Archbishop Kennedy/Saint Matthews All Class Open House/Reunion Recap – photos

All Class Open House and Reunion

Archbishop Kennedy and Saint Matthews

9/26/2016

by Brian Coll

photos by Jack Coll

We have to start this, with a BIG thank you to Antioch Church. 20 some years ago when Archbishop Kennedy closed its doors for the final time, I don’t think many people thought they would get the chance to go through the old school ever again. Antioch Church opened its doors to the alumni of Archbishop Kennedy and Saint Matthews this past Saturday. Hundreds of alumni from many classes took the opportunity to walk the halls one more time. We witnessed people from classes ranging from the 50’s and 60’s through the 1990’s. A number of the younger people there were people who didn’t get to actually graduate from the school due to the closing. They couldn’t believe they actually got to walk the “Senior Stairs” after 20 years. Many people brought their children to show them their old locker, or walk the hallways. I got a big shock when someone told me to check out the boys bathroom, wow, what a difference. It looked like a luxury hotel bathroom ( I didn’t see any smoke coming out of the stalls).

       Some people walked through the building in a trance like state. Others were filled with tears of joy. Everyone was grateful for the Antioch Church to allow us to wander the halls one more time. However the fun didn’t end at the school…. The Great American Pub was the place to be once you walked through the school itself. Old friends gathered in the Oak Room and took over the Great American Pub. Checking out Facebook that evening, I saw a number of people posting pictures of them and friends catching up after way too many years.

      Some highlights from the open house included people checking out their old lockers, trying to remember who was in their homeroom and what classes they took with who. One of the biggest highlights was walking the hallways and remembering what teachers had which classrooms…… on the 1st floor you had Mr. Bockrath, on the 2nd you had this principal or that disciplinary office, on the third floor almost everyone pointed to Mr. T’s room. Everyone seemed to have a favorite teacher or two, and the teachers spanned generations. People who walked in with a major age gap, could connect with that teacher or this coach and so on.

      If you didn’t get to attend this event, look for another All Class Open House and Reunion in a couple of years. We would like to create the largest All Class Reunion for the 25th anniversary of the school closing. We would like to possibly rent out the A Field and bring in a couple of food trucks and roll some kegs into the stadium that was host to the Saints home football games over the years.

     One more thing before we get to the photos. If you loved the Kennedy family and we all seemed to be a family of sorts, consider joining the Football Alumni this coming Saturday at 11:00. They are honoring Coach Chris Bockrath and Charlie Heavey with plaques at the A Field.

     Check out the photos, please share this with friends who may have been there or possibly missed it.