Well it was quite interesting walking the halls of OLPH once more and then going to mass in the renovated Church. What is the saying? It's all different yet the same?
Those attending from the class of 1969 included Valerie (Blasi) Hansen, Sue (Radiotes) Sanz, Rick Pacheco, our sixth grade teacher Susan Votaw, and myself. And yes, that is the attendance book for sixth grade Susan is holding. Just how many days were you sick? Susan still knows! 8^)It is amazing how quickly comfortable it is with classmates, 40 years becomes nothing but an opportunity to discuss shared experiences. Turns out many of us have lived in Belmont since graduation and Sue still lives less than 2 miles from me. Valerie works where my Wife did and had passed each other innumerous times without realizing there was "less than 6 degrees of separation." This is a small and shrinking world.
One of the challenges was remembering which classroom we were in for sixth grade. If my memory still serves it was on the second (middle) floor, faced the hill, and in the corner closest to Brunswick. Can anyone confirm which classroom indeed was ours? Yes, that is our sixth grade teacher coming out of the cloak room.
And it would not be a complete visit without one last image of... the library! A place to seek wisdom but, for some of us, oh so much more. This is where we enjoyed becoming life members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul! Why? Well, not the only reason why but remember we were young boys becoming men, ok? Free doughnuts! Yes, we could consume free doughnuts *after* participating in the meeting on the second(?) Sunday after mass! Young "Homers" in the making were we. 8^)I hope you enjoyed the pictures and reminiscing.
5 comments:
Russ,
Thank you for the trip down memory lane. Great photos. The library looks the same, the classroom is different, but the same. Didn't we always face the front of the classroom in rows, in old desks, windows to the left, for 8 years? Teachers desk was in the front and center? Wish I could have been there, but with technology we never dreamed of, you were able to share with those that could not be.
Darlene,
Yes, we normally faced forward but Ms.Votaw turned us 90 degrees and the windows were behind us for at least part, if not almost all, of there year. So radical.
Remember she took us on top of "top of the hill" to play red rover once? Boys and girls playing together, oh my!
I thought about the open house all day - wondering what everyone was doing - thank you Russ for the pictures - it is so nice to see the school again and Miss Votaw, Valerie, Sue, Rick and you.
Nisa
Russ, nice pictures. I have to be honest. If I saw all the people in that first photo without knowing what I know now, I would only recognize Valerie. Her face hasn't changed.. But Russ, Rick, Sue... hmmm, my age is getting to me I guess. I don't remember 6th grade as much as I do 7th and 8th. It's great to see so many of the classmates again... those memories are treasured.
Wayne,
What can I say, Valerie remains photogenic.
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