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.
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.
