Friday, February 23, 2007

News   

  Feb. 23, 2007 - Brother Richard Morrill, SVD / Fr. Francis Mahon, SVD

It is with profound sadness I inform you of the death of Brother Richard Morrill, SVD. For those who attended Divine Word Bordentown in the mid 70’s and early 80’s, you will remember Brother Rich as one of the Deans and teachers at the Seminary. Rich had suffered from cancer for the past several years and finally succumbed to the illness on Wednesday night February 21st. Vigil Service & Funeral Mass with Burial will be held at the SVD Motherhouse in Techny, IL next week.

Earlier this month February 3rd, we also lost Fr. Francis Mahon, SVD, many of you may remember Fr. Mahon as the procurator of the Bordentown community in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Fr. Mahon was 96 years of age when he passed.

Please remember both of these men in your prayers.

Yours truly,
Mike Hanlon ‘83 

Bordentown Reunion -  June 18th, 2005 Recap

The Divine Word Bordentown Alumni had its bi-annual gathering on June 18th  this year. The organizing committee of Mike Hanlon, Peter Cerra, Kevin Kologinsky, John Sikorski and Fr. Lennon worked enthusiastically since last Fall to insure a good turn out and a day full of good entertainment. The June date was thought better due to the climate in the Bordentown area at that time of the year. Two years ago, the gathering date was in August and the heat was unbearable. 

This year, the day was literally picnic-perfect...blue and sunny skies, warm but not oppressively hot weather, and magnificent grounds to walk around and reminisce the years one spent in school there.

Some 150/160 were present for the day. While most of the participants were former Bordentown students, there were some from the schools the SVD ran in Conesus, NY, Miramar, MA, Girard, PA, and one even from East Troy, WI. 

The food was plentiful prepared by Fr. Steve Schuler and the kitchen staff, helped by members of the Community and consisted of hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken breasts, potato salad, macaroni salad, fresh green salad, cakes, and three huge trays of cookies made by Mrs. Petrone of Trenton, mother of a former graduate Richard Petrone Bordentown Class of 82 and a lady well known in the area for her famous baked goods. All the food and beverages were served in the spacious and air filled gym.

There were games to keep the young ones happily occupied both outside as well as inside the gym. There were tours of the SVD residence, the old school dorm where many delighted in showing their kids where they lived and studied, the kitchen and scullery where many worked, the grottos, the cottage where the McCullough family lived ..also known as "Jack's shack, and the Gate house which was built by Joseph Bonaparte in 1819 and now regally houses Fr. Paul Connors and Fr. Patrick Connor. 

There were two well-attended power point lectures on the history of the Bonaparte property, where - the Bordentown SVD live - given by New Jersey's well-known art historian, Dr. Andrew Cosentino. Finally, there was the Mass celebrated at 5:00 p.m. that capped off a great day for everyone. 

At the end of the liturgy, Phila. lawyer, Kevin Kologinsky Bordentown Class of 72 presented for the first time, the Ernest J. Collyer (famed and former teacher of English, Latin, Public speaking at Miramar, Girard, and Bordentown ..from 1928-1983). It was given to Mr. Jack McCullough as the man who truly followed in the steps of his mentor, Mr. Collyer, and has left an indelible and inspirational impact in the lives of all the students who passed through his English, Latin, German, and Theater classes at Bordentown. Kevin did a superb job in summing up the life history and the different ways Mr. McCullough touched the lives of the students over the years he spent at Bordentown. The standing ovation given Mr. McCullough gave witness to the fact that everyone was in agreement with what had been said about Mr. McCullough. The award was a rocking chair in which we all hope Mr. McCullough can enjoy rest and relaxation, knowing that he has been deeply appreciated and esteemed by former students.

One of the most commonly heard comments upon departure was the phrase, "We'lll see you at the next Alumni gathering".

Bordentown Reunion - Saturday, June 18th, 2005

Save this date 06/18/2005

The next DWS Bordentown reunion will be held Saturday June 18th, 2005 at the Divine Word Missionaries grounds in Bordentown New Jersey. Our last reunion was a great success thanks to your attendance (the largest SVD alumni gathering to date, way to go Bordentown Alumni). We have found additional alumni since our last gathering (check out the new names on our alumni website under Alumni E-mail tab), which means an opportunity to reconnect with more friends from the past at our 2005 get together.

Please mark your calendars accordingly, and join us for this reunion of friends from the past. As more information becomes available we will pass it along, we will also keep you up to date with information on our website: www.dwsbordentown.com .

If you have any contact information on former classmates or teachers please feel free to pass this information along to them, and if you would please pass their information on to the reunion committee and we will be sure to include them in our updates and information on the reunion.

Hope all are doing well and look forward to seeing all at the reunion next year.

Mike Hanlon - Class of 83
Peter Cerra - Class of 73
Fr. Raymond Lennon SVD -Class of 54 - Principal 75-82

Fr. Ray Lennon Recovering from surgery...

Fr. Ray Lennon SVD is recovering from surgery he had in early October 2003.  Fr. was diagnosed with Colon Cancer in late September and an operation to remove the cancerous section was preformed successfully in early October.  Luckily the surgeons were able to remove all the cancer during the operation, and he will not need to go for any radiation or chemotherapy.  

Father Lennon is on his way to a full recovery.

Grotto Clean Up - October 18th, 2003  (Cancelled)

Please note that the October 18th clean up activity at the Divine Word Grotto in Bordentown has been canceled for this weekend. Due to scheduling problems with some of the alumni we will look to reschedule this activity to a future date.

Mike Hanlon (class of 1983)
mikeh@uscom.com  

Bordentown Reunion - August 9th, 2003  

The SVD community in Bordentown NJ, opened their doors and hosted an SVD alumni reunion on the grounds of the former seminary there. The event was held in the gymnasium due to rain that day, however it did not put a damper on the gathering of former Bordentown students, along with SVD alumni from Miramar, Conesus, Girard, Epworth, and East Troy. The total number of attendees for the big event was 240 one of the largest SVD reunions held so far (way to go Bordentown!). 

Former students came from all over the US and abroad as far away as Japan, talk about school spirit. The day’s events started out with registration from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM followed by a buffet lunch of hamburgers, hotdogs, assorted salads and drink. A tour of the former school (now an SVD residence), dormitories, kitchen and dining hall, and the gatehouse was held at 2:30 PM, between the raindrops the alumni made their way to the various points sharing memories and stories along the way with family and friends. A mass to celebrate the days events was held at 5:00PM in the gymnasium presided by Fr. Raymond Lennon SVD. After the mass the alumni all pitched in to put away the tables and chairs as some of them had done as students after Bingo night and final farewells were exchanged among the attendees. 

All who attended enjoyed the day’s events. Many alumni had not seen each other in over 20 years or more, and by the end of the reunion many stories were retold of their time with the SVD and beyond, as well as many friendships rekindled. 

Special thanks should be given to Fr. Raymond Lennon and the community at Divine Word Bordentown who graciously opened their home to all of the alumni who attended that day. Thanks also need to be given to the reunion committee who worked together for many months prior to the reunion to make the days festivities happen. The committee members for the reunion were Fr. Raymond Lennon SVD, Mr. Peter Cerra, Mr. Kevin Kologinsky, Fr. Steve Schuler SVD, Brother Bob Zalikowski SVD, and Mr. Michael Hanlon.  

For all who attended the reunion we thank you for coming and sharing your memories, laughter and time at Divine Word and for those who were not able to make it you were greatly missed.