Thursday, January 20, 2011
My Dad, our Hall of Famer!
My husband figured out a temporary solution to my computer troubles I blogged about here and now I can blog this post dedicated to my Dad, our Hall of Famer!
I just got home this past Sunday night from a trip to New Rochelle, NY to see my Dad get inducted into his high school's hall of fame for basketball. I took a flight on Friday with my Mom and met my Dad, Aunts, Uncles and my brother and his girlfriend in NY. We had a wonderful weekend and I am so grateful that my husband was willing and able to stay home with our 4 children over the weekend while I was away.
My Dad played basketball his senior year at Salesian High School in 1962. We were invited to see my Dad get inducted during halftime of the varsity boy's basketball game in the new gym at Salesian High School. Prior to the afternoon game, my parents and the athletic director gave me a tour of the beautiful high school campus. Here are some photos of the campus with captions:
This is a statue of Saint Dominic Savio who was one of Saint (Don) John Bosco's (Don = a traditional Italian honorific for a priest) students in the mid 1800s. The Salesians of Don Bosco are a worldwide organization founded by Saint Don John Bosco, the second largest Catholic religious order in the world! On the statue, Saint Dominic is holding a paper that reads "Death but not sin"
This is the old gym where my Dad played when he was a student. The bottom door led into what used to be a bowling alley (the old kind of alley where you set up your own pins! ), locker room, and offices. This lower level of the gym is currently being renovated into new classrooms and office spaces. We then went up the staircase to see where my Dad impressed his fans on the court :)
Here is my Dad standing proudly at center court
In the upper corner of the gym (where the double doors are) was this room where my Dad lived for a short time the summer after his senior year. The All-Star got to live in the gym...Awesome! :)
This is my favorite picture....the 50+ year old gym bleachers! WOW!
Salesian High School dedicated a new gymnasium in October to Brother Jim Wiegand, my Dad's basketball coach. Here is my Dad standing in front of the new gym.
Here I am with my parents in front of Br. Jim Wiegand, SDB, Athletic Center
Just outside of the entrance to the gym is this beautiful plaque in honor of Brother Jim.
On the foyer wall of the gym is this beautiful Book of Donors.
When you open the Book of Donors there are metal pages that list all the people and organizations that have contributed their time, talent, and treasures toward making the new, beautiful Athletic Center. My mom's parents names will be included in this book soon since my parents made a donation in memory of them. My maternal grandmother used to work at Salesian High School when my Dad was a student and that is how my parents met.
WELCOME TO SALESIAN HIGH SCHOOL
This is inside the Br. Jim Athletic Center with the Salesian Varsity boy's basketball game in progress. I was just so glad to not have to sit on those wooden bleachers in the old gym...Ha! Ha! :) Unfortunately, Salesian did not win their game :( When my Dad first entered the gym, he was surprised by a childhood friend and his wife who came to see his induction! This really touched my Dad a lot and he had the biggest grin on his face! Thank you C. and B. for making the trip to surprise my Dad! It meant a lot to him!
My Dad, the Hall of Famer!
From left to right is my Dad's older sister, my Dad's twin brother, my Dad's older brother with his wife, Br. Jim, my Dad, my Mom, me, my brother and my brother's girlfriend
Here is my Dad with his coach, Brother Jim, who the gym is named after. My Dad is not from NY, but from Boston. So how did my Dad get to NY to attend high school? Brother Jim met my Dad when my Dad attended a Don Bosco boys summer camp as a teenager. Br. Jim recognized my Dad's hard work ethic and dedication to using his talents when my Dad was a teenager and when Brother Jim transferred to Salesian High School to coach, my Dad was asked to join him on the court.
Brother Jim, thank you for all you have done for my father and family. You are a blessing to so many and I'm glad you were a wonderful role model for my father and thanks for keeping him out of trouble when he was in high school! :)
I had a wonderful weekend with my family and I loved hearing all the stories from many, many, many, many (you get the point :) ) years ago. I went away from the weekend with a great new sense of pride and admiration for my father and I am grateful for Brother Jim who took my father under his wing to become one of the many people who helped guide him and mold him into the wonderful person and father he is today!
We love you Dad and Brother Jim!
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Hello! Thank you for your Visit!
I'm Tracy. I love my faith, family and on most days, homeschooling my 5 blessings. When I'm not busy baking cakes for my family or making memories in real life or dreaming I had a housekeeper or professional chef, I enjoy documenting a slice of Smith life in blog land.
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20 comments:
What a great story about your father, and how the door of opportunity was opened for him. It must have really shaped his life. And, what a great honor.
I am so glad you were finally able to post this. It was well worth waiting for. Congratulations to your father and family!
What a wonderful story about your father and Brother Jim. So glad your father found someone who took him under his wing and assisted him in becoming a good man. Looks like you had a mini family reunion there, that must have been so special to your father as he accepted this great honor:)
voted for you, I do that every time I visit just so you know in case I forget to write it down:)
Great story! Congrats to you and your family :)
Sending you a bloggy award:)
Wow congrats to your Dad! A beautiful honor for him!
kim
Thanks for sharing! I love these little glimpses into others lives. I know your dad is proud! +JMJ+
Congratulations on another award! (I guess it runs in the family.) lol
You are great and so is your blog. You deserve it my friend. Have a wonderful weekend.
Thank you very much for the kind words about my son's art. He was so excited that I was posting it. He wasn't quite sure about what I wrote, but he did laugh. I voted for you today.
Thanks Lynda for your kind words and congrats! Congrats too on your newest well deserved blog award! Thanks always for your visits, encouraging comments and blog friendship! Have a blessed weekend!
Thanks Anna-Marie! My dad had a smile on his face all day at the induction and he was "wow-ed" by this post I did! Have a blessed weekend!
Thanks Jen and for your visit and nice comment!
Thanks Anna-Marie for the award and congrats on your award too!
Thank you Kim for the congrats and visit!
Hi Annita!
Thank you for your visit and comment always! My Dad is still on cloud 9 from all the blessings from this past weekend! Have a blessed weekend!
Welcome home Smith Family! I hope you get rested up from your weekend+ "vacation". I look forward to your post on all the excitement you had.
I voted for you Tracy. =)
Thanks Lynda! :)
Thanks for sharing Tracy. I thuroughly enjoyed the post, pics, and learning more about your dad. I'm glad you were able to enjoy the stories from many, many, many, many years ago. ;)
HI Vic!
Great to hear from you! Thanks so much for taking the time to visit and read this post and leave a comment! It was so fun to learn so much about my Dad and I enjoyed getting this post together. My Dad was very touched and excited to see our trip documented like this here on my blog. Take Care!
Wow, Tracy, what a wonderful post! I missed the first time around ( 3 years ago!) I did know you then, but don't recall reading this.
Great tribute...you really captured the whole weekend beautifully!
Your parents just seem so awesome! You're all so blessed!
Thx for the memories...
have a good weekend!
Aw thanks Chris for your sweet comments and for taking time to read about my Dad's accomplishments! I am blessed with a great Mom and Dad and I hope it was evident in this special post how proud I am of my Dad. I know he really loved reading about this weekend on my blog here. On St. John Bosco's Feast Day this year I sent my parents and siblings this post again to remind them of what a great Saint, St. John Bosco is and how blessed we are to call my Dad, "Dad" :) Have a blessed weekend!