Bursting at the seams

Despite additional classrooms, the 1945/46 school year saw the establishment of two class sessions to accommodate the overcrowding. Class times were 8:00 am to noon and noon to 4:00 pm. By 1946 there were three lay teachers along with the nuns teaching our children. It was during this year that the first CYO football team was formed, sponsored by the Holy Name Society.
 
Even though more Masses were added to the schedule, by 1947 the auditorium was being used to accommodate the overflow of new parishioners. This remained the case as
St. Margaret Mary Church and School ushered in the 1950’s. The parish kept growing and enrollments continued to climb. Once again plans were undertaken to expand the school. Construction of a new school wing and a convent began in 1953 under the direction of Fr. Wellman and his assistant Fr. Robert Plagge.
 
During this time, Fr. Plagge lived in a converted store and the Sisters were living in three different homes, one of which was also being used for daytime classrooms. By the end of 1954 the convent was complete, accommodating up to 20 nuns.
 
With the completion of the new school wing, seven rooms were sectioned off to be used for classes while the remaining space and corridor was used as a chapel. This meant the auditorium no longer needed to be used for Masses. However, two years later the school chapel space had to be converted into four classrooms and the auditorium was once again transformed into an auxiliary church. The stage was removed and a communion rail was added. St. Margaret Mary was one of the largest congregations in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and still growing! And even though these building additions proved to be very costly, the parishioners still had dreams of a larger, more accommodating church.
 
Fr. Plagge left the parish in Spring 1956 due to illness and was replaced by Fr. Francis Fritz. In 1957 the Archdiocese High School Fund Campaign began and ran for two years. Large amounts of money were pledged for this cause and the possibility of a new church was dimmed. In June 1957, Fr. William Lang replaced Fr. Fritz. He worked night and day to relieve some of the burden Fr. Wellman was dealing with. But Fr. Wellman continued to drive himself and, being in poor health, was soon hospitalized. October 24, 1957 marked the end of an era for St. Margaret Mary Parish when, after devoting 35 years in ministering to the needs of our parish, the beloved Fr. Wellman passed away.