When alumni from eight different decades are present, you can be sure it's not just any old school celebration. So it was Dec. 1, as graduates spanning 70 years --- and friends, family and supporters --- gathered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels to celebrate the 100th anniversary of St. Mary's School, Boyle Heights.

Certainly, to the large crowd of current students in their uniforms, their parents and friends, and alumni, it was obvious that this Catholic elementary school made a difference in the past and continues to do so today. They represented what San Gabriel Region Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala, in his homily, called "the human stones that we celebrate," the foundation of a community connected through a century of service.

Among the oldest alumnae were Stella Mata Melendez, from the class of 1936, and Sally Heredia Soto, class of 1938, sitting together with their families. They warmly recalled their St. Mary School years, being taught by the Holy Names Sisters (who served at St. Mary's until 1992, and were succeeded by the Salesian Sisters).

"The nuns, the teachers - everything was so nice," said Melendez. "The way they taught me is very dear to my heart."

Stella grew up on a farm in Indio until the day her father was robbed and killed when he brought his crops into town to sell. So her mother and siblings came to Boyle Heights and she received a scholarship to attend St. Mary's. Today her son Raul works at Cantwell Sacred Heart High School, Montebello.

Sally Soto's love of the school, the parish and her old neighborhood is very apparent. She has lived her whole life in Boyle Heights, spending many days at the school as den mother for the Boy Scouts in the parish, and a school board member while putting her four children through St. Mary's. Her sons attended Loyola, Cantwell and Salesian High Schools, and she worked on Congressman Edward Roybal's early campaigns with the family business serving as headquarters.

"I am proud that St. Mary's received the recognition it deserved," Sally, still a parishioner, said following the celebration which her son Daniel --- as Centennial Campaign chair --- had a hand in planning. Daniel's children also attended St. Mary's (his last child graduated in 2007), and he was parent guild president until last year.

Poignant reflections
Following the Mass, celebrants headed for a reception at the school, where alumni shared stories and memories. Some of the most poignant belonged to Raymond Kawase, who walked through the school halls, visiting classrooms he had not seen since his graduation in 1952.

A third generation Japanese American, Ray, his older brother Frank and their parents were sent to Manzanar, the Owens Valley internment camp where Japanese Americans were sent during World War II --- an experience he finds difficult to discuss. After his family was released from Manzanar, they came to Boyle Heights and, since St. Mary's School was full, he had to attend public school until there was room for him and his brother.

And his remembrances at St. Mary's are much happier. "This brings back a lot of memories, a lot of good memories," said Ray, who played on the baseball, football and basketball teams. "It has a wonderful spirit," he said of the school. "The spirit is always here."

"The Sisters of the Holy Names were very strict," he continued, "but very kind, as well. They taught us academically and about the principles of Catholicism." Ray, who later attended Cantwell, values his Catholic education very much. His brother went to Loyola and four younger Kawase children, as did many of Japanese ancestry, went to Maryknoll School.

Today a member of St. Angela Merici Parish in Brea, he noted how the St. Mary's student population has changed. "When I graduated I was one of four Asians in the whole school," he said. "We must learn from history. Most of us could trace our ancestry back to immigrants. I am very privileged to be an American citizen because my grandparents were allowed to come to America."

His family's Manzanar experience was a first-hand lesson in the persecution and prejudice that many immigrants have faced because of their religion or origin. "We are a family of people who have come from immigrants," he said. "If we are intellectual beings, we should not have to repeat the terrible things that have happened in history."

Congresswoman returns
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, class of 1955, was among the featured speakers at the anniversary reception. "This is the same auditorium I was in when I was a little girl here at St. Mary's," she said. "I can't tell you how excited I am that I have the opportunity to be here. St. Mary's was an incredible school and an incredible inspiration for me, not only in receiving an outstanding education --- both academically and spiritually --- but in really inspiring and instilling in me a confidence that every child can succeed."

During the reception, younger St. Mary's students played outdoors while their parents worked in the kitchen preparing luncheon trays. Older alumni mixed with younger, adding to the community spirit.

"St. Mary's is most of all a family," declared Salesian Sister Josephine Ochoa, principal for the past five years. "We come from all over Los Angeles. It's not just the area of the parish any more. We have children of alumni and our children come from about 65 parishes. It is a family of families."

St. Mary's School families, Sister Ochoa said, "are proud of their heritage - not only as Hispanics, but also as Americans. It is a mixture of cultures that is beautiful. The children are enthusiastic, bright and eager to do their best. The parents are cooperative to the max. It is a wonderful experience here."

Moved by the liturgy at the Cathedral and the students' overall participation in almost every aspect of it, Sister Ochoa was especially touched after the recessional when the children's choir, with students from St. Genevieve High School in Panorama City, sang a very enthusiastic "God Bless America."

"I find myself very proud to be in this moment in history," she said. "I am humbled by the experience of a hundred years of these wonderful people who came before us, who walked in the halls of this school. My greatest aim is to have these children work to their potential not only as students, but as good Christians, citizens of the United States, contributing to society, to this world, for the next world. This gives me a sense of great hope."

Bishop Zavala hit on that theme during his homily, "You have been salt of the earth," he told those gathered, "salt of the earth in the practice of your faith - how wonderful for us to celebrate that reality. St. Mary's School has been a wonderful gift to our city, our neighborhood, our church. Share your stories. Bring salt and light to the world."