St Josephs College - Phase Yearbook (Rensselaer, IN)

Page 16 text:

,I g a K p p X! Q .. AN ,Gs , M N f xi A With the turn of the new century, the young col- ? lege had already made visible inroads upon the Indiana it Q 0 I wilderness. Within the next ten years she was to lose forever the aura of a pioneering institution, that rapid ' ' was to be her progress. A ' 1940 The Monon Railroad, then the newest line in the middle west, ran its first special train for Collegeville on August 31, 1902. The occasion was a convention of the Catholic Order of Foresters, an event which was to be the forerunner of many Field Masses, picnics, and alumni gatherings in years to come. In 1902, Father Seifert gave over the presidency to Father Boebner for two years. This year also witnessed the first of a successful series of exhibitions by the Turn-Verein, col- lege gymnastic, juggling and tumbling crew. Here lies the origin of the present Turner Hall, where boxing now holds forth. These were the years when the tempo of student organization quickened. The College Holy Name Society dates its birth to the year 1904. A fine, new gymnasium was completed in 1905, with the simultaneous introduction of the sport which was to carry the name of St. Joseph's into high sports realms-basketball. Father Seifert observed his sacerdotal jubilee in 1906. A year later work began on Dwenger Hall. Concurrent with the early rise of the college was the work of Father Paulinus Trost, the first campus artist. Father Paulinus had studied in Munich. His vari-colored and many- figured ceiling in the old Ad Building auditorium still stands as a tribute to his ability. Names such as De Paul, St. Viator, and Notre Dame made their debut on the local sports schedules. Governor Marshallis address was a highlight of the chapel dedication in 1910. The alumni, already considerably well organized, donated the present 110-foot flagstaff at homecoming ceremonies. Dwenger Hall, com- pleted in 1908, now serves as the Infirmary. The frame structure in the right background was the Hrst building in Collegeville. It was razed last year. 4. -.ug N54 .rox 5 E

Page 15 text:

The above photograph shows St. Joseph's College in 1891. Note the proximity of the barn to the build- ing in the left background. Trees seem to have grown rampant, while the pond was anything but the beauty spot it is today. To observers it was more familiarly the habitat of bull frogs and other marine life, except when wander- ing livestock wallowed contentedly in the cool mire. During the early days, according to alumni who remember, there was never more than the single row- boat shown above. This quite logically meant that not all of the early St. Joe boys could be Volga boatmen at once. Missing connections between shore and skiff got to be a common occurrence. During the summer prior to the first opening of the college, Father Anthony Dick was in charge. His sphere was limited in large part to the overseeing of workmen shown with him at the left. These men completed the first edifice in 1891. Dimensions reveal that the first building was 135 feet long, fifty-five feet wide, and eighty- eight feet high with a tower 115 feet above the ground. This sec- tion was added to in 1893 to complete the present Administra- tion Building.

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fl Qs .f N ...MN Beneath the twin towers lies the focal center of St. Joseph's-the college chapel. Here forty Masses are read every morning. Here likewise is the oft-resorted-to mecca of students. Here for thirty years have come the troubled and the low in spirit. if UV... hx K Here has taken place the observance of the Passion during Holy Week, the three Masses of Christmas morning and the joys of the feast of Easter. And every morning there is the multiple reiteration of the Sac- rifice of Calvary. What better leavening element could there be for education than the comfort, inspiration and reassurance offered by religion. - Y In ,,V4- ggi? f LI The roots of Collegeville history are imbedded in austerity. Students V, ii 5 Q le ,atl were accustomed to rising daily at live a. m. They looked forward to a J 'Yr Qui: if regular morning study period-before breakfast. Nightly at nine in the QE, H old days, tomb-like silence spread like a pall over the campus. Students ' -'a' -'-5 if J never had regular town permission. They saw Rensselaer only on special is 1 46,3 V occasions. VV ' , yy 'i N, gk s I 1 :K ,......K i fx it K . Q a Here is an early view of a local study hall, taken before 1900. Younger students nearest the camera were called uminimsf, This name was applied to young- er-than-high-school-age students who pursued courses here before the turn of the century.