The Growth of Youth Organizations

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Fr. William P. Thorpe came to the parish as pastor on June 8, 1937. He had been ordained in 1916 and, after three assignments as an assistant, became the first resident pastor of St. Mary, Mentor, before coming to St. Patrick's.

He had a devotion to Mary that he expressed by starting the perpetual novena of the Miraculous Medal, which is still prayed on Monday evenings.

Now that the parish had an auditorium/ gym, sports programs had started. Parish football and baseball teams and a basketball league were organized. On Saturday evenings, the basketball league hosted carnivals consisting of three games or two games and a dance.

The Catholic Youth Organization had recently been developed and the new assistant, Fr. Martin Gallagher, started a CYO program in the parish. Under his guidance the Hi Club was formed for high school students and the Patrician Club for single adults between 18 and 30. The Hi Club, which became the Shamrock Club after World War II, gave the teens of the parish opportunities for athletic, educational, social, charitable and spiritual activities. Their programs ranged from weekly dances to monthly holy hours. The St. Patrick's Parents Social Guild was formed to provide chaperons and guidance for this youth group.

Increased youth activities, including scouting, a servers' club, an athletic committee and a sodality, led to the need for meeting space. The young people of the parish, with the help of adult craftsmen, transformed the storage rooms in the church basement into a social center, which included a game room, a kitchen and a Little Theater. This opened in December 1940 and remained until the church was enlarged in the early 1950s.

Another of Fr. Gallagher's activities was the organization of a parish dramatic group. The parish had dabbled in theater in the past, with a group performing from 1900 to 1910 and two or three short-lived programs during Fr. Calvey's pastorate. In May 1938, Fr. Gallagher met with interested parishioners and two groups were formed: the Junior Dramatic Club and the Senior Dramatic Club. The first group was comprised of high school students who produced one-act plays that could be presented as part of a parish or organization's program. Adult parishioners who made up the second drama club presented full-length productions. Even though the Junior Club took first place in a diocesan contest in March 1941, both groups disappeared during World War II.

In 1938 and in 1939, an airplane was offered as the grand prize for the fall bazaar raffle, with chances sold at the air races. In both years, a parishioner won and chose the alternative prize of $1,000.

Parishioners continued to make gifts to beautify their church. In August 1939, Celia and Gertrude Ehrbar donated the parish tabernacle, which is still used in the upper church. Also in 1939, Chambers Funeral Home donated the parish calendars for the first time. Parishioners still hang calendars donated by Chambers on their kitchen walls.

That same year, Cleveland City Council authorized the Works Project Administration to install a sewer line on Rocky River Drive south to Brookpark Road and on Puritas Avenue west to the valley. Up to this time, the southern part of the parish was still mostly farmland. The installation of the sewer line prepared the area for the growth it would experience after the war.