Newsletter for Alumni of The Abbey School Mt. St. Benedict , Trinidad and Tobago
Dear Friends,
Finally a calypso singer and musician. I have waited for this moment for quite a few years.
I have in my listing, a couple of singers but non have made their debut here in the Circular.
I have had many promises from fellow writers to get me the address of at least 10 singers, but no luck.
David De Castro
Phone: 727-785-6824
Dear Ladislao Kertesz
Subject: The Early Years of Mount St. Benedict Old Boys.
Many thanks for your email re: information on Mount St. Benedict.
It was very much appreciated and I have passed on the information to Stanley Ferguson.
I was the youngest and smallest boy to go to Mount St. Benedict at the age of 8 together with my brother Delano De Castro in the year 1944.
Just to reminisce:- some of the Mount boys in those days came from all over the West Indies and these are some of the names I remember.
The De Cambra brothers,
The Nassief brothers, Michel and Phillip
Jerry Gomez,
Ian Peacock,
Austin Brothers,
Colin Philips.
The Darwin
The Knaggs Brothers
Boyack from SanFernando.
From Surinam
From Guyana
the Chattington brothers.
Donald Boyd from Dominica
Claude Pecquet from South Africa
Ian and Conrad Shoul from Antigua .
I believe that when I went to Mount St. Benedict the school was just one year old.
Here are some of the stories from those early years.
In those days the schools was divided into two sections – Big Boys and Little Boys.
The big boys would rough up and tap up the little boys until they realized with me that I liked to pelt stones so after a few stones in their back side they didn’t bother me any more. However, they made myself and John Maingot (the second youngest boy) fight every week. The big boys would tell John that I said that I was going ‘to cut his ass’ and they would tell me that John said that he was going to ‘cut my ass’.
So it was standard procedure for myself and John to fight every week.
As I remember it, I won some and I lost some.
In those days Father Ildefons was the Head Master.
One day he took off his collar and the boys formed a boxing ring and he had a fist fight (no gloves) with one of the Darwin
As Father Ildefons threw a right hand, Darwin
That was the end of the fight.
Colin Phillip’s and I also had a big fight on the cricket grounds.
We became best of friends after that and we are still very good friends today.
I speak to him often.
Memories:-
In 1945 when World War II was over (VJ Day) the priests made all the boys paint a ‘V’ for Victory sign, with white wash over the entire mountain, starting from Marsden Pool.
It stretched for about 5 miles .
Somewhere around 1948, Macauly, my brother Delano
With permission from Father Ildefonse I formed a steelband side called The Mount Mariners.
It included not only the Bar Bell Boys but also Stanley Ferguson, Colin Phillips and Michel Nassief and some others.
We were to have our first ‘pan around the neck’ parade for the carnival that year.
Donald Boyd, Colin Phillips, Michele Nassief and Myself, got one of the day students from the village to buy us a bottle of rum.
We got the bottle and the four of us took it to the den, drank it, chased with water and we all got thoroughly drunk and puked and fell down in the bushes.
The next day we ended up in the infirmary with our so-called Doctor, Brother Michael telling him we had stomach problems.
He never realized we were just sick drunks with a hangover.
We revived in time for the carnival and we performed for the school and they all enjoyed a jump up around the school grounds.
We also played for concerts at Mount St. Benedict.
The Last Term
The night before we were to leave the Mount for the ending of the school year, myself and Philip Nassief decided to put shoe polish and toothpaste on the boy’s faces and hair while they were asleep.
In all the commotion and laughing Father Ildefonse found out about it and beat the shit out of Michel and I in the morning while we were still in our pajamas (6 strokes each with a cane)
What a going away present.
That was the year 1953 when I graduated from Senior Cambridge and left Mount St. Benedict.
My first job was at Alstons in Port of Spain
Reminiscing as I write I remember Father Leesingh, ( the dean at that time) beating me every week until he got fed up and told me to get out of the line as he was tired beating me.
Myself and Father Leesingh also played as a pair, pitching the biggest marble games in the history of the school.
Some pots in the rings were 1000 marbles.
I pitched with an iron slug and got the nickname ‘Dougles’ because an iron slug was called a dougle.
After Graduation I worked in Trinidad for one year, flying all over the place on my motor cycle, the flying tiger.
I then left for Canada
I formed a Calypso Band called the Fabulous Calypso Bandits and I was known as ‘The Bandit’.
We traveled all through the United States and Canada
At present I am married to a lovely lady from Trinidad who was formerly a de Montbrun.
I have 6 children and 10 grand children and live in a nice home with a pool and life is wonderful.
I thank God that I was fortunate to go to Mount St. Benedict and get a great education.
I loved every minute of it, including the discipline and the beatings.
Yours Sincerely
Dave De Castro
“The Bandit”
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From: Herman Verkruissen
Subject: Pictures
Date: 10/24/2005 1:18:41 AM
Dear Lazslo.
My friend, I hope you are doing fine am sorry I have not written you more often but hang in there am going to write you soon again.
Since the storm has hit Lake Charles I had to move north to a town Called DeRidder, Louisiana 80 miles per hr.
Then the company called me to come back to Lake Charles to start getting supple's to rebuild the cable system as you know am the Warehouse Specialist for Cox Communications Cable TV.
We had over 18000 drops came down from the houses and about 30 miles of main cable broke from the poles from the report we had a lot of damage.
But we have rebuilt the system in 30 days and have about 95% of the people back on watching TV.
I have been working 21 days straight 9 to 10 hrs a day.
The two pictures if anybody knows who they are let me know or e-mail me at hccmv8@cox.net I would appreciate this.
Thanks
Herman Verkruissen
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From: Herman |
Subject: Re: RE. Photo for the Circular
Date: 4/2/2005 11:19:13 PM
Laszlo,
Sorry my friend I did receive it.
Good job.
I don't know if Salvador
Let me see if I can send them to you I would like to post them and see if anybody knows them.
They were with me in 1961 at the Abbey.
Thanks.
Herman.
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From: "jazanella@cantv.net"
Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 20:55:16 -0400
Salvador,
Espero que estés bien y tu hermano también.
ESTAMOS EN NEW CASTLE cerca de Indianápolis, este fin de semana tenemos carrera, el lunes vamos de vuelta a Miami y el jueves a Venezuela.
Mañana te llamo.
Saludos
Tito
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De: Salvador Coscarart [salborbolla@hotmail.com]
De: Salvador Coscarart [salborbolla@hotmail.com]
Para: jazanella@cantv.net [jazanella@cantv.net]
Fecha: 17/05/2006 16:11:31
Hola Zanella,
Como estas?
Yo por fin estoy de regreso a casa, bueno hasta los momentos ya que estamos bastante ocupados.
El 8 de junio voy a estar libre pero voy a florida St.Petersburg donde mi hermano Pedro, por 11 días, y regreso el 19 de junio.
Bueno aquí te doy mis teléfonos :
cellular 337-303-6124; y mi casa es : 337-668-45-95-. y mi oficina es :337-837-4230.
Bueno un abrazo y ojala nos podamos visitar.
Que sabes de Sarkis Farcheg.
Bueno hasta pronto, llámame
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From: "jazanella@cantv.net"
Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 14:32:05 -0400
Salvador,
Espero que estes bien.
Es Zanella de Barinas, te acuerdas?
Hace un mes pasamos por Lafayette lastima que no sabia que vivias alla.
Enviame algun # telefono, los primeros de mayo regresamos a USA.
Saludos
Tito Zanella
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REMEMBER TO PAY YOUR DUE, 50 WORDS PER YEAR, OR SEND A CHECK preferably from any U.S. Bank, to my address,: sorry but under the new laws of Venezuela, I cannot receive or send foreign currency, if caught I can be placed in jail for 3 years on the first offence, so please sent it direct to the Bank of America account of Ladislao Kertesz 02181 09151, Santa Barbara, California, USA.
For those that prefer this way to cooperate with the Circular and the expense that this generates. It is 52 issues per year.
God Bless
Ladislao
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Photos in this issue:
59LK0001EDIMSB, photo of the school.
01UN0503FBEMSB, Fr. Benedict and the microphone
60HV0002UNKNOWN, Photo sent by Herman Verkruissen, can you help?
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