w e N ^ Extending the Mission Spring 2014 of Mount Saint Joseph Academy and College into the 21st Century Volume 10, No. 1
www.ursulinesmsj.org alumnae.msj@maplemount.org
Alums recall fun they had on class trips
O
ne of the perks of becoming a senior at Mount Saint Joseph Academy for many students was the chance to take a class trip. Some of the alums share their memories here of what it was like to be away from Maple Mount. Anna Mattingly, A66, thinks her class was the first to be able to spend the night away from the Academy for a senior trip. “We went to the Shrine of Our Lady of Snows in Belleville, Ill., spent the night there, and then went to St. Louis,” she said. “We saw the Arch of St. Louis and went to the St. Louis Zoo and returned to the Mount the same day. The Arch was quite impressive as was the fact we went over the Mississippi River. Even though we were used to the Ohio River, I had never crossed (the Mississippi) and was quite impressed with the bridge we crossed over and seeing the Arch, which was still under construction (it was completed in October 1965.) “My family and I were not travelers, and at the time I had not been out of Kentucky,” Mattingly said. “I remember Our Lady of Snows as being a very peaceful place, a certain reverence about it. One of the things that I really liked was the fact we were able to spend a night on our trip away from the Mount. After all, we were the first to do this and it was just exciting.” New Orleans was the
destination for both the class of 1971 and 1974. “I remember the French Quarter, eating at the Cafe Du Monde, the small shops (I still have a little candle I bought) and the cemetery (all the graves are above ground),” said WaNell Stallings Lanham, A71 . “We saw some floats from Mardi Gras. I did have a few pictures, I wish I could put my hands on them, but that’s probably not possible any time soon.” Becky Collins Morris, A71, was also on that trip, which included Sister Charles Mary (Lindauer). “I most remember our walk down Bourbon Street. The nuns did not wear the head pieces,” Morris said. “One particular bar/saloon had a lady swinging in/out a window. Passers-by commented we must be a class from a ‘girls school’ – they spotted the nuns.” Tina Weber Smith, A74, went to New Orleans with Sister Helen Marie Pfohl and perhaps former Sister Laura Abell. “17 girls and two nuns!” she said. “Soon after we arrived, we found a restaurant for breakfast. We were all wearing our Mount Saint Joseph T-shirts. One of the waiters yelled, ‘Here come the Josephs!’ It was a ‘far
Alumnae Weekend is May 17-18, 2014! See Schedule, Registration Form & Anniversary Classes Inside
out there’ place for this country girl. By the end of the week, I decided I liked it. “Drinking at 18 was legal in Louisiana, so we did our fair share,” Smith said. “We all survived, including the nuns. I’ll never forget that trip and the fun we had. I still have souvenirs from New Orleans.” The details of several trips are a bit fuzzy for some alums, but for Rosa Palazzo Schmidt, A51, the confusion was included in her first class trip as a junior. “Mammoth Cave was our destination, a great place to visit if one has not been there,” she said. “On our return trip to the Mount, we stopped in Bowling Green, Ky., for dinner on our own and visiting around town. “The preceding summer, my mother and I had been to Shelby Park in Louisville, where I lived at the time, and met some nice people there as we were watching the swimmers. One was a young man who was a junior in college at Western Kentucky (which is in Bowling Green.) My good friend Continued on page 5
Academy students visited their French teacher, Mrs. Ivolou Omoto, in Owensboro in May 1973. Front: Brenda Dant McIntire, Carolyn Sue Cecil. Middle: Rhonda Warren Mischel, Stephanie Warren, Maria Rivera, Gail Westry. Back: Karen Mayfield Dant, Judy Drury Johnson holding Maketo Omoto.