History

St. Michael’s Parish began in 1914 when 45 families met for Mass in a fire hall on Dodge Street and 51st Avenue East. The basement for the school at 4924 Pitt Street and the parish chapel were constructed in 1914. In 1915, Lakeside Catholic Church was incorporated and named St. Michael’s church. Father Thomas Hennebry was named pastor in 1915 and the school’s construction was begun.

 

The school facility, connected with the church building, was finished in 1923 and opened in September with an enrollment of 72 students. Dominican Sisters came from Springfield, Illinois, to staff both St. Michael’s and Our Lady of the Rosary’s schools. The first teachers were Sister Clementine and Sister Eleanor.

 

Lay faculty enriched the education ministry when the sisters could no longer staff the entire faculty. The Dominican Sisters last served St. Michael’s School in January 1982.

In the spring of 1993, a neighboring public school became available for bids. After much deliberation and study, a blue ribbon committee spearheaded by Father William Fider began drafting a business plan to assess the feasibility of purchasing Lakeside School at 4628 Pitt Street. Numerous meetings with the Parish Council, Finance Council, St. Michael’s School Board, and the Duluth Public School Board resulted in a purchase agreement in the amount of $41,000. This much larger school became known as St. Michael’s Lakeside School.

The new facility provides ample space for classrooms, music, art, a computer lab, a library, a cafeteria, a gymnasium, a nurse’s office, meeting rooms, administrative offices, and a fund-raising office. With much jubilation and celebration, on October 31, 1994, the dream of a new school building became reality. This decision will secure the future of St. Michael’s Lakeside School as a Catholic elementary school and as the parish religious education center. Community groups and tenants also utilize the building.