“The Patriot” explores interesting facts about JC’s campus.
When the school first opened, it cost $3.5 million to construct, and was a new type of parochial school concept, only utilized previously in New England. Men and women were separated for classes—the reason why there is only a women’s bathroom on the top floor, and only a men’s on the bottom floor.
This separation was gradually phased out by 1967. However, the first mixed dance was not until Ring Dance in 1968.
“A lot of thought went into the building. It has retained a certain beauty and dignity,” said the school’s first president, Ray Wanner. “The architects and I thought that we wanted to surround our students with quality design and quality workmanship because it would be part of their education.” The crucifix in the hallway was purchased in Paris, and the marble and black chalice in the chapel was bought in Switzerland, adding international influence to the school.
In 1964, Tom Gaudreau, the architect of the school, and Wanner entertained the idea of building two manmade ponds on the 87 acre school property. The plan was to have a rowboat, with an island in the center. “I had thought ponds were natural phenomena,” said Wanner.
A tunnel connecting a trap door in the library, now carpeted over, to under the chapel in the boiler room, is not, in fact, a “bomb shelter.”
Fine Arts teacher Michael Gaudreau, whose uncle was Tom Gaudreau, said, “It’s just a foundation, a basement for the boiler room. It’s a crawl space for storage. [The use of the space as a bomb shelter] could have been something they were thinking about, but it was never seriously considered. In light of what we know about nuclear wars right now, it wouldn’t have done much good. It wouldn’t have fit the school, that’s for sure.”
Wanner quipped, “Should there turn out to be [a bomb shelter], would you kindly let me know so that I might take advantage of it, if need be.”
The color scheme at school is part of Tom’s image for the school. “My Uncle Tom’s vision that he carried through all his buildings it that he thought the architecture should be the backdrop and subordinate to the people in the building,” said Michael. “It’s the people that add the color; it’s the people that are important. Everything is in the brown or neutrals to act almost as a stage setting. The people were important, so he would subdue the architecture so the kids would be the life.”
Check back soon for interesting anecdotes about the people and events in the school’s history.