SCHERERVILLE – On open land in Crown Point, just off of Cline Avenue, the grandparents of Ken Bohling, Nicholas and Elizabeth (Kolling), built a farm they would call home. They became parishioners of St. Michael the Archangel and enrolled their children, Walter and Ervin, in the parish’s school, passing down a love for the Catholic faith and Catholic education to their children.
Walter married Donnabelle at St. Michael Church, and they automatically sent Bohling and his two brothers and sister to St. Michael school because they belonged to the parish and wanted to be involved with the people of the Catholic Community. Walter was a part of the Holy Name Society and Donnabelle was involved in the Altar and Rosary Sodality.
Most of Bohling’s first memories of St. Michael School focus on the layout of the building. He shared that at the time, there were only four classrooms in the school, and each room served two grade levels. First and second graders were grouped, third and fourth graders shared a space together, and so on. The two-story building did have a library, and the basement was an auditorium with a stage, where student plays, school lunch and other activities took place.
“I liked it and got in the habit of the school's routine and being with my friends from the town and surrounding areas,” he said. “I stayed all eight years and graduated in 1955.”
Bohling fondly remembers his teachers, who were the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart. He explained, “There were only nuns teaching when I was there, but then afterwards, there weren’t as many nuns and the school had to hire lay teachers.”
He enjoyed having the nuns as instructors, stating they were always helpful and taught him a lot about the Catholic religion. He also appreciated the opportunity to attend the school where, during his time there, students participated in the celebration of Mass every day.
“They were just normal things that were part of being a Catholic and growing up in the faith,” he said. “I enjoyed every part of it.”
By going to a private school, Bohling said, he learned about the parts of the Mass and the values of the Catholic religion. In addition, he learned how to pray and recite the Rosary. Looking back on his education, he said while he was taught arithmetic, geography and spelling, the part that stayed with him the most as he went through each grade was understanding what it meant to be a Catholic.
“You got confirmed, went to confession and made your First Communion,” he recalled. “You were picking up things about the faith, learning and enjoying being part of it.”
Bohling still vividly remembers his First Communion. He said, “It just seemed like when they put the host on your tongue, it was like a new life. I mean, you just never tasted anything like that, and it just made you think, ‘This is God going into my body,’ There's just something that is unbelievable about that.”
Years later, Bohling married his wife, Alice, and moved to Schererville. They had three children: Kimberly, Mark and Kristen. All the children attended St. Michael School and went on to graduate from Andrean High School.
Bohling witnessed the reconstruction of the school with the addition of a new gymnasium. He stayed active within the parish “doing anything and everything under the sun,” even serving on the first Parish Council board, which started in 1974.
“A friend of mine asked me to come to the meeting,” he recalled. “Then next thing you know, he had me talk, some other people talked and then they voted for me. And that was the end of it… I became parish board president.”
Bohling, having started his own concrete business, played a key role in building projects that included the building of a new rectory and improvements to the school. He worked closely with various pastors – Father Bernard Shank, Father Joseph Vamos, Father Patrick Connolly and Father Martin Dobrzynski.
“There were four or five priests that I worked with all the time,” Bohling said. “It was just great doing stuff with them and being around them. We had some great priests.”
With the support of Father Connolly, Bohling was instrumental in creating the St. Michael’s Educational Foundation in 1992, which helped ensure funds for the continuation of Catholic education.
“I was born and raised near here and have been coming and going to church here and liked being involved with the church,” he added. “I’ve been involved with the parish all my life and got married here. I just enjoyed working with the priests, being around the church and being able to do whatever needed to be done.”
Bohling’s knowledge of construction and landscaping quickly became evident to those around the parish. Anytime the church needed something done, he often received a call and was asked to be included in the process. He assisted with renovations to the cemetery and Mount Calvary.
News of his willingness to lend a hand traveled to Andrean, his children’s alma mater, where he participated in projects that involved the grotto and football and baseball fields. Father Paul Quanz, the former principal of Andrean High School, was so grateful to Bohling that he nominated him for the school’s “Hall of Fame.” Bohling was voted to have his picture included in the “Hall of Fame” hallway.
Back at his home parish, Bohling also provided support during the St. Michael Parish Festival. He worked at the event with fellow parishioners and, when it was over, he gathered all his employees from his business to move equipment back into storage for the next year.
“My guys loved going there because the women had all the food left from the festival,” he said. “They'd heat up all the stuff and feed them. The guys just loved the meals and going there.”
One of the main reasons Bohling said he kept connected to St. Michael for so many years was because he enjoyed the fellowship the church offered. He always knew the majority of those within the parish community.
“Through the years, you see people come and go, and you're a young kid, and you know all the older people. Eventually, they pass away, and you become the older person,” he said.
Bohling attended the St. Michael School Anniversary Celebration in September 2025, where he received a plaque celebrating him as one of the oldest, current alumni of the school.
“That was neat,” he said, “just to be there and be a member and be a part of it.”
Bohling acknowledged that it's not as common today for children to grow up in a religious environment, but he believes all children should have the opportunity to be involved in faith-based education.
“I think that every kid should grow up in some kind of religion, no matter what their family was or is,” he said. “Going to a religious type education, you give a little bit more thought about being a solid person. You get to know the facts about your religion and learn about it, with fellow students and friends. You carry those things with you through life as you grow older.”
Bohling’s daughter, Kimberly Hise has continued the tradition. She has taught at St. Mary Catholic School in Crown Point for 23 years. Her children, Lilianne and Nathan, now attend St. Mary School, enjoying all the benefits of a Catholic school education.
You can read more about the 125th Anniversary of St. Michael School at https://dcgary.org/news/st-michael-school-celebrates-125-years-education-and-community. For more information about the preschool through 8th-grade school, visit https://stmichaelparish.life/school.
