Video of September 30 Mass

At our STA Reunion on September 30, Dan Carr set up his video camera in the Church's choir loft and proceeded to record the entire Mass.  Thank you Dan.  He posted the service on his Aquinasville blog page.

If you would like to view the Mass, click on Aquinasville and it will take you to his eight part video.

You are wonderful, Dan.  Thanks for recording our reunion Mass.

Mary's Page - March 27, 1958

Merikay Fogarty (Class of 1958) attended the September 30th reunion and brought several issues of her Mary's Page, a "school newspaper" she wrote while at STA.  One of the issues was scanned and is presented below.  Wouldn't we love to have Merikay scan the rest?  If so, comment below -- perhaps Merikay will oblige.

Click on image and it will enlarge

This March 27, 1958 issue identifies many STA classmates.  I see the names Belmonte, Parry, Hickey, Flavin, McGuin, Kernaghan, Redding, Cotter, Loech, Mullins and Dutra.  I also notice a short article about JM in Miss Delaney's classroom -- could this be John McGuinnis?

Merikay, thanks so much for sharing this bit of nostalgia.  We'd love to see more.

"Our Father" Sung at Mass

At our September 30 Mass, Erice McKee, a graduate of STA, sang the "Our Father".  It was most beautiful as it echoed throughout the Church.

Dan Carr (Class of 1960) captured the moment on his camera.  Enjoy.



In case you couldn't see Erice from where you were sitting in Church, here he is in the Canteen after Mass.

Erice McKee, STA Graduate c1970s

Video: Dan Carr; Photo: Elaine Beaudoin

Cheerleaders, 1967-68

This wonderful photo of the 1967-68 St. Thomas Aquinas Cheerleaders was taped to the pillar in the Canteen at our reunion on September 30.

Where are all these young ladies today?

1967-68 STA Cheerleaders

Thanks Diane Callahan Mastny, Class of 1968.

Trip Down Memory Lane

Carol Guglielmo-Bock, Class of 1962, wrote:

I'm sending this to you to watch and maybe post on the STA blog for all of us to remember the wonderful memories we have of growing up, especially in a "neighborhood" like ours.  I wish I would have thought of it sooner, as we could have shown it at the reunion in the Canteen. 

 

The introduction to the video reads:

This is a trip down memory lane for those "of a certain age." It says "Close Your Eyes" but don't! You have to read the screen while the song is playing! The second or third time through you can close your eyes!!




The video was produced by chacha3078 and posted on YouTube on November 5, 2009.
Musical artist: Ronnie Milsap.

Thanks, Carol, for helping us "of a certain age" remember the good times on the Westside.

Gathering in the Canteen after Mass

Dan Carr also brought his video camera to the STA Reunion.  However, unbeknownst to him, his great nephew had smeared the lens the last time Dan used the camera.

As Dan writes, "I was last using [the video camera] to capture one of my great nephews who, as little ones like to do, took a poke at the camera.  If I had had sense enough to realize what was wrong and wipe the lens of fingerprints, I would have taken more post-Mass video." 

Smudge and all, your video still reflects the wonderful feeling the Alums enjoyed as they chatted with their classmates, renewing old friendships, and enjoying the pastries.  Dan, I think what you have shared captures the day!


Thanks Dan.  And for those who haven't visited Aquinasville, Dan's "westside" video channel, you might wish to take a look.  Click on Aquinasville to be redirected to his YouTube channel.

Dan Carr's Photos from Reunion

Dan Carr (Class of 1960) has put the beautiful photos he took at the September 30 STA Reunion up on Flickr.  You can view small 'thumbnails' here, larger 'thumbnails' here, or the slideshow.  The slide show lasts about 30 minutes.  So get your coffee or soda, sit back and be prepared to be amazed.  Be sure to click on the little box in the lower right hand corner of the slideshow to view the images full screen.  If you wish to get out of "full screen" view, press the escape key on your keyboard.

You also can go to his Flickr 'front page' and click through the photos, one by one.   And, if you wish to view in a different size or download any of the photos you can:

1. Click on the individual photo and it will open up as a separate page
2. Above the photo, click on the word "Actions"
3. From the drop down, choose "View all sizes."  Information about the picture and its various sizes, i.e., number of pixels, is provided
4. Click on the size photo you would like to view or download and the photo will resize on the screen.  The default is "Large 1024 (1024x517)"
5. If you wish to download the photo, click on "Download the [   SIZE CHOSEN    ] of this photo" which is just above the list of photo sizes
6. A popup box, unique to your browser/computer photo software, will open. Then follow the instructions appropriate to your own configuration to download the photo.

Dan notes "there is a tremendous amount of detail in the 'original' versions."   While you may not wish to download such a big file, if you view the photo in 'original' version, you often will be able to make out faces and even read nametags!

While you are looking at the individual photos, you also will have the opportunity to leave a message or comment.  Please do, I know Dan will enjoy it.

Thanks, Dan, the photos are absolutely gorgeous.

Photos from John McCormack

John (Class of 1968) shared a couple of photos from our Sept. 30th gathering that he also posted on his Facebook page.

Waiting for Mass to begin

1968 Class members

Enjoying the school walk thru

Boys' Latrine

I don't think we will see this last photo in any of the Reunion Slideshows!   Thanks, John. 

Reunion Mass Photo

STA Alums were treated to a beautiful Mass celebrated by Fr. Peter Premarini, MCCJ, at St. Martin de Porres Church.  The Deacon, third from the right, was celebrating his 80th birthday and the congregation enthusiastically sung Happy Birthday to him.

Photo courtesy: Dan Carr

Preliminary Reunion Slideshow

Word is that Dan Carr's photos will be up on Flickr shortly.  Once everything is up, we will post the link on the STA Blog.  But, while we wait to see the "really good" photos, here are a few from the reunion taken by Carole Keough and Elaine McIntyre Beaudoin.



Hope you enjoy!

Reunion Photos from Bill Moorhead

Bill Moorhead, class of 1951, sent these two photos from our September 30 reunion.  He arrived early and snapped this photo before the church filled up.

And he captured a moment during the Mass --

Bill, thanks for sharing the photos and for being one of the Eucharistic Ministers at our Reunion Mass.

Church Organ

A note from Richard Allison, Class of 1967 --
 
I didn't get the chance to tell you that I had a key to the choir loft from my days of playing the organ at St. Thomas that I found before the reunion [on September 30th]. 

Just for fun, I brought it along and sure enough it still worked. Too bad the old pipe organ isn't in playing condition, but at least it is still there which is not true for many other churches.

[I have] nothing but fond memories of the church, the people, the organ but my favorite was being pulled from school to substitute for a mass. Of course I'd always play 6 verses of the last song to prolong my classroom absence.

Richard, we would have loved to hear you play the organ!  Glad you kept the key for so long.  It must hold many memories for you.

STA alums: Did you know the Kilgen pipe organ was built for the Swiss pavilion of the 1933 Century of Progress?  In 1935, the organ  was purchased by STA's second pastor, Father Edward L. Dondanville, and installed at STA.

I guess we all keep a little bit of our past.  Thanks Richard for sharing your memory.

And, just in case you don't have your own personal key to the Choir Loft, here is what the organ looks like, sorry we don't have any photos of the pipes  ..............

Photo Courtesy: Dan Carr, 2011

Oh, What a Day!

The STA Reunion Committee was thrilled to see nearly 200 STA Alums and guests at St. Martin de Porres Parish yesterday.

Attendees started to arrive as early as 9:30 a.m. and were treated to a church filled with sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows. As the Alums arrived, squeals of recognition could be heard echoing off the walls and welcoming bear hugs could be seen between classmates of earlier times.

The Youth Ministry Mass, celebrated by Fr. Peter Premarini, provided the opportunity for the community children, many under 10-years of age, to sing, dance and narrate sections of the service. As Carol Broderick said at the Mass “All Masses are beautiful but I’ve never seen one this interesting and energetic.” Several of the STA Alums participated in the liturgy as Readers, Eucharist Ministers and even one who sang an incredibly beautiful version of the Our Father.

Although we hoped to get a group photo in the Church of all the attendees, the numbers were too large to round up and so we moved on to the Canteen for refreshments where many Alums, and in particular the Houlihan family, provided an abundance of muffins, coffee cakes, donuts, sweet rolls and other snacks for the hungry crowd to enjoy.

Numerous Alums brought photos, letter sweaters, school newsletters, autograph books and even a first Holy Communion veil, filling several tables and pillars. Considerable time was spent enjoying these articles which triggered memories of our time at STA.

Then we were off to travel the halls of our grammar school. A comment overheard several times during the walking tour was: “So many things look the same, but only much smaller than I remember.” It was fun to visit Sr. Immaculata’s classroom which still has its cloakroom attached, to walk the stairwells where an Alum remembered “seeing sawdust on the steps and smelling the unforgettable odor of vomit,” and to see the old school alive again with desks, colorful bulletin boards, plants and textbooks, all ready for the students to return the following day for class.

At the end of the day, the STA Reunion Committee, as you can see in this photo, smiled from ear to ear, feeling the event will be savored by all who attended for some time to come.
 

L-R: Carole Keough, Peggy Dernbach Kuzminski, Joan Laughlin LaBeck, Carol Broderick, Kathy Houlihan Redel, Dan Carr, Elaine McIntyre Beaudoin (All Class of 1960) and Maurice Bowman, Maintenance Engineer, St. Martin de Porres

Photos from the reunion will be posted on this site as they are received. If you have photos to share, please send them to Elaine McIntyre Beaudoin at elaine.beaudoin@gmail.com.

Photo courtesy: Dan Carr, photo taken by Maureen Houlihan