Prep '58 Blog - April 2026

In this edition of the Prep '58 Blog...

We are starting to beat the drum about our 68th Reunion Summa Bash - Tuesday, July 14th at Bar A. We hope you will put the date on your summer calendar and join the fun. More info in the Blog.

Prep does it again! Another over-the-top result for the Founders Day Fundraiser!  The $500M goal was exceeded by more than 15%. Many thanks to all who contributed and supported the effort this year.  See the results here!

Dr. Michael Gomez delivered an Easter message, reminding us that God sees us in ways that we might not see ourselves. His messages are always inspiring, and this one is no exception. You can see it here.

We heard from Gerry Drummond and Phil Campana who shared stories about

Prep grads who made news, and a re-discovered 60 year-old letter.

Walt and Louise celebrated their 46th anniversary in style - we have the photos to prove it.

We take a peek at another issue of the Petroc from the second half of our freshman year, with mention of a successful season for our basketball team; various social activities, and the names of the first Freshman Honor Society All Stars...

A delicious St. Patrick's Day dessert recipe from Desserts with Stephanie...  

...and a G'Kid bringing home the gold!

Gerry Drummond...

"Our track runners will appreciate this... 

In the BU David Henry Valentine Invitational in Boston on Feb 13,  2026, Rodolfo Sanchez '21 of Bergenfield ran a 3:59.84 mile .  Rodolfo is a graduate of Loyola U Chicago, Fordham U. NYC and St Peters Prep '21. 

Gerry"

Phil Campana....

Vince,
I thought you would be interested in at least part of this note that resurfaced a few days ago from Jack McSherry, SJ.

The first part of the note is personal congratulations on my college graduation, but it also pertains to all of the class of 58.

You might want to share this second part in the next blog.

Phil

“Four years is a long time and a short time as well; I can scarcely believe my classmates are college graduates. Perhaps some of them will pause at the consideration that I am a vowed religious for almost a year now. Each of us has his path to take, and each his way of growing. Never stop growing, Phil! Growth opens all the doors you ever could yearn for. In July of next year, I shall head for Loyola seminary at Shrub Oak for my three years of philosophy. Perhaps we could meet there sometime. Drop a line when you’ve got your plans straight. 

Deus sit semper tecum.  Jack, SJ. “ 

Bob Filoramo sent in a review of a book he read recently.

"I recently read Peter Kreeft's Calvinist to Catholic, his odyssey from Calvinism to Catholicism.

Born in 1938  and raised in Paterson and other close NJ suburban towns, he describes a boyhood much like those of us who grew up in Jersey City, Bayonne, Union City and similar neighborhoods. While he is a brilliant philosopher, teacher, and writer, his stories of his youth in the forties and fifties are hilarious, good old street stuff.

While in Calvin College, he began to explore anti-Catholic prejudice, testing its validity and wondering what Catholicism is about. This led to deliberate, detailed investigation into the essential truths of Church teaching, especially the Eucharist and Sacraments.  In the end, he concluded that the Catholic Church is the one, true Church founded by Jesus Christ and was received into the Catholic Church.

Needless to say he was challenged to explain this to his closest Calvinist friends and, most especially, his devout Calvinist father who was dismayed but ultimately accepted his son's decision.

Peter Kreeft went on to be a prolific writer of philosophy,fiction,poetry and taught at Boston College for 60 years.

Calvinist to Catholic is an excellent book of apologetics for anyone either non-Catholic or Catholics questioning their faith.

Peace, Bob"

We have come a long way since Cos first suggested a Prep '58 Reading Library, but we still have plenty of room on our "shelves". 

More than 4 dozen books are in the library, but we're pretty sure many you have been reading, so consider sending in a review of a paragraph or two on a book you especially liked. 

Take a look thru our library here.

Here's the NYT front page from April 13, 1955. The Salk polio vaccine was approved and the country was gearing up for immunization as early as April 25, among the top stories.

Just in case your memory is as iffy as the Editor's, we found a site that lets you access the top news stories from back in the day. You can select the year and month, and the major news events for that period will be shown. Below are a few of the stories we found from 1955 from the thousands that are available. 

• February 24: Formation of the Central Treaty Organization.
• April 12: The Salk polio vaccine having passed large-scale trials earlier in the United States, receives full approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
• April 18: Death of Albert Einstein.
• May 14: Signing of the Warsaw Pact.
• August 18: First Sudanese Civil War begins.

You can see all the headlines and stories from the 50's right here!

We are still on the hunt for After '58 Bio's and we know there are dozens of 58'ers out there who read the Blog, but have yet to submit a Bio. Every one we get has an interesting tale to tell, and we hope you will add to our library.

And... remember those cookies!  Send yours in and we will get them right out to you! Take a look at the Bio's we have.

'After '58' got started in March, 2017, when we received this suggestion from Bill Kretzer to collect stories from the '58 gang about what they did after graduation. 

"I think there would be a bushel of interest in interviews with each & every ‘58 graduate. I for one, since I went away to college and never returned to NJ, didn’t keep in touch as much as I should have and would be curious to hear how everyone’s life turned out."

Bill sent in his Bio, and 8 years later, we are at 41. We hope every one of the '58 gang  will pick up on Bill's suggestion and send in their story in an email to Vince. 

It takes no more time to put your story together than it would to tell it to your grandkids, so how about it?  We will return the favor by sending a baker's dozen of Stephanie Grillo's famous Chocolate Chunk cookies. We've already shipped out over 500 of the best cookies you've ever tasted, and there's more where they came from.