St Joe’s Memories The Blue Jay Tradition The legacy of St. Joseph’s High School has endured, despite the closure of its doors at Jay and Orleans in 1964. The ending of an era created a new partnership of St. Joe’s Alumni with De La Salle Collegiate. This partnership has made a significant difference as these men, these “Brothers’ Boys” work together to continue the Lasallian tradition.
St. Joe’s - In the Beginning Christian Brothers began teaching in the St. Joseph Parish school in 1877, and the parish opened St. Joseph’s Commercial College in December 1889. The first group of 13 students received diplomas at the first graduation exercises in June 1892. In succeeding years, there were remodelings and additions to the original structure. In 1923, 14 St. Joe’s alumni, noting the population shifts in the city, conducted a $100,000 fundraising drive to purchase a 10-acre tract of land about 5 miles away, near Gratiot Avenue, at Connor and Glenfield. The groundbreaking took place in 1925, the cornerstone was laid in January 1926, and in September 1926, 85 students began classes. Shortly after DLS had its first graduation ceremony in 1929, the stock market crashed. De La Salle’s future was in peril, as many ceased paying on pledges, and families were unable to pay tuition. The Brothers had few resources, but the St. Joe’s Ladies’ Auxiliary redoubled its efforts to carry DLS through the crisis. Better days came, and by 1936, DLS expanded to serve its increased enrollment of just under 500 students. Meanwhile, at St. Joe’s, the Archdiocese of Detroit decided in 1942 to close both St. Joe’s Grade School, and the girls’ high school. Eleven Christian Brothers took over the school, and in 1944 purchased the building from the Archdiocese, renaming it St. Joseph’s High School. At the time, 495 young men from 60 Detroit area parishes were registered. By 1964, only one student was actually a St. Joe’s parishioner. The school building had fire and building code violations; rebuilding carried a staggering price tag. The decision to close, a decision that had lingered for several years, finally came. The Archdiocese repurchased the building, holding the land to see if the building would be needed. The 1964 graduates left, some to then Bishop Gallagher, conducted by the
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