Benedictine College - Raven Yearbook (Atchison, KS)

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The Hilltoppers-St. Bede's and St. Gregory's Halls. Back row, left to right-Pfeiffer. Davenport, Quinn, LaRocque. Frfth row-Dolan, Fitz- gerald, O'Rourke, Guilfoyle, Sedla- cek, Senecal, Bree, Nockels, Rea. Fourth row-Garcia, LaPlante, Wet- ta, Quinlan, McCor-ristin, Dehner, Fry, Curtin, Meissen. Third row- Knoeber, Lueckenhoff, Kane, Kongs, DeMar, Finken, Morey, Miller, Schmelzle. Second row-O'Connor, Ketter, Vandenberghe, Lohkamp, Duffy, Donahue, Roberts, Micek, O'Hora, Betzen. Front row-Dow- ney, Kohake, Quinlan, Duval, Hel- get, Gray, Frederick, Malone,Brad- ley, O'Shea, Wack, Motoh, Kerr, McClure, Carrigan, Strecker. forever, this appearance of a dead monk was found by the freshmen to be an upperclassman, who had nothing to do late in the evening. It was too late for the fresh- men to stop the story, they had sent news of it to every town, village, and hamlet where they had relatives. Ah! the poor freshman. Up on the hill closest to the Benedictine Fathers we find the young men of St. Gregory's and St. Bede's halls. Those desirous of entering the Benedictine order occupy the former, and the boys who wish to become secular priests in dioceses throughout the country are in St. Bede's. With the sounding of the 5:45 A.M. bell, the hill- toppers begin the day. After fifteen minutes of con- tinual splashing of water, we see them in chapel giving the first hour of their day to God. They are a happy crowd, always realizing their call in life. Every year on March 21, the feast of St. Benedict, six or seven of the young men of St. Gregory's hall march up to the altar to receive the black habit of St. Benedict. On that day they make their first step toward entering the Benedictine order. A year later they enter the monas- tery to find the realization of their hopes and ambitions. The men of St. Bede's hall have a different mission. It is their hope to one day preach the gospel of Christ to the world. When they finish their college studies they enter whatever seminary to which their bishop sends them. Aside from the difference of mission and life work the young men of these two halls form a group having the same goal. Everything is not of a serious nature for these boys. Some of the finest athletes in the school come from the hillg they have their games, their athletic contests, their pillow fights, and dump- 24 ing of beds in the dormitories even though their pre- fect's eye is ever vigilant. The educational range of the boys on the hill is from the third year of high school to the fourth year of theol- ogy among the students for the secular priesthood, and from the third year of high to the second collegiate year for the Benedictine postulants. Fathers Cuthbert McDonald, O.S.B., and Aloysius Krapp, O.S.B., are prefects of St. Gregory's hall, and Fathers Gervase Burke, O.S.B., and Michael Carroll, O.S.B., have St. Bede's in their care. The halls are to life at St. Benedict's what the dif- ferent fraternities are to life at a university. There exists a certain rivalry between them, though it is a good-natured rivalry, in their sports, in their studies, in all their activities. This rivalry makes for progress in the school in so far as it furnishes competition which in- sures a continual devising of new means of achieving new successes. This rivalry of course does not go so far as to cause dissension within any of the varsity teams or any all-college group working for the glory of the school. The halls also act as do fraternities in that they foster a fraternal spirit among the occupants of each hall. This is the natural result of close companion- ship under the common roof of a common home. Hall life is the true life of St. Benedict's. It is in the halls that the boarding school really is found and lived. Life there is governed by rules which must be obeyed, and which sometimes appear tothe occupants of the halls to be great disadvantages, but one of the purposes of a school, teaching one to live with one's fellows, is accomplished chiefly through such life in com- mon as is found in the boarding halls of St. Benedict's.

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St. Benedict's hall is composed of students living off the campus. Most of the students have their homes in Atchison, and are graduates of either St. Benedict's high school or Atchison public high. This group does not have a prefect as do the other halls, but it is under the direct supervision of the dean of residence, the Rev. Richard Burns, O.S.B. College authorities usually re- fer to these young men as day scholars, but the students boarding at the college have always labeled the day student with the epithet, day-dog . The hall is well rep- resented in social activities, athletics, and scholarship. Where once was heard the thread of holy monks in the silent shadows of Freshman hall, disturbed only by rhythmic chant and prayer, now lives the lively, dancing freshman. Five years ago this hall was a monastery, since then the Benedictine Fathers have taken as their place of dwelling the new monastery overlooking the Missouri river, and their former home has been remodelled and equipped with the most modern conveniences for the incoming groups of freshmen. How great a change five years have made! Each year the quiet voices of the freshmen can be noticed gradually developing into a sonorous chorus of football signals, nicknames, torch songs, jokes old and new, best girls, nights out, and many other amenities charac- teristic of freshmen. It may be remarked, too, that the freshman group is of heterogeneous ancestry. Irish, Germans, Poles, Swedes, Frenclunen, Italians, and several other nationalities are represented. In a very short time after their arrival at the college, how- ever, they are welded into the one family of St. Bene- dict's students. Their prefects are Fathers Isidor Smith, O.S.B,, Jerome Merwick, 0.S.B., and Philip O'Connor, O.S.B. This year Freshman hall was visited by what the boys called a ghost of the one of the monks long since dead. For almost a week it would happen that the ghost would come into the hallways as nightfprowling freshmen would pass along. The ghost appeared several times and freshmen lost all nerve, all bravado, and, alas, even their appetite. But jokes can't go on Freshman Hall 'l'pper piffzzre, top row ---f O'Malley, Ferry, Shay, Hoey, Rakowski, McGrath. Fourth row--Dockery, Hood, Conlon, Reidy, Laughlin, 0'Sullivan, Rice. Third rowAN. Thompson, Veeneman, Meehan, Spence, Carney, Nolan, Nell, Casserly. Sewrzrl row Moltz, Conley, Concannon, Johnston, Dreiling, Snider, O'Donnell, Mideke, Mclincroe. Front rown Petersen, Neiman, Slayman, Guillen, O'Hyrne, Moulder, Ford, Kirk, Zbranek. Lo'wf'r picture, lop wwe--Carney, Lawler, Mulligan, Gallagher, Stannard, Dillon, Reidy. FU'lh row---Concannon, McLean, Gnilfoyle, Rieke, Conlon. Fourlh rowff Mondi, Ricci, McGovern, Cole, Meehan, McGrath, Donahue. Third row-fMoulder, Zalondek, Tyrrell, Vernen, Schweiger, Carroll, Rakowski. Second row-Ward, Law, Marks, Tusa, Trakas, Stanoscheck, Meany, Morrissey. Fran! row- Galvin, McGarry, Dreiling, Aschenbrenner, Petersen, Faltysek, LaFonte, Mulholland, Frey. l l - Y

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i The High School Seniors HE 1934 graduating class of St. Benedict's high school consists of twenty-four members. Nine of these receive classical diplomas, and fifteen the diploma of the English-scientific curriculum. As the St. Bcnedict's high school consists of only the two senior years of high school, many of the boys completed their junior work at Maur Hill, the Benedictine pre- paratory school in Atchison. Both St. Benedict's high school and Maur Hill are accredited by the North Central Association of Col- leges and Secondary Schools, Kansas University, the United States Military Academy at VVest Point, and other standard accrediting agencies. by Robert F. LeCompte, '35 The graduating class of ,34 marks an end to the existence of St. Benedict's high school. The long- planned merger of the high school department of the college and Maur Hill has been completed. Next fall will find the en- tire four year Catholic high school lodged on the Maur Hill campus. The merger will make possible the ex- clusive use by the students of the administration build- ing, the Carnegie library, the gymnasium, and the re- fectory. From twelve to fifteen instructors, Benedic- tine Fathers of St. Benedict's Abbey, will devote their time to the student body. A comprehensive athletic program, hitherto im- Rev. Florian llemmcr, 0.8.8. 1'ri111vipal of llze High Sflnml possible, will be inaugurated with varisty teams in basketball and football. The gymnasium boasts a fine running track and swimming pool and will allow for a diversification of activities. The new unification is expected to cause a favorable reaction on the part of the students. Unharnpered by the college life which must of necessity take precedence at St. Benedict's the junior and senior students will find activities more closely identified with their own interests and abilities. Rev. Mark Merwick, present principal of Maur Hill, will continue to head the faculty. It is his purpose to have the school remain small but with a select group of students. Maur Hill has a capacity of one hundred fifty, of which approximately fifty will be day scholars. And so to St. Benedict's high school we say farewell. Out of the new group we shall expect leaders to come for our college activities. St. Benedict's is changing under our eyes. This is but one more step towards its goal - national fame and honor. Top, left to right- A. H. Bussman, F. B. Corrigan, J. Carrigan, J. M, Ilonahue A. J. Drciling, P. Garcia, J. H. Hood. A. H. Knoeber T. J. LaRocque, R. T. Mangelsdorf, J. K. Manion, J. J. Morey R. J. Motoh, J. H. Mullins, D. V. McClure, T. McNamara W. T. O'Malley, VV. J. 0'Rourke, D. IC. Regan, I . A. Rieke J. D. Slayman, J. N. Vernon, G. J. VVetta, R. A. Wolters 25