Class News
This is a new section where we can post articles or information that might be of interest to the class but does not fall under Care and Concern. If you have any class news, about our school, our classmates or our teachers that you would like to share send it to watterson1966@aol.com and we will see that it is posted.
4/8/3016 submitted by Fred Clem:
Watterson principal Hutson retiring
Marian Hutson, principal at Watterson High School since 2000, announced her retirement April 6.
She will step down from the post at the end of the 2015-16 school year, according to BWHS spokeswoman Colleen Mar.
Hutson is Watterson’s fourth principal since the school opened in 1954.
“I have spent 38 wonderful years ministering at Bishop Watterson and have had the privilege of sharing in the lives of literally thousands of students,” Hutson, 64, wrote to parents in the school’s weekly email. “I have cherished the friendships I have made with so many staff members, alumni and parents throughout the years. However, it is now time for those yesterdays to be gone and for me to retire so that I can begin a new today. As I conclude my service here at the end of this school year, I am looking forward to having more time for my family, parish and community in the tomorrows to come.
“I am confident that the next principal will build on the excellence of the past while forging a new path into the future. I ask that you keep that person, as well as me, in your prayers.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree from the Ohio State University in 1973, Hutson began her teaching career at St. Matthias, Mar said.
“She went on to earn a master’s degree from Ohio State and in 1977 joined the Bishop Watterson staff as a social studies teacher,” Mar said. “In 1982, she became an administrator and in 1983 assistant principal and academic dean. When John Durant retired in 2000, Hutson was named principal.”
During her 16-year tenure as principal, Hutson has overseen the expansion of the school’s curriculum to 163 courses, including 22 Advance Placement and 14 College Credit Plus, as well as numerous construction projects on campus valued at more than $14 million that have doubled the square footage of the facilities.
This article was sent to us by Fred Clem and was in the Dispatch the day of our Reunion. It pictures Sr. Raymunda who you might remember from our high school days. Cute story! Thanks, Fred!
From left, Sisters Mary Ruth Leandres, Malachy O’Brien, Raymunda Brooks and Eleanor Lane spell out O-H-I-O inside the Dominican Sisters of Peace motherhouse. The sisters are avid aficionados of the Buckeyes, even after recent scandals, and are rooting (not praying) for victory.
With scandal consigning Buckeyes fans to football purgatory, a few loyal supporters are keeping the faith.
The Dominican Sisters of Peace — who tailgate in their East Side motherhouse and periodically chant “OH-IO” by turns — are preparing for another successful Ohio State football season.
They have words of advice for doubters: Buck up.
“Fickell’s going to do OK; he’s been a good assistant coach,” Sister Eleanor Lang, 94, said of first-year head coach Luke Fickell.
The OSU football program “may be slightly tainted,” added Sister Marie Granger, 82, a one-time high-school cheerleader, “but it’s not going to be permanent.”
“It will come back.”
What makes these gentle women — who take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience — confident that the No. 18-ranked Buckeyes can rebound from defections, suspensions and resignations?
“You can pray for anything,” said Sister Valerie Shaul, 68, who finds hope where others see despair.
“The best thing that’s ever happened is that we’re not No. 1 going into the season. It’s less pressure.”
The Dominicans, a Roman Catholic religious order, were founded in France in 1216. Sisters, the women said, are similar to nuns but aren’t required to be cloistered in a monastery. They can travel freely and work in a variety of professions. They don’t wear habits and are permitted some worldly vices — which, on football Saturdays, might include a beer or two and a modest wager on games.
“We have a limited budget that we can bet on,” Sister Eleanor cautioned.
Columbus is home to one of the nation’s six Dominican motherhouses, which serve as retirement homes and assisted-living centers. Many of the 65 Columbus residents still work and remain active — especially on OSU game days, when staff members roll out a big-screen television in the dining hall and prepare tailgate-style snacks.
Sister Mary Ruth Leandres, 66 — also known as “Sister Bookie” — collects dollar bets for squares predicting the score after each quarter.
“Everybody likes to win,” she acknowledged.
The women should not be confused with another religious order — the Little Sisters of the Poor — made famous last season when OSU President E. Gordon Gee boasted that Ohio State’s schedule was a “ murderer’s row” compared with teams that played “the Little Sisters of the Poor.”
His comments didn’t sit well with any of the sisters.
“We admire the Little Sisters of the Poor,” said Sister Raymunda Brooks, 83, adding that they would also welcome a visit by Gee, who last month dropped in on some Little Sisters near Toledo to patch things up.
“Maybe he could bring us some tickets,” she suggested.
Sister Malachy O’Brien, 79, said their hearts go out to former head coach Jim Tressel, who resigned in May after withholding information about potential rules violations from the university and the NCAA.
“We pray for him,” she said. “We’re disappointed, yes, but the mighty fall. You get too high, and you fall down; but we feel sorry for him. We’re hoping something good comes for him.”
(Perhaps their prayers had something to do with the announcement yesterday that Tressel has been hired as a “game-day consultant” for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.)
In addition to losing Tressel, one of the winningest Buckeye coaches of all time, university officials opted to vacate the 2010 season results — including another win over Michigan, a Big Ten co-championship and a Sugar Bowl victory over Arkansas.
As a new season dawns and the Buckeyes await possible further NCAA sanctions, the sisters said they’ll be appealing to a higher authority today before the game against Akron in Ohio Stadium.
“You pray that both teams will be unharmed in the game and that the better team will win,” Sister Raymunda said.
“But then we root for the Buckeyes.”
jsheban@dispatch.com