Looking back

50 Years Ago
Newly elected officers of Queen of Mercy Altar Society were: Mrs. James Strickland, president; Mrs. Joe Kader, treasurer; Mrs. Sullivan, corresponding secretary. 
David Cummins of Troop 143 at St. Dominic received the Eagle Scout Award.
St. Pius X Parish, Mobile, adopted St. Paul Mission in Chatom.
Miss Alexis Herman, caseworker for Catholic Social Services in Mobile, left to become director of a new Department of Labor in Atlanta.
Louis Boden, grand knight, Knights of Columbus Council 666, presented a $650 check to the Link Society which aided prisoners and their families.
About 130 Boy Scouts and 23 Scout Masters attended the sixth annual Retreat for Boy Scouts of the Mobile Diocese.
Archbishop Thomas J. Toolen celebrated his 86th birthday.
Science Fair winners at St. Monica School were Audwin Taylor, Jimmy Shoulders, Walter May and James Devery. 
Mrs. A. Hays Zieman served as chairman of the Ladies of Charity Annual Shamrock sale.

25 Years Ago
Hundreds of pro-life activists gathered at Montgomery’s  Greenwood Serenity Memorial Gardens for the 11th annual Memorial Service sponsored by the Montgomery Respect Life Committee.
The Board of Trustees of Mercy Medical elected new members Adline C. Clarke, Michael D. Fitzhugh and Carol M. Henderson. Richard C. Sullivan served as Chairperson and Ray H. Miller, vice-chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Winner of the 34th annual Spelling Bee for Mobile Area Catholic Schools was Scott Sanders of St. Ignatius School and runner-up was Laura Bru of Corpus Christi School.
Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb congratulated 1997 Catholic Charities Archdiocesan chairman, Jack Galassini, for a successful appeal. Pledges totaled $2,977,692  with all deaneries exceeding their goals.
Eleanor Birkel Woolsey, interim alumni director for the Catholic High Schools Alumni Association of Mobile, was honored by the Alabama Building Industry with induction into its Hall of Fame.
Honored at the McGill-Toolen 5th annual Hot Diggity Dog Luncheon for volunteers were: Dr. Vincent Arata, alumni volunteer of the Year; Woodie Perkins, board volunteer of the year; and Susan Kurzweg and Mary Ann Lafleur, parent volunteers of the year.
The McGill-Toolen Lady Jackets basketball team finished the regular season with an 18-7 record entering the Area Tournament seeded No. 1. Stars for the Lady Jackets were Amy Connelly, Beth Olen, Holly Miller and Erin Hoffstrander.
— Anne Baggett compiles information for Looking Back from past issues of this newspaper. Anne is a member of St. Mary Parish in Mobile.