The Helrichs

Just read Emmet Helrich’s memories of the 60’s. Mine were from 64-67 and include the Helrich boys. Good guys. Good athletes.

Father Hudson Pearls of Wisdom

Who can forget Father Hudson telling us that if you sat on the stone wall two things would happen: the wall would erode over time and you’d get piles if you sat on it in a month that ended in an ‘r’. Ok, so I only spent 3 years at Bellefontaine, but those Father Hudson pearls of wisdom stuck 🙂

a collage

We were the first class in 61. I remember the library with its high ceiling and enormous windows and the ‘secret’ spiral staircase to the floor above. I remember our school trips to a local resort. It had a lake, a sauna and a civil war museum. I remember washing and waxing the floor of the original chapel. I remember our class being housed in the carriage house because of over crowding in 62 or 63. Fr Bruder was our prefect.

I remember the first ice rink right outside the building and receiving a trophy at the first sports banquet.

I remember a group of students and staff excited about being pioneers and part of a new beginning.

Keys to the Promised Land

For my Senior year position, I was selected as the Proprietor/Manager of the Promised Land. Perhaps if the Priests and Brothers could have seen the results of my management skills for that year in advance, they might have chosen someone else.

Ah, the Promised Land, home of the grape Nehis, Stewart sandwiches and all things – candy. Stewart sandwiches, those culinary wonders in sealed cellophane wrappers. Only four minutes from a freezer hockey puck state to a dried out, tasteless undersized sandwich that it was, thanks to that stainless steel box oven with the rotary timer. Still my customers could not get enough of them.

I doubt if the Promised Land broke even that year, much less made a profit. Perhaps because I, like other teenagers, often gave into peer pressure or perhaps I had yet not learned how to say no, I found myself making some less than “profitable” decisions. One of my first poor decisions was allowing some guys to “run a tab”. More than one guy promised to gladly pay me tomorrow for a Stewart sandwich today. Looking back perhaps another unwise decision was to loan out the keys to the Promised Land to my fellow Senior classmates for some “after hours” snacking. I always received a guarantee that monies would be left for anything eaten, but it often seemed that there was less food but not more money in the snack bar when I opened it up the next day.

The real reason for this story concerns the time that I lost the keys to the Promised Land. As per the posted sign, it was time to open the snack bar. I looked and searched but could not locate the keys. Classmates were in the gym working up a thirst for those cold RC colas and root beer sodas in the cooler. Patrons were gathering around the door to the Promised Land, but still I could not find those keys. Hours went by, hours turned into a day, one day turned into two. Peer pressure began to grow. It started out with little comments and grumblings and nearly turned into a tar and feathering. I was the most despised guy at the school. My classmates needed a candy fix and I could not do anything for them. It got so bad that I hurried from place to place with my head down in the hopes of not being noticed or confronted. In fear, I avoided informing the Priests and Brothers of the situation in hopes that it would get resolved before they even found out. The pressure got so bad that I had to do the unthinkable. I would have to ask the Priests and Brothers to issue me another key. So I marched into the office of the “Dean of Men” to confess my sin and request a key. I assured him that I had conducted a thorough search of the entire school and grounds, having done everything humanly possible. But in an unexpected turn of events, Fr. Krah refused to give me another key and told me I had to find the one I was given. It was a death sentence. He was sending me back out to face the general population who had been without snacks for several days now. I decided to retire to my room in the old wing to hide out and avoid all my classmates. Since I was stuck in my room with lots of time on my hands, I decided to do something unthinkable – catch up on my studies! I reached up into my book shelve to pull down a book I had not studied in awhile, lo and behold, the keys to the Promised Land had been closed up in the book. Jubilation, the snack bar was once again open, having truly lived up to it name.

A footnote to this story, can be seen in the 1973 Spring Edition of the “Bellefontaine”, the school’s newspaper. There was a “Last Will and Testament” section that witty editors created for each outgoing Senior classmen. Someone wrote the following for me: “Jack Cominoli leaves the keys to the Promised Land to Dave Holadak — if he can find them.”

Jim K's flip'n puck and more hockey stories

now is there anyone out there that played hockey with Jim that doesnt remember how he flipped the puck from the blue line? i have to ask jim, was that because you didnt like slapshots??? or who remembers matts infamous slipping puck between that legs, i wont write much about that here, but i would email anyone that asks….(sorry matt, too funny)… or who remembers quarts of beer in the senior lavs after hockey games. i think i need to thank marty torrey for that….smilin. or george boisse in goal, dominating…. or little tommy (?)o’neill flying thru the crowds with the puck…. i liked protecting him.maybe i wanted to be like Paul Kiley. kickass…lol …. or that one guy from Claverack that was soo good, we were all out to get him. (didnt he become pro??) ….. and i remember mike perry givin me hell for not gettin him the puck… sorry mike….and who could forget Chris Diaz making the team….way to go Chris….how about Icy Hot Linament in the old jockstrap trick (i think that worked for all sports- seems to me i remember kevin horan getting that in soccer too)……and of course, Fr. Krahs’ famous speech ( God rest his soul) about “they put their pants on the same way we do, one leg at a time.” no one ever told poor Leo that that didnt matter, they can play hockey better than we do…..smilin ( i think he used that speech for all the sports didnt he ???)

Slip and Bazoony's telethon for pregnant watermelons

Does anyone remember this talent show skit from 1971-1972?

As I recall it was Ray Palermo and Bob Borstelman who “hosted” this hysterical “show”. I don’t remember any of the skits but I remember laughing ’til I cried!

Physics class

It was senior year in 1975, physics class. I had finally mastered the “Fred Ramsey” approach to sleeping in class with my elbows propped on the desk and my hands resting on my forehead. I appeared to be intently studying our physics lesson.

I had enjoyed a nice sleep during BJT’s class, but upon waking I realized not only was class not over but, in my resting position I noticed BJT’s hands on my desk, lecturing the rest of the class over the back of my head. I of course had to stay in that position until he moved on several minutes later.

I was never so close to those recycled underwear bands on his sleeves again!

He was a terrific SCJ, may God rest his soul. All you had to do to get him off point was ask how a plane could fly or how an oscilloscope worked!

Thanks For the Memories

Flooding the “L”

Lisa Forino…”The Mafia is not about organized crime. It stands for the ‘Mothers And Fathers Italian Association.” (1971)

Bob Boyer..”I really could be teaching at a real school, but you guys are too much fun.”

Prism

‘Seventy Swinging Years of Sound’

The “Up with People” group

The smoking lounge

The chartered bus rides to Port Authority

“Bill H. and Bob P.’s Excellent Adventure”

The poetry and satirical genius of Chris Cantelina

The flower children of Windsor Mountain school

The support I received from everyone in the school when my sister died.

Craig McKee’s big bowtie political statement at his graduation

Fr. MacDonald..”My little sister can shoot a basketball and rebound better than you!”

All of the great friends and times that I had there in two, all too short years

blinding flash in dorm

i can remember one night in sophomore dorm, about 20 minutes after everyone went to bed, someone made a noise so that everyone would look. Suddenly there was a bright flash and it blinded everyone in the dorm. Here, Tom DeIulio had a flash bulb in his camera and set it off in the pitch black of the dorm. If we could have “seen” him after that, we would have killed him…..lol

who remembers that one…

Loose Puck

One time during junior year we started one of our many impromptu mini-hockey games in the dorms, even though we were told on multiple occasions not to use hockey sticks in the building. During the course of our “in dorm” scrimmage, the street hockey puck slid across the dorm floor, out the door onto the stairwell landing, continuing on right underneath the door belonging to Fr. Krah’s room. Although we reasonably confident enough that he was not in his room that we could get away with playing a little hockey, we were of course distraught that evidence of our unauthorized game was now sitting behind the locked door of the “Dean of Men”. Our dismay quickly turned to horror, as the quietness of the moment was interrupted by the distinct sound of an unlocking mechanism coming from the door of Fr. Krah’s room. Instantly, we all scattered, hurriedly stowing sticks and other hockey paraphernalia and everyone trying to find a way to look natural and nonchalant in a dorm setting. But of course, Fr. Krah walked in to our junior dorm with the street hockey puck in his hand. He took it surprising well as did we in completing some “extra” chores around the school.