Looking back

By Anne Baggett
50 Years Ago
Bishop John L. May announced that Montgomery Catholic High would continue and begin its second century of Catholic secondary education in 1973. 
Officers of the Catholic Maritime Club were: Martin Johnson, president; David Friedlander, vice president; Joseph Kalifeh, vice president; Clinton C. Minette, vice president; and George Cox, secretary.
Newly elected officers of St. Jude’s Parish Council were: Mr. Leon Williams, president; Mr. Harvey Smith, vice president; Mr. Chester Cooper, secretary; and Mrs. James Walton, treasurer.
St. Jude Pirates were edged 58-56 in the Class 2A State Basketball finals by Montevallo.
McGill Institute and Bishop Toolen art students receiving awards at the Scholastic Awards State Exhibition were Pepper Woolsey, Cissy Palmer, David Wolcott, Jennifer Isom and Anne Johnson.
Fire swept the convent at Corpus Christi Parish, Mobile.
St. Vincent de Paul Parish sponsored a charity horse show with Mrs. R. H. Straub, Sr. and Mrs. Faith Lods serving as co-chairman.
Bishop John L. May joined with priests and benefactors to serve dinner to the residents of the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Vince Dooley was featured speaker at the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick banquet.
25 Years Ago
McGill-Toolen students Sarah McAtee, Binu-John Sankoorikal and Kris Stokes were named finalists in the National Merit Scholarship competition.
Mary Stone of McGill-Toolen was named winner of the Bryant-Jordan 6A-1 Student Achievement Award and Tracy Stuardi was selected to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum on Defense, Intelligence and Diplomacy in Washington, D.C.
Fr. W. Bry Shields, president of McGill-Toolen, announced the appointment of Otis William Lee as principal of McGill-Toolen High School.
Rev. George William Rutler, a priest for the Archdiocese of New York, was special guest and homilist for the annual Mass in honor of St. Patrick.
The Edmundite Missions celebrated 60 years of service. The Order was located in Selma and took on the apostalate to the African American poor of the south. Fr. Roger La Charite S.S.E. was serving as the present director of the Edmundite Missions.
Named National Merit Finalists at Montgomery Catholic High were Daniel Johnston and Joseph Walker.
Jeremy Cobb, a junior at Montgomery Catholic high school, was elected Lt. Governor of  Montgomery’s division of Key Club International.
Spring Hill College student Karen Kelly was honored with “the MacMillan Prize” for best student essay in the ACETA (Association of College English Teachers of Alabama).
Winner of the annual Marian Center for Peace Essay contest was Kate Browning, an eighth-grade student at St. Pius X School in Mobile.
— Anne Baggett compiles information for Looking Back from past issues of this newspaper. Anne is a member of St. Mary Parish in Mobile.