Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of playing music for the combined class reunions of St. Clement’s classes of 1968, 1969 and 1970.

What a great experience it was. I attended St. Clement’s from grades 1 through 8. My late sister Christine attended grades 1-9. The class of 1970 was my sister’s class so many of her friends were there. There were lots of familiar faces.

My good friend Jack Connolly, class of 1969, was instrumental in setting the whole thing up. Jack floated me two yearbooks so I could be up on my St. Clement’s history, like the priest and nuns we had. Along with my own memories, I jotted down some bullet points that I could share in between songs.

The function room at The Holiday Inn was abuzz all night with old friends catching up, sharing memories, and talking about their families. I was so happy to see many of the people that were friends with my sister. A lot of them came up to say hello to me during the night.

It was hard to think that over 50 years had gone by since the girls wore their uniforms and the boys wore shirts and ties. The nuns were pretty strict back then but they all had their own memorable traits.

One of the stories I heard Saturday was of a particularly stern nun who was built like an NFL blocker. She pinned an out of control wise guy up against the blackboard. His feet were actually dangling as she read him the riot act. You don’t mess with an angry nun.

The evening was a chat fest as former classmates mingled and enjoyed beverages and delicious snacks. When someone came up and said “Hi, Jimmy,” I had to put on my glasses and read their name tag. Once I recognized the name and face, we had some very nice conversations.

Playing the hits of the 60’s was awesome because it’s my favorite music. I popped in with some of my own memories of my time at St. Clement’s in between some songs. I dedicated the song Mr. Postman to neighbor who used to show up at St. Clement’s in his mail truck and pick up all the kids who lived in our neighborhood.

I wrote a story in this paper years ago called Funny now, scary then about being schooled by Catholic nuns in the 1960’s. I must say the stories shared at the reunion were very colorful and made my story ring true. Although the nuns were strict and sometimes intimidating, they were remembered fondly.

We also reminisced about the priests from back then. There was one priest that everyone hoped was saying their Mass. He was Father Coughlin and he was a former World War Two chaplain. They never knew when a bomb was going hit so he had to say Mass as fast as possible. We were in and out of church in half an hour or less. I also spoke of sending someone into church to grab a bunch of Weekly Bulletins to prove to our parents that we went to church, when we actually hooked mass.

The former classmates of the combined classes of ‘67, ‘68 and ‘69 lived through a lot of important events in history. They went from children to adults during tumultuous times. Bussing, race issues, space travel, and the tragic losses of our nation’s beloved leaders were among the things experienced by the Baby Boomers. The song Abraham, Martin and John reminded us of that sad time in our childhoods.

The most encouraging and warm aspects of the evening was the fact that none of the former students lost a beat. They talked of the old days, the days of their youth. So much has happened in five decades.

A video of the graduates from photos taken from the yearbooks played on a loop all night. As is the case in all reunions, we said prayers and remembered the classmates were lost.

Jack Connolly has these comments to add:

“Most noticeable in a recent gathering of my Saint Clement high school class of 1969 reunion was the the number of classmates who upon making re-acquaintances after many years remarked, ‘I can’t believe it has been fifty years!'”

“As long ago friendships rekindled, the mood of the late afternoon-early evening was set by music of the 60’s, most deftly played by Somerville‘s own St. Clement’s schoolboy

Jimmy DelPonte, who brought us back to the time of the Beatles, Stones, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Stevie Wonder and the many artists of Motown, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Supremes, and the list goes on…”

“Most conversations were about health, family, including grandchildren, and the joy of being together. Many of us Spent 12 years together (grades 1-12) from the rock‘n’roll 50s, to the psychedelic Woodstock era.”

“Thanks to Jimmy DelPonte and music choices and his humor, we were  transported back in time, If but for a few hours, to a special year in all of our lives, with never to be forgotten memories.”

It seems like yesterday that we all sat in a classroom, watching the clock and dreaming of going home at 2:30. We couldn’t wait to get out of school and go home. It was appropriate that the first request of the evening was The Animals’ 1965 anthem hit We Gotta Get Outta This Place. It is hard to believe that they actually did get out of that place over 50 years ago. God bless the St. Clement’s High School classes of ‘67, ‘68 and ‘69. Thank you for letting me be a part of a fabulous evening.