Here's the Sawatzki house where Dad lived after moving from the Walnut Street house. He lived here from 3rd grade until the time that he went into the Navy.
This is Brookhill swimming pool where Dad learned to swim. It's also the pool where Jack Jackson was the swimming coach. This is where Dad and other members of the swim team would gather in the locker room in the morning before practice. In the first part of the spring/summer when the pool just opened, the mornings could be really chilly and not much fun to jump into a pool filled with cold water. So Jack, being the guy he was, would yell once at the kids to get their candy asses out of the locker room. If they didn't come out right away he would go in there with a hose and chase them out by blasting them with cold water. He'd tell them it wasn't cold...it was "refreshing".
Here's the part of the pool...the lower part...behind the long boarded window...that's where you'd pick up baskets to put your clothes in and it's also where the microphone was where they would page people. "Telephone for Skippy Cohen" (the "Cohen" was spoken as almost one syllable...so it rhymed perfectly with "telephone"). Apparently, this person got a lot of phone calls!
And here's where Dad when to school from 3rd grade to 8th grade. The classroom on the 2nd level, 2nd from the left, was Dad's 6th grade classroom. His teacher was Sister Eva....who according to Dad was 6 foot 4 and weighed 245. She broke many a ruler over Dad's hands and if Dad was talking in church, she'd grab him by the hair and yank him over the pews. Dad fondly refers to her as Eva Braun.
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS NOT
NECESSARILY THE OPINION OF THE EDITOR:
Ok, Sharon, this is for you: Since you were so amazed that Leo had actually attended Catholic school, he wanted you to see this...as proof. He said that after he had attended Pius X they honored his memory by this..........(scroll down)
Lo and behold, they renamed the school after him!!
(scroll down some more)
(you may have to double click on this photo to enlarge it...in order to be able to read it)
Any comments from the peanut gallery?
When I went to St. Pius X, in the 6th grade, I had to deal with Sister "Leo". As you can imagine, with a name like that, I was scared shitless of her. The only time I liked her was when she brought a small tv to school so she could watch the World Series...1968 Detroit Tigers and St Louis Cardinals. She was a Tiger fan, so that's who we had to root for. I didn't dare say I was a Cardinal fan. The house on Bowie Dr. looks so different. Good luck tomorrow, I am sure Sister Eva will be lookin out for ya. Love , Lou Ann
ReplyDeleteI think we gave the current owner of the house on Bowie Drive a pretty good scare when I was hanging out the window to take that picture and then I realized she saw me do this and then mom sped away in the car. Yikes...
ReplyDeleteok...well I have to believe ( because you're telling me Linda ) that Leo actually went to Catholic school..and now I can totally understand why he is the way he is...I also went to Catholic school but flunked out after 4th grade!! I spent more time in the coat room cause of talking...surprised?? Like mine , I believe Leo's "halo" is a wee bit tarnished. :-)
ReplyDeleteStrong thoughts and prayers!!
Haha, Sharon! Yes, Leo also remembers well the cloak room where he spent time. He said he was either there by himself, or a nun was there "beating the shit out of him". I wonder how many nuns there are in hell??
ReplyDelete