A dinner party took place this week at the Province Center, where guests traded stories about Science Club meetings after school, the physics experiments they still remembered and the lifelong impact of having a young Viatorian priest as their teacher.
George Bernard talks with Fr. Arnold Perham
The guests, all near the age of 80, surrounded Fr. Arnold Perham, CSV and shared with him their memories. They all had Fr. Perham as their teacher within a few years after he was ordained. He taught them physics and moderated the Science Club at the former Cathedral Boys’ High School in Springfield, IL, which then became Griffin High School.
“We like to think of it not as a reunion but a testimonial,” said William Murray, of Palo Alto, CA, who organized the gathering with Paul LaFata, of St. Louis. “When we found out that his 95th birthday was coming up, we knew we wanted to do something. Some of us were going to be in the Midwest around now, so we picked this date.”
Clark Bullard, right, talks with Fr. Arnie
For his part, Fr. Perham remembered each of them and he keeps in touch with several. Still, the fact that so many of them made the trip to see him, he said, was remarkable.
“I’m really surprised that they wanted to do this — and travel so far,” he said. “But I enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed hearing what they did in their careers.”
Nearly all of them worked in the science field in one way or another. Both Murray and LaFata attended MIT after leaving Griffin and worked in the computer industry, while Clark Bullard was a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Illinois for 35 years.
(L-R) Daniel Punzak, William Murray and Edward Reisch
He still lives in Urbana, but previously served served during the Carter Administration as Director of the Conservation and Renewable Energy Policy Office at the Department of Energy. He also served on other task forces and commissions related to Illinois water and energy policy.
When asked what made Fr. Perham such a memorable teacher, Bullard said: “He was a young priest, maybe 30 years old, and as the moderator of the Science Club he was progressive and cutting edge.”
Another former student, George Bernard of South Bend, attended the University of Notre Dame and ultimately went to medical school at Northwestern.
“Fr. Perham is one of the reasons we all went to college,” Bernard said. “He helped up prepare for the SATs, fill out college applications and apply for scholarships. Otherwise, we never would have been able to go.”
During the dinner, several of the classmates stood to pay tribute to their former teacher and in the end they presented Fr. Perham with a plaque that thanked him with the inscription: “For being an exceptional teacher, an outstanding Science Club leader and a wonderful, caring mentor. We thank you.”