BIDDEFORD — Chuck Cote is a self-described history nerd — and recently he’s become deeply invested in preserving a facet of Biddeford’s history: St. Louis High School. Both Cote’s father and one of his brothers attended the Catholic high school, which opened in the early 1930s and shuttered in 1970. Many in the community still remember the school with pride, and thanks to Cote, residents will have the opportunity to appreciate its legacy during an upcoming open house at the JR Martin Community Center on Nov. 18.
Chuck Cote poses with a photo of his late father, Bob Cote, standing with the St. Louis High School basketball team in 1956. Cote’s father coached football, basket and baseball at St. Louis. Eloise Goldsmith photo
While Cote never attended the high school himself, he grew up hearing about it. His father, Robert Cote, was a student there and later worked at the school, coaching basket, football and baseball. The school served the Franco-American community and was known as a sports powerhouse.
In years past, Cote would sometimes post about St. Louis High School on a local Facebook page, but earlier this year he decided to make a dedicated page for remembering the institution — “St. Louis High School Biddeford Memories.” Simultaneously, he began soliciting memorabilia and photos from community members who attended the school to build a physical collection.
Members of the Facebook page have grown steadily — to nearly 600 — as has Cote’s collection, which now includes vintage sweaters, jerseys, patches, pictures, and more. So far, he’s received donations of memorabilia from at least eight community members.
In September, Cote appeared before the Biddeford Cultural and Heritage Center’s board and successfully pitched hosting an exhibit to display the old photographs and objects. With the help of the center, Cote’s open house will take place on Saturday, Nov. 18 from 9 a.m. to noon at the JR Martin Community Center.
The items will also be catalogued and live permanently at the cultural center to help preserve this part of Biddeford’s history.
While Cote’s personal connection is to St. Louis High School, the open house will also focus on another school, Biddeford High School. Cote is now in possession of a scrapbook collection created by Robert ‘Desi’ Desjardins, a Biddeford man who attended Biddeford High School and remained a devoted fan of all the school’s sports teams until his death in 2016. For decades, Desjardins created detailed scrapbooks of newspaper clippings and information about Biddeford High School sports. These scrapbooks will also be on display on Nov. 18, as will vintage Biddeford High School yearbooks.
A vintage cheerleading sweater and photograph from Chuck Cote’s collection. Eloise Goldsmith photo
The loss of St. Louis, which closed in 1970 for financial reasons, is still felt by many in the community. According to Cote, it was his father who was forced to tell the students it was closing. “My father had to announce it because the principal was out of town. He said that was the hardest thing,” Cote recounted. After St. Louis closed, Robert Cote took a job at nearby Thornton Academy.
A 2020 retrospective on the school by the Portland Press Herald conveyed a deep sense of pride for an institution. Cote says that pride is echoed in the comments on his page dedicated to St. Louis. “If you read through the Facebook page, (you can tell) the high school meant a lot to a lot of people.”
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