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St. Augustine’s H.S. Is Gone But Not Forgotten
BY BERNIE BEGLANE
George Bruns was among four inductees into the Lancer Hall of Fame last Friday night.
For the Class of 1962 graduate of the now-closed St. Augustine H.S., it was the fourth such honor that he has received.
The Manhattan College Hall of Fame, the McClancy High School Hall of Fame and the Basketball Oldtimers of America Hall of Fame enshrined him earlier.
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Albert Bonnie |
Brother Peter Bonventre |
George Bruns |
John McQuade |
Joining Bruns last Friday in the ceremonies held at Bishop Loughlin M.H.S., Clinton Hill, were Albert J. Bonnie, Class of ’47, who organized The Bonnie Boys Club which remains active in Brooklyn to this day.
Also Brother Peter J. Bonventre, F.S.C., Class of 1945 who edited the yearbook as well as being an active member of the student council, and John McQuade, Class of 1953, who pitched three no-hitters and was a New York City CHSAA first-team selection.
Time to return to Bruns who earned his master’s degree from Fordham University and his doctor of philosophy from Hofstra University.
“I was fortunate in my freshman year at St. Augustine that Brother Jerome Corrigan (F.S.C.) was the freshman basketball coach.
“When I was in grammar school I never played, but by the time I entered high school, I started to show some interest in the game.
“Brother Jerome gave me a shot and the rest is history.”
That history for the Leo Honor Society member included playing both baseball and basketball at Manhattan College where he earned all-Metropolitan conference honors in the latter.
Upon graduating, George played baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals system. He then returned to St. Augustine’s to teach mathematics and coach the junior varsity basketball squad.
Bruns also was the assistant varsity coach at the same time and later became varsity coach at Msgr. McClancy.
Basketball being in his blood, as they say, George played weekends in the Eastern League and then was signed by the New York Nets in the early days of the American Basketball Association.
Now a full professor of mathematics at Nassau Community College, basketball remains part of him.
George is the coach of the boys varsity team at Manhasset H.S.
The Bonnies
For the past 60 years, Bonnie has been continually engaged in volunteer and philanthropic work for the benefit of young people. In September 1947, he organized the Bonnie Boys Club and eight years later he franchised the first Little League in Brooklyn. Al started the Happy Felton “Knot-Hole Gang” TV show from Ebbets Field, old home of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
His work continued as he directed and coached the CYO youth programs at Most Holy Trinity, St. Catherine of Genoa and then the grammar school program at Our Lady Help of Christians, all in Brooklyn. He later became the youth director of the Brooklyn Junior Chamber of Commerce from 1959 to 1965.
Al has also had a distinguished business career as an entrepreneur in banking and real estate. He is a graduate of the American Institute of Banking, and has been a restaurant and cabaret owner in Brooklyn and later on Long Island.
Now living in Florida, Bonnie is a licensed real estate and mortgage broker. His philanthropic work continues in the Sunshine State where he founded and has served as president of the Haitian American Community Help Sports Group since 1997.
Future Loughlin Principal
Brother Peter joined the Christian Brothers in late 1945, devoting his life to the mission of St. John Baptist deLaSalle. At St. Augustine, he was the editor and wrote most of the text for the 1945 yearbook. He was a library aide, a member of the student council, public speaking, debate and art clubs.
After joining the order, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Catholic University and did his graduate studies in English at Fordham University.
He has served at Bishop Loughlin for almost 40 years of his 60 years of religious life.
He was regarded as a dynamic English teacher and a creative administrator and principal. He guided the school through the difficult days of war protests and racial unrest, and through such ventures as the student-faculty senate. For the last 25 years, he has served in the guidance department.
He has also served missions at Sacred Heart, the Bronx; St. Mary’s in Massachusetts; LaSalle Military Academy, Oakdale, and St. Raphael’s in Rhode Island.
Brother Peter is passionate about art, music, theater and literature and is an outstanding poet.
Tablet All-Star
McQuade, in addition to the New York City CHSAA honors, also was selected to The Tablet’s All-Star team.
He was an active member of the Leo Honor Society, voted class athlete and graduated with honors, receiving the Murphy Medal and Archbishop Medal.
Jack attended Fordham University on a full baseball scholarship. In his junior year, he was voted MVP by his teammates. After graduation, he played two summers of professional baseball in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
During the winter between those summers, he served six months active duty in the Army Transportation Corps.
Since 1958, his working life was devoted mainly to the stock market. He started as a two-year Merrill Lynch junior executive trainee, moving on to become an account executive, independent market analyst, GH, Inc., securities letter writer, independent stock trader and working his last few years in retail sales.
Jack is retired but continues to be an active member of the Market Technicians Association, Inc., a non-profit worldwide stock market education organization
Jamaica Estates Students Walk
So That They Can Study
Students at Immaculate Conception School, Jamaica Estates, participated in the annual Walk-A-Thon event. It is the most successful fund-raiser at the school and organized by the physical education teacher Mrs. Scala.
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