Struthers priest shares memoriesof his life with McGuffey society

YOUNGSTOWN

Even though he spent much of his early Catholic school years in the dark of cloakrooms, the Rev. George Balasko went on to have a long and distinguished career in the ministry.

Father Balasko, who brought polka to Mass, and was a pioneer in Jewish/Christian relations, was the speaker Saturday for the William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society’s “Memories of a Lifetime” series. The event was in the meeting room of Kravitz Deli on Belmont Avenue.

Born in 1934 on Youngstown’s East Side, Father Balasko was the ninth of 10 children, and grew up on North Truesdale Avenue. At around the age of 6, he was enrolled in school at Immaculate Conception Church on Oak Street, where he was under the tutelage of the Ursuline Sisters. The sisters, he said, were generally not amused or pleased with his behavior.

“I knew more about the cloakroom than I did about the classroom,” he joked, noting that pupils were often made to sit in the cloakroom for misbehaving.

Throughout his hour-long presentation, the longtime priest cracked jokes and shared humorous anecdotes that kept the 30 or so attendees laughing.

Read more of what he said in Sunday's Vindicator or on vindy.com.