Founded 1912
Right Revered Monsignor William Cooke was born May 24, 1866 in County Longford in Ireland.
He
was ordained in Dublin, Ireland, at All Hallows College June 24, 1893.
His first assignment was far from home - Delmar, Iowa. The then ”Father”
Cooke was assigned as pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Storm Lake in June
of 1909 where he would serve for a quarter century.
He
immediately began preparations to open a Catholic school in Buena Vista
County. The promise of such a school for the area brought a greater
influx of new members to St. Mary’s Church and Fr. Cooke needed to
increase the church’s capacity in 1910.
In the summer of 1911, he was absent from the parish for three months, traveling out east to make arrangements for a teaching staff to fulfill his dream of
opening a Catholic school.
In 1912, Fr. Cooke purchased the old
Congregational church at the corner of Third and Cayuga for $3,500 and
soon began renovations. The Clinton School Teachers of St. Francis
“accepted the charge of the infant school” and in September of 1912, St.
Mary’s opened with a full elementary and ninth grade. (See picture to
the right of Msgr. Cooke with the Clinton Franciscan Sisters.) Some of
the rural students boarded with the sisters during the week. Our first
graduating class was in 1916 after high school grades were added one by
one. We’ve educated thousands of students over the years to prepare them
to be faith-filled adults contributing to society, their workplaces,
and their churches.
The old school building served the Catholic
community for 15 years until Fr. Cooke built the current elementary
building in 1926 for approximately $60,000. It was touted as a “modern
fire-proof edifice.” He is credited with the construction of two Catholic school buildings in Storm Lake.
In
addition to his vision and years of work to open a Catholic School in
Storm Lake, Msgr. Cooke donated the marble altar and crucifixion group
found today in the St. Mary’s Cemetery. He was laid to rest in our
cemetery in 1934. Always serving his flock, after his death it was found
that Msgr. Cooke personally paid some debts of his parishioners who
suffered financially during the depression.
Mgsr. Cleo J. Ivis
was responsible for the building of the new high school addition in
1964. The St. Anne Convent opened in August 1967 for the Presentation
Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary from Dubuque who helped run the
school. (The sisters "traded" with the Clinton Franciscans around
1950-51.) Our last Sisters of the Presentation retired in 2009. The
Franciscans served St. Mary’s for 38 years, while the Presentation
Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary served for 60 years.
May the
Catholics of St. Mary’s Parish and School remember and honor Msgr.
Cooke, Msgr. Ivis, the Franciscan Sisters and the Presentation Sisters
for their dedication to Catholic education, their generosity, and their
service. To honor the legacy they have left, we must never forget the
significant role they played in making St. Mary’s School what it is
today.