Saint Alphonsus High School - Arrow Yearbook (Dearborn, MI)

Page 17 text:

Sribulr tn iUnthrr fHaru Aiuutstinr Uhtfhrr (Srnrral nf tlir S'tatpra af Snmuttr It was most fitting that Mother Augustine should be chosen almost unanimously the successor of Mother Camilla, as Mother General of the Dominican Sisters of the Saint Joseph Province. Mother Augustine is eminently fitted by nature and by grace for her tremendous privilege and the corresponding responsibility of guiding the Sisters of our Order in this province. The outstanding qualities of Mother Augustine are her staunch faith, her abiding hope and her ardent love for all that pertains to the honor and glory of God and the salvation of souls. Years of experience at St. Joseoh’s Academy made her thoroughly familiar with all the details of the religious life. Hundreds of students were benefitted by her instruc- tion, and hundreds of Sisters were edified by her humility and her child- like obedience. Her devotion to the Rosary'is well known and to it we attribute many of the blessings, spiritual and temporal that have come to St. Joseph’s Academy and to the Missions. As Novice Mistress she won the love of those under her care, and as Mother General she is reverenced by all her willing subjects and by all who are privileged to know her well.

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St. Joseph's Academy This institution is situated on one of the most favored sites in the vicinity of Adrian, Michigan. It has enjoyed the blessing' of progress to an unusual degree. It is a comparatively young- institution founded about twenty-five years ago. An humble band of four Sisters, who came from New York to brave the hardships and privations of pioneer mission work in the wilds of the West, settled in northern Michigan, where for a num- ber of years they performed their work of charity and self sacrifice. A little later they extended their labors to the southern part of the state, where, in the town of Adrian about sixty miles from the city of Detroit they opened the present Academy. The Reverend Mother Camilla was placed in charge and the influence of her holy zeal, her undaunted courage and energy were pronounced from the beginning. The order of Saint Dominic is primarily a teaching order, and the Reverend Mother, followed the traditions and the spirit of the Order, carried on the work of these pioneer Sisters—the education of the young. A novitiate was soon after established and thus was formed the nucleus not only of a thriving' relig- ious community but also an institution of learning, which is now attended by more than four hundred young ladies from all parts of the United States. The grounds, embracing sixty acres, afford ample opportunity for all kinds of athletic games, while the healthful location of the Academy with its well tilled farms, teeming orchards, and beautiful gardens, make it an ideal spot for school girls.

Page 18 text:

Picture an uninhabited wilderness with a few log dwellings along various Indian trails. Such sparse settlements was the beginning of St. Alphonsus parish in 1842. These early settlers were so few that being unable to erect a church at that time, their private humble abodes were used by the Redemptorist Fathers of Detroit, who came out at various intervals and said Mass. In 1852 the Catholics cf this district, known as Greenfield, were gathered together under Rev. Albert Schaeffer, C. SS. R., Rector of the Redemptorist Fathers, then in charge of St. Mary’s church. The work was intrusted to a member of the community, Father Ernest Glaunach, who came to Detroit in 1851. There being no church at that time in this locality,The Esper family gladly gave up their home for the celebration of Mass and the most august Sacrifice was offered first on Whit-Sunday |at which the parish- ioners devoutly assisted. A portion of the home was converted into a sanctuary and a sacristy as well as other sacred tribunals were provided. God blessed this fam-