LORAS ACADEMY

Yearbook

LORAS ACADEMY. Educational landmark in Dubuque that completed its final year in 1959. In the last twenty-five years of its existence more than half of the graduates of Loras Academy went on to college. Loras College received 48 percent of this number.

In 1873 ST. JOSEPH'S ACADEMY was located at the site of St. Joseph's Hall on Loras Boulevard. The goal of the school was to encourage boys to enter the priesthood. John Patrick CARROLL, became the bishop of Montana. Other graduates who entered the priesthood included Leo BINZ who became the Archbishop of Dubuque. Henry P. ROHLMAN served first as the business manager of the college and was later chosen archbishop. From the classes between 1876 and 1926 a total of 439 students became priests out of 740 graduates. Students unprepared for high studies were taught on the secondary level by the college faculty. (1)

A building campaign was started in 1878 and capped in 1884 with a diocesan collection that led to the construction of a chapel, study hall, and rooms for teachers. Archbishop John J. KEANE led more expansion efforts in 1902. A large building was erected which contained classrooms, gymnasium, laboratories, and rooms for students and faculty. In 1910 a combination chapel and auditorium were completed. A gymnasium was completed in 1912. (2)

Columbia Academy "boarding school" postcard advertising a "homey" atmosphere.

In 1894 Father John P. Carroll, the president of ST. JOSEPH COLLEGE abolished the preparatory department and established a combination six year high school and college curriculum. A student entering the high school department was required to have eight years of pre-academic work. The secondary program was then set at three years. A four-year schedule was arranged for the high school in 1915 with the first year including grade school subjects. The high school course became a full four years in 1917. In 1927 what had become Columbia Academy was accredited with the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. In 1939 the name changed to Loras Academy. (3)

In 1918 the combined high school and college departments had an enrollment of 358 students. In 1928 the high school alone at 324 students instructed by thirteen priests and two lay teachers. (4)

The high school was both a boarding school and a day school. Located on the college campus, exceptional high school athletes were encouraged to join the college teams. Extra-curricular activities were abundant. In March 1922 the first newspaper, the "CeeAy," was published. In 1939 its name was changed to the Crest. The "CinemA," the yearbook became the "Log" in 1939. (5)

St. Joseph Hall at Loras Academy

In 1935 the Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) was organized on the Columbia (Loras) Academy campus. The school thus became one of a few high schools and the only Catholic ROTC Honor High School in Iowa. The ROTC program was continued at WAHLERT HIGH SCHOOL until the spring of 1963. (6)

Among the many lay instructors at the Academy was John W. CRETZMEYER who served the Academy thirty-two years. He held the position of baseball coach in 1913 and became the head athletic coach in 1920. The Academy students were officially christened the "Gubs" (his favorite expression was "By Gubs"). (7) The coaching of Professor Cretzmeyer annually led to Academy teams participation in the Loyola University Catholic High School Invitational in Chicago. Columbia Academy won the Catholic State High School football championships in 1926, 1927, 1929, and 1930. From 1925 to 1931 Columbia football teams scored 1,027 points against 343 from the opposition. In basketball such stars as Robert MATTHEWS and Merlin J. "Mickey" MARTY brought crowds to their feet with their ability. The rifle team of Columbia Academy was so proficient under the guidance of Sgt. C. A. Peterson that it competed in the 1937 Camp Perry National Rifle Competition. In 1943 Loras Academy won the National Interscholastic Gallery Matches. (8)

A list of Academy students would include David RABE. (9) William McKay entered the field of journalism and became the managing editor of the Paris edition of the Chicago Times. Arch WARD, a graduate in 1916, founded the national All-Star baseball game. Richard Louis MURPHY became a United States Senator and Gerald E. Lyons moved to Washington, D.C. to be the general solicitor of the Farm Credit Administration. Future attorneys who attended the Academy included Francis J. O'CONNOR, Robert KENLINE, Thomas NELSON. Journalist Louis Schaefle, called the "Little Napoleon" by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, graduated from the Academy in 1926. Don AMECHE went on to fame on stage and in the movies. John James JEHRING found fame in the field of economics.

With the closing of Loras Academy in 1959, students attended WAHLERT HIGH SCHOOL.

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Source:

1. Driscoll, Rt. Rev. Msgr. Justin A. With Faith and Vision: Schools of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, 1836-1966, Dubuque: Bureau of Education, Archdiocese of Dubuque, 1967, p. 316

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. "The Loras Academy Hall of Fame," Online: http://loras.edu/About-Loras/News-Events/News/2013/LorasLinkSeptember2013/The-Loras-Academy-Hall-of-Honor.aspx

8. Driscoll, p. 317

9. "Land of Lost Souls: David Rabe's America," The New Yorker, November 24, 2008, Online: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/11/24/land-of-lost-souls