Looking back

50 Years Ago
Mrs. Claire Lagman was in charge of The Speakers Bureau, a new service of the Office of Religious Education.
Lady Frances Perres of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Knights of St. Peter Claver received an award for 25 years of continuous service.
The McGill Yellow Jackets tied the Vigor Wolves. Joe Dean served as head coach assisted by Jerry Wood, Curtis Horton, Tom Baker and Bob Starlings. The cheerleaders were led by Peter Darr and Cathy Rawlings.
St. Jude Pirates, led by Carlton Ross and Alfonza Lewis, posted a 21-0 triumph over the J. F. Shield Panthers.
St. Jude Elementary School experienced peak enrollment with 282 students.
Msgr. Thomas M. Cullen, P.A., resigned his pastorate at St. Mary Parish, Mobile, ending 46 years of service in the Diocese of Mobile. His ministry included being the first director of Catholic Charities which he continued for 30 years.
Newly elected officers of the Mobile District N.C.C.W. were: Mrs. Joseph M. Bolton, president; Mrs. J. D. Paulk, first vice president; Mrs. John Van Hoof, second vice president; Mrs. Robert Spotswood, recording secretary; Mrs. Harold Doody, treasurer; Mrs. Lawrence Ankerson, auditor; Mrs. Frank Baxley, historian; and Mrs. J. Kenny Crow, parliamentarian.
McGill Institute and Bishop Toolen High School 1973 National Merit Semifinalists were: Charles T. Huicker, Deborah Ann Smith, Susan Hall Weiss and Steven G. Alsip.
Officers of St. Columba CYO were: Debbie Pittman, president; Mike Perkins, vice president; Patricia Beary, secretary; Paula Walker, treasurer; and Geoff Hall, sergeant at arms.
25 Years Ago
Msgr. Kevin Francis Duignan died at his residence in Montgomery, AL at the age of 75. Msgr. Duignan was a native of Carrick-on-Shannon, Ireland. He was ordained at the Cathedral of the  Immaculate Conception in May 1952. A Mass of Christian Burial was held at St. Peter Church, Montgomery.
The annual ACCW Convention organizers announced the 62nd annual gathering of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women would be held in Mobile at the Radisson Admiral Semmes with Mrs. Mary Ann Halliday archdiocesan president presiding.
Alabama Master of Knights of Columbus, Milton O. Larche Jr. of Mobile, was named Vice Supreme Master of the Knights of Columbus’ Fourth Degree for five states heading some 12,600 Fourth Degree members.
Sister Alexandrine Lazzari celebrated her 50th year as a Daughter of Charity. Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb was the main celebrant at the celebration Mass at Christ the King Church, Daphne.
St. Peter Church, Montgomery, was the setting for the Red Mass that had traditionally opened the judicial year and was attended by the state’s Chief Justices,  Appellate Court members and others in the judicial and legal profession. Abbot Victor Clark, O.S.B., was the main celebrant and homilist.
National Merit Semifinalist from McGill-Toolen were: Sara Mareno, Sara Booker, Rachael T. Bru and Matthew C. Lafleur.
The team of John Barnett and David Pruett captured the First Flights Championship of the 1997 Mercy Medical Meyercord Memorial Golf Tournament.
McGill graduate Phillip A. Brady was accepted into the Midshipmen Regiment of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kingsport, N.Y.
New principals of the Mobile area Catholic Schools were: Sr. Brenda Monahan, D.C., St. James School; and Tom Al-Greene, Holy Family School.
New principals of the Montgomery area Catholic Schools were: Sr. Mary Beth Kubera, D.C., St. Jude School and Mary Mears, St. John-Resurrection School.
— Anne Baggett compiles information for Looking Back from past issues of this newspaper. Anne is a member of St. Mary Parish in Mobile.