History Commons^™

Lists Of Oral History Interviews, Barbara C. Allen

All Oral Histories

The main document is a simple list of interviews conducted by History 650 and Honors 122 students of La Salle University faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, neighbors, and Christian Brothers. The supplementary file is a spreadsheet with more details.

Interview Of Richard Kestler, F.S.C., M.A., Richard Kestler Fsc, Alexandria Moraschi

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Brother Richard Kestler, FSC. was born John Kestler on January 8, 1942 to John and Alice Kestler. He grew up in the Oxford Circle section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Brother Richard attended elementary school at his parish of St. Martin of Tours and went on to La Salle College High School, graduating in 1960. By this time, he made the decision to join the Christian Brothers and began this process for about a year before attending La Salle College. He graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor’s in Mathematics and gained a Master’s in Theology soon after. Brother Richard also has Master’s …

Interview Of Stephen Andrilli, Ph.D., Stephen Francis Andrilli Ph.D., Jane Highley

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Stephen Francis Andrilli was born in August 1952 in Bryn Mawr, PA. He was born to Francis and Leatrice Andrilli. Dr. Andrilli is the oldest of four children; his three sisters are Carol (now Carol Strosser), Patricia (now Patricia Kempczynski), and Barbara (now Barbara Parkes). Aside from a few years of living in Gettysburg, Dr. Andrilli has lived in the Philadelphia area for most of his life. He attended St. Jerome School, where he finished 8th grade. He then attended LaSalle College High School, where he graduated in 1969 at age 16. He entered La Salle University (formerly La Salle …

Interview Of Frank Mckee, M.A. English, M.A. Ed. Admin., Frank Mckee M.A., Paul Daley

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Frank McKee was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1948. His father was a World World II veteran and battery worker, his mother a key-punch operator and homemaker. Growing up in Olney, only fifteen minutes from La Salle’s campus, Frank attended Catholic schools his entire childhood. In 1967 he enrolled at La Salle as an English major but always knew that education was his true passion. Frank lived off campus and worked throughout his undergraduate experience, however, La Salle remained a social hub for him. In 1971, Frank graduated and shortly thereafter was hired to teach at North Catholic High School. …

Interview Of Richard Mshomba, Ph.D., Richard Mshomba Ph.D., Daniel Miller

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Dr. Richard Mshomba is an economics professor at La Salle University. He was born in Tanzania and spent his early adult life working for the Tanzanian government. When he was 27 he came to the United States to attend school at La Salle College. While attending La Salle he lived with the brother of a local Bishop who helped to get Richard accepted to La Salle. Richard spent three years at La Salle College earning his degree in Economics. After talking with his professor Richard Garrison, he decided to apply to graduate school at the University of Delaware. While he …

Interview Of Brian Henderson, F.S.C., M.A., Brian Henderson F.S.C., Rebecca Oviedo

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Brother Brian Henderson was born in 1959 and grew up in Southwest Philadelphia. He graduated from West Catholic High School for Boys in 1977 and La Salle University with a B.A. in Religion and Psychology in 1981, and later earned a Masters Degree in Pastoral Studies in 1992. He has been a De La Salle Christian Brother since 1979, taking final vows in 1987. All of Brother Brian’s apostolic assignments have placed him serving inner city youth. His first assignment was as a youth care worker and religion teacher at Saint Gabriel’s Hall in Audubon, PA, a residential treatment facility …

Interview Of Michael R. Smith, Michael R. Smith, Bradford J. Morith

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Michael R. Smith is an alumnus of La Salle University, Class of 1982, with a degree in accounting. He was born in 1960 at Nazareth Hospital in the Greater Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up along the Roosevelt Boulevard of Northeast Philadelphia in the Holmes Circle neighborhood. He attended and graduated from Father Judge Catholic High School in Philadelphia in 1978. He decided upon La Salle University and attended La Salle as an accounting major from 1978 to 1982, the latter being his graduation year. Legacy wise, Michael is one of many La Salle graduates in his family, …

Interview Of Margaret Mary Markmann, Ph.D., Margaret Mary Markmann Ph.D, Alexander P. Rowan

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Dr. Markmann was born in 1948 at the Anderson Hospital in Center City, Philadelphia. She was the fourth of eleven children born into a household of her mother, her father and her grandparents. She grew up in Philadelphia and has lived in the area for her entire life only leaving once after she completed nursing school. During her childhood her extended family lived nearby, her grandmother lived down the street and her Aunt and Uncle lived in the opposite direction. Her father was the direct descendent of Irish immigrants who settled in South West Philadelphia and lived in Southwest Philadelphia …

Interview Of Margaret "Peggy" Emme, Margaret Emme, Carlos M. Contente

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Margaret “Peggy” Walsh Emme was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1957 at Nazareth Hospital. Her parents are Marita A. Dunphy and Richard J. Walsh. They both owned business while Mrs. Emme was a child. Her mother owned a small boutique in the basement of her parents’ house (Mrs. Emme’s maternal grandparents) and her father owned a local tavern. Mrs. Emme would help out at both of these businesses. Mrs. Emme is the oldest of five children. Her four younger brothers are: Richard, Michael, Brian, and John. She attended Catholic school as a child, first attending St. Bernard’s Parochial School and …

Interview Of Margaret Mccoey, M.S., Margaret M. Mccoey, Matthew Riffe

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Margaret “Peggy” McCoey is the Director of Graduate Programs in Computer Information Science, Information Technology, and Economic Crime Forensics at La Salle University. Born in the Oxford Circle section of Philadelphia in 1957, Peggy grew up in St. Martin of Tours parish attending their grade school before going to Little Flower High School. After graduation in 1975, Peggy entered La Salle University an undergraduate where she received a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. Peggy received a master’s degree from Villanova in 1984. Beginning in 1982, Peggy McCoey has taught at La Salle University in some capacity. Throughout the 1990’s, Peggy …

Interview Of Joseph Grabenstein, F.S.C., M.A., M.Ed., M.L.S., Joseph Grabenstein, F.S.C., Wesley Schwenk

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Brother Joseph Grabenstein is the Head Archivist of the La Salle University Archives and also manages the Brothers of the Christian School, District of Eastern North America Archives that are housed here at La Salle. He worked as an assistant archivist from 1992 until 1994 and was made head archivist January 1, 1994. Grabenstein was born in 1950 in Cumberland, Maryland to Herman and Irene Grabenstein. He is a 1968 graduate of Bishop Walsh High School and received his Bachelor of Arts in History in 1973 from La Salle College. He taught a variety of classes including history, geography, religion …

Interview Of John P. Rossi, Ph.D., John Patrick Rossi Ph.D., Kevin N. Bretz

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This interview examines Dr. John Rossi’s life since his formal retirement in 2006. Major topics in the interview include Dr. Rossi’s publication of the La Salle history book, Living the Promise. Rossi details the archival experience, the research, drafts, and publication of the book. He also discusses the book’s reception at the school, as well as the community. Another major topic that was explored was Dr. Rossi’s travels and experience in Great Britain while he was researching his doctoral dissertation in the 1960s. Other topics include his analysis of history and his perspective on how technology has affected the …

Interview Of Richard Monastra, Richard J. Monastra, Pamela Johnson

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Richard Monastra is of the “baby boom” generation, having been born in 1946 in Philadelphia. He is the eldest of two children. He remains very close to his sister to this day. Mr. Monastra grew up in South Philadelphia in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He describes South Philly at the time as “magical”. He described his neighborhood as being made up of Euro-Americans who settled in South Philly after the Civil War. He attended St. Edmond’s Parochial Elementary School where there were as many as 60 kids in a class. After elementary school, he attended Bishop Neumann High School. While …

Interview Of Dominic Galante, Dominic Galante, Lewis T. Mladjen

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Mr. Dominic Galante was born in 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The youngest of three children and a first-generation Italian-American, the majority of his life, both professional and private, was spent in Philadelphia. As a child Mr. Galante was raised in a devout Catholic home and attended Catholic grade school in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia. Upon graduating from Northeast Catholic High School in 1962 he planned on joining the workforce, as attending college was not financially possible. In the fall of 1962, with the help of his high school typing teacher, he was interviewed and hired at LaSalle College …

Interview Of John J. Mcgoldrick, F.S.C., Ph.D., John J. Mcgoldrick F.S.C., Ph.D., Christine M. Thieme

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Brother John Joseph McGoldrick (b. 1948), grew up in Southwest Philadelphia with his parents and older brother. Attending Most Blessed Sacrament School and later West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys, Brother John was part of a strong Catholic community. It was here at West Philadelphia Catholic High School, where Brother John was introduced to the Christian Brotherhood. It was at this time that he realized that the life of service with the Brotherhood was the type of life he’d like to lead. At the age of fifteen, Brother John attended the junior novitiate and after graduating high school entered …

Interview Of Peter J. Finley, Ph.D., Peter J. Finley Ph.D., Meghan Bassett

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Peter J. Finley Sr. was born an only child to parents John J. Finley and Margaret Francis Dunn in 1931, in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. He grew up in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia. Peter attended St. Francis Xavier School for grade school, La Salle Prep School afterwards—located at 1240 North Broad Street at the time—and La Salle College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology in 1953. Peter’s connection to La Salle began early in his childhood; his father, John J. Finley, was in the College’s graduating class of 1924. Peter earned a master’s degree at the College …

Interview Of Eugene Colucci, Eugene Colucci, Robert G. Seelhorst Jr

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Abstract

Mr. Eugene Colucci (b. 1948) is a Spanish teacher at Buena Regional High School in Atlantic County, New Jersey. This is his twentieth year as an educator at BRHS in the New Jersey public school system. Before this, Mr. Colucci spent nineteen years teaching in the Catholic school system of Philadelphia (St. Peter’s Elementary, Bishop Neumann High School, and St. Maria Goretti High School). He has a unique perspective because he spent so much time in both the public and private school environments. He describes his youth in the Catholic school system of Philadelphia and describes growing up in …

Interview Of Cherylyn Rush, Cherylyn Rush, Linda Sago

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Cherylyn Landora Edwards Rush was born in 1959 in Shirley, Massachusetts. Mrs. Rush moved to Pennsylvania at a very young age. Her father, Lester Edwards, was in the military. After her parents divorced, Cherylyn’s mother Pearl developed ovarian cancer and passed away when Cherylyn was about seven years old. Her grandmother Louise Jackson then cared for Cherylyn until she went to live with their father. Mr. Edwards had remarried. When Cherylyn’s father and her stepmother divorced, she returned to Philadelphia, PA and attended William Penn High School. Cherylyn earned her high school diploma although she was pregnant with her son. …

Interview Of Edward J. Sheehy, F.S.C., Ph.D., Edward J. Sheehy, Lauren De Angelis

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Edward J. Sheehy was born in 1946 to Edward and Rosemary Sheehy. His father was a naval commander and later the head of an aerospace company called Hercules. He entered the novitiate of the Christian Brothers in 1963, received his undergraduate degree in history from La Salle College in 1968, his Master of Liberal Arts from Johns Hopkins University in 1973, and his Ph.D. in History from George Washington University in 1983. He worked at St. Gabriel's Hall, Calvert College High School, Hudson Catholic High School, Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, PA, and La Salle University. A specialist on …

Interview Of John Mccloskey By John Fallon, John Mccloskey, John Fallon

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John McCloskey was born in 1920 in Philadelphia’s Olney section. Born into a working-class Irish Catholic family, McCloskey moved to Cornwell Heights, Pennsylvania, in Bucks County, in 1924. He graduated from Northeast Catholic High School in 1938. He held several jobs before settling in at Crown Cork & Seal’s seamless can manufacturing plant located at I Street and Erie Avenue in Philadelphia’s Kensington section. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942. He was selected to instruct future pilots in the operation of B-17 Bombers. He attained the rank of First Lieutenant. Following his time in the Army, McCloskey …

Interview Of Carl Clayton, F.S.C., Carl Clayton, John Young

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Brother Carl Clayton was born George Clayton in 1938, the youngest of four boys, whose family resided in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended Calvert Hall High School and received a scholarship to attend La Salle College in Philadelphia, PA, beginning in September 1956. After a brief time as a student, Mr. Clayton decided to enter the Christian Brothers order. He completed his spiritual and intellectual training and took the name Damian Carl. Eventually his name would change to just Carl. Br. Carl reported to Pittsburg Central Catholic in September 1961 and was later assigned to La Salle High School in 1963. …

Interview Of Richard Grande, Richard Grande, Frank Hopper

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Richard Grande was born and raised in South Philadelphia. He was educated in the Philadelphia Parochial System from kindergarten through high school. He graduated from Bishop Neumann High School in June of 1960. He attended La Salle College from September 1960 through May 1965. In 1964, he was on the team of scholars who brought national recognition to La Salle College through their appearance on the nationally televised quiz program, the GE College Bowl. He majored in English at La Salle College and received his Bachelors degree in May of 1965. He received a teaching assistantship from the University of …

Interview Of Robert S. Lyons, Jr., Robert S. Lyons Jr., Christina Becker

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Robert S. Lyons, Jr. (1939-2013) graduated from La Salle College in 1961. The following is his obituary from McGhee Funeral Home:

"Robert S. Lyons, Jr., of Upper Southampton, died Wednesday, June 5, 2013. He was 73. Born June 29, 1939, in Philadelphia, PA, Bob was the son of the late Robert and Catharine Lyons. Bob is survived by his; beloved wife Joan M. Lyons (nee Lang); children, Joanne Jenkins (Ken), Robert P., M.D. (Renee), Richard (Leanne), David (Julie), and Gregory. He will also be missed by his 11 grandchildren. Bob Lyons, the author of Palestra Pandemonium: A History of the …

Interview Of John J. Seydow, Ph.D., John J. Seydow, Frank Hopper

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John J. Seydow was born and raised in Olney section of Philadelphia. He was educated in Philadelphia’s Parochial School System from kindergarten through high school. He graduated from Cardinal Dougherty High School in June of 1959. He attended La Salle College on a full time basis from September 1961 through May 1965. He majored in English at La Salle and received his Bachelors degree in May of 1965. The following September he began a graduate fellowship at Ohio University where he earned his Masters and Doctorial degrees in English by May of 1968. In August 1968, he returned to La …

Interview Of Paul Joslin, F.S.C., Paul Joslin, Donna Sharer

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Brother Paul Joslin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 3, 1946. He grew up in Colwyn, Delaware Country, Pennsylvania which is adjacent to southwest Philadelphia. He attended West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys where he was introduced to the Lasallian Christians Brothers. During the middle of Brother Paul’s junior year of high school, he became a Juniorate and on June 15, 1964 became a Novitiate in the Christian Brothers. Brother Paul studied Spanish at LaSalle University, then LaSalle College, as an undergraduate from 1965 – 1969. He earned a Masters degree in Spanish from Millersville University of Pennsylvania, …

Interview Of John J. Rooney, Ph.D., John J. Rooney Phd, Lauren Woodring

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Dr. John J. Rooney was born in 1923 to a working class family in South Philadelphia. He went to primarily Catholic schools and during his childhood, witnessed three World Series from his house. He started attending La Salle University in 1940, majoring in chemistry. During World War II, he left school to join the Navy as a flight instructor. He came back to La Salle and graduated in 1946. From there, he went to Temple University to get a master’s and then Ph.D. in psychology. During this time, he simultaneously went to school, taught first chemistry and then psychology at …

Interview Of Bernhardt Blumenthal, Ph.D., Bernhardt Blumenthal Ph.D., Derek Casey

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Dr. Bernhardt Blumenthal (d. 2012, age 75) was a La Salle graduate of the class of 1955 where he majored in German. After graduating from La Salle he earned his master's in German from Northwestern University, earned a Fulbright scholarship to study in Germany for a year and returned to begin his doctorate in German Literature at Princeton University. Upon graduation from Princeton in 1963 he was hired by La Salle to begin his career as a professor of German language and literature. In 1969 he became the Director of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and held that …

Interview Of Arthur Bangs, F.S.C., Ph.D., Arthur Bangs F.S.C., Ph.D., Caitlin Haug

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This Interview was conducted in order to collect the oral history of Brother Arthur Bangs and his time spent as Brother of La Salle, which includes his time outside and within the campus of La Salle University. This interview was conducted in Brother Bangs' office in Olney Hall on the second floor at La Salle University. Brother Bangs was born in 1932 in Philadelphia, where he went to West Catholic High School. He then furthered his education by joining the Brothers of La Salle upon graduation and entered as a student at La Salle College. After graduating from La Salle, …

Interview Of Arthur Grover, Arthur Grover, Joseph M. Curley

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At the time of the interview in 2007, Mr. Arthur Grover was the Director of Security and Safety at La Salle University. He was appointed to this position in November of 2004. Since the interview his role and the work of his department has evolved. In 2013 he was Assistant Vice President of Security and Safety. Mr. Grover is a graduate of La Salle University, class of 1977, majoring in Criminal Justice. Following his graduation from La Salle, he joined the Philadelphia Police Department where he served for over 20 years. Mr. Grover held a number of positions as he …

Interview Of Leo D. Rudnytzky, Ph.D., Leo D. Rudnytzky Ph.D., Meghan Mccormack

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In this oral history, we cover Dr. Rudnytzky’s life from his early childhood in Ukraine and Eastern Europe to his formative years in the United States. He provides a detailed account of his time as an undergraduate student at La Salle University. The interview then spans his graduate studies and early years of teaching at La Salle, along with the differences between his time here, at Ivy League schools, and at foreign institutions. The subject discusses his involvement in various ethnic and religious groups and his impact on La Salle by way of symposiums, speakers, and programs, which he has …