Lauren D Chouinard

Men of Mendel Lauren D Chouinard

It's the late 1960s on Chicago's south side. Neighborhoods in this part of the city are changing colors virtually overnight as African Americans and Hispanics move in great numbers from southern states to opportunities in the rust belt cities of the Northeast and Midwest. Racial tensions between whites and blacks increase sending many white families scurrying off to the surrounding suburbs. Gang activity spreads like a virus through the South and West Sides of the city as crime rates begin a decade-long march to unprecedented levels. Enrollment in private Catholic schools peaks before beginning a long, slow decline by the end of the century. This is the setting for Men of Mendel, a personal account of growing up in the inner-city in a time of social upheaval while attending one of Chicago's many, all-boys Catholic high schools. Men of Mendel is an often hilarious and sometimes irreverent recollection of life among the Augustinian Fathers. They had the unenviable task of providing a quality, "college preparatory" education to 1,000 postpubescent, mischievous boys, hell-bent on trying to outsmart them. This is not a work of fiction as all the crazy things that happened at the school took place exactly as recounted. If you are one of the many thousands of people who attended a parochial school, surely these tales with resonate with you. They will bring back memories of a time when corporal punishment at the hands of black-robed agents of God was viewed as a necessary evil in the proper education of Catholic children.