History of Chaminade-Julienne Catholic High School

Notre Dame Academy (1886-1927)

The multi-faceted history of Chaminade-Julienne Catholic High School begins with the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. Arriving by canal boat from Cincinnati in 1849, a group of these sisters purchased property on the corner of Franklin and Ludlow Streets in downtown Dayton, establishing the first permanent foundation of their congregation outside of Cincinnati. In 1886, they opened Notre Dame Academy, a private school for girls, with an enrollment of only 21 students.

While the early days were tough, the school eventually prospered and grew—and the need for more space became a constant concern. In 1904, the original building was demolished and a corner brick building was begun. As enrollment continued to swell over the next twenty years, the students filling the halls also outgrew this building. So, in the early 1920s, the sisters moved the convent, the school and its students to the beautiful 14-acre Kuntz estate at 325 Homewood Avenue.

Shortly after moving to the Homewood Avenue site, the sisters responded to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s request that they participate in the creation of a system of Archdiocesan high schools to serve a much larger number of students than were currently attending Catholic schools. Setting aside their plans for a new private academy, the sisters established a large, new Catholic high school for girls, Julienne High School, named after St. Julie Billiart, the founder of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

Alumni have recalled the fondness of the Notre Dame Academy teachers who provided outstanding instruction, as well as the dances, the Reading Circle groups, alumnae associations, and friendships that developed while at Notre Dame Academy. The school survived during some difficult times, including the Great Flood of 1913, testifying to the determination, ingenuity, leadership, insight and imagination of the Sisters and their students, who laid a foundation for quality Catholic education which has lasted well over 100 years.

Julienne High School (1927-1973)

Julienne High School opened its doors in 1927 to approximately 500 young women. Originally called Notre Dame Academy de Julienne, the school later adopted the shorter title of Julienne High School, honoring the founder of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, St. Julie Billiart. The architect who designed the new building, which was set solidly on a hill overlooking a wooded glen, won an award in 1928 for his beautiful Georgian-style structure.

The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, resolved to continue the tradition of providing quality Catholic education, designed a course of study that prepared students for all walks of life, giving them not only a religious education, but also the best available training in appropriate secular subjects. The “Julienne girls” were easily identifiable around town by their uniforms of navy blue and white, the school’s colors. Led by one of Julienne’s first principals, Sister Bernadette Marie, who served from 1929-1953, the school thrived and enrollment skyrocketed.

As enrollment grew, so did the number of student activities. They were diverse enough to include Dramatic Club, Current Events Club, Orchestra, Glee Club, Athletic Association, Writers Club, Crusaders of the Julienne Mission Unit, Study Club, May processions, cheerleading and annual retreats. In Julienne’s early years, students enjoyed the fun and camaraderie in these clubs, especially in the athletic events such as interclass competitions.

Julienne students enjoyed frequent interaction with the students at Chaminade High School, an all-boys Catholic school. By the 1960s, interaction with the young men at Chaminade included dances, sporting events, school plays, and even attending classes at each other’s school. This cooperation between the schools established the roots of Chaminade-Julienne Catholic High School, the coeducational school which was formed when Julienne and Chaminade merged in 1973 due to decreased enrollments at both schools. While the decision to merge was hard for the sisters, it was, in a sense, a homecoming, since they were returning to the site of their first school at Franklin and Ludlow.

In a symbolic reenactment of this homecoming, C-J recently purchased 240 of the beautiful wooden auditorium seats from Julienne and installed them in the balcony of the C-J auditorium, creating a wonderful physical reminder of Julienne’s legacy to C-J. Over the years, many Julienne graduates have also “come home” by choosing to work at C-J, including present employees Sr. Damienne Grismer SNDdeN ‘47 (23 years at C-J), Charlene Carroll Wheeler ‘65 (24 years at C-J), and Peg Regan ‘73 (20 years at C-J), as well as the recently retired Elizabeth Umina Naughton ‘50 (36 years at Julienne and C-J). Julienne graduates such as these and many others who have remained involved with and supportive of C-J have helped the spirit and tradition of Julienne High School live on at C-J to this day.

Chaminade High School (1927-1973)

Chaminade High School’s history begins in 1927, when the Society of Mary (Marianists) purchased the downtown Dayton property previously owned by the Sisters of Notre Dame, who had moved to Homewood Avenue to establish Julienne High School. The Marianists opened the area’s first Catholic high school for boys with an enrollment of 200. It was called Dayton Catholic School for the first year but was renamed in 1928 for Rev. William Joseph Chaminade, founder of the Society of Mary.

Enrollment grew steadily, as did Chaminade’s reputation for a strong educational program, strict discipline and superior athletics. Staffed by Marianist priests and brothers, the school exemplified Catholic education. The “Men of Chaminade” were noticeable about town in their dress pants, shirt, tie and sweater or jacket, until the seventies, when the dress code was relaxed.

Adopting an eagle for a mascot, Chaminade’s athletic teams dominated city, district, and state competition throughout the school’s history, with outstanding teams in golf, basketball, football, cross country, and baseball. A few examples include Eagle football teams, which under coaches Bill Blake, Fuzzy Faust and Ed Regan ‘40, won or tied for the city title for ten consecutive years and were feared throughout the city and state. In 1966 and 1970, the basketball team, led by coach Jim Turvene, won state championships to complement their many city championships. Also in 1970, the baseball team brought home the state title.

While the sports stories are endless, students participated in numerous other activities, including dramatic arts, Sodality Club, orchestra, school newspaper, Art Club, retreats and scholastic groups. Alumni vividly remember pep rallies, dramatic productions and variety shows, counting stamps for the building fund, loads of homework, and influential teachers.

Enrollment peaked in the early 1960s, but during the late 1960s and early 1970s enrollment declined sharply due to societal and economic changes. In 1973 Chaminade merged with Julienne High School, a Catholic high school for girls. Since the young men of Chaminade already enjoyed frequent interaction with the young women from Julienne—through such things as football and basketball games, dances and plays, and academic courses—a foundation was laid for a smooth transition to the creation of the co-educational Chaminade-Julienne Catholic High School.

The new school was to benefit tremendously from the experienced and dedicated members of Chaminade’s faculty who came to teach at C-J. Several of them, including Jim Davis ‘54, George Early, Fuzzy Faust, Bro. Bill Grundish, S.M., and Bro. Bob Wiethorn, S.M., continued to teach at C-J for many years, touching the lives of generations of students. Quite a few Chaminade graduates carried on the legacy of these teachers by becoming C-J employees, including current employees Joe Staley ‘72 (13 years at C-J), Charlie Weimert ‘72 (14 years at C-J), Don Weimert ‘57 (24 years at C-J), and John Zaidan ‘68 (25 years at C-J). Through these people and countless others, C-J’s students have, throughout the school’s history, been instilled with the same pride, sense of tradition and moral character that defined Chaminade High School.

St. Joseph Commercial High School (1945-1974)

Founded by the Sisters of Charity, St. Joseph Commercial High School was designed to offer challenging courses to young women interested in the business fields. The school opened in 1945 as a two year senior high school with 47 juniors and seniors who attended classes on the third floor of St. Joseph’s parish elementary school in downtown Dayton. The school was the only one of its type available to young women in the state of Ohio.

With the help of early teachers and administrators such as Fr. Kraus, Fr. Kreinbrink, Sr. Helen Paul, Sr. Mary Rosaire, and Sr. Magdalen Dolores, the school established itself as a fine vocational school with excellent teachers who demonstrated concern for each of the students. Enrollment increased gradually, but really thrived with the acceptance of sophomores in 1955 and freshmen in 1966. Over the years, the school had expanded, filling the Second Street building when the grade school closed and requiring construction of an additional building.

St. Joe’s students took part in an ever-increasing variety of activities, including Student Council, the Girls’ Athletic Association, CSMC (Catholic Students Mission Crusade), National Business Honor Society, literary club, Mother Seton club, and Commercial Club, to name only a few. The school expanded extracurriculars to include volleyball, basketball, softball, tennis, and various intramural sports. Alumnae will remember retreats, paper drives, picnics, Club Cayoda dances, and scholastic demonstrations.

Several of St. Joe’s students were cheerleaders for Chaminade High School and acted in Chaminade’s dramatic productions. The young women of St. Joe’s interacted frequently with the young men of Chaminade in many other ways, including attending sporting events and dances. The St. Joe’s students were also involved with both Chaminade and Julienne high schools in producing a newspaper for all the students in Dayton.

After graduating over 2,200 young women who were well-prepared, both morally and academically, to enter the business world, St. Joe’s faced declining enrollments as students began moving to other parts of Dayton. Bringing an end to the school which had earned much respect for its unique curriculum was a difficult decision, but in 1974, St. Joseph Commercial High School was closed. The majority of its students transferred to the newly-established Chaminade-Julienne Catholic High School, where they became an integral part of the school.

Chaminade-Julienne Catholic High School (1973 to the present)

Chaminade-Julienne Catholic High School was founded in 1973 when Julienne High School and Chaminade High School merged. The merger was a subject of careful consideration by the religious orders who owned and operated the two schools, the Marianists (Chaminade) and the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (Julienne), who, in the face of declining enrollments at both schools, decided to commit themselves to the creation of a dynamic, coeducational Catholic high school.

They chose to locate the new school at the venerable site at Ludlow and Franklin streets in downtown Dayton. It was an appropriate choice, since it was the very place where Julienne’s precursor, Notre Dame Academy, had begun before the property was sold to Chaminade High School, which occupied the building up until the time of the merger. One year after the merger, the young women from St. Joseph Commercial High School joined the students already at Chaminade-Julienne, and thus, a new era in Catholic education in Dayton began.

Combining students, teachers and staff proved challenging, but the new school was guided by the united vision of the Marianists and Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, whose strong commitment to providing outstanding Catholic education that develops the whole person—spiritually, academically, physically, socially and artistically—lives on in the school today.

Like its predecessor schools, Chaminade-Julienne’s athletic offerings grew as the years progressed, yielding teams which have always been competitive in city, regional and state contests. Most notably, the men’s 1982 soccer team brought home the state championship, the women’s volleyball team has become a perennial powerhouse earning multiple district and regional titles, and the men’s basketball teams were district runner-ups several times and state runner up in 1991. Both the cross country and track teams produced championships in 1993 and 1994, and the women’s basketball team took the school to the state tournament in 1998 for the first time in the school’s history. Returning to state the next year, the women’s basketball brought home the 1999 State Division II championship title.

Students at Chaminade-Julienne have always enjoyed participation in a variety of activities besides athletics, including dramatic productions, dances, retreats, community service, student council, yearbook, marching band, creative writing club, spirit committee, and the school newspaper. The challenging educational curriculum at C-J includes a solid base of academic courses along with religion, computer and fine arts classes. C-J has always been a leader in private education in Dayton, thanks in large part to its many dedicated faculty, staff and administration, especially Sr. Carol Lichtenberg (Principal 1978-1984), and T. J. Wallace (Principal 1984-1994, President 1994-1996). In 1989 Chaminade-Julienne was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a National School of Excellence in honor of the school’s rich tradition, committed faculty, diverse student body, and supportive community.

Today, approximately 960 students fill the building. The school colors of blue, green and white and the Eagle mascot carry the message of the unity of C-J and its predecessor schools—Chaminade, Julienne, St. Joseph Commercial and Notre Dame Academy—schools whose continued and combined traditions form the foundation of excellence in education that defines C-J today. And with a history and tradition as rich as this, Chaminade-Julienne Catholic High School is destined for continued success well into the next millennium.