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St. George's College
Old Boys Association
Good & True
ISSUE #28 .
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St. G.C's song
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Visit to Campion Jesuit Center October 22-24, 1999.
An "As I See It....A Personal Recollection"
Marsden Chen
What Words can adequately describe God's gifts? They
are so numerous that they defy enumeration. They are so great that any one of
these demands our total gratitude in response.
St. Basil the Great (329-379)
Words can not adequately describe the essence of one of God's gifts to a
group of Jesuits and St. George's College (St. G.C.) Old Boys on a recent autumn
weekend. The gift was the reunion between teachers, mentors, priests and their
former students above all it was the opportunity to reaffirm that special St.
G.C. bond between friends, after many years of separation. I will try to
describe some of the experiences related to that gift and trace some reasons on
which they are based.
On October 22,1999 a group of St.G.C. Old Boys with much anticipation and great
excitement travelled from Toronto, Mississauga
(Ontario, Canada), Calgary, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago,
Albany and Geneseo (New York State) to Campion Jesuit Center Weston,
Massachusetts to visit their past teachers and old friends. The
Old Boys (GB's) visited and embraced these men, the New England
Province Jesuits, who were stationed at St. George's College, Kingston,
and were their main teachers and spiritual guides during the critical years
of their youth. Those men are to be found in a Brissette, Gilmartin, Higgins,
Hosie, McCluskey, Nolan, O'Toole, Quinlan, Raftery, Sarjeant, Sullivan and
Winchester.
'People's love for one another is made up largely of the emotional
component, but this love can only be made complete through their physically
touching of each other' said Bishop Fulton J. Sheen on a television broadcast in
1964. The outpourings of love and respect for the
Jesuit priests and the OB's at Campion Center on that October weekend
strongly affirmed Bishop Sheen's teaching. For instance, with much
laughter and happiness, Fr. John J. Sullivan, former rector of Winchester
Park, and this writer not only shook hands but embraced each other with many
statements of our good fortune at meeting again after 45 years.
These greetings were reenacted again and again by other Jesuits and OB's at the
Campion Center. Many of us, on visits to the infirmary, reached out to hold Fr.
Raymond McCluskey in greeting him with much emotions and unabashed tears; we
physically reached out to Fr. Eugene
Brissette, who readily responded and invoked God's blessings on all of us; many
of us approached Fr. Leo Quinlan and held his arm or rested a hand on his
shoulder; many tried to get a private moment with Fr. James
Hosie but had to compete with the OB's who were gathered around him like a Roman
phalanx; many OB's renewed old friendships or established
new ones with Fr. Lawrence O'Toole; we shook hands with Fr. William
Raftery and reflected the delight of his always engaging and infectious
smile; and we met with Fr. George Nolan, who is described as a square
shooter and very likeable by some of his former students (one recently
elevated to an Archbishopric in Nassau).
Mass in the Chapel at Campion
Jesuit Center, Weston, Mass. Oct. 23 1999
An onlooker might have wondered at this mutual love and
respect,even more, the Spirit that exists between former teachers and students,
priests and OB's, and that have lived and endured for generations. How did these
emotions come about and what might be the basis of their persistence? What might
be the cause for the infusion of that Spirit? Is it possible to describe some
basis or bedrock on which this Spirit has stood strong and unblemished for so
many years? A partial answer can be found in the interactions between Jesuits
and students during their days at St.G.C. As I describe some of these
relationships below, I fondly hope that their essence are representative of the
many others that were formed at St.G.C. over a wide span of time.
Upon entering St. George's as a first former in 1950, this writer saw men
dressed in strange white cassocks, who growled and spoke in strange accents and
who, through their very presence, held power over all ... or so it seemed From
the perspective of a 'little boy', as opposed to 'big boys' in the upper forms,
once we were dismissed from the class-room, these men were to be avoided as much
as possible. The apprehension was common throughout first form! Then there was
their practice of punishing unruly boys with the writing of hundreds of lines,
the most infamous of which was 'Persistent perversity provokes patient
pedagogues producing particular painful punishment.' And to underscore the might
of these giant men, there was that incident in 1950 when Fr. John P. Dorsey
punished thirty five of us in Form 1B by having us sit ramrod straight with both
hands on our knees, only because with no proctor for a study period, we had
disrupted the entire first floor of the upper building with loud laughter and
screams at some funny incident. Our physical discomfort after an hour did not
compare with our fear of his icy anger. Or the appearance of Fr. Andy Ochs, the
dreaded disciplinarian from O'Hare, on his walk of 'destiny' to our upper
building. The deafening silence in the entire building informed us that someone
had received a few demerits that morning. We all knew of the thick leather strap
concealed under his white cassock, and that three 'licks' would be meted out on
each palm. The silence would be broken by the 'whacks' and the weeping of a boy,
who was determined not to cry in front of his classmates, but whose sudden
intimacy with the strap deprived him of his stiff upper lip.
As captive audiences we were all subjected to other 'injustices', as the
unheard of grind to learn Latin, English, Arithmetic, Algebra, History,
Geography and Religion from the great Baltimore Catechism in the same term, and
the insurmountable volumes of homework assigned at the end of each class. Some
of us thought this was clearly madness, which was formulated in the Rectory for
the purpose of torturing us. We all tried to keep up with the pace set by the
Jesuits, not because we saw the whole situation as a challenge, but because we
discovered that they did not look kindly on incomplete assignments. We came to
this knowledge quickly when we understood Mr. Leo McGovern's favourite
utterance, 'verbum sapienti sat ! (A word to the wise is sufficient !). We did
not expect nor agreed to this treatment when we applied for entry into St.G.C.
However as resourceful and resilient beings, we endured and survived everything
that the Jesuits threw at us.
But there was that Jesuit smile with a 'Hello, how are you doing?' and
that arm thrown around your shoulder or the look the other way when one of us
should have been dragged on the carpet for breaking a rule. At the end of each
school day, the Scholastics would issue sports equipment and would set up
football or cricket matches. Great Guns ! Things were not that bad. And on top
of that the Jesuits gave us a fantastic holiday each year by holding "three-day"
retreats instead of classes. We also observed these men at close quarters in the
classroom and quite frequently they revealed chinks in their cassocks, because
they did crack jokes and laughed like normal human beings, they exhorted us to
study hard, they imparted knowledge, and with great effort ensured that we were
absorbing as much as possible. As we graduated to the higher forms, the Jesuits
exhorted us to be good students and they expected us to get far ahead, even as
they pushed us to reach their high standards of education and Jesuit tenets.
What was the primary focus of these Jesuits? Was it to ensure that we got
a good education and walk the straight path or was it something else? We
eventually found the answers to those questions somewhere between the first and
third forms. But how did the St.G.C. student come to the realization that the
Jesuits of Winchester Park actually cared for us? And how did mutual love,
respect and the St.G.C. Spirit develop so strongly that half a century later a
number of St.G.C. OB's felt compelled to make the recent October visit? The
answers to those questions can be found in our experiences while at St.
George's, from our everyday interactions with the Jesuits, from the examples set
by those good men, From their attitudes in their personal contacts with us.
Allow me a few recollections:
Fr. Charles MacMullan, with those piercing eyes, struck fear in us
but events confirmed that his stare was worse than his bite. It was 46 years ago
at 5:00 p.m. on an October afternoon with heavy downpours, when football was
king, and some of us played in our school uniforms. Soaking wet we were about to
retrieve books on our way home, when Fr Mac, with that classic MacMullan stance
of left arm across his waist, right elbow resting on top of left hand and right
palm supporting a firmly set low, confronted us with, 'you don't have a change
of clothes' . We expected him to blow us away after our chorus of 'No Fada,' but
He slowly shook his head sideways (a.k.a. may your guardian angels be healthy
and strong to save you from your weak minds) and gently directed us to get home
quickly and get into dry clothes. No practice over us of that power mentioned
above.
He exposed us to that Jesuit enquiry, 'Does the end justify the means?'.
He would pose the question repeatedly, and led the class along paths of
arguments by rebutting incorrect answers with more difficult questions. I can
still hear his voice ringing out while he paced the middle aisle; he never
revealed his thoughts on the question, but left a group of sixth-form boys
grappling and stumbling and hoping that their arguments were correct. In
retrospect, he was massaging our intellects. John Cardinal Newman's essay 'On A
University' highlights high school boys as only absorbing information. After
five years at St.G.C., Fr. Mac thought that was important for us not only to
absorb but to exercise our brains and indulge the thinking process, as many
would be attending universities in the following months. I remember his
continuing with this line for a few classes then suddenly switching gears by
exposing us to St. Thomas Aquinas' delightful proofs of God.
Fr. Joseph Riel, our English teacher in sixth form (1956), remained
after class on Fridays to hold informal debates until it was time to vacate the
premises at 5:00 p.m. Was this a program planned by the school or was he just
another great teacher who instinctively raised the standard to prepare us for
the time when we left St.G.C.? Whatever the case, we all benefited from those
exercises, both in terms of learning to debate and obtaining an increased
appreciation of many subjects past, current, domestic and international. The
South African Apartheid Policy, the West Indian Federation and Automation:
Suitable or Unsuitable? Were among the hot topics of that time.
Fr. Roy B. Campbell was a bear-like man, with a remarkable
knowledge of football. Having played under several football coaches during his
playing days, this writer was fortunate to have trained under Fr. Roy. The
mechanics, basics and strategy of the game should be nailed down at an early age
and at 15 years old it was pretty late for achieving this, but Fr. Roy's ability
as a coach clearly aided many of us in making up for lost time. He was in a
class by himself in terms of his appreciation of the game, his ease in imparting
minute tactics and intricacies and actually coaching; he was the best of several
coaches, hands down, then and now! As soon as the squad was able to carry out
his instructions on a drill or pattern he would introduce new ones always with
the exhortation of "No back passing" to underscore the importance of attacking
football. Many at St.G.C. were convinced that he had a winning team in 1955, but
the polio scare canceled our season; we won the Manning Cup the following year
with a less talented team, after Fr. Roy had coached it for most of that year
but was replaced by Arthur McKenzie. Maybe he knew I couldn't afford new
football boots, or he recognized 'something' in me, but a week after school
opened in September 1956, Fr. Roy presented me with a new pair of Adidas boots,
the high flyer of the day. As a man of vowed poverty, he must have used up his
coach’s budget, or begged a friend for the donation, or scraped up from his
meager Jesuit allowance, or received a huge discount from Pancho Rankine for
those expensive boots. When I tried to thank him in his basement office in Emmet
Hall, he laughed that deep laugh of his and ran me out of his office with a
'get out of here and go play football.' Great flair to say the least. And great
love. Needless to say that as soon as I donned those Adidas', I became fleet of
foot.
What fortune to have Fr. Leo Quinlan teach English, Religion and
Latin in Form 4A: the Aenied, Georgics and Cicero. He taught us those classics
and we in fact grasped much of it, so easy was his manner and generalship in
moving us through the difficult passages. But more importantly, he would find
time to speak to us privately and always very gently ask a line of questions as:
have you been going to Mass, have you gone to confession, have you been good?
Whenever one saw Fr. Quinlan and a fidgeting boy 'consulting,' we all knew that
he was seeing after that boy's spiritual side and was instilling qualities and
practices, those prerequisites for a good Christian life. No doubt that some of
us have stumbled, but those one-on-one 'consultations' clearly taught us ways
for getting up and continuing. We hove never tracked the 'Quintus,' but we are
certain that he has 'consulted' with hundreds and hundreds of boys-on multiple
occasions.
At the cemetery, Jesuit Retirement Center
are Fr. O'Toole, Dr. Louis Lee,
Ray Chang ,Greg Lee, Maraden Chen, Herbie Phillipps, Jimmy Chen, Lloyd Chung
Fr. Raymond McCluskey probably met the greatest
challenge of his teaching career when this writer entered his physics class in
1953. This strictest of all Jesuits at St.G.C., and physically strong and tough
man (many of us will attest that he was really scary !) probably returned to the
rectory many an evening weeping or talking to himself, when he realized that
many of those physics equations and concepts dear to him were not getting
through to me. But he showed much patience and persistence. And when the lowest
score for the entire class was a Credit in the Senior Cambridge Examinations he
actually flushed and expressed the compliment that he did not know there were so
many smart students in his class. We all saw how he kept a straight face at even
the funniest joke in the class room, and would always work his lips against a
laugh. But on October 22, 1999, he showed us that there is a Teddy Bear under
that martinet-like exterior - he, as well as every OB visiting him actually shed
tears of joy and happiness upon seeing one another.
Fr. Eugene Brissette likewise endured my presence in his chemistry
class, and the lowest score for his class in the Senior Cambridge Examinations
was also a Credit. As I had mentioned during my comments at the banquet on the
night of October 23, Fr. Brissette showed me great understanding, compassion and
love during my time at St.G.C., and continued to do so forty five years later on
my visit to the Campion Center On seeing him in the infirmary, I remained after
the rest of visitors had left the room and said: 'Father, I want to thank you
for all you did for me,' when he cut me off because he knew where I was going
with that opener. He replied, 'That's okay, after all you must remember what
you have done for St. George's.' And then he blessed me and we bid each other a
fond goodbye. Love and charity seems to be limitless in this man !
In Forms 3A and 4A of 1952-3, he was Mr. William Raftery, teacher
of mathematics. We had noted then that Scholastics as Messrs Manning, Duffy,
Levy were like big brothers, and Mr. Raftery was no exception. He could be found
on the playing field on many a Saturday morning after the Sodality Mass teaching
us to throw an American football. He frequently reminded me that he could not
fathom the reason for my peering out the class room window to follow a passing
fire brigade instead of concentrating on a final Algebra exam in Form 4A. I am
sure that my disinterest in class pushed him to the edge many times, but he
never lost his composure and always held his smile. And later Father Raftery
showed much toil, leadership and administrative ability in raising the status of
Campion to a high school thereby underscoring the Jesuit's sense of
responsibility and care.
These experiences and relationships with the Jesuits at St.G.C. describe
God's gift of this past October but they in themselves are not the source of
that gift. Mere teacher/student interactions could not be responsible for the
St.G.C. Spirit, especially since it has endured over so many
years for Jesuits and OB's alike. While the true source of that gift must
be found elsewhere, I firmly believe that the Spirit manifested itself in us
during Mass on that Saturday of the Campion Center weekend.
The communal celebration of the Mass at the Campion Center on Saturday was
celebrated by Fr. Hosie and concelebrants Frs. Quinlan, O'Toole and five other
priests. The congregation consisted of other Jesuits, visiting OB's and their
honoured guests. Mass proceeded normally However at the greeting phase,
celebrants, priests, OB's and their guests, en masse, went beyond the normal
practice of giving a brief sign of peace to persons in their immediate area.
Instead there was a mass intermingling and mutual outpouring of love for one
another to the point that priest as well as Old Boy had invoked God’s peace and
blessings on all others present. The atmosphere was emotionally charged. There
were tears of overwhelming joy from some. Many of us have concluded that the
stage was set for this outpouring by the presence of the saints and angels
adoring Christ in their multitudes, since it was only a few minutes before that
Fr. Hosie had effected the unfathomable and AWESOME mystery of the
Transubstantiation. We have further concluded that above and beyond the presence
of those heavenly creatures, the outpouring of love was due to the presence of
Christ Himself, who had infused each person even before their receiving the Host
at the altar. And we have also concluded that throughout the years, the bedrock
of the St.G.C. Spirit is to be found in the Magical Presence. Everything at
St.G.C. began and culminated in Christ through the offices of the Jesuits.
Fr. Ignatius Pennisi (honorary St.G.C. member) thought aloud on the
morning of October 23 that . . . it had to be the Finger of God that caused
such an outpouring! Fr. Ignatius' brief statement condenses all of the above; it
explains the essence of the October gift; it justifies the happenings of that
autumn week end; it captures the substance of the love between Jesuits and
OB's; it underscores the unique and enduring quality of that relationship; and
it ensures that the St.G.C. Spirit will prevail
Above all it reaffirms the Jesuit motto: 'Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam' - 'To the
greater glory of God'.
St. G. C. Faculty at the Reunion:
Father Eugene Brissette, Brother Gus Burns, Fathers Richard Coakley, Paul
Gilmartin, James Hayes, Robert Higgins, James Hosie, Ken Hughes, William Larkin,
Raymond McCluskey, Andrew McFadden, Gerry McKeon, George Nolan, Richard Olson,
Lawrence O'Toole, Leo Quinlan, William Raftery, Frank Sarjeant, William M.
Sheehan, John J. Sullivan, John Walsh and George Winchester.
Honorary St.G.C. Members
Fathers James Barry, John Caskin, John Kerdiejus, Robert Lindsay, Joseph
McGrath, William O'Connor; and Ignatius Pennisi.
Andrea Cha Kim.
St.G.C. Old Boys:
Marsden Chen, Fulford Chin Choy Louis Lee, Keith Lowe (1954);
Jimmy Chen (1955); Hubert Lee, Francis Lopez (1956); Fenn Chang, Stanley Chin,
Patrick Lee, Patrick (Skedron) Smith, Donovan Wong(1957); Francis Cooke (1958);
Lloyd Chung, Peter Rickards, Robbie Vernon (1959); Donald Barnett, Michael
Charley, Bernie Chin, Stanley Lowe-Ching, Derek Potopsingh and Lipton Wang (1
960);
Herb Phillips (1962); Neil Dalhouse (1963); Raymond Chang, Gary
Williamson(1964); Francis Rutty (1965); Stanley Waite (1966);
Greg Lee (1970).
Many thanks to June Chen, Keith Lowe and
especially Jimmy Chen for editing the article.
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