St. Peter Chanel High School
Encyclopedia
Saint Peter Chanel High School is located in Bedford, Ohio
Bedford, Ohio
Bedford is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,074 at the 2010 census. It is an eastern suburb of Cleveland.-Geography:Bedford is located at ....

, a southeast suburb of Cleveland. It is run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland is a Roman Catholic diocese in Ohio. It was erected on April 23, 1847 by Pope Pius IX. The diocese lost territory in 1910 when the Diocese of Toledo was erected by Pope Pius X, and in 1943 when the Diocese of Youngstown was erected by Pope Pius XII...

.

Building

St. Peter Chanel HS was designed by Cleveland's George W. Stickle and associates. The School is a steel structure with an ashlar limestone brick pattern.The School building is a 4 story structure. Classroom assignments go like this:
  • 000-032 Basement, weight room, locker rooms, cafeteria, mechanicals, garage, industrial arts, classrooms, and Band room.
  • 100-132 Gym, Library, Athletic offices, Lobby, Fr. Edward O'Connell Chapel,School offices, teachers lounge, classrooms, Campus Ministry, and Physics Lab.
  • 200-232 TV Studio, Chemistry lab, Classrooms, Art Room, Computer labs, biology lab.
  • 300-332 3rd Floor(When St. Peter Chanel HS was established, the Marists lived here) Today the 3rd floor is used primarily for retreats, since there are some community rooms on this floor. There is a kitchen, a small chapel, and bedrooms with bathrooms with amenities.


St. Peter Chanel's gym can hold an estimated 2400-3000 people. The Gym has naming rights.
Ripp Field(1973) can hold 3500 fans, and recently added an all weather track in 2006.

Facts about St. Peter Chanel HS Building
  • Architect: George W. Stickle and Associates of Cleveland
  • General Contractor: Schnider-Schrimer Incorporated
  • Concrete Supplier: Carr Brothers Incorporated
  • Original Building 1957, additions in 1963, and 2007
  • Area 210000 sq ft (19,509.6 m²)

History

In 1950, Archbishop Edward Francis Hoban, purchased 94 acres (380,404.8 m²) of the Tarbell estate on Northfield Road for a proposed parish or a high school. In 1951, Monsignor Joseph Heruday, a priest at St. Wenceslas Parish suggested Archbishop Hoban to establish a new parish to help ease St. Wenceslas crowding, at this time Maple Heights, Ohio
Maple Heights, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 26,156 people, 10,489 households, and 6,964 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,039.1 people per square mile . There were 10,935 housing units at an average density of 2,106.7 per square mile...

 was fast growing with development including Southgate Shopping Center. Lear Sigler Developers were proposing new homes on Applegate and Donnybrook as part of the new Southgate Shopping Center. At this time in neighboring Garfield Heights, Ohio
Garfield Heights, Ohio
Garfield Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 28,849 at the time of the 2010 census.-Geography:Garfield Heights is located at ....

 St. Therese Parish was overcapacited.

In December 1951, Archbishop Hoban met with Fr. Charles Willis SM in a meeting in New Orleans With Archbishop Hoban was Bishop John Krol, who was superintendent of Catholic Education who proposed the need for a new Catholic Parish and School in Cleveland. On 17 March 1952, the Marist Fathers and Archbishop Hoban establish Blessed Pius X Parish in Bedford. On 1 April 1952, Archbishop Hoban established St. Monica Parish in Garfield Heights. In 1954, Blessed Pius X Parish became St. Pius X Parish (now Our Lady of Hope Parish) and its school (now Holy Spirit Academy) opened, also that same year St. Monica School opened. At the time Marymount High needed a newer modern building and the Marists were planning their high school.

In 1955, Fr. Charles Willis approached Fr. Hugh Gallagher to donate land for their new high school, but the Sisters of St. Joseph wanted the land for Marymount High School. Archbishop Hoban had to intervene. There would no new high school at St. Monicas. In late 1955, the Sisters of St. Joseph broke ground for new Marymount High on the corner of East 126th Street and Granger Road. In 1954, voters of Bedford approved a bond issue for new Bedford High, which was in is currently on Northfield Road. On 10 January 1956, Bedford broke ground for their new high school, 20 days later on 30 January 1956, the Marists broke ground on their $1.89 million dollar high school across the street from new Bedford High. The Marists named their new high school, St. Peter Chanel High School, named after the first saint of order, two years before Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....

 canonized Peter Chanel as saint.

On 7 September 1957, St. Peter Chanel opened with 61 Freshmen. The school was still under construction. There was no football field and baseball diamonds for new school. That same day new Bedford High opened too. October 1958, Archbishop Edward Hoban officially dedicated St. Peter Chanel High School.

On 30 March 1962 St. Peter Chanel had to expand the school, that same year St. Peter Chanel established WCHS-TV, making St. Peter Chanel the first high school in Cleveland to have a closed circuited TV network. In 1963, the expansion was completed, the 1963 section harmonizes with the 1957 section seamlessly. The 1963 section is called the Willard Wing by St. Peter Chanel Students because of the nearby street named Willard Drive.

In 1973, the Marists gave Control of St. Peter Chanel to the Diocese of Cleveland, also that year Ripp Field was renovated with lights for nighttime Football games.

In the 1987-88 school year, St. Peter Chanel faced closure or co-education for girls, the choice was co-education. In the 1988 school year the first women entered St. Peter Chanel, as nearby Lumen Cordium closed and many girls from Lumen joined the ranks at St. Peter Chanel. Lumen Cordium today is nursing home named Light of Hearts Villa.

In the 1990-91 school year, St. Peter Chanel had a fire in its chemistry lab. According to the Bedford Fire Department, there was $250,000-500,000 of fire damage. Fire departments from Bedford, Maple Heights, Bedford Heights, and Garfield Heights responded to fire. This led to the creation of the Chagrin-Southeast Hazmat unit. The school had to be renovated due to this. The Lobby, Chemistry Lab and Library were damaged. Many of the library's books had to frozen to dry them out.

In the Early 1990s St. Peter Chanel had a notorious losing streak in Football, from 1990-94 the Firebirds were 0-50, until September 1994, St. Peter Chanel defeated neighboring Garfield Hts by score of 36-0, and the streak was over, that season the Firebirds finished 6-4 overall under Dick Marabito. That same year, the Marist Fathers left due to declining vocations. For a short time the Sisters of Notre Dame helped from 1994-99.

In 2000s, St. Peter Chanel expanded the school again for the wrestling room which was opened in 2007.

Alumni

  • Thomas Ganley, '61, Founder/Owner, Ganley Automotive Group
  • Ernie Kellermann, '61, Former Cleveland Browns
    Cleveland Browns
    The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

     Player 1965-1969
  • Ernie "Ian" Horvath, '61, Former Ballet Dancer, and Founder of the Cleveland Ballet
    Cleveland Ballet
    The Cleveland Ballet was founded in 1972 by Dennis Nahat and Ian Horvath as a dance school, the School of Cleveland Ballet. They subsequently recruited professional dancers who by 1975 were previewing performances around Cleveland. The company first performed at the Hanna Theatre November 16, 1976...

    , d1994
  • Kevin Patton, '65, Former Mayor of Solon, Ohio
    Solon, Ohio
    Solon is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and is an affluent suburb of Cleveland in the Northeast Ohio Region, the 14th largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 23,348...

  • Gerald Trafis, '66, Former Mayor of Seven Hills, Ohio
    Seven Hills, Ohio
    Seven Hills is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,804 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Seven Hills is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land....

  • Kenneth Patton, '69, Former Mayor of Brooklyn, Ohio
    Brooklyn, Ohio
    Brooklyn is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,169 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Brooklyn is located at ....

  • Thomas Kaiser, '73, Garfield Hts Police Captain, wounded in 1994 during a Hostage crisis 16 August 1994
  • Gene Smith, '73, Ohio State University
    Ohio State University
    The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

     Athletic Director
  • Robert Stefanov, '83, Garfield Hts Police Officer, E.O.W 8 December 1994
  • Derek Owens, '89, Cleveland Police Officer, E.O.W 1 March 2008-Scholarship named after him
  • Markus Steele, '97, NFL Player for Dallas and Denver
  • Brandon "BAM" Childress, '00, Former NFL Player
  • Jeff Jaggers, 2 time NCAA Wrestling champion from Ohio State University

St. Peter Chanel Alumni receive a quarterly magazine named the Excelsa, this magazine tells what is happening to alumni and gives alumni a picture of what is going on at the school. Children of Alumni get a reduction of tuition and fees because of the parent who attended St. Peter Chanel HS. Recently St. Peter Chanel has expanded its alumni discount to students whose parent attended Lumen Cordium HS.

Notable Athletic Achievements

  • State Champions: Basketball
    Basketball
    Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

     - 1999
    • State Final Four appearances: 1990-91, 1995-96, 1998-1999, 2002-2003, 2007-08, 2009-10

  • Girls Basketball
    Basketball
    Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

    • 2000-01, 2006-07 State Final Four
  • State Champions: Football
    American football
    American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

     – 2001
    • Playoff Appearances: 1999 (Semifinalists), 2000 (Runners Up), 2001 (Champions), 2002, 2006, 2007
  • State Champions: Wrestling
    Wrestling
    Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...

    – 1983,1986,1987,1988,2011
    • Runners up 1984, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005

School Organizations

  • R.A.C.E-Respect All Cultures Equally, this groups promotes equality amongst the school community
  • Flame-School Newspaper
  • Phoenix-School Literary Magazine
  • Academic Challenge
  • Campus Ministry
  • WCHS-TV 10-School's Close Circuited TV Station, founded in 1962 first of type in Cleveland
  • Drama Club
  • TEAMS-Science
  • Ambassador Club-Helps with open houses
  • Student Council
  • Invictus-Yearbook
  • Forensics-Debate

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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