OH, MY, WHAT A GRAND TIME EVERYONE HAD AT THE MONONGAH ALUMNI BANQUET!!

 

Despite Thomas Wolfe novel’s claim that “you can’t go home again. You can't go back home to your family, back home to your childhood, back home to a young man's dreams of glory and of fame, back home to the old forms and systems of things which once seemed everlasting, back home to the escapes of Time and Memory," I did.

The Monongah of my childhood comes alive every time I visit the dear hearts and gentle people of my hometown, as immortalized in the “Dear Hearts and Gentle People” song first published by Bob Cosby and His Bobcats. The lyrics that strike a chord in my heart:

 

I love those dear hearts and gentle people

Who live in my home town

Because those dear heart and gentle people

Will never ever let you down

 

I feel so welcome each time that I return

That my happy heart keeps laughin’ like a clown

I love those dear hearts and gentle people

Who live and love in my home town

 

I began as I do all my Monongah tours, with a visit to Mount Calvary Cemetery to place a rose on the grave of Monongah High teacher Mary Turkovich, who refused to let you not learn, as she put me through the rigors of, in succeeding years, math, algebra and geometry. But she also infused my soul with such a stiff determination that it helped me succeed in my 43-year newspaper career after my graduation from WVU Journalism School. And the math she drilled into me guided me to a financial success beyond the wildest dreams of a coal miner’s son with a cleft palate speech defect.

 

Unfortunately, the cemetery’s flat grave markers like Miss Turkovich’s have been overgrown by moss and weeds so I couldn’t find it, as I did year after year. One upright grave marker was broken into 4 or 5 pieces strewn on the ground. How sad.

 

I did put roses on the grave of my aunt, Frances Olesky Fazio, and her husband, Renzy Fazio, the best amateur golfer I ever played with. Frances and my father, John W. Olesky, Sr., were siblings.

 

And on the grave of Mother Agnes, the Sts. Peter and Paul nun/teacher who imbued a love of words in me that led to my journalism career. My mind still sees her careening past our Church Street home at breakneck speed in her brother’s jeep. Sister Agnes, as I called her, probably could have won the Indianapolis 500. Police often stopped her, but never arrested her. It would be like arresting God’s messenger on Earth.

And the grave of Joe Eates, godfather of my son, John Larry Olesky, along with his wife, Ann DeMary Eates, who I later visited at her Bridge Street home. It’s like being showered with grace and goodness to visit Ann.

While I was searching for Miss Turkovich’s grave Monongah High graduate Richard Weaver, Class of 1958, who recognized me from my photos in this blog, called me out by name. He was putting flowers on the grave of his parents, Thomas “Toddy” Weaver and Margarette Kann Weaver.

We had a nice conversation. Richard agreed about my assessment of Miss Turkovich’s quality teacher skills. Debbie Weaver Hurley is Richard’s sister. Diane Weaver Tennant is Richard’s daughter. Tracey Weaver Hanshaw and David Weaver are Richard’s other children.

Richard is retired from United Hospital Center and also graduated from Fairmont State. He lives in Fairmont. 

After Mount Calvary I made another annual Monongah stop at the homes of Amelia Shenasky Zentz, Class of 1938, who is 103 years old! She still has an amazingly sharp mind and memory. Behind her was a photo of the beautiful blonde that I remember when, as a child, I accompanied my mother, Lena Futten Olesky, to the P.P. Shenasky Grocery owned and operated by Amelia’s parents, Pete and Nell Shenasky. Amelia would let me put my tiny hand in a candy corn jar and keep whatever my hand didn’t drop. And it was free! I SO looked forward to showing up with Amelia behind the counter and the candy corn jar between us!

Every time I show up Amelia turns to her caretakers and says, “He’s my boyfriend.” When I give her a rose or a bag of candy corn I always say: “This is for my girlfriend.”

My next stop was to the Pike Street home of my cousin, Mary Chris Fazio Ramsey, and her husband, Tom Ramsey. Mary Chris was born on the floor a few feet from where I sat and chatted with her. Aunt Frances, unable to make it out the door for a trip the hospital, brought Mary Chris into the world in the dining room of her sister, Helen Olesky Kerkes, the world’s best nutroll baker who mailed those delicious treats to me in Ohio every Christmas for years, and Helen’s husband, Steve Kerkes of the Carolina family.

I always thought her name was Mary Chris because she was born at Christmastime but she corrected me on this visit. She had aunts named Mary and Chris and got both their names. But I like my erroneous version better that she was named for Merry Christmas.

After that I visited Susan Staron Sanders, the Angel of Thomas Street who has a huge angel statue in her back yard to prove she earned the title I gave her. This is one busy woman, helping everyone she sees. Susan is on Monongah’s Town Council, founder and president of the Monongah Christmas Lights committee responsible for almost 40 of those beautiful creations, including the pearl in a seashell on Church Street next to my childhood home. To me it represents Christ (the pearl) emerging from his grave cave (the seashell) for the Resurrection. We got together again the next day at the Monongah High Alumni Banquet.

Next in line was Ann DeMary Eates, Class of 1945, who I’ve extolled about when I discussed putting a rose on her husband, Joe’s, grave. My son and her godson, John Larry Olesky, was with me. She spent the entire visit telling my son was a great person and father I was. The last visit she spent telling me what a great son John Larry was. I wholeheartedly agreed with her.

Finally, up Bridge Street hill on Bridge Street Extension was the home of Ramona Fullen Michalski, Class of 1949, widow of Frank Michalski, former Monongah High football player and my defender against playground bullies at Sts. Peter and Paul School who made fun of my cleft palate speech defect . . . once. After Frank warned them that a repeat bullying would mean dealing with him I was never bullied the rest of my 8 years at P&P School. Frank is my hero in my memories forever for that.

John Larry and I finished up our magnificent Monongah montage in time to head to Fairmont and the home of Belinda Morris, daughter of my sister, Jackie Olesky Straight, Class of 1950, where Belinda’s husband Dave rounded up sumptuous fare from Muriale’s Restaurant, which provides the best Italian food in Marion County. Jackie’s other daughters, Lea Ann Straight Barnes with husband John Barnes and Susan Renee Straight, pharmacist at WVU’s Ruby Memorial for decades, and grandchildren were among about two dozen people who ate, laughed continuously and provided me with marvelous memories for years to come.

All that was just a warmup for the main event, the 99^th annual Monongah High Alumni Banquet which began 100 years ago in 1922 as the brainchild of Greta Martin Mike, who married one of the 3 barbering Mike brothers. In Knights of Columbus on Mary Lou Retton Drive, where it’s been since 2014 when West Chester venue well belly-up with another Banquet not far down the road. K of C came to the rescue. The Banquet has been in the Fairmont Hotel and the Ramada Inn in Morgantown, among other venues. Greta’s 1922 Banquet was in Mannington.

I got warm chats and hugs from Colette Stanley Melton, Class of 1970; Joann Davis Thompson, Class of 1962; Susan Staron Sanders, Class of 1971; Kathern Ahern Loss, Class of 1942; Kitty Ahouse Morrison, Class of 1968; Sue Ahouse Schrader, Class of 1971; Rosemary Raymond Pagliaro, Class of 1958; Jackie Olesky Straight, Class of 1955, my sister; and exhuberant handshakes from Dennis Basnett, Class of 1962; and Jim Roy Foster, Class of 1971, who made a face-bomb appearance while my son, John Larry Olesky, was taking a photo of me with Susan Sanders and Ahouse sisters Sue Schrader and Kitty Morrison. 

It felt like I struck the Friendship Mother Lode.

 

My oh my oh

I came from Ohio

And discovered a crowd

Made me laugh out loud

 

The 99^th Monongah High Alumni Banquet, first held in 1922 so this is 100 years later but covid canceled the 2020 Banquet. That makes it the longest-running high school reunion in West Virginia history.

Monongah High Alumni Association president Linda Lopez Gandy, Class of 1965, generously and graciously gave me public recognition at the beginning of the Banquet for pumping life into the lagging reservations by publishing article after article about the importance of not letting this great tradition die off for lack of attendance. And had me stand up to be recognized into a sea of hand-clapping. Thanks, Linda. I just couldn’t let this century-old tradition go out with a whimper.

Several dozen people came to my table to thank me for using the blog to help Lions keep track of Lions, which is the #1 goal of the blog in my mind. And to look at the picture frame with 2,000 revolving photos of Monongah High alumni, family and friends and the album with photos of previous Monongah High Alumni Banquets.

Always a highlight for me is the hug I get from Kathren Ahern Loss, Class of 1942, this time after I handed her the final rose that I saved for her among the 3 dozen that I brought from Ohio to Marion County to give to my favorite women.

It was delightful and heart-warming, once the Stepping Stones father-son musicians cranked up their wares, to see senior citizens shaking and laughing on the dance floor. We ain’t dead yet. Indeed, very lively.

As always I enjoy my visits with Susan Sanders, Kitty Morrison and sister Sue Schrader. And Rosemary Raymond Pagliaro, Class of 1958, who lived in our future Church Street home while we were renting next-door on Thomas Street. When Rosemary's parents Mary and Angelo Raymond moved to a mile north of Swisher Hill where they bought a home and set up a tavern on U.S. 19, my parents John W. Olesky, Sr. and Lena Futten Olesky purchased the Church Street home from Consolidation Coal Company. 

Rosemary’s brother, the late Bobby Raymond, Class of 1951, former Monongah High football player, and I were inseperable during our pre-school days. So much so that, when I began at Sts. Peter and Paul School in first grade, Bobby, not old enough to attend yet, ran away from home and came to the school to be with me. The nuns laughed and called his mother, Mary Raymond, to come and get the runaway.

Can’t go home again? I do it every chance I get and it never gets stale. Hell, I often have dreams about my childhood in Monongah. Really good and happy dreams.

Thanks, Monongah, and all the good friends and gentle people in my home town!

A grateful John Olesky, 89 but going 109 mph still, Class of 1950