Not a Vigil Mass, but one of celebration, accompanied recognition of Saint Mary Catholic School and her students and patrons June 7, as the parish celebrated what is believed to be the first-ever, school-wide reunion.
Following the Mass, patrons were treated to a catered dinner in Fellowship Hall. Current students and their families, and students who graduated decades ago, came together.
“It made me feel great because people do value Catholic education, and go the extra mile to persevere in that,” said Bill Schutte, one of the leaders of the organizing committee and a 1972 graduate.
Schutte estimated about 80 alumni were in attendance, spreading across decades and generations.
“There was one lady who graduated in 1949, and another in 1951,” he said. “The lady who graduated in 1949, she was (in her 90s). We had a lot of people who were (older) in attendance.”
Celebrating the Mass was Bishop Anthony Taylor from Diocese of Little Rock, who attended the school for several years in his youth.
The school and larger parish may have played a role in his decision to join the ministry.
“As a faith-based environment, it certainly built my faith, and that is was one of those experiences that got me to think about what God wanted me to do with my life,” he said.
Woodland Elementary School lies in a heavily wooded area of Ponca City, tucked away in a pristine neighborhood with big houses and tree-lined streets. A short driveway from the school leads to a lone gym, not connected to any school, a gym open to the community, especially for youth league basketball games.
Named “Unity Gym,” it is the last remnant of what was a Catholic high school in Ponca City, Unity School, a brief venture Saint Mary Catholic School hoped would give a lasting Catholic education for graduates of Saint Mary School, at least outside of the church school.
The school was held at the Marland Mansion, the “Palace on the Prairie,” home to E.W. Marland. Marland helped build the Ponca City community through the oilfield boom of the 1920s. The school held classes at the “Palace” during the 1960s, led by several communities of Sisters.
Taylor would have graduated from the high school, but it closed a year before he could start his senior year. He graduated from Ponca City High School in 1972.
Wade Laffey never attended Saint Mary Catholic School, yet has a history of Catholic education, having served at other archdiocese schools like Rosary Catholic School at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Oklahoma City.
He is now the principal at Saint Mary Catholic School and said he was honored to attend the reunion. He sees a future of Saint Mary Catholic School as still being vibrant for present students.
“The service of love for their Alma mater creates a real sense of a family community rather than just a place we go to school,” Laffey said.
Those returning had a great opportunity to see where the school is today compared to when they attended themselves.
“It was nice to be at the school and to see the innovations over the years at the school,” Bishop Taylor said.
For the alumni it was an opportunity to go back to Saint Mary Catholic Church and celebrate the legacy of the school.
“Saint Mary School is a wonderful school. It gave me a great education, and I’m thankful for it,” Bishop Taylor said.
Everett Brazil, III is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
Photo: (Above) St. Mary Catholic School alumni at a school-wide reunion on June 7 in Ponca City. Photos Cindy Heidlage.
Bishop Anthony Taylor and Bill Schutte’s Class of 1972, Ponca City High School. Helen Reeves, Class of 1955, Rosemary Barron, Class of 1956, Paul Otto, Class of 1957, Mary Schmidt Metzen, Class of 1958 and Leanna Rexford, Class of 1959. Linda Bullard, Andrea Joyce Rice and Mary Plank Butt, Class of 1965.