A 22-piece Nativity scene was brand new in December 1960, when two eighth- graders from St. Columba School visited the scene in downtown Youngstown. The Downtown Board of Trade, a group of 168 “business and professional men,” purchased the set for $1,450 (about $15,000 in 2023 dollars), and set it up in front of a 45-foot evergreen tree.
Among other Christmas festivities in which Catholic school children participated was a program on WKBN-TV in which seventh- and eighth- graders from St. Nicholas School sang Christmas carols. These efforts were part of a Catholic-Protestant “Keep Christ in Christmas” campaign, which also included an essay and poster contest for students.
