Cindy Hall, Class of 1966, shared the following the 100th Reunion/Gala on November 19, 2022

Sacred Heart Catholic School rang the bell for the first time on Monday, September 4^th, 1922, welcoming grades 1-9. In 1923, 10^th grade was added and in 1924, a full high school curriculum was offered.

Beginning in 1922, Sacred Heart was blessed to have four Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Franciscans arrived in 1926 and stayed through 1993 providing 118 Sisters mentoring students for 72 years. Sister MaDonna Friedman was the last to leave. The nuns were also the school principals. Sister Marilyn Gowans, Sister Annice Kellen, and Sister Constance Herbers are three familiar names. Sacred Heart has also been blessed with over 100 dedicated lay teachers and aides.

Beginning in 1922 with Reverend George Hauck, Sacred Heart has seen 12 additional pastors and 11 associates. The school superintendent was always the pastor with some assistant priests teaching Latin, religion, and boys’ shop.

In the last 100 years, 2043 students have walked the halls of Sacred Heart and 639 graduated by June 1969. The class of 1969 was the largest with 31 students. The smallest classes were 1937, 1943, 1947, and 1948 with just five students each. The first graduate from Sacred Heart was Janice Schneider (sister of Lois Hines) and the last graduate was Becky Hines, niece of Janice and daughter of Lois.

Religious members from Sacred Heart who dedicated their lives to the service of the church include seven priests, one brother, and 15 sisters.

The mascot for Sacred Heart is the Golden Eagle and the school colors are red and gold. However, an early Express article mentions us as the “Ramblers.”

Sport activities at Sacred Heart included boys’ basketball, boys’ baseball, and girls’ six-on-six basketball. Early cheerleaders wore black pleated wool skirts and yellow sweaters and they only cheered at home games in the early years. The girls went to the state tournament in 1946 and again in 1954. Fran Ferring Frost was inducted into the Iowa Girls six-on-six Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979. Parents always drove the players to away games, and in later years, did the same for cheerleaders. Sacred Heart amassed a treasure trove of trophies over the years, which are here tonight representing hard work, dedication, and unwavering pride.

In 1970, Jane Intlekofer Quint Suchomel was named the Iowa Girls Basketball cover girl.

Piano and violin lessons were offered to any student by the Sisters, and given in the convent, which was both exciting and scary at the same time. Every year a play or operetta was presented by upper classman and staged at the Community Building.  

Class trips were a “right of passage” and an exciting time. Some were taken to Prairie Du Chien Villa Louie and some to Chicago to museums. The parents both drove and chaperoned and it was definitely a LONG day. In later years it became a short day-trip to Galena and Chestnut Mountain or Strawberry Point and Backbone State Park. And who could forget school picnic day on the last day—rain or shine! Everyone took their own lunch, but the soda pop and ice cream were provided.

Speaking of food—hot lunch is memorable. The menu has changed over the decades, but the favorite has remained the same: homemade bread! Whether used for sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, French bread, or pizza dough. Thank you, Mrs. Alberta Kane, Mrs. Mary Holmes, Linda Sauser, Joan Sauser, Amber Rance, Linda Manternach, and Lucy Kuriger, to name a few.

While the cooks kept us fed, several janitors kept us warm throughout the years. Harold Schlimmer and Tom Schlimmer, Laurie Hermsen, Dave Countryman, Leo Leibold, and the first, Jim Connelly. Mr. Connelly lived down the street on North Maple. He took care of the church, school, convent, and was the sexton of the cemetery. He mowed it with a push mower and never drove a car. Think of the miles he walked.

In conclusion, here are few interesting little-known facts:

• We never had school on October 4^th. That was the feast of St. Francis and the sisters always went to Dubuque to celebrate.
• On Easter Monday, girls were invited to the convent for lunch to be mentored by the sisters in the hopes that some would one day join the order.
• We walked to the Community Building or the park “Floral Hall” for polio shots or polio vaccine on a sugar cube.
• It took Jim Manternach and three of his buddies to carry the biggest Christmas tree up three flights of stairs to their classroom where they were met by Sister Constance.
• In 1959, a snowstorm in Des Moines during the basketball tournament forced parents and players to spend the night in the gym dancing and eating until 4:00 am before they could start the eight-hour drive back to Monticello.
• The principal’s office was located on the East side of the building. It was small but had a desk and chair, bookcases, a file cabinet, and a small chair in the corner marked for Rick Westhoff.
• Finally, on a warm spring morning in May 1960, a white pigeon landed on the sill of the opened window in Tom Tillotson’s seventh grade classroom, “Sister! Sister!” he screamed, “it’s the Holy Ghost come to see us!”

Tonight, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to dig deep and continue to share our wealth so that in years to come, generations will look back and admire our strong faith and generosity.

Thank you!