Newsletter for past alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St.
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Dear Friends,
Here I am including a mix of emails, and two class photos.
Can you help with them???
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Fw: ...VERY HAPPY TO HEAR FROM YOU...
From: Gmail Jan jankoenraadt@gmail.com
Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2009 8:59:38 AM
Dear Cornel,
Yes, we are all very grateful to Ladislao Kertez, Nigel Boos, Don Mitchell and other aiders for keeping up the Old Boys Alumni so we can communicate with each other via internet.
Ladislao has been sending out circulars all the way back starting in 2001.
They are numbered staring with #1 and last December 2008 was #373.
The circulars puzzled me first, but you have to see them as when some old boys send each other mails and pictures, they send a copy to Ladislao and he publishes them in the circulars.
Mostly a few months later.
Sometimes a message is a reaction upon another message; sometimes they are "stand alone".
Please keep in mind; you have to read the circulars from bottom to top.
You can find all the circulars back to 2001 on this website:
http://abbeyschool2008circulars.blogspot.com/
This is the year 2008, but if you scroll down a little and on the right side you see the other years until 2001.
People tried to put up some weblogs about MSB where old boys can drop messages, you see them on the sidebar.
If you want to see old pictures of MSB, almost every circular has 4 pictures.
If you left click on a picture you get a larger one which you can save with a right click to your hard disk.
About some pictures there were discussions going on, if you can add anything, if you recognize the UNKNOWNS add a copy of the picture in your mail and send it to Ladislao.
If you already visited Nigel Boos, he mad a beautiful compendium of the history of MSB from the beginning only with pictures.
We all got one, please ask him a copy.
You can see in the database of Nigel Boos that about 1100 old boys have been tracked down until now, residing over almost all the continents.
Thanks a lot for your pictures. I see I was right about your thick glasses and darkish frame.
But your recent pictures show there has been a lot of styling and design going one in glasses since 1960 ;-).
The picture of you from 1970 comes closest as I remember you.
The one of the sports fields 1960 you are young to me.
Strange T-shirt with the large V on the boys, don't remember that shirt.
Cornel, would you send your old MSB pictures and any other of your choice also to Ladislao, he will publish them in the circulars one at a time when possible.
I am sending you a bunch of old and present pictures.
There is one 65UN0001CLASS1967 unknown.jpg. I got this picture from Ladislao.
Could this be your class?
Are you #28 on the picture? If so, if you can remember any names, please mail them to Ladislao.
My eldest son is living in München in
Every year München has the large Beer Festival.
Some pictures enclosed are made at that festival.
Best wishes to you too, nice to hear from you,
Much greetings,
Jan Koenraadt
----- Original Message ---------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Cornel de Freitas
Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2009 6:50 AM
Subject: ...VERY HAPPY TO HEAR FROM YOU...
Dear Jan:
Amazing! and Fantastic! - being able to reach out and once again touch the lives of 'My Brothers' of The (old) Abbey School, Mount St. Benedict.
I, and all of us 'Old boys', owe a great debt of gratitude to our 'Big (older) Brothers', such as the likes of Ladislao Kertesz, Nigel Boos to name just "two" of the many men, who have given so much of their time, so that we could, after all these years of silence.
We can finally contact each other and rekindle the fire of friendship and camaraderie that existed between all of us, that were literally thrown together by our fathers and mothers.
We grew up together and 'grew together' as brothers, as the older ones moved up through the ranks of our classes and the younger ones joined us at the Mount in Prep.
Interacting together much as real brothers do.
Sometimes supportive and sometimes not as supportive as we should have been or could have been - all of the time.
I have, for so long, felt like being detached from a greater something, but did not know what it was, until Ladislao Kertesz literally "found me through my 'real (baby) brother, Errol de Freitas, who resides currently with his wife Nathaly in
[He has been there studying for his Masters Degree]
I have one other brother who still resides on the
We are all praying for him, with the hope that he will get better.
He has two sons both married with children (three grandsons).
I also have two sisters, one (the older) still lives in Aruba, and the other lives in
So does Nigel Boos, by the way.
I was literally overjoyed when Ladislao informed me that one of my MSB brothers did not live far from me.
I did not take me long to contact him and discover that he lived about 50-60 kms from me.
I called him the minute I got his telephone number and had great chat on the phone with him.
I asked him if he would mind if I dropped by to pay a visit and he was equally delighted at the idea.
*>>> Amazing, so close to each other. It looks like
Soooo... I did!
My son, Michael is (what I like to refer to him as) 'a computer wizard', had a computer he had 'fixed' to return to a friend of ours that he used to work with about ten years ago, they were having all kinds of "Virus" problems.
I asked Michael if, when we returned the computer to his friend Marcella, if we could make a small detour to the town of
As it turned out, Marcella had recently moved into a new house, and when she explained where she had moved to, we took out the map that we printed from a map site on the internet, and discovered to our amazement that she lived on the same street as Nigel Boos.
She said to us don't you dare visiting your friend Nigel and not come over to my house (about three houses down on the other side of the road)...so we stopped in and visited with Nigel and his wife Jackie for a few hours and when Marcella got home around 6pm that evening we crossed over to the other side of the road about three houses down and visited with her and her family until after 10pm.
(My son during the course of the visit to Marcella, left for a few minutes to pick up his two sons just a few minutes away from where Marcella lived, and they joined us there.
It was their weekend to spend with us.
My son is currently separated from his wife, and the boys just adore their grandfather - me!
*>>> You are blessed! I have to wait a few years, at this moment I am in a stage that one beauty after the other passes by soliciting for daughter in law . . .
I will try to remember to include a photograph of my two little angels, Lorenzo (7, he was born on the first of January) and his younger brother Christian (5+ soon to 6 on the 28th. of May)
My life right now is pretty much dedicated to them.
Now... I don't want to put you to sleep with my long-winded letter (almost a little book).
*>>> I am at the other side of the world, when you write we sleep, when you sleep we read, ha ha!
I am overjoyed that you took the time to write to me.
I sincerely wish more do.
I know that you said that you told your story many times, but I must say that I would be delighted to hear it or just about anything related to the Mount.
There are so many stories, and I loved the pictures you sent,....send more! if you have them... I could not find you in the first class picture: [Class picture of 1966 in 1962].
*>>> That is right, they were a class below me.
I did recognise you [#2] in 65UN0001 CLASS 1968 FORM II 1965, and of course you standing next to Bro. Alphonse [1965]
Jan, there are more stories, but I must get some sleep.
Best wishes to you and your loved ones for a healthy 2009
GOD bless you all,
Cornel de Freitas
P.S.: I will answer some of your questions into your email to me ...the one below...!
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From: jankoenraadt@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:46:47 +0100
Dear Cornel de Freitas,
Amazing you still remember me. You were an older boy to me in a higher class, but you were one of the few other boys at the
We were not allowed to speak Dutch, but in my first term I had to learn English and maybe you helped me out once in a while.
*>>> I am glad to have helped...
I remember you wearing thick glasses with a darkish frame and you came from
You say you were until about 1964 at Mount?
I remember you more than one year after 1963, maybe two or three years, maybe you left in 1965 of later?
>>> I can't remember exactly what year I left...
Two years ago I discovered the Old Boys Alumni like you do now, and I have been writing and chatting already with several old boys I knew well. I have told my story several times.
*>>> I think you are lucky to have been discovered / found before me...
I had my prep school same as you in the Dutch system from the 1st to 6th grade in Surinam, and before that even the Fröbel school (sort of kindergarten).
After that I went to Mount and after four years in 1967 my dad decided to put me on the Dutch "hogere burgerschool HBS" in
I heard from other boys the same story that the GCE O-level did not qualify for university, you need an extra year.
And that's what I got on the "HBS" in
After that I went to the technical
I got married living in
*>>> You've been a busy boy
I always say
We still are "the lowlands" of
I haven't been in Curaçao or Aruba, but a lot of people from the
I only need to hear them say one word for me to know if they are Otrabande Papiamento or Patoi from the Antilles, or Kondreman Sranang Tongo from
*>>> I am surprised you never got to spend a vacation in
Paul Zeven contacted me too.
He has family living right here in my hometown Oosterhout in the south of the
About a school picture I attach my class picture of June 1965 made by Father "Voosh". There are a lot of pictures going around to Ladislao.
There is a nice compendium with pictures of the Mount made by Nigel Boos.
But what about you? What have you been doing after you left Mount?
Have you any pictures of yourself and the Mount?
*>>> Thank you very much for the photographs... any more?
Much greetings
Jan Koenraadt
MSB 1963-1967
----- Original Message -------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Cornel de Freitas
Sent: Monday, February 09, 2009 7:47 AM
Subject: FW: Re. Circular No.379, The
I would first like to pay my respects to the family of Gordon Walker and his brother, Alan Walker.
I am so very sorry at your loss.
It is always sad to hear news of the passing of one of our brothers.
Please accept my deepest sympathy.
Be comforted in the knowledge that he is now with Our Lord in heaven, and at peace with all of those who have gone through that beautiful door to the other side, welcomed, I am sure, by all of our other family members and friends who have gone before us and are now celebrating their new life in the presence of GOD.
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Hi Ladislao:
Very interesting reading in your Circular No.379;
Glad to make the 'acquaintance' of two more MSB boys in the persons of Paul Zeven (the name: 'Zeven' translates to seven in dutch) and Jan Koenraadt.
These are Dutch names.
Greetings to Paul Zeven and to Jan Koenraadt,
We attended The Abbey School, Mount St. Benedict at about the same time.
I attended somewhere between 1959 to 1964.
Nice to read all of the very interesting stories of all of our experiences.
I grew up in
My dad was educated in the British system.
I speak dutch and because I grew in Aruba and there their system is dutch, there is also the local language and most of the populous speaks spanish because of our close proximity to
I notice, Paul and Jan, that you refer to '
Have either of you - and your families ever visited Aruba or Curacao or
Is there a school picture from MSB that either of you are in?
I must say, that it is really 'Fantastic' that we are able to "reach out and touch" and I am eternally grateful to Ladislao and Nigel and the many others who have contributed so much time of their lives to facilitate this little miracle.
It means a lot to me - and I am sure so too do the many others of us old MSB boys.
Keep in touch you guys, may GOD keep you all in good health....and keep those pictures coming...there are so many great memories are embedded in them.
I am still trying (hoping) to get to see a photograph of the old refectory we used just before the new one was opened...does anyone have any photographs of those old buildings?
Goodbye for now and hug your loved ones - everybody deserves a hug!
All the best,
May GOD bless you all
Cornel de Freitas ...
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I promise to be up to date by next week.
Regards
Ladislao Kertesz, kertesz11@yahoo.com,
So now you have all the exchanges and photos.
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Photos:
48TE0001CLASSMIX, with inputs from Mew, Evelyn and others.
64TF0001TFEGRP, John Abraham, Russell Cunha, Jose Fernandez and Terence Ferreira, eating Watermelon.
09SC0011REUNIONAJAX, Salah Wilson and Steelpans
09SC0021REUNIONAJAX, David Johnson and Fr. John Boos
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