St. Joseph High School Boosters to celebrate 50 years

Courtesy photo

+ Enlarge

Bill Burbridge

OGDEN — In 1955, Father Neale Herrlich, a Jesuit priest, was assigned to Ogden to serve as assistant pastor of the Santa Maria Mission for the city’s Hispanic population. He also would serve as chaplain, teacher and athletic coach at St. Joseph Catholic High School. Two years later, Fr. Herrlich became assistant pastor at the newly completed St. Mary Church in west Ogden while still carrying out his responsibilities at the high school. Fr. Herrlich loved teaching young people and often said, “I am not sure I taught them as much as they taught me, like how to think young.”

As a coach and a teacher, Fr. Herrlich soon recognized the challenges for a small private school like St. Joe’s to cover the costs of high school athletics. This was especially true because St. Joe’s competed athletically in Division 1A, which required travel to locations like Wendover, Dugway, Duchesne and Rich County. In addition to travel, there were costs associated with referees, umpires and uniforms.

Fr. Herrlich, who died in 2006, felt that St. Joseph CHS needed an organization that could raise money in support of the school’s athletic programs. He planted a seed with a group of parents of St. Joseph student athletes. That seed fell on fertile ground. In 1970, a group of parents started the St. Joseph High School Boosters. Those early founders included Bob and Mary Evans, Dick and Carrie Shenefelt, Jerry and Connie Bokinskie, Fred and Mary Minkovitch, and Peter and Gerry DeRooy. Gene Miconi served as the Boosters’ first president.

Fifty years have gone by, and the Boosters are still actively supporting the school’s athletic programs. The Boosters take great pride in the success of the school’s athletics – over the years, state and regional championships have been won in boys and girls sports such as track, cross-country, basketball, volleyball, baseball, golf and soccer. However, the Boosters take as much pride in knowing that their support has enabled all students, no matter their skill level, to participate in Jayhawk sports, thus fully experiencing the “joy of victory and the agony of defeat.”

“The Boosters have been invaluable to St. Joe’s over the years,” said Clay Jones, principal of St. Joseph Catholic High School.  “The money they have donated has been greatly appreciated, but more importantly, the events to bring the community together and volunteering to accomplish tasks for beautifying our campus have been the greatest contribution over the past 50 years. All students at St. Joe’s have the opportunity to participate in any sport/activity they would like, which speaks to our commitment in developing the whole student.”

The money donated by the Boosters has come from many fundraisers, including various dinners, Bavarian song-fests and Wendover bus trips. These fund-raising events have created lasting memories and friendships.

Draping the walls of the Fr. Neale Herrlich Gymnasium at St. Joseph CHS are many state and regional championship banners. Perhaps the “All Around Sports” and “Sportsmanship” banners typify St. Joe’s athletic success most.

The opportunity to participate in sports creates memories deeply etched in the minds of former student athletes as reflected in these comments from Derek Jensen: “The thing to know about St. Joe’s is that it gets in your guts. Not as a student at first. But when you make that Lake Street drive to the mouth of the mountains as a returning parent or alumni, the soft singe of warm memory washes over like a sunrise. On campus, time succumbs to a body of history whose beating heart is the Herrlich Gymnasium. Inside, banners float like ghosts from a teenage past. Squeaks, creaks, and shrieks echo an adolescence but legacy earned. And the sour gym smell sweetens the mind’s muscle memory – for it was here that you performed before parents and peers at your peak. Yes, there is something about coming to St. Joe’s. Ascending that mountain again.”

50th Anniversary Celebration

The St. Joseph High School Boosters 50th anniversary celebration will be Saturday, Nov. 27 at the Timbermine Steakhouse, 1701 Park Blvd., Ogden. They will recognize their founding members and share memories with photos and films. For information, contact Bill Burbridge, 801-391-2972, or Cindy White, cwhite@stjosephutah.com.

Bill Burbridge is a member of the St. Joseph High School Boosters.