1940 - 41
Class Leaders
Student Body Officers - President: James Riley. He went on to Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles before enlisting in the Army Air Corps in 1942. He was promoted to first lieutenant and given an Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster before dying in the spring of 1945 while supplying troops in Italy.
Senior Class Officers: Perry Williams, president; Julia Hearley, vice president; Rudy Bratun, secretary; and Jim Buller, treasurer.
Junior Class Officers: Edward Morrissey, Florence Massara, Mary Anne Casto and Miles Ivers.
The Year
The Salt Lake Diocese was bullish about its educational system. Enrollment was up. And in Utah there was now a college (St. Mary-of-the-Wasatch), two full high schools (Judge and St. Mary’s), two incomplete high schools (St. Joseph’s in Ogden and Notre Dame in Price), and six grammar schools – Judge, St. Mary’s, St. Ann’s, St. Joseph’s, Notre Dame and St. Joseph’s in Eureka.
Faculty: Sr. Theresa Clare, principal; Sr. Augustina, languages; Sr. Zoe, English; Sr. Mauricita, math; Sr. Madeleine Rose, commerce; Sr. Paulina, social studies; Sr. Scholastica, science; Sr. Anthony, music; Wally Morse and Rose Naccarato, physical education. Fr. Daniel Leahy left Judge to become administrator of Holy Rosary Parish in Bingham. He was replaced as a religion teacher by Fr. John LaBranche, a Class of 1928 graduate who had been ordained in May.
An influenza outbreak in mid-December closed the school and postponed the Christmas program until after the holidays. The grammar school students performed “What! No Christmas” on Jan. 10.
The Salt Lake Telegram newspaper’s Dec. 14, 1940 edition included a full-page photo spread about Judge, “one of the highlights of Salt Lake City’s educational system.” Noting that the K-12 school had 400 students and a faculty of 21, including 16 Sisters of the Holy Cross, the paper observed that Judge “has achieved outstanding prominence for its work in music and dramatics.” Photographs providing evidence of the well-rounded education offered at Judge include a chemistry laboratory shot with Mary Jane Sirstins, Jane Morton and Jim Maher; Glee Club members Margaret Murphy, Evelyn Marron, Jane Morton and Marian Gressler; musicians Sally Rufe, Billy Brennan and Helen Hudson; and basketball players Florence Massara, Pat Van Derck and Betty Laramie.
Judge students were treated to a speech and showing of four movies by Fr. Bernard Hubbard, known as “the Glacier Priest.” The nickname derived from Fr. Hubbard’s geological expeditions to the Aleutian Islands and his dealings with native Alaskan peoples. He was conducting studies to determine if the settlers of North America came across the Bering Strait from Russia, fleeing conquering armies from farther west. The movies were about “The Aghileen Pinnacles,” “The Isle of Mystery,” “The Valley of 10,000 Smokes” and “Climbing the Spirit’s Home.”
The Big Six Carnival – a fundraiser for Judge involving six citywide Catholic organizations and six Catholic parishes – attracted nearly 3,000 people over two days, including 1,000 who were fed turkey dinners. The fundraiser raised $500 more than the previous year’s event. The carnival queen was Julia Hearley, attended by Helen Hawk and Florence Massara. Hearley and Hawk were awarded watches while Massara got a camera. A boys popularity contest was won by Charles Ball. He received a bicycle, as did runner-up Jose Sanchez. Third place finisher Otto Sirstins won a radio.
The Cheerleaders were Patricia Kavanagh and Jane Fraser.
Judge Spotlight Newspaper
“Judge Spotlight” newspaper debuted April 22, 1941, dedicated to Bishop Duane Hunt. Julia Hearley was editor of the four-page publication. Mary Anne Casto submitted the name, which was selected in a contest. Pat Denner designed the masthead. Staff members included Irene Carrico, Jim Maher, Pat Van Derck, Paul Murphy, George Hintsche, Helen Hernon, Peggy George, Dorothy Sullivan, Noella McInerney, Jane Morton, Dan Sullivan, Betty Laramie, Paul Best, Joe Nelligan, Vincent Keith, Perry Williams, Mary Jane Welch, Norma Baros, Jim Buller, Florence Massara, Patricia Kavanagh, Mary Anne Casto, Edith Maher, Pat Reeves, Al Mooney, Virginia Muth, Donna Jackson, Bob Cordtz, Mary Lee Keyting, Silvio Mayo, Carol Anne Davis, Betty Hession, Frank Harmon, John Downey, Jane Fraser, Cameron McCafferty, Luigi Capitolo, Maybelle Wixom, Sophie Flaherty, Mary Patricia Lyhene, Rudy Bratun, Rosemary Lyhene, Roy Rasmussen and Emil Ballen.
One of Spotlight’s top stories involved senior Mary Ball leaving school to join the Missionary Catechists of Our Blessed Lady of Victory, “the first Catholic girl of Salt Lake City” to do so. Another article cited the work of alumni Harry Keyting, Jean DeBouzek, Art Kavanagh, Don Neville, Dick Fleisch, Bill McChrystal, Albert McQuaid, Carl Lawson, Frank Welsh and P.J. Carroll in building the nation’s air-defense system. “The blitzkrieg tactics of Nazi Germany has made every nation air conscious,” the article said. On a less-serious note, the paper had a listing of the girls’ “heart throbs” by personal characteristic – hair, Mike Ivers; clothes, Roy Rasmussen; physique, Marc Anderson; smile, Coach; eyes, Bob Dovey; complexion, Rudy Bratun; height, Joe Hession; voice, Chuck Nickerman; humor, Dan Sullivan; witty, Paul Murphy; personality, Al Mooney; handsome, Bob Cordtz; athlete, Jim Buller; genius, Perry Williams; polite, Ted Sproul. The second edition appeared Dec. 19, 1941. The paper was discontinued after two years.
Sophomore Frank Harmon received the “Ad Altare Dei” medal for having contributed at least 250 hours to helping with church activities as part of his Boy Scout service program.
Perry Williams won the Oratorical Contest, with his speech “Greater Love Than This No Man Hath.” Finalists were Irene Carrico, Peggy George, Pauline Nickerman, Daniel Sullivan and Mary Jane Welch.
Fr. Butler was transferred to Price in March to replace a priest who died. He continued to take care of Judge’s books through the end of the school year. In April, Fr. Robert Dwyer was named to replace him as superintendent of Judge Memorial. The appointment was made immediately after Fr. Dwyer, Class of 1925, completed his doctorate at Catholic University.
Planning for the Junior Prom was led by Edward Morrissey, Florence Massara, Mary Anne Casto, Donna Brocklebank, Mary Patricia Lyhene, Mary Lee Keyting, Mary Jane Fershen, John Hearley, Paul Murphy and Miles Ivers. The dance was held in the Starlite Gardens atop the Hotel Utah.
Plays
“Almost Eighteen,” starring Perry Williams, Paul Best, Marguerite (Peggy) George, Mary Jane Welch, Daniel Sullivan, Pauline Nickerman, Norma Baros, Julia Hearley, Carol Davis, Irene Carrico, James Buller and Joe Nelligan.
“Silas Marner,” by Sr. Augustina’s sophomore English class, starring Jim O’Donnell, Tom Buller and Gene Kirtley.
Paul Best, William Downey and Ralph Benson also performed in “Easy Living” at St. Mary’s. As The Salt Lake Tribune noted, “For the first time in the history of St. Mary-of-the-Wasatch, male roles in school plays will be portrayed by young men.”
Sports
The football team went 0-4 under Coach Wally Morse. The 22-man roster included Silvio Mayo, Joe and Pat Hession, Jack Hill, Jack Haire, Albert Mooney, Phillip Payne, Bill Morton, Perry Williams, Harry Cowburn, Tom Buller, Dan Sullivan, Roy Rasmussen, Junior Melich, John Hurley, Dan Case, Mike Ivers, Jim O’Donnell, Jim Maher, Ed Morrissey, Warren Curley and Bob Grisley.
Basketball fared much better, finishing 6-4, with two losses coming by two-point margins. The Intermountain Catholic Register proclaimed that Judge’s 27-24 victory in early February over defending state champion North Summit was “the greatest triumph in the athletic history of the school.” Wally Morse was again the coach. The roster included Ed Morrissey, Jack Hill, Jim Buller, John Hearley, Bill Moreton, Pat Hession, Jack Haire, Albert Mooney, Perry Williams, Zeke Melick and Joe Hession. The boys team made a special Christmas week trip to San Francisco, playing several Catholic teams from northern California. The team stayed at St. Mary’s College, Coach Morse’s alma mater, which also supplied the team with two cars to move the boys about. One stop on the tour was Folsom Prison. The Judge contingent was shown much of the institution by the chaplain, Fr. Patrick Cronin.
Radio Station KUTA offered listeners a chance to listen to the second half of the Judge-Park City boys basketball game, broadcast by Bill Sears and Bob Hanson.
Judge became the first school in Utah to have a fencing program, under Virginia Westlake, the “feminine fencing champion of the state of Utah.” A Catholic Register story about the program was accompanied by a photograph of Westlake providing technique tips to Patricia Van Derck as Mary Ellen Murphy, Pat Collins, Norinne Maher Sylvia Rinetti, Florence Massara and Carol Ann Davis looked on. Davis was captain of the ‘A’ team, which included Van Derck and Massara. The ‘B’ team featured Mary Ellen Murphy, Norinne Maher and Pat Collins. Both Judge teams went out to defeat Weber Junior College
Coached by Rose Naccarato, the girls basketball team finished 6-6 in a league that included Ogden High, Bingham, Divine Saviour, South Summit and Heber. The top players were Mary Hill, Bonnie Kirk, Barbara Neuens and Edith Maher. Rounding out the roster were Lillian Cogswell, Jane Fraser, Margaret and Marjorie Parks, Mary Jane Chugg, Adine Bradley, Emma Gonzales and Pauline Nickerman.
Graduation
23 graduates (13 boys/10 girls) on June 6 at the Cathedral of the Madeleine. General Excellence Award: Perry Williams. He also won the Bishop Glass Award for highest GPA over four years and the science award. McGean Award for athletics: Jim Buller. Holy Cross Scholarship to the College of St. Mary-on-the-Wasatch: Peggy George. She studied nursing there for a year, then transferred to the University of Utah, where she received a Kellogg Fund scholarship to advance her nursing studies, partly through training at Holy Cross Hospital. A scholarship to Westminster College: Dan Sullivan.
The Class of 1941 featured Nora Kirk, Carol Ann Davis, Peggy George, Dorothy Sullivan, Helen Hernon, Mary Jane Welch, Julia Hearley, Pauline Nickerman, Norma Baros, Irene Carrico, Joseph Nelligan, Perry Williams, Rudy Bratun, Joseph Hession, William Saylor, Dan Sullivan, Vincent Keith, John Park, James Buller, Patrick Donner, Fred Sirstins, Marc Anderson and Paul Best.
