Bishop Buddy Scrapbook 1937 (2)

CHIMES

CHIMES

" Chimes " Farty Years Ago

lege. When one looks down the long avenue and across the beautiful lawn where the huge trees cast their shadows, one cannot help real- izing that this beauty is a part of the tradition of Saint Mary's-a symbol as it were of the deep tranquility and exquisite happiness which come in the spring to everyone at Saint Mary's. Down through the years the Children of Mary have had May devotions to Our Lady and a procession in her honor in this rarest of all months. In days gone by the girls went for walks in the spring "fearless of tan and freckles.'' Nowadays, the girls go out in search of tan, but still try to avoid the freckles. In the spirit of the season the litterateurs of the school burst forth in "Chimes" with poems exalting nature and spring. One of the lyrics was written by Marion McCandless, now the alumnae secretary of the college. It has always been traditional with the Sis- ters not only from 1898 to the present day, but ever since the founding of the school, to inculcate deep within the hearts and minds of their pupils a love of and an appreciation for music. We are now celebrating Music Week. The girls of the gay nineties enjoyed frequent recitals and concerts, often by their own tal- ented classmates and sometimes by gifted artists, such as the Spiering quartet, Sher- wood, and Signor A. Patricolo, pianists, and Mr. A. Seidel, a violinist. Just what did the girls of forty years ago do for recreation in general? While, in gen- eral, of course, the young ladies of that day led a less varied life than do those of today, it must not be supposed that the girls of yes- teryear did not enjoy life, nor, indeed, that they always obeyed the rules which the good Sisters laid down. It seems that there 1s one characteristic above all others which girls never lose, that is, a hearty, insatiable appetite. There is the story of one group of very hungry students who with the instinct natural to the species, headed for the kitchen in search of pie, ob- 123

there is an honors convocation twice a year. Forty years ago "Points" were read once a month on Sunday evening. On these festive occasions, for they really were festive, tal- ented pupils would entertain the guests, the Sisters, and their fellow students with musical selections and recitations. Usually priests from Notre Dame were the guests of honor -priests like Father Corby, Dr. Zahm, Father Cavanaugh, Father Francais, Father Burns, Father Morrissey, Father Connor, men whose names will be an inspiration to all gen- erations of Saint Mary's and Notre Dame students. At these events there was a roll of honor for politeness, neatness, order, amiability, cor- rect deportment and observance of rules. Then there were honors for excellent lessons in each of many, many subjects including Christian doctrine, Bible history, analytical geometry, chemistry, trigonometry, rhetoric, botany, algebra, ancient history, etymology, civil government, physical geography, orthog- raphy, grammar, arithmetic, composition, reading, bookkeeping, typewriting, Latin, drawing, pen and ink drawing, charcoal drawing, china painting, oil painting, water colors, piano, violin, mandolin, thorough bass, harmony, theory of music, mending, fancy work, epistolary correspondence, and elocution. Far removed as the outer world was from the little college at Notre Dame, Indiana, still the distant, ominous war rumblings echoed faintly; the throbbing question in the United States whether to annex or not to annex Hawaii beat at the heart of at least one edi- torial writer of "Chimes," and the manifest injustice of the Dreyfus case in France evoked the sympathy and defense of the editors. In the tumultous world of 1898 came one peace- ful note from Scandinavia where Oscar II was celebrating his silver jubilee on the throne of Norway and Sweden. Saint Mary's in May! Spring has always been at its loveliest in this month dedicated to our Blessed Mother, patroness of the col- JUNE, 1938

S EPTEMBER, 1897, opened one of the most memorable years in the history of Saint Mary's, for in J tine of 1898, the first Catholic college degree in the United States ever granted to a woman was conferred by Saint Mary's on Agnes Ewing Brown. In November, 1897, the Alumnae Asso- ciation was organized during a gala week of festivities, in which members of classes from 1867 to 1897 participated. This was the be- ginning of that organization which has been such a vital factor in keeping the graduates in touch with one another and with Saint Mary's itself. It was in that year, too, that there was erected the "massive stone-wall approach and gateway with handsome iron gates" which still marks the entrance to Saint Mary's. Dur- ing the course of the year the Sisters' infirm- ary was built and a stone wall was constructed along the river to keep the water from wash- ing out the banks. It is interesting to note in perusing "Chimes" how, while there may be differ- ences in the way the girls of '98 got their exercise, in the way they amused themselves, in the things in which they took special de- light, nevertheless there were many traditions which were kept as ardently in 1898 as they are in 1938. In the early years "Chimes" was published monthly, September to July. In those days the Sisters of the Holy Cross maintained just as high a standard of educa- tion, liberal education in the radical meaning of the term, as they do today. The writers in "Chimes" then were upholding religious training of young women just as steadfastly as writers in "Chimes" and "Static" today. The school year of 1897-1898 was formal- ly opened with the Mass of the Holy Ghost just as our own school year was opened. The annual retreat closed on the Feast of all Saints just as ours did. In one article one of the young ladies of Saint Mary's was reflecting on the subject of 122

conversation and she stated that the essential thing was not so much to know how to talk, though this was important, but to know when to stop talking. This has a very familiar ring, in view of our Speech week activities. Although we consider forty years ago early in Saint Mary's history, the school really had a good start in 1898 and the girls could al- ready talk about the "early days." We quote from "Chimes": "Among the vacation visi- tors were Mrs. E. Keegan Brennan and Mrs. M . Fitzpatrick Kelley, of Joliet, Ill., both of whom were pupils in the early days of Saint Mary's and it was most interesting to hear from them of the old times from 1855 to 1860, when what we enjoy today was scarcely dreamed of. Verily, those who wrought in privation and weariness 'builded better than they knew.' " Girls got homesick in 1898, too. The writer in "Chimes" suggested that the surest cure was for the victim to become so absorbed in the routine of work and play of the college that she would forget her forlornness and desolation. This remedy is efficient today. Founder's Day and St. Patrick's Day were red-letter days on the calendar forty years ago. Then, as now, the students started the day with Mass and Holr, Communion, but the way in which they spent the rest of the day was quite different from the way we spend our holidays. On the evening of Founder's Day there was a fancy dress ball at which the girls dressed to represent famous personages in history and fiction. On St. Patrick's Day the girls delighted in "exemption from a couple of hours' regular duty." It was a rare treat on holidays to read, and an even rarer pleasure to read a book of one's own choice. Francis Thompson and William Watson were mentioned as the most popular of the current poets. Francis Thompson was hailed as the true and worthy successor to the immortal Tennyson. For this generation of Saint Mary's girls JUNE, 1938