Regis College - Ranger Yearbook (Denver, CO)

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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.

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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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s 7 Fj£ kft; ' : -- ' ---s:i:. ■-.;,.; ■ : ' » » w . ? ' — r ' ta w. ; - ' £:- p ' .»;. The sunken garden east of Carroll Hall in morning sunlight. students with all its news under the surveillance of Fr. William Doyle. The result of the first year assured the Jesuits that their efforts had not been wasted; the College was firmly established. Just two years later, the first graduates of the College gained their well-earned diplomas. In that first year graduating class were exactly ten men, sturdy and true, who had survived t he hard- ships of preparation and now were prepared to steer their ships of state. That year saw, too, the first dramatic venture of the College prove highly successful when it was presented in the old Tabor Theater before a capacity crowd. The statue, which today decorates our beautiful campus, was erected through the donations of Mr. and Mrs. Walker (parents of the College ' s first benefactor) and Mr. Robert Johnson of Milwaukee, Wiscon- sin, at a total cost of over $1,500.00. The statue was blessed and the school consecrated to the Sacred Heart on the feast of St. Peter Claver. Later in the year the first priest was ordained in the College chapel, and the first free scholarship was offered in this year as well. The year 1891 was a most interesting one for it was in this year that Brother Ben, 11 as he is known to all Regis men, took possession of the Grotto. 11 The grotto had been previously built at a cost of $300.00 and was in serious danger of being torn down until the good brother came to its rescue. That grotto is today indeed an inspir- ation to all that are drawn to its beauty. In ad- dition to the one little shrine which decorated the hollow then, there are now seven beautiful objects of worship. Not only Brother Ben, but every Page 10