If seemed as if it was just yesterday when St. Albert’s celebrated their 25th Anniversary and now they were at their 50th Anniversary. Just like they had done back in 1980 they printed out a book for the celebration, but this book was a full color, hardcover, 70 plus page book that included many historical pictures plus a parish directory with many photo’s of the parishioners at the time in the book. In the books directory at the back you could see pictures of many of the little friends parents along with some of the little friends who had stayed in the area and made St. Albert’s their parish. The 50th anniversary booklet is shown below.
Parishioners could also purchase buttons, mugs, and even CD’s with pictures of St. Albert’s past. The celebration lasted for three days and many little friends who still lived in the area visited the grounds all three days.
The pastor at the time was Father Daniel Zaleski – the sixth pastor of St. Alberts. Msgr. Weier returned to St. Albert’s as well for the festivities and why not? Msgr. Weier’s tenure at St. Albert’s was the longest of any pastor (at that time) and he had made many friends along the way … although the little friends, now in their mid 40’s, still kept their distance. Some little friends avoided him completely, later explaining “what could he possibly say to me, that the last time I saw you the convent window broke, or the statue broke, or wasn’t that you in the back drinking at the wedding I performed…”
The St. Albert festivals in leading up to this 50th year celebration were simply fantastic. It was a great meeting place for little friends who were still in the area. During the 50th year celebration the school was open and the little friends could visit the classrooms where they had last been nearly 40 years ago. It was at this 50th anniversary that it became obvious why the schools would have to close. They simply did not have enough kids and the class size was about 1/8 what it was during the little friends’ tenure at St. Albert’s. You could see attendance going down in the latest graduation pictures on display.
The midway with rides was unparalleled in Church festivals. Not only was the parking lot full, the field behind the gym full, but the lawn between the parking lot and the Church was even being used. Everything from giant Ferris Wheels to Fun Houses could be found on the St. Albert grounds. During the tenure of the little friends at St. Albert’s the only thing that could even come close to being classified as a ride was the moon walk. Now you have a huge festival with dozens of rides for every imaginable age group. See the gallery below for festival pictures.
