College of Mount St Vincent - Parapet Yearbook (Bronx, NY)

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The night the faculty frolicked The Greeks had a word for it.

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Y-' M7110 said Christmas is I-Iumbug? Our favorite D'sl I AX - f Planning the future

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The Stnry nf Um' llulleqe VVHEN ONE GLANCES about the beautiful campus of Mount Saint Vincent today, it is hard to believe that these spacious build- ings and these extensive grounds grew out of a little, old-fashioned house on 109th Street and 5th Avenue, the efforts of a small group of courageous women and a dollar bill. In l846, the New York branch of the Sisters of Charity, at that time numbering thirty-three, became a separate and inde- pendent Community and Sister Elizabeth Boyle was chosen as its first Mother Su- perior. She recognizcd the ever-increasing need for education among young women and directed all her energies toward filling this need and thus fulfilling one of the principal aims of her Order. With these thoughts in her mind, Mother Elizabeth bought the four-room house in what was then known as Mc- Gowan's Pass, beginning her academy for young girls with little else than a supreme faith in Divine Providence and an equally supreme confidence in the worthiness of the cause which she was undertaking. This faith was justihed from the very start, however, as illustrated in an incident which took place when the first foundations of the school were being laid. When Michael O'Connor, the architect, reported to her for money with which to pay the work- men's wages, Mother, with complete hon- esty, gave him all the money she possessed, one dollar. A way was provided out of this situation when the trustees of Saint Pat- rick's Cathedral heard of the Sisters' finan- cial difficulties. This instance is comparable as an example of faith in Providence with the story told of Sister Irene, who began the New York Foundling Asylum with a five dollar bill. Forty girls enrolled as pupils at the Academy of Mount Saint Vincent that first opening date, September 13, 1847, forming the nucleus around which all the rest has been built. The school life of that time did not vary essentially from that of today. Courses in Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Astronomy were included in the curricu- lum, while concerts, nature walks and visits to the Old Fort in Central Park formed important parts of their extra-curricular activities. During the years that followed, the stu- dent body increased steadily and additions were made to the main building to accom- modate the swelling numbers. Chief among these additions was that of the Chapel, dedicated on March 19, 1855. Yet, despite these additions, the fact remained that the Academy was too small to care for growing demands being made upon it. Added to this was the fact that New York, too, was growing. Central Park extended its limits so that they included the ground upon which the Academy was built. The com- bination of these two facts made it neces- sary for the Sisters to seek a new location for their school. They found it some fif- teen miles from New York City Hall. It vu ..-sl' - I S - --.. t . e '--fa 'A ,f S 4 - - -- , ,fl -nhlfffll , - lm l. ei QA ?i 11-7 -.1 .1 . I I ' .. i' 'V ' ' iviizjtl ll ll .I UQ I-, g 0'6- ' . 'A' - iii F ..' MJ .gQ'l '-ll .' ' ,I .ily 1 gr :tl 'lr::l1 :l.' , yi It '- H- ' .iygtt ytstt D .5 - i r:-. I -, I. in ni-wg :In I --if x-ina!!-LEED! .9fI4u'..iti1 H1151 mm: sire ifjppxfg if - 1p'f.'lffi, Ir? if-1:HQ?t'ZzJQQ'1'gbffffQff-:Q- f'Aj ' ' was fifty-five acres of land, the property of the famous Shakespearian actor, Edwin Forrest. Formal possession was taken of the new property on February 2, 1857 when a statue of Our Lady was placed on the grounds. Later, on july 2, the Feast of the Visita-