How a
Levittown Boy Scout learned many lessons about religion more than 55
years ago
Also learned was how we are all interwoven to each
other no matter how we worship
By
DAMON SOLOMON
What a
beautiful story Kathy Stahlman Zinn told about Levittown
and St. Bernard’s Church earlier this month in this blog.
I,
too, used to go to St. Bernard’s Catholic Church. Quite a few of Boy Scout
troop 160's meetings were there. I often walked there from Elm Tree Lane, which was near the North
Village Green. I had many happy memories there but it was also the home to one
of the saddest moments of my life, as well.
Our
beloved Scoutmaster, Mr. Carroll, was suddenly been struck down with what I now
believe was a heart attack. He and his son Wesley, who was older than I, but a
good friend, always made this Jewish kid from the lower east side of Manhattan
feel welcome as a true brother in scouting. They both took me under their wings
and made that time of my life most memorable. But I digress.
The
sadness came when the funeral for our Scout Master was held at St. Bernard’s,
and our whole troop was in attendance. Not only was this my first funeral but
it also was the first time I attended a Roman Catholic Mass. I cautiously entered
the vestibule of the church and tried to blend in with my troop as closely as
possible.
I
entered the pew and turned my attention to the altar where the congregation was
transfixed. My first view was the massive image of Christ behind the altar. Then
came my first experience with death and its many rituals.
The
coffin was open and there lay our Scoutmaster, poor Mr. Carroll. Shock raced
through me like a bolt of electricity. Now the Mass began. At that time
virtually everything was in Latin and I was having enough trouble with English
and learning Hebrew at our local temple. I knelt and genuflected as best as a
beginner could and soon it was over.
Now
came one of the hardest things I ever had to do in my short life. Members of
our troop all rose and slowly marched past our beloved Scoutmaster in a final
farewell.
That
day I learned many lessons about religion, life, death and the value of
friendship. I also learned how we are all interwoven to each other no matter
how we worship. Like Kathy, I too remember St. Bernard’s Catholic Church and
the many lessons about life that it taught me.
___
Damon Solomon is a 1960 graduate of Division Avenue
High School and a Hofstra University
alumnus. He lives in Florida.
