Newsletter for past alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.
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Dear Friends,
This Circular is dedicated to the emails from Jan Koenraadt.
I have hopes that some of you would take your time and write on your experience, feeling, etc.
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From: "Remyhaan"
Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 23:27:59 +0100
Dear Ladislao,
Thank you very much for Circular 252.
First I see a picture of a honourable dentist Wbladimiro Diaz giving you a good job despite that he had good reason to take the revenge of his life on some frontal collision .
And the updated picture of Kitty Marcus, unbelievable that she is still around and well.
My first term at the Mount, having problems in learning the English language, I felt homesick like hell.
So one day she caught me staring a little bit too long at Piarco Airport
I felt so ashamed at that moment, but she solved my problem by ordering some other boys to play with me which they did.
Also Father Augustine astonishes me, he changed a lot.
He gave me French lessons for four years.
After that I continued French at the Dutch school in Surinam, but that teacher didn't do a good job because at the final exam I got only 40% while at the same time I got 90% for English language being best and getting first prize of the school.
So at least the boys at Mount taught me English well.
But French language came later on very useful to me when I went on holidays several times to France
Because if you, English or Spanish speaking blokes think there is no place on earth where people don't speak English then you are wrong, in France they don't and if they could they won't!
So at least I could buy some baguettes and camembert cheese for my kids.
One day some French lady in a boulangerie had comments that my pronunciation was bad.
But father Augustine had done a good job, I had my reply ready: "Madame, je sui un tourist Hollandaise, je ne peut parler pas la lange de francais tres bien, mais je crois les France
Then she said: "Alstublieft" :)
I include some old pictures which I copied in the past from albums of my family.
They are about my elder brothers Gerard and Thijs Koenraadt.
Gerard attended MSB from januari 1954 to 1958 and Thijs from 1955 to 1960.
After that Thijs entered the monastery as brother Alphonse until 1966.
I have a family picture from august 1960 when Gerard was on his departure to Belgium
I hope you would like to publish them in the circulars along with my story above and I can add more stories if you like.
Many regards from Jan Koenraadt
jankoenraadt@gmail.com or
jankoenraadt@casema.nl
Oosterhout
The Netherlands
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Fwd: Re. Circular No. 265, The Abbey School MSB
Dear Jan.
My name is Rafael Echeverria they used to call me CheChe at Mount.
I did not quite remember your face but your name was certainly a "loud bell" in my memories.
I was in Mount the same years you were but your were some years bellow me.
I was ta Form IV when Don Mitchell was in Form V...
I left Mount in 1967.
You can't imagine how much I have enjoyed your memories described in such a humble and deeply felt manner.
Ladislao has done a great job hasn't he? ...
I contacted Ladislao for the first time about five years ago now .. and he has done the magic to have me dream of the best years of my life as he has done with so many of us Mount Boys
Ladislao has built up our MOUNT PRIDE
Memories ... Joe Azar Big Joe ... his bro baby joe .... Russell Cuna,... Don Mitchel ... Peter Tang ... his bro Norman Assam
I am just trying to say names so that we may find "common times" ...
I live here in Florida USA, I am an international attorney (Michael and Paul Stein ... The Hoffle Brothers) .... I have five children two granddaughters.
I live at 19555 E Country Club DR. Apt 102
AVENTURA, FL 33180
USA
Tel: 305-407.8667
Take great care of yourself, Greetings to your wife. Great photo in Greece
Love & Peace
Rafael Echeverria / CheChe
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John Pugh
Gmail Jan
Monday, January 15, 2007 4:15:20 PM
Dear Ladislao,
Thank you very much for the circulars.
I have another story about old boys.
During 1966-1967 I was sleeping in the big dormitory where Father Cuthbert supervised.
The beds were two story beds made from metal.
(Later on I saw these same beds in Verdun when I visited the war museum of Fort Douaumont for the World War One soldiers, so I think the monks must have had a "metal scrap" donation from the army).
I was sleeping on top and below me was John Pugh.
Although he was in a different class we would get along often and we were best friends in scouting.
John Pugh loved to sing these old soldiers songs, especially the song "Oh when the Saints".
During one scout camp we had a singing contest and John and I sang our guts out but only to become nr. 16 or so.
He also kept a book with pictures of World War II airoplanes, mostly the single engine types.
He would know them by heart, and while we would hardly see any difference between a jet Messerschmidt or a Spitfire, he would lecture us about all these planes.
When other boys went home for a long weekend, we foreign boys would get permission from Father Cuthbert to go on a hike for a few days.
Me and John Pugh and some other friends would come along together with brother Robert to supervise us.
John would sing his songs while we would build camp.
As we got experienced in camping one day Father Cuthbert trusted John and me to take a patrol of about 24 junior scouts on scout camp.
I forgot the name of the place, some river about 40 miles east of Mount St. Benedict where we scouts would camp often.
But now John and I were alone responsible for the wellbeing of all these junior scouts.
We put up tent on the bank of the river, the water was flowing sweetly, everybody wanted to go for a swim.
But then somebody came to warn us, it had been raining that day, we had to take care because the river might flood and the water would come suddenly.
I could hardly believe this story, thinking he was making a joke.
We doubted, discussing the chances.
But slowly we saw the water rising, so we told all the boys to break camp.
It could not have been sooner.
Just as we got all the tents and utensils on higher ground the water came faster then we had ever imagined.
Within a half hour the water flooded in a strong current the whole campsite, even reaching higher than the top of the tents.
We had been very lucky then, otherwise there would have been casualties.
We also made good credits because just as we finished breaking camp a worried Father Cuthbert came and saw that all was well.
After I left Mount St. Benedict I lost touch with John Pugh.
In 1985 I heard that he died in Ireland
I one of the older circulars I read that again that being a soldier he died in the Irish struggle.
It is with pity because I have a lot of memories of him.
We had to be in cooperation not shaking the two storey bed for a whole school year.
Greetings from Jan Koenraadt
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Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2007 10:42 PM
Dear Jan
Finally got to your email in the kertesz12 mailbox.
Hope to get to Dec. 24 this evening.
God bless
Ladislao
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From: Gmail Jan <jankoenraadt@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 7:20:09 PM
Subject: Lindsay Moffat
Anybody remember Lindsay Moffat?
He was in my class Form II 1964-1965.
He was very skilled in art and playing the piano.
When we played piano nobody from the school wanted to come and listen to us, except when Lindsay played this Calypso song "67".
He had an elder brother John Moffat also at the Abbey School
So I heard John is also an airplane pilot like Attila.
Lindsay went on in art, one time he designed these very beautiful dresses people would wear on carnival and festivals like that, but then in Glasgow.
I just received an X-mas card from him, he's been teaching Art + Design at college in Glasgow
his email address on the X-mas card is
his home address is:
Lindsay John Moffat
Flat 3/2
I will reply his X-mas card and tell him about the Alumni circulars and the websites he can look for.
Groeten van Jan
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From jan 15 jan 07
Dear Ladislao,
I have a few more old pictures from the Mount for the circulars if you wish which I copied from the albums of my family many years ago.
In 1958 my mother from Surinam
Gerard went to the Mount from January 1954 to 1958.
After that he visited the ICTA in Trinidad to study tropical agriculture.
One picture of the sport fields is with a blue ballpointline showing the boundaries we school boys were not allowed to cross.
If we did it would be black list at once (guilty until proven innocent :-).
Where the picture is taken of the sports field there used to be a staircase from that point to the sports field passing alongside the seminary in 1958, but it was gone when I arrived at Mount in 1963.
Best wishes from Jan Koenraadt
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Use the code on the photos when replying.
Some of the photos have missing names, so please help.
This is for now, keep well.
God Bless
Ladislao
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Photos:
63JK0001TOMSB, Jan before taking a filght to TT and MSB
60JK0001JKOFAM, The Koenraadt Family
58JK0001GKOPOS, Gerard Koenraadt in PoS.
04JK0001JKOWIFE, Jan and Berthy
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