January 31, 2021 – West Bend, WI – This week’s photo to celebrate Catholic Schools Week, courtesy the Washington County Historical Society, is a class photo from the 1953 at Holy Angels School in West Bend.
The picture is in celebration of Catholic Schools Week and many in the community will be reflecting on their days spent in the classrooms where Mass was a regular part of the school day and nuns ruled the roost.
Below are some memories from Catholic School graduates in the area.
Dave Wolf of West Bend attended Holy Angels in the 1950s. “All grades had two classes and all except one sixth grade class (Mr. McElroy) were taught by Notre Dame nuns. Having 50-60 students to a room was typical. Sister Alphonsine came to each class once a week for music lessons which included Gregorian chant. Sister Mark ran a candy store in the basement where we could buy snacks during recess. At the end of the day there was a Victrola in the lobby and marching music was played as we departed.”
John Steffes attended Holy Family School in Whitefish Bay. “Since every sister had to adopt a male Saint’s name, you got some unique names for the nuns. With Sister Jeremiah, everyone sang ‘Jeremiah was a bullfrog, was a good friend of mine…’ Sister Jeremiah required you to sing with a mouth open wide enough that she could put her fist inside it.”
Judy (Johnson) Holzmann attended St. Frances Cabrini in the 1970s. “We regularly attended Mass in the mornings, and in the early days, if you didn’t have a veil you had to wear a handkerchief on your head. Sister Suzanne Marie, our 2nd grade teacher, was my all-time favorite; she was young and so kind and reminded me of the Singing Nun.”
Dave Fellenz attended Holy Angels from 1965 to 1972. “When I graduated erasers were still clapped outside and there were still a few nuns in full habit. The older nuns were strict. Some of their discipline methods would be frowned upon today, but I look back and wouldn’t have wanted it any different.”
Fellenz said the dress code did not allow for jeans or tennis shoes. “We would run around during recess in dress pants and hard shoes. During lunch, we were able to buy small cartons of milk – white milk was a penny and chocolate cost 3 cents. There was hot lunch every now and then, for special occasions, which consisted of a sloppy joe sandwich, chips and milk. The best day of the school year was Valentine Day. Games, hot lunch, and prizes, it was always a great day.”
CUT LINE: This week’s photo, courtesy the Washington County Historical Society, is in honor of Catholic Schools Week. This circa 1953 photo is from Holy Angels School. If you can identify someone in the picture contact [email protected]
