“Few members of our parish can recall with much clarity the northeast corner of Dominion Blvd. and north High Street as it existed on January 17, 1946.

This was the date the late Bishop Michael J. Ready decreed the boundaries of a new parish to be called Our Lady of Peace. Fr. George H. Foley was named first pastor. The new pastor actually launched the parish when he moved into an apartment at 4217 N. High Street, near Cooke Rd., a few days after his appointment. Weekday Masses were said in the apartment. Sunday Mass first was held in the Beechwold Theater and later in the A. A. Schroyer Funeral Home (now Weir Arend). Meanwhile, the site of the present church and school was purchased. It contained two buildings; one was an old farm house at the corner which was torn down and the second became the first rectory and, later, the first convent. Behind these buildings thrived a vegetable garden, trees, weeds and a mass of just plain mud.

The first church on the property consisted of a barracks obtained from the Army Supply Depot at Marion. It was located at the northwest edge of the parish property, facing High Street. Kneelers and benches were constructed by prisoners of war. The date of the first Mass in the church is in dispute; some say Easter Sunday, 1946, while others contend it was June 1.

To be continued...