SCOTT FRIEDMAN Sophie Dudas, 3, of North Brunswick, contemplates her next brush stroke at the Our Lady of Lourdes Fall Festival in Milltown Sunday. MILLTOWN – The cornerstone of the Our Lady of Lourdes School building was pried out, exposing a carefully soldered metal box that hadn’t been seen in half a century.
Among the items in the box was a newspaper whose headline read, “Await Report on Fulltime E.B. Police.” It was a copy of the Sentinel from Sept. 12, 1957, whose lead article was about East Brunswick considering upgrading its then-part-time police force.
The newspaper was one of several items in the time capsule, which was uncovered recently, 50 years after it was placed behind the cornerstone.
The capsule held pictures of the original school, which was an old red schoolhouse, and architectural drawings of the new building. There were 3-cent postage stamps and coins from the era, including a buffalo head nickel, a liberty dime and a wheat penny. A copy of the diocesan newspaper The Monitor, a document in Latin about the school, signed by Bishop George Ahr, and a donation envelope from the building drive were also in the capsule from 50 years ago.
SCOTT FRIEDMAN The Rev. Ed Czarcinski, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, picks the 50/50 winner with help from Mary Ann Sisco, Ed Martine and Bernadette Olson during Sunday’s Fall Festival. Ed Nartowicz, of Milltown, was involved in the original drive for the current Our Lady of Lourdes School building. He and his wife, Mary, were newlyweds at the time.
“Father Dwyer asked us all to pledge $225. Now, that doesn’t seem like much money, but then it was a lot. He asked everyone to put $25 down and then donate $2 a week for two years,” Nartowicz said. “The building was going to cost $500,000, which seemed like a fortune.”
Parishioners tried all different ways to raise money for the school, he recalled.
“George Wilder and Bill Smith, who have both passed away, had a friendly rivalry. Each would try to outdo the other when it came to doing projects for the school. George Wilder came up with the idea of building a float for the Milltown parade with the replica of the school, and Bud Haefner drove the truck,” Nartowicz recalled.
Bud Haefner’s connection with Our Lady of Lourdes goes way back.
“My grandfather dug the foundation for the church in 1921, and he used a team of horses,” said Haefner, who had a barbershop on Ford Avenue and was very involved in the committee to raise money for the school.
Haefner’s son attended Our Lady of Lourdes and eventually entered the seminary. He is now known as Father Douglas Haefner and serves as a parish priest at St. Matthias Church in Somerset.
Those involved back then remain proud of their finished product.
“It was great to take a vacant piece of land and have it become a beautiful building,” Nartowicz said.
The Rev. Ed Czarcinski, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, noted that while many things have changed since 1957, the spirit of Our Lady of Lourdes parishioners has always remained the same.
“This school has always been blessed with very dedicated families,” he said.
Nowhere was that more evident than at the Fall Festival that took place this weekend.
The school parking lot was transformed into a carnival with all kinds of games and concession stands, everything from candy wheels to a beer garden. On Friday and Saturday nights, there was live entertainment. All the activities were run by parishioners, who developed the festival as a fundraiser for the school.
John Pulda, who graduated from Our Lady of Lourdes in 1973 and now owns Arizona Image Factory in Milltown, was selling shirts and shorts bearing the school’s falcon mascot in blue.
“I’m going to be donating a portion of the sales to the school,” he explained. “I’m really happy to help them out.”
Chris Flynn, whose 6-year-old daughter Hailey attends the school, noted that many Catholic schools have closed in recent years, and Our Lady of Lourdes “could have been one of them.”
“Our Lady of Lourdes is a special place,” Flynn said. “This is a small parish and school, and people are really friendly and really care. The teachers really know each child.”
Jim Lukach, who is on the school advisory committee, thinks the word is getting out about the school.
“Enrollment is up again this year,” he said. “People know that not only do we offer a great education, and our teachers are able to give a lot of personal attention to each child, but we are also financially stable.
“The key to our success is not only the parishioners and parents of the school, but also the community of Milltown. They have always been very supportive.”