Loved this piece. I have a lot of uncles and cousins who grew up in Portland and went to Central Catholic and Jesuit. My mom went to one of those two girls' schools mentioned here (St. Mary's). I myself was raised in Seattle, and in the mid-1980s I attended O'Dea, an all-boys high school located downtown.
You totally nailed it about the "male energy" of that place, and the way it existed to keep boys focused and in line. The teachers did not mess around. Corporal punishment was pretty much gone by then from the Catholic schools, but they could (and did) make you kneel on a ruler as a punishment. (One Spanish teacher did whack us on the arm for wrong answers, but it was done in a "fun way" and was probably gone a few years later.) I wouldn't say the education was great, but it was functional. It looked good on the college applications. And our football team was excellent.
And guess what? Forty years later, it's still there, and STILL an all-boys school. They do exist! Thanks for this essay. It took me back.
Knocked it straight out of the park again. So well done. I cannot imagine what it would be like attending school these days, and Portland especially. [SE Portland close-in just off Hawthorne - just around the corner from Freddie's on SE Main, among others, 2003-2008]. I drove truck and was on call 24/7 (recovery & repo tow vehicles, largely wheel lifts but flatbeds in a pinch]. The interesting nights were when we would get called to hook meth labs and bring them back via police escort.
If I may - Portland's hysteria has bled out into the rest of the nation and behavior that once showed "having sand" or "self-respect" has now been deemed toxic, no trial, no jury of your peers, straight to execution.
It's also possible that he wants to go to Central, because the Portland public schools aren't always great. Maybe he's a smart kid and he knows he'll get a better education there?
My daughter went to Catholic school in Portland. I'm an avowed atheist. She attended because the schools here leave a great deal to be desired. Not because she's conservative.
As a 14 year older with straight As at (S)hitford Jr. High with a nice litany of fistfights there, my calculus (no pun intended!) was a) Jesuit's good college prep, b) my brother was there for 2 years' overlap me so I might have some temporary protection (never called upon, but..?) c) had I moved onto Beaverton with an even LARGER collection of derelicts, I'd get killed, and d) with the good grades earned so far, my parents encouraged me to go ANYWHERE I wanted to (good mom and dad!!). I probably shoulda gone to Benson High School with its hands on technical stuff, I would have met lifelong friends who went to Benson sooner (though I met them thru Tony Brunello, a fellow Jesuit student - how ironic!) But I don't regret the SUPERB liberal arts and modest technical classwork I got at Jesuit.
In retrospect Jesuit put up with a lot of stuff from me (our punk band played there during a mayhem show - all the teachers and faculty and entire student body there - to witness Ed Gambi get humiliated by our singer, Suzanne, who was NEVER one to be shy about expressing her opinions - hah hah!). No comments or admonitions by the religious or lay faculty - awwww! THose good guys!
I attended Jesuit when Blake did. We were good buds throughout. But a correction: There WAS real violence. My frosh year in Bliquez' class when I pounded D'Agostino in the fall of '75 after enduring bullying by him for a week and then a rolling start to the incident in in class. Once I was inside the principal's office I correctly accused the Jesuit Admin of favoring the kids of Italian descent since their parents funded the initial high school construction. When their little suckling babies tried to show dominance, this kid (me) shows up outta the blue from the public schools and refuses the status quo. Gedrose did NOT like some 14 year old kid speaking truth to power, so to speak. He had the utter stupidity of dragging my dad in for a lecture the Friday after the Monday fight. Yeah. That didn't work out quite how he had it planned.
My brother, 2 years older, had some similar incidences and he exceeds me in both hockey stick graphed temper, and MORE willingness to unleash the whirlwind, and a build like a fireplug. Some of those incidents, looking back, were just plain hilarious.
Finally there was the 30 minutes long fight at lunchtime between my bud from 7th grade Catholic school and Tom Mirabella. 30 minutes! Ya ever fought for 30 minutes? Try it sometime. And Jose, fight? Insane. Though the fight was considered a draw, the moral victory and TOTAL respect went to Jose against the Italian clique, and EVERYBODY congratulated Jose.
And yeah, plenty of corporal punishment. You could hear Laughing Larry (a.k.a. Fr. Morrison, ex boxer, with the temper of a bull when provoked) slammin' kidz up agin' the lockers at random times. Yet, I loved the man and NEVER ran afoul of him.
Loved this piece. I have a lot of uncles and cousins who grew up in Portland and went to Central Catholic and Jesuit. My mom went to one of those two girls' schools mentioned here (St. Mary's). I myself was raised in Seattle, and in the mid-1980s I attended O'Dea, an all-boys high school located downtown.
You totally nailed it about the "male energy" of that place, and the way it existed to keep boys focused and in line. The teachers did not mess around. Corporal punishment was pretty much gone by then from the Catholic schools, but they could (and did) make you kneel on a ruler as a punishment. (One Spanish teacher did whack us on the arm for wrong answers, but it was done in a "fun way" and was probably gone a few years later.) I wouldn't say the education was great, but it was functional. It looked good on the college applications. And our football team was excellent.
And guess what? Forty years later, it's still there, and STILL an all-boys school. They do exist! Thanks for this essay. It took me back.
Knocked it straight out of the park again. So well done. I cannot imagine what it would be like attending school these days, and Portland especially. [SE Portland close-in just off Hawthorne - just around the corner from Freddie's on SE Main, among others, 2003-2008]. I drove truck and was on call 24/7 (recovery & repo tow vehicles, largely wheel lifts but flatbeds in a pinch]. The interesting nights were when we would get called to hook meth labs and bring them back via police escort.
If I may - Portland's hysteria has bled out into the rest of the nation and behavior that once showed "having sand" or "self-respect" has now been deemed toxic, no trial, no jury of your peers, straight to execution.
Keep on. I enjoyed this immensely.
I am a contemporary of Blakes. The stories .. oh the stories.. hah hah hah! Woooooo hoooooh!
It's also possible that he wants to go to Central, because the Portland public schools aren't always great. Maybe he's a smart kid and he knows he'll get a better education there?
My daughter went to Catholic school in Portland. I'm an avowed atheist. She attended because the schools here leave a great deal to be desired. Not because she's conservative.
As a 14 year older with straight As at (S)hitford Jr. High with a nice litany of fistfights there, my calculus (no pun intended!) was a) Jesuit's good college prep, b) my brother was there for 2 years' overlap me so I might have some temporary protection (never called upon, but..?) c) had I moved onto Beaverton with an even LARGER collection of derelicts, I'd get killed, and d) with the good grades earned so far, my parents encouraged me to go ANYWHERE I wanted to (good mom and dad!!). I probably shoulda gone to Benson High School with its hands on technical stuff, I would have met lifelong friends who went to Benson sooner (though I met them thru Tony Brunello, a fellow Jesuit student - how ironic!) But I don't regret the SUPERB liberal arts and modest technical classwork I got at Jesuit.
In retrospect Jesuit put up with a lot of stuff from me (our punk band played there during a mayhem show - all the teachers and faculty and entire student body there - to witness Ed Gambi get humiliated by our singer, Suzanne, who was NEVER one to be shy about expressing her opinions - hah hah!). No comments or admonitions by the religious or lay faculty - awwww! THose good guys!
Still have a Jesuit all boys school here in Winnipeg, MB, Canada: St Paul’s High School. And there is a girls only school too. :)
Great essay. There are certainly still all boys catholic schools. In the small midwestern city I live in there are two.
First of all, GREAT blog post Blake!
I attended Jesuit when Blake did. We were good buds throughout. But a correction: There WAS real violence. My frosh year in Bliquez' class when I pounded D'Agostino in the fall of '75 after enduring bullying by him for a week and then a rolling start to the incident in in class. Once I was inside the principal's office I correctly accused the Jesuit Admin of favoring the kids of Italian descent since their parents funded the initial high school construction. When their little suckling babies tried to show dominance, this kid (me) shows up outta the blue from the public schools and refuses the status quo. Gedrose did NOT like some 14 year old kid speaking truth to power, so to speak. He had the utter stupidity of dragging my dad in for a lecture the Friday after the Monday fight. Yeah. That didn't work out quite how he had it planned.
My brother, 2 years older, had some similar incidences and he exceeds me in both hockey stick graphed temper, and MORE willingness to unleash the whirlwind, and a build like a fireplug. Some of those incidents, looking back, were just plain hilarious.
Finally there was the 30 minutes long fight at lunchtime between my bud from 7th grade Catholic school and Tom Mirabella. 30 minutes! Ya ever fought for 30 minutes? Try it sometime. And Jose, fight? Insane. Though the fight was considered a draw, the moral victory and TOTAL respect went to Jose against the Italian clique, and EVERYBODY congratulated Jose.
And yeah, plenty of corporal punishment. You could hear Laughing Larry (a.k.a. Fr. Morrison, ex boxer, with the temper of a bull when provoked) slammin' kidz up agin' the lockers at random times. Yet, I loved the man and NEVER ran afoul of him.
Congratulations 🎊