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My Thoughts One Year Later... By Randy Walters ‘05
Today, March 15, marks the one-year anniversary of ‘the announcement' made during the middle of our Irish Week festivities. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a Tuesday.
As any senior would do with first hour study hall, I walked into school the next day at 8:30 AM wondering why everyone was going into the gym. I don’t watch the news very often, except for Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” I’m not sure you can even call that news. It was obviously a great shock as many of my fellow seniors kept saying to me "dude the school is closing!" Confused and concerned, I continued to walk to my locker. I finally made my way to the gym to find a very quiet faculty standing around. A very emotional Fr. John Sajdak led the school’s Morning Prayer, then handed the microphone over to an equally emotional Mr. Michael Reece. He began to inform the entire student body of the decision made by the Archdiocese of Detroit to close Notre Dame High School. He informed us of everything he and Fr Sajdak knew about the situation at the time. Lastly, Mr. Richard Kuhn took the microphone and began to speak. It was almost silent inside the Tom Kelly Memorial Gym as many of the students became openly emotional about the news of the announced closing of their school. The entire student body then stood up and began singing the Notre Dame Fight Song as loudly and as passionately as they could. The spirit and pride of the Fightin’ Irish was never higher than at that very moment.
At end of the assembly, the students were led back to their classrooms to begin what was supposed to be a normal Wednesday during Irish Week. With just one day before the start of the Irish Games, it was normal for academics to be the last thing on our minds. This time, it was different. School work was the last thing on our minds, but for a much bigger and more important reason. The entire day, and for the rest of the week, all the students and teachers could talk about is the future of Notre Dame. There were far more questions than answers.
During the class period that began immediately after the assembly, plans for a peaceful protest already made its way around the entire school. Many phone calls were made to get permission from parents to have an unexpected field trip to Downtown Detroit to Sacred Heart Major Seminary. This is where Cardinal Adam Maida would be making the official announcement of the closing of fifteen area high schools in the Detroit Metropolitan Area, including Notre Dame, to the media. After the students arrived, two of the large ND flags that flew over the football field were tied to the fence that surrounded the Seminary for everyone to see [Photos]. For almost two hours, the Notre Dame Fight song and Alma Mater were sung. Passing vehicles honked their horns in support of our protest. Even Detroit City garbage trucks, local cable company trucks and many other business vehicles honked in support. Local 4 News and WWJ News Radio interviewed a few students. Finally some of us began making our way back to school just after 2:00 PM to get back in time for dismissal, but many stayed in front of the seminary.
Irish Week continued the next day. Many Alumni returned to watch the Irish Games and to chat with their former teachers. On the outside, it looked as if everything was back to normal, however, every single person in that building was deeply affected with what Harper Woods Notre Dame was about to face.
The “Save Notre Dame Fund” was created soon after. This was a special account created specifically for donations made with the intent of helping to save Notre Dame. Ricky Winowiecki ’04 and I began selling “Save Notre Dame” t-shirts for $10 with 100% of the profit being given to the school. We sold about three-hundred shirts and made a couple thousand dollars. It may not have been much considering what the school actually needed, but every bit counted.
I was fortunate enough to be on the yearbook staff for the 2004-2005 issue. The special 50th Anniversary edition. I, as well as a few others, got to relive many happy memories from our final year at Notre Dame while putting the yearbook together. This also afforded us the opportunity to stay and work at the school for a few extra weeks after senior graduation. We worked at Notre Dame until just before the doors were officially closed June 30, 2005. (Note: The 2004-2005 yearbooks will be shipped out to students’ home at the absolute latest; April 15… the 2003-2004 books are still being edited.)
Many of my classmates from the class of 2005, if not all of them are sad, and angry that we will never be able to come back as Alumni to enjoy what we consider to be one of the best schools in Metro Detroit. We always took for granted that we’d get the same opportunity to return, as every class that graduated before us had. I cannot place myself in the state of mind the juniors were in, knowing they would be robbed of their senior year at Notre Dame. I am sure they were and still are devastated.
Even though plans to relocate were already underway, our school was forced to close, but the tradition and spirit of Harper Woods Notre Dame will live on, forever in our hearts, in our minds, within the Detroit Metropolitan area, and at 20254 Kelly Road, Harper Woods, Michigan, regardless of what they do with the property and building.
Notre Dame, our Mother, tender, strong and true,
Proudly in the heavens, echoes our called to you.
Glory’s mantle cloaks thee, Holy is thy name.
AND OUR HEARTS FOREVER PRAISE THEE NOTRE DAME.
AND OUR HEARTS FOREVER LOVE THEE NOTRE DAME.
- Randy Walters ‘05
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