by Joseph Back For a school building that’s about to turn eightytwo, St. Joseph’s in Boyd is looking pretty good.

What’s more, it’s set to celebrate Catholic Schools Week from January 31 through February 6, with plenty of fun and games to go along with the festivities as part of an annual celebration.

As to the opening of the building as it now stands, it’s all recorded in THE BOYD TRANSCRIPT, then a paper of record in the Friendly Town. From the Transcript: “BOYD AND EDSON SCHOOLS TO BE DEDICATED SUNDAY The new St. Joseph’s Parochial School will be dedicated Sunday, October 29th, at 3:00 P.M., by the Bishop of LaCrosse…the new school is now complete and last Sunday was inspected by a number of a thousand. Many words of praise were heard. The general sentiment was that Boyd may well be proud of its school.” With four classrooms, a library and office all located on the second floor in 1939, with a chapel, gymnasium, bathrooms, a hallway and dressing rooms on the first, perhaps the most striking thing to the contemporary reader might be how little things have changed in the ensuing 81 years at the Boyd school, architecture-wise. The chapel is turned into classrooms and other renovations have been made, See SCHOOL TRADITION, Page 8

Local parochial school over 80 years old, building dedicated in 1939 SCHOOL TRADITION

FROM PAGE 1 but the general floor plan is much the same.

Established around the time that public education was just beginning to take hold in the late nineteenth century, Catholic schools began as a way to uphold Catholicity, as this was not then well received in all quarters of American society, and the Catholic faith sometimes was deemed suspect, even unpatriotic. The parochial school’s flagpole, meanwhile, was donated by the local American Legion and the Women’s Auxiliary, per the TRANSCRIPT of 1939.

Built for $45,000 by A. F. Billmeyer and Sons of Wisconsin Rapids (if the architects of the same name for the Sacred Heart building might be presumed the same, in spite of no city being attached to the firm that designed Boyd), St. Joseph’s Parochial School in Boyd replaced a former wooden school on the site—just as a brick church had earlier replaced a wooden counterpart. Years later, it was closed by a now formers pastor, before getting a second chance thanks to sacrifices made in Cadott. The schools in the two towns had the same name, and Cadott had kept theirs open, saving red tape when the time came to revitalize parish education.

“When I first arrived as pastor (in 2012) the only school open was St. Joseph School in Cadott,” Father William Felix said of the Catholic education situation in the area. “Boyd and Stanley were both closed by previous pastors even though the oldest school was Cadott,” Felix said of the then separate parishes joined together as All Saints in 2013. With St. Joseph’s in Cadott built in 1919 and holding classes continuously since September 1920, staffed by the Milwaukee-based Sisters of the Divine Savior until the seventies when religious orders experienced decline, Deacon Ned Willkom had more to share, as his mother had been a student at Cadott.

“The nuns and a limited number of student boarders lived on the upper floor,” he said, adding that the kids went home on weekends. The student boarders were mostly farm kids who stayed in town during the week due to the strain of travel “in those days,” Willkom shared.

Although not closed over the years, Father Felix said that the Cadott school “was struggling to stay open” as the other schools closed because of low enrollment numbers coming from what was then St. Rose of Lima Parish. With the three became one as All Saints in 2013, and the decision by the pastors and people of St. Rose to stay the course, the prospect of a revitalized Catholic education system in a merged parish could be brought to fruition.

“When the merger took place, it was decided to open the school in Boyd for two reasons,” FElix said. “First it was the better building, and second, it was in the middle of both Cadott and Stanley, providing a central place to build the school population for the whole parish of All Saints.” With early childhood programs in Cadott and Stanley initially, these were closed last year for reasons of financial feasibility, while the tornado of last year touched down close to the Cadott school building, resulting in damage to it.. As such repairs are prohibitive cost-wise, the St. Joseph’s school building in Cadott will be torn down within the next month and its cornerstone and cross saved, with the building site to be used for expanded church parking as repairs are ongoing to the church roof at St.

Rose of Lima nearby, also damaged in last summer’s tornado. With the main site in Boyd, parish education can continue onward, which brings us back to Catholic Schools Week as an informal holiday, and a host of activities that are planned. From a Catholic Schools Week mass at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday to a Pork Dinner and scholastic book fundraisers to help finance local education, the festivities are many. Principal Sara Giza filled in some pertinent details as to why Catholic education can make a difference.

“Catholic education not only teaches students what they need to know academically, but Catholic schools educate students mind, body, and spirit,” she said. “Throughout our daily activities we strive to make Jesus the heart of what and why we teach.” The school curriculum is written by diocesan administrators and teachers, trained through the University of Notre Dame. For those who might be interested but not able to afford private school on their own, Giza shared that a voucher program is available for students to attend through the year. “Once a student qualifies, they always have a voucher through high school,” she said. In addition, St. Joseph’s also has special needs scholarships “with no financial stipulation to qualify” along with a scholarship program for families who need assistance but don’t qualify for a voucher. In the meantime, it’s a party. Catholic Schools Week is set to run from January 31 through February 6, with plenty of fun in store. More information is available through link at the parish website at www.allsaintscathcom. com, with a school link on the left side of the homepage.

Front page news: Catalogued at the Boyd History Room, THE BOYD TRANSCRIPT of October 27, 1939 shares dedication details for St. Joseph’s in Boyd along with Sacred Heart School in Edson, the latter now used by the Institute of St. Joseph.

Shown above, the St. Joseph’s building in Cadott will be torn down and the site used for parish parking, as repairs continue on the nearby church building for St. Rose of LIma, built in the late 50s and also damaged in the tornado. The cornerstone of St. Joseph’s in Cadott will be saved for display, while education will continue at St. Joseph’s in Boyd, twenty years younger as to building age. Photo by Joseph Back.