Growing Up Catholic and Polish

The Catholic Church in the 1950's and 1960's, from a kid point of view, was the place to which you went to be lectured on how to be a good person and to get the weekly dose of Latin. It was a scary place, one that our parents dragged us to every week, pulling us out of bed and making sure that we were dressed in our very best. Girls showed off their best dresses and coats...and the hat was an essential part of church attire. If you forgot your hat, a Kleenex affixed to the top of the head with a bobbypin would suffice.

We were parishioners of St Stanislaus Kostka Church, the Polish church on the corner of Hoosac and Summer Sts. St Stan's looked like a Cathedral both inside and out. There were beautiful stained glass windows, simulated marble columns, and wonderful statues. There was still an altar railing in those days and parishioners kneeled there to receive communion. The priest faced the altar and prayed the mass in Latin that one could barely hear. However, he usually made up for that at sermon time, when he spoke directly to the people and preached on how to be a good Catholic.

I was a church daydreamer, never concentrating on the task at hand and never sure I quite understood what was going on. It as more fun to check out the other people in church, to look at the latest fashions, and to think about other things.

Note: In 2009, the St Stanislaus Kostka Church was closed by the diocese of Springfield, MA. The parishioners were horrified that a church, in the black financially, with a working parochial school and convent, could be closed so quickly. The parishioners scrambled and locked themselves in the church to hold vigil until the Vatican could be petitioned for re-opening. After 3 years of holding vigil, the Vatican sided with the parishioners and allowed the church to reopen. I was at the closing and again, at the re-opening. The photos are from the re-opening mass.

Junior High...and coming of age in an era where men still ruled and women were mostly teachers, nurses, secretaries, and homemakers. My mom was a legal secretary for a busy lawyer in town. She spent her afternoons translating shorthand and typing various legal documents. Of course, she wasn't home in the afternoon when we came home from school. I had to babysit for my brothers and be there when they arrived home. So annoying. Bruce was a tease and did not enjoy taking orders from me. Paul was OK but he was the butt of most of Bruce's teasing. It was my job to keep them from fighting each other and to start dinner. Not fun...and it did nothing for my social life.

I walked to school every day with Pat and Barb, my elementary school friends. Every day we would meet at the corner of Hoosac and Summer Streets and we would walk the mile or so to the junior high. We would chat about the previous evening's TV shows and laugh all the way to school. Red Skelton and Carol Burnett were two of our favorite comedians; they made you laugh for an entire hour. Star Trek was also one of my favorite shows with Mr Spock and Captain Kirk!

As soon as we arrived at school, we stood outside and met up with other friends until the bell rang and we were allowed inside. We were all in different home rooms, arranged alphabetically according to last name.
In the 9th grade, newcomers from the Polish and French parochial schools arrived. They were kids whom perhaps we had seen only in church and with whom we made new friends. My cousin Kathy joined me in home room in the 9th grade. Although we had a good time playing at my grandmother's house, she did not extend that friendship to me once we were in school together. We were never in the same class. Kathy did not share my interest in being a good student. I did make many friends among the newcomers though and they became integrated into my high school class.

As a freshman, I became more interested in science than ever. My biology class was fascinating and I knew that this is where I would develop my interests.

As I said months ago, I was a fairly geeky junior high student who was more interested in doing my very best in school than in making friends with boys. It was fairly scary being placed into a class of kids who all had the same or better learning abilities as yourself. The competition was at a new level and, in order to excel, one really had to step up and make the effort. This was a huge difference from elementary school where I did not have to try hard to do well. It did take some time to acclimate to the new expectations.

Seventh grade science with Mrs Robinson was one of my biggest challenges. She was imposing and had a sharp voice, which she reserved for those students who weren't paying attention. It was in her class that I learned the phrase, "Do what you oughter, add acid to water." Good advice that I remember to this day. Eight grade science with Mr Belouin was more fun...and ninth grade biology with Mrs. Callahan was my favorite. I loved using the microscope in her class and I credit Mrs. Callahan with having the most influence on my decision to study microbiology in college. Dissecting frogs and worms was so much fun...ooh, that formaldehyde smell...so distinctive.

Mrs. Kalisz and Ms. Hoffman were my 7th and 8th grade history teachers. They were both strict disciplinarians and no one could get away with anything in their classes. Mrs. Kalisz was a good teacher but Ms Hoffman had been around since my mother had been in junior high and she was the master. There was one major project in her class and that was to keep a history notebook, full of your notes, in your best and neatest handwriting, but embellished with pictures, quotes, and other interesting tidbits. So...one had to scour published material for such tidbits. She expected it. Ms Hoffman also made us memorize...the Bill of Rights, the Gettysburg Address, the Preamble to the Constitution...all of which we had to recite to the class, with emphasis in all the right places. Ms Hoffman made sure we knew the stories behind the event of American history...she knew all the juicy particulars of many of the statesmen we studied.

Mr. Terry Coyne was my 9th grade world history teacher and...what can I say? He was young, funny, and he made us like him because he teased us, asked about our home lives, and prodded us into learning about Ashurbanipal III and Aknaton, Nefertiti, and Caesar. He was also a teacher who liked the real stories behind the historical people and he was fascinating because of that. My brother and I had him the same year for history, he in the 7th grade and I in the 9th...and Mr. Coyne teased us for being siblings.

Miss Paradysz was my other favorite teacher, for PE. She did all of the exercises with us, even though she was in her 50's. She liked to be in shape and she was amazing! We climbed ropes in the gym, played basketball, and ran miles. My favorite time of year was the spring, when we would walk to Russell Field with the softballs and bats, to play games in class.

The junior high did not have a kitchen to learn home ec, but we had a sewing room where we were taught to make various items. In the 7th grade, we made half aprons. It took the whole year before they were finished. Then, in the 8th grade, we made pajama bottoms and anything else that we wanted.

There were junior high dances, but I never went. It was my job to babysit my brothers after school because my mother worked in the afternoons. It was terrible to always have to walk home to be there when my brothers got home. So, I never had much of a social life after school. When it was time for the annual 9th grade dance, my friend Barbara and I were not asked to go by any of the young men. It was disappointing to see our friends go off to their first dance, while we were stuck at home We slept out in my back yard in the tent and had our own evening out.

Guilty!

Oh my! It has been months since I have written in this blog! Since I last wrote, I have been in touch with many old friends from high school and college through Facebook. Photos, memories, and new postings have managed to transport me to that long ago world.
I will try to recreate my junior high school years in the coming months and to be a more prolifc writer.