St Francis Preparatory School - San Fran Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

Page 21 text:

-we-G n,,..4ww-'ada' .MT 5 . --Q . uw, H A ,g1z1 :ff, ' A fa N! -l,wix, . ,iv 'A T 1, A wi 2, ,, 14 A T- Q, Wig-Q E fr E Mg? g, MW 7+ Mx! -, Q F if A? . . F' ' if . eff, ' ff A? Wx it ir 5? eg? 1 N k ' 1, . Q 1 ' K, ' if fe ,Vi. - R 1:V, , H 3 1 ? V-,mfry mga? -sf K' , W nf' A. 1 . , . ...:. ,, ., , . , A . ,my 'W-.wx.:fa-in C . ,,-me M A

Page 20 text:

The true worth of an institution of learning cannot be equated in terms of its plant, buildings or facilities. Yet it is more than poetic symbolism that makes ivy-covered walls, hallowed halls and arbor-covered fountains stir the minds of alumni when they are mentioned. For these struc- tures have stood as monuments in time to the living truths which echo about their surfaces. Steeped in tradition, they serve to satisfy the appetite for nostalgia, they provide the wine for the imagination and they carry on for those who have left them as a reminder of the happy hours of their youth. But, were these walls and halls and arbors simply to provide the backdrop for the school song or the setting for the yearbook pages, they would have lost their value after the first repetition of their names. They do more than this -they represent building for education. The truth that sets man free, the delineation of the beau- tiful, the mastery of science, the satisfaction of man's ap- petite for peace, culture andhappiness, the intimacy of real friends, the growth of mind and body, the closeness to spirituality-these, housed in the masonry of the school- these intangibles that are not present on one's return visit- these are what the poet speaks of and the alumnus sings of when he raises his voice to Alma Mater, These are what have made indelible the Stamp ofa St. Francis man. Housed in tumbling shacks, nissen l?l huts--buildings, old or new, antiquated, renovated, permanent or temporary-the school of ideas, the warmth of friendship, the inspiration and aspir- ation of school life will exist and thrive and multiply in spite of or in harmony with the building in which they germinate. St. Francis Preparatory School has moved into new and larger quarters with more and better facilities. But the St. Francis graduate is still the Francisan regardless of hi5'Butler Street or North Sixth Street vintage. i The main corridor, cafeteria, locker rooms, gym and offices will be remembered for the part they played in the education of the Franciscan graduate. Important, yes, but perhaps in the same sense that the rnulbefry is important to the cherry tree or the shade tree to the coffee tree-not to the life and not to the fruit but as safeguards, handrails, facilities that have functional values only. St. Francis Prep- aratory School has never placed a disproportionate amount of emphasis in its plant as the school realized its goal in educating Catholic gentlemen in the tradition of those first two Franciscan Brothers who came to the Diocese of Brook- lyn in l858. The hallowed halls are all those halls that heard the lecture of the teacher, the recitation of the stu- dent, the cheering stands at a sports event, the laughter, the problems, the confidences, the ambitions, the seriousness and the levity of the Francisan-and those halls wherever they are are richer for all that. ,. --f.. ,, .. rs--W qw w,.-:,.-mi v.i,a,.,-1:27,-e F

Page 22 text:

We will now open the doors of the new Prep building to show you a cross section of the many scenes so familiar to every Prepster. Dr. John Mollica, school physician and his Son, John, Prop graduate, hold a man lo man discussion on thc merits of last ycar's book. Rev, Brother James, O.S.F. 'fakes time out to chat with a group of seniors belwccn classes,