St. John of the Cross School (Roslyn, PA) 1953-2010

I have been going there on weekends and reminiscing. Sitting on the steps and looking out over the playground. Looking at the walls on the outside of the building where I used to flip baseball cards in a child's version of gambling of our life savings away. Looking at the spot where, I swear to this day, I got in trouble for vandalizing the building, though thinking I was being efficient and smart, for banging the cloths used to erase the chalkboards against the wall. The smudge is still there. I guess Mrs. Paris was right.

I could go on and on about the lifetime memories I carry from belonging to this parish and this community. And, part of that is what makes me sad--it truly was the last time I felt a sense of community in my life.

So, these are the last days of my grade school before it closes down for good. So, thank you, St. John's.

Thank you, Sister Joan Bernard
Thank you, Miss Elgin
Thank you, Mrs. Dressler
Thank you, Miss Malloy
Thank you, Sister Amadeus (and Mrs. Adamo, and other substitutes that year)
Thank you, Mrs. Paris
Thank you, my seventh grade nuns whose names I have forgotten
Thank you, Sister St. Michael....


....for helping to make me the person I am today. You have been a great influence in my life and my classmates lives, and, let's face it, for good and/or bad. But, a major part of it, you were.

Looking at the school, it is showing it's age. What once was home for 8 hours a day to thousand of children at a time is now done to a few hundred. The last time alumni can walk the hallways is tomorrow night on June 4.

Good-bye, old school. You will be missed.

The End of an Era

If you look at the pictures below, it's pretty non-descript. In a town that is pretty non-descript. It was built in the 1950's to withstand nuclear attack from the Russians. And, I remember signs posted outside the building saying it was a Fallout Shelter. It will not be missed by the world in general. But the 50 some-odd classes that have graduated from there, it was the center of their world. Yesterday, I found out that, St. John of the Cross in Roslyn, PA, where I went to school from grade 1-8 will be closing its doors this June. And, I will be very sad to see it go.

But, not surprisingly, the world has changed since I was in grade school. Back when I started first grade, we had 40 kids per class and three classes in our grade. And, that was the same for all 8 grades. There were, about 1000 kids in the school, in any particular year. Now? There are about 100+ kids in the entire school.

Back in the 1950/60s, families were moving out of Philadelphia and moving to towns such as Roslyn and the surrounding area. I didn't live in Roslyn and was considered to be 'living in the sticks' because we had a dirt road and the mailbox was up the street from us. I only lived maybe a 1/2 mile away from the school. But, today, the area has changed. Families are moving further away from Philadelphia (and Roslyn) and new schools are being built there. Schools, such as St. John's, have to try to compete with new public schools being built in the area. We are starting to see consolidation of venerable parochial high schools in Philadelphia that were some of the largest in the country. So, closing St. John's comes as no surprise to any of us.

As I grow older, more and more I try to cling to what was familar to me. Though, there is less and less to cling to. The house I grew up in is still there but you would never recognize it anymore. I once showed a picture of how it looks today to my parents and said I was interested in buying it and what did they think? It took them awhile to notice it was the house they raised their kids in. My grandparents' house in western Pennsylvania was torn down and a new house was built. And, now, my old school is being shut down.

Going to school at St. John's, being part of that parish, being from that area, was the last time I ever felt a sense of community in my life. I have tried, and in reality, do have some sense of community with runners in the Doylestown area. But, back then, what parish you belong to was part of your identity. Our school was revered (feared?) in our athletic programs. Even through high school, you were partially identified by what parish you came from. I'm not sure if it's the same today.

I am sad this day has come though not surprised. The pictures below were only from a few years ago. To me, it looks like the same desks, the same clothes closet, the same blackboards, etc. that I used when I went there (and probably were). I'm hoping over the next few months, there will be some reunions and open houses of the old school. I'm hoping that, somehow, it can remain open as part of the community in the future. I keep thinking how many families sent all of their kids to get an education here. But, no longer. Not after this year. The times they are a-changin'.

(When I was a kid, these hallways looked huge. Back then, it was where I went to first, second and third grade.)

(I'm pretty sure this was my fourth grade class. Except for the positioning of the desks (which would have been facing me), it looks much the same as it did then.)

(Notes: I want to wish a Happy Birthday to my buddy, SteveRunner, who is celebrating, probably something like his 85th birthday or thereabouts this Tuesday. I can' t say for certain he is celebrating his 85th birthday but I'm only guessing by his appearance. Geez, life has been tough on this poor guy. Happy Birthday, Steve. See you in Falmouth!!!!)