Mount Saint Joseph Academy - Mount Yearbook (Rutland, VT)

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AND REFLECTIONS Most ot cur Catholic people could not afford private education My faihtr and mother seemed to think they were H illing to make quite a sacrifice lor me to go to the convent and have whatever the Sisters could oiler. We had nine lull grades at St. Peter's, so the academic course at the Academy was only three years. I went to the Academy because I did what I was told m those da s. and ol course, ever since. I'm glad I did We were set apart, the girls that had the convent education. Vfv lather was a letter carrier, and was the oldest ol seven, it was quite a sacrifice tor them to send me. The tuition was S15.CVa year. There were only six ot us who were able to go. My lather had to leave school at the age ol H to help educate an older brother who was studying lor the priesthood, so he knew what lack ol education meant. His idea was to ilo tin• very best you can. In November ot our Senior year, we had to take the State Hoards. AH six of us rook them, you couldn't graduate without that certificate. Mason Stone was the Commis- sioner ot tducation. ami he was a hard-boiled gentleman We aU passed the examinations. Mother St. Charles had .1 letter from Mason Stone. In it he said that he Wivukl take any teacher that she could send him He would rather have her students than any others in the state. We twgan at twenty minutes ol nine until quarter ot twelve, and then we went back at one o'clock until twenty minutes ot our. We weren't expected to go to daily Mass although we sometimes went to the convent chapel, not really going to Mass but to meet the altar hoys. Mother St. Charles had all three years, she was the only teacher. She had six Seniors, tour Juniors, and then the siv ol us Wv adored Mother St. Charles. She was very helpful. dedicated to religious Ide and to education, a marvelous teacher. We had everything, we had Geometry. Algebra, and Physics. Chemistry. Geology. Astronomy, three kinds of history. Church History. American History, and Ancient History, all taught by Mother St. Charles She even had a telescope, and when she'd be teaching astronomy, she'd bring us back evenings. We were pushed a little bit in those days St. Peter's used to have a parish monthly which gave committments tor the altar boys and so on. and it also gave the averages ol every darn student, anyone with a grade over SO II you didn’t gel in it. you might ust as well hang up vour boots. We had to maintain an average ol ninety or better to receive the gold medal. The school had the respect ol the community, no question ah.HH it. Margaret Kingsley Canary. Class ol 1911. (above) wears her gold medal in this graduation portrait With her contempo- rary- Anna CoHins C'Hricn. '10. she represents the Mount's most senior alumnae Mrs. Canary ha long supported her alma mater, reaching back to the tune when she volunteered her tune to help raise money lor building the 1916 addition A conversation with her (lelt) give us invaluable insights into lile at the Academy more than 75 years ago. Agnes Barrett's 190 diploma (below) shows how ornate the certificate used to be Music graduates ibek'w lelt) received a special diplo ma lor their curriculum from 1901 to 1955. 1916 Music graduates Margaret Pauline CoHins. Monica Col- lins. Winifred Mclaughhn. Madeline Grady, and Anna 8a ker. Rutland Historica Society and the. Ruiland Free. Lihrarv.

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Mother U Aurltn Keane tfX-l9 ) Superior tS73tg76 Mother Philip AtcPonough (IS34 IS96I Superior IS 6-1 94 Mother M Peter Cawley tlScO 49 Superior tS94 1903 Mother St Charter Vina ISS919391 Superior 1903 90S HISTORICAL NOTES I HI NAME of Rev. Charles J. Boylan ((830-1886) has long been remembered as ihe one responsible lor bringing ihe Sisters of Si. Joseph to Rutland. As the fifth pastor ol Si. Peter's Church, lie supervised construction ol the present church, father Boylau converted the schoolhouse next to the church into a rectory so that the old rectory on Meadow Street could become a convent. The priest had long hoped that the Sisters would stall the parish school. Twool father Boylan's cousins.Sister Borgia and Sister Mary John, belonged to this order father’s hrst request lor teachers (rom Ihe Motherhouse in flushing, long Island. New York was not granted. Undaunted. I at her Boylan boarded the tram to New York, and his cogent appeal moved Mother Austin keane and Sisters Irene. Patricia. Anastasia, and Paul to volunteer lor the Rutland mission. The live sisters left New York on 5 September 1873 and arrived in Rutland the next day. Their school opened less than two weeks later. The original convent burned due to a defective flu on II January 1875 while the sisters were teaching school, father Boylan olfered the rectory for the Sisters’ use. and he sought temporary quarters elsewhere. Just a few months alter this reversal. Bishop PeCoesbriand asked the Superior in flushing to form a separate community in ’’East Rutland. as the section was then called. Sister M. Philip tourneyed from flushing to become the first Mother Superior ol the Rutland community ol Sisters ol St. Joseph. Mother Philip” would continue to serve as Superior lor the next nineteen years. During this formative nine, she witnessed the building of Ml. St. Joseph Convent, part ol which would open its doors as a school. ■I July I8'9 marked the blessing and laying of the cornerstone of ihe new convent. Some parishioners thought it imprudent lor father Boylan to approve so large a building lor (usr eight nuns. Work proceeded very slowly, hampered by a lack ol funds. On 2 februrary 1883. the Sisters moved into the new convent ? although it was not completely finished That spring Mount Si Joseph Academy accepted (ifty one day pupils and one boarder. The Academy would remain an all girls school for flu next forty five years. Miss Mary Kingsley and Miss Elizabeth leahey were the first two girls to complete the high school curriculum In I881. I he number of graduates remained less than ten per year until I9f5. Compared to the total enrollment ol the school for those years, the small number of graduates undoubtedly reflects the economic status ol many Catholics around the turn ol the century, large families, long hours of labor, and low wages did not allow students to stay in school through grade twelve, likewise, the Sisters endured their share of lurdship and privation Many years passed before central healing was installed in the convent hence sleeping quarters went unhealed. Although many of the Sisters lived extraordinarily Tong and productive lives, there were some who died young from virulent diseases that have been eradicated in our own time tuberculosis, typhus, and influenza. Curriculum at Mt. St. Joseph Academy has always reflected the needs of the community and of the times. In 1801 the lirst students graduated with Music and Commercial Course diplomas. The Commercial students developed skills that usually earned them an immediate placement in the work force, and the Mount's musicians and orchestra also had a line reputation. Many Music alumna became teachers of Music themselves. (continued on page six) A rare photo of the Sisters in IS9S fi) Immaculata. felicitas. De Sales. Veronica. Lucina. Loretta, (tyfagenia. Mother Agnes. Mother St. Charles, iother Peter. Alphonsus. Aquinas. St. Joseph (3) Borromeo. Raphael. Celesttne. Mother Columba. Patrick. Gertrude, ligourt. Anne. Cecelia. (4) Alary. St. Thomas. St. Michael. Bernadtne. Julia. Xavier. St. Ldward. St. Roch (5) M. James. M. John. Helena. Genevieve. Augusta. Bndgid. This venrhonk inns digitized hv nalunt.ep.rs from the

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Left: MOTHtR M. AONES BRACKEN (IS5S ■ 1956) SUPERIOR 1906 - I9X Right: MOTHtR M. COLUMBA EOO ARTY (1871 194$) SUPERIOR 19001936 Both of these beloved Superiors influenced the lives of many students and religious during the years of transition for M.S.J. THE SISTERS’ fiftieth anniversary in Rutland was fittingly celebrated on 3 September 1923. The Rutland Herald recorded the event: The greatest number of Catholic Church dignitaties ever assembled in Vermont attended golden jubilee services at St. Peter's Church this morning with Rt. Rev. Bishop J. J. Rice as the celebrant at a solemn High Mass. During the services the following order of procession was carried out, censer bearer, cross bearer, two acolytyes, clergy subdeacon, assistant priests ... mitre bearer, crosier bearer, bishop with deacons of honor.” Since enrollment of both students and boarders had increased, the convent no longer provided adequate classroom space. An addition, immediately to the north of the convent would solve the problem. A drive to raise $200,000. for the new building commenced on the same day as the Golden Jubilee. Alumnae generously donated over $1500. to the fund. With shrewd business acumen, Mother Columba worked very closely with Father Brown in planning every stage of the building which would house a Chapel, gym. and the necessary classrooms, labs, music studios, and dormitories. The Sisters of St. Joseph Corporation authorized Mother Columba to spend $250.000. and borrow another $100,000. After almost three years of planning, the construction began. On 19 July 1926, Father Brown laid the cornerstone. By the fall of 1927, the building was completed so that freshmen boys could enroll for the first time at M.S.J. These young men would comprise the first co-ed graduating class in 1931. The oldest extant graduation portrait (above) shows the Class of 1897 posing formally. From left to right are Catherine Reilly Clifford. Mary Orant. Emma Brislm McOarry. Gertrude Foley, and Anna L. Barrett. Emma McOarry became the first organizer of her sister alumnae who undertook many fund raising activities. The convent steps were often the scene for many outdoor pictures like this one (above right) of boarders and day students at the Mount in 191$ and the other of the Sisters of St. Joseph on the occasion of their golden anniversary in 1913. (opposite)