Emilia with Fr. Kammerer and her brother Ben in 2013 at Chatfield’s graduation.
Fall 2012. It was my second year at Chatfield College, and I had American Government with Fr. Kammerer. I’d heard a lot about him of course, as he was a fixture at the college. It was an election year, and I was the only kid in a class full of College Credit Plus, or CCP, (Post-Secondary Enrollment Options then) students who was eligible to vote for president. That did not stop Fr. Kammerer from impressing upon all us the vital importance of voting in local and national elections, and making your voice heard in the political process. His enthusiasm and joy in bringing history and concepts to life in the classroom made more effective to us his often weighty and intricate teachings of government and the Constitution. His jokes helped too, but no one was more tickled by them than he was.
He had many real-life examples of the decisions made by “the somebodies” and how they affected our day-to-day lives. He brought in speakers who were in ‘the trenches’ of the political process and the interpretation of the Constitution, including a member of Romney’s campaign staff and our own college president, John Tafaro. He knew everybody and happily showed off his extensive collection of artifacts to the class.
He had so much pride in his connections and his collections. He was full of pride the day he took the class over to the recently-renamed Fr. Kammerer Library and Learning Center. The dedication would be that evening, but because we were ‘somebodies’ to him, he’d give us a sneak peek.
Giggling with anticipation he led us to the sign out front.
‘Well” he said, “that’s wrong!”
“What’s wrong?” We asked. Mentally I was trying to recall how he spelled his last name thinking that was what had caught his eye.
He gestured to the sign. “It’s supposed to say Fr. Raymond Kammerer Memorial Library!”
We took to giggling ourselves and gently reminded him that he was still alive.
“Well,” he said shaking a finger at us. “I’m entrusting you all to make sure they change it when I am no longer of this mortal plane!”
The last time I saw him was last year in his home in Waynesville. He was as proud of his collection and his work as ever, having retired from teaching in 2016. He might have left the classroom but the classroom never left him. It was like being back in American Government, listening to the same enthusiastic stories, and getting a refresher on all the imparted wisdom from nearly a decade ago. He was delighted a former student of his would be watching over his library. He was kind enough to pretend he remembered me, but he’d had my mother and my grandmother before me in class, so I can’t fault him for forgetting a face.
“You’ve read my book?” He asked in a way that wasn’t really a question. He didn’t wait for an answer but grabbed one of his own copies of his autobiography. He flipped until he found what he was looking for and pointed. “There is my favorite part. If you get nothing else out of this little book, remember that.”
The section about the library read: “It is my hope and desire that students of the future will view the art items, replicas, daggers and all else I used in class and gain some information from this collection. Perhaps some future history professor will make use of them. I hope too that they will take from the shelves my books that I so loved, and gain some light of knowledge and enrichment in their lives. And just perhaps, this or that rare professor or student will stop for a moment and wonder about the man who acquired, owned and used them.”
Father, nearly every day I walk into the Chatfield library, your library. It is quiet and still in the morning, but bustling with student’s laughter and camaraderie by noon. They study and they goof off at the tables in the ‘new’ section of the library and like all good students, they ask questions.
They ask for help finding books.
They ask about the artifacts already housed in a glass-doored shelf in the addition.
They ask who the guy in the portrait over the circulation desk is. Others will say that should be obvious, that’s Fr. Kammerer, didn’t you read the sign?
They wonder and they learn new things every day, and they keep me on my toes like we did you (and you did us).
I promise you Father, that they will keep wondering about you, and that the students you taught won’t forget your lessons.
And I promise to change the sign.
Father Raymond Kammerer, 81, died at his home in Waynesville, OH on January 4, 2020. Father earned graduate degrees from both the Athenaeum of Ohio (Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary of the West) and Xavier University in Cincinnati. He was ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati by Archbishop Karl J. Alter in May 1964. Appointed Associate Pastor of Saint Peter Parish in Huber Heights (1964-1971) and to the faculty of John Carroll High School in Dayton, he began a long teaching career along with his pastoral ministry. In 1971, Archbishop Paul Liebold appointed him to the Campus Ministry at the College of Mount Saint Joseph, now Mount St. Joseph University, in Delhi Hills (Cincinnati) and at the same time as an instructor at the College. In 1977, Father Kammerer became an adjunct professor at the College Seminary of Saint Pius X in Erlanger, Ky. In May of 1978, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin (then Archbishop of Cincinnati) appointed Father Kammerer to his first pastorate, the Church of Saint Theresa of the Infant Jesus in Covington, Ohio. He continued to teach at the Erlanger College Seminary until 1982 when he joined the faculty of Chatfield College in Brown County, Ohio, where he continued for the next 35 years. In July 1988, Father Kammerer was appointed Pastor of the Church of the Resurrection in Cincinnati, and in July 1995, Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk appointed him to the pastorate of Saint Augustine Parish in historic Waynesville, Ohio. In 1994, the Greater Cincinnati Consortium of Colleges and Universities, upon nomination by Chatfield College, awarded Father Kammerer the honor of “Distinguished Professor of the Year”. In March 2003, Chatfield College, in recognition of his long teaching career, promoted Father Kammerer to the rank of full Professor. During his long tenure at Chatfield, Father served as Chair of the History Department and then of Religious Studies. Both as a Pastor and as a college teacher, Father Kammerer was well known by students and parishioners alike for his literary works. His publications, “Old Mission San Juan Capistrano” and “A Portrait of Mission Life,” created for the tourist trade at California’ s Old Mission San Juan Capistrano, continue to be best sellers at the California Missions, and are found in many libraries throughout California as standard references. By his parishioners and college students both, Father Kammerer will be remembered as a tireless educator and promoter of Catholic education. A bibliophile, Father Kammerer collected a huge library over the years, a great many titles in history and art he used constantly in the classroom. The entire collection, along with the many historic artifacts he acquired in his long teaching career, will now be housed in Chatfield College’s library, renamed the Father Raymond Kammerer Library and Learning Center in 2012.
Maybe you’ve been considering going back to school to start or finish your degree, but it never seems like the right time. Between family commitments and work responsibilities, finding the time to make college work can seem like an impossible challenge. Maybe you are anxious about going back after being out of school for so long, or you’re worried that you will not be able to keep up. Even if your schedule is hectic and you have doubts, NOW is a great time to get started! In this new year, make it a point to focus on you! If your goal is making a positive change in your life, there is no better way to achieve that than earning a college degree!
Dean, Sr. Miriam Thompson, to recognize individuals who have chosen to leave a planned gift for Chatfield College. The Miriam Society’s members are women and men committed to the mission of Chatfield College to transform lives and families through education. That transformation can only be achieved through private financial support and the building of the endowment fund.
Marvin Smith has taught businesses classes at Chatfield College’s Over-the-Rhine campus since the spring of 2017. But Marvin is perhaps better-known as a successful and highly respected entrepreneur, having had a stellar career in real estate and real estate development, with a focus on the OTR neighborhood, where he lives and still operates his popular “Ollie’s Trolley” restaurant and catering company. In fact, it was his connection to OTR that led Marvin to Chatfield in the first place—two of Chatfield’s board members thought he would be a good fit and suggested he teach a class. Once Marvin was introduced to Chatfield and its students, he was hooked. In addition to teaching, Marvin mentors, tutors, and volunteers his time to support the students at Chatfield’s Over-the-Rhine (OTR) campus in any way he can. His love and devotion to Chatfield students extends to his personal ambition of making sure everyone is well-fed, and he often donates delicious food for Chatfield events and student activities.
The Long Walk by Stephen King writing as Richard Bauchman
Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates
The Fall Frolic this past Saturday at the St. Martin campus was well attended by many volunteers. Volunteers helping to complete many items on the to-do list included trustees Denny Kiley, Tory Parlin, and Bill Montague with his family. RiverHills Bank came with a team of six, and Chatfield volunteers included Shelia Yates-Mattingly, Pete and Lynn Hanson, Kelly Watson, David Powell, Trevin Simmons and Robert Elmore.
Terry heard about the internship from her advisor, and after applying, was chosen for the position over many applicants. She has many responsibilities with the company, including working in the Supply Chain, Environmental Health Safety (EHS), and Administrating Management departments. Knowing this internship experience would be great for her resume and future career choice, she also wanted to take advantage of a great new start in the work force, the communication & people skills it would provide, and many good networking opportunities.
some of those dreams. Outside of the classroom, Terry is a member of the Student Service Club, which serves the student body as well as the community. Despite her need to overcome physical and emotional obstacles, Terry has not let anything stop her from being an exceptional student. She has been living with Dystonia since she was 13 years old, a disease that affects the cerebellum and the nervous system in the body, causing issues with speech, balance, and gait. The disease has made life difficult for Terry, and many people did not believe she could accomplish in life what she has thus far. And it hasn’t stopped her yet! Earning a college degree will make her dream of getting off welfare a reality, and a dream no longer.
Kathy Broomall is the Chair of Physical, Life, and Social Sciences at Chatfield College, where she is responsible for all science courses and programs at both the St. Martin and Over-the-Rhine campuses.