  Kellyroad Member Username: Kellyroad Post Number: 8 Registered: 04-2007 |
I attended St. Jude School from the fall of 1959 thru the spring of 67....Parents were parishioners from 52 thru mid 90s (my mother still gets the St. Jude bulletin mailed to her). As with other catholic parishes/schools it is interesting to describe to younger generations or those far removed from the Detroit boundaries what the community of St. Jude was like. During the growth of post WWII the northeast corner of Detroit had a surge of new houses and of course new families. I believe St. Jude was the largest parish and largest school in the Arch Diocese of Detroit in the late 50s and 60s with over 3500 families and over 13,000 registered parishioners. The school had over 1600 students at one time. The early grades had 60 students per classroom and 4 classrooms per grade (yes, 240 kids per grade). The convent housed 32 Dominican nuns at one time. The church had 4 priests with 2 associates that helped out on Sunday. I'll toss out a few observations and fond memories. Hopefully, the past and present parishioners will respond. Father Ording (founder)..ran the parish with class Sister Leoneta (sp?) principal of the school 60-66...another thread (circa 2005) mentioned she was living in Adrian, 104 yrs old, and was a big redwings fan)...ran the school like a military camp. The parish was divided in sections (green -west of Hayes, Cherry- between Hayes and Kelly, blue-east of Kelly including Harper Woods) The football team was always competitive. The band played at halftime. The football programs were printed with glossy paper (the Dad' club was very active) 11 masses on Sunday (masses upstairs and downstairs). Remember when the credit union was a converted gas station? Remember the number of clubs and societies. The Rapport club (for seniors had there own club house on 7 mile across from the school). The Rosary Altar Society was so large that it was organized into several circles..The card parties were always huge. The Ushers Club, Holy Name Society, Dad's Club had several members. The St. Jude rectory seemed like a palace with private offices and a beautiful enclosed patio/garden next to the bell tower. Who can forget the bells pealing on Sundays or tolling 3 times a day during the week. Sister Robert Marie, Sr Treseta Ann, Sr. James Marie (Jimmy Jet). Sr. Ann Rochelle, Sr. Rose Magdelin, Mr. Flemming, Mr, Kanary(sp?), Mrs Houvar(sp?) Sr. Robert John Fr. Bodie, Fr, Grady, Fr. Burns, Fr. LaGrasso(sp?) Fr. O'Leary, Fr. Matthews. Frank the janitor, the fallout shelter in the basement church, the bombshelter by the convent. May crownings on the convent parking lot. Much, much more. | ||
Jokerman Member Username: Jokerman Post Number: 76 Registered: 07-2005 |
Sr. Ellen Therese,the meanest nun of all time. She was known as Bozo because of the size of her nose. The girls loved Father Grady because he looked liked Paul McCartney. Sr. Marian Elizabeth and Sr. Modonna Marian were two of the nicest and kindest sisters. Sr. Inocencia was the band director. Remember the classrooms upstairs in the gym and downstairs in the church. They were used to relieve overcrowding. | ||
Detroitej72 Member Username: Detroitej72 Post Number: 521 Registered: 05-2006 |
I went to St. Jude for catichism and made my first communion there. This was around 1980, and the priests were: Fr. William Dowell, pastor, Fr. Jim Strause, Fr. Mike Koss and one other priest whose name escapes me at present. At that time they had two masses on Sat. 4PM and 7PM and the Sunday masses were at 6AM, 7:30, 9,10:30 and 12 noon. The basement church was only used for choir practice at that time. As a side note, I heard they remodeled it a few years back. Anyone know if thats true, as I haven't been there in years. | ||
Kellyroad Member Username: Kellyroad Post Number: 10 Registered: 04-2007 |
Jokerman, Father Grady was newly ordained when he arrived at St. Jude around 1963. I remember him being rather poignant (liberal) regarding social issues and people walking out of church during his homilies because they disagreed with his viewpoint. I saw him at the golden anniversary in 1991. He had left the priesthood and still had that babyface look. I believe he became a teacher. Yes, Sr. Maddona Marian was nice. I'll never forget in 1st grade she took me aside, put her arm around me and taught me how to color by outlining first... made all the difference. I played the drums when Sr. Inocencia was band director. We had lessons in the upstairs of the gym. Yes I do remember classes in the gym and downstairs in the church (in the choir-practice room). Who could forget the portables behind the gym and half-day sessions for the fouth grade because of lack of space. At the start of my 6th grade, St. Jude tried a social experiment with one all girls class and one all boys class....the boys' class started the year on the stage in the gym because the new addition behind the gym was not yet completed. The experiment failed miserably...way too many disciplinary problems. After awhile demerits were meaningless because half the class was failing conduct anyway, The teacher was Mr. Flemming. nice man, but the conditions were not optimal for teaching. | ||
Kellyroad Member Username: Kellyroad Post Number: 11 Registered: 04-2007 |
Detroitej72, Yes, the church was renovated in the 90s to reflect Archdiocese approved architecture with the baptismal font in front and the altar more centrally located. Several of the pews in back are removed to make room for a gathering space and the baptismal font. I took my mother to Mass there about 4 years ago. After Mass, Fr. Ray Sayers graciously gave us the grand tour of the renovated church. Interestingly, some of the panels behind the altar were of modern day figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and M L King. An elevator was installed on the west side of the vestibule. | ||
Maxcarey Member Username: Maxcarey Post Number: 79 Registered: 07-2006 |
Visited St. Jude's today to help sort for the upcoming rummage sale. Nice to be back in the gym. Here is their mass schedule: Weekdays (M-F) 8:30 AM Saturday: 4:00 PM Sunday: 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM | ||
Maxcarey Member Username: Maxcarey Post Number: 83 Registered: 07-2006 |
Here are a couple of older shots that I have of St. Jude's. I was in there today and took a few more that I will try to include when I dump the pictures off of the camera. Here's some for now: School and Church: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zo om.gne?id=457115985&size=l Gymnasium: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zo om.gne?id=457115927&size=l St. Jude Playfield: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zo om.gne?id=457115955&size=l St. Jude Belltower: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zo om.gne?id=457115995&size=l | ||
Kellyroad Member Username: Kellyroad Post Number: 13 Registered: 04-2007 |
Maxcarey, Thanks for the pictures. Are the bells still operating? Having lived only a couple of blocks from the church (until the late 70s) the sound of the bells in the morning, at noon, and 6PM resonated through the neighborhood. | ||
The_rock Member Username: The_rock Post Number: 1709 Registered: 11-2003 |
Maybe you Saint Jude folks might appreciate a little humor. I had a friend who was a priest and briefly assigned to St. Jude and was about to conduct a wedding when all hell broke loose. Cops came into the Church, guns drawn. Complete chaos! The head cop tells the priest there has been a hold-up reported over the police radio and they were responding. Fr. X suggests they try across the street where the Credit Union is located. Out go the cops, on goes the wedding, and we hope the newlyweds are living happily ever after. | ||
Chitaku Member Username: Chitaku Post Number: 1307 Registered: 03-2006 |
my parents went to and were married at St. jude and I was baptized there. My grandparents went there untill they moved in 98 |
