Coaster Photo
President John F. Kennedy sent a letter to the school at its dedication at the new location.
By ERIC MEIER
One hundred years ago Calvin Coolidge was president, a dozen eggs cost 25 cents and the average house sold for between $2,500 and $3,000.
It was also the year Our Lady of Mount Carmel school opened its doors in Asbury Park.
The Catholic school is celebrating its 100 years with a variety of activities throughout the year. On Sat., March 9 a special mass for alumni (both living and deceased) was held along with a gallery walk in Mount Carmel Hall, filled with memorabilia from the last 100 years.
The poor weather on Saturday kept some away but overall the turnout was good. The mass began with a moment of silence for deceased alumni. Pews were filled with current and former members of the school.
After the special mass, a gathering and gallery walk of memorabilia began in Mount Carmel Hall across the street. The tables were filled with artifacts from each decade including, yearbooks, documents, and other memorabilia. One document that stood out most of all was by JFK who had written a letter of dedication for the school (when it moved from Bangs Avenue to its current location on First Avenue) just a few months before he was assassinated in 1963. The governor and mayor also wrote letters of dedication to the school when it moved to its current location in the same year.
There have been two different orders of priests and three different orders of nuns that have overseen the running of the school over the years. They’ve helped to put forth the curriculum of the school in its last 100 years. These include the Trinitarian Priests from Italy (until 2012) followed by the Missionaries of the Divine Word. There have been three different orders of nuns with the most recent being the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart.
Many of the founding members of the school and its teachers, both priests and nuns, came to Asbury Park from Italy. This was welcomed by many within the community and especially by the many Italian Americans who were already living in Asbury Park at the time.
A member of the graduating class of 68’ Ron Troppoli, a Neptune attorney, recalled the special processional walk from the old school on Bags Avenue to the current location, that included all of the priests, nuns, high ranking officials, and families of the community when the new location was opened in 1963. It was led by the head priest who was Marcellino Romagno. He also recalled that some of the nuns were very open to speaking about controversial issues of the time such as the Vietnam War and women’s rights. He laughed saying that one nun he remembers talking about such issues to him while she was smoking a cigarette.
Class of 1960 alumnus Linda Camooso Bolmarcich said at the time he tuition was $4 per month. She said the school was the best school ever and she had received the best education imaginable. It was very family oriented during those times. Mothers would come in and make meatball sandwiches for the students. She said recalled a father who owned a local bridal shop and who made made a full size wedding dress for the statue of the Virgin Mary to wear during the virgin’s holy coronation ceremony.
Also, that Danny Devito’s sister (who was a hairdresser), did Bolmarcich’s hair for that year’s coronation ceremony. too. Danny Devito himself is a well known alumnus of the school.
Class of 1961 alumnus Rosemary Paduano described the school as a small academy with an old world feeling to it during her tenure. She, too, mentioned that she liked most of the priests and nuns that came from Italy. She said it was truly a religious experience felt by all in those days.
Many of those attending tbe March 9 event spoke about a particular teacher Rosemary and nearly every other alumnus I met spoke highly of a particular teacher who made a profound impression on them – that Sister Celesta Sinisi. Paduano said she first met her when she was in seventh grade in the 1960s. After all these years, she and Sister Celesta (who is now in her 90s) still speak regularly on the telephone.
One other point that many of the former students mentioned was the large number of students in each class. Enrollments in schools at the time were high due to the baby boomers.
Paduano said there were approximately 80 students in one class and Bolmarcich said that her sister had 68 students in one of her classes
Another special ceremony for alumni is scheduled for May 5. The day begins with a mass at the church followed by an open house and then a dinner in the evening at the Renaissance in Ocean Township. The public is invited to attend. Contact the school for information,
