6 BELLA RMINE MAGAZINE THE READERS WRITE All bets are off I recently saw my son’s Bellarmine Magazine for Summer 2013. On the back was a picture from Churchill Downs that you were asking if anyone knew what it was. I can’t say for sure, but I do have an idea what it might be. Given the era (from the clothing styles) and the time of year (from the trees in the background), I’m guessing this may be from the Corpus Christi processions they used to hold each year at Churchill Downs on the feast of Corpus Christi. We used to go as a family when we were children in the 1960s. I’m not sure how long they were held there or exactly when they ended. They haven’t had them for a long time now. I would expect there would have been some Catholic Bellarmine students at these processions when they were being held. Just a guess, but it seems to make sense. Louis Wiesemann Crestwood, Ky. Finding a Happensack in a haystack That picture must be from a freshman orientation activity in 1968. I was a freshman that year and recognized a couple other students. When I looked a little closer, I noticed someone that looked like my dad. Then I found someone that looked like my brother. I wasn’t sure, so I asked my wife if she recognized anyone in the picture. She immediately identified my dad and brother. She even found me, which I did not notice at all. The only time that my dad and brother were down at the same time was for my freshman orientation. I don’t even remember going to Churchill Downs that weekend, but obviously we did. Bill Happensack ’73 Brook Park, Ohio Thanks to all who helped identify the event in our archival photo. According to Fr. Clyde Crews, university historian and Bellarmine Magazine columnist, the photo was probably from a freshman orientation event. However, Eagle-Eye Clyde, who did not see the photo pre-publication, noticed that the trees and lack of development in the photo’s background indicate the event probably took place not at Churchill Downs, but possibly at Miles Park or Louisville Downs. Wherever it was, Mr. Wiesemann’s letter led us to this delightful gem, from Courier-Journal racing reporter Gregory A. Hall’s blog: “Legend has it that when Churchill Downs impresario Matt Winn agreed to let the Archdiocese of Louisville’s Corpus Christi parade take place at the track, Archbishop John Floersh promised Winn that it would never rain on the Kentucky Derby.” Judging by Derby 2013’s muddy mess, perhaps the track should reinstate the Corpus Christi processions, which ended in 1974. –Editor If you remember 1968, you weren’t there The photo on the back was probably from no later than fall of ’68, because all the guys’ hair would have been longer and the fashions different in ’69. The very chic and beautiful woman in the yellow dress (right center) is my mother, Bettye Thurmond. Trailing her on her right shoulder is my handsome brother Bob (Class of ’72). The guy behind Bob’s left shoulder might be our dad, Hal, but I can’t swear to it. The young woman in the polka dot dress to left of Bob is Bob’s girlfriend and future wife, Mary Alice Zarella. Mary Alice informs me that this was a freshman orientation, in July 1968, and that I was not there. She also informs me that my eyesight is failing. That is not a polka dot dress she is wearing, but a flower print dress. With sincere appreciation for your good work, David X. Thurmond Louisville
Bellarmine Magazine_Fall2013_Web
To see the actual publication please follow the link above