USD Magazine Fall 2021

Pitchers and peanuts “I was awarded best actor for my portrayal of Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey , which was memorable among the plays I did. Our hang- out off campus was the Dutch Mill, where we crammed for a lot of exams between pitchers and peanuts; only a few students had cars and it was within walk-

ing distance. I still have lifelong friends that I keep in touch with, and that is the most rewarding aspect of life at USD.”

— Dennis Halloran ’61 (BBA) The show must go on

The nuns have it “If there was one specific memory that sums up my experience at USD, it was the dedication that the Religious of the Sacred Heart nuns had to their students. Four years with the nuns enabled us to understand time management and hit the ground running. All of the nuns had an influence on me, but Mothers McShane, Murphy, Reilly, Furay and Rossi stand out. Mother McShane was my no-nonsense history professor: the good, the bad and the ugly were part of her curriculum.” — Mary (Fiorino) Orradre ’61 (BA) A near miss

“Yearly musicals with the College for Men were always fun. One memory I will never forget is that I had an attack of appendicitis while working backstage at one of the Women’s College annual musicals, Pirates of Penzance . I went off to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy and the show went on very nicely without me!” — Tippy (Gary) Thibodeau ’61 (BA)

“I attended the College for Men from 1957-1961. Most of today’s campus was under construction, including The Immaculata. I recall seeing a wind gust that almost caused the helicopter that was lifting the cross to the church bell tower to crash.” — Thomas Whelan ’61 (BBA) Spoiler: The nun won

Miracles abound(ed) “Through the kaleidoscope, visions appear. Pink geraniums blaze across Marian Way in riotous color; a small plane, attempting to lower the cross on The Immaculata’s dome, is caught in a downdraft and scares us — while singing, in academic dress — witless! Nuns, semi- cloistered and in full habit, go by the name Mother and touch our lives and our futures in ways both beautiful and profound. We were the lucky ones. We knew the voices of both Bishop Buddy and Rever- end Mother Hill. When I explore the campus now, their presence is so strong that they seem like companions as I walk. Together, we marvel at the wonder called USD.” — Sandra M. Cassell Farrell ’61 (BA)

“I will never forget Mother McShane’s encounter with the Navy: she won (of course). It was early December, and the Christmas Ball was near. Two days before the event, Mother McShane learned three of four of her senior girls’ dates were deploying on maneuvers the day before the dance. (Mother was the senior class councilor.)

She tersely said ‘l will see about that!’ The ship departed the day after the dance.” — Mary (Fiorino) Orradre ’61 (BA) That’s just ducky

“I remember raising a duck in our embryology class from an egg to a

mature duckling. We had 12 fertilized eggs and only one hatched. We stud- ied the various stages of the duck’s development. I took Junior home to Everett, Washington, at the end of the school year. She lived a good life there.” — Martha (Fiorino) Dowell ’61 (BA)

23

Fall 2021