You, Me & I-43: St. Nazianz's history of hoops – and haunts
You, Me & I-43: St. Nazianz's
FOX6 Sports Director Tim Van Vooren and Photojournalist Mickie Leach take you to unique places along the I-43 route to Lambeau Field.
MILWAUKEE - FOX6's Tim Van Vooren and Sports Photojournalist Mickie Leach have been leaving our Brown Deer studios to cover the Green Bay Packers – games, drafts, training camps, practices – since Sept. 16, 1990.
They've made a lot of trips to Titletown over the decades and picked up a few interesting things along the way. Now, they're taking you along for a road trip north on I-43. This story is an excerpt from the full-length special: You, Me & I-43.
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EXIT 144: St. Nazianz's history of hoops – and haunts
Why you should care:
High school students lived and learned at St. Nazianz from the late 1960s until the early 1980s. JFK Prep, a co-ed boarding school in a rural community, had an enrollment of roughly 150 students from across the country. Basketball brought attention to the school in the early 1970s.
Former JFK Prep school in St. Nazianz
Mickey Crowe, with his dad, Marty, the coach, became almost mythical Wisconsin high school hoops figures. Crowe is the all-time leader for scoring in Wisconsin – before the three-point line was added to the game – a mark that will never be topped. Substance abuse and mental health issues later befell Crowe, but his name is part of Wisconsin basketball lore.
Inevitably, changes in education and society, as well as cost, would factor into the remarkable story of the school. JFK Prep closed in 1982. Over the ensuing years, the campus has transitioned. On the internet, you can read about how some of the structures are haunted.
"We always told the freshmen coming in that it was haunted, too. We had a lot of fun with that, but it's certainly, time has taken its toll on that place," said alumnus Mike Novak.
Mike Novak was Mickey Crowe's teammate, but his basketball story continued as a legendary high school coach himself and father of an NBA standout.
How to get there:
St. Nazianz Christian Center & former JFK Prep – 600 S 4th Ave, St Nazianz, WI 54232
Packers road trip guide to Lambeau Field: You, Me & I-43
FOX6 Sports Director Tim Van Vooren and Photojournalist Mickie Leach take you to unique places along the I-43 route to Lambeau Field.
The Source: FOX6 Sports Director Tim Van Vooren and Sports Photojournalist Mickie Leach conducted interviews with the subjects of this piece over the course of their commutes from the WITI-TV studio in Brown Deer to Green Bay. Additional details referenced in this piece are sourced through the people and organizations who participated.