Interview with:

Gus Nolan

Marist College
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
Transcribed by Ann Sandri
For the Marist College Archives and Special Collections




Transcript – Gus Nolan

Interviewee:
Gus Nolan

Interviewer:
Brother John Klein


Location:
James A. Cannavino Library


Interview Date:
20 June 2023



Subject Headings:
Nolan, Gus
Marist Brothers-Marist College History



Marist College. English Department



Marist College. Communication Department
Marist College—Faculty



Summary: [Interview cut off at 3 and a half minutes]

Brother John Klein asks about Gus Nolan’s family growing up and how half of
his eight siblings (including himself) went in to a religious order of some sort.
















Gus Nolan (
00:01
):
Today is June 20th, 2023. And Gus Nolan is being interviewed by Brother John Klein. And that's all I'm
going to say at this introduction.
Bro. John Klein (
00:13
):
Good. Well, Gus, thanks so much for being here and Jan Stivers for joining with the two of us in the
interview. Gus, I'm so grateful that you're willing to be part of the project, which will hopefully lead to
the second volume of the history of the Marist Brothers in the United States, which will cover the time
period from 1911 when the United States Province became an independent province from Canada up
until the outbreak of the Second World War. And it's taking a longer period of time that, or I had
originally thought because a lot of the early issues were only somewhat resolved as we get to around
1941 and 1942. And even though a lot of the time period precedes your time in the Marist Brothers, you
knew a lot of the issues and a lot of the people that were involved in the early days of forming the US
province and formation and people involved with Marist. What became Marist College and the
formation experiences here in Poughkeepsie. So I'm so grateful to you, and you should know, I
mentioned to a number of brothers that I was interviewing you today, they all sent their best and to a
person they said, Gus Nolan is one of the finest guys we know.
Gus Nolan (
01:57
):
They don't always tell the truth, but go ahead, <laugh>.
Bro. John Klein (
01:58
):
Well, but I think they were in this case. Yeah. And I still do not hold it against you, the B that you gave
me in Freshman Composition, the only B I received at Marist College. But that's okay.
Jan Stivers (
02:13
):
You do understand that his nickname was
Gus Nolan (
02:16
):
C plus Gus.
Bro. John Klein (
02:17
):
What?
Jan Stivers (
02:18
):
C plus Gus
Bro. John Klein (
02:19
):
Is that so ?<laugh>.
Jan Stivers (
02:20
):
So the B was an A plus, relatively speaking.
Bro. John Klein (
02:23
):


<laugh>But I would say this, thanks to you, I became a much better writer. So thanks for that too.
Gus Nolan (
02:31
):
The reason for the B was because you used a split infinitive on the final exam. <laugh>, I could not
imagine a scholar using a split infinitive and to never do this again. <laugh>
Bro. John Klein (
02:42
):
<laugh> That's it. There were a few dangling participles as well. <laugh>.
Gus Nolan (
02:49
):
All right. Yeah. Good.
Bro. John Klein (
02:50
):
Well, Gus, just to, to start, one of the things that I thought would be important, just to ask you a little bit
about your family background. And I know in an original interview you had spoken about that, but there
had to be something special at home and from your parents that led to four religious vocations, two
Marist Brothers, a Dominican Sister, of Sparkill, and a Benedictine Priest. So maybe if you could tell us
just a little bit about that as you recall.
Gus Nolan (
03:28
):
I'm happy to. We were blessed with a large family. We were eight children and only four anti-religion,
which was a little disappointing. On the contrary, actually my older brother John did enter Marian Hall
for two years. And left after his novitiate, just before his novitiate. And so he did four years in Summit
and two years in Marian Hall and then before going to novitiate in the New England area, he left and
joined the United States Air Force. So when he started, he entered Marian Hall at his graduation from St.
Ann's Academy. I entered the Marist Brothers, at the graduation from the eighth grade grammar school.
One of the reasons was that I was always so impressed with the yearbook of St. Ann's; to see the
Brothers in cassocks out playing ball with the students. And I thought, what a wonder. I never imagine a
priest doing this. The humanness of it all and in the eighth grade.

[end of interview; audio cut off]


Gus Nolan
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
Transcribed by Ann Sandri
For the Marist College Archives and Special Collections

Subject Headings: Nolan, Gus
Marist Brothers-Marist College History