Lisa Graff

The harvest hoe down was always a fun and an exciting time of year. So many children and parents coming together to celebrate.

Barb “Young” Weber

Some of my favorite childhood memories are from attending St. Anthony’s, I met so many great kids and families and made some wonderful friendships. I had some of my favorite teachers during those years!!
Sr Joan was my all time favorite grade school teacher. But I can honestly say I did not have a bad teacher in all of my grade school years!! I was so jealous when I did not get Mrs Ross as a teacher- she gave her students stickers and candy.😉
I went to college to become a teacher because of my amazing first years at St. Anthony’s!!
My favorite memory from St. Anthony’s is from attending the yearly fall festival! I loved playing the candy and money wheel! Even as a young adult I looked forward to going back to St. Anthony’s to participate in this.

Diane Lammer Kutsch

I attended St. Anthony’s School from 1956-1965. I walked 3 blocks to school, home for lunch, and back to school every day. There were 2 sections of almost 50 students in our class. How we learned to read and write is a mystery! We had a BVM nun or a lay teacher every other year. In 5th grade, our classroom was in the church basement because the school was over crowded. We did a Living Rosary, May Crowning and a Christmas program in the church every year with the whole school. We wore blue jumper uniforms with a triangular school emblem on it when we were little and a red plaid skirt with white blouse later. We had to wear a hat in church so we wore chapel veils or clipped a folded Kleenex to our heads with bobby pins. If you went to daily mass, you could bring breakfast and eat it in the classroom afterward. After school jobs included clapping the chalkboard erasers, sweeping the classroom, dumping trash and watering plants. There was no playground equipment to play on at recess except swings, but we did had baseball and volleyball equipment. We had Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops after school. I made some lifelong friendships at St. A’s and many, many great memories from the Class of 1965!

Barb “Young” Weber

Some of my favorite childhood memories are from attending St. Anthony’s, I met so many great kids and families and made some wonderful friendships. I had some of my favorite teachers during those years!!
Sr Joan was my all time favorite grade school teacher. But I can honestly say I did not have a bad teacher in all of my grade school years!! I was so jealous when I did not get Mrs Ross as a teacher- she gave her students stickers and candy.😉
I went to college to become a teacher because of my amazing first years at St. Anthony’s!!
My favorite memory from St. Anthony’s is from attending the yearly fall festival! I loved playing the candy and money wheel! Even as a young adult I looked forward to going back to St. Anthony’s to participate in this.

Eileen Lyness McSperrin

I attended St. Anthony’s from 1950 to 1958. All my siblings also attended there- my older brothers, Gene Lyness, Jim Lyness, and younger sister , Doris Lyness Nigg . We lived close enough to go home for lunch. Then in the 70’s – 80’s, my children, Dawn Anderson, Tim and Brian Mc Sperrin and Molly Baumhover went there. By then, there was organized athletics and scouts that they were involved in. Then in 2000s, my grandchildren, Aidan, Gwyneth and Brady McSperrin attended until 5th grade before transferring to Mazzuchelli. Their interests were in choir and theater . It’s with heavy heart that I watch it’s closure. Many teachers and pastors in that time.

Margaret Schmidt Welter

Seems like St. Anthony has always been a part of my life. My five siblings (Bob, Martha, Mary Jean, John, and Carol) and I were all Friars. I returned to teach second grade, sent our four children (Mike, Erin, Chris, and Katherine) there, and was fortunate to return as a substitute teacher these past few years. It’s been deja vu to walk the halls and remember the many friends, teachers, students, and parents who enriched my life.
I like to tell about the BVM sisters who taught many, many children. We had 104 students in our two eighth grades; 52 in each homeroom! And we learned! When I was teaching there, there were three sections of around 25 students each.
So many memories…so grateful for the St. Anthony experience!

John Crippes

I remember the olive green pants. A blue tie and red button down sweater.
I remember recess when we would 3 on 3 games that we would keep score for the whole week.
I always raised my hand to be an alter boy for the funerals during the week to get out of class.
I sit up straight to this day because Sister St. Martin remind me. (My younger self would say picked on)
I did not like but I was a crossing guard.
I remember Mr. Bodner and My inability to roll my R’s (p.s. I still can’t)
My Mother Loretta Crippes who still attends morning Mass remembers when I was in 2nd grade (one car family at the Time) Walking to school with my homemade boot bag on a sub zero morning by myself. I get over half way walking by Flora park and the turned back home because of the cold. I thought was was done for the day but I got sent back out to walk back to school. My mother remembers better than me.
46 years later thanks to my Mother I still have all my report cards.

John Crippes
San Clemente Ca.

Richard L. Schaefer

The fine buildings that were built over the years at St. Anthony included a gymnasium of large space and high quality.
The convent in which the Sisters of Charity lived is now used by The Power of Prayer–starting again on June 24–for 24-hour prayer and worship of the Eucharist and for Wednesday Mass at 2:15 PM (starting again on June 24).

Mary Pat (Lynch) Ament

I was lucky enough to be a part of the St. Anthony School community for just over two decades. After doing my student teaching in 2nd grade at St. Anthony as Miss Lynch, I returned the next year as Mrs. Ament with a contract signed and 28 sweet second graders (14 of whom had the mumps that year!). I was lucky enough to have many of this great group again in 5th grade and finally in 8th grade. We all “grew up” together.

I have so many great memories of my time in “the old building” (Stemm) and “the new building” (Steimetz) teaching 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. There were four classes at each grade level when I started and three each when I left. In addition to having great students and parents I was blessed with fabulous teammates who were not only hard-working and dedicated but fun as well.

Some random memories that come to mind are:
• Putting students on the buses at noon to either go to Irving or Jones for shared time.
• The all-school bicentennial celebration that went on for weeks
• Homemade bread, spaghetti sauce and yummy desserts from the school cafeteria
• The play, “Once Upon A Playground” that the staff performed for the students
• Mock Elections in the gymnasium
• The Friar Gazette
• All-school masses and the church was FULL!
• Computers being introduced to the curriculum
• A sense of family

I will be forever grateful for the gift of being a part of the St. Anthony School community!

P.S. My husband, son, daughter and daughter-in-law are all former Friars!

James D Friedman

Very sorry to hear about St. Anthony closing. It was a fabulous school- there was only one lay teacher (Mrs. Lenhoff – third and fourth grade)) the rest were BVM nuns and priests. I think all of the nuns had masters degrees. My sixth grade teacher, Sister Innocence (Margie Carey), later was a Russian Professor at Notre Dame when I was in law school there. We had an experimental math program in sixth grade that was the identical math course I took my first year in college. In 8th grade we won the Catholic League football title – a first for St. Anthony’s – with Bob Keyes as the coach (along with Father O’Conner who could throw a football 6 yards underhand). Bob went own to win a Wisconsin high school basketball championship. In 8th grade we had the most amazing civics class from Sister Rayleen – nothing like that is available today. She even had us stage a Kennedy/Nixon debate (picture attached with me at the podium as the moderator). Sister Vivina (who you pictured) was our first grade teacher and Sister Gertrude Ann handled 7th grade, Sister Marcelita was the principal. We had a fabulous time while being pushed academically.

Barb “Young” Weber

Some of my favorite childhood memories are from attending St. Anthony’s, I met so many great kids and families and made some wonderful friendships. I had some of my favorite teachers during those years!!
Sr Joan was my all time favorite grade school teacher. But I can honestly say I did not have a bad teacher in all of my grade school years!! I was so jealous when I did not get Mrs Ross as a teacher- she gave her students stickers and candy.😉
I went to college to become a teacher because of my amazing first years at St. Anthony’s!!
My favorite memory from St. Anthony’s is from attending the yearly fall festival! I loved playing the candy and money wheel! Even as a young adult I looked forward to going back to St. Anthony’s to participate in this.

Jacob Schreiber

I spent my entire elementary school experience at St. Anthony’s and i couldn’t have asked for a better experience! Mrs. Ripley. Thank you for being a good influence to my 5 year old brain you have really helped shape me into who I am now. Mrs. Ross. Although you were tough on us in first grade it was to prepare us for the coming years and i respect you for that. Mrs. Johnson. I really could not have asked for a better teacher, you always will be one of the best teachers I have ever had. thank you for being you! Mrs. Cosgrove. Thank you for being a consistent teacher for all of my 3rd grade! You were always a great teacher! Mrs. Feyen. Although you may have been tough on our class it was for the greater good! I look back on 4th grade and know that without you I wouldn’t have been ready for middle school and now my first year of Highschool. Mrs Oswald. You were one of the greatest teachers I will and will ever have. You were the reason why I love science so much, thank you for being the greatest! Mrs. Apel, Mrs. Clemen, Mr. T, Mrs. Koch, Mrs. Sheperd, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Unsen, Mrs. Canganelli Thank you all for being great teachers. Overall, the years I spent at St. Anthony’s were some of the best times I have ever had! I wish the best for all the teachers that taught me and I will miss all of you! ( Picture is of me and my friend Jadon in 4th grade ) – Jacob Schreiber

James Erhart

St. Anthony’s was TOUGH. So was Wahlert. But, after 6 years in the Navy, I went back to college. I breezed through the beginners English & math. But even Sociology and English 201, where everybody in class was struggling with new stuff, I’m thinking “Geez! I learned this in 7th grade!” In 2nd grade I had Sr. John Stevens. She thought I was special, sop was extra hard on me. Then, I had her in 6th grade. (groan.) But one day, someone gave a stupid answer, and she compared it to something Eeyore would say. Few of us knew who or what Eeyore was, which surprised her SO much, she spent ALL AFTERNOON on a Friday (no art class) reading us the complete “Winnie the Pooh” with appropriate cartoon voices. Or us, in 8th grade, arguing with Sr. Rayleen, who said “When you vote, you vote your party. Never split your ticket!” What made St. Anthony so special was: they made us think. And expected us to have fun while doing so. THAT is unforgettable.