A trip back in time to the church school I attended as a young boy brings together friends, stirs fond memories

Posted on by fchristlieb

My second whirlwind trip to the Houston area in as many weekends proved to be the abundantly special walk down memory lane I expected. I had the opportunity to gather Sunday, Oct. 25, with childhood friends and a huge crowd of about 275 worshipers, former students and church members for the Centennial Celebration of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in the Museum District near downtown Houston.

It was at the St. Matthew School, which sadly closed after the 1989-90 school year, where I attended elementary school with my brother Isaac from the fall of 1966 through December 1971. I was a 10-year-old in sixth grade when our family moved from SW Houston to Oak Ridge North in Montgomery County, where Isaac and I entered the public school system in Conroe ISD.

I sincerely hope everyone else who attended Sunday’s celebration had as wonderful a time as I did. I loved the packed church service, the beautiful choir music with trumpet and flute accompaniment, the delicious lunch – and most of all, the chance to see some sweet lifelong friends and reminisce about cherished long-ago years while visiting our old classrooms, the cafeteria, auditorium, and other areas of St. Matthew. I even met some folks who were in my brother’s class a year ahead of me.

From left: Me, Julia Nolte Hall, Jana Rudink Ott and Debby Kehrer Molloy in Mr. Finke’s old classroom.

I know all of us will always fondly remember our years at St. Matthew, the friendships we shared and the life lessons we learned. I wish Isaac and I hadn’t moved away from St. Matthew when our family did. But as we know, life always takes us in different directions, and wow, did it ever for us that year! Funny thing – St. Matthew twin brothers David Olson and Chuck Olson, who were in Isaac’s class, later ended up in Conroe too and graduated from Conroe High with him in 1977!

I’m so thankful that so many friends from my class and I found one another over 10 years ago and created a Facebook page for the school/church that has enabled folks to reconnect. Friends from my class and I have had the opportunity to get together in Houston in 2019 and 2023, and we’re hoping to organize a larger reunion in 2027 that will include other classmates who haven’t been able to join us or whom we haven’t located yet.

I’d like to extend my gracious thanks to anyone involved in organizing this incredible event. It’s clear that months of time, dedication and work went into this, and I’m so grateful. I hope the leftover food didn’t go to waste!

Below are some more photos friends from my class and I took. God bless the families of St. Matthew and their descendants from 1926 to the present. May you always be blessed. ☺️ ❤ 🙏

Alison Clarke Shiets and Julia Nolte Hall reminisce in the classroom at the end of the first-floor hall. In the mid-1960s, it was the kindergarten room before later becoming our fourth-grade classroom with Mrs. Wolf.
Julie Nolte Hall and me having lunch with other friends in Mr. Finke’s old 8th-grade classroom. He became the principal after Mr. Schaefer, the principal when my brother and I started at St. Matthew, retired.
Jana Rudink Ott, Alison Clarke Shiets and Debby Kehrer Molloy in Mr. Finke’s old classroom.
Jana Rudink Ott, Dr. Kirk Speck and Debby Kehrer Molloy in Mr. Finke’s old classroom.
Julie Nolte Hall, me and Alison Clarke Shiets.
This was our first-grade classroom with Mrs. Carnitz in 1966-67. I had been in kindergarten that year, but the K teacher, principal Mr. Schaefer and my parents all decided I was bored in K so I was bumped up to first grade at age 5 into this class. And my classmates and I are friends to this day!
This has always been the front of the school building that I remember from when I started attending in fall 1966.
Alison Clarke Shiets, Dr. Kirk Speck and Seneca Huckaby in Mr. Finke’s old classroom.
Debby Kehrer Molloy, me and Jana Rudink Ott in the sanctuary after the end of the centennial service.
Julia Nolte Hall, Dr. Kirk Speck and his friend Dr. Grace, a fellow dentist.
Seneca Huckaby and Dr. Kirk Speck, who found some Play-Doh to amuse himself.
The upstairs auditorium looks pretty much the same. We used to have square dancing and other fun activities up here!

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