Growing up at St. Albert the Great School gave the Class of ’75 much experience singing, working in choir, and even choreographing plays. In Sister Charlotte’s second grade some of the little friends were taught music and learned how to play a recorder. They would learn to play the song “Hot Cross Buns, Hot Cross Buns” both as soloist and as a group. Years later some of the little friends would tell tales of teaching their Grandchildren how to play a recorder from this experience.
The nuns took their music very seriously and the little friends had to learn proper breathing techniques while singing, when to inhale and when to exhale, when to look up, when to look down, etc. The nuns enjoyed teaching music and after hours of teaching the little friends how to sing, they would sit back and listen to the results which they expected to be the beautiful and wonderful sounds of children filling the air with their angelic little voices.
But this day it wasn’t so; the little friends did not sound so good singing together and the nuns did not know why. They began walking amongst the little friends as they sang and ended up standing next to Mike O. Then the nuns did something no one expected, they told Mike O never to sing out loud. They told him to open his mouth and pretend that he was singing but no sound was to come from Mike’s vocal chords. So at the ripe age of seven Mike’s singing career came to an end and the little friends learned a valuable life lesson. If you did not want to do something, do it badly enough and you will never be asked to do it again.
In the sixties a Belgian Sister called Luc-Gabrielle wrote and sang a song about Saint Dominic, a Spanish priest and founder of the Dominican order of which she was a member. The song called “Dominique” was #1 for weeks on billboard top 100 songs and made famous the singing nun. With this little back history it was the most natural thing in the world for the nuns of St. Albert’s to sing and play this song and eventually try to teach it to their students. The song was popular, but it was not easy for 2nd graders to sing, so when it came to “Dominique” most of the singing was by the nuns. It went something like this:
Over the land he plods along.
And sings a little song.
Never asking for reward,
He just talks about the Lord.
He just talks about the Lord.
At a time when Johnny Lackland
Over England was the king
Dominique was in the backland
Fighting sin like anything
Dominique, nique, nique
Over the land he plods along.
And sings a little song.
Never asking for reward,
He just talks about the Lord.
He just talks about the Lord.
Now a heretic one day
Among the thorns forced him to crawl.
Dominique with just one prayer
Made him hear the good Lords call.
Dominique, nique, nique
Over the land he plods along.
And sings a little song.
Never asking for reward,
He just talks about the Lord.
He just talks about the Lord.
St. Patrick’s day was always a fun time for singing and dancing. The nuns were mostly from Ireland and this was their day for sure to dance and sing songs about ole Ireland. Several of the little friends of Irish descent would perform the Irish jig every year as they came to class dressed in traditional Irish garb. In fact, many traditional ethnic dances were performed at St. Albert’s, sometimes even in the gymnasium.
It was not uncommon for the bleachers to overflow onto the gymnasium floor
Plays, both small and large, were very popular at St. Albert’s and these plays often had the little friendssinging while acting in their roles. However when it came to singing there was nothing more popular than the music concerts that would happen occasionally at the school. One of those concerts that stands out had the class singing “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” and that song is fondly remembered by the class. It was also another Billboard #1 hit – the first one of the seventies.
“Dominique”, the “Irish Jigs”, “Raindrops”, and many other songs are very fondly remembered by the Class of ’75, but there was one song that they felt they could call their very own and it seemed like it was sung everyday in class. That song was Jamaica Farewell which was made very popular by Harry Belafonte. Depending on what class you were in, you may have sung this song to a guitar, or perhaps sung it in a play, or just sung it for fun. Regardless, everyone remembered the words decades later.
And the sun shines daily on the mountain top
I took a trip on a sailing ship
And when I reached Jamaica I made a stop
But I’m sad to say I’m on my way
Won’t be back for many a day
My heart is down, my head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town
Down the market you can hear
Ladies cry out while on their heads they bear
‘Akey’ rice, salt fish are nice
And the rum is fine any time of year
But I’m sad to say I’m on my way
Won’t be back for many a day
My heart is down, my head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town
Sounds of laughter everywhere
And the dancing girls sway to and fro
I must declare my heart is there
Though I’ve been from Maine to Mexico
But I’m sad to say I’m on my way
Won’t be back for many a day
My heart is down, my head is turning around
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town
If the Class of ’75 were ever to select a theme song from their days at St. Albert the Great, it would probably be Jamaica Farewell. It was always a favorite because it was so fun to sing and they sang it very well.
St. Albert’s love of music was never just limited to one class. There would be secular musical plays that the entire school would participate in, with the older classes doing the harder acting roles and the younger children handling much of the singing and warm up acts. These productions could become quite elaborate such as in the Spring of 1971 when the school put on the play “Johnny Appleseed”. The Class of ’75 provided a musical warm-up that took place before the actual play began and sang “Hey Look Me over, Lend Me Your Ear” and other songs to a full house that evening on the St. Albert’s stage.
The little friends were no strangers to singing in the choir. There were two daily Masses during school days, the 8:00 a.m. Mass and the 8:45 a.m. Mass. If you were going to sing at the 8:00 a.m. Mass you would have to arrive at the Church earlier than you usually did for school and when the Mass was finished, you would go to the classroom a little after class started, but it was always an excused tardy. The 8:45 a.m. Mass was the most popular because you did not have to leave home early and it was 100% during school time.
The determining factor on whether the children would sing from the choir loft or from the pews was usually determined by the organ player, or lack of one. If there was an organ player for the Mass, the children would be in the choir loft singing … Mrs. Orris’s name comes to mind as one of the organ players … as well as some of the nuns. On certain special times you might even hear the sound of a guitar from the choir loft. However if there was not an organ player (most of the time), or some other singers or musicians available, the children would be singing from the pews of the Church.
The view from the choir really shows the majesty of the St. Albert church
Originally the children would sing from a thick bound songbook which was later replaced by the “Monthly Missalette” which was, for lack of a better term, a disposable prayer and songbook specifically designed for that particular month.
Without a doubt, the best singing came at the beginning and the end of the Mass. This was during the procession into and out of the Church by the hosting priest, who would be surrounded by altar boys, and sometimes other dignitaries as they walked down the main aisle of St. Albert the Great Church. This was truly a beautiful thing to see and hear and it was a daily occurrence at the Church.
The procession leaving the altar was always a highlight of the St. Albert mass
During the little friends’ tenure at St. Albert’s no one would host more Masses than Msgr. Weier. He was very traditional in his Masses and the congregation seemed to like that. Each Mass was special and this love of Mass was passed along to the little friends early in life. One of their favorite songs is below.
Where there is hatred, let me bring Your love
Where there is injury, Your pardon Lord
And where there’s doubt, true faith in You
Make me a channel of Your peace
Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there’s sadness, ever joy
Oh Master, grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love with all my soul
Make me a channel of Your peace
It is pardoning that we are pardoned
In giving to all men that we receive
And in dying that we’re born to eternal life
Music came from anywhere and everywhere and there were many sources of music at St. Albert’s. Students would also bring in songs they learned or sang at home. For example, Randy H would often sing for us a funny song his family sang at the dinner table and it went something like this:
Charlie is a bum, Charlie is a nut
We hate Charlie
Met him last night
Got a stomach ache
Took some pepto
Sick all night
Charlie, we hate Charlie
Everyone loved the Charlie song when Randy sang it unless, of course, your name was Charlie!
St. Albert’s even sang at Halloween time with a couple of classics. One class learned the song “Skin and Bones” and the students would really get into it and try to scare whoever it was they were singing to with the last line. For those who don’t remember the lyrics are below.
She lived down by the old grave yard, OOO Oo Oo oo
One night she thought she’d take a walk, OOO Oo Oo oo
She walked down by the old grave yard, OOO Oo Oo oo
She saw the bones a’ laying around, OOO Oo Oo oo
She went to the closet to get her broom, OOO Oo Oo oo
She opened the door and BOOO!
At about the same time one class was learning Skin and Bones, the other class was learning “The Cat Song” which also could scare people at the end and went something like this.
She lives down by the meadow, not very far away.
She’ll always be a pussy, she’ll never be a cat.
For she’s a pussy willow, now what do you think of that!
Meow meow meow SKAT!
Christmas plays were plentiful for the Class of ’75 and most students can remember playing this part or that part. Sometimes the students wrote their own plays such as “The Bad Elf” that would be used as sort of a warm up to the finale which was usually the Nativity. Most of the time these plays were restricted to the class room, although a few years they actually made it to the stage.
In these plays they liked to have two people trained for the big roles such as Mary and Joseph just in case a child came down with something before the big day. One year, Michelle W and Colleen T were selected for the role of Mary (probably the biggest honor you could have bestowed upon you at St. Albert’s). While the play was going on, Colleen T fainted while playing her role as Mary, which certainly made this Christmas play a little different and one to be remembered.
The big day arrived and the students were ready as they rehearsed one final time. After this final practice they had the traditional “Christmas break birthday party” for the students who would be on Christmas break when their birthdays arrived. These were Bob K on the 20th, followed by Sue S on the 21st, followed by Janet M on the 22nd, followed by Mary Lou on the 26th and Kenny G on the 27th. Once these pleasantries were over, it was show time.
This year’s show was a little more complex than most since not only would it have an interactive three wise men go into the audience singing, it would also have a visit from Santa Clause, St. Nick himself. The three kings were Tom P, Tom V, and Steve W because they had the best singing voices. This was determined years ago in the same way that it was determined that Mike O had the worst. The three walked through the audience singing “We Three Kings” and that part went off without a hitch.
Next up was Santa as the choir went from traditional Christmas songs to more contemporary Christmas songs. Danny P was playing Santa that year and right before his grand entrance it was determined he needed more stuffing to portray a proper Santa. Extra clothes were quickly stuffed down his pants for his grand entrance. When Santa got on stage his pants fell down and Eileen O and Cathy P had to quickly pin them back up on ol St. Nick while standing on stage.
Finally the show ended with the choir singing Silver Bells and changing the song lyrics from “see the kids bunch” to “see the kids munch” just to see if anyone was paying attention. And on that note of wit, the students were off to enjoy Christmas vacation with their families. When they returned in January 1975, they would have many tales to tell for 1975 would be their last year together as students at St. Albert the Great School.
The music was not limited to the children of St. Albert’s. Throughout the year there would be dances with live bands in the gymnasium that their parents would enjoy. This was especially true during the annual festival and award ceremonies where the gym would be packed with young and old singing and dancing the night away. When all is said and done about St. Albert’s, the one thing for sure is it was a happy, singing and dancing Parish. There was not a day that would go by where you did not hear singing or dancing from the grounds, whether it was the Church, the school, or the gymnasium.
