St Fidelis Seminary - Skullcap Yearbook (Herman, PA)

Page 29 text:

My Play Toy IOHN VENDEMIA, '41 I lay my play toy at His feet, Wrapped- Then begged Him please to open it, And set its beat again. Th'dP hEhC up in grief and pain. .Qferarqy

Page 28 text:

Lgheqidelian 3 I FIRST ACADEMIC Left to right: Back row: Dominic llezzuoli, Eugene Sabina. Robert Moineau, Frank Pavalko, Patrick Sfara. 3rd row: joseph Nlangieri, Gerard VVuenchel, Robert Hellman, john Iannuzi, Richard Averman, Andrew Mraz. Henry Nlchlanus, Anthony Ripko, Joseph Fahey. Znd row: George Billings. Samuel Frasina. William Mosner, Hubert Malloy, VVilliam McVeagh, Roy Baier. Richard Sherman, Karl Koch, George Hestor. Front row: William Voshing, james O'Connell, Francis Walsh, Raymond Engel, Gordon Patrizio, john Anderson, Eugene Dougherty. FIRST ACADEMIC JOHN ANDERSON On September 2, 1941, a group of thirty-eight bewildered Minims entered St. Fidelis to begin their studies for the priesthood. The following day was a lonesome one for these boys. But classes began, and after the beginners had met their professors and fellow-classmates, the awful feeling of homesickness left them. By the time classes were in full sway, we Minims soon found that we were no longer in grade school. The subjects here in the seminary, we learned. such as latin and algebra, differ greatly from the arithmetic and geography of the past years. We soon began to appreciate the sports of the out-doors, and there we spent all our free time during the first few months of the school year. As we glance back over our first period of schooling at the seminary, we realize that we have many things for which to be thankful. We are all very grateful to God for our vocations. and also for the good professors who enable us to continue forward toward the priesthood.

Page 30 text:

Lglie giiclelianj LIFE ON OTHER WORLDS BY STEPHEN KATO Have you ever considered the all-absorbing question Is there life-on other worlds? This problem has conjured up myriad thoughts and imaginative stories in the minds of men from time immemorial. Are we correct in thinking that our Earth, a mere spec when compared to the vast universe, is the only'spot where life exists? The sun and the other stars can, of course, be ruled out from the start, for, as we all know, they are mighty furnaces of intense and incessant fire. But what can be said concerning life on the moon or the planets? One of the greatest factors excluding any possibilities of life on our satellite is the total absence of atmosphere. The moon is not large enough to exert the necessary gravitational pull for retaining its oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen molecules that make up our own atmosphere. These vital gaseous elements were dissipated into space millions of years ago. With our large telescopes of today we can observe large mountain ranges, great craters and extensive plains on the moon, but no signs of life have thus far been noticed. Astronomers unanimously agree that our moon is a lifeless orb. The planet Jupiter, on the other hand, presents an opposite picture. The largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter, commands too great a gravitational pull and therefore retains too much atmosphere including harmful gases. Spectroscopic analysis shows that Jupiter is devoid of all oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapor-indis- pensables for life, on the other hand its air contains much ammonia and marsh gas, better known as the poisonous firedamp. The other large planets, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune can be briefly disposed of. Being much further away from the sun and also containing ammonia and marsh gas in their atmosphere, these planets are no better than frozen waters, incapable of sustaining any form of life. Returning to the nearer planets we find Mercury too small to hold an atmosphere with its slight gravitational pull. Moreover, its design of rotation is such that it keeps the same face toward the sun perpetually. This sunward side of the planet is intensely hot. The other side has everlasting night and continuous winter. We can conclude that Mercury at best is a barren, level plain, without any significant features whatsoever. Venus, the brightest object in the heavens, is approximately the same size as our own planet. Venus has a long day, it takes some thirty of ours to make one on Venus. The temperature varies from 80'F. on the sunlit face to 40' below zero on the dark face. Despite this phenomenon, the temperature is not such as to rule out all possibilities of life. A great scarcity of oxygen, combined with an abundance of carbon dioxide, paints the picture even more dismal. In general, however, it may bw and this is purely hypothetical--that Venus is in the same state now as our Earth might have been millions and millions of years ago, in the primitive stage of life. Our last planet, Mars, a beautiful orange-colored object in the heavens, shows more sign of life than any of the other celestial realms. First of all, there appears on Mars seasonal markings that suggest polar caps, which become larger in winter and smaller in summer, a faint greenish hue taking the place of the disappearing white. In the atmosphere of this planet, little if any oxygen and carbon dioxide is present. Moreover, even around the equatorial regions, the temperature rises to only S0 F., and with the setting of the sun falls to 130' below zero. This would necessarily mean