Fred McKay ’63

I came to Damien from St Joseph Parish in Pomona where I attended St Joseph Elementary School for 8 years.  We were the first class to attend and so there were no senior classes in front of us.  I missed not having older students to look to for some guidance.  The archdiocese of LA had purchased the old Bonita High School property and I remember seeing some of the older buildings being demolished early in our first year.  Also remember going through the old Administration building that had a library from the public school days.  The books were as old as the twenties and thirties.  Also remember building a model for the new gymnasium that was built sometime after school started.  That was a project coordinated by Rod Long, one of the first teacher/coaches of the period.

In those days everything was new.  No history to recall, so it was a learning experience for all of us.  All of my schoolmates had come from coed grammar schools so the all boys environment was something new, for sure.  We did have activities with the girls at Pomona Catholic High School.

I have fond memories of the Debating Team we had.  Mr. Stamps was the teacher and his son Bill was one of our classmates. Sports was always important toward building a tradition of excellence and I think we were quite successful in launching what is now a great sports legacy at Damien.