Guide to the Saint Mel School Collection

History of Saint Mel School

On November 11, 1945, Bishop Edward Hoban announced that a new parish was to be organized on Cleveland's West Side. The new parish was to be taken from St. Clement's, Our Lady of the An­gel's, and St. Vincent de Paul Parishes, and was to be called St. Mel's. Father John T. Murphy, recently returned from a year and a half of service in the Pacific area as Chaplain in the Army, was appointed the first pastor. Mass was first celebrated in the auditorium of Riverside Public School. For two years Father Murphy labored alone until June, 1947, when Father Robert Hilkert was appointed his assistant. The efforts of both Father Murphy and Father Hilkert were con­stantly directed toward the erection of a church and a school, for which the diocese had purchased property on W. 142 Street. As Father Murphy wished the Church to be more centrally locat­ed in the parish, he purchased a tract of land on Triskett Road, where there was an old orchard and farm house, and here the cornerstone was laid on January 16, 1949. On August 18, 1949, Sister Bernadette Haley and Sister Mary Aquin Williamson arrived to open the new mission of which the Sisters of Charity were to take charge. They were joined by Sister Benedicta Mahoney on August 19 and Sister Stella Eisenhauer on September 5. The convent for the Sisters, a completely renovated and beauti­fully decorated frame house, which had been moved from another location, was unfurnished at the time the Sisters arrived, and they spent the next five weeks in the rectory. Between the time of the arrival of the Sisters and their taking possession of the convent, the members of the parish had a show­er of house furnishings for them. The Sisters occupied the rectory for five weeks while the priests moved to a house on Lakewood Heights Boulevard. The new convent (14529 Harley) was completed and ready for occupancy September 22, 1949. It was necessary to open school one week later than the scheduled date. On September 12, 1949, the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, 210 pupils in grades one to six arrived to begin the first year in the new school. The following was the first faculty: Sister Bernadette Haley-Principal and Superior, Sister Mary Aquin Williamson, Sister Benedicta Mahoney, Sister Stella Eisenhauer, and Miss Mary Mahoney On April 23, 1950, the Church was dedicated by Archbishop Hoban. When the 1950-1951 school year opened, the seventh grade was added, During the summer of 1951 four classrooms, an office and nurse's room were added to the school and were ready for use in September of 1951. When the 1950-1951 school year opened, Sister Anne Jerome Helmers was missioned to St. Mel's, and the seventh grade was added. Dur­ing the summer of 1951 four classrooms, an office, and nurse's room were added to the school and were ready for use in September of 1951. During 1951-1952 Grade 8 was added. On March 28, 1953, Sister Thomas More Rybarsyk, seventh grade teacher, appeared with nine seventh grade pupils on TV Station WEWS in the program "Inside the Catholic Schools," a diocesan promoted weekly program. They presented an American History lesson on the Ohio Sesquitennial, which was being celebrated in 1953. The first graduation from St. Mel was held on June 8, 1952. There were 21 graduates, Monsignor Clarence E. Elwell, PJ. D., Diocesan Superintendent of Schools, gave the graduation ad­dress. On Sunday afternoon, June 7, 1953, the second graduation from St. Mel School was held. Thirty-three pupils-20 girls and 13 boys- received diplomas. Reverend Richard McHale, M.A., Assistant Superintendent, of Schools of the Diocese of Cleveland was the speaker on the occasion. Father John Murphy celebrated his Silver Jubilee of his ordin­ation on May 23, 1954. The anniversary was April 2, but the day was celebrated after Lent. Father sang a Solemn High Mass at twelve o'clock, noon, after which many priests were served dinner in the auditorium. Less than a year after celebrating the Silver Jubilee of his or­dination, Father Murphy, the founding pastor of St. Mel, was call­ed to his eternal rest on April 26, 1955, at the age of 52. This was ten years after he had founded St. Mel Parish. He was buried on April 29. Archbishop Hoban pontificated and Father Mur­phy's two priestly brothers, Thomas and Robert, were deacon and sub-deacon. Bishop Ready of Columbus was in the sanctuary. On May 6, 1955, Archbishop Hoban announced the appointment of Monsignor Louis Wolf as second pastor of St. Mel Parish. He was in­stalled on May 20. Like Father Murphy, Monsignor Wolf also had two priestly brothers. In July, 1955, ground was broken for four additional classrooms. On October 8, the completed rooms were ready for occupancy, two as classrooms, bringing the number to ten, one as a music room, and the fourth as a study room. Three Sisters taught catechism every Sunday for one hour, to fifty public school children. Monsignor Wolf celebrated the Silver Jubilee of his ordination on April 15, 1956. On April 22, 1956, the new addition to the school, statue of St. Mel, and the Father John Murphy Memorial Plaque were blessed by Archbishop Hoban. Monsignor Elwell, Superintendent of Schools, preached the sermon at the dedication ceremonies. Monsignor Thomas Murphy and Reverend Robert Murphy, brothers of the late pastor, were in the sanctuary. On Saturday, May 12, 1956, the Sisters were in the path of a tor­nado. As they said the Rosary in the basement of the Convent, shin­gles were being torn from the roof, windows were crashing, and sev­eral large trees in the convent yard were being uprooted. After the storm was over, the convent and school yards were filled with debris. Electricity and telephone service were out of order for twenty-four hours. Approximately ten thousand dollars' worth of damage had been done to Church property. The Sisters' chapel was moved to a larger room in the house in June of 1956. The first Mass in the new chapel was celebrated on August 28, 1956. By September of 1956 there were eleven Sisters of Charity teach­ing at St. Mel's Elementary School. Sister Rose Adelaide Ander­son was the Superior. In November of 1956, ground was broken and work was begun on a new rectory and administration building. 1957 enrollment was 559. The Most Reverend Archbishop Hoban administered the sacrament of Confirmation to 136 children and 32 adults on October 17, 1957. At this time he blessed the new rectory which had been completed during the summer. Ground breaking for the new Sisters' Convent was held on Febru­ary 3, 1958. The outdoor shrine in honor of Our Lady of Grace was sol­emnly dedicated March 2. It is equipped with automatic lighting and was donated by the school children. The marble statue was im­ported from Europe. A statue of St. Joseph the Worker was blessed on his feast, March 19. The Holland-made image stands in the first floor corridor of the school. The convent was completed in August and the Sisters moved into their new home August 28. Monsignor Wolf celebrated the first Mass in the Chapel on August 30. Open House was held for the Sisters of Charity in Cleveland on September 13. Bishop Floyd Begin read the Mass of dedication and gave Benedic­tion on September 15. The chapel is named in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows, at the request of Archbishop Hoban. It was very evident that the Chapel was truly symbolic of our Commun­ity, for the stained glass windows depicted St. Vincent de Paul, St. Catherine Laboure, and Mother Seton. They were donated by the parents of Sister Marie Michel Ralph, in memory of their son and daughter. Wood carved statues of Mother Seton and St. Vincent are in the parlor and community room. Father Leonard Paskert, O.F.M. of Our Lady of Angels Monastery, blessed the Stations of the Cross in the chapel on October 28. At this time, the stations were also blessed in the Sisters' lovely enclosed garden. In September another classroom was opened, making a total of thirteen. Among the faculty changes was Mr. Daniel McLaughlin, who became the first male member of the teaching staff, and taught the sixth grade. The school was given a National Safety Award for the second consecutive year. In order to give slower pupils added help in reading, Sister Mary Adele conducted a remedial reading class one-half hour daily Mon­day through Friday. Children from all classes were sent to receive the extra help. Noticeable progress was made by the children re­ceiving extra help. A campaign for funds to erect a new church and expand school fa­cilities was inaugurated in March of I960. The school children participated in a slogan contest to publicize the drive, and lat­er pledged to memorialize the main altar for the sum of $10,000. In May a Ford Station Wagon was purchased for the Sisters. The Sisters attended the Diocesan Teachers' Institute in Cleve­land August 31 and September 1, 1961. The prime purpose was to in­troduce the new English text being used in the diocese, and to launch the Greater Cleveland Mathematics Program, a new approach to mathematics prepared by the Educational Research Council of Greater Cleveland. The latter had sponsored weekly television programs and a series of meetings to develop a better understand­ing of the material for both teachers and pupils at all grade levels. The Diocesan Teachers' Institute was held in the fall at John Carroll University. Dr. Pap of the University Faculty spoke on Communism. Seven of the Sisters took a course which was an In­stitute on Communism, at St. John College during the first sem­ester. Ground breaking ceremonies for the new church took place in Oc­tober, 1961. The parish rectory was moved to the corner of Triskett Road and Orchard Park during the summer, to make room for the new church. Additional classrooms and school facilities were made from the old church. In January, 1961, the children embarked on a fund-raising campaign to memorialize the main altar of the new St. Mel Church by purchas­ing it through their own efforts. By April, 1962, through activities and drives, the sum of $16,000 was raised by the school children for the altar in the new church. The first Mass in St. Mel's new church was October 5, 1962. Bishop Floyd Begin of Oakland, California was present and blessed the cornerstone. The dedication of the new church and the consecration of the altars took place at St. Mel's on May 25, 1962. Bishop Elwell offic­iated. Three Sisters taught Catechism for one hour every Sunday to fifty- five public school children. Fourteen of them received their First Holy Communion. Eight received the sacrament of Confirmation. By April, 1964 work was begun to renovate the former church building into four classrooms, office and faculty lounge. Remodeling continued through the summer so that by September St. Mel's had sixteen classrooms, a library, and a music room. The partition was removed between a former classroom and lunch room in the basement and made into a library of over three thousand volumes. Instrumental music lessons were begun in September 1965 and are held in the library once a week. Total classrooms now numbered 16. Televisions and a public address system were installed in all sixteen class­rooms. It was blessed on December 5. On November 12, 1969, St. Mel Parish began its twenty-fifth year. Special events were held each month sponsored by the vari­ous organizations of the parish. The Silver Jubilee year offic­ially opened on November 16, 1969 with the annual Solemn Exposi­tion of the Blessed Sacrament. The school held its Open House and Buffet Dinner on November 23. On December 5th, Bishop Wm. Cosgrove consecrated the Church's New Altar at a Family Guitar Mass. Father Edwin Schenkelberg, Pastor, celebrated his Silver Jubilee as a priest on April 20, 1976. At this time, there were only three Sisters of Charity at St. Mel's School and thirteen lay teachers. There were no more Historical Reports after this date. The last statement was written by the Sisters of Charity Provincial, Sis­ter Rose Marie Hewitt, on April 10, 1980. Sister stated that after the completion of the 1980 school year there would be no Sisters of Charity serving in any capacity in the parish. Sister also stated that many Sisters had very happy memories of their years at St. Mel's School and that the Sisters might still interested and available in the future. The Sisters of Charity served at St. Mel's School for thirty-five years. In 1980 The Sisters of Charity withdrew from St. Mel's Parish.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of five files containing, in part, correspondence, timelines, historical information, news clippings and information regarding the sisters who ministered at Saint Mel School.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access and Use

Permission to use the collection can be obtained from the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati Congregational Archivist. External researchers need to complete a request form stating the purpose of their research and a list of collections to be consulted upon their visit, which must be approved by the Archivist prior to an on-site visit. If a researcher is unable to visit the Archives in person, the Archivist will conduct a minimum amount of research and provide scanned copies of some materials if requested.

Collections: Holy Name Elementary and Junior High School Collection Holy Name High School Collection Photos -- 72 Box 35 in repository Can be viewed in notebook 23 Material on this mission may also be included among our oral history and presentation transcription collections. Please consult with the Congregational Archivist if you would like to explore and possibly utilize these collections

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Organizations/Corporations:

Places:

Preferred Citation

Saint Mel School Collection, Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati Archives, Mount Saint Joseph, Ohio.

Detailed Description of The Collection