Hiatus

I am going on hiatus for awhile. I am slowly getting ready to return to the tropics, and the remainder of my material requires further processing, scanning etc, and I do not have the time to do it. There are close to 750 images from the early days of OCHS on this site, and it has been my pleasure to bring them to you. I especially enjoyed reconnecting with old friends, teachers, school mates, classmates and friends of OCHS.

If you have any digital material of your own that you want to see up here, please send it to me at the contact email address (ochsblogger - at - rocketmail - dot - com) and I would be pleased to post it.

Feel free to drop me a line and if you want to stay in touch by Facebook, let me know and I will give you my Facebook coordinates.

Thanks for visiting and hope to see you soon.

Ken

School Corner

I need some stock pictures of the school for the yearbook, so I went out through the foyer glass doors, and shot the north wing of the school from under the tree. This tree no longer exists, and today, in the same spot, I would be standing inside the building.

Siblings

There were many many sets of siblings attending OCHS, my family included. Pictured above is Kathy Seaver, and below is her older brother Tony Seaver.

In this blurry shot, Tony is at a dance accompanied by Mary Ellen Barrett, and to the right in the foreground (apologies for the poor negative) is Cheryl Kelleher.

Sharon Vitali at the Winter Carnival

This photo appeared in the yearbook in 1973. Sharon signed this pic for me.

Getting into the aircraft

Blair Morris was an innovative teacher who taught Geography and Urban Studies at OCHS. He arranged for over-flights for our class over the city of Oshawa in light aircraft to observe such things as urban sprawl, movement of the commercial centers outside the downtown core and the suburbanization of the fields and green spaces around the city. It was a fascinating course. In the photo above, Doug Zochodne and Colleen Bulger prepare to board the aircraft.

Girls Volleyball

A shot in the gym of girls senior volleyball. Sitting on the stage, I can recognize (left to right) Kathy Seaver, Judy McLinton and Gloria Murrant.

Dr. Charles McIlveen - Member of Provincial Parliament

In 1971, there was a provincial election. OCHS hosted all of the candidates. They were Cliff Pilkey - the NDP incumbent, Liberal Candidate Mike Lisko and Conservative candidate Dr. Charles McIlveen, who was the coroner for the city of Oshawa. McIlveen defeated Pilkey and held the seat until 1975, when he himself was defeated by NDP'er Mike Breaugh. Pictured above is Dr. Charles McIlveen on the OCHS stage. Click on the "election" tag below to see the other pic in the series with OCHS students on the stage.

Art Club 1973

Olga Kachnij (left) and Kathy Vandersanden were members of the Art Club in 1973.

The Big Football Game

In the photo, it appears that the OCHS Saints are defending on the home field and the opposing team offense looks like it is about to score. The ball carrier is at the three yard line. Click on the photo to enlarge it for full effect.

Girls in Cars and Counting Cars

Linda Byrne sits in car, counting cars. This was the Urban Studies field trip where we had to count traffic and deduce traffic patterns in Oshawa. The course was an incredible eye-opener for me, because it created a lifelong fascination with the power of applied statistics.


And I throw this pic in for old times sake. It is blurry because it was taken in a bouncy, jarring bus on a trip to Stratford. Pictured is a wide-eyed Sue Vitali.

Scene From The Cafeteria

Lunch time scene from the cafeteria at OCHS in the 1970's.

Band Pics from 1977 and 1995

This pic from 1977 comes from the high school website. After the school year of 1976, the school changed its name to Monsignor Paul Dwyer High School, so this photo here would have some students who knew the school as OCHS, and Paul Dwyer as well.

There was a bit of a bio of Monsignor Dwyer in the paper at the time. It is reprinted here:

Born in 1898, Msgr. Dwyer assumed the pastorate of St. Gregory's Church in 1949, and by 1957 was named the first Dean of Ontario County.

Within the 1950s and 1960s, growth in Oshawa began to surge with post-war development. Oshawa and the auto industry flourished, attracting new workers and homeowners, as well as the need for parishes. He made many contributions to local parishes, purchasing sites for St. Gertrude's, St. Mary of the People and St. Philip's, for cemeteries and a new parish auditorium at St. Gregory's.

Later he was named a Domestic Prelate to Pope John XXIII and was made a monsignor in 1961.

Msgr. Dwyer had a dream of having a Catholic high school in Oshawa where faith would be openly taught and celebrated. He put much of his time, energy and financial support into overseeing the construction of Oshawa Catholic High School and saw his dream come true in 1962. He died on March 19, 1976.

In September 1976, Oshawa Catholic High School had its last graduating class as the school was renamed in Msgr. Dwyer's honour. The monsignor's commitment to Catholic education lives on in the school's motto, veritas, bonitas (truth, goodness) -- values it continues to teach and inspire in students.

Here is a pic (from the same website) of the school band in 1995:

Happy New Year 2011

Happy New Year one and all. May 2011 be a magnificent, happy, healthy year for you.

I was struck with the realization that each new year, is one more year away from those halcyon high school days. May your memories grow sweeter with the years, and I truly hope that you are fulfilled and happy.

Ken