I was giving a friend from Belgium a quick downtown tour recently. As we walked along Fourth Street, I pointed out old St Anthony's School that I attended for a short time when I was a boy. It's located next to the corner where the old church stood at Fourth and State.

The old church was a large brick building and had creaky steps. I remember that well since I was usually late getting there and everyone would turn to stare as I tried to sneak in the back. Of course that was during the times when I wasn't serving mass as an altar boy - Believe it not!

St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church was originally built by the Unitarians in 1875. The Catholics purchased the building in 1905 and made extensive renovations, reopening it on May 26, 1907. Originally, the site was owned by the Quakers and they had a Friends Meeting House there as early as 1806. When enrollment declined they sold the property to the Unitarians in 1874.

St. Anthony's was demolished and the present church was built in 1964, on what was once part of Barker Park.

The school was built next door to the old church in 1954 or 56. I vaguely remember seeing actor Jimmy Durante with Father DeLuca christen the school. It's a small brick building, nevertheless, it replaced the old school building that was on Fifth Avenue near the Stanton Brewery where I went to Kindergarten.

To my surprise, the Fourth Street School was open even though its use as a school was long over years ago. The population that supported the church has grown up and moved away.

I wanted to walk the halls once more in a school that gave me some interesting memories of second and third grade.

To my surprise, St Anthony's is not wasting away like so many vacant buildings in Troy. In fact, you could say it still is being used as a school, but with a different bent.

The Daughters of Charity have established the Roarke Center in the school. They provide assistance to single parents and folks in need offering food (food pantry is in the building), guidance, and tutoring (GED prep, etc.). Across the street they own the Vincent House, a three story brick building, that gives temporary shelter.

However, what struck me and my friend was the amount and quality of artwork that hung from the school's hallway - all made from their client base. A wide range of prints, watercolors, acrylics, and even pottery lined the hallway, and I mean good quality stuff. The center has a whole classroom devoted to art instruction. In fact, my Belgian friend purchased a beautiful watercolor from Paula Hebert, one of the center's art students.

Sister Linda O'Rourke was kind enough to give us a tour and allow me to retrace my second and third grade steps. That was an interesting experience. Not much has changed to the school in the past 40+ years. I was sure I would run into the ghost of Sister Joan, my teacher, although admittedly I spent a lot of time down at Sister Superior's office.

Inside, I felt like I was in a time machine. The classrooms were the same, except for some temporary walls to separate for office space in one or two. Even the holy statues that sat on their pedestals attached to the wall had survived. The water fountains (3 sips allowed), the bathrooms (one paper towel or detention please), the clothes closet, chalkboards, everything started coming back to me in one large flash like an episode on the SciFi channel.

I must admit though the rooms were a lot bigger than when you were six and seven. I remember my cousin Dave and the fourth grade class being taught in the same room with me and the rest of the third grade. I don't know how the nuns taught two different grade levels in the same room. As we started doing our assigned work, Sister Joan would leave us and move over to the other side of the room to teach the fourth graders.

But enough retracing down memory lane. We were thoroughly impressed with the great work being done by Sister O'Rourke and her staff especially through their art program. Art is a wonderful way to express yourself and transcends socioeconomic conditions as many of the clients of the Roarke Center demonstrate. There is no lack of talent there.

Certainly St. Anthony must be smiling to see the school with his name still offering guidance and instruction for such a worthwhile cause.