Most of the body of the July 7th letter gives a detailed description of the ministry experience on Manitolin Island. He doesn’t mention that David St. Amand was a good comrade and how his spirited nature helped the ministry so much. One paragraph is about the villa holiday experience. The letter ends with a reaffirmation that he will be visiting home en route to Spokane, WA. In the August 2nd letter the Junior comments, “This has been one of my best summers at Guelph as far as beauty and activities are concerned.” The last letters try to give precise information of his itinerary through Regina. But are inconclusive. His last written words have a touch of self satisfaction: “P.S. Thanks for the letter mum. I’ll answer it in person shortly.”

_{+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++}

[no letter head]

July 7, 1965

Dear Mum and Dad,

As usual it has been too long between letters. Thanks very much for all the mail. I have really got behind I answering mail and probably will never get caught up. Before I go any further, Happy [28th Wedding] Anniversary mum and dad . You will be remembered on the sixth in all my prayers.

I promised that I’d go into more detail about my two weeks up among the Indians on Manitoulin Island. All of our work up there was with the kids. The first three days after we arrived were spent at the school where one of the Fathers was giving a retreat.

We were supposed to get discussions going in various groups and it proved to be almost an impossible job. The Indians are very shy and just will not speak, especially when strangers are present. However, even though the discussions were not that successful, we got to meet the kids and let them get a chance to meet us.

After the retreat we went around with Father to Legion of Mary meetings so as to get an idea of what the legion is doing and to meet more people. I went down to the school together for a practice and then took them on a picnic or swim. Some afternoons when all the kids were writing exams I would go out and help father hoe his garden or work on a room that we were painting and building. Some days one of us would go to the mission station and do some painting or odd jobs there with another father.

Sunday was always the busiest day. One of us would go with one of the fathers to three mission stations and comment during the Mass. The other one would stay at home and act as commentator at the two home Masses. I remember one morning father was going to have a high Mass and as it turned out no singers appeared, but the organist was there. I ended up singing the ‘Lord Have Mercy’ and Gloria, by sight, alone!

After the Gloria I rushed up to the choir loft to ask the organist if he could play the mass by Somerville (spelled wrong) because I didn’t want to sing their Creed by sight. As it turned out he didn’t have the music, and a few girls came, so we carried on with their music.

Speaking of music, there is the key to these peoples’ hearts. As I think I told you in previous letters, I took up the guitar in the past couple of months and can play tolerably well by now [a few chords!]. I took along an old battered up guitar with me and it came in handy. Manyof our evenings we spent with the kids singing songs for them and trying to get them to sing.

Our most successful song was the one which we translated into Indian.. The first week, we got some young school girls to help us translate ‘everybody likes Saturday night’ into Indian. At every new singsong we had, we would sing the song in English, French and then launch into Indian words. You should have seen the faces light up as they recognized it was their own language.

During the second week of our stay we had a number of engagements. We went to bingos and played for the kids and people during the bingo. One night, one of the Junior Legions invited us to their wiener roast. The nuns left us in charge and we had a whale of a time singing and joking around. As the kids became less shy their response to joking and singing became more evident.

Of course, many of them remained very quiet and it was impossible to got more out of them than their names. One little trick I learned from a catechetical class worked well. The trick is to learn all the names of the kids and call them by name. You know how good it makes one feel to have your name remembered.

One night we went over to West Bay to help three lads sent there to put on a concert and dance to raise money for the church. We found out when we got there that we were the concert. We sang about fourteen songs and some of the people (school teachers and resort visitors) put on a few skits.

Our Indian song got a marvellous response. We got some drums from an Indian, and an electric guitar from one of the resort visitors and one of the teachers played the piano for background music. We played records for the dance but people just wouldn’t dance. It looked like the dance was going to be a failure so as a last resort we took up all the instruments and started singing some of the songs we sang for the concert.

The result was fantastic. Everybody was on the floor in a flash. The day was saved, but not much of the night. Since we were an hours drive from home, we got home in the wee hours.

Well I guess that’s detailed enough. We are right in the middle of our summer villa and are having fantastic weather and a wonderful time. We have one large building which serves as kitchen, dining room, recreation room and place for morning Mass. We have it rather soft though because we have T.V., radio, a marvellous record player and great selection of LPs.

There are two other little houses, one is for the father in charge for the two weeks vacation period, and the other is a washroom. Oh yes, as I was saying we have it so soft that we have running water. We live in tents and it’s a great lot of fun. They [tents] really proved themselvesthe other night when we had a big thunder storm accompanied by a wicked wind. They all stood the blast and only one got some water in it.

That was some day. We had all gone off on a picnic to a lake and the day was very hot. The truck picked us up at eight o’clock in the evening and the clouds were building up as we drove home. We just got home as the first drops began to fall. The power went off so we spent the evening around the fire place having a singsong, then we picked up our candles or lanterns and crept off to our tents. It was lovely to fall asleep with the rain falling on the tent roof.

I don’t know if I was too clear in the last note I sent. I will be going to Spokane for philosophy this year and will probably be passing through Regina around the end of August or beginning of Sept. I can spend two days (for sure) in Regina (that is, not counting the day I arrive or the day I leave).

I’m not sure if I have to stay at Campion or if I can stay at home. Usually we have to stay at one of our houses if we can. I’ll get all the details straightened out when father Provincial gets home from Rome. I’ll sign off new. Our retreat is right after villa so I’ll drop a note just before I go on retreat.

I was sorry to hear about you having to have another operation mum. Let me know when you are going. Thanks for all the information on the field meet etc. [that Rosemary and Mathew participated in] it brought back many pleasant memories. Best of everything to Matt and his baseball. Thanks for the letter Rosemary, I’ll answer as soon as I get a chance. Don’t forget me in your prayers.

Love,

Frank

++++++++++++++++++++

IGNATIUS COLLEGE

Guelph Ontario

August 2, 1965

Dear mum and dad;

At long last I am sitting down at the typewriter again to write what I hope will be a good long letter. But that remains to be seen. Villa was tremendous as you probably gathered from the very brief note I sent at the time. The usual criteria for judging a villa is how fast the time passed. If it dragged by, it wasn’t too enjoyable. If it went very quickly, it was tremendous.

Judging the rest of this summer by the same standards, I have to come up with the same answer because the time is flitting by so fast that I don’t seem to have a chance to write all those letters and do all those things I planned to.

This has been one of my best summers at Guelph as far as beauty and activities are concerned. We have been having a wonderfully hot summer with plenty of rain coming at just about the perfect times. The results were: a fantastic hay crop, a phenomenal strawberry crop,beautiful flower beds, lovely lawns, and a wonderful time at our pool.

We are hoping the glads will bloom for the fifteenth of August [Feast of the Assumption of Mary]. I think they will just make it. They are really tall and look like they will send up their spikes any time now. The ones you sent are doing well, mum. I like them because there are so many different colours. The asters are very early this year and are beginning to bloom already.

The one flower bed right beside the juniorate entrance (the flower bed I was standing when you took that picture of the skunk) is beginning to look lovely. Our design for it was a little different than usual.

We put a border of potulaka along the front edge of the bed and behind them we planted Kochlia (I think we used to call it ‘burning bush’. It is a light green bushy plant in the summer, and in fall it turnsto red.), zinnias, and castor oil plants in strategic positions. The resulting contrast of greens and the orange zinnias on the brown brick wall of the house is quite pleasing to the eye.

Remind me to tell you what happened in the other flower bed when we see you. We had drawn up a plan for that bed too, but didn’t get a chance to follow it out ourselves. While I am on the subject of plants, I might add it is strange how a person can get attached to little things like plants. I’ll give the cacti to Bro. McCarthy who is an avid nature lover. I got a lot of pleasure from seeing those three plants that you brought me grow into rather large plants.

The barrel cactus is really beautiful and everyone’s favourite of the group. Thanks very much for bringing them mum. It will be fun to start a new set of plants in Spokane. Maybe I’ll get some more different kinds of cacti down there. Can’t you just see a six foot cactus in my room?

Right now we are in the middle of our summer courses. The French course seems to becoming along alright. Our sociology course is very interesting and enlightening. The complexity of society is unbelievable. Father Johnson, just ordained this spring, is one of our professors (for the first three weeks) + is excellent.

The tremendous thing about him is the way he conducts the course. He gives a lecture almost every day, and we start discussing. Sometimes the lecture is as long as the class time. Whether it is or isn’t the father will stay and answer questions or discuss with any one who wishes until the bell rings for the next community activity which is an hour after class ends.

Last week some of us went to Stratford [Ontario] to see Julius Caesar. I think I took the play in grade nine or ten. It was very enjoyable. We went to an afternoon performance. We are lucky to live so close to Stratford.

Guess what! I’m an army padre for about four weeks. I go to the armories once a week and give a class to the cadets on summer training. The Sargeant comes in his army vehicle to pick me up at about 11:15. We have about an hour’s class and then have dinner. After dinner the sarge. drives me home. I give a short class so that the cadets will have a lot of time to ask questions.

The main purpose of giving the class at all is to stimulate their minds to think of problems or questions that have been presented to them by their non-Catholic companions. There are only eleven in my group but they are clever lads. (Their ages range between sixteen and eighteen.) It is a valuable experience and I’m enjoying it very much.

The latest liturgical development here at the College is con-celebration. The first concelebrated Mass I attended was at the ordinations in Toronto this spring. During this summer they began it here. It seems the priests like it very much, and most of us in the congregation think it is wonderful.

I wonder what the older fathers and people think of all these development and changes. I suppose for some of them it is hard to understand. But whether we want it or not things are going to keep moving and changing.

[hand written addition]

Aug 4, 1965

After I reread the last page I didn’t feel like sending it because it sounds as though I was suffering from hiccups. I’d have much more to say but I’ll give you some more important information and get this letter in the mail.

I will probably be leaving Guelph on Aug 24 at 5:10 or rather the train leaves Toronto at 5:10 PM. That means I arrive in Regina, Thursday Aug 26 at 4:47 AM (S.T.) I’ll have to leave Regina on Sunday, Aug 29, and probably at 7:30 PM. As far as where I can stay is concerned, considering that you might be harvesting at the time + that I have no drivers licence + because we live outside the city, it will be possible for me to stay at home. I hope that’s fine with you.

This is the proposed schedule. When we have it confirmed + settled down town, I’ll drop a note to you. We might have difficulty getting exactly what we wish, so say a prayer. I’ll tell you all the latest news when I see you. I suppose you will be able to get in contact with all the family quite easily except Myrna, so I’ll write her myself + tell her when I’ll be in Regina + at home.

May God bless you all. See you in three weeks.

Love

Frank.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

IGNATIUS COLLEGE

Guelph Ontario

August 14, 1965

Dear mum and dad;

I thought it would be a good idea to let you know what is arranged so far. There is a little difficulty with the first phase of the trip. I might have to leave on the 10:30 train instead of the 5:10 train, and that would mean I would arrive in Regina on Thursday evening at 7:30, and that my stay would be shortened those twelve or so hours. It seems that the rest of the trip is as planned. I will leave Regina at 7:30 Sunday evening (Aug. 29).

I wrote Myrna [sister] and told her as much as I know thus far about when I’d be home. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you and hope that the reservation for the first part of the trip turns out for the better. When I know for certain, I’ll write, or telegraph if I think the letter won’t reach you in time.

May God bless all of you.

Love.

Frank.

P.S. Thanks for the letter mum. I’ll answer it in person shortly.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Footnote: The Junior did arrive in Regina at 4:47 a.m., Thursday, August 26, and, even at that early hour, was greeted joyfully by his parents and many of his siblings.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Photos courtesy of Frank Obrigewitsch, SJ)