Sitting beside an open window, on one of last week's summer days, we watched a little boy puttering around in his grandmother's yard next door and listened to the song he sang. It was Jay Rust, who is now going on four, and he was doing very nicely with both the words and the refrain of the "Victory March."
Jay didn't shift keys in midstream but, a few nights later, the Notre Dame Glee Club did, when they came to the second chorus of "cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame," and it made for the most effective harmony. They were equally effective, in all their numbers which rang from sacred to semi-serious and from grand to light opera. And if they didn't know before, that Greenville was a friendly audience and a good show-town, they know it now. Soloist Roy O'Neil was a favorite here on last year's tour, and he literally sang his heart out this time for the many local admirers who hadn't forgotten him.
It was a repeat performance also, for Tenor Robert Ruetz and Pianist James Etling and the later got a big hand when he announced that he'd play "Fire Dance" for his encore.
In announcing one of the closing numbers, "Notre Dame We Hail Thee," Professor Pedtke said that John Powell would sing the lead. John stepped down from the bottom row of second tenors, with a surprised look on his face, and took a deep breath which could be heard throughout the auditorium. The impression we got was that this was all news to Mr. Powell. He handled it very nicely, however, as we all knew he would, and there was a big ovation which left him grinning all the way across his broad and friendly face.
Herman Blum and Ike Moyse used to kid Fenton Guinee, John Hanway, and other local followers of the "Fighting Irish" football teams, by citing such names as Marchy Schwartz, Marty Brill, Chuck Jaskowich, and Frank Carideo on the first-string teams of Mr. Rockne.
The Glee Club is equally cosmopolitan. In the matter of non-Hibernians, but names like Finegan, Gorman, Kelly, Killeen, Murphy, O'Connor, and O'Neil for seven out of ten in the baritones, certainly give the nod to the land of John McCormack. If Herman and Ike were on hand however, they could point to Tenors Blume and Contanini, Blaumeiser and Shumaker, and to Bassos Janowski, Jansen, and Twardzik. We note a Vollmer is in the list of tenors also, and that looks Teutonic, but his given name is Terrence, so he must have had an Irish mother.
A good many years ago we would sometimes step into Wallace Arnold Store to borrow the telephone or the time of day. On one such occasion, Mary Ann Lawhorn was standing behind the counter nearest the doorway and was waiting on Mrs. Frank Ciolino. We said good day to the two of them and Mary Ann returned our greeting. Mrs. Ciolino did not. Mary Ann must have noticed this for she undertook to introduce us.
"Mr. Crump," said Mrs. Lawhorn, "do you know Mrs. Ciolino?"
"Sure, I know Mrs. Ciolino," we replied, "and I know that fine boy of hers who sings for Notre Dame."
The hitherto unsmiling Mrs. Ciolino smiled broadly at the mention of her son Frank Jr. and we thought of this little incident when the latter appeared on the stage at curtain time, last Tuesday night, to present the case of his Alma Mater's Glee Club. We also remember Frank as "Mister Interlocutor,” in the Junior Auxiliary minstrel show of 1948, when he sang "If I Love You,” for the Carousel Show."
We are also remembering that two tickets he left at the office for Louise and Old Stuff. Louise couldn't go, so we traded our two paste-boards to Student Nurse Peggy Walley for the one she had, and that enabled Peggy to take her roommate, Mildred Person, to the concert. So we sat beside Peggy's sister and brother-in-law. Marian and Milton Barwick, and a good time was had by all.
Thank you, Mister Frank!
B.C.
