The Official Publication of the West Catholic Alumni Association

WEST CATHOLIC ALUMNI ASSN.PO Box 889

Ardmore, PA 19003-9647___________

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P A I DPhiladelphia, PAPermit No. 2493

VOLUME LXVII Fall 2007 NUMBER 1

87th COMMUNION BREAKFAST - NOV. 4, 2007Join your friends and classmates once again at the Springfield Country Club

For Detailed Biographies on Award Recipients See Page 2

The Alumni Association’s87th Annual CommunionBreakfast will be held againthis year at the beautifulSpringfield Country Club, onSpringfield Road in Spring-field, Delaware County. Masswill begin at 9:00 a.m. Break-fast and the awards ceremo-ny will be immediately follow-ing. Ticket prices are $25.00in advance or at the door.

Our principal celebrant willbe the Reverend Richard J.McAndrews. A member of theGolden Anniversary Class of1958 Father McAndrewsattended St. Charles Borro-meo Seminary and has servedthe members of the Arch-diocese of Philadelphiathrough positions in manyparishes. Currently, he is thepastor of Epiphany of OurLord Parish in PlymouthMeeting. Father McAndrewsalso has a Masters Degreefrom LaSalle University.

Brother Kevin Stanton,FSC, will be our homilist.After graduating from WestCatholic in 1956, BrotherKevin obtained his BA fromLaSalle University; he alsoreceived a Masters Degreefrom the University of NotreDame. Brother has heldmany teaching and adminis-trative positions through outthe Christian Brothers’ min-istries, including Principal ofWest Catholic and Presidentof Calvert Hall. Currently, heis teaching at St. Gabriel’sHall, Audubon, Pennsylvania.

Once again, deservingalumni of West Catholic willbe honored for their manyaccomplishments and contri-butions to West Catholic, theAlumni Association and soci-ety in general. Members ofour 50 year class–the Classof 1958 –will receive specialawards and will be involved invarious aspects of the Mass.

Web site: www.westcatholicalumni.org

The Alumni Association iscontinuing the new traditionstarted last year by also hon-oring the Silver AnniversaryClass–the Class of 1983.

The Communion BreakfastCommittee chose ten awardwinners to be honored from alarge field of well-qualifiednominees. Nominations werereceived from many membersof the Alumni Association aswell as from Board Membersand from West Catholic.

The 2007 honorees are:George Light ’58 (WilliamMcGarvey Award); EdMcGinn ’48 (Golden BurrAward); John J. Gallagher ’58(50th Anniversary GoldenBurr Award); Harry Mirra ’52(Brother G. John OwensAward); William McMackin’62 (Brother Edwin AnselmAward); John Kraft ’57(Brother D. Aloysius Award);David Joslin ’67 (Brother Mar-tin Strickroth Award); Daniel P.

Dorrian ’56 (Golden BurrAward); Peter J. McNamara’77 (Golden Burr Award) andMartin Crothers ’83 (25th Anni-versary Silver Burr Award).Individual articles on eachaward winner are featured onPage 2.

All priest-alumni are invitedto serve as concelebrants forthis special occasion. Specialarrangements are being madeto provide a beautiful musicalprogram for the liturgy.

All activities on November4th will take place at theSpringfield Country Club. Be-cause of the large attendancelast year, the Mass will be cel-ebrated in a separate, largerroom within the Club in recog-nition of the solemnity of theoccasion. All proceeds fromthe Offertory Collection will beused for the CommunionBreakfast fund to benefitCatholic students who wish toattend West Catholic.

The Communion Breakfastwas moved to SpringfieldCountry Club last year formany reasons, includingmaking it more convenient forthe majority of alumni toattend, since more Alumnilive in Delaware County thanany other county, includingPhiladelphia. Last year’s en-thusiastic and large atten-dance demonstrated the pop-ularity of this change.

The Springfield CountryClub, in addition to its ele-gance, is convenient to thoseliving in Delaware County andadjacent counties and is eas-ily accessible from I-476 (theBlue Route) and Route #1. Itis located at 400 W. SproulRoad, Springfield, DelawareCounty. Parking is free.

For coupons for tickets andprogram advertisement seePage 3. For further informa-tion please call the AlumniOffice at 215-387-8560.

While attending the open-ing meeting for the WestCatholic Alumni Associationearlier this month, a presen-tation pertaining to the stu-dents attending West CatholicHigh School was made to theBoard of Governors by Bro-ther Tim Ahern,’66, Presidentof West Catholic High School.He said that attracting stu-dents to West Catholic wasnot the problem but retainingthose same students for thesecond year was.

The fundamental skillsrequired including reading,writing, comprehension,knowledge of the English lan-guage, better study and orga-nizational time managementskills are required to helpthese Students bridge theadjustment from grade schoolto high school.

Is MENTORING in Your Future?By: Ed Kerr, Jr., ’60

This call is being made toWest Catholic graduates toHELP! Should you have skillsin any of the above areas andbelieve that the time you canafford would make a differ-ence in the future of a WestCatholic student...pleasecontact Brother Tim Ahern,President of West CatholicHigh School, at 215-386-2244. When you call, pleasestate that you are callingabout the Mentoring Programand wish to speak withBrother Tim Ahern. He willgladly listen to you to see if amatch can be made.YOU canmake a difference...YourHELP can go a long waytoward assuring that therewill be a WEST CATHOLICHIGH SCHOOL for futuregenerations. PLEASE CALLBROTHER TODAY!

Over 1,900 persons havededicated their lives to serv-ing the Lord since graduatingfrom West Catholic HighSchool. This distinguishedgroup includes Sisters, Chris-tian Brothers, Priests, sixBishops and Cardinal JohnO’Connor ’38. Over 180returned to West on April 25,2007 to attend a reunionMass and social. It was thefirst time than many had beenback to the school sincegraduation.

The idea for the uniquecelebration came from theRev. David Engo, the school’sChaplain. The homilist for theMass, Rev. Msg. James T.McDonough ’49, urged stu-dents to give careful consid-eration to a religious life. Bro-ther Timothy Ahern, SchoolPresident, was surprised bythe turnout and suggestedthat the large number of reli-gious graduates may be arecord for any Catholic highschool in America. Students,staff and teachers all attend-ed this joyful reunion.

ReligiousGraduates’

Reunion

Successful Fund DriveComes To A Close

The 2007 Fund Campaignended on September 30thand raised a substantialamount in response to thetwo appeals mailed to allalumni. Co-chairmen ThomasA. Bazis, ’62 and CliffordRoberson, M.D., ’71 reportedthat the final total will amountto just over $90,000.

Although this is not arecord it is due to the contin-uing generosity of our mem-bers who gave approximate-ly $4,000 more than in 2006.

As is the custom the pro-ceeds will be used to fundthe activities and projects ofthe association and to aidthe school for certain specif-ic needs.

Brother Timothy Ahern,the Fund Chairmen and theBoard of Governors expresstheir thanks to all contributorswho helped to make the 2007Campaign a success. Yourfinancial support will help tokeep the West spirit alive andgrowing.

Coupons forCommunion Breakfast Tickets and

Program Book Advertisements See Page 3

L to R: George Light, Bob Bell, John Gallagher

’58 Classmates Enjoying B@B

Page 2 EEEE MMMM IIII SSSS SSSS AAAA RRRR YYYY Fall 2007

Alumni Association Award Recipients

John possesses manyhappy memories of his yearsat West Catholic. He “likedEvery class”, although hisfavorites were Business andEnglish. He fondly recallsBrother D. Patrick, Moon Mul-len, Brother Gregory Cava-lier, Brother Patrick Ellis andMr. John King. John was veryactive in NHS and the March-ing Band. He remembers thedaily walks around the schooltrack after “eat and get out”lunches in the cafeteria.

John and his wife, Laura,now live on Long Island. Theyhave three children (Johnand twins Beth Ann andChristopher) and five grand-children (Amanda, Lauren,Kristin, Thomas and Mich-ael). John devotes much timeand effort into maintainingand improving communica-tions between his fellowmembers of the Class of1958, through such endeav-ors as the Brag Rag.

George entered WestCatholic from St. Francis deSales Parish. He literally ranonto the scene, earning hisfirst varsity letter as a fresh-man competing on the cross-country squad. His trackaccomplishments helpedWest Catholic win threeCatholic League Champion-ships and two City Cham-pionships. He was inductedinto the West Catholic SportsHall of Fame in 2000.

George is entering his sev-enth year as Assistant Devel-opment Director at West.

He met his lovely wife Bar-bara, a West Catholic gradu-ate, while they were rehears-ing for the West CatholicSchool play, Plain and Fancy.Married forty-six years andliving in Havertown, Georgeand Barbara have fourdaughters: Barbara, Julia,Jennifer, and Missy. They arealso greatly entertained bysix grandchildren.

In addition to being aproud graduate of WestCatholic, Bill has been a fix-ture at the school - both at49th & Chestnut and at 45th& Chestnut, where he hasbeen a devoted member ofthe faculty for many years!

From his days as a studentat West, Bill fondly recalls hisJunior and Senior Literatureclasses; his favorite teacherswere Brother Kevin Strongand Mr. Mike Sikorski. He rantrack and participated in theNewspaper, Basketball andIntramurals. His greatestmemories include the 1959Catholic League Champion-ship Game and graduation.

Bill and his wife, Susan,have two children, Molly andKevin. Bill says that he isthankful to “my wife and family,the students that I have metover the years, and fellowteachers, staff, and admin-istrators that have made myyears at West so rewarding.”

DANIEL P. DORRIAN ’56GOLDEN BURR AWARD

Dan has many fond mem-ories of West, including win-ning the interclass footballchampionships in his sopho-more and junior years. Hegreatly appreciates theefforts of all of the Sisters andBrothers that taught himthrough grade school andhigh school. He also con-siders himself fortunate tohave attended West with somany classmates “who weresolid, principled individuals”.

Although the need to holda job throughout high schoolprevented him from participa-ting in varsity sports at West,he excelled in college athlet-ics at Drexel and graduated in1966. He also was a memberof the US Marine Corps Re-serves.. He followed up hisathletic success in highschool with success in thebusiness world.

Dan and his wife, Patricia,have five children–Dan,Kevin, Kelly, Colleen andMeghan.

JOHN J. GALLAGHER ’5850TH ANNIVERSARY

GOLDEN BURR AWARD

JOHN F. KRAFT ’57BROTHER D. ALOYSIUS

AWARD

GEORGE LIGHT ’58WILLIAM H. MCGARVEY

AWARD

John is thankful to theChristian Brothers for givinghim the “knowledge to suc-ceed in business and person-al life.” He had a very suc-cessful career at West andafterward!

At West, John recalls hisfavorite teacher as Brother F.Gregory, with World Historyas his best class and, like somany others, with Latin as hisleast favorite! John ran trackand cross country, playedfootball and was involved inStudent Council.

After his graduation Johncontinued his education atthe University of Colorado,St. Joseph’s University andAmerican College.

John and his wife, Mary,have five children: John Jr.,Michele, Chris, Mary-Lynand Ken. John has remainedvery active in his class activ-ities and keeps in contactwith many from the Class of1957.

WILLIAM McMACKIN ‘62BROTHER EDWINANSELM AWARD

Looking back on his manymemories and successes, Edis very thankful for his “16years of scholarships” – thatis, free tuition – to GoodShepherd, West Catholic andthe University of Notre Dame.

From his four years at 49thand Chestnut, Ed fondlyremembers Brother Fabianas his favorite teacher, aswell as friends Harry Henry,Ernie Beck, Jim Toner andJack Elwell. Ed played Bas-ketball at West and was amiler for the track team.

After West, Ed served twotours of duty in the UnitedStates Navy, first as an enlis-ted seaman (1949-1950) andthen as an officer in Japan in(1954-1955). Ed retired in1995.

Ed and his wife, Jean,have two children, Ed Jr. andMaureen. They continue tolive in Philadelphia.

Growing up in SouthwestPhiladelphia, Marty was amember of Good ShepherdParish and Good ShepherdSchool. He comes from atrue West Catholic family -his father (Martin, Sr.) andbrothers (Joe and Steven)each are Burrs and his moth-er (Charlotte) is a graduate ofWest Girls!

While at West, Marty fol-lowed a tradition set by manyother Good Shepherd alumniin joining the Crew Team.Marty was a coxswain for theCrew Team for four years,from 1980 through 1983. Theteam was a power house onthe Schuylkill River, winningmany honors - - including theStotesbury Cup and theManny Flick Championship(1982). Marty continued hisdevotion to West Crew as analumnus, serving as a crewcoach from 1985 to 1988.

Dave’s four years at Westcan be described as activeand well rounded! He recallsBrother Daniel and BrotherLarry Monroe as his favoriteteachers with MechanicalDrawing as his favorite class,but his memories of Englishclass are not so fond! In addi-tion to his academic pursuits,Dave was a Student Officerand a member of StudentCouncil. He played VarsityFootball and ran VarsityTrack. His best memory ofWest was winning the CityFootball Championship in1965.

Dave and his wife, Dawn,have three children (DavidJr., Brian and Aimee) and fivegrandchildren (Colleen, Kyra,Brian, David and Sarah). Heespecially would like to thankhis wife and family, as well asthe West Catholic LoyalFamily!

MARTIN CROTHERS ’8325TH ANNIVERSARY

SILVER BURR AWARD

DAVID F. JOSLIN ’67 GOLDEN BURR AWARD

Hailing from Good Shep-herd Parish, Pete hasachieved success academi-cally, athletically and profes-sionally. While at West, Petewas both an academic stand-out and a senior standout. Hewas elected to Student Coun-cil and was a member of theNational Honor Society. Herowed for the highly regardedWest Catholic crew team andwas a manager for football.

Several years ago, Peteconvinced his siblings tostart the “Peg and BobMcNamara Scholarship” fundat West. The highlight of thisyear’s Burrs at the Beachoccurred when he and hisfamily met the parents of astudent attending West onthe Peg and Bob McNamaraScholarship.

Pete proudly gives “thanksto my Mom and Dad, towhom I owe all my success.”

PETER J. MCNAMARA, ’77ESQUIRE

GOLDEN BURR AWARDHarry characterizes the

education he received fromthe Christian Brothers as “out-standing” and states that itwas obvious that “they reallyloved to educate their boys”.Harry is proud to be a mem-ber of the “Class of Cham-pions” that won four leaguechampionships–Footbal l ,Basketball, Track and CrossCountry! He recalls English ashis favorite class, while hismemory of History classes isnot so favorable! He fondlyremembers Brother G. Martinand Brother F. Boniface.

For many years Harry hasbeen an active participant inmany community organiza-tions particularly those devot-ed to veterans.

Harry and his wife, Eliza-beth (Halyburton, West ‘62)have 3 children (Donald,Michael and David) and onegrandchild (Annabelle).

HARRY T. MIRRA ‘52BROTHER G. JOHN

OWENS AWARD

EDWARD J. MCGINN ’48GOLDEN BURR AWARD

Fall 2007 EEEE MMMM IIII SSSS SSSS AAAA RRRR YYYY Page 3

• TICKET COUPON •

87th ANNUAL COMMUNION BREAKFASTSunday, November 4, 2007

• Sponsored by West CatholicAlumni Association •

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Class: _______________________

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Check No:__________No. of Tickets @$25.00 _______

Please enclose with pre-stamped,self-addressed envelope and send to:

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• Return No Later Than October 29th •

Communion BreakfastSouvenir Program - 2007

Be a part of our 87thNovember 4, 2007!

INSIDE FRONT COVER $300.00PAGE #1 $275.00

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Place your order today by sending to:

West Catholic Alumni Association Program 2007P. O. Box 889

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Calling to renew: 1-800-750-8560 #1

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

THE 2007-2008ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

BOARD OF GOVERNORSUnder the Association’s By-Laws, members of the Board

of Governors are elected every two years (in even years) at theAnnual Meeting held in May. The Board for 2007-2008 waselected on May 21, 2007 and is comprised of the followingmembers who span classes from 1939 to 1984:

Francis X. Crowley, Esq.. ‘77 - President(president@westcatholicalumni.org)

Chris Martin ‘60 - Executive Vice President(execvp@westcatholicalumni.org)

Edwin H. Kerr, Jr. ‘60 - Vice President Finance(financevp@westcatholicalumni.org)

Philippe A. Girard ‘46 - Vice President Communications (communications@westcatholicalumni.org)

Jay F. Sawyer ‘59 - Executive Secretary(secretary@westcatholicalumni.org)

Robert McGovern ‘60 - Recording Secretary(Bob60@westcatholicalumni.org)

James F. Coyne ’39Raymond Theilacke ’41Jack Lister, Esq. ’45Edward A. McMerty ’52Charles Lamb ’53Ace Carlin ’55George Light ’58Joseph A. Bartolomeo ’59William Luther ’59John J. Lawler ’60Robert F. McCann ’60James J. Mulhern ’60Frank Ponte ’60William J. Simpson ’60Thomas M. Dorrian ’61

The Officers of the Alumni Association may be contactedat the e-mail addresses listed above. For more informationconcerning the activities of the Board and the Association,please visit the Association’s website at www.WestCatholicAlumni.org. Anyone who would like more information con-cerning board membership should contact the President orVice President.

Daniel W. Harrell ’61Joseph R. Manfre ’61Bro. Timothy Ahern, FSC ’65Fran Kehoe ’65Dave Joslin ’67Richard P. McCann ’68Dennis Brennan ’71Michael Rawlings ’72James J. Coyne ’74Joe Perry ’74Thomas Spiers ’74Joseph Hasson ’76Bro. Brian Henderson, FSC ’77Robert Mullin ’84Stephen Tulli ’84

On April 21, 2007, mem-bers of the Class of 1954shared a unique experienceat The University of LaSalle inPhiladelphia. Twenty mem-bers of that class had thehonor and a rare opportunityto eat lunch and reminisceabout many pleasant memo-ries with none other thanBrother John Owens, AKA“Handsome John,” “Hanse,”“Brother John”, or “BrotherWest Catholic”. He is nowretired and living at LaSalle.

If you attended WestCatholic Boys High Schoolduring the years from 1939through 1963, you knew himeither as a teacher or as thePrincipal, and he knew you. Ifyou didn’t know him, youobviously did not go to West.After the luncheon, with hisIrish wit as sharp as ever,Brother John fielded manyquestions from the twentyBurrs in attendance.

The son of a policemanfrom the tough Fairmountsection of Philadelphia, Bro-ther John has many admir-able qualities, but his uniquetrait is an amazing memory.He can recall events andnames not only from hisyears at West but also fromhis early childhood. It was atreat to hear his many stories,as well as those of his formerstudents. with a twinkle in hisstill clear blue eyes, Brothershared many antidotes abouthis teaching experiences,which had the “Brothers’Boys” laughing.

Of course, all former Burrscan recall those piercing blueeyes when they were notlaughing. Who else could

quiet an auditorium full oframbunctious teenage boysby merely entering the area?One glare from those eyesand every student lost thepower to make a sound. Nostudent ever wanted to meetThe “Handsome One” abouta discipline problem either,although Brother John wasalways fair in his judgmentand in meeting out the appro-priate punishment for the stu-dent’s infraction.

Each member of the ’54class had one or more storiesabout the guest of honor. Sure-ly, all who ever came in contactwith Brother John have favoritepersonal memories.

Class president, Gus Ho-ban, and fellow ‘54 class-mates, George Weir and Don‘Squeeze’ Campbell, wereinstrumental in arranging thispleasant afternoon. BrotherGerry Molineaux, West ’53,and Sid MacLeod, both of theCommunications Departmentat LaSalle University, weregracious, as well as instru-mental, in having the ques-tion and answer session withBrother John recorded andput on a DVD. Although onlythose from the class of ’54were in attendance, we arecertain that other classes willenjoy viewing the sixty-threeminute disk, which is avail-able through George Light atthe Alumni Office. Pleasephone 215-386-2244, Ext.260 for further information.

We also encourage you tovisit the web-site on the life ofBrother John Owens, whichcovers his life up to the pres-ent. The address is www.brotherjohnowens.org.

Brothers’ Boys Share An AfternoonWith a West Catholic Legend

William A. Sheridan,EdD’43, Deceased

By: Ed Kerr, Jr.,’60

Bill Sheridan from thegreat class of 1943 haspassed and he will bemissed. Hailing from MBSparish, Bill would serve hiscountry in the United StatesArmy during World War II fol-lowing graduation from WestCatholic High School forBoys’. He was awarded twoPurple Hearts in the name ofthe President of the UnitedStates for his service to hiscountry during war time. Fol-lowing the war, Bill wouldattend LaSalle College andcontinue his education withthe Christian Brothers. Heloved being an Educator andwould earn a Doctorate inthis field.

Bill, and his wonderful wifeJosephine, have two children,William F. and Beth, they alsohave eight grandchildren.After his years of service tothe Philadelphia School Dis-trict as a School Principal, BillSheridan would turn hisefforts and service to hisbeloved West Catholic HighSchool for Boys’. He servedas Alumni Association Presi-dent for two terms and alsoinitiated the Bob DoughertySports Hall of Fame for WestCatholic High School Athle-tics during the 1980’s. Hefought to keep West CatholicHigh School for Boys’ open,while supporting the newschool once it opened in thefall of 1989. Together with J.Howard McCaffrey, his class-mate at West Catholic, he gotthe ball rolling for the annualBURRS at the BEACH cele-bration.

His commitment to hisalma mater was recognizedby the Alumni Associationwhen he was signaled outwith an award at the annualCommunion Breakfast a fewyears ago. Bill’s serviceshould be remembered andembraced by younger BURRgraduates who can afford theirtime and skills to help WestCatholic students of today.

Shag Crawford, 90, aNational League BaseballUmpire for two decades fromHavertown PA and the Classof 1935, died in July. Heumpired in the majors from1956 to 1975. Shag workedthree World Series, twoNational League Champion-ship Series and three All StarGames.

When umpiring at homeplate, he crouched especiallyclose so that he could viewpitches, his hand resting onthe catcher’s back to keep hisbalance. All Burrs who followMajor League Baseball wereproud of fellow Burr, Shagand his association with thegame.

Henry C. ‘Shag’Crawford, ’35,Deceased

WWWWEEEESSSSTTTT CCCCAAAATTTTHHHHOOOOLLLLIIIICCCC AAAALLLLUUUUMMMMNNNNIIII

EEEE MMMM IIII SSSS SSSS AAAA RRRR YYYYOfficial Quarterly Publication of

the Alumni AssociationP.O. Box 889

Ardmore, PA 19003

Phone: (215) 387-8560 Fax: (215) 387-9443

E-mail:west–cath_alum_assc@juno.comwww.westcatholicalumni.org

Editor: Phil Girard, ’46Contributors: Ed Kerr, Jr., ’60

Tom Dorrian, ’61Francis X. Crowley, ’77

Ben Kerr, ’95John Gallagher, ’58

Jack Quinn, ’46

AlumniMerchandise:

E-Mailyour request to...

WestCathAlumni@aol.comor call the

Alumni Office at 1-800-750-8560and select theMerchandise

Mailboxto place your

order

Page 4 EEEE MMMM IIII SSSS SSSS AAAA RRRR YYYY Fall 2007

Without sounding like abroken record I would like totell everyone who missed our20th annual Burrs at theBeach all class reunion, the2nd at Westy’s Irish Pub inNorth Wildwood, you missedanother great one. We againhad over 1800 alumni, alum-nae and friends of WestCatholic attend but still hadplenty of room for more. Itwas a bright sunny day thatbegan with Mass 45 minutesbefore the noon opening ofthe gates. All are welcome toattend Mass even if you arenot attending the affair.Father John Hand, class of1984 and also B@BChaplain, said the Mass andasked God’s blessing forgreat weather and a success-ful and safe affair.

Once again our hosts, Artand Peg West, warmly wel-comed the West Catholicfamily to Westy’s Irish Pub.Westy’s is easily the bestfacility we have ever used forholding the B@B party. Theyand their wonderful staff werejust outstanding in meetingthe needs of all our atten-dees. The hospitality andcare they offered was veryobvious in all the amenitiesthey provided. The three foodcourts which were strategi-cally positioned throughoutthe facility including inside,outside, upstairs and downstairs were laden with choic-es of delicious food. Also there

were numerous bars strategi-cally placed throughoutWesty’s to satisfy everyone’sfavorite beverage. DJ JerrySmith once again providedmusic covering the 1940s tocurrent hits to satisfy themusic preference of everyone.The dance floor area wasjumping all day long.

Because of the popularityof the 50/50 raffle last yearwe repeated it again this yearand it proved to be very suc-cessful. Three lucky people inattendance were more thanhappy to share approximately$1,800.00 in prize money. Wehad a few glitches this year inlocating the winners but in theend all the original winningnumber recipients were locat-ed and rewarded. Next yearwe plan to have many morecommittee members sellingraffle tickets to insure every-one’s participation.

I just can’t say enoughabout how successful thisyear’s event was and is goingto continue to be. I know mostpeople who attend appreciateall the hard work and timethat our Burrs at the BeachCommittee puts in as volun-teers. They spend manyhours of their own timeattending meetings and doingall the behind the scenesduties that it takes to bothpresent and improve theevent every year. Space con-straints prevent me from list-ing all their names but I would

like to extend my profoundappreciation to all committeemembers for all that you doyear in and year out. You arethe most loyal and hardestworking committee of themall. God Bless and thank youfor everything you do.

Once again I want to thankall alumni, alumnae andfriends of West Catholic whoattend Burrs at the Beach.Thisreunion is the envy of all otherschools that sponsor this typeof event. They are all amazedat the loyalty shown by theWest Catholic family whenthey hear our attendancerecord year after year. Thankyou for you presence now andin the future.

The donation presented toWest Catholic High School asa result of this year’s Burrs atthe Beach is $35,000.00 forCatholic student tuition assis-tance. Thanks again to every-one who contributed to oursuccess.

See you all and more nextyear on Sunday, July 13,2008 at Westy’s Irish Pub.

Some 20 years ago, J.Howard McCaffrey and BillSheridan spearheaded anidea to have a Jersey Shorereunion for West CatholicHigh School every July toraise funds for tuition assis-tance. This annual reunionwould be called “BURRS atthe BEACH” and would becelebrated at the Sea IsleYacht Club in Sea Isle City,New Jersey. What began with300 in attendance for aSunday afternoon in the initialyear grew to well over 2,000.Most recently with the thirdlocation the attendance is stillvery close to 2,000.

This dedication to a causeand love of West CatholicHigh School stimulated bothof these men to energize

The Beach Reunion FoundersLoyal Sons from the Class of 1943

By: Ed Kerr., Jr., ’60

Another Successful Burrs at the BeachAt Westy’s Irish Pub

by Tom Dorrian, ’61

William A. Sheridan,’43J. Howard McCaffrey,’43other West Catholic graduatesand friends of West Catholicto join the team that broughtabout the largest and mostsuccessful summer fund rais-er for tuition assistance.

When McCaffrey andSheridan stepped aside, BobMcGovern,’60 stepped in andwas responsible for the moveto North Wildwood at Moore’sInlet. The current Co-Chair-men George Light, ’58 andTom Dorrian, ’61 have movedthe event to WESTY’S, alsoin North Wildwood.

We remember the first“BURRS at the BEACH” andthe men who had the visionto see and believe in whatcould be. We thank both ofthese thinking men for bring-ing us a great summer event.

A beautiful day at the “Shore” and a great day for golf. Thisyear’s outing was a great success. Thanks to all the golferswho participated and to all the “Hole Sponsors.” Over $3500was raised from the event and will be used to help a studentathlete in one of West’s sports programs.The outing is in mem-ory of Bill Burns ’60, a 1st Team All-Catholic and High School“All American” at “Burr High”. The golf committee is grateful tothe players and sponsors who helped to make the annual out-ing both joyful and profitable. “Thanks” to the following spon-sors:

Joe Gajewski ’60Info Graphix Systems

Rich Colvin, Joe Manfre ’61Dave ’67 & Dawn JoslinKelly-Monaghan’s Pub ’68

Essington, PAThe Light Family ’58Joe Manfre ’61The McCann Family

’46, ’49, ’51, ’53, ’60’62, ’65, ’66, ’68

McCann, Schiavle & WallAttorneys at Law

J.D. McGillicuddy’sPub & Restaurant

The New Deck Tavern, Phila.Mike ’61, & Bernie ’62

The Newman Family’54, ’61

Press Publishing Co.Phil Girard ’46

Memory of Joe Rodia ’71Safer Floors.com

Ed Kerr ’60The Simpson Family’47, ’52 & ’60

All-State Insurance Co. (2)Tom Egan, Aston, PA

Apple VacationsPaul Berenato ’53B&E Sportswear

Bill McDevitt ’76Judge James Bradley ’64Brinker-Simpson & Co, CPA’s

Springfield, PAJoe Burns ’62Casey’s Saloon, Drexel HillThe Melvin FamilyClass of ’57Class of ’60Class of ’61Fran Crowley, ’77, President

Blank-Rome LLPDevine Family

’45, ’47, ’48 ’51 & ’54Tom Dorrian ’61, Past PresidentElmwood Sporting GoodsTom Carberry ’67

Fitz’s Follie.comPhil Pfaffman ’60

Fitzpatrick Family’54, ’56, ’58 & ’60

Burrs At The BeachGolf Outing

by Bill Simpson ’60

Fall 2007 EEEE MMMM IIII SSSS SSSS AAAA RRRR YYYY Page 5

A truly wonderful, exciting, refreshing and rewarding timewas had by all at our second luncheon held this May. Everincreasing numbers attend these annual events and it’s so per-sonally gratifying to witness old friends deeply appreciating thevalue of each other’s company. Everybody felt welcome andwere reluctant to see this very important day come to an end.Speeches were kept to a minimum. Our Alma Mater continuesto manifest a personal spirit unique to West Catholic.

Over 100 fellow grads were proud to greet our guests andreturning teachers, Brother Gregory Cavalier and MonsignorKing (best remembered as Brother Azarias). From the podiumJohn Gallagher read a wonderful letter from another of ourteachers, Brother Felician Patrick Ellis, FSC who was regret-tably retained in Baltimore. In an impromptu moment, BrotherGregory took the microphone and spoke to us, making thepoint that he STILL is an Eagles’ fan (except when they playhis Steelers). He recounted so many of his fond memories ofour Class of ’58 noting often how he remembers most of us as“flakes” and “characters”. Monsignor King graciously sharedvolumes of his specific recollections with most of us on an indi-vidual basis.

Similar to last year’s event, we’ve video-recorded this lun-cheon and we can certainly make a copy available to those ofyou who request it. Between both events, you can see almost125 attendees speaking to us on camera. But, nothing can fully“recapture” these treasured moments and obviously we thank allattendees. Next year’s Golden Reunion our “50th” will truly be amind-boggling weekend extravaganza, where, God willing, youand your guests will have the TIME OF YOUR LIVES!

Class of ’58 Second Annual Luncheonby John Gallagher, ’58

Well, the weather wasn’tthe best with some heavy rainand sporadic showers but agood time was had by all atCasey’s on Mon., July 23rd.

Regulars Jerry Kane andBill McGroarty phoned inadvance that they would beon vacation and naturallycouldn’t be with us. HoraceBrown, too, phoned, sayinghe couldn’t make it. MaryannVotta, Dick’s wife, contactedus to say that Dick wasunwell. Dick, another regular,joins us each quarter fromMargate. In May, Dick re-quired more surgery. He wasto be operated upon onAugust 2. Remember Dick inyour prayers.

Remember, too, Al“Smitty” French. Smitty wasburied in Holy Cross Ceme-tery, with a Military HonorGuard. One of the guardswho participated in this burialhonor was another ’46 lun-cheoneer, John Cook. John isa member of the MarineCorps League GeneralSmedley D. Butler Detach-ment #741 of NewtownSquare and participates in

Class of ’46 Holds Summer Luncheonby Jack Quinn, ’46

many war veterans’ affairs.We were joined by two

new members at this lun-cheon: Tom Doris and HankVelardi. Tom Doris from OurLady of Lourdes and Sr.Science C now lives in OceanView, NJ, not far from SeaIsle City and spends a lot oftime boating.

Those who were part ofthe good times on July 23rdwere Jack Loughran, JackLogue, Carl Hough, (Fr.) TomDonaghy, (Msgr.) BernardHerron, Tom Doris, RaySabatino, Jack Fordyce,Hank Velardi, Joseph Zim-merman, John Cook, TomGorman, (Msgr.) James King,Bill Hurley, Bill Johnson, BillRandolph, Joe O’Brien, JackQuinn, Phil Girard, TomHagenbach and JackMcHugh.

If you’re in the area, or arevisiting in the area, why notjoin us? You’ll probably havea great time; and.....what hasit been?

OVER 61 YEARS SINCE WE LEFT WEST

AS GRADS !!!Let’s get together again!

It was early September of1991 when my Dad intro-duced me to Coach FranklinHarwell. I was a freshman atWest Catholic who hadn’tgiven much thought to joiningone of West’s athletic teams.One day, I found myself inCoach Harwell’s office look-ing to be a part of the cross-country team. I was a bitheavier back then and notfast by any means, but, to mysurprise, Coach welcomedme to the team and told me tocome to the first practice.Although I never competed ina single cross-country event,I always practiced and was apart of the team. Once indoortrack season began, Coachbelieved that the shotput wasa better event for me than arelay and he was right. ToCoach Harwell, we weremore than just his team, wewere his children. If you hap-pened to be on one of histeams between 1982 and1996, then you know thatthere was a family atmos-phere and everyone cared forone another. One thing welearned early on was thatlaziness was never tolerated.If you were in pain, you didn’t‘find a stump to fit your rump’and Coach definitely neverwanted to see any ‘shuckin’and jivin’.’ Coach always hadhis trusty megaphone, stop-watch and whistle at everypractice. After each of thosepractices, you’d feel like youhad just competed, but youwere ready for when the realthing came along. To CoachHarwell, it didn’t matter if wewon or lost. What matteredwas that we finished and didour best.

A graduate of OverbrookHigh School in 1947, Harwellran on the Philadelphia Pub-lic High Championship cross-country team in 1947 and onthe 2-mile relay champi-onship teams of 1946 and1947. In 1982, he joined WestCatholic as the AssistantBowling Coach at the boys’school. Come 1984, he tookon the role of Head Coach ofboth the cross-country andtrack and field teams. Whenyou were on a Coach Harwellteam, you learned the impor-tance of self respect, respectfor others, getting a goodeducation and finishing whatyou started. We weren’t justbeing prepared for the nextmeet, we were being pre-pared for the rest of our lives.After accepting an AssistantCoach position at TempleUniversity in 1996, Coachdidn’t sever ties with WestCatholic. He continued in arole that he was no strangerto...mentor. He served as acounselor and supervisor forthe after school tutoring pro-gram until 2005.

Today, Coach Harwell isretired from coaching, butWest Catholic still holds a spe-cial place in his heart. “Westbecame like a family to me. Iwas treated so nice by stu-dents, faculty and the alumniassociation. A lot of peoplewere just good to me. Aboveall, I had the best students.”

Being on one of his teamsdidn’t just mean that you hadto give your best in competi-tion; you also had to do yourbest in the classroom. Aca-demics always came first. Ifyou were struggling, CoachHarwell would have another

teammate tutor you to helpyou improve. Some days hewould tell some of his teammembers that they werebeing given the day off frompractice to be tutored. CoachHarwell added that, “Theteam took care of each other.They learned how to sit downand talk to each other. Howyou treated your fellow team-mates was what mattered tous.” In addition to providingtutors, Coach would alsobring in guest speakers andhelp students get financialassistance information if theywere pursuing higher educa-tion. He did not have an easylife growing up and added, “Ibelieved I could be a greatasset to them because ofwhere I came from.”

These days, still a Phila-delphia resident, Coach Har-well says with a laugh, “All Iwant to do is relax!” Hisgranddaughter began herfreshman year at Agnes IrwinSchool in Rosemont, PA thisfall and plans to run track andcross-country. She has askedhim for some help. Luckily,her grandfather has someexperience in those sports.As for his many former teammembers, Coach Harwellenjoys keeping in touch witha number of his WestCatholic “children.” He says,“As long as I’m here, they canalways call me and arealways welcome in my home.”Every so often, I will receive anote from Coach with a cou-ple of pictures from my dayson the crosscountry and trackteams. His notes have alwaysbeen signed, ‘Love you son’which also shows how muchhe cares.

Looking back on twenty-three years of service to theschool, he says, “I’m sohappy West Catholic gave methe opportunity to be a part oftheir lives as much as theywere a part of mine. I loveWest Catholic.” Thank youCoach Harwell for all of youryears of dedication to theyoung men and women ofWest Catholic.You have beena true father figure and friendto so many of us and you area genuine class act. Theschool was a better placethanks to your contributionswhich will never be forgotten.

Keeping Track of Coach Franklin HarwellBy: Ben Kerr ’95

Ben Kerr, ’95 and Coach Franklin Harwell

Msg. King (formerly Brother Azarias). Chris Gallagher(Dad is John ’58) and Brother F. Gregory at ’58 AnnualLuncheon

Page 6 EEEE MMMM IIII SSSS SSSS AAAA RRRR YYYY Fall 2007

IN MEMORIAM

William A. McGlone,’46Walter T. Quinlan,’46Rev. Edward J. Flanigan,’47Joseph Timlin,’47John J. Potocnak,’47Thomas J. Taggart,’47William P. Curtis,’48James J. Heidler,’48Paul W. McGinnis,’48John R Williams,’48James C. Clay,’49James W. Walsh,’50 Francis W. Bishop,’51Vincent J. Coughlan,’51Urban R. Lamay,’51Thomas J. Langan,’51Francis W. Farley,’52Gerald J. O’Hara,’52John A. Bauer,’53James F. Deeney,’53John F. Haley,’53Edward J. Scott,’53Robert J. Ellis,’55John P. Martin,’55Edward J. Peterson,’55William E. Cavalier,’56Thomas J. Harley,’56Joseph L. Higgins Esq.,’56Hugh J. McLaughlin,’56Gerald J. O”Hara,’56Joseph J. Harper,’59Ronald Alioto,’60James J. Flavin,’60Stanley A. Arango,’61Joseph A. Vick,’61John A. Kelly, III,’66Thomas B. Dever,’46Michael J. Wilson,’67Thomas B. “Tim” Dever,’68Joseph P. Hawkins,’68Victor A. Giardini,’70James J. Long Jr.,’71Joseph J. Dearie,’73John A. Clifton,’74 Carl C. Ramirez,’79Robert J. Maloney,’83

Allen F. Bunch,’29Robert T. McCarthy,’29Donald J. McDevitt,’30Harry J. Chapman,’32 George R. Givens,’33John J. Keane,’34William J. McCarthy,’34Dennis J. Carroll,’35Henry C.“Shag” Crawford,’35John T. O’Brien,’35Valentine Uff,’35Dennis J. Burns,’36Joseph M. Cashman,’36William E. Dougherty,’36Harry L. Short,’36Anthony J. Flaherty,’37Norbert Gladnick, DDS.,’37James A. Morris,’37Edward F. Bigham,’38Edward J. Donnelly,’38Paul B. Gibson,’38Joseph A. Iannello,’38Joseph E. Thompson,’38Francis X. Brady,’39George F. Giessen,’39John A. Glassmire,’39Robert J. Hall,’39T. Leonard Linsley,’39Raymond J. Manuszak,’39Andrew J. McGoldrick,’39Joseph T. Cooper,’40George D. McDonough,’40Robert J. McLaughlin,’40John A. Raimo,’40John F. Earley,’41Daniel P. Huyette,’41Joseph C. McMenamin,’41James M. Clark,’42Daniel J. Gallagher,’42 Joseph D. Martin,’42William A. Sheridan,’43John J. Donnelly,’44Francis X. Swanick,’44Gerald B. Baldino,’45John “Jack” Finnegan,’46Alfred E. French,’46

May They Rest In Peace

KEEPING IN TOUCH

IN MEMORIAMFATHER EDWARD J. FLANIGAN, M.M. 1929 - 2007

Father Edward J. Flanigan,’47 died at Phelps MemorialHospital, Sleepy Hollow, NewYork on June 30, 2007. Hewas 78 years old and a Mary-knoll priest for 51 years.

Edward James Flaniganwas born in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania on June 25,1929, son of Edward andRegina Murphy Flanigan. Heis the oldest of five children:his sisters are Maureen,(Sister Regina) of the Immac-ulate Heart of Mary commu-nity in Philadelphia, whospent many years on the IHMmissions in Chile and Peru,and Dr. Eleanor, professor ofcomputer science at Mont-clair State University in NewJersey. Both brothers arephysicians, Richard a cardiol-ogist in Denver, Colorado andDonald, a radiologist in SantaBarbara, California.

He attended Good Shep-herd and Most Blessed Sac-rament elementary schoolsand West Philadelphia Cath-olic High School for Boys. Heentered Maryknoll in Septem-ber 1946 and received a B.A.degree in Philosophy in 1951,an S.T.B. in 1955, and aMaster’s degree in ReligiousEducation in 1956.

Father Flanigan wasordained at Maryknoll, NewYork on June 9, 1956. Hethen sailed to his missionassignment with the Chinesepeople on the island of For-mosa, now Taiwan. Followinglanguage study, he spent theearly years in pastoral workin the mission of Chu Shan

where, with the help of State-side friends, he built a newvillage church named St.Anne’s in the Fields and alsoworked in the large missionof Tien Chung where hehelped with the existing goitereradication program for manyaffected people in the area. In1962, after advanced Chi-nese studies at the Universityof Pennsylvania, he wasassigned as pastor of St.Patrick’s Mission of Feng-Yuan, where he worked forthe next 12 years. During thattime he built a convent for thenative Taiwanese sisters,established a county-widenutrition program for under-privileged children, formedtwo councils of the Legion ofMary and conducted manyparish outreach groups.

In the mid-70’s FatherFlanigan was assigned to theU.S. and the Society Devel-opment Department, workingin Los Angeles and New Jer-sey. On his return to Taiwan inJuly 1977, he helped com-plete a common usageEnglish-Amoy Chinese dictio-nary, and he worked amongthe mountain aboriginal

tribes in Central Taiwan. In1980, due to a large influx ofChinese students to Hawaii,he was assigned to a term aschaplain at the University ofHawaii and the East-WestCenter in Honolulu. When hereturned to Taiwan, he wasinvolved in family ministry inMaryknoll’s Friendship Housein the capital city of Taipei.

In 1986 Father Flaniganwas assigned as pastor ofHoly Cross mission in Chang-hua City, central Taiwan,which included pastoral carefor two large hospitals,Changhua Christian andSiuThoan. Due to a strokesuffered in the mission there,he was only able to remain afew years and was forced toreturn to the states for 2years of intensive strokerehabilitation at the SocietyCenter at Maryknoll, NewYork. In 1990 he was able toreturn to Taiwan, where heserved as Director of theMaryknoll Chinese LanguageSchool in Taichung, and hasbeen responsible over thepast 15 years for the compila-tion of an Amoy Chinese-English dictionary and thepublication of a book of hun-dreds of common usage Tai-wanese proverbs. Due tomedical reasons, FatherFlanigan returned to the U.S.in the spring of 2005 and tookup residence at St. Teresa’s.

Fr. Flanigan is survived byhis two sisters - Sr. ReginaEdwards IHM, Dr. EleanorFlanigan and his two brothers- Drs. Richard and Donald.

Gary Jackson,’72 sendshis best from PhiladelphiaPA; Joseph F. Smith,’40does the same from Haver-town PA. James Conway,’48checked in from Hobe SoundFL. John D. Lythgoe,’66wrote from Philadelphia PA,while John & Mary AnnPenza communicated fromSewell NJ as did John J.McAuliffe, Esq.,’58 fromLafayette Hill PA.

Francis & VeronicaPedicone,’55 are proud oftheir West Catholic educationand are presently residing inGlen Mills PA. Robert J.O’Donnell,’54 is Living inCollegeville PA, while Ed-ward F. Heller,’50 resides inLansdale PA. Bill McMack-in,’62 who is a longtimeteacher at West Catholic HighSchool resides in GlensidePA with his wife, Susan andtheir children Molly & Kevin.

Rev. Msgr. Vincent M.Walsh, JCD,’53 is now resid-ing at Villa St. Joseph 1436Lansdowne Ave Darby PA19023-1218. John J. Glennfrom the class of 1954 is inAtlanta GA and John G.Devlin,’53 is in Renton WA.James C. Street,’46 reportedfrom Midwest City Oklahomaand Paul T. Braceland,’53

did the same from McLeanVA.

Joseph W. Nagle wrotefrom Wynnewood PA wherehe resides with his wife Rose-marie. John J. Braccili,’67now resides in Wallingford PAwhile Eugene A. Mee,’47resides in Encinitas CA withhis wife Lucy. Vincent P.Davis also a man of ‘47, the60th Anniversary class, wroteto us from Glenolden PA.

Mitchell J. Yanak, Sr.,’42wrote from Philadelphia PAand H. Nelson Keyser,’36did the same from MerionStation PA where he liveswith his wife Mary. John R.McCrohan, Jr.,’44 nowresides in Broomall PA whileRichard A. Ferry, Jr.,’47 isnow in Moorestown NJ.

Frank C. Pollera,’77 com-municated from Glen Mills PAwhere he is residing with hiswife Cheryl. George F.Flocco,’60 and his wifeHelen checked in to reportthat they are very proud to begrandparents for the firsttime. Three members of the1960 football team that oftenreminisce with the writerabout the St. James game ofthat year attended Burrs atthe Beach 2007, NickCirone, (former Head

Football Coach at WestCatholic) Wayne Sulkus andJim Mayo were all lookinggood after all those years.

Johnnie Walker,’64 andhis wife Kathleen,’65 are nowresiding in the Villas NJ andenjoying it; their son Stephena 1994 grad is the owner ofPetals in the Park Florist inRidley Park PA. William J.Ward, Jr.,’35 is living inPittsfield MA 01201 at 64Cleveland Street; he wouldlove to hear from his class-mates.

John Monsul,’47 recentlycompleted a milestone withhis 500th production of a T.V.show where he is the Host.The show, “CommunicatingToday” is on Channel 10 inFairfax VA. Following a recentinterview and article aboutJohn that appeared in theEmissary, John took the timeto thank us and show a copyof our paper on the show.Charles Touey,’52 sendsbest regards from CollingdalePA as does Anthony J.Asmann,’48 from Phoenix-ville PA.

Frank A. Brunno,’43checked in from WallingfordPA and John J. Giovanni,’49from Wayne PA and HerbertF. Steizer, Jr. of Bethlehem

did the same. Leo Ryan,’60and his wife Anna are stillresiding in the Baltimore MDarea while Joe Brennan.’60and his wife Helen WoodBrennan,’61 now reside inKennett Square PA.

Ed Bernatowicz,’60 andhis wife Evelyn McGeownBernatowicz,’63 are happy toreport from Media PA. BrianFluck,’88 keeps very busypromoting West CatholicHigh School as Director ofAdmissions and as HeadFootball Coach, DennisFluck,’77 serves as Brian’sDefensive coordinator for theWest football team whileStanley Fluck,’75 is a Man-ager with UPS.

William H. Colden,’43who attended Virginia Poly-technic Institute is a RetiredElectrical Engineer nowresiding in Virginia Beach VA.Frank Doorey,’35 a Trackstar during his days at WestCatholic reported in fromCinnaminson NJ.

Michael J. Sheils,’43recently checked in to tell usthat members of the class of1943 regularly meet at the

Country Squire Diner inBroomall PA, they meet onthe last Friday of the month at12:00 Noon. Michael residesin Newtown Square PA withhis wife Elizabeth.

William Kohlenberg,’58communicated from Haver-town PA where he lives withhis wife Lena. Joe Shan-nis,’61 wrote to us frombeautiful Delray Beach FLwhere he resides with hiswife Rosemarie, as did hisclassmate John J. Davis,Jr.,’61 from Boothwyn PAwhere he resides with hiswife Mary.

Immediate Past Presidentof the Alumni Association,Tom Dorrian,’61 waspleased to hear that many ofhis classmates continue tosupport the Association, Tomchecked in from “Cooler bythe Mile” Avalon NJ followinganother successful “Burrs atthe Beach” celebration andFund Raiser for West Catho-lic High School. John U.Heppler,’62 communicatesregularly from Drexel Hill PAas does his classmate andformer Alumni

Fall 2007 EEEE MMMM IIII SSSS SSSS AAAA RRRR YYYY Page 7

The West Catholic basket-ball team of 1952, the Class ofChampions, is considered bymany West grads to be thebest West Catholic basketballteam in the 90 year history ofthe school. Coached by Mr.Jimmy Usilton, Jr., these 19-2hardwood hustlers broughthome both the PhiladelphiaCatholic league title by defeat-ing defending champion St.Thomas More, 50-46 in over-time and then captured thePhiladelphia City Champion-ship, defeating Ben FranklinHigh School, 57-46.

Enthusiastic, extremelytalented and poised this castfeatured a starting five thatincluded Ed Williams, Walt

Maxwell, Joe Sturgis, Char-ley Singley and Marty Milli-gan, who would go on to benamed the MVP of the CityChampionship game. Thisteam played a two platoonsystem against Ben Franklinbringing a tight pressdefense that included Burrenergy and determinationtogether with the excellentfan support from the Weststudents and Alumni. Being apart of this special season,that 1952 would bring, pro-vided memories that havelasted a lifetime. Every gamewas competitive, schoolgymnasiums were standingroom only, team and schoolspirit were proudly displayed

1952 BURR HOOPSTERS CATHOLIC & CITY CHAMPIONSBy: Ed Kerr, Jr.,’60

Coach Usilton with Marty Milligan

and good sportsmanship wasexhibited by opponents.Father Kehoe, Director ofAthletics at St. Thomas More,sent the West Coach andteam a Telegram followingtheir overtime victory over hisGolden Bears, wishing themluck against Ben Franklin.

Other key performers onthis wonderful team includedJimmy Smith, Joe Gardler, BillLindsay, Mlchael ‘Gerry’McGinn, Don Haley, DrewDenmead, Tom Kuchma, Bob-by Devine and Jim McNich-olas. Brother E. Anthony, wasthe Moderator. Managersincluded, Tom Powers, JimSeitzinger, Bill Beam andFrank Webb.

Too many years havepassed for us not to mentionthe great West Catholic foot-ball team of 1943. This squadwas the first football team fromWest Catholic to capture boththe Catholic & City Cham-pionships. Going undefeatedwith a perfect 10-0 record issomething that all graduates ofWest Catholic should be proudof. This team scored 324points while their opponentscould only garner 58, the 10-0record also includes threeshutouts against LaSalle,Roman Catholic and North-east High for the City ofPhiladelphia Championshipbefore 35,000 fans at FranklinField on the campus of the

University of Pennsylvania.Led by their beloved Head

coach Bob Dougherty and hiskey assistant, Bill McCoy thisgreen inexperienced teamwas molded into world beat-ers by the coaching skill ofBob Dougherty...as reported

ScheduleSept. 26–2:30 LaSalle, 20th & Olney 44- 0Oct. 10–2:30 St. Thom. Moore, 54th & City Line 44- 6Oct. 17–2:30 South Catholic, Municipal Stadium 31-13Oct. 24–2:30 Roman Catholic, Shibe Park 14- 0 Oct. 31–2:30 St. James, 20th & Olney 38- 6Nov. 7–2:30 North Catholic, Municipal Stadium 26-13Nov. 14–2:30 St. Joseph’s, Municipal Stadium 14- 7Nov. 19–2:30 St. John’s, 54th & City Line 59- 6Nov. 26–10:00 West Philly, Shibe Park 33- 7Dec. 4–2:30 Northeast, Franklin Field 21- 0

1943 CATHOLIC AND CITY FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSBy: Ed Kerr, Jr.,’60

in the 1944 West Catholicyearbook. With only threeseasoned players returning,the Burrs were not givenmuch of a chance of cappingthe crown in 1943.

Major contributors to thisgreat team included John

Tulskie, fullback, Tom Graham,left halfback, Bob Connor,quarterback, and Bill Thomasright halfback. Captain DanBrown was at right end whileMike Bogan was positionedat left end. Peter Murpheywas the right tackle and JoeTopper, played opposite atleft tackle. Tom Van Klrk, wasat the center and CharlesWard at left guard while JohnMcCoach at right guard com-pleted the starting eleven thatoutscored their opponents byan average of nearly 27points during this undefeatedChampionship season. Othercontributors to this eventfulseason included Jack Con-very, Robert Keily, George

McAndrews, Joe Dougherty,John Diver, Jim King, JohnHennessey, Dan Gallagher,Francis Kirkman, LeonardHope and Francis Mullarkey.Peter Murphey had a superbseason as the point after spe-cialist, and was perfect onthat Championship dayagainst Northeast High. 1943a year to remember and ateam to celebrate one moretime. These undefeatedyoung Burr men of the grid-iron certainly contributed tothe proud history of WestCatholic Athletics and the leg-end continues with the Burrsof today under their headcoach, Brian Fluck and hisChampionship Burrs of 2006.

West Catholic capturedthe Philadelphia CatholicLeague Blue Division Cham-pionship last year by defeat-ing the defending champs,

Archbishop Wood in a hardfought contest at CharlesMartin Stadium in NortheastPhiladelphia. Now as the newdefending champions of this

2006 title, Head coach BrianFluck, his coaches and histeam must prepare to do justthat. Returning 17 playersfrom the Championshipsquad, Coach Fluck is confi-dent but realizes that in theCatholic league, every gameis a big one. As is the caseeach year, West Catholicplays a competitive preseasonschedule to help prepare forthe difficult league schedule.

Roman Catholic, a RedDivision, opponent was firston the preseason agendaand they proved to be readyto play in the heat onSeptember 1st in WildwoodNJ. The weather was hot andRoman came away the victor

WEST CATHOLIC FOOTBALL 2007 SEASONBy: Ed Kerr, Jr.,’60

Brian and Dennis Fluck, 2007 Coaches2007 Varsity Football Schedule

October 6 Conwell-Egan LaSalle University7:00 p.m.

October 14 Neumann-Goretti Widener Stadium 2:00 p.m.

October 20 Card. Dougherty Widener Stadium 7:00 pm.

October 26 Archbishop Carroll Radnor High 7:30 p.m.

November 4 Archbishop Wood Away 1:00 p.m.

by the score of 34-18. Nextup was Upper Moreland HighSchool, coming off a verysuccessful 2006 season;West Catholic came awaywith this game by the scoreof 40-0. Now after splittingthe first two preseasongames, the next opponentwould be the defendingchampions of the RedDivision Catholic League,

LaSalle High School. Anaway game for West Catholicon September 14th went tothe Burrs by the final score of24-14.

The Burrs will move to anew home field this season,Widener University Stadiumin Chester Pa, where theywill play three games. Try tosupport the program byattending the games.

Page 8 EEEE MMMM IIII SSSS SSSS AAAA RRRR YYYY Fall 2007

Dear Fellow Alumni:

I consider it to be an honor and a privilege to have been elected as the President ofthe West Catholic Alumni Association. I also consider it a great challenge, becauseout-going President Tom Dorrian ’61 and all my predecessors as President have set avery high standard of commitment and effort for me to meet! Tom Dorrian and BobMullin, our outgoing Executive Vice President, deserve the thanks of all alumni fortheir generous commitment of time and talent to our Association! Luckily, ChrisMartin (our Executive Vice President) will still be able to benefit from their adviceand suggestions since both are continuing their membership on the Board ofGovernors. We also are fortunate to have the support of returning officers Ed Kerr ‘60(Vice President - Finance); Phil Girard ‘46 (Vice President - Communications); BobMcGovern ‘60 (Recording Secretary); and Jay Sawyer ‘59 (Executive Secretary). Theyeach have devoted many years of service to the Alumni Association.

As my Class of 1977 approaches its 30th reunion, it is an appropriate time toreflect on the many, many friendships and benefits with which I have been blessed asa result of my four years at West! Like many other Burrs, I attribute whatever mod-icum of success I have achieved to the excellent education, formal and informal, thatI received from the Christian Brothers and dedicated lay faculty at West. In mytenure as President, I consider it my obligation to help preserve the many traditionsand memories that we share as alumni of West Catholic. I also consider it not only myduty, but the duty of the entire Association, to endeavor to help make sure that thesame academic excellence and spiritual development that we experienced remainsavailable to students for many, many years to come! As the Men’s Varsity SoccerCoach since 1994, the father of two graduates (Caitlin ’03 and Terry ’05) and a cur-rent student (Matt ’10) and the guardian of another graduate (Dennis ’07), I knowfirst hand that the current West Catholic continues to uphold and enhance the tradi-tions of excellence that originated at 49th & Chestnut Streets!

I look forward to the next two years as an opportunity to renew many friendshipsand to meet, and work with, as many Alumni as possible. We graduated from a highschool that had . . . and still has . . . no equal! I am a firm believer that “West is Best.”We should strive to make sure our Alumni Association also deserves recognition as“Best”.

I invite and challenge every alumnus to become involved in the Association. TheBoard of Governors is always looking for new ways on how to better serve our mem-bership, whether through improved communications, more events and activities orother ideas. If you have any suggestions, comments or criticism, please contact me orany member of the Board of Governors. My e-mail is listed elsewhere in this issue ofEmissary. I also may be contacted at my law office (215-569-5627) or by cell phone(610-246-1020).

The next major event for the Alumni Association will be the 87th AnnualCommunion Breakfast to be held November 4, 2007 at the Springfield Country Club.This special event provides us individually and as an Association to publicly affirmour commitment to our Faith while at the same time honoring our fellow alumni andrenewing friendships! Details can be found in other articles in this edition. I hope tomeet many, many Alumni at this important affair.

In future letters, I will describe some of the goals and plans that the Officers andthe Board are setting for the Association for the next two years. In the interim, if youhave any thing that you would like the Board to consider, please contact us.

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Francis X. Crowley, Esq. ’77

President

West Catholic

Alumni Association

Class Reunion ScheduleOnly your Alumni Association office can provideyour Reunion Committee with a current listing ofyour classmates–Call (215) 387-8560.

Class Location/Date Contact

1952 10/27/07 Ed Malloy55th Barnaby’s of America 610.459.3520

1901 West Chester PkHavertown, PA

1957 9/28/07 Combined Jack Kraft50th Springfield CC 215.493.5899 or

Sproul Road Joan McGinn WoodsSpringfield, PA 610.356.2831

1958 5/15,17,18/08 John Gallagher50th Airport Ramada Inn 631.269.5340 or

6 Industrial Hwy Frank AdolphEssington, PA 610.344.0716

1967 10/27/07 - Combined David Joslin40th Airport Ramada Inn 610.259.0753

6 Industrial Hwy Kathy KellyEssington, PA 610.853.2501

1972 11/24/07 Jim Corey35th Airport Ramada Inn 610.449.2165 or

6 Industrial Hwy George OvertonEssington, PA

1977 11/2/07 Pete McNamara30th Oaks Ballroom 215.922.1400

Oak Avenue westcatholic77@gmail.comGlenolden

1982 11/17/07 Bill Manion25th Airport Ramada Inn 856.797.6916

6 Industrial HwyEssington, PA

1986 Planning Stage-Combined Mike Ward20th Oaks Ballroom momikenmk@msn.com

Oak Avenue Maureen Buckley WardGlenolden 610.544.3142

1996 Planning Stage Marcia Turner10th 215.474.1110 or

Nick Voight610.941.0592

2001 Planning Stage Jackie Fritz5th 215.409.523

NOTE: ALL OTHER CLASSES WHO ARE PLANNING AREUNION OR WOULD LIKE TO PLAN ONE, PLEASECALL THE ALUMNI OFFICE AT 215-387-8560.

Class of 1960West Catholic Class of 1960,

will hold their last lunch forthe year on November 14,2007, at Llanerch CC. If youare a classmate from theclass of 1960, and would liketo find out more informationregarding lunch please calland leave your name & yourtelephone number for BobMcGovern 610-583-4469, orcontact the West CatholicAlumni office at 215-387-8560, & leave your telephonenumber and Bob will get backto you.

The last lunch drew a goodgroup of cIassmates, and

West Catholic Luncheons

For the past ten years a West Catholic reunion has been heldat Stan’s Idle Hour, Goodlands, FL. This past year, it was heldon February 18, 2007. Mike Mangiolo ’64 and his wife, who livein Marco Island, Fl., attended the event. Next Year (2008) plansare set for February 17, 2 to 5 p.m.

Class of 1952 Reunion in Floridaby Harry Mirra, ’52

1952 Class of Champions

The Class of Champions holds a class luncheon every Apriland October at C.J. McGee, Springfield, PA. Chairman BobSimpson reported they had 27 men present. These luncheonsare used to plan upcoming West Catholic events. Bob furtherstated our 55th Reunion will be held at Barnaby’s, 1901 OldWest Chester Pike, Havertown, on Saturday, October 27between 12 noon and 4 p.m.

Drama ClubReunion

A gathering of perform-ers (directors, actors, sing-ers, dancers, musiciansand stage crew members)will be held at Tavola Rest-aurant & Bar in the Spring-field Country Club, 400Sproul Road Springfieldfrom 1 to 3 p.m. on October28, 2007.

Send your name theshows in which you per-formed and the years toepcarey@verizon.net or bymail to Ed Carey, 1030 EveDrive, Apt. E., Pittsburgh,PA 15216.

Bob has already receivedword that a few more ‘new’classmates plan on coming.

Class of 1951West Catholic Class of

1960, will hold their luncheonmeeting on Wed., Oct. 17,2007. All are Welcome!

It will be held at Casey’sRestaurant, 812 LansdowneAvenue, Drexel Hill PA 19026at 12:30 P.M. The cost is$15.00. The speaker will beRev. Dan Meehan, ’51. Thereis parking on premises.

Rsvp: By October 10th bye-mail at w257rww@worldsharenet or telephone RonWalsh @610-853-2056.