batavia

A 29-year-old resident of Holley and an alleged accomplice are accused of stealing $75 worth of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups from the Top's Market in Batavia this morning.

Kay E. Dilker is charged with petit larceny. Also arrested was 37-year-old Joseph Turner (charges not specified in the press release and no address provided).

Batavia PD was dispatched at 11:05 a.m. for a report of a shoplifting in progress at Tops.

When patrols arrived, Dilker and Turner reportedly tried to evade police by jumping over a fence and into the yard of a residence on Redfield Parkway.

Once apprehended, the duo was allegedly found in possession of a large bag of peanut butter cups.

Dilker was jailed on $2,500 bail or $5,000 bond. Turner was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

The case was investigated by officers Adam Tucker and Jason Davis.

The dispatch center has received numerous phone calls complaining of "significant traffic back up in the area of West Main and Woodrow Road due to all the road closures." City police are responding for traffic control.

A car vs. fire hyrdrant accident is reported in the city at 430 E. Main St.

UPDATE 4:43 p.m.: A first responder says it is believed the driver of a pickup truck that sheared off a fire hydrant and struck a rock wall in front of GCASA had a medical issue. The driver did not appear to be seriously injured. Mercy medics were evaluating him at the scene. City Fire Chief Stefano Napolitano said the accident was initially called in by an off-duty city firefighter who witnessed it. The firefighter said the truck struck a parked vehicle; that there was full air-bag deployment; and the truck came to rest on a wall. When firefighters and medics arrived, the truck driver was sitting on the porch. "It could have been a lot worse," Napolitano said. "This is a busy sidewalk -- a lot of pedestrians. We could have had multiple victims struck or pinned on the wall." GCASA Executive Director John Bennett said it was very fortuitous that there were no clients of GCASA out front smoking at the time of this incident or it could have resulted in injuries or even death. Normally, Bennett said, there might be as many as five to 15 people smoking cigarettes, standing on the sidewalk at or near the accident location. GCASA recently applied to the state for a waiver to create a designated smoking area, which in the past have been prohibited at substance treatment facilities, and while the waiver is pending, clients are using the designated smoking area at the back of the property. 

Press release:

Genesee County Job Development Bureau is hosting a Job Fair from 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at the One Stop Career Center, 587 E. Main St., Eastown Plaza, Suite 100, Batavia.

No RSVP or fee is required – just show up on Sept. 18th, dressed professionally, bring plenty of resumes, and put your best foot forward!

Whether you are hoping to find a fresh start, a better job, or a new career direction, job seekers will find a wealth of exciting opportunities at the Job Fair.

“We are excited to partner with the GLOW Workforce Development Board and NYS Department of Labor to bring employers and job seekers together,” said Teresa Van Son, director of the Genesee County Job Development Bureau.

Local employers will be here, from a variety of industry sectors, eager to hire for immediate openings in a wide range of fields. The job fair is open to the entire community.

“This opportunity connects workers with great employers looking to hire," Van Son said. "In line with our mission to help people discover their potential and support them in reaching their career goals and prosperity; while assisting businesses by providing driven and trained candidates to fill their needs, this job fair is a great way to connect face-to-face with employers."

For more information, please contact the Genesee County Career Center, at 585-344-2042 or jdb@co.genesee.ny.us

A 38-year-old Batavia man who is facing a sexual abuse charge along with two criminal-contempt-related burglary charges has a pending plea offer that would cap his prison term at four years, but Judge Charles Zambito would not bring his bail down as much he requested while he considers the plea offer.

Wesley, who was most recently a resident of Ellicott Street, Batavia, is charged with: sexual abuse in the first degree, stemming from an incident reported in May; two counts of burglary, 2nd; a count of criminal contempt, 2nd; and a count of criminal contempt 1st; as well as criminal mischief, 4th.

Under terms of the plea offer outlined by First Assistant District Attorney Melissa Cianfrini, Thigpen would agree to a guilty plea on the sexual abuse charge and a criminal contempt charge. He would also admit to being a second-time felony offender.

Besides a shorter prison term, all of the other charges against him, including pending charges in Batavia and Oakfield, would be dropped.

He was in court today to waive a grand jury presentation on the burglary charges because if he was indicted, the mandatory prison terms would probit the district attorney's office from offering a four-year term cap. Also, the judge would be prohibited from a sentence, upon conviction, of anything less than five to 15 years in prison.

Cianfrini said her office was willing to give Thigpen more time to consider the plea offer but in order to get that time, he needed today to waive a grand jury presentation, which he did.

Under the terms of the deal, Thigpen would be able to make the guilty plea on an Alford basis, which means he pleads guilty without admitting to the facts of the underlying charges. 

When Thigpen came into court, he was being held in jail on $15,000 bail, or $30,000 bond.

His attorney, Mark Lewis, said despite his client's criminal history, he's never failed to show up for a court appearance and turned himself in on these pending charges so bail should be reduced to $2,500, the amount it was on his initial arrest on the sexual abuse charge.

Cianfrini objected to reducing the bail because of the significant prison time associated with the burglary charges, as well as the allegation of new crimes while out on bail previously, and the allegations of criminal contempt indicated, she said, that Thigpen has a problem following court orders.

"He is a considerable flight risk," Cianfrini said.

It's unusual for criminal defendants to speak on their own behalf at bail review hearings, but Thigpen asked to speak and Zambito permitted him to address the court.

"I feel the bail amount is excessive," Thigpen said.

Thigpen said he has maintained his innocence since his arrest and is considering the plea deal only because it was laid out for him in considerable detail what the consequences are if he were convicted by a jury of the all the charges against him. 

"I have no reason to run," Thigpen said. "I've shown up in court over and over again. I've shown I'll show up. I'm not a flight risk."

Zambito expressed concern that when Thigpen was out on bail on the sex abuse charges he allegedly committed other crimes, but that he did deserve some consideration for his court appearance record. He set bail at $10,000 or $20,000 bond.

Water was restored on Pearl Street in the City of Batavia at approximately 1 p.m.

A water main break on Pearl Street at approximately 5 a.m. resulted in water service interruption in an area between 40 Pearl St. and the City Line.

Crews made repairs and replaced the pipe.

Bill Davis, superintendent of Water/Wastewater

Yesterday I set out to take a look at the new bridge over the railroad tracks off of East Main Street Road on the eastern end of the Ellicott Street Trail, which is expected to open late in the fall.

It was a pretty scenic spot so I ended up walking the length of the trail from the bridge to West Main Street Road, where a crossing is being installed. Then I went over to DeWitt Recreation Area to see where a bridge is being installed at the back of the park.  

Article and photos by Larry Barnes, historian, City of Batavia

Our community was founded in 1801 by Joseph Ellicott, chief surveyor and resident land agent for the Holland Land Company. The collection of buildings that grew into the City of Batavia stood on land owned by the Holland Land Company. In fact, beginning in 1797, these Dutch investors were the owners of most of Western New York after purchasing well over three million acres from Robert Morris. (Note that the purchase involved granting $100,000 to the Seneca Indians and the establishment of several Indian reservations.)

The homeland of the Dutch investors was the country that today we call “the Netherlands,” but back then was known as the “Republic of Batavia.” (Here's a Wikipedia link about it.) Our community’s name was chosen as a way of recognizing and honoring the investors’ homeland. Since then, at least eight other American communities have come into existence with the name, “Batavia.” They are located in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Arkansas, Montana, and California. However, none of these other places had anything to do with the Holland Land Company.

As City Historian for our Batavia, I have been visiting the other Batavias to learn their history, to visit with their residents, to discover the origin of their names, and to take photographs. My first such trip was to Batavia, Ill., in the spring of 2011. Two weeks ago, I visited Batavia, Mont., the final community on my “bucket list.”

The Batavias range from an incorporated community with 27,000 people in Illinois to unincorporated communities with only a “handful” of people. Batavia, Mont., located in Flathead County, is among the latter. In the 2010 Federal Census, the population was reported to be only 385 individuals.

In every other instance, I have been able to learn about the Batavias in question by visiting local libraries and/or museums and historical societies. To my surprise, such sources were of no use with this final Batavia. When I visited the county library in Kalispell, the county seat and a short five miles away from Batavia, Mont., the librarian in charge of the local history collection claimed not to have heard of the community.

And, when I visited the local history museum, also in Kalispell, the staff was aware of Batavia but had no pictures or other material connected to it. Consequently, I have had to rely on what I could discover primarily through Google and census data from 2010.

According to the federal census, Batavia, Mont., covers an area of 1.79 square miles. Highway 2, the principal highway spanning northern Montana runs through the center of the community. A paved cycling and walking trail built on an abandoned railroad right of way parallels the highway. Also parallel to Highway 2 is Ashley Creek.

Both housing and commercial operations are distributed across the area in a manner that leads to an absence of any concentration.

Strangely, there is also no signage indicating when one has entered Batavia. Together, these two things create a situation where there is an absence of a clearly defined community; and that may account for why the librarian with whom I spoke claimed not to know about its existence. I was able to tell where the community’s boundaries are located only by referring to a census map.

In Batavia, Mont., there is a handful of commercial enterprises that include a single gas station combined with a convenience store. The most prominent business sells tractors and other agricultural and/or construction implements. Most of these businesses are located on Highway 2. An exception is an enterprise named “Batavia Self Storage & Truck Rental” located on a side road named “Batavia Lane.”

Most of the houses are located on the several side roads that intersect with Highway 2. By our standards, the housing is expensive with the average value well in excess of $200,000. And, in contrast with our Batavia, the great majority is owner-occupied. One home that was under construction, and I found rather fascinating, resembled a castle.

There is also one school in Batavia, Mont. It serves K-8. An “old-timer” told me that it once bore the Batavia name, but it is now named “Smith Valley School.” It stands at the intersection of Highway 2 and Batavia Lane.

The most interesting feature of the community is the Batavia Waterfowl Production Area, which exists under the auspices of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior. Ashley Creek flows through it. Created in 1975, it consists of 340 acres of upland and 170 acres of wetlands and marsh. There are several artificial impoundments with nesting islands and man-made dikes. It is said to be an especially good habitat for Canada Geese.

Finally, there are a few things of particular note that I learned about the residents of Batavia, Mont. They are 96-percent white. Somewhat over half are male and the median age is around 35. Among those age 25 or older, about 12 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

As with residents of our area, they appear to be comparatively conservative in their political views. Residents of Flathead County have consistently voted Republican in presidential elections. In 2016, nearly two-thirds of county residents voted for Trump; and there is no reason to think the Batavians would have been any different.

Almost 70 percent of the county residents in 2010 reported no religious affiliation and I suspect, again, that the Batavians would not have differed significantly from the county residents over all.

In closing, I wish I could, with certainty, explain how Batavia, Mont.,came to have its name. Of the nine Batavias in the United States, only this one on Montana and the one in California are a total mystery. My best guess is that, as was the case with several other Batavias, someone from our part of the world was an early settler.

Press release:

A water main break on Pearl Street at approximately 5 a.m. has resulted in water service interruption in an area between 40 Pearl St. and the City Line.

Crews are preparing to make repairs and replace the pipe. Water service will be restored as soon as is possible.

Rachel M. Grace, 30, of 638 N. Buckeye St., Wooster, Ohio, and Jeremy R. Triesler, 39, of 9318 Lincoln Way East, Orrville, Ohio, were arrested at Darien Lake Theme Park on Alleghany Road in the Town of Darien on Sept. 7. At 7:20 p.m. deputies responded to a criminal mischief complaint. It is alleged that Grace became angry and threw a bucket of water at a food service employee, causing $594.15 in damages. Triesler allegedly became belligerent and used obscene language, which caused a disturbance at the theme park; then he allegedly shoved a security officer when they attempted to intervene. Grace is charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief. Triesler is charged with second-degree harassment and disorderly conduct. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Brock Cummins, assisted by Deputy Erik Andre.

James Darrell Hooten Sr., 30, of Sunset Parkway, Oakfield, is charged with obstruction of governmental administration, second-degree harassment and disorderly conduct. At 5:35 p.m. on Sept. 7, while attempting to arrest another subject on a warrant on Sunset Parkway in Oakfield, Hooten Sr. was arrested. He allegedly attempted to prevent the arrest of another person. He is also accused of threatening Genesee County Sheriff's deputies and Probation officers and using obscene language in public. He was released on an appearance ticket and is due in Oakfield Town Court on Oct. 7. The case was handled by Deputy Kyle Krzemien, assisted by Deputy Travis DeMuth.

Nancy M. Storms, 46, of Perry Road, Pavilion, is charged with second-degree harassment -- physical contact. At 7:45 p.m. on Sept. 2, Storms was arrested on North Street in Batavia for allegedly pushing another person during an altercation. She was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on Sept. 17. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Jordan McGinnis, assisted by Officer Christopher Lindsay.

Lakeisha A. Gibson, 33, of Lewis Place, Batavia, is charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief. On Sept. 3 at 6:42 p.m. Batavia police responded to Lewis Place for a complaint of criminal mischief. Gibson was arrested for allegedly damaging a vehicle window. She was issued an appearance ticket for Sept. 17 in Batavia City Court. The case was handled by Officer Arick Perkins, assisted by Officer Peter Post.

Brian E. Freeman, 46, of Genesee Park, Monroe, is charged with: driving while intoxicated; aggravated DWI -- a BAC of .18 or more; and speeding. Freeman was arrested at 12:37 a.m. on Aug. 31 on Oak Street in Batavia following a traffic stop. He was issued appearance tickets and is due in Batavia City Court on Sept. 11. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Peter Post, assisted by Officer Mitchell Cowen.

Joshua M. Gaudioso, 30, of Albion Road, Oakfield, is charged with petit larceny. At 6:42 on Aug. 15, Gaudioso was arrested following a larceny complaint in the Village of Oakfield. He allegedly stole a NYS license plate that did not belong to him. Following his arrest, he was taken to jail then released on an appearance ticket. He is due in Corfu Village Court on Oct. 7. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Kyle Krzemien.

Ebony S. Sanders, 41, of Lake Avenue, Rochester, is charged with possession of marijuana in the second degree and speeding. On Sept. 3 at 10:30 a.m., Sanders was stopped on Interstate 490 in the Town of Le Roy following the alleged observation of a vehicle/traffic violation. Upon conducting a roadside interview with Sanders, the odor of burnt marijuana was allegedly detected. She was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Le Roy Town Court on Oct. 1. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan DeLong, assisted by Deputy Chad Minuto.

Press release:

The days might be turning cooler and children are headed back to school, but The Salvation Army is holding on to the last days of warmth by hosting our Chicken BBQ and Harvest Festival Auction on Saturday.

The Sept. 14th event will take place at The Salvation Army’s facility at 529 E. Main St. in Batavia.

“We have had such a wonderful outpouring of support from the community each year and we are thrilled to see the same positive success again this year,” said Capt. Rachel Moore who, along with her husband, Lt. Bradley Moore, are the local leaders of The Salvation Army of Batavia and Greater Genesee County.

“When we host fundraisers we are generating support for our outreach and programs for children, adults and senior citizens in our area, and we can’t accomplish any of that without help from the community.”

Capt. Moore said that they have already received several donations from local businesses of all kinds including spas, auto shops, restaurants, and car dealerships to be auctioned off during a live auction.

“We also have received a number of gift certificates, appliances and furniture items from local business,” she said. “The items will be a great fit if you're looking for a gift for anyone of any age.”

The Chicken BBQ will be available for $10 between 12 and 4 p.m. with the Silent Auction beginning at 5 p.m. and Live Auction beginning at 6 o'clock.

All ages are welcome for a family friendly event and credit, cash or check payment will be accepted for items bid on during the auction.

Tickets for the event can be purchased in advance at our office or at the door.

 “We are so grateful for the support we have already received from the community,” Capt. Moore said. “Participation in the auction will be a wonderful opportunity to support the work of The Salvation Army and help us continue to do the most good throughout Genesee County.”

Capt. Moore and Lt. Moore are excitedly hoping for a wonderful turn out of visitors to the auction and sponsorships range from $25 to $100. To sponsor or donate items for the auction, or for general questions regarding the event, call (585)343-6284 or email rachel.moore@use.salvationarmy.org.

Press release:

PathStone is now accepting applications for the Genesee County Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.

Applications are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. at 30 Jefferson Square (Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union building) in Batavia. Please use the side entrance that faces toward the mall.

All applicants will need to have complete names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers for everyone that would be in the household if assistance is approved. In addition, one of the following proofs of residency is required and must show the name and current address of the applicant:

• Current Lease (DSS landlord statements are not acceptable)
• Most recent fuel and/or electric bills
• Federal or New York State award letter (Social Security, SSD, SSI, DSS, SNAP)
• Most recent bank statements
• 2018 Federal and State tax returns

For further information, please call (585) 343-3861, ext. 115, Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

An adult male bicyclist is being transported by Mercy medics to UMMC for evaluation of possible minor injuries after he collided with a car in front of Tops Market on West Main Street a short time ago.

City police, fire and medics responded.

A first responder said it appears the bicyclist T-boned the driver's side of a vehicle, knocking off the side mirror.

With QB 1 Colin McCulley out of action for six weeks after suffering a broken collar bone in a preseason scrimmage, Notre Dame called on Gabe Macdonald on short notice to take over the reins of the team's offense and Macdonald delivered in a 35-16 win at home Saturday over York/Pavilion.

Macdonald, taking snaps for the first time in a regular-season game, was 6 for 7 passing for 153 yards and two TDs. He also rushed for 37 yards on eight carries and scored a two-point conversion.

Jed Reese and Mark Sanders also helped pick up the offense. Reese rushed for 208 yards and two touchdowns on 22 attempts. Sanders caught two passes for 127 yards and two TDs and rushed three times for 39 yards and a TD. He also had an interception on defense and eight tackles.

Macdonald had nine tackles and two interceptions on defense.

The Fighting Irish surged to an early 19-0 lead but in the middle of the third quarter, York/Pavilion made some adjustments stopped ND's momentum, making the score a more competitive 19-16 at the half.

Reese also sat out several minutes of game time during this stretch with an injury.

"We came out so high and we have high expectations and they were doing a great job early on," Head Coach Joe Zambito said. "Then Judd got a little nicked up and it hurt us a little bit there for awhile but he came back, and he's a tough kid, and he came back into the game.

"York did a good job. I told their coach they could have quit and hats off to him because they did an awesome job and we just came out and our kids played a good football game in the second half."

The Notre Dame game was the only local game on Saturday.

On Friday:

Alexander beat Lyons 48-14. Hayden Walton had 11 carries for 86 yards and two TDs. Jay Morrison, six carries, 72 yards and a TD. Ty Woods, seven carries, 54 yards, and two TDs plus 25 yards receiving. Dylan Busch 4-for-4 and 127 yards passing, with two TDs. Devin Dean had 10 tackles and two sacks. Nick Kramer, eight tackles, one fumble recovery. Eric Cline 6-for-7 on PATs.

Batavia 42, Wayne 12 (click here for game coverage)

Le Roy 46, Wellsville 14: Andrew Englerth carried the ball for 88 yards on nine rushes and scored at TD. Nate Andrews, seven times on the ground for 75 yards and a TD. Kyler LaCarte, nine carries, 55 yards, and a TD. Alex Panepento, three carries, 34 yards, and a TD. Jake Hill was 5-6 passings for 82 yards and two TDs. Cody Lytle had two receptions for 14 yards and two TDs. Tom Saunders had 10 tackles.

St. Mary's School first grade 1952. Dave Reilly was sick that day and is not included in the photo. His infamous pal Charlie is fourth from the left in Row 2.

I'm sure there has been plenty of research done about memory. Why do some people have better memories than others? How do our memories change as we age? Why do some people have vivid memories of their childhood while others' recollections are scant at best?

Of my elementary school experience at St. Mary's School in Batavia, grades 1-8 from 1952 to 1960, I only seem to recall funny or unusual happenings. What we were taught, projects we did, and most day-to-day classroom experiences elude me.

It's the silly or odd stuff that somehow has remained in my brain all these years. I guess that might be some kind of clue about my personality, but that would be for the experts to figure out.

St. Mary's was still being constructed when I started there, so for first and second grade we were housed in the lower floor of Notre Dame High School next door, which itself had just been built.

I started first grade at the age of 5 and didn't turn 6 until January. My teacher was a nun, a Sister of the Holy Cross, and that was the case seven of my eight years at St. Mary's. I do not remember her name or that of my second-, fourth- or sixth-grade teachers either.

I missed the first week of first grade due to illness. Not only did I not get to know the teacher and kids, I apparently also was left out of a group class photo taken on the steps of the school. We didn't have on uniforms, but we subsequently had to wear them.

A Howdy Doody Lunchbox and Terrifying Teens

For some reason on my first day of first grade (Maybe my mom brought me for my grand entrance later in the morning?), the nun sent me to the lunchroom all by myself.

So, there I was -- probably in a striped shirt with a clip-on bow tie and dark blue corduroy pants carrying my Howdy Doody lunchbox -- surrounded by high school kids. I do recall being intimidated by those huge, adult-like creatures and staring at them with a wide-eyed kind of terror.

I still can't believe the sister sent me alone. Knowing how shy I was I bet my mom had to work some magic to get me back there the next day.

I must have sneaked to the end of the line and as the class went one way, I went the other. Out the door I flew and on down the street.

It was probably about a mile from the school on Union Street to our house on Thomas Avenue, but despite being ill I made it. Imagine my mom's surprise (good thing she was home) when I walked in the door. “What in the world...?”, she probably said.

It's fortunate that she wasn't prone to any profanity until her elder years. After I was put to bed she must have called the school and reported my escape. I should have saved that skill for high school when I could have used it more beneficially.

The Lifelong Influence of Miss Marguerite Horgan

For Grade 3 we got to move into our now completed school. This was my only year with a secular teacher and it was my best and favorite one. Our teacher was the kind and gentle Miss Marguerite Horgan. Every day she would read to us and I enjoyed that. I like to think that she was a big influence on my lifelong love of reading.

When I became a fifth- and sixth-grade teacher myself for 33 years I made sure that every day after lunch I would try to choose some good example of children's literature and read an excerpt to my class.

The beginning of fourth grade is kind of foggy, but I think the nun who was supposed to be our teacher became incapacitated and as a result the fourth and fifth grades had to be combined.

Anyone who attended Catholic School in the '50s and '60s remembers that we always had classes numbering more than 40 students. I wish I had a class photo from that year because we must have been bursting at the seams with two classes joined together.

At lunchtime we were allowed to go outside to get some fresh air and play.

Fighting Dirty

That year some kind of construction was still going on and there was a big hill of dirt on the Union Street side of the school. This mound turned into a battleground of “king of the hill” between the fourth- and fifth-grade boys.

After about a week of torn and dirty clothes, bruises, cuts, several fistfights and most likely a bunch of parent phone calls, the principal put us on lockdown. Eventually the dirt hill was removed and we got to see the light of day again.

First and Lasting Impression

My only real memory of fifth grade happened on the first day before class even began. As we were milling about in the hall greeting our friends and looking for our classroom we heard some kind of commotion. Voices were rising, kids were laughing, and the queue of children and parents parted like the Red Sea.

But instead of Moses and the Israelites coming through, it was our classmate named Lenny. He had a wide grin on his face and a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Lenny didn't get too far before one of the nuns swooped in like a giant hawk and grabbed the cigarette in one hand and the collar of Lenny's shirt in the other. Away he went never to smoke up the halls of St. Mary's again. It was off to public school for him.

I was a student for 17 years and a teacher for 33 and absolutely no one ever made a more memorable entrance than Lenny.

Sixth grade must have been the year of boredom. One thing we had to do was memorize the Catholic catechism. The nun put a "Jeopardy!" like spin on this activity though by giving us the answer and we had to respond with the question.

A Pencil to Pass Time

To make the long day go by faster, I came up with a game to play. Did you realize that a pencil has six sides? Well, I made mine into a rolling die (as in the plural dice).

On a piece of paper I made a horseracing track divided into lanes of equal length. I would assign a famous horse (Citation, Whirlaway, Swaps) to a numbered lane and then roll the pencil to advance one to six spaces. I don't recall getting caught, but my mother had to have me tutored in math that year, so I guess one to six was my limit mathematically.

But, at some time in the spring that feeling went bad in a hurry.

One day we were playing outside at lunch and my friends Anthony, John and I wanted to know how much time was left. Not having a watch, we went around on the Woodrow Road side of the school to look in the window of our classroom and see the clock.

When we got back to the room, Sister Lourdes had a very sour look on her face.

As we took our seats she explained that she was horrified someone committed a grave sin by stealing the money we had been collecting for the “Missions” (poor Catholics in Third World countries) out of the container on the shelf by the windows.

If that wasn't bad enough, she said that someone had told her that they saw Anthony, John and David out there by the windows during lunch.

“Did you take that money boys?” she queried. Of course, since we didn't, all three of us adamantly answered “NO!”

Charlie -- Esquire, and a Jury of Peers

Well, the sister must have smelled a great teaching moment in the air because she told the class that since she had evidence she was going to put us on trial and the class would be the jury.

I only remember two things about the trial.

One, my friend Charlie, the costar of several of my previous stories, finagled the job of being our defense attorney. As a precursor to his later getting a law degree from Syracuse University, Charlie won the case. I think the vote to acquit was unanimous. Two, this was mostly because sister's “evidence” was solely the testimony of the informer whom she would not identify.

Afterward the nun tried to apologize and say that she really believed we were innocent, but she wanted to teach the class a lesson. Maybe, but I wasn't having it.

For the rest of the term I was disillusioned and never trusted her again.

Eighth grade was not an enjoyable year for me, or probably my classmates either. Our teacher in retrospect was not well suited or happy in her job and took it out on us on a daily basis. In my stories I try to find humor in my nostalgic remembrances and there wasn't much of that in our final year at St. Mary's.

Inventive, Perhaps, Amusing, No

I do recall one instance when I tried to be funny, but classmate Susan, who sat in front of me, was not amused.

The sister was teaching a history lesson and asked, “Does anyone know who invented the steamboat?” I whispered to the girl, “Stanley Steamer.” Immediately she raised her hand and called it out.

Now, I will give Susan credit, because when the nun reprimanded her for such a ridiculous answer she didn't rat me out. Maybe Susan had mercy on me because I was seemingly already the teacher's whipping boy. I hope I apologized to my classmate for embarrassing her, and if I didn't, I should have.

In June 1960 my elementary school career came to a close and it was on to Notre Dame.

My poor recall of any significant learning in those eight years at St. Mary's is a mystery to me. My hope is that over my three-plus decades of teaching, I provided my students with more substantial memories that they can look back on with fondness.

(Photos courtesy of Dave Reilly.)