www.sjn1964.com - Official website of . . .
Class of 1964
St. John Nepomuk's
We Remember
To submit additional memories from our days at SJN
Our memories include . . .
Being a hall monitor
Gum wrapper chains . . . how long can they get ?
The squeaky, worn, wooden stairs at the front of the school
Safety patrols
Rumbles behind the church after school
Fr. Rodriguez always coming out on the playground to
play with us
Sr. Joselda and Sr. Virgil . . . the smiling nuns
The smell of the purple ink on papers that were run on the
mimeograph machine
Basketball games played at the Lakeview gymnasium
Bohemian Stations of the Cross with Fr. Macek . . . I never understood a word
The corner stores before Mass and after school
The old red-brick rectory
CYO dances
Sr. Menna reading to us in the afternoon
Singing in the choir for the morning Masses
Fr. Macek for confession and penance and the short lines for
his confessional
Kneeling in front of the 8th grade boys class for misbehavior
Staying after school in 4th grade to copy the encyclopedia
pages as punishment
Walking to school and always being late for church
Being picked to go down to the school hall and deliver the milk cartons to the other classrooms in the morning
Being with the friends we grew up with
The 8th grade class trip to the Museum of Science and Industry
Waiting for Fr. Sukup to toss his cigarette into the grass after serving Friday night stations, then we'd run back to pick it up and finish it off
Mohair sweaters and learning the "twist"
Girl scouts with Ada and Mrs. Chap
Putting a thumb tack on Mrs. Holm's chair in 3rd grade, then getting caught
The original "Blue Book" . . . the Baltimore Catechism
Having to line up "double file" just to walk from school to church and back
Hot dog day
Sr. Caroline lining up all the boys on the playground and slapping all of them
Coke machines in the new building's school hall
May altars, pagan babies and singing in the choir
Looking at a Beatle's album cover in 8th grade . . . we all thought they looked awful but little did we know we'd be screaming over them by year-end
SRA cards
Nuns who always wore habits
Always getting the job of cleaning up the vomit in church with saw dust
Going for the "face-slap" record in the boys 8th grade class
Watching the expressions on parishioner's faces when the 8th grade boys sang for Fr. Macek's Silver Jubilee
Almost passing-out in first aid class in 8th grade
Sr. Menna slapping me in the face with both hands, then running out of the room to cry
Getting all dressed up for First Communion
Stories we had to compose in 8th grade using our spelling words
Fr. Macek getting mad during Mass because someone was misbehaving, then taking off his vestments, coming down from the altar and making the students await their fate in the sacristy
Our super cool 8th grade year book
Eating breakfast in the classroom after singing for morning Mass
Having to write 3,000 times "I will not flirt with the boys", then I misspelt "flirt" twice so I had to write it over again
My very first perm in 2nd grade
The Christmas Boys Choir Procession and carrying battery-operated candles
Split 8th grade classes - boys in one room and girls in the other
First love
Those long walks home from school
Sr. Caroline finding different ways to end a checker game early when she was loosing . . . the best one was standing up to put her shawl on and in the process swiping the board clean
Basketball games during recess using the bus garage hoop
Savings bond stamp day in 2nd grade
Sr. Wiltrudis hitting the students on the back of their heads with the history book
Metal lunch boxes with milk-filled thermoses
Always getting poked for kneeling in church with by butt touching the pew
Cloak rooms filled with coats, boots and lunch buckets
Mr. Konicek ringing the church bell in the morning and his accent when he spoke
21-40
41-60
61-80
How big and impressive it all seemed
Priests who said Mass in Latin
Mrs. Beyer making me do multiplication tables on the board in 5th grade and calling me stupid - I still attribute my math mental block to that experience
Sr. Caroline's stories - way too many to mention here
Two years of Sr. Elsa - almost as bad as the death sentence
Sr. Salvatia in 4th grade, made me wear a hat backwards to church because I always forgot to bring my hat
Watching the new section of the school being built
Mrs. Holms and slamming doors
Singing "One Little Candle"
Getting slapped in the face by Sr. Caroline
Reading comic books in the sacristy before and after Mass
CYO dances
Contouring 8th grade girls . . . wow!
Playing Meekly behind the church
The 8th grade boys class with their tongues in their cheeks
Sr. Menna training the altar boys to serve Mass in Latin
Code words "Father Uncle Cousin Skating"
48 man power
Mr. Perch's Saints Band
Sr. Albertista's ruler slap, kneeling beside our desks if caught, and the spit balls on top of her habit
"Keep your hands out of your pockets boys"
Air-raid drills
A 4th grade April Fools joke on Mrs. Bergman - a fake mouse in the milk money box - she screamed, we laughed and then she covered the entire blackboard with assignments - after slaving all day she then wrote "April Fool" over the whole thing
Jumping rope on the playground
Overhearing Fr. Macek give penance to everyone who entered his confessional
Sr. Caroline coming into the room in tears to tell us about President Kennedy's assassination
Spanish class with Sr. Wiltrudis
Playing marbles in the dirt
Afternoon exercise class with Sr. Caroline on the playground
Plastic flutes that the entire school had to purchase . . . I think they were black and silver in color
Folding those cardboard Lenten boxes each year with the slits in the top to drop our money in
Recess
Mrs. Bitter's cub scout pack
Lining up to get the cane from Fr. Macek
Our 8th grade graduation ceremony and dance in the school hall
Confirmation
Those narrow, squeaky stairs leading up to the choir loft in church
My favorite teacher . . . Sr. Rosaria in 2nd grade
Sr. Caroline following us home after school to make sure the boys and girls didn't walk home together
81-100
Getting a yard stick busted over my head by Sr. Wiltrudis
Girl scout camping at Trefoil Oaks
Dressing up as our patron saint in about 4th grade then going into the other classrooms to give a speech about the life of that saint
Eating lunch in the school hall and getting to buy soda from the new soda machine
School Masses every morning
The 8th grade suggestion box and getting in trouble for suggesting "Let the Trix Rabbit get the cereal"
Getting a sample of real sugar cane to eat in 3rd grade
The Rialto and Venetian theaters
The bums lining up at the convent for food and other hand-outs
Getting to leave the classroom early as crossing guard
101-120
Starting my holy card collection . . . I still have it
The big cement turtle . . . I think it's still there
Heavy yellow rubber rain coats with those big black buckles
All those fire drills . . . "boys keep your eyes down"
Serving Mass as an alter boy
Fr. Macek's big black Cadillac
Playing "ditch" in the alleys
Walking over to the corner store for candy at lunch time
Children's Theater and "Packy" the elephant
The year-end school carnival . . . what a fun way to end the year!
Fr. Macek with holes in his T-shirts when he answered the door at the rectory
