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Former students of Sts. Peter and Paul School celebrate 50th anniversary of reunion

DeMonk
Former students of Sts. Peter and Paul School celebrate 50th anniversary of reunion

NORWOOD, Ohio ‒ Their school closed 40 years ago.

It was demolished 11 years ago.

But this year, the class of 1974 from Sts. Peter and Paul School gathered to celebrate 50 years since graduating from elementary school.

As the classmates approached the pavilion in Bechtold Park in this Cincinnati suburb, they were greeted one by one with immediate hugs and shouts of joy.

For the 17 who came from as far away as Canada, the reunion was more than just a chance to see the people with whom they had spent second through eighth grades. In a sense, it was a chance to mourn that lost world: a close-knit, homogeneous Catholic neighborhood school where everyone spent school days and weekends together.

Catholic schools in Cincinnati and other cities have been merging or closing for years as enrollments decline. But at the class’s 50th-year reunion, it was clear that friendships have continued beyond the school walls, which no longer exist.

“Catholic education was our world,” said Kathy Kroell, who graduated in 1974.

What happened to Sts. Peter and Paul School?

The Sts. Peter and Paul School was built in 1921. The school closed in 1984, ten years after Larry Bernhard and his classmates graduated.

The school sent its students to Gressle School, another Catholic school supported by the parish of St. Peter and Paul, among others.

The building was demolished in 2013.

The original three Catholic parishes in Norwood, Sts. Peter and Paul, St. Elizabeth and St. Matthew, merged in 1994 to form Holy Trinity Parish. It is now one of five parishes in Crescent Parishes, a family of congregations established under the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s Beacons of Light program, which consolidated parishes into groups that share priests and resources.

Holy Trinity is located in the former St. Peter and Paul Church, which may also close soon.

“It’s a reality,” said Rita Most, a member of the Sts. Peter and Paul class of 1974 and current parishioner at Holy Trinity Parish.

This would leave Norwood, once a Catholic stronghold, without a parish in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

The last remnants of the parish of Saints Peter and Paul, one of the places where the 27 members of the class of 1974 found their community, are said to have disappeared.

“That church is like my whole life to me. I’ve always been connected to it,” Most said. “It’s very special.”

‘Not just classmates’

St. Peter and Paul was a Catholic school where everyone knew everyone. Mike Cartuyvelles recalled that in addition to the time they spent together in class, his class spent most weekends together playing sports, hanging out, or having a meal at Gribble’s, now Quatman’s Cafe.

Many of their parents were also friends within the parish.

In what they called their “bubble,” they spent time on a campus that included Regina High School, the archbishop’s home, and a seminary, all within a two-block radius. All are now closed; the seminary’s location is now Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center.

“These are all brothers and sisters, not just classmates,” Cartuyvelles said.

After graduating from eighth grade, the class attended area high schools, primarily private Catholic schools such as Regina, Purcell, and St. Xavier.

Cartuyvelles says that after their school years they had less and less contact with each other, but the classmates still occasionally caught up over a drink and also attended each other’s weddings.

Bernhard said the group reconnected when Sts. Peter and Paul was demolished. Technology has helped the class stay in touch over the years, especially through Facebook and WhatsApp.

Of the 27 classmates, 23 keep in touch via text group chats and email.

“If all we had had when we were young was telephones and mail, I don’t think this would ever have happened,” Bernhard said.

Celebrating 50 years…and beyond

In 2022, a classmate passed away. Dave Gajus knows that the time the class spends together is limited.

“It is more valuable now,” Gaius said.

Rita Most echoed his sentiment. A few years ago, she fought and won her battle with stomach cancer.

“Once you’ve had it, it’s always in the back of your mind,” Most said. “So you start to look at life a little differently. I feel so blessed.”

This year’s reunion isn’t the first, nor will it be the last, for the Class of 1974. Classmates Amy Fitzpatrick and Kroell said they’re hopeful the group will meet again.

“It’s better than a high school reunion,” Kroell said. “These are the people you always go back to.”

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