CBHS supporters gathered on April 3rd to celebrate the sesquicentennial anniversary of the arrival of the Christian Brothers in Memphis.
The McNeill Family Fieldhouse, the newest addition to the CBHS campus, was dedicated in December 2021.
“The miracles of Providence are daily occurrences, and they cease only for those who lose faith.”
(
— SAINT JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE )
above: Bishop Robert Marshall ’77 and Gary Stavrum ’84 were recognized with the highest honor the Order of the Christian Brothers can bestow on a partner, naming them Affiliated Brothers of the Institute for their service to the community, their support of the Christian Brothers, and their efforts to champion education of youth.
PURPLE & GOLD
The Magazine of Christian Brothers High School
EIN: 62-6049785
5900 Walnut Grove Road, Memphis, TN 38120 (901) 261-4900 • www.cbhs.org
ADMINISTRATION
PRESIDENT
Brother David Poos, FSC
VICE PRESIDENT
John Goode ’07 - jgoode@cbhs.org
PRINCIPAL
Jamie Brummer, Ph.D.
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPALS
Jeff Blancett, Ed.D.
Dean of Academics
Christopher Bunkley ’10
Dean of Students
OFFICE OF ADVANCEMENT
DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Carrie Roberts - caroberts@cbhs.org
DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS
Lauren Volpe - lvolpe@cbhs.org
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS
Natasha Sublette - nsublette@cbhs.org
ADMISSIONS COUNSELOR
Thomas McDaniel - tmcdaniel@cbhs.org
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Jamie Elkington - jelkington@cbhs.org
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Connor Stevens - costevens@cbhs.org
DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE, DONOR RECORDS AND GIFTS
Laura Hughes - lhughes@cbhs.org
DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE, PARENT PROGRAMS
Tish Montesi - tmontesi@cbhs.org
It seems appropriate that while CBHS is celebrating 150 years in Memphis, the school’s president is marking a special anniversary of his own. “I’m currently in my fiftieth year as a Christian Brother,” says Brother David Poos. “I joined the Brothers right out of high school, and all my life I’ve only attended and worked in Catholic schools.”
Born in Dayton, Kentucky, a small town across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Brother David was one of eight children. “I have five sisters and two brothers,” he says. “I am actually number four, but I was the first boy in the family. Was I spoiled? Oh, I’d have to say, yes.”
Brother David and his siblings went to the parish school, St. Bernard’s, in Dayton, and he graduated from Newport Catholic High School in nearby Newport, Kentucky. He marks two important events from
that period. “Newport Catholic was taught by the Christian Brothers, so that was the first time I met the Brothers,” he says. “I also went through 12 years of school — from elementary to high school — without missing one day of school. I remember getting an award for perfect attendance.”
During his senior year, while pondering how he wanted to spend the rest of his life, he met a recruiter for the Christian Brothers. “I hadn’t really thought about what I would do, but Brother Stanislaus, who would later become president of Christian Brothers College here, came to Newport to talk about vocations in general, life choices, and other matters. When he started specifically talking about the Christian Brothers, I thought I’d go visit him and see what this life was about.”
The president of Christian Brothers High School discusses the past, present, and future.
Along with some of his classmates, he visited the Christian Brothers novitiate in Glencoe, Missouri, one weekend. “I was very impressed with it,” he recalls. “I really didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, but the Brothers were specifically teachers, and I thought that might be something worthwhile. I don’t know that I thought I’d end up doing it all my life, but hopefully, now it’s forever.”
Brother David first came to Memphis, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in humanities from Christian Brothers College, with a minor in religious studies. He followed that with a master’s degree in education — specifically, the teaching of reading — from St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minnesota. A second master’s degree in secondary school administration came from St. Louis University in Missouri.
“Initially, I thought I would teach math, but for all the wrong reasons,” says Brother David. “I was told math was hard to learn but easy to teach, since you don’t have all those papers to correct. But I eventually chose English, and I have loved teaching it.”
After a short stint as a student teacher at CBHS in Memphis, Brother David taught at Christian Brothers High School in St. Louis, then returned to his alma mater, Newport Catholic — where he taught his younger brother — St. Mary High School in Paducah, Kentucky, and La Salle High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.
After that came a series of key positions in school administration. He served as principal and president of Bishop Kelley High School in Tulsa, worked in the development office at De La Salle Middle School in St. Louis, and then served as principal of Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis.
But he missed teaching, and seven years ago he met with the Christian Brothers Provincial to discuss his future plans, to finish his career as he started, in the classroom. “I had become friends with Brother Chris Englert, the president here,” he says. “In 2015 Brother Chris offered me a teaching job at CBHS. I taught 11th grade English, which covered British literature.”
This path through a lifetime of Catholic education ran into a temporary obstacle in 2013, when Brother David was diagnosed with cancer. A series of chemotherapy treatments put the disease in remission, until it returned five years later, and Poos underwent successful CAR-T cell therapy in Chicago. Today he says he feels fine. “I feel good now. I know many people have trouble with chemotherapy, but I had no negative reaction. I got tired during the treatments, but I can’t complain.”
He credits his recovery to three things. “First, I told my doctors in Chicago that I’m in relatively good health because of the exercise I do” — Brother David makes it a habit to walk five miles early every morning, usually starting from the Brothers Residence through nearby walking trails — “and second, I think I have a good, positive attitude about the disease.” The third reason may be the most significant, he says. “There is a spiritual dimension. I like to think I have a very active prayer life, and I know I have lots of people praying for me. When I hear that, I tell them, ‘Keep it up because it’s working.’”
Four years after Brother David started teaching here, Brother Chris announced he was stepping down, to take a position as the assistant provincial for the district.
The school formed a search committee for a new president, with Brother David as the chairman.
“I liked my classes, so I wasn’t interested in the job,” he says, “but people kept asking me if I would do it, and in a moment of weakness, I agreed.” As soon as the committee learned that he was a candidate for the position, they ended the search. Brother David Poos became the nineteenth president of CBHS in January 2019.
He laughs when he admits he couldn’t have picked a more challenging time to take over the administration of a school. He continued to teach one English class, but after a year decided he needed to
devote his attention full-time to other issues. He stopped teaching because, he says, “I just had to get some things off my plate.” Covid-19 obviously had an impact on CBHS, as the school pivoted to virtual learning, then hybrid classes (some students attending remotely, others safely distanced on campus), with school administrators constantly monitoring the pandemic situation.
Another major concern was the planned demolition of the old auxiliary gym and construction of the new fieldhouse. “The board went back and forth, wondering what we should do,” he says. “The more we talked about it, the more it seemed to make sense to start
for finishing the building, instead of “leaving a pile of dirt there,” he says. “By putting up a new building, we were letting people know that we’re not going anywhere, and we’ll get through this.” The McNeill Family Fieldhouse, complete with a modern basketball arena with 50 percent more capacity for guests, was dedicated in December.
That building gives Brother David a very visible reminder of what he enjoys most about his job as president of CBHS.
“Certainly one of my responsibilities is to work with the advancement staff to raise funds,” he says, “and I want to say how impressed I am with our alumni, friends, donors, and other benefactors. I think it just shows the high regard people have for the Brothers. Especially here in Memphis, people know that we are dedicated to offering a quality education.”
Attendance at parochial schools has been declining, he notes. “There are fewer kids in the Catholic elementary schools, and there are various reasons for that, including the rising cost of tuition. But years ago, we didn’t have to market or promote our school. Children who attended Holy Rosary or St. Louis elementary schools automatically came
lots of time and energy on marketing, communications, and social media.”
Such efforts might be a challenge to some administrators, but Brother David says, “Actually, it’s one of the things that energizes me and makes me feel good about my job — the chance to meet with our alums and to tell the great story of our school.”
After all, a glance through CBHS yearbooks reveals a “Who’s Who” of graduates, who have remained in Memphis as business and civic leaders. “We have a great network of alumni,” says Brother David. “Many of them have done well and are very prominent people in Memphis. They may have gone to some other place for college, but they have a real affinity for this place — their high school. Very often, one of our graduates will tell us he needs to hire somebody, and he will say, ‘I want to hire a Brothers’ Boy.’”
So what does he envision for the future of CBHS? For one thing, he hopes the administration can take a fresh look at something as basic as class schedules. Students presently attend school from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., with eight classes per day.
“We’re on a very traditional schedule, with each of our classes lasting 45
minutes. What can you really accomplish in such a short amount of time each day? They’re supposed to get homework from all of those classes, and if the kids play baseball or football or they’re in the band, they are expected to be here before and after school to practice.”
He worries, “Aren’t they just exhausted all the time? That just seems unrealistic to me. People are afraid of change, but I think we should look at class schedules in a more manageable way — perhaps with longer classes, but fewer periods throughout the day.” Brother David, always the educator, makes it clear that he is not advocating a sub-par education, “but I’d certainly like to see — for lack of a better word — a more humane schedule.”
The other challenge facing the future, he says, is the increasing encroachment of technology. Like many schools, CBHS has gone “textbook-independent.” No longer do students lug armloads of books to classes, but instead use materials found online. While seeing the advantage of that, he worries, “How does a teacher know what should be taught? A textbook, at least, gives you some guidance. One of my concerns with being textbookindependent is that teachers may only teach what they like.”
Despite these concerns, Brother David is hopeful for the future of education — especially for the graduates of Christian Brothers High School. “I love our tagline — Men for Tomorrow, Brothers for Life. ‘Men for Tomorrow’ means that we are not only preparing them to take their place in society, but also to make their society better. And ‘Brothers for Life’ is a reality here. There’s a special bond. I regularly hear these kids talk about ‘he’s my brother’ and they really mean it.’”
Brother David Poos sums up his positive feelings about CBHS in this way: “We’re celebrating our 150th year, and we’ll be here for at least that many more.”
Tomás Isaza left a city of seven million people (Bogota, Colombia) for one considerably smaller. Which lends some irony to how very big CBHS felt when Tomás arrived on campus as a junior in August 2021.
“Christian Brothers High School is way bigger [than my former school],” says Tomás, who arrived in Memphis last July with his parents, Jairo and Nidia, and his younger brother, Samuel (currently in 5th grade at Holy Rosary). “It’s bigger in every sense of the word: way more students, teachers, classes.” Tomás acknowledges the size — those multiple hallways, not one but two basketball courts — was intimidating at first. “I was this humble Colombian, one of only two Colombians in the school. It felt like pressure; carrying that weight was a burden at first. But it didn’t last long.”
How did Tomás adjust, and quickly, to the CBHS culture? “Just doing my best,” he stresses. “You get an assignment, just do it. No ‘buts.’ Colombians love ‘buts.’ No excuses. I incorporated that.”
“Tomás and Samuel were attending a good school, a bilingual school,” notes Jairo, an economics professor at Christian Brothers University. “But things in Colombia are, in general, difficult. I was fortunate to be offered a position here, at CBU, in the school of business. I’m an experienced professor — including some time in the United Kingdom, where I worked on my Ph.D. — but not that much in the United States. Coming here, to a Lasallian institution, made a great difference for us as a family. It can be a challenging experience, moving to a new country. But we were fortunate to have some
From Colombia, Tomás Isaza is quickly adapting to academic life and culture as a Brothers’ Boy.
wonderful people [at CBU] who received us from the beginning.
Tomás had visited the United States before — Miami, New York City — but this (Memphis and CBHS) was not merely a vacation destination. It was his new home. “This is the U.S.,” says Tomás, with emphasis. “It’s definitely much better than [Colombia.] When I got here, I was very grateful, and just ready to let things be. I [admire] American culture way more than Colombian culture. Colombian culture has some cool things, but it’s flawed. American institutions actually work. They are so high-quality. The systems that are in place, thanks to the geography of the country, were allowed to grow into something great, a superpower. You’re proud of being what you are here.”
Like any new student, Tomás found himself answering questions from his classmates and peers, some repeatedly. “It was more of a burden on me, than others,” he says. “Most people brushed
me off as ‘another one.’ It wasn’t that bad. And it could be funny. I’d tell someone I’m from Colombia and they’d ask, ‘What is that? Is that in Mexico?’ One kid even said I was from Russia.”
Tomás has adapted rather seamlessly to academic life at CBHS, though he’s met the right level of challenge. “My hardest class, by far, has been French,” he says. “I took French three years prior. This is a different system. Higher expectations. I’ve also been studying Japanese two years [on my own]. I can read and write French better than Japanese, but I speak Japanese way better than French. (Tomás was influenced at a young age by the animated Japanese film Spirited Away “That movie was hard for me as a child,” says Tomás. “But 12 years later, I rewatched it, and it’s amazing.”)
U.S. history and digital arts are subjects Tomás has embraced with vigor, the latter — particularly animation — being an area he’d like to further explore
in college. “I’m obsessed with history,” notes Tomás. “Especially U.S. history. I do struggle here and there. The tests can be confusing.”
If you want a conversation starter with Tomás, ask him about the significance of No Country for Old Men, the Oscar-winning 2007 film starring Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin. It’s among the jewels Tomás discovered in CBHS’s student-organized film club. “American cinema is so good,” says Tomás. “It’s a deep film, very gray. The main character has his flaws. He has attributes that make the audience root for him, but he makes mistakes. Many films don’t have the courage to deliver that kind of message.” Tomás is also a member of the school’s finance club. (“It’s so hard,” he says. “You literally have to be a businessman. So much strategizing.”)
When asked about the rewards of his new life in Memphis, at CBHS, Tomás describes what amounts to an atmospheric transition, an environmental leap in the right direction. “In Colombia, it’s not really about work,” he says. “Here in the U.S., what matters most is that you work hard, and that you put in the effort to improve, to be yourself. In Colombia, you can’t be yourself. There are students there who don’t have a life plan of their own. You see it in politics. They’re selfish. America has ideals. I’m way more in tune with who I am as a person.”
Adds Jairo, “When we went to CBHS [for our first visit], we were really impressed by the infrastructure. The people were warm, kind, welcoming, but the infrastructure … that’s what you expect at a university in Colombia, not a high school. This was precisely the kind of environment Tomás wanted.
“We are getting closer to the best versions of ourselves,” says Jairo. “The change in culture, at times, has taken its toll. But it’s adjustments. At the end of the day, it will be better for all of us. We’ve found generosity in many ways.”
Geographically, Lebanon is less than half the size of Vermont. Departing such a small country for the United States is a gargantuan leap, and the squaremileage metric only begins to tell the story. Elia Kiameh took this leap in October and began classes as a sophomore at CBHS on November 2nd. Through the efforts of his family in the suburbs of Beirut and an aunt and uncle (Rita and Fadi Kaimeh) who call Germantown home, Elia is pursuing his studies at Christian Brothers and enjoying life as a Memphian, particularly the access to a certain NBA team.
Lebanon tends to make news in America only when there’s strife with Syria (to the north) or Israel (to the south). A terrorist organization, Hizballah, calls sections of Lebanon home. But only sections. It’s the crumbling infrastructure — diminished access to electricity, water, and gas, along
with a collapsed banking industry — that has led to an exodus of Lebanese from their native country. Elia studied at a Catholic school — Saint Joseph School Cornet Chahwan — but when students were forced to stay home during the pandemic, the lack of electricity made “virtual” learning impossible. An overseas dialogue began that led, ultimately, to a flight itinerary that sent Elia from Qatar to Dallas to Memphis.
Fadi Kaimeh, Elia’s father’s brother and a Christian Brothers alum, credits CBHS admissions director Lauren Volpe and a team of lawyers — Lynn Susser, James Hollis, John Bobango, and Alan Crone among them — for expediting Elia’s student-visa process, an exchange of documents through the U.S. embassy in Lebanon, and the interview that secured Elia’s passage west. (Elia notes the irony of
Elia Kiameh of Lebanon is completing his studies at CBHS and enjoying life in Memphis.
the interviewer not even asking about his education plans.) The Catholic Diocese also had to complete an application, essentially requesting Elia’s transfer to CBHS. And Congressman David Kustoff made the connection with the embassy. “When you come to the United States,” says Fadi, “there’s a process. I’ve been through it, but it’s been 30 years, and I haven’t done it as a student.”
“Our hope,” explains Rita, “is for Elia to finish his high school education here, then go back to help his family in Lebanon.” Elia’s parents and four younger siblings — three brothers and a sister — remain in Lebanon. Elia chats with his family via FaceTime twice a day, before school (with his siblings), and on his ride home from school. (His parents stay up late for the nightly conversation.) He has friends who also left Lebanon, some for Russia, some for France, and he retains a connection with them, too. Rita jokes that Elia’s thumbs are superstrength, thanks to all the texting. “He’s 16,” notes Rita, “and the separation sometimes
takes a toll, but the environment at Christian Brothers [encourages] people to be friends with each other. This was the first thing we considered, the brotherhood.”
Elia arrived with a stellar transcript and CBHS has customized a course schedule to fit his advanced learning level, with AP history and a senior-level pre-calculus class among his academic workload. His favorite subject: science. “I love biology,” he notes. “It’s one of my favorite topics, after sports. I never knew the body was so complex. I don’t get bored when I study it.”
Elia, fluent in French and English in addition to Arabic, describes his school in Lebanon as heavy on testing, but light on homework, and has found the inverse to be true at CBHS. “When I come home,” he says, “I have a lot to study, but it’s easier.”
Reflecting on his first few days in the halls of CBHS, Elia says, “Everybody was nice to me.” He actually found himself lost in one of the hallways, but made a quick friend by simply asking directions to his class. “My school [in Lebanon] starts from babies, so
there are more high school students here.” Elia has fielded his share of questions about his journey — where did you come from? why did you leave? — since his arrival, but has relished educating his peers about his native country. “We didn’t have electricity 24 hours a day,” he says, “but it’s a normal life.”
Elia knew very little about Memphis before he arrived in the Mid-South. He had heard of Elvis Presley. “I also knew that Memphis had amazing barbecue,” he says with a smile. A big NBA fan, Elia has adopted the Grizzlies with a passion, attending his first game at FedExForum on November 26th (a loss to the Atlanta Hawks). He also likes the Los Angeles Lakers, but his favorite player, Michael Jordan, played his last game two years before Elia was born. He’s loved merely the proximity to the world’s greatest basketball league: “I don’t have to watch games at 5:00 in the morning,” he notes with a smile.
Elia enjoys playing classical guitar, though he gravitates to hip-hop on his playlist (favorites: Biggie Smalls, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake). He also happens to be an award-winning robot engineer, having placed third in Lebanon’s World Robot Olympiad in 2018. “We had to build a robot (out of Legos) in a certain amount of time,” explains Elia. “Then it had to do certain tasks with a box. The faster the time, the better.” When asked about a tip for building the perfect robot, Elia replies with a quip: “Memorize the manual.”
A transition of such magnitude takes time, and Elia continues to adapt to American and Memphis lifestyles. “You have to start a new life,” he says. “You leave your old friends behind, everything. So far, I like it.” Elia missed tryouts for the 2021-22 Purple Wave basketball team, but intends to try out for the soccer team in the spring. It will be a natural next step for a young man new to life at Christian Brothers, a student ready and able to embrace its culture. How better to show Elia Kiameh’s new colors than by actually wearing purple and gold?
When CBHS beat Knoxville Catholic in March to win the Division 2-AA boys basketball state championship, it ended a 35-year drought since the Brothers’ first and only title. But this year’s team made history by a more profound measure. In finishing the season 28-0, CBHS became only the third team in Memphis high school basketball history to be crowned undefeated state champions. (Melrose achieved the feat in 1973-74, and Hamilton in 2005-06.) And it was a family affair. Head coach Bubba Luckett (Class of ‘79) got to celebrate his first state title — after four runner-up seasons in 32 years — with his son, Brad (Class of ‘08), at his side, an assistant coach since 2012.
“We had a real special team,” emphasizes the senior Luckett, who in 2020 became just the seventh coach in Shelby Metro history
to win 600 games. “We had to have a lot of luck. We won some overtime games, came from behind in the fourth quarter. Anytime you go undefeated, you’ll have to have some luck, too. The ball seemed to bounce our way this year.”
Senior guard Chandler Jackson broke his head coach’s program record for career scoring on his way to Mr. Basketball honors, the first CBHS player to win the award. Jackson (who signed to play collegiately with Florida State) was among six seniors who played major roles in establishing a championship culture in the team’s new gym, the McNeill Family Fieldhouse. “Multiple players understood what we were looking for,” says Bubba. “There were times we didn’t have to say a whole lot, because they were coaching themselves. It was fun to watch guys communicate with the same philosophy
we had as coaches. The chemistry — no jealousies — really stood out.”
Brad points out a distinctive quality to the 2021-22 team, one found among memorable champions at all levels of basketball. “In the playoffs, this team seemed to be a good kind of loose, and confident,” he says. “They never seemed tight or nervous.” Going back two seasons, through the pandemic, CBHS has posted a record of 49-1. Winning has become not so much a goal, but the standard.
As for his lengthy tenure in purple and gold (player from 1975-79, assistant coach for the 1986-87 state champs, head coach since 1990), Bubba notes the evolution of a program once considered an easy mark on opponents’ schedules. “We’ve had players from years past come back, watch us play, and say, ‘I started back in 1990, and I wouldn’t be able to make the team today.’ The skill level is far superior. We spend far more time on skill development than we did before. There are multiple ways to finish [score] around
the basket, and our guys have to do that every day in practice. It pays off. And scouting today is much more advanced than it was [in my early days at CBHS].”
Brad has experienced the program’s growth both as a player and now for a decade, as an assistant coach. Always with his father in the room. “Playing for your dad is not as easy as some people make it sound,” he says. “We had a lot of
arguments; he was tough on me. We work much better together as coaches. It’s a family affair, and I absolutely love it.” Brad does recognize a change or two in Coach Luckett from the time he played for him. “He’s mellowed out a little bit. He lets his assistants be involved. We’re not just yes men, mopping the floor. He lets us coach, which makes us work harder at it.”
“As a head coach,” says Bubba, “when you’re surrounded by guys who are intelligent and work hard, I don’t have to be the kind of personality I used to be. It’s easy to be laid back when you’re surrounded by people who you know care about it as much as you do.”
With significant history made in 2022, what’s next for CBHS basketball? “Others may not have high expectations for our program next year with most of this year’s starting lineup graduating,” says Bubba. “The players we have returning will surprise those people, and I’m excited about getting to work and seeing what we can do.”
“The ball seemed to bounce our way this year.”
— BUBBA LUCKETT )
athletes drawn from other sports. Dallan Hayden — a two-time winner of Tennessee’s Mr. Football award — has been a stellar sprinter for the Purple Wave. “The coaches do a good job of identifying athletes,” explains Dwyer, “but when the kids begin to recruit in the hallways, that’s when you start to see a change in the culture, a change in the talent level from top to bottom.”
In reflecting on the culture he’s trying to instill at CBHS, Dwyer has a special place in his heart for the 2020 team, one unable to achieve its goals — team and individual — when the pandemic shut down high school sports. “That group worked their cans off,” says Dwyer. “We didn’t know when we left for spring break that we wouldn’t be back on campus. That group continued to practice until the very end. We didn’t give up hope until we learned the state meet was cancelled. They were tenacious. It was a different type of senior leadership. They weren’t scared of anything, and they held everyone accountable. They deserved to win a state title. We were favorites. They left a legacy.”
Gather 100 people and challenge them across 20 different specialties, with the stipulation they share — and prioritize — a single, unifying goal. Such is life for the head coach of a track and field team, in the case of CBHS, for Nick Dwyer (Class of 2000). Last year, Dwyer’s third season at the helm of the program, the Purple Wave finished just shy of that collective goal, runnerup to McCallie for Tennessee’s Division II-AA state championship. As for those specialties, Christian Brothers came home with no fewer than five state crowns: 100 meters (Jaxon Hammond), shot put (D.J. Harden), discus (B.J. Robinson), 800 relay, and 3,200 relay.
“The sum of the parts are greater than any individual,” says Dwyer, who competed in cross country and distance races during his days at CBHS. “Everyone has their own goals, but they understand if they’re called outside their specialty, it’s for the
betterment of the team, the success of everyone. We do a great job of supporting each other. The groups — throws, sprints, jumps, everyone — do what they can to put the team in the best position possible.”
At last year’s state final, distance specialist Jake Ryan was all but guaranteed a championship if he ran a leg for the 3,200 relay team, but he could deliver valuable team points if he instead competed in three individual races (800, 1,600, and 3,200 . . . all on the same day). The relay team did, in fact, win that championship, but Ryan finished second in all three of his races, tightening the gap between the Purple Wave and McCallie. “It’s difficult asking an athlete to do that,” notes Dwyer, “for what we were trying to accomplish. [Jake] will win a state title this season, but there are instances where an athlete doesn’t like the decision, but they know what’s being asked of them.”
A track team is built with athletes who focus solely on the spring season, and also
Dwyer has four full-time assistant coaches, each charged with overseeing a group (i.e. sprinters or distance runners). He describes his own role as that of a unifier, a communicator who makes sure the larger mission remains in sight. “I have pretty good vision, when it comes to putting people in the right places,” he says. “I’m playing the chess game, bringing the pieces together by the end of the season. Along with all the fun paperwork. Keeping an eye on the state. Athletes will mirror your outlook, so how’s our [collective] energy today?”
Growth remains for Dwyer’s program, with that big prize — a state championship — within reach. “Our goal,” stresses Dwyer, “is to get these athletes to invest so deeply that at the end of their careers, they’re touched by it. There are always tears at the end. It means you were all in, that you dedicated yourself to something bigger. It should be the goal of every high school coach. It’s not the titles or awards. You know that when you get to the end.”
Coach Nick Dwyer ’00 attributes his program’s success to a true team effort.Nick Dwyer ‘00, the late Jack Moran ‘53, and Tim Moran ‘82 at the naming of the track in Jack's honor.
at CBHS because of the Brothers, the lay faculty, who were almost more determined to see me succeed than I was at the time. And the focus on both academics and athletics allowed me to become a very well-rounded individual.”
But since becoming an educator, Aur has seen the Catholic school landscape in Memphis change over the past couple of decades, watching as the Jubilee schools reopened for 20 years, only for many Catholic schools in urban Memphis to be shut down. That puts more of an onus on institutions like St. Ann to continue providing an excellent standard of Catholic education. Building on the foundation of a STEM-focused curriculum, St. Ann follows the STREAM approach, which incorporates a heavy focus on both religion and arts. It’s all in the service of providing a more well-rounded approach to students as they grow up.
The education landscape changes constantly, and schools must always adapt accordingly. That’s no different for Catholic schools in Memphis, but despite the changes, many institutions like Christian Brothers High School have continued to adhere to the core tenets of their teaching philosophies to build well-rounded students. Three Catholic elementary school principals have held their experiences as Brothers’ Boys close as they guide young students through their formative years, and each has utilized his experiences to chart a course for the future of Catholic education.
Didier Aur never imagined that he’d end
up in education, let alone as head of a Catholic institution in Memphis. But despite looking to pursue a different career path after graduating from college, he soon felt the pull of education and began his teaching career.
“If you had asked me to list all the occupations I was interested in, education wasn’t on there,” laughs Aur. “But later, the reality hit: I realized that was what I loved doing, and it’s what I was good at.”
Now 34 years into his career, Aur currently serves as principal of St. Ann Catholic School in Bartlett, where he looks to uphold a high standard of Catholic education that he picked up during his time as a student at Christian Brothers High School. “I succeeded
For Aur, a Catholic education means instilling in students a commitment to a life of faith, a love of God, and salvation. “The whole purpose of the Catholic school is Jesus,” he says. It’s not about being on a private campus, or being in a comfortable environment. What he hopes to impart is that students should strive to be doing God’s work, both at school and out in the world.
“One thing I picked up from the Brothers is that we should be providing a direct service to the poor. And that means making ourselves accessible to low-income families. It’s concerning that many of our urban schools closed, but I see schools like Christian Brothers High School, where I can think of so many Brothers who worked tirelessly to make sure that students of all backgrounds, whether they could afford it or not, would be able to attend school there.”
Beyond academics, a key feature of Catholic educators is a focus on moral formation and teaching young students to do the right thing. “What we do is follow the gospel,” says Aur. “The teachings direct us in what we do every day. We have
How the path of three Brothers’ Boys led them to careers in Catholic education, and how they hope to shape it for the future.Didier Aur, St. Ann Catholic School
to have faith to follow the teachings of Jesus. And we want to be compassionate, and forgiving. So as educators, we err on the side of the students, to give them every chance to succeed, and to be compassionate as we teach.”
If students come away from this experience with a better sense of self, then Aur considers it a success. After all, he and his fellow Catholic educators are all working towards the same goal. “When we help students succeed and grow, they’ll want to continue the Catholic education as they get older,” he says. “As we see people move away from the Church, they forget about its importance and moral development. It’s up to us to demonstrate through our actions and our faith, who we are and who we can become.”
educating the person as well. As they grow at Holy Rosary, we’re making sure in our classrooms and school environment that they learn how to treat one another, how they’re called to love another, forgive, and do all the things God has asked us to do.”
For Mullis, it all boils down to making each student into a better person. If each student leaves school embodying that Catholic ethos, then it creates better citizens and a community that works together and helps each other. “That moral formation is part of developing the whole child, and it’s a vital part of our educational process. It’s more than just teaching ABCs and 123s, but how to be a good person.”
with learning differences feel at home in the classroom. “I’d say it’s been a transitionary period for us here at Holy Rosary,” he says. “We’ve been adding new programs to our curriculum that help us better accommodate our children.”
For example, he explains, “Our ANGEL Program, which provides yearround intervention and support for our children on the autism spectrum, is in its ninth year. In the summer, we have a learning center program for children with language-based support needs, and we also offer a program for children with dyslexia. We want a Catholic education to be accessible for all students no matter the challenge. It’s part of that ethos, of being there for your neighbor, and it is a priority for Holy Rosary.”
Mullis wants to see a community in Memphis where people do good for each other, and providing the foundation of a Catholic education is the means to achieve that dream. “There’s a lot to be said for the traditional classroom approach, but not all students learn the same way, and you can’t always sit them down at a desk to have them listen,” he says. “We’ve started looking at different teaching modalities, looking at different ways in which technology can help with getting our message across. I think that’s the start of a process that many schools are pursuing.”
Darren Mullis
“We’re not just educating them academically,” says Darren Mullis, “we’re
But as the schooling landscape has changed in recent years, Mullis recognizes that he and other Catholic educators must find new ways to connect with students. For its part, Holy Rosary, located in East Memphis, pours lots of effort into making sure students
After students graduate from Holy Rosary, Mullis wants to see them further their Catholic education at an institution like his alma mater so that they may continue to hone both their academics and their persons in a faith-based environment. “It’s a long-term process of teaching our kids to be leaders and community-builders,” he says. “To teach them how to be a child of God and to do the things he wants you to do in your life. That is our goal.”
Looking back on his time at Christian Brothers High School, he knows that a curriculum and upbringing like that will shape students for years to come.
“I’ve always thought back on my time at Christian Brothers,” Mullis says. “I love working with kids, and I want others to be able to have the experience I had for themselves.”
ChadEarlier this year, Immaculate Conception implemented a new mission statement, asking faculty and students to focus on integrity, community compassion, service, justice, and respect. Chad Stevens, principal of Immaculate Conception Cathedral School, took inspiration from the school’s origin from the Sisters of Mercy and hopes that the new outlook can inspire young students to get their first taste of a Catholic education.
“Those values are what we teach in a Catholic school, not so much in a conventional public school setting,” says Stevens, who has experienced both environments as an administrator. “I think there, you’re taught to survive, but we want to teach our students about respect. We teach this to both Catholics and non-Catholics who attend our school, and the curriculum is embraced by both groups.”
Stevens sees that students become inquisitive soon after they step foot into the Midtown classrooms at Immaculate Conception and he encourages that behavior at every phase of their education. In his words, his job is not
to evangelize or convert students, but simply to instruct the ethics and values they should aspire to live by.
“In many public spaces, Jesus just isn’t there,” he says. “You can’t talk about that in public schools, but that’s what we talk about every day here in the classroom. We teach them how to be good people, good members of the community. That’s what I took out of my time at Christian Brothers High School, for example, and it’s something that we aim to instill at a young age.”
As principal, Stevens spends time mulling over what it is that draws families and prospective students to a Catholic education and how that approach to education can continue to thrive. For him, one of the big draws for young students is the teaching of morals and ethics. Echoing his colleagues’ focus on inclusion, he believes some students should be brought into the fold. “I think there are some preconceptions that Catholic education is for the elite, in some
countries. I want to change that mindset, to show that this is for everybody and that we welcome everyone.”
“As we grow our curriculum, we must also embrace the Latino population, both here and outside of Memphis,” Stevens continues. “Research shows that Caucasians are the minority in the Catholic Church in the United States. We’re doing that outreach, and that’s a population that I think we should embrace as we work to build up Catholic schools again.”
While Stevens plans for the future, he is confident that students will continue to appreciate a Catholic curriculum, just as he once did, and it was the reflections on his experience at CBHS that ultimately steered him back towards a career where he could impart his values and Catholic faith in the classroom. “I loved every minute of my time at Christian Brothers,” he says. “It made a big impression on me. My instruction there, the teachers, how it formed me as a person ... everything. It’s why I do what I do.”
“The whole purpose of the Catholic school is Jesus.” ( — DIDIER AUR )
If it weren’t for two seemingly unrelated (and unfortunate) events — the Great Chicago Fire and the demise of the Memphis Female Academy, it’s safe to say that Christian Brothers High School would not be celebrating its 150th anniversary.
In its long history, the faculty and students have been linked to the Chicago World’s Fair, the Industrial Exposition in New Orleans, and other national events. On these pages, space prevents a detailed history of the oldest all-boy high school in Memphis, but we focus on the major activities that, once stitched together, show how a tiny school without much hope for a long future evolved into the first-rate institution it is today.
In his book The Christian Brothers in Memphis: A Chronicle of the First 100 Years, W.J. Battersby writes: “As we look back over that stretch of time, we see
those who founded the college involved in endless financial difficulties, plagues with disastrous epidemics of yellow fever, catering to a small student body, and wonder if each successive year would be the last. Few, if any of those valiant pioneers dared to envisage a development such as we see today, which is the direct outcome of their perseverance and efforts.”
The city came before the school, though, and it’s almost impossible to imagine the bleak conditions the founders of CBHS encountered. During the Civil War, Memphis was more fortunate than other cities. Union forces burned Atlanta to the ground and imposed a crushing martial law on New Orleans. This city’s only real involvement was a 90-minute battle between Union and Confederate gunboats in the Mississippi River. But in the years
above: Christian Brothers College as it stood in 1886 on Adams Avenue in downtown Memphis.
right: Brother Maurelian was the school’s first president and remained involved all his life.
afterwards, Memphis languished behind other Southern cities trying to rebuild.
By 1871, the Bluff City lacked a sanitation department, sewer lines, and a source of clean drinking water. Most streets, even those in the downtown business district, were little more than dirt roads, with some paved with wooden blocks that quickly settled and rotted. The story goes that one day a mule tumbled into such a large pothole on Madison that it drowned. Considering
these conditions, it’s probably no surprise that Memphis lacked any kind of organized educational system — public or private. Families who could afford it hired tutors for their children, or sent them to a cluster of private schools that rarely endured for more than a few years before bankruptcy closed them.
And then the Christian Brothers came to town. Established in France in 1681 by St. John Baptist De La Salle (16511719), as the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, the Brothers’ primary mission was education, and they eventually opened hundreds of schools and colleges in more than 80 countries around the world — with more than 50 of them in the United States.
Starting one of their schools in Memphis — and keeping it open — was a challenge. To the founders, celebrating its 150th anniversary would probably seem, in those early days, nothing short of a miracle.
As the Civil War draws to a close, a local merchant, Michael Gavin, purchases an empty lot on Wellington Avenue that he hopes could be used for a new school. He is friends with the Rev. Thomas Powers, pastor of St. Peter’s Church downtown, who tries to persuade a religious order in Chicago, known simply as the Christian Brothers, to send a teacher for the facility, but no one is available. The property is sold.
1871
The Memphis Female Academy, founded in 1854 and housed in an impressive fourstory building on Adams, closes due to “adverse circumstances.” Owners of the property begin a wide-ranging search for a new tenant. Bishop Patrick A. Feehan, the Bishop of Nashville, knows about the Rev. Powers’ desire for a new school in Memphis. He contacts the Christian Brothers and offers to sell them this property, which local business leaders had purchased for $35,000 — an enormous sum at the time. The Brothers, a religious congregation with limited resources, again reply that no one is available.
The Great Chicago Fire sweeps across the city in October, leaving businesses, homes, hospitals, and schools in ruins, with the Christian Brothers Academy burned to the ground. This tragedy for the Windy City is a lucky one for Memphis, because three teachers no longer have a school, and are sent here: Brother Anthony of Rome, Brother Clement Bernward, and Brother Luperius. The order summons Brother Maurelian from Pass Christian, Mississippi, to serve as president of the new school. He does so reluctantly, with the new school leader noting in his journals, “Although the terms of the sale were deemed excessive … the committee of citizens induced the Provincial to accept [the property], promising to give financial aid if needed. The Christian Brothers took possession on November 17, 1871.”
Following a grand parade and dedication ceremony with Catholic leaders throughout the city participating and giving speeches, the new school opens, with only four students that first day. It will be called Christian Brothers College, although it includes an elementary school (which will close in 1926) and a high school division. From the beginning, finances are very limited. The school resorts to special paid events — a public lecture at the Grand Opera House, a Grand Union Picnic held at James Park — to raise funds. By
“Let us remember that we are in the Holy Presence of God … In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!”
— THE PRAYER THAT HAS OPENED EVERY CLASS AND EVENT AT CBHS FOR THE PAST YEARS.
both pages: The Christian Brothers Band, the Oldest High School Band in America, celebrates 150 years in 2022. Artifacts from its past line the halls of Christian Brothers High School today.
the end of the year, attendance at CBC has increased to 87 students.
1872
The second session begins, with 147 students and a faculty that now includes 12 Brothers. Classes are offered in commercial and classic subjects, which include Latin, Greek, logic, rhetoric, history, science, elocution, and other coursework.
1872
Music professor Paul Schneider, with support from Brother Maurelian, forms the college band, a group of 24 students who would perform at school events and
public activities, such as the dedication of the well-known fountain in Court Square (the school’s name is inscribed around the stone basin), the yearly parades presented by St. Peter’s Church, and a special visit to Memphis by Tennessee Governor John Brown. An accomplished musician who traveled the country with various orchestras, Schneider holds an unusual distinction: He was performing at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C., on the evening of April 14, 1865, when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
1875
Christian Brothers College presents its first Bachelor of Arts degree to two graduates,
both pages: More than a century ago, and our focus remains the same: to provide a student experience rooted in academic and athletic excellence!
Richard Odlum and Raphael Semmes. News accounts report that high school senior James F. Curtis receives a “commercial diploma,” making him the first graduate of Christian Brothers High School.
1877
The school’s financial situation is so dire that Brother Maurelian sets out on a “begging tour” of Europe, hoping to raise
funds by selling artwork produced by the students and giving lectures. At home, the school resorts to carnivals, concerts, plays, and even bake sales to raise funds to keep the school open. In his unpublished history, Brother Joel McGraw observes, “When surveying the 150 years of history of the Christian Brothers in Memphis, there have been relatively few years of economic peace. Keeping tuition within range for
In its long history in Memphis, Christian Brothers High School has seen only 19 presidents.
First Campus — 612 Adams Avenue
Brother Maurelian (1871-1899 and 1904-1909)
Brother Anthony of Rome (1899-1902)
Brother Icarion (1902-1904)
Brother Jovitus Edward (1909-1914)
Brother Elzear Stephen (1914-1915)
the middle class, funding the tuition of the poor, and making necessary capital improvements and maintenance tug at the sleeves of every administrator that has operated the schools in Memphis.”
Yellow fever sweeps over the city. Memphis had fallen to this epidemic before, which hit especially hard in 1873, but this wave is devastating. Businesses close, thousands flee the city — many never to return — and Memphis becomes a ghost town, with the population diminished so much that the city actually loses its charter (not to regain it until 1893). The epidemic begins in the summer, when school is not in session, but Brother Maurelian postpones the opening until November, when the fever finally subsides. In the meantime, the Brothers help victims at aid camps set up outside the city limits, one of them located at presentday Vollentine and McLean. Brother Hosea,
Brother Baldwin of Jesus (1915-1916)
Brother John Joseph (1916-1918)
Brother Leopold Julian (1918-1922)
Brother Luke Joseph (1922-1928 and 1935-1940)
Brother Ignatius Francis (1928-1935)
Second Campus — 650 East Parkway South
Brother Lawrence David (1940-1947)
Brother Hyacinth Richard (1947-1953)
Brother Lambert Thomas (1953-1962)
Brother Idonius Terence (1962-1964)
Brother Luke Maurelius (1964-1965)
Third Campus — 5900 Walnut Grove Road
Brother Adrian Powers (1965-1987)
Brother Ignatius Brown (1987-1990)
Brother Chris Englert (1990-2018)
Brother David Poos (2019 – Present)
one of the school’s teachers, dies from the disease.
1881
In his history, Battersby writes, “The College now entered upon a period of relative prosperity. After
financial panics, this was a gratifying situation.”
1884
Christian Brothers takes part in the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial
Exhibition in New Orleans. According to Battersby, “Brother Maurelian was requested to undertake the organization of the education section, and this afforded him the opportunity of showing the general public what the Brothers were doing in the sphere of education, not only in the United States, but throughout the world.” He must have been pleased to read in the New Orleans Times that CBC/CBHS presented “the most complete exhibit, consisting of class work in the ancient languages, English literature, mathematics, natural sciences, and the commercial course.”
above: A CBC basketball team from the late 1920s featured a young Elfo Grisanti as one of its managers (far right).
Construction begins on an expansion to the main building of the campus on Adams, including a chapel, library, classrooms, dormitory, and rehearsal room for the band.
Christian Brothers sets up a 60,000-square-foot Catholic Educational Exhibit at the Columbian Exhibition — better known as the Chicago World’s Fair. Because of the work involved, Brother Mauralian steps down as president of the school, and his position is taken over by Brother Anthony. The results are worth it. The director of the exposition says the CBC display
“occupied one-sixth of the space set aside for education programs … and may be regarded as one of the marked successes of the Exposition.” He would later organize a similar display at the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition in Nashville.
Memphis crosses the Mississippi River with the longest railroad bridge in North America. Records show that the CBC Band played at the opening ceremony, and boarded the popular steamer Kate Adams to entertain visitors during the day-long ceremony.
Christian Brothers College celebrates 25 years in Memphis with a Silver Jubilee. According to Battersby, the national Catholic Journal comments that the school’s “magnificent buildings and grounds on Adams Avenue are only the exterior indications of its real greatness. [While] untold schools and alleged colleges start and fail in Memphis, it has continually advanced in greatness, increased in usefulness and the number of its students. It stands without peer among the institutions of learning in Tennessee or adjoining states.” By this
time, the school’s Prospectus lists an impressive number of course offerings, including Greek, Latin, English literature, philosophy, physics, chemistry, logic, and natural history, “while the pure and mixed mathematics are studied with a completeness and precision unsurpassed by similar institutions in the country.”
Brother Maurelian returns to his post as president, where he will serve until ill health forces his retirement in 1909. The new president is Brother Jovitus Edward, described in a newspaper article as “both a comrade and a confidant. His boys not only admired him for his wide range of knowledge and his ability to teach, but loved him as a man. In seeking to emulate him, they elevated themselves.”
When Brother Jovitus Edward is called away to St. Paul, Minnosota, the Christian
Brothers name a new president, Brother Elzear Stephen, whose first duty is an unpleasant one. Faced with dwindling enrollment due to the Great War draft, he closes the college, while announcing plans to expand the preparatory division, or high school. Newspapers report, “The clergy, parents, and students were very angry. Many of the boys were sent to nonCatholic schools. The members of the alumni society were greatly distressed at the closing of the college classes.”
1914
CBC high school students travel to New Orleans to see the Liberty Bell, mounted on a railroad car for a national tour. Their journey is apparently worth it; The Commercial Appeal reports, “Christian Brothers College won fist prize in the recent Liberty Bell Parade for best drilled student boys in line.”
1915
CBC’s last commencement — for some years at least — takes place at the Lyceum, and only seven students receive degrees. Battersby writes, “It was a dreary ceremony compared with
Brother Maurelian, first president of CBC and associated with the school for more than 50 years, dies at St. Joseph Hospital. The Commercial Appeal calls him “a potent force for good citizenship.”
previous ones. Some good essays were read by the students, but there was no instrumental music or singing except for one solo.”
Sports have always played a major role in the life of CBC, and the 1921-22 team wins the city baseball championship, repeating that honor in 1923 and 1924. In 1923, the football team wins the city championship. When Commercial Appeal sports editor Early Maxwell names the All-Memphis baseball team for 1925, five Brothers make the team. The following year, the baseball team defeats Southside High School to win the Interscholastic Conference title. These victories are the start of a winning tradition for the Brothers that endures to this day in all athletic endeavors.
Christian Brothers wins the city championships in six sports: baseball, football, basketball, wrestling, swimming, and boxing.
1931
The CBC Band, which had been on hiatus for several years, is reorganized,
with Captain Charles F. Harrison as the director. The Knights of Columbus donate 24 instruments. The 40-member band wins the Armistice Day Trophy for their role in the annual parade down Main Street. In 1933, the group is named the official Cotton Carnival Band.
CBC on Adams closes for several months, so its buildings can serve as shelters for victims of one of the worst floods in American history.
Even without the collegiate division, Christian Brothers outgrows its cramped quarters on Adams. CBC joins St. Agnes Academy, also in search of a new campus,
in various fund-raising drives. Bishop Adrian declares the present location “unsafe and wholly inadequate” and authorizes the sale to the city’s board of education. (The original buildings are finally demolished in 1964.) After considering various locations, school officials purchase 40 acres of land at East Parkway and Central, originally part of the Barron Collier estate, who had made his fortune with streetcar advertising. Groundbreaking takes place on June 9, 1940. The first building on the East Parkway campus is Kenrick Hall, named in honor of Brother Luke Joseph Kenrick, who had served two terms (19221928 and 1935-1940) as school president.
Christian Brothers inaugurates a new “Academy and Junior College” at the East Parkway location. “For 25 years, CBC had been merely a high school,” writes Battersby. “Now it was hoped that it would return to its former status as a degree-granting institution.” When the “new” school opens in the fall, attendance is 280 students in the high school and 27 in the junior college.
The Second World War has a detrimental impact on enrollment. When only 14 students sign up for junior college classes, school administrators decide to close that division until the end of the war. Meanwhile, attendance grows at the high school, with 386 students enrolled.
1943
Tennis joins other teams that will bring sports championships to the school.
1945
To celebrate the end of the war, the CBC Band once again participates in the Armistice Day parade, where it wins a trophy as the “Outstanding Band in Shelby County.” A band concert, accompanied by the Choral Club, draws a standing-roomonly crowd to Ellis Auditorium.
1947
Construction begins on other structures, all built in the red-brick Georgian Revival style, that will house classrooms, laboratories, a residence for the Brothers, and more. The government moves Army surplus barracks to the campus, as temporary use as dormitories and the band room. Groundbreaking for the impressive new Administration Building, which will also house the library, takes place on April 17, 1949.
1947
The CBC Band continues to earn accolades, now under the direction of Ralph Hale, who
is one of the lay teachers on campus, a U.S. Navy veteran who had been teaching music in Arkansas. The Tennessee Band Festival presents the group with a “Superior” rating, and the group tours throughout the South, giving concerts in Nashville, Chattanooga, and Atlanta.
1948
The CBHS baseball team wins the Tennessee State Championship. With 12 other titles to come (1959, 1961, 1964, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2016), the school holds more state championships than any other high school in Tennessee. The “Victory Lamp” tradition begins, with a light in the cupola of the main building before important games — and especially after victories.
The De La Salle Gymnasium, one of the major buildings on the campus, is dedicated on December 30, 1951. During this time, another major improvement takes place — the removal of the unsightly (and noisy)
Louisville and Nashville railroad overpass at Central and East Parkway, along with the tracks that cut diagonally through the heart of the campus.
Student enrollment continues to increase, and for the first time, attendance at the college level surpasses that of the high school. More lay teachers join the Brothers on the college and high school faculty.
In the school publication The Arcade, Brother Lambert Thomas, now president of the institution, reveals plans for a new high school, separate from the college. Classrooms are packed to capacity, and CBC has to turn away many applicants. “It is quite obvious,” he writes, “that there is a need for a new high school. We feel it should be built on a new campus since there is not sufficient room to house a college the size that CBHS is tending to become, and a high school for 1,000 students.”
both pages: Christian Brothers High School’s move to Walnut Grove marked a clear transition for the school of independence from its collegiate counterpart on East Parkway and a vision for its future.
1961
School officials pay $135,000 to purchase a 27.5-acre property on Walnut Grove, on the edge of the city and adjacent to the new expressway under construction.
1962
For the first time in its long history, Christian Brothers College and Christian Brothers High School hold separate graduation ceremonies. The number of graduates almost matches: 117 from the school, and 116 from the college.
1962
Construction begins on an ultra-modern
high school campus projected to cost $1.1 million. The original campus is only three buildings that wrap around a small courtyard. Funds from a group called “The Mother’s Club” help construct the Bell Tower, where electronic carillon bells chime the hours.
1962
The Brothers ponder the name of their new school. Among those considered: De La Salle School, La Salle Academy, and Brother Maurelian High School. In the end, the obvious choice is Christian Brothers High School.
1963
A milestone in Memphis education takes place, under the leadership of Brother Terence McLaughlin, president of CBC. “No high school in Memphis, public or private, had been integrated
The Brothers Development Center helps meet the needs of today’s student-athletes with facilities for football, wrestling, and lacrosse as well as access to Campbell Clinic training staff and strength and conditioning.
prior to August 1963,” writes Battersby, in his history, The Christian Brothers of Memphis: A Chronicle of 100 Years, “when CBC accepted the application of Jesse Turner, Jr. He enters the classes on August 26 and remains at the high school for the next four years, graduating as cosalutatorian of his class.” Turner would go on to become the state’s first Black CPA and the first Black chairman of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners. He also served as chairman, CEO, and president of Tri-State Bank and has held various leadership roles with the NAACP.
Christian Brothers High School moves to its new campus on Walnut Grove. Although a busy location today, at the time it stands alone in that area. Baptist Hospital and Shelby Farms are years in the future. The buildings are not quite finished, the parking lot is dirt, and the athletic facilities are only grass fields. The basketball team uses the CBC gym for its games. Student enrollment on opening day is 677 — one more student than the high school attendance the year before on East Parkway. The faculty consists of only 14 Brothers, 14 lay staff, several coaches, and two administrators. The head of the school is Brother Adrian, whose title is superintendent and director.
Christian Brothers College accepts female students, accepting 30 coeds the first year. The high school, however, remains open to boys only.
The Brothers defeat Chattanooga’s Baylor School 22-19 to win the school's first and only state championship in football.
Heffernan Hall opens as the school’s first free-standing cafeteria and assembly hall. Before that, students brought their lunch from home or bought food from rows of vending machines. That’s only one component of an ongoing campus plan that includes construction or expansion of the library, auditorium, classrooms, memorial garden, Bell Tower, parking, and other additions.
CBHS defeats Dyersburg 71-70 to win the school’s first state championship in basketball, Thirty-five years later, Coach Bubba Luckett leads the team
to its second state title following an undefeated season.
Brother Adrian retires as president of CBHS after serving 22 years in that role. He is succeeded by Brother Ignatius Brown.
Brother Chris Englert becomes the eighteenth president of Christian Brothers High School. He goes on to hold one of the longest terms as head of the school at 28 years, second only to Brother Maurelian.
CBHS defeats Hendersonville High School to win the state title in soccer. Ten other Tennessee championships will follow over the next three decades, the most recent title in 2021.
The 4,000-seat Tom Nix Stadium, named after the school’s longtime coach and athletic director, opens on the campus, making CBHS one of the few Memphis schools to have an on-campus football stadium. Combined with a soccer complex, and the Giacosa baseball field, Christian Brothers can claim athletic facilities that are the envy of many colleges.
CBHS launches its Momentum for Our Future capital campaign, which goes on to fund new facilities for STEMM and business electives, student support services, athletics, and physical wellness.
Following Brother Chris’ retirement after 30 years with CBHS, Brother David Poos takes charge as the school’s nineteenth
president. He remains in the classroom for another year.
The outdated auxiliary gym in the heart of the campus is demolished to make way for a new basketball gym and concourse connecting the entire campus under one roof.
The basketball team plays its season home opener in McNeill Family Fieldhouse the week following the school’s 150th anniversary before a packed house of supporters.
From humble and uncertain beginnings a century and a half ago, Christian Brothers College has emerged as a landmark of Memphis education. What began in an abandoned women’s academy downtown has evolved into an ultra-modern campus, with the 30-acre property filled with classrooms, laboratories, research facilities, sports facilities, band rooms, and offices.
When the school opened in 1871, the faculty/student ratio was ideal at 1:1 — with only four teachers and four students. Now, nearly 720 boys are taught annually, by scholars from almost every discipline, and students enjoy campus facilities that rival those of some colleges. The early days were dark and uncertain, but the future looks bright for the Brothers’ Boys of Christian Brothers High School.
Sources: The Christian Brothers in Memphis: A Chronicle of One Hundred Years, by W.J. Battersby, and Christian Brothers College High School in Memphis, Tennessee: The First 150 Years, by Brother Joel McGraw.
Jim Hanna ’50 turned 90 years old in November. Jim has 19 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and he still remains active and in good health, walking his two dogs every day. He has been married to his wife, Shirley, for 48 years.
Bill Branch ’53 and his family welcomed a great-granddaughter, Riley, in 2021.
Jim Hiegel ’58 currently lives in Plano, Texas, with his wife, Beverly, of 56 years. He retired from Levi Strauss & Co. in 1999, then from Keller Graduate School of Management in 2015. Jim is active on a senior softball tournament team and looks forward to the 70-year class reunion in 2028!
Tom Adair, Sr. ’59 is actively training and competing with his border collie in agility trials. They travel around the Southeast for competition. Tom remains an active member of St. Brendan’s Church.
Gary Lazarini ’59 is enjoying retirement with his four great-grandchildren!
Sam Dino ’60 is retired, enjoying time with his wife, two children, two grandchildren, and two greatgrandchildren.
John Hazen ’60 serves as president of the Hazen Agency in Nashville. He’s seriously considering retirement.
Michael Robinson ’61 serves as counsel for Commerce Holdings, LLC.
Paul Starr ’65 is getting older and more forgetful in his retirement.
Carter Myers ’66 renewed his marriage vows with his wife, Charlene, in December in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary.
Mike Touchet ’67 and his wife, Marilyn, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2021. Now in their sixth year of retirement, they’re enjoying their time together and with their two grandchildren.
Joseph Bassi ’69 recently welcomed his ninth grandchild (and has the shirt to prove it). He and his wife spend half the year in Paducah, Kentucky, and the other half in Fort Myers, Florida, where he enjoys bird watching in the Everglades. Joseph also volunteers with the Knights of Columbus at his church.
Michael Cooper ’69 is enjoying his 32nd year as a professional muralist with no plans for retirement in sight. He also dabbles in painting smaller work.
Mike Stroker ’69 is retired from FedEx and living the dream.
Richard Perkins ’71 sold the U.S. portion of his business, Interior Technology Services, Inc., after 34 years in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He and his wife moved to her native Amsterdam, and together they run their Dutch operation there.
Robert Shafer ’72 dabbles in photography, travel, and scuba diving whenever possible in his retirement with his wife, Teresa.
Joe Wyrick ’72 retired in 2021 after serving nearly three decades as president and CEO of EWR, Inc., a software developer and data storage provider for the agribusiness industry.
Mark Voegeli ’73 now resides in California, where he handles national accounts for Waypoint, a sales and marketing agency representing brands in the food-service and non-foods industry.
Jack Perry ’74 celebrated 25 years with FedEx in 2021.
Michael Bernardini ’75 plans to retire soon as a parts journeyman for J.B. Hunt Transportation.
Mark Carroll ’75 has been enjoying retirement from teaching and coaching since 2011, living in Georgia, and spending the bulk of his time on the golf course, traveling, and keeping up with his grandchildren’s activities. Mark also officiates basketball with the Georgia High School Association.
John Duff ’75 is retired and enjoying the RV life!
Jim Halford ’75 has served as bank examiner for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for 27 years. He and Regina, his wife of 41 years, have two grown children, Katherine and Brian.
Richard Enyart ’76 retired in 2021 from FedEx after 34 years. He’s now focusing on his golf game.
Walter Foster ’76 has owned his company Industrial Consultants for 25 years in 2022.
Larry Ribbeck ’76 retired in 2020 after 33 years of service with Texaco and Chevron. He attributes a new love of horses and trail riding to the support he provides his teenage daughter who rodeos in her spare time.
Mark Saller ’76 recently celebrated 33 years in real estate as acquisitions manager for Reed Group 2 Realtors. Mark was named a Tennessee Top 10 Realtor by US News & Homepath.
The Rev. Mark Collins ’77 serves as an Episcopal priest and the rector of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Glen Rock, New Jersey. He also serves on the Commission on Ministry for the Episcopal Diocese of Newark.
David Court ’77 retired after 27 years at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In his retirement, David plans to split his time between Tennessee and Texas going to Corvette races and football games.
Ed Mullery ’77 is enjoying retirement from Shell Oil with his 3-year-old granddaughter.
Rex Ryan ’77 celebrated 40 years of marriage to his wife, Beth, in 2021. They have three children and five grandchildren.
Philip Salemi ’77 recently opened his fourth Salemi’s Ace Hardware location in Victoria, Texas. His other stores are located in Bay City, Port Lavaca, and Rockport, Texas.
Marty Wade ’77 retired from the offshore oil industry and was elected as Justice of the Peace for Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, in 2018. He was re-elected without opposition in 2020 for a six-year term. Marty and his wife, Tunisia Guidry, have been married for 42 years.
Jay Bedwell ’78 is newly retired.
Dave Marable ’78 is grateful for the support he received from his fellow alumni in the wake of the passing of his son, mother, and wife over the past seven years. Dave retired in 2021, and despite a serious bout with Covid-19, he is feeling better than ever.
Lucian Pera ’78 was recently named the recipient of the 2022 Michael Franck Professional Responsibility Award by the American Bar Association. The award honors an individual whose contributions in the professional responsibility field reflect the highest level of dedication to legal professionalism.
Stan Brooks ’79 recently welcomed a new granddaughter, his eighth grandchild.
Scott Rye ’79 retired from the Navy Reserve in 2020 after 30 years of service, most recently following a year-long deployment to East Africa, where he served as the senior military public affairs officer. Dave continues to operate his crisis communications and public relations firm, Black Flag Communications, which he established in 2012.
Richard Averwater ’81 is being reappointed as a federal immigration judge in Memphis.
Jack Moran ’81 welcomed a second grandchild earlier this year with his daughter, Jenna. His daughter, Kelly, married in 2021, and his son, Brett, moved to Chicago with KPMG. He celebrated his 35-year reunion with his Notre Dame baseball teammates in 2021.
Joe Massey ’87 is a captain and shift commander in uniform patrol for the Bartlett Police Department.
Oliver Scoggin ’92 recently joined First Horizon Bank as a risk compliance officer in corporate compliance.
Brad Payne ’93 was recently promoted to director of support services for Dunlap & Kyle Tire.
Chris Schellman ’93 recently retired as founder and CEO of Schellman & Company LLC.
Matthew Turner ’95 purchased Landscape Creations, Inc. and now serves as president of the company.
Lewis Pearson ’96 and his wife welcomed their son, Michael Tetsuya Pearson, to the world in December 2021. He joins seven siblings!
Nick Rice ’96, senior partner at Rice, Caperton, Rice PLLC, recently became board-certified as a family trial law advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.
Alex Turley ’97, as CEO of Henry Turley Company, is currently working on Orleans Station with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) to reshape the Medical District — transforming a 10-acre site from a mix of obsolete institutional buildings and parking lots into a fully realized, urban, residential neighborhood.
Anthony Swoboda ’98 was recently appointed to vice president of sales and marketing for TruSpine Technologies out of London, UK, which develops and manufactures game-changing spine technology to be launched in the US, then globally.
Marc Walker ’02 and his wife, Caroline, welcomed their first child, Catherine August, in June 2021. Catherine was baptized in December at St. Peter’s Catholic Church with godparents Brian Walker ’04 and Blair Chilton Durst. Professionally, Marc was recently named division director of Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery as well as program director for the Hand Surgery Fellowship training program in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi.
Stephen Tate ’03 and his wife, Leslie, recently had their first child in December. He continues making delicious beer as head brewer at Crosstown Brewing Company.
Jake Brown ’04 was promoted to senior litigation associate at Apperson Crump, PLC. He and his wife, Suzanne, recently welcomed their first child, Jacob Webster “Web” Brown, Jr., to the world in July 2021.
Chase Cole ’05 and his wife, Jennifer, welcomed their third son, Miller Anderson, in November 2021. Big brothers Cannon (3) and Hayes (1) are excited about the newest addition to the family.
Chris Hardwick II ’05 serves as marketing manager for Sylvamo Corporation, International Paper’s new publicly held paper company. He’s a proud dad of four children, ages 8, 6, 4, and 2.
Brother Dylan Perry ’06 is serving as an administrator at De La Salle Blackfeet School in Montana following his service as academic dean at De La Salle High School in Minneapolis.
Phillip Lawson ’07 is entering his 10th year at Orgill, Inc. where he serves as purchasing manager.
Gary Beaty ’09 serves as project manager at Atwill.
Matt Gambrell ’09 and his wife, Katie, welcomed their first child, Olivia Grace, in March 2020.
Chip Dunham ’10, his wife, and parents continue to run their restaurant, Magnolia & May, which opened in 2020.
Max Rubenstein ’10 married his wife, Kelsey, in November 2021, and they’re expecting their first child together. Max sold 29 homes in 2021, totaling more than $12 million in sales and ranking him a top-150 agent in the Mid-South (out of 4,000+).
Alexis and William Norman ’11 welcomed a baby girl, Danielle Claire, to their family in December 2021.
Will Brantley ’12 is clerking for a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
Joseph Forcherio ’15 recently earned his master’s degree from George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. He is currently serving as a management and program analyst for the United States Secret Service, where he is also a Presidential Management Fellow.
Diego Razura ’15 is in his second year of medical school at ETSU’s Quillen College of Medicine and intends to become a surgeon. While in school, Diego is focused on publishing research and committed to serve under-resourced communities.
Sam Stuckey ’15 married his wife, Brooke, in 2021. They currently reside in Houston, Texas, where he serves as a cotton analyst for Louis Dreyfus Company.
Alejandro Velasquez ’15 recently started medical school at the George Washington School of Medicine. This summer, he will work in the division of Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstruction Surgery at the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC.
Parker Alperin ’16 graduated from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 2021. He is a mechanical commissioning EIT with Smith Seckman Reid and resides in Nashville.
Gabe Fuhrman ’16 is a second lieutenant in the Army, currently in Engineering Officer Training in Missouri and headed for assignment in El Paso, Texas.
Jared Shemper ’17 earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mississippi State University in 2021. Jared is currently pursuing his master’s degree at Lipscomb University, where he continues to play baseball.
Wyatt Entrekin ’18 graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology following an internship with CapTech Ventures in the DC area as a data analytics consultant. He has spent much of his spare time traveling around the country and overseas.
Jake Spiva ’18 was commissioned in May as a second lieutenant and armor officer in the United States Army following his graduation from the University of Mississippi’s Intelligence and Security Studies Program.
Will Spain ’21 is majoring in biochemistry/pre-medicine at Austin Peay State University, where he started every game of their 2021 football season at long snapper.
above: Class of 2022 Hall of Fame inductees included Callaway Bain ’80, retired teacher Park Wong, Art Brickey ’64, Ronny Jorgensen ’50, John Fox ’69, Michael Kisber ’77, Matt Garibaldi ’99, and Thomas Canale ’94. left: Hall of Fame members Tim Moran ’82 and Thomas Parker ’81. below: Brother David introduces Thomas Canale ’94 at the Hall of Fame.
above: Katie and Jacob Abart ’02, Kristie and Jonathan Lyons ’93, Diana and Ed Lyons ’64, and Angela and Chris Lyons ’87 at the 150th Gala.
right: Brother David chats with Kay and Tom Whitman ’55 at the 150th Gala.
below: Mel Hungate '92 and wife, Nicole, at the 150th Gala.
above: The 1997 State Championship Baseball Team is recognized in honor of their 25-year reunion.
left: Open Division Winners Louis Martin '16, Hudson Cunningham '17, Jack Delgado '17, and Mike Blanchard '16. below: John Goode '07 and Alex Boggs '06 at the
Dewey C. Antrobus ’52
Mark Randal “Randy” Aviotti ’73
Frank T. Balton ’44
William F. “Bill” Bargery ’47
Dr. Hal S. Barre ’53
Paul Black, Jr. ’47
Robert J. Bosi, Sr. ’56
Byron Norman Brown, Jr. ’47
Dylan Byrd ’07
Robert M. Canon, Jr. ’84
Thomas J. Carr, Jr. ’60
Michael Cianciolo ’53
Thomas Wade Crenshaw ’74
George T. Cuyler ’75
Waddell A. “Wally” David ’80
Richard G. “Bill” Elliotte ’59
Monte Franklin ’61
John A. Furmanski III ’74
Eugene P. Giannini ’57
James A. Gillespie ’48
Jack Gross ’56
Christopher Hafner ’85
Jimmy Hall ’74
Jon Hassell ’55
Mark S. Herring ’77
Cecil B. Holman ’47
David A. Hunt, Sr. ’55
Charles Jansen ’57
John R. Jeter ’78
Earl Frank Johnson ’87
Cole J. Kelly ’16
Fred G. Kernan ’61
Carl J. Koch ’63
Vincent O’Connell Kouns ’61
Richard V. Laughter ’59
Charles R. “Bill” Leppert, Jr. ’46
John Marus ’64
Richard K. McAden ’59
James “Jimmy” McBryde ’74
Daniel Dennis McCarver ’64
Ray W. McCrary, Jr. ’87
Mark A. Meservey ’69
Jack Miller ’51
Robert W. Moody ’45
Griffith J. Moran ’12
John F. “Jack” Moran ’53
Kermit Morgan ’59
Paul A. Morrison ’76
Phillip A. Muth ’47
Raymond Nelson ’54
Donald E. Nicholas ’47
Donald A. Nobert, Sr. ’46
Joseph Paul Palazolo ’96
Wayne V. Person ’70
Robert “Bob” C. Pohlman ’72
Andrew T. “Drew” Rainer, Jr. ’18
John Michael Rauscher ’93
Michael C. Richardson ’61
Dr. Robert R. “Bo” Richardson III ’79
Louis E. Ricossa, Jr. ’48
Charles Robilio ’62
Barton Segal ’67
Garrett Self ’90
James “Jimmy” Sergerson ’64
William Hamilton “Ham” Smythe III ’48
Dr. Eugene J. Spiotta, Sr. ’43
Dennis G. Springer ’55
Donald E. “Tapper” Swanton, Sr. ’53
Kosta N. Taras ’50
Raymond John Vescovo ’53
Andrew J. Vollmar ’98
John Dabney Walt ’45
John W. Willcox, Jr. ’55
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace, Amen.
The Christian Brothers Band kicked off its 150th anniversary this year with a concert tour that followed in the footsteps of band founder Brother Maurelian to Washington, DC; Lancaster, PA; Philadelphia; and Baltimore during Spring Break.
5900 Walnut Grove Road, Memphis, TN 38120 • (901) 261-4900 • www.cbhs.org
PARENTS OF ALUMNI: If this publication is addressed to your son, but he no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please notify the Advancement Office of his new address at (901) 261-4930 or lhughes@cbhs.org.
