Our History
The first Catholic school in Columbia was established at Sacred Heart parish in 1912. It was then moved into the official school building in 1927. The first teachers were the Sisters of St. Joseph.
In the Spring of 1956 it was evident that there was a need for a second parish in Columbia. Cardinal Ritter instructed a new Catholic Church was to be built and be the first church in the new Jefferson City Diocese (initially it was going to be a part of the St. Louis Diocese). At the time, the 30 acre area was a cornfield. When Father Weis came to inspect the property he met hunters and their dogs. Stadium Blvd. was called Conley Lane and was just a dirt road lined with apple trees and cow pastures. When it came time to establish the street, someone had to name it and this is the right of the property owners. In this case, there were only two, Mrs. Louise Dexheimer from whom the land was purchased and the parish. Mrs. Dexheimer had no preference and permitted the parish to give the street a name. Hence, Bernadette Drive, named after Bernadette Soubirous, the little French girl to whom our Blessed Lady appeared. In the new school crest you will see a rose that represents St. Bernadette.
A few years later plans were drawn for a new Catholic school, Our Lady of Lourdes (OLL). W. J. Wesselmann drove his farm tractor to help clear the land so construction could begin on the school. The building cost was estimated at $150,000 and Simon Construction would lead the project. There was not enough money to have a gym so students played outside on the blacktop. During the building phase (1960), students that wanted to attend OLL were sent to Sacred Heart. Four Sisters of Mercy from Ballymahon, Ireland (Sisters Philomena, Imelda, Brigid and Monica) came to teach and run OLL. They were ages 51,39,33 and 21. All had certification in teaching and two had a Master’s degrees in music and other subjects. One was a registered nurse. Over the years they were joined by other members of their community. The Sisters enjoyed teaching students the Irish jig and the students were equally enthralled with learning about a culture that was very foreign to them.
The school had seven classrooms, and the convent could house nine sisters. It was clear from the start that the school would quickly run out of space, but the parish needed more money to build a larger facility due to budget limitations. Therefore, the plan was always to expand the school as needed.
| Year | Enrollment |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 190 |
| 1970 | 270 |
| 1973 | 230 |
| 1977 | 234 |
| 1981 | 240 |
| 1989 | 352 |
| 1993 | 386 |
| 1998 | 464 |
| 2002 | 522 |
| 2006 | 577 |
| 2010 | 601 |
| 2013 | 615 |
| 2022 | 620 |
| 2023 | 629 |
| 2024 | 623 |
The first school uniforms consisted of gray wool box-pleated skirts, white shirts, gray sweaters and red beanies that were secured to girls’ heads with long hat pins! As far as we know there were no serious hat pin incidents! Around 1970, the uniforms switched from all gray to a gray plaid. In 1974 the uniform changed again, this time to a maroon plaid. In those days, students attended Mass every morning and females were still expected to wear some sort of head covering. In the very early years at OLL, school Mass was celebrated in Latin but quickly changed to English.
In 1961, Mother Philomena (the principal) brought her black and white portable TV to school so students could watch John Kennedy's inauguration. The idea of a TV at school was very exciting! Each year around St. Patrick's Day the school put on an Irish pageant. There were dances, songs and skits taught by the Irish sisters. After the performance Father Weis (the pastor) would say it was the best show he'd seen and he would give students the next day off from school! Years later, several families of Vietnamese refugees came to school. They taught students a new game, similar to Chinese jump rope, in which you used a rope out of rubber bands that was held by 2 people and it got higher and higher.
| Years | Principal Name |
|---|---|
| 1960-966 | Sr. Philomena Newman |
| 1966-1972 | Sr. Carmel McEnroy |
| 1972-1975 | Sr. Frances Lalor |
| 1976-1977 | Mr. Patrick Angiolilli |
| 1977-1982 | Ms. Linda Clervi |
| 1982-1985 | Mrs. Sue Roitman |
| 1985-2007 | Mr. Patrick Darcy |
| 2007-2008 | Mr. Kevin Kiley |
| 2008-2010 | Mrs. Linda Gardner |
| 2010-2012 | Miss Patricia Kirk |
| 2012-2013 | Mrs. Erin Whalen |
| 2013-2024 | Mrs. Elaine Hassemer |
| 2024-Present | Dr. Katie Helfer |
By 1970, the Sacred Heart (SH) School closed due to falling enrollment as many new families were choosing OLL. This meant all students who wanted to receive a Catholic education would attend Our Lady of Lourdes. OLL didn’t have room for everyone as there was only one small school building on campus. The decision was made to split the OLL students between two campuses, the former Sacred Heart School building would house the 6th-8th graders while 1st-5th would be located on the OLL campus. Sister Frances divided her time, driving back and forth across town during the day as needed. When the upper grade students would return from the SH campus, a city bus (provided by the city manager) would drop them off at Worley and they would walk to the OLL campus.
Dorish Speckhals began working in 1972 as the first paid secretary for OLL. Sister Frances (Lalor) was the principal at the time and was one of several sisters teaching at the school, including Sr. Doreen and Sr. Delma.
Field Day was a big deal in elementary school. The day started with Mass, often outside on the blacktop. The students played many types of games: 3 legged race, wheelbarrow, long jump, sprint, potato sack race, softball throw. There was a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place ribbon for each game. The biggest treat was everyone got McDonalds for lunch.
Kindergarten was added in 1976 and the school name changed to Columbia Catholic School (CCS) to reflect students from all three Catholic parishes. In 1979, the principal at the time, Linda Clervi, wanted a spirit shirt for the kids so she asked Mary Ann Gray (5th grade teacher) and Diane Hawn (secretary) to come up with something. That’s when they came up with the CCS Cross. They approached Paulette Fick to see if she knew where to go to get shirts printed because screen printing was not popular yet or widely available. At that time, Paulette Fick was selling the school uniforms out of her house. The new logo first appeared on sweatshirts and a graduation cake!
The first school newspaper was called The Tiger Paw. Many students submitted stories for the newspaper and used a typewriter. The newspaper included movie reviews, class predictions for the graduating class, poems, student council elections, introductions to new teachers and staff, summer trips taken by students, and world events. At some point it shifted into two separate newspapers. The elementary version was called Tiger Tales. The middle school paper was called the Waugh Street Journal, since the Sacred Heart school building was on Waugh Street.
In 1979, the Irish Sisters moved on to other missionary territories and the teaching staff was composed entirely of lay personnel. Running two campuses was not ideal so a school addition began at CCS in which a gym, library, classrooms, and offices were all added. When the project was completed in 1984, all grades were finally located on one campus.
The Benedictine Monks of St. Pius X Abbey of Pevely, MO agreed to relocate their monastery to Our Lady of Lourdes in 1984. Major renovations of the convent, rectory and church were made to accommodate them. Students would often see them walking around campus and visiting classrooms. The monks left in 1990.
During this time the school didn't have special teachers for art or music but a woman named Mrs. Nolke came to school from time to time and played ragtime piano and taught the students old songs like The Merry Merry Month of May.
In the early years, there were not enough players in each grade to fill a sports team so often times 7th and 8th would be combined. The girls teams were the Bengals (blue and white) and the boys teams were Tigers (black and gold). In 1981 a student and teacher surprised everyone by creating a mascot. They made a Tiger Head out of papier-mâché. The mascot was named BT, for Bengal Tiger. Around 1985 the girls team switched to Tigers and each grade level had enough players for their own team. The first sport offered at OLL was Basketball. We didn’t have a gym yet so players practiced and played games at the Sacred Heart gym. In 1976, girls volleyball and cheerleading were added to the list of sports offered at OLL. And speaking of Basketball, the exciting game of Teachers vs 8th graders started out as a basketball game but it was quickly realized not many teachers could sprint back and forth on the court so it was changed to a game of volleyball. Another great tradition was the Alumni game! Bengal and Tiger alums would return and play the upper grade basketball teams.
The First Annual Pancake Breakfast took place in 1982. This tradition continues today with the 8th graders hosting it during Catholic Schools Week. Some of you may remember the 8th graders used to put on a play every year. This was a huge production that Mrs. Hines and then Beth Schwartz would lead and was always so much fun. Money earned from the play would go towards expenses for their class trip.The 6-8th graders also used to put on a Talent Show that consisted of duets, dances, singing and piano solos. Mrs. Hines and Mr. Langhorst helped run the show.
The first Home & School fundraiser auction took place in the Spring of 1983. From the very beginning this auction was a successful fundraiser for the school. Around 1992 OLLIS families and community members raised $25,000 . Each year, as the school grew, so did the donation. In 2022, The Pot O’ Gold Auction was held at Tolton Catholic High School and raised $230,000! The generosity of OLLIS families and this amazing community is incredible.
The first school library (Vivian Benedict was the librarian) was in a small room in the first building. Jan Selby helped Vivian as a volunteer. They decided to renovate the library and parents painted the old gray shelves with bright colors and made it a Reading Railroad theme. Larry Fick made some railroad crossing signs and a train. When Vivian left in 1985, Jan took over and served as the school librarian until 2002. The Current Special Ed room in the 3rd grade hallway was where the first library was located. A growing number of students meant a growing library. Once the addition was complete, the library moved downstairs in the very large room near the gym (across from the current computer lab). Mrs. Selby took the card catalog system very seriously. When the latest school addition was completed (2019) the library had a brand new space that was much larger. In 1987, Sister Bernadette was named guidance counselor at Columbia Catholic School, a post she held through 2008. The current guidance counselor office is located in the old library.
Diane Hawn suggested adding the first computer to the school before she left but it wasn’t until the end of the 1986 school year when a family donated a PC to the school that we finally had one on campus. At first Mr. Darcy (principal) wasn’t overly enthusiastic but after Kate Harry taught him how to use it, he was sold! He was principal for 22 years and is a part of many wonderful memories for so many students and families. And speaking of Kate Harry, she has been serving as the Athletic Director since the mid 90’s. She has helped grow our athletic program over the last 30 years and in 2012 received a special and much deserved recognition when the gym was named after her.
Enrollment continued to increase so the school was expanded once again in 1999. When the parish built a new church the plans included adding 8 classrooms on the lower level. The Kindergarten and First grade classrooms were moved into these 8 rooms.
In 2012, the school name changed to Our Lady of Lourdes Interparish School (OLLIS). In 2018, another addition to the building was necessary to eliminate the need for 8 trailers. This time 9 classrooms were added, a new art room, music room, library and new front office. This was completed in the Fall of 2019. The upper grades moved into the new wing of the building.
There have been countless people in the school and parishes (Sacred Heart, Newman Center and Our Lady of Lourdes) that have been an integral part of the school's history. We want to extend our deepest gratitude and appreciation for believing in the importance of Catholic education. So many have poured their hearts into this beautiful school and their legacy can be seen every day in the hallways, classrooms, playground, gym, library. And while we can’t name every single person and their contribution we can bring attention to a handful of very special people and memories from their time at OLL/CCS/OLLIS. We will continue to add more memories and stories so please email media@ollisk8.org with information and pictures.
*The school history was compiled using school documents and submissions from former staff, students, parents and parishioners.
