Fashion Show II

Another shot from the Fashion Show put on the by students in my Grade Nine year.

Tom Chase

Tom Chase was a football coach, a gym teacher, he taught Law and other subjects. He had the aura of cool and decency around him as a teacher. Brendan Lehman is to the right.

Hall Scenes

I don't know the name of the person in the center of the pic. What did strike me is the popularity of check and tartan pants.

Update: Please read the comment. The person in the center is Joe Defilippis. Rob Van de Valk has the armload of books. In the comment section a reader speculates on the haberdashery of Joe Defilippis.

Below is a hall scene scanned from a yearbook that appeared on an archive site of OCHS that disappeared from the web.

Geography Class

A candid shot from geography class, and somehow I got into it. Left to right: yours truly, Mike Bukoski, Bert Hoefs, Carolyn Corrigan.

Bob Hickey and Barb Gannon

Barb Gannon and Bob Hickey pictured at a dance. I examined this pic in high res and could determine that the face barely visible is Pat Simmons.

Barb went to Saint Joseph's school and she, Tim McKenna and I skipped Grade 5 together.

Mrs. Graham See

Both Graham See and his wife taught at OCHS. They lived a block away from us in an apartment on Orchard View Boulevard in North Oshawa for a while. I don't recall Mrs. See's first name or the subjects that she taught.



You may find the post on Graham See three posts below this one, or you may click here:

http://myochs.blogspot.com/2009/04/graham-see.html

Dan Dalby and Yours Truly

Blair Morris taught Urban Studies. One chapter was on dying downtown areas. Another was on traffic patterns. One day, it was a cold winter day, the entire class had to go downtown and count traffic. We had various positions around the city. Dan Dalby and yours truly got the location of the old Canadian Tire, near the automotive museum on Simcoe Street South, opposite the McLaughlin Bandshell and Memorial Park.

It was boring. It was cold. The only thing that I remember was that what we did with the traffic figures was mildly interesting. Collecting the data wasn't.

Dan was cool. I was a total nerd, dressed in a suit, a trench coat and a tie. I make up for it these days though in the tropics. I go to Board of Directors meetings in sandals, shorts and a cotton yoga shirt.

(If one word characterises the 1970's -- it is HAIR !!)

George Prazmowski

George Prazmowski is at the podium running for some student office.

Update: A reader fills in the student office in the comments section. Thank you.

Graham See

Graham See was one of the more popular teachers. He was an Australian who came with his wife to teach in Canada. His wife taught at OCHS as well. Graham taught English.

He did finally move back to Australia, and one of the mementos that he took back with him, was an American football helmet. Some of us more patriotic students thought that he should take home a CFL helmet, but he preferred NFL American football. What did he know -- he was an Aussie.

Big Stuffed Dog

I don't have a name for this guy. I think that it may be Lazlo Kedvessy. The big stuffed dog that he is holding was presented to someone at a dance. Joe Pender's wife has her back to the camera.

Tony Seaver Part 1

This is one of the more colourful characters at OCHS -- Tony Seaver. He had an indomitable spirit, and one would suspect, a small touch of Attention Deficit Disorder. He was hilarious, funny, creative and totally spontaneous.

I take back the Attention Deficit Disorder remark -- it wasn't that -- what it really was, was no impulse control. (Just kidding, but wait till you see some other snaps of Tony). I don't know the name of the girl that he is tormenting. The girl that he is tormenting is Mary Ellen Barrett.

It was highly ironic that Tony's dad was the disciplinarian at Courtice High School.

Paul Woodcroft

This was Father Paul Woodcroft, who was a priest at St. Mary's of the People, and one of the coaches of the OCHS Saints Hockey team.

Happy Crowd

The above pic is the crowd after the OCHS Saints defeated Bowmanville at football. Left to right: Mike Noonan, Terry Hughes, Gloria Chisholm, Frank Foley, Linda Dupont, Cathy Clinton, Leo Barrett, Mike Dionne (thanks Dan) .

Joan invited to co-write on My OCHS

A series of emails has resulted in my inviting Joan to contribute to this blog. Here are some snippets from her communications:

Having worked on the yearbook in 1967-8-9 I wanted to type STUFF on many of these for Ken.

If I can find Sister Clare (Mary Buckley's email at Morrow Park and Sister Conrad's email as well ) I'll forward those ones too. I saw them both last summer and Sister Conrad told me she was 77 then. Ruth Nicholls would get a kick out of the Wayne & Anne Stovell shot. This (&*^&% site could keep me busy for hours. I graduated in 1969.

Ken should know that it was Linda LaPorte who died at the age of 42 when I was at Austin in 1995 after over 20 years of medical mismanagement who called the yearbook HERITAGE when she was asst. editor in her Gr. 11 year and then editor in her Gr. 12 year.

She graduated in 1969 from Grade 12 to go on to nursing at Hotel Dieu in Kingston. Linda was an exceptional nursing student but never graduated due to illness/hospitalizations/nursing home residency.

Seeing her with brain damage was dreadful. Doctors overdosed her on cobalt in the early 1970's. Linda's treasure, a Grade 12 yearbook (loaded with OCHS autographs), was lost in June 1969. YEARS later when we did the thank you event to Sisters of St. Joseph and the Grey Nuns I was perusing yearbooks for a slide show. I hoped to find a photo of each nun who had worked at either highschool (OCHS/Dwyer & Denis O'Connor)....

One of the yearbooks in the box from Dwyer's was Linda's. The hair on my arms stood up. I had a box of yearbooks in my coop ed office at St. Mary's in Pickering. Jim McGeown had given them to me...... 25 years later the book came to me (her best friend) and was on display at her wake in Oshawa when she died. This "coincidence" story was published in the Toronto Star in George Gamster's column years later and won me $50. which I put into the Linda LaPorte Memorial Award at Dwyer which I created when she died. It went to some student who made an amazing contribution to yearbook work.

Linda is buried at Resurrection Cemetery in Whitby near Anne Marie Kraemer, yearbook editor at OCHS after Linda. Anne Marie died from cancer.Someday I'll be near them both on the cremation wall.


Thanks for forwarding this. I think the nun who got her needle was a librarian but then again if I saw her face front (instead of profile) it MAY have been Sister Adelarde who tried to teach us Latin in Gr. 12 / 13. She had trouble keeping the straight pin in place on the crown of her habit and it would cause the veil to fall down.

OCHS was my home away from home for 5 years so I have lots of warm fuzzy memories from that time. I was Bob's campaign manager when he first ran for Student Council and he got measles on me, got defeated because no one had seen the "candidate". We got to work together for a few years at Austin before I retired which was special. He helped me win a grievance once too. I can add info to some of these photos for sure.

Do you go on and delete things if they are tooooo wordy or personal?

Glad you and Bob connected in the Bahamas. It is a small world! I'll get back to this when i can. If only you'd had digital back then!?!?! You'd have thousands of images to go through!

I'll leave Joan to add more identifying details if she wishes. The answer to your question is yes.

Catherine Bojkovsky

Language students will remember Mrs. Bojkovsky who taught Italian and English for a short stint at OCHS.

This picture is particularly meaningful to me, because she is my Aunt Catherine.

Aquarium Fish

In a fit of whimsy, I blew a few frames on the fish in the aquarium in Ivor Boyagoda's classroom.

Arthur Chai

Arthur Chai taught algebra. He also taught me Computer Science in Grade 12. It was all done on paper from the blackboard, and in June we all traipsed down to Durham College for a field trip to use their computer. We punched cards in COBOL and ran minor programs on the mainframe there. (Considering what I became, I am ashamed to admit that my program wouldn't compile.)

I kept thinking "is this all there is to this computer business"? As the Chief Technology Officer of a financial services company in the Caribbean, I sometimes still have the same thought.

Art had the quiet aura of competence. He was also the guidance counsellor, and I understand he later became an entrepreneur.

Terry Hopkins at Kangaroo Court

As previously iterated what was done to us and what we did to others at initiation time would not fly in these politically correct times. Degradation, torture and humiliation are out of style.

However, back in the day, it was great fun as long as you were not on the receiving end. Here is Terry Hopkins, as an "officer" of the kangaroo court, dressed in a "borrowed" altar boy cassock, reading an edict from the "court". Terry's grandmother taught me in Grade 2 at St. Joseph's School.

In the crowd, standing second from right in the glasses and polka dot tie, is Italo Labignan, who became a television fishing show host.


Terry's brother Larry Hopkins was in my brother's class at OCHS, and he was on the Oshawa Generals Dream Team of 1972, and went to the NHL, played a couple of games for the Toronto Maple Leafs and then went to the Winnipeg Jets.

Ron Yanch

Ron Yanch looks a little pensive on the Geography field trip.

Girls Gym

You can tell by the gym uniforms that this is my Grade 9 year. This was senior girls gym and the person on the left is Linda Kawecki. The person that she is arm wrestling with could be Frances Schillings, but I am not sure.

Update by reader comment: I think its Marilyn McAvoy with Linda

The Coaches

The negative of this print suffered greatly through the years. It was shot into the sun as well. It shows Tony White, the coach of the junior football team assisted by (right to left) Gary O'Connell, Jim Dickey and Shawn O'Driscoll. The two identifiable football players are Andre Grotenhuis and Peter Grills.

Wrestling Club

I am fairly certain that this is the wrestling club. Roger St. Pierre, standing next to Tony White the coach, was a wicked wrestler. Standing next to Roger is Paul Smegal, and that is the extent of the names that I know.

Update: This in fact is wrestling. Left to right: Tony White, Roger St. Pierre, Paul Smegal, Mike Forgette, Geoff Guerts, Joe Murczek, Greg Maringer, Robert Andrews.

At the Prom

Pictured center is who I thought was Frank Foley, slow dancing at the prom. His date is unidentified. I recieved an email saying that perhaps it is Jan Prazmowski rather than Frank Foley. Cathy Clinton is at the extreme right partially cut off.

I Love the 70's

Cheerleaders. Kathy Seaver second from left. Judy McLinton, fourth from left.

Gloria Murrant writes:

To Kathy's right is Karen Smegal and to Judy' right is me - Gloria Murrant.

To which I add:

And beside Gloria is Marylee O'Neill.

Washroom Shot

This pic is a washroom shot from the innoculations series of negatives (see Nun Getting Shot et al.). Unfortunately, I do not know who this is. I am sure that someone will remember.

Snow Queen

I used to call her "Cuz" because somewhere we were vaguely related through marriage. This is Kathy Seaver winning the title of Snow Queen. I believe that the MC dude is Jim Lamb, but I am not certain. I am certain now, thanks to a reader.

Joe Simiana -- In Pace Requiescat

This is Joe Simiana, and his prom date, whom I do not know. Joe was a year or two ahead of my class. He became a policeman, and has recently died.

Update from a reader (thanks): Her name was Kendra (Joe's date pictured above), now a nurse at Oshawa General, not an OCHS student

Female Contingent, Fly Day

Left to Right: Colleen Bulger, Pat Kilistoff, Linda Byrne (? -- guess), Yvonne Jensen

Once again, at the Oshawa Flying Club for Urban Studies Fly Day.

Mike Bukoski, Rosemary Duignan, Henry Kowalewski

This snapshot came from the Urban Studies Fly Day. Left is Mike Bukoski. Sitting pensively in the background middle is Rosemary Duignan, and standing right is Henry Kowalewski.

Elsa Lack

This is Elsa Lack from the girls flag football series. Elsa was a vibrant, energetic student who had an older brother Wes Lack precede her at OCHS.

When it came to Elsa, the answer was a resounding "NOTHING"!. The question was "What does Elsa Lack?".

Wrestling Team

This photo comes from my Grade 9 year. I was new to the school and didn't know anyone in the senior grades. Hence, I am unable to identify these wrestlers.

The Honourable Pat O'Brien

I was a consultant to the Canadian Federal Government. I had a gig with Industry Canada, and we were doing socially significant work that won the Government of Canada, on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, international accolades.

Other than the satisfying work, there were two bonuses. The first was that we worked on the 14th floor, the virtual penthouse floor of Heritage Place, 155 Queen Street in Ottawa, Canada. We had an indescribable view of Parliament Hill, the Ottawa River and the glorious Gatineau Hills.

The ninth floor housed the national headquarters of the Conservative Party of Canada, as well as the NDP party. Many people noticed the irony, that as you got off the elevator, you turned right for the Conservatives and left for the NDP.

The second bonus was that I led a crack team of consultants, and my younger brother was part of that team. He attended OCHS as well.

When the weather was nice, we would take our breaks outside, standing at the corner of Queen Street and O'Connor Street. The north side of our building bounded Sparks Street, the great pedestrian mall where Thomas D'Arcy McGee was assassinated shortly after Confederation.

My brother and I would stand outside, and we became convinced that if you had to stand on a street corner anywhere in Canada, that was the place to be. We used the see the Prime Minister being driven up O'Connor Street to the House. We saw the president of Slovakia and his entourage. My brother was interviewed on TV for the state memorial of the Queen Mother. Jack Layton would pace back and forth talking on his cell phone. Joe Clark dropped by. Ian Hanomansing (real short guy and its not apparent on TV) and Craig Oliver would amble up to the House. We were right in the thick of the protests for the summit of the G8 countries, that shut down the city.

We met Ed Broadbent in the elevator, and said that we were from Oshawa. He was generous with his time. In short, there was a constant flow of Canada's Who's Who. One beautiful spring day, I was standing in the sun, being a life voyeur, and a familiar face goes by. It took a few seconds for the penny to drop, and I blurted out loud -- "Pat O'Brien". Mr. O'Brien turned around at the sound of his name.

He was our English and Gym teacher. He was now, the Honourable Pat O'Brien, MP for London Fanshawe. I was flattered that he remembered me. I made an appointment to deliver some of these black and white pics to his office on Parliament Hill. Circumstances prevented that, but Mr. O'Brien, consider this the debt paid with this blog entry.

Here is a synopsis of his career from Wikipedia:

Patrick Wayne "Pat" O'Brien, M.Ed , BA (born January 13, 1948) is a former member of the Canadian House of Commons. Elected as a Liberal, he ended his career in 2005 as the independent Member of Parliament (MP) for London—Fanshawe in London, Ontario.


O'Brien graduated with an honours Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Western Ontario in 1971, and earned his Master of Education from UWO in 1981. He has served as a high school history teacher and was a member of London City Council from 1982 to 1993. He was also a school trustee from 1980 to 1982.


He was elected to Parliament as a candidate of the Liberal Party of Canada in the 1993 election, and was re-elected in the 1997, 2000, and 2004 elections. From 2000 to 2003, he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for International Trade.


Before leaving the party, O'Brien was often considered as representing the right-wing of the Liberal party. He was one of the fiercest opponents of same-sex marriage in the Liberal caucus, along with Tom Wappel. He has frequently chastised Prime Minister Paul Martin for not allowing a free vote among his Cabinet on Bill C-38, which is the act to legalize same-sex marriage in Canada. He has repeatedly called for the notwithstanding clause to be used to override the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which courts have repeatedly ruled requires the government to recognize same-sex marriages. He is also strongly against abortion.


On June 6, 2005, O'Brien left the Liberal Party to sit as an independent, citing his opposition to same-sex marriage, and his discomfort with the revelations coming out of the Gomery Commission on the sponsorship scandal.


On June 14, O'Brien issued an ultimatum to the government, indicating that he and an anonymous Liberal MP would vote against the government in a series of confidence votes that evening unless the same-sex marriage bill is delayed until the fall session of Parliament. However, the Liberals went on to survive the confidence votes and eventually got the same-sex marriage bill passed in the summer session of parliament.


In the fall of 2005, O'Brien announced that he and a former Conservative MP were founding an advocacy group to try to reverse the legalization of same-sex marriage.
O'Brien has stated that up to 90% of his constituents were opposed to same-sex marriage, and in the 2004 election, he defeated New Democrat candidate Irene Mathyssen by over 3000 votes, a supporter of same sex marriage. In the 2006 election, although he did not run, he endorsed a Conservative who opposed same-sex marriage; but this time, Mathyssen won the riding.




The Hon. Pat O'Brien is a principled man who is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in.

Below left is Pat O'Brien working as an MP in the London Fanshaw riding:

Rob Micheli

That's Robert Micheli in the foreground. He was in my sister's class behind ours. His sister was in the class ahead of me. This picture is how I remembered him. After I left highschool, I never saw him again until last year.

The circumstances of our first meeting in many many years were a bit weird. We shook hands in 14 feet of water on Snorkellers Reef off the 17th Hole of the Ocean Club in the Bahamas. The Ocean Club is where the James Bond film Casino Royale was shot. He had his snorkel gear and I had mine as well as my Hawaiian sling and fish spear. Later I shared beer, nibbles and conversation with him and Bob McDonnell in my house on Paradise Island, and we caught up the years.

Immediately behind Rob is Christine Jablonski. The other male is unidentified. . Update: Thanks to a reader, this is Greg Meringer.

Mike Ivanco

Mike Ivanco stands in the foreground and Candy Knox is in the background at the Oshawa Flying Club. This was at the Urban Studies Fly Day.

Mike and I go back a way. I accidentally knocked out his tooth in Grade 6 at St. Joseph's School.

Dan Dalby

This is Dan Dalby on the Urban Studies Fly Day over the Oshawa area. To the right of Dan is Paul Power.

Note the DC3 Dakota in the background.

Update: It is in fact Paul Power. He is in other pics of the same day wearing those togs.

Tom Kraemer

This is Tom Kraemer on yet another geography field trip.

By the looks of Tom's age, this has to be Grade 9 or Grade 10.

Blair Morris Headshot

Certain teachers had an aura of cool about them, and Blair Morris was one of them. He taught geography and urban studies.

I guess when it comes right down to, he respected students as people, and gave considerable leeway. As a teacher, he didn't exercise his authority with what I call "the gratuitous NO". A lot of authority figures say NO to things just because they can. Blair always considered things, and if they made sense to him, he allowed it. One example was the coffee and tea club that Henry Kowalewski and I ran in his class.

Blair Morris' wife taught at the same time as well at OCHS.

Another Nun Getting Shot

I have no idea who this nun is. I think that she was a resident of the attached convent, and showed up for her injection on innoculations day.

I do not believe that she was a teacher.

A reader leaves a comment that this would be Sister Adelarde, and I concur. She was a librarian.

O PUC -- The City Bus

For many years, this was how I got to school -- the city bus system, which as I recall was not that bad. OPUC was the name on the buses -- Oshawa Public Utilities Commission.

The retro bus is kind of groovy.

Fashion Show Part Le Deux

This pic comes from a fashion show, although not the same one as previously shown. It seems that almost every year a fashion show was on the menu, and yet somehow the fashions from that era never lasted, nor were they that notable.

The model is Cathy Coros, sister of Paul Coros.

Junior Football Coach

The above pictured teacher was a gym teacher and junior football coach. His name is Bill Langley.

Bob Gibbs

Picture above is Bob Gibbs, the brother of Peter Gibbs. Several grades went on a massive Geography field trip, and this was a stop at some venue.

Bob is amusing the troops, making duck sounds as he is being photographed.

Working Together

This is a geography class. The students were partnered off to do work together .

Left to right: Peter Gibbs, Bert Hoefs , John Coleman, Carolyn Corrigan

Girls Flag Football

This negative was badly damaged in storage. The girls got together a game of flag football on a dull overcast November day.

Left to right: Liz Fitzpatrick, Carolyn Corrigan, Helen Rosicki, Debbie O'Keefe, Elsa Lack, Kathy Seaver