“It’s emotional for us all,’’ said Gillespie in looking back. “You miss it.”
The trio went to school together throughout their St. Julie Billiart days. When they started in first grade, Gillespie recalled, there were 32 students in the class. By the time they graduated, with the school set to close, the class was down to eight — all girls.
“That last year was a lot of fun — we’d been together for a long time,’’ Schuler said. “It was a good year and it brought us all closer together.”
“They were excellent students at St. Julie Billiart, and I’m happy to see that they have done well in high school,’’ said Ed Schweinefuss, who was principal at St. Julie Billiart for the final four years.
“It’s like anything else — the closing of one chapter, and the opening of a new one.
“It’s sad the school had to close,’’ Schweinefuss added, “but I’m glad the girls did well. They blossomed at Badin and we have to feel that the faculty and staff at St. Julie Billiart had a hand in preparing them for that.”
The final year was fun with just the girls in eighth grade, Gillespie said. “But it was really sad (that the school was closing).”
“It was more inevitable than anything,’’ Burch said of the closing. “It was an old building; it had memories, it had been there for a long time. Our class had gotten so small.”
Most of the younger St. Julie Billiart students who remained in Catholic school chose to make the switch to St. Peter in Chains School in Hamilton after the closing, though that was a recommendation and not a requirement.
Of being the last class, Schuler said, “It’s crazy – but it’s kind of cool. ... At the same time, it’s sad and emotional.”
After having gone to school together throughout their careers, the three girls will split up next year. Burch is headed to Miami University-Hamilton, Gillespie to the University of Cincinnati and Schuler to Xavier University.
And interestingly enough, the building on Schuler Avenue will reopen as a school this coming fall. The Richard Allen School — previously located at a portion of the former Champion Knightsbridge facility in Hamilton — has purchased the property from the parish and will set up shop there.
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