Belmont Abbey College - Spire Yearbook (Belmont, NC)

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SEVENTY - FIVE YEARS OF PROGRESS You Can ' t Make Good Unless You Are Good In the fru of Our Lord 1875, the Benedictine Order acquired the Caldwell Plantation in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. The Rev. Dr. J J OConnell donated the land. In 1896, Father Herman Wolfe, O.SB., arrived at the Caldwell farm. This date marks the beginning of what 15 now Belmont Abbey Junior College and Prep School. Father Herman called the place Maria Stein (Mary of the Stone) because of a large shaft of granite which was found on the property It had served both u an Indian altar, and as a block on which slaves were sold The name was later changed to Mary-Help-of-Christians Abbey, and Sc Mary ' s College, and finally to its present title. Two boys from Richmond, along with Frederick and Samuel Gross from Charlotte, became the first students The first official school year began in the Fall of 1878. In March, 1877, Father Julius Kelly reached the new Priory. Most of the credit for building a small chapel belongs to him. Before the institution was much older, Abbot Wimmer left Saint Vincent ' s in Pennsylvania and visited the school He lifted the faltering spirits of the founders. When school started in 1881, a new brick building was used for the classrooms. This budding is now a pan of the monastery. It is interesting to note that the bricks which were used to build the original structures were made by the Brothers on the premises. They were baked in the sun and are now considered quite valuable Father OConneU, the original donor, came to the little community and took up his permanent residence here. Little progress wa» made in the next few years, and by 1884 only three priests remained on the faculty. Abbot Wimmer, in order to save the foundation, enlisted eight monks who agreed to augment the declining staff of the school. In November. 1884, Rome elevated Mary Help to the dignity of an Abbey. On July fourteenth, 1885, Father Leo Haid was elected the first Abbot of Mary Help Abbey. In the next decade, a new college building was erected and the school received its charter from the State of North Carolina. On May 7, 1891, the Grotto was dedicated. It is a remarkable replica of the place where Saint Bernaderte saw Our Lady One year later Abbot Haid, now Bishop and Vicar Apostolic of North Carolina, laid the cornerstone of the new Abbey CathedraL On the morning of May 19, 1900, a fire broke out in the new west wing of the College The flames destroyed the building and caused a loss of more than one hundred thousand dollars. It was rebuilt immediately, and the college opened as usual in September. In 1924, Bishop Haid passed away and was succeeded by the present Abbot, the Rt Rev. Vincent G. Taylor, O.S.B. In recent years, a new gymnasium, along with several smaller buildings, and a new water system, have been added to the Abbey. The old gymnasium has been renovated and is now the library; the west wing of the brother ' s house has become a modern science building. In seventy-five years. Belmont Abbey has developed into a flourishing institution. It is historic in its traditions. Christian in its principles, and is regarded as one of the finest Junior Colleges in the South. At the Abbey, mental, physicaL and spiritual development forms modern Christian gentlemen . . . Abbeymen.

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THE RAMBLERS PICTORIAL REVIE W

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THE ADMINISTRATION The Blessing Of Earth Is Toil Rev. Bernard L Rosswog, O.S.B. r ev . Cuthbert E. Allen, O.S.B. Rev. Anthony Cahill, O S B The R «Dr College Dean Prep Dean Rt. Rev. Vincent G. Taylor, D.D., O.S.B. Abbot-President Rev. Walter Coggins, O.S.B. Chaplain Rev. Raphael Bridges, O.S.B. Assistant College Dean