Chicago Acad of Our Lady Catholic HS/A.K.A. Longwood Academy

Athletics & Extra-Curricular Activities

There was only one area of IHSA sponsored events that we were able to find evidence of participation by the students of AOL. That area was in the activity of drama. We believe that Academy of Our Lady also competed in sports such as basketball, volleyball, and softball, possibly even track. Plus, even more extra-curriculars as well. School fight song, coach's names, and team records are all items we are searching for.

BASKETBALL

Prep historian Robert Pruter says the school was a member of the Catholic High School Girls' Basketball League from 1928-31. It competed with the likes of Visitation, Loretto High, St. Catherine (also known as Siena), Loretto Academy, St. Xavier, St. Scholastica, St. Mary, Aquinas, Alvernia, Wilmette Mallinckrodt, and Evanston Marywood. The league broke up in 1931-32 when the Catholic Youth Organization created its own league.

Drama

The Drama Team of 1945 had an incredible streak of fortune. After winning the Sectional title that year, the team advanced to the IHSA State competition. There the team almost pulled off the big prize, settling for a SECOND place finish at the competition. If you have any further information on this team, please contact us via the means listed below.

1945 TEAM FINISHED SECOND AT IHSA COMPETITION!!

Sectional Champions

Theatre

The Illinois Theatre Festival is the largest, non-competitive high school theatre festival in the world. It was organized in 1976 by teachers from the Chicago suburbs. This festival is still going strong as they perform at the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) and Illinois State University every other January. Academy of Our Lady of Chicago participated in this festival from 1976-77, 1981, 1983 and 1985-86.

MEMORIES

(from Bridget McGhee, class of 1984) "...I had great memories at Longwood...it changed my life growing up as a young woman in the 80's. I do know that Mendel High school was our Brother school. But it closed some years ago. I did know when I was there we had sports: Basketball, Volleyball, Track, and Softball. And we had clubs. I will to look thru some of my year books to get information for you."

(from Donna Wilkey, class of 1963) "...also known as Longwood and often called “snob hill.” The school was located in an upscale section of Chicago called Beverly. I graduated from Longwood in 1963. My mother and her sister also graduated in the early 1930’s. Part of the draw to Longwood was that kind of tradition where daughters attended and hopefully became a “Longwood Lady.” My mom came from 76^th and Halsted area and I came from Oak Lawn to attend the school.

"Hackman Hall was the center of the cultural studies. It had an wonderful auditorium for theater and symphony productions. Many practice rooms afforded the students and chorus the opportunity to prepare every afternoon. The chorus was my choice and in 1962 we teamed up with Brother Rice High School and made a long playing record in the recording studios of Channel 9 television downtown. Longwood’s school song is on that album.

"We had hall monitors who checked to be sure that we were wearing nylon stockings everyday and not just drawing a thin eyebrow pencil line down the back of our legs. Bobby socks were frequently worn over the nylons.

"Seniors attended in Notre Dame Hall and were given privileges that denoted their rank. Every May we processed across the beautiful campus where lake and grottoes were kept in prime condition and someone crowned the statue of the Virgin Mary. That statue was placed outside the library on the balcony overlooking the rose walk where we assembled after saying the rosary."

(from an anonymous alumnae) "Hi, I was in the AOL graduating class of 1971....I can’t recall the team name.

"AOL was active in basketball and volleyball league competition with other girl’s schools. The fiercest athletic rivalry when I attended was with Mother McCauley High School for Girls (this school is near the campus of Brother Rice High School for Boys).

"Looks like your website is approaching the school from more of an athletic point of view rather than an academic achievement and/or other extra-curricular angle.

"The AOL photo on your website shows the Administration Building (aka “AB Bldg.” to students), on the south side of 95^th Street. What the photo and your website doesn’t mention is Notre Dame Hall, just south and connected to the AB Bldg. Notre Dame Hall was one floor, (built sometime in the 1950’s??) with mixed-use classrooms, a gym and a chemistry lab.

"By the time I attended AOL, the AB Bldg.’s fourth floor was condemned and wasn’t used. Originally, the fourth floor served as a dormitory (?). Floors 1, 2 and 3 of the AB Bldg. were used on a daily basis. On AB Bldg.’s floors 1 and 2 the bathrooms had tubs and showers in them, however, only the toilets were used.

"I still receive alumna newsletters. I think there is an alumni office located at the original school on 95^th Street (http://www.academyofourladyalumnae.org/index.html). There are alumna reunions held 1-2 times a year at the Oak Lawn Hilton, 94^th & Cicero Avenue, Oak Lawn, Illinois.

"Since AOL closed in 1999, it is now the campus of the Chicago International Charter School.

"Forever a "Longwood Lady."

from Sally Borter (granddaughter of a former AOL student):

"I was interested to see some history of the school online. My grandmother and her sisters went to AOL and she often talked about it. The school meant a great deal to her. Her name was Anna Lavin; Her sister was Elizabeth (Bessie) Lavin. They also had sisters Irene and Marie, but I do not know if they also went to school there.

"The girls' parents divorced and at least two of them were sent to boarding school. This would probably be around the turn of the century or very early 1900's. It was very uncommon for your parents to be divorced back then, plus I think the home situation was not a happy one.

"My grandmother found great comfort in the school and the nuns. She was a wonderful baker and she gave the nuns credit for that. She was not a good student and the nuns always needed help in the kitchen. The cook would often get her out of class to help prepare food and my g-ma was only too happy to get out of class.

"Bessie Lavin probably graduated, but I think Anna Lavin left school at sixteen. By that time, Bessie was old enough to run the household and all the children moved back home. I would love anything you could find for me about my family history at AOL. A picture would be too much to hope for. I would be willing to pay for someone to try to find some information on the Lavin children at the school. Marie Lavin later became a nun (I think she was a Poor Clare). It was a cloistered order that had a convent near the Cubs ball park. I would like very much to hear from you with any information you could give me. Thanks."

from Coleta Morlock:

"Not too many people would recall that Longwood was originally a boarding school. I was one of those who followed in her mother's footsteps to become a "Longwood Lady" and attended there because she did. Her name was Eva Cathryn Klein and she graduated on June 11, 1937. I attended from 1962-64, but did not graduate due to my father being transferred and a subsequent move to Michigan. I did keep in touch with some of my classmates like Lucia Yarbrough, Gwen Tunney, and Jeannette Mooney. Several of the sisters wrote to me as well - Sr. Mary Eva, and Sr. Anne Francis. Sr. Mario was even up here one year for a music convention so I hooked up with her briefly.

"I recall having my freshman homeroom on the 3rd floor of the Administration Building and having to really hustle to 2nd floor of Hackman Hall for choral with Sr. Mario within the 3 minute class exchange. And who could forget those hall cadets - back then I could not wait to become one! We had their directions drilled into our heads - single file, keep to the right, no talking. Oh, and how chilly it could be walking through the cloister walk in winter!

"Back when I was at AOL, the uniforms were navy for the underclassmen and gray for the upperclassmen. The way we differentiated between the years was as follows for 1962: freshman - white embroidered AOL on the pocket of the blazer, sophomore - gold embroidery, juniors - white, and seniors - gold.

"We were expected to wear our blazers at all times and white blouses. Underclassmen had skirts with mini pleats. The upperclassmen had box pleated gray skirts. The gym uniforms bore resemblance to a one piece jumpsuit in red as I recall. I once took a summer typing class, which proved to be quite beneficial.

"On my last day of school, I brought a camera and took pictures of the grounds. I took a snapshot of Hackman Hall with the lagoon in front. The Lagoon had lily pads that spelled out "AOL" and when in bloom, they was so beautiful! The statue of the Sacred Heart looked down upon it. The bridge was one of our favorite places to just stand and admire nature. I did a lot of reflecting at the Grotto with the statue of our Blessed Mother.

"We had two mascots - one was a black Shepherd mix named Queenie and the other was a black and white Spaniel named Senator. I can recall many times when they were after our ice cream bars! The convent was more of a "state of the art" building in contrast to the 1800's buildings. It's architecture resembled what we had at my old church, St. Thomas More.

"Thanks for allowing me to reminisce a bit about a school for which I will always have cherished memories!"

From Julie Grant (class of 1980):

Hi, I attended AOL from 1976-1980. At that time, we participated in the school league's volleyball, and basketball program. In 1979, the coach of the basketball team, Mr. Francis Beck, asked us to come up with a mascot for the team. We decided upon "The Little Devils" which we thought was unique seeing as we were a catholic school. We had yellow and blue satin jackets designed to show the new mascot which we wore proudly that year. The next year, it was changed to the blue devils.

"I have great memories of my alma mater including being part of the drama club and mime troupe along with a now successful actress, T'keya Keymah who was known then as Crystal "Chrissy" Walker (who starred in "In Living Color" and "That's So Raven").

From Lisa Glaubitz-Vincent (dated July 11, 2019):

"My name is Lisa Glaubitz (my maiden name), and although I did not attend Academy of Our Lady (Longwood) as a high school student, I took piano lessons with Sister M. Fourier from the time I was 8 years old until I was 18 (1968-78).

"Sister Fourier was a piano teach at Longwood for many years, and my sister Linda, who did graduate from Longwood in 1970, also took piano lessons with Sister Fourier. I don't know when Sister began teaching at Longwood, but she continue into the 1980's.

"She retired sometime during that decade and live at a Notre Dame retirement home for nuns, I believe somewhere in Wisconsin. My sister, mom, and I went to visit her up there a couple of time. I know that she passed away in 1990, and her last name was Schoenheit (I had mailed a card to her a few weeks after Easter 1990, and she had only recently passed away. The person who responded to me sent the little card with her birth and death dates, and her full name, (but) I don't think they ever sent me her obituary, though.

"Sister Fourier was a huge influence in my life. She truly brought out my love of music and piano, and was an outstanding piano teacher. She was my first example of accomplished musicianship and dedicated teaching. Although I initially majored in music when I first went away to college, my academic and career paths eventually took me elsewhere.

"We kept in touch throughout my college years, but less so after I started graduate school. I always regretted that she never received my last letter; I had intended for her to receive it for Easter, but I mailed it a couple of weeks after and it was too late.

"I keep a picture of her on my piano (the same piano my father bought for me in 1968!) and I remember her so fondly."

From Kathleen Kroll (student from 1955-1959, dated September 24, 2019):

"I remember Mrs. Cuny (not sure of spelling), drama teacher and coach. She was much admired and respected for her acting classes and plays. I remember being part of a verse choir for a Greek tragedy. I also remember shaking peas in a round tray during one play to simulate weather storms of rain. I believe she won prizes for her drama productions in local/regional competitions.

"I loved the convocations in the main hall, which included movies, play, orchestral productions, and outside entertainment, Graduation ceremonies were also held here. By using risers, we managed to get all 300+ students on the stage."

From Jackie Smith (former student, dated March 27, 2020):

"I attended Academy of Our Lady from 1979-82 (my freshmen through junior year). I did my senior year (at) Whitney Young because my father could no longer afford to send me there.

"The school offered many extracurricular activities; I was involved in band under Kathy Bohm, basketball under coach Francis Beck, and volleyball under Coach K (sorry, I don't remember her first name and the last name was way too long to pronounce).

"We did have a school song (see above); the exact name of the song I don't remember, but the lyrics are still very clear in my head."

From Marcy Waddington Dowse (class of 1967, dated September 15, 2021):

"Just a side note: The funds for the AB (Administration Building) were provided by James Jay Hill, a railroad magnate in St. Paul, MN who wanted his daughters to be educated in a Catholic boarding school. The School Sisters of Notre Dame who founded AOL convinced Hill to build the building so (that) his daughters would have the education he wanted them to have."

We Need Your Assistance

If you have ANY information regarding the achievements and history of Chicago's Academy of Our Lady High School please write to us at dr.veeman@gmail.com. You can also write to us via real mail at:

Illinois HS Glory Days

6439 N. Neva

Chicago, IL 60631