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

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and additions taking place. The Academy celebrated its Golden jubilee on May 22, 1897 with a Pontifical Mass in its newly decorated Chapel. A large addition to the north end of the main building was made to be used only for community purposes, leaving the rest of the building for the students. Maryvale Hall was renovated and equipped as a science hall. All was in readiness for the news which was an- nounced on Commencement Day in june, 1910. It was the announcement for which 4' ' ' 'A 1'-2 '! '2'4s ,z 'C .. , 9 4 'Q W-cn, lfiv - v U My A .ni Q Q - fy I ' ig 'H , 6 Q JV' , , A lg S, 'j 1 , f W ful' 1. -- wtf . rf 4 . ' 'fa - ig Q-1 I Allah I , L. ff-41. 4 , 1749. 5 I 1 - f ' ' gt , ' X' K. .Wm E' an - 'if .lf A 2 zlllli . R17 . , 'f : 2'4 T' Al T I 't , iff. 31 yi- 1 gl. -- v t' lffawlf- . 4 QL! 'af 1 t -: ma lt' -ff .sm - A . 2,112 ,ff ftm-iilI1g,g- 4 ,ie-H .Lx if-fi, ' .. I, ' my ...fwa w .-ig Q s ,gy A- Q 2 ' J - . - . I 4 A Lltxiwmwnm 4 Q f N'M 'Q NN'--... 'gs W.'zw.ftll all interested in the Mount had been wait- ing. It was the ofhcial announcement of the opening of the College of Mount Saint Vincent on September 29th, 1910 and thus the establishment of the first Catholic col- lege for women within the limits of New York City. The college began with His Eminence Cardinal Farley as President, Sister Mary Ambrose as Dean and an enrollment of twenty-eight students, a fact worthy of mention, since such famous 'colleges as Harvard and Columbia started with nine and eight respectively. The closing of the small boys' boarding school in the Villa and its subsequent conversion into a col- lege dormitory marked the first year. This was insufficient, however, to house the growing number of students and so, in November, 1911, Cardinal Farley laid the cornerstone of the new Elizabeth Seton Residence Hall. The following year saw the completion of Seton Hall and the conversion of LeGras Hall to college purposes. LeGras Hall, now familiar as the cafeteria, was then used as the gymnasium and theatre and became the scene of many spirited athletic events and college plays. Shakespeare and the Greeks were favorites at that time when the Dramatic Society was choosing a play for presentation. Some of these plays were enacted on the campus itself, where the natural beauty of the surroundings en- hanced the whole production. In June, 1913, the Hrst Commencement of the College of Mount Saint Vincent was held with Eve girls receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. This was a climax to a week of festivities not differing too much from the program we follow at present, in- cluding Class Day and Baccalaureate Sun- day. The difference came in the presenta- tion of the Greek tragedy, Antigone, in a natural setting on Monday by the Dra- matic Society. The Wednesday of that week of the first Commencement corre- sponded somewhat to our Day of Recollec- tion, a day spent in quiet thought and prayer. In the succeeding years, college life was enriched by the visits of such people as Madame Schumann-Heink, Pietro A. Yon, Dr. james J. Walsh and the Rev. Dr. Wil- liam Turner, later Bishop of Buffalo. These passing years have brought many changes to the Mount and yet its essential character remains the same. The beautiful Cardinal Hayes Auditorium, housing a large gymnasium, a swimming pool, dress- ing rooms and showers, was erected. This building has behind it tennis courts and across from it, an athletic field, which, in the spring and autumn months, is alive with girls in brightly colored gym suits. The main pathway leading into the Audi- torium is the sole property of the Senior Class and every Freshman is duly instructed that it is the Senior Walk, the verbal equivalent of a keep-off sign. LeGras hall

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tion, Mass was first celebrated in the upper room of Fonthill Castle, which had been built by Mr. Forrest for his home. The cornerstone for the Academy buildings was laid by Archbishop Hughes on September 8, 1857, and two years later, Reverend Edward Lynch offered Mass for the first time in the part of the building which was intended for the novitiate. The familiar tower bell was blessed that year in August and, on September 8, 1859, Commencement was held, the most important event yet held at the new Mount. The Sisters and their students passed through the sad years of the Civil War, during which time they lost their be- loved Father and Founder, Archbishop Hughes, who died january 3, 1864, after a full life of selfless labor. In 1865, the south wing of the Admin- istration Building was completed, contain- ing the music rooms, Study Hall and chapel to Mater Admirabilis. Present stu- dents at the Mount may smile a little, glancing at the quaint old pictures of for- mer Mount girls, demurely attired in bustled' dresses, doing their practicing on harp or piano in these music rooms. In 1866, the course of studies was some- what revised. Mathematics and Latin classics, hitherto electives, were made pre- scribed courses, so that all who were candi- dates for graduation had to form at least a speaking acquaintance with their mys- teries. Around this time, the Hughes gold and silver medals were established for the best essays in Domestic Economy to be awarded on Commencement Day. On June 29, 1872, the Silver Jubilee of the Mount was celebrated in the Grand Exhibition Hall with the Most Reverend Archbishop McCloskey presiding. Aside from the tradition-making significance of the day, it was memorable for the presenta- tion of a life-size bust of Archbishop Hughes which is now in the Science room of the Library. May of 1877 was marked by the visit of Thomas A. Edison to the Mount, where he demonstrated such inventions as the telephone, the phonograph and others then quite recent to an appreciative and won- dering audience. In 1881, the historian john Gilmary Shea presented the Mount with the collection of rare and valuable J ,' ik , I ll' WQJU 3? lfffn J? 'ff' lm 97, I Nxvkl ,X ,V .. -vsp? ff , f f' ' we ,, 49 4195? ff 442 Q' l!M Mi5j ew I 11' 1' , V' .,, .1 I J -A Jgairw. '41 f ' :N , .few 1 E 751, -..nl -V544 ' n :Z 19 fs a 4 4 H - 411 Egg? 4 5' ,fi 4' ' ' -Man' A 4:r6 3 'tTzXl L .a if 'gr 8 3 Y g,.j,.n,K 7' tnI'Vr0 I, 9351 F .aa 1-' my My with ii 7 1 if in 2:19 A r f' w'-ia, 'JV ffl.. 'nil lip- lj U' Mil: , X M TBE! -.t. ?ll,I!lL -tibia coins, now on display in the Social Science room of the Library. The Kelly-Hughes gold and silver medals for Practical Domestic Economy and the Saint Cecelia medals for excellence in music were founded about this same time. The former were intended to awaken in- terest in such womanly accomplishments as good sewing, household management, and some knowledge of the culinary art. Students at the Mount put these accom- plishments to good use a few years later at the Catholic Educational Exhibit at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Here, they displayed work in the fields of Domestic Science, Languages, Literature, Mathe- matics and Science. Three years later, on February 19th, the Alumnae Association of the Academy of Mount Saint Vincent was formed in Brooklyn at the home of Mrs. Charles F. Nagle, who was elected its lirst president, and the Mother Superior of Mount Saint- Vincent as Honorary President. ' The years between 1897 and 1910 were full ones with many important changes

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has been converted into a cafeteria for the Day Students, with a Games Room in the basement. Perhaps the greatest change of all came in 1943 when the Academy was moved to its new home in Tuxedo Park and the Mount became the home of only the Col- lege of Mount Saint Vincent. This change was necessitated by the growing student body in both Academy and College. An- other change almost as momentous as this took place shortly before, when Fonthill Castle, hitherto the chaplain's home and a museum housing valuable wild-life and mineral collections, became Elizabeth Seton Library. The collections were transferred to LeGras Hall, which had formerly been used as the library, and to Maryvale Hall, while the chaplain took up residence in the Villa. The establishing of the library in the Castle has proven advantageous not only because of the convenience of the lo- cation but also because the building is so perfectly suited to the role it now plays. The growing enrollment demanded in- creased space so Marillac Hall was built especially for Junior and Senior boarders and, in the last two years, Saint Vincent's Hall and Lourdes Hall have been opened in the Administration Building. The war years came, bringing with them bond drives, Red Cross activities, a de- creased number of social functions and in- creased prayer. Professors left for military service, and their absence gave the Mount a very personal part in the war. New themes appeared in the College paper, the Campus Record and in the literary maga- zine, the Fonthill Dial. These themes were usually not pleasant ones but reflected the tempo of the times through which we were passing. The war is over now but the times are still troubled. It is in this year of post- war chaos, l947, that the Mount celebrates her one-hundredth anniversary, marking a full century of unceasing endeavor in the educational and spiritual field, ever seek- ing to follow the college motto, ubonitatem et disciplinam et scientiam doce me. 47 , sly ,N V. ,,j T' :.r,fQ1- me Q, . f Q-A g?g?:,y tffar f, ' - he - 'W Wi -f: Qifgr a1g-a-- .- a t .I ag - PE? t -in , g 9? mxwllg . 1 4 ll' A' , E l ilu ' 325,331 ll. i j. T3 sql .-,x-ji-91 as-Mfg'-Q '1-1'5 V' -Z . f2:5'2i ,,-S1WZsF,gis: -f- 1 filief ll 5 f ' ' -ll 'PW K-ffpfga A ff' s,- Qlilllfl , 'f'Mllt9 T 05 4911- 4 13' -A -...il-..