Belmont Abbey College - Spire Yearbook (Belmont, NC)

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Taylor as president, with Fathers Cuthbert Allen and Bernard Rosswog, O.S.B. aiding him. Due to several factors, among them age and illness, Abbot Vincent ordered the election of a vicar to assist him in the administration of his office. Accordingly, Father Walter Coggin, O.S.B. was elected and took the position. Fa- ther Walter demonstrated remarkable energy, and immediately, improvements began to take place at the Abbey. In 1956, the Prepara- tory High School Department was dropped. An extensive overhaul of the electrical wiring was completed. Ground was broken for the Abbot Vincent Taylor Li- brary in 1957, a student center was set up in St. Leo ' s Hall, the school be- came accredited as a senior college by the Southern As- sociation, and the student chapel was abolished. Hence- forth students and monks worshipped together. Many changes too, were affected in the monastery, among them the renovation of some of the rooms and the con- struction of a crypt under the monastery for private masses. On Thursday, November 5, 1959, Abbot Vincent George Taylor was returning to Bel- mont Abbey. At about 9:30 A.M. in the city of Greens- boro, North Carolina, he had a heart attack and died. Before the month was out, Father Walter was elected Eleven

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SOUT. The Most Convenient Way of Reaching St. Mary ' s College IS BY THE nil Wr THE SOUTHS GREATEST . f ailrjuay System. Through Pullman Vestibule Past Trains from the fioptti and East. Leave Washington, D. C. 11:15 A. H., 9:50 P. fl., 10:45 P. a. For Students from the South, Trains Leave Atlanta. Ga. 7:50 A. M., 12 Noon, 11:50 P. ft Leave Jacksonville, Fla. 8:00 A. M., 7:45 P. H. Leave Savannah, Ga, 12:30 A. M., 12:25 P. M. Leave Augusta, Ga. 9:30 A. n.,-3:00 P. H. Leave Charleston, S. C. 7:00 A. n., II P. M. Passengers from the West, Leave Knoxville, Tenn. 8:25 A. M. A Daylight Trip Through the Picturesque Land of the Sky. local Trains Most Convenient from aii points. For full Information apply to F. R. DARBY, C. P. T. A., Asheville, N. C. R. L. VERNON, T. P. A., Charlotte, N. C. S. H. HARDWICK, Q. P. A., WASHINGTON, D. C. Ten ■ ■i »-..v JnCTm ..... m — —

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the third Abbot Ordinary of Belmont Abbey. Abbot Wal- ter undertook an ambitious expansion program, ably as- sisted by Father Jude Cleary, O. S.B. Within twelve years he had completed an expan- sion program costing over 4.5 million dollars, includ- ing the Taylor Library, the three dormitories, Wheeler Centers, and the Gaston Sci- ence Hall, among other projects. By 1964, these ad- ditions were paying off: res- ident students became the support of the Abbey, total enrollment was up 27% and, in 1969, 830 students were enrolled at Belmont Abbey College. Times were also changing: the faculty became, to a large degree, lay, students arrived with new ideas on individual liberty, and many restrictions were dropped. Vatican Council II called Abbot Walter to Rome from 1962-1965. By the time of his return, many problems had arisen, not the least was ' HAH Twelve - - - ' -- v™™ -™.™—.™-