Moment in Time Revisited

Our Lady of Victory Academy opened on September 25, 1922, shortly after the Columbus Catholic Diocese purchased the four-acre Merkle estate at the corner of Cardington and Roxbury and established Our Lady of Victory Parish. Prior to building a church in 1923 and a school in 1931, the Merkle mansion served as a church, convent, and school. Fifty-one students were initially enrolled. Three nuns from the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth conducted classes, and tuition was one dollar per month. This photograph, donated by Dorothy Lang, shows the first eighth grade graduation class of four boys and four girls with their pastor, Monsignor Thomas Nolan (center). They are standing with their diplomas in front of the main entrance to the original chapel on Roxbury Road in the spring of 1929.

NOTE: Originally submitted to ThisWeek News for publication March 29, 2007.