School Matters, Norwalk Reflector By Dennis J. Doughty, Superintendent Norwalk City School District
10.05.13
Time, Talent, and Treasure Recently, I caught myself looking through the obituaries in the local newspapers as my first order of business at the end of the day. Even more disconcerting for me is that I usually know a good portion of the folks who have passed away. As you get older, the more reflective and introspective you get or, in other words, you begin to remember how things were in the good “old days”. I’ve been fortunate to know many wonderful people who made those days in the past remarkable and memorable. Over the years, there was quite a bit of publicity regarding the late Father Harvey Keller, a longtime priest who spent years serving the communities of Monroeville and Norwalk. (I believe his extraordinary “split” coat with both the Monroeville Eagles and the St. Paul Flyers represented is in the Norwalk Catholic School archives somewhere?) His love of athletics was legendary and his relationship with the youth of every community he came in contact with was very meaningful. Truly his commitment to his faith and work with the youth in the community were a real part of his legacy. But there is even more to the story and legend of Father Keller. In 1989, the St. Paul Parish embarked on a campaign to build a gymnasium to serve the parish schools and community. The group involved with the process spent years planning and developing the ideas associated with the project. It was only after years of planning that the group began the fundraising process. It was during those early fundraising days that Father Keller summoned me to his residence and swore me to secrecy about his plan to help in financing the building of the new gym with a large monetary contribution. He shared that he had made some past investments and would like to sell off his retirement funds to help support the building of what would be later known as the St. Paul Convocation Center. Later in the process he sold his boat and car and gave the money to help build the new gymnasium. He told me that he was old and had served his time working with young people and that the youth would benefit more from his retirement funds than him. I’ve kept the secret of Father Keller’s large contribution to the St. Paul Convocation for years but since he has passed on, perhaps the memory of his legacy should not be forgotten. Sometimes we need to hold up and celebrate the example that other people provide for us. In the case of Father Harvey Keller, he gave fully and completely of his time and talents during his life to his community and unknown too many…he gave his treasure as well. It is appropriate that the gymnasium in the St. Paul Convocation bears his name, the Father Harvey Keller Gymnasium.