1960s: Growth in the Suburbs

Minali Venkatesh ’15

The 1960s marked Ursuline Academy’s first full decade in Dedham. Despite initial concerns about the ability to sustain a robust student body after the move, enrollment grew through the 1960s, with the senior class graduating as many as 93 students in 1966.

Expansion

With a larger student body and more space on campus, the school was able to expand its offerings to include more clubs and athletics. Under the leadership of Mother Catherine Marie Jordan, the principal from 1961 to 1964, Ursuline created its first Drama Club. In 1962, the club performed Peter Pan in the drama festival, and in 1967, they performed a stage version of Pride and Prejudice, with the male roles played by students from local colleges. Mother Catherine Marie also created the inaugural Glee Club, expanding the arts offerings even further. In 1962, the physical education curriculum was expanded to include modern dance, and in 1969, basketball joined cheerleading and the Girls Athletic Association (GAA) club. According to Francesca Testa Sterling ’65, “Basketball was the ‘premiere’ team.” The 1960s also led to the creation of the Ursuline chapter of the National Honor Society. Ursuline students still donned the green plaid pleated skirt and green wool blazer, but in the warmer months could also wear pastel shirtwaist dresses for their summer uniform.

UNIFORM: Green wool box-pleated skirt and blazer (UA School seal on left breast pocket), white uniform blouse, uniform shoe. Skirt below the knees. GYM: Gym uniform is a heavy yellow duck (cotton) with duck bloomers.

1960

UA Parents Guild holds its first social with a dinner buffet in the Tea Room and dancing in the gym. Music provided by Ted Phillips Orchestra.

1961

Mother Catherine Jordan serves as Principal from 1961-1964. The first Homecoming, an outdoor festival, is held in June and features boat rides in the pond, donkey cart rides, and a ham and bean supper.

“[In] 7th grade a box arrived at our house. Inside was a green blazer with an Ursuline emblem, a green box pleated skirt to match, a green bonnet with a button on each side, a white shirt, white gloves, and brown shoes to be purchased at Marapotti Shoes in Dedham Square… In the early years of high school, we were allowed to purchase a selection of rainbow-colored, cotton shirtwaist dresses in the spring. Our “gym” clothes included a short, dark yellow dress complete with bloomers.” – Francesca (Chi Chi) Testa Sterling ’65

The tradition of white graduation dresses continued with the new campus, though the styles changed year to year. However, the Class of 1966 was forced to improvise their graduation gowns, as the truck delivering all 91 gowns was hijacked just weeks before graduation.

New Traditions

The ’60s also saw the start of many beloved Ursuline traditions. In January 1960, Ursuline parents held their first social in the new school building: a buffet in the Tea Room with dancing in the gym. The Mission Bazaar, later known as Mission Day, was held for the first time in the earlier part of the decade; the campus was transformed into an indoor fair with booths, games, bakery goods, and prizes, all to raise money for Ursuline missionaries. Ursuline’s first Homecoming was also held, though different from Homecoming today: on June 2, 1961, an outdoor festival was held on campus, complete with boat rides in the pond, donkey cart rides, and a ham and bean supper.

MISSION DAY: The first “Mission Bazaar” is held in the early part of the decade to raise money for Ursuline missionaries.

1962

Modern Dance Club is introduced into the physical education curriculum. In May, Peter Pan is performed at Drama Festival. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is published, the Second Vatican Council commences, and the Cuban Missile Crisis unfolds. Photo credit: Arber-French & Co.

GOWNS: The tradition of wearing a white gown for graduation continues.

1963

Former Communist Douglas Hyde presents a public lecture at Ursuline. John F. Kennedy is assassinated, the Civil Rights March takes place, and the Equal Pay Act is passed. Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life imprisonment.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

The Ursuline Sisters have always looked to the teachings of St. Angela Merici to guide them through a changing world, and the wisdom of her teaching has proven to be timeless: “If according to times and needs, you should be obliged to make fresh rules and change current things, do it with prudence and good advice.” The ’60s was a decade of massive social and cultural changes, and the Sisters made sure Ursuline students were politically aware and informed. After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an Interracial Council took place at Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, MA, with Mother Mary Alfred OSU featured as a speaker.

“Summer reading lists were given each year. The only one I vividly recall was Black Like Me by John Griffin. The book was culturally earth-shattering and paved the way for our understanding of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” – Mary Pat Ryan Joy ’65 The 1960s called for change, and the Ursuline Sisters stepped up within the community and in their curriculum to embrace new topics and engage their students in discussions of current events and history. In 1965, Ursuline sent its first team to compete in an Oratorical Competition, a speech contest centered on researching and discussing basic principles of government according to the U.S. Constitution. Alongside the positive and exciting changes of the ’60s, the decade was also a time of deep national tragedy. Just four years into the decade, President John F. Kennedy, the United States’ first Catholic President, was assassinated. Mary Pat Ryan Joy ’65 remembers hearing about his death while in class,

“Just prior to the 1963 Thanksgiving break, President Kennedy was assassinated. When word reached our Principal [Mother Catherine Marie Jordan] at one o’clock that he was declared dead, she informed us over the intercom. She suspended all classes and we immediately processed into the gym for prayers. Everyone was crying and hugging one another. Carpool parents arrived, tears streaming.”

In the later half of the decade, especially after the assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, Ursuline students became involved in larger conversations about race and racial justice that were occurring in Dedham.

“After the murder of Reverend Martin Luther King, the faculty and student leaders constructed a full program for the issues surrounding civil rights, the need for human dignity, and the ways in which the civil rights movement not only intersected with but was framed by social justice teachings within the Judeo-Christian ethic and, more specifically, Catholic Social Teaching.”

– Barbara Roche Rico ’73

NHS: Ursuline’s chapter of the National Honor Society is established in 1964.

1964

The Civil Rights Act is passed. Xaverian holds an Interracial Council; Mother Mary Alfred OSU is the featured speaker. The Beatles arrive on a Pan Am flight in NYC and Beatlemania officially sweeps through the country.

1965

Ursuline sends its first team to compete in an Oratorical Competition, a speech contest centered on the U.S. Constitution. Malcolm X is assassinated. Space exploration marks an exciting chapter with the first space walks.

1. Students take part in an early Dedham drama production. 2. Gym class included basketball, one of the first sports to be offered. 3. Sr. Robert Chesnel oversees a frog dissection in the Biology lab.

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1966

The Case of the Missing Gowns: Ursuline grads’ gowns are stolen when the driver stops for coffee. Mother Superior Lorette is forced to improvise! RACIAL JUSTICE: Ursuline participates in local racial justice initiatives in Dedham in 1968-1969. ROCKETMAN: Apollo 8 circles the moon in 1968, and Apollo 11 lands there in 1969.

1967

Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African American U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

1968

Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated in April. In June, Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated.