Mount St Michael Academy - Mountaineer Yearbook (Bronx, NY)

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sands of spectators. Finally they were discontinued during the war years and never resumed. After a year and a half of existence the young school began to experience severe growing pains. One reporter of the late twenties informs us, It was amid loud expressions of rejoicing that we heard the news that a new building had been decided upon to be ready for the opening of school in September. Our basketball lovers will at least be sure of a spa- cious and commodious hall for their settings. How easily satisfied were the basketball lovers of that generation! In addition to the dormitory building, two addi- tional fioors were to rise on the power-house, and plans for the dream gym were pushed forward. Then came the depression and an abondonment of our castles in Spain, we settled for the dorm . Regis- tration dropped to an alarming low during the en- suing yearsg the number of boarders once reached 65. Another decade would pass before anyone could seriously consider a new building program. The depression had its brighter aspect. One hun- dred WPA workers were kept busy for several months covering the rubbish heap in the Mt. Vernon corner, filling in the gulley lower down, and construc- ting the wall along Mundy Lane. The cinder track, the longest in the city, was laid, the football field leveled, and handball courts erected. While the con- struction fever was as its height, Murdock Avenue donned a respectable pavement. Q, Mad li Q ,gh- .am -fr N but September, 1929, was an eventful month for New York City, even though jimmy Walker's town did not realize it at the time. In that month, football was introduced at Mount St. Michael! Should we risk an accusation of arrogance by noting that this has been the most lasting ill effect of the depression for many New York High Schools? Our Rockne was Milton Pop jahodag he set an example for future mentors by winning four out of six games in his first season. In 1935, Mr. james jordan of Law- rence, Mass., took over the duties of athletic director. The following season saw the Mount soar to a dizzy pinnacle in the football world. Highlighting a per- fect season was the defeat of Iona, breaking the lat- ter's undefeated skein at twenty-six games. Fordham Prep and All Hallows were already becoming our traditional rivals. Baseball would not be denied its place in the sun that year. No less an arena than the Polo Grounds was chosen for our play-off with St. johns of Brook- lyn for the city title. It seemed as if the Mount would cop a double crown when we led 9-2 in the fifth inning. However, baseball crowns do not seem to fit us comfortably and we began our habit of passing them on to others. About this time an unknown young Maryknoll priest came to the Mount during vocation week. He impressed everyone with his evident sincerity as he spoke of the lay apostolate. He is far better known today as founder of the Christopher movementg his name is Father james Keller. 5 - A I 9 2 6 Vxa M . , alt-i3...J.4..I is .T ,.,.........4,......' ' av I 'M' f f 'W't Q.. M V .-I

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'f', ' ' . X gg?ggL,,,Z,,,,,,H,,.,, ,,,, F., ,. ., , VHA, ,7,.,, ag ,, . . , ' 1 2 I 5 I Bro Florentius was in charge of the ioneer fac . p - ulty of fourteen Marist Brothers. With Bro. Leo, Provincial, he deserves our gratitude and esteem for guiding the school through the green . . . and the lean . . . years. Father Tapin took up the duties of chaplain which he was to perform so faithfully for twenty-five years, whence he would go to celebrate our jubilee in heaven. One of the founding Broth- ers has risen in stature with the school, until now he guides the destiny of the Mount as Director. The infant showed hearty vitality from the first, the registration scales reading a healthy 62 pupils. The child is father to the man, and some early cus- toms have remained with us. The first raffle for the benefit of the basketball team was begun on Novem- ber 16, 1926. The term Mount weather was coined when the rain chased the first graduation exercises in- doors to the chapel. St. Michael was paid due homage by a solemn dedication ceremony, during which his statue was unveiled. Mrs. Charles Augustine Robinson, world- famed National Flag Lady, presented us with an American flag. A tablet in the parlor commemorates this outstanding day in our history. The Regents tests that harassed the hrst students dealt with Civics, Silent Reading, and Spelling. Baseball was the first organized sport. An early Mount journalist reports, the large open area in front of the power-house affords us space for warming up the old wing, sometimes, alas, to the detriment of a few glasses in the windows of the laundry and to the great chagrin of the laundryman, to say nothing of the Reverend Treasurer. Our smile broadens when we read about a magnificent stadium which would occupy the hollow along Mundy Lane . Those were the days when winter sports did not mean football of basketball. Our scribe goes on to say, Many a happy hour was spent coasting down the slopes in the rear of the power-house. Then the brook was dam- med and the heightening waters provided us with a beautiful skating rink. Rousseau would have approved of one of the early extra-curricular activities, the cultivation of a large garden to the south of the building by the boarders. The Mount was a country school with a vengeance! The most glamorous activity of the year was the annual gym exhibition in which the whole student body participated. The 1928 exhibition set a pre- cedent by being rained out. These spectacles grew more impressive with the years and attracted thou-

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Talented Dr. Carl Hauser had already taken up his stay among us as music instructor. He was to re- main with us in that capacity until his death in 1950. One custom which became firmly entrenched during these formative years was the Annual Mount Invitation Games. As many as 850 grammar school athletes of the surrounding vicinity have gathered for the field and track events. The meet early gained the prominence it was to hold for many years. In 1936 we almost moved into Mount Vernon! A change in the boundary line was proposed and put up to the people in a referendum. The Bronx dwel- lers were practically unanimous in their desire to con- tinue to be Bronx dwellers. Mayor LaGuardia sent the police band to parade along Murdock to show his appreciation. We are still bounded by the side- walks of New York! An all-around athlete during the '35-'36 season was a certain johnny Murphyg of whom we shall see more later. The year 1956 was a milestone, the tenth birth- day of a healthy young school. Major obstacles had been overcome during the first decade, and the able pilots who steered the school through the rough water deserve our whole-hearted gratitude. We pause now to thank sincerely Bro. Florentius, Bro. Leo, and Bro. Francis Xavier. Brother Florentius has already gone to his rewardg we trust that he continues to use his influence on behalf of the school he founded. Brother Leo, Provincial and later Director during the worst of the depression, deserves a special thanks. Brother Francis Xavier raised the struggling school to a level with any of its kind in this section. The Second Decade The beginning of the second decade found us on the upswing, bursting with vitality. Registration was at an all-time high of five hundred and twenty. The Mount students took a fierce pride in their young Alma Mater, and school spirit burned with a bright intensity. The tenth anniversary annual affords us an idea of the sentiments of one boy: We rooted as loudly for our losing team of '34 as we did for our championship aggregation of '33 We have always prided ourselves on our school spirit. In june, 1936, Brother Francis had announced that he had secured the services of a Notre Dame alumnus and a citizen of Pelham to take charge of the football teams. The effect was typically electric. An inexperienced squad was whipped into shape and proceeded to trounce its tormentors of the previ- ous season. Benjamin Franklin, Pelham, Eastchester, Iona and Turkey Day rivals, All Hallows, learned to respect Howie Smiths teams in that Fall of 1936. There was a building program in the First year of the new era, but how modest compared to our gran- diose dreams of '29! The cottage was constructed and the rocky southwest corner smoothed and hlled. The handsome statue of Our Lady lent dignity and grace to the quadrangle. l?57 '