O'Gorman High School

78 Pages·2012·37.93 MB·English

O’Gorman High School
1961 - 1965
Original Staff
Special Edition
prepared by the original
Knight Scroll Staff
Vol 1, No 1 2012
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After 47 years, we gather here tonight to revisit the home of our religious
and academic education. A little less than 50% of our graduates have
remained in South Dakota while the other classmates have journeyed to
states all across the US, including Hawaii.

Since we were not afforded the luxury of a yearbook at our graduation the
Knight Scroll Staff, along with the surviving faculty members have
attempted to recreate some of our past and give you a final souvenir of our
days in "Berry Patch".

I hope this will bring back long forgotten memories, faces of those we have
forgotten, but remembered in thought, and some of the fun from the good
old days. Hopefully, it will rekindle new friendships with those from so long
ago and solidify the ones that already exist. So, sit back now and savor the
memories and laugh at the fun of the stories and pictures from days gone
by with joy in your heart during the days we have been apart.
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in Memory of
Bishop Thomas O’Gorman
1843 - 1921
Thomas O'Gorman was born in Boston,
Massachusetts, to John and Margaret (née
O'Keefe) O'Gorman. He and his parents
moved to Chicago, Illinois, when he was still
a child, and then to St. Paul, Minnesota. In
1853 he and John Ireland were chosen by

Bishop Joseph Crétin to study for the
priesthood in France. Upon his return to
Minnesota, O'Gorman was ordained a
priest on November 5, 1865. He then
served as pastor of St. John Church in
Rochester until 1878, when he joined the
Paulist Fathers in their missionary work in
New York and also served as a curate at St.
Paul Church.
He returned to Minnesota in 1882 and was
then appointed pastor of Immaculate
Conception Church at Faribault. In 1885 he
became the first president of the newly-
established College of St. Thomas, where he
also served as professor of dogmatic
theology. He was named professor of
church history at Catholic University of
America in Washington, D.C. in 1890.
During his tenure at Washington, he wrote
On January 24, 1896, O'Gorman was appointed the second Bishop of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, by Pope Leo XIII.
A History of the Roman Catholic Church in
He received his episcopal consecration on the following April 19 from Cardinal Francesco Satolli, with Bishops John
Joseph Keane and Martin Marty, O.S.B., serving as co-consecrators, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Washington,
D.C. He was later installed at Sioux Falls on May 1, 1896. During his 25-year-long tenure, he increased the number
of priests and Catholics in the diocese, and erected numerous churches, schools, and hospitals. He dedicated St.
Joseph's Cathedral in 1919, and founded Columbus College in 1921. O'Gorman later died at age 78.

The Class of 1965 was graduated
seven months short of the 100 years
after his ordination in 1865.
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CATHOLIC CHANCERY OFFICE
423 North Duluth Avenue
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

KNIGHTS & FAIR LADIES OF O’GORMAN:

The Church in Sioux Falls offers you the facilities of this beautiful school that you may advance "in
wisdom, and age, and grace with God and men." Here you will find the sacrifices of Clergy, Religious
and Faithful coalescing into one concern of Christ "that you may have it more abundantly."

To measure up to the expectations of Christ must be the unceasing 'determination of all who teach
and learn at O'Gorman. This must mean a constant pursuit of excellence--at once spiritual,
intellectual, cultural -and physical.

Our prayer is that the students of O'Gorman will be ever conscious that they bear the standards of
God and Country, and that the Cause of each must be furthered by their persistent efforts to
achieve a total excellence. Nothing less will be worthy of O'Gorman Knights and Fair Ladies. ·

Our blessing to all who strive to make O'Gorman High School the pride of Church and Country.

Devotedly in Christ,
Lambert H. Hoch
Served as Bishop of the Diocese of
Most Rev. Lambert H. Hoch, D. D.
Sioux Falls from November 27, 1956
Bishop of Sioux Falls
to June 13, 1978
Died June 27, 1990

O’Gorman According to Fr. Joyce

I was asked to oversee the building of O’Gorman and it was really a mess. What I
remember the most was the building crew and how inept they were at getting things
done. When they tried to install the lockers, they had to have the chief builder display the
way the locker was placed against the wall. They were supposed to be installed by the
time school started, but shortly before the finish date the foreman left for Mitchell to start
the construction of another school. O’Gorman was scheduled to open on Monday after
Labor Day but because no one worked on that day the lockers didn’t get installed and they
had to postpone the opening date.

Especially interesting was the construction of the Auditorium. The day they were lifting
the 157 ft main beam for the ceiling was an extremely windy day. As the crane attempted
to lift the beam, it also lifted the men who were guiding the balance of the beam. Because
the location of the auditorium was on a piece of slanted land, they decided to make it as
slanted room, which would make it easier to install the beam. Before the final placement,
all of the crew, Fr. Joyce and Fr. Carroll signed their names on the beams. So, for the last
approximately 45 years, Fr. Joyce and Fr. Carroll have been with us all the time.

There were very specific reasons why Fr. Joyce resigned as the first superintendent. At the time that the school opened, Fr.
Joyce not only was in charge of overseeing the building, he was the Chancellor for the Diocese, teaching at Heelan in Sioux
City, and working on his master’s degree. He came to the conclusion that he was carrying too much of a burden, so he went
to the Bishop and asked to be released from the O’Gorman responsibilities. He quoted, “I was the first drop-out of
O’Gorman High School”.

When asked if O’Gorman turned out to be the way it should have, he said “Oh No, It turned out to be more marvelous than l
could have imagined.”

Currently residing at Prince of Peace Retirement Community
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Fr. Carroll passed away October 10, 2001

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Dear Class of 1965

Congratulations on being the first ever Medicare Birthday party of the
Charter Class of O'Gorman High School. Father AI Krzyzopolski and
Father Jim Joyce and Father Howard Carroll were surely most
influential in the beginnings of your great class.
I was pleased to be able to be part of the staff at 0' Gorman for 14
years, teaching Latin. Father AI also was a Latin teacher and Rector of
the high school seminary. I worked with Father AI as Vice-Rector.

Thank you for your great witness and example as Catholic Christ ians. I
am confident that God is now looking down on all of you and saying:
“Well done good and faithful servants …”

W arm greetings to the O'Gorman Class of 1965! It is a real pleasure to recall a few faded
m emories of the early years at O'G. Some highlights include:

 A new school with wrinkles to be ironed out
 Boy's and girl's wings
 The step-and-a-half steps leading to the lobby
 An abundance of priests and nuns
 Talented faculty and staff
 No girl's athletics
 No post-season competition in athletics
 The smoke filled faculty lounge
 Mr. McGuire's Hot Corner/Intersection
 Elvis was established and the Beatles were coming-on
 Many others

The '65 Class was, indeed, a pioneer in establishing the culture that is O'Gorman.
The many O'G traditions and the pride in the school was started and maintained by this
group ... a very talented, creative, committed class. So, best wishes to the O'G Class of 1965.
I will always cherish fond memories of my days at O'Gorman. Take Care!

Gratefully,

Mel Klein
PS – In my reminiscing through it all, I just realized that I was only 25 years old!!
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September 8, 2012
Class of'65

Dear Sixty-Fivers,

It is great that you can get together to celebrate the uniqueness of the members of the Class of '65 turning sixty-five years of age. I have
often heard from members of your class that there is a pride in being the first class to attend O'Gorman for four years. As a result, you
were part of many of the "firsts."

Over the past thirty-five years, 1 have been amazed at the pride people have from being a part of O'Gorman and how close they remain
for many years after their graduation. You folks were there at the beginning and can be very proud of your accomplishments and those of
many subsequent classes.

Congratulations! Have a great celebration and Go Knights!

Regards,

Dr. Tom Lorang
Superintendent

Fasdv  The Class of 1965 graduated approximately 100 years after Bishop
O’Gorman was ordained into the priesthood in 1865.
 The KC Hall Banquet Room in which we celebrated our 65th birthday was
built in 1947 and it has been 47 years since our graduation.
 There are exactly 65 classmates that live in the Sioux Falls area.
 In 1958 the property on which O’Gorman was built was purchased for a
grand price of $61,089.10
 The cost to build O’Gorman totaled only $1,500,000
 The property value four years ago for O’Gorman was $11,000,000
 The cost to rebuild today’s O’Gorman was $32,000,000
 O’Gorman’s first yearbook was produced in 1975
Freshman enrollment in 1961 – Charter Class First Year
Cathedral 62 St. Mary’s 49 St. Nicholas Tea 1
Christ the King 36 Little Flower 15 St. Lambert 10

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