1928 - 29
The Year
Fr. Joseph Keefe presided over a graduating class of 24 – 16 girls and eight boys. Sr. Veronique was principal.
The class president was Emma Anselmo, later Veltri. Her vice president was female. The secretary and treasurer were male. Most class members went to work after graduation, hitting the job market just before the Great Depression disrupted life in the fall. Class members included Rosemary Brennan, Edward Allen, Thelma Feeney, Helen Flanagan, Kenneth Stillman, Margaret Cowburn, Herbert Loomis, Ruth Maloney, Gertrude Martin, Charles Neville, Isabell Sheya, Ellen Meehan, Ethel McGrath, Florence Guthrie, Joseph Boyle, Helena Clarke, Hugh Cotterell, Irene Laramie, Sarah Maloney (married name Cronin), Paul Culley, Herbert Loomis, Marjie McNelly and Kenneth Sullivan, who became president of Continental Bank. Edward Allen owned Cinegrill Café. Ruth Maloney married a Federal Reserve branch manager named Barglebaugh. George Bagland became a San Francisco attorney. Florence Smith worked 44 years for U.S. Smelting, Refining and Mining Co.
Helen Flanagan (Wicker) spent 25 years with the city of Long Beach, Calif. She was living in St. Joseph Villa when interviewed by the Bulldog Press in 2004 for a special history edition. She said the name change from Cathedral to Judge initially upset some of the students but they came to understand the reason why. Classes were taught in large round rooms – she said the boys used to joke that was so “the devil can’t corner us.” There was devilry in those boys. Helen remembered one night when some boys led farm animals into the floor below where the nuns slept.
Gertrude Martin (married name Smith), said she loved Fr. Keefe – “he was a great man” – and recalled that members of her class were close. They often rode a train to Saltair on weekends for dances.
In a 50th reunion story in The Salt Lake Tribune, published Aug. 18, 1979, class members reminisced about taking classes in round classrooms of the old hospital and how they whitewashed those walls with a calcium solution. Of 24 graduates, eight attended the reunion, organized in part by Helen Wicker. A social hour and banquet were held at the Ambassador Club, 145 S. 500 East. Reuniongoers said there were six full-time instructors. Fr. J. S. (Joseph) Keefe was principal and taught Latin. Students took classes in religion, business, English, Latin, French, Spanish, history, math and economics. “There was always someone there to help. If someone was having a problem in a certain area, someone else would help. Everybody graduated with good grades,” said Wicker. Tuition was collected in an envelope sent home the first Sunday of each month. The school song was to the tune “When It’s Springtime in the Rockies,” with words by Sr. Irma, an English teacher. Wicker and Florence Guthrie Smith also told a KTVX reporter that women weren’t allowed to cross their legs in class because it was considered risqué. The penalty for doing so was time in the chapel. They also said some Judge boys snuck a cow up to the fourth-floor where the nuns lived one Halloween night.
The Junior Class elected Milton Kelley as president, Ellen Cobb as vice president, Helen Pruss as secretary and O’Brien Hyland as treasurer. The class organized a masquerade ball just before Thanksgiving. Admission was 35 cents for two. The decorating committee was led by Bob Loggins.
Judge fielded swimming and riding clubs.
Severe weather limited the football season to one game against each region foe, leaving Cathedral with a 1-2-1 record. The lone win for Coach Ralph Bodine’s team came against Wasatch, 6-0. Bodine was a volunteer who came from Illinois and lettered one year in football at the University of Utah. Woodrow Cook was captain of the 21-member team, which included Edward Allem and Hugh Cotterell.
