After the suspicious fire destroyed the old Notre Dame High School on the top of School Street a few years ago, I wrote a story of all the schools that once stood on this same spot. For all the loyal Notre Dame graduates, I will try to give some details on how your old alma mater got started. I hope all the members of the old "Blue and Gold" will enjoy this short story.

The first Berlin High School stood on this spot and was built in 1885. On December 15, 1904, this building came down in a fiery blaze. By 1905, it was decided to build another school on this same spot. It was ready by January of 1906 and housed the lower grades. It was called the George E. Burgess School. Eleven years later the top of the hill was hit by fire again. This time four walls were the only things left standing. Once the weather got better, the debris was cleaned up, the walls were fixed and the building was rebuilt.

By 1941, the school building was no longer being used for education. It housed WPA sewing projects and a federal surplus commodities depot. The catholic parishes in Berlin were looking to have a high school of their own and they had this building in mind. A request came in the form of a letter from the Reverend O.F. Bousquet, pastor of Angel Guardian church, in early may of 1941. He said that he was making the request on behalf of Bishop John B. Peterson of Manchester.

Mayor Aime Tondreau and councilman Richard Ramsey agreed that it was "a most worthy suggestion", to start a catholic high school. They figured that if the new school were started, it would be a considerable savings to the taxpayers over a period of time. The Reverend Bousquet was invited to attend the next meeting of the city council and further discuss his plan.

After Father Bousquet attended the meeting to further explain his plan, it was apparent that there was little doubt but that it would go through. A special committee was appointed by Mr. Tondreau to work with the pastor on getting the building and also finding new quarters for the existing industries that were now there. The committee consisted of councilmen Ramsey, Boulanger, Hamel and Blackburn.

The plan of the pastor was to lease the building for a ten-year period, so as to get the school started. He wanted to get an accredited high school, fully approved by the state. It was planned that the Angel Guardian parish would absorb all the costs of preparing the school, such as repairs, supplies, equipment, etc. This would include all operating costs for the first year. Father Bousquet also expected that St. Anne and St. Joseph parishes would also pay their proportionate share of the cost. Also, pupils from St. Patrick school, who might desire to attend the new parochial high school, would be accepted on a tuition basis. The first year, said Father Bousquet, there would be two ninth grades, a tenth grade and an eleventh grade. The twelfth grade would start the following year.

A heated discussion was now going on about the lease. One councilman wanted the lease to go on year by year, in event that the city would want the building back. Council William Thomas said that if one of the public school buildings would burn, it would be necessary to use the Burgess property. Mayor Tondreau opposed the one-year lease, however on the grounds that it was not sufficient security for the pastor in starting as expensive a venture as a new high school. He favored the ten-year lease with an option to renew.

The other problem was where to put the existing occupants. There were three suggestions. One was the old Berlin Mills fire station, which now stands empty at 1287 Main St. The other was at the old King School, where the St. Vincent De Paul thrift shop is today. The last place was the old Berlin Wholesale Grocery Warehouse, which was on the corner of Main and Mason Streets.

It was recommended by the committee that they be empowered to lease the Burgess school property to the catholic parish with the approval of the city council. On September 9, 1941, Notre Dame High opened its doors with 140 students. There were three grades. They included three ninth grades with a total of 83 pupils, a tenth grade with 28 pupils and an eleventh grade that had 29 pupils. The teachers who started were four nuns from St. Regis Academy, two from Canada and one from Manchester. The ninth and tenth grades at St. Regis were discontinued and sent to the new high school.

The building was completely renovated, painted and varnished through out. There were eight rooms available at the start and five were used for classrooms. The other three were a library, a science laboratory and a typing classroom. The school started operation with one session from 8 am to 2pm, with lunch at 11am. The cafeteria was built in the basement.

The school received its accreditation in 1942 from the New Hampshire State Board of Education. By 1954 a new wing was built and became the home of the teachers. Four new classrooms were also added as the school grew. The first class to graduate from our parochial high school on the hill was the class of 1943. They dedicated their yearbook to Father Omer Bousquet, Pastor, Most Reverend John Bertram Peterson, Bishop of Manchester and Mayor Aime Tondreau and the city council. Without these people Notre Dame would not have developed.

Top