St Thomas Military Academy - Kaydet Yearbook (Mendota Heights, MN)

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Hailing from Prior Lake, Minnesota, Father Roach was ordained to the priesthood in June, 1946. He began his work at St. Thomas in September as an assistant dean and as Religion instructor. So evident were the capabilities of this manly, efficient priest that Father Flynn created him Head Dean of Boarders before the year was finished. Only a boarder could evaluate the service Father Roach has rendered St. Thomas, for the improve- ments he has made are too numerous to mention here. Known as a just but stern disciplinarian, he is always personally interested in the welfare of all cadets under his jurisdiction. Though for the main part his duties are in connection with the administraton of the boarder students, he serves St. Thomas in many other capacities: he is an en- thusiastic supporter and promoter of all school ac- tivities—our athletic contests, our dances, our clubs, our classes, our chapel services. Wherever cadets are gathered together at work, at play, or at prayer, there Father Roach is to be found. All in all, he so combines manliness, scholarliness, priest- liness, and administrative talent with the ability of being just himself, that he is miles from ever being a stuffed shirt. Page twenty

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Born and reared where men are men on the wind- swept prairies of North Dakota, Major Langeland fled southward in 1928 before a blizzard that obliterated his natal town of Lankin,- and since that time his life has been one with St. Thomas. Receiving his B.A. from the College of St. Thomas in 1932, he immediately plunged into a colorful teaching career at the Academy, at the same time working on his M.A. which he received from the University of Minnesota in 1937. In 1943 he was appointed Dean of Studies, succeeding Mr. Thom- as Grogan, and from the start proved that he was the man to handle the innumerable tasks con- fronting him. Enhanced with a keen sense of humor and the faculty to penetrate into problems, and driven by that rugged spirit of resolution so characteristic of the wind-beaten natives of North Dakota, this very personable young man has shown wisdom beyond his years in guiding St. Thomas cadets down a prudent road in difficult times. As his fourth year of directing academics draws to a close, the success already achieved gives rise to greater promise in the future for the Academy of tomorrow. MAJOR GEORGE E. LANGELAND Dean of Studies Page ninoteon

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Amiable Father Wittman was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, July 27, 1912. An alumnus of St. Co- lumba Elementary School, he attended Nazareth Hall, and later, St. Paul Seminary before being ordained to the priesthood on June 4, 1938. He returned to' his home parish as assistant pastor,- and four years later was transferred to St. Thomas Parish in Minneapolis, where he remained as as- sistant pastor until his appointment at St. Thomas, January 1, 1944. As Dean of Ireland Hall for two and a half years he held the destinies of the boarders in his capable hands. If we were to sum up Father Wittman in one word, that would be congeniality. On the campus, in the Mothers' Club and the Fathers' Club, in our homes—wherever he goes, he is known to all as a jovial, hearty priest. Coupled with his good nature are a practical com- mon sense and a warm-hearted humanness rare- ly found in one and the same person. Many of us owe a special debt of gratitude to him, because it was he who brought the good tidings of St. Thomas into our homes and eventually made it possible for us to enter the Academy. All of the cadets, however, from Dick Dunn to Orville Gren- ier, wish to thank him for all he has done for the school and assure him that he will be missed— but not forgotten. REVEREND ROBERT J. WITTMAN Field Director Pago twenty-one