St Stanislaus College - Reflections Yearbook (Bay St Louis, MS)

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A. C. J. ISTORY OF SAINT STANISLAUS Saint Stanislaus, among the oldest of Southern Prep schools, was founded at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, in 1854, by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. Arriving at the Bay, the Brothers took temporary lodging in the presbytery, and taught classes in the frame building behind Our Lady of the Gulf Church. Saint Stanislaus, the School of Character, was fast earning its reputation when the Civil War forced the discontinuance of the boarding department. Until the end of the war, the day school was maintained at Bay St. Louis while the boarding section was transferred to New Orleans. After the War between the States, various factors impeded the growth of Saint Stanislaus. “Yellow Fever” played havoc with the Bay St. Louis area four times between 1867 and 1905. Three members of the faculty died as a result of the 1870 epidemic. The perennial hurricane season forms another threat to Saint Stanislaus. Four such devastating storms hit the school since 1888. These storms, the latest of which was in 1947, had winds up to 130 miles per hour. While no one at the school has ever been injured by these hurricanes, and despite the fact that the substantial buildi ngs have never been damaged structurally, extensive damages have often been done to the roofs of various buildings and the highly expensive fishing pier has been several times completely de¬ molished. Throughout its more than 100 years of existence, Saint Stanislaus has been blessed with able and wise administrators. A man who guided the school through many crises was Brother Stanislaus. It was during his tenure of office that the enrollment was given its biggest boost. At the turn of the century, Brother Isidore was continuing the work of Brother Stanislaus when in June, 1903, disaster in the form of a great fire struck the shore buildings. Three hours proved enough to level all of them to embers and ashes. Undaunted, the Brothers started work on the new buildings which pres¬ ently face the Gulf. The 1903-1904 session opened on schedule in rented cottages and hastily constructed temporary rooms. The athletic program was intensified under Brother Berchmans during the 1915-1916 session. It was then that Mr. Forster Commagere, as coach, began his sixteen years of influence upon the life and training of the youth of Saint Stanislaus. A great friend and co-worker of Mr. Commagere was Brother Peter, who became president of Saint Stanislaus in 1926. It was he who made the school nationally renowned with his famous talks on “Boyology.” Brother Peter has left an indelible impression on Saint Stanislaus as well as on all those with whom he has come in contact. Under succeeding administrators, who have ably continued the work of their predecessors, the new kitchen and dining hall were erected. A new building, the Centennial Building, is now being planned. i