By Marshall DeLonay
The graduating class of 1960 was a very groundbreaking and eclectic group of people who are still telling their story to the world. It was 1956 and the students were beginning a new part of their life in a brand new school. When the students in the class of ’60 first started their high school endeavors at Newman Catholic, the high school was not yet 100% complete, but after a few months it was finished and boy was it kicking.
When Newman Catholic first started in 1951 they were using the St. James and St. Mary’s schools. During this time they were known as the Pioneers. It was not until the new school was built on Bridge Street that the Pioneers became the Cardinals. The class of ’60 was the very first class to go all four years at the school in its current location. Julie Brzezinski, graduate of Newman in 1960, she stated, “We were so proud to be a student of Newman Catholic High School
During the class of ‘60’s years there were some major changes. When they started tuition was $40.00 and by the time they were seniors the price had jumped to $120.00; there was a pay off though. The families paid half the tuition and then the parishes covered the other half so the tuition would be easier to pay for each student attending. Another change was uniforms for the girls. They were not as flattering as the girls probably would have liked being dark green in color. “After graduating in 1960 us gals from Rothschild had a bonfire and guess what? We weren’t burning wood; it was our lovely green uniforms. We were so glad to get rid of them,” stated Mrs. Brzezinski. Just goes to show us that students will always disagree with some part of the dress code.
There were only three sports in the ‘60’s that students could be a part of: football, baseball, and basketball. For the girls the only sport at the time was cheerleading, which back then was not the huge sport it has developed into today. “If you were not a part of any of these sports there was nothing else for you,” stated Nancy Stoltz, another 1960 graduate. There were some very good athletes at Newman Catholic, which caused Newman Catholic to become one of the best in the Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference. At that time there were 34 Catholic high schools in the state to compete with, including Assumption, Columbus
The class of 1960’s reunion started on Friday, Sept. 17, 2010 with a tour of the Newman Catholic building on Friday afternoon by the Principal Mr. Larry Theiss and Mrs. Meverden, Newman Alumni Director. Approximately 40 alumni attended and once the tour was over they made their way to the Great Dane, where snacks, talk, and an open bar took them through the night. On Saturday they had a formal event at The Plaza Hotel and Suites with a banquet, program and DVD presentation, followed by music and dancing. There were 71 alumni who brought along spouses and guests for a total of 117 people. The theme was “A Weekend to Remember,” and it seems their goal was accomplished.
The 50th reunion for the class of 1960 was a grand one that will not be forgotten. There were 550 students and 162 of them graduated in ’60, making them the largest graduating class at Newman. To this date there are 23 members of the class who are deceased and we ask that you remember those lives which have touched and inspired many others.
When asked about the success of the class Mrs. Brzezinski stated, “Yes, we have many from our class who became very successful. We must remember it was Newman Catholic who provided us with the education we needed and the ability to become the people we are today.” This is a great statement all of us at Newman Catholic should remember in our upcoming years.
Special thanks go to Julie Brzezinski and Nancy Stoltz for the information. Keep on living and remembering class of 1960; you will never be forgotten.
