Oral History: Sister Sara Ann Lauer
Dublin Core
Title
Oral History: Sister Sara Ann Lauer
Subject
Sister Sara Ann Lauer
Description
An oral history of Sister Sara Ann Lauer, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1925 until 1983. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on February 26 and 27, 1983.
Sister Sara Ann Lauer was born on August 5, 1882 in Kittanning Point, Pa. Daughter of Henry Lauer and Sara Ann Cole, Gertrude Jane Lauer entered the community on December 8, 1925 as Sister Sara Ann Lauer.
Sister Sara Ann had a prolific medical career before entering the community. She had worked at Cresson State Hospital for four and a half years and worked private nurse in Pittsburgh. Upon entering the community, she continued to work in nursing. She first worked at the Roselia Foundling and Maternity Hospital in Pittsburgh for ten years, and then worked as a practical nurse for the older Sisters at Seton Hill until 1969. She then served at Cathedral Convent in Altoona until 1973.
Sister Sara Ann completed her nurses’ training at Saint Vincent Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania prior to entering the community.
Sister Sara Ann Lauer passed away on October 4, 1983 at the age of 101.
Sister Sara Ann Lauer was born on August 5, 1882 in Kittanning Point, Pa. Daughter of Henry Lauer and Sara Ann Cole, Gertrude Jane Lauer entered the community on December 8, 1925 as Sister Sara Ann Lauer.
Sister Sara Ann had a prolific medical career before entering the community. She had worked at Cresson State Hospital for four and a half years and worked private nurse in Pittsburgh. Upon entering the community, she continued to work in nursing. She first worked at the Roselia Foundling and Maternity Hospital in Pittsburgh for ten years, and then worked as a practical nurse for the older Sisters at Seton Hill until 1969. She then served at Cathedral Convent in Altoona until 1973.
Sister Sara Ann completed her nurses’ training at Saint Vincent Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania prior to entering the community.
Sister Sara Ann Lauer passed away on October 4, 1983 at the age of 101.
Creator
Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill
Publisher
Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill
Date
1983/02/26
1983/02/27
Rights
All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
Format
Audio cassette tape
Type
Oral history
Identifier
OH-43
Oral History Item Type Metadata
Interviewer
Sister Marie Corona Miller
Interviewee
Sister Sara Ann Lauer
Transcription
OH 43-1 1
This interview is being conducted as part of the oral history program of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. The interviewee is Sisters Sara Ann Lauer. The interviewer is Sister Marie Corona Miller. This is being done at Assumption Hall. The date is February 26, 1983.
SMC Hello, Sister Sara Ann. SSA: Hello.
SMC: How are you?
SSA: Oh, I'm fair.
SMC: That's good. Sister, would you like to tell me a little bit about yourself?
SSA: Well, I'll tell you if it might be of any benefit to you, then I'd be glad to tell you. SMC: Alright. Sister, when were you born?
SSA: I was born at Kittaning Point near the Horseshoe Curve where Hershey Reservoir is now.
The water company took that place over after about, 0, a good many years and they took the dwellings all away from up there. But my Aunt and Uncle, they had their home right close to the uh, where the reservoir was; and my father's sister was married to a man by the name of Jim McGinley and her name was Jane. Aunt Jane married and they lived . . . when I was a child I visited with them. And I stayed a week; I was awfully lonely. I was always worried about my little sister at home.
SMC: What about your parents, Sister?
SSA: My parents We lived up in what is now called Coupon and we lived about four miles
away from Kitanning Point. SMC: Where did you go to school?
SSA: Well, I went to public schools in different places. I quess my first year was in Coupon. It was called Delanyville at that time and they changed the name later to Coupon, PA because there was another town that had almost the same name and they were always
getting mixed up so much they called it Coupon because the people who worked for the company all used coupons to get their groceries and things like that.
SMC: Now Sister, what about the Sisters of Charity? When did you first come tin contact with the community?
SSA: Oh, I met the Sisters of Charity I went in training for nursing with the Sisters of Mercy
in Johnstown, and the Sisters of Charity seemed to be much plainer and seemed
much more, uh, easier. And uh, I liked the sisters were working for the poor. I liked the habits they had much better than the Mercy Sisters because when it was cold they didn't seem to have to wear, as much. The clothes and they seemed to be too dressed up
to me to work -the Sisters of Mercy. And on feast days, you know, they were even dressed up more; they put on copes and things. I thought I'd rather be with working with the poor and the Sisters came there to visit at the Mercy Hospital. They had people, patients here and there. And to me they seemed, well . . . you know a plainer and
easier to work.
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SMC: Did you say that you worked at Mercy Hospital in Johnstown?
SSA: I did. I went in training there. I was there 15 months, I think. Then I took typhoid fever and I nearly died. Then I didn't go back. I took , I went to Philadelphia. I finished my training in Philadelphia , with the Coronet Sisters in Philadelphia. I got my diploma from them.
SMC: What school was that, Sister?
SSA: It was St. Vincent de Paul's and . . .uh... it was an orphanage and children's home. SMC: And after you got your training, is that when you entered the Sisters of Charity?
SSA: Oh yes. Well, I went to the sanatorium, I went to the State Sanatorium. I didn't part with my nursing and I went to the State Sanatorium and worked there for four and a half years.
SMC: Where was that Sanatorium, Sister?
SSA: In Cresson, PA. It was State run. And I did private nursing in Pittsburgh for a while, too.
I was in Pgh., Oh, I couldn't tell you how may years. I entered in '25. I had been working, nursing and then going home and helping my parents on the farm. And then I'd go back nursing again. And I saved my money and put it away for them, in case they didn't have and need a place to take care of them when they got old until they died.
SMC: Did you take care of them while they were sick, Sister?
SSA: I took care of my father, well I was in the community then; at home I took care of my father until he died. But my mother, she had to have a colostomy on her and she didn't get over it. She was, I think, 83 years old. She died in Mercy Hospital. I was teaching then at Johnstown, at Our Lady of Mercy. I was teaching there for a while. That's where I was when my mother had her operation, and died.
SMC: Were you working at the hospital in Johnstown?
SSA: No, I was working at the convent, at Our Lady of Mercy Convent. You know, I kept house for them for a couple of years.
SMC: Who was your Mistress of Novices, Sister?
SSA: Well, the first Mistress of Novices was Mother Mary Francis, and uh, she died while she was in office. And I was through training by that time, I think, yes.
SMC: Sister, who entered with you in 1925?
SSA: Sister Rita Mary and Sister Maureen and Sister Maureen and Sister Marguerite. The four of us entered together.
SMC: Would you tell us a little bit about your novitiate?
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SSA: Well,. to tell about the novitiate . . . there were the youngest sisters. There were two
groups of us; there was the senior novices and there the younger novices. They had their novitiate; one of the big dormitories was the Senior's novitiate and ours was . . . well, Mother was with us most of the time. We'd get our prayers together still, rosary and all those other prayers we got together. We were about the same size, me and another sister and when they saw us coming, they didn't know whether it was Mother Mary Francis or us!!
SMC: What did you do as a novice. Sister?
SSA: Novice? Well, I guess the first job I had was taking care of Sister Maria-she was an invalid then and I took care of her. Then I went on night duty; I guess I was on night duty about eleven months. I had a nervous breakdown and I had get off duty for a while.
When I got better, I did any extra nursing I could and uh, ... I helped on the novitiate floor. But I was on night duty 11 months; I used to go all around the house then. And I had charge of the floors; put me on day duty and I had charge of the whole house. Had to go every place all around the building if anyone was sick on either side. In the summer time the Sisters would come home and there would be a lot of sick and old on the different floors. Whenever they called, some of the sisters would go and find out about this or that one, and then I'd have to go over to where they were, and maybe it was the other end of the building. Then back to get medicine and try to fix them up.
SMC: Well, Sister , you were really infirmarian?
SSA: I was infirmarian, yes. I think I was about 15 months.
SMC: Does that include your Postulancy year when you first entered?
SSA: I guess it was, because I was sent to, uh, I was at the Foundling a while; can't remember how long. What do they call it? At that time it was the Roselia Hospital . . . What do they call it now?
SMC: Philip Murray Hall
SSA: Philip Murray. They done so much for them. When they put up the new building they called it Philip Murray Hall.
SMC: So, after you finished your years as infirmarian, then what did you do?
SSA: Well, I did nursing, taking care of the sick as long as I was able. I helped the sick any place, where ever I could be. I was on, did I tell you? I was on night duty for 11 months. I took care of Mary Xavier and she would always tell us her story. Sr. Fides was very, very fond of her. And I... well, I liked to hear her talk And Sr. Mary Xavier, she said, "I didn't want to quit teaching music". She said, "I asked for help and in place of giving me help" she said "they brought me home here and put a young sister in my place. What I wanted to do was just stay right there and have somebody help me because the teaching was too much for one." And so she, well, she .... Oh, I'm all l just can't think
what to say. Besides, when she told the story, then her mother was bad, bad-sick and uh, she said that everybody she met would ask her "How's your mother?" and she would say she hasn't changed, she's just the same. So the mother one day Rose came in
and asked how she was and she said, "Oh, I'm just living and that's all. And when she
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came home they wanted to know what she meant by telling the people
she was dying. Everybody was coming and calling. She said, "I didn't tell them you were dying, I just said what you said to Aunt Mary this morning You told her that you
were just living and that was all."
SMC: Sister, where did you live with Sr. Mary Xavier?
SSA: Why- Seton Hill. She died while I was infirmarian. I was on nights while I was infirmarian.
SMC: The date is February 27, 1983.
Sister Sara Ann, can you tell us something about when you were at the foundling? What did you do there?
SSA: I had charge of the larger children, everyone called them the "run arounds" ! I took them out to the park; you know we had a nice park there. And I took them out to the park.
They had places to play, a very nice open place and they had sand to play in and different things to entertain them. They had their lunch hour there, at the-, you know at noon time, they'd have their lunch. I remember there was a big crowd. I couldn't just say how many now, but ah, those are the ones that I took to Beaver Falls. You know they got Beaver Falls, what they called the Kelly Farm. They had a nice home there and when I took them to Beaver Falls, they had a nice big barn, and they had the barn floored for a clothes room like, we could, ah, a nice place, then they fixed everything but the children stayed there for weeks at a time out ih the open spaces and in the summer months when it was nice and warm. And that was the time I took them there, I picked up one of the children to show her a chicken so she wouldn't be a scared of the chicken and she tripped up against the wall, and knocked me over and, uh, uh I injured my
wrist very badly that I couldn't work for awhile. That's when I went back to the uh, Seton Hill. And I guess that was the last time that I went back to well, no I went back to the
Foundling a second time and they called me home to take care of an old sister who was dying. By the time I got home, it was Sister Marie and she had died. And I, ah, that's when I was made infirmarian, at that time.
SMC: How many years were you at the Foundling?
SSA: Oh, I couldn't tell ya that; I was a good many years at the Foundling. I was at the Foundling when they moved the chapel-moved the chapel over there to the next building where it was the nurses' home. They had a chapel over there for a number of years. They moved the chapel out of the building when Gov. Pennypacker came in and he didn't want any religion in there, you know any place where he-where the government was giving money. So they moved the convent, uh, the chapel into the nurse residence and it was there for a number of years. Now, I couldn't tell you the dates or anything .
SMC: That's all right, Sister. Sister Sara Ann, you have always loved to work outside in the garden.
SSA: Yes , uh-huh.
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SMC: Taking care of the plants Could you tell us a little bit about that?
SSA: Well, I had ... when I came here after a sick spell, I guess, after nursing, why I could work outdoors and I could keep up. I tried working indoors with the sick people; I felt so bad with the sick people,..... you know it affected me. So I had...l took ! had a garden
down,--- a nice place down at the end of the lot. I could go out and work in garden for hours. If I had to stay around sick people, it depressed me so much. Well, l. it affected
so that I couldn't do the work that I wanted to do.
SMC: What did you have in your garden?
SSA: I had a little bit of everything, things that we'd use around the house. I had tomatoes, peppers, and cabbage. One year I had so much cabbage and it all came at one time. think I had about sixty head of cabbage that year-nice big cabbages. And then I had a few of those little acorn squashes. You know, I'd have enough for a meal every now and again for the whole house. I had the peppers, too, and they could bake the peppers. I had baked and stuffed peppers and uh, onions and radishes and all those things that could be planted in the garden. And I planted sweet corn, too; and we'd have sweet corn.
SMC: Sister we still had the farm at Seton Hill, is that right?
SSA: Yes, that was the chief here...
SMC: At Assumption Hall? SSA: Yes.
SMC: Oh.
SSA: Assumption Hall.
SMC: What year did you come to Assumption Hall?
SSA: Why, I moved over when the house was first opened. I was one of the first ones that moved over. And then I went to the hospital -Mother Rose Genevieve wasn't good then and they sent me to the hospital to look after her. And so I went to the hospital until she got better. And they got the house finished and I brought her home brought to
Seton Hill.
SMC: I think that was in the early 1950's, Sister, right?
SSA: Well....l couldn't tell you the dates. I can't remember, but she was at Seton Hill a number of years. She died over here, in the big room next to the chapel.
SMC: So you had your garden on Assumption Hall grounds.
SSA: Oh, yes. I didn't have any garden at Seton Hill. But I got things out of the garden and I canned them, cooked them, the tomatoes and things and got them ready for the kitchen. I canned tomatoes when I was there, too----canned pickles, tomatoes and things like that
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out of the garden. When I was on night duty, I put up a good many jars of stuff like that
when there wasn't too many sick people on the floor. Why, I'd put up some of the things for the kitchen, help the sisters out in the kitchen.
SSC: What about fruits, sister?
SSA: Well, the priest was over on the first floor, you know where they had their dining room. But I never took care of the priest. The priest lived over at the , what they called the
priest's house; the house they had for the priests. It's still over there; it's called St. Mary's I think. I don't know just what they call the priest's house now. I think the building is still standing....
SSC: I think so, Sister.
SSA: Yes, because there are a couple of priests there and each one of them has a suite of rooms. They are teachers, teachers up until they brought that priest. he's still getting
pension over there. You know that priest; he took the whole suite of rooms. When Father Reeves took sick, they brought in a priest from New York. Do you remember his name?
SSC: Monsignor Ryan?
SSA: Monsignor Ryan. Now he took the whole suite of rooms; took nearly the whole house. don't know if it was his mother or sister when they put up the new building, he
wanted them to put up a whole suite or rooms over the library so he could bring his mother or sister. But they didn't agree with that.
SMC: You were still at Seton Hill then? SSA: Yeah.
SMC: Sister, besides your garden of vegetables, didn't you pick fruit from the trees around the grounds?
SSA: Oh, yes, I used to pick apples and get them ready for the kitchen. When I had the garden I'd get the apples and put them in, we had a nice, what you'd call a shanty down at the end of the lawn, and I'd put the apples in there and then when we'd get a chance we'd bring them up and we'd have an apple party. An evening when we could all get together. Why, we'd make 8 or 10 gallons of applesauce at a time! Get it ready and kept it in the cold storage so they could use it when they needed it. We had applesauce for breakfast so very often. And all the sisters wanted to have applesauce when it was cooking; some of them would come to the kitchen and ask if they could have a dish of applesauce it smelled so good.
SMC: Sister, who would prepare the apples?
SSA: We'd all come together. Like they're having now-parties in the evening you know. All the sisters and the novices, everybody that was around would all work together to make the apple sauce.
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SMC: Did you just make applesauce, or did you use apples for anything else?
SSA: We got them ready to use for pies, or anything they needed. We had big containers
--------I guess, but we'd cook it in there and keep it in the cold storage.
SMC: Did you make apple butter?
SSA: I helped to make apple butter at Seton Hill; we made apple butter over there. But, not after we came over here. Apple butter takes a long while to cook and they cooked it in great big containers; then send it out on the missions. The missions got apple butter from the motherhouse
SMC: And you did that at Seton Hill while you were nursing?
SSA: No, I was off sick from nursing, and I didn't go back to nursing right away. I went and helped in the kitchen. When I was in the kitchen was when I helped to pick the apples. And the sister in charge; I think Sr. Rose Vincent was in charge. And she went out with us and we picked apples and brought them in. We got cider made, and apple butter for the missions.
SMC: What other kind of fruit did you pick from the trees?
SSA: Oh, there was pears, lots of them; we used to bring those in and keep them until they got
ripe. The pears aren't tasty, but we had a couple of other pear trees that was
around here and they were all the "rust coats" and they were real sweet pears. They had trees down here in the fields. And I have trees planted over here; down below here, I have planted golden balls and plums. The green ,Ihad a couple of trees of those. I had a sorry?? cherry tree; Mother Eveline and I put our money together and we bought the trees and had them planted, right below the house here. A good many cherries, the summer cherries came off; and we had peach trees, and pear trees. I had a beautiful big one. The pear tree--- what are those yellow ones called-the nice yellow, big pears?
SMC: Sickle pears?
SSA: No, sickle pears is the nice tree that they have down there; that's what they call sickle pear. Do you remember what those good pears are get in the summer time?
SMC: I'm afraid not, Sister.
Sister, you talked about the shanty, that is where your garden was. Could you tell me, where was the shanty on these grounds?
SSA: It was down here next to the road. I think it was a tool shed, what the people had that was here before. But it was all finished nice, and protected. You could lock the door and keep things in. It wasn't a shanty; it was a nice tool shed. And that is where I put the pears and I raised a good many of those big turnips, cabbage, turnips or rutabagas. I had a lot of them too; I could bring them in, in the fall and keep them a while in that building. And I brought them in and tomatoes, too, when there was going to be frost. I'd be picking tomatoes and bringing them in to let them finish ripening. But mostly, I
brought them up to the house, put them in the basement, and they would be ripe in just a
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short while. But, I had bushels of tomatoes and rutabagas, too.
SMC: Had you done a lot of that, Sister, before you entered?
SSA: Well, we had a "truck patch" at home and we'd raise a lot of things to sell, to take to market.
SMC: Was that in Coupon?
SSA: No, in our own farm, well, yes, it belongs to the Coupon parish. SMC: Did your brothers and sisters work outside with you?
SSA: Oh, yes. Yes, the ones that was home worked in the garden. SMC: How many brothers and sisters did you have?
SSA: I had 4 sisters and 10 brothers. There's two of them living, two of my brothers living and one sister and myself.
SMC: And you're the oldest of those who are living?
SSA: Yes, the sister is the little one I took care of. She is six years younger than I am, but she still keeps house and is taking care of a retarded woman, Miss Gallagher. She had a brother a priest up at Johnstown; he used to take care of her.
SMC: Were you the oldest of the 15 children?
SSA: No, I was the sixth child. There were five older than I. Did I tell you before what my father and mother's names were?
SMC: No. You didn't tell me that, Sister. SSA: I didn't? Are you sure I didn't?
SMC: Yeah, I'm sure.
SSA: Well, my mother's name was Sara Ann Cole. And my father's name was Augustine Henry Lauer.
SMC: And you took your mother's name in religion? SSA: Yes.
SMC: Sister, when you came to Assumption Hall, did you leave to go to another mission? You spent some time in Altoona?
SSA: Well, it was after I was old enough to retire; when I got old and I felt that I wasn't able to do too much and I went to Altoona. I was there I guess on to part of three years
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SMC: Do you remember what you did in Altoona?
SSA: Well, I worked around the kitchen; I canned fruit for them. I used to go up the mountain; I'd bring home apples and tomatoes; I cooked and canned for the sisters at the Cathedral. I baked for them and I worked in the kitchen - made bread or buns or anything they wanted- made pies or things like that if they wanted them for their meals.
SMC: So after you left Cathedral in Altoona , you came back to Assumption Hall? SSA: Yes.
SMC: And you've been busy doing some things here at Assumption Hall?
SSA: Well, I'm doing anything I can to help the sisters, to help anybody. You know, it wouldn't be too much because I'm up in years. I wasn't able when I had a spell with my heart.
That's the reason I came, was brought back here.
SMC: Sister, what about your love for plants?
SSA: I had plants --- a place on the porch after I wasn't able to go to the garden, I had a place for plants on the porch. We always had flowers growing on the porch, you know, and I looked after the plants there. Whenever they'd have the parties for Korea, there was always a lot of plants to take to the Korean Card Party, and those kinds of things.
SMC: What is your favorite kind of plant, Sister?
SSA: Oh, I don't know about favorites, but I do like the coleus. It's a beautiful plant with all colors of leaves, without getting any flowers on it. It's surely a beautiful flower, beautiful plant.
SMC: Do you still take care of some plants?
SSA: No, 1-1 have a plant that is there in water. That's that Can you see those leaves
over there?
SMC: Yes, Sister, I see that. SSA: What's the name of that? SMC: I don't know.
SSA: Well, I can't mention the name of it right now; it's just a little ivy leaf. My plant lives in the water and it works pretty good; it's just in water.
SMC: You have revived it, right? SSA: Well, it's still living . . . .
SMC: Sister, besides your caring for the plants at Assumption Hall, and visiting with the sisters.
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SSA: Well, I try to get them to say certain prayers. The ones that are most sufficient; especially the seven Our Fathers and seven Hail Marys for the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost. And the consecration of the community to Our Blessed Lord. You know that prayer that I had written, I ask the sisters to say it . . . .
The Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary for all your holy prayers and good works, the sorrows and joys of all thy faithful peoples all over the world in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that has been offered, that is being offered and ever will be offered to thy Divine Majesty .this day or anytime til the end of time.
Then I say 7 Our Fathers and 7 Hail Marys and 7 Glorias for the 7 gifts of the Holy Ghost. I offer that to Almighty God for any intention He wishes to offer them for and especially for our Pope and our Church all the way through and for each and every one of us.
SMC: Sister, you spend many hours in the chapel here at Assumption Hall.
SSA: Well, I pray as long as I can and the rest of the time, I have to come to my room and sit down. Yes, I spend a good bit of time there. That is what I'd like to be doing now, in fact. I think I'd get more merit from sitting in the chapel than I would from writing notes or taking notes.
SMC: Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?
SSA: No, I don't think of anything special that I could tell you.
I ask God's blessing on our community and all our friends and relatives. And do God's will in every way we can. And I pray the same for each and every one.
This interview is being conducted as part of the oral history program of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. The interviewee is Sisters Sara Ann Lauer. The interviewer is Sister Marie Corona Miller. This is being done at Assumption Hall. The date is February 26, 1983.
SMC Hello, Sister Sara Ann. SSA: Hello.
SMC: How are you?
SSA: Oh, I'm fair.
SMC: That's good. Sister, would you like to tell me a little bit about yourself?
SSA: Well, I'll tell you if it might be of any benefit to you, then I'd be glad to tell you. SMC: Alright. Sister, when were you born?
SSA: I was born at Kittaning Point near the Horseshoe Curve where Hershey Reservoir is now.
The water company took that place over after about, 0, a good many years and they took the dwellings all away from up there. But my Aunt and Uncle, they had their home right close to the uh, where the reservoir was; and my father's sister was married to a man by the name of Jim McGinley and her name was Jane. Aunt Jane married and they lived . . . when I was a child I visited with them. And I stayed a week; I was awfully lonely. I was always worried about my little sister at home.
SMC: What about your parents, Sister?
SSA: My parents We lived up in what is now called Coupon and we lived about four miles
away from Kitanning Point. SMC: Where did you go to school?
SSA: Well, I went to public schools in different places. I quess my first year was in Coupon. It was called Delanyville at that time and they changed the name later to Coupon, PA because there was another town that had almost the same name and they were always
getting mixed up so much they called it Coupon because the people who worked for the company all used coupons to get their groceries and things like that.
SMC: Now Sister, what about the Sisters of Charity? When did you first come tin contact with the community?
SSA: Oh, I met the Sisters of Charity I went in training for nursing with the Sisters of Mercy
in Johnstown, and the Sisters of Charity seemed to be much plainer and seemed
much more, uh, easier. And uh, I liked the sisters were working for the poor. I liked the habits they had much better than the Mercy Sisters because when it was cold they didn't seem to have to wear, as much. The clothes and they seemed to be too dressed up
to me to work -the Sisters of Mercy. And on feast days, you know, they were even dressed up more; they put on copes and things. I thought I'd rather be with working with the poor and the Sisters came there to visit at the Mercy Hospital. They had people, patients here and there. And to me they seemed, well . . . you know a plainer and
easier to work.
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SMC: Did you say that you worked at Mercy Hospital in Johnstown?
SSA: I did. I went in training there. I was there 15 months, I think. Then I took typhoid fever and I nearly died. Then I didn't go back. I took , I went to Philadelphia. I finished my training in Philadelphia , with the Coronet Sisters in Philadelphia. I got my diploma from them.
SMC: What school was that, Sister?
SSA: It was St. Vincent de Paul's and . . .uh... it was an orphanage and children's home. SMC: And after you got your training, is that when you entered the Sisters of Charity?
SSA: Oh yes. Well, I went to the sanatorium, I went to the State Sanatorium. I didn't part with my nursing and I went to the State Sanatorium and worked there for four and a half years.
SMC: Where was that Sanatorium, Sister?
SSA: In Cresson, PA. It was State run. And I did private nursing in Pittsburgh for a while, too.
I was in Pgh., Oh, I couldn't tell you how may years. I entered in '25. I had been working, nursing and then going home and helping my parents on the farm. And then I'd go back nursing again. And I saved my money and put it away for them, in case they didn't have and need a place to take care of them when they got old until they died.
SMC: Did you take care of them while they were sick, Sister?
SSA: I took care of my father, well I was in the community then; at home I took care of my father until he died. But my mother, she had to have a colostomy on her and she didn't get over it. She was, I think, 83 years old. She died in Mercy Hospital. I was teaching then at Johnstown, at Our Lady of Mercy. I was teaching there for a while. That's where I was when my mother had her operation, and died.
SMC: Were you working at the hospital in Johnstown?
SSA: No, I was working at the convent, at Our Lady of Mercy Convent. You know, I kept house for them for a couple of years.
SMC: Who was your Mistress of Novices, Sister?
SSA: Well, the first Mistress of Novices was Mother Mary Francis, and uh, she died while she was in office. And I was through training by that time, I think, yes.
SMC: Sister, who entered with you in 1925?
SSA: Sister Rita Mary and Sister Maureen and Sister Maureen and Sister Marguerite. The four of us entered together.
SMC: Would you tell us a little bit about your novitiate?
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SSA: Well,. to tell about the novitiate . . . there were the youngest sisters. There were two
groups of us; there was the senior novices and there the younger novices. They had their novitiate; one of the big dormitories was the Senior's novitiate and ours was . . . well, Mother was with us most of the time. We'd get our prayers together still, rosary and all those other prayers we got together. We were about the same size, me and another sister and when they saw us coming, they didn't know whether it was Mother Mary Francis or us!!
SMC: What did you do as a novice. Sister?
SSA: Novice? Well, I guess the first job I had was taking care of Sister Maria-she was an invalid then and I took care of her. Then I went on night duty; I guess I was on night duty about eleven months. I had a nervous breakdown and I had get off duty for a while.
When I got better, I did any extra nursing I could and uh, ... I helped on the novitiate floor. But I was on night duty 11 months; I used to go all around the house then. And I had charge of the floors; put me on day duty and I had charge of the whole house. Had to go every place all around the building if anyone was sick on either side. In the summer time the Sisters would come home and there would be a lot of sick and old on the different floors. Whenever they called, some of the sisters would go and find out about this or that one, and then I'd have to go over to where they were, and maybe it was the other end of the building. Then back to get medicine and try to fix them up.
SMC: Well, Sister , you were really infirmarian?
SSA: I was infirmarian, yes. I think I was about 15 months.
SMC: Does that include your Postulancy year when you first entered?
SSA: I guess it was, because I was sent to, uh, I was at the Foundling a while; can't remember how long. What do they call it? At that time it was the Roselia Hospital . . . What do they call it now?
SMC: Philip Murray Hall
SSA: Philip Murray. They done so much for them. When they put up the new building they called it Philip Murray Hall.
SMC: So, after you finished your years as infirmarian, then what did you do?
SSA: Well, I did nursing, taking care of the sick as long as I was able. I helped the sick any place, where ever I could be. I was on, did I tell you? I was on night duty for 11 months. I took care of Mary Xavier and she would always tell us her story. Sr. Fides was very, very fond of her. And I... well, I liked to hear her talk And Sr. Mary Xavier, she said, "I didn't want to quit teaching music". She said, "I asked for help and in place of giving me help" she said "they brought me home here and put a young sister in my place. What I wanted to do was just stay right there and have somebody help me because the teaching was too much for one." And so she, well, she .... Oh, I'm all l just can't think
what to say. Besides, when she told the story, then her mother was bad, bad-sick and uh, she said that everybody she met would ask her "How's your mother?" and she would say she hasn't changed, she's just the same. So the mother one day Rose came in
and asked how she was and she said, "Oh, I'm just living and that's all. And when she
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came home they wanted to know what she meant by telling the people
she was dying. Everybody was coming and calling. She said, "I didn't tell them you were dying, I just said what you said to Aunt Mary this morning You told her that you
were just living and that was all."
SMC: Sister, where did you live with Sr. Mary Xavier?
SSA: Why- Seton Hill. She died while I was infirmarian. I was on nights while I was infirmarian.
SMC: The date is February 27, 1983.
Sister Sara Ann, can you tell us something about when you were at the foundling? What did you do there?
SSA: I had charge of the larger children, everyone called them the "run arounds" ! I took them out to the park; you know we had a nice park there. And I took them out to the park.
They had places to play, a very nice open place and they had sand to play in and different things to entertain them. They had their lunch hour there, at the-, you know at noon time, they'd have their lunch. I remember there was a big crowd. I couldn't just say how many now, but ah, those are the ones that I took to Beaver Falls. You know they got Beaver Falls, what they called the Kelly Farm. They had a nice home there and when I took them to Beaver Falls, they had a nice big barn, and they had the barn floored for a clothes room like, we could, ah, a nice place, then they fixed everything but the children stayed there for weeks at a time out ih the open spaces and in the summer months when it was nice and warm. And that was the time I took them there, I picked up one of the children to show her a chicken so she wouldn't be a scared of the chicken and she tripped up against the wall, and knocked me over and, uh, uh I injured my
wrist very badly that I couldn't work for awhile. That's when I went back to the uh, Seton Hill. And I guess that was the last time that I went back to well, no I went back to the
Foundling a second time and they called me home to take care of an old sister who was dying. By the time I got home, it was Sister Marie and she had died. And I, ah, that's when I was made infirmarian, at that time.
SMC: How many years were you at the Foundling?
SSA: Oh, I couldn't tell ya that; I was a good many years at the Foundling. I was at the Foundling when they moved the chapel-moved the chapel over there to the next building where it was the nurses' home. They had a chapel over there for a number of years. They moved the chapel out of the building when Gov. Pennypacker came in and he didn't want any religion in there, you know any place where he-where the government was giving money. So they moved the convent, uh, the chapel into the nurse residence and it was there for a number of years. Now, I couldn't tell you the dates or anything .
SMC: That's all right, Sister. Sister Sara Ann, you have always loved to work outside in the garden.
SSA: Yes , uh-huh.
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SMC: Taking care of the plants Could you tell us a little bit about that?
SSA: Well, I had ... when I came here after a sick spell, I guess, after nursing, why I could work outdoors and I could keep up. I tried working indoors with the sick people; I felt so bad with the sick people,..... you know it affected me. So I had...l took ! had a garden
down,--- a nice place down at the end of the lot. I could go out and work in garden for hours. If I had to stay around sick people, it depressed me so much. Well, l. it affected
so that I couldn't do the work that I wanted to do.
SMC: What did you have in your garden?
SSA: I had a little bit of everything, things that we'd use around the house. I had tomatoes, peppers, and cabbage. One year I had so much cabbage and it all came at one time. think I had about sixty head of cabbage that year-nice big cabbages. And then I had a few of those little acorn squashes. You know, I'd have enough for a meal every now and again for the whole house. I had the peppers, too, and they could bake the peppers. I had baked and stuffed peppers and uh, onions and radishes and all those things that could be planted in the garden. And I planted sweet corn, too; and we'd have sweet corn.
SMC: Sister we still had the farm at Seton Hill, is that right?
SSA: Yes, that was the chief here...
SMC: At Assumption Hall? SSA: Yes.
SMC: Oh.
SSA: Assumption Hall.
SMC: What year did you come to Assumption Hall?
SSA: Why, I moved over when the house was first opened. I was one of the first ones that moved over. And then I went to the hospital -Mother Rose Genevieve wasn't good then and they sent me to the hospital to look after her. And so I went to the hospital until she got better. And they got the house finished and I brought her home brought to
Seton Hill.
SMC: I think that was in the early 1950's, Sister, right?
SSA: Well....l couldn't tell you the dates. I can't remember, but she was at Seton Hill a number of years. She died over here, in the big room next to the chapel.
SMC: So you had your garden on Assumption Hall grounds.
SSA: Oh, yes. I didn't have any garden at Seton Hill. But I got things out of the garden and I canned them, cooked them, the tomatoes and things and got them ready for the kitchen. I canned tomatoes when I was there, too----canned pickles, tomatoes and things like that
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out of the garden. When I was on night duty, I put up a good many jars of stuff like that
when there wasn't too many sick people on the floor. Why, I'd put up some of the things for the kitchen, help the sisters out in the kitchen.
SSC: What about fruits, sister?
SSA: Well, the priest was over on the first floor, you know where they had their dining room. But I never took care of the priest. The priest lived over at the , what they called the
priest's house; the house they had for the priests. It's still over there; it's called St. Mary's I think. I don't know just what they call the priest's house now. I think the building is still standing....
SSC: I think so, Sister.
SSA: Yes, because there are a couple of priests there and each one of them has a suite of rooms. They are teachers, teachers up until they brought that priest. he's still getting
pension over there. You know that priest; he took the whole suite of rooms. When Father Reeves took sick, they brought in a priest from New York. Do you remember his name?
SSC: Monsignor Ryan?
SSA: Monsignor Ryan. Now he took the whole suite of rooms; took nearly the whole house. don't know if it was his mother or sister when they put up the new building, he
wanted them to put up a whole suite or rooms over the library so he could bring his mother or sister. But they didn't agree with that.
SMC: You were still at Seton Hill then? SSA: Yeah.
SMC: Sister, besides your garden of vegetables, didn't you pick fruit from the trees around the grounds?
SSA: Oh, yes, I used to pick apples and get them ready for the kitchen. When I had the garden I'd get the apples and put them in, we had a nice, what you'd call a shanty down at the end of the lawn, and I'd put the apples in there and then when we'd get a chance we'd bring them up and we'd have an apple party. An evening when we could all get together. Why, we'd make 8 or 10 gallons of applesauce at a time! Get it ready and kept it in the cold storage so they could use it when they needed it. We had applesauce for breakfast so very often. And all the sisters wanted to have applesauce when it was cooking; some of them would come to the kitchen and ask if they could have a dish of applesauce it smelled so good.
SMC: Sister, who would prepare the apples?
SSA: We'd all come together. Like they're having now-parties in the evening you know. All the sisters and the novices, everybody that was around would all work together to make the apple sauce.
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SMC: Did you just make applesauce, or did you use apples for anything else?
SSA: We got them ready to use for pies, or anything they needed. We had big containers
--------I guess, but we'd cook it in there and keep it in the cold storage.
SMC: Did you make apple butter?
SSA: I helped to make apple butter at Seton Hill; we made apple butter over there. But, not after we came over here. Apple butter takes a long while to cook and they cooked it in great big containers; then send it out on the missions. The missions got apple butter from the motherhouse
SMC: And you did that at Seton Hill while you were nursing?
SSA: No, I was off sick from nursing, and I didn't go back to nursing right away. I went and helped in the kitchen. When I was in the kitchen was when I helped to pick the apples. And the sister in charge; I think Sr. Rose Vincent was in charge. And she went out with us and we picked apples and brought them in. We got cider made, and apple butter for the missions.
SMC: What other kind of fruit did you pick from the trees?
SSA: Oh, there was pears, lots of them; we used to bring those in and keep them until they got
ripe. The pears aren't tasty, but we had a couple of other pear trees that was
around here and they were all the "rust coats" and they were real sweet pears. They had trees down here in the fields. And I have trees planted over here; down below here, I have planted golden balls and plums. The green ,Ihad a couple of trees of those. I had a sorry?? cherry tree; Mother Eveline and I put our money together and we bought the trees and had them planted, right below the house here. A good many cherries, the summer cherries came off; and we had peach trees, and pear trees. I had a beautiful big one. The pear tree--- what are those yellow ones called-the nice yellow, big pears?
SMC: Sickle pears?
SSA: No, sickle pears is the nice tree that they have down there; that's what they call sickle pear. Do you remember what those good pears are get in the summer time?
SMC: I'm afraid not, Sister.
Sister, you talked about the shanty, that is where your garden was. Could you tell me, where was the shanty on these grounds?
SSA: It was down here next to the road. I think it was a tool shed, what the people had that was here before. But it was all finished nice, and protected. You could lock the door and keep things in. It wasn't a shanty; it was a nice tool shed. And that is where I put the pears and I raised a good many of those big turnips, cabbage, turnips or rutabagas. I had a lot of them too; I could bring them in, in the fall and keep them a while in that building. And I brought them in and tomatoes, too, when there was going to be frost. I'd be picking tomatoes and bringing them in to let them finish ripening. But mostly, I
brought them up to the house, put them in the basement, and they would be ripe in just a
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short while. But, I had bushels of tomatoes and rutabagas, too.
SMC: Had you done a lot of that, Sister, before you entered?
SSA: Well, we had a "truck patch" at home and we'd raise a lot of things to sell, to take to market.
SMC: Was that in Coupon?
SSA: No, in our own farm, well, yes, it belongs to the Coupon parish. SMC: Did your brothers and sisters work outside with you?
SSA: Oh, yes. Yes, the ones that was home worked in the garden. SMC: How many brothers and sisters did you have?
SSA: I had 4 sisters and 10 brothers. There's two of them living, two of my brothers living and one sister and myself.
SMC: And you're the oldest of those who are living?
SSA: Yes, the sister is the little one I took care of. She is six years younger than I am, but she still keeps house and is taking care of a retarded woman, Miss Gallagher. She had a brother a priest up at Johnstown; he used to take care of her.
SMC: Were you the oldest of the 15 children?
SSA: No, I was the sixth child. There were five older than I. Did I tell you before what my father and mother's names were?
SMC: No. You didn't tell me that, Sister. SSA: I didn't? Are you sure I didn't?
SMC: Yeah, I'm sure.
SSA: Well, my mother's name was Sara Ann Cole. And my father's name was Augustine Henry Lauer.
SMC: And you took your mother's name in religion? SSA: Yes.
SMC: Sister, when you came to Assumption Hall, did you leave to go to another mission? You spent some time in Altoona?
SSA: Well, it was after I was old enough to retire; when I got old and I felt that I wasn't able to do too much and I went to Altoona. I was there I guess on to part of three years
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SMC: Do you remember what you did in Altoona?
SSA: Well, I worked around the kitchen; I canned fruit for them. I used to go up the mountain; I'd bring home apples and tomatoes; I cooked and canned for the sisters at the Cathedral. I baked for them and I worked in the kitchen - made bread or buns or anything they wanted- made pies or things like that if they wanted them for their meals.
SMC: So after you left Cathedral in Altoona , you came back to Assumption Hall? SSA: Yes.
SMC: And you've been busy doing some things here at Assumption Hall?
SSA: Well, I'm doing anything I can to help the sisters, to help anybody. You know, it wouldn't be too much because I'm up in years. I wasn't able when I had a spell with my heart.
That's the reason I came, was brought back here.
SMC: Sister, what about your love for plants?
SSA: I had plants --- a place on the porch after I wasn't able to go to the garden, I had a place for plants on the porch. We always had flowers growing on the porch, you know, and I looked after the plants there. Whenever they'd have the parties for Korea, there was always a lot of plants to take to the Korean Card Party, and those kinds of things.
SMC: What is your favorite kind of plant, Sister?
SSA: Oh, I don't know about favorites, but I do like the coleus. It's a beautiful plant with all colors of leaves, without getting any flowers on it. It's surely a beautiful flower, beautiful plant.
SMC: Do you still take care of some plants?
SSA: No, 1-1 have a plant that is there in water. That's that Can you see those leaves
over there?
SMC: Yes, Sister, I see that. SSA: What's the name of that? SMC: I don't know.
SSA: Well, I can't mention the name of it right now; it's just a little ivy leaf. My plant lives in the water and it works pretty good; it's just in water.
SMC: You have revived it, right? SSA: Well, it's still living . . . .
SMC: Sister, besides your caring for the plants at Assumption Hall, and visiting with the sisters.
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SSA: Well, I try to get them to say certain prayers. The ones that are most sufficient; especially the seven Our Fathers and seven Hail Marys for the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost. And the consecration of the community to Our Blessed Lord. You know that prayer that I had written, I ask the sisters to say it . . . .
The Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary for all your holy prayers and good works, the sorrows and joys of all thy faithful peoples all over the world in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that has been offered, that is being offered and ever will be offered to thy Divine Majesty .this day or anytime til the end of time.
Then I say 7 Our Fathers and 7 Hail Marys and 7 Glorias for the 7 gifts of the Holy Ghost. I offer that to Almighty God for any intention He wishes to offer them for and especially for our Pope and our Church all the way through and for each and every one of us.
SMC: Sister, you spend many hours in the chapel here at Assumption Hall.
SSA: Well, I pray as long as I can and the rest of the time, I have to come to my room and sit down. Yes, I spend a good bit of time there. That is what I'd like to be doing now, in fact. I think I'd get more merit from sitting in the chapel than I would from writing notes or taking notes.
SMC: Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?
SSA: No, I don't think of anything special that I could tell you.
I ask God's blessing on our community and all our friends and relatives. And do God's will in every way we can. And I pray the same for each and every one.
Original Format
Audio cassette tape
Duration
59:21
Bit Rate/Frequency
96kHz
Collection
Citation
Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, “Oral History: Sister Sara Ann Lauer,” Collections of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Archives, accessed May 3, 2024, https://scsharchives.com/items/show/686.
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