Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, June 15, 2000
The Southern Cross, Page 3
Couples reminisce in Savannah, where faith brought them together
A n unusual reunion was held in
Savannah over the May 7 week
end. It wasn’t a class reunion or a
family reunion, but a gathering of
men who served in the Air Force at
the former Hunter Air Force Base in
the late 1950s. In addition to per
forming their military duties, these
men were involved in the social and
spiritual life of the community as
members of the Legion of Mary, the
Knights of Columbus, and the Catho
lic Young Peoples’ Association.
Some of them met their future wives
at CYPA dances or other functions,
were married in Savannah, and then
moved away to different parts of the
country. After being out of touch for
over 40 years, they gathered in
Savannah once again to renew their
friendship and reminisce about the
days of their youth.
George Camp of Ridgefield, Con
necticut served at Hunter from 1957
until 1959. He met Dale Fuhrman, a
graduate of Saint Vincent’s and the
daughter of Margaret Fuhrman, at the
CYPA. After George was discharged
he eventually went to school in Cali
fornia where Dale, who was a Savan
nah teacher at the time, went to visit
relatives. She looked him up and af
ter a lengthy long distance courtship
they were married in Savannah at
Blessed Sacrament Church in 1968.
They now reside in Royal Oak, Mi
chigan, where George is employed
DeLoach
by GM. They have three children,
but no grandchildren as yet.
Joe Berger of Emmetsburg, Iowa,
arrived at Hunter in 1955 and was
discharged in 1958. He met Mary
Quarles, a graduate of Commercial
High and the daughter of Tom and
Anna Quarles, at a CYPA dance.
Mary and Joe were married at the
Cathedral in 1958 and left Savannah
in 1960 when Joe went on to a career
in the textile industry. They are re
tired now and live in Rock Hill,
South Carolina, close to their three
children and six grandchildren.
Vernon Krajeski of Chicago, Illi
nois, served at Hunter from 1958
until transferred in 1961. At a Sunday
CYPA dance he met Catherine Valen
ti, a registered nurse and a graduate
of Saint Vincent’s Academy, the
daughter of Dominick and Rose
Valenti. After a quick courtship they
were married at Nativity Church in
Thunderbolt in 1958. They are now
retired, and reside in Virginia Beach,
where Vernon serves the church as a
permanent deacon. They have three
children and six grandchildren.
Ted Lindbeck of Portland, Oregon,
came to Hunter in 1955. He was
active in the CYPA until his discharge
from the Air Force in 1958. Ted
returned to the West and, after discern
ing that he did not have a vocation
with the Benedictines, moved on to
married life. Ted now resides in
Joe Berger, Vernon Krajeski, Janet Habas, Ted Lindbeck,
Mary Berger, George Camp and
Catherine Krajeski reunite.
Seattle, Washington, where he has five
children and eight grandchildren.
Janet Habas, also a Saint Vincent’s
graduate and the daughter of Walter
and Ann Habas, was very much a
part of the CYPA group in the late
’50s. Janet went on to a career as a
microbiologist with the Centers for
Disease Control in Atlanta. She is
now retired and divides her time
between Savannah and Atlanta.
Charles Kastensmidt and his wife,
the former Antoinette Saraf of Savan
nah, were scheduled to attend from
their home in Round Rock, Texas, but
had to cancel out at the last minute.
After touring the city on the Trolley
and strolling on River Street, the
group gathered together Saturday
evening where they were joined by
other Savannahians who were CYPA
members. Joe Ebberwein and his wife
Harriet, Danny Keane and his wife
Gloria, and Mary Valenti, a retired
RN, contributed their memories of
those days gone by. Everyone agreed
that it would be great to meet again in
the future and resolved not to wait
another 40 years before doing so.
Deacon Vernon Krajeski wrote
this account of a reunion of
couples who met through
Catholic organizations.
(Continued from page I)
They came from every country and the diversity of their ill
nesses amazed the DeLoaches. Once in Lourdes, the little town
the Blessed Mother honored by her appearances to Saint Berna
dette, the sick—or malades—experience an acceptance they
have probably never felt before. Here, the sight of people on
stretchers or crutches is a commonplace. Here, a “wheelchair
lane” is marked off in red. Here, the tide of suffering is over
whelmed by a tide of joy engendered by faith.
Linked to this faith are the healing waters which flow at a rate
of 70 gallons per minute from a stream adjacent to the shrine,
while a line of spigots along the stream provide access to the
water. The initial stream dug by hand by Bernadette Soubirous
at the Blessed Mother’s instruction continues to flow today, pre
served under glass. Baths are available in separate facilities for
men and women. Trained attendants are on hand to help those
wishing to bathe don a cloth which completely covers them.
Thirteen-year-old Daniel DeLoach decided he wanted to bathe
in the spring at Lourdes every day, and did so. His parents also
bathed there, experiencing the piercingly cool waters and
emerging, Julia disclosed, perfectly dry and refreshed.
In the basilica, church and chapels at Lourdes, another kind of
stream flowed through each day: Mass was offered in every lan
guage and prayers were constantly recited. At night, a proces
sion numbering 200,000 people wove its way through the area
and the DeLoaches were a part of it. Beyond the cave where the
Blessed Virgin appeared, a row of candles of every size and
shape, stands ready to be lit by supplicants. Julia noted that a
large candle might cost fifty dollars and adds that she bought a
six-dollar one to be lit as a visible sign of prayer by her son.
Candles lit at this site are kept burning until nothing remains of
them but a pool of wax.
While Daniel was at Lourdes, he suffered no drainage from
his hips, a problem which had been ongoing at home. Did the
DeLoaches take any of the healing water home with them?
“Gallons,” Julia says. “I gave some away here at school, but we
have lots left.”
Back home, and with three masses on Daniel’s spine to be
dealt with as well as her work as a teacher, her role as wife and
as mother of Kathleen, Michael and Daniel, Julia has interrupt
ed her teaching duties today (presenting year-end awards to her
students), to explain what the Lourdes journey has meant to her
and her family. “I can’t say enough about the Knights of
Malta,” she says. “They are good people from all over the
world who help people all over the world. If I had a lot of
money I would do what they do. I can’t think of anything more
rewarding. When I asked one of the volunteers what he did for
a living, he said, ‘I give away money’.” Julia thinks the group
should be publicized so that others who have the means will
step forward to do this good work.
Life goes on in the DeLoach household as summer begins.
Kathleen—the DeLoach’s oldest child—graduated from Saint
Vincent’s Academy after an outstanding high school career and,
in the fall, will head for Furman University. Young Michael
finished his freshman year at Benedictine Military School and
Daniel concluded another year at Blessed Sacrament School.
“Daniel doesn’t think of himself as being sick,” his mother
says, smiling. “He thinks there are a lot of people who are sick
er than he is. He realizes, too, that he’s very lucky.”
“Lucky” after 53 operations and with more pending?
“Lucky” to have to put up with drainage and discomfort from
his condition? Yes, lucky—perhaps—because he has good par
ents who are determined to do all they can for him and have a
persistant and pervasive faith that “everything will turn out all
right if it is God’s will.”
Rita H. DeLorme is a volunteer
in the Diocesan Archives.
About the
Sovereign
Military Order of
Malta
The Sovereign Military
Order of Malta is not a
religious order per se,
though originally it was. it
has a membership of
I 1,000 from all over the
world. Its Divisions
include 6 Grand Priories,
3 Sub Priories and 41
National Associations in
37 countries. Governed
by a Sovereign Council, it
is headquartered in
Rome and presided over
by Grand Master Fra
Andrew Bertie who was
elected in i988.
Numerous clinics and
hospitals are under its
auspices and the familiar
white, eight-pointed
Maltese Cross insignia is
a universal symbol of car
ing in times of disaster
and emergency. Website:
http:www.smom.org/
order/today.html.