Circular No 338

Newsletter for past alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.

Caracas, 26 of April 2008 No. 338
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Dear Friends,

Here we continue our weekly resume of the email that are received at the Circular´s “Headquarters”.
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From: KenTrini@aol.com
Sun 12/09/07 2:14 AM

Dear Ladislao,

I am Kenneth Ian Austin .

I was a student at the Abbey School from 1946 to 1952.

Yesterday I was trying to connect with PAXABBEY to gather news of any recent happenings.

But was unable to connect because the server is offline or some other problem.

However, fortunately the website for the Abbey School old boys circulars came up.

I spent the next many hours reading previous editions and looking at photos on Gioanetti site.

Years ago I used to receive newsletters regarding old Mount boys which I believe were compiled by Arthur Knaggs.

However I have not received any in many years and conclude that you have taken over that task, using modern technology.

Needless to say I was delighted to have hit on the site inadvertently.

I notice from the circulars that some of my contemporaries such as Leary and Richard Oconnor are still around albeit in Australia.

I left Trinidad in January1954 and went with Trevor Soodeen to New York University.

Trevor received his degree in Commerce and now resides in Canada,

Unfortunately/I do not have an e-mail address for him.

I transferred to Howard University in Washington, DC in 1956 where I got my BS in Chemistry in 1957 and MD in 1961.

After specialising in Internal Medicine/Rheumatology, I joined the faculty of my Alma mater in 1966 and taught until my retirement in 2002.

I now practise 2 half-days a week in order to keep my hand in it and my brain active.

I married a Washingtonian in 1962 and we have 3 children:

Janine, an ophthalmologist at the National Institutes of health, Sabrina, a lawyer and Sean who manages a tennis club.

Some of my contemporaries at Mount were Arthur Knaggs Peter Gaffney, David and John Farfan,Ray Dacambra,Hugh and Christopher Henderson,Anthony Lucky,David and Delano Dacastro, Phillip Nassief from Antigua,Vernon Lee Kit,Bernard And Osmond Gomes from Guyana.,Christen Krogh and Johnny Nieto from Venezuela.

My brother, Trevor and I started at Mount in 1946 and Trevor replaced Nieto as the smallest boy earning the nickname, Mousey.

Trevor died in Trinidad in 1995, having received the last rites from the original abbot, Father Adelbert, who also ministered to my mother before her death in 1999.

My sister still lives in Trinidad and I try to visit her occasionally and when I am there I always visit the Mount.

I hope to be visiting in 2008.

Please add my name to the list to receive the circulars at kentrini@AOL.com and may you and your family have a happy holiday season.

Maybe we will meet at a reunion of old boys one day.

Thanks for your efforts and keep up the good work.

Kenneth I. Austin, MD
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De: michielid@cantv.net [michielid@cantv.net]
Fecha: 13/01/ 00:57:58

Good night to all of you.

I had my PC turned off for many days and today I have had the great pleasure of reading many messages of old friends from Abbey School.

I hope that all of you, and your families, are finding happy, together, in very good health, working hard and fulfilling all the wishes you could have (a little difficult in our current Venezuela, by now).

I will try to make time to read and answer all the mails, on time.

Greetings to Dr Bratt:

If I go to Port of Spain in anytime be sure I'll look for you, to go up Abbey School; it's a deal.

Thanks

Daniel
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Thursday, January 31, 2008 2:46:27 PM
Alfredo Montiel Bezara <amontielb@megaval.com> wrote:

Nazi,

That's how I remember you !!

It has been a real pleasure to hear from you, at one point I thought you were in Germany, and since them we never heard from you.

Probably Andrés Larsen knew but also for some time I did not see Andrés.

Me agrada si vienes a Caracas podemos vernos en algún momento.

Pronto te escribo nuevamente,

Alfredo Montiel Bezara

MSB 67-72
-----Mensaje original---------------------------------------------------------------
From: mlew@cantv.net
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2008 23:07:44 -0430

Hi Salvador,

It has been a long time since I have had any contact with Mount boys who went to school during the 6 years I spent at Mount.

Actually I have had more contact with the older generation like Urbano v. Fedak who I know from the German church in Caracas.

Also his brother Mathias I see often when he goes to play tennis at the Caracas Sports Club were I am a member.

I am also in touch with Pedro Castro, his brother Reinaldo, who is now working in the German church and Donald Goddard, whom I know from the time I worked in the oil industry for ten years in Maraven.

I do remember you and your mother and the hotel where we always used to stay when we went to Cumana.

I think I have only gone back once more when I took my wife to see where we use to live in Tunapuy, pasando Carupano where my father was a doctor.

Let me tell you a little bit about what I have been doing since I left mount (63-69) and provide some correct information since Andres Larsen did not get all the information correct.

I went to St. Marys University in Halifax, Canada, for one year, since my brother had gone there.

Then I followed my brother to Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada, where I obtained a bachelors degree in geology.

From there I returned to Venezuela and worked in the Ministerio de Minas with Donald Goddard for about six months before I went back to Canada, Windsor University in Windsor, Ontario.

There I did my masters degree in geology and my thesis was the study of the natural solar pond that exists in the island of Grand Roque in the archipelago Los Roques.

In Windsor I met my wife and once I finished I left for Gottingen, Germany, where I did a Phd in geochemistry.

I returned to Venezuela and worked one year in Intevep and nine years at Maraven.

In 1991, I left Maraven and went into the wholesale jewelry business where I continue to work.

Actually, I just came back today with my wife from New York, where we attended a jewelry show.

I have a house in Boca Raton and we come and go about once a month.

I have two boys, Misha (23) and Yuri (21), they are both in university in Canada.

Misha is at York in Toronto studying economics and Yuri is in Carleton University in Ottawa studying computer science.

Misha played professional tennis until last year but that did not go too good.

When he was 12 he spent two years at the Niki Pilic Academy in Munich.

I will send you pictures of him with the current Australian open champion Novak Djokovich.

With regards to the nazi name, that was the name given to my brother while in mount and once I got there they also called me nazi.

I think it had to do with my brother speaking German, I was not that fluent at that time.

Actually my mother is German and my father Ukrainian.

The Ronnie is what my mother still calls me but my real name is Myron, a common Ukrainian name.

I am returning to Venezuela on the 9th and I will send you some pictures of the family once I am there.

I am glad that all is going well with you and your family.

By the way, how is your mother doing? My regards to her.

If you ever come to Florida let me know, maybe I might be here and we can get together.

All the best

Myron

New e-mail:myronlew1@gmail.com
----------- Mensaje Original ------------------------------------------------------
De: Salvador Coscarart [salborbolla@hotmail.com]
Fecha: 29/01/2008 16:12:57

Hola Ronnie .

Espero que tu y tu familia estén todos bien y también tu mama.

Aquí estoy viviendo en Lafayette Louisiana y mi hermano pedro en St.Petersburg Florida.

Después del Mount nos vinimos a estudiar aquí en Louisiana State Unversity en Baton Rouge Louisiana.

Y nos quedamos por aquí.

Yo casado desde el 80 y con tres hijos ya todos graduados en physical therapy.

El mayor casado y el segundo para casarse en mayo 17 y mi hija de 21 también con su fiance para casarse muy pronto así como ves ya la nueva generación de los coscarart para adelante jajajaj.

Pedro también casado dos veces y cuatro hijos el mayor de 23 y 21 3 1 y medio jajajajajaj .

Parece a un conejito .

Bueno veo por el e-mail que me mando Andrés Larsen que estas muy bien también.

Un cordial saludo y abraso que dios los protejas y los cuide siempre.

Salvador Coscarart.

Abbey boy 67-74.
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Andres Larsen ...
Tuesday, January 29, 2008 11:41:37 AM

Hello Nigel

"Nazi" is none other than Myron, also known as Ronnie, Lew.

He is married to a Canadian, they both are chemical engineers but he is in the precious gems business, also doing business in the Netherlands and Belgium.

He and his wife commute between Florida and Caracas.

They have two grown sons, both in college, and both, from what I understand, also majoring in chemical engineering.

Myron and his two sons are professional tennis players on the side.

In his younger days Myron and family would stay on vacations at the hotel that Salvador Coscarart's mother,

Theresa, owned and ran in Cumana in eastern Venezuela.

Hope that clears things up a bit about "Nazi".

His e-mail address is mlew@cantv.net

Best regards

Andres Larsen
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"Nigel P. Boos" <nigelboos@eagles-wings.ca> wrote:

Wonderful, Andres.

Man! Didn't the guys at Mount have strange names, eh? Just like mine, I guess!!

Say, did you know a chap named "Nazi" during your time.

I never knew the poor guy's name, but I always called him "Nazi".

Why? I don't even know.

But he was a great fellow, and in fact, I have a photograph of him, to share:

I thought his name was "Nascimento" or something like that?

So, do you remember him?

Regards,

Nigel
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HIPPIES FROM THE SIXTIES‏
Glen Mckoy (mckoy43glen@hotmail.com)
Fri 2/08/08 6:44 PM

HELLO OUT THERE - AZIZ CALL ME, HE BORED. - OK WE BACK ON - ACTION PACK- TALES FROM THE MOUNT.-

Remember:

Volley ball at night, under the lights.

Dances with the Vene girls in St Joseph

Throwing stones at opposing team bus if they beat we in cricket or football

Making wild cat calls at any females we see anywhere, love at first sight, in some cases looks didn't have much to do with it

A soft drink you would not buy any where else.

I got a warning not to be hanging out where the young ladies were studying to become nuns. (none for me)

If you were not on the swimming team, then you might be in the back seat of car kissing some girl you just meet

Any excuse to go and see the nurse

Best swimmers in the country

Johnny Gracia saves two drowning people in the sea/ he was so fast /Jimmy Samaroo also Wild man Tim Healy catch big snake, sells to London Zoo I think $100

Remember:

Mount Lockdown /Black power uprising in the country/no where to run/we were there

Rumors are:

Rebels suppose to be coming from the mountains behind us, riot mobs suppose to be coming up the hill. Trini army on its way to the mount, Vene boys scared however their government sends two planes to get them with soldiers

Joe Azaz our #1 scout (big respect goes out to this guy) have to help Trini top army find their way thru the mountains.

All for one and and one for all in prayer because we think we dead now.

Its all history now and we all survived.

Old boy Bernard Lange come up to teach Mackintosh: One of my favourite teachers, great style of teaching, unfortunately I had to spend some classes standing outside the class, affected some of my spelling as you can see.

Good calypso singer also.

Running away on the weekends to see a movie down the hill, they should ah put a traffic light on that track the amount of people up and down.

Did Cutty ever sleep, if you were planning a night escape don't do it on Cutty watch.

Cachapa finds keys for the Kitchen, need friend who is not scared to get expelled if caught but will go because food is involved. Never get caught and I think Cachapa still have keys.

I told Cutty the story about 10 years after, he just looked at me, kinda half smile Assam and Alloy (mono) Garner, member of parrot troop/ never without food, if we suppose to have 2 tins of beans, well we would have about 5 tins of beans, some other poor campers, would have to go with out, this practise continued for about two world jamborees, Cutty didn't have to worry about us, and if he needed extra supplies he had an idea where it might be.

Parrot troop always with a big smile.

Glen / passing out not.

later........Aziz
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Now some photos from the collection. REMEMBER TO USE THE CODE NUMBER

Ladislao
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Photos:
03SC0354GRP, Reunion 2003 group, Salvador and Fr. Benedict and UNKNOWNS
08LK0012GRP, Brian Goddard and Alberto Ache in Maracay
07DM0005FHG, Fr. Hilderbrand Green, Abbot of Bartica Monastery in Guyana.
59RB0002d2, Photo taken by Roberto Bodington, Farchegs, Bro Vincent, Lipavski

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