Voices - Ursuline Academy

Sr. Raymond with RosemaryArmbrust Anderson wholater taught at UA, pg.17Robin Anzinger Galvin '65Faculty MemoriesA Note from the EditorHow can I thank you for the overwhelming response to ourrequest for memories of a beloved Ursuline teacher? What ajoy it’s been to assemble this issue of Voices!I couldn’t help but spend some time remembering my ownUrsuline days on Oak Street and my own favorite teachers. I’lljust mention three, though my love of all of them was enoughto compel me to enter the Ursuline order where I spent fourwonderful years.Sister Raymond (Ruth Podesta '50)I had Sr. Raymond for junior homeroom and French I and II.She was an irrepressible font of laughter and, at times, fury. Butit was all refreshing for me since I came to Ursuline as a sophomorefollowing nine years at Mother of Mercy. Don’t get mewrong; I loved Mercy and the Mercy nuns, but they were quitereserved in comparison with the Ursulines, andSr. Raymond was possibly the least reserved of any nun I’d everknown. Although I almost never forgave her for halting Frenchclass for ten minutes while she unsuccessfully coaxed me intothe correct pronunciation of “refrigerateur,” we were greatfriends and still are.Miss Ann KingTall, lovely and refined, Miss King tried not to laugh at ourmischievousness but rarely succeeded. She was the perfectEnglish teacher, but even she couldn’t make Mill on the Flosspalatable enough for my taste. It was the first and only time Ihad to take a test on a book I had never completely read. Herengagement to Thomas Plunkett was huge for us girls, as hugeas her engagement ring. When she married, the entire classof '64, decked out in their graduation dresses, served as herbridesmaids. We juniors were green with envy. She wrote inmy yearbook that I was “indelibly impressed upon her mind.”What does that mean, exactly?Sister Barbara (Ellen Frankenberg '55)She was so young, and laughed so easily! She brought a wholehost of pressing social issues into our little world and involvedus in service projects we’ve never forgotten. More than anyone,she encouraged thinking and acting beyond ourselves forthe good of others. As I look back on the social and culturalchanges of the sixties, I see now the elements that were selfindulgent and irresponsible. She represents the best parts ofthat crazy time. It didn’t hurt that she was so fond of my sister,Marti (Anzinger) '69. I would have loved her for that alone.And finally, what about the teachers no one wrote about?I’ve thought about them long and hard in the past few weeks.I would hope they know that somewhere a former studentremembers them whose memories are no less precious, whosegratitude is no less valid, than if she had stopped her busy lifeto write down her thoughts and send them in. Every singleteacher over the past century has touched someone.VOICES SUMMER 20113