Remembering Bill McCabe Remembering Bill McCabe There was an obituary in the local newspapers not long ago. It announced the passing of an 87-year-old man by the name of "William McCabe". The obituary began as usual...
William P. McCabe of Pittston passed away peacefully Tuesday, surrounded by his family at Wesley Village, Pittston. He was born on March 15, 1917, son of the late James and Margaret Hayes McCabe.
But there was nothing "usual" about this man, as anyone who remembers him from the old St. John the Evangelist School days will tell you. Any "Johnny", as we former students of St. John's (Seton Catholic) called ourselves in those days, will tell you that Bill McCabe was responsible, in a big way, for the many wonderful memories we all have of our years in that brick building on William Street in Pittston, Pennsylvania.
If you are reading this, and you were a student at St. John the Evangelist High School or Grade School in the 1950s, 60s,70s or the early part of the 80s, then you know exactly what I mean. The wonderful aroma of Bill McCabe's cooking began filling the halls very early in the morning. "Yeah! We're having spaghetti today" could make an otherwise hum-drum day into something special. Nobody made spaghetti like Mr. McCabe. It was always exactly the same, and it was always delicious.
And who could forget Bill McCabe's wimpies? The smell of those wimpies wafting through the hallways and classrooms could even make report card day bearable. The same could be said for any one of Mr. McCabe's delicious main courses and desserts. My personal favorites, along with the spaghetti and wimpies, was Bill's cherry crumb and lemon mirangue pie. I've never tasted cherry crumb pie like it since, nor have I tasted a pie crust that tasted as good.
Even dishes that were not the personal favorites of most young people, such as creamed chipped beef, were made more palpable by Bill McCabe's magical touch.
If memory serves me right, St. Patrick's Day meant eating emerald-green Jell-O ® - sans the fruit cocktail that often went into the yellow and orange gelatin. I'd never be one to call Jell-O ® "delicious" (I don't think I've eaten the stuff since leaving St. John's), but that glittering green jiggly stuff sure tasted delicious on Saint Patrick's Day and was even fun to eat, because we all knew it was being served to honor our "special day". Bill was, like so many of us at St. John's in those days, of Irish descent- and proud of it. And so March 17th was a holiday of great import. It was also an everything-green day at St. John's - green plastic shamrocks bearing the slogan "Erin Go Bragh", green ribbons, green hankies, even, on at least one memorable St. Patty's Day, a streak of green Durkee-food-coloring on an upper-classman's blonde hair. And Mr. McCabe's green Jell-O ® was his way of contributing to the festivities.
In hindsight, it's obvious how dedicated and hard a worker Bill McCabe must have been, and how reliable. Never once do I remember that lunch was cancelled, postponed or late because Mr. McCabe slept in, couldn't make it throught the snow or was on strike! And Bill must have been a good and fair man to work under, as well, because his kitchen staff seemed to be there for years and years, too. These men, whose names, sadly, I don't remember (if I ever knew them), and who appeared to be, like Bill McCabe, World War II Army veterans with the sort of work-ethic you don't find very often anymore, could be seen stirring pots and carrying heavy stainless steel trays to and from the kitchen day-in and day-out throughout all the years I spent at St. John's. Sometimes a few of Bill's family members, such as his late nephew Tommy McCabe and his late brother Joe McCabe, would be there helping out. They all worked very hard indeed to help Bill feed, and clean up after, the approximately 900 students who filled the cafeteria in those days.
I personally spent 12 memorable years of my life at St. John the Evangelist Grade and High School in Pittston. First grade through twelfth grade. And I have to admit that I took Bill McCabe for granted. Never once, in those 2000+ days, did I stop to think about how hard our chef and his staff must have worked to make sure that every single one of us "kids" had a delicious, nutricious and hot meal at what must have been budget prices. (Lunch ranged from $.10 to .$35 per day in those twelve years.) Never once did I stop to say "Thank you, Mr. McCabe, for all the great meals and great memories." But I did think of Bill McCabe many times during the ensuing years, and often spoke fondly of him. Once, about a fifteen or so years ago, I even looked his number up. I wanted to call and thank him for all he did for us during his years at St. John's- and ask for his spaghetti sauce recipe. He wasn't home that day, and, regretfully, I never made another call nor did I run into Mr. McCabe to personally thank him.
And now Bill McCabe is no longer with us. He's with his beloved wife, who passed away many years before Bill, and several of his other beloved family members who went before him. Bill is greatly missed, we are sure, by his family, which includes the long-time Seton Catholic High School principal, Jim Redington, who is married to Mr. McCabe's daughter, Margee. (The extended McCabe family is so much a part of St. John's/Seton Catholic that the last line on his obituary reads... "Memorial donations may be made to Seton Catholic High
School, 37 William St., Pittston, PA 18640".
I don't know if there is a plaque honoring Bill McCabe anywhere on the walls of Seton Catholic's cafeteria. There should be. But even if there isn't, it's a safe bet that no one who ever went to school at St. John the Evangelist in those old glory days ever walks into that cafeteria without at least a flickering, warm thought of Bill McCabe.
And so I am thanking Bill McCabe now. Thanking him for the great food, for the warm memories, and for his dedication to our alma mater- St. John's/ Seton Catholic. As long as there is one former Johnny walking around, William McCabe will never be forgotten.
UPDATE MAY 19, 2005:
"Mr. K" was also the very dedicated longtime principal and former teacher at St. John the Baptist School in Pittston, PA.
As you know, SJB closed on June 4, 2004.
Here is a link to a photo of "Mr. K." received his award, called, quite fittingly, the William McCabe Memorial Award: "Loyal and True" ("Loyal and True" were the first words of the old St. John the Evangelist High School in Pittston alma mater): Seton Catholic - Mr. McCabe Award
Mr. McCabe served in the Civilian Conservation Corps
and was a member of St. John the Evangelist Church,
Pittston. He was a fourth-degree member of the Knights
of Columbus John F. Kennedy Council, Pittston; a
member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4909, Dupont;
and a member of the Pittston Friendly Sons of St.
Patrick. Prior to retirement, he was employed as a
professional chef by Seton Catholic High School,
Pittston.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Marion Connors
McCabe; infant son, William; infant daughters, Ellen
and Mary Ann; brothers, John, Teddy and Joe; sisters,
Mary Jones and Helen Davis.
He is survived by daughter, Margee and son-in-law, Jim
Redington, Pittston; daughter, Nancy and son-in-law,
Joe Caprio, Pittston; granddaughter, Atty. Amy
Redington Riley and grandson-in-law, Kenneth Riley,
Boston; grandsons, J.J. and Michael Caprio, Pittston;
great- grandsons, Jack Redington Riley and Gavin
Michael Caprio; brothers, James, Pittston; Frank,
Dunmore; numerous nieces and nephews."
The funeral will be held Friday at 9 from Peter J.
Adonizio Funeral Home, 802 Susquehanna Ave., West
Pittston, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 9:30 in
St. John the Evangelist Church, William Street,
Pittston. Interment will be in the parish cemetery.
Friends may call Thursday, 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m.
Memorial donations may be made to Seton Catholic High
School, 37 William St., Pittston, PA 18640."
We are so happy to report that Seton Catholic now bestows an annual award in honor and memory of Mr. William McCabe. The first recipient of this award was none other than our own Mr. Robert Kaluzavich, a graduate of St. John the Evangelist High School - Class of '67. His wife, the former Carol Insalaco, is also a former Johnny. And, of course, all of their children, as well, are graduates of or are currently attending Seton Catholic.
Here is the rest of the obituary which appeared in the newspapers announcing the passing of William "Bill" McCabe.