Priory first opened in 1956 when my grandfather was 12 years old, about the same age as our youngest students at Priory. Now that I’m in high school, my grandfather loves telling me stories about what his school on the east coast was like. I know about his football and baseball teams, how he hated going to Mass in Latin (he wasn’t Catholic), and what he and his friends did on the weekends. A few months ago, I started thinking about doing my Eagle Project, and although I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I knew I wanted to do a project for Priory.
First, what is an Eagle Project? In Scouting America, the highest rank a Scout can achieve is the Eagle Scout. To earn this, the Scout has to show leadership, volunteerism, and demonstrate outdoor survival skills. In addition, the Scout needs to complete an Eagle Project for a beneficiary. I knew I wanted to do my project for Priory, and I learned that Priory has a photo archive. This holds photos of what Priory looked like in earlier times, although it doesn’t go into what Priory was really like. This is where my interviews will come in. I want to collect the stories about what Priory felt like back then: its community, athletics, education, and traditions. This led me to talk with Mr. Kates, our librarian, and Mrs. Covey, who works with the alumni.
My project consists of adding online and oral interviews of various alumni from multiple decades of the school’s lifetime to the digital archive. There is a Google form that alumni may complete. If you have relatives (dads, grandfathers, uncles, or older brothers) who attended Priory, please share this QR code with them. We are also reaching out to alumni on social media and through email. We don’t just want alumni stories, but stories from monks and teachers too (I’m looking at you, Mr. Finan!).
