By Joseph Kenny

jkenny@stlouisreview.com

Students at St. Joachim School in Old Mines can sense history just by going to physical education classes.

The students take part in the class in the restored 1857 school building, known as the Lamarque School, linked to the main school by a covered walkway. The 50- by 20-foot, single-room structure originally was erected just north of the church on the site of what later was the convent building. It was financed originally by Marie Louise Lamarque, a native of Ste. Genevieve and descendant of the Boldocs and Beauvais St. Gemmes, two of the richest Creole families of Upper Louisiana.

The recent restoration has retained the original look of the Greek revival style while providing a functional use as a small gym. The building, freshly painted a bright blue and white to match the original colors, is striking, especially compared to its pre-restoration look. In the early 20th century it was covered in pressed metal sheets that gave the appearance of stone and eventually led to its nickname, “Tin Can University.”

Most impressive is that the building has been in continuous use for 160 years, said Kent Bone, who led the restoration. He pointed to the children doing exercises and said, “Some of their great-, great-grandparents went to school here.”

St. Joachim principal Joyce Politte noted that the building was her eighth-grade classroom. She recalled that the janitor would build a fire in a stove in the building on cold winter days.

The building at one time was used for “teen town” dances. It also was the site of parish dances that helped in raising funds for constructing the current brick school built in 1949. In the 1960s, when the historic school building was moved to the current site, it was used by the Boy Scouts.

“It’s definitely been a multi-purpose building,” Bone said, noting that the current configuration is the same as when it was built. A few touches have been added, but those have been designed to blend in with the original time period. A closet and storage area are used for gym supplies and a coat rack was put up on one wall. Panel lighting is discreet. Insulation was added. Hog panels are used instead of wire mesh around the windows to keep them from breaking when balls are tossed.

Bone, who is reconstructing a French village across the creek in a nearby area, said while the outside appearance is of the 1850s, the inside is of the 1880s. “We wanted it original and functional. We didn’t want to make a museum out of it.”

Bone’s ancestors, perhaps back as far as his great-, great-grandparents, went to school at St. Joachim.

The first permanent establishment of Old Mines dates from 1801, though initial traces go to 1723. Vincentian Father Joahn Bouiller began work on the church in 1828. As late as the 1930s, close to 90 percent of the homes used French as their primary language. A school was begun in the 1830s.

Politte noted that Catholic education has been a longtime mission of the parish, one that continues but has changed to meet the needs of the people.

In recent years the parish has added a successful preschool and day care, which also provides extended care for schoolchildren.

The school is the only Catholic school in Washington County. At one time, before the high school closed in 1972, it had as many as 650 students. Today, the school has multi-grade classrooms, first-third and fourth-sixth. In recent years, Politte said, job losses have caused many young people in the area to move in search of employment.

About half of the students are nonCatholic, drawn to the school for its academic standards and moral values. Politte, the religious education and RCIA director of the parish, noted that the nonCatholic students and their families have been drawn to the Catholic faith as well.

Seven students recently were baptized and five family members are in the RCIA program, preparing for entering the Church.

“It’s quite an opportunity for evangelization,” she said. “They’re open to it. We’re starting from the ground up. It’s an exciting thing.”

All the nonCatholic students benefit by “going out in the community and practicing Christian values,” Politte noted.

The school has four full-time faculty members, three of whom are St. Joachim graduates, and two part-time teachers. Politte also teaches classes. The school has a computer lab.

St. Joachim

St. Joachim School principal Joyce Politte is grateful for the support the school receives from the archdiocese and the Annual Catholic Appeal.

It is the only Catholic school in Washington County. The county had:

• An unemployment rate of 12.8 percent for November, among the highest in the state.

• A median household income in 2009 that is 72 percent of the state average.

• A poverty rate in 2009 of 24.8 percent, nearly double the state average.

Additional support is needed for the school, particularly to help families with tuition costs, Politte said, and with technology upgrades. To assist or for information write to St. Joachim School, 10121 Crest Road, Cadet, Mo. 63630, or call (573) 438-3973.