Lent, Easter and March Madness - Dave’s Midwestern Ohio Memories

A Series of Guest Blogs by an out-of-state Fish Report reader originally from this area about fond memories of growing up in Midwestern Ohio during the 50’s & 60’s.

Lent, Easter and March Madness

Growing up in a Catholic family, the 40 days of Lent meant praying the rosary every night, fasting, no meat on Fridays and definitely no candy. While praying the rosary, mom would randomly pick one of us 5 kids to recite the appropriate mystery, so we had to pay attention! And as a mass server during Holy Week, it meant hours of church services, including Holy Saturday, which one year happened to be the same night as the finals of the NCAA basketball championship. As servers, we could see the large clock in the church sacristy and since we knew exactly when the game was to start, anxiously awaited the completion of the long service. Our focus that night was clearly elsewhere, as unbeaten Ohio State, lead by All-American Jerry Lucas, was pitted against in-state rival Cincinnati Bearcats.

Finally the services were over, so we went to my grandmother’s home to watch the game as she had a color TV. Although the Buckeyes were a big favorite, they lost in what many consider one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history. To say the least, as an avid Buckeye fan, I was devastated and disappointed.

Since the next day was Easter, and as the oldest child in the family, it was my job to hide the Easter eggs around the yard for my younger siblings to find early that morning. I was still upset about the Buckeye loss, so I took it out on the eggs, hiding many of them in unfindable places all over the farm. Since I was taller than my brothers and sisters, some of the eggs were placed in full view, but at a height they could not reach. And some were stashed in places that were never found; in fact, I venture to say, there are still some eggs hidden away some 55 years later! After that stunt, my mother said I was due for the confessional right after Easter, but my sins were nothing compared to the crime that the Bearcats pulled on my (at the time) beloved Buckeyes. PS: The Bucks sure could have used a Jerry Lucas this year!

Happy Easter, Fish Report readers.