St Sebastians School - Arrow Yearbook (Newton, MA)

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BROTHERLY LOVE Seven sets of St. Sebastian brothers Left to Right: The Malden McAu1iffesg the Elstonsg the Collupys the Griffinsg the Keelansg the Fitzgeraldsg the McKir1neys.

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CLASS HISTORY T. SEBASTIAN'S was inaugurating its third successful year when we were incorporated into its student body in September 1943. Al- most forty strong we constituted the largest group in the School and the size of our class called for a division of our personnel into two sections, designated as Freshman A and B . To begin the scholastic year under divine auspices, the first assembly of the students was in the Chapel to assist at the Mass of the Holy Ghost, celebrated by the Headmaster. At its conclusion, Fr. Mclnnis spoke to us from the sanctuary, exhorting us to the proper proportion of prayer and work in the year ahead. When we filed out of the Chapel, we were assigned our respec- tive classrooms which, upon cursory examination, seemed lightsome and almost cheerful. The Priests who were to guide us along the paths of scholarship next made their appearance and their preliminary addresses to us were re-assuring and en- couraging. They identilied themselves and their subjects to us in succession and before the day was over we had rather definite ideas of what the immediate future held in store for us. Father Collins, soft-spoken and genial, was to introduce us to the mysteries of Latin, while the tall, jovial Fr. Hannigan was to lead us through the intricacies of mathematics. History, it seemed, was the province of the red- headed, humorous Fr. Keating who was destined to become the idol of our Fresh- man days. In French we made the acquaintance of the benign and mild-mannered Fr. Stocklosa while the vagaries of our native English were to be pursued under the direction of Fr. Flanigan. To round out our course, we were privileged to have the doctrines and practices of the Church unfolded for us in most eloquent and interesting fashion by the Headmaster. After this introduction to the Faculty, we began to appraise the companions that fortune had thrown across our path. Hesitant smiles were exchanged tenta- tively at first, but it took only a recess, a dinner hour and a session on the Football field to put us on terms of easy familiarity with those about us. There was one good point to recitations, at any rate, for they enabled us to associate faces and names and in practically no time at all we were hailing classmates by name. Even the Freshmen of the other section, separated from us by a door, soon came to be recognized and greeted, and in short order the threshold was being freely crossed at every available moment. The A room was tenanted by such stalwarts as Bob Bullock, Freddie Buttner, the Crowley brothers, Frank Fandel, Bob Fichtner, Dick Griffin, Vin Horrigan, john Kehoe, Jack Kirk, Dave May, Dick McCarron, Charlie McDonald, Phil Monahon, Paul Morris, Bob O'Shea, Ed Quirk, jack Seth and Keith Staples. In the B section were numbered warriors like Herb Baker, Richard Cronin, Bill Delaney, Doc Doherty, Ted Fandel, john Gallagher, jake

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Kendrick, Bob McGarty, the McKinney brothers, Bill O'Leary, George Shannon, jack Slattery and Joe Sullivan. While the physical partition remained all year long between the two groups, it was morally broken down as the two sections in- tegrated themselves into one Freshman class. It did not take us long to discover that the classroom building was only a poor third in the School popularity poll, for it very definitely lacked the attraction of either the dining hall or the cage. As regards the former, we were quite over- whelmed by our first introduction to it. When the fourth class of the day had ended, we were shepherded to the refectory and assigned places at the long tables over which a member of the Faculty presided. After grace was said by the Head- master, white-coated students emerged from the kitchen, bearing heavily-laden trays on which steaming serving dishes reposed, and delivered them to the opposite ends of each table. We watched with calculating interest as the platters and dishes were passed from hand to hand and we restrained ourselves to moderate helpings of the appetizing viands. Attacking the full dinner with enthusiasm we cleaned our plates and then were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves con- fronted with second and third helpings that were not only permitted but en- couraged. Milk also seemed to be boundless in quantity and following the ex- ample of our upper-class neighbors, we were not too abashed to refill our glasses frequently. Thus our acquaintance with the School's most popular building be- gan and we needed no urging thereafter to report promptly at the dinner bell. The end of the class day permitted a more thorough examination of the gymnasium than the recess period of the morning had allowed, and we availed ourselves of the opportunity to search into every nook and cranny. Football prac- tice was scheduled for that afternoon and it made us feel part of St. Sebastian's to be able to rub elbows with the athletes in the locker rooms as they prepared for the day's workout. Presiding over the situation in general was a forceful, yet genial man who, we were told, was Mr. Murphy, the new coach. Spurring on the dressing preparation of his candidates, he still had time to greet newcomers like ourselves kindly and warm-heartedly. Scrambling up the stairs to the second floor, we were left quite breathless when the doors of the cage unfolded its wide expanse before us. The floor proved to be resilient peat which adapted itself to a variety of usages in accordance with the athletic seasons. Basketball backboards were suspended in permanent position at the extremities of the court and we noted a balcony which looked down into Squash and Handball courts that opened off the cage floor. The ball marked walls were a silent indication that these games might hold an attraction for us as they had for others. All in all, our gym was quite a place, we agreed, for we already felt a proprietary attitude in its regard. In not too long a time we found that the School had a definite routine from which it seldom varied and we settled down to the process of being educated. The new languages, Latin and French, did not come any too easily as replacements of Grammar School subjects and we realized the need of the three hours study each night that was being insisted upon. The civilizations of the distant past were interesting and sometimes amusing, but at other times it was difficult to fathom the logic in their actions. What we did not know about our own English lan- guage was rather astonishing and we became quite convinced that knowledge maketh a bloody entrance. However, these advanced studies could not help but give us a more mature and important feeling which, while it would not be toler-