The Junior seems more relaxed in the June 7th letter. Exams are done; the dentist work is done; movies are watched (black and white TV!). The letter also describes some of the liturgical changes happening at Ignatius College as a consequence of Vatican II. The RETREAT HOUSE letter notes that even the ordination liturgy had much English in it. The next letters are convoluted in sequence. The June 23rd letter records that the Juniors assisted serving table at the first retreats in the newly completed Retreat House at Guelph. And the June 24th letter describes the posh quarters at the new summer villa venue in Oakville, Ontario.

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IGNATIUS COLLEGE

Guelph, Ontario

June 7, 1964

Dear Mum and Dad;

This time too long a time has passed since my last letter, but I’ve been unusually busy these past couple weeks. However that is no excuse.

Finally we have finished all the exams and I can assure you that one feels exceptionally free. We had the finals in Latin and Greek authors on Wednesday and Thursday. On Thursday afternoon we had the oral exams. They were not quite as bad to go through this time as they were last time. However, the first five minutes are always the roughest and the first five minutes is always the Latin, so that one always gets the worst. It is a good thing these oral exams are mostly training for future exams (which will be mostly oral) and not so important in themselves.

Well, I finally went to a dentist again. It was the first time in about three years. All that time my teeth did not bother me at all except once about three weeks ago one of my teeth was becoming more and more sensitive to heat and cold. In my first visit the dentist filled two teeth (the ones that were bothering me) and the next visit he filled one wisdom tooth and refilled two old fillings. So five teeth in three years is not too bad, is it? (I didn’t tell the dentist about the time lapse though.)

Last Saturday we were allowed to see a movie in Guelph. It was strange to sit in a movie theatre again. The movie was called ‘The Lilies of the Field’. If it comes to Regina I suggest that you go to see it, for I know you would enjoy it very much. It is that story of a group of German nuns and a Baptist Negro. Together they build a ‘schapel, as the Mother Superior in the movie calls it. Through out the movie there are little parts that are particularly enjoyable if you know a little German, although the humour is not lost if you don’t.

We also see other films once in awhile for not long ago we got a projector. We are able to get many good documentary and educational films free; the best of these are the Bell Telephone science films which have been shown on television. However, one big thing that is missing on T.V. is the beautiful color. Occasionally we get a full movie. Not long ago the nuns in Guelph got a movie and since it happened to be a long weekend they were not able to send it back right away, so they asked us if we would like to show it for our community. Thus we saw an excellent movie called ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. If that movie comes to Regina I would recommend that your see it for it is, in my opinion, one of the best movies produced.

A group of our men will be ordained in Toronto next Sunday. In the group there are three men who taught me at Campion. All of them sent me invitations to the ordination and one sent me an invitation to a reception in the afternoon. I hope I will be able to go, but even if I don’t, the invitations themselves are consolations.

How do you like the liturgy changes? Does the whole congregation at St. Peter’s [home parish, Kronau, SK] respond after the Epistle and for the Gospel etc.? [The ‘thanks be to God’ and ‘Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ’] What do you think of the administering of Communion? I like all the changes and hope they continue further. I read that at the beginning of Advent all the Mass will be in English except the prayers at the foot of the altar, the offertory and canon. (These changes will be in the United States. I don’t know what the changes will be in Canada, ifthere will be any at all. Eventually Canada will probably do the same as the U.S.[A.])

Yesterday was quite a work day for me. Up to now we haven’t been able to put any of our flowers into the flower beds (because of studies and also the cold weather). So yesterday we got started about nine o’clock and worked all morning putting in plants. We didn’t get finished but another couple days of works should do it. In the afternoon Brother Sauve and I checked some of the bee hives. For the first time I saw a queen bee which was not marked. I also saw a bee go through his little dance telling the other bees where there is some honey. I’ve seen all that on films and pictures but there is a special thrill to see it first hand.Well if I’m going to get this letter off I had better end here. I hope everyone is well and that everything is going alright.

Please pray for me.

Love

Frank

P.S. I forgot two birthdays so I’ll say them now. Happy Birthday to Myrna’s Brian and Bernice’s Bobby [nephews].

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LOYOLA RETREAT HOUSE

R.R. NO. 2

Oakville Ontario

[The first part of this letter seems to be missing]

Thank you very much for your nice long letter and those pictures. Speaking of pictures, I was surprised to see that many of them did not turn out which should have. There must be something wrong with the camera. Perhaps some light is leaking into it. (Would it be possible to send me the negatives of the brother at his desk and the one taken at benediction with the gold vestments?) I hope the pictures of all the trees blooming turns out well. I’ll send it home soon.

Ron Geis [1st cousin] sent me an invitation to his wedding on July eighteenth. Of course I cannot possible attend but …I appreciate the thought very much. I shall have to write and thankhim. As usual events like this always surprise me a little. I always forget that all these people are older than I remember them.

I started a letter the other day but never did get it finished. I’ll reread it and if it doesn’t sound too bad I’ll include it in this one.

By now all the marks are out and I am happy to tell you that your prayers helped me to obtain a years average of about 76. So you see I can’t complain.

There is really very much to tell you but at the moment I can’t think of a thing. Oh yes, I did get to the ordinations [at Regis College in Toronto] and spent a most wonderful day. It was the second ordination that I remember attending but the last one was such a long time ago that I don’t remember very much. [Franciscan cousin ordained at St. Peter’s Colony Church in the early1950’s] Another brother and I were asked to help sing a couple of pieces the choir had to do.

During the summer most of the theologians are off taking summer courses and so they were short of singers. One thing that was wonderful was the fact that you knew most of the men fairly well especially the ones who taught me at Campion. Much of the ordination was in English too, so that made it much more interesting and meaningful.

Please thank Lil and Marlene for their letters and thank Lil for the pictures. I’ll try to answer them in the distant future. One Saturday I’ll get ambitious and catch up on all my correspondence.

May God bless and keep you. Please keep on praying for me.

Love

Frank

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IGNATIUS COLLEGE

Guelph, Ontario

June 21, 1964

Dear Mum and Dad;

Thanks a lot for your long letter mum, and for the pictures. Please thank Marlene and Lillian for their letters and also thank Lil for the ‘snaps’ she sent.

I’m glad you have your garden in now. We finally finished ours a week ago. Everything is growing well and your glads are winning the race against some bought glads. It seems that the plants that grew from last year’s seeds are our distancing all the other plants. Although the colors might end up a little mixed up the plant itself is good and healthy. It’s too bad you misplaced those flower seeds you collected from here. I’m sure the ‘portialaka’ (I think that is how it is spelled) would have grow well out west for they grow well even though it is abit dry.

I’ll send you some more seeds this year.

There has been two retreats at our new retreat house up to the present and we Juniors have had an opportunity to serve the meals for both of them. The retreat house is a beautiful place inside. Most of the floors are carpeted and the chapel is very well done. I hope many people make use of the retreat house at Lumsden [SK].

[added in handwriting]

June 26/64

This is the letter I was talking about. Hope you don’t get muddled-up as these letters are. I had a few more comments etc. to make so…. Happy Birthday to Donna! [niece]

Thanks for the picture Frances [niece]. Enjoy the holidays Rosemary + Matt, especially at Camp, be careful though of the poison ivy etc. A little caution can make a holiday more enjoyable. I hope you both did well in your exams. (By the way, mum, separate tents help for a better community spirit at camp by giving each boy or girl his or her opportunity for independence.)

Love

Frank

P.S. A special hello to the new member of the family. (Lil told me all about the rabbit!) [A baby rabbit adopted by the family when the mother rabbit was accidentally killed in the field. It did not survive.]

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Summer Villa

June 24, 1964

Dear mum and dad,

As you can see [by the ‘letter head’] we are now at summer villa and everything points to relaxation and a wonderful time. I don’t know if I told you before that we are spending our summer villa at Oakville, Ontario. It is the site of what used to be a retreat house but since it was very expensive property etc. for a retreat house we sold it. The place is very beautiful and the house is a mansion. Most of the floors of the house are carpeted and the whole house is built of stone and marble.

There are fire places in the main rooms of the house (e.g. The parlour, rumpus room, drawing room and library). There are many bedrooms. Five of us are bunked down in what used to be the master bedroom and are not crowded at all. There are three other bedrooms upstairs which bunk the rest of us in this proportion: 3;3;4: The father who is ‘minister during the villa lives in the servants quarters and there is another room in the same quarters for a guest father. The two brothers who cook and take care of us live in the servant’s quarter one floor down from the fathers. (By the way, the servants quarters are not cramped either.)

The grounds are out-of-this-world. The house is surrounded by about 400 acres and the part right around the house is in lawns, shrubs and hedges (which are worth a small fortune). The area around the house is bordered by a ravine which is more than sixty feet deep andpractically straight up and down. At the bottom of the ravine flows a small creek which the novices dammed up for swimming purposes. In short, this place is a perfect place to spend one’s holidays.

Love,

Frank

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Photos courtesy of Frank Obrigewitsch, SJ