Mount St Mary Academy - Mercian Yearbook (Little Rock, AR)

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Q5 A S51 ,ww ER, 1951 AT M ALMA

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YEARS Sixth and Louisiana Streets. The Sisters made many friends among the people of Arkansas, but there were those who strove to make them unwelcome in the ter- ritory. However, this only helped to strengthen the Sisters' efforts and gain for them the support of their friends and admirers. As soon as they arrived, they started a catechism school and went out to visit the poor and the sick in their homes. During the War between the States, the Sisters cared for the wounded and needy, regardless of color of uniform. They vol- unteered the use of one of their buildings as a temporary hospital and gave them- selves over to treating the wounded, car- ing for their spiritual as well as their physical needs. The days after the war were hard ones for the people of Arkansas. The Sisters of Mercy, then overburdened by the care of many of the children left homeless by the war, found it hard to carry on, but were frequently aided by the military authorities who had also given them pro- tection during the war. With the increase in students, the land on which the first St. Mary's was located became too cramped, and in 1908 Bishop John B. Morris, third Bishop of the dio- cese, secured for the Sisters the site in CGNVENT ANNEX, 1923 CF PROGRESS ST. MARY'S 1909 Pulaski Heights on which stands today Mt. St. Mary's, Alma Mater of the Class of '51 and nearly one hundred preceding classes. In 1923 a three-and-a-half-story annex was built to serve as a novitiate and en- larged Sisters' quarters. An auditorium- gymnasium with an indoor swimming pool was built in 1928. The next year the Sisters of Mercy of Arkansas joined the Union of the Sisters of Mercy in the United States, and Mt. St. Mary's became a mem- ber of the St. Louis Provincial House. Mt. St. Mary's, during the past quar- ter century, has grown and progressed in its educational work, directed by its staff of 19 highly-trained teachers and holds membership in the North Central Association of Secondary Schools and Col- leges. The day is not far off when St. Mary's will have to under- take another building pro- gram if, in its second cen- tury, it is to maintain the h i g h-quality educational standards it has upheld for the past one hundred years. The Centennial MER- CIAN, throughout its pages of proof of progress and development in one hun- dred years, will try to show, through the eyes of the Miss of 1851, the St. Mary's of 1951. i 1 l -A

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1 1 i n xx f fl f K Wg his gk itil ali? Q it sig? Q aibecbca fi on I lo MUTHER CATHERINE MQAULEY Foundress of the Sisters of Mercy ' ana! TU ALL THREE LUYAL ANR REVUTED PIUNEER NUN5 Who, following in the footsteps of their saintly Foundress, left home and fatherland to plant the seeds of Mercy in Arkansas. One hundred years agrowing-1851 to 1951- and the tree has matured and branched out to cities and towns throughout the state. But the roots are here in Little Rock and We, the members of the Class of 1951, are the beneficiaries of one hundred years of sacrifice, one hundred years of zeal and devotion to duty, one hundred years of progress for Mt. St. Mary's. To the Sisters of Mercy, past, present, and future, We say Congratulations, as deeply grateful and sincerely appreciative, We, the members of the Centenary Class, dedicate our Centennial Mercian to the SISTERS UP MEREY UP ARKANSAS -1-