By Julie Godfrey Miller
Catholic Herald

Schools in Washburn, Somerset and Superior hold gala events

Cathedral reunion includes high school, middle school

SUPERIOR --The former Cathedral High School has held many reunions, including some for everyone who had ever graduated from the school. This year, however, the reunion was opened up to junior high and middle school graduates of Cathedral School too.

Principal Paul Uhren said the best thing about the event was the camaraderie -- seeing everyone get together, from a 1929 graduate who attended, to groups of younger alumni getting together to talk about old times. He added that the building of faith is what keeps people coming back to the school.

Uhren said 950 people attended the social gathering Friday evening, July 19. Saturday's dinner dance, for alumni over 21, drew about 850 people. A barbecue and social on Wisconsin Point was scheduled as an alternate for younger graduates. Weather forced the party to move to the local Pizza Hut.

Bishop Raphael M. Fliss presided at a reunion Mass on July 20 at the Cathedral of Christ the King. Concelebrants were Fr. Daniel Dahlberg, Cathedral rector and a 1959 graduate of Cathedral High School; Fr. Edward Meulemans, former rector, high school principal and diocesan superintendent of schools; and Superior native Fr. Leon Flaherty, CPPS. Fr. John Schak, SJ, a 1946 Cathedral graduate, joined them later, after saying the evening Mass at St. Anthony Church in Superior. Schak is pastor of the Cathedral's sister parish, St. Joseph the Worker, in Salta, Argentina.

In his homily Fliss talked about the history of Catholic schools and reminisced about his own early years at Catholic schools in Milwaukee. He said parishes built the school first and Mass was said in the gymnasium, with a closet for the sanctuary. The church building came later.

Fliss said the purpose of Catholic education is to invite young people to become responsible people -- responsible for their own lives and for society. He added that an essential feature of Catholic schools is the explicit reference to Christ, the center of it all.

Fliss said, "The very purpose of our Catholic schools in simple succinct words is to train students in the correct use of reason, the spiritual faculties, their minds, their wills, to train students to listen to the word of God's revelation.

At the conclusion of the Mass, Janis Connolly Tucker, class of 1953, talked to the congregation about what the Cathedral School means to her. She noted that it remains the spiritual home for her and other alumni.

St. Anne School holds first reunion

SOMERSET -- St. Anne School never had any kind of reunion before, let alone one for all alumni. On July 27, they held the first, drawing people who attended the school as far back as the 1920s. The school was started in 1890 and the current building dates to 1957.

Events were scheduled from 5 p.m. to midnight. Maggie Greene, development director, said a terrible storm came through at starting time but by 6 p.m. the weather was beautiful. The storm did keep some alumni away, however, as 220 people attended, about half the amount Green expected.

The evening began with a Mass organized by alumni and with alumni as cantors, musicians and lectors. There was a catered pig roast dinner and games for children and adults. Green said the karaoke, with a disc jockey, was a hit with children and alumni alike.

Green said the highlight of the reunion was the arrival of Sr. Jennifer Marxer, CSJ, who came from Texas. Marfer taught first grade at the school and was principal from 1988 to 1990.

The reunion was to get people together, Green said, "to bring alumni into the loop to know what is going on." There was no fund-raising component -- the event broke even.

St. Louis School benefit brought in double expected amount

WASHBURN -- Funding is an issue that can never be far from the mind of a diocesan school principal. St. Louis School recently held a very successful gala benefit that brought in about $20,000, double what they expected. The event also brought support from throughout the area, including a donation of $1,000 from St. Ann Parish in Cornucopia.

Principal Betty Swiston said they began planning the event in December. She attributes its success to teamwork from a lot of dedicated volunteers, including many people from other parishes in the cluster. Swiston said, "We wanted a way of bringing them into this too -- all the parishes on the peninsula." St. Louis Parish is clustered with Holy Family, Bayfield, St. Ann Cornucopia, St. Joseph, La Pointe and St. Francis, Red Cliff.

Swiston said 110 guests attended the event which was held on Aug. 3 in the Bayfield Pavilion. There was dinner, entertainment, and an auction. Invitations were sent to alumni, parishioners from all of the cluster parishes, local business people, Native American tribal councils and anyone else interested in Catholic Education, she said.

This is the first event in a large scale fund-raising program to cut down on the amount of subsidy needed from the parish, Swiston said. An endowment fund will be set up in memory of Fr. Brennan U. Schmieg, OFM, who died in 2001. Schmieg was pastor of St. Louis Parish, Washburn and St. Anne Parish, Sanborn. Swiston said they hope to eventually have enough in the fund so they can meet the school's needs from interest only and leave the principal to provide a continuing source of funds for future needs.

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2002