St Xavier High School - X Ray Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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lirium and joy-Armistice. The tense apprehen- sion in which America had lived for over a year relaxed and a tremendous'roar called the twen- ties rushed in to take its place. During this first quarter of the twentieth cen- tury, Xavier further established itself as a strong force in the community, and its faculty drew much prestige. Father James J. Daly, S.J., one of the several Jesuit poets, resided in Cincinnati at this time. His poetry has earned him a place in American literature. Another literary man, the champion of boys fiction, became one of the most popular hgures in the city while he resided at Xavier for thirty years. Father Francis J . Finn, 8.1., will long be remembered for the work he accomplished in Cincinnati and the books he wrote, which are regarded by some people as a necessary part of growing up. It is interesting to follow his heroes through their adventures and then to realize that the Xavier student of today trods the same halls that Father Finn walked and wrote about. Many were the Citizens of the Queen City who mourned his death in 1928. Bread lines and suicides were as common in Cincinnati as anywhere else in the nation when the depression descended. Cincinnatians had hardly picked themselves up from this blow, when another struck. Fed by wintry rains and thawing snows, the Ohio River rampaged from its banks in 1937 and crept into the City as far as Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport in 1853. Wsmiesmmw..mmmwa.VnTWTWWW,Wr , Itll, Third Street. It was the most disastrous flood the city had seen, and as its hungry waters re- ceded, somewhere in Europe the overture to World War II was begun. The treacherous thirties changed into the war years of the forties. Ration coupons, scrap iron drives, and Xavier to the fore with its own private War Bond Rallies. After the joys of another armistice, Cincinnati settled back to the relative normalcy of modern times. And Cincinnatiis Catholic Mother, St. Xavier High School, has proven a staunch com- panion in the face of feast, famine, and flood. One hundred and twenty-Iive years old now, but not weary. One hundred and twenty-iive years old now, but still alive as ever. What does the tourist see as he crosses the Suspension Bridge or drives down Columbia Parkway? What landmarks will he View during his stay? He may wander along the ancient water- front, take in the sights of Cincinnati long past. He may gape in admiration at the modern library or catch the enchantment of the May Music Festival. He will be told the story of the Foun- tain, stare up the dizzy heights of the Carew Tower. And he will pause at Seventh and Syca- more. There stands more than a landmark. There is a living, breathing part of the Queen City. There is a symbol of Cincinnatits Catholic edu- cation and of men who are yet an important community force. 53 Hum 4 h , 11113.1 nnxux: y. ' ., 9 m ,II muting 13 Kt , . . S? gwfnzzudn 'mwnn' ft .4 5131-3. y ' V h .. p u L - ,.. Cincinnati in 1886. Taken from Fountain Square looking North. The old Post Office Building is in the extreme right front.

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erected in 1891, containing classrooms, the chap- el, and Memorial Hall. Xavier was growing. And so was Cincinnati. By 1875 a transit line had been established and four inclines had climbed the steep walls of the suburbs from the cityas basin. The population grew, new industries sprouted, among them Procter and Gamble. The period from the end of the Civil War until 1900 is sometimes called Cincinnatits Golden Age of Art. In keeping with the cityts widespread cultural reputation, theater and opera groups flourished, world-famous Rookwood Pottery was established, the Uni- versity of Cincinnati was granted a charter in 1870, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra gave its initial performance. Cincinnatits artistic heritage cannot be men- tioned without a word about the Tyler-Davidson Fountain. Designed in Bavaria by August von Kreiling, it was presented to the city by Henry Probasco in memory of his brother-in-law. There bars. The site was ready for the fountain in two hours. The forty-three foot monument was installed and is still the largest fountain in this country. And despite its reputation as a haven of pigeons and starlings and a peril to the Cincinnati drivers, it remains the City1s best-loved landmark. Yes, the Queen City was growing. Culture and industry nourished and the gay nineties added to the eifervescent spirit of the times. It was the age of the beer gardens, and the Pike Opera House. Everyone enjoyed himself; and before anyone was quite aware of it, the twentieth century had arrived and found Cincinnati a thriving metro- polis in a mushrooming nation. As an aid to students who lived out of the downtown area, Xavier opened a branch high school in Walnut Hills in 1906. This branch was abandoned in 1911, when classes were held in a new suburb annex, the buildings of the Avon- da1e Athletic Club, at Dana Avenue and Victory ttLeopold Stokowskits first rehearsal of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in Music Hall. This, my hrst picture here, was made for The Commercial Tribune? Paul Briol, 1913. Rookwood Pottery. was something of a problem regarding the site where the gift should be put. The City Council decided on the market place between Vine and Walnut on Fifth Street. A roar of protest arose from the market people and they declared that, law or no law, they would not vacate. The Coun- cil dispatched a miniature army of workmen who swarmed over the market with axes and crow- Parkway. Finally, on September 10, 1919, the entire college moved to the Avondale location and the high school continued to operate in the downtown location. This is the arrangement which exists today. Two months after the college was established in its present location, Cincinnati was caught, along with the whole country, in a wave of de- 15

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H l jewel ghtest the bri ountain, L ncinnatfs nocturnal diadem. Tvler-Davidson I