ST. MAURICE
ALUMNI
NEWSLETTER
Spring 2000 - Page Seven

Down Memory Lane With...

Martha (Sloan) Beeler 1936-1944

I have many happy memories of growing up and attending St. Maurice School. In my class we grew up as good friends and we received an excellent education from our teachers, the Dominican Sisters. There is one memory I would especially like to share with you. When spring came, the girls could quit wearing our long, cotton brown stockings and we all brought our roller skates to school. We had a 15 minute recess in the morning and afternoon. As soon as the bell rang for recess, and part of our noon hour, we would hurry out to the hall and put on our skates. Of course, these skates fit over our shoes and we all had our key to tighten them up. We were allowed to skate around the entire block. If the bell rang and you were halfway around the block, you really had to hurry.

This was in the 1940's, and all the girls wore dresses. We had a lot of skinned?up knees as a result of all our falls. Maybe we should have kept our long stockings on!

Bob Fleigle

As was customary in the 30's, the students of St. Maurice School would put on a play at the end of the school year in the old K of C building in downtown Morrisonville. We would practice 2 or 3 times in the K of C Hall before the night of the play. All of the students and Sisters walked form school to the K of C Hall and then back to the school. Harold "Shorty" Kelmel and I were walking together and Father P.P. McGuiness drove by in his car. Shorty and I doffed our caps and said, "Good afternoon P.P." Father drove around the block and stopped by us and told us to get in. He then took us to his house, the Rectory. He asked us why we called him P.P.? One of us said that was the way he signed his name. He didn't like our answer so he cracked our knuckles with his cane and told us not to call him that again. Needless to say we didn't.

Also, school got out at 3:30 p.m., and Father would come over at 3:25 p.m. and tell us that the Blue Banner fast train hadn't gone through yet, so please be careful. Then Father would jump in his car and drive up town, honk at the railroad and drive right on across. That horn must have saved him!

Brett, John, Fr. Hannigan, Bob, Nicolas and Troy (f) present for our Father Day's Mass [3 generations]

Page One
Page Two
Page Three
Page Four
Page Five
Page Six
Page Eight