University of Detroit - Tower Yearbook (Detroit, MI)

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VAdiineiraion Two hundred and thirty-six years have passed since Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac led his little group of gentlemen and bour- geoise to the site he had described in Paris to the Grand Monarch as the strategic point to be fortified and to be called Fort Pont- chartrain. Coureurs de bois and missionaries had traced a trail of fur and faith through the narrows of Le Detroit to regions far beyond. Cadillac, commandant at Mackinac, had noted the glowing de- scriptions they gave of that fair locality and he wrote to Governor Frontenac: “Le Detroit is the real center of the lake country—the gate- way to the west. It is from there that we can best hold the English in check.” With authorization from Louis XIV himself, accompanied by fifty soldiers, as many Canadians, and 100 friendly Algonquin Indians, fitted out in Montreal, he set out on June 2, 1701, on the memorable expedition. The travelers smiled as their canoes glided to a stop before the verdant bluff. Truly this was a place meant for a fort, its com- mand of the river was excellent. Cadillac smiled inwardly for he had been given an extensive territorial grant at the chosen site, and, it seemed to him, a truly fortunate position for a city. His mind’s eye visioned it in completion with business towers, homes, churches, schools, and all ruled by the never-to-be-ended line of the Cadillacs. The fort was built, the number of the settlers and the little military bands were augmented, and the community expanded along the waterfront outside the palisade. This far wilderness was not friendly to European culture, but to withstand any ten- dency to reversion, Cadillac early planned the establish- ment of Catholic educational forces around Pontchar- train. In correspondence with friends in Montreal, he pledges himself: “I will cause the Indians to become civilized and tractable so that in ten years time most of them will speak only the French language and by this means the heathens will be- come children of the church and good subjects of the king . and. .%.as there are already various mission- aries on the spot a house should be built for them in Above: Rev. Frederic Siedenburg, S.J. Secretary Executive Secretary Center: Rev. Norbert J. Preusser, S.J. Treasurer Left: Rev. George L. Reno, §.]. Trustee [18]

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Wave] The Centenary of Michigan’s Statehood in the Union, which supplies the theme for this year’s Tower, is one of those celebrations which make us pause and reflect on the fortunes and durations of human interests. History here is full of salutary lessons. States and nations endure just so long as they succeed in conforming their customs, policies, and laws to the eternal principles of jus- tice. When they abandon the immutable standards of right and wrong and allow government to become conducted on principles of expediency and utilitarianism, they begin to crack and crumble and soon become object lessons of national folly and disaster. It is a cheering spectacle to see how far our State of Michigan has traveled since its frontier days. The striking progress in the space of one brief century is the result of those Christian virtues for which the early pioneers were noted. Laymen and missionaries alike, they were men of deep faith and rugged honesty, and unflinching courage. They dedicated their lives to the task of planting a civiliza- tion based on law and order and reverence for authority. If Michigan can continue to produce men of that breed and with similar sterling qualities of character, she need face the future with no misgivings. And that is the type of men the University of Detroit has aimed to give her. May our alumni ever be counted among her most loyal citizens! AM Satie

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Above: Dr. Paul D. Sullivan, S.J. Trustee Director—Graduate Division Center: Rev. John F. Quinn, S.J. Dean—Arts and Sciences Right: Rev. John J. Benson, S.J. Assistant Dean—Arts and Sciences [19 ] the inclosure of the fort so that they could preach there and teach the faith, and instruct the young men in particular and teach them the French language, for which the Indians, especially the chil- dren, have very great aptitude. It would be desirable that the king provide a fund for the Indian school children. . . . It would also be necessary to establish a house of the Ursuline nuns or sisters there, to teach the French language to Indian girls and to instruct them in our Religion.” This high anticipation was never quite attained. There were no Ursuline nuns here, and neither the gentle Franciscan pastor of the flock in the village, nor the lonely Jesuit who dwelt with the Indians, was able to impart more than the first elements of edu- cation to pioneer youth. They did wonders, indeed, in preserving religion itself. For the first sixty years of French control, and even long after the British occupation of the territory, the culture remained French and Catholic. The gallant struggle of the priests, and especially of the illustrious Father Gabriel Richard, to sustain religion, education, and good morals is well known. The slow burgeoning of Catholic culture from the missionary period finally burst into blossom when in April, 1877, the Most Reverend Casper Borgess, bishop of Detroit, brought the Jesuits into his diocese to build up its educational possibilities. As testi- mony of his eagerness to have them here, he transferred to them both his residence and his cathedral, now SS. Peter and Paul Church on Jefferson Avenue. On the following September 3, their institution, a liberal arts school-to-be, began its sessions in the former Episcopal residence which was located at the approximate site of the present Dinan Hall. Sixty students constituted the first enrollment, and five Jesuits, under the leadership of Rev. John B. Miege, S.J., former Bishop of Leavenworth, constituted the entire faculty. Four years later, in 1881, the growing school was incorporated with the state as Detroit College and it began issuing degrees under that title. For a period of twenty-five years following, the institution continued adhering strictly to the policies and methods of the schools of Liberal Arts. Its reputation grew with the years and spread beyond the borders of the State. January 14, 1911, regis- tered a signal point in the growth of the school when a new charter arrived from Lansing changing “Detroit College” into the ‘“Univer- sity of Detroit.” The incep- tion of the College of Engi- neering this year added to the growing prestige of the University. In the following . Nits.