St Bonaventure High School - Seraph Yearbook (Sturtevant, WI)

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S4-lmffl bus - today. On the land donated by Mr. Hoff, the pioneer Fathers built in 1887 a two-story frame building, the south wing of which constituted the parish church. while the center and north wing served the needs of the young Franciscan community. Debts incurred o11 this building, the small number of Fathers 135 and Brothers 4129, and the ever-present danger for the next 16 years 11894-19109 of the Com- inissariat losing its independence. pre- vented any further progress with regard to a school. Whatever students applied for admis- sion to the Fathers were, in the absence of a preparatory school at Pulaski. sent either to St. Joseph's College, Teutopolis. Ill., conducted by the Franciscan Fathers 1O.F.lVl.j of the Sacred Heart Province, or to St, Lawrence College, Mount Cal- vary. Wis., conducted by the Capuchin Franciscans qO.F.1Vl. Ca.p.j. The names of those definitely known to have attend- ed either of the above institutions for the first few years are: Frank Szczechowski, John Piontek, Cesar Krzyian, Stanley Przybysz, and Vincent Konopka at Teu- topolis. and August Brylski. Adolph Drob- ka, and Stanley Gapa at Mount Calvary. It fell upon the already overburdened but zealous Father Francis Manel to un- dertake the tremendous task of establish- ing a Franciscan educational institution at Pulaski. Through his heroic efforts and for the prime purpose of educating Polish-American youth for the priesthood in the Franciscan Order. The Seraphic School of Sf. Francis came into being and opened its doors to twelve students September 9, 1901. This first group was labeled the twelve apostles of the new Al4'l'IIllLi Stuilvnts lull vwrff an nn -' ' Urovv: llllillfvl lmlnp lla-Ion: Study hull tm

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ini: SIllfll'lIlS yn-sn-rllnp. 3? mu-: Il lens: Fl Vliaipi-I It sh-rdalp. 1-:ste-rilzl 3 S4-lmul lius 31-sh-rdzly. History of St. Bonaventure 1901-1951 by Fr. Cmisffmlinc Klizkowskf, O.F.M. 1. - Early Days When the Polish Franciscan Fathers lO.F.M.l settled in the northeastern part of Wisconsin at Pulaski in April, 1887, among their chief concerns was the es- tablishment of means whereby their con- tinued organized existence as a friary, as a commissariat, and later as a province would be assured, However, this natural means in the life of a Religious Order - the establishment of a preparatory school - could not receive their immediate at- tention due to other more pressing mat- ters. A friary building had to be constructed for the friars, and a parish church had to be erected to serve the spiritual needs of the local community which gave its gen- erous aid to both projects. One-hundred and twenty acres of land had been donat- ed tothe Fathers through the liberal grant of a well-known owner of a land company in Milwaukee, Mr. J. J. Hoff. who en- couraged the settling of Poles in the im- mediate area of Hofa Park, Pulaski. Chase, Sobieski, Kosciuszko, Krakow, Big and Little Suamico. and Flintville, Wis. lMr. Hoff was a Norwegian and a non- Catholic until his conversion shortly be- fore death, on October 17, 1910.l One- hundred acres were offered for the main- tenance of a friary and twenty acres for a parish church. Vzirs IVJll'lxt'tl uni Ilie- L:i'wui1ilS -- 1-sh-riluy.

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school on October 26, 1901, by Father Dennis Schuler, O,F.M., who had been delegated by the Most Rev. General of the Friars Minor in Rome to make the canonical visitation of the Pulaski community. The names and points of origin of these students were: Peter Banka QHofa Park, Wis.J, Joseph Ga- bryszek tGreen Bay, Wis.J, John Kujawa tDetroit, Mich.j, Alexander Trawinski fChase, Wis.J, Joseph Szlot tGreen Bay, Wis.J, Casimir Koropaczewski and Joseph Motulewicz tSu- walki, Polandj, Joseph Lapacz, John Olszewski, and Stanis- laus .Pawlowski tPulaski, Wis.J, and Leo Sonnek tRadom, Ill.J. Much confusion has existed in the past with regard to the accurate number of students in 1901. School records list only ten, while Father Francis in his brief history of the school in the Kalendarz Franciszkanski of 1912 mentions eleven. Nevertheless, two of the students of 1901-02, Leo Sonnek and J. Lapacz, who are still alive, claim attendance at The Sera- phic School of Sl. Francis in 1901, and their presence is attested to by the other living members of their class and faculty, and by the still surviving lay brothers who aided the early Fathers in the maintenance of the school. John Olszewski left during the school year and thus it may be that Father Francis writing some ten years later, in 1911, put the final tabulation of students as it existed at the end of the school year rather than the ac- tual number of those who applied in September. The first faculty consisted of the rector, Father Romuald Byzewski, who taught La- tin and German, Father Stanislaus K. Lepich, vice-rector and teacher of English. U. S. his- tory, geography, and arithmetic, Father Francis Manel, guardian of the friary, the found- er of the school, and teacher of religion, bible history, penmanship, music, Mr. Charles Lepich, who first substituted briefly for his brother in some of the subjects during the first year, then with the exception of 1915-16 taught regularly from 1902-1922, and Brothers Hu- milis Wojtkowiak and Liberatus Borkowski. who taught the Praeparanda class in which lack of knowledge of certain required subjects for entrance into high school was given spe- cial attention, Eight students were in the first class and four in the Praeparanda class in 1901. First to graduate from Sf. Bonaventure Seraphic College in 1903 were John Piontek tlater Father Cyril, first Bonaventurite to become a Franciscanl. Frank Szczechowski tnow known as Heitski, a retired member of the Green Bay police force and at present bank teller in Milwaukeej, and Cesarius Krzyian Cnow a diocesan priest in Buffalo, N.Y.J. The number of graduates in the succeeding 10 years was 2 in 1904, 5 in 1905, 2 in 1906, 3 in 1907, 2 in 1908, 3 in 1909, 5 in 1910, none in 1911, and 5 in 1912. A list of St. Bo- naventure graduates in complete form appears elsewhere in this book. Humble and dif- icult conditions of the school in its earliest days, unfavorable communication and trans- portation facilities, a very rigid form of discipline, and the fact that the school predomi- llc-v. Joseph Gnlvryszok Arll'lllht'l' of 115111-02 A-lass Ile-law. I. to r,g I-'irsl si-p:u':i1v si-lmol lrliilslinu. lf'm-Ii, IEHHZ1 first friairy cluting l'rum IXRT in XYlll4'll classes were lu-lil from Sept, 10, ltilll lu I-R-lv., IU031 first II2ll'lSll vlxurvli and stud:-nts' 1-lmpel tthe latter from Sept. El. ltilll lo Feb., IEHISIJ. i L, -- a-away' annum 1901-02