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BOSTON COLLEGE
WINTER 1985
U .
THOMAS P. O'NEILL, JR. LIBRARY
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: That championship season, The Emerson controversy
*\ \
Anthony LaCamera '34, noted Boston television critic and a member of this magazine's Editorial Advisory Board, died on Nov. 19 at age 70.
During 30 years as TV columnist for the Evening American and Herald American, Tony was known for no- nonsense prose — newspaper readers, he believed, wanted reporters to get to the point fast — for sharp humor, and for a principled and high- minded approach to the medium. When people called Tony "The Dean of American TV Critics," they did not mean he was the wisest — though that may well have been the case — but that long before anyone else, he was treating televi- sion not as a fluky electric vaudeville, but as an artform that could be held to the highest standards.
Today, of course, no serious critic examines television for a living except on those terms, however heretical they may have seemed in 1948 when Tony sat down to write the first of some 8,000 columns; and Tony's prescience, as well as his formidable production, were recognized by his peers in 1983 with an Emmy award "for significant and outstanding contribution to television."
Tony's attitude as a columnist sprang from the heart of what he was — keen-sighted, funny, spirited, loyal to friends, family and his principles.
He knew what he thought, and said what he thought. "Our hap- piness and security," he wrote of his classmates and himself in a 50th reunion report in last summer's magazine, "derived from such 'old values' as faith, marriage, family, work." He lived and worked by those values and in recent years saw much that he did not like in what he called "the icons of pop culture." As reported in this magazine last spring, he made his point in no uncertain terms when he was guest speaker at the 1984 Latarae Sundav breakfast. He was
no curmudgeon, however. When the magazine staff presented him with a Michael Jackson poster shortly afterwards, he could not have been more delighted.
Tony, in fact, delighted in human beings and in all we do. He was a gossip and listener of the first rank. He loved people for their frailties and quirks, as much as for their strengths. He could rail like Isaiah (but funnier) against Michael Jackson or the use of the term "Italian mobster" in this magazine, but it was slipshod ideas and work that he opposed, not persons. And so he was an exemplary critic who remained a happy and beloved man.
I never read a LaCamera col- umn. I came to Boston shortly after Tony retired and only began to know him some three years ago, shortly before I became BCM editor. In that period of time, feel- ing the touch of his consummate critical and human abilities, and witnessing his brave struggle against a mortal disease, I came to admire and love him. As he was a man who found it easy to love, so was he a man easy to love. I will miss him. The magazine and the board he served so well will miss his contributions.
It never rains but it pours. Two University events of historical significance took place in recent months and receive considerable at- tention in this issue of the magazine. A report on the magnifi- cent Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Library, dedicated in October, begins on page 24.
Rumor has it, as well, that representatives of Boston College participated in some sort of New Year's Day pageant in Dallas, Texas. Our investigation of that rumor is to be found beginning on page 16.
BOSTON COLLEGE
magazine
Winter 1985 Volume XLIV Number 1
Director of Communications Paul J. Hennessy
Editor
Ben Birnbaum
Senior designer Susan Callaghan '76
Designer Jan a Spacek
Photographer Lee Pellegrini
Student photographer Mary Beth Henderson '85
Alumni editor Alicia Ianiere '80
Contributing writers: Paulette Boudreaux; Patricia Delaney '80; Gail Jennes: Dana Narramore '78; Douglas Whiting '78; Tom Zambito '85
Publications assistant Rosanne Lafiosca '83
Undergraduate editor Geri Murphy '85
Communications secretary Carol Krohmcr
Editorial board: James Bowditch, professor of organizational studies; David H. Gill, SJ, '56, director of A&S honors program; Paul J. Hen- nessy; Alicia Ianiere; John Mahoney '50, MA '52, professor of English; Ben Bimbaum; Geri Murphy '85; James McGahay '63, senior development officer; Brian McNiff '59; Margaret Monahan '81; John F. Wissler '57, executive director, Alumni Association.
Boston College Magazine is published four times annually (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer) by the Office of Communications, Boston College, and is distributed free of charge to University alum- ni, faculty, staff, parents of undergraduate students, and seniors. Editorial offices are maintained at Lawrence House, 122 College Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02167, telephone (617) 552-3350. Copyright © 1985, Office of Communications, Boston College. All publica- tion rights reserved. BCM is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts.
Member, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
Opinions expressed in Boston College Magazine are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University.
Boston College is committed to providing equal educational and employment opportunities regardless of sex, marital or parental status, race, color, religion, age, national origin, or handicap. Equal educational opportunity in- cludes admission, recruitment, extracurricular activities, housing, facilities, access to course of- ferings, counseling and testing, financial assistance, health and insurance services, and athletics.
9 The new Bapst
by Doug Whiting
Closed since July, the grand old lady of Linden Lane is expected to emerge from renovations next January as, in part, a fitting home for the BC Library's greatest treasures.
1 2 Emerson
by John McAleer
The author of a new, unorthodox and admired biography of the Sage of Concord examines America's love-hate affair with the man who has been called the "New England Plato" and "the last man on earth to invite to a picnic."
16 That championship season
by Doug Whiting
The '67 Red Sox. The Orr-led Bruins. There are times when an athletic season becomes, in fact and in memory, something more. The football season past, replete with Heisman, Flutiemania, The Pass that Beat Miami and the Cot- ton Bowl, was such a transcendent event.
21 Me and Doug
by Paul Doherty
He is a genuine American hero — well-spoken, brave, cor- dial, intelligent, spirited, handsome (but not too) and, of course, immensely skilled at football. How pleased we were to stand within the bright circle of his universe. A member of the English faculty offers his reflections on the Flutie years.
24 ■■MtfWWI The O'Neill
by Paulette Boudreaux
It's beautiful, commodious, comfortable, a pleasure to use, and, with the possible exception of the football Eagles, has been the year's biggest hit on campus. It's the Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Research Library, and it's changing Boston College.
Departments
2 PERSPECTIVE 4 LETTERS 6 ON CAMPUS 35 PEOPLE
37 ALUMNOTES
38 CLASSES
Cover photo by Steve Rosenthal Back cover photo by Jet Photo
Bill Flynn, left, with Fr. Monan and Coach Jack Bicknell in the Cotton Bowl.
Thank you, Mr. Flynn
by George V. Higgins
Editor's Note: The following originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal under the title, "That Championship Season. '
The subjects of today's lesson in- clude Boston College and television. Your correspondent fashions opin- ions about television from a dispas- sionate position of Olympian eleva- tion, but as an alumnus of BC ad- mits to an affection unconducive to detachment and cool exercise of judgment where the college's for-
tunes are concerned. Thanks to court decisions invalidating NCAA limitations on the number of appearances by any given school on the devil box, the college football season that concluded New Year's Day with the telecast of BC's 45-28 Cotton Bowl victory over the University of Houston provided to New England partisans like me nine home viewing opportunities out of 12 games played. Since the only one I missed was the Army game (I went to that), I am pretty nearly worn out and perhaps not to be trusted.
Nevertheless, in all of the national bemusement achieved by the remarkably felicitous combina- tion of television's insatiable ap- petite for exciting sports program- ming with Douglas Flutie's all-but- inexhaustible prowess for creating excitement on the football field (epitomized, of course, by The Pass that beat Miami, 47-45, on the day after Thanksgiving), the more enduring significance of the synergy has gone unremarked.
Much more than 32 football games (against 16 losses and one tie) have been won by Boston Col- lege since Coach Jack Bicknell
arrived from Maine four years ago to take command of a demoralized team facing a major-league schedule arranged years before a dismal 0-1 1 season. When Mr. Bicknell took charge of the squad that included an undersized quarterback from Natick, Mass., whom no other school had much wanted, abundant evidence suggested he was joining a disaster in progress (superficially a fairly reasonable move, considering his 18-35-1 record after five years at the University of Maine).
The architect of that disaster, according to increasingly loud mur- murs, had been Athletic Director Bill Flynn (BC, '39). A good 20 years before Mr. Bicknell's appoint- ment, Mr. Flynn had summarily rejected prevailing wisdom ap- plicable to intercollegiate football competition, declaring in substance and effect that he was not interested in decisions by Georgetown, Ford- ham and Villanova to withdraw from the expensive frays. Mr. Flynn declared that aggressive scheduling and recruitment would in time transform BC's team from a dis- abling drain on university finances into a cash cow that would improve them, while simultaneously aiding BC's quest for national renown.
There being no evidence to sup- port an inference that Mr. Flynn is gifted with extraordinary prescience and thus anticipated the cosmic coincidence of the court decisions opening up TV opportunities, the arrival of Mr. Flutie, and the masterly timing of The Pass that beat Miami and acquainted every corner of the nation with the young player's skills, retrospection man- dates the conclusion that Mr. Flynn's obstinate fortitude in main- taining his position was reckless and misplaced. Having no way of know- ing that Mr. Flutie's final year at BC would reap TV receipts bring-
Mr. Flynn, it's been a
lovely season. I am glad
you didn't listen, and I'm
glad that BC won.
ing profits for his four years to near $8 million, Mr. Flynn must have persisted in his decades of dedica- tion in much the same way Mr. Flutie operated on the football field: making it up as he went along, waiting for the break.
That cannot have been easy for Mr. Flynn. Until this New Year's, BC had not won a major bowl game since 1941, when Tennessee lost to the Eagles in the Sugar Bowl, 19-13, thus mollifying followers distressed by the 1940 Cotton Bowl loss to Clemson by a score of 6-3. That Sugar Bowl victory on the eve of World War II marked more than the end of the Frank Leahy era at BC (it is rumored hereabouts that he went to Notre Dame). It also ushered in the wartime convulsions that nearly finished off BC itself. When the students got drafted, the tuitions stopped. Twenty years later, as my class prepared for graduation after four years that for many of us had been seasons of in- tellectual excitement rarely equaled since, the Rev. William Leonard, S.J., of the theology department, one springtime evening under the trees of Linden Lane took grateful note of all the fun we'd had and put it in perspective: "This place almost went under during World War II," he said, "I'm very glad it didn't."
What saved BC after the war was the GI Bill, when the veterans came back with the checks to meet the overhead. BC is the product of donations made in coins, not cur- rency, by immigrants. It had no endowment. Its postwar adminis- trators, mortgaging the future, parlayed a risky edifice complex in- to the physical plant that today shelters the second-largest student
body among American Catholic schools (nearly 15,000, slightly behind Loyola of Chicago), and confidently depends upon its reputa- tion for academic excellence to attract more applicants than it can accommodate. Most of the school's income in the past 30 years was plowed back into that expansion. Mr. Flynn's great notion was a casual incident, important to balding Eagles but not where the money went. Alumni such as I com- plained that instead of getting slaughtered playing Penn State and the like, BC should opt for Division IAA and play a New England schedule in which we might win some games. Bill Flynn paid no heed.
One imagines that Christopher Columbus endured similar volun- teer advisers and kibitzers before he set out to reach India by sailing to the west, disregarding admoni- tions he could not succeed. One sur- mises that Columbus put in hours like Bill Flynn suffered B.B. & B.F. (Before Bicknell and Before Flutie), scolded all the time. Like Colum- bus, Mr. Flynn was right for the wrong reasons, probably, but he was right, by God.
Television brought Mr. Flynn and Boston College all that money. It also brought the fame, which will pay for scholarships and goodies like the stadia where BC's next recruits play ball.
Mr. Flynn, it's been a lovely season. I am glad you didn't listen, and I'm glad that BC won.
George V. Higgins '61, JD'67, is a novelist, essayist, social critic and lawyer. He writes a column on television for The Wall Street Journal. Reprinted by per- mission of The Wall Street Journal, © Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 1985. All Rights Reserved.
Pleasing professions
To the Editor:
As a 1925 alumnus and a jubi- larian Benedictine monk of Mount Saviour, I want to express my pleasure over the professions of Christian faith made in the recent issue by two lay professors of the University, Drs. Kilpatrick and Kreeft.
One is not surprised to read such statements coming from the clergy, but they are so much more convinc- ing, and moving, when uttered by laymen. Even as faculty members of a Catholic university, it took courage for those two to declare publicly their adherence to Catholic Christianity in a land where skep- ticism, indifference and agnosticism are so widespread.
Rev. Placid Cormey, O.S.B. '25
Pine City, NY
Moved to write
To the Editor:
Nothing could prevent me from sharing the joy I experienced from glimpsing the souls of two great Christians who gave such authentic testimonies of their faith. It was a pleasure to be touched by these two Christ-like, intelligent, competent and compassionate teachers — Peter Kreeft and William Kilpatrick.
My sincere thanks to [writer] Dana Narramore for capturing the essence of these two men. By their open and sincere witness to the power of the Spirit in their lives, they have led each of us a little (loser to Him. "God's greatest work on earth is man; man's master art is the leading of man to God." Boston College has been doing this because ol its teachers dedicated to what is true.
Mary H. Davitt
Delmar, NY
Kilpatrick' s voice
To the Editor:
I had the honor of being in William Kilpatrick's psychology classes during my years at Boston College. I remember most his voice and the books he asked us to read.
His voice was a little nervous, in- viting questions. It made me feel that it was okay not to understand.
The books have had great impact on how I conduct myself.
As a Jewish person at a pre- dominantly Catholic school, I remember feeling somewhat the out- sider. It may be a fact that Prof. Kilpatrick is deeply involved with his Christian faith, but I didn't feel smothered in any way. If his Chris- tianity affected me, it was to make me a better human being.
In my opinion, the true act of a religious man is in the being and not in the preaching. He never preached to me. He never had the voice for it.
Neil R. Barry '78
Lynn, Mass.
Behind the times
To the Editor:
I'm grateful I didn't have Profs. Kreeft or Kilpatrick during my years at BC.
How appalling to read of such simplistic versions of Christianity! These gentlemen seem determined to march resolutely back to the Middle Ages. I guess that does take a kind, of courage. Unlike them, most of the rest of the Catholic Church, which bemoaned the emergence of the modern world for most of this century, is now at least trying to catch up to the rest of the human race.
One bright spot in the article was the hint that most of Kreeft and Kilpatrick's students do not take kindly to this reactionary preaching
disguised as teaching. Good for them!
Gene McCreary '65
Penngrove, Calif.
The way we were
To the Editor:
The Fall 1984 issue was the best yet. Deserving special praise was Chris Mullen's essay on the O'Neill Library ["A university of and by the people"].
He wrote, "Over the years Boston College served as a beacon, a place which was looked to by the young people of Boston's poorer neighborhoods."
I came from one of those neigh- borhoods, a Jewish boy out of Dor- chester High School who entered BC in 1934. After one year, I left. I had to go to work. But over the years, the Class of '37 kept track of me.
My son. Rabbi Kenneth Block, is a 1968 graduate.
Herbert Block
Delray Beach, Fla.
Statistical analysis
To the Editor:
Chris Mullen's article, "A uni- versity of and by the people," did more to capture the essence of Boston College than almost any- thing I have read heretofore. It so moved me, that I had copies distributed to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions staff.
In addressing prospective students, the Admissions staff tries to relate fundamental statistics about the University; but the more difficult job is to separate Boston College from other very fine institu- tions by articulating its spirit and uniqueness; yes, to suggest, "we are a breed apart." And, while I believe we do manage to share with
applicants a strong sense of what Boston College represents, I wish we all could impart Chris' message in a minute or two of dialogue.
However, as I applaud Chris for his prize-winning message, I must correct his statistical analysis of students who have applied from the greater Boston area. It is true that the number of commuter applica- tions has dropped precipitously in recent years, but this does not point to a decline in BC's popularity among local students, but rather to the recent trend toward living on campus, even where the commute from home is very feasible.
The Class of 1989, which we are presently assembling, is a case in point. While commuter applications may not reach 1,000 (about six per- cent of a record applicant pool of 16,000), we expect to attract ap- proximately 4,500 applications from students living within a 45-minute drive of BC. Most, however, will apply with a strong desire to live on campus.
So, as we appreciate and acknowledge the history and heritage of Boston College, we look forward to contributing to the pro- mise and commitment of its future. Local students will always be central to that commitment, whether they live on campus or off.
Charles S. Nolan
Director of Undergraduate Admissions
More Heisman nominees
To the Editor:
Among the advantages of attend- ing BC are the enduring friendships formed.
An illness in 1983 left me a quadruple amputee. When, this past fall, I wanted to get away for a weekend, a letter to my BC friend and classmate Edward J. O'Reilly did the trick. Ed, a successful lawyer in Kansas City, got in touch with two classmates and friends,
John Paxton and George W. Bill- ings, who took time out from their law careers to fly into Kansas City for "the 18M> year reunion."
Ed met the Easterners at the air- port and drove down to the Missouri Ozarks to pick me up. Thus assembled, we drove back to Kansas City to watch the Penn State game on O'Reilly's TV.
I know all about Doug Flutie, but in my book, O'Reilly, Paxton and Billings deserve the Heisman for making the '84 football season one I'll always remember, and the A&S Class of '66, one I'll never forget.
John M. Teter '66
Lebanon, Mo.
Only $6,000,000?
To the Editor:
A recent article on Doug Flutie in The New York Times noted that BC alumni gave "only six million dollars a year" to the school. I'll take the figure as accurate, but what does the "only" mean?
How do BC alumni profile in respect to graduates of American universities? And what is the alumni breakdown in categories like older- younger, men-women, Boston-New York, etc? And is alumni giving poor (if it is) because the alumni are poor, or because alumni are poorly organized? It strikes me that all this is grist for the BCM mill.
Robert R. Sullivan '59
New York, NY
The last word
To the Editor:
Now that several letters have ap- peared commenting on my letter commenting on Kevin Kecskes' ar- ticle on the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, I think BCM owes me the oppor- tunity to point out that you chose to drop the paragraph which contained
the main point of my letter, making my purpose in writing seem rather obscure.
The issue of BCM containing Mr. Kecskes' article warmly prais- ing the Sandinistas (Fall, 1983) ap- peared almost simultaneously with news reports that the Sandinista government had reported the mur- der, by the contra guerillas, of Bishop Schlaefer, a missionary ministering to the Miskito Indians. However, on Dec. 25, 1983, The Boston Globe reported that Bishop Schlaefer had appeared alive after leading several thousand Miskitos out of Nicaragua. According to Bishop Schlaefer, he and the In- dians were attacked — bombed, straf- ed and shelled — by the Sandinista armed forces.
It was this interesting juxtaposi- tion of Mr. Kecskes' gushing over the Christ-inspired character of the Sandinistas, and their simple, naked lying and use of violence against defenseless people — if Bishop Schlaefer and the newspaper are telling the truth — which prompted my letter and my remarks about "truth" and "political prop- aganda." Mary Fusoni has accused me of echoing the Reagan Admin- istration's propaganda. Not so, I was just "echoing" Bishop Schlaefer as quoted in the Globe. She also points out that I don't "know the truth" about the Sandinista's treatment of the Indians. Good point; I don't know much about it — just what I read in the newspapers, and that smells.
Robert P. Largess '67
Roslindale, Mass.
Editor's Note: All letters to BCM are edited for clarity, correct usage of English, and to fit the available space for letters in any particular edition. With this letter from Mr. Largess, we bring to a close the debate on Nicaragua which has been taking place in these columns for more than a year.
STA CK A TTA CK — Welder Joseph Silva puts the torch to metal bookstacks on the lower level of Bapst Library preparatory to their removal. Silva and others have been working since the fall to prepare Bapst for extensive interior renovations. A story on the work begins on page nine.
New dorms, sports arena, arts center under study
The next 10 years will be very busy ones on the lower campus should the University decide to go ahead with facilities plans currently under study.
The plans call for construction of student residences,, a sports center, a fine arts center and the revamping of the Flynn Recreation Complex.
New residences would be con- structed on Commonwealth Avenue between St. Mary's Hall and the New England Baptist Home. The
University has entered into a lease- purchase agreement for the home, and will be able to purchase the facility in 1989.
The plans also call for the replacement of the modular apart- ments with new residences. Student Affairs Vice President Kevin Duffy said the apartments, constructed in 1970 as temporary housing, occupy 5.8 acres of land, yet house only 500 students. Better designed facilities might house upwards of 900 students.
Additionally, the construction of a new basketball-hockey arena seating 8,000 is being contemplated for one
of three sites adjacent to Alumni Stadium, and plans for a fine arts center suggest a facility near the theater.
According to the plans, construc- tion of the Commonwealth Avenue facilities could begin in 1986, with replacement of the modular apart- ments beginning once those facilities were completed. Combined, the new dorms would add 1,100 beds to a campus inventory of 5,300 beds. If present demand persists, that would still leave some 1 ,000 students on a housing waiting list.
The arena would be scheduled for
completion in 1987, with construc- tion of the fine arts facility starting in 1990. A revamping of the Flynn Recreation Complex could take place in the mid 1990s.
Presentations on the plans have been made to University and local community groups.
Galligan Chair established
Boston College has gained another endowed professorship.
The Thomas J. Galligan, Jr. Chair in Strategic Management will reside in the Administrative Sciences Department of the School of Management.
The professorship is named for Thomas J. Galligan, Jr. '41, chief executive officer of Boston Edison Company, the major contributor to the $750,000 chair.
Said President J. Donald Monan, SJ, "The Galligan Chair is a thoroughly appropriate honor to this remarkable man who has successful- ly managed one of the nation's largest utilites for two decades while finding time to work in countless ways for improving the quality of all our lives in Boston."
A&S Graduate programs are focus of study
As called for by President Monan in his September convocation address, the Educational Policy Committee of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences has begun a "realistic assessment of the status and prospects of A&S graduate programs."
By April, according to Graduate A&S Dean Donald White, who is chairing the group, a "mission statement," specific targets for the 1990s, and a self-study by each graduate program will have been developed.
In a second stage of planning, said White, the committee hopes to produce a set of strategies for
meeting the targets set in the first planning stage. Detailed cost estimates and proposed methods for raising funds will be considered. The deadline for completing the second stage is December 1985.
White said, "All of us welcome this opportunity to chart a positive course that will, in President Monan's words, 'clarify the distinc- tive role of graduate education in the identity of the University."
Jody Powell named 1985 O'Neill Professor
A man generally acknowledged to have been among President Carter's closest advisors has been named the third Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Pro- fessor of American Politics.
Jody Powell, 41, the Carter Administration press secretary, arrived on campus in January and will occupy the O'Neill Chair in the Political Science Department for one year. During the present semester, he is teaching a course on
politics and the media.
Announcing the appointment, Political Science Chairman Robert Faulkner said, "(Powell's) knowledge of the workings of both a modern presidential campaign and the modern White House is very rare. Having been both a press secretary and now a member of the press corps, Powell offers an addi- tional advantage: he can provide a firsthand account of the role of the media in American political life generally, and in the affairs of the presidency in particular."
A 1977 profile in Current Biography carried the following description of Powell: "Jimmy Carter's oldest, closest, and perhaps most trusted aide, Jody Powell became the president-elect's first White House appointee when he was named press secretary on November 15, 1976. Energetic, unflappable, and engagingly witty, Powell is the anti- thesis of the haughty, contentious press secretaries of the Nixon and, to a lesser extent, Ford
BOWLING FOR DOLLARS — Bookstore Manager John Durkin gets help from his camera-shy staff in displaying some of the many football related items that have so far generated in excess of $500,000 in sales. Said Durkin, who ran the Ohio State bookstore during a Rose Bowl year, "Their sales were nothing compared to ours. " He expects $1, 000, 000 in sales before the school year is out.
administrations."
Since leaving the White House, Powell has been a national political columnist for the Dallas Times Herald and Los Angeles Times Syndicate, and a news commentator for ABC News.
Established in 1979, the O'Neill Chair is endowed by a $1.3-million gift from alumni and friends of the Speaker.
Carter confidant J ody Powell
SON, Law deans to retire
School of Nursing Dean Mary A. Dineen and Law School Dean Richard G. Huber have announced plans to retire from their positions at the end of the 1984-85 academic year.
Dineen said her future plans are not fixed, but that she would pro- bably soon return to the area of her family home in western New York State. She has been SON dean since 1972.
After a fall semester sabbatical, during which he will spend time at Cambridge University and travel in Europe, Huber intends to return to teach ing al the law school in the spring 1986 semester. Huber joined BC Law School as a professor in 1957. He became dean in 1970.
World-renown theologian Bernard Lonergan, SJ, dies
Theologian Bernard J. F. Lonergan, SJ, whose teachings and sphere of influence have been com- pared with those of Aquinas and Newman, died Nov. 26 at age 79.
Fr. Lonergan was a Distinguished Professor of Theology at BC from 1975 to 1983.
Writing and lecturing on subjects as varied as economic ethics, the philosophy of education, and the spiritual meaning of the family, the primary intellectual task he accepted was the analysis of two episte- mological problems — the nature of knowing, and of intellectual method.
On April 20, 1970, Time magazine said, "Lonergan is con- sidered by many intellectuals to be the finest philosophic thinker of the 20th century."
On that same date, Newsweek wrote, "With that boldness characteristic of genius, Jesuit philosopher Bernard Lonergan has set out to do for the twentieth cen- tury what even Aquinas could not do for the thirteenth: provide an ' understanding of understanding.
Theology Chairman Robert Daly, SJ, said, "Fr. Lonergan's general methodological and theoretical theological world view has been the supporting background of Boston College's interdisciplinary Perspec- tives in Western Civilization Program.
'That curriculum development is the beginning of the rebuilding of something of the sense of unity that used to characterize the old Catholic view."
Fr. Lonergan was born in 1904 in Quebec. He entered the Jesuit Novitiate at Guelph, Ontario, in 1922, and studied at Heythrop Col- lege, Oxfordshire, and at the University of London.
In 1933, he began theology studies at the Gregorian University
Bernard J. F. Lonergan, SJ (1904-1984)
in Rome, earning a doctorate.
After teaching in Montreal and at Regis College, Fr. Lonergan was appointed in 1953 to the Gregorian faculty, where he taught until 1965, when illness forced him to give up classroom duties.
Following his recovery, he return- ed to Regis College to work on his papers and prepare his work on method in theology. He remained at Regis until 1975, when he accepted his appointment here.
At least a dozen books and more than 100 doctoral dissertations have been devoted to the man and his thought.
John (Sully) Sullivan dead at 74
John J. Sullivan, food services director and function manager from 1933 until his retirement in 1976, died Jan. 6. He was 74.
Mr. Sullivan, known as "Sully" to thousands of students who passed through BC during his 43 years here, is survived by his wife, two daughters and two sons.
8
The new Bapst
Burns Special Collections Library to be part of a $6 million refurbishment
BY DOUG WHITING
When the doors to the O'Neill Library opened this past July, the doors to Bapst Library closed. For the first time since 1928, Boston College students could not use Bapst as a study and research facility.
The situation, however, is only tem- porary, as Bapst is currently in the in- itial stages of what is expected to be a 14-month period of renovation and refurbishment.
Included in that renovation will be the establishment of the John J. Burns Library of Rare Books and Special Collections.
The Burns Library is named for the late Judge John J. Burns of Cam- bridge (see page 11), a 1921 graduate of Boston College and a 1935 graduate of BC Law School. Judge Burns was the first patron of the Friends of the Library at Boston Col- lege, and conceived of the plan to col- lect funds for the purchase of materials that now comprise BC's Francis Thompson Collection. He also played a major role in securing from the Hearst Foundation the gift of the rare Flemish tapestries that adorned and enriched Bapst 's interior.
The Burns Library will be located in Bapst and will house the Special Col- lections, rare books and archives. It will occupy most of the basement level and portions of the tower area on the two upper levels. It will be en- vironmentally controlled to protect the valuable and rare materials that will be housed there.
Bapst will also contain a library of books most used by students, the Board of Trustees meeting room, and study space.
Begun in October, the renovations are expected to be completed in December, 1985, and Bapst will re- open in January, 1986.
It was nearly 10 years ago that President J. Donald Monan, SJ, asked University Librarian Thomas O'Con- nell to examine the University's library needs. According to O'Connell, "Fr. Monan asked for two things: if a new library was needed, it should be built on the middle campus; and if a new library was built, Bapst should be re- tained for library services."
The current renovation project will honor that desire, and complete the process.
O'Connell said that while the O'Neill Library now accommodates research and library needs, the Univer- sity is still lacking a facility to ade- quately "showcase its significant holdings" of rare material. Bapst, he said, is the most appropriate setting for such collections.
Additionally, O'Connell said that the location of most used books and reserved books in Bapst would assure its continued use by students and faculty.
Designed by Charles Maginnis, Bapst was completed and opened in 1928. The library building was named for John Bapst, SJ, first president of the University.
Writing about Bapst in a 1975 publication, "A Guide to the Campus," Francis Sweeney, SJ, said:
"In the construction of the walls, the first courses laid were of granite taken from the land. When the supply gave out, Roxbury puddingstone was obtained from a demolished Congrega- tionalist church on Columbus Avenue in Boston, and granite from the wall of an estate in Brookline and from a dismantled brewery in the South End of Boston.
"Designed by Maginnis in the English Collegiate Gothic style, it has the characteristic pier buttresses, oriel windows and Gothic ornament. At the northern end stands the Margaret Ford Memorial Tower, which resembles Merton Tower at Oxford. In the Tower's interior, a medieval staircase
A Most Used Books Library will be housed on the first floor when the building reopens in January 1986.
rises along the walls to a vault fifty feet from the pavement.
"Above the doors of the south porch, the stone tympanum bears the sculptured figure of Mary, Seat of Wisdom, flanked by figures of the major prophets and the four evangelists. From the south porch Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, later Pius XII, addressed the assembled students on Oct. 5, 1936.
'The first floor of the library, now stack space, was once used as an auditorium — a temporary measure which continued to 1969.
"On the second floor, Gargan Hall is the main reading room, with the reserve book room to the right of the entrance, and the periodical room and staff offices at the north end. The ceil- ing of Gargan Hall is of carved oak (arried by hammer beams."
Special Collections, to be housed in the Burns Library, includes books and manuscripts by Thomas Merton, James B. Connolly and Jesuit and Irish writers from as long ago as the sixteenth century. The Williams Ethnological Collection, with 10,000 books and pamphlets, is unique in the country for its Jamaican holdings. The Thompson Collection is the most com- plete collection of manuscripts of Fran- cis Thompson, the Victorian poet. It includes a manuscript copy ol his
noted work, "The Hound of Heaven." Terence L. Connolly, SJ, former librarian, gathered the collec- tion and edited several volumes from its resources.
According to Executive Vice Presi- dent Frank Campanella, the Bapst pro- ject is expected to cost $6.15 million, which will be financed partially through gifts to the University and partially with long-term borrowings.
The team that designed and con- structed the O'Neill Library is renovating Bapst: The Architects Col- laborative, Inc., (TAC) of Cambridge, and the construction management firm of Richard White Sons, Inc.
Aside from the creation of the Burns Library at the Commonwealth Avenue end of the building, primary renova- tions will include the removal of stacks on the lower levels, the restoration of Gargan Hall and the placement of new electric and heating systems.
New stacks and readers will be placed on the first-floor level (the old auditorium), which will house a great portion of the Most Used Books Library and a reserved books section.
Also to be provided at this level: a fine-print room, the Irish Collection, a reading room, offices for the Bapst librarian, and 500 study seats. These, O'Connell said "are absolutely
necessary." He said that in the past, daily usage of all BC libraries averaged 3,000 people per day; since the O'Neill opened last summer, however, traffic has increased to 5,000 patrons a day, and the O'Neill has been filled to capacity on a number of occasions.
Architect Royston Daley, commen- ting on the project, said, "We're charged with restoring a wonderful old building to its original condition, try- ing to recapture the building as it once was. We're sympathetic to the existing structure, and we believe we're both restoring and enhancing Bapst."
O'Connell agreed. "The difficult task was to refine and utilize an ex- isting structure. To use Roy's phrase, we had to find the best way to stuff the turkey. In that sense, TAC has been very good to work with. They under- stand the building's significance, the University's needs, and the desires of the librarians. I'd have to say the turkey is stuffed quite nicely."
Doug Whiting '78, manager of the Univer- sity News Bureau, spent more than a jew hours in Bapst during his undergraduate years. Gifts to the Bapst building fund can be sent to the Development Office at More Half Chestnut Hill, MA 02167.
10
Though he came from humble beginnings, John Joseph Burns rose to extraordinary prominence in an all- too-brief life.
Born in Cambridge in 1901, his father an Irish im- migrant and a public transit motorman, Burns received his undergraduate degree from BC in 1921, and later earned his LLB and SJD at Harvard University.
After practicing law in Boston for two years, he returned to Harvard as a faculty member in 1929. In five years there, he rose from instructor to full professor. A year after he joined Harvard, Burns married Alice Blake. The couple made their home in Belmont and raised seven children.
In 1931, Burns was appointed associate justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court. He was a day short of 30 when he was named to the bench, the youngest judge in the history of the Commonwealth.
Burns served on the Superior Court bench until September 1934, when he was invited by Joseph P. Ken- nedy to become counsel to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Kennedy had been appointed by President Roosevelt as the SEC's first chairman.
After three years on the bench, Judge Burns was, a Boston Globe article of the day reported, "in a mood to step out and do things again in the more active role of counsel to a body that has big affairs on its hands and important problems to attack." During his more than two-year term with the SEC, he handled important litigation on the federal control of stocks. In a letter to Burns upon his resignation from the commission, FDR wrote: "Your fine legal talent and organizing ability have been of the greatest value."
Shortly afterwards, Burns established a private practice as a Boston and New York attorney, a career he pursued the rest of his life. However, he never lost his commit- ment to public service, and served as general counsel to the New England governors in their fight against a railroad freight rate adjustment intended to accord southern states preferential treatment, and, at FDR's behest, as first general counsel to the newly created US Maritime Commission.
During the Second World War, Judge Burns played a major role in helping Ireland obtain the understanding of the American people for its position of neutrality. He worked diligently, away from public view, in the effort that led Roosevelt to appoint Myron Taylor as the first special representative of the United States to the Holy See. He was generous to Boston College and to many charities, usually without public recognition. Some 30 years ago, when the Cistercian monastery in Spencer, Mass., burned, it was Judge Burns, J. Peter Grace, and a group of friends who organized the fundraising effort to rebuild it.
At the time of his death, in 1957, he was senior part- ner in the firm of Burns, Blake & Rich of Boston, and Burns, Currie, Rich & Rice of New York.
In that year, Boston College Librarian Terence L. Connolly, SJ, wrote: "It is a strange and tragic coin- cidence that in the issue of the Librarium in which the
A friend of the library— in life and in memory
crowning gifts to the Thompson Collection are acknowledged, we must join our thanks to the one responsible for these gifts with an expression of our sor- row and sense of irreparable loss."
At a Requiem Mass, Archbishop Richard J. Cushing remarked, "Few men in our part of the country have written so early in life a history of achievement so praiseworthy and so proud for his family and friends as that written by the late judge.
"...To the young men of the colleges to which he was so loyal, to whose students he was so generous and in whose careers he took so enthusiastic an interest, we recommend the example of this energetic intellectual who loved his church and his country, wearing himself out in the service of their ideals."
The creation of the Burns Rare Books and Special Collections Library is part of a comprehensive effort to expand and improve library facilities at Boston College. Family and friends of Judge Burns have assumed respon- sibility for raising a substantial portion of the funds need- ed to construct and equip this library. It will be a suitable memorial for an alumnus who demonstrated a great love of the library and a particular affection and concern for its rare books and special collections.
D.W.
11
EMERSON
His latest biographer examines the myths and the man
BY JOHN MCALEER
F
JL or $
or some 150 years, Americans have been arguing about Ralph Waldo Emerson. Was he our intellectual giant, or, as he himself put it, "an importer of stale German elixers ' '? English Professor John McAleer, author of an acclaimed biography, Ralph Waldo Emerson: Days of Encounter (see page 15), is the latest respondent on the Emerson question. BCM asked McAleer, whose book has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, for his analysis of Emerson and his place in American thought and letters.
In the pages of The New Yorker and the New York Review of Books, John Updike and Harold Bloom have been squabbling over Emerson. Against Updike's humanistic protests (which he characterizes as "churchwardenly mewings"), Bloom pits an Emerson of heroic stature: "Emerson is the mind of our climate... he, rather than Marx or Heidegger, will be the guiding spirit of our imaginative literature and our criticism for some time to come." R.W.B. Lewis agrees with Bloom. "Emerson," he says, "is the key figure in American literature."
This controversy is nothing new. It began nearly 150 years ago, with the publication of Emerson's Nature in 1836, and, with few interruptions, has gone on ever since.
Emerson has been hailed as "an American Olympian," "an American Goethe without Goethe's sexual in-
'Buddha of the West' 'animated icicle?'
or
The controversy never dies
quisitiveness" (today, in some quarters, a fact recorded as one of his failings), "the most potent intellectual force on the continent," "the only man in America worth knowing." It is claimed that "no other American did so much for the emancipation of the growing mind of America."
As an influence in American letters Emerson also has received high praise — "the literary dictator of the age," "the central figure in the development of American poetry down to our times." "To no English writer,
since Milton," we are assured, "can be assigned so high a place."
Emerson has been exalted as "the New England Plato," "the Psyche of Puritanism," "the Orpheus of Op- timism," "the Jove of the Concord immortals," and "the Buddha of the West." And we are told that he was "from the 1830's to the Civil War the most urbane deviser of intellectual bombshells in the United States." He has even been called "a pioneer in the moral woods of the New World," and "the unfrocked priest of the human mind."
If a measure of ambivalence attends these last phrases, there could be no doubt about the intentions of some of Emerson's more aggressive detractors. He was seen as "an importer of stale German elixers" (Emerson himself furnished this phrasing), "a cross be- tween Brahma and Poor Richard," "a fraud and a sentimentalist," "a self- idolater," "an Angelic junk dealer," "an animated icicle," "a lunatic," and "the last man on earth to invite to a picnic."
To those who applied Puritanical standards of orthodoxy to Emerson's writings, he has been an unsurpassed enticement to rhetorical excess. He has, at various times, been character- ized as "the arch heretic of American literature," "an unslumbering arch heretic," "a pagan who would bring in again the Greek gods." While Emerson yet lived, one traducer said:
12
V when
"Judas was a gentleman compared to Ralph Waldo Emerson."
Against these vituperations must be weighed the likeness of a man whose personal integrity caused those who knew him to say that his age was "entertaining an angel unawares." Orestes Brownson, the most illustrious convert to Catholicism in the U.S. in the nineteenth century, spoke out bold- ly in Emerson's defense:
"Mr. Emerson is the last man in the world we should suspect of conscious hostility to religion and morality. No one can know him or read his produc- tions without feeling a profound respect for the singular purity and uprightness of his character and motives. His real object is not the in- culcation of any new theory of man, nature, or God; but to induce men to think for themselves on all subjects, and to speak from their own full hearts and earnest convictions... This is the real end he has in view, and it is a good end."
Brownson's conclusions, incidental- ly, apply with equal validity to Emer- son's celebrated "American Scholar" address. It is supposed that Emerson's one concern here was to persuade his countrymen to repudiate their dependency on European literature in favor of producing a literature distinc- tively American. Yet, this is his topic only in a brief passage coming at the close of his address. In 75 minutes, in fact, he used the word "American" only four times. For him, the word "scholar" was synonymous with "Man Thinking," and Man Thinking was his true subject.
And he meant not merely men in his own country, in his own time, but men everywhere and in future times, as well. Reaching out beyond national boundaries to address himself to the whole of mankind, in every age, he urged each generation to do its own thinking and not be held hostage by the past. This was in keeping with Emerson's goal of fostering the development of the complete universal man. Always his message came back to his unwavering conviction that the reformation of society begins with the reformation of the individual.
Emerson has been charged with ir-
hen a woman
sought to dispute his belief in
immortality, Emerson dismissed
her with four words — 'Madame,
are we swill?'
responsibly advocating self-reliant spontaneity at the expense of time- proven authority. In reality, he saw men struggling individually to advance out of chaos. "I have taught one doc- trine," he said, "namely, the in- finitude of the private man."
He sought to induce each man to follow his highest leading. No credulous optimist lacking a true vision of the reality of evil, as is sometimes supposed, he desired the progress of the species but did not see progress as the inevitable lot of mankind. Reject- ing Darwin's mechanistic evolution and Spencer's philosophical expansions on that theme, Emerson believed that progress is dependent upon effort, its true basis being man's absorption, through the steady improvement of his moral character, into the Divine Source. He scorned socialistic ideas of progress. "To call forth the free spirit... to provoke men to be men, self-moving, self-subsisting men, not mere puppets, moving but as moved by the reigning mode, the reigning dogma, the reigning school," that, said Brownson, was what Emerson strove for.
Nothing persuaded men more of the feasibility of Emerson's message than the example offered in his own con- duct. Before he was eight he lost his father. In the years that immediately followed he sometimes went supperless to bed and coatless in winter. He worked his way through college. Tuberculosis afflicted him and killed his beautiful young wife after only 17 months of marriage. During 47 years he lived patiently with a second wife who was a neurasthenic invalid. He cared for 40 years for a retarded brother, and 18 years for his aged mother, who was an invalid. His first- born, his "morning star," died sud- denly at five. He saw his home burn. He buried his seven brothers and
sisters, most of whom died young. To earn necessary income he lectured far and wide, braving epidemics, floods, blizzards, near-Arctic cold, and, more often than not, a hostile press. He ac- cepted all that came his way with a good heart, believing that life compen- sated him in full for the misfortunes that befell him.
John Jay Chapman concluded that Emerson's effectiveness came not from his philosophy but from his personal rectitude. Emerson himself said once: "To every serious mind Providence sends from time to time five or six or seven teachers who are of the first im- portance to him in the lessons they have to impart. The highest of these not so much give particular knowledge as they elevate by sentiment, and by their habitual grandeur of view." He was such a teacher. Henry James, Sr. makes the case for us:
"Mr. Emerson's authority to the imagination consists, not in his ideas, not in his intellect, not in his culture, not in his science, but all simply in himself, in the form of his natural per- sonality. There are scores of men of more advanced ideas than Mr. Emer- son, of subtler apprehension, of broader knowledge, of deeper culture; but I know of none who is half so in- teresting in himself, none whose nature exhibits half so clear and sheer a reconciliation of infinite and finite."
Of Emerson, James Freeman Clarke said:
"So great is my respect for the ex- traordinary dignity and purity of his character... I cannot bear the criticisms which must needs seem shallow though coming from good and true men. When we are permitted to meet a man whose life is holiness, whose words are gems, whose character is of the purest type of heroism, yet of childlike simplicity, shall we stop to find fault with the shape of his coat, or the coherence of his opinions, instead of gratefully receiving this Heaven's gift?"
George Ripley, founder of Brook Farm, decided, "The secret of Mr. Emerson's unquestionable strength lies in the profound sincerity of its Nature." James Russell Lowell pressed this conclusion to its outermost limits:
13
"When one meets him [Emerson] the Fall of Adam seems a false report."
Rutherford B. Hayes, after many years of reading Emerson, at length concluded: "I am far more content with whatever may come since I have read Emerson's calm, quiet, self- satisfied way of dealing with the deepest questions... I will insist that the more we read of Emerson the better we like him; the wiser we will be; the better we will find ourselves, and by consequence (if anything is conse- quence), the happier." British scientist William Tyndall saw himself similarly indebted: "If anyone can be said to have given the impulse to my mind, it is Emerson; whatever I have done, the world owes to him." From Germany, Herman Grimm wrote Emerson: "You write so that everyone reading your words must think that you had thought of him alone. The love which you have for all mankind is so strongly felt that one thinks it impossible that you should not have thought of single preferred persons, among whom the reader counts himself."
In 1982, on the occasion of the centennial observance of Emerson's death, I was asked to give the com- memorative sermon from the pulpit he had preached from in Lexington on a hundred occasions. I welcomed the op- portunity and chose as my theme the subject Emerson had preached on when he dedicated the Lexington church in 1840 — the good that radiates from one man of true virtue can transform the world. "Milton," Emer- son once said, "discharged the office of every great man, namely to raise the idea of Man in the minds of his contemporaries and of posterity." He might have been describing himself.
Once, when a woman sought to dis- pute with Emerson his belief in immor- tality, he dismissed her arguments with four words — "Madame, are we swill?"
These were strong words for a mild man. But there are times when the truth must be spoken plainly. In India, in 1946, I met Mahatma Gandhi and asked him to set a phrase for me to live by. He chose a phrase from Emer- son, "Speak the rude truth in all ways." Were we to follow this advice we might have a better world.
McAleer at Ralph Waldo's study table in Emerson House, Concord. Emerson, McAleer relates in his book, seldom wrote at the table, but on a lapdesk. He would cast sheets of paper to the floor as he completed them and sometimes concluded a writing day on his knees, trying to discern the correct order of pages,
14
MJn
'nglish Professor John McAleer had to go a long way to discover Ralph Waldo Emerson. In 1946, McAleer was serving in the Amer- ican Army in India and found the Indians more informed about Emerson and his Transcen- dentalist contemporaries than he was. "I thought, " he said recently, "'Here are these writers from my section of the country and I have to go abroad to find them. ' I was embarrassed. '
McAleer has more than atoned for his youthful ignorance. He has published, after seven years of research and writing, Ralph Waldo Emerson: Days of Encounter (Little, Brown, 1984), a major and somewhat unusual biography.
Reviews have been strikingly good. The Houston Post called the book "a transcendent look at Emerson. " Wrote critic Jacques Barzun, "Mr. McAleer 's Emerson has several claims to our attention: it is a new form of biography; it reads like a novel; and it gives us for the first time a believable Emerson — a man, not a sage in aspic. '
The "new form of biography" referred to by Barzun has to do with the book's organization. Said McAleer, "Most biographies of Emerson come to a grinding halt when the authors begin to discourse on the influence of the German idealists or the Persian poets upon Emerson. So I decided that all that kind of material could be incorporated into two chapters. " Most of the re- maining chapters are set around the "encounters" of the title: Emerson and Thoreau, Emerson and Thomas Carlyle, Emerson and Brook Farm, Emerson and slavery.
Said Jane Langton in the Sunday Boston Globe, "McAleer allows these separate gazes to intersect, providing a clear fix on the man himself. The saint of Concord comes into sharp focus as a wise man of simple manners, 'fatal perception ' and a vision both homely and exalted. '
McAleer approached the Emerson project convinced of its timeliness. "The period since World War II, ' ' he said, ' 'was a time of the great discovery of Thoreau. Emerson was shoved off into the background. During that period, however, Harvard had been publishing his com- plete journals. I wanted to get Emerson down off the pedestal. His excerpted journals, which his son had published, conveyed Ralph Waldo as a distant, antiseptic, Victorian figure. I wanted to establish his relevance to the present age. I figure every generation deserves its own biography of a great writer.
McAleer, however, also worried about what significant things he could say about Emerson that had not been said in 26 other biographies. "There was a certain irony involved in my selection of Emerson as a subject, because my publisher originally wanted me to do a book on (Nathaniel) Hawthorne and I turned that down when I discovered there were nine other books on Hawthorne in progress. During the period I worked on the Emerson book, however, some 20 books on him were published. " Fortunately for McAleer, none was a full biography. "I began to think I could make my book a culmination, " he said.
McAleer was also fortunate in having available source works previously denied Emerson 's biographers. These included the Harvard-published journals and what McAleer calls his "big discovery": a biography of Emerson's second wife, Lydia Jackson, written by their daughter.
These works, and other, previously unstudied accounts of encounters with Emerson which McAleer was able to garner, revealed a flesh-and-blood man "of infinite compassion, patience, understanding and generosity — on the whole, a model of self-discipline. '
McAleer said his book is not a bio-critique, but the story of a life lived — a life which McAleer, himself, finds much to admire in.
"By nature, I'm an optimistic person and I found Emerson congenial to work with. He was a champion of positive thinking and I enjoy writing about someone who confronted life courageously. '
McAleer, a BC faculty member since 1947 and author of biographies of Theodore Dreiser and Rex Stout, is currently at work on his second novel. Ralph Waldo Emerson: Days of Encounter has been nominated by its publisher for a Pulitzer Prize in biography. "Taking a leaf from Emerson, " McAleer said, "I'm not going to let (the prospect of the prize) bother me one way or another. '
Ben Birnbaum
An unorthodox biography reveals a humane sage
15
THAT
CHAMPIONSHIP
SEASON
Sometimes, an event becomes an experience
"We're not curing cancer here," Head Football Coach Jack Bicknell has said on more than one occasion. "We're playing a game of football." He's also been reported saying to his players prior to each game, "Let's just go out there and have some fun."
That's called perspective, and in the greater scheme of things, Boston Col- lege's 1984 football season was a nice achievement. In perspective.
But sometimes things are different, like things were different for Carl Yastrzemski and the Red Sox in 1967. Events, people, become bigger than
life. And so, the 1984 season, complete with The Play, the Heisman, Flutie- mania and culminating with the Cot- ton Bowl, became something much more than a nice achievement, evolv- ing into an epic that caught the emo- tions of not only Boston College and its loyalists, but of a city, a region, and, some would say, the country.
But the story is easier to understand with a little history.
In 1940, the Boston College football
BY DOUG WHITING
team appeared in its first bowl game ever, the Cotton Bowl. An appearance in the Sugar Bowl followed in 1941; in 1943, it was the Orange Bowl. Then came the drought.
Three and a half decades later, after some very good (but not good enough) and some very bad (plenty bad enough) years, BC went an entire season without winning a single foot- ball game, posting an 0-11 record in 1978. During those 35 years, the Eagles had not been to a single bowl game, and talk at and around the Heights questioned the wisdom of pur-
Members of "the class nobody wanted" hoist the trophy nobody else could get. Front (l-r), Doug Flutie and Scott Harrington. Rear, Mark MacDonald, Gerard Phelan and (behind trophy) Steve Strachan.
16
suing a major league athletic program.
Each of those long years had two common denominators — the pre-season provoked bowl talk and anticipation, and the post-season raised the difficult questions of program direction.
The result was frustration — at BC, around New England and across the country among the University's alumni.
And then, without warning, the glory days returned, led by a coach called Cowboy Jack, a miracle- working, undersized quarterback and a large cast of other talented actors.
In 1982, it was an 8-3 record and an invitation to Orlando's Tangerine Bowl to play Auburn. A year later, a 9-2 record earned the Eagles a bid to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis to play Notre Dame. Both served as warm-ups to the main act — a 9-2 record in 1984, including victories over Alabama and defending national champion Miami; BC's first ever Heisman Trophy; and an invitation to a New Year's Day bowl, the Cotton Bowl, in Dallas, to play Southwest Conference champion Houston.
The swiftness of this occurrence caught many off guard, but BC followers and supporters quickly warmed to the task of backing a win- ner. In fact, The Play in Miami, the Heisman Trophy and the Cotton Bowl invitation produced a groundswell of interest matched in recent Boston sports history only, perhaps, by the 1967 and 1975 Red Sox, the Bobby Orr-led Bruins of the early '70s and the 1984 Celtics World Championship.
The long wait was over.
The Cotton Bowl promised to be an experience like none before at Boston College. There have been great athletic events over time, great games and seasons, but this would top them all. There were the bowl teams of yester- year, and more recent accom- plishments like the thrilling, overtime victory over the Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown Hoyas at Boston Garden; the basketball team in the NCAA final sweet 16 for three consecutive years; Beanpot victories. All great, but only pretenders to the ultimate happening, .^rj
Oh, the hats, baseball caps, maroon cowboy hats, ski hats, foolish hats with the gold flapping eagle wings.
Those were games, events. Dallas and the Cotton Bowl would be an experience.
The experience soon extended beyond the boundaries of the Chestnut Hill campus.
Media coverage was a story on its own. There were magazine covers, stories in Time, Newsweek, the New York- Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Inter- national Herald Tribune, and even the China Daily. There were hour-long television specials, and features on every newscast on every local station; turn the radio dial and you'd hear something about BC, Flutie. A song ("Tutti Frutti, Go Flutie") rose on the charts. Nearly every media outlet in the greater Boston area, print and elec- tronic, would have representatives in Dallas.
After the standard stories had been exhausted — the little kid from Natick, given the last scholarship, goes on to win the Heisman; the coach from Maine reads Zane Grey novels and wears cowboy boots even though he hails from the plains of New Jersey; the quarterback's best friend (natural- ly) and roommate (of course) on the receiving end of The Play — the media looked for other angles. How does all of this impact on the admissions pro- gram, the fundraising effort, alumni spirit?
There were full-color posters of the Magic Man everywhere, and Flutie- Boston College-Cotton Bowl trinkets and souvenirs were big pre-Christmas sellers. The BC bookstore alone did more than $500,000 worth of business. Radio stations and newspapers spon- sored contests for trips to the Cotton Bowl. One such contest, sponsored by the Boston Globe, caused so great a stampede of researchers attempting to answer the contest's trivia questions, that the O'Neill Library's microfilm department posted the correct answers for all to copy.
^H^. The winning feeling
was infectious. Fifteen
w
thousand tickets to the Cotton Bowl were sold through BC in three days, 10,000 in several hours. Ticket sales in Boston were the second largest for an away team in Cotton Bowl history. Eight Boston-area travel agencies spon- sored trips to Dallas, ranging in price from $350-$2,600, and the BC Alumni Association enrolled 1,800 in its trip and had to turn others away. Some would weather a 30-hour bus ride to be there, while others would travel by car and train to experience the experience. Students, alumni, trustees, administrators, faculty, children, old, young, men, women, friends and just plain football enthusiasts thirsty for a sip of the big time climbed aboard the BC bandwagon.
The airlift from Boston to Dallas was said to be the largest from Logan Airport to any one city since World War II. An estimated 25,000 New Englanders descended upon, and engulfed, the city of Dallas, where everything is big, bigger, biggest, but where the gracious hosts seemed unable to cope with the glut of Yankees.
It became virtually impossible to get to Dallas from Logan. Even in New York and Newark, it was dif- ficult to get a plane ticket, and many resorted to flights to Houston and a four-hour drive.
On Saturday, Dec: 29, the departure began in earnest. On Sunday, came the deluge: 22 charter flights, carrying thousands of maroon- clad partisans. The airport scene early on Sunday morning was a sea of maroon and gold: sweaters, scarves, hats (oh, the hats, baseball caps, maroon cowboy hats, ski hats, foolish hats with the gold flapping eagle wings, painters caps) that would become a familiar scene on the streets and in the hotels, restaurants and bars of Dallas in the following days.
The plane trip, in a sense, symbol- ized the year's experience — a thick cloud cover spread like a 1,500-mile long safety blanket beneath the planes
17
A flock of Eagle supporters and a Doug Flutie doll prepare to take flight from Logan Airport on Dec. 30.
carrying the New Englanders to Dallas. For the entire trip, Eagle fans were above the clouds — soft, fluffy, friendly clouds — as they had been since the season began.
The mood was upbeat, the feeling, of great anticipation. Also, corny though it may be, there was a feel- ing of togetherness and common pur- pose, of aren't-we-the-fortunate- ones.
There was also a certain curiosity about Dallas. Cowboys. Billy Bob's. Southfork. Dealey Plaza. Ten- gallon hats. Boots. Steaks. Neiman- Marcus. The talk turned from Dallas to the hockey team's lofty place in the Hockey East standings and to the Eagle hoopsters win the night before in the Cabrillo Classic. Above the clouds.
The four days in Dallas were a treadmill: sightseeing, parties, formal and informal receptions, impromptu reunions, New Year's Eve activities, the parade and, of course, the game. New Englanders were dispersed in various hotels, and the Boston-BC presence was everywhere. Barely a Texas twang was heard, save that of a bus driver, bellhop or bartender. "How aah ya?" was heard far more often than "How y'all doing?" Cowboy hats? Sure, there were hun- dreds of them, but maroon with gold
lettering. Finding a Texas style restaurant or saloon wasn't difficult; finding Texans in them was. Even Ray, the bartender at the Hilton's Gatsby Bicycle Bar, was a transplanted Bostonian.
Maroon and gold filled the lobbies and lounges of hotels from the plush Loews Anatole to the stately Mandalay Four Seasons, to the Plaza of the Americas and the various Hiltons and Holiday Inns. Travelers gathered in celebration at informal hospitality receptions sponsored by the Alumni Association and various travel agen- cies, and at more formal receptions as guests of the president and trustees of Boston College. On New Year's Eve, thousands jammed the lobby and overhead balconies of the Anatole, a scene repeated at locations across Dallas. The strains of "For Boston" brought in the New Year, not "Auld Lang Syne."
In the days preceding the game, some chose to visit Southfork, home of the Ewings (no, not Patrick). "No great shakes," reported one less than impressed alum. "The house is so small, and the pool. Tiny Very disappointing." Others opted for Billy Bob's, Dallas' version of an urban cowboy saloon complete with mechanical bull. Everyone paid a visit
to Dealey Plaza and the Kennedy Memorial.
Leigh Montville of the Boston Globe wrote, "The planes were landing in a hurry now at Dallas-Fort Worth Air- port, the tour groups and individual revelers arriving in maroon and gold... In every suitcase there will be a list of things to do, things to see. On almost every list, a visit to the site of the assassination of John F. Kennedy will be near the top. There is no way to avoid the visit. Not if you are from Boston."
He was right. Bus after bus pulled up to the memorial, unloading the visitors. While shouts, song and laughter would mark every other ac- tivity on the Cotton Bowl odyssey, the visit to Dealey Plaza was strangely dif- ferent. Quiet. Solemn. Eerie.
Almost as if programmed, each per- son would step from the bus and look for the building, the Texas School Book Depository. Then, they'd look for the window, Oswald's window. Se- cond from the top, far right. Yes, that's it. Those with cameras would take pictures of the building, then of the window. Others would just stare. Then, they'd look left, to Elm Street, to the sign directing traffic to Stem- mons Highway, to the spot where Kennedy was hit.
After digesting the scene, people would move on to the memorial, still not talking, where a plaque told of the events of Nov. 22, 1963, and another plaque mapped out the president's route. The final stop was the grassy knoll, just beyond the spot where the president was hit, the location where conspiracy theories place a second gun- man. One last look at the entire scene, and the visitors from Boston boarded their buses to continue their tours. There was also, of course, a football game. Not just any football game, but a bowl | game, a bona fide, big time, New Year's Day, na- tionally televised bowl game: one of those bowls you'd crawled out of bed on New Year's Day for so many years to watch. The bowl game Jack Bicknell
IB
said he'd watched forever in his pajamas.
And, of course, what's a big time bowl game without a big time parade? The BC fans emptied out of their hotels and into the streets of Dallas to cheer the high school bands, the clowns, the floats, the Kilgore Rangerettes, the Cotton Queen. Ban- ners hung from hotel windows, and the sidewalks were lined six and seven deep. Once again, maroon and gold dominated the scene, though, for the first time, the red and white of the Houston Cougars was in evidence. A loud roar greeted the marching band from the University of Houston. The biggest roar, though, was saved for the BC band, led by none other than Assistant Dean of Students Michael Ryan in colonial garb.
The biting cold helped to clear some of the lingering bleariness of the night before, but, of course, caught the Northerners by surprise. Wasn't this the Sunbelt, the Southwest, where the skies are not cloudy all day?
In a scene repeated at loca- tions across Dallas, the strains of "For Boston"
brought in the New Year, not "Auld Lang Syne.':
The weather forecast called for temperatures in the low thirties, a wind chill factor of near zero, and sleet or snow at gametime, while the pre- game talk questioned the ability of BC's defense to stop the feared veer. Bill Yeoman, the Houston coach, had invented the offense. Well, even if the veer couldn't be stopped, the experts decided, Doug Flutie's arm would carry the Eagles to victory. BC would
simply be able to score more points than Houston. But then again, this was the Cotton Bowl, practically on Houston's home turf. On any given Sunday, er, Tuesday...
The truth, of course, is that the pre- game script was followed, and then scrubbed. Flutie threw for three first- half touchdowns (a Cotton Bowl record) and BC raced to a 31-14 halftime lead. In years to come, perhaps, that first half will be remembered as great theater, but the reality is that BC thoroughly dominated Houston, leaving many of the chilled spectators (many wrapped in borrowed hotel blankets) sitting on their frozen hands.
An obligatory Houston surge in the third quarter allowed the 57,000 spec- tators to warm up a bit, but 31-28 was as close as the Cougars would get.
The game was ultimately decided not by Flutie's golden arm, but by the
Following Troy Stradford's score on an 18-yard run, Darren Flutie '88, is the only player with his feet on the ground, as he, Jack Bicknell, Jr. '85, and Stradford '86, indulge in some end-zone celebrating. The touchdown with scarcely a minute left in the game brought the score to 45-28.
19
legs of running backs Troy Stradford (196 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Steve Strachan (91 yards, 2 touchdowns, countless big plays and the game MVP), and the BC defense, which ef- fectively shut down the veer. Unable to throw the ball successfully, Flutie time and again handed off to his talented backs with unexpected results.
Meanwhile, the defense, the same defense that had been badly burned by Army's wishbone earlier in the year, rose to the occasion and stiffened when Houston drew near. The key play of the game, regrettably, was a penalty that killed a Houston drive for the go- ahead score late in the third period. But, in all likelihood, the penalty will soon be forgotten, and Strachan 's dives over the top, Stradford's darting, the containment of defensive end David Thomas and the pursuit of nose tackle Mike Ruth will be remembered as the game's critical elements. And that is as it should be.
For in events that are bigger than life, that rise far above the ordinary, only the best should be remembered. Just prior to the 1985 Cotton Bowl, a Boston Globe article told readers that the 1940 Cotton Bowl was really a bore, overshadowed by a Texas high school football game. A myth shattered. For some, the article was painful reading. For many, unfinished reading.
It is possible that in years to come, an athletic happening will occur at the Heights that will match, perhaps sur- pass, the wondrous achievements of the 1984 football team. Another unlikely candidate will emerge to per- form unrealistic and unbelievable feats and lead his or her team to unexpected success.
It is hard to believe, however, that there will ever be an individual who will eclipse the memories of one Doug Flutie, or a BC sports team that will draw a more emotional response than that bestowed upon this group of over- achieving athletes. Only time will tell.
Doug Whiting '78, News Bureau manager, is three inches shorter than Doug Flutie and played sparingly at defensive back and wide receiver for Haverhill High School.
|
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Season |
at a glance |
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RECORD. |
9-2 |
BC-OPP |
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||||||
|
9/1 |
Western |
Carol t |
na 44-24 |
te^£;'i. |
||||||
|
9/8 |
at Alabama |
38-31 |
W .IP^ |
|||||||
|
9/22 10/13 |
North C Temple |
arolina |
52-20 24-10 |
|||||||
|
10/20 10/27 |
at West Rutgers |
Virginia 20-21 35-23 |
The Cotton Bowl |
|||||||
|
11/03 |
at Penn |
State |
30-37 |
|||||||
|
11/10 |
Army |
45-31 |
TEAM STATISTICS |
BC |
HOU |
|||||
|
11/17 |
Syracuse |
24-16 |
FIRST DOWNS: |
22 |
15 |
|||||
|
11/23 |
at Miami |
47-45 |
Rushing |
12 |
9 |
|||||
|
12/1 |
at Holy |
Cross |
45-10 |
Passing |
10 |
5 |
||||
|
Penalties |
0 |
1 |
||||||||
|
TEAM STATISTICS |
BC |
OPP |
RUSHING: attempts |
50 |
42 |
|||||
|
FIRST DOWNS |
170 |
135 |
Net yards gained |
353 |
167 |
|||||
|
Rushing |
258 |
226 |
PASSING: net yards |
180 |
154 |
|||||
|
Passing |
135 |
98 |
Attempted |
37 |
29 |
|||||
|
Penalty |
11 |
6 |
Completed |
13 |
9 |
|||||
|
TOTAL OF! |
5317 |
4317 |
Intercepted |
2 |
2 |
|||||
|
Rushing |
1844 |
2213 |
Sacked-yards lost |
4-28 |
0-0 |
|||||
|
Passing |
3473 |
2104 |
TOTAL OFFENSE: |
/ards |
533 |
321 |
||||
|
Avg. Per G |
ame |
483.4 |
392.5 |
Plays, pass & rush |
87 |
71 |
||||
|
OFFENSIVE PLAYS |
82.3 |
826 |
Avg. gain per play |
6.1 |
4.5 |
|||||
|
Rushing |
4.31 |
524 |
PUNTING: Number |
8 |
10 |
|||||
|
Passing |
392 |
312 |
Average |
29.9 |
33 |
|||||
|
PASSES COMP/ATT |
236/392 |
156/3: |
Returned-vards |
2-(-l) |
1-2 |
|||||
|
INT/YDS RFT |
23/176 |
11/62 |
KICKOFFS: No. -yards |
3-42 |
7-187 |
|||||
|
PUNTS/YDS |
46/1678 |
50/1970 |
PENALTIES-yards |
7-64 |
7-66 |
|||||
|
PUNT AVG |
36.5 |
39.4 |
FUMBLES-lost |
2-1 |
3-2 |
|||||
|
PUNT RET/YDS |
22/218 |
25/270 |
Possession |
34:41 |
25:19 |
|||||
|
KO RET/ YDS |
44/846 |
60/1089 |
||||||||
|
PENALTIES |
72/569 |
t |
i7/528 |
SCORE BY PERIODS |
||||||
|
FUMBLES/LOST |
26/11 |
30/12 |
BC (10-2) 17 |
14 |
0 |
14— |
45 |
|||
|
THIRD DOWN CONV |
60/ 1 5 1 |
62/158 |
Houston (7-5) 7 |
7 |
14 |
0— |
28 |
|||
|
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS |
|||||||||
|
RUSHING |
TC |
YG |
AVG |
TD |
LG |
RUSHING TC |
YG |
AVG |
TD |
LG |
|
Stradford |
146 |
711 |
4.7 |
5 |
44 |
Stradford 20 |
196 |
9.8 |
1 |
37 |
|
Strachan |
94 |
466 |
4.9 |
9 |
30 |
Strachan 23 |
91 |
1 |
2 |
13 |
|
Bell |
77 |
379 |
4.5 |
2 |
71 |
Doug Flutie 4 |
51 |
12.8 |
0 |
27 |
|
Doug Fluii< |
62 |
328 |
2.4 |
i |
29 |
Darren Flutie 1 |
8 |
8 |
0 |
8 |
|
Browne |
23 |
85 |
3.1 |
1 |
11 |
Bell 1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
Taylor |
15 |
62 |
3.9 |
1 |
15 |
Phelan 1 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
5 |
|
Darren Flutie 4 |
44 |
11 |
1 |
19 |
||||||
|
Phelan |
7 |
37 |
5.3 |
0 |
12 |
PASSING ATT |
CP |
YDS |
TD |
INT |
|
Williams |
5 |
26 |
4.8 |
0 |
15 |
Doug Flutie 37 |
13 |
180 |
3 |
2 |
|
Peach |
1 |
I) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|||||
|
1 lalloran |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
RECEIVING Phelan |
NO 7 |
YDS '0 |
TD 1 |
LG 20 |
|
PASSING |
ATT |
CP |
YDS |
TD |
INT |
Stradford |
4 |
It) |
1 |
8 |
|
Flutie |
386 |
233 |
3454 |
27 |
11 |
Martin |
1 |
63 |
1 |
63 |
|
Halloran |
() |
3 |
19 |
(1 |
0 |
C rieselman |
1 |
7 |
(i |
7 |
|
RECEIVING NO |
YDS |
AVG |
TD |
LG |
INTERCEPTIONS |
NO |
YDS |
LG |
TD |
|
|
Phelan |
64 |
971 |
15.2 |
3 |
51 |
Russell |
1 |
11 |
11 |
0 |
|
Martin |
37 |
715 |
19.3 |
1(1 |
45 |
Thurman |
1 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
|
Stradford |
37 |
422 |
1 11 |
5 |
40 |
|||||
|
( rieselman |
32 |
I'M |
lit. |
4 |
23 |
PUNTING |
NO |
YDS AVG |
LG |
|
|
Strachan |
12 |
89 |
7.4 |
1 |
19 |
Peach |
8 |
239 |
29 'i |
36 |
|
Darren Flutie 9 |
2 1 1 |
23.8 |
1 |
51 |
||||||
|
( lasparriellt |
> 9 |
131 |
1 1 6 |
1 |
31 |
PUNT |
||||
|
1 )ombrov\ s |
ci 9 |
I(>1 |
18.2 |
0 |
15 |
RETURNS |
NO |
YDS |
LG |
TD |
|
B. Murphy |
3 |
42 |
11 |
(I |
25 |
Martin |
2 |
-1 |
(I |
0 |
|
K. Bell |
3 |
28 |
'i ; |
0 |
17 |
|||||
|
Browne |
3 |
28 |
') i |
1 |
13 |
KICKOFF |
||||
|
S. William |
; 1 |
26 |
26 |
1 |
26 |
RETURNS |
NO |
YDS |
LG |
TD |
|
s Murphy |
1 |
17 |
17 |
(I |
17 |
Taylor |
2 |
31 |
16 |
0 |
|
( fiaquinto |
1 |
8 |
8 |
0 |
8 |
Williams |
1 |
1 1 |
1 1 |
0 |
20
Me and Doug
The transformation of an armchair fan
BY PAUL DOHERTY
The announced reason for the trip to New Haven a year ago last fall was to encounter landmarks, first, the Yale campus, and, later, on the way home, Mystic Seaport. The game itself at the Yale Bowl was to be but the sly occa- sion for mobilizing the family for the drive. I am pretty good at conning myself, as you shall soon learn.
At some point during the game, or more precisely, at some point during the first half — her second half was spent resting in the back seat of the car — my younger daughter Katie discovered Doug Flutie, by way of his picture in the game program. She was not the first, as she now insists, nor, as we all know, the last. But for quite some time I was able to pretend that it
was her keen interest in the subject, not my own, which was so humorously extreme. A couple of months later, just after classes broke for Christmas vaca- tion, I resolved to get his autograph for her, and walked down to Roberts Center.
It may be hard for you to believe this now, when every move of Flutie
21
makes the six and eleven o'clock news on all three channels, but I was truly surprised to learn from the graduate assistant who answered my knock, that the team had flown to Memphis earlier that day to begin workouts for the Liberty Bowl. He consoled me with a glossy 5x7 photograph, which I decided to keep for myself; I would try for the autograph at some later date.
I was not exactly a sudden convert. It was as a freshman that Flutie had first attracted my affection, when a reporter for the Boston Globe sought him out the day after one of his starr- ing roles, and eventually located him playing touch football at a Natick playground. As I remember, he ex- plained that football was fun, and that he played as often as he had the chance. And then the BC team began beating major teams regularly, something that hadn't happened since before World War II. There followed the Tangerine Bowl, national rankings, the first pass at the Heisman, the sec- ond bowl game, and by the time that the 1984 football season was about to begin, there was a regular checklist of Flutie topics to be considered daily — too small, which league, how much, whose record.
As the season moved along, I at- tended every game I could, watched on TV or heard on radio (excruciating deprivation) those I could not. I was combing four daily and two weekly newspapers and several magazines for such information and insights as might be gleaned. I dropped down to practice one afternoon just before Thanksgiv- ing— why hadn't I thought of it before? — and, noting that Flutie was being interviewed by one of the net- works, felt a special reason to be grateful; I was going to be able to watch in just a few hours exactly what I was watching at this very minute.
The period from the conclusion of the Miami game to the Cotton Bowl was like a brilliant and booming end- ing to a fireworks display: The touchdown pass to his brother Darren against Holy Cross, the flight from Worcester to the Heisman ceremony, and then, leading up to the Cotton Bowl game itself, a succession of head
As I look back on it — not that I am entirely out of the woods, mind you — I am baf- fled by my fascination with
this young football player.
tables, airports, and limos, and the mysterious and troublesome little drama of the theft and subsequent return of the helmet, an event which showed, for the first and only time, Futie's pique, reluctant, restrained, altogether understandable.
As I look back on it, not that I am entirely out of the woods, mind you, I am baffled by my fascination with this young football player — mine and, since you're still reading, perhaps ours. I had in the past prided myself as a serious, objective, and mature critic and viewer of sporting events, admir- ing the grace, geometry and hazard of the games, the power, coordination, and stamina of the players, distrusting the jangling medley of mythic grand- eur and petty gossip which so often in- terfered with the telling of them. It was a position I had chosen of necessity; since it was clear that I could not help spending an unseemly amount of time watching and listening to the games, I would try to place them in a perspec- tive which allowed them their ap- propriate dignity with a little left over for me. Which reflections bring me right back to the recent season and to my relentless attention to every reported movement, not just of Flutie, but of his fiancee, his family, his roommate, his teammates, his coach. Take, for example, his father. By his voice, his laugh, his gait, his old Volkswagen, I could recognize Dick Flutie anywhere now, and strike up a conversation which might easily range over a number of subjects, from his own childhood and courting days to his hobbies, his job, or his philosophy of child-rearing.
"After such knowledge, what forgiveness?" First of all, I find some solace in the Nicomachean Ethics, in which Aristotle demonstrates that
every human activity is directed at some human good. And it takes no genius to see that Flutie has mastered a most difficult activity. If you have ever gripped a football — which in itself is difficult — and tried to throw it, you hardly need to be reminded that to do this well, that is to throw it hard and quickly and accurately and for a distance, and then to do this, not off in an open field somewhere, like an arch- er or golfer, with all the time in the world, but to do this under the most urgent deadline — those mighty linemen bearing down on you, all grunts and arms, and farther back, their nimbler teammates converging upon your dis- tant target — and now, just at this critical moment to be able to add to those abilities of strength and speed and accuracy and power the rarest talent of all, that instant and impromp- tu adjustment of arc and velocity known as touch, and thereby direct the ball so that it descends cleanly to its in- tended target, and finally, to do this not once or twice, but 20 or 30 times each game — why, the mere description takes the breath away, completely.
But it was more than mere technical excellence. There was the virtuosity, the gaiety, and the exuberance of the performances. Like the eponymous hero of the Buddy books which were all my delight in the fifth and sixth grade, who jumped in the air and clicked his heels three times to express his happiness over some bit of good fortune, Flutie also had that neat trick of jumping for joy, usually into a teammate's arms.
Who does not recall his brother holding him aloft when the referee's arms shot up, touchdown, after the final play of the Miami game? But there was, in addition to the exu- berance, the marvelous setting which enhanced it. In fact, if you can stand it, lets roll back the final shots of that game once more.
First we see the magnificent Kosar talking with his coach along the sidelines during a time-out, and we overhear him demeaning profanely the abilities of our defensive linemen. Next, the ensuing Miami touchdown.
22
a routine plunge, but six points nonetheless, and now they're ahead. Now, to Flutie, closeup, nodding his head as if calculating the algorithm of possibilities which the next 28 seconds just may present. The camera now pans the Miami bench and finds Kosar, no longer watching the game even, but accepting the congratulations of his teammates. The action now hav- ing been brought to the point of climax — the conclusion of The Natural was no more artfully constructed — the pace slows, as a couple of medium length completions and an incomple- tion bring us to the denouement.
From a high and distant camera, we view The Pass itself, about which nothing more is to be said. Back to ground level and to Phelan, falling for- ward behind the luckless Fullington, clutching the ball to his stomach just before he hits the ground, jumping back up, holding the ball at arm's length, and then being pummeled back to the earth by his teammates. And last, the shot that got me started on this retrospective, Flutie jumping for joy into his brother's grasp, churning his arms to help the two of them motor through the mist toward the end zone melee.
Another explanation for my pro- found admiration, besides Flutie's sheer talent and his gorgeous sense of the dramatic, is that by all accounts, he has borne his outrageous good for- tune most fittingly. On the field, as a player, he is of course, protected, by sidelines, lines of scrimmage, whistles, officials, and stout comrades. But the rest of the time, off the field, as a public figure, he is at risk. His profes- sion, football player, is one of deeds, not words, yet we require that he speak, too, and especially since the end of the season, he is seldom seen without a faceful of microphones. His strategy in this regard, I gather, is to be polite, to seem interested and to respond predictably. Every so often, though, he'll offer something totally unexpected, yet quite in character.
Verbal exuberance: His announce- ment that if he had a Heisman ballot next year, he was ready to cast it for
On the field, he is of course, protected. But the rest of the time, he is at risk. His pro- fession, football player, is one of deeds, not words, yet we require that he speak, too.
Troy Stradford; his revelation that his brother Darren had quarterbacking skills that would surpass his own; his lusty celebration of Phelan's 4.5 40-yard-dash at the NFL trials.
Considered reflection: Acknowledg- ing that, while of course, luck played its part in the Miami pass, he qualified that easy judgment, and offered the proposition that the play, "Flood Tip," was not quite the long shot that one might think, and backed up his point by ticking off other instances when it had or had almost succeeded.
Simple honesty: I thought his Heisman speech was superb. I had an- ticipated, and would have been quite satisfied with a conventional "without- whom-it-would-not-have-been-poss- ible" response. Instead, he appeared to be genuinely entranced by his posi- tion as the honored guest among so many of football's greatest figures. As he spoke, he convinced me, at least, that he was in direct touch with his in- nermost sentiments, which is never easy, and much less so when the whole country is looking on. I thought that his education had achieved the same goals that the ancient Persians sought in their young men; they held that three things were to be learned — to ride well, to shoot straight and to speak the truth.
I have spent these last few par- agraphs trying to discover the nature of Flutie's appeal, and for my pains am most certainly a bit closer to my own death and not at all closer to that discovery. So it is time to leave those inconclusive speculations and return to the main thread of the narrative. You will recall that when I broke off, I had just reported my failure to obtain Flutie's autograph. This season I had different luck in that quest, and it
came about in this way.
Flutie had returned to campus from one of his post-Heisman trips, and word had leaked out that he was going to be taking a late final exam in Gasson Hall, in a room very near my office. A trap was laid. Waiting for him when he arrived were the Flutie Sports Illustrated cover, and a broad- tipped felt pen — I was leaving nothing to chance. When he left off his exam, he was handed the £7 cover, which he duly signed. In turn, the cover was returned to me. I was touched imme- diately by the munificence of its in- scription, expecially measured against the meanness of my own strategem. 'To Katie Doherty, Best wishes, from Doug Flutie #22." Nine words had been granted where only two had been sought.
The next day I read that Flutie had developed callouses on two fingers from signing so many autographs. Why had I pursued my selfish project so relentlessly? Wasn't it silly enough just being a walking Flutie scrapbook? During the second half of the Cotton Bowl game he threw a very weak pass, which was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. He told reporters after the game, not by way of excuse, but as a matter of simple fact, that he had not been able to get a good grip on that ball. "Oh, no," I thought, "the callouses." I now believe that I was merely attempting to make myself the center of Flutie's universe, just as he had become the center of mine. For- tunately for me, and none too soon, there were no more games to be played, and the subsequent contract negotiations have proven to be as soporific as the season was stimulating. My guess is that Flutie agrees. What he talks about most nowadays is learn- ing his new team's playbook. I wish him every success, of course, and ex- pect he will do fine without me. I'm not worried about him at all.
Paul Doherty, whose baseball career with the A rlington Hoboes ended shortly before the advent of sports television, is an associate professor in the English Department and associate dean of Arts and Sciences during this academic year.
23
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BY PAULETTE BOUDREAUX
'R
oston college s paradigm acaaemic building will not be named for a professorial scholar or ecclesiastical figure, but for a former student who has exercised leadership in public service to people of every social station, of high estate and low. '
— President J. Donald Monan, SJ
II HE O'NEILLS
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25
A NEW ERA BEGINS
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J'NEILL.
26
On the blustery after- noon of Oct. 14, 1984, Speaker of the US House of Represen- tatives Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. '36, stood in front of a large granite- clad structure bearing his name, and said "thank you" to the Boston Col- lege community.
"I have declined many offers to name buildings after me," he said, "but this time I made an ex- ception because this col- lege has meant so much to me, to my family and to my community. I am proud of its past and I am proud to play a part in its future."
O'Neill's eloquently sim- ple acceptance of the honor his alma mater had bestowed upon him not only marked the opening of a building larger than any other built on the Heights before it, and the achievement of a new level of technological sophistication in library science, but signaled a coming of age for Boston College — the reaching of a new plateau in the on- going and sometimes heady evolution of a small college for Irish Catholic boys into a na- tional institution of higher learning.
'The University look a quantum leap with the opening of the O'Neill," Charles Donovan, SJ, University historian and
former academic vice president, said in a re- cent interview. "It gave an academic and psycho- logical lift to both faculty and students. Now, we're at the cutting edge of the 21st century."
And recently, University President J. Donald Monan, SJ, noted that by providing a new and inviting center for learn- ing and contemplation, "the O'Neill Library has begun to transform the campus lifestyle."
The words of Frs. Donovan and Monan seem to echo general sentiment about the new library. And the 1,500 people who attended the dedication ceremony on the O'Neill plaza seem to have represented only the tip of an iceberg of pride and appreciation that the new building has engendered.
"As a senior in 1928, I was proud to have been present at the dedication of Bapst, still the most beautiful building on
campus," said Jack Doherty '28. "As a proud and happy alum- nus, my cup runneth over at the dedication of the O'Neill Library."
"It's great to see the University doing so well," said John McNeice, Jr. '54. "And it's great to be an alum- nus of a school that's on the leading edge of infor- mation technology and educational resources."
Alumnus Roy Heffernan '16, who attended the dedication in spite of failing health and the cold weather, said, "The marvelous growth and development of Boston College never ceases to amaze me. The college I attended in 1912 was launched in a modest brick structure adjoining the fine old Church of the Immaculate Concep- tion. We had no campus or field for athletics. For football practice we trudged a half-mile to the Locust Street Play- ground where, after a grueling scrimmage, we
frequently discovered that the showers yielded no hot water."
Since opening its doors last summer, the O'Neill has experienced daily in- vasions of students and faculty eager to take ad- vantage of the new ser- vices and the new at- mosphere.
"We have 5,000 people visiting the library each day," O'Neill Librarian Jeremy Slinn said in December. "That's two and a-half times more people than we were dealing with in Bapst."
"We put 12 terminals in," said University Librarian Thomas O'Connell '50, referring to the computer ter- minals that access the card catalogue, "and we've had to order 12 more to meet demand."
Circulation, too, is at a record high of over 20,000 volumes per month — a 50 percent in- crease over the circula- tion rate last year in Bapst.
THE BUILDING OF A DREAM
In 1975, when Boston College hired Tom O'Connell as its Univer- sity librarian. His first task — at the request of President Monan — was to evaluate the system in his charge.
Before he had been on the job a week, O'Con- nell had made his assess- ment: Bapst was a stun- ning library building; built, however, to house 300,000 volumes and serve 1,200 commuter students, it was cram- med with upwards of 700,000 volumes and serving some 14,000 undergraduates, as well as graduate students and a large research-oriented faculty.
O'Connell said in a memorandum to Presi- dent Monan: "If Boston College believes that the condition of its library is a significant reflection of the academic health of the University, if it believes that the dif- ference between the passive pupil and the ac- tive student is the desire and the ability to use a library, then it must now give precedence to assessing its library col- lections and to planning their future growth, housing and servicing."
O'Connell's findings and his recommendations could have surprised few people familiar with library use on the Heights. Dreams of a
new library structure to supplement Bapst had been around for more than 20 years, and the growth of the College during the 1960s and '70s had, in many thoughtful minds, made the realization of that dream an imperative for the health of the Univer- sity.
The assessment O'Con- nell called for in his memorandum began almost immediately. Fr. Monan formed a Uni- versity Library Building Committee under O'Connell's direction. The president advised the committee of his desire that Bapst should continue in use as a library and that any new facility should be located on the middle level of the main campus where it would be most accessi- ble and occupy a central campus position.
The notion of adding on to Bapst was considered and discarded. "[Bapst]," O'Connell wrote in the committee report, "represents, together with Gasson Hall, St. Mary's and Devlin Hall, the domi- nant physical image of Boston College. It is of great beauty. To change the exterior of Bapst, to enlarge it, even to en- croach on it by building near it, would do an
aesthetic harm to the university which could never be redeemed."
The committee then set to work defining what would ultimately become the Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Library — a modern and complete central research facility, in- tegrating almost all of the existing University library system, incor- porating the latest in library computerization, and providing inviting yet functional study space.
In determining possible locations for the new facility, the committee set its sights on an area that had been suggested by O'Connell's pre- decessor, Brendan Con- nolly, SJ. It was bound- ed by Devlin, St. Mary's and Gasson halls, and on one of the main student traffic routes to and from dormitories on the lower campus.
But one doesn't simply drop a new building among the English Col- legiate Gothic master- pieces that line Linden Lane. O'Connell wrote: "[A]ny new building should unobtrusively enhance but never dominate, never even seek to join as an equal, the towers on the Heights... This building, however, can, if the ar- chitectural challenge is met, insure by itself that
our generation will not lessen that glory of spire that our predecessors en- trusted to us."
Some seven years later, during O'Neill dedica- tion ceremonies, O'Con- nell would report that the architectural chal- lenge had, in fact, been met with great success.
In June, 1978, following many committee and subcommittee meetings on the subject of the new library, The Architects Collaborative, Inc., (TAC) of Cambridge was selected to design the new facility. Royston Daley would serve as principal architect.
Richard White Sons, Inc., of Auburndale would later be chosen as construction manager. And scores of committee meetings would take place to consider deci- sions on matters ranging from carpet color (mauve) to the typeface on signage (Palatino).
In 1981, the University received a $15 million federal loan for library construction. That money, a $7.5 million federal grant, gifts in ex- cess of $3 million, and a bond issue would make up the $28 million cost of the structure. On Oc- tober 18, 1981, ground was broken. President
O'NEILL
LIBRARY
FACTS
►SIZE: BC's largest building at 205,000 gross square feet spread over five floors
►COST:
$28 million
►SEATING CAPACITY: 1,150, expandable to 1,350
►BOOK CAPACITY:
1,000,000, expandable to 1,250,000
►STAFF: 80
►FURNISHINGS:
wall-to-wall carpeting, natural oak woodwork and cabinets, steel shelves
► INTERIOR COLORS: mauve carpet, royal-blue shelving, soft-grey walls
►PLAZA: Brick paved, and terraced to form seating areas
►ARCHITEC- TURAL DETAILS:
Skylit atrium passageway linking lower and middle campuses; cloister- like porch fronting main level
27
THE ATRIUM— A PASSAGEWAY BETWEEN LOWER \ND UPPER CAMPUS
► ►A READING AREA
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know I speak for many who see in the O'Neill a library which will provide for this and succeeding generations of questers the resources needed to define goals and shape aspirations. '
—Prof. P. Albert Duhamel
■«THE CLOISTER -
LIKE PORTICO
<THE PUBLIC FACILITIES COMPUTER ROOM
29
►KEYNOTE SPEAKER BOYER— "THE TIME HAS COME rO WIRE THE WORLD "
Monan said, "In 1909, Fr. Thomas Gasson stood only a few feet from where we are assembled and placed a spade in the earth to convert it from fertile farm land into this magnificent University campus. Seventy-two years later, I have the privilege of welcoming each of you as we reenact Fr. Gasson 's beginning — and in- deed— begin anew."
Smith College President Jill Conway, the featured speaker, said of the new library, "I see the building being built here
as a fortress in the battle £
PC
(against illiteracy) — one which will carry out all the necessary functions to see that... this enter- prise will go on and this institution will perpetual- ly mount that battle."
Construction began the next day.
In the midst of the 30-month construction period, the University's Board of Trustees voted to name the building in honor of Speaker O'Neill. On July 16, 1984, the O'Neill Library opened for business.
A DAY OF THANKSGIVING AND CELEBRATION
'The dedication of the O'Neill," said Philo- matheia Professor of English P. Albert Duhamel, "brought the realization of a long an- ticipated and hoped for library and research facility, (but) the dedica- tion ceremony itself also brought the community together — alumni, ad- ministrators, students and faculty, all united in celebration. I was im- pressed. It was a classy performance all the way through; the music, the speeches, the dinner afterwards — nothing was out of place."
The event, in fact, was replete with all the elements of a Boston College academic celebration: words of warmth, of learning and of thanks to God. With a proud O'Connell pre- siding as master of ceremonies, it included the dedication of the building by President Monan, a response by Speaker O'Neill, a brief address by Duhamel representing the faculty, a blessing and invocation by Auxiliary Bishop of Boston Lawrence Riley '36, and a keynote ad-
dress by Ernest L. Boyer, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Boyer re- ceived the Joseph Coolidge Shaw, SJ, Medal. Named after the first benefactor of the Boston College library, the Shaw Medal was established to honor distinguished University guests during the academic "Year of the Library."
It was not all words. A procession by student
leaders and robed faculty opened the event. Musical performances were provided by the University Chorale under the direction of Composer in Residence C. Alexander Peloquin. With Assistant Chaplain Laetitia Blain as soloist, the selections included an original Peloquin score of "God My Glory," a translation of Psalm 1 9 by Theology Professor Francis Sullivan, SJ. And the Liturgical Dance Ensem- ble performed under the
30
direction of Artist in Residence Robert VerEecke, SJ.
That evening, in McElroy Commons, some 1 ,000 guests honored the Speaker at a dinner where Blain sang renditions of O'Neill's favorite songs and "Roast Tenderloin Tip O'Neill" was the entree.
In his dedication ad- dress, President Monan singled out the Speaker as the prime example of an alumnus who em- bodies the ideals of the Jesuit educational tradi- tion— learning, leader- ship and service to the community.
"Boston College's paradigm academic building will not be named for a professorial scholar or an eccle- siastical figure or an im- aginative dean," said the president, "but for a former student who, for 48 years, has exercised leadership in public ser- vice to people of every social station, of high estate and low, persons of power and of incredi- ble fragility.
"...In an era where the needs and problems of the human family are measured in the millions of anonymous masses, so that meaningful solutions
can only be expressed in statistical equations, Speaker O'Neill has always seen those needs in the single human face.
"...Naming the library in honor of Speaker O'Neill," said Fr. Monan, "says that wisdom and the personal search for knowledge are a university's most trea- sured possession, but that knowledge and lear- ning must not be allowed to become sterile. Know- ledge is creative; it does not reach its full purpose unless it is taken beyond the university — into the family and the church, the business world and the chambers of govern- ment. "
Responding to the presi- dent, the Speaker said, "Boston College had to overcome great odds to become the great na- tional university it is to- day. Fifty years ago when I was an under- graduate, there were four buildings on the Heights. Now, there are 40. There were 1,500 students on the campus then. Now, there are 14,000. ..Despite its growth, (Boston College) has retained its unique identity. It has done so because its Jesuit foun- dation has nurtured respect for the individual and promoted the values of a religious community
dedicated to training future leaders.
"...Today, we celebrate the addition of a magnificent new library. Because a University is dedicated to learning and because books are the basic instruments of learning, it is an impor- tant step forward. The soul of a Catholic uni- versity is its chapel. Its heart is its library.
". ..I hope that the students and faculty who use it enjoy its comfort and convenience but also recall it is here for a pur- pose, and that purpose is to help make the Univer- sity community better able to serve the com- munity of faith and the community of state."
During his address, keynote speaker Boyer told the audience that the modern university has a new role to play in the world, and suggested that technology, such as that contained in the O'Neill Library, can help in the performance of that duty.
'The time has come to wire the world for humane and scholarly conversations aimed at enlightenment," said Boyer. "The time has come for teachers and scholars and artists and religious leaders from
around the world to communicate on those consequential issues that transcend politics, na- tional boundaries and narrow interests that restrict our larger vision. The university com- munity, with technology, can connect international scholars in a search for answers to our most vex- ing problems: our food, our environment, our energy supply, and most urgently, of course, world peace."
Boyer placed the new library "at the forefront of a revolution that links technology to the life of learning.
"Boston College understands the impor- tance of technology. But, Boston College also understands that the answers to the global issues we confront must be divinely guided human answers. Boston College understands that through technology we must build new informa- tion networks. But, Boston College also understands that beyond information there is knowledge, beyond knowledge there is wisdom, and beyond wisdom there is faith."
O'NEILL
LIBRARY
FACTS
►CLADDING:
Rockville granite from Minnesota
► SPECIAL SERVICES: video and audio media department; photo- copy center; resources room for the vision impaired
►TENANTS: Computing Center; a 140-station public computer terminal area; nine class- rooms; research of- fice space; and the University Telecom- munications Center
►SYSTEMS: Geac Library Computer System, handling both acquisitions and circulation and accessed through 12 video display ter- minals in the library and 58 elsewhere on campus; the On Line Catalogue System (OCLC), a non-profit inter- library organization, with eight million titles on line; capability through Geac for information retrieval from databases
31
►C. ALEXANDER PELOQUIN LEADS CHORALE AND ORCHESTRAL ENSEMBLE
► PRESIDENT MONAN DEDICATES A LIBRARY
f have declined many offers to name buildings JL after me, but this time I made an exception because this college has meant so much to me, to my family and to my community. '
—Speaker Thomas P. 0 'Neill, Jr.
32
^LITURGICAL DANCE ENSEMBLE
-***AT MCELROY DINNER, TRUSTEE WILLIAM CONNELI '59, AND FR. MONAN PRESENT O'NEILLS WITH A RENDERING OF THE LIBRARY
-* FACULTY PROCESSION OPENS THE FESTIVITIES
33
PRESIDENT ,ONAN AND THE 'EAKER DURING EDICATION
EREMONIES
SERVING THE GENERATIONS TO COME
No place among the acres of stacks in the O'Neill library is far from a comfortable chair, a cul-de-sac of quiet, an enervating view of Boston's towers. "The O'Neill is the most pleasant place to do both reading and re- search," said Duhamel recently. "There are any number of places to tuck yourself away and read."
Said History Professor John Heineman, "I real- ly enjoy the computer- ized card cataloging. It makes my research much easier. The amount of time I recently saved in doing a major biblio- graphy involving about 100 titles was incredible. I had been doing my work at the Widener library at Harvard. Now I use the O'Neill. Technically, it's ahead of the Widener."
"The O'Neill provides an excellent studying at- mosphere," said Ann Jurewicz '88. "It's easy to find the materials you need. It's intellectually stimulating. It's sort of a social place, too. The first floor lobby area is more for socializing, and then you go onto the up- per levels to really study."
Said Edward McMor- row, a political science master's candidate, "I'm
impressed with the com- puter reference area. It's quite useful for research and a vast improvement over going through the file cabinets. The com- puterized reference system also encourages you to be organized. To use it most successfully, you need to know what you're looking for."
O'Neill, of course, also serves very well those who don't quite know whal they're looking for, but who are looking anyway. Duhamel, in his address at the library dedication, spoke of one of these "questers" — Gene Gant, the fictional Harvard student Thomas Wolfe wrote about in Of Time and the River.
Said Duhamel: '"At night,' Wolfe wrote of his hero, 'he would prowl the stacks, pulling books out of a thousand shelves and reading them like a madman. The thought of those vast stacks of books would drive him mad; the more he read, the less he seemed to know.'
"...Bapst Library," Duhamel continued, "saw many a Gene or young novice of many an order raiding its shelves, seeking, like Shakespeare's Prospero, another incarnation of that perennial dream of learning, some clarifica- tion of personal goals,
some means of building a better world within the framework of that humanistic tradition.
"...I know I speak for many who see in the O'Neill a statement as appropriate to our day as Bapst was to its day, a library which will pro- vide for this and suc- ceeding generations of questers the resources needed to define goals and shape aspirations as Bapst did in Speaker O'Neill's day; and as the Speaker's career amply demonstrates, not only Boston College, but the whole of society will be a better place.' '
Paulette Boudreaux is a
stall writer.
34
Boston is his beat
Phil Balboni's job has been described by fellow news practi- tioners as "being in the ring with a big, old grizzly."
As vice president for news at WCVB-TV, his daily challenge is to direct some 90 professionals — reporters, anchors, producers, writers, and camera people — in cap- turing the essential action of Boston on four hours of news programs.
Proof of the peril is the average 18-month tenure of news directors nationally. But Balboni has survived and flourished in his current post since 1982. During a recent inter- view, Balboni '64, traced the road that led him from Norwood, Mass., to Vietnam and back to New Eng- land. His tale was that of a Magna Cum Laude graduate in English literature and philosophy now im- mersed in an electronic world.
His 13 years with WCVB have been distinguished by the creation of several innovative news formats. He served as editorial director for six years prior to becoming director of public affairs in 1978. It was in the latter job that he conceived of and produced "Chronicle," an evening news magazine considered unique in American television.
That half-hour program, which delves into a local or national sub- ject each weekday, exemplifies Balboni's view of the news. "We're here for just one reason," he says, "to serve and inform our audience. My job as news director is to keep that thought uppermost. It's so easy to become subverted by the ratings process and to lose sight of the fact that we are here to do something very important — almost sacred."
As a former print journalist in Richmond, Va., and with the Uni- ted Press in Boston, Balboni is acutely aware of research showing that television is the primary source of information for most people.
"If you believe those surveys," he said, "you take very seriously the responsibility to do the best possible job. My goal is to produce the most outstanding TV news in America, to set an example of in-
telligent, progressive television."
A key factor in such responsible television, Balboni says, is em- phasizing "human values," an ele- ment often lost in the competition of rating wars. He is critical of televi- sion's tendency to emphasize crime and violence, rather than provide information which helps people cope with and enjoy their lives. "We still have a long way to go," he said, "but I believe we're better than ever before and that we're setting broadcast news trends in Boston."
Describing himself as "the most ordinary of students" in high school, Balboni says his BC ex- perience was a "tremendous in- tellectual revelation." He recalls becoming serious about studying among friends who were "extraor- dinarily bright."
His current perception is that BC has grown to national stature. He says he hopes the emphasis on philosophy and the humanities is never lost, and that that the Jesuit value system will preserve high academic standards amidst growing athletic prominence.
Following graduation, Balboni was an Army intelligence officer in Vietnam, an experience he says had a major influence on his life. He is currently proposing to return to Vietnam to produce a documentary on that war- ravaged land 10 years after the American withdrawal.
He spent a year studying French
language and literature at the Sor- bonne in Paris in 1967. Later, after three years of reporting and comple- tion of a Ford Foundation Fellow- ship in advanced international reporting at Columbia Journalism School, he founded and was editor- in-chief of the International Cor- respondents Report, a news service with reporters in 25 countries. That project was based on his belief that conventional news media do a poor job of covering most countries, especially in the Third World.
When the I.R.S. didn't concur about the vital need for such a non- profit journal, Balboni applied for the job of editorial director at WCVB-TV. To his surprise, he won the job and, over the past 13 years, an excellent reputation for quality TV journalism.
His colleagues at Channel 5 are among his biggest supporters. Paul LaCamera, MBA '83, vice presi- dent for public affairs, credits Balboni with having "a significant influence on television news, on local and national fronts." Paula Lyons, NC '67, consumer reporter, said of Balboni, "He is very honest, straightforward and has a solid sense of journalistic ethics." Said Anchor Chet Curtis (whose daughter, Dawn, is a BC sophomore), "[Balboni] is a good reporter with an excellent sense of what news should be."
Paul Hennessy
Power for the people
"We're not interested in fights for the sake of fighting, but in significant accomplishment," says Paula Gold, a 1967 Law School graduate who is secretary of con- sumer affairs and business regula- tion for Massachusetts.
Since Gold was appointed to her position a year ago, her office has emphasized its search for a comfort- able balance between consumer and business needs.
Said Gold, "When Governor Dukakis appointed me, he said, 'You can be pro-consumer without being anti-business,' and I think he's absolutely right. The percep- tion of sonic people was that it wasn't my style or the governor's."
Throughout her career, Paula Gold's style was, she says, to "care about things." While still in law school, she knew she wanted to make a care< r representing people who would nol otherwise have had proper legal aid. Upon graduating. she went to work in a Boston legal
services office.
"It was very exciting," she recalled, "to be opening the first neighborhood office in Dorchester, to be waiting for the first clients to come in."
In 1974, Gold was recommended by the Judicial Nominating Com- mission to be considered as a special judge in the Dorchester District Court. Although she was not named to the bench, the nomination gave her a great deal of visiblity, which opened many doors for her.
Said Gold, "I began my career prior to the great push to have women represented in new areas. When groups started looking for women to put on their boards or in the courtroom, I was just a little bit more qualified than most other women. I became the token woman of the year."
Gold looks with the same sort of wry appreciation at her transforma- tion from consumer advocate to civil servant. "I went from suing
almost every state agency," she said, "to being inside government and seeing what you could do from inside on issues affecting the poor."
Gold says she has found business and consumer advocates willing to consider each others' needs.
'The confrontations of the '70s have produced a climate in the '80s which provides for meaningful com- promise. I don't think you had business as willing before. I don't think you necessarily had consumer advocates who were as willing before. Now, both groups know that while you can bash each others' heads in, if you're going to be around for the long haul, there are more productive ways of accom- plishing your goals."
Gold said the issue of credit card interest ceilings is an example of her attempt to achieve a balance be- tween the sometimes conflicting needs of business and the consumer. Massachusetts has established a ceil- ing on credit card interest rates. There has been pressure from banks to remove the ceiling. Consumers have opposed its removal.
"It looks like keeping that law is good for consumers. But when you look at the reality, all it will do is drive the banks out of state. Massa- chusetts will lose jobs and people will pay higher interest rates anyway."
Life for Paula Gold outside the consumer affairs office centers around her family. Her husband, Arpad von Lazar, is a professor al the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. They have two teen-aged children.
"In some ways," says Gold, "1 think you can accomplish more within government. You have a wider impact. When you're a legal service lawyer, you're battling for people who have no power what- soever. There are more limits to what you can do. Truthfully, the more power you have, the more you can accomplish."
Geri Murphy
36
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John F. Wissler '57 Executive Director Alumni Association
From Alumni Hall
When I called Tony LaCamera '34, in 1978 to advise him of nomination to the alumni ballot, something prompted me to persist over his declaration of unworth- iness. He finally agreed to run and was elected a director.
If his board colleagues were voting, Tony would have won elec- tion as most popular member. Our 5'4" friend's participation at meetings was punctuated with in- cisive comments, strong principles, and much humor, particularly on the topic of "short is beautiful."
As former media critic for the Herald-American, Tony was a natural choice for chairman of the board's communications committee, and membership on the BCM editorial board. Tony performed so well that he was reappointed chairman after his board term expired.
In 1981, Tony received the Alumni Award of Excellence. For me, the crowning achievements were his speech at last year's Laetare Sunday observance and his article in BCM on the celebration of his class Golden Jubilee.
Beyond the quick smile, wry humor and overall optimism, there lay a deep pessimism about the state of art and culture. Tony felt that society is engaged in a struggle be- tween good and evil, observations he converted to a call to action on Laetare Sunday.
Eighteen months ago, illness struck Tony and gradually took its toll. His courage, good cheer, unswerving Catholic faith and peace of mind were his Final legacies. We lost a great one on Nov. 19, but I bet Heaven will never be the same.
Directory nears completion
The telephone survey of alumni to verify information provided on directory questionnaires and current information on alumni records has been completed by Harris Pub- lishing Company. Harris telephone representatives also invited alumni to purchase copies of the directory.
The directory is tentatively scheduled for release in April 1985. If you do not receive an ordered copy by May 15, or if you are in- terested in ordering a copy and have not heard from the publisher, please contact Denise Fitzgerald, Customer Service Representative, Bernard C. Harris Publishing Com- pany, 3 Barker Avenue, White Plains, NY 10601, or call (914) 946-7500.
Alumni Weekend '85
The Class of 1980 will celebrate its fifth-year anniversary, and members of the Class of 1935 will officially become Golden Eagles at the Alumni Weekend celebration May 17-19. The Classes of '40, '45,
'50, '55, '60, '65, '70, and '75 complete the set of reunion-bound alumni. Mark your calendar now for this special weekend.
May 17: BC night at the POPS; dinner and Pops after POPS
May 18: Campus Day and library tours; class reunion parties on campus
May 19: Alumni/Seniors/Parents Brunch
Your vote counts
Voting in the annual alumni elec- tion is free, quick and easy. It's also the easiest way to take part in the workings of the University and your Alumni Association.
The 19 men and women elected to the Alumni Board coordinate the programs and projects that are of- fered to serve you, so you can help yourself and the association by par- ticipating in the election. Everything you need to vote is included in the ballot that will arrive at your home in April.
Take a second look at it. Your vote counts.
HELLO CANTON— An estimated 25, 000 residents of New England were on hand for the 1985 Cotton Bowl Classic, some 1,800 of them courtesy of charter flights arranged by the Alumni Association. Executive Director John Wissler '57, said the association charter was a record-breaker for Logan Airport. He should know. The previous record was held by an alumni charter to the Tangerine Bowl in 1982, which had some 800 participants.
37
CLASS ACT — The 1959 Gift Committee presents President Monan with their 25th year reunion gift of $500,000. Front row (l-r): Paul Woelfel, Cathy Thayer, Larry DeAngel is, Fr. Monan, Peter McLaughlin, Ann O'Meara. Second row: Art Kaplan, Bob Crowley, Matt Murphy, Bill York, John 0 'Connor. Third row: Peter Derba, Bill Appleyard, Jack Madden, Denis Minihane. Rear: Bill Parks, Vin Sylvia.
Golden Eagles
George Casey '15 of Santa Maria, CA, visited the university and met briefly with Fr. Monan in August. Is George BC's oldest living varsity letter- man? A native of Natick, he watched the other Natick letterman practice at Alumni St adi um . . . Jim O'Brien '16 wrote with news he received after the summer article on WWI vets. Dr. Roy Heffernan '16 and his wife are avid golfers. She can even beat him! His 90th birthday was marked by a gathering of thirty family members in Vermont... Jim Linehan '16 wrote that he is well and can still en- joy some golf. Pat Donovan '16 lives in Falmouth with his daughter and her family... Florence McAuliffe '16 died last summer. He was "a great classmate and BC loyalist." He ran a camp in Maine for many years... Rev. Cletus Mulloy '21 died in October of injuries received when he was struck by an automobile. He was best known for the retreats he gave for priests and cloistered religious brothers and sisters throughout the US and Canada. Fr. Mulloy had retired in 1978... News of Golden Eagles will appear as it becomes available. Direct correspondence to Class Notes Editor, Alumni Hall, Boston College, Chestnut Hill MA 02167.
22
Joseph Beaver
11 Edmond Rd. #28
Framingham, MA 01701
Msgr. William Long has settled in to the comfort- able and spiritual atmosphere of Regina Clcri. Fr. Burke, pastor of St. Pius X, where Msgr. Long helped with the weekend Masses for eleven years, honored him with Mass (Archbishop Law, Bishop Riley, Bishop Hart, and Bishop Daily were present
on the altar) and a luncheon after to thank him for his spiritual contribution to the parish... Our classmate Rev. Thomas E. Sweeney blessed a set of Carillon Bells in November. ..They were his gift to St. Linus Church, Natick, where he was pastor for 25 years... On October 24, Thomas Herlihy, S.J.. a member of our class in freshman year, died at the Deaconess Hospital. Last spring Fr. Tom told me the story of the Bronze Eagle which stands in front of Gasson Hall. Mr. Arthur O'Shea, for many years the faithful organist at St. Ignatius Church when Fr. Tom was pastor, was Town Manager of Brookline. When the famous Lars Anderson Estate was in process of being deeded to the Town of Brookline, Mr. O'Shea asked the at- torney handling the transfer if it would be possible for him to obtain the bronze eagle, which stood in the garden of the estate, for Boston College! The bronze eagle had been a gift to Lars Anderson from the Emperor of Japan when he was Ambassador to Japan. O'Shea was successful and the bronze eagle was placed in its present spot on the pedestal which had held a bust of Admiral Dewey in Dewey Square in front of the South Station. How grateful the Boston College Alumni must be to Mr. O'Shea for his initiative in obtaining this outstanding sym- bol of our Alma Mater.
23
Marie H. Ford 9 McKone St. Dorchester, MA 02122 (617) 282-2879
Another year has rolled around and so I wish to ex- tend all best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year. ..Cecil McGoldrick is enjoying his retirement from the Youville Hospital and Score. Two of his grandsons have graduated from B.C. and a third
one is still out there. ..William Duffy received a decoration from the Town Committee of North An- dover. He is also President of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and St. Michael's Conference of North Andover. ..While at the reception prior to the per- formance of Deathtrap, I met Constance Englert who is the daughter of Cecil McGoldrick. Frank Hickey was in Rome for the Beatification of St. Elizabeth of Trinity. His daughter Casandra re- ceived a Doctorate degree in Administration from the University of Rome. His daughter Ramonda was Consultant to the U.S. Olympic Team in Yugoslavia. ..Charles Wyatt has retired from the upholstering and caining business... Edward Fogarty and his wife will spend Christmas in Corn- ing, NY. with his son Edward and then will be leaving for Naples, Florida for the winter... Joe Comber is still active with the St. Vincent de Paul Society and Bon Secour Hospital. Art Kane has been hospitalized several times during the past two years. He has 27 grandchildren and 6 great grand- children I talked to the following members of the Class and they all wished the very best to the Class for a Happy New Year. ..Fr. Pat Collins. Mark Crocker, Tony Maure, Frank Hickey, Cecil McGoldrick
24
Edmond J. Murphy 14 Temple St. Arlington, MA 02174
We are sorry to report the death of Rev. Msgr. Anthony J. Flaherty on September 29 in the Win- chester Hospital after a long illness. Tony was one of twelve children and he was one of three "fighting Flahcrtys" who became priests: Father Edward, director of Regina Cleri, and the late Msgr.
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Walter, founder of the Archdiocese of Boston Radio and TV Apostolate. Archbishop Bernard F. Law was the celebrant of the Rite of Christian Burial, which was attended by about 50 members of the clergy including Msgr. Charles Hyland and Msgr. Mark Keohane. About 100 pupils at St. Charles School in Woburn also attended. The sympathy of the class is extended to Tony's brothers, Father Ed and Paul... We are also sorry to report the death of Dr. Christopher J. Duncan on December 1, the day Doug Flutie was awarded the Heisman Trophy. Chris, an ardent football fan, would have loved to have heard it because he too was like a Heisman Trophy winner, receiving the prestigious William V. McKenney medal as the outstanding alumnus in 1965. Chris had been an outstanding alumnus since the day he graduated. Besides being on the Board of Trustees for years and president of the Alumni Association (he furnished and stocked the office with conviviality and utility in mind), Chris was a member of Fides since its inception, a large donor to the Alumni Hall Fund Drive (a plaque in Alum- ni Hall shows 1924 as FIRST in donations), a large donor to the Alumni Stadium Fund, and had established a Duncan Scholarship at the college for sons and daughters of his classmates. In addition, when told that the A. A. had no money for a glass partition to replace the wire mesh partition at the hockey rink, he wrote a check at once for the entire cost. He was host to his classmates at the Brae Burn Country Club for a Champagne and Rancher's (steak and eggs) breakfast on more than one occasion following our Annual Low Sunday Memorial Mass and sent letters to classmates before our 50th Reunion collecting $36,740.00, an average gift of $693.00. During the presidency of Michael J. Walsh, S.J., he accepted the chairmanship of the fund drive; gave up two years of his medical prac- tice to visit all of the BC clubs across the country with Fr. Walsh; and paid all of the expenses. Although not well for sometime, Chris donated money for the O'Neill Library. In the Lower Col- onnade of the library is a plaque inscribed, "In gratitude for the loyalty and generosity of Virginia and Christopher J. Duncan, M.D. '24." An Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree was conferred on Chris in 1962. When I called Fr. Frank Kilcoyne about his death he said, "Chris now has citizenship in another country." I can picture Chris chuckling with Clarence E. Shaffrey, S.J., M.D. (his biology professor) over Father's statement the last day of his junior year, "Duncan, it's Biology or Baseball in the fall" (quote from Dr. Walter Carroll). Reason: as Junior baseball manager, Chris had players com- ing to see him during biology class with various re- quests and Fr. Shaffrey didn't like it. However, Chris found a way to do both. J. Donald Monan, S.J. was a celebrant of the Rite of Christian Burial at St. Ignatius Church. Among the concelebrants were Msgr. Mark Keohane and Fr. Joseph I. Col- lins, a Norwood neighbor. The sympathy of the class is extended to his wife, Virginia, his four sons, Christopher, Jr., Paul, Clark and Lee and his daughter Joan... Remember, spread the faith, don't keep it.
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William E. O'Brien 502 12th Avenue South Naples, FL 33940 (813) 262-0134
After the conspicuous absence of our Class from the notes section, I have volunteered to get the column started again. I will begin with information about myself, and hope that you will submit your news to
me in time for the March '85 deadline. ..Although I have lived most of my adult life away from Boston, I have managed to stay in touch with BC. I was in- volved in the BC Club of New York and as a founding member of the BC Club of Chicago. I feel fortunate for the many friendships I established through these endeavors. I have enjoyed life in Naples for over ten years, and greatly look forward to hearing from you and seeing the Class of 1925 represented on these pages. Please write or call soon.
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William J. Cunningham 2 Capt. Percival Road S. Yarmouth, MA 02664
Nemo dal who/1 non habet is an old Latin expression which still sticks in my craw, after all these years. "No one can give what he hasn't got" is particular- ly appropriate when the time comes to write Alum- ni notes. "No got, no give" is a free translation, but an appropriate one... Can use a few more in- terested mates like Ray Scott who drops a line re mates. He says John Dooley is returning to Boston and is going to be with his brother Owen for the winter. ..It has been tremendously exciting to read about Doug Flutie. He is a fine looking, well- spoken young man, and a credit to his parents, himself and B.C. We're all proud of him. ..Came up from the Cape to the Rutgers and Army games and hugged the boob tube for the other games. And to have the New York Times computer rating us 2 in the country! That's something we've never at- tained before... and to have the Heisman winner. Finally, I understand that admission requests are flooding the offices. These are different times from our days!... Note from Msgr. Matt Stapleton. He tells me that he's not "the last leaf on the tree," of the nine Stapleton children. . Larry McCarthy told me that Dr. Ted Brown died recently... Saw Larry at a Cape Cod B.C. Club Memorial Mass and breakfast at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville in November. ..Rose and I headed for the Cotton Bowl as son Bill arranged a party of 100, with all the works, even maroon and gold cor- sages for the ladies... You B.C. High alumni will perhaps remember Shev Malley and Art Watson. They visited us on the Cape in October, and we reminisced about old James Street.. Wouldn't it be a nice thing to re-name Alumni Field to John P. Curley Field, in memory of the athletic director who did so much for us in our early days?.. Talked to John Dorsey last week. He and Mae are well... A tip of the hat to Alicia Ianiere who organizes the notes for all classes... I recently learned that Bill 'Jim' Dunn died... Judge Charlie Carroll is now retired and living in Needham. He has daughters in Dover and Attleboro. ..Henry Barry has already left Long Island for St. Petersburg. Write to me, won't you?
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John J. Buckley 103 Williams Ave. Hyde Park, MA 02136 (617) 361-5174
In the September 21 sports section of The Boston Globe, Joe McKenney was the subject of a fascinating story. It was the story of our Joe, one of
Boston's great sports figures and a legend in his own time. Joe's career as athlete, football coach, and city and school administrator was amply covered. His devotion to B.C.'s football program, as attested by his loyalty over a period of more than sixty years, makes him the Eagle's No. 1 football fan... Classmate Jack Donahue, captain of the 1925 football team, died Nov. 7. Born in Peabody, he lived in Quincy for 52 years. Jack was football coach at North Quincy H.S., a member of the school's history department, and a charter member and 1958 president of the Greater Boston Gridiron Club. We extend our sympathy to his wife Sally and to his brothers, Edwin and Leo... Tom Heffer- nan, editor of the Bulletin of the Boston Catholic Alumni Sodality for a couple of generations, retired from that position in October. Tom was happily surprised by scores of relatives and friends on Dec. 16. They feted him on the occasion of his 80th bir- thday. The youthful-looking octogenarian accepted the plaudits gracefully... The story of Bill Fit- zGerald and his wife Julia was featured last Oc- tober in Boston Seniority, a forum for older Bosto- nians. Their travels in America and Asia carrying out their duties as librarians for private institutions and the U.S. Government were extensively reported. The end of the trail found them back in their native South Boston, thus proving wrong Thomas Wolfe who opined that the return of the native was impossible. ..Joe Ingoldsby was treated to a surprise-surprise party last fall as his children, numerous relatives and friends gathered to celebrate double anniversaries: Joe's 80th birthday and the 50th anniversary of the wedding of Joe and the charming Mrs. Ingoldsby. Joe, one of Boston's senior investment counselors, is remembered as a track luminary and member of the Hall of Fame who starred in the two- mile and medley relay races... We mourn the passing of another Eagle track star and member of the Hall of Fame, William T. McKillop of Laconia, NH, who died Nov. 11. His dear wife, Mary, had died about six weeks prior to his death. Bill's career was in the in- vestment business. He also coached the Laconia H.S. track team. To his daughters and grand- children we send our sympathy. . .We extend our condolences to Fr. Neil Buckley on the occasion of the death of his brother, William S. Buckley, former president of the Boston Newspaper Mailers Union, who died last September. ..Joe McKenney was general chairman of the Gridiron Club's 48th George Bulger Lowe Awards Dinner held Dec. 12 at Lantana's in Randolph The winners of the awards, who are deemed the best college football players in New England, were both members of the historic 1984 Boston College football team. For the offense, it was the fabulous Doug Flutie, and for the defense, the unsinkable Mike Ruth
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Maurice J. Downey
15 Dell Ave.
Hyde Park, MA 02136
(617) 361-0752
It is with a profound sense of grief and persona] loss that I record the death, in early November, of Ed- ward F. O'Brien Ed was a perfect gentleman, even tempered, considerate and fair in his dealings, and never prone to hasty judgment A loving hus- band, devoted father, and legal expert who combin- ed human understanding and Christian charity against a background of long experience, Ed left to all of us an outstanding record to be admired if not to be equaled. The example he set is an enduring
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endowment to all who were fortunate enough to have known him. To his wife Mary, my all-time favorite hostess, and to his two stalwart sons, Bob and Dick, and their wonderful families, the class ex- tends its sincerest condolences and offers the fervent prayer that his soul may rest in peace.. .A most welcome note from John 'Terry' Martin, principal emeritus of Weymouth High School informing me that he spent a most enjoyable Labor Day at the Heights. It was the day on which his grandson, Kevin Dwyer, was enrolled as a member of the Class of 1988. He expressed the fond hope that he and Alice will be spared to attend Kevin's gradua- tion which will coincide with our own 60th Anniver- sary. May we all be on hand to celebrate both occa- sions... Please remember in your prayers Mary Dowd Kelley, the very personable wife of our freshman class secretary, Atty. John J. Kelley, who was recently called to her heavenly reward. Her funeral liturgy was celebrated st St. Pius X Church in Yarmouth and burial was in St. Benedict's Cemetary, at which ceremony I had the privilege of acting as lector ...Dr. Bob Donovan and Mary celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniver- sary this past summer. The highlight was the nup- tial Mass celebrated by their son, Fr. Robert, associate pastor of St. Francis Xavier in Hyannis, the same church that our classmate, Msgr. William D. Thomson, served for many years as the chief shepherd. The happy couple topped off their celebration with a trip to Bermuda... At least three correspondents have alerted me to the fact that our track star of Olympic caliber, Francis 'Babe' Daley is now permanently residing at the Noreen McKeen Home, 315 S. Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, Florida, 33401. Do send him a note or a card. I am certain it will be appreciated... Also celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary were Pat and Irene Tomkins. Fr. Leo O'Keefe was the celebrant of the commemorative Mass... Jim Duffy, Pat Tompkins, and Gene Plociennik were present when Doug Flutie and Mike Ruth were honored at the Bulger Lowe dinner sponsored by the Gridiron Club... Paul McCarty, a season ticket holder, at- tended all the home football games... Ed Conley, another football fan, rooted for B.C. High on Thanksgiving Day but to no avail... A class get- together, wives included, arranged by Frank Phelan, will be held on Tuesday February 12, 1985 at the Beach Club in Palm Beach, Florida. Reser- vation deadline, February 10th. Call me at home (617) 361-0752 or after Feb. 1 at (305) 566-5456. Hope to see you there! Keep those news items coming.
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Paul Markey
14 Grant Avenue
Wellesley.MA 02181
We enjoyed our annual class luncheon at Alumni Hall in November with 42 members and wives pre- sent. A very good showing for our filly-sixth such affair. Present were Charles Bowser, the Joe Cavanaghs, Leo Donahue, the George Donaldsons, Fr. Tom Fay, Fr. Charles Glennon, the John Gales, the Bob Hughes, Fr. Leo O'Keefe, Bill Lafay and his guest, the Hewry Liens, Msgr. Joe Mahoney, the Paul Markeys, Fr. Jim McWabe, Al and Jim Monahan, the John Mowgovans, Ed Mur- phy (who brought the good news thai he had visited with Gene McLaughlin during the summer and that all is well with Gene and his family and he sends all his best), the Frank O'Briens, the Wilfred O'Learys, Fr. Dennis Sughrue, who has moved in- to his winter residence, the Jim Rilevs, the Frank
Voss, the James Regans and Ed Weesling. Jim Regan said that he had visited with Art Hennessey who is ill and to whom he sent our prayers... We missed Phil Stuart who could not be with us because of an illness. We send him our good wishes for a happy and speedy recovery. After the lun- cheon, the board voted that we have only one an- nual luncheon, in the Fall, to which all wives and widows will be invited... I received a letter from John McGuirk, Warren's grandson, that the foot- ball stadium at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst has been named The Warren McGuirk Stadium in memory of our classmate. Warren was captain of our undefeated team in our senior year — the first team to win the Lambert Trophy, emblem of superiority in the East. It is a worthy tribute for one who spent twenty-seven years as athletic direc- tor at the University of Massachusetts.. John Lan- drigan and I, with our sons, attended the Boston Latin School dinner honoring Leonard Bernstein upon the fiftieth anniversary of his graduation from Latin. John had just returned from London where he and his wife visited Farm Street, the Jesuit In- stitution there. ..Our class was very well represented at the dedication of the new O'Neill Library... I hope that you will follow Ed Murphy's letter writing to me about any activities that you or any classmates are enjoying. . Happy New Year!
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John W. Haverty
1960 Commonwealth Avenue
Brighton, MA 02135
The class will be saddened to learn of the death of Jerry McCarthy last October. Jerry was a faithful member who brightened many of our meetings with his geniality and good humor. He was buried from St. Brendan's Church, Dorchester. Sis Connelly and Mary Grandfield were among the many mourners at the service. Jerry was a retired super- visor for the Mass Department of Public Welfare. He leaves his wife, Margaret, and three children, to whom we extend our deep condolences. Jerry will be missed by us all. Bill Cahill called me with news of the Lowell contingent and a report on his family. Son Bill, '62, is a lawyer, son Jack, '63, is a computer analyst, as is son Brian, '65, and his only daughter lives at home. Bill's wife died seven years ago. Although he suffers from arthritis of the spine and must use a cane to get around, his affliction does not limit the pleasure he derives from his nine grandchildren! Bill reported that Leon O'Brien and Joe Welch are well and still living in Lowell. ..I received a note from Fr. Arthur Hanley, retired and living in Milford, CT, about his role in the conversion of the noted poet Wallace Stevens to Catholicism, an event that has been referred to in this space before. Arthur writes, "I spent many hours with Mr. Stevens. He was a troubled man. To make sure we were talking on the same level, I read a number of his poems and we conversed about them. His big objection to Catholic faith was the doctrine of Hell. I said why not ask God when you get up there and he will give you the reasons for Hell. He said he would and then asked to be baptized. And, he was so happy, saying over and over again, 'Now I am in the fold.' Mr. Stevens died a few days later. A number of writers have asked me to give an account of Mr. Stevens' con- version. He knew the faith and he had spent long hours thinking about turning to God. I just happen- ed to be the catalyst." And, so a minor mystery in (he literary history is cleared up; il was our Arthur Hanley who was ihe catalyst in Wallace Stevens' c (inversion Arthur also sends his best regards to all
in the class... On a much lighter note, Tom Kelley and I were the guests of John Hurley at a recent Clover Club dinner, at which Archbishop Law was the guest of honor. As you all know, the Clovers are famous for their affectionate but barbed com- ments on people in the public eye. The funniest crack of a very funny evening was the comment that the reason the expected consistory to give the Archbishop his red hat did not take place was that the Pope wanted to canonize Doug Flutie first... Judge Jim Langan was also at the dinner and reported the good news that Judge Tom Lawless is now the Chief Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court... The next report will be from Dallas!
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Thomas Crosby
64 St. Theresa Ave.
W. Roxbury, MA 02132
(617) 327-7080
It's with sadness and great sorrow that we report the death of Thomas F. Meagher. Tommy died as a result of an automobile accident that occurred on September 10. To quote our 1931 Sub Turri, "...we think of Tommy Meagher overflowing with sincerity, affability, and good nature." The same then and always thereafter. The class extends its prayers and sympathy to his wife, Agnes, and to the entire Meagher family. The funeral Mass at St. Theresa's Church, West Roxbury, was attended by a large delegation of classmates, alumni, and friends... The name of our classmate, Dr. Eugene F. Smith was listed in the most recent Boston College Magazine. The class extends its sincere sympathy and prayers to his family. .On October 25, the class gathered at Alumni Hall for an impromptu lun- cheon. It was a most enjoyable occasion with thirty- seven in attendance. Many suggested that we should have such get-togethers more often. So be it. ..Those of us that through the years have follow- ed Boston College football have had a wonderful and joyous season. We congratulate AD. Bill Flynn, Coach Bicknell, his staff, and the team. We all are extremely proud of and congratulate our Heisman winner, Doug Flutie. Ted Cass and your scribe are traveling to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl. We know that there are many other classmates who will be on the trip. A full report will follow in the next issue of this magazine. ..Your scribe hopes he is not missing any important news or events concerning our classmates, and again would ap- preciate hearing from any members of the class or from family members in order to make this column worthwhile.
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John P. Connor
24 Crestwood Circle
Norwood, MA 02062
Please remember in your prayers the soul of Joe Gleason who passed away last November. ..On November 17 the class had its annual reunion in Alumni Hall. Mass was celebrated by Msgr. Vin Mackay for all our classmates, spouses and widows, and lunch followed immediately after Mass. Those who attended were the Peter Quinns, the Tom Connellys, the Gred Meirs, Mary Donnes, Priscilla Gallagher, the John Brooks, John Collins, Joe Her- non, the Dr. John McManuses, the Gerry Kellys, Jim Hayden, Chris Cutler, Dan Maguire, the Jack Pattens, Mickey McDonald, the Ted Koshiacks,
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Paul Stacy, Bill Noonair, Mrs. Dan Cahill, the Frank Moynahans, Emil Romanowski, the Frank Finns, the Frank Curtins, the Ed Hurleys, Walter Faunce, Mrs. Bill Bennett, the Jim Helles, the John Collins, the Paul McSweeneys, the Gordon Dunns, Jack Quigley, and the John Connors. Assisting at Mass was Leo Buttimer, S.J. and Fr. Gunner Haugh.Ed Herlihy, the Voice of Kraft, was honored on national TV on September 23. He is now co-starring in the new movie comedy Police Academy II as a lovable old cop... Jack Dolan EX '32 passed away December 3. Jack is survived by his wife, two sons, and a daughter. Congratula- tions to Art O'Brien who married Lyn Doucette, a nurse at Cape Cod Hospital on October 10.. .1 was glad to hear from George Shine who retired from Avon Products Inc. in 1971. George is a volunteer at a New York hospital. His eldest son, a West point graduate, has been missing in Laos since '72, his youngest son was killed in Vietnam in October '70, his second son, also a Westpoint graduate, was wounded in Vietnam, and his daughter Sallie, an RN, is a major in the Army Nurse Corp. ..Con- gratulations to the Pete Contardos who recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Pete and his wife have seven children, eight grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Pete lives in Trenton, NJ.
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James M. Connolly 10 Pine St. Belmont, MA 02178 (617) 484-4882
Received a fine note from Ed McCrensky. He recently returned from a two-month consulting assignment with the government of Thailand. His younger son, Richard, received a master's degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard last June and is now enrolled in the doctoral program. Dick McGivern reports that he met Vin Cosgrove's widow. She has thirty grandchildren and three great grandchildren. ..In addition to an honorary degree from Suffolk University, Phil McNiff has recently received the distincton of "Officier dans L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" from the French Govern- ment. All us Francophiles are delighted, and Pere deMongelerre and Andre de Beauvivier must be smiling with joy. Sorry to report the death of Al Landrigan after a long illness. A distinguished teacher, he was a loyal son of Alma Mater and a fine friend. May he rest in peace.
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John F.P. McCarthy 188 Dent St. Boston, MA 02132 (617) 323-6234
Again must I report with deep regret the passing of the following men of 1934. Leo F. Scully died on Sept. 20 and Anthony J. LaCamera died on Nov. 20. Both men were outstanding in their respective fields. Also, I must announce the deaths of Frances J. Sullivan, sister of Msgr. Dan Sullivan, Allen Boyce, brother of Charles Boyce, Sally Seward, wife of Peter C. Seward. To all of the above we should direct our prayers as we extend our con- dolences to their families. May they rest in peace... On our sick list are the following: Rt. Rev. Daniel Sullivan, Bobby Ott, Fr. Frank Doherty,
Ralph Di Mattia, and Mark Lewis. On the hap- pier side, Fr. John F. Caufield, at B.C. and Fr. Joseph M. Manning, at Fairfield each observed his fiftieth in the Society of Jesus. ..Leo Hogan of NH reports that he retired in 1977. He spends winters in Florida and the rest of the year in NH. His brother, Charlie, passed away recently. ..George McLaughlin and his wife journeyed to Ireland and Rome in October. ..The Jim Earls are still on the go. A local trip had them in Maryland to visit their daughter. Then they hit the trail to Miami for the game and to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl game. Jim, you should have your own jet for all these trips... Notes of appreciation were received from Mrs. Jiggs Lillis and Mrs. Johnny Freitas. They hope to join us at our 51st reunion. Space does not permit to list all those seen at the Miami game. Suffice to say the class was well represented. Ike Ezmunt was our resident member and enjoyed meeting some of those present... As Walter Winchell was wont to say: And now for the news as 'space' will allow. ..Dr. Dave Ascher, a graduate gemologist, specializes in diamonds and has written numerous papers on the topic. .Dr. James Hurley enjoys curling in faraway Wisconsin. ..Charlie Hig- gins is in South Carolina, and has taken up lapidary work in his retirement. Bob Toland whose daughter Marie graduated from BC School of Nursing summa cum laude, is boasting about daughter Roberta who was chosen for the High School National Honors Society. ..Rockport's Paul Boylan is busy writing The Element of Physics & The Element of Chemistry .. .Gerry Weidman is serving as a eucharistic minister at St. Elizabeth Seton Church in Falmouth, MA. He is a former director in the Catholic Alumni Sodality. ..Frank Russell reports that the Russian language continues to be a challenging and interesting occupation... Bill Slye is very busy as the associate director in the Brockton Welfare Office... Dates to remember! Laetare Sun- day, March 17, 1985. Let all of us plan to have a large attendance from '34. Do it now: The 51st re- union is scheduled for Sunday May 5, 1985. Note Bene... As we go to press, we have been advised that the class directory for our fiftieth is about to be delivered. Have you obtained yours? The commit- tee, under the chairmanship of Len O'Connell, have spent many hours preparing it. We hope you will support their efforts. ..One last note. The class of '34 had 52 Fides contributors, the largest number yet for any golden anniversary class. For Alma Mater, we wish that each succeeding golden an- niversary class will set new records.
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Daniel G. Holland
164 Elgin St.
Newton Centre, MA 02159
Reserve these 1985 dates. May 16-19 for our Fif- tieth Anniversary activities. More details later. Watch your mail for a very important question- naire. Complete it promptly and return it as directed on the form. We hope to publish a memorable Golden Eagle book for '35. .Our first anniversary function was a success. On October 27 after the Rutgers victory Fr. Jim Hart assisted by Tom Mulvehill, S.J. celebrated Mass for our deceased classmates and deceased members of our families. Present were Anne and Milt Borenstein, Irvin Brogan, John Burke, Gemma and Dr. Ed Cardillo who were accompanied by daughters An- nette and Marie, Dot and Bill Carney, Elinor and Dr. Jim Connolly, Marjorie and Ernie Coury, Gerry and Dr. Frank Crimmings, Rita and Dib Destefano, Ida and Tony DeVico, Gen and Ed
Forbes, Kay and Bill Fitzsimons, Judge Frank Good with his sisters, Catherine and Mary, Helen and Dr. Hank Groden, Rita and John Griffin, Isabel and Bill Hannan, Mona and Dan Holland, Mary and Kiddo Liddell, Charlie McCarthy, Marie and Dr. Jim McDonough, Ginny and Dr. Joe Riley, Dan Ring, Nancy and Tom Ryan, Judy and Henry Sheehan, Annie and Ed Sullivan, Kate and Walt Sullivan. Also honoring the occasion were classmates' widows Eleanor Curran, Rita Hurley, Edna Kelly, Peg Lownie with daughter Ann Marie, Grace Nicholson, Alice O'Brien and Mary O'Loughlin. Special thanks to Bill Carney and Walter Sullivan and their committee for an auspicious start of our Fiftieth Anniversary com- memoration. Thanks also to our reverend clergy, staff of Alumni Office, especially Joy Haywood, and the courteous young women and men who served us so graciously. Prayerful congratulations to Mary L. Mulvehill on her 100th birthday celebrated by her daughter, Margaret Kelly, and sons, John J. and Fr. Tom... Best wishes on retire- ment to Bill Hannan as newspaperman, who still writes a weekly column and an occasional editorial for the Attleboro Sun Chronicle... Good Retirement wishes to Jim Connolly, DDS who leaves an active dental practice. Jim is past president of the Mass. Dental Society. ..Jim McDonough, past president of Mass. Medical Society, was honored with a bronze plaque naming the obstetrical floor of Winchester Hospital for him... Passion Play at Oberammergau was viewed by Dot and Bill Carney, Kate and Walt Sullivan, Mona and Don Holland. Also touring Europe were Bettejo and Jack Murphy. Visiting Boston for July Fourth excitement was their son, David Kitt Murphy, and his wife, Sue... Thanks to word from Fr. Clarence Boucher and Joe Ryan, we record the death of Daniel W. Riordan, Esq. '35. Dan spent two years with us and completed legal studies at Suffolk. Our sympathy to his brother, Timothy... On a personal note, my thanks to the class for remembrance of your correspondent's mother, Katherine E. Holland who died at age 96. Keep in mind a generous gift to our golden an- niversary fund.
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Joseph P. Keating 24 High St. Natick, MA 01760
In August Msgr. Lou Delahoyde celebrated his twenty-ninth year as Chancellor of the Sioux Falls Diocese, and in September his thirtieth year in the Chancery. Frank McCarthy writes to keep Lou posted on things back east.Fr. Tom Navien, for many years the sage of Groton, has retired. Tom is living in St. Mary's of the Assumption, Dracut and will be helping out in that parish. ..Chris Ianella's son, Chris Jr. , is starting to follow in his father's footsteps after being elected to the Governor's Council in November. The Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Library was dedicated in October with many of the Class, acting on Bob O'Hayre's invitation, attend- ing the ceremony. Bishop Larry Riley gave the in- vocation and Neil Owens was on the platform. Among classmates spotted were Msgr. Speed Car- roll, Fr. Gerry Kinsella, Dr. Bob Condon, Al Burgoyne, Dennis Dooley, Sid Dunn, Warren Fay, Steve Hart, Bill Jeselonis, Tom Keane, Bernie Kelley, Tom and Joe Killion, George Mahoney, Tom Mahoney, Jack McLaughlin, Joe O'Connor, Brendon Shea, Judge Phil Tracy, John Terry and, of course, Class President Bob O'Hayre. After the dedication Steve Hart, who spent one week on a Windjammer Cruise out of Maine last summer,
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went over to St. Mary's Hall and visited with Fr. Carl Thayer, who still teaches Greek upon occasion at the College. Tip O'Neill gathered further honors in November by again being elected Speaker of the House of Representatives — a singular and distinguished honor and position... Sorry to report George Finn of Milton died in September. George was an executive in the woolen industry for many years. The prayers and sympathy of the Class are extended to his wife and family. Another reminder — the Fiftieth is coming soon. Arrangements are being made. So plan to take it all in... One last item. Please note these class notes are coming from Natick, MA, the home of the one and only Doug Flutie!
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Angelo A. DiMattia 82 Perthshire Rd. Brighton, MA 02135 (617) 782-3078
I am sad to report that James Droney passed away on October 9 after suffering many years with a heart condition. We extend to his wife Helen, son James Henry, and daughters Meg and Sarah '78 our sincerest sympathy. James had a distinguished career as a writer for the old Herald Traveler and Boston Evening American. He was the chief editor of the Lowell Sun's Sunday magazine, and received many awards including the coveted Boston Press Association Amesa Howe award. .We extend to Rosemary Walsh our sympathy on the loss of her sister Martha Loeser who lived in Hanson... We also extend our sympathy to Andy Domenick on the passing of his sister last summer. Let's remember all of them in our prayers... We hope that at this writing Atty. Tim Sullivan and his wife Penny are in better health. They had to miss our reunion on November 3. Both of them are fine persons. ..Had a nice note from Al Tortolini who resides in Cotate, California. ..Dr. Gerald Hogan now lives in Boca Raton, Honda. ..Vic De Rubeis, Susan McGillivray (Msgr. Quirk's sister), Francis McCabe and Jim Nolan all made reserva- tions for our reunion, but were unable to be pre- sent. At the reunion were the Keoughs, Joseph Herlihy, Murrays, Barretts, Bill Costello, Berrys, Bill Dohertys, Barrys, Jim Dohertys, Garrahans, Curtins, Gaquins, McDermotts, Al Sullivans, Phillips, Dembrowskis, DiMattias, Gene Cronin from Virginia, and Herbie Block from Delray Beach, FL, who happened to be up here visiting his daughter in Framingham, and Georgia White, widow of Tom White... John Crimmings, Dr. Jack O'Hara, John Bonner and Francis Burke, our organist, sent their regrets. . Many of our classmates were at the BC vs. Penn State game away from home and could not attend... At this time I want to thank Msgr. John Keilty of St. Brigid's Church in Lexington for the splendid hospitality extended to us all, both at the lovely Mass for our deceased and the reception held in the adjacent hall He always rolls out the red carpet when we go to his parish. St. Brigid's Church had an Italian night the follow- ing Saturday and Msgr. Keilty dressed as a Gon- dolier stole the show. The Parish will sponsor a St. Patrick's social in March. The reunion committee will seriously look into this for our next reunion.. Met Fr. John Palmicre at a funeral in Revere. He looks great. He informed me that since he suffers from a bronchial condition he has to live in a warm, dry climate and chose Tucson, Arizona to spend his retirement... Sometime in 1985 I am going to circulate another request for a biographical resume of the class. I am still hoping to publish a
new Chronicle of our Class for our upcoming fif- tieth. ..Here's hoping that this winter will not be too severe, and that our Billy Sullivan will come up with a good football draft for his Pat riots... Thanks to Gene Cronin for his fine note, and likewise to Bill Costello.
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Thomas F. True, Jr.
37 Pomfret St.
W. Roxbury, MA 02132
Bob Power's son Robert received his deaconate in the Jesuits this spring. At present he is assigned to St. Ignatius near the college where he assists the celebrant at Mass. My wife and I have been privileged to hear him give several excellent ser- mons. He will be ordained next year. ..In the last issue of this magazine we were saddened to learn of the death of Mario Rosiro Marty had worked at the Boston Garden since our undergraduate days. Just last winter between periods of a Bruins game, we dropped by to say hello to him. To his family we extend our sincerest sympathy. Joe Home and his wife plan to attend the Cotton Bowl ..Met 'Big Jim' Casey at the BC High-Catholic Memorial game Thanksgiving Day. Among the Golden Jubilarians at BC High this year were Bill Brennan, Dr Joe Connolly, Fr. Jim Cosgrove, Jim Dailey, Paul Donaher, Bob Fleming, Dan Foley, Frank Foley, John Galway, Joe Home, Jim Hunt, Gerry Jones, Paul Kelley, Junie King, Charlie Langen- field, Charlie Logue, Fr. John McLaughlin, Paul Mulkern, Father John Murphy, Charlie O'Hara, Jim O'Hare, Bob Power, Jim Regan, Dr. John Shaw, Paul Snell, Gene Soles, Dr. Dick Stanton and yours truly. ..The Friday before graduation we were dinner guests of BC High president Fr. Ray Callahan, S.J. We sat in a reserved section at the commencement exercises and were all presented our gold diplomas. Bill Guindon, S.J., a former provin- cial, who had been with our class at BC, opened the program by giving the invocation. ..Again this year I am privileged to serve on the Board of Government of the Catholic Alumni Sodality. The meetings are still held the first Sunday of each month at the old BC High with Mass at 9:10 am. The guest speakers are always interesting. Dr. John Silber, President of B.U., Jack Bicknell, Mayor Ray Flynn, Bishop Joe Maguire and Robert Delaney to name a few. I know that anyone who would make the effort to attend would find it very enjoyable and informative. Wives and families are welcome at all meetings. We also have our annual retreat during Lent and wind up our year with an awards dinner at BC.Our next chance to get together will be at the Laetare breakfast Sunday, March 17. Tables will be reserved for our class as usual. ..Plans for our annual class dinner in the spring are under way. Details will be sent later.
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William E. McCarthy 39 Fairway Drive W. Newton, MA 02165 (617) 332-5196
Our class president Charlie Murphy called a com- mittee meeting in late November to discuss plans for the coming year. Joining Charlie for the meeting were Al Branca, Jim Doherty, Pete Kerr, Bill McCarthy, and Arthur Sullivan Paul Needham couldn't make it and John Payton was
out playing golf. Many things were discussed and it was decided to have a repeat of our very successful hockey game and reception at the Eagles Nest in Roberts Center under the chairmanship of Dr. Al Branca. The hockey game was against Providence on Saturday, January 19. A full report will follow next issue. Also on the agenda will be Laetare Sunday and a class buffet in late April. Paul Keane reports that his daughter, Mary Anne, MBA '78, is now the vice president and comptroller of Thomson McKinnon Energy Management, Inc. During the month of September, Pete Kerr and Judge Phil Tracey, '36, and their wives visited London, Paris and Germany. . .Talked to the John O'Donnell's as they were about to leave for a two- week visit to Italy in October. Please send some news about the old eagles.
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John F. McLaughlin 24 Hayward Rd. Acton, MA. 01720
The class of '40 Anniversary Year started off with a dinner meeting in the faculty lounge at McGuinn Hall. Jack Morrisey hosted the affair on November 7. Joy Haywood of the Alumni Office outlined the activates that the Class might wish to develop... Class President Bill Joy hosted a follow- up luncheon on December 12. Jack Morrissey, and Dave Lucey attended. It was decided that the Laetare Sunday Communion Breakfast at the Heights on March 17 would be a part of our An- niversary year program .. .Jack Morrissey and Joe Groden worked on the Anniversary Class Fund Drive. Some of you may have received their call. Your correspondent did and made his pi edge... Fides Member Joe Dannehy was elevated to the supreme court of the State of Connecticut in November. He was a justice in the appellate divi- sion...Fr. Joe Shea was the eulogist at a Memorial Mass for Henry McMahon in October. Henry's family, faculty members and classmate Paul Greeley attended ..Dr. Jim Doonan was installed as president of the Clover Club in December. He succeeded Brian Ahearn '42. Archibichop Bernard Law was guest speaker. . Jack McCarthy and Bill Gilligan are on our recovery list. Jack underwent throat surgery in September and Bill is under the capable care of Dr. Dick Wright at the Carney... There is a new attorney in the Joy family. Bill's daughter Ellen passed the Massachusetts bar exams this fall. Fred Robertie has taken up residence in his retirement home in Plymouth, NH. Thank you Fred, Vin Nasca, and Henry Desmond for your Christmas greetings... Please remember and pray for the members of our class who died last fall: Dr. Joe Foley, Walter MacDonough and Charlie Mclsaac.
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Richard B. Daley 160 Old Billerica Road Bedford, MA 01730 (617) 275-7651
Please remember in your prayers Jack Daly who passed away suddenly on Nov. 1. Jack spent most of his career with Stone & Webster finishing as V.P. with one of the divisions. ..On a happier note Lennie McDermott and Grace Sullivan Scanlon were married on June 30. Both are retired school
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teachers of the Lowell School System. They will make their home in Lowell. ..Gerry Mahoney, who lives in St. Louis, visited the area recently to par- ticipate in his sister's Golden Jubilee as Mother Francis of the Carmelite Monastery in Danvers. ..The Mahoneys have 8 children, one of whom concelebrated the Mass with Bishop Lawrence Riley. ..William M.J. Driscoll, S.J. was the recipient of one of Georgetown's most prestigious awards at the John Carrol awards weekend, October 11-14, at the Hyatt Regency in Baltimore.
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Ernest J. Handy
215 LaGrange St.
W. Roxbury, MA 02132
(617) 323-6326
As I compose this column, the Advent Season has just begun. I wish you each a wonderful Christmas. As you read this column, it will most probably be the penitential season of Lent. I wish each of you a happy and blessed Easter... I was truly saddened to learn of the death on July 7 of Ed McDonal of Winthrop, and on July 8 of Bill Dynan. The Class has had a Mass said for each. ..Congratulations to Coach Bicknell and the 1984 Football Team on a very successful season. I fully anticipate a victory in the Cotton Bowl and look forward to celebrating with Amby Claus, Jim Boudreau, Joe Sullivan, Jim Cahalane, Frank Dever, Jack Hart, John Mahoney, Fred Seeley, Jim Stanton, Ed McDonald of Brighton, Dave Cavan, Frank Colpoys, Tom Flanagan, Jack McMahon, Ken Murphy, Jim O'Neill, Brian Sullivan, Bernie Twoomey, and Eleanor Maguire. No doubt I shall meet other Classmates during the journey. That list will be in- cluded in the next issue... I was much impressed by Fr. Bob Drinan's eulogy of Fr. Shea that appeared in the fall issue of the magazine. Fr. Drinan's schedule keeps him traveling throughout the coun- try— to list same would take an entire page. I last saw him as a feature speaker at the Mondale Rally this past October. I am grateful to him for his periodic contacts and wish that more of you would do likewise... I expect, that by the time this is read, to have contacted most, if not all, of the Class in- dividually regarding the Paul J. Maguire Scholar- ship. A report on the status of the fund will be published soon in this column. If any of the you have any questions regarding it, please contact me directly.
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Thomas O'C. Murray 14 Churchill Rd. W. Roxbury, MA 02132 (617) 323-8571
A note of interest from your correspondent. In checking old files recently, I have discovered we have five copies of our twentieth Yearbook available on a first come, first served basis. Cost is only $10... The Class extends its sympathies to Bob Blute on the death of his father and to Charlie Drummey on the death of his mother. A recent note from Bill Murphy says he's now retired as V.P. of "Plus I" of Westport, CT. Daughter Gail is a 1984 graduate of UConn; Katie is a sophomore at Maryland; and son Bill is a senior at Staples High. Bill's wife Carmeline is a freelance writer, whom we thank for the news... Had a nice note this
fall from Beatrice McHale, who wishes to thank the Class for the Mass cards and enrollments for Jim- my... News has been sparse of late.
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James F. McSorley 1204 Washington St. North Abington, MA 02351 (617) 878-3008
Once again our deadline is here and we can again send some news your way. Our thanks to the BU Law School "Information Update" which informs us that Gene Saunders, who lives in Pacific Grove, CA, is a trial lawyer on the Monterey Peninsula. He is also a Lt. Col. in the California National Guard (Reserve) where he is a judge advocate. In addition, Gene is a special master for the California State Bar dealing with matters of discipline pro- blems involving California lawyers. In December of 1981 he was ajudge, pro temp, for the Monterey municipal court during the court's process of choos- ing a court commissioner. Gene is also a U.S. district court appointed arbitration panel judge in San Francisco and Oakland, a position which he has held since 1979... Ed O'Keefe, former chairman of the board of the First County National Bank of Brockton, where he had taken an active part in community affairs, is retired on a medical disabili- ty. He informs us that he is enjoying his retirement living in Hingham with his wife Terry. They have five children and six grandchildren. ..Leo Wilson has retired from the Shell Oil Co. where he was area manager. He lives in Norwood with his wife Barbara. They have done some traveling since retirement. They have five children (four BC eagles and one from Fairfield) and six grandchildren.. At the December press deadline Frank Doherty's wife was recovering from surgery. Our prayers are with her for a quick recovery. ..Bill Daly took an early retirement in '83 from the MIT Lincoln Lab. However, to keep himself busy, he is trying to master the intricacies of computer languages by tak- ing courses at MIT and BC. Bill and his wife live in Concord. They have three sons and two daughters. One daughter is married and another is a college freshman. One son had set a 1984 date for his wedding. Bill and Fran put traveling high on their priority list. John Dempsey lives in Weymouth. He has been in the appliance business for 35 years and is sales manager for the Philco- Admiral Corporation. He has one grandchild. In the past he was active in Scouts and Little League. The current Eagles football success recalls his being part of the Sugar Bowl team. Walter Fitzgerald is teaching physical education at Madison Park High School in Boston. He was a former football and hockey coach at Boston Trade School. Walt con- tinues to keep in touch with other '44ers and was a welcome member of our May reunion committee. Walter lives in Mattapan with his wife Ann. They have three children and four grandchildren. ..Dan Durant is zone manager for the Kohler Company, working in marketing. Dan and his wife Ellen live in Melrose, and have two sons and two daughters, and two grandchildren as of May when we last saw Dan and Ellen at our reunion.
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Louis & Lillian Sorgi Box 2013
New Brunswick, NJ 08903 (800) 221-0684
By the time you read these notes, the holidays will be over and hopefully we will have beaten Houston in the Cotton Bowl. I will have a report on the Cot- ton Bowl proceedings in the next issue of the magazine. ..Paul Paget, Jack McCarthy and other class members are busy planning activities for 1985. I hope you will all plan to take an active part in our fortieth celebration — especially, Laetare Sunday, March 17, and Alumni Weekend, May 17-19, at the Heights.
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V. Paul Riordan 40 Hillcrest PI. Westwood, MA 02090 (617) 329-3227
Eddie O'Brien wrote from Vienna, VA after my appeal for notes. He described his 31-day trip via rail through Frankfort to Prague; bus to the border of the USSR at Chop; then on to Kiev, to Keshinev, via Aeroflot to Moscow; then to Len- ingrad, Velnus, Lithuania; to Warsaw and Krakow, Poland; back into East Germany and on to Frankfort. Highlights of his trip were roaming around Red Square, riding Moscow's Metro System, and Mass at the US Embassy. His most emotional stop was walking through those grim por- tals with the inscription "ARBEIT MACHFREI", at the entrance to Auschwicz/Benkenau. He also at- tended his 40th High School Reunion in Waltham in November and promises to attend our 40th in 1988. ..Bill Boodro called me from Columbus, Ohio the night of the Miami game. He was excited and still couldn't believe the results. ..Saw Bill Oliver and his bride at several games, and also saw Mike DeCeseare, Ed Ferdenzi, and Bob Lawlor. . Recommendation: the University Theater productions on campus... St ill need notes, so write.
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John T. Prince
64 Donnybrook Rd.
Brighton, MA. 02135
As these notes go to press we are all awaiting the Cotton Bowl results. This has been a most reward- ing year for those of us who have followed the BC football fortunes these many years. At last count there were 17,000 Bostonians headed for Dallas, which indicates how the team has captured the Boston area scene. ..Thanks to the new feature in the Alumni Newletter called "What's New?" we have received information on several classmates. E. Aquinas Jordan, living in sunny Florida, had been promoted to assistant vice-president of Merrill Lynch in Bradenton, FL... Frank Farrell is manag- ing director of Bayside Expo Center in Dorchester. Tom Ryan is very active in the Mass. and National Retired Associations. He has been elected as a retired teacher to the Revolutions Com- mittee of the National Education Association... Walter McGauley is very busy with Boston Edison as district manager. . .Our sympathy is extended to Ed Doherty on the death of his sister. Bill McCool is once again ready to spring into action with the BC telethon. He asks that everyone be as generous as possible... I remind everyone to take a minute to tear off and fill out the "What's New?" form in the winter newsletter It will provide notes, which are most desired at this point.
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Edward L. Englert 128 Colberg Ave. Roslindale, MA 02131 (617) 323-1500
The football smoker held in December was very en- joyable thanks to the efforts of Lex Blood, Roger Connor, Tom Megan and Al Sexton. Players Steve Trapelo and Mark Bardwell represented the football team, and films and video recordings were shown by Joe Curnane. Thank you all for a plea- sant evening! The food was delicious, the prizes were great; and the enthusiasm of the conversation was contagious. ..Jack Donovan came from Rochester, NY. and Dick McLaughlin drove up from Connecticut. Tom Cullinane returned from Miami to join us after being rained out of the Miami game. However, Bert Kelley was among those staunch soaked supporters who witnessed the "Miami mirade"...Ed Clougherty's daughter is a freshman at BC.Alex Morgan lives in Dedham. Son Donald graduated cum laude from Harvard, majoring in mathematics, and is currently serving in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps as a teacher in Portland, Oregon. ..Bill Terrio lives in Concord, Mass . Dick Maloney is sales manager for TRW and resides in Andover after many years in the Detroit area. ..Congratulations to Attorney Jim Smith of Falmouth, who was recently sworn in as U.S. Magistate for the Cape Cod National Seashore. ..Tom O'Connell came from Princeton, N.J. to attend the Army game with Tom Cullinane and Jack Leary.Paul O'Neil lives in Milton and works for Boston Edison. ..Dana Doherty has settl- ed in Apple Valley, Minnesota and is with Sperry Corporation. Son Dana is at the Coast Guard Academy; daughter Sally, is at the Air Force Academy; and Frances is at Apple Valley High. Dana is active in alumni activities as Admission Chairperson for Minnesota and president of the B.C. Club. ..Joe Chisholm, Garden City, New York, is vice president and institutional securities salesman for Dean, Witter, Reynolds in New York. Daughter Stephanie is B.C. '84.. .Chatted with George Gallant and Pete McMorrow at the O'Melia Award Dinner. Recently met J. Paul Hickey who is celebrating his 29th anniversary with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company where he is recruiting manager. Paul lives in Middlet own. Hope to see you all at the spring function!
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Robert W. Kelly 98 Standish Rd. Watertown, MA 02172 (617) 926-0121
Tom Kennedy's oldest daughter, Maura, '80, received her medical degree in '84 from Tufts Medical School. She is interning at the VA Hospital. Daughter Peg is BC '87 and daughter Kathleen is a freshman at Emmanual College ..Francis N. Gros Louis lives in Littleton, Colorado; works for the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and has spent five years working on Indian reservations in So. Dakota Francis has written two books A Small Town Hick and Proud of It and Charana, Goddess of the Plains. We'll have to check the O'Neill Library to see if they have them. ..Met up with Ralph Antonelli who retired from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in
November '82. Ralph was a computer programmer assisting in the various engineering disciplines. Ralph resides in Dover, NJ. He'd like the whereabouts of William Emmons and Tom Vanderslice. Claimed he helped get them through undergraduate work... At our installation dinner for our new dassmate Baron Hugo we had the pleasure of having Jim Willwerth's daughter Anne Marie with us. Baron sang his famous rendition of "All The Things You Are" to Anne Marie '85. At eighty-two, Baron can still tingle the heartstrings... We are all saddened at the passing of John Lawton on December 1 at the Holy Cross Game. The entire class sends its condolences to the Lawton Family... Joe Cribben lives in Falls Church, VA. Congrats are in order for Joe Morgan, new first base coach on Manager McNamara's '85 Red Sox team... Speedy recovery to John Savage who is recovering from a stroke which afflicted him in May. John lives at 35 Royalwood Court, Cheshire, CT.. .Talked with Bob Mullen who told me that he and a partner won the Tobin Tournament in his flight at the Hatherly Country Club last August. He says he played a round of golf on December 13 with Eddie H anion at Hatherly and whipped him easy to take shoe typhoon. Bob just relocated his real estate offices to a new ultra modern building on Rte. 3A in Cohasset. Bob's company is Dwyer & Mullen ERA Realtors. If you want a deal, call Bob ...Baron Hugo, the dean of local band leaders and known to all Totem Pole followers, was recently made an honorary member of the Class of 1953. The class has particular affection for The Baron after enjoy- ing his music at our Senior Ball and at many Class functions over the past thirty-one years. His most recent performance for us was on December 8. A plaque presented in recognition of his musical talent, winning personality and charitable nature will hang in the Milton Library as part of an ex- hibit of his mementos. In accepting the plaque, which was presented by your correspondent, the 81-years-young bandleader described his high regard for BC and his personal and professional paths to a career in music. Attended by over fifteen classmates, the event was organized by our president Paul Coughlin and included a special blessing by Fr. Joseph Shea for The Baron and his family.
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Francis X. Flannery 60 Linden St. Brookline, MA 02146
(617) 277-6408
I met Joe Skerry with his wife Jane and son Joseph. Joseph graduated from Suffolk University Law School in June 1984. Attorney Larry Bren- nan of Belmont was recently elected Secretary of the Middlesex County Bar Association. He is a former president of that organization and Law Day chairman this year... I heard from Jerry Massell who now resides in Union Beach, New Jersey, where he has been municipal court judge since 1980. From 1969-71 he served as municipal court judge in Middletown. Jerry and his wife Betty have four children. Their only daughter is a recent graduate of North Arizona College and is entering law school in September; one son is in high school; and the fourth Massell offspring is a student at Curry College planning a career in social service work...! extend to you all my very best wishes for a happy holiday season, and look forward to seeing many of you in Dallas for the Cotton Bowl Classic.
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Marie J. Kelleher 12 Tappan St. Melrose, MA 02176 (617) 665-2669
Jim Powers sent us an update indicating that 1984 was a very busy year for him. He completed his eighth trip to China among other things. During one trip, he made his second visit to Moscow. In August, he was promoted to senior vice president of American Science and Engineering, Inc., in Cam- bridge. September 1 1 marked a congratulatory milestone. He and his wife Norma celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. Jim also reports that his oldest son is living in Hollywood and is studying ac- ting. His youngest son is living at home and works for the Bank of Boston. ..We've heard that Ted Meehan moved his importing business to Oster- ville, Mass. Ted's company "Bay State Marketing," imports equipment manufactured in Korea, Taiwan, and Red China for sale in the US. Our "spy" reports that Ted is also the inventor of the famous "Houchy" lure which is great for cat- ching bass and blue fish... Best wishes go to Ruth Henning Sweeney on her recent promotion to head nurse status at the VA hospital in Bedford, Mass. We know that she will do a super job. ..Congratula- tions to Sally Walsh Logue and husband Ed on becoming grandparents. ..Pat Lavoie Grugnale and husband Nick spent a lovely vacation in Hawaii... Stephanie Coffey Krupinsky sent a long letter. She now has a position far removed from nursing, but which must be fascinating — she is education coordinator and tour director for Opera/Omaha and Omaha Ballet. Ah, to be sur- rounded by such music would be soul refreshing for .his columnist! Steph also reports that daughter Mary was married in June at St. Francis Xavier Church in Hyannis. One note: a promise is a pro- mise, Steph! See you Alumni Weekend!. ..Speaking of the thirtieth, the cocktail party and Army game was such a success. The class had to purchase several extra tickets from the Alumni Association. Let's keep up that spirit, folks... The joy of celebrating our reunion and the pleasurable events that we will participate in are tempered somewhat by the fact that with the years that have passed, more and more of our classmates are suffering the loss of loved ones. Recognizing this, we offer our sympathy to Dick Hill and his family on the death of his mother. ..While all grief brings with it a special kind of individualized loneliness, probably the loss of a child no matter what age brings a grief that seems almost unsurmountable. To Louise McDevitt Wallent, husband Ernie, and daughters Rosie and Cathleen, go our hearts and prayers as they try to overcome their loss of Matthew.
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Jane Quigley Hone 425 Nassau Ave. Manhasset, N.Y. 11030 (516) 627-0973
A great honor was given to our class by Mary Jane Moyles Murray and Gerry on Dec. 1 when their only son Gerald became a diocesan priest. A Mass and reception was held on Dec. 2 in New Rochelle Mary Sullivan, Mary Hanlon, Peggy Knapp Galvin, Jane Hone, and Prank got together for a short visit Peggy Galvin and family live in New Hampshire on a farm where they raise animals. She has five children. ..Please plan on coming to our 30th reunion on May 17-19. Contact a roommate, or a friend, and come.
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Frank E. Lynch 145 Atherton St. Milton, MA 02186
A happy, healthy New Year to all... Our absence of Class Notes was rather conspicuous in the fall issue of the magazine. Although, I submitted a short cap- sule of Class Notes, they were turned down by the Alumni Office because of the brevity of notes that were submitted. Apart from the policy, the receipt of Class Notes has been very sparce over the last year. The problem is simple. I need to hear from as many Classmates as possible to make this a consis- tent and viable column. I, therefore, solicit your support and cooperation in order to "make it hap- pen"...The Class function at Durgin Park, Faneuil Hall on October 20 was a fine event for those that attended. It was a mixture of good company and menu. Congratulations to Joe Cotter and Leo Morrissey for doing a great job co-chairing this event. Barry Adams was named a vice provost at Cornell University. He received both his MA. and Ph.D from the University of North Carolina. Boston College awarded Barry a Presidential Bicentennial Award in 1976 "for Personal Dedica- tion, Excellence and Service" ... Marty Dunn ap- peared on Good Morning America on September 18. He was interviewed about the jaw surgery he performed on Alexandria Balazar, an Ecuador or- phan, in conjunction with Por Christo, the medical mission to the country of Ecuador. Marty also discussed other aspects of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery. ..Congratulations to both Ed Brickley and Jack Dwyer who have been the guys responsible for recording the stats at all the BC football games over the years. They are the unsung heroes behind the scenes in the pressbox at Alumni Stadium. Their love of and dedication to the football program is to be commended. ..Patricia Sgrosso Genovesse is assistant director of admissions for girls at the Kent School in Kent, CT, where her husband is a member of the English Department. Pat's daughter, Pamela, is a member of the Class of 1988 at BC while son David is a junior at Brown University... Larry Chisholm's son Philip, Frank Lynch's daughter Carolyn and Joe McMenimen's daughter Christine are all new members of the same Class of 1988. Bob Mahoney is now ex- ecutive vice-president at People's, Inc. in Fall River which serves the mentally retarded in southeastern Massachusetts. Gil "Trapper" McKinnon recently moved from Orleans on Cape Cod to Lake Hawasu City, Arizona. Gil, I can't forget those days in Fr. Harney's class freshman year! Write soon and give us an update on that Arizona life. ..Paul and Kathy O'Leary celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary on October 20 with a surprise party that was planned by their children. Rev. Gene Sullivan celebrated a Mass in their honor. Many close friends and classmates of Paul and Kathy were in attendance for this very joyous event... A first anniversary Mass for Paul D. Sullivan was held at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on October 14. Paul was the former director of the Pine Street Inn in Boston. ..John J. Perkins has been named president of the International In- surance Group LTD in Boston. John is presently a member and former director of The New England Home for Little Wanderers. ..The Class extends its condolences to the families of Sr. Mary Anita of the Sisters of Providence who died on July 9, Robert F. Hinkley who died on August 11, and Antonio 'Tony' Quintilliani of Quincy who died on August 25. At this time, your prayers are re- quested for a dear and loyal Classmate and the spouse of another Classmate who are seriously ill. The Class of 1957 extends to Coach Bicknell, Doug Flutie, our Heisman Trophy Winner, and the rest
of the great 1984 Football Squad, thanks for a tremendously thrilling football season. Yes, you can bet your life that they will win the Cotton Bowl. ..Just a reminder about Class Dues. Remember also my earlier request for Class Notes. Send any newsy and interesting items along now!
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David A. Rafferty 33 Huntly Rd. Hingham, MA 02043 (617) 749-3590
My apologies for the blank '58 classnotes column in the last issue. I certainly heard about it from Joe Warner when we were together for the December 9 production of Deathtrap at the BC Theatre. Joe, in addition to being a judge in the federal appeals court, is this year's president of the BC Alumni Association board of directors. Joe and his family reside in Dedham. ..Dan Clancy is back in school again studying for his MBA at SUNY in Albany. Dan and wife Carol are proud grandparents of Matthew David. Matthew lives in Hazel Park, Michigan, with his parents, Caroline and David... Jim 'Mucca' McDevitt is still looking for Joe 'Dapper' Casper and Eddie Malloy. If either of you are reading this, give me a jingle so I can get 'Mucca' off my back. ..John (Ionian, give Jim a call. He wants a rematch in tennis after losing at the Alumni Tournament. Jim has two sons at BCHS... Betty Cool DiMilla is living in Fram- ingham with her husband and five children. Christine is a sophomore at Dartmouth, John a freshman at BC, and Peter & Andrew are at Fram- ingham North H.S. At commencement at Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA, Bernie Mahoney, professor of chemistry, received the prestigious Grellet C. Simpson Award for excellence in undergraduate teaching. Bernie received his M.S. from BC and Ph.D. from UNH. He has been at Mary Washington since 1964. ..Received a nice letter from Ben Adler. Ben is executive director of Sixty Plus Health Clinic in Somerville, an am- bulatory care facility, and is living in Belmont... Lou Belifonte is practicing dentistry in Georgia. ..Dick Bertocci is running a nursing home in Brockton... Joe Buckley was recently appointed chairman of the math department at Western Michigan University. Joe, his wife, and four children live in Kalamazoo... Tom Lynch was ap- pointed vice-president in the treaty department of the Metropolitan Reinsurance Co. in PA. Previous- ly, Tom was president