Campion Jesuit High School - Knight Yearbook (Prairie du Chien, WI)

Page 23 text:

Vs! - f 11.1411 . '!k52-H.. I 'Wie Within the Joyce Kilmer Library the three close friends are united and live in perpetuity: the colored painting of Kilmer which hangs above the main desk is flanked by the balcony pictures of Fr. Pernin on the left and Fr, Daly on the right. The spirit of Kilmer lives on in the case of mementos viewed by students at lower left. The library is a busy place, especially at term paper time as these Seniors testify.

Page 22 text:

in hc Joyce Kilmer Library The library at Campion which is, I believe, of all memorials the one Joyce would have loved best. -Mn. Aline Kilmer, Joyce's wife. On a beautiful fall day, October 31, 1937, the bond of friendship between Kilmer and Campion was immortalized in the solemn dedication of THE JOYCE KILMER MEM- ORIAL LIBRARY by His Excellency, Will- iam R. Griffin, Bishop of La Crosse, before 2000 guests including civic, army, and re- ligious dignitaries. Specially honored guests were two of Kilmer's children, Deborah, now Sister Michael, O.S.B., and Christo- pher. The dedication was made possible by money willed to Fr. Claude Pernin, S.J., Whom Kilmer met on his Visits to Campion. Fr. Pernin, then English Professor at Cam- pion, was a brilliant teacher, writer, speak- er, conversationalist, and companion who became Kilmer's admired friend. Treasure of this 40,000 volume library is the finest display of Kilmer mementos in the country: his 51 letters to Fr. Daly, his notebook car- ried at the Front which contains his three War poems, quoted in these pages, his glasses, his Catholic identification card, his dog tag or official identification medal LAL! I he wore at his deathg the richly bound vol- umes of his complete works and those of his poet-wife, Aline, and the copy of his citation for bravery, the Croix de Guerre. KiImer's children, Sister Michael and Christopher, at the dedication of the library honoring their father. Display case an-1 iamii of personal Kilmer mementos as students see it daily.

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is AE, he meaning 0 Kzlnfzers lzfe to Campion The grave of Sgt Joyce Kilmer ln France, where he Iles hurled allen earth It IS melancholy to thlnk that we shall not see hlm agam at our gates But he has contrlbuted by hls close and frlendly relat1ons wlth us to the noble trad1t1ons whlch should dwell m a school lxke ours trad1t1ons of fine courage honor en hghtenment manly p1ety and h1gh asp1rat1on from an arhcle In The Campion March 1919 by has fnend Fr Daly Between K1lmer and Campxon and Campxon s sons there was an attachment that was personal and warm Kllmer loved Camplon 1tS trees and lts h1lls ltS teachers and ltS ldeals and all for whlch they stood Though not hlmself a student here he proudlv called hlmself an adopted alumnus of Camplon And Camplon IS proud to be the alma mater of h1s cholce So between Kllmer and Campion and Cam p1on s sons there must be today the tr1bute of appre clatlon and 1m1tat1on When Camplon men use h1S llbrary they w1ll thlnk of Joyce Kllmer Cathollc gentleman and poet and patrxot and w1ll try to 1m1tate h1s courage and self sacrlflce and fa1th and love In th1S way at Camplon IH the words of Kllmer s poem Wfltten to honor an Engllsh poet kllled ln hlmself We keep the echoes o his golden tongue We keep the vzszon o hrs chwalry IN MEMORY OF RUPERT BROOKE ln allen earth across a troubled sea, Hts body ltes that was so alr and young Hts mouth ts stopped wtth half hts songs unsung Hts arm ts stzll, that struck to make men ree But let no cloud o lamentatton be Where on a warnor s grave a lyre ts hung We keep the echoes o hrs golden tongue We keep the vtston of has chwalry So Israel's joy the loveltest o kmgs Smote now hls harp and now the hosttle horde Today the starry roof o Heaven nngs W uh psalms a soldter made to pratse his Lord, And David rests beneath Eternal wtngs Song on hts ltps and m his hand a sword ' 1 nf, I . ! kip so t e , e 0 Q o O. . ' I . . . .,, ' , - M battle but prophetically appropriate for Kilmer A I I A I , M as 4 4 v f - 4 I, . . if . . .,, . . f . i . . . I . f . f ' . . , . I . , Q . f ' in u In ' ' ' ' .