Minnesota Now and Then: A pillar of Rondo, St. Peter Claver Catholic School marks 75 years
St. Peter Claver Catholic School in the Rondo neighborhood is celebrating 75 years.
Courtesy St. Peter Claver Catholic School
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For our Minnesota Now and Then series, we turn to a pillar of the Rondo neighborhood which is celebrating 75 years, St. Peter Claver Catholic School. The school is a vital part of the fabric of the Twin Cities African American community. Students of color make up 98 percent of its population.
And even as the historically Black neighborhood was torn apart by the construction of interstate 94 in the ‘50s and ‘60s, St. Peter Claver has remained. This weekend the school is celebrating with an all-school reunion.
Joining Minnesota Now to talk about the school’s legacy is principal Terese Shimshock and Lynn Wright, a St. Peter alumna and now staff member.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here.
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Audio transcript
CATHY WURZER: For our Minnesota Now and Then series, we're going to turn to a pillar of the Rondo neighborhood in St. Paul which is celebrating 75 years, the St. Peter Claver Catholic school. The school is a vital part of the fabric of the Twin Cities African-American community. 98% of its students are BIPOC. And even as the historically Black neighborhood was torn apart by the construction of 94 in the '50s and '60s, St. Peter has remained. Joining us to talk about the school's legacy and their all school reunion celebration this weekend is Terese Shimshock. She's the school's principal. Principal Shimshock, welcome.
TERESE SHIMSHOCK: Thank you. We're excited to talk about it.
CATHY WURZER: And joining us is Lynn Wright, a St. Peter alumna and now a staff member. Hi, Lynn.
LYNN WRIGHT: Hi. I'm good. Can you hear me?
CATHY WURZER: I can. We certainly can.
LYNN WRIGHT: OK.
CATHY WURZER: Thank you. Say, Lynn, I'm going to ask you first. I mean, my goodness. You were, as I understand, attending St. Peter way back when 94 was being built. What do you remember about that time?
LYNN WRIGHT: Well, let me see. I remember them digging up the holes. First, they moved the houses, and we used to watch them at night. When my mother went to work, we'd watch them move the houses. And then back towards St. Peter Claver, we could run across because it was more level. Some parts of it, we had to run down the ditch and up the ditch. But I remember them taking houses. We had stores, and all that stuff is gone.
CATHY WURZER: That's what I understand. Is there any remnants beyond St. Peter Claver that's of the old days?
LYNN WRIGHT: I couldn't-- can you repeat that?
CATHY WURZER: Sure. Are there any other places in the area beyond St. Peter Claver that are little bits of history of the old days at all, or is it all mostly destroyed?
LYNN WRIGHT: Maxfield School is still here. And Brooks Funeral Home, which was on the other side, is on Victorian Rondo-- which I grew up next door to the funeral home.
CATHY WURZER: I see. But not much left. Oh my goodness.
LYNN WRIGHT: That's it.
CATHY WURZER: Say, Principal Shimshock, tell me about the school. I know about the church. I don't know much about the school, and I understand that it has quite a rich legacy.
TERESE SHIMSHOCK: It has a very rich legacy. So we are a pre-K to eight school. We have been around since-- 1949 is when they first started breaking ground for the school. So Claver Church was farther down north towards the cathedral. Archbishop John Ireland wanted a Black Catholic Church that was close to the cathedral. Since then, the school has moved right here in the Rondo neighborhood off of Lexington.
People come to Claver because of the history. We are not a neighborhood school. We have people coming from Maplewood, Eagan, Brooklyn Center, Blaine, and they come because their aunties came here, their grandmas came here, their auntie's grandmas came here. Or they know Ms. Wright, so they come here. So it's really about that legacy, which is St. Peter Claver.
CATHY WURZER: And tell me about the kind of education that students get at the Claver School.
TERESE SHIMSHOCK: So we really use the wraparound model. So when scholars come to us because they come from such a far distance, we make sure that they are getting the things that they need, not only educationally, but social emotional help. And we also help the families if they need help with rent or food or things like that. So we have a tiering system where we work with our kids to make sure we are getting all of their needs met, because we know that our kids leaving here are the future, and we want to make sure that they are prepared for wherever they go.
CATHY WURZER: Say, Lynn Wright. When you were going to school there, what kind of experience was it for you?
LYNN WRIGHT: It was real close. We were all-- my cousins on both sides of the family, we all went here together. There were big families. One family had 13 kids here, and they lived up the street from us. The nuns-- we loved most of the nuns. Some of them were really nice to us. Kids that went to Maxfield back then were kind of jealous that we were going to the Catholic school.
And we got a good education. We learned things like-- we learned how to square dance. We went downtown and square danced. Sister Elise took us square dancing, and she took us to the bars over on the west side to sell candy back when we sold candy bars. I mean, everybody knew everybody. Just like now, everybody knows everybody here. Everybody's related in some way or another.
CATHY WURZER: Tell me then about how special it will be to have this all school reunion this weekend.
LYNN WRIGHT: It's going to be so special just to see all the different people from all [AUDIO OUT] even [AUDIO OUT] within the house that I live in, a lot of people I went to school with, their parents still lived on the block. So it's going to be good to see all those people and just to have a reunion. We haven't had one since '88.
CATHY WURZER: Wow. Say, Principal Shimshock, I'm wondering here in terms of the all school reunion and what you have planned for that. Can you tell us a little bit about the event?
TERESE SHIMSHOCK: It's Saturday over at the University of St. Thomas. There will be hors d'oeuvres and a light program and then time for dining and dancing [AUDIO OUT] the school [AUDIO OUT] and then an open house after that. So if you can't make it to the University of St. Thomas, you can always come and check out the school, which will be open on Sunday.
CATHY WURZER: Now, final question for the both of you here. What is the hope for the future? What are your dreams for the future of the school? Principal Shimshock, I'm going to start with you.
TERESE SHIMSHOCK: Our dream is that our scholars that leave here go on to be the leaders of the Rondo community and keep that history moving forward, because this is just the first 75 years, but I'm excited to see what the next 75 years bring.
CATHY WURZER: And Ms. Wright, what's your dream for the school? I mean, you were a student. You came back as a teacher. What do you hope the future holds for the school and its students?
LYNN WRIGHT: I would love to see, first of all, that we get an Alumni Association so that alumni can come and give back to St Peter Claver and that we continue to educate our kids.
CATHY WURZER: I'm curious on a personal level. Ms. Wright, what's it like for you, again, to have been a student, and you came back as a teacher? That's got to be pretty special, I'm thinking.
LYNN WRIGHT: I can't even describe the feeling that I have around here, especially with Terese Shimshock. And all the kids-- I have kids that call me Grandma. Or if they find out I'm related to somebody else-- well, can I call you Grandma, too? Well, sure you can, honey. It's just a special feeling to be in this building.
CATHY WURZER: Well, I appreciate the time, and thank you for what you're doing for the community, both of you. And it sounds like that reunion is going to be fantastic. I hope you both have a great time at it. Thank you so much.
TERESE SHIMSHOCK: Thank you so much.
LYNN WRIGHT: Thank you.
CATHY WURZER: Terese Shimshock is the principal of St. Peter Claver Catholic school in St. Paul. Ms. Lynn Wright is an alumna and a staff member. As we mentioned, the school is celebrating 75 years with a special all school reunion this weekend.
TERESE SHIMSHOCK: Thank you. We're excited to talk about it.
CATHY WURZER: And joining us is Lynn Wright, a St. Peter alumna and now a staff member. Hi, Lynn.
LYNN WRIGHT: Hi. I'm good. Can you hear me?
CATHY WURZER: I can. We certainly can.
LYNN WRIGHT: OK.
CATHY WURZER: Thank you. Say, Lynn, I'm going to ask you first. I mean, my goodness. You were, as I understand, attending St. Peter way back when 94 was being built. What do you remember about that time?
LYNN WRIGHT: Well, let me see. I remember them digging up the holes. First, they moved the houses, and we used to watch them at night. When my mother went to work, we'd watch them move the houses. And then back towards St. Peter Claver, we could run across because it was more level. Some parts of it, we had to run down the ditch and up the ditch. But I remember them taking houses. We had stores, and all that stuff is gone.
CATHY WURZER: That's what I understand. Is there any remnants beyond St. Peter Claver that's of the old days?
LYNN WRIGHT: I couldn't-- can you repeat that?
CATHY WURZER: Sure. Are there any other places in the area beyond St. Peter Claver that are little bits of history of the old days at all, or is it all mostly destroyed?
LYNN WRIGHT: Maxfield School is still here. And Brooks Funeral Home, which was on the other side, is on Victorian Rondo-- which I grew up next door to the funeral home.
CATHY WURZER: I see. But not much left. Oh my goodness.
LYNN WRIGHT: That's it.
CATHY WURZER: Say, Principal Shimshock, tell me about the school. I know about the church. I don't know much about the school, and I understand that it has quite a rich legacy.
TERESE SHIMSHOCK: It has a very rich legacy. So we are a pre-K to eight school. We have been around since-- 1949 is when they first started breaking ground for the school. So Claver Church was farther down north towards the cathedral. Archbishop John Ireland wanted a Black Catholic Church that was close to the cathedral. Since then, the school has moved right here in the Rondo neighborhood off of Lexington.
People come to Claver because of the history. We are not a neighborhood school. We have people coming from Maplewood, Eagan, Brooklyn Center, Blaine, and they come because their aunties came here, their grandmas came here, their auntie's grandmas came here. Or they know Ms. Wright, so they come here. So it's really about that legacy, which is St. Peter Claver.
CATHY WURZER: And tell me about the kind of education that students get at the Claver School.
TERESE SHIMSHOCK: So we really use the wraparound model. So when scholars come to us because they come from such a far distance, we make sure that they are getting the things that they need, not only educationally, but social emotional help. And we also help the families if they need help with rent or food or things like that. So we have a tiering system where we work with our kids to make sure we are getting all of their needs met, because we know that our kids leaving here are the future, and we want to make sure that they are prepared for wherever they go.
CATHY WURZER: Say, Lynn Wright. When you were going to school there, what kind of experience was it for you?
LYNN WRIGHT: It was real close. We were all-- my cousins on both sides of the family, we all went here together. There were big families. One family had 13 kids here, and they lived up the street from us. The nuns-- we loved most of the nuns. Some of them were really nice to us. Kids that went to Maxfield back then were kind of jealous that we were going to the Catholic school.
And we got a good education. We learned things like-- we learned how to square dance. We went downtown and square danced. Sister Elise took us square dancing, and she took us to the bars over on the west side to sell candy back when we sold candy bars. I mean, everybody knew everybody. Just like now, everybody knows everybody here. Everybody's related in some way or another.
CATHY WURZER: Tell me then about how special it will be to have this all school reunion this weekend.
LYNN WRIGHT: It's going to be so special just to see all the different people from all [AUDIO OUT] even [AUDIO OUT] within the house that I live in, a lot of people I went to school with, their parents still lived on the block. So it's going to be good to see all those people and just to have a reunion. We haven't had one since '88.
CATHY WURZER: Wow. Say, Principal Shimshock, I'm wondering here in terms of the all school reunion and what you have planned for that. Can you tell us a little bit about the event?
TERESE SHIMSHOCK: It's Saturday over at the University of St. Thomas. There will be hors d'oeuvres and a light program and then time for dining and dancing [AUDIO OUT] the school [AUDIO OUT] and then an open house after that. So if you can't make it to the University of St. Thomas, you can always come and check out the school, which will be open on Sunday.
CATHY WURZER: Now, final question for the both of you here. What is the hope for the future? What are your dreams for the future of the school? Principal Shimshock, I'm going to start with you.
TERESE SHIMSHOCK: Our dream is that our scholars that leave here go on to be the leaders of the Rondo community and keep that history moving forward, because this is just the first 75 years, but I'm excited to see what the next 75 years bring.
CATHY WURZER: And Ms. Wright, what's your dream for the school? I mean, you were a student. You came back as a teacher. What do you hope the future holds for the school and its students?
LYNN WRIGHT: I would love to see, first of all, that we get an Alumni Association so that alumni can come and give back to St Peter Claver and that we continue to educate our kids.
CATHY WURZER: I'm curious on a personal level. Ms. Wright, what's it like for you, again, to have been a student, and you came back as a teacher? That's got to be pretty special, I'm thinking.
LYNN WRIGHT: I can't even describe the feeling that I have around here, especially with Terese Shimshock. And all the kids-- I have kids that call me Grandma. Or if they find out I'm related to somebody else-- well, can I call you Grandma, too? Well, sure you can, honey. It's just a special feeling to be in this building.
CATHY WURZER: Well, I appreciate the time, and thank you for what you're doing for the community, both of you. And it sounds like that reunion is going to be fantastic. I hope you both have a great time at it. Thank you so much.
TERESE SHIMSHOCK: Thank you so much.
LYNN WRIGHT: Thank you.
CATHY WURZER: Terese Shimshock is the principal of St. Peter Claver Catholic school in St. Paul. Ms. Lynn Wright is an alumna and a staff member. As we mentioned, the school is celebrating 75 years with a special all school reunion this weekend.
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