Elder High School

1959: “Expanded and renovated Elder High School in Cincinnati posed for its formal photograph last week in preparation for a ceremony November 22, when the school's $1,000,000 addition will be dedicated. The project was one of the major goals of the Archbishop's High School Fund Campaign, now approaching its conclusion.

“The new section, at right in the photograph, contains four classrooms, laboratories, workrooms, a library, an auditorium-gymnasium, a cafeteria, and several auxiliary rooms. (The Catholic Telegraph-Register, November 20, 1959)

Fairmount Parish 100 Years Old

1969: “St. Bonaventure parish, Cincinnati, will mark the 100th anniversary of its founding November 23 when Archbishop Paul F. Leibold and former pastors of the church will concelebrate Mass in the century-old church on Queen City Avenue.

“St. Bonaventure Church, begun in 1868 and dedicated Nov. 20, 1869, replaced an earlier church, St. Peter’s, which had been founded in 1844. Located on Lick Run Road (now Quebec Road) in South Fairmount, St. Peter’s served a small congregation in the valley between Fairmount and Price Hill. West of what was then the city of Cincinnati, the area sometimes was referred to as Petersburg.

”In 1866, Father Benjamin Mennchen, O.F.M., who as in charge of St. Peter’s and resided at St. Francis Church, Liberty and Vine streets, ‘resolved to build a new church,’ Father John H. Lamott reported in his History of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, because the old church building was ‘going to ruins and situated at an inconvenient place.’

“Work was begun in 1868 and the cornerstone was blessed on Sept. 6. The Catholic Telegraph reported on Sept. 9, 1868:

“Last Sunday afternoon many thousands of Catholics, in and out of procession, attended the placing of the cornerstone of the new church of St. Bonaventure, at Fairmount, a near suburb of Cincinnati. The ceremony was performed by the Most Rev. Archbishop (John B.) Purcell . . .

“The day was most favorable and the order perfect. A handsome collection was taken up during the proceedings, in twelve cigar boxes, one of the best filled being the one taken around by an Irish Catholic Mr. Joyce.

“There were three or four tastefully festooned arches spanning the road, in the route of the procession, on which were inscribed in large letters, in German and English, ‘Welcome Brethren,’ ‘In Union There Is Strength.’ The brass bands heading the various societies, the Young Men’s Vocal Choir, and a brace of cannon discharged frequently at intervals during the march and the ceremonies, enlivened the scene.

“Dedication of the completed church took place Nov. 20, 1869. In the ensuing years it was enlarged and improved by the addition at various times of transept and sanctuary, sacristy, portico, retaining wall and tower clock. School buildings were erected at the two sides of the church in 1871 and 1892, but the two buildings are gone. With the growth of the parish a larger school was built in 1909. A convent for the teaching Sisters was added in 1923, and in 1926 a rectory and a new school building were erected.

“The first marriage in St. Bonaventure’s was that of John Merkel and Anna Schaeffler, on Dec. 5, 1869. First person to be baptized was Mary Ann Pfohl, daughter of Michael and Catherine Stier Pfohl, on Nov. 28, 1869.” (See The Catholic Telegraph, November 13, 1969)

Note: St. Bonaventure closed its doors in 2003, uniting with nearby St. Leo the Great.

Building Being Razed

1948: “The building which served as the first St. George’s Church, Cincinnati, and which subsequently became St. George’s school, St. George’s high school, and finally the Archdiocesan Teachers’ College, is being razed. The 80-year-old building is immediately east of the present St. George’s Church, Calhoun Street.

“The building was used as a church from 1868 to 1874, when the present church was completed. It then housed the parish school for more than 40 years. About 30 years ago one of the first Catholic high schools in Cincinnati was established there; it was taught by the Brothers of Mary and the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

“The Archdiocesan Teachers’ College occupied the building from 1928 until last year, when the college was transferred to the former Archiepiscopal residence next to Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary, Norwood.

“Father Juvenal Berens, O.F.M., pastor of St. George’s Church, has announced no definite plans for the site occupied by the building. He sees the possibility of surfacing it with asphalt and using it as a parking space. The plot measures about 40 feet by 100 feet.” (The Catholic Telegraph-Register, August 13, 1948)

Jubilee Mass for Sisters of Mission Helpers

1965: “Small group of Sisters with a large impact throughout the Cincinnati Archdiocese, the Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart in Dayton are celebrating locally their congregation's 75th jubilee. The Sisters pictured here as they prepare to leave their Dayton convent to conduct catechist and other adult CCD leadership courses are, left to right, Sister Mary Dominica, Sister Mary Clementa, Sister Mary Cyrilla and Sister Mary Ellen.

“The Mission Helpers, founded in Baltimore in 1891 by Mary Cunningham (who took the name of Sister Mary Demetrias), anticipated the aggiornamento by several generations. The society charted a new course in the Church by dedicating itself to the teaching of religion to all outside of the parochial school system and to the training of lay apostles.

“At the invitation of the late Archbishop John T. McNicholas, the Mission Helpers came to the Archdiocese in 1949. In the original group was Sister Mary Alma, the former Helen Braun of St. Marys. She was later joined by Sister Mary Joseph, the former Helen Hiele of Miamisburg. Another Ohio member of the society, Sister Mary Jogues, the former Gladys Miller of St. Mary’s parish, Dayton, is widely known in the field of religious education for the deaf.

“The late Monsignor Harry J. Ansbury of Corpus Christi parish, Dayton, provided a convent for the Sisters opposite the church and made their work possible for many years. In keeping with the original aims of the society, the Sisters devoted their main efforts to religious instruction and parish visiting. From 1949 to 1962, the Sisters took a religious census in 44 parishes. More than 200 persons returned to the Sacraments, 236 were received into the Church (the majority of whom were instructed by the Sisters) and 114 marriages were validated through their assistance.

“The Sisters have conducted religious instructions in nine parishes in the Dayton area over the years.” (See The Catholic Telegraph, November 19, 1965)

St. Joseph's Bells Ringing Again

1961: “Ring out in honor of St. Patrick say these Irish colleens who eagerly climbed to the high belfry of St. Joseph's Church in Dayton to see the 50-year-old bell dedicated to the Irish saint.

“Workmen have just completed extensive repairs on the Dayton church’s 3,000-pound ‘St. Patrick bell,’ whose distinctive tone once was familiar to railroaders as well as parishioners.

“In the old days, the Irish among the railroad men, with ears especially attuned to the bell, claimed they could hear it as far away as Troy, 20 miles distant from the high tower of the downtown Dayton church. The bell is back in operation just 50 years after it was dedicated to St. Patrick.

“The ‘St. Patrick bell’ and St. Joseph’s Church help tie Dayton Catholics of Irish ancestry with their past. In the 1840s, Irish Catholics, desiring a church that reflected their own culture and heritage, withdrew from Emmanuel Parish and organized themselves into a separate body. St. Joseph’s was envisioned as their church in a special way.

“Just over a half century ago, the people of St. Joseph’s erected an imposing church — of Italian Renaissance design — and then installed in its lofty belfry a huge bell dedicated to their favorite saint.” (See The Catholic Telegraph-Register, November 17, 1961)

The Loretto to Observe 50th Anniversary

1962: “Residence for women in downtown Dayton, The Loretto, will note a double anniversary Nov. 12. A celebration will mark the golden jubilee of the arrival of the first Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine de Ricci in the Archdiocese and of the opening by the Sisters of the original Loretto home for working girls in Dayton. The Loretto residence, located at 125 W. First Street, was constructed in 1930. Working girls and students find the Loretto a residence similar in many respects to homes where hours are regulated and rules are enforced.

“The Loretto, first foundation of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine de Ricci in Dayton, was established in September 1912. The Sisters came to Dayton at the invitation of Archbishop Henry Moeller and they were able at the outset to purchase two homes on Franklin Street through the generosity of Josephine Schwind, a member of one of the community’s pioneer families.

“One of the buildings was dedicated the Convent of Mary Immaculate, and the other was opened as a home for working girls under the name of The Loretto Guild. The home provided accommodations for 15 girls.

“In the years that followed, more girls applied for admission than could be accommodated. In 1921, the Sisters leased the Schwind home on Riverview Drive for one year and purchased a still larger residence on Ludlow Street.

“Increasing demands for space prompted the Sisters to acquire the site of the present Loretto on W. First Street. The new building erected on the site was named simply The Loretto, the word ‘Guild’ being dropped at the suggestion of Archbishop John T. McNicholas, O.P. The building was opened March 8, 1930, and accommodations were provided for 190 girls. With the opening of the building, the program at the center was expanded. Clubrooms and an auditorium made it possible to provide facilities for the use of Catholic youth clubs, theater guilds, recreation programs, and activities of other organizations.

“An offspring of the Sisters’ work at The Loretto is the Dominican Retreat House in Dayton. The retreat house was opened by the Sisters in 1952.” (See The Catholic Telegraph, November 9, 1962)

Oakley Parish Remembers Early Years

1983: “The Town Hall sat over the firehouse in Oakley, a small village of Cincinnati. There, once a week during the spring and summer of 1908, a clothesline was strung across the room, over which were hung several bed sheets anchored by wooden clothespins. Some people might have thought the mayor of Oakley was doing laundry every Sunday morning up there in the Town Hall. But is was quite a different story.

“The first parishioners of St. Cecilia Parish were gathering for Mass celebrated by their new pastor, Father Timothy J. Deasy. Seventy-five years later members of St. Cecilia’s, some of whom clearly remember the Town Hall Masses, are preparing to celebrate their 75th anniversary.

“Those first parishioners were made up of 65 families who, until that time, had been traveling to the neighboring churches of St. Anthony’s in Madisonville and St. Mary’s in Hyde Park for services. Deciding they needed a parish and school of their own, they selected a representative committee to request Archbishop Henry Moeller’s permission to build a church.

“After the initial okay came from the archbishop, parishioners raised money to construct the church and picked a building site. By the fall of 1908, St. Cecilia’s was a reality, less than six months after the planning group had approached the archbishop.

“The first church was a small one-story frame building on Gilmore Avenue. The parish grew quickly, in two years adding almost 100 new families to its roster.

“Construction of the present day church with its 145-foot spire began in 1927 and was dedicated the following year by Archbishop John T. McNicholas. Because it was built during the Depression and funds ran short, St. Cecilia’s was without windows and a completed interior for a long time. Nevertheless, in 1930 the church won first place in the annual awards for design and execution of structure from the Cincinnati chapter of the American Institute of Architecture.” (See The Catholic Telegraph, November 11, 1983)