100 years and still vibrant at St. Robert Church

Shorewood - One hundred years of church and school history started in a small wooden building on the southwest corner of Capitol Drive and Maryland Avenue.

Built in one day and used for three months in 1912, a photograph of the first St. Robert Church shows a small frame building set in the middle of open fields. Only one other building appears in the background of the photo. Shorewood at that time was the village of East Milwaukee.

The parish celebrates its 100th anniversary with a series of events this year, marking the growth of an important institution in the village's history.

The first members of the fledging parish, 35 families in all, spent 1912 raising money to build a more substantial church, according to Margaret Sankovitz, a longtime member of the church and its historian.

A more substantial brick church rose up across the street, with the church on the first floor and the second floor serving as living quarters for the Rev. Farrell Reilly, the first pastor. There have only been seven pastors in the 100 years. The basement served as a church hall after the church opened in October 1913.

School always in the plans

A Catholic school was part of the plans for the parish, and in September 1915, 43 students in grades one through four started school on the second floor. The school added one grade per year until 1920 when it graduated its first class from the eighth grade.

Reilly's living arrangements included living with a parish member in the winter and in the school rooms in the summer until 1917 when a red brick house was built as a rectory for the parish.

The church bought the parishioner's house in the 3900 block of North Prospect Avenue and turned it into a convent for the Dominican nuns who taught at the school. In 1924 the parish built a convent on St. Robert's property and sold the house on Prospect.

"The school got so crowded that some kids had to go to school in the convent," Sankovitz said.

In 1929 they added onto the school and in 1935 they added onto the convent.

With a growing parish, it was time for a new church. The current St. Robert Church was started in 1936 and opened in 1937. In the spring of 1938, the church space on the first floor of the school building was converted into classrooms. In the late 1930s a wooden annex was built behind the rectory for the middle grades.

School enrollment grows

The parish and its buildings remained in that configuration until 1958 when the school became overcrowded again and classrooms and a gym were added. In 1960 an addition was built on the front of the convent and the front of the rectory.

The few nuns in the convent left in 1990, with most going to the convent behind Dominican High School in Whitefish Bay.

"The last nun at the school retired in 2004," Sankovitz said.

Sankovitz has been almost a lifelong member of the parish. Her parents moved to the village when she was 3 years old. She has lived there ever since, except for a six-year stint in Colorado after she married.

Like many children in the parish, she attended St. Robert School. Most of the school children were from the parish at that time, she said. School choice has brought more diversity to the current student body of 357 students in grades K4 through eight.

"We had a ninth grade for a while," Sankovitz said. When Dominican High School opened, the ninth grade was discontinued.

Ron Witczak, became member of the parish in 1950 when he married his wife, who was born and raised in the parish.

"It was a very dynamic place," he recalled. "We got a lot of villagers who were members."

Activities for many interests

Witczak, along with several other parish members, formed a Follies Group that wrote and performed musicals, songs and dances in the 1960s, part of a vibrant parish community that also included an Usher Society and choir.

"It was a fun group when we were bright and young," he said. The church, he said, continues to provide a sense of community for its members.

Witczak's son, Michael, entered the seminary after graduating from St. Robert and is now a professor at Catholic University.

"There were quite a few who went into religious life," he said.

The parish will begin its celebration of its rich history with a historical program on The East Side given by Milwaukee historian John Gurda. The history of the church is part of the history of the east side.

AT A GLANCE

Celebrate 100 years with St. Robert Parish

WHAT: Free lecture by local historian John Gurda on The East Side

WHERE: St. Robert Church, 2200 E. Capitol Drive; parking is available behind the church

WHEN: 3 p.m. Feb. 12

OTHER CENTENNIAL EVENTS

Emerald Auction: A dinner dance and auction, March 10, at the Italian Community Center

St. Robert Fair: First weekend in June, an annual event since 1973

Concert: Frank Almond, a parishioner and concert master at MSO, provides a parish concert.

Centennial Liturgical Event: At church, 2 p.m. Oct. 14

Additional information will be available closer to the time of the actual events