Jesuit Alumni News Archives

 

Jesuit Alumni Meet as Competitors on College Gridiron

 


Blue Jay quarterback Anthony Scelfo '04
 runs for daylight.

 

Read The Times Picayune story about Tulane's Anthony Scelfo and Army's Trey Miranne,
two Blue Jays who are now competitors.


 
Gift from Class of 2007 Anchored in Chapel's Garden

Thanks to the generosity of the Class of 2007, Jesuit’s campus now has a new fixture—a statue of Jesuit saint Francis Xavier.  

Located in the garden near the Palmyra Street side of the entrance to the chapel and the auditorium, the statue stands as a tangiblesign of the class’s appreciation for the education and formation they received during their years as Blue Jays.

Led by senior class president Will Baay, the seniors mustered up $2,000(selling chicken sandwiches at lunch was a prime source of income) to buy the statue and present it to the school as their class gift.
 
For the base of the statue, the young alumni relied on the help of three veterans -- Whitney Keller ’81, Mike Varisco ’83, and Brother William Dardis ’58.  Baay and other senior class leaders Jeff Schott,
Philip Sampognaro, and Patrick Vocke turned to Keller’s years of experience with installing tile to construct the sturdy base.

 
In Celebration of 50 Years, Class of 1957 Donates Engraved Plaque of Blue Jay Fight Song


To celebrate 50 years since graduating from Carrollton and Banks,
the Class of 1957 presented Jesuit High School an engraved plaque
of the “Blue Jay Fight Song.” Members of the class of 1957, who joined
the Blue Jays at recent morning assembly, are Claude Greco (right),
Price Crane, Jim Higgins (podium), Al Demarest, Will Toups, and Bill Hammel.
This generous gift will be prominently displayed in the Jesuit Gymnasium.

Henry Schmidt of the Class of 1930 Thrilled to Receive a Blue Jay Yearbook from the Year He Graduated


Henry Schmidt ’30 shows off his Blue Jay Yearbook from his graduation year
that he recently received, courtesy of Jesuit High School senior class president
Mason Eustis ’08 (left), Bro. William Dardis, S.J. ’59, director of special projects, 
and alumni director Mat Grau ’68 .

 

(The following article is courtesy of The Times-Picayune and NOLA.com.)

 

96-Year-old Shares Tales of Old N.O.

 

Jesuit High Yearbook Delights 1930 Grad

 

Thursday, June 07, 2007

By Lynne Jensen

 

The "I am New Orleans" pin on his lapel announces how Henry Schmidt sees himself after soaking up Crescent City life for nearly a century.

 

Once the manager of a boarding house on St. Charles Avenue, Schmidt, 96, shares stories about the place at nearby Pratt-Stanton Manor, a residence for independent senior citizens, where he's lived for three years.

Like his son, artist George Schmidt, Henry Schmidt has been acclaimed as a local character.

Schmidt loves to tell tales of the past, such as lifting a glass of champagne to Louis Armstrong, King Zulu 1949, as he paraded past his guesthouse on Mardi Gras. He recalls with relish the day he sold then-Sen. Huey Long an infamous pair of green silk pajamas as a clerk at Steven's men's store on Canal Street in the 1930s.

He also carried on with pride about being a Jesuit Blue Jay, Class of 1930, and not having a yearbook to prove it. That gave Pratt-Stanton worker Marie Gauthier an idea for his recent birthday. Two days before Schmidt turned 96 Friday, he walked into the Pratt-Stanton cafeteria and got a surprise worth talking about for the rest of his days.

Gauthier called Jesuit High School to see whether any 1930 yearbooks were available.

"We had about seven or so and decided to part with one for a while," said Mat Grau, Jesuit alumni director. With book in hand, Grau traveled to present it to Schmidt, along with Brother William Dardis, Jesuit's director of school projects, and Mason Eustis, who will be Jesuit's senior class president next school year.

They surprised Schmidt during lunch at the manor May 30.

"That's what I've been wanting," Schmidt said as he unwrapped the yearbook. "All Blue Jays should have a book like this."

Schmidt, who said he thinks he's the only member of his graduating class alive, recalled some of his classmates, including legendary performer Louis Prima.

Prima got kicked out of school two weeks before graduation for cursing the Rev. Aloysius B. Goodspeed, Schmidt said. Prima "didn't quite make it" to graduation, Schmidt said.

Mike Calhoun, manor administrator, Cherry Bordelon, administrative assistant, and a cast of workers at the manor looked on and made the day as memorable as possible.

Schmidt's three children could not attend the luncheon, but longtime friend Julie Burka was there. Decades ago, when she was 18, Schmidt announced "Dawlin', you don't know how to dance," and taught her to fox-trot, Burka said. "His son George is my best friend. I'm so glad I could come."

The ever-dapper Schmidt also befriended her husband, Reece, a psychologist, Burka said. "He told my husband, 'You're a professional man; you should wear a hat' and took him to Meyer the Hatter," she said.

Burka said she admires the elder Schmidt's zest for life.

"He gets up every day and he doesn't feel good, but he takes his bath and gets dressed and gets going," Burka said. "I've never been with him that people didn't come up saying 'Mr. Henry!' " she said.

Hon Adrian Duplantier '45 Devoted Blue Jay and Founder of Boys' Hope, Inducted into the Hall of Honors 

 

Federal Judge Adrian Duplantier ’45 was inducted into Jesuit’s Hall of Honors on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Joining him for a reception in St. Ignatius Hall were his wife (and former Blue Jay mom), Sally Duplantier (seated). Standing (from left): daughter Jeanne Duplantier and granddaughter Michelle (daughter of) Suzie and Sandy ’80 Duplantier.
 
(Note: Judge Duplantier died on August 15, 2007. His induction into the Hall of Honors was December 8, 2006.)
 

Honorable Adrian G. Duplantier ’45, a devoted and trusted advisor for four decades to Jesuit High School’s presidents, and the founder and guiding force behind the Boys Hope program in New Orleans, was installed Friday in Jesuit’s Hall of Honors.

 

Judge Duplantier, who is a senior judge of U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, continues to serve Jesuit as an ardent supporter, a selfless class leader, a member of the President’s Advisory Council, and a generous benefactor. Joining him for the occasion was his wife, Sally, two of their six children, including one son, Sandy, who is a 1980 graduate of Jesuit, and two grandchildren, including Jeffrey, who is currently a pre-freshman and a fifth generation Duplantier Blue Jay.

 

Judge Duplantier is the 58th individual, and the sixth jurist, to be inducted into the Hall of Honors, established in 1974 as a shrine to the school’s alumni which now number more than 12,500. Class portraits, beginning with the 1927 class – the first group of Blue Jays to graduate following Jesuit’s move to Carrollton & Banks – adorn one side of the hall. On the other side are portraits of an eclectic group of individuals (some who are alumni, some who are not, including two women). Among these honorees are coaches, teachers, priests, and politicians, all of whom shared a passion for Jesuit while living their lives as “men of faith” and “men for others.”

 

The honoring of Judge Duplantier and those who came before him in the Hall of Honors has traditionally occurred on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Near the conclusion of Friday’s Mass for the student body, Fr. Anthony McGinn, S.J. ’66, president of Jesuit High School, introduced Judge Duplantier as a distinguished alumnus whose wise counsel over the years has been personally gratifying.

 

“It was only through Judge Duplantier’s persistent efforts and commitment that the Boys Hope program in New Orleans was started,” said Fr. McGinn. “His dedication over the years to Boys Hope has never wavered.”

 

Judge Duplantier was named Alumnus of the Year in 1983 for his involvement in starting Boys Hope in New Orleans, his judicial accomplishments, and his devotion to God and family.

 

Fr. McGinn also noted that as a newly elected state senator in 1960, Judge Duplantier “did the right thing” and acted courageously when he voted against a popular bill in the Legislature that was designed to thwart equal rights for African Americans and maintain segregation in Louisiana.

 

In accepting a commemorative plaque from Fr. McGinn, Judge Duplantier complimented Jesuit’s faculty, staff, and students for helping to bring back the school following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.

 

“This is a tremendous honor for me, my wife Sally, and my family,” said Judge Duplantier.

Following Mass, a reception was held in Judge Duplantier’s honor in St. Ignatius Hall.


Fr. McGinn presented Judge Duplantier
with a plaque to commemorate his induction
into the Hall of Honors.