St. Fidelis: A History of Memories
The Grandfather Ticks Away
Old Grandfather Starts Ticking
Again After Minor Surgery
FIDELIAN: March 10, 1972
After a silence of almost two years, our 66-year-old grand father clock is once again ticking and tocking, chiming and striking, in the chapel library corridor where it has stood and grown old for the past 33 years.
The clock, manufactured in Germany in 1906, was given to the seminary in 1939 by two alumni, Msgr. Andrew J. Pauley, rector emeritius of St. Paul’s Cathedral, Pittsburgh, and the late Father Wendel Wuenstel, former pastor of St. Henry’s Church, Mt. Oliver. They bought the clock when the art treasures of the former Mellon Estate were auctioned in 1938 and commissioned jeweler Frank Becker of Pittsburgh to repair and restore it.
March 1971: That Championship Season
In sports its not easy to be the team that wins its last game of the year and walks off with a championship but that’s exactly what happened on March 20,1971, when the St. Fidelis Falcons defeated WBS St. Nicholas 59-52 in Latrobe, PA.
Coach Jim Meissner knew they had a good team. After all they had played together since they were Freshman. They had size and rebounding, they had scoring, they had passing, and they had an unselfish bond among them. The season would tell just how good of a team they really were as they finished 20-4 for the season and won the P.C.C.I.A State Championship.
Join us as we “take a walk” through that season in pictures and word . . . And thanks to Jim Freeman ('71) for preserving the awesome video of the game!
___________________
St. Fidelis Wins Western
PCIAA ‘C’ Title, 68-66
Falcons Stage Late Ralley
to Decision Wilkes Barre, 59-52
Herman Quintet Outhits Cards
in Final Two Minutes, 10-2
By MIKE SURKALO Eagle Sports Editor
March 22, 1971
©1971, Butler Eagle, Butler, PA
Champions are made of superior stock, sturdy in performance and unwithering in the face of defeat.
The Falcons of St. Fidelis dealt in these superlatives Saturday night [March 20, 1971] at St. Vincent College by winning the PCIAA Class C basketball title, 59-52.
Trailing by one point with exactly two minutes to play, 50-49, coach Jim Meissner’s force outscored rival Wilkes Barre St. Nicholas, 10-2, under pressure conditions to l!take it all.”
If there had to be a No. 1 Happy Man in the audience, it was Meissner, guiding light behind the basketball program at St. Fidelis. But when this fact was mentioned by a close observer of the game, the Falcon mentor easily shrugged off the well-intended message and replied, “No, this was never a one man operation, so many people contributed to make this all possible, particularly Rich Caringola, our assistant coach, and Father Haas, with the JVs. They provided the background and basics.”
Meissner again gave thanks for senior guard Oscar Miller in keeping the Falcons a solid unit under fire and for his junior bench of Mike Catalano, who again contributed greatly. “Really, there’s no way to single out an individual.”
March 15, 1938: Heroes amid the Flames of the Fire
_____________"The Fire"__________
I often get asked about "the fire." It’s an event so significant in the history of St. Fidelis that, when it’s talked about, it’s just called THE Fire. So when we talked about setting up the History of Memories pages and went through some of the archives, it was clear what should be the first post.
Besides, the anniversary is in March. How's this for info: this is the 84th anniversary of the event, and the 2 student heroes who saved the day (and lots of lives!) would be 100 years old this year!
Some quick "fire facts":
Date: March 16, 1938
Cause: Unknown
Estimated Damage (in 1938 dollars): $300,000.00
Fire Companies: 4 volunteers fire deptments battled the blaze
Students evacuated: 66
Although the walls around the statue of St. Fidelis were burnt the statue itself was unharmed.
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