St. Joseph Parish at 254 Sixth St., Manistee, MI 49660 US - St. Joseph School History
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"The Polish school edifice is of frame construction, 32 by 58 feet, two stories high, and contains four classrooms, with a seating capacity of 75 per room, or a total of 300 pupils. It is the intention to instruct the pupils in the English as well as the Polish language."The new school was immediately overwhelmed with students, with an initial attendance of between 400 and 450 students. The first teachers were nuns from the Sisterhood of St. Frances or St. Phyllis. A home for the sisters was built at the same time as the school, but it was initially occupied by the priest. Four years later, in 1889, the congregation enlarged the school with the addition of more classrooms at a cost of $2,500. The number of pupils remained about the same, but as two of the classrooms originally seated 125 students in each room, the additional rooms would have provided welcome relief. The final work on this building consisted of a central steam-heating system installed in 1893. Tragedy struck the Polish School on November 2, 1897. Fortunately, school was dismissed for church festivals, and there were no students in the building. About noon, flames were seen near the base of the belfry at a point near where electric wires entered the building. An alarm was turned in, and the fire department was promptly on the scene. However, the fire department had a struggle as soon as they arrived. There was a strong wind blowing, the fire had considerable headway, and the building was built entirely of wood. The nuns were running through the burning building trying to save the books. Within half an hour, the roof of the building caved in, and the firemen concentrated their efforts on saving the adjoining buildings. The distance of the fire from the Water Works caused problems with water pressure. Within an hour, the building was gone. Although no one was seriously injured, one fireman received a bump on the head from a falling wall. None of the nuns were injured and apparently saved a considerable number of the school-books. In summing up the loss, The Manistee Daily News speculated about where the 900 children who attended the school would go the next day. The loss was listed at $10,000 with an insurance of $7,500. Despite their concern, the newspaper gives no hint of the alternatives chosen for the children in the next week. Ultimately, the St. Joseph congregation built their beautiful new brick school to serve the pupils.
The Second St. Joseph School written by Steve Harold for The Manistee News-Advocate October 28, 1995 After the St. Joseph School burned on November 2, 1897, the congregation immediately commenced making plans for an even-better school, a school that would serve the needs of the congregation's children for over six decades. Plans for the new building were drawn by W. G. Robinson, an architect. By July 7, 1898, the debris of the old building had been cleared away, and Father Kozlowski laid the first stone for the foundation of the masonry building. The ceremonies may have been small, for we find no mention of them in the local press. Several weeks later, an article on Kenny's dock reported that he had the contract for the foundation-stone for the new school. In all, at least four barge loads of stone were brought from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, for the new school. After ten months of construction, The Manistee Daily News finally provided the following description of the new school in a special edition of their paper:
"The building is red brick, 134 by 87 feet, and is trimmed with buff Bedford stone. The basement will be devoted entirely to the entertainment of the pupils and young people of the parish. There will be two club-rooms and a room for the meetings of the various societies connected with the church. A billiard and a reading room are among the features provided by the designers. These, together with a spacious gymnasium, occupy the west wing of the basement. "Five large classrooms, separated from each other and from the main hall by walls of solid brick, take up the first floor. These rooms are 32 by 36 feet with 13-foot ceilings and [are] lighted by large windows covering one entire side of the room. The library and office of the principal will occupy the space over the main stairway on the first floor. On the second floor are six large classrooms, lighted and finished in the same manner and style as the rooms on the floor below. A feature of the building which is unique, and which reveals the forethought of the designers, is the large auditorium, which will occupy the entire third story of the building. This hall will be fitted with a stage 40 by 50 feet in dimension and will have a seating capacity for one thousand people. A slate roof, surmounted by a tower, will add to the architectural beauty of the building, which will be one of the most complete and handsome of any public building of the city."The school opened in 1899 or 1900, and, within a decade, had 641 students taught by 13 Felician Sisters. In 1919, it was announced that two priests had been added to the St. Joseph's pastorate to allow the school to offer a complete high school education program. It is not known if this program was successful, for St. Joseph High School dated their origins to 1944 with a first graduating class in June of 1947. The high school continued until 1964, when it merged with Manistee Catholic Central. In 1972, the elementary students were also transferred to M.C.C. The school then sat empty for several years while committees decided its fate. The matter was taken out of their hands on January 21, 1978, when children who had found a way into the building accidentally set it on fire. Within a matter of hours the wood had all burned from the building, leaving only the sturdy brick shell standing. Several days later the building was knocked down, and the site was quickly cleaned up. In the aftermath many parishioners spoke of the loss "of a very old and dear friend."
St. Joseph Braves written by Steve Harold for The Manistee News-Advocate November 4, 1995 After a high school was started at St. Joseph's, they naturally started competing in local athletics. The St. Joseph Braves quickly became a strong contender in basketball and developed a reputation as the team it was necessary for other county schools to beat to make the playoffs. Dorothy Laskey Rose was a student at St. Joes and recalls some of the school's and her own basketball memories as follows:
"In the 1951 Hillcrest, basketball dominated the section on athletics. The varsity coach was Tony Zientek, while the reserves were coached by Dan Schmidt. The varsity split the 1950-51 season, posting eight wins and eight losses, while the reserves won every game. Opponents of that era included Traverse City St. Francis, Elberta, Dickson, Onekama, Pentwater, Free Soil, and the Manistee 'B' team. "But they say tournament time is a whole new season, and that was true, for the Braves had found themselves in the district finals with Dickson (now KND). "Here is an 'instant replay' gleaned from newspaper reports, some carrying the byline of Ray Brzezniak:'A smooth-working St. Joseph's high school basketball team battled its way into the finals here last night by turning its big guns on Free Soil and defeating it, 45-32, in the feature game on the Manistee High School court. 'The Braves now face the highly-rated Norman-Dickson quintet that toyed with Arcadia's Cagers before defeating them to get to the finals. 'Coaches are often forgotten in the excitement of the tournament, but we feel they are deserving of anything that can be said about them. To this observer, the finest job of the tournament was turned in by Tony Zientek of the St. Joseph Braves. He brought his team along slowly and built it up with every game."However, the Braves would retire that season as runners-up despite valiant action by Francis Balcer and Bob Swidorski that put St. Joe out in front of Norman-Dickson in the fourth quarter. In the last seconds, Don Stroup of Norman-Dickson dropped in a foul shot to make the final score 32-30. Dick Najdowski accepted the runner-up trophy that night. Stats would be compiled, and it was announced that Spring that Ken Kott of the St. Joe Braves won city scoring honors. "A decade later basketball still dominated, and the Manistee Armory was home court to the St. Joseph Braves, whose uniforms sported the school colors of red and white. Varsity coach was Gordon "Spike" Gielczyk, while the reserve coach was John Anderson and Father Tom Skuzinski was athletic director. "Our school song began,'S. J. High School, S. J. High School, We'll always be true. Loyal friendship, fund, and knowledge, Here we find in you.'The words were sung to the tune of, I believe, 'On Wisconsin.' And they were true. "I graduated from St. Joe High in 1962 in a class of 17. My senior year I was fortunate to be selected to the cheerleading squad. It was a dream come true, because I had always been a fan and put in many perfect, or near perfect, seasons in the bleachers. A 'Joed' since I was enrolled in the second grade in the Fall of 1951, I had always enjoyed the pep rallies, team dress-up days, and excitement of game days shared. "We were very patriotic, but as the national anthem ended, we couldn't resist closing with the phrase, 'and the home of the BRAVES.' Applause would change to the beat of a special clapping cheer, and another basketball game would be under way. "Although basketball still dominated, in the Spring of 1962, Father Tom, the athletic director, announced at the Cagers' banquet that track would be a Spring sport under the direction of Sylvester 'Buck' Flarity, former Onekama High School standout. "The News-Advocate ran a story on the banquet under the late Jerry Skiera's byline. Skiera reported that a trophy was presented to senior Paul Pietrasik as the Most Valuable Player. Pietrasik, the only senior on the squad, was the top scorer. Most-improved player was Pat Siuda. The varsity squad consisted of eight sophomores and Pietrasik. "Pietrasik was also presented with the silver basketball award for being chosen on the Western Michigan 'D' League's Second Team. "St. Joe went on to become Manistee Catholic Central. The colors became red, white, and blue. The Braves became the Sabers. "But whenever I'm at a game, and the National Anthem plays, whether it's the football field or the MCC basketball court, it's still the home of the BRAVES!!"back to top