Written by Jane Scupham, principal 
The phone call came from Jim Rickman just as I was walking out the door to leave for school. “The power’s out all over the church campus and across the street to Froberg Road. Seems it’s been out since after 2:00 a.m. The telephones are fine and NIPSCO is working on restoring the power.”
NIPSCO assured us that the power would be on soon. They had work crews all along Harrison Boulevard and Froberg Road. The show would go on—class in session retro style. Real retro, all the way back to the prairie where natural lighting filled the schoolhouse and where there was no technology, no Smart Boards, no computers, no Fast Direct.
The classrooms were bathed in early morning light as the children filed in as usual at 7:35. Mrs. Czekaj announced over a bullhorn that lunch counts needed to be turned into the office on paper and that Father Joe would still be celebrating Mass at 7:55. A sense of adventure enveloped the school. Quiet filled the halls and the students and teachers settled in for the day.
No sooner had we begun getting used to the “prairie schoolhouse” atmosphere, when suddenly a little after 8:00, the lights came on. Electricity was restored, a cheer went up from the classes, the bells rang, and computer monitors beeped and the copier in the office began its warming up cycle.