De La Salle 1960-1964

Back when I went there it was a boys' school. For those who don't know (and that will be almost everyone), it is located on Nicollet Island on the Mississippi, in downtown Minneapolis which is why we were the "Islanders". When I attended, the island and surrounding area was squallor inhabited by bums and whores. Quite an eye-opener for a boy from a nice suburb. I walked across the Hennipen Avenue bridge many times over the four years.
The De?	I attended St Peter's "Sunday School" and the principal was an old purple-faced nun, Sister Aquin. Well, turned out that she had taught in Bechyn, the small "town" of my father and so she picked up on "Malecek" and went out of her way to look after me. I was an exemplary student and she thought I would do well on the entrance tests (back then you had to be smart, your father an alumnus or be a good basketball player to get in - I don't think holy counted from what I could see). There was tuition to be paid and books etc... but my parents were thrilled at the prospect at me getting into (back then) what was considered a "better" school. This would not be the last time that out of the blue I would do something totally unexpected.
The Dr	Dec 7, 1959. I had to have a physical in order to be accepted!!!!
The App	Feb 27, 1960. Fill in application for De La Salle high school.
The Exam	Mar 12, 1960. Took the De la Salle High School entrance exam - it was easy.
The 1st Days	Sept 6, 1960. I got up at 5:30AM and took the bus in with Bruce Nihart and Mike Schindler (in all of my classes). We were given information and books and paid our fees. Took the 10:05AM bus home. What a great school. The first day of actual classes was on the 8th, and even that was just a half day!
The F	Sept 12 1960. World History where I got the only "F" on a test ever. Since it was the beginning of the year I imgine Mr Roach wanted to show he was boss.
The Morning Bus	It was a 3 block walk to the corner on Bloomington. I would try to get the 7AM bus. At the corner the same group of people waited. There were two young ladies, a couple men and a older lady. I never conversed with anyone. Anyone who knows me realizes that I am not a morning person. The bus began at 98th Street in Bloomington, so by the time it got to us it was almost full. Sometimes I would sit with Mike Bendel, who was very quiet and shy, which suited me. If I was awake enough I would read something school related. In the winter time more people took the bus and then I might have to stand with an armful of books (no one used briefcases or bags back then). We got off at Hennipen and then transferred onto a bus to the island.
The Afternoon Bus	Try to imagine the crowd of over 1000's boys all waiting to get on a bus into downtown. Now try imagine then standing in front of flop houses which was what the buildings had deteriorated to when I showed up in 1960. Any bus that went by without stopping got a rousing jeer from the asembled masses. Every single bus that did stop was soon crammed full. In nice weather I would walk it and that was always an adventure navigating your way through the bums looking for handouts. One fellow that sticks in my mind tried to sell me black bananas, that he probably salvaged from a dumpster. Once you got past the Great Northern Railway station you soon mingled in with the general population of walkers. Next was a matter of luck, whether you could catch the bus heading south right away. If you missed it then it was a half an hour wait for the next one. Most of the time I just waited at the bus stop (see below for activities I might do instead). There were a range of people I knew who I would sit next to, but I preferred to read or do homework on the hour long ride. Sometimes I sat next to neighbor Mrs Hughes and we would have polite chats. on rare occassions I would fall asleep but always seemed to wake up in time for my stop. Even rarer I would take a bus that only went to 60th and would have a long walk home.
The Transfer	There were cons for using bus transfers. You got one in the morning and if you walked to school and then wealked back you could use the morning transfer in the afternoon saving some money. One day (Dec 13, 1960) Bob Wiek talked me into letting me use my bus card after I did. We got caught and I had to pay a dollar. The next day Bob paid me back.
The Shadow	After school I could have time to kill waiting for a bus on 7th and Hennipen. Once in a while I would go in Dayton's, choose someone and then follow that person where ever it might lead. To my knowledge, no one ever suspected. Dayton's also had the first doorless entry. To keep the extreme cold out there was continuous blast of warm air shot through the opening. I don't remember how the blast affected people as we walked through, except that it was loud.
The Diner	I caught the bus home across the street from Kresge's 7th & Hennipen. If I had a long wait for the next bus I would sometimes buy a cartoon paperback and read it will sipping a Coke® at the diner. On hot afternoons I would buy a chocolate ice cream cone (10¢).
The Freshman Year 1960-61	Freshmen were put into the original building, "C" block (had been a commercial school). No fans or air conditioning but rickety old radiators for heat in the winter. Well, after getting out to the busstop by 7AM, getting frozen before it arrived (invariably late) and not thawing out at all by the time I got to school I can remember many days where I didn't actually feel warmth until noon. And then the rooms would be way too hot for the afternoon. Meanwhile upper classmen were enjoying climate controlled buildings only feet away. The C Block suffered a fire and was demolished. I am fairly certain that Brother John C haunted the building until then.		Grades
The Friend	I was a stranger in a strange land, being the only boy coming from a public school. Everyone had friends from their Catholic school days. The first friend that I made was Tom Kelley. Neither one of us recalls how it came about.
The Homeroom	Room 21-C. Brother K Francis. Kelley nominated me for President and I didn;t have a chance. Don't recall how many votes I got. Mike Schindler was in the class and I kind of knew him from Babe Ruth. We would ride the bus once in awhile
The Lunch	I always bought my lunch. A chocolate malt cost 20¢ in 1964. we would have to stay in the lunchroom until a bell went. Most of the time we would rush to the gym and get up a basketball game. On nice days we might stand around on an outdoor area just off of the library, which you could also enter.
The Collection	Each week we have "missionary day" and we donate money. Today, Oct 19, my row was last, contributing $4.58 out of the home room total of $39.42.
The Latin	I picked up one of my teaching traits from the Latin teacher (an ex-marine) who would ALWAYS have me answer the first question of each class. He always asked; so the other boys could put their hands up knowing that they wouldn't be chosen. Took pressure off of me knowing that I had it out the way and would be ignored for the remainder of class. I took it one step further when I taught, in that I would always ask the same question day after day, thereby capturing class' attention wondering when the question would change. And my favorite question - spell "Malecek".
The Art Club	I only went Freshman year. Met after school and tried various things out. I was ridiculed for using a ruler to draw masts on a sketch of a ship. A couple of us posed for sketches. There was no art room, so there wasn't any painting being done. Mike Donlin was in the group and he didn't seem like an artist type. We put on an exhibition in the gym.
The Book Report	Freshman year. I read Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. So did Slater and he gave his report first. So when it was my turn I began by pointing out that my book didn't have dinosaurs but I had heard that the movie version did. Luckily, he never beat the crap out of me.
The Car Wash	As a fund raiser we split the class into north-south had each had a car wash. Mine was at St Richard's in Richfield. I recall just hanging around doing nothing for most of the day. And I recall the young dude who had us wash his super hot car. Don't think we raised much money that day.
The Bowling	Freshman year. Foss and I sat in the last seat of our two rows in our World History class. When Mr Roach wasn't looking we would "bowl" a game. Doing all our actions and reactions in mime.
The Outline	Freshman year. World History. We were to outline the textbook as we went along. Well, not only did I do that but I also drew every map and sketch and answered every chapter question. I ended up with 8 standard size yellow cover spiral notebooks.
The Gym	We would miss out on a subject class once a week for "gym". I excelled at calaesthetics and enjoyed it when I was asked to lead the combined classes. I had the record for most pull ups at 18, most burpees, highest standing jump. There was a large trampoline on the balcony floor and when you bounced on it the height to the lower floor was extra scary. I don't recall the locker room or showers which were under the gym. I actually loved our uniform which was double-sided gold on one size and maroon on the other.
The Gym II	One day we had tests and I got an A in every category including the above plus situps. Mr Shrake said if we did as many pushups as he did we would get an "A". He did 36, and I stopped at 36. But Malchow did 42 and was tops. I could have done 50, so I was upset to be beaten.
The Tryout	I tried out for the Fly basketball team. In my workout I was against Andrychowitz and he was better than me. Neither of us made the team. I would bus in on Saturday mornings to play for my room in the intramural games. I was the high scorer for the season. Most lunches we would get a game up in the gym (that continued through the 4 years).
The Pre Gym	Feb 25, 1961. Met Kelley downtown. We followed a couple guys around Dayton's. Watched "Ballad of a Soldier" a Russian movie with sub-titles and "Bowl of Cherries" at the World Theater. Bowled at Lincoln Lanes, a basement place on Hennipen Ave, (me 121,95,137 - Tom 148,125,117), and went to Bridgeman's.
The Gym Night	Feb 25, 1961. A homeroom would have access to the gym to muck around. There would be pop and cake and snacks to be had. Tom Kelley tealls the story this way: he thought that Pilacinsky was the fast guy in the room after himself. He was in the balcony on the trampoline and watched me beat Bill easily. So he challenged me and we tied...which is something we did every time over the years. Of course we played basketball. I can remember Brother K Francis putting in shots from the halfway line the net didn't "swish", it cracked like a whip. We played lights out. One boy stood on the center line everyone else against a wall. Lights were turned off and you had to run to the opposite wall. The fellow in the center would touch as many as he could and they joined him. I was the last one to be caught. Once again, Kelley says that he noticed that I would stand with my eyes closed. So when the it went dark I had already adjusted and could see where the catchers were.
The Tryout II	March 1961. Kelley and I tried out for track. I recall us having to run around the gym 48 times (27th). I gave high jumping a go. Another day we were outside and had to run around the island. Tom and I couldn't keep up with the faster guys, but when he came around the final corner and in sight of the teacher we ran like hell and, as usual, we tied. I didn't make it which was okay as my heart wasn't really into it. Third time we ran 2 miles, then sprinted, 1.5 miles, hurdles and a mile. I tried out for the 440 and the 880. Tom was on the cross country team all four years.
The Speeches	For my "Demonstration" speech I did "How To Not Counterfeit" using a 2 foot long dollar bill on which I pointed out errors. Such as: it's the wrong size, the wrong color and George had a black eye from Martha because he was too sweet on Betsy Ross...I had the whole room laughing and Brother Fidelis gave me a 92%. And yes, I still have the thing. I remember that Bob Howard showed us how to polish shoes. Kelley brought a bat and showed us how to hit. My "Impromptu" speech was on "rice". I began it with a joke about Uncle Ben and people of China. For my extemporaneous speech I had "Madison". For another speech I pretended that I was in the past and began the speech by pointing and yelling "Look out its a dinosaur!!!" and then went out to talk about the various types. Brother was narcissistic. 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 only got an 88% - maybe I made too many jokes about him. He asked for the cover and had to show it to all the other teachers. A speech that I will never forget was Swierczek's one about some sort of ship. He spent the whole period drawing a detailed diagram and explaining each part. He was explaining how a sailing ship can sail against a wind. When Tom wouldn't stop talking, Fidelis sent him out into the hall and beat the hell out of him. I got 19.5/20 for my pantomime...can't remember what I did.
The Roach	World History teacher. 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. 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.
The Dust	At one pep rally there was fluff balls of dust that must have come out when the bleachers were opened. It was a challenge to see who could blow it out the furthest.
The Party	Dec 16 1960. In Religion we had our Christmas party - Welter had a fake vomit. I got a bottle of H.A. [ed. - ????]. We gave brother a statue. Labiak was Santa. Swierzcek, Slater and Wheland gave talks. Siewrzcek gave each lay teacher cigarettes and Harvey also got some Holy water. Christmas assembly instead of History. I went to Art club and then watched the Fly [ed. - freshmen] basketball game.
The Idiots	Jan 25, 1961. Kelly and I wore our "contrast clothes", but it is tomorrow!!!
The Gras	Feb 11, 1961. Walked to Portland to catch bus with Brevieu to school where we were parking lot attendants for the Mardi Gras dance. We were given cake and pop and Brother gave us each $2. Dad gave us a lift home at 12:30AM.
The Indians	Apr 28, 1961. Back to school in the late evening to watch "Ten Little Indians". Brother Fidelis made it a homework assignment and we had to prove that we had gone.
The Picnic	May 11, 1961. Schindler and I took the 5:47AM bus to school where we walked over to the old church for Mass. Class picnic at Rochester. Played rummy with Stowell on the bus down. Baseball - my team Kelley, Chowitz, Slater, Welter etc... lost to Plasha, LeVesque, Brevieu and Whelan. I walked and got on on a fielder's choice. Breitenbucher started and I relieved pitching 7 innings - struck out 4. After lunch Schindler, Shoft, Pilacinski and I watched "Absent-Minded Professor" and went bowling. Palicinksi and I (133, 108, 91) lost 639 - 636 to Schindler and Shoft. Dredged golf balls out of a creek. Schindler and I got dropped off at Vet's hospital and we walked home in the dark with his transistor playing Del Shannon's "Runaway" cutting across open fields that would one day hold houses and the crosstown highway 62.
The Concert	May 21, 1961. Mom and I ate downtown and then went to De La Salle Spring Concert that included the Angeliers.
The Sophomore Year 1961-2	Sept 7. We moved from C-Block to B-Block the main building that was a slight improvement because while it was an old building we didn't have to go outside anymore.		Grades
The Home Room	The teacher was John Svoboda. A large man with huge hands. Sweet as an angel. I don't recall him ever getting mad. His wife died during the year and he seemed to handle it well. We pretty much had the same students as last year. I don't remember G Epson (see photo).
The Slide Rule	This was pretty and set you off as a true nerd. I remember buying mine at Dayton's with Labiak and Brevieu on 14 Nov 1961. Aluminium with a leather case. I used it through university and then later in the 1970's I taught how to use them with a 4 foot long one used to demonstrate. My original one is long gone - I sold it to a student in 1979 for $10. But I still have a small plastic one in my desk drawer but I can't remember when I last used it.
The Ride I	Nov 15, 1961. Gene Newstrom worked near De and he offered me a ride which I did for a few weeks until he lost that job, due to a strike and he headed to Detroit for work. While it was nice to not take the bus it meant that I had to be ready to go at 6:30AM. A workmate, Bob Carlson, also bummed a ride with him. One morning I arrived at 6:31AM and he was gone. I couldn't believe that he didn't wait for me. It saved me 15¢/day but it meant I got to school at 7AM and had to wait for an hour until I could get into the school. We early arrivals had to wait in the lunch hall. I usually would just lay my head down and try to rest. Another student, David Namie was also there and eventually we would chat to wile the time away.
The Play	Dec 3, 1961. Dad and I went to see "Skin of Our Teeth" by Thornton Wilder at De (Ball, Labiak and Ward were in it). It was excellent. We had balcony seats.
The Sub	Mr Elsenpeter was too soused to show one day. The young, green Brother who was to oversee us as we read our books began the period with this statement: "We must maintain an atmothphere of thilence". Yep, he had a lisp and he seemed to be in fear of a rebellion breaking out.
The Vote	In study we voted in for Best Dressed-Reed, Best Athlete-Slater, Popular-Mathison, Biggest Drag-O'Laughlin, Best Humor-Labiak, Biggest Wolf-LeVesque, Best Student-Chowitz and Favorite Subject-Geometry.
The Book	Labiak got all excited in homeroom class when he came across the word "slut" in a paperback he was reading.
The Predictions	Sophomore year. "Roundy Predicts". "Roundy was some old geyser from Wisconsin who predicted college football scores along with Halsey Hall and a guest predictor or two. Labiak organized a similar contest in our class. I used a plain mathematical formula with out throwing in too many variables". I was in last place, proving my algorithm wasn't all that good.
The Roosters	Sophomore year Biology. Each group (me, Kelley, Labiak and Scmidt) had roosters that we fed with one getting a growth hormone or something. Then after x weeks we had to operate (not kill and cut out but ether the chook and remove an organ). Then we weighed the organs and the hormone-fed one should weigh more. We named them, one was "Glen" after John Glen. Schmidt did the operation and it was queasy to actually cut them open.
The Worm	Sophomore year Biology. We looked at an earthworm through a microscope and I never been the same since.
Hey Hey There's Monkeys	Anyone from my era knows about George the monkey. But there were actually two, and I don't mean Brother Augustine. No, it was a non-smoking primate. And she was female. As I recall Katie (Kay) was better looking then the librarian, Mrs. Theissen
The Junior Year 1962-3	We moved to the new building albeit in a basement room, the Physics Lab which had large tables instead on individual desks. Brother Peter was our homeroom teacher. I sat with Kelley near the back.		Grades
The Junior Year	I ran for class president each year and usually lost but this year I won, finally beating Mathison. It meant getting out of classes to attend the Student Council meetings. I can't remember T Flynn (see photo).
The Tutor	One period a week I was released from math and I would help a freshman with his math in the library. I don't remember his name, but I do recall that he was a very nice polite boy.
The Ride II	When we moved to Bloomington in Jan 1963 Bob Howard began giving me a ride to and from schoool for 25¢. I was lucky as I was first one picked up and got to sit up front next to the heater. He usually picked up 5 or 6 guys. Three up front and the rest crammed into the back (including Doug Corteau who was a huge boy). Since I was first to the car after school, Bob would give me the keys to let myself in.
The Apple	Jan 7, 1963. Dougherty put an apple on Brother Daniel's desk - Joel Cheney took three bites and put it back. Brother did not appreciate the humor.
The Books	Jan 1963. School had a book drive. As class president I would call classmates and encourage them to bring books. We came second with 769 losing to first place Junior class' 825. Our "prize" was a piece of cake at lunchtime, Jan 29th.
The Two	Howard smashed into a tree at Haskell's. Cook got cut up so we took him home. We hit $40/man for the mardi gras raffle sales and are 6th in the school. Howie and I went to Metropolitan Stadium and I got a job selling hot dogs at Twins and Vikings games. On the way home Howie ran into a Volkswagon - 2 accidents in one day!
The Flop	A NASA rocket launch failed. In Religion class I clamped a pencil vertically by a ringbinder ring. Then I would do a countdown and upon "launch' I opened the rings and the pencil would fall over.
The Top 10	March 19, 1963. I am in the top ten for algebra in the whole school of 1640.
The Eardrum	Apr 4, 1963. Brother Peter tore into Kelley (we share a desk in Home Room) - he was livid and said that he was holding himself back from smashing Tom, as he once hit a student and broke his eardrum [ed. a story I have always remembered - together with the one where Brother smashes his fist down on his desk and pretends to break his watch - the one his late mother gave him, cry cry cry...]. In chemistry we had to determine as much as we could about an object inside a box.
The Duty	Apr 8, 1963. Phone duty at school - means I get out of class, sit in the office and run messages. Serious Brother Daniel even joked with me in the office.
The Stiffin'	Junior year. Math - Brother Daniel had some very liberal views on teaching. He never spoke a word and preferred to sit at his desk in silence. Brother had us working at our own pace and he let a few of the genii skip class and go to the library to work on math there with the proviso that you must sit tests with the class. Each day he would have each of us, left in the classroom, tell him what page we were on. I thrived on it and had finished the SMSG (Some Math Some Garbage) book and was plowing through next year's book. So the peer pressure of having your position known to everyone became a challenge to keep up, or, like me and Stowell to be the furthest along. Each day Tom and I would agree upon what page we would say we had completed. That gave us the luxury of being able to have a day or two off with no work and still be able to report progress. Since Brother went alphabetically I always had to say my page before Tom. Well, one day after I had said I was on page xyz Stowell declared to be 10 pages ahead of that. I was fuming, so I told Brother I would like to change my position and told him that I was on page 37 of the next level book. He told me to go to the library. That was one of the happiest days at De. I was publicly acknowledged as one of THE brains in a class of brainy boys. By the way, I always worked on my math in the library, but the others read magazines or books or did work for other subjects. One day Brother made a spot check on us and wasn't happy with what he found going on and made all of us return to the classroom for the remainder of the year.
The Fastest Comb	I had this aluminum barber's comb which was about 8 inches long and was tapered. So it would stick out of my rear pocket. I would draw it out chop down on someone's hand with lightning speed. If I liked they guy, he'd get hit with the back of the comb. Enemies got the teeth into their flesh. I only used it in jest but apparently "baldies" would sharpen theirs to act as a knife in a fight.
The Fair	I did the 4th Dimension for a Science Fair. I made a model using balsa wood and rubber bands. I copied it out of a book. It was a cube inside a larger cube. When I was interviewed I explained that the 4th dimension was time (never mind that now in my later years I find that time doesn't exist). And my model was how to express in a 3 dimension world. I had no idea what I was talking about
The Class Ring	During our junior year we could buy a school ring. They were made by Jostens Jewelers and cost around $40. My mother told me in my sophmore year that if I made the A-Honor Roll for each of the 6 report periods she would pay for the ring. Well, I did and she did. I wore that ring for at least 30 years before I put it into storage. Wore the gold De logo off the top of the stone in fact. As far as I know, Tom Kelley was the only boy to not buy one. My wedding was a one-ring affair as I told Gail that wouldn't ever take off my class ring.
The Paten Problem	May 21, 1963. At a Mass in the gym I was called upon to hold the paten. I hadn't gone to a Catholic school and therefore never been an alter boy. So I didn't really know exactly what to do. Obviously I had been on the receiving end of the Host so I had an idea and must have done it correctly as no one told me otherwise. Back in those days only the Priests' thumb and index finger were consecrated and were allowed to touch a Host. Nowadays any yahoo can pull one out of the bowl.
The Graduation	No, not mine. In June 1963 I acted as an usher for the class of '63 graduation exercises. So I was busy for awhile but when the ceremony began I had nothing to do for the next two hours. I had to stand near the front on a side so I was in view and couldn't slack off, though I do recall sneaking outside for some fresh air.
The Senior Year 1963-4	Sept 4. I was moved into the top class for the senior year along with Howard and Nelson. I guess it was honor to be in such lofty group. We took an IQ test and while no one was told their score, we were told that everyone in the class was over 140. I like to feel that I held my own with that group. In fact, I graduated 23rd in a class of 400, so I proved I was top-class material.		Grades
The Physics	My lab partner was Paul Malchow. Hedman and Iserman sat behind us and I drove Walter crazy. I thought the ripple tank was coolest thing we did all year. And the funest one was using ticker tape to measure acceleration. Sliding mirrors along to get an upsidedown image of a burning candle was interesting. And I can't remember why, but Brother took us all on the school bus to demonstrate something.
The Search	John Iserman and I had a couple catch-phrases (one was "by far"). What we would do is search our text books (especially texts and novels in English) for these phrases and then highlighting them and showing each other. Sometimes the two words could be seperated by lines or pararaphs.
The Lockers	Senior Year locker mate was Stu Mathewson. I can't recall who I had the previous 3 years. Stu always liked to thave the locker combo set so at the end of school he could whip it open and be one his way. Yes, I did get in trouble for mucking it up...
The Book Store	Senior year. As part of Benildus Society I worked in the book store. That meant before school I was in a closet with a couple other guys. I remember Bob Sobieck being in charge. I loved it. I simply love books and new books are especially appealing, which is why I probably always prefer to buy a book rather than read one from a library. My main duty, aside from selling, was to lock up and bring the money box to Mr Casanova (which is where he got to know me and would later offer me a teaching position at the school when he became principal). Then my big challenge was to get to home room and not be late.		Sobieck
The Magazines	Shinders on Hennipen was the best stocked newspaper/magazine place in the Twin Cities. And in the back room, apparently, were "men's magazines". I never tried to go in there as I am sure I didn't look old enough, but strangely, I was allowed to buy Playboys.
The Relative	Once I had to bring the book store money to councillor Mr Zitah, who turned out to be a cousin of my father and a triplet (all brothers being in education). So we had a few chats after that. I thought he was a cool/sharp guy.
The Teachers	Go to their page
Classmates	Go to their page
The Contest	WDGY had a contest for the "Favorite High School Principal" in the Twin Cities. Each postal card received counted as one vote. De took it onboard officially and bought the cards by the thousands. Each homeroom period the students filled in the cards. We won by having ten times more votes than all the other schools together. We had a school assembly in the gym for the presentation of a trophy to the principal by a disk jockey.
The National Honor Society	I managed to always be on the "A" or "B" honor roll through the four years, was a leader, had good character and helped the school and so I was considered to be an Honor Student and was given a certificate.
The Champs	Gary Olson and I would bus in to watch De play. One year Gleason was our top scorer. He would start the game with three shots from the corner and when the defense finally tried to stop him he would dump the ball off to Evans for an easy layup (as a coach I tried to use that play with Geroge Bakker). In our senior year Evans (a very large person) came down on Holker (the best player) one of them was unconscious and other sprained an ankle. When De would win the State Tournament (and they did each year) we would get the following day off school.		1963-4
The Stroll	Oct 18, 1963. Class walked to the Armory for a vocation show. I had to do a report on the Maryknoll Brothers, so I spent most of the time with them. Swiz got left behind when we returned to school - probably doing an indepth interview.
The Explication	Nov 8, 1963. Brother Jerome gave out a class punishment: a 2500 word "Explication of Order in the Classroom".
The Christmas	Dec 20, 1963. I swept the balcony for the assembly which was all musical with Glee club throwing confetti at Brother Fidelis. Class gave teachers hokey Christmas gifts. Gave Brother Jerome a shower cap with a lizard on top, Brother Peter Code 10 hair cream, Brother William a cactus and the Josie Award. We gave Beirden a roulette wheel, dice and cards and Graf a narrow tie. Taylor held class and we recalled all of our past De teachers.
The Retreat	In January 1964 we went on a three day retreat at King's House in Buffalo, Mn. It was to be mostly in silence. I think I had a room to myself to ensure no cheating. I had Merton's No Man Is an Island to read.
The Letter	Feb 16, 1964. For English we had to write a letter to the editor. If it was published we got an "A" and if someone responded to it, an "A+". [ed. - would have been so easy to respond to your own under another name, but I didn't. Unfortunately, didn't get a copy of mine but do have the response].
The Grad	May 31, 1964. I graduated from De La Salle High School with honors (top 10 out of 400) one of three to receive 2 scholarships. Probably the pinacle of my life, academically, as I struggled through university. The ceremony was held in the Basilica of St. Mary.

Back to Memories     De's Web Page