The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-01-16
St. Joseph's To Celebrate Event
 Next Monday
Registration Placed at lO3O-Ceremonies Open Witt,
 Solemn High Mass-Program in the Evening at Auditorium With Children and Alumni Participating

The Lithuanian. people of Water bury. members of St Joseph's parish, are preparing to celebrate, on Jan- uary 19. the silver jubilee of their parochial school. They have reason to enter wholeheartedly, and with a feeling of honest pride, into the joy of this commemoration, for it is a far cry from the humble beginnings of their school to the present build ings with their splendid equipment. and vast increase in the number of pupils. The great progress made during the past quarter of cen- tury has been the fruit of their loy- atty and generous sacrifices.
 When Father Saurusaits first came to Waterbury in 1898, he found the parish already quite well organized, thanks to the jealous ef- forts of its first pastor. the Rev J. Zebris. From the start. the interests of Father Saurusaitis were centered in the establishment of a parish school. He was never tired of re- beating to his flock that a school is even more necessary than a church. You can worship anywhere" he used to say. "hut unless you provide for the Catholic education of your children, the very future of your parish is doomed".
 Humble Beginnings
 The first material efforts were modest in the extreme: couple of rooms in a private house, few lay teachers and handful of children who gathered together after the regular school hours. to receive 1n- struction in their religion and in their native tongue. It was only in 1908 (and from this year St Joss eph's school dates it's formal hegin- had been completed. that the hopes ning) after the present brick church anything like realization. The orig of Father Saurusatis apnroached inal frame structure that had served thus far as place of worship was partitioned into classrooms. the Sis ters of the Holy Ghost. who had come to the diocese of Hartford from their native Brittany just few years previous. were asked to assume the direction, and the new school was formally opened with reristration of twentytwo pupils.
 From then on. the history of St Joseph's school has been one of con- tinued progress that bids fair to rival that of any other educational institution in the diocese. The first class was graduated in June. 1912. Though numberoug only two mem- bers, it shed luster on the school. for both promptly announced their de- cision of aspiring to the religious life. and ot-dav one is missionary priest, the other a sister. teaching in the same school (albeit in differ ent eurroundings) in which her re- ligious vocation first gepminated.
 Rapid Growth
 But already, the enrolment of pupils had far exceeded the limited Accommodations; new brick edifice on Congress avenue was well on the way to completion, and in the fall of that same year sisters and pupils moved into their more commodious quarters Though the new building contained twelve large rooms, in few years it. too, proved altogether inadequate. Each year the number of pupils increased apace. and for some time the good sisters had 10 worry along as best they could with the overflow in the makeshift quar- ters provided in the old building.
 Tn 1919. Father Joseph Valantie- jus succeeded Father Saurusaitis in the administration of the parish. The financial burdens were heavy. the buying of additional property and the founding thereon of an asylum for the orphaned children of the parish made these burdens heavier still. Nevertheless. in 1924. he reso- lutely laid the plans for still another school building and the following year saw the plans carried out to completion. The new edifice, erected on the site of the original frame structure, was dedicated December 20, 1925.
 The new building. containing twelve additional classrooms and spacious auditorium, is modern in