90 years in the making: The legacy of St. Joseph's school

Florida - Just as in prior weeks, the Sunday bulletin at St. Joseph’s Parish in Florida proclaimed on April 2: “This year St. Joseph’s School celebrates its 90th year of Excellence.” That ninety-year run is apparently slated to end as that school was one of several that the Archdiocese of New York has marked for closure. The final decision will be made in the next few months. That 90-year run actually began germinate in 1914, but a little background is needed to appreciate the entire growing process. With the influx of Polish immigrants in the late 1800’s to the Florida-Pine Island area, one of their greatest needs was a church of their own. A committee began to meet at the house of Joseph Wozniak in Durlandville, $2,000 was raised, and with the approval of the Archdiocese of New York a lot was purchased on Glenmere Avenue in the Village of Florida. A Polish-speaking priest, the Rev. Stanislaus J. Nowak, was appointed the first pastor and under his leadership a church was blessed and opened on Nov. 10, 1895. The parish grew rapidly. A rectory was built, land for a cemetery was purchased and the Mission Church of St. Stanislaus in Pine Island was established. In 1914 Father Nowak and his parishioners turned their efforts to the establishing of a parochial school. A sum of $7, 382.76 was quickly raised for that purpose. The church archives point out the generosity of Andrew Andryshak who contributed the then-large sum of $4,000. At the same time an adjacent house was purchased and renovated as a convent for a group of Felician Sisters who would staff the school. They would eventually serve for more than 60 years. That original school consisted of four classrooms and an auditorium. The cornerstone was blessed on July 11, 1915, and the building was dedicated on Dec. 5, 1915. A short time after Monsignor Nowak died in 1929, the Rev. Ignatius Bialdyga arrived to continue the work. A new classroom was added, lavatories were installed in the basement and a playing field was added. That field would later be used by the legendary St. Joe’s Saints baseball teams. The Rev. Vincent J. Raith-era began on Oct.7, 1933. In addition to making many parish improvements, his main focus was on the school. He encouraged parish families to send their children to the parish school, and by 1937 there were 175 pupils in grades 1-8. Bus transportation arrived and Father Raith, with the approval of his parishioners, took on the task of enlarging the school. The upstairs auditorium was converted into four classrooms. The work commenced on July 16, 1937, and was completed by the fall term with 233 students enrolled. Today, older parishioners who attended St. Joe’s, still recall Father Raith handing out monthly report cards and recalling the dread that those visits brought on. His was a true “hands-on” approach to education. To replace the original auditorium, a new spacious auditorium/gym was erected with more than 200 volunteers providing the bulk of the labor. The lower level contained modern club rooms for the youth of the parish. The work was completed in just four months, and the hall was christened with a “Doughnut Ball” in the winter of 1938. By 1951 the Rev. Matthew Jaworski had been appointed the new pastor, and he was instrumental in having a new, modern convent built for the Felician Sisters. Eventually those Felician Sisters did not have the numbers to staff the school. The Rev. Roman J. Szarama, who took over the pastorate in 1977, brought ten Sisters of Charity and one Dominican sister to take over the school in September 1981. They achieved great success, and St. Joseph’s School thrived under their stewardship. Unfortunately, a disputed over school finances between the sisters and then-pastor Rev. William Turowski resulted in the departure of eight sisters in 1994. Enrollment plummeted over the summer from almost 200 to less than 50. The school did survive, however, and recent enrollment has continued to inch up with many students coming from surrounding areas. The school also points to “above average scores on NYS and standardized tests.” The coming months will tell, however, whether the school’s “90 years of Excellence” will be celebrated or serve as part of its obituary.