NDHS grad Olivia Reeves wins Olympic gold The weightlifter, also a St. Jude School alum, is welcomed back to Chattanooga with a parade By Dan McWilliams
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livia Reeves, an alumna of Notre Dame High School and St. Jude School in Chattanooga, made history when she won the gold medal in the women’s 71-kilogram (157-pound) weightlifting category Aug. 9 at the Summer Olympics in Paris. Miss Reeves’ gold was the first for the United States in weightlifting since 2000. She is the first Olympian to come from either of the Chattanooga schools. Students, teachers, and staff of both of her former schools held watch parties as NBC broadcast Miss Reeves’ run to the gold. NBC had a live feed of the Notre Dame watch party. Miss Reeves, 21, set an Olympic record with a lift of 117 kilograms (258 pounds) in her third attempt in the snatch, after lifting 112 and 115 kilograms in her first two tries. She then lifted 145 kilograms (320 pounds) in the clean and jerk for a combined total of 262 kilograms (578 pounds) in both events to clinch the gold medal. Miss Reeves successfully lifted 140 kilograms in the clean and jerk before lifting 145, with her only failed attempt coming at 150. Mari Sánchez of Colombia (112145—257) won the silver medal while Angie Palacios of Ecuador (116-140—256) took the bronze. Miss Reeves, a student at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, was welcomed back to her hometown on Sept. 3 with a parade through the UTC campus and a pep rally at Chamberland Field, at which she received the key to the city. St. Jude and NDHS students participated in both events. “In her time at Notre Dame High School, Olivia was quiet, unassuming, and had we not recognized
Gold medalist alum of NDHS and St. Jude School Olivia Reeves (center) holds her gold medal during the medal ceremony at the Summer Olympics in Paris. With her on the medal stand are silver medalist Mari Sánchez (left) of Colombia and bronze medalist Angie Palacios of Ecuador. her at a school assembly, no one would have ever known she was as accomplished as she already was,” said Diocese of Knoxville schools superintendent George Valadie, former Notre Dame president. “But more importantly, we have four granddaughters in our family, and if any of the four grow up to be half the human being she is, our family will be most blessed.” Deacon Hicks Armor, a 1970 graduate of Notre Dame, is a former head of school at his alma mater. “We’ve always thought and be-
lieved that Notre Dame is a worldclass institution, and Olivia has made that come true,” he said. “For a graduate of Notre Dame, qualifying for the Olympics is a huge piece. Competing in the Olympics is a phenomenal experience, but winning a gold medal has to be just an unbelievable honor and privilege. “For Notre Dame to have an individual come through that school—she’s built character, she’s competed with class, and I couldn’t be prouder of her. It’s a huge honor
for Notre Dame as a school that one of their own qualified, competed, and won a gold medal, so I think it’s just an unbelievable day for Notre Dame.” Miss Reeves won a gold medal at the 2021 Junior World Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and took gold at the 2021 Junior Pan American Games held in Cali and Valle, Colombia. She won a silver medal in the snatch event at the Tashkent competition. In 2022, Miss Reeves won the Olivia Reeves continued on page B2
OLPH class of 1974 gathers for 50-year reunion
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he class of 1974 from Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Chattanooga returned to the campus July 20 for its 50-year reunion. Some 80 percent of the 58-member eighth-grade class attended the event, with many coming across the country to be present. Father Mike Nolan, pastor of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish in Cleveland and a member of the class of 1974, presided at a Mass at OLPH Church before the alumni took tours of the school and gathered in the parish life center for a “Ram Power Hour.” The Mass was celebrated in memory of the eight deceased members of the class. Deacon Dennis Meinert assisted at Mass, and wife Ann Meinert played piano for the liturgy. Following Mass, the former students posed outside the church for a re-creation of their class photo from five decades before. Class members shared many memories of their days at OLPH, remembering events from the 1970s as well as their favorite teachers, who included members of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the community that founded the school in 1937 and taught there until 2003. To begin his homily, Father Nolan thanked OLPH pastor Father Arthur Torres and school principal Dr. Caroline Carlin, who led the tours
of the school—much expanded since 1974—after Mass. He also saluted reunion organizers Jean Payne and Julie Steele. “It’s good to be home,” Father Nolan said. “I thank Father Arthur for so graciously allowing me to offer Mass this evening on the occasion of the eighth-grade graduating class of 1974, assembled to celebrate its 50-year reunion. “A special thanks to Dr. Carlin, the head of school, Cathy Clifford, Carlene Lori Evans, and Kari Ingle, who helped us make this happen, and to Mrs. Meinert, who agreed to try to incorporate hymns from our graduation Mass into tonight’s liturgy. Our class certainly owes a debt of gratitude to Julie Steele and Jean Payne and the many characters who shepherded an idea for this celebration to a reality.” Father Nolan, who served as pastor of OLPH from 1997 to 2009, introduced Dolores Howell, the class of 1974’s first-grade teacher. She stood and received one of several ovations the assembly made during the priest’s opening remarks. “Mrs. Howell was our first-grade teacher. Look what you started,” Father Nolan said to laughter. The Gospel for the Mass came from Mark 6:30-34, where Jesus asks his Apostles to rest from their labors. “When I was a kid, I hated taking naps, and now if I’m not careful, naps take me,” Father Nolan said
By Dan McWilliams
DAN MCWILLIAMS
Many students in the class return to reminisce at the Chattanooga church and school
Together again Bobby Phifer (left) and Tommy Harper of the OLPH class of 1974 talk about school days at the 50-year reunion. as the assembly laughed. “Yes, I do tire more easily, but I’ve still got more to do, more that I want to do, more than I’m able to accomplish. Frankly, we all do. Yet our Good Shepherd, Jesus, is insistent about His invitation to His disciples, worn out by their mission. Jesus is directing them to ‘come away to a deserted place’ by themselves, not abandoning their mission but to be refueled to further the kingdom.” Chapter 6 of Mark’s Gospel recounts several miracles. “The Gospels are chock-full of miracles, and there are a lot of them just in this one chapter from the Gospel of Mark proclaimed by Dea-
con Meinert tonight: feeding the multitude, walking on water, healing the sick, wonders upon wonders,” Father Nolan said. “From tonight’s passage, just as Jesus plans for getting away and spending some alone time with His disciples, their plans are ruined by a needy crowd, and we encounter one more often-overlooked miracle: Jesus has compassion for them. “Jesus responds to the enthusiasm of the crowd not with exasperation but with compassion. That’s a miracle, a miracle we have benefited from, participated in, and frankly given to others throughout our
OLPH reunion continued on page B2