AMDG
Memories are made of this . . .
MY FIRST DAY
By Bill Fulton (1964), USA
Although my first day at St Aloysius’ College – or John Ogilvie Hall as it was then - was over sixty years ago, it remains clearly fixed in my memory. On my first day in 1956, I was 12 years old and was assigned to the primary school, Ogilvie VI, which was taught by Miss Butler. I remember how terrified I was that day; all I wanted was to blend in. I felt that way because I was the first American to be admitted to the College; I knew no one and did not want to be different and draw attention to myself. I also knew that Fr Tracey had told my parents that my younger brothers’ admittance to the College would be dependent on how well I did. I was feeling the pressure. Just two months before the August start of the school year in 1956, my family had moved from the central part of the United States to Glasgow and it was the first time I had been out of my country. My father was with Caterpillar and we were one of 26 families transferred to Scotland to build a new plant near Glasgow. At the beginning of class that first day, Miss Butler asked each student to stand and introduce himself, and after I had done so while still standing, Miss Butler announced that she did not want any “Americanisms” in her class. Although I did not fully understand her meaning, I was only too aware that it wasn’t positive, and when I told my father he was quite concerned.
The next day he met with Miss Butler and they had a positive meeting of the minds. As the school year progressed, I quickly adapted, made friends, had success and became just one of the boys, albeit with a different accent. Most remarkably I came to love and appreciate Miss Butler. Even after I had moved to the senior school downtown (in Garnethill) and she had retired, we kept in touch and I would occasionally visit her; quite a change from the first hour of the first day. She was one of the most influential teachers I ever had. And yes, my brothers were later admitted to the College. I have told that story many times over the years, along with other great memories from my five and a half years in the Green Blazer.
FRIENDS REUNITED In the days before email and Facebook, when Bill Fulton left the College in the January of 1962 to head back to the US with his family, I don’t suppose he expected to see any of his classmates again. However, one of his friends, Gordon MacBride had other ideas. At the tender age of 16, Gordon’s mother bought him a chartered flight return ticket to New York for the princely sum of £65 as he decided to pay a surprise visit, on his own, to Bill and his family in Illinois. Gordon toured parts of North America using Greyhound buses before visiting his school friend and even wrote about it in the College magazine in 1962 saying, “I spent the most enjoyable week I could have wished for. The hospitality shown me by the Fulton family was out of this world.”
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Although Gordon and Bill stayed in touch after that, there was a gap of 27 years before they met up again in 1989. Bill and Gordon enjoyed sport at the College, and both were very successful on the Rugby field and in Athletics. Recently we were able to reunite Gordon with the Junior Class Challenge Cup which he won at Sports Day in June 1959 and he’s pictured here being awarded the Cup and again in 2016. Bill and Gordon will reunite in the autumn, but for now, at least they have email!
If you have a “My First Day” memory which you would like to share, please email it to: alumni@staloysius.org with “My First Day” in the subject line, or post it to the Development Office, 45 Hill Street, Glasgow G3 6RJ.
