Archbishop Brady All School Reunion June 29, 2013 THANKS FOR RETURNING TO OUR COMMONS! Welcome to the 2013 Brady All School Reunion! We hope you have a marvelous time as you see faculty and friends and meet other alumni. May memories surround you as you enjoy this commemorative booklet. 2 2013 All School Reunion Program Honoring Brother Dominic and the Spirit of Archbishop Brady High School 4:30 pm Mass Honoring Brother Dominic Ehrmantraut, FSC 50 years of service Holy Spirit Catholic Church 1406 Randolph Avenue St. Paul, MN 55116 5:00 pm Reunion Registration Cretin Derham Hall Field House (Adjacent to Holy Spirit Church) 500 S. Albert Street St. Paul, MN 55116 5:00 ‐ 6:30 pm Social Hour, Cash Bar 6:30 pm Italian Buffet Dinner ($30 per person) catered by Tinucci's Catering 7:30 pm Program Honoring Br. Dominic Ehrmantraut, FSC (BHS 1970‐78) 8:00 pm Entertainment by Klondike Kate 2012 Peggy Sweeney Junkin (BHS ’72) 8:30 – 11:00 pm Socializing 3 Thanks to all for the significant degree of teamwork: Initial Steering Committee Reunion Chair, Terri Dierberger Holman '75 Peggy Anderson Rodewald '78 Mike Fernandez ‘78 Patricia Hartmann '72 Tom McEllistrem '78 Reunion Committee Sue Biegler Trejo '78 Anna-Marie Boas Bistodeau '68 Kevin Forster '71 Eugene Im ‘71 Bill Klein, Teacher Margaret Lulic ‘69 John Malone ‘75 Tom Ostertag, Teacher Diane Perkovich Hanzel ‘74 Mara Vanages Dworak ‘73 Acknowledgements and appreciation to: Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis Printing Services Cannon River Winery Catallia Mexican Foods Christian Brothers Congregation of St. Joseph (Sisters of St. Joseph) Cretin-Derham Hall Gerten’s Greenhouse Holy Spirit Catholic Church Jenny Bell Kolorblind Photography Mary Flynn Quinlan ‘75 Patricia Hartmann ‘72 – Founder of www.Bradyspace.org Tinucci's Catering Vomela Specialty Company The virtual community for the on-going life of Brady. 4 The Story of Archbishop Brady High School Note: The following history has been compiled using yearbooks, in- terviews and memories. So much more could be said about so many more people. It truly took a village to create and nourish Brady throughout its existence. Please forgive any errors of omission or commission since none of us was at the school for its whole history and we were limited in length of this publication. We’ve tried to fact check, but even that has been challenging. In the beginning… Catholic schools were continuing to grow during the 1950’s throughout the United States, in the Twin Cities and in West St. Paul, MN. The Sis- ters of St. Joseph of Medaille had taught in the St. Paul area for many years. Their vision was the spark that would become Brady High School. In 1954, they purchased a 65-acre tract of land known as the Thompson Lake property from Dr. James W. and Lois Jane Reid. The Sisters formed various committees to plan a new high school and gym for girls. About the same time, the Christian Brothers contacted the Archdiocese offering to supply teaching staff for a new boy’s high school, if and when one was created. During the next three years, the Archdiocesan Committee on Catholic Education undertook an education survey as Archbishop Brady pur- sued plans for various educational institutions in the archdiocese. They were aware of the interest of both the Sisters and the Brothers and all agreed to the concept of a co-institutional high school rather than an Archdiocesan school. The building and other resources would be shared, but the Sisters would teach the girls in one part of the building and the Brothers would teach the boys in another part. In 1957, due to pending archdiocesan plans and because the Sister’s funds were being directed to building a novitiate and provincial house, 5 the Sisters of St. Joseph decided to sell 34 acres of their property to the archdiocese. This became the site of the future high school. The archdiocese agreed to include the Sisters in long-range planning for the school. After Archbishop Brady's death in 1961, Archbishop Binz continued a dialogue with the Sisters and with the Christian Brothers regarding the founding of the high school. He hoped it would be called Archbishop Brady High School. The Sisters committed to having a staff ready for a class of freshmen girls in September of 1964. Several joint meetings proved successful and work was begun on the site in June 1963. U. S. Catholic school enrollment was reaching its peak at this time with more than 5.2 million students in almost thirteen thousand schools across the nation. Brady was part of that trend. Also setting the context for the school were the tremendous changes of the 1960s. The first Catholic President, John Kennedy, had been elected president and assassinated. Vatican II was changing the liturgy and many other things. The Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Movement were underway. In September 1964, Brady High School opened its doors to 308 fresh- men students. That first class often joked that there were more con- struction workers than students in the school. Tuition was $190, plus fees. Brother Hilary Gilmartin, FSC, was appointed the first superinten- dent and Sister Mary Benedict (Doreen) Charest, CSJ, the first principal of the girls’ department. Archbishop Leo Binz dedicated Brady High School on May 16, 1965. The school’s first mixed chorus, under the direction of Ms. Mary Tembreull, sang for the occasion. Pioneering… The school year ’64 –’65 was a year of many firsts and much learning. From the very beginning finances were tight and Brother Hilary took 6 his fiscal responsibilities very seriously. Creativity, flexibility, involve- ment and a can-do attitude were critical. The school was the new kid on the block of Catholic schools and determined to do well. “Hey, Look Us Over!” was adopted as Brady’s school song. Several peo- ple believe Brother Hilary wrote the words. The class of 1968 did much that lived on as this was the only class in the school the first year. Stu- dent John Castor selected the school colors of black and white with red trim. Gordon Maltby designed the bronco we know and loved and Mi- chael Kapaun named the bronco, Buford. We have the original drawing for the costumes by Gordon Maltby. Sister Mary Bowman, who was not teaching at Brady, designed the crest for the girl’s uniforms. The nuns instituted a practice of having the girls kneel on the floor for checks of correct skirt length. Student counsel moderator, Brother James, invited a Benilde High School student council leader to speak at an assembly to discuss how Brady might want to form their council. Dozens of other hurdles were overcome. Even a snowplow crashing into the outer front wall of the school that first winter didn’t stop classes for more than a day. Not only were academic classes scheduled (all by hand) with many lay staff as part of the faculty, teachers rose to the occasion taking on di- verse subject areas. Brother Hilary surprised Sister Benedict (Doreen) with a request that she teach typing, but she says she managed to sidestep that one. Brother Robert Donlan joined the leadership team as principal for the boys’ department. Athletic teams were organized and many clubs initiated. Ms. Tembreull helped students name the yearbook and newspaper. She also launched Brady's Little Theatre’s history of excellence when it present- ed its first musical “The Sound of Music” in April – May 1965. 7 The second class to enter Brady must have liked what they saw when they looked Brady over since there were 360 of them ready to add more talent and creativity with more new activities and classes. Liturgy was at the core of the school with students participating in all aspects. We were singing songs in English to the strum of guitar music. The nuns were changing their habits. Brady began to have co-educational classes, although, technically it would not be considered a co-educational school for quite some time. This was part of all the other emerging trends of the times, but it was also related to practical issues. As the first two classes moved into their junior and senior years, the simple economics of small upper level coursework required combining the boys and girls. Many of the male teachers found the class atmosphere improved as a result. Others felt that students no longer spoke up as readily, nor as deeply. By 1969 enrollment peaked at Brady at 1132. Graduating classes aver- aged 255. The school seemed to be flourishing. The University of Min- nesota sent a team of 25 educators to evaluate Brady High School in April of 1969. They unanimously recommended accreditation on the first attempt– a major success for any school going through that ardu- ous process. Staying true while storms form… Brady was also becoming more co-educational in athletics. In the early ‘70s, both federal and state mandates required schools receiving fed- eral or state funding to provide equitable opportunities for boys and girls in sports. Shirlee Saatzer and Hank Mauer decided on full equity. Physical education became co-ed and more girls’ sports were added or supported. Mrs. Saatzer and several male teachers taught together over the coming years. Many of the girls’ teams did exceedingly well. Girl’s basketball made state tournament appearances, finishing third one year under Coach John Fitzpatrick. Girl’s Volleyball excelled. The 8 Girl’s cross-country team won the first Conference Championship in the school’s history. The boys’ teams had their victories, but it was an uphill battle against other schools that had outstanding reputations, larger numbers of ath- letes to draw on and more resources.