The Cross and Anchor 1944 and 45

Please accept my apology in advance for sharing some nuggets I uncovered when rereading a few of the letters my dad left from his days at the Cross and his early days in the Navy and Air Force. Some of them were like reading the modern version of Crossports without the negatives.

These young men loved to write lengthy letters, were very close to each other, and remained in touch with the Jesuits on campus for many years after graduation.

Some remarkable classmates and friends spoke of their love of the school, their classes, and their teachers. It was clear that playing or supporting athletics was important, they shared a deep faith and love of the Church, most experienced the death of friends or classmates, and they each expressed their hopes and aspirations for their future. True Men for Others.

A couple of the more special letters came from Father Hart, Father Cummings, and Mr. McCann. Father Cummings spoke about the Football season in 46 and how Fitton sold out for multiple games (28,000) with thousands turned away.

And even one where I got the current version of Crossports-- Fr Cummings complaints about the coaching decisions in the Dartmouth game.

Mr. McCann responded to my dad's loss of his close friend in the war. The warmth and compassion coming in his words had to be a gift to my dad, and his love for his students and Holy Cross came through loud and clear.

Father Hart's were just extraordinary and, like Father Hart, just so caring. The personal notes thanked him for his occasional contributions to the basketball practices, his commitment to the community, and his service to the country. He mentioned how many new Jesuits were on campus, the increase in enrollment, and how crowded Kimball would be that fall. Above all, he was concerned about how the varsity teams would perform and what he needed to do to offer the best intramural program for the Men of Holy Cross.

While many things have changed over the years, both in life and at Holy Cross, it remains an exceptional place, and the experience blessed us all.

I only wish I was given these fifty years ago and had the opportunity to meet this group of Crusaders!

I had Father Cummings and Mr. McCann for English and met Father Hart my first day on campus for football practice- Once I introduced myself, he asked if I was Ed's son, and wanted to know if was he on campus. I explained he and the rest of the family were living in Australia. He asked for his address and phone number and called him a few days later.



And I couldn't agree with you more about Father and Tom - they were genuinely kind and caring people and to me they were a gift from God to all of us.

I have so much to say about Fr Hart, that I didn't want to get started. I worked for him as intramural ref and as student director of the field house (which simply meant that I changed nets on the baskets and tried to stop folks from getting killed by stray lax balls).
I would meet him either in the field house or at his office in O'Kane and, in the fall, we would go to the room where he stored the equipment for football (under St Joseph's Chapel) and then head to freshman field. I was always amazed at how many names of alums he remembered. When he could not come up with the name right away, he would mumble so it "sounded" like a name. No one ever questioned him on that. He officiated at our wedding (on Long Island) and my wife and I left our reception to get him to his plane on time. He had his own style at Confession. At the end, he would say something like "Have a good day, Robert, and say hello to your mother for me." So much for anonymity."
He was one of the finest men it has ever been my pleasure to know. Taking him out to dinner (he preferred Howard Johnson's - not the one at the bottom of the hill) was a treat for my wife and for me. I still visit his grave every time I come back to Holy Cross. May his soul rest in peace and may he remember us in his prayers.

PS: I still hope that the SOB who stole his leather pilot's jacket from the display case in the Hart may one day return it.

I perfected that mumble when Latin was used on the Alter. I remember Fr. Hart's Fieldhouse room wallpapered with intramural schedules. Today's computers don't do as good a job keeping everything straight.