A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 7

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 887

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In 1866, Father Gillespie returned from France where he had been for three years, and soon after became editor of the "Ave Marie," which place he continued to occupy until his lamented and untimely death in 1874. Soon after Father Gillespie's death the conduct of the "Ave Maria" fell solely into the charge of the present efficient editor, the Rev. Daniel E. Hudson, under whom Our Lady's journal has become as highly literary and beautiful as it has always been devotion- al and religious. Father Hudson came to Notre Dame a New England youth, bathed in the culture and fine literary taste of Boston ; and he has given to the "Ave Maria" the ele- gance and purity of diction of the old Atlan- tic Monthly. The "Ave Maria" has been in some respects, as great a work for the ad- vancement of the interests of religion and lit- erature, as has been the university itself.

Sec. 7 .- A RETROSPECT .- Success had thus crowned in a wonderful degree the work of the humble but earnest toilers. The seed sown in 1842 had ripened into a most bounti- ful harvest in 1866.

Such had Notre Dame become, with its at- tractive scenery, its cultivated acres, its pleas- ant grounds, its commodious buildings, its well-ordered course of studies and its con- scientious and kindly care for the morals, the health and the intellectual advancement of its numerous body of students. When and how had this been done? We have tried to tell. Not in one year, or from one cause, or by one man, but, under God, chiefly by one. It was

under Providence, the quiet, steady growth of nearly one fourth a century, based at once upon the experience of the Christian ages, and upon the ready tact which could adapt that experience to the needs of a new and rap- idly developing country. To its accomplish- ment many minds of the first order, many self-sacrificing spirits, had devoted their best energies, from the time of small but hopeful beginnings, in 1842, to that of comparative vigor and maturity, in 1866.

Soon after this time, in a poetical address to Father Sorin, congratulating him and his as- sociates upon the assured success of their labors, the following thoughts, in illustration of the origin, growth and prospects of the uni- versity, were indulged in. The lines were much admired by the late Prof. Joseph Aloy- sius Lyons, and chiefly for that reason, and on account of their historical suggestions, they are here appended :

NOTRE DAME.

As our Union sprang to life From riven Europe's flying bands, Strong with the strife

Of those old lands,

And rich with culture of their years, In one short century A nation great and free,

The best alone her peers: So this fair pile Which here the while

Beneath religious smile Pale learning rears,

By exile hands from many lands,

In this sweet valley on the virgin earth, Her total time, from feeble birth And hopes and fears, To full-grown vigor, beautiful and grand, Her children's pride, the blessing of the land, Counts scarce one fourth a hundred years.

Old England points, with noble pride, To fanes where science, art, reside, As well doth Spain and Germany, And lovely France and Italy, And many a land beside: These are the fruits of centuries,

Of thought and toil and power's decrees; Nor ever ill their glorious fame betide.

And in our favored clime, The sister states Of many a classic hall may boast, Whose open gates Receive the earnest youthful host, Aglow for learning's festivals: Free classic halls, As rich in fruit and promise, if less known to time.

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But generous bequests And state endowments nurtured these, As those by king's bequests Were formed, and by the rolling centuries. What shall be said If learning's fount be fed By neither 'grateful dew of years, Spring floods of wealth, nor aught power's channel bears; But in the desert rise, Fed by the friendly skies, The meed of prayer and toil To cheer the arid soll,- The gift of faith, the pledge of love The sign of blessing from above, Kind Heaven's approving prize!

O happy task, beloved of heaven, To thee and thy companions given, From that auspicious evening bright, When, clothed in robes of snow, baptismal white, This virgin forest burst upon thy raptured sight!

Then rose thy vow to heaven's Queen That she would bless the lovely scene And make its shades her dear retreat, Religion's home and learning's seat.

And since that hour The special power Of Mary, Queen, Is felt and , seen, In every shield from harm, In every added charm, That marks the pleasing progress made From forest glade to culture's classic shade.

From her sweet name, the land and lake, Well pleased, their lovely title take. Hers was the cot beside the pool, Where one small scholar came to school, And hers the present structure grand, Where hundreds crowd from all the land; Her praise so long the soft melodeon sung, And hers is from the mighty organ rung; Hers is the magic rhyme Of sweetly flowing chime; And hers the monster bell's sonorous sound sub- lime.

Where once the warrior cry Made horrid discord on the midnight sky, There songs of praise Meek voices raise, And Christian love is borne on high.

Around thee stand A levite band Who issue forth to save the land. While 'neath thy care Blest maidens rear, In all sweet grace, The future matrons of the race, And from these halls Their country calls, Each rolling year, Her sons, to cheer Her heart again, And give the nation better men.

And where all this appears Scarce more than one-score years Saw but primeval wilderness,

The home of beasts, and men in savage dress. What means were thine, This gracious change divine, To bring o'er nature's rugged shrine, Blest Founder, venerable, wise, benign? Those, only those, The good man knows; Those, only those, That God bestows. His blessings rest upon thy toil,

His saints and angels guard the soil; And thy best cheer is Mary's smile, As borne on breezes free, By hills and plains, by land and sea, Her angel AVE floats the while,

And beareth (nine and her sweet praise o'er many a mile.

Long here shall science dwell, Long here shall heaven's praises swell, Still honored thou; for holy writings tell,

God giveth more to those that use their talents well.

When little time and less of gold Have wrought so much through faith and love, What may we trust when years have rolled, With added blessings from above? What hope the ardent toller cheers, What mighty hopes the future bears!

That future dawns, all lily, rose and balm; Arise, fair Mother, radiant and calm, 'Tis thine, to intone the grand, triumphal psalm, 'Tis thine, 'tis thine, to bear the glorious palm, And call the nation to adore the Lamb, Thine, only thine, beloved Notre Dame!

Sec. 8 .- THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNIVER- SITY .- In August, 1866, Father William Cor- by became president of the university and Father Augustus Lemonnier vice-president. Both of the new officers had been companions and assistants of Father Dillon. Father Le -. monnier was a nephew of Father Sorin and was first made prefect of discipline at Father Dillon's special request; while Father Corby, formerly also prefect of discipline, was vice- president and director of studies during the presidency of Father Dillon.

If the presidency of Father Sorin was a period of faith, of struggle, and finally of tri- umph; and that of Father Dillon one of great business activity and material prosperity, the administration of Father Corby was the be- ginning of a time of earnest devotion to learn- ing, during which the standard of education at Notre Dame was substantially elevated.

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During this period, also, the societies of the university, in which so much of its life cen- ters, showed a marked increase of activity. To Father Granger the religious societies owe everything. He was their founder, and not only at the time of which we speak, but even to the end of his blessed course, continued to infuse into them the spirit of his own holy life. The literary and dramatic societies were during the same period almost equally indebt- ed to Father Gillespie, Father Lemonnier, and Prof. Joseph A. Lyons. The latter was one of the noblest characters ever associated with Notre Dame. Though he continued to be a simple layman to the end of his life, no religious was ever more unselfishly devoted or more useful to his Alma Mater.

Others who aided Father Corby in the building up of the university during his first presidency, and who greatly widened the in- fluence of Notre Dame throughout the coun- try, were Father Joseph C. Carrier, Father Thomas L. Vagnier, Father Michael B. Brown, Father Timothy Maher, Father Daniel J. Spillard, Father John A. O'Connell, Father Edward Lilly, Father William Ruthman, Father Peter Lauth, Father Patrick Condon, Father John M. Toohey, Father John O'Keeffe, Brother Phillip, Brother Francis De Sales, Brother Basil, Brother Benjamin, Brother Edward, Brother Leopold, Brother Benoit, Brother Florentius, Brother Charles, Brother Alban, Brother Celestine, Brother Marcellinus, Brother Emmanuel, Brother Albert, Brother Paul, Professors William Ivers, Arthur J. Stace, Lucius G. Tong, Tim- othy E. Howard, Michael A. J. Baasen, Michael T. Corby, Edward A. McNally, Charles J. Lundy, William T. Johnson, and others whose names will recur to those familiar with college life during the later six- ties and earlier seventies. Silently and stead- ily those earnest and learned fathers, brothers and laymen built up the courses of study, and enlarged the departments of learning at Notre Dame, until from an obscure college it

began to be recognized as a promising univer- sity.

As the foundations of Notre Dame were laid in 1842, the Silver Jubilee should properly have been celebrated in 1867. The truth is, however, that the institution then scarcely felt itself sufficiently upon its feet to begin the celebration of its past career; and it was not until two years later that this jubilee was resolved upon. Accordingly the date of the charter, 1844, and not the date of the found- ing, was fixed upon as the point from which the silver period should be reckoned.

Francis C. Bigelow, a graduate of 1862, and at the time a rising lawyer of Dayton, Ohio, but afterwards a valued member of the order of the Holy Cross, and so known to us as Father Bigelow, was the first to suggest the formation of a society of the Alumni of Notre Dame. This association was finally perfected on the 27th day of June, 1868; when a consti- tution and by-laws were drawn up, and the following officers selected :

President, Rev. Neil H. Gillespie; 1st Vice- President, Francis C. Bigelow, Dayton, Ohio; 2d Vice-President, James B. Runnion, Chi- cago; Treasurer, Prof. Joseph A. Lyons; Sec- retary, Prof. Michael T. Corby; Orator, Rev. Edmund B. Kilroy, Port Sarnia, Ontario; Alternate Orator, James O'Brien, Galena, Illinois; Poet, Prof. Timothy E. Howard; Alternate Poet, Prof. Arthur J. Stace.

In April, 1869, the local Alumni Commit- tee resolved that a MEMORIAL of the Silver Jubilee, to be celebrated in June following, should be prepared. To Father Gillespie was assigned the task of preparing a History of Notre Dame for this Memorial. Father Brown was appointed to write brief biographies of the members of the Alumni or graduates of the classical and scientific courses, to be print- ed in the same volume. Prof. Stace was selected to prepare for the book sketches of the societies, classes and amusements of the in- stitution. Finally, to Prof. Lyons was as- signed the task of publishing the ambitious little venture. The result of these labors was

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the book of the Silver Jubilee, to which we on this occasion with that modest self-abnega- tion which was one of his characteristics.

have been no little indebted in the prepara- tion of the present undertaking.

Alas, not one of those genial literary lights who brought out the Silver Jubilee is left to aid in celebrating this golden jubilee. May they look down with kindly sympathy and aid upon the labor of love in which their long- time friends and associates are engaged in preparing for that golden jubilee which they all hoped to see.

It need hardy be said that the jubilee was observed in a fitting manner. There were three preliminary celebrations. These were in part in recognition of the honor bestowed on Father Sorin at the General Chapter of the Congregation, held under the presidency of Cardinal Barnabo, at Rome, during the sum- mer of 1868, when the venerable founder of Notre Dame was elevated to the office of Su- perior General of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, the first American to attain to such a dignity in a religious order of the church.

The first of the preliminary celebrations was that of the patronal feast of Father Sorin, thereafter usually called Father General. This was on October 13, 1868, St. Edward's Day, known during late years as Founder's Day. This was under the auspices of the Thespian and Philharmonic societies. It was ushered in by the ringing of bells, and the stirring music of the university cornet band; and consisted of a drama, orchestral music, addresses in prose and verse in many lan- guages and in songs prepared for the occa- sion.

The second was by the Silver Jubilee Club on the 27th of April, 1869, in the absence of Father Sorin who was at the time on a visit to France. It was a musical, allegorical and humorous entertainment, prepared chiefly by Prof. Stace, who was gifted with rare talent in this line. The Rev. Father Granger, suc- cessor to Father Sorin, as provincial of the congregation in the United States, presided

The third preliminary jubilee celebration was on the return of Father Sorin from France, May 22, 1869. The cornet band, then in charge of the enthusiastic Prof. John O'Neill, leading a large concourse of the equally enthusiastic inmates of Notre Dame, met Father Sorin at the railway station in South Bend. It was a triumphal procession to the university .. How different from the occasion twenty-seven years before, when Father Sorin with his five brothers were piloted through the woods from the village to the lake, by that little boy who was after- wards the first student of Notre Dame! Mid the ringing of the great bell and the sweet chiming of the small ones, the procession en- tered the church, where a solemn Te Deum was sung. In the evening Washington Hall was again the scene of congratulations and pleasant entertainment. On account of the peculiar splendor of the occasion, the staid faculty were represented on the platform, in an address by Prof. Tong, supported on either hand by Prof. Lyons and Prof. Ivers. Father Sorin's acknowledgements, in response to all these demonstrations, were most felicitous.

Two other celebrations of that jubilee year, that by Prof. Lyons' St. Cecilians in Decem- ber and that of Washington's birthday, under direction of Prof. Corby, while given at the times usual every year, were yet characterized by the spirit of the jubilee, and were of un- usual excellence.

As if the students' delight could not find vent otherwise, the jubilee was not made alone in honor of Father Sorin, but special ad- dresses and other honors were provided for the local officers. The address to Rev. Father Granger, provincial, was by Mr. James Cun- nea, since a banker of Cleveland; that to Father Corby, president and local superior, was by Dennis A. Clarke, now Father Clarke, of Columbus, Ohio; that to Father Lemonnier, vice-president and director of studies, by

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James A. O'Reilly, of Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania; and that to Father Spillard, prefect of discipline, by William A. Walker.

On June 22, solemn high mass was cele- brated by Father Sorin, assisted by Father Kilroy as deacon and Father Cooney as sub- deacon, and by Father Spillard as master of ceremonies. Reception to the alumni, ban- quet, songs composed for the occasion by Father Brown, with music by the veteran Prof. Girac, and sung by Prof. Corby, with speeches, addresses and dramas, followed in profusion.

The sweet voice of Vincent Hackman, of St. Louis, then at its perfection, is remembered to this day. There was also a song by another youth, James F. Edwards, now the erudite scholar, Prof. Edwards, the librarian of the university, the creator of Bishops' Memorial Hall, and collector of the Catholic Archives of the United States. David J. Wile, after- wards a distinguished attorney-at-law, is also remembered for his brilliant addresses and his fine rendition of dramatic characters on those jubilee days, the preludes to the eminent place in after years assumed by him at the bar.

The attendance was very large, especially of the old students, and the old-time friends of Notre Dame. Those jubilee days showed how warm a place their Alma Mater had won in the hearts of those who knew her best, and how widespread was the influence which she already exerted.

The literary instinct, as we have already intimated, was developed early at Notre Dame. This, too, was in great measure due to Father Sorin. Although he came to In- diana with but slight knowledge of the language of the country, yet his education was a superior one, and nature had endowed him with a fine taste in literature, and the arts. This taste he had highly cultivated, and he was always quick to appreciate and ready to praise excellence in speech and composition. Indeed he became himself the master of a forcible, exact, and even elegant English style.

He was, therefore, fitted to distinguish the mastery of English composition at the begin- ning manifested by Father Shawe and Gard- ner Jones, and afterwards by Father Gillespie, and by his brilliant sister, Mother Angela. In addition, Father Sorin's sympathies with American institutions naturally led him to desire that the graduates of the university should be proficient in the use of the language of the country, thus at once making them proud of their country and enabling them to become leaders in its service.

Literature and oratory were accordingly cultivated at Notre Dame from the beginning. The dramatic societies and the debating clubs at first gave vent to this taste. The noble lines of Shakspeare, of Sheridan and of Gold- smith, resounded from the mimic stage; while the eloquence of Edmund Burke, Patrick Henry, Daniel O'Connell and Daniel Webster furnished models for the youthful orators.

In time, original efforts were made, and speeches, addresses and poems were heard in public at Notre Dame, which gave to the visitors but a slight indication of the laborious literary toils of the young aspirants for fame. Finally, in the literary and debating societies fuller and freer means of expression were de- manded. The weekly essays in the classes of grammar, rhetoric and English literature but whetted the appetite for a wider and more varied audience than that afforded by the class-room. The St. Aloysius Philodemic So- ciety, the St. Edward Literary Society and the St. Cecilia Philomathean Society were the chief nurseries of these embryo authors and orators.

The earliest formal publication containing selections from the writings of the students was the "Progress," a manuscript paper. Its origin was due to John Collins, Francis C. Bigelow, Ben. B. Barron and John H. Flem- ing, and it was at first circulated amongst the more appreciative literary denizens of the university. An earlier manuscript paper called the "Notre Dame Literary Gazette," through a prefect's misunderstanding, had

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been summarily destroyed; and for this rea- son chiefly John Collins was inspired to bring out the paper permanently, and hence the bold name of "Progress. ' So well was the "Progress" received, however, that the faculty appointed an evening every two weeks when the little paper was read in public in the senior study hall, where Brother Benoit presided with so much decorum. This was a great step in advance, and the reading was looked forward to as the finest treat imagin- able. The manuscript was written out in the elegant penmanship of John H. Fleming, Horatio Colvin, George F. B. Collins, Lucius G. Tong, Orville T. Chamberlain and others, and was read as easily as print. One copy only was printed, that was for the commence- ment of 1860, when it was read by James B. Runnion, one of its chief contributors, and who himself became afterwards noted as an editor and dramatic author.

When Father Gillespie was sent to France in 1863, the "Progress" soon languished, its place being fitfully taken by what Prof. Stace called "such surreptitious publications as the 'Olympic Gazette,' the 'Weekly Bee' and others."

In 1866 Father Gillespie returned, and there is no doubt that his return awakened a distinct revival in literary studies. The "Ave Maria" had already been established, and a printing press was in operation at Notre Dame. The war, too, was over, and college life had settled down to thoughts of literature, arts and science. A great intellec- tual era had set in. The time was therefore ripe for a college paper. Father Corby, the president, gave the project his hearty en- couragement, and Father Lemonnier, the vice- president and director of studies, took an active part in its establishment. After some discussion the "Scholastic Year" was fixed upon as the name of the new venture the idea being that the paper should be published only during the scholastic year, or from September till June each year.

The plan of organization was that a select

corps of students, under supervision of Father Gillespie, should prepare the matter. Father Gillespie being also the editor of the "Ave Maria," the plan worked as well, perhaps, as any that could be devised. The first number was issued September 7, 1867. It was in the beginning little more than a fly leaf of the "Ave Maria," to which it was attached. As stated in the salutatory, printed in the first number, it was intended chiefly, in addition to being a literary medium for the writings of students, "to give to parents frequent ac- counts of the institution in which they had placed their children."

In March, 1868, the editorial supervision fell into the hands of Father Lemonnier, as director of studies, and for many years the director of studies continued to be the nominal editor, selecting and classifying the matter furnished him by the students. The original idea, though, of an editorial corps of students, has always remained a constituent part of the plan of organization. Very early, however, contributions were offered and received from the whole body of the students, each one being encouraged and urged to write for the pages of the college paper.

Beginning with August, 1868, the "Scholas- tic Year" was published entirely separate from the "Ave Maria." The venture had proved a success, and henceforth the little paper was felt to be an essential part and parcel of the university. In 1869, the name was changed by Father Gillespie to the "Notre Dame Scholastic." This name, in September, 1872, was modified by Father Brown, then in charge, into the "Scholastic," simply. But three years later, in September, 1875, the want of a local flavor in the name was perceived amongst the exchanges, and the former appellation of "Notre Dame Scholastic," was restored. This has con- tinued to be the name ever since.

From the beginning the editorial supervi- sion has been, successively, in the hands of Fathers N. H. Gillespie, A. Lemonnier, M. B. Brown, F. C. Bigelow, Bro. Stanislaus, James

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Rogers, Thomas MeNamara, John A. O'Con- nell, W. A. Maloney and James French and their successors, and to the guiding genius of those gentle spirits the very high rank which the paper has attained is in great measure due. While, however, the work was thus supervised, the splendid material which has for so many years filled the columns of this journal, has been almost exclusively furnished by the literary and scientific students of the university. It has been to them a great edu- cator, drawing out the modest talent that might not otherwise have manifested itself.

As indicating the rank assigned to the "Scholastic" by its contemporaries, we take the following from the "Portfolio," Wesleyan College, Hamilton, Ontario, for May, 1882, which, though foreign in nationality and op- posed in religion, could thus judge fairly of true merit :

"Of the 'Notre Dame Scholastic,' what shall we say? If there be one paper devoted to college literature that pursues the even tenor of its way, heedless alike of the smiles or frowns of its contemporaries, it surely must be the 'Scholastic.' Published under a government differing in many particulars from our own, and the organ of a church col- lege opposed to us in many points, it cannot but give us great pleasure to find such patrio- tism and loyalty to principles, with such com- plete absence of bigotry as mark each issue · of the 'Scholastic.' Would it not be well to inform ourselves better as to what the Roman Catholic church has done and is still doing for civilization, taking notice of papers evincing so high a degree of culture as the 'Scholastic,' before we condemn the whole church as the supporters of ignorance and superstition ? May the future of our friend be even brighter than the past, and its visits to us always afford as much satisfaction as at present !"

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A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 7

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 887

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 887