SIOUX CITY – During warmer months, students at Bishop Heelan Catholic School have a new outdoor space to learn, eat and relax with friends.
The new Crusader Courtyard is outside the school’s main entrance. An area full of tables and benches, it was developed from unusable sloping space next to the O’Gorman Fieldhouse.
The idea came from Larry Walsh, a 1951 Heelan grad, after supporting the placement of the Blessed Virgin Mary statue from the old Heelan school outside of the fieldhouse doors.Â
Heelan president John Flanery said Walsh wanted a space where people could see the Mary statue and make the space useful.Â
Once the COVID-19 pandemic began, the need for an outdoor space became even more apparent.Â
The pair began recruiting supporters and eventually the project was fully funded by donors and a $50,000 grant from Montana-Dakota Utilities Foundation and Sioux City’s Knife River Construction and Jebro Inc.
Volunteer project manager Terry Hegarty worked with Ryan Callaghan, LiteForm, RP Constructors, Haugen Incorporated, Masaba and Bacon Creek Construction and Design.
The supporters created a design, installed foundation fill, built retaining walls, installed terraced concrete, installed hand railings and completed landscaping.
The area officially opened in August and Flanery said it has been an outstanding space. He said in the fall and spring students and teachers are utilizing it during study halls, lunches and classes.
The space will also be used for outdoor banquets and gatherings.Â
The tables, benches, planters and receptacles are sponsored by donors and have plaques. Flanery said it is a way to furnish the area, but also a way for the community to honor a loved one or former teacher and for the graduated classes and families to show support.
