Campion Jesuit High School was a
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
for boys in
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Prairie du Chien () is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821.
Often referred to as Wisconsin's second oldest city, Prairie du Chien was esta ...
, named for the Jesuit
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
Edmund Campion
Edmund Campion, SJ (25 January 15401 December 1581) was an English Jesuit priest and martyr. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Anglican England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason, he was ...
. The school operated from its founding in 1880 until
closing in 1975, and educated several notable figures during its existence. The former school's campus now houses a
prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
operated by the state of
Wisconsin Department of Corrections
The Wisconsin Department of Corrections (WIDOC) is an administrative department in the executive branch of the state of Wisconsin responsible for corrections in Wisconsin, including state prisons and community supervision. The secretary is a cab ...
. The school operated independently of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse
The Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse ( la, Dioecesis Crossensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese (Roman Rite) of the Catholic Church encompassing the city of La Crosse and 19 counties: Adams, Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Crawford, Dunn, Eau Cl ...
.
History
Campion High School was founded in 1880 as the College of the Sacred Heart. Established on property donated by Prairie du Chien
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
John Lawler, the school was originally operated as a college by Jesuits from the
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
, mission of the German Province of the Society of Jesus. Its first president was Rev. William Becker, S.J. The school continued as a college until 1888, when it was closed to lay students and became a house of formation for Jesuit priests. Ten years later, in 1898, the school was reopened to the public, as both a high school and college.
In 1907, the Buffalo Mission of the German Province of the Society of Jesus was disbanded, and the College of the Sacred Heart was reorganized into the Missouri Province of the Society of Jesus. Shortly afterward, in 1913, the school was renamed the Campion College of the Sacred Heart. As the name change took place, the school underwent an early expansion phase that saw the construction of several buildings for academic and housing purposes. Then, in 1925, the school's college division was phased out and the institution became known simply as Campion Jesuit High School and was operated as a boy's boarding school. The high school quickly gained a reputation in both academics and athletics, and attracted students from across the nation. The school continued its growth until the mid-1960s, when the enrollment peaked at just below 600 students.
On Saturday, December 14, 1968, a large fire destroyed Campion's Kostka Hall, a building which housed the school's administration center as well as a theater, coffee house, dance hall, student radio station and other student recreational spaces. The fire, which began on the fourth floor, spread slowly and allowed for the building to be safely evacuated without any personal injuries. School records and other important documents were also removed before the fire became uncontrollable, and although the building was a complete loss, the school remained open and recovered quickly. Still, the fire was only one of several problems that the school had to face as it moved towards the 1970s. Not only was the school's enrollment declining dramatically, but the number of Jesuit priests available to operate the school was falling. In addition, ideological differences at the school led to conflicts between liberal and conservative staff members about the school's academic direction as well as its disciplinary and enrollment policies. Meanwhile, students began to rebel in various ways and racial tensions between white and African American students flared after the publication of a poem in a 1969 school newspaper that contained remarks many found to be obscene, racist, and offensive. Matters grew worse in 1972, when a Wisconsin law went into effect that allowed anyone above the age of 18 to purchase and consume alcohol, aggravating a drug problem on the campus. Parents upset at the situation at Campion began to consider alternative schools for their children, and discontented staff members began to resign. Financial difficulties only made matters worse, and in 1975 the school announced that it was closing.
Following Campion's closure, the campus was sold to the
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as theologically conservative, it was founded in 1850 in Milwaukee ...
for $2,800,000 and became home to the new
Martin Luther Preparatory School, another boarding school for training boys and girls for the Ministry. This institution opened in 1979 and continued until 1995, when it was moved to
Watertown, Wisconsin
Watertown is a city in Dodge and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Most of the city's population is in Jefferson County. Division Street, several blocks north of downtown, marks the county line. The population of Watertown was 22, ...
and consolidated with
Northwestern Preparatory School
Luther Preparatory School (LPS or Luther Prep) is a residential four-year High school, secondary school located in Watertown, Wisconsin, United States. Established in 1865, it is owned and operated by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WEL ...
to become
Luther Preparatory School
Luther Preparatory School (LPS or Luther Prep) is a residential four-year secondary school located in Watertown, Wisconsin, United States. Established in 1865, it is owned and operated by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). LPS focu ...
. In 1995, the Prairie du Chien campus was sold to the state of Wisconsin and transformed into a juvenile prison. Today the prison, called the Prairie du Chien Correctional Institution, serves as a medium security adult penitentiary. One building that was formerly part of the Campion High School campus, the sports complex at Hoffman Hall, remains outside of the prison and is operated as a public recreational facility by the city of Prairie du Chien.
Notable alumni
List of alumni
*
George Blaha
George Blaha (born March 26, 1945) is an American broadcaster. He has been the radio and television play-by-play voice of the Detroit Pistons since the 1976–77 NBA season. He currently is the lead play-by-play man on Bally Sports Detroit, bu ...
, sportscaster
*
Pat Bowlen
Patrick Dennis Bowlen (February 18, 1944 – June 13, 2019) was a Canadian–American lawyer, executive and the majority owner of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL), winning three Super Bowls. He was inducted in the Pro Foo ...
, owner of the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
*
David Doyle
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, actor
*
Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox Quesada (; born 2 July 1942) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 62nd president of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006. After campaigning as a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist, Fox was elec ...
, President of
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
(2000–2006)
[ Note: Vincente spent one year at Campion, where he learned English.]
*
Walter Halloran
Walter H. Halloran (September 21, 1921 – March 1, 2005) was a Catholic priestWashington Post, "Jesuit Priest Walter Halloran," March 9, 2005; p. B06 of the Society of Jesus who, at the age of twenty-six, assisted in the exorcism of Roland Doe, ...
, American Jesuit priest
*
John Henebry
John Philip Henebry CBE (February 14, 1918 – September 30, 2007) was a United States Air Force major general.
Early life
He was born in Plainfield, Illinois. In 1936, he graduated from Campion High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and t ...
,
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
General
*
Jack Horkheimer
Jack Horkheimer (born Foley Arthur Horkheimer; June 11, 1938 – August 20, 2010) was the executive director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium. He was best known for his astronomy show '' Jack Horkheimer: Star Hustler'', which started airi ...
, astronomy
*
Erich Hoyt
Erich Hoyt (born 28 September 1950) is a whale and dolphin (cetacean) researcher, conservationist, lecturer and author of 26 books and more than 700 reports, articles and papers. His book ''Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoise ...
, author
*
Harvey C. Jewett IV,
South Dakota Board of Regents
The South Dakota Board of Regents (also known as SDBOR) is a governing board that controls six public universities in the U.S. state of South Dakota. These include Black Hills State University, Dakota State University, Northern State University, So ...
*
Patrick Lucey
Patrick Joseph Lucey (March 21, 1918 – May 10, 2014) was an American politician. A member of the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Party, he served as the List of governors of Wisconsin, 38th Governor of Wisconsin from 1971 to 1977. ...
, Governor of Wisconsin (1971–1977)
*
Kevin McCarthy
Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Rep ...
, actor
*
William Joseph McDonough
William Joseph McDonough (April 21, 1934 – January 22, 2018) was a former vice chairman and special advisor to the chairman at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., responsible for assisting senior management in the company's business development efforts ...
, diplomat, banker, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
*
Robert F. McPartlin
Robert F. McPartlin (November 2, 1926 – April 15, 1987) was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician. He was a member the Illinois House of Representatives for the 16th district from 1960 to 1976, when he was indicted ...
, Illinois state representative, convicted of bribery
* Gregory Miller, real estate developer
*
Adolph John Paschang
Adolph John Paschang, MM (, 16 April 1895 – 3 February 1968) was an American Catholic bishop who was a member of the Maryknoll society. He was also a relief worker and educator working in the southern part of China in the early 20th c ...
, American bishop who served in China
*
John Powers, NFL player, Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings
*
Leo Ryan
Leo Joseph Ryan Jr. (May 5, 1925 – November 18, 1978) was an American teacher and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the U.S. representative from California's 11th congressional district from 1973 until his assassina ...
, Congressman from
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
(1973–1978)
*
Paul Scherrman, Iowa state legislator and businessman
*
John Touhy, Illinois politician
*
Dick Tuck, politician
*
Jerry Vainisi
Jerry Vainisi (October 7, 1941 – October 4, 2022) was an American football executive and businessman. He served as the general manager and executive vice president of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) when they won Sup ...
, businessman and football executive
*
George Wendt
George Robert Wendt Jr. (born October 17, 1948) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Norm Peterson on the television sitcom ''Cheers'' (1982–1993), which earned him six consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy ...
, actor
*
Garry Wills
Garry Wills (born May 22, 1934) is an American author, journalist, political philosopher, and historian, specializing in American history, politics, and religion, especially the history of the Catholic Church. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Genera ...
, author
See also
*
Diocese of La Crosse
The Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse ( la, Dioecesis Crossensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese (Roman Rite) of the Catholic Church encompassing the city of La Crosse and 19 counties: Adams, Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Crawford, Dunn, Eau Cl ...
Notes
External links
Campion Knights websiteCampion Forever website{{Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse, state=collapsed
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Schools in Crawford County, Wisconsin
Boarding schools in Wisconsin
Jesuit history in North America
Jesuit high schools in the United States
Defunct Catholic secondary schools in the United States
Educational institutions established in 1880
1880 establishments in Wisconsin
Educational institutions disestablished in 1975
Defunct schools in Wisconsin
Defunct boys' schools in the United States
Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse
1975 disestablishments in Wisconsin