Class Leaders

Senior Class Officers: Jim Stewart, president; Anne McDonough, vice president; Phyllis Dent, secretary; Bill Allen, treasurer.

Junior Class Officers: Al Caputo, president; Sally Allen, vice president; Mary Ellen Taylor, secretary; Bernie Hale, treasurer.

Sophomore Class Officers: Vincent Schile, president; Carl Benvegnu, vice president; Mary Ellen Burns, secretary; John Delaney, treasurer.

Freshman Class Officers: Bob Sullivan and Gilbert Cordova, presidents; Beverly Reed and Yvonne Bell, vice presidents; Donna Murray and Joan Windle, secretaries; Leo Walz and Del Thomas, treasurers.

The Year

The halls at Judge were overflowing, with an enrollment of around 225 students, including 70 freshmen.

Faculty: Sr. Claire Antoine, principal; Fr. Mark Benvegnu, administrator and religion teacher; Fr. James Kenny, assistant athletic director, religion and languages; Fr. William McDougall, religion and English; George Melinkovich, athletic director, driver’s ed and physiology; Sr. Archangel, math and drafting; Sr. Teresa Clare, religion, history and physics; Sr. Franzita, speech and English; Sr. Jose Marie, languages, commercial classes and Pep Club; Sr. Miriam Rose, music; Sr. Stephanie, librarian; Vesta Seidel, sewing; Frances Waters, girls athletics; Claudia Sampson and Marie Lyman, nurses; custodians Benji Kaneko, Roy Okamoto and Kay Makita; Helen Eugster, office; cafeteria “ladies” Leone Small and Coletta Dent; Paul Melvyn, school photographer.

Tom Stephens and Barbara Pratini sang solos as the Music Department and the Glee Club celebrated National Catholic Bible Week in the auditorium. Anne McDonough was program emcee.

The Intermountain Register reported that junior Patricia Snarr, the majorette leading the Judge Pep Club, thrilled fans at the first Bulldog football game with her “acrobatic performance.”

Homecoming royalty featured Beverly Bell, Anita Griffin, Bernadette Walz and Marylyn Morrissey and their Varsity Club sponsors – Mr. Football Jim Stewart, Bill Hawkesworth, Dick Lovato and Norm Turner. Dance arrangements were made by general chairwoman Leslie Smith and Sally Allen, Ruth Ann Agnew, Rita Medford, Phyllis Dent, Mary Ellen Taylor, Mary Anne Liston, Mary Ann Winterer and Carolyn Morrissey. Providing music was Bill Skordas and his seven-piece orchestra.

Larry Williams, Bernadette Walz, Anne McDonough, Bob Moore and Bill Allen participated in the inaugural “Schools on Air” program on KNAK radio. Sponsored by Lewis Brothers Stages, the program focused on education – “The Child: A Citizen of Two Worlds.” The program opened with the Glee Club singing the school hymn, “Christ the King,” with Mary Anne Liston on piano. Marie Bennett later played piano while the Glee Club sang “I Whistle a Happy Tune” from “The King and I.”

Leading the Girls Sodality organization were prefect Bernadette Walz, vice prefect Mary Anne Liston, secretary Anne McDonough and treasurer Lorraine Jalbert. The year’s motto was “Live today Mary’s way,” through caroling, collecting Christmas boxes, organizing a vocational program and doing catechetical work along with receptions and breakfasts.

Sodality’s Eucharistic Committee included chairwoman Cecilia Paradis, Barbara Pratini, Colleen Smith, Lorraine Jalbert, Joann Brusatto, Phyllis Dent, Bernadette Walz, Jane Foley, Anne McDonough, Mary Ann Winterer, Diane Foster, Celeste Gourley, Marie Hale, Rita Medford, Barbara Kissner, Betty Artese, Pat Houghton, Ruth Hernandez, Elaine Seidel, Mary Anne Liston, Margaret Hedderman, Mary Gilhool, Sally Allen, Leeann DeBouzek, Nancy Bushore, Michaeleen Sherren, Anita Griffin and Colleen Friel.

Members of Sodality’s Apostolic Committee were chairwoman Joan Lager, Mary Gini, Jackie Woods, Marie Olsen, Barbara Welsh, Kay Delaney, Regina Patten, Kathy Adams, Leslie Smith, Nancy Howa, Barbara Jean Foster, Glaydus Hayes, Carroll Bell, Idamae Waters, Mary Ellen Burns and Marylynn Morrissey.

Our Lady’s Committee of Girls Sodality featured chairwoman Cathy Bannon, Joyce Sawaya, Winifred Mulholland, Pat Croxford, Mary Pat Rogers, Judy Allen, Beverly Bell, Nancy Rodriguez, Mary Ellen Taylor, Ruth Agnew, Judy Brady, Pat Soltis, Shirley Rodriguez, Helen Fife, Phyllis Tabish, Jayne Mead, Charlene Folger, Mary Catherine Smith, Lorraine Allam and Jackie McCarty.

Freshmen members of Girls Sodality included Marie Bennett, Donna Cordova, Hortense Rodriguez, Mary Vitzthum, Donna Murray, Mary Ann Bushore, Lauretta Mascher, Lorraine Carnesecca, Grace Hild, Joan Windle, Lorena Jacobsen, Pauline Cannell, Georgia Hamilton, Beatrice Hurtado, Anna Marie Keiser, Dorothy Roser, Beverly Reed, Kathleen Rosier, Elise Leford, Vera Dailey, Stella Burns, Sue Connole, Julie Penn and Jeanne Dent.

Bernadette Walz represented Judge against speakers from South, East, Granite, Rowland Hall and St. Mary’s-of-the-Wasatch high schools in the “Voice of Democracy” contest at KSL Radio. Walz advanced to the broader competition from an in-school showdown with Margaret Hedderman, Bill Hawkesworth, Anne McDonough and Mary Catherine Smith.

The 84-member Glee Club sang a musical program for radio station KMUR on Christmas Eve and also recorded a series of Christmas carols for radio station KNAK. Leading the Girls Glee Club were president Marylynn Morrissey, vice president Nancy Bushore, secretary Barbara Welsh and treasurer Mary Ellen Burns. The officers of the Boys Glee Club were president Dick Goldsworthy, vice president Al Caputo, secretary Bill Liston and treasurer Terry Fitzgerald.

Members of the Counselor Staff included Phyllis Dent, Joann Brusatto, Bernadette Walz, Mary Anne Liston, Mary Ann Winterer, Anne McDonough, Lorraine Jalbert, Winifred Mulholland, Colleen Smith, Patricia Snarr, Margaret Hedderman, Rita Medford, Mary Catherine Smith, Jane Foley, Shirley Rodriguez, Mary Pat Rogers, Joyce Sawaya, Elaine Seidel, Judy Brad, Barbara Pratini and Cecilia Paradis.

Construction began in January, 1953 on a new basketball gym capable of seating 750 and providing “much-needed facilities for athletics, manual training and additional classroom space.” But with the building half done, construction stopped in May because of a lack of funds.

Sr. Claire Antoine, the principal, spearheaded a drive to have the Intermountain Catholic Register delivered to the homes of every Judge student. The initiative was part of Catholic Press Month. She was aided by students Catherine Bai, Mary Ellen Beesley, William Mackin, Don Sawaya, Fred Gamble, Louise Rise and Nancy Engelke.

Composite scores for Judge seniors, juniors and sophomores taking the Iowa educational development test were all above the 90th percentile, with juniors reaching the 99th percentile. “This means that out of 806 high schools tested, the Judge 11th graders were better than the 11th graders in 797 of those schools,” the Intermountain Register said.

Jim Stewart and Phyllis Dent organized a skating party at the Normandie rink.

A ski club was led by president Branson Eilers, vice president Mary Louise Gini and secretary Harold Turner. Members were Butch Palmer, Mary Pat Rogers, Joan Lager, Jackie Woods, Pat O’Reilly, Beverly Reed, Jim Hamilton, Bob Goodday, Francis Jellesma, Wayne Pflueger, Dick Nichols and Charlie Manca.

Rita Medford and Bill Hawkesworth received “merit” ratings for articles they wrote about an East-Weber basketball game for the University of Utah’s second annual clinic for high school sports writers. A photograph taken by Phyllis Dent received national recognition.

Five Judge students appeared on television entertainer Eugene Jelesnik’s “Video Frolics” just before St. Patrick’s Day – Jayne Mead, Patricia Snarr, Sharon Franck, Phyllis Dent and Mary Barbara Welsh.

Mary Ellen Taylor was a candidate to be “Miss Spring” for a Salt Lake City Junior Chamber of Commerce clean-up campaign.

The Cheerleaders were Marie Hale, Judy Brady, Rosie Martinez, Mary Gilhool, Beverly Bell, Cathy Bannon and Carroll Bell.

Pep Club officers were president Leslie Smith, vice president Sally Allen, secretary Mary Anne Liston, treasurer Rita Medford and sophomore representative Ruth Agnew. Members included Lorraine Jalbert, Jane Foley, Colleen Smith, Marylyn Morrissey, Nancy Bushore, Anita Griffin, Bernadette Walz, Anne McDonough, Cecilia Paradis, Pat Soltis, Lorraine Allam, Judy Allen, Pat Croxford, Joann Brusatto, June Scott, Colleen Friel, Phyllis Dent, Pat Houghton, Barbara Kissner, Mary Ann Winterer, Joyce Sawaya, Margaret Hedderman, Phyllis Tabish, Peggy Clark, Helen Fife, Elaine Seidel, Leeann DeBouzek, Celeste Gourley, Jacqueline McCarty, Barbara Foster, Waters, Nancy Howa, Mary Pat Rogers, Hortense Rodriguez, Beatrice Hurtado, Sue Connole, Mary Ann Bushore, Joan Windle, Pauline Cannell, Lorena Jacobson, Jeanne Dent, Anna Marie Keiser, Ruth Hernandez, Dorothy Roser, Jackie Woods, Nancy Rodriguez, Stella Burns, Edith Hild, Ford, Yvonne Bell, Donna Cordova, Marie Bennett, Pat O’Reilly, Georgia Hamilton, Mary Vitzthum, Beverly Reed, Donna Murray, Kathleen Rosier and Mary Gini.

Juniors Francis Whalen, Patricia Snarr, Al Caputo, Margaret Hedderman and Jim Hamilton represented Judge at a model legislative session presented by the Junior Chamber of Commerce.

Senior Bill Allen was one of 11 Utah students to receive a merit award in a national NROTC contest.

Senior Mary Catherine Smith, the yearbook editor, had a poem called “Remembrance” published in the annual Anthology of High School Poetry.

An Intermountain Register feature story focused on freshman Conrad Nokes, whose hobby was taxidermy. Since taking a course from the Northwestern School of Taxidermy, he had stuffed ducks, pheasants, owls, hawks, deer heads and several smaller animals.

Clara Fuoco and Margaret Eklund described the nursing training program at Holy Cross Hospital to Judge girls at an assembly, hoping to recruit more to the program.

Sisters Teresa Clare and Claire Antoine took seniors on a trip to the state training school in American Fork so they could see methods of “teaching and training the feebleminded” and what it takes to be a social worker “in the field of incurables,” the Intermountain Register reported.

The entire student body expressed sympathy to freshman Edith Hild on the death of her parents.

Mary Catherine Smith was editor of the Basilean yearbook. Her assistant editors were Leslie Smith, Marylyn Morrissey, Jack Kilkenny, Bill Allen and Bob Moore. Fr. Mark Benvegnu was the adviser. The 1953 edition was dedicated to Judge graduate Fr. Robert Dwyer, then Bishop of Reno.

A Judge Boosters Club was formed in the spring to provide “material and moral support” for the school’s sports programs. A $12 donation was good for free admission to all sporting events and a banquet at year’s end. Joe Banchero was the club’s first chairman, with John Aberton and John Guthrie serving as officers. Coach George Melinkovich called for former Judge athletes to coach grade-school boys in the “fundamentals of the three major sports” so they’d be skilled upon reaching the high school. By May, the Booster Club provided some new football uniforms and a blocking machine. 

Sally Allen and Bill Liston were the queen and king of the Junior Prom at Meadowbrook Country Club, where entertainment was provided by Stewart Grow and his orchestra. Planning the event were Al Caputo, Bill Liston, Mary Gini, Bernie Hale, Patricia Snarr, John Benvegnu, Jacqueline Woods, Joan Lager, Joe Rotzler, Jim Hamilton, Bob Galanis and Margaret Hedderman.

The Senior Ball was held at the Ladies Literary Club, organized by Pat Houghton, Anne McDonough, Mary Ann Winterer, Bill Hawkesworth, Barbara Pratini, Jack Kilkenny, Bernadette Walz and Gilbert Martinez.  “Blue Velvet” was the theme. Al Sedgley’s Orchestra performed.

Memory Grove was the setting for the Sophomore Strut, whose theme was “Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes.” The organizing committee included Mary Gilhool, Bill McNamara, Marie Hale, Tom Stephens, Michael Mailhot, Carol Bell and Vince Schile.

Barbara Lynn Baker was featured in a piano recital in the auditorium, where other musical pieces were performed by Georgia Hamilton, Mary Patricia Rogers, Joan Windle, Mary Alice Vitzthum, Ted Raterman, Barbara Pratini, Thomas Stephens and Mary Louise Gini.

Barbara Pratini’s talk on Fr. Escalante won the annual Oratorical Contest. Robert Moore was second and Bernadette Walz was third. Also competing were Colleen Smith, Anne McDonough, William Hawkesworth, William Allen, Joann Brusatto and Leslie Smith. They all spoke about  b   people who contributed to the growth of the Catholic Church in Utah.

Judge students won three of seven awards given in a statewide contest that required written essays comparing a movie on Julius Caesar to a play written by William Shakespeare. Bill Taylor took second place, Hector Jalbert third and Tom Taylor fourth.

Plays

“The Lucky Finger,” directed by Sr. Franzita, starring Leslie Smith, Marilyn Morrissey, Barbara Pratini, Bernadette Walz, Anne McDonough, Jane Foley, William Smith, Cecelia Paradis, Mary Ann Winterer, Duane Garceau, James Stewart, Mary Anne Liston, Ted Raterman, Nancy Bushore, Larry Williams and Joann Brusatto. Bob Smith was technical adviser, Diane Foster was dance director and Bill Hawkesworth oversaw the construction crew. Lorraine Jalbert was over costumes, Patricia Houghton and Phyllis Dent handled make-up and Mary Catherine Smith coordinated publicity.

Sports

George Melinkovich, a Tooele graduate who went on to play for Notre Dame, became the new head football coach. He was on the last freshman team coached by Knute Rockne, earning All-America honors. He was Utah State University’s head coach for three years before coming to Judge, where he was expected to also coach basketball and baseball and to teach physical education and hygiene. Fr. James Kenny was his assistant coach, working with the lines in football and coaching the junior varsity in basketball and baseball. Fr. Mark Benvegnu also knew Melinkovich, having played against him in high school when Benvegnu was at Murray High. “George was running the ends all day and all I saw of him was flying heels,” Benvegnu told the Intermountain Register.

Melinkovich initially was pessimistic about Judge’s football prospects, telling the Intermountain Register: “They’re too small and cocky.” The Bulldogs did better than predicted, finishing with a 6-2 record, but missed out on a playoff run when they lost 20-13 to Bingham in the season finale. Gilbert Martinez and Richard Lovato were the team’s co-captains. “Both of Spanish-American extraction, the new co-captains offer proof that a fine American tradition is very much alive at Judge Memorial,” the Intermountain Catholic observed. Robert Moore was an All-State fullback. Ted Raterman was the quarterback, Bill Hawkesworth and Jack Kilkenny joined Moore in the backfield, John Benvegnu and Lovato were Raterman’s favorite receiving targets and George Howard, Jim Stewart, Bill Allen and Martinez were forces on the line. Rounding out the squad were Norman Turner, Jim Mascher, Bob Galanis, Jack Cashman, Toby Salazar, Jack Martin, Al Caputo, George Howard, Mike King, Dick Nichols, Bob Goodday, Leo Walz, Bill McKenna, Jack McNamara, Vincent Schile, Harry Shaw, David Howa, Richard Lovato, Neil O’Connor, Joe Rotzler, Don Roney and Bill Liston. The community’s pride in the team was reflected in the big turnout for the post-season banquet. Nearly 200 people attended the event, which featured remarks by University of Utah football coach Jack Curtice. Once again, Bishop Duane Hunt paid for senior football players to go to the Rose Bowl.

George Melinkovich’s first basketball team started out 2-0 but then slipped to a 4-8 mark overall. Ted Raterman was captain of the team, which also featured Steve Whalen, Pete Chiodo, Gilbert Martinez, Fran Whelan, Larry Williams, Norman Turner, Al Caputo, Joe Rotzler and Carl Benvegnu.

The baseball team finished 3-3 under coaches George Melinkovich and Fr. James Kenny. The squad included Ed Bartrief, Richard Lovato, Bill Snarr, Pete Chiodo, Mike King, John Webb, John Delaney, Bob Barber, Don Roney, Ted Raterman, Dick Lovato, Bob Galanis, Harry Shaw and Carl Benvegnu.

Melinkovich gave life to the Varsity Club, which recognized the achievements of athletes who had not lettered and had helped with Homecoming festivities. The Varsity Club’s officers were president Gilbert Martinez, vice president Norman Turner and secretary Bill Hawkesworth. Forming the club’s All-Sports Committee were Larry Williams, Fran Whalen, Joe Rotzler, Dick Lovato and Carl Benvegnu. Members included Bob Moore, Steve Whalen, Jack Kilkenny, Leon Allen, Jim Stewart, Ted Raterman, Bob Goodday, Don Roney, Mike King, Jack Cashman, Bob Galanis, Al Caputo, Bernie Hale, David Howa, Jim Mascher, George Howard, Ronny Lovato, Bill Liston and Pete Chiodo.

Harold Turner competed for the Intermountain Ski Association at Junior Nationals at Brighton Resort. He finished 18th in the slalom and 19th in the downhill. Each race had about 80 competitors.

Graduation

39 graduates (23 girls and 16 boys) on June 4 in the Judge auditorium.

General Excellence Award: Mary Catherine Smith

McGean Award: William Allen, Jr.

Moran Award: Ted Raterman

Religion Award: Mary Catherine Smith

Science Award: William Allen

Sr. Francis James Award for spirit: Anne McDonough

Cosgriff scholarship to St. Mary’s: Bernadette Walz

Holy Cross scholarship to St. Mary’s: Phyllis Dent

St. Mary’s scholarship based on a competitive test: Joann Brusatto

Diane Foster became a teacher and spent more than 30 years in California classrooms.