We are getting close to baseball season which means teams go south for Spring Training.
Last year CDH’s team was fortunate to be able to train in Florida. Just so happens that last year in March our classmate Dave Britz and his wife Barb happened to be spending the month near Tampa/St. Petersburg. Dave found out that the baseball team was nearby and playing in a seven team tournament with peer teams from around the country.
This was the first time CDH participated in such pre-season activity. Dave went for the first two games. CDH won the first game. Jake Mauer was one of the coaches and Dave asked him if after the game he could have his picture taken with the team. Jake obliged.
Unfortunately, Dave left town and never got a copy of the photo that was taken. At our last class luncheon Steve Walsh stopped by to share info on CDH with us. In the ensuing dialogue Dave mentioned he was fortunate enough to have seen the CDH baseball team in Florida and had his picture taken but he did not get a copy. Steve made note.
Steve Walsh was able to locate that photo of Dave Britz and sent it to him. Dave is now sharing that iconic image with us!
Of note, this team went on to have a rather successful season…..STATE CHAMPION IN THE LARGE SCHOOL DIVISION!
Yesterday 12 of your classmates had lunch and a couple of hours socializing with one another and with a guest, also a Cretin grad but 22 years younger than us guys.
Our guest was Steve Walsh a staff member at CDH who heads up the Alumni and development office.
Steve gave us considerable info on the current life at CDH and brought us the information on the current students receiving scholarships funded by the two endowments the class 63 has set up over the years.
Just to remind you, the class of 63 first established a scholarship back in 2003 when we celebrated our 40th reunion. This scholarship was set up to award tuition assistance to a deserving student and their family. The second scholarship was established in 2023 on the occasion of our 60th year since graduating from Cretin. The scholarship was put together to honor two of our classmates ( George Bonfe and Mike Ryan ) who led full and productive lives and did not let their physical challenges get in the way. This scholarship is given to a student who also does not let a physical challenge get in the way.
You can see details of the two students receiving class of 63 scholarships as Joe Schufman has updated the class web site. Included on the class website is how much we have in each endowment that allows us to award scholarships that amount to between 20 and 25% of the cost of tuition. Current tuition at CDH is $17000 per year.
for those who support CDH financially, if you choose, you can designate your donation to either or both of these class of 63 legacy scholarships.
The photo below shows four of the guys as they left the Pool and Yacht Club on the beautiful spring day with the frozen Mississippi river in the background. L-R in photo are Jim Hudak, John Runyon, Dave Moore, Joe Schufman.
This past week I spoke with two of our classmates who wanted to be sure I greeted everyone with a hello from them.
Greg Halbert wishes everyone well and Pat McDonnell who is recovering from a serious bout with pneumonia and a lengthy hospital stay, says he is anxious to get back to the monthly class lunches.
I got a call this morning from Steve Walsh thanking us for having him to our lunch. He says we are very fortunate to have regular gatherings of classmates, and he encourages other classes to do the same using the class of 63 and the class of 65 as examples.
Here is an interesting footnote about Steve Walsh that many of you might already know but for those who do not you will now.
I only recently became acquainted with Steve but knew of him from his days as the quarterback for Cretin’s championship teams.
After Cretin Steve went to the University of Miami and lead them to very successful seasons including the NCAA national Championship in 1987. For those of you who are college football fans like me I would call your attention to ESPN which has a series call 30 for 30 and look up a feature called CONVICTS VS CATHOLICS.
Next class of 63 lunch is THURSDAY March 12th——see you there
Jim Hudak decided he wanted to know more about the namesake for our high school. Jim did the research and wrote a brief article summarizing what he learned, and thought many in our class would enjoy reading it. Hence, Jim’s article follows. Thanks Jim!
J.S.
Bishop Joseph Crétin: The Man and the School
Who Was Bishop Joseph Crétin?
Joseph Crétin was born far from Minnesota, in a small French town that could never have guessed what he would do with his life.
Born on December 19, 1799, in Montluel, France, Crétin grew up in a settled place with old stone buildings and regular church routines. Nothing there hinted at the rivers, wooden chapels, or growing cities he would later know in America.
We don’t know much about Crétin’s parents. Most church records don’t mention them. Instead, what stands out is how Crétin’s life moved away from his hometown and toward a bigger purpose.
In 1838, he volunteered to be a missionary in America and crossed the Atlantic Ocean with Bishop Mathias Loras. After landing in New York, he moved inland and spent over ten years in frontier areas like Dubuque, Prairie du Chien, and mission territories connected by rivers instead of roads. These weren’t easy years. Crétin faced cold weather, limited supplies, and many hardships.
When Rome created the Diocese of Saint Paul in 1850, Crétin probably wasn’t chosen because he was brilliant or charismatic. He was most likely chosen because he already knew how to endure tough conditions.
He arrived in St. Paul on July 2, 1851, traveling upriver by steamboat and landing at the Lower Levee. That same day, he officially took charge of the diocese. That evening, he appeared at the small log chapel that served as the city’s cathedral and blessed the people. There was no break between his arrival and his leadership. The frontier didn’t allow for that.
Crétin lived where he worked. A large brick building at 6th and Wabasha that was completed in 1851 served as cathedral, home, offices, and school all at once. His living space was on the upper floor. Prayer, leadership, teaching, and sleep all happened under the same roof—and with the same exhaustion.
The pace wore him down. Reports from that time describe years of non-stop work followed by long illness, blamed simply on overwork. Joseph Crétin died in St. Paul on February 22, 1857. He was fifty-seven years old and had been bishop for less than six years.
Crétin’s Legacy
Crétin didn’t leave behind fancy symbols. He left structures and systems.
Within months of arriving, St. Paul had a working cathedral complex with classrooms built right into it. In 1852, with the Sisters of St. Joseph, Crétin opened the Cathedral Grade School. Locally, people called it “Cretin’s School.” This wasn’t just a name; it showed that the school was his project.
Education was the backbone of his work. He brought in teaching orders because they made institutions last. Hospitals followed. Cemetery land. Orphan care. Groups promoting sobriety and charity. These weren’t just nice extras. They were answers to frontier problems that couldn’t wait.
During Crétin’s short time as bishop, the diocese grew quickly—more churches, more missions, more clergy, and a rapidly growing Catholic population spread across a huge territory. What later became Cretin High School, and eventually Cretin-Derham Hall, grew directly from this early framework.
The man died young. The systems did not.
That’s the difference between Crétin the man and Crétin the institution: one body failed under the load; the other carried it forward for generations.
From “Cretin’s School” to Cretin High School
By the early 20th century, the original Cathedral school had already split and recombined several times, but one thing stayed constant: boys’ education staffed by religious orders, built for discipline and structure, not experimentation.
Key changes:
Late 1800s: The boys’ school tradition started under Crétin becomes more formal.
1871: The Christian Brothers arrive in St. Paul. This is a turning point. From then on, the boys’ school has a more organized educational approach.
1928: Cretin High School opens at the Hamline & Randolph campus—the location that defined the school for generations.
That campus mattered. It was large, visible, permanent. This is when “Cretin” stops being just a historical echo and becomes a place.
Sources
(in French) Persee: https://www.persee.fr/doc/arcpa_0000-0000_1880_num_11_1_5855_t1_0716_0000_17?utm An official list of collections in French relating to the reorganization of France after the French Revolution. “Text of the decrees concerning the division of the kingdom in the annex of the session of February 26, 1790,” referring to the National Assembly’s crucial decisions to reorganize France into new administrative units (départements) during the French Revolution, establishing a more uniform national structure instead of old provinces.
Jim Dimond, Dave Britz, Dave Tyree, Larry Moser, Tom Troskey, Dick Butler, Mike Gaida, Tom Schleck, Joe M McGrath, Joe Schufman, Ed Kurhajetz, Dave Moore, Brian Dobie, John Runyon.
We talked a bit about how the hockey and basketball teams at CDH are doing—-both quite well.
Also, about CDH’s new web site, take a look and click all over the place because it is filled with interesting items from what is going on in the school today to how the school came to be and the history of the Christian Brothers and Sisters of St Joseph.
Our classmate Steve Nachtsheim has offered some men’s basketball tickets for the University of St Thomas men’s home games to his Cretin classmates, Steve a graduate of St Thomas and life long supporter of the University who lives in California has 4 season tickets to their games but as you can imagine can not attend all the games. These are legacy club tickets—-VERY NICE—-
So,if you are interested in seeing the Division 1 men’s basketball team in the brand new arena contact Steve at stephen@nachtsheim.com THANK YOU STEVE.
Many of you are aware that the St Thomas Academy class of 63 also meets on the second Thursday of each month at the Pool & Yacht Club and we converse with them regularly. One of their members (Mike Byrne) brought a photo Christmas card he got from one of his life long friends who lives in North Carolina——that friend is also a member of our Cretin class of 63—-It was Tony Tuk and his beautiful family.
Thank you to Mike and it was great to see the photo of Tony and his family.
There are two photos with this email showing John Runyon holding a copy of a March of 1963 Comment . John was a page editor on the Comment staff. The other photo is of a cartoon drawn by our classmate Len Mitsch. Len, and a couple of other talented classmates always had drawing in the Comment. The other artists as I recall were Greg Ridge, Jim Szalapski and I think Bill Jack.
All editions of the Comment are Joe M McGrath’s and I just have them in my possession to share with you guys in these class updates. —-THANK YOU JOE
Thanks guys, that’s all for now, next meeting is Thursday February12th.
Snow, ice, winter; it is all here now yet we had 16 guys come to socialize at the Pool Yacht Club today.
Truly an enjoyable couple of hours. A great deal of discussion on the corporal punishment methods at Cretin in our day. Talking about Len Horyza, Jim Tocko, and of course Bro Josephus. Hardly anyone in attendance escaped at least one event in our time at Cretin
We started the lunch with a remembrance of the men in our class who passed away during 2025. They are, John Jansen, Jack Hanson, Mike Giefer, Steve Keys, Bill Haskamp, Don Danneker, Red O’Gara, Phil Reichenbach, Richard Dennis, Dick O’Neil —-God bless them and may they rest in peace.
You may recall that because our classmate Joe M McGrath kept every issue of the student newspaper The Comment, I have Joe’s collection and each month I will bring an issue to pass around to the guys. Today’s issue was from April 1963. FUN READ—-Thank you Joe!
One of the fellows attending today is referred to by Pat McDonnell as THE RED RAIDER. Pat is referring to Mike Roach who was with us Freshman and Sophomore years and then due to his family moving to the western suburbs started attending Benilde in St Louis Park. Benilde is known as the Red Knights so you see how the RED RAIDER came to be.
Great to have Mike be with us and he plans to play in the annual class of 63 golf outing in 2026.
Our next lunch will be THURSDAY JANUARY 8TH 2026.
Don’t forget to always check out the class of 63 web site. Joe Schufman developed this terrific site and is always after new content to use on the site.
Best to all of you for the Christmas season and a Happy and Healthy 2026
Tom Troskey
Century Link is dropping the q.com domain as of 12-31-25. Nothing sent to the q.com domain will be forwarded after that date. My new email is ttroskey@myctl.net
Nice day in Minnesota 50 degrees and sun shine. About as good as it will get for 5-6 months!
15 guys were together today and 9 of them are VETERANS (see photo) Left to right are —- Dick Butler, Dave Britz, John Runyou, Tom Schleck, Jim Dimond, Jim Hudak, Joe Brooks, Schufman, and Dave Moore. We look forward to this week each November to pay special attention to our classmates who are veterans. Thank you guys for serving our country.
As you know we lost Don Danneker a week ago today. Don was a regular at the monthly lunches, and we miss him for sure. A card was signed by all to send to Claudia Danneker and a minute of silence to remember Don was taken.
We welcomed a first-time luncheon attendee to the gathering —-one of the four Moore’s in our class ——- Dave Moore. Sure hope you enjoyed the gathering and will attend often.
As you know the class of 63 has sponsored two scholarships for CDH students, one on our 40th anniversary in 2003 (class of 63–40th anniversary scholarship) and one on our 60th anniversary in 2023 (Bonfe/Ryan scholarship for physically challenged students) Joe Schufman and I get yearly recaps of these scholarships that you our classmates fund. Currently the 40th has $96,000 and the Bonfe/Ryan has $87,000.
Both these scholarships help families afford the quality Catholic Education CDH provides.. Thank you to all who support these class of 63 legacies.
Joe M Mcgrath had kept all the copies of The Comment newspaper from our 4 years and I am in possession of them now and plan to pass an edition around the lunch each month—-Thank you Joe.
Hope all of you have an enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday.
Next lunch for class of 63 will be Thursday December 11th
Tom Golden sent us a note with a couple of photos about his recent visit to Ted Kramer. I believe Ted was the best man at Tom’s wedding many years ago. Tom G. was also able to reconnect with his friend Frank Marzitelli at our 80th Birthday Bash last August. Nice to see old friends reconnecting.
And if any of you wish to share a story or photo with your classmates please let us know.
Here is Tom G.’s note and photos.
As you know, Frank & Tom, Ted and I have been such good friends since 1960. Ted, Pat Quinlan and I used to occasionally meet downtown St. Paul on Saturdays to shoot pool at Harkins Bowl and Billiard. Ted and I even ended up living near each other for a number of years in Forest Lake.
Well, I hadn’t seen Ted in many, many years so it was just time for a road trip to Springfield, IL. for a short visit. We shared a lot of memories, we had a lot of laughs and we even had a little Jack Daniels on the rocks. I am so glad that I made this trip. It was truly enjoyable. It’s sure been fun seeing you again Tom, and you Frank, after so many years. My messageto my Cretin classmates is that if you haven’t seen one of your old buddies in years, reach out. You’ll be glad that you did.
Weather was beautiful today in Minnesota. Fifteen classmates enjoyed the weather and each other’s company over lunch. We also acknowledged some of our classmates –
We mourned the loss if classmate John “Red” O’Gara, who died on October 4.
Classmate Fred Ermantrout/Brother Dominic is in poor health with dementia and is in the care of fellow brothers at their residence in Memphis, TN.
And classmate Dick Skinner, who had open heart bypass surgery on October 2, is doing well in recovery. We all signed a card that will be sent to him.
No attendee photo this month since we forgot to take one.
Our next class lunch will be on November13 at the pool and yacht club. Hope to see many of you there.
Joe Schufman ( for Tom Troskey, who was on a mini-vacation this week).
18 Octos or soon to be Octogenarians gathered today to socialize for a few hours. Beautiful summer day and lots of conversation.
Our classmate Joe M McGrath has much memorabilia from our years at Cretin including ALL the issues of The Comment. Thanks for sharing Joe! I passed aroundthe Sept and October issues from 1963. Included is a photo of the front page from each paper.. Also included is a photo of the whole group that came today.
Ed Kurhajetz reminisced about the 10 classmates that who shortly after graduating from Cretin left to see if they had the calling to become Christian Brothers. I asked ED if he can recall who the 10 were. We do know Fred Ehrmantraut (Bro. Dominic) is a CB and is living in Memphis.
If any of you reading this has Cretin Memorabilia you would like to share let us know.—Thanks
Also John Runyon has several photos from the 40th birthday party last month that are not on our web site but he will pass on to Joe Schufman for use on the web site.
That is it for today and hope to see many of you at the Oct lunch on Oct 9th
Last week over 40 of our Cretin classmates and a special guest gathered to enjoy one another’s company playing golf and/or celebrating the 80th birthdays of all of us.
On Wednesday, we played 18 holes of golf at Highland National with perfect weather and using the always fun Britz Scramble format. The next day we met for lunch and an 80th birthday party at the Pool and Yacht club. The accommodations, food and service were superb. The opportunity to connect and socialize with “old” friends could not have been better. Thanks to everyone who helped put these wonderful events together and to all who attended.
Sure hope that many of our class will join us regularly at the monthly lunches which have been going on since January of 2014 when Dave Britz started the monthly lunch tradition. Always the second Thursday of the month—-notice always sent out the week prior. If you have not joined us for one of the class lunches—please give it a shot!
NOW, some great news. Joe Schufman has retrieved many photos of the golf and the 80th activities. Joe put the photos together with commentary and created a section on the class of 63 web site.
