170th Anniversary Celebration

As the 1940s began, a world that struggled through the Great Depression quickly turned into a world at war. The 1940s saw Marvel’s introduction of its newest character, Captain America, timed appropriately with the start of US involvement in World War II. Thousands of Pacific Theater soldiers returned to the States with brightly colored, tropical-themed, short-sleeve shirts that exuded a carefree and casual image. The Aloha shirt became an icon of every-day wear and outfitted a new era of American life. GI benefits helped spark a housing boom and a baby boom, as a young, educated, middle class set their eyes on fulfilling their American Dreams. Big Band music served as a soundtrack for the decade, with musicians like Dinah Shore and Frank Sinatra leading the game. Tupperware was available in department stores, and the price of a loaf of bread was 10 cents.

The end of the ’30s saw great change for Saint Vincent High and Commercial School. The high school had grown so much that it was necessary to move it to a separate building — a four-story Edwardian building, the former Saint Francis Technical School at Geary and Gough streets. Girls wore a uniform consisting of a navy blue jumper, beige blouse with puff sleeves and a Peter Pan collar, black tie, and nylon stockings. World War II necessitated a uniform change when the beige French fabric was no longer available and nylons were rationed. As a result, a green blazer was added to the uniform, and the girls were thrilled to be able to wear Bobby Socks. The new school offered three major programs of study: college preparatory (accredited by the University of California), academic-commercial, and a general course (vocational in orientation). The school continued its one-year post-graduate commercial, secretarial course until 1945 which included shorthand, typewriting, bookkeeping, business English, filing, salesmanship, and general business training.

The 1950s gave rise to the expectation of universal high school education, and even a college degree. By the end of the decade, color television became a reality, Alaska and Hawai’i became the nation’s 49th and 50th states, and a 42-year old seamstress by the name of Rosa Parks helped spark the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement by refusing to give up her seat on the bus. A $17 million park of eight themed areas, with thrilling rides and exhibits opened, and was regularly filled with parents and children eager to visit “the happiest place on earth.” Rock ‘n’ roll blared on the radio. Sock hops kept teens out late. Diners and drive-ins catered to young people. A Memphis disc jockey introduced a new musician by the name of Elvis Presley to the airwaves, and James Dean’s T-shirt-and-jeans-wearing rebel became an icon.

In 1955, Saint Vincent had an enrollment of approximately 325 students with ten Daughters of Charity and eight lay teachers. The Daughters dropped "commercial" from the name of the school and became Sant Vincent High School to emphasize the college-preparatory curriculum. On prom night, every girl was required to visit the Sisters at school for an inspection of both dates and dresses. The Vincenta Yearbook made its first appearance in 1956, and with forest green uniforms, every day was Saint Patrick’s Day in the miniature Emerald Isle at Geary and Gough. The Junior Red Cross held a canned food drive, and St. Mary’s reverberated with the “Aves” of the Living Rosary. Due to illness, Sister Dolores, the newly arrived principal, had to resign. Sister Loretta, assistant of the community, flew from St. Louis to take care of SVHS until Sister Rosalie arrived. The student body welcomed a new Superior.

John F. Kennedy became the nation’s 35th president in 1961, inspiring a nationwide era of optimism. His assassination, along the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., deeply impacted the entire country. The Civil Rights movements represented great advances for people of color, and inspired by Kennedy's inaugural speech, James H. Meredith became the first black student to attend the University of Mississippi. A then-unknown band from the UK who called themselves The Beatles, debuted on the Ed Sullivan Show, while Big Bird debuted on a new children’s television show called Sesame Street. The US sent troops into Vietnam, and the decade closed with the Summer of Love and the Woodstock Music & Art Fair in upstate New York.

In 1964 the Daughters of Charity adjusted to the needs of a modern world by giving up their cornets and changing to more functional habits. The girls' uniforms changed, too. They adopted a plaid box-pleated skirt, white blouses, and a green sweater or blazer. On September 7,1962, flames from St. Mary’s soared high in the air — the Cathedral was burning. Within hours the structure, which survived the 1906 earthquake, was left in ruins. The Daughters graciously deeded their property to the Archdiocese in exchange for the use of a new high school building at 1100 Ellis Street (today’s De Paul Campus for the Arts). The name was changed to Cathedral High School, and it became part of the Archdiocesan school system. St. Vincent was razed, and a new St. Mary’s Cathedral was built next to the school. The school became increasingly multicultural and, as early as 1967, Cathedral and Sacred Heart High began to share facilities and faculties to make a wider range of classes available to all their students.

The 1970s were a time of tumultuous transitions — President Nixon resigned from office and the last American troops departed from Vietnam. The women’s movement saw the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, and a new movement to protect the Earth began. Environmental protests made an immediate impact in the collective consciousness, and the early 1970s saw the first Earth Day. In pop culture, mirror balls glistened and glittered in disco dance clubs to a soundtrack filled with songs by Donna Summer and the Bee Gees.

At Cathedral, the yearbook was called La Nouvelle to emphasize a new era. In 1975, the yearbook changed its name to The Retrospect and the school created a literary magazine called Patchwork and a newspaper called Torrian Talk. The new school continued many of Saint Vincent’s traditions such as Hello Day, Christmas Tableau, and Move Up Day. New events such as the Unity Mass, Faculty Day, and Open House for eighth graders debuted. Students participated in a variety of clubs and activities, such as Solidarity, Student Council, Choral Club and Library Club. New groups such as the Photography Club and Business Education Club were organized, and the Mental Health Club, Intercultural Club, and the Social Auction Club reflected the students’ growing social consciousness. The school population grew to about 400 students with approximately eight Daughters and 13 lay teachers.

Popular culture in the 1980s was about big hairdos, big shoulder pads, and the birth of cable television. Twenty-four hour news coverage and MTV played on televisions across the country. Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles was a definitive and fitting first video to hit MTV audiences. By the end of the decade, the ’80s laid claim to pop culture game changers like ET, Beverly Hills Cop, The Breakfast Club, Family Ties, Thriller, and Purple Rain.

In 1987, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory became the first co-educational Catholic high school in San Francisco. The transition took three years to complete and was achieved under the leadership of Sister Joan (Audrey) Gibson, DC, and Brother Philip Clarke, FSC. With respect to both schools and their traditions, a new school seal was designed to incorporate the olive branches from Cathedral’s seal, the star from Sacred Heart’s seal, as well as the motto of each community: “Sign of Faith” and “The Charity of Christ Urges Us.” Naming the two campuses after Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint John Baptist de la Salle honored the founders of the Daughters of Charity and the Christian Brothers. Much thought was also given to the new school’s symbols. In order to honor Cathedral and Sacred Heart high schools and celebrate their new identity, Sacred Heart Cathedral combined blue, green and white as their official school colors. The name “Fightin’ Irish” used by Sacred Heart’s sports teams was kept because “Torrians,” used by Cathedral, referred to Irish female warriors.

In the 1990s after a brief recession, the US economy grew along with household incomes and a healthy stock market. The Hubble Space Telescope was launched, the search engine Google was founded, and McDonald’s began supersizing. Smoking was no longer allowed in airplanes, Dolly the sheep was cloned, and Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first Black president. With the ’90s came the birth of the Internet, and thanks to computers, events, commerce, and culture had global reach through the world wide web. Tamagotchi digital pets could be seen swinging from student backpacks, the Chicago Bulls dominated the NBA, and a sitcom about a group of Friends in New York City enraptured audiences.

In 1991 Sacred Heart Cathedral graduated its first class to have gone through four full years of co-educational high school. Their pioneering spirit helped navigate between the old traditions of the two individual schools and paved the way for new SHC traditions, such as the Walkathon. On September 7, 1994, our domain, shcp.edu, was first registered, bringing SHC into the digital age. Construction began in 1996 on a sixth floor added to the La Salle classroom building to house a new library, school chapel, and terrace. The first floor was also renovated to provide additional classrooms. In April 1997, Archbishop William Levada blessed the new Herbst Library and the Victor Barulich Memorial Chapel.