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

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Mr. Charles Lepis-h First and longest-termed lay-teacher: 1001-151 11916-22. tevantl, Wis., the scope of objectives was widened broadly to include students who did not intend to study for the priesthood. This was done advisedly to afford a greater number of Polish- American youth, from the large and small cities of America where a sufficient number of Catholic high schools was lacking, the opportunity to prepare themselves for the various professions, to be leaders in the social field in a highly competitive country, and to become better Catholics and citizens. A progressive multiplication of objectives did not hinder the attainment of the prime objective but benefitted all three. For, while only 120 students graduated in the years 1903 to 1922 at Pulaski, 706 received their diplomas in Sturtevant since 1922 and a proportionally larger number has followed in the foot- steps of the Poor Man of Assisi . IV. THE SCHOOL PLANT In 1901, there was no separate school building as yet in Pulaski. Classes were held in the larger rooms on the second floor of the friary where a study hall was also pro- vided. A separate dining room for the students was set apart in the southeast end of the center wing on the first floor. The first dormitory was a separate utility building, actu- ally a loghouse. which housed the first 12 students in one section while the other parts of it were used for laundry, carpenter shop. bakery, and a granary. In it was also located one of the two wells which were the main source of water supply in the early years. lhflnwa l'0ve-1' uf st-cond seliiestei' i'vprn'l 4-:wil Encouraged by the rise of the nunluber slinw-ing' that tlw offit-izzil name from Feb., 11102, of St11deI1tS to lI1 and seeing the lm- was ht. Ronaveiiture lNPl'i'llll'IIt' tollege. of Continuing classes in the friary 4 . for a longer period of time, Father Francis in E , .,, . g W the fall of 1902 and not without some appre- ' A hension engaged Michael Niedzielski, a con- W tractor from the area, to construct a two-story, , i 50'x65' stone building with a basement fthe iw' 1 f' friary did not have onej and attic fwhich was ff- . ...LM finished for dormitory spacej. This was the W . first separate school building. It was built 90 . 1 feet north of the frame friary. Ptllafgkl, pW',It9. John Biamynski of Pulaski allowed the lay brothers to take gratis all the stone needed from his quarry and Frank Zacharjasz also of Pulaski granted them the same favor with Ile-low: 4'0vm' of first l'9llUl'l varrl showing that tha- first offivial minw of the school tSept., regard to 3.S I'Ill1Cl'1 sand as W3.S needed f01' the ltitll-Fel: 1190151 was Se'l':iplii4' Si-hfml of Saint ' '- ' mason work. Other generous people from Hofa Park and Pulaski helped in hauling the material to the site of construction. Great help was given to M. Niedzielski by the lay brothers Modest, Benvenute, Vincent, Pacific. Fra Iwi I -Ei ,Q gf' Joseph, Dominic, and a student, John Piontek I 'W' -,QU - J' Qlater Father Cyrilj, who had been a brick it .., D xg H . - mason in Silesia, Poland, before coming to the ...ifillliaaf 'zz 1130121323 - United states. A, ,X Brother Modest was instructed by Father f, Uviprsnciszka' Francis to observe the contractor and make I W plans of the work for a planned future exten- ' . sion. A foundation, extending through 90 ft. YQ715. which separated the frame friary and the new Q ' 1 building, was also now comnleted in the hope ,r I I' E A of expanding the new building later. if neces- Ewfmfffpfanyig sary. Entrance to the building could be made Page 16

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1902-03 , nantly accepted only boarding students, kept the number of graduates down to a surprising 862. From the first 12 stu- dents in 1901, enrollment rose to 60 in 1913 and to 93 in 1922, the last year at Pulaski. Starting with 113 in 1922 at Stur- tevant, student enrollment at St. Bonaventure reached its peak at the beginning of the 1946-47 school year with 217 stu- dents. Total enrollment during the past 50 years approximates 3500 students. II. NAME OF THE SCHOOL The official name of The Seraphic School of St. Fran- cis lasted only till February, 1902. It was then changed to Mr. John Kommku ,M St. Bonaventure Seraphic College and then simply to St. Member of fn-st student groin Bonaventure College in February, 1907, which title lasted flf '1'029 and 1f 0ff'SS0f lf '8 lf IEPI5-16. officially till June, 1928. From September, 1928, to June,1937, the school was known as St. Bonaventure Minor Seminary. Since 1937, by act of the definitorial congress of the then Commissariat, it was perma- nently decreed to be St. Bonaventure Minor Seminary and High School. Throughout the past fifty years, the school has been referred to as a college ffrom the Latin collegium and Polish kolegiumj by the faculty, students, clergy, and bene- factors. In its origin, the school was instituted as a preparatory seminary for the priest- hood in the Franciscan Order. Such seminaries in the language of the constitutions of the Order at the time and even today are designated as seraphic colleges . Moreover, in the European system of education upon which the school was patterned for a long time. all preparatory schools, whether for the priesthood or for the professions, were called col- legia. In addition, the fifth year or humanities was available to Franciscan clerics at Pulaski after novitiate till the founding of St. Francis College at Burlington, Wis. in 1931 where humanities and three years of philosophy are since taught. Finally, the school me- rited the name of a junior college from 1919 to 1928 when a complete and uninterrupted 5-year curriculum was offerred. - III. OBJECTIVES OF THE SCHOOL The original and still the prime objective of St. Bonaventure M.S. and H.S. is the edu- cation of Polish-American youth in preparation for the priesthood in the Order of Friars Minor. With the expansion of the building program other objectives were added. Thus, in 1903, candidates for the priesthood in the various dioceses of the United States were accepted. From 1910 on, day students were tolerated, though not in large numbers, both in Pulaski and in Sturtevant, With the change of the scl1ool's location in 1922 to Corliss fStur- Ainollic-1' vivw ut' the ss-html lblllilllllg' as it alxpeurr-il ln Iwi-011 l-'1-lr., 11003 and Sept.. lthlti. View of first svlmrzite ss-hunl building:

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In-v. Stanislaus Knstku In-pivll. 1904-05 First Vll't'-llt'l'lUl'. livlll-U63 teach- l'l', liltil-UN. either through the basement or over a walk on top of it. The new school building was ready for use in February, 1903, and could now accommodate 40 boarding students. After the completion of the building, the remaining debt amounted to S7,725.00, which in those days of low wages was quite a sizable sum. Accommoda- tions now included a more spacious dormitory, four classrooms ttwo of which served as studyhallsj, a dining hall, a large wash- room, a library, a greater wardrobe space, bathrooms, an infir- mary, a separate office for the rector, and rooms for the lay faculty members. Seven years later, in 1910, when the enrollment of board- . ing students was in excess of 40. another addition, 50'x90', was built entirely by the lay brothers on the foundations laid in 1903 between the first separate school building and the friary. Bro. Modest supervised the work. In 1912, the northeast wing designed for washroom purposes was constructed and a 90'x40' extension was added to the east of the 1910 structure in order to expand kitchen and dining hall facilities. Final completion of the building into a uniform quarry stone style was made in 1914 with the construction of a 135'x46' southern wing which increased space for the Fathers, Brothers, and faculty, who had been living in a wooden structure on the same spot. The school now could accommodate approximately 100 boarding students. With the growing crowded conditions and a realization that a more centralized location nearer to the larger cities would greatly increase the enrollment, Father Francis, now as a Commissary Provincial, began to look about and inquire among the Polish clergy of Wiscon- sin for a suitable site. Through the aid of several Polish priests from Milwaukee, HOLY ROSARY ACADEMY for girls, conducted by the Dominican Sisters at Corliss, Wis. Q20 miles south of Milwaukee, 60 miles north of Chicago, and 7 miles west of Racinej, was purchased by Father Francis in 1922 and the transfer from Pulaski to Corliss was made in the summer of that year. A large four-story, three-Wing building with a very serviceable attic could conveniently accom- ,fs 'A 6 Q if modate 180 students, with offices and rooms N 4 A7 fflgpyvcfgfgl' ' for the administration, large dormitories, K W -if classrooms, a study hall, dining hall and ,mg ygfz f,,,',,,,K,-f,c7 kitchen, library, small gymnasium, library, I' fi infirmary. and utility rooms. Another build- p ing, ST. ANN'S HOME FOR THE AGED, ,QQ-f-fag ff' J about 200 ft. south of the school building, f f ' was converted for the housing of the faculty and lay brothers and its name changed to we W ST. JOSEPH FRIARY. The purchase also iz-A-rv fn! covered 160 acres of land affording ample S X0 3 M space for a beautiful campus, a park in 55'5fi?W?'5'XLf 1 ff' . 1 ff front of the school and friary, and greatly -,,..3,5..Z.,..,.,i , , M is M needed farm land and buildings. ' True to expectations, the purchase of it aww' ivi' 'W 3 W ' A If a new site nearly doubled the highest en- gif Wi-iysf-5 jg . ,, rollment at Pulaski. When on November 3, f' 1929, ground was broken for a new gvmna- 5 W sium, The Rev. F. Wojfalewicz Memorial iiiawww Building, enrollment actually doubled that in VE-QW t A of Pulaski in 1930-1931 with a record high , f . of 186 students. The gymnasium building Q includes a study-hall for 220 students, a .oafmpwgvgxfawx modern library, classrooms, a large recrea- - A Lf! Copy of report m-ard for the first seniosti-1' if 11001-H2 st-hool ye-ar of the lit-V. .lust-ph lluhry Page 17 szek.