our history - st. norbert school...

NorthfieldTownship was a sparsely settled farmingcommunity with fewer than 25 Catholic familieswhen the missionaries of the Society of the DivineWord arrived in 1898. The local German farmerswelcomed the priests and brothers from Style,Holland. Reverends John Peul and Joseph Fischerand brothersMichael, Wen-delin, and Ho-mobonus hadbeen sent by Fa-ther ArnoldJanssen, founderof the Society ofthe Divine Word,to establish a re-ligious founda-tion for thepromotion of theSVD (SocietasVerbi Divini) mis-sionary work through publications in both Germanand English. Arriving in Chicago, the five SVDswere asked by the Archdiocese to establish atrade school for orphaned Catholic boys in North-field Township. On March 11, the Society was in-corporated in Illinois and on June 25 it purchasedthe Russell Farm - 337 acres - for $41,000. TheRussell family also donated some land, all of whichremained unincorporated until 1988 when North-brook annexed 778 acres of the Divine Wordproperties.

When the SVDs were informed that there were noCatholic Churches along the route of the Chicago,Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, they realized thatCatholics in the area from Mayfair north to Deer-field and from Hubbard Woods west to BuffaloGrove did not have a place for worship. The mis-

sionaries were determined to find a place for Massand Eucharist, so Father Peil set aside one roomas a chapel in a rented cheese factory. On Pente-cost Sunday, May 21,1899 the first mass was cel-ebrated in the cheese factory.

Early in 1900Chicago Arch-bishop PatrickFeehan author-ized the forma-tion of a parishfor the faithfulresiding be-tween theSkokie lowlandson the east andthe Des PlainesRiver on thewest. Theparish was to in-

clude Shermer (incorporated as Shermerville in1901 and Northbrook in 1923) on the north andextend as far south as Winnetka Road.

The oldest available parish records from 1906noted 23 families and by 1910 there were twiceas many families. Population growth continued inthe area served by the parish, with 58 families reg-istered in 1915.

In 1917 George Cardinal Mundelein authorizedthe construction of a combination church andschool on the east side of Glenview Avenue(Waukegan Road) about one-tenth of a mile northof the Divine Word Missionaries Seminary. Thecornerstone of this building was laid on May 13,1917 and the new building was dedicated on Sep-tember 29, 1917. There were two classrooms on

St. Norbert School 1917 - 2012

Our History

St. Norbert Church and School served the Catholics of the area asshown in this 1930’s photo.

Celebrating a Successful Past . . . Looking Towards a Bright Future95years

the first floor and a chapel on the second floor. Atthat time, the name of the parish was changedfrom the Mission of the Holy Spirit to St. Norbert.

The World War I years took a toll on the numberof families and finances of St. Norbert Church. In1917, 65 families donated $8,541 to the annualparish income. In 1920only 55 families con-tributed $7,005. Incomehad dwindled to $2,138in 1921.

In 1930, two Sisterstaught 46 pupils in eightgrades, and each re-ceived an annual salaryof $425. School registra-tion increased, and by1932 a third teacher washired for $300. By 1940the parish had grown to110 families with 67 students in the school, parishincome totalled $8591, with expenses listed at$8848 -- a deficit of $257.

The original two-room school on the westside of Waukegan road was converted into akindergarten in 1941, while the upper gradesmet in the building on the east side ofWaukegan road. Enrollment continued to in-crease to 117 students by 1942. The fournuns who staffed the school each earned $40per month.

The combination church and school onWaukegan road remained spacious enoughfor the parishioners and school children untilthe 1940s. Homes sprung up in the once ruralNorthfield Township countryside. Populationdoubled and redoubled. The pastoral farm-land of the early settlers was transformed intoa bustling suburban community. St. Norbert

needed to expand its facilities to keep up with thepopulation explosion.

His Eminence Samuel Cardinal Stritch decidedthat St. Norbert Parish should be relocated fromTechny to Northbrook. Plans for a new school and

church weredrawn up. In1945 RevC h a r l e sHaefner, SVD,became thepastor of StNorbert Parish.He made adown-paymentof $500 to-wards the pur-chase price of$20,000 forland on Wal-ters Avenue.

Despite the shortage of materials in the years fol-lowing World War II, the building of a chapel,school and auditorium began. Ground was broken

St. Norbert school children prayed fervently in the new chapel on Walters Avenue.

St. Norbert School children gathered around their pastor, Father Reichelt, for this 1924 photo. On the left is Sister

Adelma Knapp; back row, Sister Berchmans Humel; far right Sister Seraphim Bukase.

on April 22, 1948, for the first buildings whichtoday form the St. Norbert parish campus.

In addition to a rectory (parish house), there wasa school with seven classrooms, an all-purposeroom, and a small chapel accommodating 200. Atthat time the chapel was intended as a future con-vent for the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Spiritwho staffed the school.

On Memorial Day, May 30, 1949, Samuel CardinalStritch dedicated the new school, chapel and rec-tory, and St. Norbert celebrated its golden jubilee.

By 1950 the Catholic population of Northbrookhad increased to 250 families, with a school en-rollment of 250. The seven Sisters of the HolySpirit who taught at the school received a monthlyallowance of $50.

The post war building boom hit Northbrook in the1950s as the village population increased to 5100in 1953. School enrollment continued to expand,and 6 classrooms and a gymnasium/auditoriumwere added in 1952. The new gymnasium/audi-torium was an outstanding achievement for theparish. In addition to the principal Sister Florence,


This view of St. Norbert School (upper left) was taken in December 1950 prior to the building of the gymnasium. The silos in the center of the photo were used by Culligan for storage of their Zeolite and

for water. The trees on the left are oak trees in the park. The Lorenz home and several businesses along Shermer Avenue were torn down or relocated in 1957 when Meadow Lane was constructed.


SSpS, 14 Missionary Sisters of the Holy Spirit nowstaffed the school.

School enrollment grew from 525 in 1953 to 640in 1954. The tiny church could no longer accom-modate all the parishioners, and the gymnasiumwas converted into a temporary church. In May1954, in just one week, a tempo-rary altar was set-up and carpen-ters from the parish worked wellinto the night to add extra pewsand prepare thegymnasium/chapel for confirma-tion to be conferred by CardinalStritch. Three new classroomswere also added to the school bySeptember of 1954. The formerchurch was used as a meetinghall for two years and then di-vided into four more classrooms.The gymnasium served as aparish church for 10 years.

During 1954 and 1955, St. Nor-bert registered as many as 10 to12 new families every week, with a total of 850families enrolled in the church. The Missionary Sis-ters of the Holy Spirit had been living at theirMotherhouse at Willow and Waukegan Roads,commuting to St. Norbert each day. Increased fi-nancial support of the parish enabled the buildingcommittee to erect a convent, and ground was

broken in the spring of 1956.

In 1956 the sisters of St. Casimir agreed tostaff the school, as the Missionary Sisters ofthe Holy Spirit returned to missionary work.Sister Mary Corinthia, SSC, the new princi-pal, and nine teaching sisters moved into thenew convent at 1808 Elm Street. The build-ing was dedicated on May 26, 1957.

Kindergarten classes had been discontinuedin 1955 because of space limitations. How-

ever, in 1958 four new classrooms were added tothe school to keep pace with the growing enroll-ment, giving the school a total of 24 classrooms.Sister Mary Emma, SSC, became principal, andwas succeeded in 1960 by Sister Mary Scholastica,SSC.

The village of Northbrook and the parish contin-ued growing at a rapid pace. By 1960, North-brook’s population reached 11,000 and St.Norbert Parish consisted of 1300 families. Mean-while St. Norbert School enrollment reached a ca-pacity of 1,158 students and was staffed bythirteen Sisters of St. Casimir and nine lay teachers.

St. Norbert students graduated from kindergarten in 1951.

Sister Mary Leona, SSC, taught 6th graders in 1961. The class project was collecting stamps for the foreign missions,

Tuition was $3 per child, and families withmore than two children in school paid onlyhalf tuition for the third child and subsequentchildren. Although income from tuition onlyprovided a small amount, the generosity ofthe parishioners boosted the treasurythrough bazaars, bake sales, fashion showsand sales of Christmas trees.

From 1962 to 1966, Sister Mary Vianney,SSC, served as principal, and Sister PaulMarie, SSC, followed from 1966 to 1969.

In September of 1963, ground was brokenfor the final piece of the St. Norbert Parishcampus - a permanent Church. Constructionbegan in October of 1963 and the first Mass wascelebrated in the new church on June 28,1964.On May 2, 1965 Bishop Cletus F. O’Donnellpresided over the solemn dedication of St. Nor-bert Church, by this time parish membership hadgrown to 1600 families. After 10 years as a tem-porary church, the school gymnasium/auditoriumwas returned to the students.

Father Hugh O’Reilly served St. Norbert Parishfrom 1953, becoming Pastor in 1958, much of theparish campus was developed under his leader-ship.

In 1976, Father O’Reilly retired and was replacedwith Monsignor Hagarty in 1977. The school lead-ership continued under the Sisters of St. Casimirwith Sister Daniel, SSC, serving as principal from

1969 until 1977 when she was succeeded bySister Benetta, SSC, and then in 1978 by SisterHelene, SSC who served as principal until1984.

In 1984 following Monsignor Hagarty’s death,Rev. Robert Lutz was named pastor. Miss AliceHalpin became principal of St. Norbert Schooland continued in that role until 1991 when Sis-ter Ann Busch, OSF, succeeded her. In 1988,St. Norbert School added a preschool pro-gram for 3 and 4 year olds. Many studentswould now spend 11 years at the school underthe guidance of our excellent teachers andstaff. By 1990, there were 1883 families regis-tered in the parish, with 359 children enrolledin the school.


Seventh and eighth grade girls sang Christmas carols during the 1983 holiday program.

Meg Bernard and her mother Judy, Kati Byrne(Spaniak), and JoAnn Degnan admired the dollhouse made by

Andy Noha for the auction at St. Norbert School in 1978.

Following Father Lutz’s retirement in 1994, Rev.Richard J. Mueller became pastor of St. NorbertParish. In 1999 as the parish celebrated its Cen-tennial Year there were 2160 families registered inthe parish with a school enrollment of 425.

In 2001, Sister Ann Busch, OSF, retired as principalof the school and an interim principal, Mrs. AnneBalzanto, assumed the role from 2001-2002. In2002, Mrs. Maureen Brennan was selected to bethe new principal, and served until 2009; whenshe was succeeded by Mr. Robert Loranger.

Following the centennial of the parish in 1999, anew fund-raising program was begun and re-sulted in the last major addition to the St. NorbertParish campus. In 2003, a new building was ded-icated which included Grace Hall and a new juniorhigh facility, the building replaced the originalchapel from 1949. This represented St. NorbertSchool’s continuing efforts to improve both its fa-cilities and the quality of education that it pro-vided.

Today, St. Norbert School is led by Mrs. KimberlyRich who became principal in 2010, and Fr. BobHeinz who became pastor of St. Norbert Parish in2007. They continue to strive for the very best ed-ucation as well as a developing a solid foundationin Catholic values for the students and families ofSt. Norbert School.

And now we look forward to 2017 when we willcelebrate the 100th Birthday of St.Norbert School.


Principals of St. Norbert School

1917 - 1957Missionary Sister Servants

of the Holy Spirit (SSpS)

Sister Frances Jane (Bertille) Klingele

Sister Benna Henken

Sister Rose Mueller

Sister Bernice (Berchmans) Fenske

Sister De Pazzi Zurowski

Sister Jane Frances Millane

Sister Florence Henry

Sister Aelicia Hess

1957-1984Sisters of St. Casimir (SSC)

Sister Mary Corinthia 1957-1958Sister Mary Emma 1958-1960Sister Mary Scholastica 1960-1962Sister Mary Vianney 1962-1966Sister Mary Julie (Paul Marie) 1966-1969Sister Mary Daniel 1969-1977Sister Mary Benetta 1977-1978Sister Mary Helene 1978-1984

1984 - 2012

Miss Alice Halpin 1984-1991Sister Ann Busch, OSF 1991-2001Mrs. Anne Balzanto 2001-2002Mrs. Maureen Brennan 2002-2009Mr. Robert Loranger 2009-2010Mrs. Kimberly Rich 2010-

Fourth graders and sixth graders reenacted the Stations of the Cross during Lent in 1998.

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