would have to duck into the storage room a couple times each period.

Real nice guy. Labiak and I sat up front right under his desk and were lab partners. Brother reinforced my pention for detail in recording every aspect of the experiments we put into our labbooks.

Good cop - bad cop? Maybe. I recall Utecht being more like a mean-hearted drill sargeant. Luckily, I was a fine physical speciman and could do the required tasks including the warm up calisthenics; even led the boys once or twice. The good thing about gym was that it wasn't a regularly scheduled class and instead we would miss out on a regular subject to have it. And we always went with another class - can't remember which one. From my diary entries it would seem that when teams were formed we always stayed within our own class.

We got to know each other when I brought the book store takings to him each morning. Never time for a chat as I had to get to home room session. But we established a relationship and in the 70's when I wrote to the principal of De wondering about a possible job if I returned to Minnesota, he was the guy and he said he would hire me.

Don't let the smile fool you. All the boys considered her to be the wicked witch of the books. She never smiled and seemed to be permanently angry. Brother never said "boo", just a quiet keep to himself kind of guy.

I frequented the library on a couple occasions. In my Jr year Brother Daniel allowed a few of us who were way ahead of the class to work in the library. Unfortunately, a couple of the guys screwed around and the librarians complained and we all had to go back to classes. Then in my Senior year I was a math tutor for a Freshman and we would meet in the library. So I was a regular feature those two years. And then 6 years later I became a librarian myslef.

I would deal with one of these two each term when I would pay my fees which I remember to be $180 in 1960 and going up to $220 in 1963.