George Tribou
Encyclopedia
Monsignor George Tribou (April 14, 1924, ordained September 1, 1949 – February 2, 2001) was long-time principal of Catholic High School for Boys
, located in Little Rock
, Arkansas
, and was an influential figure in the local politics of the city of Little Rock and the state of Arkansas
as well as the Catholic Church
in the United States.
, George Tribou worked as a film projectionist at a local theater. He would later tell students that part of his inspiration for becoming a priest was seeing Norman Taurog
's film Boys Town
and Spencer Tracy
's romanticized portrayal of Father Edward J. Flanagan
. While working there, he was required by his boss to polish a large, stainless steel wall every week. A strong work ethic characterized Tribou's early life forged him into the Roman Catholic Priest
that he became. While he was principal, when he did not feel like doing any work, the sign on his desk that said "DUTY" was all he needed to read to continue his work for the school. That sign remains there to this day.
George Tribou came to St. John's Seminary in Little Rock
for his theological studies. After his ordination in 1949, he served as assistant editor for the predecessor to the Arkansas Catholic, the newspaper serving the Diocese of Little Rock, as well as chaplain at St. Vincent's Infirmary and St. Joseph's Orphanage. He took over as chaplain
for the Carmelite Monastery of St. Theresa before becoming a teacher at Catholic High. He received many awards in Little Rock and from around Arkansas, including Citizen of the Year.
) was founded. In May 1996 he led a student-body march on War Memorial Stadium in a successful attempt to protest the loss of the stadium as the venue for home football games.
He was granted the honorific Monsignor
in recognition of his service to the Diocese of Little Rock and the greater Church in the US. However, since this came long after he had become well-known in the community as "Father Tribou", he was usually referred to by that name even after becoming a monsignor.
As principal and teacher, he developed a reputation for himself locally as a creative disciplinarian with a knack for results. A few of his more famous approaches to discipline included:
In 1999 he participated (along with President Bill Clinton
and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
) in the delegation greeting the late Pope John Paul II
on his last visit to the United States..
Father Tribou died in 2001 after complications from cancer
. Two funeral services were held on the same day. His memorial and burial was attended by thousands of former graduates from all over the United States. After his death, the section of Lee Avenue in front of Catholic High was renamed Father Tribou Street to commemorate the great man who led so many boys to future success as men at the school. Currently, Steve Straessle is the active principal of the school with Monsignor Lawrence Frederick and Brother Richard Sanker in charge of pastoral, administrative, and guidance duties.
Catholic High School for Boys (Little Rock)
Catholic High School for Boys is a private Catholic high school located in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. It is an all-male institution, and has an all-female sister school, Mount St...
, located in Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, and was an influential figure in the local politics of the city of Little Rock and the state of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
as well as the Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
in the United States.
Early life
Born in Jenkintown, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, George Tribou worked as a film projectionist at a local theater. He would later tell students that part of his inspiration for becoming a priest was seeing Norman Taurog
Norman Taurog
Norman Rae Taurog was an American film director, and screenwriter.Between 1920 and 1968, Taurog directed over 140 films, and directed Elvis Presley in more movies than any other director...
's film Boys Town
Boys Town (1938 film)
Boys Town is a 1938 biographical drama film based on Father Edward J. Flanagan's work with a group of disadvantaged and delinquent boys in a home that he founded and named "Boys Town". It stars Spencer Tracy as Father Edward J...
and Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
's romanticized portrayal of Father Edward J. Flanagan
Edward J. Flanagan
Father Edward Joseph Flanagan was a priest of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. He was the founder of what is arguably the most famous orphanage—Boys Town...
. While working there, he was required by his boss to polish a large, stainless steel wall every week. A strong work ethic characterized Tribou's early life forged him into the Roman Catholic Priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
that he became. While he was principal, when he did not feel like doing any work, the sign on his desk that said "DUTY" was all he needed to read to continue his work for the school. That sign remains there to this day.
George Tribou came to St. John's Seminary in Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
for his theological studies. After his ordination in 1949, he served as assistant editor for the predecessor to the Arkansas Catholic, the newspaper serving the Diocese of Little Rock, as well as chaplain at St. Vincent's Infirmary and St. Joseph's Orphanage. He took over as chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
for the Carmelite Monastery of St. Theresa before becoming a teacher at Catholic High. He received many awards in Little Rock and from around Arkansas, including Citizen of the Year.
Career at Catholic High
Father Tribou served as a teacher at Catholic High for over fifty years, and as principal of the school for forty-one. During his tenure he became famous for his disciplinarian attitude and propensity for cigars. Under his guidance the school moved to a new building on then Lee Avenue, and its MCJROTC unit (dubbed Sid's Kids, after Major General and Governor Sid McMathSid McMath
Sidney Sanders McMath was a decorated U.S. Marine, attorney and the 34th Governor of Arkansas who, in defiance of his state's political establishment, championed rapid rural electrification, massive highway and school construction, the building of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences,...
) was founded. In May 1996 he led a student-body march on War Memorial Stadium in a successful attempt to protest the loss of the stadium as the venue for home football games.
He was granted the honorific Monsignor
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
in recognition of his service to the Diocese of Little Rock and the greater Church in the US. However, since this came long after he had become well-known in the community as "Father Tribou", he was usually referred to by that name even after becoming a monsignor.
As principal and teacher, he developed a reputation for himself locally as a creative disciplinarian with a knack for results. A few of his more famous approaches to discipline included:
- a boy was throwing rocks from the garden while another was clapping and encouraging him. The boy had to pick up sticks after school and the other boy had to clap and encourage him throughout the punishment
- making a boy smoke an entire cigar if he was caught smoking cigarettes
- letting a boy carry a door for a day since he had such a fond habit of slamming it
- allowing boys to settle their disputes with boxing gloves. The following day, they would serve in-school suspension together and would not be allowed to talk to anyone other than each other the entire day. If boys fought in the school without being sanctioned, they would have to sit in the main lobby during lunch, holding hands, feeding each other their own lunch with the one free hand.
- announcing to the class that he had discovered the identity of the boy who had been seen smoking on school grounds and that if he did not show up at his office in a certain amount of time, his penalty would be severely worsened (upon which a long line of boys would manifest in front of his office)
- giving haircuts to boys whose hair was too long for the school's regulations
- making girls and boys hug the pillars of the school lobby all night if they were caught dancing too close during prom
- having boys wear a plastic bowl taped to their heads when coming to school with a "bowl" haircut
- making a student wear a sandwich board that said "careful, I spit" if caught using chewing tobacco.
- making kids have a boxing match with each other if they fought
In 1999 he participated (along with President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
) in the delegation greeting the late Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
on his last visit to the United States..
Father Tribou died in 2001 after complications from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. Two funeral services were held on the same day. His memorial and burial was attended by thousands of former graduates from all over the United States. After his death, the section of Lee Avenue in front of Catholic High was renamed Father Tribou Street to commemorate the great man who led so many boys to future success as men at the school. Currently, Steve Straessle is the active principal of the school with Monsignor Lawrence Frederick and Brother Richard Sanker in charge of pastoral, administrative, and guidance duties.
- "Father Tribou with two other guys." (Caption in CHS Yearbook below a picture of Father Tribou with Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul IIBlessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
and U.S. President Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.) - "The measure of a man is his ability to control the animal within."
- "We don't offer AP classes; we offer M&P classes. Meat and Potatoes."
- "Christ is the reason for this school."
- "Boys and girls, prayer is simply talking to God in your own words."
- "Be good, boys."
- "It doesn't matter how many doctors and lawyers we produce, but how many good fathers and husbands come from here that measures our success."
- "To have destroyed the defective infant, Helen KellerHelen KellerHelen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....
, would have been to destroy also the teacher-humanitarian who was Anne SullivanAnne SullivanJohanna "Anne" Mansfield Sullivan Macy , also known as Annie Sullivan, was an American teacher best known as the instructor and companion of Helen Keller.-Early life:Sullivan was born on April 14, 1866 in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts...
. In countless cases throughout the world a defective child has not been an expensive, heart-rending burden but a priceless gift that has brought out the hidden strengths of a father, a mother, and sisters and brothers." (unpublished speech, January 31, 1980) - "We don't make rules at Catholic High unless they are needed. We have found the need to make a new rule--you may not flush sweaters down the toilet."
- "Many schools have talked of installing metal detectors. That would not work here. These boys have too much lead in their asses."
- "A young boy was asking for Reconciliation at Boys Town which is a camp for troubled youth. He said that he lost a wrestling match and was so furious at God for allowing him to lose, that he went home, went into his room, alone, and sinned in a way of saying 'Take that, God!' He said that he feels awful for so blatantly sinning, and I smiled and said, 'Never have I seen such faith in all of Israel.'"