Bill Bosch and Jerry O’Sullivan, Ritamen
from the class of 1961, paid a special visit earlier this week
to Fr. Tom McCarthy, O.S.A. ‘83, President of St. Rita of Cascia
High School. Bosch, while sorting through some of his father’s
things, dug up a buried treasure from St. Rita’s past: a pair of
coveralls from St. Rita’s Auto Shop class.
“My mouth dropped open when I saw them. I
was looking through some of my father’s things, as he passed in
October 2007, and I can’t believe he kept these coveralls for 50
years. I was so surprised. I thought they should belong at St.
Rita, in order to keep a unique piece of the old campus alive.”
Bosch and O’Sullivan were in Auto Shop
class as freshmen in 1958, which was taught by Mr. Charles
Rhienschmidt. It was one of many technical courses from that
era, when hands-on learning and mechanical aptitude comprised a
major component of St. Rita’s excellent education. While those
classes may have been phased out, the core of the school’s
Catholic education remains, and the fact that Bill Bosch would
think to donate his Auto Shop coveralls to the new campus
demonstrates the strong tradition of a true Ritaman.
