When I arrived in Cassadaga (1964), everything seemed highly organized and structured, as if everything had been in place and immutable from forever. Years later I realized that it was only 4 years old, and I'm curious about those first years, when things might have been more in flux and experimental. Wonder if some of the early guys might share what those times were like, how things evolved, what was cast aside (somewhere I got the impression that Greek was part of the curriculum initially!). And questions like, if the first year or two there were only a couple of grades, where did everyone room, in St Michael's? Were the buildings initially decrepit, and only gradually adapted and restored? Where were the classes, and the library? Who cooked before the Mexican sisters arrived?

After my third year at OLLO (1967), the seminary moved to Assumption Prep and I went on to finish high school in West Haven, CT. In just over one year after leaving the very contempletive, disciplined surroundings of OLLO, I found myself patroling the ridges of the A Shau valley of Vietnam as a U.S Marine. Now that was culture shock.

Hope to find out how others are doing. I often think back to my OLLO days. They formed the basis for the rest of my days.

- Steve Purcell, class 1968

I, along with a dedicated corps of young high-school guys, (OLLO seminarians) would get together every so often (it seems like it was constant!), and put together an issue of the Cassadagan. My first and main job was to print the thing, on a mimeograph machine which was probably state of the art in those days. Now that I've seen a copy on this website, I'll have to go to Assumption College and see if more are there.

After a while, I contributed the "nebish" to the Cassadagan - a character who would hold signs and say things like "don't miss this". I was proud of having stolen the original character from my brother, and added arms to him, so he could hold things...

On Sunday, November 6, twelve of the 19 graduating members of the OLL/Cassadaga Class of 1965 gathered at the Assumptionist residence on Old English Road in Worcester. ( >>>SEE PICTURES) Prizes for distance traveled were awarded to Paul Belanger (Golden, Colorado) and Tom Giroux (West Palm Beach, Florida), with honorary mention to Bernie Petit (Parsippany New Jersey). After a brief chance to introduce ourselves to one another (and try to recognize each other after forty years), we spent time in a more formal way catching up with each other's lives since graduation. Without exception, we all spoke of the incredibly formative experience that Cassadaga has been in our lives. Several phrases kept popping up in the conversation: strong community, a solid academic experience, a love of the liturgy and a work ethic. It was an afternoon and early evening that left all of us grateful for the time we had spent in Cassadaga and anxious to maintain the ties we had re-established.