Hi Guys,

Nice gathering of classmates today at the Pool and Yacht. A jump in the pool would have been in order as the hot 96 degrees made us all thankful for AC.

The guys gathered today were Don Danneker, Joe Schufman, Jim Dimond, Tom Troskey, Tom Racine, Dave Tyree, Joe Brooks, Ed Sund, Joe M. McGrath, Larry Moser, Rick O’Connor, Dave Britz, George Bonfe, John Lentsch, Tom Schleck.

A couple of guys called me to be sure I give a hello to all since they could not be there. Pat McDonnell sent his regards and hopes that he can attend the gathering again soon. Pat had back surgery about 6 weeks ago and the “recovery” has not gone very well—-best to you Pat from all of us.

Classmate Bill Haskamp sent his best wishes to all and we hope to see Bill at one of the lunches soon.

Recently I came across my Freshman year—-Bulletin of Information (BLUE BOOK) We passed it around  to the crew. Kind of fun to see many things detailed in the book,  procedures, policies, uniform requirements, discipline, costs—tuition $170/year, expectations etc.

On Sept 16 CDH will be holding a first  time event and it is titled —ONE Cretin Derham Hall. It is to recognize the alums of all three schools that make up CDH

Currently Cretin has about 6,000 living alumni, Derham about 2,000 and CDH 10,000. This event will bring all three school’s alumni together. Think of it, brothers, sisters, mothers, sons, grand parents, fathers, husband/wife. If you are an alum of any of the three schools you are invited. Lots of planning is going on to make this a very enjoyable evening. More info will follow over the summer. So Mark your calendar!

A couple of more things to mark your calendar for are the 8^th annual Class of 63 Golf outing (THE CHARLIE). Dave Britz is the chair and the date is Wednesday August 11^th. DAVE WOULD LIKE TO GET A RESPONSE AS TO WHO PLANS TO PLAY. So let me know or Dave Britz at britzie37@aol.com

For the 6^th consecutive year classmate George Bonfe would like to host the August Class of 63 luncheon at his home on Forest Lake on Thursday August 12th—thank you George

Finally, the next class of 63 lunch will be on Thursday July 8^th.

Tom Troskey

Hello Guys

Beautiful day on the river. 15 of your classmates gathered to social during lunch at the P&Y.

Here are the 15 that were there. Don Danneker, Tom Troskey, John Lentsch, Joe Schufman, Tom Racine, Ed Sund, Joe Brooks, Charlie Evans, George Bonfe, Tom Schleck, Joe M. McGrath, Gary Stoffel, Mike Roach, Dave Tyree.

Some of the things we talked about were the upcoming ONE CDH event scheduled for September 16^th where the alumni of all three schools will gather for a fun  evening. This is the first time that Cretin, Derham Hall, and Cretin Derham Hall alums will get together to celebrate. Think of it; where brothers, sisters, fathers, grandfathers, mothers etc will all be able to attend. ———Mark your calendar and more info will be available soon.

Dave Britz reports that he is planning to organize the 8^th annual Class of 63 golf outing (The Charlie) on Wednesday august 11^th.——– Mark your calendar.

A class of 1962 member, Ron Ryan has stepped forward to make a STEM center at CDH a reality. The ground was broken this past week and it will be completed by the start of the school term in Sept 2021. The new addition will be located southeast of what we called the new building.—–very exciting.

Our classmate Tom Golden’s book Ramblings of a BABY BOOMER wannnabe was made available to those in attendance to read and when all who want to read have finished the book it will be sent to Tom with the personal notes each of the readers made in the back of the book. Don Danneker bought the book and came up with the idea of personal notes to Tom. I have read the book and it is a fun read for those of us raised in St Paul. Thanks Don for doing this.

Just recently classmate Terry Bacigalupo made me aware that one of our other class of 63 members who Terry had not seen since late summer 1963 had moved about 200 yards away from Terry in Granbury Texas. The other classmate is Tom Schwartz and Terry says he and his wife Susan now enjoy socializing with Tom and his wife Sandy.——-what a small world!

I had nothing new to report on the protests at CDH about race and police. When I hear more I will send your way.

Finally on a sobering and sad note. Since the pandemic interrupted life in March of 2020 and with it the regular gatherings of the class of 63 we have lost eight of our classmates. They are Dave Mordorski, Mike Fritz, John Turnbull, Ray Altier, Ed Johnson, Tom Dowdal, Peter Zierden, and Mike McNulty. We had a moment of silence in remembrance of these great guys and to count our blessings.

That’s all for now and mark your calendar for the next regular monthly lunch of the class of 63—-it will be Thursday June 10^th.

Thanks

Tom Troskey

Click on photo to enlarge

Courtesy of Steve Nachtsheim via Tom Troskey.

This last October two of our classmates celebrated their 50^th Wedding Anniversaries.

Tom and Linda Troskey were married on October 30, 1970.   Terry and Sue Bacigalupo were married on October 31, 1970.

Terry sent a note to Tom with a picture.   He says “Tom,  This is a picture of Sue & I taken along with a life size cut-out picture of us from our wedding day on October 31^st, 1970.  We celebrated last Sunday with friends & family at our 50^th Wedding Anniversary Party here in Granbury, TX. Our classmate & my new neighbor, Tom Schwartz along with his wife Sandy, were in attendance for the festivities. What a happy & blessed day for all of us!”

And Tom sent a note to me with a photo taken on their anniversary.  He says “Hello Joe, Good to hear from “Botch”.   We got married the day before Terry.

Linda and I were married on Friday Oct 30^th 1970 at Holy Spirit Church—-exactly 30 years after my mom and dad were married at Holy Spirit by the same priest.

This past Friday night on our anniversary, Linda and I  went to a restaurant to have dinner indoors for the 2^nd time since CV19 began.

We usually go to Ruth’s Chris on our anniversary but no more downtown Minneapolis for us. We went to a new restaurant, Baldamar. We both said it was a 5 star. Food , service, surroundings, parking could not have been better. “

On behalf of our class we congratulate both the Troskeys and Bacigalupos  on their significant milestone.

Photos follow.  Click on an image to enlarge it.

Feel free to leave a comment (click on the Leave a Comment link in the upper left hand corner of this post).

I have added their names to the Enduring Relationships page.

For those whose names are already on that page consider sending me a picture of you and your spouse. And if you and your wife celebrated your 50th Wedding Anniversary but your names are not on that page please drop me a note via the Contact Us link so I can add you to the list.

Warmest Regards,

Joe

Hello Guys,

Yesterday the class of 63’s regular monthly lunch had a gathering for the first time since CV 19 took hold.

Thank you to Dave Tyree for taking a couple of photos of some terrific looking 75 year-olds. The guys in  one luncheon photo are left to right Tim Valento, Joe Brooks, Pat McDonnell, Joe M. McGrath and in the other Ed Sund, George Bonfe, Dave Tyree and Tom Schleck. (Click on photo to enlarge)

I was told all enjoyed the lunch and that the P and Y takes the rules of CV19 seriously. Thanks Dave.

There are two other photos in this email and they are quite special. Tim Valento provided these photos after visiting Jameson’s Irish Bar in West St Paul. This new bar and restaurant is in the space formerly occupied by the Cherokee sirloin room. More importantly Jameson’s is owned by our classmate Jim Murray’s daughter Mollie and her husband Brian. Many of you recall Jim passed away in May of 2006.

Mollie and her husband paid special tribute to Jim at their new place as you will see in the photos that Tim V provided. So if you go to Jameson’s for a meal you may be sitting in the Jim Murray room with a photos of Irish Jim Murray looking on at you. The web site for Jameson’s is       www.jamosbar.com  where you take a look at the menu. (Click on photo to enlarge)

Thank you Tim V for letting us know about Jameson’s and the Jim Murray connection.

If you go be sure to tell Mollie or Brian that you are a classmate of Jim’s.

That’s all I have for now

Best to all and stay safe

Tom Troskey

Hi Guys,

Last week I advised you about a father of a CDH student that was severely beaten in a carjacking on Pinehurst Avenue in Highland Park. Robbers got his vehicle, wallet and phone — and almost his life. St. Paul newspaper deliveryman has long road to recovery. The link to the newspaper article is below. Also below is a note I got back from Peggy Schafer at CDH after classmate Tim Valento inquired if there was a fund set up to help this family going forward with medical and other expenses. The father has a long road to recovery and many alum want to help this family as they put their life back together.

If you would like to help you can send a check to ———– 

Cretin Derham Hall—note in memo—“newspaper family”

Attention Peggy Schafer

550 So. Albert Street

St Paul ,MN.

55116

Thank you Tim Valento for getting this started and thank you classmates for considering helping this family.  CLOSE TO HOME FOR TIM —- Some of you may remember Tim was injured severely in 1976 in an airplane  accident where he was unable to return to work for 3 years…………….

Tom Troskey

Robbers got his vehicle, wallet and phone — and almost his life. St. Paul newspaper deliveryman has long road to recovery

Cretin-Derham Hall inaugurated a new recognition vehicle this year.    The new Lentsch Forum, which serves as the main entry and greeting and gathering space for students, parents, and visitors opened this school year.  There is an alumni profile wall as part of the entryway and it is called “I AM CDH”.  It features pictures of alumni that the current administration deemed suitable as representing the values, traditions, and achievements of CDH graduates.

The display features twelve alums with representation from Cretin, Derham Hall and CDH and this group will remain on the wall for the duration of the 2020-21 school year.  Our classmate Joe McGrath is one of the honorees.

Congratulations Joe!  Our entire class is proud of you.

Click on photo to enlarge

The Bishop Cretin Award is presented annually to a distinguished Cretin alum in recognition of his outstanding service to the community and to Cretin-Derham Hall school, and for his achievements in his profession exemplifying the highest and best traditions of Cretin High School. This award is presented in memory of the school’s founder Bishop Joseph Cretin, the first Bishop of the Diocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Our classmate Stephen Nachtsheim was the recipient of this prestigious award in 2020.   While at Cretin he learned and he became involved in sports, plays, and committees.   He graduated from Cretin with a strong belief that responsible behavior and community involvement were paramount.  He summed up his Cretin experience by saying  “The education was at the center of all of it, but more importantly, it was a lot of fun, and we had a sense that we needed to get things done for our community.” 

He followed that dictate as he progressed through an extensive career in the computer technology field. His first love of technology and his desire to share his knowledge with others led his to becoming an academic, teaching at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Minnesota for nearly a decade.  At the same time, he was given responsibility to manage the Academic and Research Computer Center.

He has coached youth soccer, softball and basketball.

He has held several board positions, including one with Menlo Park Fire Protection District where he served as both Vice President and President.  And he has been a Trustee at the University of St. Thomas since 2002.

Steve has been a long time supporter of CDH in many ways including technology projects.  When notified he was the recipient of the Bishop Cretin Award his first thought was  “We have a great class and I can think of at least 10-20 people who deserve that recognition more than me.”

Stephen is a worthy recipient.  

Congratulations Steve!

Footnote: Due to the pandemic the actual presentation of the award to Steve will take place in the fall of 2021 at the annual CDH awards banquet.

Click on photo to enlarge

I had intended to post something that calls attention to our classmates who have served but also the wider population and generations that have sacrificed to make this nation great.

World War I and II, the Korean war, Vietnam (which hit our generation hard), Bosnia, Afganistan, Iraq, and other skirmishes have brought out both the worst and the best of human beings.

And then our classmate Len Mitsch sent an email that much more eloquently captures what we must all feel and respect – those that made a difference by fighting for our country in war. Here is what Len shared – a tribute by Colin Powell on the American GI –

Hello. 

Today is Memorial Day and since we’re all quarantined and have a little spare time, I hope you’ll all take a few moments to read these comments 

by Colin Powell on the impact of the American G. I.

I’ve shared this with my U. of M. classes every Veterans Day

Len

https://cretinclassof1963.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Powell-speech.pdf

I and others would be interested to know if any of our classmates descendants also served in the military. I know of several classmates whose offspring were in the Air Force or Army. Please send me a comment since I would like to acknowledge these next generation military warriors for accepting the call to duty. And for those of you who have a spouse that served please let me know as well.

Joe

A thank you to all of my classmates who contributed to help pay for our annual website hosting costs.   Because of your generosity all website hosting costs for the next two years are paid for in full!  I wish to acknowledge all who sent in donations.   They are –

Bob O’Malley

Jim Schubert

Pat Vitek

Jim Dimond

Larry Moser

Don Danneker

Joe M McGrath

Jack Lamont

Dave Britz

Dave Tyree

Frank Villaume

Tom Golden

John Hughes

Gary Pates

Jack Dale

I want to especially thank Bob O’Malley who sent a check to pay for the entire first year.   With the other contributions we were able to add a second year to our contract.  Thank you for your support.  I greatly appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Joe S.