St Francis College - Motus Yearbook (Biddeford, ME)

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26 The academic, religious and cultural essays are concerned with the inner growth and dyna- mism of the microcosmic world which is Saint Francis College. The task of this essay is to describe the aggregate of all external condi- tions and influences affecting the life and de- velopment of the College. The environmental essay will'deal with the physical aspects of Saint Francis which is historically rich and scenically beautiful. Because a people is determined by the geog- raphy of its country we shall concern ourselves, First with the geographical posture of Saint Francis College and then with the historico-social content in which it is situated. Positioned at the mouth of the river Saco, the College shares more than a programmatic picture of the movements and the tides of the sea. The creative student becomes heir to the reveries and emotions which the sea inspires in someone sen- sitive to the vastness and melancholy mystery of its varied beauties. The recently acquired Saco Bay-shore is also quite awe inspiring. This land, where Cham- plain made an historically significant landing, is rich in atmospheric color. It is a land of mystery, silence and the infinite, of the passing cloud and the sunlit shimmer of the waves' subtleties. Saint Francis College is constructed on a beau- tiful land, strong and rock-ribbed, with nothing of the soft and lush about it. Rough ledges thrust out into the sea, shedding from their backs great rollers that pound in from the North Atlan- tic in smothers of foam and spray. In a world which views nature as a Franken- stein, as a monster capable of infTicting the most dreadful retribution upon its creator, the College otters its students a needed respite: an encounter with unadulterated physical nature, full of unfettered, vagrant, roving spirit and a chaotic ferment, drawn straight from the deepest well springs of the cosmos. Intuition is freed from the bonds of time and space and is garnished with an enchantingly refreshing uncivilized character. The vertiginous rhythms of the maiestic Saco and the enchanting orchestration of the shifting tides hold absolute appeal for the aesthete as they meet at the estuary in an intense, febrile and cogent melodic phrase. Nature has indeed smiled benignly on the sons

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Claude Gauthier Sculptures adorn the campus unless one con- siders the crudely chiseled statue of Saint Francis which stands stalwartly on the green in front of the main building. As yet, no adequate music room for the practice of instruments and choral recitations has been provided to alleviate the now cramped and pressing condition where both activities sometimes commence at the same time and struggle for supremacy. Nor is there any hall available, with the exception of the gym- nasium, for the rehearsal and staging of plays. All the weaknesses in our cultural condition must, however, be considered in their proper perspec- tive-that is-against the background of the his- tory of the College. Certainly, in an older institution, such a low ebb of cultural facili- ties would be outrageous, but in a compara- tively new college, such as Saint Francis, which is, at present, concerned with the major necessi- ties for a solid and firm edifice of learning: class- room buildings, chapel, etc., such a state of affairs is excusable. To estimate the cultural status of Saint Francis College, however, only by the number of facili- ties for such presentations on campus would be to greatly belie the actual issue. Ostensibly, it might seem that Saint Francis is, for all practical purposes, destitute, arid of cultural activity. But this is not the case! The presence of an active cultural concern on campus can be verified by the number of cultural programs sponsored either directly or indirectly by the College on campus or in the surrounding area during the past year. To name them all would be to con- sume more space than this article can afford, so I shall have to be content with the mention of the most important cultural advances of com- pus, hoping that the others will be given due credit elsewhere in the book. The Student Senate, as of this year, organized a Cultural Attairs Com- mittee, which has been of inestimable value in procuring various outstanding professionals in the arts to appear for special performances. This year, the Cultural Affairs Committee sponsored a concert series, which featured a rare diversity of artists: Claude Gauthier tPoet-Composerl, Edith Stearns tPianistl, Sandy Ives tFolk Singerl, and the Boston University Quartet. A special radio program of WIDE was held, in coniunction with the College every Wednesday evening for one half hour. The topics of discussion ranged from the image of Saint Francis College in the nearby tOWn of Biddeford to cultural contro- versies between members of the Saint Francis French Academy over contemporary French Catholic authors. The cultural highlight of the year was, how- ever, the April Symposium, entitled The Chris- tian in the Modern World. The Symposium saw such distinguished panelists and speakers as Paul Chapman, director of Packard Manse in Stoughton, Massachusetts, and Reverend Cantius Matura, professor of scripture and liturgy at the Franciscan House of Theology in Montreal, Can- ada. The Symposium also received other eminent persons to staff its panelist positions: Dr. Edward T. Gargan, professor of modern European History at Loyola University, the Reverend Daniel T. Honan, a poet-curate of Saint Joseph's Church in Brewer, Maine, and Dr. Joseph D'Alfonso, a senior member of the Bates College department of Philosophy in Lewiston. The literary world also made its appearance with such well known writers as the poet, John Logan of the University of Notre Dame and the novelist, Michale Novak of Harvard University taking part in the dis- cussions devoted to Modern Christian Literature. Also contributing to these controversies were Dr. John Lindberg, instructor of English at the Uni- versity of Maine, and Robert Parenteau, acting Head of the Division of Humanities at Saint Francis College. Other names should, perhaps, be mentioned here but the limitations set on this article have already been exceeded, and prevent their inclusion. In conclusion, we are acutely aware of our deficiencies in the cultural sphere at Saint Francis, and these weaknesses have been al- luded to in hopes of their improvement and rectification. However, at the same time, we are also profoundly conscious of the advances that have been eftected during this academic year. A dissatisfaction with our cultural status is Finally a fundamentally good symptom; for it indicates that there will be increasing and multiplied efforts at bettering our condition, and thus our institution. Indeed, it is only when we become satisfied with culture that we lose our grasp of this elusive concept, sometimes relin- quishing, losing it forever in a surfeit of com- placency. - JEROME WYANT. Mr. DeTurk goes on the air for Saint Francis College. 25

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of Saint Francis of Assisi, the man who saw God in every aspect of creation. It is impossible for the student to delight in this beautiful country without being influenced by its traditions. Only familiarity with the struggles that shaped an area can fully satisfy the mind and heart. Today is iust a moment in Time, a bridge between the long past and the veiled future. The historical essay has eprOred the past in order that we can at least appreciate the import of the bridge of Time on which we stand. For the student at Saint Francis this means the opportunity of be- coming a citizen par delegation in the early Franco-American world. Biddeford and Saco, beyond Kennebunk and the only two large cities in southeast Maine, are always thought of and spoken of together. Al- though they are separate cities on opposite banks of the Saco River, they form an industrial complex, most of the industries being in Bidde- ford, while Saco is predominantly residential. The chief industry is the manufacture of cotton goods, and the largest mill is the Pepperell Man- ufacturing Company. Though there are modern shopping and service centers in Biddeford and Saco, these two cities are in the throes of a cultural lag. The class of 1963 hopes that a group of people at Saint Francis will follow the lead of Mr. David DeTurk, who saw all too clearly that it was the duty of the College to initiate the surrounding community to the arts. Mr. DeTurk worked on behalf of the Cultural Affairs Committee in an endeavor to bring performers of a classical calibe-r to the city. Aware of the burgeoning interest in folk song within the New England area, he sought to stimulate interest in folklore in Biddeford. His weekly radio program over WIDE, the performers he invited to Biddeford, the folklore course which he taught at the Col- lege; all of these were endeavors to cultivate appreciation of the beautiful in art. It has been frequently pointed out that Bidde- ford and Saco, settled in the 1630's, are actually wealthy in folklore. In 1615 Samuel de Cham- plain landed and explored the property on which Stella Maris Hall is now built. The Historical Society at Saint Francis has repeatedly unearthed arrow heads and other items of archeological interest on the site. Colonial Saco impresses the eye by the gra- ciousness of its old houses and the peace of its tree-arched streets. The old Saco Jail, built in 1653, still stands and is a museum today. On Main Street in Saco is the York Institute, housing a goodly collection of Colonial costumes and furnishings, paintings, Maine minerals, Indian relics and historical documents. The first court in Maine-and some say in the United States- was originated in Saco during 1640. All this territory was explored by Richard Vines during that winter he Spent at Fortune's Rocks near Biddeford Pool. Both locations are now summer colonies, rather quiet and aban- doned during the winter. The graduates of 1963 realize that their Alma Mater enjoys ideal geographical and historical postures. At the onset of the 1963-64 academic year the physical aspect of our campus will in- clude Saint Francis Hall, Stella Maris Hall, the Student Center, a gymnasium and two new dormitories. By the following year the number of dormitories will have risen to five. In the past, the task of blending these constructions in with nature and tradition has been assigned to Brother Bonaventure, who has spent many long and busy hours on the campus. To him we are thankful, and we are hopeful that in the future Saint Francis College will bring to full fruition the tremendous potentialities inherent in her soil. - FRANCIS P. LEBEAU. 27