Regis College - Ranger Yearbook (Denver, CO)

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Carroll Hall at high noon. This west side faces the mountains. the foundation of S. H. C. at Morrison and later at Denver that the good Bishop was to see the real ' iz,ation of his dream college. It was through his work and that of Fr. Marra, then head of the en- tire mission, that Sacred Heart College was suc- cessfully founded in 1888 upon the firm basis of thoroughly Catholic principles of education. In 1883 Bishop Machebeuf bought the Swiss Cot- tage, or the Evergreen Hotel , at Morrison, Colo- rado, as it is sometimes referred to, and turned the entire property over to the Jesuits for the contem- plated college. Fr. Pantanella was named the first and, and as time proved, the only rector of S.H.C. at Morrison, Colorado. The enrollment of the College increased from thirty-one the second year of its existence to fifty-four the last year. In con- trast to the Spanish enrollment of Las Vegas, Mor- rison proved to be overwhelmingly Irish. The short history of the College is not with- out details of human interest. Noteworthy among these is the incident relating that in order to se- cure a few unearned holidays, one of the boys was almost successful in his attempt to burn down the school. Whether Morrison was haunted or not is a matter for conflicting opinions. In the spring of the year 1888, it became ap- parent that Morrison was not the site for the pros- pective college. Not only its distance from the city but also the lack of facilities brought about the end of its existence at Morrison. Morrison was formally closed on June 27, 1888. In 1886 it was decided to close Las Vegas College; it was necessary, therefore, to find a lo ' cation for a combination of the two schools. Fr. Page 8

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The Story oi Fifty Years ginning that a successful Catholic college could not be founded in Albuquerque. Its foundation is now, however, mute testimony to the over ' whelming desire of the people and the Jesuits for the establishment of a Catholic college. In the year 1874, the townspeople themselves of Las Vegas, New Mexico, requested that the proposed college be erected there. Their plans materialized, with the educators 1 consent, and in 1877 Las Vegas College was founded with Fr. Salvador Persone as first president. Before a new school building could be completed, classes were held in a private home donated by a devoted Span- iard. The short history of Las Vegas College can be well summed-up as — hardships patiently borne, Page 7 but not in vain. Fr. Pantanella, upon his acces- sion to the presidency of the institution, was con- vinced that Las Vegas held little future for the project. He then began searching for a more suit- able site for the proposed University of the West. At first, Rome would not grant the per- mission, but a conference with Bishop Machebeuf and a trip to Europe produced the desired results. Fr. Pantanella arrived from Europe, August 4 1884, and two weeks later set out for Morrison, Colorado, to prepare for the formal opening of the College of the Sacred Heart. Most instrumental in the Catholic college be- ginnings in Colorado was the Most Rev. Bishop Machebeuf, Bishop of Colorado. And it was in Late afternoon shadows cross the approach to the Administration Building. W--4 W , ' . , ' IW ' - m - ■£ . • ■■£ hi k ; ■ ' », ,i « m m '

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The Story of Fifty Years Page 9 Pantanella was greatly impressed with the possi- bilities of Colorado Springs harboring a large col- lege, and some even say that the property was already purchased, though the records give no such indication. Finally upon the insistence of Bishop Machebeuf, Regis was destined to adorn North Denver. Mr. J. Bnsben Walker generously offered forty acres of land northwest of the city. After some discussion the land upon which the College now stands was selected. Rocky Moun- tain Lake was permitted the students for their private use; and in addition to the foregoing dona- tion Mr. L. K. Perrin generously offered the Col- lege ten more acres. On September 13, 1887, ground was broken and the cornerstone of the new College of the Sacred Heart was laid by Fr. Marra, then superior of the New Mexico-Colorado Mission. Work progressed on the building very rapidly and the building was completed in one hundred days. The College of the Sacred Heart was not con- sidered a new institution but merely a continua- tion of the Morrison and Las Vegas Colleges. Fr. Persone was appointed to act as the first president of the College upon its opening on September 5, 1888. The curriculum was made up of a classical and a commercial course. By an act of the Colo- rado State Legislature, the College was empow- ered to confer degrees. It is in the first year of its existence that the College saw its first publica- tion appear — The Highlander. The paper was discontinued in 1893 and the school was wi thout a publication until 1918 when the first issue of the Brown and Gold attracted the attention of the Carroll Hall is the Regis collegians ' residence.