{"id":8647,"date":"2023-07-19T11:28:03","date_gmt":"2023-07-19T17:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cathedralcrusaders.org\/?p=8647"},"modified":"2023-07-19T11:28:03","modified_gmt":"2023-07-19T17:28:03","slug":"serving-acts-of-kindness-the-courage-award-of-1972","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cathedralcrusaders.org\/serving-acts-of-kindness-the-courage-award-of-1972\/","title":{"rendered":"Serving Acts of Kindness – The Courage Award of 1972\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Madeline Hartjes \u201805<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

As reunion weekend approaches and we look forward to catching up and sharing memories, we have a heartwarming story to share with our community that unfolded because of a chance encounter at last year\u2019s reunion weekend. The story began 50 years ago when a student showed his classmate unexpected kindness. Chuck \u201cWally\u201d Waletzko \u201873 reached out earlier this year relating the story to us in an email.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \"\"<\/p>\n

Pictured above is Pete Steinkopf ’72 (left) and Chuck \u201cWally\u201d Waletzko \u201873 (right)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a friend of mine throughout grade school and high school by the name of Pete Steinkopf.\u00a0 He played football and wrestled, and even though he never got to start or letter in a sport, he made up for it with his grit and determination. Inspired by Pete\u2019s great attitude, I decided to collect $0.25 from all of the student athletes with whom he played. I used the money to buy a tall trophy at Fitzharris Athletic Store. At the year-end sports banquet, we surprised him with the trophy which read, \u201cThe Pete Steinkopf Courage Award – 1972.\u201d He was greatly surprised and most appreciative. I was thrilled to see him honored in this way.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n

I called up Chuck to ask about the inspiration behind his gift and how he had pulled it off!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPete and I knew each other since grade school at St. Paul\u2019s,\u201d Chuck recounted. \u201cI would see him running laps in the gym in a sweatsuit, working harder than everyone else but without the rewards the natural athletes got. I\u2019d ask him what drove him to continue on. Pete would always say, \u2018This is my deal. I\u2019m doing the best I can, and that\u2019s all anyone can do.\u2019\u201d Chuck knew that in a similar situation he would not have had the same good attitude. He wanted Pete to receive recognition for all his efforts, so he took matters into his own hands.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chuck went around collecting money from all the athletes to pitch in towards the $18 needed to buy the trophy. \u201cThey were happy to contribute. Pete impacted all of us.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He then contacted the head of the athletic department about the upcoming Letterman\u2019s banquet. As a senior, Pete would be receiving a participation award. At the end of the Letterman\u2019s banquet the head of the athletic department read the statement Chuck had written, acknowledging Pete\u2019s dedication and hard work, and presented the trophy. It came as a complete surprise, and Pete\u2019s parents were so proud to see their son applauded for his strength of character.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The story doesn\u2019t end here. Last summer, Pete Steinkopf was attending his 50th year class reunion and happened to see Chuck Waletzko\u2019s sister, Kathy McCann, who was in his class. He asked her for Chuck\u2019s number. A week later Chuck received a call.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cPete told me that the Courage Award had allowed him to prevail through many challenges over the years. Whenever he didn\u2019t feel up to something or experienced doubt, he would just remember the award and would be inspired to keep going.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I called up Pete to hear his account of how the award impacted him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI had the trophy displayed in my room for years,\u201d Pete said. \u201cI was very proud of it.\u201d In Pete\u2019s mind, the greatest impact he received was from his peers acknowledging his strength of perseverance. \u201cI would stick with things until I reached my goal. After graduation, the courage award was always there in the back of my mind, reminding me to keep going.\u201d The fact that his teammates affirmed his strength of character gave Pete the confidence that his perseverance would see him through. \u201cIt really made a difference for a lot of my life.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After graduation, Pete spent two summers in Yellowstone National Park, inspiring in him the desire to join the National Park Service. It was a very competitive position, but Pete was determined. He served in the Navy for 4 years and worked to pay for his college degree. His hard work paid off, and he landed the job of his dreams. In the National Park Service, he worked in the great outdoors for 40 years, tending to the natural beauty of our Country at Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, and The Grand Canyon. He\u2019s retired from the National Park Service but still works at the boat marina in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chuck was also impacted by the experience. He remembers the courage award as his first foray into raising money for a cause, a passion that would turn into a life-long calling. \u201cThe courage award impressed on me that fundraising is about having gratitude in giving. I was happy to make a difference for someone we all cared about. Over the years I found that people just want to know their life has greater meaning and impact, and through fundraising I could give them that opportunity.\u201d Chuck eventually became the director of fundraising and stewardship for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, where he worked on projects like the Tom Decker memorial in Cold Spring, and the Quin Siemore Chapel at the M Health Fairview Masonic Children\u2019s Hospital in Minneapolis. Chuck retired 7 years ago due to losing his sight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Through a quick phone call, Pete gave a great gift back to Chuck by affirming to him that 50 years ago, his small act of kindness really did make a difference. Until then, Chuck had never known whether the courage award had the impact he had hoped for. \u201cI expected it had sat on a shelf for maybe a year at most, then ended up in a landfill,\u201d Chuck explained. \u201cHearing from Pete that the award had really made a difference in his life was like a dream come true.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While many alumni are looking forward to making connections in person at this summer\u2019s reunion weekend, Chuck isn\u2019t sure he will attend. Being blind has its challenges, and he much prefers talking with people one-on-one. He\u2019s hoping that sharing this story inspires more people to connect in deeper ways.<\/span><\/p>\n

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We couldn\u2019t agree more. If this story is any evidence, there are great gifts we can receive through reconnecting with friends from our youth. You might just find that the kindness you showed in the past ripples right back to you in unexpected and amazing ways.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Calling all alumni!\u00a0 Inspired by Chuck, we are putting together class directories.\u00a0 Please update your contact information with your preferred email, phone number and address, and let us know if we have permission to share this info with your fellow classmates.\u00a0 We\u2019re hoping that this might open the door for more serendipitous connections to be made, and for us to hear about them!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Update your contact info at: <\/span><\/i>https:\/\/cathedralcrusaders.org\/alumni<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

To read the entire Cathedral Magazine Summer 2023 edition, visit: <\/span><\/i>https:\/\/cathedralcrusaders.org\/cathedral-magazine<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Madeline Hartjes \u201805 As reunion weekend approaches and we look forward to catching up and sharing memories, we have<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":8648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[167],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cathedralcrusaders.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8647"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cathedralcrusaders.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cathedralcrusaders.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cathedralcrusaders.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cathedralcrusaders.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8647"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cathedralcrusaders.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8653,"href":"https:\/\/cathedralcrusaders.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8647\/revisions\/8653"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cathedralcrusaders.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cathedralcrusaders.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cathedralcrusaders.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cathedralcrusaders.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}