1951 Nov. 2^nd. Fr. T.C. Donohoe dies, after having spent 13 years as pastor of St. Patrick’s Church.

1952 (about) A new building is constructed to house St. Mary’s grade school, to the east of the old high school building.

1953 (Spring) The last class graduates from Catholic Central High School.

1953 June 25^th. Walsh Corporation is formed to plan a central high school for boys.

1953 Aug. 25^th. Msgr. J. M. Walsh dies at St. Joseph Hospital, where he has lived since his retirement.

1953 Sept. 8^th. Walsh High School, named in honor of Msgr. J. M. Walsh, opens in the former Wormhoudt home at 402 Chester Avenue. The first class graduates in 1954.

1953 (About) The old school building on Fourth Street is torn down.

1956 St. Patrick’s Church is torn down to make room for a new structure.

1957 The cornerstone for a new St. Patrick’s Church is laid.

1957 April. The Sisters of the Humility of Mary acquire the T. Henry Foster home at 1560 N. Elm for use as a convent residence, and rename it Villa Marie after the original motherhouse of the order.

1957 Oct. 8^th. The building which houses the motherhouse of the Sisters of the Humility of Mary, Ottumwa Heights College and Ottumwa Heights Academy is destroyed by fire. The blaze is discovered at 12:15 p.m.; a lack of water hampers fire-fighting efforts, and shortly after 1 p.m. the roof collapses.

1957 Oct. 15^th. The first books donated to replace the 16,000 lost in the Ottumwa Heights fire are moved into the library of the temporary quarters of the college and academy at the Ottumwa Industrial Airport, in buildings which formerly housed the Naval Air Station. Within three weeks of the fire, the college and academy are again in session, and planning begins for the replacement of the old building with a new motherhouse and college facility.

1958 May Bishop Ralph L. Hayes of Davenport officiates at the dedication of the new St. Patrick’s Church at the corner of Church and Ward Streets.

1958 The Sisters of the Humility of Mary break ground for construction of their new motherhouse and Ottumwa Heights College facility.

1958 Bishop Ralph L. Hayes lays the cornerstone of the new Ottumwa Heights College facility.

1959 Sacred Heart School, for elementary age children of the parish is established by the Sisters of the Humility of Mary in a new building located just east of Sacred Heart Church.

1959 The Sisters of the Humility of Mary begin construction on a new addition to St. Joseph Hospital on E. Alta Vista.

1960 September. The new Ottumwa Heights College and motherhouse of the Sisters of the Humility of Mary open.

1960 November. The first patient is admitted to the new wing of St. Joseph Hospital.

1960 September. The Ottumwa Heights Academy is discontinued and the new, co-educational Walsh High School opens in the former Naval Air Station at the Ottumwa Industrial Airport.

1961 March. Contracts are let for the construction of a new Walsh High School at 2662 Meadowdale. Walter A. Zlogar is general contractor, and the firm of Steffen and Stoltz is the architect.

1961 April 9^th. Ground is broken for the new Walsh High School building. Msgr. W. E. Cullinan, pastor of St. Mary’s turns the first spadeful of earth. Rev. J. J. Collins, pastor of St. Patrick’s, blesses the ground.

1961 May 8^th. The new Ottumwa Heights Center is formally opened by the Sisters of the Humility of Mary.

1961 June. The Sisters of the Humility of Mary dedicate the Stations of the Cross in the new chapel at the Ottumwa Heights Center.

1962 May. Arcadio Cardinal Larraona, C.M.F., comes from Rome to take office as cardinal protector of the Congregation of the Humility of Mary.

1962 Sept. 4^th. First classes are held in the new Walsh High School.

1962 Nov. St. Joseph Hospital cuts the ribbon opening a new parking lot on the north side of the hospital.

1965 May. Msgr. W.E. Cullinan celebrates the 50^th anniversary of his ordination.

1967 Feb. For the first time, male students are admitted to Ottumwa Heights College. During the decade, the student population shifts; more students live off campus, and more commute. By the end of the decade, more than half of the students are Protestant.

1967 The Walsh High School Gaels finish fourth in the Iowa State Basketball championship tournament.

1968 The Walsh High School Gaels finish second in the Iowa State Basketball championship tournament.

1968 May. Msgr. W.E. Cullinan retires.

1969 The Walsh High School Gaels finish second in the Iowa State Basketball championship tournament.

1969 October. A joint study is announced to consider merging St. Joseph Hospital with Ottumwa Hospital.

1970 January. The Catholic School Board, with the approval of the diocesan school board and Bishop Gerald O’Keefe, decide to discontinue Walsh High School.

1970 May 29^th. Walsh High School holds its last graduation. For the first time in 106 years, Ottumwa is without a parochial school below the junior college level.

1970 (About) The Walsh High School building is sold to the Ottumwa public school district. It serves as Walsh Junior High School and later as headquarters for the school district’s administrative offices.

1970 August. Dr. John Alberti becomes the first man and the first lay educator to become president of Ottumwa Heights College.

1971 June. The alumni of St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing hold a reunion and picnic. The 1971 graduation class is the last; the school has graduated at total of 702 nurses.

1971 October. Fr. Dennis Cahalan, the pastor of St. Patrick’s, dies.

1972 Fr. R. J. Murphy renews Sacred Heart Church to its original appearance, restoring original interior paint colors and cleaning and tuckpointing the exterior.

1972 September. Father Paul Hart celebrates the 25^th anniversary of his ordination with a Mass at St. Patrick’s Church.

1972 December. Sister Mary Louise Walsh dies at age 79. She was principal of Catholic Central High School from 1949 to 1953, and of Walsh High School from 1953 to 1961.

1973 August. The first Family Outdoor Art Festival is held on the grounds of Ottumwa Heights College.