50th Anniversary of St. Louis School

What does it take to put on a 50th Anniversary?  Dedicated, hard working parents who put their lives on hold to give themselves and the work of their hands to a very worthwhile endeavor.  As a very small part of the committee, I watched the moms and dads of St. Louis students step up and pull together a very fun night of raising money to support our school.  From putting baskets together of items that were odd alone but matched with another to make a beautiful gift, to dreaming about the details left undone, the ladies behind the scenes were on top of everything.  

Our Knights of Columbus Color Guard helped with the kickoff Mass on Saturday night.  Then they, along with the ladies of the CCW, provided wonderful appetizers before the big meal.  Our guests were top notch too.  Racing around to out-bid each other in the silent auction; talking back and forth about the many unique and tastefully pared items, their excitement about the evening spread the interest of many bidders.  The live auction brought jovial competition, and we believe the real winners of the night were when the nativity set sold for $6800 and given to the Sisters to take back to North Dakota for their chapel, and the cash purse that was handed back to be bid again.  A year's worth of tuition and a Google chrome book were raffled away, plus a delicious turkey dinner was enjoyed by all.

We were blessed to have our first Principal, Sister Dororthy Bertsch with us, as well as one of our first teachers, Sister Dorothy Bunce.  Our current staff along with retired or past teachers, administration and volunteers along with parents, grandparents and parishioners all came together for a very delightful night.  We listened to audio interviews of the Sisters of Mary of the Presentation who started our school, and viewed a slideshow that accompanied the audio of the many photos of students, teachers and staff throughout the years. 

On Sunday we gathered in the gym to view 50 years of scrapbook photos and enjoyed cake and coffee, reminiscing about days gone by and all the changes.  

We put away all the reminders of the weekend and memorabilia  and added up the profits, thanking God for such a successful night and for these past 50 years of serving our community and it's youth.  We thank all who came and bid, who donated, who worked tirelessly, one day, night or many.  We are grateful to all who support our School, spiritually, physically and financially.  God bless you!

Cathy Trowbridge