September 19, 1999

Greetings, again, to SHA Alum!!!

For those of you who attended the Reunion, there is nothing to add - it was presented well with outstanding results. I am sure you will all agree. For those of you who were unable to attend ---we can hardly wait to see you next time, and that is going to be sooner than you can believe. But first, a report of the happenings at Reunion '99, August 13-15.

Signing in on Friday afternoon set the mood for the weekend. Early arrivals were able to enjoy a glass of wine, some fragrant and 'melt in you mouth' cheeses, accompanied by other tasty tidbits, at a social which was outstanding. It was an opportunity to do a little early socializing and the excitement began!!

On Saturday many drove or walked around town, visited the historical sights and restored homes - several of them are now Bed and Breakfast Inns. Many of the stores, as we remembered them, had been converted into quaint antique shops - with outstanding choices of goods and great prices. Others just enjoyed the sights and relived fun-filled moments at school. The doughboy was still there, marshalling the roving traffic as he always did. The train station, on the other end of town, has been converted into a museum with an array of pictures, donated by residents and their families' archive of memories. The pictures painted on the levee certainly added a cheerful note to what could have been an, otherwise, dull area of town. There were many surprises, and few disappointments, for those who had not revisited Helena over the years. But, nothing could dampen the spirits of those of us who were just excited about 'being there'.

Pasquale's, an SHA alum owned and operated restaurant, opened up on Saturday, just for us to enjoy luncheon both inside and outside. The tables sported cheerful red and white checkered table clothes and we had the opportunity to bump into many, many old friends. We all got a big laugh out of gazing at one another, straining our 'grey matter' for that familiar face and those funny memories. It didn't take long to find many familiar faces, accompanied by warm hugs and 'ear to ear' smiles. What a positive atmosphere that was.

Saturday evening we enjoyed a social hour preceding the banquet at the Knights of Columbus Hall. The dinner, accompanied by an open bar with wines and beverages to suit everyone's taste, was truly descriptive of the 'groaning board' with more choices of elegant cuisine than places to put them. The beverage bar added that little bit of elegance to our meal.

It turned out to be a fun-packed walk down memory lane. Many pictures of the graduation classes and other events, which had been stored at the Rectory, were mounted on a 20-foot display area and the crowds convened up and down those boards - looking for themselves and others they wanted to remember. We were thankful to many that brought old pictures of past events and gave us other opportunities to relive those fond moments.

A simple, thought-provoking moment was held in respect for those who had died over the years. A Memorial Candle was brought to the hall and it was announced that this candle would be placed on the altar of St. Mary's Church, and lighted at every service, in order to provide a continuing memorial for those who have gone before. It was estimated that this candle would last approximately 3 years.

We had a beautifully executed 'Swing Dance Exhibition' by a young couple, two generations away from OUR generation, but dancing to OUR tunes and doing an outstanding job. Just watching them brought back many memories. Remember all those CYO dances? Those great guys in our classes, always outnumbered by the girls who attended, but who did their 'duty' and showed us all a great time?

Our "Master of Ceremonies" did an excellent job, not only by presenting a fun and nostalgic program, but also providing some interesting facts we all wanted to know. Who was the oldest attending Alum - who was the oldest attending graduate - who had driven the farthest to attend. Then he introduced members from every graduating class that attended - the newest being the Class of '61 (the last graduation class) and the oldest, a graduate from the Class of '31. What a span and what a wonderful surprise for all of us.

For those of you who have not had the opportunity to meet "Father Ed", you really missed a great entertainer. Everyone had 'heard about Father Ed' but we all thought it was an exaggeration. No way - he is the real ticket. Of all the "Elvis Imitators" around, Father Ed gave one of the best performances. You HAD to be there.

Sister Marie and Sister Kim, sisters presently assigned to the parish of St. Mary's, were just as lively - and just enjoyed by all of us. We were so pleased to have them join us and give us an opportunity to visit with and get to know them. They are two wonderful ladies with, surprisingly so, beautiful voices.

We walked down memory lane with several speakers who were kind enough to share their memories. The crowning glory was attributed to Sr. Gracie Saia, not only an alum but also of the order of the Sisters of Charity. She had many of her own memories and, in telling them, we also relived those of our own. She extolled the virtues of our private school education; the dedication of our teachers (one in particular being mentioned over and over) and made a comparison of what 'was' with what now 'is'. But she expressed, so beautifully, what all of us truly felt. We knew we lived in special times, realized we were treated as special people and, because of this base instilled in us by our educational background with all those special teachers, we were able to achieve our goals and, in some cases, even exceeded them. We were prepared, during those happy, simple years, as no students will ever be prepared again - our expectations were met because we were taught to expect them.

Prizes, for the winners of the several categories, consisted of pictures (some black and white, others in full color) of the academy. Copies can be obtained from a photographer in Helena - complete information will be in the first issue of the quarterly Newsletter.

On Sunday, many of us attended Mass at St. Mary's and were acknowledged, in a body, by Father Ed. We certainly added a festive note to the ceremony when he dedicated the new cornerstone and monument to the Sacred Heart. Father Ed reminded us that, "we were and will be the SHA bond, and we do not want to lose it."

The Newsletter first issue will be a full accounting of the Reunion, with the names of those committee members who made it a success. The future of the Newsletter will depend on contribution of news; additional names of those alums we were unable to reach for this reunion and, all in all, a show of interest in continuing its distribution.

The booklet that we offer will contain a short bio of each of us. Not only those who attended the reunion, but also those who would like to be remembered. This booklet will only be as successful a venture as the amount of contributors that we have. Even though we have orders for 70 copies, only 20 people felt inclined to write their stories. Therefore, it won't be as great a success as we had hoped unless others feel so inclined.

After retiring from the railroad in '95 I was successful in getting a position as manager of a 'senior apartment building'. One of my elderly residents, a most unusual and interesting lady, was always making ' quotable quotes'.

One made a real impression upon me and encouraged me to provide, as part of my "Grand Opening" after my 50 residents had moved in to our new building, a profile booklet containing a synopsis of all my residents. Each filled out a questionnaire and then I took them, one by one, into my office and 'fleshed out' what they had written . What this lady had said was, "everyone has a story" - and how prophetic that proved to be. The profile book was THE hit of the Grand Opening.

Now, I believe that each of us has a story and I, for one, would appreciate having all of yours to include in our booklet. Each of us has enjoyed such awesome successes - some professionally, some personally - but all of us had our fair share of success. Won't you share this with us and let us know what you have done since we saw you last? This certainly will be the 'icing on the cake' as a finale to our reunion - what a success it will have been perceived to be, bringing us all together and, on top of that, providing each of us with additional memories of those who we had gone to school with. Those of you, who had written only a few lines, but not a full story, I encourage each of you to write me, again, and 'flesh out' what you started. I am certain all of us want to know everything about you.

The booklet is in the process of being prepared. It will be produced on this computer in a very basic form. But I know it will be well received and an enormous hit for those of us who receive a copy. Let me hear from all of you and see if you don't agree.

My years in Helena at the Academy provided me with my fondest memories - those of my teachers, my friends that I, reluctantly, left when I graduated and happenings in those three short years while I was there. It is with joy that I was able to renew some of those friendships and I look forward to hearing from, about and seeing many of you, again, over the years. Won't each of you, also, include some of your memories along with your bio's?

Love to you all,

Elizabeth (Betty Huntzicker) Sears