Memory Letters from Classmates
Rita Winkelmann Hall
Class of 1966
Blessed Sacrament
I have often thought about the entire school population digging dandelions and formalizing this gardening chore into the contest for Dandelion Queen. I still tell myself that digging up dandelions doesn’t count unless I have a 2” root!
I remember that freshman homerooms were in the Chapel corridor and how easy it was to attend Chapel before classes began.
World event that happened while you were at the school? The assassination of John F. Kennedy was announced over the PA system in 1962.
Describe your uniform and your gym suit. When I began Notre Dame in 1962, my uniform was handed down to me from a neighbor who had worn it about ten years earlier. I remember the snap on collars and cuffs which were washed and starched regularly. The uniform was probably washed only twice a year! Thank goodness for spring when we switched to white blouses, which were laundered more frequently.
Gym suits were one piece with shirts, bloomers and skirts all attached. These also were laundered only rarely.
One of my favorite memories are of dances which were held at the CYO Center on East Main Street. A lot of teens hung out there regularly and I remember a phone call from an old boyfriend who was calling from that location when he hurriedly told me he had to get off the phone because the Beatles had just taken the stage on the Ed Sullivan Show. Unfortunately, the old CYO Center burned down about 1965.
The most lasting memory I have is sitting next to me today, I married my high school sweetheart, Dennis Hall, Althoff 1966.
