Tom Morsch

Jackie and I and our first two children (Tommy and Peggy) moved to LaGrange and joined St. Francis Xavier Parish in 1959. We did not know a soul, but soon felt at home.

Among the most vibrant parish organizations was the Holy Name Society, strongly supported by Msgr. O’Brien. When he stood at the pulpit and reported that there was an upcoming event and that every man in the parish was expected to attend, I felt as if he was looking directly at me. The principle events were the monthly Communion Mass and the annual men’s retreat at Mays Lake. Attendance well in excess of 150 men was normal.

Monthly reports from 1948, about ten years before our arrival, reveal that the Executive Committee then consisted of Messers. Moynahan, Vrtis, Kartheiser, Raab, Chestnut, Hamilton, Doonan, Feig, Fraher and Lockrem. Many of these names are still familiar to us “old timers.”