Grads, staff share memories at St. Joe's

St. Joseph High School's 75th anniversary celebrates its success and students

- WCR photo by Ramon Gonzalez Photos of St. Joe's grads who have gone on to fame and fortune adorn the shelves of the school's archives.

By RAMON GONZALEZ
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

They still remember with fondness their years at St. Joseph High School and on May 27 they came back by the hundreds to mark the school's 75th anniversary.

An open house, a Mass, two dedications and a formal ceremony were all part of the celebrations that attracted about 1,000 alumni, former staff and guests to St. Joe's for a day of reminiscing and recollection.

The archives and the different areas of the school were open for touring throughout the day. An archive set up in the lobby displayed trophies, photos and vintage school sports uniforms dating as far back as the 1940s.

A chance to celebrate

"This 75th anniversary is a chance (for St. Joe's) to shine and to celebrate past glories with present-day focuses," said school spokesperson Lynn Smarsh. "It's a chance for a family get-together, like a big family reunion."

Mayor Stephen Mandel, board chair Debbie Cavaliere and MLA Thomas Lukaszuk, a St. Joe's grad, were among the many who praised St. Joe's for its achievements and contributions over the years.

"This school has always had a reputation for being the best both in academic pursuits and Catholic education," Lukaszuk said.

"I think this school has had to go through in its 75 years many, many ups and downs and if there is one thing we can say about St. Joe's is that it is rock solid in its looking into the future, never forgetting about its past," said St. Joe's principal Leo Turcotte.

- WCR photo by Ramon Gonzalez Photos of past principals of St. Joe's – Fr. F.W. Daly, left, Fr. A.D. MacDonald and Mother Margaret Mary Hicky – were on display for the festivities.

The 75th anniversary program also included a Mass with Archbishop Thomas Collins, Msgr. Felix Otterson and legendary chaplain Father Michael Troy.

The school south gym was rededicated as the Msgr. Otterson Gym in recognition of his ties to the school as a student, teacher and acting principal.

"St. Joe's was the Catholic school of choice, the place you went to if you wanted to star in sports, academics or to learn a trade," said former teacher Muriel Dunnigan, who taught in the school in the early 1960s.

"(Former grads) not only helped to put St. Joe's on the map, so to speak, during their student days, but they've gone on to very successful careers in a variety of fields.

"Many of the health care professionals, lawyers, doctors, teachers, school administrators, civic leaders and business people in this city have passed through this school."

Some even made it to Hollywood, such as entertainer Robert Goulet, who starred in the 1960 original Broadway version of Camelot, and Ed Eleniak, who went on to become the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Disney movies.

The list of graduates also includes several priests such as the late Msgr. Bill Irwin, Msgr. Otterson and Father Greg Bittman, the archdiocesan chancellor.

Court of Queen's Bench Chief Justice Allan Wachowich and his brother Ed, former chief provincial court judge, were also among the graduates.

"This was a great school because of this fact - it was the central school, the only high school for the Catholics and you came from all over," said Allan Wachowich, who established the baseball and the basketball teams at St. Joe's.

He noted that of 58 students who graduated with him in 1953, over two-thirds went to the University of Alberta.

Firm foundation

"We learned well due to this school. If I became anything in this life, it is largely due to my parents, this school and the values that were taught to me from my faith."

"St. Joe's gave me a commitment to life and to others," Dr. Philip Patsula, a retired professor of counselling psychology at the University of Ottawa, said in an interview.

- WCR photo by Ramon Gonzalez Former student Michael Kanarek pauses to examine part of the school's archives.

"Teachers would place a great emphasis on character building encouraging us to get involved, to participate and to contribute. They would say, 'Be cooperators and take responsibility for yourself and others.'"

St. Joseph's High was built in 1931 to educate young Catholic boys. With the closure of St. Mary's School in 1954, girls entered its halls but were kept in separate classes until the mid-1960s when the schools amalgamated.

Dunnigan said the chapel at noon hour was extremely busy because that was the only place that the boys and the girls could actually sit beside each other. Boys and girls had lockers right across from each other in the hallway but the two could not speak.

Teachers and nuns in black garments would stand at each end of the hallway at the noon hour "to make sure no one spoke to each other across the hallway."

In 1963 the vocational wing at the north end was built.

In 1967 the special education and vocational wing at the south end were built and at that time St. Joe's had the largest physical space of any school in the province.

Bob Ritter was a student at St. Joe's and graduated in 1968. He has been a teacher and administrator with Edmonton Catholic Schools and is currently a district principal.

Things have changed over the years, but in many ways St. Joe's remains the same. "St. Joe's was a welcoming home when I was here for Ukrainian students and Italian students and newcomers," Ritter recalled.

"St. Joe's, when I taught here in the early '70s, welcomed Eastern Europeans and people from Chile and people from Vietnam.

"Today St. Joe's extends its arms to newcomers from Africa, Central America and Asia. And St. Joe's is the same in another way: many of its students are successful and famous.

"More important is the fact that the students that graduated were inculturated into Catholic values and became successful parents and successful citizens."

Untold bravery

St. Joe's students are also known for bravery. During the Second World War, 550 staff, students and former students entered the Armed Forces.

Forty-eight of them died fighting against Nazism and St. Joe's holds one of the city's largest Remembrance Day celebrations.

The 1970s, 1980s and 1990s brought additional changes to St. Joe's. Father Michael Troy became a teacher and coach as well as a chaplain.

The staff and students began to look beyond to make the world a better place by founding the St. Joseph's Save the Children Fund, an NGO that sponsored projects around the world.

In 2000, St. Joe's underwent a multimillion-dollar overhaul that changed its physical shape drastically as well as the way it delivers education.

Since then St. Joe's has been operating programs in which its 1,200 students learn at their own pace and accept responsibility for their own learning.

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