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Thursday, October 22, 2009

1946: HOLY NAME SOCIETY RALLY AT CADWALADER

LOOK AT THAT CROWD!
I was the President of the St. Anthony Holy Name Society for something like 4 terms back in the 1980's and early 90's. The attendance at the monthly meetings was pathetic. If we had 10 men in attendance it would be considered a record breaking crowd. Most of those in attendance were in their late 70's and 80's. In going through the newspapers from earlier years, I found that the annual Mercer-Burlington Federation of Holy Name Societies was hosting a group of men who were active participants. It was not unusual to find those annual rallies attended by thousands of loyal Holy Name men from parishes all over the Mercer-Burlington area. Television and other diversions, along with a growing lack of interest in fortifying their faith, led to the lack of interest in the enhancement of religious faith. I "gave up the ghost" back in the late 80's or early 90's when 2 or 3 men would show up for the meetings. In their day, the Holy Name Societies were valuable assets to the local parishes, as they hosted fund raising programs, worked at carnivals, bingo, "50-50's" and other necessary events, but most of all, their dedication to the Roman Catholic faith.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mr. Glover,
I really don't remember that much about the Holy Name Society at St. Anthony's, but I do remember our carnival. The last week in July and the first week in August was one of the highlights for all of the families in the parish. I remember it as being an "all hands" event. Did the HNS have a lot of play?

Tom Glover said...

YES, BILLY, THE HNS WAS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF OUR ANNUAL CARNIVAL. (SO WAS YOUR DAD!) DURING THOSE YEARS I WAS INVOLVED WITH THE PTA AND SPENT EVERY NIGHT THERE FOR MANY YEARS AS THE P.A. ANNOUNCER IN THE BOOTH. ASK YOUR DAD TO TELL YOU ABOUT PUTTING UP MONSIGNOR MCCORRISTIN'S ANTIQUE STANDS MADE FROM VERY OLD AND BEAT UP TWO BY FOURS!

TOM GLOVER