The Official Publication of the West Catholic Alumni Association

WEST CATHOLIC ALUMNI ASSN.PO Box 889

Ardmore, PA 19003-9647___________

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Non-Profit Org.U. S. POSTAGE

P A I DPhiladelphia, PAPermit No. 2493

Web site: www.westcatholicalumni.org

VOLUME LXVIII SPRING 2008 NUMBER 3

21st SUMMER PARTY - JULY 13thINVITES ALL ALUMNI & FRIENDS

• WESTY’S IRISH PUB - NORTH WILDWOOD

• ON-SITE RAFFLE - MULTIPLE CASH PRIZES

• AIR CONDITIONED & SHORE BREEZES

• FOOD - DRINK - MUSIC - DANCING

• GOLF OUTING - SATURDAY, JULY 12th

DETAILS & TICKET COUPON - PAGE 3

Page 2 EEEE MMMM IIII SSSS SSSS AAAA RRRR YYYY Spring 2008

On November 14th, theclass of 1960 held its finallunch of 2007; at the LlanerchCC. We had a great turn outof classmates–40 to beexact. This was our classes’largest turnout ever and Iwould not be surprised ifmore of our classmates showup for our next luncheon, asmany more guys begin theirsecond life–that of retirees.

Of the 40 classmates thatattended 6 were new, onecame from upstate Pennsyl-vania & another came in fromVirginia, it was so good tosee so many guys from thegreat class of West Catholic1960, some of us look exact-ly like (we/they) did when weleft West, but not everyone,so when you put on the nametags is when the handshakesbegan with words like “wow”or “you sure have changed”or “I’d know you anywhere”.

The Great West CatholicClass 0f 1960

By Bob McGovernAll in all it was a great to seeeveryone, and as we left allthe guys said the same thingSEE YOU AT OUR NEXTWEST CATHOLIC CLASSOF 1960 LUNCH.

I want to also thank theManager at Llanerch CC,Sue Egan, as she too is aWEST grad; and our ownclassmate Allen Rogers whoso graciously helped with allthe arrangements.

Our first lunch for 2008 willbe held at Llanerch CC onMay 21, if you are from theGREAT WC CLASS OF 1960,and want to be part of or wishto find out more informationplease contact Bob McGo-vern at 610-583-4469 andleave a message. You mayalso see information on theWEST CATHOLIC ALUMNIWEBSITE westcatholic alum-ni.org (about 1 month beforethe lunch).

The GreatWest CatholicClass Of ‘1960’

LunchWhen

Wednesday, May 21stTime

12:00 To 2:30Where

Llanerch Country Club950 West Chester PikeHavertown, Pa 19083

If you are interested Injoining fellow class-mates for lunch on May21, 2008, please give mea call at 610.583.4469 oremail Bob McGovern atBob1Mac1@ Verizon.Netand leave a messagethat you will or will notbe coming, no later thanMay 19th.

Pictured l to r: Joe O’Loughlin, Jim Mullarkey, Stanley Dubiel,Ed “Tex” Connors, Tom Mullin, Peter O’Connor and Ed Char -members of the class of 1960 who attended the Nov. 2007 lun-cheon for the first time.

West Catholic Reunion in FloridaBy Harry Mirra ’52

West Catholic Alumni Association of Marco Island, FL held it’sannual reunion at Stan’s Idle Hour, Goodlands, FL on Feb.17th, 2008. This year about 25 attended the gala event. Theclasses were from 1947 to 1962. We are always looking formore attendees. The Molleys (’52) provided the banner,Toueys (’52) the refreshments, Egans (’54) evening refresh-ment and snacks at their condo by the lake. Diamonds (’52)attended their first reunion in Florida. Mike Manning (’64) andwife live in Marco Island and cancelled at the last minute. Mikewould like to say hello to all his classmates and the membersof Good Shepherd Parish in Southwest Philly. Next year (2009)plans are set for Stan’s on February 15th, 2 to 5pm (call afterFebruary 1, 2009, 239-642-1685 for info).

2008 Sports Hall of Fame Awardees: (L to R) Pat Ward ’62,Frank Doorey ’35, Joe Spratt ’55, Joe Gifford ’68, MaryShrenier Rizzo ’45 and Jack Hee ’70. Also present was Rev.John Hand (School Chaplain),

Athletes Honored at2008 Hall of Fame CeremonyOn March 29th, over 300

people gathered to pay trib-ute to this year’s group of out-standing sports figures.Those selected, along withtheir families, classmates andfriends, attended the annualcelebration at the EssingtonRamada Inn.

The inductees being rec-ognized for their accomplish-ments were: Frank Doorey’35 for basketball and track;Mary Shrenier Rizzo ’45 forbasketball; Joe Merkins ’51for track; Joe Spratt ’55 forbasketball; Pat Ward ’60 forcross country and track; JoeGifford ’68 for football and

baseball and Jack Hee ’70for football and baseball. Alsopresent were three membersof the 1944 Boys BasketballUndefeated ChampionshipTeam, who were also hon-ored.

In addition to the honoreesthe five Mulvihill sisters wereintroduced and acknowledgedfor their 14 years of con-tribution to the girl's basketballprogram.This year’s gatheringwas one of the largest andmost successful ever held.The Hall seeks to honor alumswho have brought fame to theschool by their prowess insports while a student.

Attendees at the 2008 Sports Hall of Fame

2008 Annual FundCampaign

By: Ed Kerr, Jr., ’60

John J. Beck, ’59Co-Chairmen John Beck,’59

and Jim Donahue,’63 reportthat the Annual Fund Cam-paign-2008 has reached over$62,000 with almost four (4)months to go. Both John andJim along with the ExecutiveCommittee extend their sin-cere thanks to all memberswho have responded to date.Our Association is blessed tohave such a loyal and gener-ous membership that alwayssupports our Worthy Cause!

We realize that these aredifficult times; we hope andfeel confident that those mem-bers who have not respondedwill do their best to do sobefore the end of Augustwhen our fiscal year ends. Alldonations are welcome andappreciated; these donationshelp us to bring the Emissaryto you and enable us to sup-port West Catholic HighSchool and their students.

James A. Donahue, ’63

Scene From the Sports Hall of Fame Celebration

WWWWEEEESSSSTTTT CCCCAAAATTTTHHHHOOOOLLLLIIIICCCC AAAALLLLUUUUMMMMNNNNIIII

EEEE MMMM IIII SSSS SSSS AAAA RRRR YYYY

Issued three times yearly by

The Association’s Communication Committee

P.O. Box 889, Ardmore, PA 19003

Phone: (215) 387-8560 - Fax: (215) 387-9443

E-mail: communications@westcatholicalumni.org

Phil Girard, Chairman

Denis Brennan, Jim Coyne, Jr., Jim Coyne, Sr., Tom Dorrian,

Ed Kerr, Jr., George Light, Joe Manfre, Bob McGovern.

SCHOLARSHIPFUNDS

The following funds have beenestablished through the AlumniAssociation. Please support bysending your donation to thescholarship fund of yourchoice, c/o West CatholicAlumni Association, P.O. Box889, Ardmore, Pa 19003:

Class of 1951Basil A. Woodfield

Edward F. SchehlClass of 1953

Bill BurnsClass of 1960

Richardson Family

Kelly Family

Conway Family

Class of 1944Tom Van Kirk

Class of 1942

William H. McGarveyWest Catholic

Memorial

All donations are apprecia-terd and help support wor-thy students.

CALENDEROF

EVENTS

July 12, 2008Beach Golf Outing

July 13, 2008Burrs at the

Beach

Oct. 25, 2008Christian Brothers

Dinner

Nov. 2, 2008Communion

Breakfast/Awards-----------

Reunions andLuncheonsSee Page 8

Spring 2008 EEEE MMMM IIII SSSS SSSS AAAA RRRR YYYY Page 3

By Tom Dorrian, ’61

First of all I want to thankeveryone who contributed tothe success of the 2007Burrs at the Beach whichallowed the Committee topresent Brother Tim Ahern,President, West CatholicHigh School with a check for$35,000 for Catholic studenttuition assistance.

The 2008 Burrs at theBeach Committee has set agoal of presenting WCHS acheck of $40,000.00. Theonly way we can accomplishthis goal is to have morealumni, alumnae and friendsof West Catholic support thisgreat event. If we can get ournumbers back up to 2000attendees we will be suc-cessful in this effort.

This year the West CatholicBurrs at the Beach celebrationwill be held on Sunday, July13, 2008 at Westy’s Irish Pubin North Wildwood, N.J from1:00 PM to 7:00 PM. As usualwe can expect Art and PegWest to be our usual gracioushosts. They are planning toadd some additional optionsto the food menu in an attemptto satisfy the various eatinghabits of all in attendance.They will also return to the fulltent coverage of the parkinglot that we had in 2006. Theydidn’t discover the tent snafu,last year, until it was too late toreplace it.

We have also changed theDelaware County pick up busfrom McGillacudy’s in UpperDarby to Tip O’Leary’s in Ha-vertown, Pa., which is about 5blocks west of McGillacudy’son West Chester Pike. The

bus will depart from Whalen’sDeli, 71st & Elmwood Ave,Southwest Philly promptly at10:30AM and it will arrive atTip O’Leary’s, 300 WestChester Pike, Havertown, Pa.at 10:45 AM and leavepromptly after loading.

Due to the snafu from lastyear the biggest change willtake place with the 50/50. Werealized when we called outthe winning numbers drawnand announced over themicrophone half if not mostpeople could not hear them.This year we will pick out thewinning numbers and placethem on placards and walkthrough all areas of Westy’suntil all winners are found. Ido apologize for the mix up oflast year, although all theoriginal winners were finallylocated and received theirmoney. We have taken stepsto insure that there is no con-fusion this year about whothe winners are.

Speaking of the 50/50 we

will again have three prizewinners. In the last few yearswinners have gone homewith cash prizes ranging from$400 to $1,200. We will alsohave many committee mem-bers filtering through allareas to make sure thateveryone has a chance tobuy tickets and take homesome money.

For those of you who arenot familiar with Westy’s IrishPub you are truly missing theperfect place to meet all yourclassmates and formerneighbors in one venue. Ihave often said this is not aschool reunion but a neigh-borhood reunion. Westy’sprovides a multi-dimensionalfacility that includes a hugeoutdoor tent, an upstairs out-door deck overlooking theground level partiers and aview of the Inlet. There is alsoan air conditioned bar insidethe deck and of course thehuge main bar area down-stairs. Westy’s will provide

21st Annual Burrs at the Beach July 13ththree food courts placed instrategic areas, many bars foryour drinking pleasure andmusic provided once againby DJ Jerry Smith for your lis-tening and dancing pleasure.The prices for your favoritebeverage will remain thesame as the last 7 years.Burrs at the Beach will alsoprovide two free trolley busesthat will run on Surf Ave. from26th Street to Westy’s from1:00PM to 7:00 for thoseparked any distance away. Ihope you are planning onattending the best all classreunion of them all. Please

Pictured above: Brother Timothy Ahern (center) gratefullyaccepts a check for $35,000 from George Light ’58 (left) andTom Dorrian ’61 (right). This amount was the gift given to theschool made possible from the proceeds of the 2007 Burrs atthe Beach.

come out and help us cele-brate the 21st Burrs at theBeach and reminisce aboutyour days at West and yourold neighborhood with yourclassmates and neighbors.Treat yourself to Westy’sgreat food, music and bever-age of choice while spendinga pleasant day at the shore—ALL FOR A WORTHY CAUSE!Our ticket price remains thesame, pre-event paid ticketsare only $20.00 and $25.00at the door. See you all atWesty’s Irish Pub, NorthWildwood, NJ on Sunday,July 13, 2008.

Burrs At The Beach Golf OutingWildwood Golf and Country Club

Saturday, July 12, 2008 (Change in Day)

A $25.00 deposit per golfer is required. Checksshould be payable to Bill Simpson, 9 NetherwoodDrive, Springfield, PA 19064.

For more information please call:Bill Simpson at 610-544-4480 or

Joe Manfre - 610-543-1792Dave Joslin - 610-259-0753

Cash Bar available at the Club after Golf

• $90.00 per golfer (Includescart and greens fee)

• Be a Hole Sponsor – ONLY$50.00 (Sponsors can includefamilies, individuals, WestCatholic Class, as well asbusinesses)

BURRS AT THE BEACHSunday, July 13, 2008

1:00 pm to 7:00 pmWESTY’S IRISH PUB

North Wildwood, New Jersey

Enclosed is __ _____for______tickets at $20 each.

Please send tickets to:

Name______________________ Class ______

Address________________________________

City_____________State____Zip ___________

Phone(_______) _______________

Please make checks payable to:

“Friends of West Catholic”SEND THIS COUPON, ALONG WITH A STAMPED

SELF ADDRESSED ENVELOPE TO:

John McMurrough1151 Villanova Ave.

Swarthmore, PA 19081Beach Tickets can be purchased Online athttp://westcatholic.imodules.com/burrs2008

At a Cost of $20.00

Contacts• Alumni Office - 215-387-8560• Bob McGovern ’60 - 610-583-4469• Charles Tucker ’61 - 610-494-2133• Mike McHale ’64 - 609-263-3331• Tom Dorrian ’61 - 609-368-3395• John McMurrough ’60 - 610-328-0558 • Marty Moran ’56 - 610-356-6072Parking • Free parking for a number of cars at

Spruce and New York Aves., Fifth and NewJersey Aves. and on nearby streets.

Entertainment• Jerry Smith (inside & outside) - 1:00 pm to

7 pmFood & Drink• Delicious menu from Westy’s kitchen.• Buffet included in ticket price.• Drinks available from several bars.Transportation• 2 free buses on Surf Ave. all day - Park & Ride.• Air-conditioned bus from Philadelphia &

Havertown–Round Trip $20.00.

Page 4 EEEE MMMM IIII SSSS SSSS AAAA RRRR YYYY Spring 2008

World War II Memories - The F-14 Tomcat

By Jack O’Donnell, ’39In the spring of 1942,

Harry F. Ogden, Jr., SaintFrancis de Sales, West Cath-olic Class of 1939, SeniorScience C was the first highschool grad in the Philadel-phia area to be accepted inthe Naval Aviation Cadet V-5

program. When I read thenews on the front page of thePhila. Record, I skipped workthat day and went down tothe Widener Building to joinup. So did classmate JohnMcMenemin, when he readthe news. That fall we left forthe Navy Pre-Flight School atthe University of NorthCarolina, Chapel Hill, to flyfor the Navy. From highschool grads to future com-missioned Naval Officers! Itwas fantastic.

How did this come about,you ask? Pearl Harbor,December 7th, had changednaval warfare forever. Beforethat disaster, we had theBattleship “BB” Navy. TeddyRoosevelt’s “Great WhiteFleet” had sailed around theworld, showing our nation’sformidable battleship strength.Prestige and promotions inthe Navy depended on beingassigned to a BB. On thatDecember Sunday, 1941, theattack had come from Japa-nese carriers that left eightbattleships sunk or founder-ing on the bottom of PearlHarbor. The days of the BBwere over. The new CapitalShip of the Navy was the air-craft carrier.

At the start of the war, theU.S. had only six carriers, the

Japanese had at least doublethat number. The Navy had tocatch up—fast— if we wereto have any chance of win-ning the War in the Pacific.Already underway was a shipbuilding program to supplyour allies with weapons under“Lend-Lease.” Henry Kaiser,a ship builder, went to Presi-dent Roosevelt with a daringplan. Give him a contract toconvert these small merchantships to aircraft carriers andhe would, he predicted,launch a carrier a month.

Senior Naval officers wereaghast. Mr. President, theysaid, “These “jeep” carrierswould bob like corks! NavalAviation, flying from aircraftcarriers is inherently danger-ous! It requires great skill,superior coordination andjudgment. If you authorizethese carriers with a flightdeck barely wider than aplane’s wing span, we esti-mate a 30% operational acci-dent rate before these flyerseven see combat! Our NavalAcademy graduates are inseverely short supply andneeded for ship and subma-rine duty. The scant numberof university ROTC are beingtrained for surface ship, staffand aviation duties. Wherewill we find enough candi-

dates qualified for pilot andcrew training? We’re scrapingthe bottom of the barrel, sir!

Roosevelt is purported tohave said, “Scrape a littleharder—or find a new barrel.”

The Aviation Cadet V-5program was born. As we fin-ished pre-flight and headedto our first flight trainingphase, no one mentioned a30% accident rate.

Jack flew Navy fighters incombat in WW II and Korea.He is the author of a noveldedicated to the 1970’s eraF-14 Tomcat fighter. The storyevolves from the mysteriousdisappearance of a Tomcatscheduled to be delivered tothe Shah of Iran.

As retired Navy CaptainDale “Snort” Snodgrass anF-14 pilot, has said, “You dida masterful job of interweav-ing the biographical drama ofthe early years of the Tomcatwith an exciting fictional tale.For all who shared sweat, fueland hydraulic fluid with thatmagnificent beast. . .Thankyou.”

Jack’s e-mail is jackodon-nell1@aol.com. He would liketo hear from ‘39ers, WC Navyvets and Burrs interested inmilitary history. He is currentlyseeking an agent/publisherfor Ghost 14.

Navy Captain JackO’Donnell, ’39, (USNR) Ret.has submitted the followingstory about how he and class-mates Harry Ogden, Jr. andJohn McMenemin wereearly enlistees in 1942 whenthey joined the newly formedNaval Aviation Cadet V-5 pro-gram. His narrative speaks foritself as he explains the tran-sition of naval power from bat-tleships to aircraft carriersand the development of hisclass of aircraft - the GrumanF-14 “Tomcat” fighter.

KEEPING IN TOUCHBy: Ed Kerr, Jr.

Manuel J. Valencia,’66 ofNew Smyrna Beach, Florida,has changed careers in midlife and became a RegisteredNurse, a really smart moveaccording to Manuel.

James A. DeMatteo,’77was promoted to Field Ope-rations Supervisor of thePembroke Pines, Florida Bor-der Patrol Station.

Jerome Driscoll,’54 ofBondville, VT was ordained aDeacon in the Diocese ofBurlington, VT on June 25,2005. He is involved in PrisonMinistry and sadly reports thepassing of his wife Sue inDecember of 2005, Jeromeand Sue have 4 children, 7grandchildren and 3 grand-children.

Dick Daly,’71 a formerHoopster from Havertown PAchecked in as did ArthurJones,’43 from NewtownSquare, PA.

Jim Dunn, ‘56 a sharpshooter from the corner and a1956 All-Catholic respondedfrom Sparta, NJ.

Charles J. Linde wrotefrom Winter Haven, Floridaand Rev. Michael D. Mur-phy,’68 made contact fromSaint Dorothy Rectory inDrexel Hill, PA.

Frederick A. Strasser,’42sends his best from beautifulSun City, AZ while RobertPaolini,’51 did the same fromClearwater, Florida and Wal-ter Boyd,’49 from ThousandOaks, CA.

Leo Ryan,’60 communi-

cated from Perry Hall, MDalong with James A. Love,’39 who resides in Media, PA.

Just learned that JoeMcFadden a long time resi-dent of Southwest Philadel-phia and an avid supporterof the St. Barnabas andWest Catholic Athletic pro-grams has passed. Joe, whowould have graduated fromWest Catholic in 1951 or1952, joined the US ArmedServices and was not toreceive his Honorary Di-ploma until this year...He willbe missed.

We heard from HermanOdenweller,’54 who residesin Broomall, PA and RayEllis,’46 who lives in Lans-downe, PA.

Immediate Past Presidentof the Alumni Association,Tom Dorrian,’61 is still veryactive with the Board ofGovernors and Burrs at theBeach even though he hasretired and now resides inAvalon NJ.

Rev. Edward H. Koob,’37who was pastor emeritus ofSt. Robert Parish in Chester,PA died at Villa Saint Josephin Darby PA.

We were pleased to hearfrom Pat McCloskey,’59 whoresides in Newtown Square,PA and Gerard R. Lynch,’52who now resides in Lake-wood Ranch, Florida.

John J. Foley,’55 whoretired from UPS at age 55resides in Newtown SquarePA and Florida since 1990.

James,’45 and Ida MarieQuigley,’46 of Bryn Mawr, PA

and Jim Bendel,’57 ofFrederick, MD send their bestto their classmates.

Kevin Collins,’78 alsochecked in from Philadelphia,PA as did Gerald,’71 andLynn McKee,’73 fromMalvern, PA.

Eugene F. Keohane,’78 ofSpringfield, PA along withJohn,’57 and Joan,’59 Mul-len of West Chester, PA sendtheir very best to all who sup-port West Catholic HighSchool and the West CatholicAlumni Association...LongLive the Burrs!

Robert J. White,’43 whoresides in Gwynedd Valley isdoing his best to “Keep theSpirit Alive & Well”.

Michael P. Wishing,’58 ofDowningtown, PA along withJoe Inemer, Jr.,’58 of Phila-delphia, PA and his wife,Eileen Fadgen Inemer,’63support the West CatholicStory.

Joe Gardler,’53 and thestarting center on the 1953City Championship team thatdefeated Overbrook HighSchool and Wilt Chamberlainreports that a relative ofCoach Jim Usilton who ledWest Catholic to CatholicLeague titles in 1952, ’53 and’55 and City Championshipsin 1952 and ’53 is workingtoward a motion picture thatwould tell this wonderfulstory, we can only hope thathe will be successful with hisQuest!

Steve Walker,’86 is stillsupplying great flowers at610-583-5900.

“Save the Date”The Christian BrothersService Awards Dinner

BenefitingWest Philadelphia Catholic High School

HonoringBrother Robert Schieler, FSC, ’68

General Council - Romeand Twelve Christian Brother Jubilarians

Saturday, October 25, 2008The Crystal Tea RoomWanamaker Building

Philadelphia, Pa.

Celebrating50 Years As a

Christian BrotherBrother Edward Conway,

F.S.C. a West Catholic gradu-ate from the class of 1955 willbe celebrating 50 years as aChristian Brother, with aMass and picnic this year.Our Congratulations to Bro-ther, what an honor! BrotherEdward is a Certified Addic-tion Counselor, Diplomat sta-tus and Certified CriminalJustice Addictions Profes-sional - both granted by theCommonwealth of Pennsyl-vania. Brother works parttime as Addictions Counselorat Shalom, Inc. His full timeoccupation is as Counselor/Educator at LaSalle Univer-sity in the Health ServicesCounseling Center and twodays a week as a volunteer atone of Philadelphia’s prisonsheading a therapy group formen. Brother states...”! havea full life and good health,Thank God!”

Alumni AssociationCOMMUNICATIONSWhen Communicatingwith the West CatholicAlumni Associationplease choose from thefollowing menu:

Alumni Office Phone215-387-8560 or

800-750-8560

Alumni Office Fax215-387-9443

Alumni E-mailwest_cath_alum_assc@

juno.com

A I u m n i / E m i s s a r y e-m a i Icommunications@

westcatholicalumni.orgAlumni Association

Web sitewww.westcatholicalumni.org

Thank you for yourcontinued support!

The Alumni Association hasbeen asked by friends of JohnNewman ’87 to inform fellowBurrs John’s neighbors andfriends are organizing benefitsto assist John, his wife and sixchildren. John is suffering froma life threatening medical con-dition, and his friends andneighbors would like to assistJohn and his family with themassive medical bills and toshow support for them in thisvery difficult time.

The next benefit will beheld on Friday, May 30th from7 pm to 11 pm at St. AndrewParish’s McGettigan Hall,School Lane and Foss Ave.,Drexel Hill. Tickets are $25and include refreshmentsand light snacks. A SilentAuction will be held. Dona-tions for the Raffle Baskets,Baskets of Cheer, or SilentAuction are needed.

If you are unable to attend,or if you receive this noticeafter the event, but would liketo send a donation to thefamily, please make checkspayable to: St. AndrewChurch and mail it to: SaintAndrew Church 3500 SchoolLane Drexel Hill, PA 19026.Please mark your envelope“Attention Newman Benefit”

Please keep John and hisfamily in your prayers. To pur-chase tickets, provide itemsfor raffle or for more informa-tion, please call 610-259-4077 or 610-394-8855.

Help forA Fellow Burr!

Spring 2008 EEEE MMMM IIII SSSS SSSS AAAA RRRR YYYY Page 5

West Catholic students ofthe 1950’s recall the wonder-ful productions, the sold outperformances and the partic-ipation of the students fromboth West boys and Westgirls. Today, we recall the1957 West Catholic Produc-tion of “My Maryland.”

In its first year underModerator Brother Guy Philipand his Assistant Brother F.Raymond the dramatics grouppleased three “Sold Out” audi-ences with Romberg’s lastingfavorites. Mrs. Margaret Kear-ney again directed with JohnMascaro conducting and MissMary McNelis assisting as

choreographer. Stagecraftwas under the guidance ofBrother Felix Gerald, whileBrother Dathus Joseph pro-vided guidance with the Art,Brother Gerald Joseph withthe Sound; Brother F. Patrickwith the Business Manage-ment. When the Play Ended,the Praise Began...

Lead performers includedDolores Doheny as Barbaraand Gerald LeVasseur asCaptain Trumbull. They founda way into the hearts of theaudience in singing “TheSame Silver Moon.” Otherstudents who helped to makethis production a success

WEST DRAMATICS - “1957”By: Ed Kerr, Jr.,’60

Members of the Stage Crew for the WestCatholic production of “My Maryland.”

Above: A dramatic highlight is professionallyenacted by Jack Negley (Edward Hickey) andBarbara (Dolores Doheny) in the lovers quar-rel scene.

While we were in theneighborhood we decided toagain visit the 1957 Yearbookfor information about otheractivities that our member-ship has requested us towrite about.

Public Speaking, Debatingand World Affairs groupsalong with the Art Club andthe Band, offered studentsthe opportunity to expandtheir educational horizonsbeyond the classroom, chem-istry lab, football field, basket-ball court and track. BrotherD. William (debating), BrotherE. Francis (speech activities),Brother D. Alban (debating);Brother D. Richard (worldaffairs-Radio-TV) served asmoderators as did Brother D.Joseph (Art) and Mr. JohnMascaro (Band). These areonly a sampling of the activi-ties that were offered to stu-dents who could take advan-tage of the opportunity, and

Quick Thinking and Spirited VoicesBy: Ed Kerr, Jr.,’60

what an opportunity it was!The West Catholic Experi-

ence is much more thanmemories; it is part of our fab-ric that keeps us togetherafter years removed fromthose four years at WestCatholic that were different foreach of us. Together we shareand spread our spirit andpride as proud graduates ofWest Catholic High School.Although your physical ad-dress may be in Florida orCalifornia, you are still part ofour family. Whether you attenda reunion, a West Catholicfootball game, Burrs at theBeach, visit the West CatholicHigh School of today, commu-nicate to us during the AnnualFund, or visit our AlumniAssociation website you are aBURR and that is good! As weturn back the pages; pleaseenjoy photos of some of theabove mentioned activitiesfrom the 1957 yearbook.

Members of the 1957 Marching Band

were Edward Hickey, GailYaegel, Howard Toto, GeraldDonohoe, Joseph Kelly, PatWoods, Rose Ann Murray,Robert Germscheid, DennisO’Leary, John Graber, JimMonsul, Mary Agnes Dough-erty and Rose Marie Calla-han. This major production bya High School happenedevery year at West Catholicand became a key part of theWest Catholic experience.We are thankful to those whorecorded this event in thepages of the 1957 BLUE andWHITE Yearbook, Co-EditorsJoseph J. Manion, RaymondM. Spratt and their team.

Class of 1950 Establishes LiteraryAward In Memory of Gerald Renner

Gerald A. Renner(1932 - 2007)

Gerard A. Renner wasborn in Philadelphia on June6, 1932. He graduated in1950 from West CatholicHigh School and earned aBachelor of Science in For-eign Relations from George-town University in 1959.

After graduation he spentseveral years at the ReadingEagle and specialized in cov-erage of organized crime. Heleft in 1965 for the NationalConference of Catholic Bish-ops in Washington and laterworked for the New York-based Religion News Ser-vice. He held the position ofeditor and director when hejoined the Hartford Courant in1984. He became a freelancewriter of religion after retiringfrom the Courant in 2000.

While at the Courant heteamed with freelance inves-tigative reporter Jason Berrarin 1996 and worked on several

high profile articles about theabuse problems in the CatholicChurch, eventually writing abook, Vows of Silence.

The West Catholic class of1950, in tribute to JerryRenner, has started a GeraldA. Renner Literary Award tobe given to West Catholic stu-dents who have shown in-creased proficiency in writing- be it a short story, poem,essay, or relevant news arti-cle - the winners to be select-ed by the head of the Englishdepartment at West CatholicHigh School.

On Friday, April 25, at aschool assembly for theentire student body of 550,the Class of 1950 presented$3300 in awards to 17 aspir-ing writers, including a grandprize of $500 to one studentfor his essay entitled “Imagi-nation”. Because of theenthusiasm and faculty sup-port, the program will berepeated next year.

EmissaryAdvertisements

Advertising is now beingaccepted. Space is limited.If interested call the Alum-ni Office at 215-387-8560or e-mail communications@westcatholicalumi.org

Haven Ogbagiorgis Wins 1st grand prize

Page 6 EEEE MMMM IIII SSSS SSSS AAAA RRRR YYYY Spring 2008

Two West Catholic Students AwardedPrestigious Gates Scholarship

West Catholic High Schoolstudents, Haven Ogbagiorgisand Sara Ghebremariamhave been awarded theprestigious Gates MillenniumScholarship Award. Thisscholarship was createdthrough a $1 billion dollargrant from the Bill andMelinda Gates Foundation.

Over 13,000 applicantsapplied nationwide. Only1,000 individuals are award-ed this scholarship, whichassists in the development ofleadership talent amongminority students in theUnited States. This scholar-ship not only provides the

way for college but also fol-lows the recipient all the waythrough the completion oftheir doctorate.

This is not the first time aWest Catholic student haswon this honor. In 2007Dewitt Ghebremariam wonthis award and is currentlyattending the University ofPennsylvania.

Both of this year’s recipi-ents are currently narrowingtheir decision on which Uni-versity to attend.

The West Catholic familywishes them luck and con-gratulates Sara and Haven ontheir major accomplishment!

In 1957 Jack Carickoff, ateacher at West Catholic HighSchool for Boys’ helped tobring Baseball back to WestCatholic after a 20 yearabsence. Almost twentyyears following that BrotherRichard Kestler, F.S.C. thenPrincipal of West CatholicHigh School for Boys’ wrote aletter to The Catholic Stan-dard and Times that washighly laudatory; “JackCarickoff has been involvedwith Catholic education andthe formation of our stu-dents.” The letter continued.“Jack is a convert to our faithand has served as captain ofthe Malvern retreat for thepast several years.” A little tripdown memory lane with JackCarickoff who went on tobecome the golf coach atWest Catholic and what anice and kind gesture byBrother Richard Kestler whowould return to the WestCatholic of today to serve astheir President.

West Catholic Baseball2008 has a new game planthat includes two new coach-es according to a full pagearticle that appeared in theApril 11th edition of TheBulletin. The article, writtenby Drew Silverman, tells thestory about students at WestCatholic who did not knowhow to put on a glove or howto grip a bat; the program didnot have a junior varsity team

WEST CATHOLIC BASEBALLBy: Ed Kerr Jr.,’60

until this season. He reportsthat because the studentpopulation at the high schooldoes not have a foundation inthe sport...West Catholic isGoing Back To Basics to helpestablish that foundation.

“We’re teaching these kidseverything from hitting a base-ball to learning how to chewseeds,” said Kevin Manning,the first year varsity headcoach at West Catholic. Hecomes to the school with along-range vision for the pro-gram—-the entire program.

Manning desperatelywants to see West Catholicamong the elite teams in theCatholic League and hewants the Burrs to be atopthe league for years to come.Manning, a graduate of St.Joseph’s Prep who playedcollegiately at Temple, isassisted by another first yearcoach, Don Pizzo who is theJV coach. “You’re pretty muchbuilding them up from noth-ing,” said Manning. This storysounds familiar if you followWest Catholic High SchoolAthletics. Brian Fluck, HeadFootball coach applied aGoing Back To Basics planfor the football program thathas resulted in two consecu-tive Catholic League Cham-pionships. Our very best toboth Coaches and to the stu-dents participating in theBaseball program. We knowthat you will be successful.

Nick came to West fromOverbrook (St. Callistus Par-ish) and graduated in 1996.His siblings are also Westgraduates - Frank in ’94, Dan-ielle in ’97 and Lisa in ’01. Hefurthered his education byearning a B.A. in Businessfrom LaSalle University. He ismarried to wife Gloria andthey reside in WestbrookPark, PA.

For a time Nick wasemployed by La Salle Univer-sity as Assistant Director ofAdvancement. His is nowreturning to West, where hehope to expand his fundrais-ing and development experi-ences. He expects to keepstrong relationships withalumnae and alumni but buildnew relationships with gradsfrom the new school.

When asked what he likemost about his time at WestCatholic Nick replied, “Westpeople look out for each otherand I think that’s the biggestthing. The Alumni Associationwishes him success in hishew position. Together withGeorge Light, ’58 and othersin the front office Nick willhelp to keep the school ontop in many exciting ways.

Nick Voight, ’96Appointed School’sAdvancement Director

By: Ben Kerr Jr.,’95

WC Students and Grads Win Track GloryWest Catholic’s long and

glorious history of success intrack and field is being keptalive by current West Catholicrunners and recent WestCatholic grads.

The 2008 running of thefabled Penn Relays featuredtwo recent grads - NicoleLeach ’05 (now running forUCLA) and LaTavia Thomas’06 (now running for LSU).LaTavia Thomas was namedthe College Women’s Athleteof the Meet for relays, havinganchored the LSU Tigers tovictories in both the 4 x 800and sprint medleys.

One of the highlights of themeet was the College Wo-men’s 4 x 400 in which bothNicole Leach and LaTaviaThomas competed. LSUplaced second, led by LaTavia, with a time of 52.8 sec-onds. UCLA finished in sev-enth place, led by Nicole, whowas timed at 52.3 seconds.Nicole Leach, whose special-ty is the 400 hurdles, did notparticipate in that race at thePenn Relays because of herexpected participation in the

upcoming Olympic Trials! Not to be outdone by

Nicole and LaTavia, the cur-rent West Catholic girls’ trackteam won the PhiladelphiaArea High School Girls 4 x400 Philadelphia Area SmallSchool Division, with a timeof 3:54.49. That time placedthe team second overall inthe Philadelphia area (includ-ing both large and smallschools). Congratulations toChante Moore, MariameConde, Brittany Robinsonand Michelle Davis, andcoach Eric Young!

Finally, David MachariaYout ’03, who started runningwhile at West and continuedon to a stellar career atWidener University (winningmultiple Man of the YearHonors), placed third in theBroad Street Run on May 4,2008! He has qualified for theOlympic Marathon trials!

(Editor’s Note: Thanks toJoe Looby’59 for the informa-tion on the Penn Relays!Please see Joe’s first handaccount of the races at www.westcatholicalumni.org)

Scenes from West Catholic BaseballCourtesy of Drew Silverman, The Bulletin

Photos by Krystie Marcellus

West CatholicSenior Tom SessaSaves A Life

Tom Sessa, a senior andvarsity baseball player atWest Catholic, recently savedthe life of an Upper DarbyTownship resident.

Tom, who resides in UpperDarby and is a volunteer fire-man for the Township,responded to a call for med-ical assistance on April 22,2008 for an apparent heartattack. A cardiologist on thescene indicated that he wasgetting ready to pronouncethe victim dead. After learn-ing that the nearest TownshipEMTs were on a call on theother side of Upper Darby,Tom used an AutomatedExternal Defibrillator (“AED”)to shock the patient. Thepatient responded to the AEDtreatment and was revived.

In recognition of hisefforts, on April 30, UpperDarby Township awardedTom the Mayor’s Award andalso presented him with theTownship’s Award ofExcellence.

Congratulations to Tom!

WM. H. LOGANFuneral Homes

Established 1895

Havertown

Philadelphia

Exton

610-623-3130___________

Bill Logan ’51

Spring 2008 EEEE MMMM IIII SSSS SSSS AAAA RRRR YYYY Page 7

Alumni Association MerchandiseItems Make Great Gifts • Place Your Order Today!

Please send your check, money order or credit card information to include type of card(MasterCard • Visa • Amex), Name on Card, Exp. Date, Shipping Address to WestCatholic Alumni Association, P.O. Box 889, Ardmore, PA, 19003.

If you wish to call in your order, please call 1-800-750-8560 after 4:00 p.m. and select Mailbox#4.You may leave your credit card information and your order or request a return call regard-ing same. Thank you.

ALUMNI GOLF SHIRTS (100 % combed cotton - washable)M___ L___ XL___ XXL___ XXXL___ $36.00 x ____=________

WEST CATHOLIC HATS (choice of four - all adjustable)A. Heavy brushed cotton pro-style cap constructed

navy blue with white WC on crown $16.00 x ____=________

B. Deluxe garment washed cotton twill 100° cotton–low profilepro style cap unconstructed soft crown–low fitting stone greycrown and navy blue Burrs on crown and navy visor $17.00 x ____=________

C.Suede visor washed pigment-dyed bull denim low profilepro style cap–unconstructed–khaki crown–100% cottonwith navy blue Burrs on crown and navy visor. $18.00 x ____=________

D. “New” Brush twill sandwich cap, navy and whitewith navy WC on crown $16.00 x ____=________

E. “New” Ski Cap $15.00 x ____=________

ALUMNI JACKET–white with blue accent, spring weight(75% polyester & 25% cotton with 100% nylon lining)L___ XL___ $75.00 x ____=________

ALUMNI JACKET–blue with tan accent, spring weight(65% polyester & 35% cotton with 100% nylon lining)L___ XL___ $75.00 x ____=________

HANES BEEFY “T” (100% preshrunk cotton)Navy___ White___: L___ XL___ XXL___ $14.00 x ____=________

NAVY SWEATSHIRTS (CHAMPION ATHLETIC APPAREL)(93% cotton & 7% polyester)L___ XL___XXL___ $35.00 x ____=________

“NEW” V-Neck Long Sleeve Pennant Stitch SWEATER,(100% Cotton. Available in Royal Blue or Navy Blue)S___ M___L___ XL___ $67.50 x ____=________XXL___ $72.00 x ____=________ XXXL___ $74.00 x ____=________

West Catholic Burrs Custom TWO-SIDED FLAG(30” Wide & 36”Long) $59.00 x ____=________

WEST CATHOLIC BOYS Blue & White Pennant18” long x 8” wide $ 8.00 x ____=________

SPECIAL SUMMER COMBO OFFERS

GOLF SHIRT & HAT (A-E), your choice $49.00 x ____=________

ANY JACKET & HAT, your choice $88.00 x ____=________

PRINT of West Catholic Boys’ High School at49th & Chestnut Streets. - Includes Mat -Suitable for Framing - Size 12’’x16” $15.00 x ____=________

NOTE: To add your name & class add $15.00 to cost. $_________Special Sizes may be ordered.PRICES INCLUDE SHIPPING TOTAL $_________

Two sided flag - Great for yourshore or mountain house

Jack Lawler, ’60 mod-els “New” blue withtan trim alumni jacketalong with Burrs hat(item C).

Mike Hisler, ’64 modelswhite alumni jacket withItem (C) hat and WestCatholic pennant.

Credit Card Type ____________ Exp.Date:__________No:______________________

NAME/CLASS__________________________________________________________

ADDRESS _____________________________________________________________

CITY/STATE/ZIP_______________________________PHONE:___________________

Place Your Order Today by Sending Your Check, Money Order or Credit Card information to:

WEST CATHOLIC ALUMNI ASSOCIATION P O BOX 889 ARDMORE PA 19003

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Any questions, please call 1-800-750-8560 Mailbox #4 or westcatholicalumni@aol.com

The Alumni Association’s88th annual Mass andCommunion Breakfast willreturn to the SpringfieldCountry Club, on SpringfieldRoad in Springfield, Dela-ware County. Mass will beginat 9:00 a.m. Breakfast andthe Awards Ceremony will beimmediately following.

As in recent years, in addi-tion to awards to other de-serving alumni and membersof the West Catholic commu-nity, members of our 25 and50-year classes–the Classesof 1959 and 1984–will behonored and will be involvedin all aspects of the Mass.

The Communion BreakfastCommittee, which receivedand reviewed many nomina-tions for deserving alumni, ispleased to announce that thisyear’s award recipients willinclude Jim Magee ’41; JoeCollins ’53; Gerry Darcy ’59(posthumously); Jerry Da-vis ’59; Jay Sawyer ’59,Brother Robert Schieler,FSC ’68; Mike Ahearn ’84

88th Communion BreakfastScheduled for Sunday, November 2nd

At Springfield Country Club and Keith Richardson ’84.The selection of other candi-dates is being finalized. Thefull list of award recipients willbe announced at Burrs at theBeach and detailed informa-tion about each person will beprovided in the next edition ofThe Emissary and on theAlumni Association website(www.westcatholicalumni. org).

The Springfield CountryClub, which is easily accessi-ble from I-476 (the BlueRoute) and Route 1, is locat-ed at 400 W. Sproul Road,Springfield, Delaware Coun-ty. Parking is free.

All members of the AlumniAssociation are invited to par-ticipate in planning and orga-nizing the 88th CommunionBreakfast. If you have ideas onhow to improve the breakfast,or if you would like to beinvolved in organizing it,please contact the Commun-ion Breakfast Committee bytelephone (610-246-1020) ore-mail (president@westcatholicalumni.org).

The Alumni Associationwould like the assistance of allmembers to identify candidatesfor the Second Annual Com-munion Breakfast Scholarship.Nominations and applicationsfor this Communion BreakfastScholarship will be accepteduntil July 31, 2008.The applica-tion/nomination form can beobtained in several ways. Youmay print applications directlyfrom the Association’s website(www. westcatholicalumni.org);request applications by e-mail(president@westcatholicalumni.org) or request applicationsby calling the Alumni Office(215-387-8560).

All 8th grade boys that aremembers of Catholic parishesand who will attend WestCatholic High School begin-ning in September 2008 areeligible for consideration forthe Communion BreakfastScholarship. Students neednot have attended a Catholicgrade school, as long as theyare a member of a parish.Potential recipients may benominated by their parents,school or parish, any memberof the Alumni Association or byWest Catholic’s AdmissionsDirector.

Thanks to the generosityof everyone who contributedto the Offertory Collection atthe 2007 Communion Break-fast, the Alumni Associationestablished the SecondAnnual Communion Break-fast Scholarship Fund to pro-vide scholarships for Catholicboys to attend West Catholic.The Communion BreakfastScholarships are fundeddirectly by the proceeds ofthe Offertory Collection re-ceived at the CommunionBreakfast. The amount of the

scholarship(s) available as aresult of each year’s Commu-nion Breakfast OffertoryCollection will vary. Thisyear’s Offertory Collectionrealized $3,620, which will beinvested to fund one four-year scholarships (of $1,000per each year) to a memberof the incoming Freshmanclass at West Catholic.

The Communion BreakfastCommittee will consider eachapplicant’s academic perform-ance, involvement in school/community/parish activitiesand family’s financial need.Families are required to pro-vide the Committee with acopy of the student’s mostrecent report card and a copyof the financial aid form thatthey provided to school. TheCommittee also may requestthat applicants receive a let-ter of recommendation fromtheir pastors. The recipientsof Communion BreakfastScholarship will be requiredto maintain an academicaverage of 80 and passingconduct grades at West toretain scholarship each year.The Scholarship may beused to pay tuition, fees andcosts only at West Catholic.

Applications and nomina-tions must be submitted byJuly 31, 2008 to the WestCatholic Alumni Association,Communion Breakfast Com-mittee, P.O. Box 889, Ard-more, PA 19003-0889. TheCommittee will make its deci-sions by and notify Scholar-ship recipient promptly there-after.

For more information,please call the Alumni Asso-ciation at 215-387-8560 orsend an e-mail to presi-dent@westcatholicalumni. org.

Nominations Being SoughtFor The Second Annual

Communion Breakfast Scholarship

Page 8 EEEE MMMM IIII SSSS SSSS AAAA RRRR YYYY Spring 2008

Dear Fellow Alumni:

Frequently, the West Catholic Alumni and the larger West Catholic community isreferred to as a “family.” Indeed, that “FAMILY” is stenciled on the back of many ath-letes’ practice jerseys and t-shirts at West Catholic now. I personally got to see howtrue that sentiment is over the last few months!

My brother Ed ’67 and I would like to thank the many members of the West Catholicfamily for the support, prayers and friendship extended to us and to our family uponthe recent death of our father, Ed, at the wonderful age of 95!. Although not a grad-uate of West Catholic, Dad should have been an honorary Burr at least! An avid par-ticipant in the old Fathers’ Club, he also was the most dedicated fan of West CatholicSoccer; he started attending West Soccer games in 1973 (when I was playing) and stillcame to games in 2007! I was the only coach in the Catholic League to have his fatherat most home games! With his gentle spirit, his dedication to our family and to theChurch, his quiet strength, his sense of commitment and his quick sense of humor,Dad taught Ed and I the most important lessons in life and truly was an inspirationto us! The support and care that we have received since Dad’s passing from our fel-low Alumni and many others in the West Catholic community testify that there is aWEST CATHOLIC FAMILY.

* * * * *On a different subject, I have had the privilege of co-chairing or chairing theCommunion Breakfast Committee for several years. One of the Committee’s mostrewarding, and yet most difficult, duties each year is to select the annual award recip-ients. I am continually amazed at the number of West grads who have capitalized onthe excellent education and moral foundation received at West to excel and succeed -not only in business but, more importantly, in improving their communities and con-tributing to the well being of so many others!

This year’s class of award recipients is no different. They have helped establish andmaintain the tradition that WEST IS BEST!

* * * * *Finally, as shown by the article elsewhere in this edition highlighting recent Alums’success in track, there can be no doubt that the tradition of excellence established byso many alumni in so many fields is alive and well today! LaTavia Thomas, NicoleLeach and David Macharia Yout are only a few of the many, many recent grads andcurrent students who are determined to continue, build upon and expand the won-derful traditions established by so many members of the Alumni. I urge all Alumnito take the opportunity to discover and support the many great things that are occur-ring at West and that are being accomplished by current students and young Alums!

St. John Baptist de La Salle, pray for us!Live Jesus in our hearts, forever!

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Francis X. Crowley, Esq. ’77

President

West Catholic

Alumni Association

Class Reunion ScheduleOnly your Alumni Association office can provideyour Reunion Committee with a current listing ofyour classmates–Call (215) 387-8560.

Class Location/Date Contact

1938 Planning Stage Father Philip Barr70th 610.873.4646

1943 6/06/08 Harry Helms65th Llanerch Country Club 610.363.7826Mass Sacred Heart Church11 AM Havertown

1953 9/19/08 Bob Smith55th Bala Country Club 610.544.2919

Bala, PA

610.344.0716

1986 Planning Stage-Combined Mike Ward20th Oaks Ballroom momikenmk@msn.com

Oak Avenue Maureen Buckley WardGlenolden 610.544.3142

momikenmk@msn.com

1993 10/25/08 Christina Adenaike15th Airport Ramada Inn cadenaike@yahoo.com

6 Industrial HwyEssington, PA

1996 Planning Stage Marcia Turner

10th 215.474.1110 orNick Voight610.941.0592

2001 Planning Stage Jackie Fritz5th 215.409.5232

jackiefritx3@yahoo.com

NOTE: ALL OTHER CLASSES WHO ARE PLANNING AREUNION OR WOULD LIKE TO PLAN ONE, PLEASECALL THE ALUMNI OFFICE AT 215-387-8560.

_____________________________

CLASS LUNCHEONSClass of ’45 - 5/22/08 - Edgemont Country Club,

Edgemont, PA

Class of ’51 - 10/15/08 - Casey’s Drexel Hill, PAContact - Ron Walsh610.853.2056

Class of ’59 - 6/18, 9/17 & 12/17/08Lehman’s RestaurantEssington, PA

Class of ’60 - 5/21/08 - Llanerch Country ClubLlanerch, PA610.583.4469

IN MEMORIAM

Francis Murray,’49Edward S. Barrow,’50Walter G. Dajnowski,’50William J. McDermott,’50Robert T. Hough,’51Louis Delloso,’53Daniel M. Greene,’53Charles P. O’Neill,’55Dominick R. Haigh,’56James M. Mac Donald,’56Francis J. McCullough Jr.,’56Alfred E. Milling,’56John V. Sullivan,’56John P. Coney,’57Joseph F. Kelly,’57William T. Holden,’58Stanley J. Jaseke,’58Frank G. McNellis,’58Joseph J. Courtney,’59Donald J. Jefferson,’67Thomas Nedelka,’68Patrick J. McCardle,’70

George J. Betzler,’33William E. Dougherty,’36John B. Wade,’36Rev. Edward H. Koob,’37Philip A. Brown,’38Charles J. McHugh,’38Henry J. Stauffer,’38Edward G. Titterton,’38Joseph T. Perna,’38Joseph V. Smith,’39James J. Magee,’40Clement J. Chambers,’42Robert M. McKeefrey,’42Mitchell J. Yanak,’42James J. Doyle,’43George Farrell MD,’43Frank W. McCall,’43John J. O’Doherty,’43John J. Donnelly,’44William J. Kelly,’44John J. O’Connell,’46John C. Graten,’46Frank Kuchma,’48

May They Rest In Peace

Remember Our Deceased AlumniIn Your Prayers