Catholic Girl in the '50s

By: Mary Ellen Kauth Olsson

Narrated by: Annette Martin

This collection of memoirs walks the listener through the experiences of a child growing up in Omaha, Nebraska in the 1950s. Her young life in Cathedral parish centers around church, school, and neighborhood, whose ever-widening perimeters became her arena of learning, mischief, and play.

School stories began with the bewilderment of a five-year-old meeting a traditionally dressed Dominican sister, her first-grade teacher, for the first time. Then, through other stories with a child's vision, we see the education she received, activities in which she participated, and the people surrounding her in her 12 years at Saint Cecilia's Grade School and Cathedral High School. Her stories also visit places that no longer exist, like Peony Park, Aksarben, Blackburn Pharmacy, and even, sadly enough, our Cathedral High School. Although these places no longer exist, visiting them again will show you how special they were, and how much fun they brought to young lives.

The real stars of these memoirs are the people that made them memorable. Usually identified only with their initials, they bring forth stories that were fun to revisit. Each person was one component in the development of a young life so different from those growing up in the 21st century. The all-important family, the class of 35 first graders that grew to 111 high school graduates, the sisters and priests that gave their lives to their God, and to their students were all important pieces in the development of this Catholic Girl in the '50s.

Mary Ellen Kauth Olsson (aka Baba Herk) is a wife, mother of four, grandmother of one, a retired alternative educator with a BA in English and History from Duchesne College, and an MS degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She has written stories and poems throughout her 77 years, but writing her memories for the Echo section of the "Cathedral Chimes" and the desire to share her family stories with her grandson developed this memoir.

©2021 Mary Ellen Kauth Olsson (P)2023 Mary Ellen Kauth Olsson

An interesting visit to Omaha in the 1950's.

It was a fun visit my mother's life in the 50's. An easy story to follow and see what life was like.