St. Thomas Aquinas School
Binghamton, NY
June 30, 2006
From the outside, the school itself looks today just like it did in 1960. In this view, the rectory would be out of the picture to the left and behind the camera. The old church would have been across the street to the right, with the convent behind the church but facing on the street looking at the school.
Photo by Lynn Franklin

Most of the nuns were Irish, including the stern Mother Edwards who came to run things in 1957. The school, in those days at least, had all subjects taught by the same nun. In sixth grade, we had Sister Mary Oswald, an elderly frail nun whom the more imaginative boys rumored to have received Extreme Unction on more than one occasion. "Ozzie", as we called her, maintained a close guard on our morals by insisting that, during the lunch hour, the record player repeatedly churn out "The Dodo Bird in the Bellyun Tree". She was not amused when, one day while she was not looking, someone substituted "You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog" for the "The Dodo Bird". For seventh grade the following year, our teacher was the angelic Sister Mary Seraphia. For eighth and ninth grades in 1958-1960, our fate was to be in the company of Mother Edwards all day long. A grim matron with an Irish brogue, Mother had an austere approach to teaching and a very limited sense of humor. Many hours were spent after school writing 1000 times "I will not talk during math" or equivalent repetitious homilies. Mother was known to swing a mean left open palm, and to box ears as well.

On any of the interminable holy days and other feasts and occasions, we were trooped in our uniforms [green plaid skirts and white blouses for girls, white shirts and ties for boys] to the church. There, in the days before air conditioning, we might stand, sit or kneel for hours, punctuated by hymns to be sung in Latin or long rambling sermons by the good Father Hannon. No one could ever recall a short sermon by Father Hannon, and God forbid that any child in the pews should either fall asleep or stumble over the words to words or tune to Pange Lingua! Ironically, the school gym was downstairs in the church, and it was there that we played basketball. In 1958-9. we even had green uniforms for the eighth grade team and several of the girls were green-clad cheerleaders.

St. Thomas Aquinas Church
Binghamton, NY
June 30, 2006
The rectory is behind the church to the right in this photo. The view is toward the southwest.
Photo by Lynn Franklin

Recess was held on the playground that stood exactly where the new church is located today. Games of ringaleevia, kickball and whiffleball were interspersed with periodic fisticuffs or brawls, or baiting and teasing of the girls. Just to the north of the playground stood the ominous house of an older woman we nicknamed "The Biddy". The Biddy, as best we could tell, hated children and complained constantly to the rectory about the noise we made, the balls we kicked or threw over her fence, and, most grievously, the snowballs that rained down on her house in the winter time. I recall a lecture to our class from Mother Edwards, quoting from a letter to Father Hannon from The Biddy in which the good reputation of Catholic youth was called into question. We were bluntly instructed to avoid her premises, but I can report that for years thereafter unknown parties decorated her trees with toilet paper every Halloween.