Reflection #58 (Only 1018 to go): Seeking Truth

 

        In my retirement, I have been blessed to have found a hobby that I enjoy and which is very different from the life I lead as a teacher.  Don’t get me wrong. I loved my life as a teacher and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.

       Now, I spend a fair amount of time in my basement scroll sawing; that is, making “pictures“ out of wood.  The alone-time affords me the opportunity to “contemplate the verities”.   

 

A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting in the faculty room at Ignatius, having a pleasant conversation with Steve Lord.  For those of you who haven’t been around Ignatius since 1999, Steve teaches in the Religious Studies Department.  In earlier blogs, I speculated about who might be the “iconic” teachers filling the void of some of the greats of bygone eras.   Steve falls well within such a sphere.

In my conversation with Steve, as I was struggling to remember a name-from-the-past, I mentioned that a sharp memory is one of the assets sacrificed as payment for the privilege of growing old.  My compensation, however, is a certain level of “wisdom”*…”sign posts” along the road of life that hopefully appear when needed.  (Not a brag; this “wisdom” is just knowledge gleaned from experience over a whole lot of life.)

At this point, many other “young” teachers would have excused themselves saying their phone was ringing or they just remembered that they had to prepare a test for the next class.  I speak from experience because that’s what I did when I was a young man in the company of old-timers back in my day.

Not Steve.  Instead, he asked me what I had learned.  Given fair warning, I could have rattled off several tidbits, but I was so caught off guard by that invitation to expound, that all I could come up with was not to judge others.  In the Spalding-Raispis List of Cliches to Live By, it is written “View everyone’s motives in the best possible light.”  To quote Sydney J. Harris, “It is hard to weigh the faults of others without putting your thumb on the scale.”  Again, Steve didn’t just stare, or argue.  Rather, he seemed to agree, or, at least, consider that tenet as viable.

As I thought about our conversation, I was more and more impressed by his reaction.  Steve was born and raised in Texas and became a captain in the marines.  (Perhaps he still is in the reserves, but that I don’t know.) He saw action in Operation Desert Storm in the early ‘90’s, and afterwards he and his family came to Chicago when he received a scholarship to study Theology at the University of Chicago.

Steve told me that he had wanted to be a teacher which prompted the question, “Why religion instead of some other discipline?”.  Here’s was his response:  “After my war experience, I needed to make sense of the world and the confusing existence of profound evil in a good world.  I was swept away by the wisdom of the Church fathers and the richness of scripture.  My love for theology continues to grow.” 

I can see a common element between Steve’s quest and mine.  We both seek truth.  I have a feeling that he’s better at it than I am.

 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.

 

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Reflection #57 (Only 1019 to go): Alumni Revisited

 

 I can’t speak for all of my former teaching colleagues, but I genuinely enjoy the Ignatius reunions.   Near the middle of October, October 19^th to be exact, the classes of  ’68, ’73, ’78 and ’83 had their respective reunions, and it was great revisiting the experiences of their years at Ignatius  

The class of ’73 had a huge gathering, which included many of the men who I had coached on the sophomore basketball team.  I actually coached young men and, eventually, women in all 4 of those classes, but not always in basketball.  It’s great seeing my former athletes, because there is a unique bond between players and coaches of athletic teams.  

We don’t cling to those days out of a sense of desperation, but there is something invigorating about reliving the shared emotions and energy of athletic contests.  The unexpected wins, and even losses, are seen through the prism of both time and more- important issues in life, and can be recounted joyfully.

 It isn’t only former athletes that I enjoy seeing at reunions.  I’m interested in hearing how and what all of my former students are doing.   They tell me about their families, adventures and professional lives, and they seem to take a morbid pleasure in reminding me of things that I said that cause me to wonder how I kept my job all of those years.  It’s all great fun

With apologies to the members of the class of ’68, I failed to make it to their site that evening.  My age and the distance that I have to drive home impacted that omission.  Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to visit with them at their 50^th    reunion in 5 years.  It should be added that Bob Gabric was disappointed that he couldn’t make it, but he now lives in Tucson, AZ.

Speaking of alumni, I had to laugh a couple of weeks ago when I was watching  television…on a Tuesday evening, I believe.  In the first program, Andre Baugher, Ignatius class of ’80, was appearing as a police captain on the sitcom Brooklyn 99.  That was followed immediately by NCIS Los Angeles in which Vito Ruginis from the class of ’74 appeared in a reoccurring role as a Russian “businessman” (wink, wink!).  It’s fun and somewhat exciting to see former students suddenly show up on the screen.

Finally, when I was visiting the class of ’73, I ran into Bernie Reusz who is a dentist in the Downers Grove area.  My wife and I had gone to Bernie before we moved away.   That, in turn, reminded me that, when we went to Ireland this past summer, John O’Riordan, class of ’84, acted as our travel agent.  In fact, John, at  World Class Travels, has done a wonderful job of organizing several different trips for us always to our satisfaction.   (With a name like O’Riordan, it’s probably no surprise that he’s particularly skilled at organizing Ireland trips.)

When I started this “gig” of writing a blog for the school, I thought that it might be nice to give a shout out to Ignatius alumni who are self-employed or work for small companies.  I was told at that time that this is already done, but, with my limited computer skills, I’ve never found that site.

You’d think that, with a son who makes his living in I.T., I’d be able to find it.  Oh, well.

Reflection #56 (Only 1020 to go): Changing of the Guard

A smile crossed my face when the College of Cardinals elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J. as the first Jesuit pope, and he promptly took the name “Francis”.  Finally Raispis was getting the recognition that he deserved.  (Just kidding…kind of)  Did you know that Frank Raispis actually considered entering the Jesuits following his college years, then spent the next 60+ years (1955 to 2012) working for them?

          A bigger smile twisted across my twisted face when I heard about the changes in the Vatican culture that Pope Francis was bringing about.  The reason for my smile was that, a year and a half ago, I was invited to give a speech at the 2012 graduation, and the main point of my speech was that an integral part of Jesuit education is that students should listen and learn, then use their knowledge, along with their intelligence to determine what is true and just.   They shouldn’t just follow along, doing what others have done or tell them to do. 
           Almost on cue, Pope Francis, the first Jesuit Pope…as well as the first non-European pope…came along to shake up the long-standing traditions of the papacy and the Vatican.   The cardinals are intelligent men, and they knew his  background and works in Argentina.  Considering some of the difficulties that the Church has had to deal with in recent years, it may well have been that the College of Cardinals decided to move in a direction that would show the world its intention to “right the ship”.  (This is NOT a religio-political statement …one of neither approval or disapproval…. definitely a can-of-worms that I do not care to open.)

The history of the Jesuits is both interesting and complex, and in a later blog, I’d like to revisit that in more detail, but for the moment, on a somewhat unrelated topic, I have been keeping tabs on some friends of ours…Frank Raispis, Mrs. Sue Connelly, Jim’s widow, and Joan Terracina, long-time secretary to the treasurer at Ignatius.  They are all doing pretty well.  As my mother-law use to say, they’re in pretty good shape for the shape they’re in.   I also talked to Bob Gabric who is sending his regards to those who knew him back-in-the-day.

That’s all for now, folks.

Reflection #56 (Only 1020 to go): The Presidents

    Father Caruso, the president of St. Ignatius, announced on the Ignatius web site that Father Brian Paulson would be the next “provincial” for the newly formed USA Midwest Province.  This province will be made up of the Chicago, Detroit and Wisconsin Provinces.  Fr. Paulson was Fr. Caruso’s predecessor as president of St. Ignatius, serving from 1999 to 2010.
    I want to take the opportunity to congratulate Father Paulson and wish him the best of luck in his new position.  Being the provincial means that Father Paulson will be the “head” of the Jesuits and Jesuit institutions in this province, but, despite my 50+ years of association with the Jesuits, I admit to having only a vague sense of what else the position includes.  I’m sure that much of it is administrative. 
    Fr. Brad Schaeffer, a Jesuit who is an Ignatius alumnus (class of ’67), returned as a scholastic to teach and coach baseball, and, after ordination, came back as principal.  After a few years at Ignatius, he was tapped to work for the Chicago Province, and at some point, became the head of the Jesuit Conference in the U.S., which, in Taylor Street terms, is the capo d’capo of the Jesuits in the United States…pretty “heady” stuff. 
    I’d also like to thank all of the men who filled the roll of president at Ignatius.  That was, and is, an awesome responsibility.  My first inclination was to write about my perceptions of each of the 8 men who were presidents of Ignatius during my full-time tour of duty, but, honestly, I didn’t know most of them very well.  That prompted a second reaction.  It seemed to me that they weren’t very well known by students and parents, either.  It is true that those who were “in-siders”, for want of a better word, board-of-trustee members, those involved with fund-raising, and, probably, officers of different organizations within the school would have had more contact.  Students would mostly have seen the president only at school masses and at graduation.  He really was “the man behind the screen” so to speak.
    That wasn’t universally true.  For example Father Paulson often accompanied students on retreats.  Father John Reilly, God rest his soul, was a teacher, assistant principal, then principal before becoming president.  I can’t speak to the amount of contact that the others had, but Fathers Paulson and Reilly come immediately to mind as being more recognizable to students.
     Despite the fact that they signed my paycheck (figuratively if not literally), their primary job was to keep the doors of the school open.  During the late 60’s and through the 70’s…and perhaps into the early 80’s… that was not easy task.  There seemed to be a delicate balance between raising tuition and not raising it so high that parents couldn’t afford to send their sons here.
     It occurred to me that, whatever the nature of the calling to the priesthood/Jesuits for each of these men, I’m willing to bet that it didn’t include being an administrator.  It didn’t involve fund-raising or many of the other less glamorous responsibilities of being president.  If a person becomes a principal, he or she has take courses for certification with the intent of becoming principal, but the president of a school was just assigned the position.  Having taken a vow of obedience, what option did he have?
    As an act of self-indulgence, I’m going to mention my short stint as an administrator.  I was the athletic director for 3 years, and, no, I didn’t have to take a class to get that job. I’d like to have been the first to say that I really wasn’t equipped to handle the task, but others have said it before I did.  (For the record, I did leave that position of my own accord.) I realized that being in administration wasn’t why I became a teacher.  (In that way, Frank Raispis and I were alike…maybe the only way.)

Reflections #55 (Only 1021 to go): A Rare Opportunity (Pt. 1)

     It's not very often that the 40+ year history of a high school sport can be compiled without extensive research, but I don't do research.  Happily, in the case of St. Ignatius Soccer, I don't have to.  The reason, of course, is that Jim Luzzi is the only varsity soccer coach the team has ever had.  I can just ask him about his experiences…while he's still young enough to remember them.  For 42 years, he has been at the helm.  I'm not particularly fond of statistics either, but I like stories.    I like to hear them and I like to tell them, so I asked Jim some questions about being the sole Ignatius varsity soccer coach. One important "stat" is his win-loss-tie record of 465-404-92.  (This, of course, is before this season started.)

     In 1970, I was the athletic director, and a group of boys with an ethnicity that lent itself to soccer (Ukrainian) came to me and asked if we could have soccer.  Times were tough financially at the time, and I wasn't keen on the idea of adding one more responsibility into the mix, but I also didn't want to be the "bad guy" in this scenario, so I said that there was no coach…a sure fired cop-out.  Not to be denied, the boys found Jim Luzzi, and he agreed to do it.  Oh, well!  "A promise mad is a debt unpaid."  Since then, the boys and, eventually, girls have been the happy beneficiaries.

     In 1969, Jim's first year teaching math at Ignatius, he had helped me coach the sophomore basketball team and found that he enjoyed the added dimension of emotion and intensity that coaching brought to the educational experience.  He had never coached soccer before, but, to quote Jim, "I remember thinking, at the time, that if a more capable coach came aboard, I'd feel fine stepping aside.  I guess we know where that went."  The fact is that, in 1970, soccer was not a very big sport in the USA, and Jim was not very knowledgeable about its intricacies…but he was, and always has been intelligent, dedicated and hard-working.

     I wrote in blog #4 that he is highly organized.  (Some might say "obsessive", but he's my friend, so I won't say that. I'll just say "meticulous".)  He has saved all of the programs and award books for all of the seasons since the beginning.  Looking back through these documents actually gave him a chance to reminisce about teams and players he's coached through all of the seasons.  He told me that he could recall every player as each name appeared.  As a former coach myself, I can assure you that is a remarkable feat.

     I asked him what challenges he had at the beginning.  He said that knowing how to plan practices and knowing what system of play to use took some time to master.  He added, "Dealing with player personalities was another challenge.  Luckily, the first team was great about helping a rookie coach through the season.  There were great leaders on that team…"

     Again, I can empathize with him.  I coached 4 sports over my years, but I was the sophomore coach for 2 of them and freshmen coach for the third.  That meant I had the varsity coach to lean on to answer those questions.  The only sport that I was varsity coach was tennis, and those players came in knowing how to play, several highly trained and skilled.  All I had to do was make sure that we had plenty of tennis balls and I got them to the matches on time.

     On a related topic, I asked if there were things that he might/could/should have done differently.  He said, hind sight being 20-20, there were certain games in which he might have made better coaching decision, but he really doesn't think that there was anything that would have made a difference to the outcome of the entire season.

     At the end of this season, I'll post Part 2, his most memorable seasons and experiences.

 

 

Reminiscence #54...Only 1022 to go: The Times They are A-Changing

     First of all, I want to give a shout out to the outstanding athletes who comprise the Ignatius girls' 4 person crew.  They came in 2nd in the nation in their event, and subsequently, they were honored by the Illinois State House of Representatives.  Congratulations, ladies.  When I find out more, I'll pass it along.

     For those of you who might not be aware, there are a lot of faculty changes going on at St. Ignatius. Quite a few veteran teachers have either retired or are continuing their careers at different venues. Best wishes to all of them. This caused me to wonder who are Ignatius' "iconic" teachers of today and tomorrow. Who will take the place of O'Mara, Fr. Link, Connelly or Raispis?  Many from my generation (or later) might say, "No one!!!", and they're probably right. That doesn't mean that Ignatius is suffering a vacuum of great teachers. It's just that things are different now. The world is different now.
     For the sake of clarity, today's "reminiscence" is about Dr. Jane Delaney. As you might guess, I feel that she is a very likely prospect for the role of the next generation of "icons".  In 2004 she was awarded the Raymond T. Grant Educator-of-the-Year Award. That was the first inkling that I had of the respect her students had for her, but when I asked her what other professional recognitions she may have earned, I was over-whelmed. Three times she was named Outstanding Elementary Teacher by St. Ignatius College Prep, Nazareth Academy made her the recipient of the Teachers Who Make A Difference Award, she was a semi-finalist for the Golden Apple Award. There have been other accolades, but that's enough to give you the idea. I'm sure that she would be the first to tell you that such recognitions are fine, but that's never been her goal.
     I actually took the 37-mile trip to school just to interview Dr. Delaney to find out what makes her so successful, and I studiously wrote down what she told me. After dwelling on my notes for a long time, I realized what is more important is how different the process of education has become. It's not better, it's not worse...a statement many of my peers would disagree with...but things are different now. If I had to read and memorize ("memorizing" was very big back in the day) "The Cremation of Sam McGee" (by Robert Service), I would have had go to my nearest public library and hunt through the card catalog and stacks to find the right book. I have a 9-year old grandson who now could probably "google" it in less than a minute. If you generalize that to all areas of learning, it becomes apparent why I say that things are different now.
     To be a great teacher now, the same elements are necessary as they were in yesteryear. A teacher has to be intelligent and well-educated, have a passion for the material and the students (or in Jane's case call it "love") and have a high enough energy level to "do 5 shows a day" then coach or moderate a sport or activity. There is one other quality that I have noticed in my experience: Charisma. Like beauty, I can't define charisma but I know it when I see it. Jane has all of these elements.
     My original intent was to put down what she told me were the driving forces in her method, but, upon reflection, it occurred to me that, even if I understood it completely, I'm not sure that I could explain it. In my teaching years, we tried to convince our charges that we were the fountain of all truth in our respective fields. "Learn what I tell you, and give it back on the test."
     Dr. Delaney is at the vanguard of the new wave of teaching. That's why I'm featuring her in this blog. The theme that I kept hearing from Jane was open-to-growth...not only for her students, but for herself. In her classes, learning is a collaborative process. She even admitted that there are students who are more skilled (or talented) in the realm of technology than she is. Sometimes she learns from them.
     This should not be interpreted as, "Let the students wander aimlessly." This is where the intelligence aspect enters. She sets the assignments, and, where and when necessary, she steers the class in the appropriate direction. She also does that on an individual basis. Her students have come to trust her to guide them, but they are allowed to discover. They are "learning how to learn" and they are incorporating the facilities that are available in the world today. When they have moved on to another class, to another school, they take that skill with them.
      I close by saying that, while Dr. Delaney came to mind when I was "cogitating" the next icons, she is NOT to only one.  To all Ignatius teachers and coaches, "Keep up the great tradition!...and thanks."

Reflection #53 (Only 1023 to go!): Go, Wolfpack

     I was excited to read that the St. Ignatius Girls' Water Polo Team won the state championship this year...and the boy's team came in 4th in the state. I don't know the team members, nor have I ever coached any water sport, but my involvement with St. Ignatius, including coaching, has generated a keen interest in how the Wolfpack is doing. I read one statement that said this is the first state team championship that St. Ignatius has ever captured, and I would guess this is so. Prior to 1963, we didn't even participate in the Illinois state association.      At a pep rally this spring, not only were the water polo teams' achievements acknowledged, but it was noted that this year, Ignatius teams had earned 9 conference championships, 4 state regional titles, 6 state sectional titles and a state championship. This is a vast difference from when I was a new teacher and coach 50+ years ago.
     Certainly we strived to field championship teams back in the early '60's, and indeed, there were individual athletes who excelled. Tom O’Hara, class of ’60, was favored to win the one-mile race at the ‘64 Olympics. The Sheehan brothers achieved great success in the state in tennis, and Don and Fred Hogan were outstanding in their respective sports. In team sports, we’ve had many fine athletes who have distinguished themselves in college and beyond. I was privileged to have coached several outstanding athletes. But athletics at Ignatius has (or should I say "had"?) always taken a back-seat to academics. After all, the Jesuits were the intelligentsia of the Church. (Don’t tell the Dominicans that I said that.)
     I was prompted by this year’s athletic achievements to drag out the old 1963 yearbook and do a little unofficial research. Needless to say, there have been a lot of changes at the school since '63. We are now coed, the building and grounds have increased in both size and quality, the size of the student body is larger and far more diverse, and there are far fewer priests and scholastics than in the early ’60’s.
     In the ‘63 yearbook, there were 8 sports pictured. They were football, cross country, basketball, swimming, bowling, tennis, golf and track-and-field. (Interestingly, chess was included in the athletic portion of the book, but I didn‘t count it as one of the 8. No offense intended.) Baseball was not among the sports shown, but, actually, we fielded a baseball team in the spring of '63 right after football was dropped . In order to compare, I reviewed the present-day athletic
section of the Ignatius website, and I noted 22 different sports. The boys’ and girls’ teams for the same sport are counted as just one; e.g., girls’ basketball and boys’ basketball were counted as a single sport. Ignatius now offers not only the 8 that were on the ‘63 list, but also such sports as field hockey, la cross, rugby, crew, and, of course, soccer as well as many others.      It should be noted that now several of the sports are classified as “club” sports. These are sports that are not sanctioned by the IHSA, and the cost of participating in the sport is passed on to the athletes' families.

     The frosting on our year was that senior Jack Keelan won the state championship in cross country and set the state record for the two-mile run in track. A truly remarkable achievement.
     In a somewhat humorous vein, Ignatius had a cheer to soften the blow of being bested by our opponents which drove Fr. Brad Schaeffer up the proverbial wall when he was principal. It went: "That's all right; that's OK. You're gonna work for us someday.". Father felt it was arrogant. I don't know why.
After this year, that cheer can be laid to rest.
             Congratulations to all of the fine athletes and their coaches. Go, Wolfpack!

Reflection #52 (Only 1024 to go!): The Old Gang's All Here

      First, congratulations to the athletic teams that have done so well in state competition. When the final results are all in, I want to list their accomplishments. Secondly, congratulations to the students who were recognized as examples of the ideal Ignatians from the various years. These awards are presented at the end-of-the-year Mass in the presence of the entire student body as well as the Jubilarian alumni...those who graduated at least 50 years ago. Some of you will know why the "Pintozzi Junior-of-the-Year Award holds a special interest for me, and this year that award went to Kent Hutchinson. If you know Kent, be sure to congratulate him.
     This past Sunday (May 26), there was a gathering of some of Ignatius' old guard. There were two men whose names you might not know, especially if you are younger than 48 years old...but should. They are Bob Gabric and Ron Cygan. From 1968 to 1979, Bob and Ron were the school's basketball coaches, Bob coaching the varsity, and Ron coaching the freshmen. For nine of those years, I was sophomore coach
     The Gabrics, Bob and his wife Pat, were coming through town and wanted to meet up with some old friends from back in the day. So Ron and Arlene Cygan, who still live in the area, along with the Luzzis, the Spaldings, Sue Connelly (widow of our dear departed friend, Jim) and John Chandler met for dinner and had a grand time.
     Bob had joined the staff at Ignatius in the fall of '64 as the P.E. teacher and a assistant basketball and baseball coach, but in the fall of 1968, Bob replaced Tom O'Connor as the head basketball coach. Bob was not only a great coach but a fine mentor to Ron and me. It occurred to me, as I transitioned to coaching tennis in the '80's, that I learned a great deal about coaching from Bob. The respect that his players had for him is reflected in how many have stayed in contact with him despite his having been gone for over 30 years. Some have even traveled to Tucson to visit him. I have written in earlier blogs, that, besides an impressive work ethic, Bob had a way of seeing the simple solution to each problem, much as did Pat O'Mara. Bob and Pat are retired now, and, after a stint coaching and participating in the Senior Olympics, Bob is devoting himself to playing as much golf as is humanly possible. The Arizona summer heat doesn't bother him. I believe his quote was, "The hotter the better."
     Ron Cygan was hired to teach math and coach in 1968. He continued to coach basketball, eventually as Bob's assistant with the varsity. When Ron Cygan left Ignatius, also in 1979, he went to Lemont High school to teach math and stayed involved in athletics, both of which he continues to do to this day.
     I would be remiss not to add that Jim Luzzi also coached basketball, helping me with the sophomores. In 1969, Jim was hired to teach math. Even though he only coached b-ball for one year, he enjoyed the experience so much that he accepted the position of varsity soccer coach which he has held ever since.
     So this past Sunday, we met at a restaurant and did what old friends do after long separations. We talked about our families, our health, what we are up to these days, and, of course, we reminisce about "the time when ..." and "Do you remember the game where ...?.
     While the main topic of this blog is about a couple of former basketball coaches, I'm sure you'd like to know how Sue Connelly is. Knock wood, she's doing fine, surrounded by friends and family members. How's John Chandler? John is John, he's great. He is doing what he always does, dedicating himself 110% to the care and well-being of Saint Ignatius College Prep.

     As for me and my wife, Mary Jo...thank you for asking...we never had a bad day.

Reflection #51 (Only 1025 to go!): The Benefits

     During a recent chat with the irrepressible Joe Fisher, '67, he mentioned that it is the common opinion (in Beverly) that, if Ignatius had not gone co-ed, it would not be open today.

     A little background: As the decade of the 60’s came to a close, the Jesuit population of the school was diminishing. Priests were leaving and the number of men entering the order was decreasing. More and more laymen were needed to fill the gap. Economically, laymen, who frequently had families to support, were more expensive than Jesuits (priests, brothers and scholastics) who took a vow of poverty. As a result, sometime around 1970, the tuition passed the $1000/year mark, and that seemed to be a magic number. The number of students who were applying for admittance began to diminish. Of course, it could also have been that parents began to feel, if there were fewer Jesuits, how was this a Jesuit school.      I don't refute Fisher’s assertion for a moment, ...but I believe that, were it not for Bob Hope's "HOPE FOR IGNATIUS" benefit in 1976, we wouldn't have lasted long enough to go co-ed. My assessment is based on what I perceived as the rise in spirit and confidence around the school community that was generated by his appearance. Perhaps it is a good time to mention, for those of you under 35 years old, the magnitude of Bob Hope’s stature in the world of entertainment. It’s difficult to compare Hope with today’s comedic personalities, but I dare say that it would be like having Leno or Lettermen or John Stewart suddenly appear to do a benefit. From the mid-1920’s into the ‘80’s, Hope was as popular an entertainer as there was. How Fr. Joe Bowen was able to procure Hope's appearance is worthy of a whole blog in itself. It seems to have been a combination of Fr. Bowen’s persistence combined with a fair helping of good fortune. Sometime during the rough financial times prior to '76, I had expressed my concern about the school's future to Fr. Link, and he assured me that God would provide, so let's not discount Divine intervention.
     Suddenly, there was a vibrancy that had been missing. The student body increased in size right after that first benefit. The "logician" in me says, "Post hoc, ergo propter hoc" (After which, therefore because of which), the logical error implying that if one event follows another, there is a cause-effect relationship between them. There were, no doubt, many factors that went into play that brought about a resurgence of energy and enthusiasm, but I contend that Hope’s appearance was a major catalyst.
     Hope donated his performance, but he did make some reasonable demands of the school...travel, lodging, a full orchestra and, of course, rental of the Auditorium Theater for the night. However, he also brought Andy Williams and Diane Cannon along. Additionally, Williams made a commitment to perform a benefit at a later time. For those of you who might not be familiar with those names, Andy Williams was a very popular singer and variety show TV host of the '60's and '70's. Diane Cannon was most well-known as an actress, but she was also a singer/songwriter.
     Thanks to Don Hoffman for providing me with the names of the stars who appeared, over the next five years. They included Glen Campbell in ’77, Andy Williams in ’78, Ella Fitzgerald in ’79*, Sergio Franchi in ’80 and Victor Borge and Della Reese in ’81.
     Sometime after that 1981 benefit, Fr. Rowe made the decision to change the format of the benefits to something with greater “elegance” in keeping with the stature of Saint Ignatius, so the Chicago Symphony Orchestra became the attraction for several years, complete with a orchestral rendition of “Hail Ignatius”. The piece was a big hit.
     While the benefits, which eventually included concerts by Natalie Cole, and stage presentations like "Jersey Boys" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll" were wonderful, the benefit to the school was out-weighed by the cost and effort to produce them. Keep in mind, the goal of St. Ignatius College Prep is to present the best possible educational opportunities and environment...and that doesn't come cheap.
(*Ella did appear, but I’m relying on my memory for the year.)

Reflection #50 (Only 1026 to go!): The "Walk for Ignatius"

     A preamble: Please keep in your prayers the family of John Tracy. John passed away a couple of weeks ago. He had been the Dean of Students for a little over 20 years, and the varsity basketball coach for about 10 years. In my experience, John was one of the good guys.

      Recently, I was reminded of the Walk for Ignatius, so,with the help of Don Hoffman, the school’s archivist, I perused the 2000 Fall edition of the St. Ignatius Magazine. That year marked the 30th anniversary of the walk, and, coincidentally, that was the last Walk for Ignatius. Since the first walk was held in the fall of 1971, it would have been more appropriate to wait and write an article on its 50th anniversary, 2020, but at my age...Well, you know.  I don’t even buy "green bananas” anymore.
     Those of you who are over 60 years old may remember selling chances for the Mother’s Club Luncheon which was held each spring. In 1970, Fr. Stan Wisniewski was confronted by the seniors who said that they absolutely would NOT sell chances any more. Stan wrote, “I had to scour around to find some other source of revenue-raising.” Stan finally hit on something and, for one year, the students sold World’s Finest Candies. While that brought a marginal increase in funds for the school, it also brought with it something else...vermin. Additionally, the Student Council informed Fr. Stan that selling candy was a “grade-school kiddy job”, and they weren’t going to do that either.
     Frank Raispis, who was principal from 1970 to 1973, recalls Joe Rubinelli (’72) coming into his office and saying that the Student Council wanted to do a “walk for Ignatius". Frank was pessimistic about it succeeding, and he told them, “If it goes well, you get the credit; if it doesn’t, you get the blame.”  We certainly would be the first high school in the area to try such a fund-raising project.
     In fact, it “took off’. The plan was to have a 20 mile walk along the lake front, starting and finishing at North Ave. beach. Father Jim Condon took care of the arrangements with the city. The route would run north to Hollywood, then the students would return as far south as Navy Pier. To complete the full 20 miles, there were "outposts" at the ends of harbors where the students would get their walk-cards stamped, and, in order to get credit for having completed the walk, each student would have to show the filled-in card when he finished. (We were an all male school at the beginning.)
     Frank remembers the spirit and energy that were present during those early years. For example, the students taking Greek formed a club-”Pheidippidedai", and they wore t-shirts of their own design. One year, some students carried a sedan chair with a student in it, and, during at least one walk, Jim Connelly’s cross-country team ran the entire route. A popular tradition was the buttons given to the students either before or after the walk. Ray Kizelevicus, who took over organizing the walk from Fr. Wisniewski, still has a pretty complete collection of those buttons.
     Eventually, the length of the walk was shortened to 20 kilometers, cutting off some of the more out-of-the-way detours and the Navy Pier leg. The distance really wasn’t that big of an issue anyway. Despite the fact that the students were suppose to show their stamp-cards to their sponsors, the money was usually given whether or not the walk card was produced. After a few years, it became something of a game with students to leave the walk route, and catch a ride to the end of the route and back. They were going to get the money anyway.
     Over the years, it was the tradition to kick-off the fund-raising portion of the walk with some kind of themed assembly. One year, Father Wisniewski was escorted into the gym by the Chicago Honey-Bears, the dance troop of the Chicago Bulls. The sight of Fr. “Wiz” surrounded by a group of beautiful young cheerleaders can only be described as surreal. Another year, Father Beuter, the principal, climbed into a hot-air balloon to sail away...“back to Kansas” would be my guess...but it was a too windy that day to risk it. Still another year, a 100-yard subway sandwich (Tony Rosinia claims that it was 500 feet. Whatever!) was the attraction to rouse the student body to a fever pitch and get them to plead with mom, dad, grandma, grandpa and less threatening neighbors to pledge something per mile.
     Over the 30-year span, the students brought in a total of close to $3,000,000. There are a lot more stories to tell about the “Walk”, but that's enough for now. I’m not sure why the walk was stopped, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if the liability factor played a part. Twelve hundred teen-agers walking 20 km along a narrow path between Lake Michigan and the Outer-Drive...I‘m happy that we made it through 30 years without a major mishap.

Reflection #49 (Only 1027 to go!): The Generational Gap

     I wonder how many of the present generation Ignatians know that there was a 40-year gap in the history of St. Ignatius football. (If you're reading this "reminiscence", you probably know.)  At Christmas, our son gave my wife and me a framed photo of four Saint Ignatius football coaches from 1962 that he bought on EBay. It had originally been printed in the Chicago Daily News. In the photo were head coach Tom Ososkie, Carmen Pintozzi, Don Lucas and me. There was a personal significance to our family (of which some of you are aware) apart from my being in the picture. This picture flooded our memories, and, it now hangs in a prominent place in our home.
     When I mentioned the photo to Russ Hartigan, 64, ("Hon. Russell Hartigan" to you), he requested that I send him a copy, since he had played on the last Ignatius football team before the sport was dropped for 40 years. I also mentioned the photo to Dr. Arturo Menchaca ('71), who reminded me that Carm's untimely passing prompted him to quit the cross country team prior to his senior year and join the newly formed soccer team in the fall of '70.
      Ososkie left St. Ignatius almost immediately after football was dropped, and Lucas left a few years later. Carmen stayed on to continue to teach history and he became an iconic cross country and track coach through the mid- and-late 60's.

     I named this blog "The Generation Gap" because I was musing about all of the different perceptions of St. Ignatius that the students and teachers have had over the last 50 years. I am privileged to be, for want of a better word, a conduit through those many eras. At the same time, the changes at the school have "left me in the dust" a little bit. As I walk through the halls at school, I am greeted by many old friends, but there is a sizeable "subset" of young people who may be students...or may be teachers. From my vantage point, I can't always tell.
     This week I was at school and I met a young lady who admitted to having been born in 1984...and she is an administrator.  I went into "Tully Hall"...what we use to call the "commons"...and was talking to a teacher who, I'm quite sure, is younger than my children. No big deal; for the first 17 years that I taught at St. Ignatius, I was younger than any of my children are now.
     It got me to thinking. Who are the present day icons?   Is it Josh Morrow, the man who was named Educator-of-the-Year last May? What about coaches like Ed Ernst (track, cross country), Mike Cashman (water polo) and/or Erik Eastman (Girls' Volleyball), all of whom have posted wonderful records over several years? What classroom teachers have filled the places of O'Mara, Raispis, Connelly, and so many of the fine...dare I say "great"?...teachers of my time? I ask for the forgiveness of many truly outstanding teachers that I have failed to include in my short list.
     My sense is that there is no lack of today’s teachers who educate and inspire present-day Ignatius students.  One freshman has already disclosed the name of a teacher who inspires her.  When I started this "gig" of writing my reminiscences, I vowed not to do any research...just work from memory...but I have to admit the temptation to try to hunt out the present day "super-stars" is appealing.

      Whoever you are, keep up the great work!

Reflection #48 (Only 1028 to go!): Busy Times

    I know that this is not a "reminiscence" in the standard sense, but it's worth mentioning. It's been a pretty busy time of year, alumni-wise. On Friday, Feb. 15, a fairly large group of alumni from the '60's and '70's met in the alumni hall. It was just an opportunity for some from that period to reacqaint themselves with Ignatius, perhaps for the first time in a long time, and see some of the changes that have taken place. Those who wanted to, were then invited to watch the 2012-13 edition of the St. Ignatius Boys' Basketball Team in action.

    On Friday, February 8, the Saint Ignatius Athletic Hall-of-Fame induction was held in Tully Hall, formerly the "commons".
Listed below are the names of the recipients and the activities for which they were recognized:
Teams:
The Class of 1920 Football team
Deceased Alumni:
Mr. Richard L. Free (Dec'd) '40 (track) (accepted by son, Richard Free, Jr. ’63)
Alumni
Mr. Michael C. Fountain '90 (track)
Mrs. Meghan Gilhooly Burke '96 (track and field)
Mr. Richard Gray ’93 (tennis)
Mr. George W. Groble '53 (football)
Hon. Russell W. Hartigan '64 (student athlete, coach, referee)
Dr. Arturo T. Menchaca '71 (track and cross country)
Mr. Malik T. Murray '92 (basketball)
Ms. RaKina P. Payne '93 (tennis)

    For the last several years, the induction ceremony was held before or at half-time of one of the school's athletic contests. This year, while there was a basketball game in the gym that night, the induction ceremony was held separately from the game. Family and friends were invited for a meal and an opportunity to visit with one another. Then the formal induction ceremony was held. There was no distraction by those students who were not interested in the athletes from "days of yore".
    I had a particular interest in this year's selection. Two of my former Tennis players were inducted. They were Richie Gray and RaKina Payne, both of the class of '93. Besides posting outstanding records in tennis at Ignatius, they continued to participate in tennis after graduation, playing in college and beyond. Richie is now a teaching pro, having coached several top players throughout the USA. Rakina continues to play competitively while working in the family business.
    There is temptation to start to name all of the outstanding tennis players that were on the teams during the 15 years that I coached the girls' and 13 years that I coached the boys' teams, but this is risky. I would NOT want to omit the name of someone as deserving as the names listed. As time goes along, I'm sure that more will join Richie and RaKina.
    By the way, stay alert to the invitation to nominate other alumni or coaches that you feel are deserving for consideration in the St. Ignatius Athletic Hall of Fame.

    Finally, on March 1, the annual Saint Ignatius Law Society's Luncheon will be held at which time the Hon. Thomas Hogan ('72) and Justice Mary Jane Theis will be honored.

Reflection #47 (Only 1029 to go): The more things change...

     In December, my wife and I went to the Saint Ignatius Open House to see/hear our granddaughter performed as a part of Ignatius' wonderful orchestra, so I invited a friend to he bring his family down. I would give them a tour of the school.  He hadn't seen the school since he graduated in 1982, and, as we toured, he was astounded by all of the changes...but so was I.  Of course, I had seen the school everyday for the 22 years after he had graduated, and dozens of times a year since I retired in 2004, but reveiwing all that has been altered with my guests impacted me.
     As we toured, I was thinking about all that has changed since I started teaching there a mere 50 years ago. I remember we referred to what is now the gym building as the "new gym", in contrast to the "4th floor gym" which was where the varsity basketball games had been played.
     The 4th floor gym was an intimate setting. It was noteworthy for it's slippery floor and its virtual lack of out-of-bounds space. At some point, prior to '61, somebody had applied a finish to the floor that caused it to be slippery, and many an opponent slid out of bounds, crashing into a wall, as he tried to cut and drive the baseline. In order to keep from looking like a 4-year-old on his first pair of ice skates, the Ignatius players knew that they had to clean the bottoms of their gym shoes with a wet towel at each break in the action. (That's called "home court advantage"). Oh, yeah! There were "dead" spots on the floor. The Ignatius players also knew where not to dribble. The old gym is now a major part of the student library complex. No slippery floor; no dead spots.
     The “new gym” was finished in 1967...just in time for the finals of the Catholic League Thanksgiving Tournament. Unfortunately, St. Ignatius didn’t play in that first game in our magnificent new facility, a fact that disappointed many. That building has changed quite a bit since it was originally built. At that time, there was a large area above the west stands called the "balcony", used for everything from viewing the games, to holding baseball practice, to presenting small theater productions. That area has now been closed off, and replaced by the food services facility for student lunches. Those of you who were around in the “early days” of the new gym will recall that food was prepared and served by Brother Cardosi’s crew at the north end of the “commons”.
     The lunch room is no longer called the commons; now it’s Tully Hall. It's still the room where the students eat lunch, but in the mid-'90's, the commons area, along with the locker rooms in the basement were rebuilt to allow for the construction of two more gymnasiums above them.
     In addition, at about the same time, the McLaughlin Building, with its beautiful theater, science labs and orchestra rehearsal facilities, was built where previously stood the quonset hut/gym. These changes were made through the generosity of many be benefactors...and the persuasive skills of Father Donald Rowe, S.J.
     A problem that vexed me was, "What was on the east side of the campus/schoolyard before the gym was built?" Everyone that I asked, and who was around in the early 60's, could remember the wall at the north end, but when I asked a few people...Raispis, Luzzi, my wife...they weren't sure what was on the east side of the property. Finally, I caved and did research. There, in the 1963 yearbook, was the wall that ran along the east side. Problem solved.
     The wall was included in a picture of a student hitting a softball, prompting me to think about the many transformations that the yard has undergone since '61. At that time, the yard was just an asphalt covered area, enclosed by the east and north walls. The north-wall ran approximately through what is now the Wolf-Gate, with 11th Street and houses where our athletic field is now. When I coached football in '62, football practice was held at Grant Park, but I recall Pat O'Mara telling me that, when he was a student, football practice was held in the backyard. At that time it was just covered in gravel and cinders. They had to have been a tough and bloodied group.

     As I've advanced in age and "wisdom", the temptation is to ramble endlessly about the way things use to be. It's one of the few joys left to us old-timers. I see TV ads in which a 13-year-old chides some younger kids about how easy they have it...and I smile. That's my life.

Reflection #46 (Only 1031 to go!): Varia

     When a neighbor of mine was good-naturedly chiding me for having so many lights adorning the front of our house during the holidays, I was hoping to find a copy of Father Mark Link's The Merriest Christmas Book. This book is a wonderful source of stories and reflections on Christmas. (For the record, our house does not have the kind of display that prompts folks to drive by and point. It's just some LED lights on a couple of wreaths hanging on the front door and garage and on bushes. Maybe a little more, but not much.) The article that I wanted to show my neighbor explains the reason for the Christmas tree, the globe-shaped ornaments and the lights. The tree represents the tree with the serpent in the Garden of Eden, and the round ornaments represent the apples that lead to original sin. The lights represent the Light-of-Christ who lifts the yoke of that sin. The more the better. So there, my funny friend.
     While I was visiting Frank Raispis a couple of weeks ago (early December), Fr. George Lane, SJ, showed up. In the past he had been the head of Loyola Press, so I asked him if he knew how I could get a copy of Fr. Link's Christmas book.    He didn't, but as we talked about Fr. Mark Link, who is residing at Columbiere, a retirement community for Jesuits of the Chicago Province, he informed me that Fr. Link writes a blog. I was unable to find Father's blog, but when I "googled" Fr. Link, I found a huge number of entries referencing him. Among other things, it said that more than 10 million of his books have been sold.

     Speaking of Frank Raispis, Mike Berkery, class of '63, told me that Frank has received over 100 Christmas cards due to the WolvesDen item that Ryan Burgin had posted just before Christmas. That's great! Frank really appreciates being remembered.  Mike said that he was quite moved by many of your comments. Keep in mind that cards and letters are welcome any time of year.

     For Christmas, my wife and I received a Christmas CD performed by the St. Ignatius Chamber Orchestra and the Bella Voce Choir. It was wonderful. I don’t have a trained ear for orchestral music, but I thought that it was very well done...well worth a listen.

     In case you’re not aware, the Wolfpack basketball team has been doing very well so far this year. As of today (12/31/12), they are 10 and 4. A little earlier, they were ranked in the top 20 in both the Sun-Times and Trib. They’ve slipped in the rankings a little since the Christmas tournament.

     Finally, this year was filled with great highs and lows for me, my family and my friends. Over the months I've listed both. To kick off the new year, I'll leave you with a favorite quote:
     Courage is not always a clanging gong. Sometimes courage is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow."
     Have a very Happy New Year.