Fifty Years Later, Learning to Understand

The Class of 1970 was very much a part of the dynamic sixties: the music, political upheavals, the war in Vietnam, environmental and civil rights movements, and a belief that our actions could make a difference, good or bad, depending on the choices we make. We were lucky boys to be at Delbarton; we knew it from the first moment we saw the campus, met our teachers, and got to know our classmates, all of whom were and continue to be very special individuals.

When we arrived at Delbarton in the Fall of 1964 as 7th graders, we were plunged into the demanding academic environment of several hours of nightly homework and our first exposure to progressive Catholicism as practiced by the Benedictine monks of St. Mary’s Abbey Delbarton, most of whom were our teachers of math, English, religion, art, music, history, and geography. Our education was meant to teach us how to think and write critically and creatively, as well as to consider what kind of people we would become as adults. Because we were all the children of the hardworking World War II generation, we were supportive of everything that defined the “American Way”. We loved our country as our parents did. I can still vividly remember taking my turn, standing in front of my classmates, reporting on the week’s current events in Mr. Crane’s American History class early in 1965. I began by saying that in the previous week 200+

50Learning to Understand FIFTY YEARS LATER:

American soldiers were killed in the war in Vietnam against the advance of communism. When their turns came, some of my classmates spoke about the debate and ultimate passage of the Civil Rights and War on Poverty bills, that were among the most important successful legislative initiatives of the Johnson Administration. We discussed the amazing accomplishments of the space program that was fulfilling the promise of President Kennedy in which he stated,

We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone… As 1965 became 1966 and then 1967, we talked about the riots that were occurring in major cities around the country, including Newark, where, in the summer of 1967, 17 died, and warranted a Life magazine cover story. Newark is where many of our parents were raised as the first American-born generation of immigrant families from countries such as Poland, Ireland, Italy, Germany, and others. A few of us came from families with wealth but, predominately, our parents were just about able to afford to send us to Delbarton because they became successful professionals or businesspeople after earning a college education through the GI Bill. They knew the value of education and were willing to sacrifice to send us to Delbarton.

Most of us were still too young to understand the significance of the national and world events swirling around us. Cities had become “No-Go” places, seen as dirty, dangerous, and far removed from the safe and pristine environment of Delbarton. Interestingly, our contemporary cultural heroes like Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Joan Baez, Marvin Gaye and many others were singing about the Christlike ideas of love, forgiveness, equality for all; others sang about the disaffection and joy of being young. These thoughts resonated with what many of our most impactful teachers like Fr. Giles were helping us understand. The ideas of respect for the dignity of all were imbued in the Delbarton curriculum, in harmony with the teachings of Jesus and leaders like Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. The famous “Summer of Love” in San Francisco attracted young people, mostly older than us to live together communally to promote a less materialistic, freer, and more humanistic lifestyle that was soon affecting how we thought, spoke, dressed and treated one another at Delbarton, too. Around this same time as casualties mounted in the Vietnam war, college campus protests erupted against the war and the draft, mixed with demands for free speech, women’s rights, civil rights, protection of the

environment, gay rights, and vehement condemnations of an economic system that was increasingly placing the pursuit of profit ahead of respect for human and environmental rights. Walter Cronkite, our most trusted source of daily national and world news, went before the nation to tell us that even he, a brave news correspondent of World War II, now thought the Vietnam War was a mistake.

With each passing day, month, and year the answers to questions asking,

“What’s happening here?” did indeed become increasingly less clear: the war was wrong, our society was unequal, the American Dream needed serious work. The children of the WW II generation were now letting their hair grow longer, sideburns appeared, along with bell-bottomed jeans, fringed jackets and more and more amazing folk and rock music. Pop art blossomed; movies and television evolved; the sexual revolution burst upon the scene. It’s still true today, as it was then…the transformational influence of new thinking, social activism, music, and art was heady and its influence great on our lives then and in the years that have followed.

Among our most vivid memories as Juniors and Seniors are our experiences in the classroom with our teachers and mentors. Stories about Fr. Gerard are filled with references to his rigor as a teacher of English Lit and, moreover, his patience, humor, and personalized approach to college counseling. He would start by asking, “What ideas do you have for college? Where do you think you would like to go and what do you want to study?” He listened thoughtfully to our responses as we answered, and thus a life changing discussion was pursued over a span of many months. Fr. Gerard’s approach to college counseling was in tune with each one of us, the intellectual spirit of Delbarton and the era we were living through; perhaps best characterized as one of creativity, individualism, and struggle to fulfill personal choices. He later characterized our era as “the Halloween Years,” a playfully clever and humorous tag. It was like that in many ways: the deadly absurdity and strangeness of world and national events created a response that continues, for good and ill, to echo through our culture today. We never claimed to be strict devotees to all of the ideas that pervaded our culture. Almost all of us went right to college and then afterwards to graduate or professional schools as we pursued our independent adult

There’s something happening here

What it is ain’t exactly clear…

There’s battle lines being drawn Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong Young people speaking their minds…

For What It's Worth... Buffalo Springfield song lyrics, 1967

Fr Gerard Lair taught English Literature and later characterized the late 60s and early 70s as the ‘Halloween years’.

Fr. Giles Hayes helped Kulper and his classmates make sense of the disruption swirling around them.

50Learning to Understand FIFTY YEARS LATER:

Steve Stefany ’70: Day student,

Marietta College, Audio Engineering, Radio, ABC News (Steve created a ham radio club at Delbarton. This photo was taken in his bedroom at home.)

“Delbarton taught me that besides God, I really needed to carve my path and pursue goals. Mr. Crane was my favorite teacher; always friendly and encouraging. He really took an interest in assisting me with a paper I was writing on Indians living in the Grand Canyon. However, I wasn’t sure about Delbarton when I first took the entrance exam. I didn’t want to leave my current school. My answers reflected it. On the ride home, when I told my folks what I wrote, they threw their hands up, off the steering wheel no less. The rejection letter came a week later. After my parents knocked some sense into me, I got a second chance and took the exam again. During the acceptance interview, Fr. Adrian held up both exams and said, “I can’t believe the same person took these tests!” Thank you, Mom and Dad.

Mark Hanis ’70: Boarder, Pratt Institute, Advertising and Visual Communications

“The friendships I made are still as close today as they were then. The food was great; four years eating like a king. The teachers and prefects taught us all the discipline we needed to learn…The music of our time meant so much to us; certain songs were very special. Wonderful memories for a lifetime.”

Brian Flaherty ’70: Day student, Fairfield University, Business Owner, Allaire-Chem Dry

“My Delbarton experience started at Camp Delbarton which I attended for 4 plus summers. I enjoyed camp so much I convinced my parents I wanted to go to Delbarton in 7th grade; despite the Saturday classes 3 out of 4 weeks each month… Fr. Stephen taught us how to hand write thank you notes and invitations. Freshman year we had a class of 100 plus, at the time the largest incoming class in Delbarton’s history…As a day student I took the bus to school. We had a bus driver we called Pop who took good care of us. My classmate, Jay Russell, loved to lead us all in song on the way to school…Fathers Germain, Beatus, Adrian, Karl, Giles, Rembert, Mr. Crane, and Mr. Sanfacon left impressions on me. Academically, what lasted for me is I was taught how to think and not be afraid to challenge the status quo.”

Members of the Class of 1970 enjoy their 40th reunion at Homecoming 2010. Keith Kulper ’70 is in the front row on left.