16 25 573 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/36b281ed1d8f5b223685f95db1f94ad0.mp3 f6b14af44e4039af216d6cbba7b8c43e https://scsharchives.com/files/original/ef3f74dcf2ef08dde9594e183c04c881.mp3 6cf0e2f3e9ee1966264e24546c50226d https://scsharchives.com/files/original/663a6e92cf5047893cd56dfd5e5fc278.mp3 fbbdef3c44b1324f760f8aabd4441800 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Virginia Pascaretta Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister M. Norberta McCabe Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:37 31:37 31:35 17:29 Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound OH-86-1 SVP: This is an oral history tape for the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill , Greensburg, PA. The interviewee is Sister Norberta McCabe and the interviewer is Sister Virginia Pascaretta. It is being conducted at Assumption Hall on April 20, 1983. SNMcC: I was born in Pittsburgh. My father was Philip B. McCabe Senior. My mother was Nellie Farnan. They were married in St. Mary's Church on upper forty-fourth street. I have two sisters and a brother, all older than me. I was about nine years younger than my brother. My brother still lives in Pittsburgh. He has two daughters who are married. We lived in Garfield. I went to St. Lawrence's Grade School. My mother went to St. Mary' s school on Butler Street, which was staffed by the Sisters of Mercy. My father went to Duffs College. I don' t know about his early education. He became a Funeral Director. He also had a livery stable on Penn Avenue. He had carriages, and kept about twenty to twenty­ five horses. After finishing grade school at St. Lawrence, I went to Peabody High School. The Dominicans from Ohio taught at St. Lawrence. After graduation, I went into Nurses' training at Pittsburgh Hospital. I completed training in 1934. While attending Duquesne University for further classes, I worked as a staff nurse at Pittsburgh hospital and also did some private duty nursing. I entered the Community on September 8, 1935. SVP: Sister Norberta, may I ask you what attracted you to the Sisters of Charity? SNMcC: Well, I always wanted to be a sister and felt that they were the most sensible I had met. I had been in touch with the Ursulines, the Franciscans, and the Dominicans and felt that they were all terribly artificial. The only Sister of Charity I actually knew was Sister Mary Stephen Cusick who visited her family who lived across the street from us. In the Novitiate in 1936, we were being sent out on Mission. I was ill with rheumatic fever and was unable to go. As I wasn't finished with my education, Mother Rose Genevive Rodgers determined that I should do this. I was sent to Pittsburgh Hospital with the Registrar from Seton Hill to see a Miss Tobin, Dean of Nurses training at Duquesne to make arrangements for how many credits I would have to have, etc. It was decided that I needed twenty credits. The last three credits were attained by them permitting me to write a twenty thousand word paper on the "ISMS", which were rather new at that time. Meanwhile, when Miss Tobin arrived for the interview, she looked at us. We had our outside bonnets in our hand. She said: "What lovely bonnets you ladies are carrying!" The Registrar , Sister Eucharia O' Hagan turned around and said: "Well, I'm going to put my head in it in a minute!" As soon as we got out of the Dean' s office, the two ofus killed ourselves laughing the whole way down the hill. Sister Eucharia was not usually so jovial and friendly, but her mother had been a patient in Pittsburgh Hospital when I was on duty there, so perhaps this eased the situation. Then I lived at Pittsburgh Hospital. We lived on the second floor of the old nurses' home on Penn Avenue. There were five ofus in thedormitory. I had to be in bed every night at nine o'clock but I did some substitute nursing along the way, so I couldn ' t study after nine o'clock. While I was waiting for other sisters who went to school at the same time... Sister Audrey was in Pharmacy and Sister Mary Virginia Herald was going to school. Sister Mary Virginia' s classes ended earlier. Sister Mary Audrey' s classes didn' t end until six o'clock. Mine ended at three o'clock, so I went to the library from three o'clock until six o'clock and studied. After I completed my work at Duquesne University, I was missioned that Fall to Pittsburgh Hospital to be on night duty in the emergency room. Shortly after receiving this assignment, we received an SOS advising that Sister Philippa Henry was leaving Roselia Foundling and that a replacement was needed immediately. So, I went to Roselia Foundling. Sister Philippa introduced me to a woman there (I forget her name), said this is the Delivery Room. So long! There I was alone. I had never been alone with an anesthetic. I watched Sister Amelia Foerster administer an anesthetic at Pittsburgh Hospital in the Obstetric department, but I didn' t care for Obstetrics or Pediatrics in my own training experience. I knew that I would have to know something about administering an anesthetic, at least until Sister Amelia or someone else came. Dr. Lawrence Sullivan was the doctor who came to Roselia. He performed tonsillectomies. These tonsillectomies were not patients from Roselia. They were patients of his and perhaps of other doctors. He told me that you used Ethyl Chloride and dropped it into Ether, the anesthetic. It was still :frightening for me, but nevertheless he showed me how to do it. Thank God, we did it and noone ever died on the table or anywhere. There are a lot of funny incidents that happened at the Foundling. Sister M. Charlotte Judge was the Sister Servant. She had new linoleum put down in the Nurses' Home. The Nurses' Home was two houses joined together. So, you could go through the hallway, through the laundry, through the living room in both houses and back to the laundry. So, it made a nice skating rink. One of the girls one time lent Sister M. Margaretta Bernlohr and Sister Ann Louise Sacco roller skates with big wooden rollers on. They put them on and we had a real circus. This occurred while we were having a party one evening. We invited Sister Charlotte to the party, but she declined because she said all she would do is worry about the new linoleum being damaged from the skating. She didn't come until it was time to eat. She examined the linoleum, but determined no damage had been done. Sister Rita Mary Leonard was there. She was in charge of the trays and kitchen at that time. She was the life of the party. Shortly after that, Sister Rita Mary had to go to the hospital and we were concerned that perhaps the party had something to do with it. This wasn't the case. In 1940, I was sent to Provident Hospital in Beaver Falls. In Beaver Falls, Sister Irenaeus Joyce was the Sister Servant. Sister Mary Stephen Cusick was the Director of the School of Nursing, Sister Mary Thelma Long was her assistant, Sister Marie Stephen Jablonski was in charge of the Obstetrics Department, Sister Teresita Coleman was in charge of the Ex­ Ray Department and laboratory. She had a secular assistant. Sister Louise Clare Duffy took care of the chapel and did the linens and all that was involved with the chapel. She also helped out in the cafeteria and did a great many miscellaneous jobs. Sister M. Wilfrid Hirschinger was supervisor of the operating room. She replaced the Sister (she couldn' t remember her name) who was in charge before her. Mary Riley was the Pharmacist, but was replaced later on by Sister Virginia Marie Waudby when Sister completed her studies for the job. Anne Mutschler was the record librarian and Betsy Hanley was the Bookkeeper. They were the right hand helpers to Sister Irenaeus Joyce as far as administration was concerned. Sister Agnes Catherine Kearney was there as supervisor on one of the floors and was on night duty. When you were on night duty, you took over the switchboard, and gave the report from there in the morning. In those days the shift was seven o'clock PM until seven o'clock AM. The three shifts had not come into reality yet. I believe it was in 1942 that Sister John Francis, who went back to her baptismal name, Sister Mildred Anne Curry, came. Sister Mary Kieran Beyer came for a short while, but returned to Pittsburgh. She came back some years later to replace Sister Irenaeus Joyce as Administrator. Sister Mary Jean Flaherty was here for some years in charge of the Obstetrics Department. Sister Mary Frederick Blatt came after some years to replace Sister Teresita Coleman in the laboratory. A secular was hired to replace Sister Teresita in the ex-ray department as Sister Mary Frederick was not qualified in this area. Years later when Sister Mary Stephen was finished being Director of the School of Nursing, Sister Alice Patricia Harvey came and took her place. She also had a secular assistant to replace Sister Mary Thelma Long who had been Sister Mary Stephen's assistant. Both Sister Mary Stephen and Sister Mary Thelma went to Assumption Hall. Sister Patricia Airhart worked in the office for several years. Sister Miriam Rita Kelsey also worked in the office for a few years. Sister Catherine Francis Kem and Sister Paul Gabriel Wilhere were there for just a short time. Sister Agnes Joseph Hines and Sister Agnes Teresa McLane were also there for a short time. I had been doing some teaching, working in Obstetrics and working night duty. When Sister Mary Kieran Beyer came to replace Sister Irenaeus Joyce as Administrator, she thought that Sister Mary Stephen Cusick had been in charge of the entire Nursing Service, but when Sister Alice Patricia came to be Director of the School of Nursing, I did the Nursing Service which was concerned with the graduate nurses and the other help. Sister Alice Patricia Harvey, of course, had the student nurses. I didn't mention that Sister Mary Daniel Havlak was at Provident Hospital for many years. She was instructor. She was in charge of the Obstetrics Department for half of the day. I took over the other half. Sister Mary Magdalene Foley was in charge of the admissions office. After she left, Sister Mary Ethel Beyer, who is no longer in the community, took over in the admissions office. The Board was very strong at Provident Hospital. The President of BMW, a Mr. Whiteman was head of the board when I first went to Beaver Falls. He was succeeded by Mr. Soyer. They were very interested in the hospital and did everything possible to take care of our needs, especially providing equipment. The BMW Company were the most interested group in Provident Hospital and they are still down there. There was also the Michael Baker Construction Company from Rochester. In 1955, when we had that tremendous snow, Michael Baker was a patient in the hospital. He had a broken leg. It was he who had patients brought to the hospital using his large equipment. Ambulances weren't able to move at that time down there and because of his connection with Sister Irenaeus Joyce and his respect for her, he did everything that he was possibly able to do to keep the hospital functioning. The Doctors also had deep respect for Sister Irenaeus and so did the board members. Sister Irenaeus had great rapport with the business people in Beaver Falls. For instance she would go food shopping with you. Of course she didn't like carrying the food home. She would send you off and tell you to go and enjoy seeing things, while she bargained with the merchant for some things which she always got. One day, she decided she was going shopping. I was the youngest, so I went along to carry the bags. She had two very large umbrellas, the ones with the long spike on the end. Also, before leaving for shopping this day, she shoved about a dozen pairs of rubbers down into the umbrella. She sent me up street to look at the card shop and other things while she shopped. When she came back and we were ready to leave, I was holding a couple of shopping bags and the umbrella. She said: "Oh, it looks like a storm is coming. We better hurry." We got out to the curb. Seventh Avenue was the widest street in town. It was wider than Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh by a longshot. Just as we stepped off the curb, the rain started. Oh dear, put up the umbrella, put up the umbrella! Dear (me) thinks that she can hold the shopping bags in one hand and put the umbrella up with the other. The light was ready to change by the time the umbrella got up, but out came about a dozen pairs of rubbers! She said: "Pretend I'm not with you, and she proceeded to cross the street!" All the people passing by were having a good laugh at me trying to pick up the rubbers, manage the umbrella and carry the shopping bags. When I got to the other side of the street I couldn't find her. She went into another store while I waited outside for her for over an hour. She always got bargains for the hospital...things that noone else could get because of her rapport with the business people. Sister Irenaeus was also very interested in hospital insurances. At BMW during the time of the depression years, she had suggested to the presidents of the BMW a plan whereby the men working for BMW would pre-pa y for hospital care. This really was what is now known as the Blue Cross Insurance plan. Even now older men whom you would talk to would say that Sister Irenaeus really introduced the Blue Cross Insurance plan. She not only had a great influence on businessmen, but also on politicians. Sister Mary Daniel Havlak was a very organized individual. This was a great help to me as I'm not well organized. When I was put in charge of Nursing Services, she did all the bookkeeping and record organizing. Sister Mary Thelma Long was also very helpful after she was no longer physically able to work full time. She did a lot of things to make the girls' lives happier by arranging song festivals and other enjoyable activities. These things were all experiences during my younger years. There were other Sisters who came during the following years, but things were not as difficult then. The hospital had a new wing on. Sister Alphonse ( no longer in the Community) came as dietician. She was a tremendous dietician. She worked day and night. The kitchen was pretty well equipped, but not as they are now. We didn't have a responsible maintenance man, so therefore we had to do many of these maintenance type duties ourselves, like tending to the heat. You of course had to go to the basement to take care of the heat, which was in the original building. It was a rather dark, spooky ,place to go, and some people were afraid to go. I never was afraid, but nonetheless it was difficult not to have a responsible man to take care of the heat. Many nights, if the Sisters were busy with their nursing duties, Sister Irenaeus and Sister Mary Stephen were up taking care of these things. SVP: The second tape for Sister Norberta McCabe is being taped on January 28, 1984 at Assumption Hall. Sister, I know you have some other things to say about your experiences at Beaver Falls, and some conventions you attended. SNMcC: It might be as good a time as any to do this. On one of the conventions I was at with Sister Irenaeus at Atlantic City, she said we had to see the elephants before going home. Well, I thought we were headed for the Zoo. Instead of that, when we got off the bus, in the middle of the street, there was a big, three story high elephant standing in the middle of the road. There were stores in it.. I suppose you entered these stores through the legs, but we didn't do this. I thought we were going to see a live elephant. I suppose that elephant is still there. Another time, Sister Irenaeus, Sister Mary Stephen, and I went on a shopping trip to Pittsburgh. We went into one of the department stores. Sister Irenaeus was deathly afraid of escalators. She didn't mind elevators. Well, we were up on one of the top floors and the elevators went out of commission, so we had to use the escalators. I had all the packages, so I got on and went all the way down. In the meantime, Sister Irenaeus was following a manager around to get help. She would pick up her skirts, tippy toe to the escalator, look, and back up. Sister Mary Stephen, to help the situation said: " Sister, I'll show you how easy it is. You just step on, stay put, and the steps go down." Sister Mary Stephen kept going up a few steps coaxing Sister Irenaeus to get on, but nothing doing! No way would she get on. Finally, the manager got on. He went through the same process as Sister Mary Stephen. He kept saying: "Come on Sister, get on, it's easy." After a while, Sister Mary Stephen was beating it up a down escalator. The manager was doing the same, but Sister Irenaeus would just back up. The people on the up escalator were killing themselves laughing. It looked like: "Up the down staircase!" So, finally the manager succeeded in running up to the top. He picked Sister Irenaeus up bodily and carried her downstairs! Sister Mary Stephen came down barely able to breathe after her ordeal. Sister had emphysema, so this really took its toll on her. Another time, Sister Miriam Grace Solomon had come down to visit at Beaver Falls. We were going to take her back home to Seton Hill in our car. Sister Mary Thelma , a couple of visiting sisters plus Sister Miriam Grace Soloman and myself were in the car. One of the sisters was very much impressed with a handkerchief that Sister Mary Thelma had embroidered and also with some linen towels that she had done. They were impressed with the beautiful designs on the towels She had showed these to the sisters while she was visiting and was showing them all over again in the car. They were giving Sister Mary Thelma all kinds of praise. Sister Miriam Grace was sitting in the back saying nothing. Finally, came the deep voice of Sister Miriam Grace saying: "That's the trouble with life. Make a handkerchief, everybody swings the censer. Write a book, noone says anything. Woe is me. Nobody cares." On another occasion, three of the sisters were going into Duquesne University to school. They traveled via train. It was in the winter, so it was very difficult to see out of the windows to identify your stop. The three sisters were: Sister Agnes Catherine Kearney, Sister John Francis Curry (later Sister Mildred Anne Curry), and Sister Mary Kieran Beyer. They would be coming home usually some time after six PM. Sister Mary Kieran was very dominant. When she said something, it was almost in the form of a command. Anyway, when they came to what was their stop, Sister John Francis got up to get off the train. Sister Agnes Catherine also got up to get off the train. In the meantime, the conductor had already called out the stop and was openin.g the doors. Sister Mary Kieran said: "Why are you two getting up? We haven't been on the train long enough! Sit down!" So, the two little soldiers (Sister John Francis and Sister Agnes Catherine) sat down. Sister Mary Kieran by this time had cleared off her window and saw the sign for Beaver Falls. She immediately called to the conductor to let them off. He replied by saying: "Lady, I can't just stop the train. You'll have to get off at the next stop." Sister Mary Kieran asked the conductor when the next stop would be. To which he replied, Elias Ohio! Ohio, she said! Yes, Ohio! They of course had to call Sister Irenaeus because it was·so late. Then, we were all in the community room for recreation, wondering where our three sisters were. The phone rang, and Sister Irenaeus answered. It was the operator asking her if she would accept a call from Elias, Ohio. Ohio! I don't know anyone from Ohio. The Sisters in the community room could hear Sister Mary Kieran in the background trying to tell Sister Irenaeus what had happened. When Sister ·Irenaeus got off the phone, she said: "Well, our scholars are in Ohio!" Eventually, the scholars did get home and we got them dinner. SNMc: On one occasion, when I was still a student nurse at Pittsburgh Hospital, Sister Amelia Foerster had charge of the priest Father Burns was the chaplain. He was very austere looking, but actually was a lot of fun. He and the bishop were great friends. Bishop Hugh Boyle was Bishop of Pittsburgh at the time, and he sometimes came to visit Father Burns at Pittsburgh Hospital. Sister Amelia always provided a little lunch for Father Burns, but when the Bishop came, she made it a little special. On this particular night, the Bishop was there visiting Father Burns. I was on duty that night, so Sister Amelia asked me to fix their lunch. She told me that she had bought special vienna sausage and bread to make them a sandwich. So, I cut the special bread, opened the can of sausage, put the sausage on the bread, made coffee and took it to Father and the Bishop. When I returned later to take care of the dishes, both Father Burns and Bishop Boyle raved about their sandwiches, saying they were the best sandwiches they had ever eaten. Later when Sister Amelia saw me, she asked how I thought the Bishop and Father enjoyed their special sandwiches, and of course I told her how they had said they were the best they had ever eaten. She then asked me how I had prepared the sausage. I said: "What do you mean?" I opened the can and put them on the bread you had bought. She said: " Well, you fed them raw meat then, because you were supposed to boil the sausage!" We never heard that Father or the Bishop suffered any unfortunate results. SVP: Sister Norberta, what can you tell me about how you found the spirit of the Sisters of Charity in your experiences over the years? SNMcC: I saw that there were some very decisive people and people who expected this decisiveness. I had also heard about and seen pious looking, but quick on the stick sisters from other religious communities. As indicated earlier, I found the Sisters of Charity to be "real." There were no airs, just simple, authentic people. Every summer while I was in training, I got to know some of the school sisters because they lived with us in the Nurses Residence while attending summer school. These sisters were warm and friendly. They exhibited a great sense of rapport with each other and also with the nursing sisters.· In other words, I think the Sisters of Charity are great! SNMcC: We left Provident Hospital in Beaver Falls in 1967. I came to Jeannette Hospital in March of 1967. At that time, they needed social service work at Jeannette. I was asked to be the director of the auxiliary, which was composed of volunteers at the time. The-a uxiliary was really well established and well run. All I had to do was go to the meetings, socialize with the ladies, and give them help where it was needed. All I had to do was go to the meetings, socialize with the ladies, and give them help where it was needed. I advocated that they should have a trained social worker, and in time this did happen. ( I couldn't understand the name of the woman who was hired for this position. ) I helped her out for a time. Then she took over. The doctors were fussing about their library which was not being taken care of and some of their books were missing, so Sister Geraldine Miller asked me to go down to the doctors' library and take care of it. There were a lot of other things that had to be done in the various offices. Some of these were done by volunteers who occasionally didn't show up, so I filled in there. After a while, the library was closed as it was not being used very much, even by the doctors. It was too small to be used for research. Computers had been bought to be used in the library. However, when the library closed, they were put in the record room which is where I worked until my retirement in 1982. SVP: Sister, you've described a very active life in hospital work. Is there anything you would like to say about your retirement at Assumption Hall? SNMcC: When it became the policy for us to retire at seventy, I was at Jeannette Hospital. I was seventy in February, so they let me work until the end of February. I didn't want to stay on living at Jeannette Hospital, so I moved to Assumption Hall in March. Some people said to me: "Well, how did you fit in at Assumption Hall?" I replied that it was no problem for me at all. In fact, I was enjoying not having to get up at four forty-five AM. It was nice to get some extra sleep. Also, it was a relief not having to worry about being sure people were where they were supposed to be on the job. It gave me more leisure time to be with the Sisters, many whom I didn't know. I knew Sister Theophane Geary who was in charge of the stamp collection at the time. While at Jeannette, I sold some crib sets which put me in touch with Sister M. Clarissa Cunningham. One day I said to Sister Clarissa: "How would you like to have a helper?" At first there was that moment of silence. Then, she said: "Like, who?" So, when I got to Assumption, Sister Theophane had taken on another project, that of making pot holders, and she solicited my help. Well, my first two looked like twisted vines, but I did get the hang of it and was kept quite busy helping Sister Theophane fill many orders. Really, the hobbies kept me quite busy. Sister Clarissa quite patiently taught me many things about making ceramics. I told the sisters that I wasn't an expert, but would help people with anything. I've had a very enjoyable time, and feel that I have good rapport with them all. I haven't been to the switchboard very many times. On my first experience there, a call came saying that Sister Sharp was ready to come home. I didn't know who Sister Sharp was anymore than the man in the moon. So, I said: "Well, this is Sister Doubt. You'll have to be more specific." They promptly told me it was Sister Mary Alfred. Everything I do seems to have a funny twist to it. I've enjoyed being not just here, but every part of my Community life. I've seen a psychology which goes along with decisions that have to be made. I've appreciated the leadership we've had.....good listeners. Our "Alive Committee" has done much toward lessening bigotry, pornography, etc. It's mostly bigotry against Jews, Negroes, and Catholics. I think we are unique in that anyone can be listened to. If people listen, ideas will be picked up and perhaps acted upon. I feel that every sister should back our present day leaders in decisions they make regard religious life today. I find the present day regimentation much easier than in the past. For me, it is more conducive to my prayer life and my connectedness to God. As said before, I think we need to be "real" people, and not pious dolls walking around. That's all I have to say. SVP: Sister Norberta, I want to thank you for sharing your experiences with us. I've enjoyed talking with you. Sister Marie Arthur Hamilton: This oral history on Sister Norberta McCabe was transcribed from cassette tapes by me onto the computer. It was completed on March 1, 2011. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister M. Norberta McCabe Subject The topic of the resource Sister M. Norberta McCabe Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister M. Norberta McCabe, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1935 until 1989. The interview was conducted by Sister Virginia Pascaretta on April 20, 1983 and January 28, 1984. Sister Norberta McCabe was born on February 5, 1912 in Pittsburgh, Pa. Daughter of Philip B. McCabe, Sr. and Nellie B. Farnan, Julia A. McCabe entered the community on September 8, 1935 as Sister M. Norberta McCabe. Sister Norberta worked for a year and a half as a private duty nurse before entering the community and continued to work as a nurse during her ministry. She was first assigned to the Roselia Foundling and Maternity Hospital in Pittsburgh. She then worked at Providence Hospital in Beaver Falls, Pa. for over twenty years in a variety of positions, including Instructor, Clinical Instructor, Night Supervisor, and Director of Nursing Service. She then worked at Jeannette Hospital as Director of Volunteers and Social Services, and later as a medical librarian, before she retired to Assumption Hall in 1982. Sister Norberta earned her B.S. in Nursing from Duquesne University in 1938. Sister Norberta McCabe passed away on December 15, 1989 at the age of 77. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1983/04/20 1984/01/28 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-86 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/5302be7d7307d2bf900562fc4b3be839.mp3 03c898c9f3baf86fcbd2d4a461bf81f1 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/8f473f88782f5b3da1f7f8ba037d2ec7.mp3 02b0c9fd72bdc970884b0a7c658c44af Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Marie Corona Miller Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister M. Rosaline Walsh Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:54 31:54 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister M. Rosaline Walsh Subject The topic of the resource Sister M. Rosaline Walsh Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister M. Rosaline Walsh, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1935 until 2005. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on July 8, 1987. Sister M. Rosaline Walsh was born on February 16th, 1917 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Daughter of John Joseph Walsh and Teresa Agnes Fallon, Rosaline Anne Walsh entered the community on September 8th, 1935 at the age of 18 as Sister M. Rosaline Walsh with her Reception of Habit on January 1st, 1936 and her Temporary Profession on January 1st, 1938. Sister M. Rosaline was an educator for the deaf and taught at DePaul School for Hearing and Speech from 1943 to 1951 and 1954 to 1956. She was a principal at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Scottsdale, Arizona from 1959 to 1965. Then, from 1966 to 1970, she worked at Sacred Heart in Pittsburgh. Receiving her B.A. in Psychology and minor in English from the University of Pittsburgh in 1946, Sister M. Rosaline pursued her M. Ed. in Special Education at the University of Buffalo in 1954. Sister M. Rosaline Walsh passed on January 9th, 2005 at the age of 87. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987/07/08 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Oh-89 Arizona De Paul Institute Deaf Education DePaul School for Hearing and Speech Indianapolis Our Lady of Perpetual Help Principal Sacred Heart Pittsburgh Scottsdale AZ Special Education Teacher University of Buffalo University of Pittsburgh https://scsharchives.com/files/original/b2177fa517352cd4c37efb1d8c6737a6.mp3 549adec1dfe32532d26bc53eb6ed5d4c https://scsharchives.com/files/original/148e41a31d17e6474618c5486fd70788.mp3 015ddee0f853a100738d533e599ebd2b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Virginia Pascaretta Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister M. Theophane Geary Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Location The location of the interview Assumption Hall Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:02 31:02 Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz 96kHz Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound OH 7-1 Sr. Theophane Geary This an oral history interview for the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, PA. The interviewee is Sister Theophane Geary. The interviewer is Sister Virginia Pascaretta. The interview is taking place at Assumption Hall on May twelfth, nineteen eighty-four. SVP: Sister, as we begin this interview, I understand that today is your feast day. You entered the Community on May twelfth, nineteen-sixteen. I think it's interesting that we are doing this interview on this particular day. For the beginning, would you like to give me a little of your own personal history and background? STMcG: I was born in Millwood, Pennsylvania, which at that time was an adjunct of Derry, PA. Today, Millwood no longer exists. My parents were: Joseph and Amelia Geary. My father and his ancestors (my grandfather) had a farm between Derry and Blairsville. Some of our relatives lived in Blairsville. My grandparents were related to Thomas Geary and also married into the Latent family...a very old family in Blairsville. I think one of our senior sisters was from a branch of that family. My mother was born near Stuttgart, Germany. Both of her parents died when she was young. She came to America with an uncle and aunt where she met my father. In Germany, she had been in a Mariana section where the reformation was very rampant. Her parents and grandparents belonged to the Lutheran Religion. She told me that she had an old uncle whose ancestors had stayed in the catholic church. His devotion to the Sacred Heart impressed her very much. While she was in Germany, she longed to be a catholic. When she came to America she became a catholic even before she met my father. I was baptized in Saint Martin's Church in New Derry. I understand that St. Martin's was one of the oldest churches in western Pennsylvania. Later on a division was made. St. Joseph's church in Derry became the parish to which we belonged. I went to school in a country school, which had two rooms...primary and advanced. I went for eight years there to this school. At the end of that, I went to Derry High School. I was there for four years and graduated in nineteen-fourteen. By the way, it was the first commencement held in a new school in Derry Borough. Today, it has been demolished. They have a big school out where they call it "The Lake" in Derry. After graduation, there was a ruling then if you were a high graduate, and took a summer at least in childhood education, you could apply for a school. That is what I did. Since I passed the examination, I was assigned a school in Livermoore, PA, which was the first PRR (railroad) stop beyond Blairsville. There I spent my first year of teaching. It was all the grades. SVP: Sister, how did you do it? STMcG: I don't know. Looking ahead to the examination I would have to take as a teacher, I wasn't very knowledgeable in Music. There was quite a bit of Music that was involved in the teaching program. So, I was looking around for a teacher who would help me in this area. I was told by one of my friends that there was a Sister at the convent in Blairsville who was a Music teacher. lfl applied there, I could get lessons, so that's what I did. At that time Sister M. Dolores Cupps was the Music teacher and Sister Marie Antoinette Reilly was the Sister Servant. The other teachers that I recall were: Sister M. Ferdinand Love, and Sister M. Chrysostom Andrayko. I was very impressed by the sisters there. I learned enough music and I could have passed the next exam, but I never took it and I can give you the reason why. Those Sisters of Charity were wonderful. I had never seen any sisters at all before, though I had a cousin who was a Benedictine Sister out in Cannon, Colorado. Her brothers and sisters lived in Blairsville, and I often spent weekends in their home. By the way, her name was Sister Rita, and my parents named me for her. I was baptized Rita Marie. Well, as time went on, I was thinking about the coming year. Then, admiring the sisters very much and learning more about their life etc., I had an inspiration that I would like to be a Sister of Charity. Right before the end of the school year, I told Sister M. Dolores Cupps my ambition. She said: "Well, as soon as you are finished the school term, we'll go up to Seton Hill. School ended about the middle of April in those days. So, I followed her advice. We went to Seton Hill and after I returned home, I more and more had the ardent desire and prayed that God would give me the vocation to be a Sister. I made up my mind very quickly. On May twelfth, nineteen hundred sixteen, Sr. Dolores took me to Seton Hill and I have been there ever since. SVP: What were your early recollections of the Community? STMcG: I could never get over the interest those sisters in Blairsville had in what I was doing. I received good teaching from them and more than that they were so cordial and kind. I was impressed with every one of them. Sister Marie Antoinette Reilly was one of the most beautiful souls we ever had in the community. SVP: Who was the mistress of novices when you entered? STMcG: It was Mother Rose Genevieve Rodgers. Mother Mary Joseph Havey was the Mother Superior and Sister Mary Regina Farrell was the Treasurer. SVP: What do you remember about your novitiate experiences? Is there anything you would like to share? Who were the sisters in your novitiate? STM cG: Do you want to know the ones who were in my group? SVP: Well, any that you would like to share. STMcG: We were all very close. There was: Sister Mary Luke McConnell, Sister Mary George Monahan, Sister Mary David Doyle,(Sr. David Mary lives with me at Assumption), Sister John Baptist Curren (Sr. John Baptist was closest to me in years), Sister Grace Barr, who was a nurse, and Sister Mary Patrick Donovan. SVP: What was your novitiate training like? How were your days? STMcG: Of course we had a regular prayer schedule. We got up at five o' clock in the morning. Novices who were late for morning prayers had the little penance of kneeling before the Blessed Mother's altar. This is just a little incident that happened. Sister Mary Eymard Fleming was up at the Blessed Mother' s altar almost every morning. This particular morning, right near the steps which led into the sanctuary, Father Sullivan always came in the back door, up the side aisle and up those steps. He was always circumspect and guarded his eyes. He came up and fell over Sister Mary Eymard. It was quite a scene. That was the last day anyone knelt there. Before the end of the frrst year, I had appendicitis and had to be operated on at the Pittsburgh Hospital. I think it was Canon Law that you were only permitted to be away from the novitiate for a certain number ofdays. I was away extra days so, I had to spend another year. That year, I was sent down to Saint Benedict's to teach the third grade. Then the next year I was sent on mission to St. Francis de Sales school in Mckeesrocks. I had first grade, and there were about eighty-five children. We only had eighty desks, so there were five children who sat up around the teacher's desk, which was on a platform. Generally in the winter time , we had some vacant seats. I had quite an experience in my first year of teaching. Sister M. Bernardine Hefferon was the Sister Servant. My predecessor there was Sister Marie Dolores Haney, who is still living. I think she taught the second grade. Sister Bernardine had taught as a secular in the school. She was always telling me how I had to measure up to the discipline that Miss Haney (I would presume she means Sr. Marie Dolores) had in the primary school. This was very hard to meet. I recall the first time I ever had drawing. I passed the crayons. Shortly after passing them, I heard a terrible scream. Sister M. Alacoque McHale, who taught above me came running down the stairs to see what had happened. It was a two-story building. A little girl had put the black crayon up her nose, broke it off, and couldn't get it out. Well, Sr. Alacoque had quick comprehension. She sent a boy over to the convent to get a pepper duster. She put some pepper in her hand, put it to the youngster's nose, who took a quick sneeze and the crayon flew across the room. That was one of my first experiences. I always felt secure at that parish because the pastor was Father Dunlee(ifthat's how it's spelled). Father Dunlee baptized me over in Derry. He was pastor of Saint Martha's where I was baptized. I should have mentioned that when I was ill at Seton Hill, I was sent to the Junior College where I learned Latin and a few other things. I had four years of Latin in high school, so with another year, I had five years of Latin. SVP: Were these experiences in Greensburg? STMcG: No, they were at St. Francis De Sales in McKeesRocks. I was just there for one year. The next year I was transferred to Holy Innocents in Sheraden, where I stayed for four years. While I was at Holy Innocents, the sisters had Saturday school in what they called "The Old Gusky (sounded like) Building." It was down near the Point. I had to teach first and second year Latin to the other sisters. They were sisters of different communities and all ages. Every Saturday afternoon I nursed a sick headache as a result of teaching that class. Every week, I told Sister Hyacinth Ryan, whom I could confide in that I would have to write and tell the mistress that I couldn't do it anymore. She said: "Oh, no. They'll put a black mark against you if you have to give up anything. You just keep going." With her support I finished the year. STMcG: The first year since I had taught school, I was given the second and third grade to teach in the Academy. SVP: How old were you in the community when you did this? Were you still in the novitiate? · STMcG: Yes, I was still in the novitiate. SVP: In what year did you make vows? STMcG: Sister didn't indicate any year, but I would presume it was nineteen hundred twenty as she entered in nineteen hundred sixteen and she did say that it was four years after entrance. After my four years at Holy Innocents, I was sent to St. Mary Magdalene's in Homestead where I taught for one year. Then I was brought back to Seton Hill to teach in the academy. I replaced Sister Victoria Brown in the academy. I believe I taught in the academy for eight years. During those eight years along with the teaching I was able to get a degree from Seton Hill College. SVP: What was your major? STMcG: My major was American History. SVP: When did you begin your work in the college? STMcG: In the summer after I got my degree, I was sent to summer school at the university of Chicago. It was a double term each summer. At the end I received a Master's degree. Sister Victoria Brown was in charge of the Seton debates. I fell heir to that. I was sent to Fordham University where I studied Argumentation, Debating, etc. one summer. Another summer I studied at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Still another summer I studied at the University of Pittsburgh. So, I had quite a variety of tastes in graduate work. After my number of years teaching in the academy, through the influence of Sister Stanislaus McVay I received a grant to the Catholic University of America. I received a doctorate degree from there. After this, I returned to Seton Hill college to teach. SVP: I know that you spent quite a number of years at the college. Do you remember what year it was that you began teaching in the college? Would you say it was around nineteen thirty? STGMcG: I think it was around nineteen thirty-two. SVP I thought that since you spent so many years in the college that you might want to share some things with us. Also, what teaching in the college meant to you as a teacher and as a professional there. STMcG: One thing that impressed me very much was the type of teachers we had at Seton Hill. For example in the history department, we had Summerfield Lawlden (sounded like). He was an Englishman, who was born and educated in England. I think he was connected with Harvard in his earlier days. He taught Western Civilization. He was an especially fine teacher. Then of course we had Father Sullivan. Everyone took every course that they could. SVP: What courses did Father Sullivan offer? STMcG: He taught courses in the Sociology field. When at Seton Hill, I recall the very fine priests we had for retreats in those days. There was a Father Kelly, who was an English professor at Duquesne University. Every sermon he gave was really a classic. We had Father Kelly several times. Then there was a popular Passionist, Father Camillus. He too was very fine. SVP: What about the history of the college as you taught there over the years? Were there any outstanding events or incidents that you would like to share? STM G: I think the growth of the college from a Junior College which is what is what it was when I entered to a full College. I can remember the joy that we felt when we became recognized as a Full College and then getting into the different associations related to our learning process. The college grew, and Father Sullivan was an expert in his choice of teachers. SVP: Then, it was Father Sullivan's responsibility for the hiring of teachers? STM G: Oh, yes. SVP: What about the sisters who taught in the college in the early years? 5 STMcG; They were excellent teachers also. Sister M. Stanislaus McVay was in the History department. Sister M. Electa Boyle was in the English department. Sister Florence Marie Scott taught Biology. Sister Florence Marie was in my novitiate. She graduated from Columbia University. She really was a scholarly teacher. Sr. Marie Arthur Hamilton: Sister said a few more words which sounded as though she was continuing to speak. However, there isn't any additional tape in the Archives. I completed transcribing this oral history from the cassette tape recorder onto the computer on August fifteen, two thousand twelve. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister M. Theophane Geary Subject The topic of the resource Sister M. Theophane Geary Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister M. Theophane Geary, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1916 until 1994. The interview was conducted by Sister Virginia Pascaretta on May 12, 1988. Sister Mary Theophane Geary - born Rita Marie Geary on May 3, 1897 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in May of 1916. She received a bachelor's degree in history, English, and social studies from Seton Hill College in 1926. She went on to earn a master's degree in U.S. history from the University of Chicago in 1931 and a doctorate degree in history, politics, and American church history from the Catholic University of America in 1938. She served as a history professor at Seton Hill College from 1933-1975 and was head of the history department from 1940-1961. Her tenure as director of summer school was also from 1940-1961. She wrote the entry on the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill for the New Catholic Encyclopedia. Sister M. Theophane died on January 4, 1994. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988/05/12 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-7 Catholic University of America Professor of History Seton Hill College University of Chicago https://scsharchives.com/files/original/fd5b76c2bcc90174b62bb61c3ba1a4fd.mp3 1fd27d71285b59635a648aec9cb3c7af https://scsharchives.com/files/original/1328f4d9e8648bb9df252f0c5e1a922b.mp3 ba8ff3ecdcacec48a5d2fa3f6ab6c4d0 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/7f8527d7948c943251eddc47e50454a9.mp3 69b8285cf7642df7e92b4330c05f04be https://scsharchives.com/files/original/f5e439510285f8a72609e20e624dbfac.mp3 5b0b41cf590922360481e60bcdd18a89 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Jean Augustine Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Margaret Anne Hanley Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Location The location of the interview Assumption Hall Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:01 31:06 31:02 31:03 Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound OH 34-1 1 This is part of the Oral History recording done in Assumption Hall on Thursday morning, June 14, 1984, with Sister Margaret Anne Hanley. Sister Jean Augustine is conducting the interview. SJ: Good morning, Sister Margaret Anne. SMA: Good morning Sister. Would you like to hear something abut Sister Muriel? SJ: No. Eventually, yes. I would like to hear about Sister Muriel; that would be very good. But one of the things I wanted to talk with you today Cremember we mentioned this oral history project that the Congregation has undertaken? We want to keep as much history as we can for the future of the Congregation. I would like to talk to you a little bit this morning about your early recollections, your earliest Balmost like an autobiography. I noticed in your file that you came to the Congregation from Coshockton, Ohio. SMA: Right. SJ: And our years when I used to be a piano student of yours, when I used to practice. . . SMA: Oh, yes? I=d like to know that day. SJ: You and I talked about your love for Ohio. Can you tell me a little about your earliest remembrances, your history? SMA: Starting with my entrance in the community? SJ: Oh, even before that. SMA: Before that? We had an ordinary family, but a rather large one- - three boys and three girls. We had a delightful homelife, very close, lots of fun. I was very close to my brothers, especially; my sisters were much older. They entered the family earliest of all. SJ: Where did you come in the family? SMA: Last. But not least, of couse. SJ: Of course not. You=re an Irish family? SMA: Yes, my father was right from Limerick, Ireland, and my mother=s relations, grandmother and grandfather, were from Derry, Ireland, I think or Kerry; I don=t know which. SJ: Your mother was born, though, in this country. SMA: Cresson, around there. SJ: Yes, what was her maiden name? Do you remember? SMA: Mary O=Connor. SJ: That=s as Irish as you can get. Your father was . . . SMA: Thomas Hanley. Hanley is not an Irish name Bit=s more English to my mind. But they say, ANo, that=s not correct. It was straight from Ireland.@ SJ: What did your father do for a living? SMA: Well, at his work he was a - - - - - ; he was everything. He started out on the railroad, walking on the tops of the cars till he had my mother a nervous wreck, so the urged him to get another job. Then he went into ordinary grocery store business and from there, I think, to the mill. He bought a mill in cahoots, in partnership, with another man. Finally the man dropped out and her had the whole mill which was a very small mill, a flour mill. He had all kinds of wheat, especially. SJ: Oh. SMA: Oh, brother, was it good, real molasses in it! SJ: Mixed in with the buckwheat? Isn=t that great! 2 SJ: Is that in the farm country, Coshockton? MA: I think it definitely is. We were not farmers, but we were so closely related to them. They came down our front street and sold everything they had from the cart. So, it was like living on a farm; but she knew that farm work was too heavy for her SJ: Was Coshockton a small town? SMA: 12,000, it ran generally, but now it=s grown quite. I think it=s up in 30,40, 50 thousand. But, they moved; the people we knew have moved to the elite part of town, the outside, the borders. SJ: Your birthday, I know is in June. . . June 26. You don=t want to tell me what year? SMA: Yes. SJ: Will you? What year? SMA: I=m going to be one more year in a couple weeks. That was 1903 I was born. SJ: 1903 - - so you are going to be 81. SMA: 81. Very good arithmetic. SJ: Was there a Catholic parish and school? SMA: As far as I know, and of course I wasn=t in on everything. There was a Catholic parish and we started the school when we got there. My father needed a school for his children and he was instrumental in helping to urge the priest to build a school. And we had a very small school - - Dominican sisters from Columbus, Ohio, and it went just beautifully, I think. SJ: Was that Sacred Heart Parish? SMA: Yes, how did you know? SJ: I checked on your. . . I checked your dossier. Sacred Parish, Coshockton, Ohio. SMA: Now, here=s an interesting part. They had even a three-year high school. But three years stuck with us all through my life. When it came up to high school time, I wanted a Catholic education completed. I had to go away to get a fourth year, so I went to St. Mary of the Springs, Shepherd, Ohio, and got my fourth year high. I had a complete Catholic High, and then on to Seton Hill. SJ: I see. In that three-year high school, was that an academic high school or a commercial high school? SMA: An academic high school, and a whiz of a teacher! She handled. . .now, don=t be shocked because I think we were well taught. She handled three years high school all by herself. SJ: One woman? SMA: One woman. SJ: Taught all the subjects? SMA: All the subjects, plus a - - - - - - - -course. SJ: Oh, my! How large was the school? Can you think about that? SMA: Eight grades . . . and an average of, maybe at the most, 10 pupils in a grade. SJ: O.K. And in the High school. . . would that be about the same? SMA: About the same. SJ: Thirty students altogether. SMA: At the most, I think. SJ: And she did the whole high school part? SMA: She did the whole high school part. But she was a brain beyond a brain. 3 SJ: And she was a Dominican? You would have had algebra, and science? SMA: Right, we had everything, except the fourth year high, except science - - no lab. SJ: No lab. Now, when you went to St. Mary of the Springs, that was also Dominican, and finished your fourth year of high school there. SMA: Yes. SJ: Was that a boarding school? SMA: Yes. SJ: Did the rest of your family do that? SMA: Yes. SJ: They went to boarding school. What about the boys? SMA: They went to Cleveland, Ohio, to the Jesuits. . . St. Ignatius, I think. SJ: Coshockton - - Is that in the Cleveland Diocese or Columbus? SMA: Columbus, I think. SJ: Columbus. Okay. Now, your music. . . do you remember when that started? SMA: When I was seven years old. Moreover, they allowed me to practice in the convent. It=s evident they were either deaf or far away. SJ: Who taught you. . . one of the sisters? SMA: Dominicans. SJ: Was the rest of your family musically inclined, or were you the only one who wanted to take up piano? SMA: I think Delci would have loved it; I don=t think she had the opportunity. They were in the public high. SJ: I see. Did you have a piano at home? SMA: Yes, not much of one, but good enough . . old, upright. SJ: Did you practice willingly, or did your mother have to get after you? SMA: Well, this is queer, and very good management- - - I=ve never been able to copy it. But, they allowed me to practice right in the convent. SJ: Ah, so that=s where you got your practice in, and there was no tomfoolery there. SMA: No, wasn=t that lovely! And I didn=t have to stop to cook or scrub, like some people I know, very close to me; there was no interference. SJ: And you liked it very much? SMA: Ohh! We loved it. Half the time, another girl my age, her name was Kimmie?, would come in and practice with me. We=d do duets and make it a little bit livelier. SJ: Was the lesson a weekly lesson and a half hour? SMA: I think it was two lessons a week, a half hour each for something like 50 cents apiece. Wow! The way we cheated those good sisters. Nobody knew about that. SJ: Seven - - You would have been probably in second grade. SMA: Yes, and I=d be dismissed from the room, run around the corner and go into the convent. SJ: Oh, in those days they allowed the children out of school for lessons. SMA: They did, and I don=t think they lost out one speck- - -a little bit of propaganda in there. SJ: All right. So you were interested in the piano. Did you study any other musical instrument? SMA: No, I was at Seton Hill - - -we=d grab Sister Carinne=s violin and practice on it. SJ: So, at St. Mary of the Springs, Shepherd, Ohio, is where you finished your fourth year. 4 SMA: That fourth year=s very interesting. It was empty, you know. And I went to St. Mary=s for the fourth year. Then the priest said, AWhat=s the matter with us? If we can send our boys and girls away to get a fourth year, why can=t we have our own fourth year. He delivered one wonderful sermon and got his fourth year and a science lab.- - a little bit of extra money for that small town, but they did it. SJ: And from that time on, then, on one had to leave Coshockton for a parochial high school. They could get the four years right there. SMA: Isn=t that a great love for their religion and all - - to push them into that. I thought that was great. SJ: Okay. Now the other- - - on this connection with Seton Hill. I=m interested in that. You lived in Ohio; your mother had come from Pennsylvania. Your father, I think you told me once, came from Ireland, and settled somewhere around.. . SMA: Dennison, Ohio, I think. SJ Dennison, and . . . . SMA: And also the tops of the trains- - - Mother got him off that. In Dennison, I think he went right to the grocery store to make some money. SJ: How did he meet your mother, then? SMA: That was all done in Cresson, and a very interesting story. Mother=s brothers came home one day and said, @You might as well call off the wedding, Mary. Tom=s gone to Ohio.@ And that was two days before the wedding. So Mother said she was much flabbregasted, but she tried to take it easy and go on with her work. And here Dad had to go to Coshockton, Ohio, to get the Baptismal record for mother. They had to have permission from the priest to get married because they were in another. . .no, because she was underage - - 17, and he was 10 years older at least, 27 or so. SJ: And they were married in Cresson? SMA: They were married in Cresson. SJ: He might have met her when he was traveling on those trains. Maybe he had stopped there. SMA: Oh, he worked around there, too. SJ: That=s probably it. SMA: I think, but I=m not too sure how he met her. She was really lovely to look at. Beautiful, in fact. I looked at her picture many a day and I thought, AWho is that?@ So, one day when she was in the room, I said, AWho is that beautiful lady?@ and that tickled her to pieces. SJ: I=m sure. SMA: It was a portrait of her. SJ: In your home. Well, then, you would have graduated from high school in 1919, 20, 21, something like that? SMA: It was a year earlier than I should have because they shortened the course; they put the 7th 5 and 8th together so we could all move on, and we didn=t seem to miss anything. I don=t know, maybe we did. SJ: Well, then, you would have been probably one of the first students to come to Seton Hill College, because it started around 1919. SMA: I think we were. There were four ahead of us to graduate in that first class. SJ: In that first class. Well how did you get to know about Seton Hill? You were out in St. Mary of the Springs? SMA: I had a dear cousin who spent the summers with me often- - - and this summer we were both out of high school and we had to find a college. So we searched the books - -AAmerica@ and all the rest of the Catholic books we had around, for ads. And we wanted, not a high rating - - we didn=t know enough to pick a college with a high ratingB just a near one to home. Ans so Seton Hill was the nearest. I would have gone to St. Mary of the Springs for college but it wasn=t quite finished. They had to have another year. Now that=s called fate, or Providence or whatever. I would have been a Dominican. SJ: The way the Lord wants it. You know, in those days not too many women went to college. SMA: Very true. SJ: Was your family favorable? Did your other sisters go? SMA: My sister Veronica was killed. She had the brains of the family, I think, and I think she was always a little jealous, but she kept it down. But she would have loved to have gone on. SJ: And your father and mother were both very favorable. . . INTERRUPTION We were talking about the fact that you and your cousin had done some research to find a college. I=m interested in the fact that it had to be a Catholic college. SMA: Well, we were both from Catholic families. Her father was my father=s brother. And my father was just rampant on the question; he had to have a Catholic college. He was very, very Catholic all his life. SJ: All right, now, that=s interesting. You would have come about 1920, I=ll say. SMA: Well, wait now, I entered school at 7. But we had not the regular courses, not 8 & 4, but 8 & 3. So, how much does that make? SJ: That=s eleven years- - -1920, approximately. We can check that out later. The college was very small B Administration Building, Maura Hall, St. Mary=s Hall. That=s probably all the buildings that were there. Right? Maybe. . .No. . . SMA: I don=t remember the buildings so well. We had classrooms. We went to Dr. Reeves= classroom. SJ: You boarded there. Where did you sleep when you were in college? Do you remember? Administration? SMA: Administration. 2nd floor. Double room; my cousin was with me. SJ: Who were some fo the Sisters you remember from those early days? SMA: Schwester. SJ: Ah, God rest her. SMA: AGod rest her=s right. SJ: Did she teach you? SMA: No. She taught German. I took German later on after I was finished with a college degree. 6 I wanted to know some German. She was a wonderful teacher. Father Reeves, of course and Father Sullivan. SJ: Sister Francesca? SMA: No, she didn=t teach; she was the dean. I mean I don=t know that she taught. Who else? SJ: Would Sister Stanislaus have been there then? SMA: Yes, but she didn=t teach me, I don=t believe. I went to her for a special course. After I went out West, I had to have history, and I didn=t have it, so I went to Stannie and she gave me a special . . .no, I was in a course with her. She had another class going and I took it. SJ: You would have decided, when you were going to Seton Hill, to take music lessons because you had been studying it? SMA: I think it was sort of thrust upon me by Sr. Cecilia Schwab. She used to thrust things upon people. SJ: They would have looked at your high school record and decided. SMA: I think it was. . . this is sort of unkind to say, but I think there was a need of building up the music academy, the music courses in Seton Hill, and they were picking out obviously easy people to teach. I could memorize easily; that=s about my only qualification for music, really. I had Mrs. - - - -. I was practicing about 4 or 5 hours a day. That shows the interest to probably go ahead with it. And Sr. Cecilia stepped in on me and wondered why I was there so long. So she was getting my background right then. I didn=t realize it. I was rather sassy; I didn=t know she was the head of the department, and she taught me the following year. So I had her a couple of years and Mrs. Caveny? at the time. SJ: With the music department- - -I guess Cecilian Hall would have been there, and the practice studios? SMA: The practice suite was around it, in the back; we practiced in there. SJ: And those rooms are still there, too, and still used. SMA: They were well built. SJ: Were some of the studios? I remember Sister Ann Regina=s studio used to be in the Irish Room on the parlor floor. SMA: Yes, well, Sr. Cecilia taught in there. SJ: In the Irish studio? SMA: I guess she followed Sr. Ann Regina, I don=t know. SJ: Or Sr. Ann Regina followed her, I think. SMA: Yes, that=s right. That was her place. SJ: Would Sister Helen Cecilia have been- - - She wouldn=t have been teaching; she was younger, about your same age. SMA: Yes, different category. I didn=t know Helen very well at all. . . Something running around in my mind. . . But, uh, we=ll skip it. SJ: Some of the teachers you had? SMA: Sr . Cecilia and Miss Caveny taught with the same idea in mind Chigh pressure. I can remember walking down the hall in a rage after one of the lessons and I ran into - - - - who was the one in charge, little, red-haired, down in the office. . . SJ: Eucharia? SMA: Eucharia! I said, AWhat this place needs is a vocational advisor. I shouldn=t have been in music at all!@ And I left her staring. But that=s the way I really feel, even yet. They took us in the wrong direction- - - capable of being taught instead of based on talent or. . . . SJ: Interest? SMA: Maybe, but I practiced for hours, so there=s nothing the matter with my brain. 7 SJ: Did you like it? Did you like. . . . SMA: I love music. I just loved practicing. SJ: Do you remember some of the other teachers? I suppose they gave you instrumental lessons. You mentioned getting a violin from Sister Corinne. SMA: That was out of the course. That was after I finished. We did that for fun one summer. SJ: As a college student, as a young girl there, was there an orchestra? SMA: The Glee Club was very interesting. We had a wonderful man, and copies for all of us- - - That was a real luxury - - -to have your own copy, and he got us in part singing right away and didn=t waste time. Oh, it was lovely. Wonder he was? I don=t remember his name. SJ: Would you have been inlee Club all four years of college? SMA: Oh, yes. SJ: And you had recitals, I=m sure. How did you like that? SMA: Hated it! SJ: But you liked to practice! Was it the pressure? SMA: I loved to practice; there was no pressure on that. SJ: But the other pressure - - to excel, or to be . . . SMA: None, I mean I didn=t respond to it. SJ: You just turned the other way. SMA: Yeah, I just loved my work. And I didn=t care about associating with others. I had very few friends at the end of the four years because I spent my time in the music suite. SJ: Now, were you being prepared to be a piano teacher? SMA: No. SJ: Just knowledge of music. SMA: And memorize. You see, we had to memorize to perform, and we had to give a recital every year, a whole recital. So, I don=t remember much about my freshman recital, but we had to have it; I know. And sophomore, and it came to junior, the memorizing was pretty stiff. Miss Caveny thought I=d better spend the summer helping to memorize for the following year, so I did. I went to her place close to Braddock, went through East Liberty to get there, and she taught me there. So I got some memorizing started for that next year. SJ: That summer. Did you live somewhere in Pittsburgh while you did that? SM A: Yes, a friend of my mother, Nancy- - - Netty Brown. SJ: Miss Caveny- - - I never heard that name, but she must have been there the whole time you were in college. SMA: Yes. SJ: Any other sisters that were in the music department? Cecilia Clare Ott? Would she have been in the music department then? SMA: Yes. SJ: Did she teach you? SMA: No. SJ: Sister Ann Regina? SMA: Yes. SJ: What about that Sister Angelica? Was she a musician? SMA: The old Sister Angelica- - -was quite a musician, taught singing, I think. Never taught me, but everyone loved her, looked up to her. That=s about all I can remember of her. SJ: Did you take eurythmics, folk dancing? Did you have to do that? SMA: We didn=t have to, but that was fun. Lots of fun. 8 SJ: Did they have any other kinds of performances besides your piano recitals? Now, I suppose the Glee Club - - - SMA: Glee Club - - - No, I don=t think we had a Glee Club. SJ: You just mentioned about the man who taught you. SMA: The man who taught us was for the graduation exercises. SJ: Oh, I see, you had a lot of singing for that. SMA: Yes. SJ: Did you have instruction in the flute or any of the woodwinds? SMA: Yes, thay could have had; they did have - - - many of them. SJ: But you didn=t, because - - - SMA: Virginia Pfeiffer, P-f-e -i-f-f-e-r took flute. SJ: She=s one of your classmates? SMA: No, I believe she=s another class - - - I don=t know what happened to her. Marie Fox was a star of Cecilia Schwab=s. Don=t you know Marie Fox? She=s around here somewhere. Lives in this parish, I think SJ: Was that Sister Annina? SMA: No, she=s not a sister. SJ: Sister Annina was in music, but I don=t know whether she would have been taught- - SMA: Inez? Did you say? SJ: Sister Mary Inez. Yes. SMA: She was in music and she studied with Sister Cecilia Schwab. SJ: Did you have anything to do with the organ? Did you have to? SMA: Not till after I graduated in music and all, and I wanted the organ because of using the organ (???) and I didn=t know too much, either. But he said I was all right. And I loved it, for sure. See, it=s the same idea - - activity or memorization - - - I don=t think there=s any love of the art in me, or at least there=s none left. I have a fashion of hammering it out. SJ: Your degree - - was it a music degree or a bachelor of arts degree? SMA: Well, see, they didn=t want it to be a music degree. Now how did they work that out? They said I had enough credits for English and French. SJ: Oh, Sister Marie Elise Blouin? SMA: Yes, I had four years of French. So I had enough credits to get in on a minor or major. English and French, I think that=s what they used. SJ: So, your recollection of those as a college student at Seton Hill were- - - a lot of hard work, sometimes frustration because you felt that you were being pushed too hard, and you felt that you needed more guidance; yet you enjoyed practice - - - SMA: I loved practice. SJ: Loved to play, the recitals were hard. You had a lot of good times with your friends, and yet you didn=t do as many things as you would have liked to do. 9 SMA: No, I didn=t have a social life that I should have had, because I was worn out, practicing. I practiced like an artist, I imagine C8 or 10 hours. SJ: Did they have teas and receptions and thing like that? SMA: Yes, and _____________ all dressed up for the occasion, and somebody watching over us to see that we did it right. Yes, they were- - -that way. I don=t remember being in on that. SIDE B SJ: . . . of the oral history tape with Sister Margaret Anne Hanley, continued on Friday, June 15, 1984. Sister, we left off on the other side; I think, when the tape ran out You were recollecting some of your days at Seton Hill College as a young lady, before you entered the community. I have to admit to you that I did a little research last night because you were very clear in remembering such things as English degree, four years of French and I think I had asked you if you received a bachelor of music degree or a bachelor of arts degree. And you received BOTH. SMA: Right. SJ: You were graduated from Seton Hill College in 1924 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. You=re an English major and a French minor, which tells me why we have an affinity. Because I was an English major also, not French though. SMA: I loved English. Couldn=t get enough of it. SJ: Who taught you English? Do you remember that? SMA; Yes, I sure do. Sister Electa Boyle! SJ: Do you remember anything about her - - her classes? What was your favorite . . author, or favorite period in English? SMA: I loved composition. I thought I knew how to compose. SJ: Creative writing? SMA: Stories. SJ: Stories SMA: And so I tried to latch in on Setonian, make a place for myself in there, but unfortunately, St. Electa Boyle and I didn=t get along. But luckily, she died and left the path clear for me. SJ: But that was a long time after you were a student there. SMA: Yes. SJ: If you recall, she was a Chaucer. . . she did a lot with Chaucer, didn=t she? SMA: Nothing for us. SJ: Nothing? You didn=t have Chaucer. SMA: No. SJ: Did you have Shakespeare? SMA: No, it wasn=t a literature course. It was composition. SJ: All through the four years? SMA: No, I signed off the second year, I think. I made the Setonian. I was tickled bout that. But my music was taking over- - hours, you know. I think I dropped the English. SJ: Well, I think what happened, probably- - in order for you to get your degree, you would have so many courses to take and there would have been requirements. And I=m sure you would have had Shakespeare, and probably the 17th C. poets. SMA: No, ma=am, there was nothing of that! I think I just missed it probably by signing off. I think I only had two years with Electa. SJ: You may have had another English teacher. There was someone- -may have been before your time- - but they talk about a Mrs. Geyer. 10 SMA: Don=t know her. SJ: Don=t remember. Does the name Revihan? or Revilan? SMA: No. SJ: A man=s name. SMA: Electa was my onl;y English teacher. ___________ I can say that definitely. SJ: I see. When I checked your degree, your Bachelor or Arts degree from Seton Hill in1924, then as a novice, I suppose, or a young professedBnovice, you had five years= novitiate in those days, you finished your bachelor of music degree in 1926. So that you were keeping up with your music, I=m sure, while you were a student, but then as a Sister, as a member of the congregation, you went back and completed the requirements for the bachelor of music degree. And I looked through your file, and I found this music program - - probably your senior recital, dated AMay 2 to May 8, 1926, Seton School of Music,@ and inside ASenior Recital@. You=re first on the billing B Sister Margaret Anne Hanley, B.A.1924, B.M.1926. Greensburg, Pa.@ And you played such things as Ramanza? by Mozart, Melody from Orpheus, by Gluck, DemBattie (two names) Zecchio Minueto by DemBattie, and the second set or section was three works by Chopin: an etude, valsay? valse. SMA: Valse. SJ: and scherso, and then the third section was some composer named Shutt - - - SMA: What=s the composition? SJ: The Tondra as You, op.43 #2. SMA: Gone with the wind - - - SJ: And the second was by a composer called Gadowski? __________my French is terrible! SMA: Not bad. SMA: You should read these! What about the next by Lizt - - -something about a garden? SMA :Oh, Tarantella. SJ: No, the next one. SMA: Oh, Jardin su ________ B Gardens under the rain. SJ: Do you remember that? SMA: I sure do. I liked that one- - - crazy wild to memorize, though; modern harmonies. SJ: Would they all be? Maybe they=re all modern harmonies, all those ______ compositions? SMA: Perhaps. SJ: And then the last one. SMA: Tarantella, Lizt. SJ: Do you remember that? SMA: Oh, yes, that was fun! I loved Liszt. SJ: Look at the rest of these names. I guess the other two - -Lenore Patricia Hickey . . . . SMA: I remember her well. SJ: She was one of your classmates, graduated with a Bachelor of Music in 1926, and all the pieces she played. SMA: Yes, she was very lovely. . . . SJ: Chopin was very popular on the program. SMA: Yes. SJ: I doubt that . . . well maybe Chopin would popular today, too. I don=t know. SMA: I think so; I don=t know either, just from what I hear on the TV, I=d say yes. SJ: Is he one of your favorite composers? SMA: Just loved him. Difficult to memorize, but I loved him. SJ: How did you rate Mozart? SMA: Um, Mozart was easy to memorize Bvery formal--- formalism, I guess, and wild modern harmonies B very easy. 11 SJ: And what about Liszt? SMA: Liszt was a wild bird, he went anywhere he pleased. It was delightful, though, just lovely. I think my pupils like Liszt better, too. Lots of spunk to him - - -What did he do for me? - - Tarantella, I guess; that was it. SJ: That=s right. All right, now. Notice all the things she played. She did something from AThe Nutcracker Suite,@ the Flower Waltz. And Dorothy Tonsmeier? SMA: Tonsmeier. SJ: Tonsmeier. She came from Mobile, Alabama. SMA: Right. SJ: Do you remember her? SMA: Certainly - - - She was quite a character. SJ: Was she? SMA: And then she entered; and loved her socks rolled when she entered. SJ: She entered our community? SMA: Yes SJ: Did she really? SMA: But she didn=t stay long, about six months, I think. I don=t really recall. SJ: You would have been B if you entered the community on September 8, 1924, and then you would have had your postulancy and canonical novitiate. You would have been a sister. Would you have had any connection with them at - -probably not much, huh? SMA: If I had any four years before I entered? SJ: No, you entered in 1924. In 1926 when you had your recital, you probably wouldn=t have had too much of a relationship with either of these other two women. SMA: Yes, I think so, because I always felt that I knew Lenore Hickey very well and Dot Tonsmeier and I were quite friendly. I took care of her in the novitiate; I guess I thought she lost her vocation, I don=t know. But she went home after a very short time. SJ: Ah, I see. SMA: But they were very close to me. SJ: Would Sister - - -We were talking yesterday about Sr. Cecilia Schwab. Would she have been the instructor for all three of those seniors? SMA: Could have been, but I don=t know whether she was or not. I don=t recall her at all. SJ: I also found out something. I looked in Sister Electa=s book, AHistory of the Sisters of Charity in Western Pennsylvania@ and found out that Maria Caveny SMA: Caveny. SJ: Caveny; she graduated from Seton Hill in 1919 with a Bachelor of Music degree. And Othelia Vegel also graduated from Seton Hill. Now they were probably some of the first graduates with a Bachelor of Music degree form Seton Hill. And then I suppose from what you=re telling me, Maria Caveny came back as an instructor. SMA: Must have. SJ: She probably got additional work and came back again. But notice how long the program was- - -it=s a whole week, from. . Mary Miller from Salzburg?, she was a junior, and then Marcella - - - SMA: Oh, you mean the recital. SJ: The whole recital. SMA: They certainly were not ordinary. They were extraordinary recitals. I thought all of them were. SJ: How was that - - -Aextraordinary?@ WhatB - SMA: Well, extraordinary work on them and I thought they were beautifully done. I don=t remember how mine were done, but I thought they did a wonderful job on all of them. SJ: Were they held in Cecilian Hall, on the stage? 12 SMA: I think they were held in Sister=s teaching room- - Cecilia Schwab=s. That=s the largest room, at the end of the hall. Mine was , anyway. SJ: It doesn=t say here. It just says, AMusic Week, School of Music, Seton Hill College.@ S it doesn=t say Cecilian Hall. There were more sophomore playing tests. One young woman, Susan McDermott, did a Bach fugue and prelude and a Beethoven sonata, a Paderewski and Mendelssohn number. There were six freshman, so it=s a big program. SMA: Yes, that=s what I think. The School of Music was rapidly progressing; I think due mostly to Sister Cecilia Schwab. Caveny was on her own and a very smart woman, a very good teacher, but Cecilia had so much outside work. Where did she study? Boston? SJ: ____________Probably. SMA: Boston Conservatory? And she was very well equipped for this sort of thing. We were just making grades and the first time they ever did that as far as I know - - the recitals and all. But I thought they were up to snuff. SJ: Okay. Is there anything else you remember before ... well, before 20 and 24, as a college student? You would go home on vacations, I guess, holidays. In the summer, you didn=t have to get a job or anything , did you? SMA: In the last summer before my graduate recital, Miss Caveny, as she was then, I don=t know her married name, requested that I would take work, summer work, start me on the memorizing. The memorizing was quite stiff. It would take a long time. She didn=t know whether I could do it in a year. So she thought I=d better try some summer work. So I did. SJ: Is that when you lived with a friend of your mother, lived in the city and went out to her, Miss Caveny=s, home in Braddock? SMA: Yes. SJ: I understand. But the other times you would go to your home in Coshockton? Did you go on vacations? Or. . . SMA: Yes. I wasn=t on study work all that summer. I think I just took two or three weeks to help be sure that I could do it. SJ: Did you ever go with your family on vacation, or did you spend the time at home? SMA: Home. SJ: All right. By this time- - - you were the youngest in your family, so I suppose you brothers and sisters were married? No, Veronica married late in life, didn=t she? Were the others all married? SMA: Jerry was engaged to a Cleveand girl, which made it nice for me, because he couldn=t get to Cleveland every time he wanted to go to a dance, so he was my partner. He protected and took care of me. I had a really grown-up beau all that summer. SJ: Oh, that was good. SMA: that was very good. SJ: Where would they have dances in Coshockton? SMA: In a very cheap hall, and he said, AI=ll take care of you; don=t worry.@ So one night- - - So you want this? SJ: Un huh. SMA: One night I was dancing, and Jerry, I don=t know where Jerry was, but he was there in one minute, and my dance evaporated. He said he was fresh. SJ: You were a blonde, weren=t you? SMA: Redhead. SJ: Bright red hair, or - - - SMA: Titian, we called it, to make it easier to take. SJ: Was the whole family redheaded? SMA: My father was, and I think the girls had a little red in their hair. Jerry was quite redheaded and he went bald the very summer he was going to be married. 13 SJ: Just like that? SMA: Oh, I was sick for him. He=d come into my room and say, ADon=t you think that=s real hair?@ And I=d say, ANo, it=s just fuzz.@ He would be killed; he thought he was going to grow another set of hair. SJ: Ah, but he married Aand lived happily ever after?@ SMA: And he has a woman who has the most beautiful hair in the whole world, I think- - - one wave after the other. So, I guess, that=s why he was interested. SJ: Was he next to you, Jerry? SMA: Yes, very close. That was always a bone of contention. For an argument B:@Which do you like best?@ and I=d say, AYou=re all just the same to me.@ You, know, I had a funny dream about that this year. I dreamed that my brother Tom was in the car, and he said to me, AYou remember that you used to say - -that you loved all of us the same? But you loved me the best when I was alone?@ And I said, AYes, I remember that.@ Is that the same now?@ I said, AYes, it=s the same now.@ And I looked up and saw the eyes of his wife (acetic?) We never hit it, never hit it - - strange nightmare. I haven=t had a Mass said for him yet, but I=m going to. So something was the matter. SJ: Was he the brother in the service, Tom was? SMA: Uh huh. SJ: Was he the one whose son was a priest? SMA: Yes, Dexter. Dexter went out to give a sermon one Sunday morning and couldn=t get a word out, so the priest rushed up rushed him to the hospital, and he had cancer of the brain, and I don=t think he was more than 10 years. SJ: He was a Jesuit? SMA: Jesuit - - -He had an operation right away, followed by about 10 other operations on this same brain. He was so sweet, and such a ham, a lot of fun. SJ: All right. Well, Sister, now. Can you remember- - - we were talking about your days in the community, or before. You graduated probably in 1924 and you entered right after that, in September. Can you think of what it was attracted you to the sisters? You would have ben taught by them, you would have seen them at Seton Hill, but was there anybody especially who made an impression on you? SMA: My mother made the most impression on me. She said, AIf you must enter, I=d rather have the Charities.@ SJ: Is that what she said? SMA: Uh Huh. Because the Charities are friendlier. SJ: She would have known them from the college. SMA: Well, I thought, AWell, what the heck, if I can please her in one thing, why not:@ So that=s at least a credit I can give the Community. But I think that=s very true. I knew and loved them and I came, that was all there was to it. SJ: You just felt you had to come, had to enter, to be one of them. SMA: I always wanted to be a sister from the time I was in the 8th grade. And everybody kept putting it off, of course. So I came. SJ: You petitioned, then, after you went home, or while you were still at the Hill? SMA: This sounds conceited. And you can=t check on it because she=s dead, but Cecilia wrote the letter. Sister Cecilia asked for me to enter; she practically wrote my petition letter and I went along with her because that=s what I wanted. I don=t think she dragged me in by any matter or means, but I want to enter. SJ: Okay. You came back then. Did you have spiritual mothers or sponsors? SMA: She was it. SJ: Sister Cecilia Schwab was your spiritual mother? She helped you to get ready, the things you needed? 14 SMA: No, I got a list from the Community. . . You also know she went to another community? SJ: She went to the Carmelites. SMA: And I wept all that Christmas. She hadn=t told me she was going, and I didn=t know about all her heartaches over her brother. SJ: Was that. . .were you in the Community when that happened? SMA: Not more than two years, I think. I=m not sure. SJ: All right. You would have petitioned. Who was the major superior then?...Mother Rose Genevieve?. . . . SMA: Could have been. SJ: Mother Mary Francis? SMA: Mother Mary Francis was our mistress. Now that is someone I really truly love. SJ: What do you remember about her? SMA: That she had something I used to call. . .@She knows discernment of spirits,@ I used to say to myself. Because she handled each one according to what she knew about her. She didn=t treat us as a mob. We were all individuals. I thought she was perfect for our mistress . . . though I=d walk up and down outside her room about 10 times before I=d get the courage to go in, I believe that. SJ: Where was the Novitiate then? SMA: Third floor. SJ: On third floor Administration. SMA: And her room was up in Lowe Hall; . . . was it Lowe?. . .isit St. Joseph Hall or what? SJ: St. Joseph? SMA: St. Joseph. She lived up there in 304, I think, somewhere (around there?) SJ: You entered with Sister Muriel? No. . . SMA: I did. SJ: Muriel and Joanna . . . SMA: Yes. SJ: Who else was in your group? SMA: I don=t know whether Miriam Grace was in our group or followed us. She may have been a year older or younger, I can=t be sure. SJ: Was Sister Remigius in your group? SMA: Remigius?. . . was not a college girl. I mean, we weren=t close. No, uh, I don=t know if (she taught school??) SJ: But Muriel and Joanna had been in the Academy. SMA: I don=t know: I=m not sure. SJ: . . . and in the college. SMA: I was not in the Academy. SJ: No, but you were in the college, and you came. . .All right. Anybody else around you in the community? SMA: Muriel was awfully sweet. She was in charge of the college girls at night, and she would---- We were together in a double room. She walked into the place, and she said, (I never verified it.) that I=d sit up in bed, look at the clock, look at her and lie down again- - -which sounds very true, because she=d arrive in anytime between 12 and 2, and be in chapel exactly on time in the morning. SJ: In those days that was quite early, wasn=t it? SMA: Oh, yes. SJ: Be up at probably, 4:30, 5:00? SMA: I=d say 5:30 the bell and 6:00 for prayers. I=m very vague on that. I don=t know. SJ: All right. When you came as a postulant, then, you had your degree. Were you sent out to teach, or did you have your novitiate training classes, do you remember that? 15 SMA: I tried to remember yesterday. I think I taught at Seton Hill, a follow-up; I already had pupils, I think, (that=d been to me?) And I went on with them, or with a class of harmony I was teaching at Seton Hill, but I was almost instantly also sent to St. Benedict=s to teach. Now I don=t know whether that was 1 or 2 years or no years at all, whether I just went down. But I remember this!! I was sitting in chapel for the Mass, very peacefully, so resigned to my fate, and they came up and whispered in my ear, AYou have choir practice right after Mass.@ Now, I didn=t know the children; I didn=t know where the books were; I didn=t know whether the woman who ran the organ would be up there. I didn=t know anything about singing; I had piano work, You see. SJ: Oh, this was when you were down teaching at St. Benedict=s, or teaching in the grades? SMA: Yes. SJ: You were teaching piano students at St. Benedict=s, or teaching in the grades? SMA: I don=t know. I don=t know what stage this was,=cause this is a stage all by itself when you=te told to teach singing right after Mass. So I hurried upstairs and luckily the organist ws up there - - - Hulda Quinleven(sp?) SJ: She=s still there! SMA: Is she? SJ: She=s still playing the organ. SMA: She is an angel pet lamb, so she showed me where the books were, so I gathered them up and took them downstairs for choir practice after Mass Cmy introductionCand she helped me pick out 2 or 3 hymns and we worked together very beautifully, I thought. I don=t know. Of course, Harriet followed me there, so I don=t suppose I kept any reputation. Harriet=s a dream; she=s very good. SJ: You probably stayed on at Seton Hill for those first two years after you entered, while you were getting your education, getting your novitiate preparation training and things like that. See, our records don=t tell us too much about the sisters prior to about 1943. SMA: Oh. SJ: And we don=t know where they were, but the fact that you got your bachelor of music degree two years after you entered, and the fact that you were in those recitals makes me feel that you probably stayed on at Seton Hill up until about 27 or so. SMA: 26 or so, in there. SJ: Yes, after that, and you had your degree . . . and you mayhave been teaching right there. They probably had a program they let you . . . SMA: (They used me on it???) SJ: then you wnet down to St. Benedict=s maybe to teach the piano classes. SMA: No, it was singing- - entirely different. SJ: In the Cathedral itself? Or at St. Benedict=s Church, I guess it was then called, and went over into the school. SMA: And then it began to be in the school rooms. I=d go around to each room and teach groups, I think. SJ: I see. SMA: Not real gropups, you know; I=d teach the whole class. SJ: Yes. .? ? (Have you ever been a music teacher, school music teacher, then? ______ St. Benedict=s?) SMA: 10 SJ: 10 years. All right. SMA: I don=t know . . .if it was 10 or 8, you know. I don=t remember how long the singing at Seton Hill was. SJ: And see, in those days you wold have lived at the college, lived at Seton Hill and traveled down by cab. 16 SMA: W A L K E D ! ! ! SJ: You walked. Oh, each day. SMA: (uh huh? and home ? ? ? ______car? Carr?) Eating at second table, we called (her?) (it?) That was great. SJ: You probably had a lot of duties over there, too, like charges and. . . SMA: There was something that gave me heart trouble. This little girl, Dr. Trimble=s little girl, Sally Trimble, was taking lessons and this afternoon when I was finished with her lesson, I went on with the next lesson and about two minutes later, a taxicab, I think, appeared. It was sent to get Sally Trimble and Sally was nowhere. I was sick unto death because I thought she=d been kidnapped . . . so I don=t know how I lived through the next hour; I think, Bno, I don=t think so - - -I think I just sweated it out. Now the priest=s house was very close. Now we weren=t used to running over to the priest=s house to use their phone. But I should have done that to settle my brain. Then there was another person asking for Sally. So the first one, the taxicab, I think got her. Well, I checked as soon as I went home, of course, and they said they had sent the taxicab to get her picked up and I didn=t pretend about the worry, but I was really worried about her. SJ: She had walked home? SMA: No, she went home in one of those things; I forget which one- - the first one that came. SJ: that would frighten you. SMA: Uh huh! SJ: Did you enjoy teaching children? SMA: I was crazy about it! - - -very much loved it! SJ: Would you have had young children, or. . . SMA: All ages up. I think the older ones were easier to teach. Of course, I had a few older ones who were very difficult, people who didn=t care to practice, you know. I think you remember a space like that. SJ: Now, after St. Benedict=s - - I did check to see where some of the missions which you had gone to. SMA: St. Stephen=s was the first one. SJ: See, we don=t have that! The first we have in our file in 1943-48 - - - you were teaching in Pittsburgh at Sacred Heart. SMA: Oh, golly, that=s very late. SJ: Now, you also taught summer school at Seton Hill College, taught piano lessons at summer school, and you taught at Seton Hill in the music program. . .=42 TAPE II SJ: Tape 2 side of a taped oral history with Sister Margaret Anne Hanley, on Friday, June 15, 1984. Sister, when we left off at the first tape, were talking about where you were on mission and I said the first record that we have is you were teaching at Seton Hill summer school >40->43, and then >43 to >48 at Sacred Heart. Now, you remember St. Stephen=s in Hazelwood. SMA: Oh, yes. That was very definitely a mission. I stayed there for 10 years under Mary Paul; I think that=s right. And that was a good ten years, that was >34->44. That would take you up, wouldn=t it? SJ: Maybe 3/30/43. SMA: Yes. SJ: or maybe >32->42. That=s when you taught at Seton Hill. You must have come from St. Stephen=s to Seton Hill and then there was one year at Seton Hill, and then you went out to Sacred Heart. 17 SMA: I don=t remember one year at Seton Hill. I don=t remember a break to Seton Hill. I remember being changed to another mission. SJ: You seemed to stay a long time in places. SMA: Yes, 10 and 7 years. SJ: And then maybe that St. Benedict=s was from about >26->32, maybe 6 years, 6 or 7 years. SMA: I would have said 10 years; I don=t know. SJ: These may not be . . . our records start in >42. SMA: Well, you fix them because I=m not sure at all. SJ: St. Stephen=s. I remember that big beautiful old-fashioned convent, and the piano was in the front room. Is that where you taught? SMA: Where=s this? SJ: St. Stephen=s in Hazelwood. SMA: Oh, yes, yes. SJ: Do you have any recollections there? Did you have some good students? SMA: It was, uh;, singing in the rooms and it was a change. See, I was pretty well adjusted to singing in the rooms and following programs and they were not . . .I don=t know. I didn=t care for my teaching; I didn=t care for the set-up. But I think it was that mostly. The books were different; the teachers were not resigned to seeing somebody walk in to take a half hour of time, and that was what I had been used to. One or two stick our in my mind as being very friendly and glad to see a music teacher. SJ: Was Sr. Mary Paul a good Sister Servant and principal? SMA: Oh, laws, yes! (She had it made? - - just perfect. SJ: Did you ever see Sister Cecilia Ward? She would have lived across the street, I believe. SMA: Yes, I think she did, but we never saw her. SJ: She was going to college, or teaching, maybe, at that time. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Margaret Anne Hanley Subject The topic of the resource Sister Margaret Anne Hanley Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Margaret Anne Hanley, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1924 until 1994. The interview was conducted by Sister Jean Augustine on June 14, 15, and 17, 1984. Sister Margaret Anne Hanley - born Mary Margaret Hanley on June 26, 1903 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in September of 1924. She received a bachelor's degree of English and French from Seton Hill College in 1924 and a bachelor's degree in music, also from Seton Hill, in 1926. She taught music at a number of schools in both Pennsylvania and Arizona. Sister Margaret Anne died on June 20, 1994. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1984/06/14 1984/06/15 1984/06/17 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-34 Arizona Pennsylvania Seton Hill College https://scsharchives.com/files/original/17938dd03367b0ed11eab5fc2cd59fc8.mp3 7e301cfdd60884440c51a90e3036daee https://scsharchives.com/files/original/6efd881db0396805d15b0e38a5fe6b99.mp3 1c92a9f75c3aeb581508c0561a0cc971 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sisters Marie Corona Miller Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Margaret Rose O'Dea Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Margaret Rose O'Dea Subject The topic of the resource Sister Margaret Rose O'Dea Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Margaret Rose O'Dea, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1937 until 1999. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on November 3, 1987. Sister Margaret Rose O’Dea was born on August 28, 1917 in Duquesne, Pa. Daughter of William O’Dea and Julia Walsh, Mary Margaret O’Dea entered the community on September 8, 1937 as Sister Margaret Rose O’Dea. Sister Margaret Rose worked jobs as a cashier and a clerk for a year and a half before entering the community. She served most of her ministry as a teacher and tutor at primary schools throughout the dioceses of Pittsburgh, Greensburg, Altoona-Johnstown, and Phoenix, and the Archdiocese of Washington. The schools she worked at include Resurrection, Brookline; St. John and Holy Cross, South Side; SS. Simon & Jude, Blairsville; Our Lady of Grace, Johnstown; St. Stephen; Holy Innocents, Sheraden; St. James, Apollo; St. John, Scottdale, Az.; St. John, South Side; St. Teresa, Munhall; St. Catherine; St. John the Baptist, Pittsburgh; St. Kieran; Sacred Heart, Pittsburgh; St. Jane de Chantal, Bethesda, Md.; and St. James, Wilkinsburg. She also volunteered at St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality from 1983 to 1989, after which she retired. Sister Margaret Rose earned her B.Ed. in Education from Duquesne University in 1956. As a teacher, she enjoyed having her children perform in plays. Sister Margaret Rose O’Dea passed away on January 25, 1999 at the age of 81. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987/11/03 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-90 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/52aa0be133308a2538d8170d9bf20c4a.mp3 a729277aab7781d0d8e7f30ec7676dff https://scsharchives.com/files/original/2376d5a758b46b7dc1749db26fb43f57.mp3 bdc3c1271d20e0dcddaffc27bb48e124 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/01169be6c950ae220504f9c5a3c4d854.mp3 9a4858dd09ec5cc1ee7c36fc4525c920 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/15b69651a171934c78cc0422b5ee454f.mp3 12ddf1a8935c6de13d75793d8228b14a https://scsharchives.com/files/original/c71f2a4e37b8ae42ff91bbf91c53f530.mp3 394638225716fb15d292559ebe6d4158 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/37e69540ad1c7e8a58b9dde2b555a787.mp3 46af83a37b5d96b1030db1a569e81eec Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Marie Corona Miller Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Margaret Teresa McConaughy Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:01 31:02 31:00 31:02 31:00 28:04 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Margaret Teresa McConaughy Subject The topic of the resource Sister Margaret Teresa McConaughy Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Margaret Teresa McConaughy, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1922 until 1997. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on September 9, 1986. Sister Margaret Teresa McConaughy was born on March 18, 1906 in McKees Rocks, Pa. Daughter of Thomas B. McConaughy and Margaret Teresa Powers, Mary Teresa McConaughy entered the community on December 8, 1922 as Sister Margaret Teresa McConaughy. Sister Margaret Teresa served as a renowned music teacher and high school teacher in schools throughout Western Pennsylvania for 44 years. Among the schools she worked at were St. John the Baptist School, Pittsburgh; St. James School, West End, Pittsburgh, and Elizabeth Seton High School, Pittsburgh. She also worked as a librarian in the 1970s, where she wrote book reviews for Catholic Library World. In her later years, she assisted elder sisters at Assumption Hall, Greensburg; and St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality, Pittsburgh. Sister Margaret Teresa earned her B.S. in Music Education with a minor in Piano from Duquesne University in 1943 and earned her M.S. in these subjects from Duquesne in 1948. She was intermittent president of Pittsburgh’s National Catholic Music Education Association from 1943 to 1960 and served as its secretary-treasurer. At the House of Hospitality, she was well-known for baking bread. Sister Margaret Teresa McConaughy passed away on November 7, 1997 at the age of 91. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985/09/09 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-27 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Marie Corona Miller Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Marguerite Guinagh Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Location The location of the interview Marian Hall Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:00 30:59 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Marguerite Guinagh Subject The topic of the resource Sister Marguerite Guinagh Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Marguerite Guinagh, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1925 until 1992. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on August 18, 1986. Sister Marguerite Guinagh - born Margaret Guinagh on July 19, 1905 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in December of 1925. She received a bachelor's degree in French and Latin from Seton Hill College in 1925. Her studies in French continued at McGill University in 1933, Western Reserve in 1937, the University of Notre Dame in 1943, Laval University in Quebec in 1948, and at the University of Delaware in 1960. She taught English, Latin, and French at a number of Pittsburgh-area schools, most notably at Sacred Heart High School from 1945-1952 and again from 1967-1980. Sister Marguerite died on February 1, 1992. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1986/08/18 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-44 Laval University McGill University Notre Dame University Sacred Heart School PGH Seton Hill College Teacher University of Delaware Western Reserve University https://scsharchives.com/files/original/e6bb728126b6da6f8cd4947c8501b505.mp3 6ecc0335c90a66856e7385a373bd3bdc https://scsharchives.com/files/original/2fd462268246deca0c0a260546d87401.mp3 65657cdff9ef2864c2f09f7533cdf00d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Maria Serafina Mazza Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:17 04:39 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Maria Serafina Mazza Subject The topic of the resource Sister Maria Serafina Mazza Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Maria Serafina Mazza, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1923 until 1980. The interview was self-taped in October of 1977. Sister Maria Serafina Mazza was born on January 13, 1900 in Sersale, Italy. Daughter of Giuseppe Mazza and Rosa Talarico, Serafina Lucia Mazza entered the community on September 8, 1923 at the age of 23 as Sister Maria Serafina Mazza. Sister Maria Serafina taught briefly in public schools before entering the community, and became a member of the Seton Hill College faculty in 1934, where she taught Italian, Spanish, and French until her retirement in 1976. Sister Maria Serafina received her B.A. in Spanish with a minor in Education from Seton Hill College in 1930, her M.A. in French from McGill University in 1935, and her Ph. D. in Italian from Columbia University in 1947. She wrote several published works on the Romance languages, most notably a book on the Frontespizian literary movement which was published through Columbia University. She was the first Italian-born member of the community. Sister Maria Serafina Mazza passed away on July 22, 1980 at the age of 80. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977/10/01 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Jean Ann Wilburn Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Marian Clare McGurgan Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 28:01 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Marian Clare McGurgan Subject The topic of the resource Sister Marian Clare McGurgan Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Marian Clare McGurgan, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1926 until 1994. The interview was conducted by Sister Jean Ann Wilburn on October 12, 1986. Sister Marian Clare McGurgan was born on September 15, 1899 in Pittsburgh, Pa. Daughter of Peter P. McGurgan and Catherine Agnes Holley, Marian Lucille McGurgan entered the community on March 25, 1926 as Sister Marian Clare McGurgan. Sister Marian Clare ministered as a teacher to schools in both Pennsylvania and Arizona. Initially teaching in junior high schools in the Pittsburgh area, she performed a mission to the Saints Peter and Paul School in Tucson, Arizona as a music teacher and choir instructor for twenty years. After this time, she was reassigned to Pittsburgh and continued to teach at secondary schools within the diocese, including John the Baptist, Lawrenceville; Sacred Heart, Shadyside; and Canevin, Crafon. Sister Marian Clare received her B.A. in Music with a minor in English from the University of Arizona in 1944 and received her M.A. in Religious Education from Providence College in 1966. She was renowned for her efforts to promote the liturgical policies of Vatican II. In 1967 she was a founder of Seton Hill’s Institute for teachers of religion. Sister Marian Clare McGurgan passed away on October 31, 1994 at the age of 95. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1986/10/12 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-45 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/7c9455a7d33edddd166266a10ec37442.mp3 e94fbd1413130129c3498e72852acc3a https://scsharchives.com/files/original/09b4b513860dc00e5ec626755a9905b3.mp3 8058604ed1cc0f2e243d05bc3a5ae952 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Marie Corona Miller Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Marie Anthony Flavin Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Location The location of the interview Elizabeth Seton Convent Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:01 31:02 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Marie Anthony Flavin Subject The topic of the resource Sister Marie Anthony Flavin Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Marie Anthony Flavin, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1925 until 2000. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on September 17, 1986. Sister Marie Anthony Flavin - born Alice Marie Flavin on September 18, 1905 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in March of 1925. She received a bachelor's degree in physical sciences from the University of Pittsburgh in 1942 and a master's degree in biological sciences in 1948, also from the University of Pittsburgh. She taught at St. John the Baptist, St. James in West End, Elizabeth Seton High School, St. Anselm's, and more. She also served at the Elizabeth Seton Center in the mid-eighties. Sister Marie Anthony died on August 29, 2000. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1986/09/17 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-36 Elizabeth Seton Center Elizabeth Seton High School Science education St. Anselm's School St. John the Baptist School Teacher University of Pittsburgh https://scsharchives.com/files/original/20b76530668b9f0c5c7eb6d7233fc87f.mp3 7f85554904bff4b6f638b75648f87030 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/e521cd2f7bce713ca08086459e36f827.mp3 333b85ea44a7f866374586d8a0ce855c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Marie Corona Miller Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Marie Baptista Vandergrift Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:03 29:14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Marie Baptista Vandergrift Subject The topic of the resource Sister Marie Baptista Vandergrift Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Marie Baptista Vandergrift, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1917 until 1986. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on October 1, 1986. Sister M. Baptista was born on November 26th, 1895 in Pittsburgh, Pa. Daughter of Eugene B. Vandergrift and Catherine Brophy, Mary Olive Vandergrift entered the community on March 24th, 1917 at the age of 21 as Sister Marie Baptista Vandergrift. Sister Marie Baptista was an elementary school teacher in both the Greensburg and Pittsburgh dioceses. While in Greensburg, she taught at Immaculate Conception School in Irwin. She taught from 1919 to 1972. She also taught at St. John the Evangelist, St. James in Wilkinsburg, and St. Phillip in Crafton. Sister Marie Baptista Vandergrift took her Final Profession on May 20th, 1949. She passed on October 20th, 1986 at the age of 90. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1986/10/01 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-12 Crafton PA Immaculate Conception School Irwin PA Pittsburgh St. James School St. Philip's School Teacher Wilkinsburg Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Marie Corona Miller Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Marie Colette Hanlon Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Location The location of the interview Seton House Marshfield (Wis.) Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Marie Colette Hanlon Subject The topic of the resource Sister Marie Colette Hanlon Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Marie Colette Hanlon, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1958 until present. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on June 20 and 21, 1987. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987/06/20 1987/06/21 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-100 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister James Marie Malone Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Marie Louise Hunnell Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Location The location of the interview St. John the Evangelist School Tucson (Ariz.) Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 16:19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Marie Louise Hunnell Subject The topic of the resource Sister Marie Louise Hunnell Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Marie Louise Hunnell, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1935 until 1997. The interview was conducted by Sister James Marie Malone on July 18, 1986. Sister Marie Louise Hunnell - born Catherine Delilah Hunnell on September 6, 1916 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in September of 1935. She received a bachelor's degree in education from Duquesne University in 1949 and a master's degree in education, also from Duquesne, in 1962. Sister Marie Louise taught in schools in the Pittsburgh area and in Arizona, serving as Principal at St. John the Evangelist School in Tucson between 1957-1965 and as Vice Principal at Resurrection School in Pittsburgh from 1965-1968. Sister Marie Louise Hunnell died on March 18, 1997. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1986/07/18 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-87 Brookline PA Duquesne University Principal Resurrection School St. John the Evangelist Tucson AZ https://scsharchives.com/files/original/12d98bb87c35e0ec29fea8bf69158a47.mp3 52c4ffe2cad8a96421405d4599583276 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Virginia Pascaretta Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Marie Martha Randall Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:34 23:40 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Marie Martha Randall Subject The topic of the resource Sister Marie Martha Randall Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Marie Martha Randall, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1930 until 1986. The interview was conducted by Sister Virginia Pascaretta on May 12, 1984. Sister Marie Martha Randall was born on July 7th, 1900 in Pittsburgh, Pa. Daughter of Jacob Norton Randall and Mary Catherine Keenan, Martha Gertrude Randall entered the community on September 8th, 1930 at the age of 30 as Sister Marie Martha Randall. Sister Marie Martha Randall was a Professor in the Education Department at Seton Hill College from 1955 to 1967. She taught Visual Education at Seton Hill College during Summer Sessions from 1938 to 1967. She taught at various schools: Holy Innocents, St. Anselm, Elizabeth Seton High School, St. John the Evangelist in Tucson, and Immaculate Conception School in Irwin, Pa. Sister Marie Martha Randall received her B.S. in Education and a Minor in History and English from the University of Pittsburgh in 1934. Then, in 1940, she received her M.E. in Education and a Minor in Sociology from the University of Pittsburgh. She would go on to taking summer session courses at Penn State University for Education in 1945 and summer session courses at Seton Hill College for an area of study in the Bible in 1967. Sister Marie Martha Randall passed on December 9th, 1986 at the age of 86. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1984/05/12 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-58 Elizabeth Seton High School Holy Innocents Immaculate Conception School Irwin PA Pittsburgh Professor of Education Seton Hill College Professor St. Anselm St. John the Evangelist Tucson AZ University of Pittsburgh Visual Education https://scsharchives.com/files/original/c573bf3d71c1a49b8a8e0386861210bf.mp3 18af2c3aa5909aedd2a285a1dec7f1ac https://scsharchives.com/files/original/5e48b6600f36cf186db2fd70b8bcb0a5.mp3 e4cf9afff9f9aebb99189f5db73f5702 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/df1f58f6cf4b356541cb953cdad4e74d.mp3 484894b1d9bb6ce4a7113cbd5f168860 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Marie Corona Miller Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Marie Stephen Jablonski Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:17 31:18 31:17 10:17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Marie Stephen Jablonski Subject The topic of the resource Sister Marie Stephen Jablonski Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Marie Stephen Jablonski, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1919 until 1998. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on April 6, 1987. Sister Marie Stephen Jablonski - born Helen Jablonski on February 24, 1899 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in May of 1919. Her biological sister, Sister M. Pancratius Jablonski, entered two months before her. Sister Marie Stephen attended the Providence Hospital Training School and became a nurse in 1923. She received further training and became the first certified anesthetist in the community in 1938. She worked at Providence Hospital in Pittsburgh throughout the twenties and thirties for a period of thirteen years, working there again in 1956-1959. She also spent time serving at Roselia Foundling and Maternity Hospital from 1943-1954, at McGuire Hospital from 1954-1955, and at Assumption Hall from 1955-1956. From 1959-1980 she served at Seton Hill College, filling the role of Infirmarian for the Sisters and the college students from 1965-1977. Sister Marie Stephen died on August 16, 1998. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987/04/06 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-16 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/df4520f847a1e470e43696b1d857ac1e.mp3 6264ffec3a6371b8f0683f5f151a2563 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/700061a6492e52718be5f4fa145c511d.mp3 5a6e37b4386ee84b8e42ff8060e579d1 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/b7d6a26470e3219528c6cdb0ba58799d.mp3 eb2d7791e2a718975c4ea44181b8e783 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Marie Corona Miller Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Marietta Flynn Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Location The location of the interview Sacred Heart High School Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:02 31:02 31:01 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Marietta Flynn Subject The topic of the resource Sister Marietta Flynn Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Marietta Flynn, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1922 until 1993. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on March 18, 1987. Sister Marietta Flynn - born Mary Grace Flynn on January 4, 1904 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in September of 1922. She received a bachelor's degree in Latin and Spanish from Duquesne University in 1933, a master's degree in classics (also from Duquesne) in 1943, and a master's degree in library science from Marywood College in 1957. She served at St. Luke's, Elizabeth Seton High School, and Holy Innocents, among others. She was the librarian at Sacred Heart from 1967-1980, and created an outreach program to help other librarians. Sister Marietta died on March 11, 1993. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987/03/18 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-25 Duquesne University Elizabeth Seton High School Holy Innocents Librarian Marywood College Sacred Heart High SchoolSchool St. Luke's High School https://scsharchives.com/files/original/4d339385365691ba3fd60235ba86e51f.mp3 7619e62d2451e46aa008cd7d82553401 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/42a804dc7c09f7395ab3fd6dbe457b48.mp3 f63dfe6cdbc7080a0fbc47a4c7b06037 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Mary Noel Kernan Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Marlene Mondalek Location The location of the interview Regional House, Kwangju, Korea Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 32:07 28:33 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Marlene Mondalek Subject The topic of the resource Sister Marlene Mondalek Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Marlene Mondalek. The interview was conducted by Sister Mary Noel Kernan in Kwangju, Korea on July 7, 1987. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987/07/07 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-101 Korea Major Superior Mother Superior https://scsharchives.com/files/original/03d0e5f1648f1f1c18c4ee7b86a7e3ed.mp3 4e4d30a6183d1718c992ad7029bdd143 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/e7be61f5afb5fcdcd7d41f12b11da133.mp3 f57028cb38dd66471985f2a509a7157c https://scsharchives.com/files/original/d2aa396a74d2c75890ca9cd98406521d.mp3 0869a42325218cd7726155573badea87 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/ede977bb9d7866a351d6e81e0cd5a16e.mp3 5e40d44d4288ee4d7bafc57f243d6f6a https://scsharchives.com/files/original/0775c39a4eb3ea175b87c6b613b97ebd.mp3 ab155ab2e934cf714d7eba6de0921b68 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/68be0f64dd35fb312d5be0aa8e227700.mp3 2108180f576e0783d0394d1f029cff49 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/aa7f5a221602642d29f53b961bdd4bb0.mp3 e8ff4c798bf94182c283113f3780a503 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/f9f56d700ce434b02ad8b2ad41623d3c.mp3 89300ddfb37876fb6db4863bfbb73935 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/7e6eca3d3126509ac892a61a889a597c.mp3 d31cefba9806c155eee70c4efdbad2e3 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/581595f4ec4f3aebfce022af41cfc981.mp3 f692f53dbc61f30c20646cd7c443748d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Marie Corona Miller Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Mary Agnes Schildkamp Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:36 31:35 31:59 31:54 31:52 31:57 31:56 Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound OH 52-1-2-3 Sr. Mary Aqnes Schildkamp SMCM: This is an oral history for the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. The Interviewee is Sr. Mary Agnes Schildkamp and the Interviewer is Sr. Marie Corona Miller. The interview is being conducted at the Greensburg Faculty House. The date is November 19, 1986. It will be kept in the Archives of the Sisters of Charity at Caritas Christi. SMCM: Good afternoon, Sr. Mary Agnes. How are you this afternoon? SMAS: I'm fine, Sr. Marie Corona. Thank you. SMCM: Would you like to tell us something about your personal history? SMAS: Yes. I'll tell you about my community history. The records will show that I entered the Community from St. John the Baptist in Scottdale on July 1: 1928, which was my sixteenth birthday. A few weeks prior to this I completed my Junior year in High School on August 28, 1928. Sister Marion McKelvy entered with me. I remember Mother Rose Genevieve Rodgers coming to the convent at St. John's in Scottdale, at which time she arranged for me to enter on July 1, 1928. It was Sunday and when it got to be five o'clock, my family had to leave. I didn't know my way around. Fortunately, Sr. Marion McKelvy, who had graduated from the college arrived. She introduced herself and proceeded to take me to the Sister's Dining R,oom for dinner; It was Summer, so all of the sisters were home, which was about five. hundred in ilumber. That night, I was taken to my sleeping quarters. There were either six or eight people in the dormitory, two of which were former teachers...Sr. Angelica Little and Sr. Serafina Mazza. There they were, the same dormitory. They were senior novices. It was my mother who favored my entering the Sisters of Charity. My father had his normal, masculine doubts. I think deep down he was pleased. I finished my fourth year of high school the February after entering. I did then, February of nineteen twenty-nine begin taking college courses. Classes were assigned to you. I was to have Sister Stanislaus McVay for history and Sister Beatrice Gority for Introduction to Teaching. SMCM: Could you tell us anything about Sister Stanislaus? SMAS: Yes. Today, we talk about global history. Sister Stanislaus's history was more about local history. I couldn't tell you how many times I had my father volunteer to take the class to Bushy Run! He enjoyed it. I was supposed to take Introduction to Teaching as aforementioned. Well, I hadn't been going as my other classwork was keeping me so busy. One day, Sister Eveline Fisher, who later became Mother Eveline, stopped me and asked why I hadn't been going to this class. I didn't know any better, so simply responded that it would be too difficult for me to take this class and keep up with my other assignments. Well, I soon learned that you did what was assigned. SMCM: Who was your Mistress of Novices, and who was in charge of the Community? SMAS: Mother Mary Francis McCullough was the Mistress of Novices, and Mother Rose Genevieve Rodgers was in charge of the Community. SMCM: When did you receive the habit? SMAS: Sr. Marion McKelvy and I received our names and the habit on October 2, 1928. We received the habit in the Oratory on Third Administration the evening before. Everything was as usual the next day. We had Mass, meals were in silence, all proceeded as in a regular day. SMAS: I was sent to St. Anselm's in Swissvale as a white cap, which is not ordinarily permitted. It was to replace Sr. Mary Alfred Sharp, who was ill. It was a seventh grade. It was just a matter of a few weeks. I remember Sister Benedicta Kelly, very formally, and authoritatively telling her little children that I was a very important person because I was wearing a white cap. Only important people wore white caps. From there I substituted at Sacred Heart on Center Avenue from December until June. Sister M. Eugenia Hileman was the principal. It was a temporary assignment. Some of the students I taught in my time there were: Sr. M. Rosaline Walsh, Sr. Mary Janet Ryan, Sr. Jane McNulty, and Vincent Mcconaughy, brother of our Sr. Margaret Teresa McConaughy, with whom I kept in contact for many years. Vincent became a Maryknoll Missionary for many years. From there I went to St. Stephen's in Hazelwood. By this time it was about 1930. I have very warm recollections of my three years at St. Stephen's. It was during the years of the Great Depression. I saw the soup kitchen in operation, the steel mills, great care on the part of the priests, the sisters, and all parishioners. I was at St. Stephen's for three years. Sister Borgia Casey was the Sister Servant and Principal. I don't mind saying for the sake of history that one of the reasons why my experience there was so warm was due to the fact that Sister Borgia was such a great lady! I've gone through more than fifty years since then and haven't found dedication to surpass hers. She wasn't just herself dedicated to teaching in the classroom, but taught other teachers to do the same. I know now that more than half the sisters in the house felt that we were so fortunate to have had Sister Borgia. We were still novices as we had a five year novitiate. ( Sister mentions other sisters whose names I ccmldn't detect, the only one being Sr. Rose Eileen Brazell). I was teaching seventh grade there a year and a half before Sister Borgia came into my classroom. She was always positive. If she had a favorite subject, it was composition. For example, if something was written on the board that wasn't up to par, she· would just comment by saying something like:" I know that there must be something good in this paragraph by Johnnie Cherubim ( I remember him). . Otherwise, Sister would not have let Johnnie write this on the board." Johnnie had written about Pontius Pilate. In the middle of the paragraph he wrote: "And Pontian Pilate, the dirty devil."When she got to that, Sr. Borgia said: "Yes, Johnnie was angry at Pontius Pilate." Then she would graciously proceed, enhancing the lesson. I had taken a course in Methods of Teaching English Composition from Sr. Teresa Clare Kernan at Seton Hill in Maura Hall the summer before. It was quite a large class, and Sr. Teresa Clare had already become a popular, experienced teacher even though she was not that much older than I. I wasn't afraid to see Sr. Borgia after school regarding the interview. Perhaps I was feeling over confident because she may have been looking for me to say I had done a good job. However, when she met me that evening, she said: "Oh, Sister Mary Agnes, that must have been a wonderful course in English Composition that Sr. Teresa Clare Kernan taught you." She didn't say I did a wonderful job at all. I told this to Sr. Teresa Clare many times. From St. Stephen's, I went to Holy Innocents in the Sheraden part of Pittsburgh for one year. Then I went to Cathedral in Altoona for six years. It was a busy place. I was there from 1934 until 1940. The most influential event was in 1939. Bishop Guilfoyle insisted that there·would be a good, active, sodality, consisting of both girls and boys in the eighth grade. Sister Agnes Marie Reuber was the Principal and Sister Servant. Sr. Agnes Marie and I were sent to attend classes under Father Daniel J. Lord ( what it sounds like). He had what he called "Summer Classes for Catholic Action", which took place in six locations throughout the country for six summers. Sr. Agnes Marie and I were fortunate enough to be asked to go to one in Washington, DC for a week in summer school. That in itself was a wonderful experience as Father Lord was a dynamic teacher as well as Counselor and Director of Activities. From Washington, we went to Emmitsburg. One of the girls who had graduated from the Academy with Sister Hildegarde Eichenlaub, invited Sr. Hildegarde and me to go to Emmitsburg. She was a Daughter of Charity. We stayed for a few days. That was my first visit to Emmitsburg, though I have had many since. From Altoona, I went to Sacred Heart for one year. In 1941, I was read out on the mission list as going to Elizabeth Seton High School. It was just the second year for Elizabeth Seton, and Sister Regina Clare Breigg was already the Principal and English teacher. So, immediately after the mission list was read, I met Sr. Regina Clare and said:"Regina, what in the world am I going to do at Elizabeth Seton since you are the English teacher?" She said: ''Now don't worry Mary Agnes. We don't need a regular English teacher. We don't need a regular Science teacher. We just need someone to teach Biology." That summer, I took my required Science work...Micro-Biology, which was taught by Sister Muriel Flamman. I thoroughly enjoyed the class, and apparently talked about it too much at the lunch table, which was with Sr. Regina Clare. That was the beginning of twelve years at Elizabeth Seton High School. Sister Regina Clare was at Seton for the usual six year period of time. Every once in a while I would ask her if I had achieved "regular teacher status." In time, we did get a regular science teacher in the person of Sister Jane McNulty, a former student of mine at Sacred Heart. Elizabeth Seton High School was, as far as the Congregation is concerned, of great importance to the history of the Sisters of Charity. Through the efforts of the Parents Guild, we were able t0 pay off whatever the costs were to purchase and reconstruct the old school building, and further to plan for the construction of the buildings which are presently there. We were busy twelve months of the year with fund raising. I had been going to Catholic University in the summers to work on my Master's Degree. In fact my course work was finished. I just had my theses to do and had put it on hold. However, Mother Victoria Brown urged me on to finish this degree. She wanted sisters to achieve the highest degree possible. At any rate, they were great years at Elizabeth Seton....pioneering. We grew very close to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton during my time there. We had prayers and events to promote the canonization of Elizabeth Seton. One of the events having to do with Elizabeth Seton involved Father Lord again. He was a good friend of Monsignor Oliver Keefer. Father Lord was the national sodality leader. Monsignor Keefer was the diocesan sodality leader. The relationship between Father Lord and Monsignor Keefer struck me as being like father to son. Monsignor Keefer had been made pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Scott Township. Previous to his assignment to Our Lady of Grace, Monsignor Keefer had been teaching Religion at Elizabeth Seton. He had to stop teaching because his duties at Our Lady of Grace would not permit him to continue teaching. He had succeeded in getting Father Lord to come and give two or three evening talks at the parish. Father Lord accepted, on condition that he wouldn't be asked to do more as his health was failing. We learned about this the week before Christmas. This must have been in 1952. I did indicate to Father Keefer that January fourth was one of the dates scheduled for Father Lord's talks. Upon arrival at the rectory at Our Lady of Grace, Father Lord spotted on top of the file cabinet in Monsignor's office a framed picture of Elizabeth Seton, which we had given him when he no longer taught at Seton. When Father Lord saw it, he said: ''Now there's a lady who ought to be confirmed. Why doesn't the church give her the honors of the altar? She is a saint!" Father Keefer then asked Father Lord ifhe would want to help the cause along. That's how he trapped Father Lord into coming to Elizabeth Seton on the fourth of January. It was a lovely event...well attended. The parents also came. The students had prepared a program...a panel of speakers. That would have been January of 1954. (There was a section here about the event which was not audible. I tried.) The following week an article appeared in Father Lord's column which was carried by every diocesan paper throughout the country telling about his visit to Elizabeth Seton High School. I remember so well the column. I had the pleasure last week of visiting a school in Pittsburgh named for Elizabeth Seton and as would be expected the school was run by the Sisters of Charity who claim Elizabeth Seton as their Foundress. SMCM: Sister, when were you the principal at Elizabeth Seton? SMAS: I was principal at Elizabeth Seton from 1947-1954, which was the year I left Elizabeth Seton. SMCM: Did you continue to teach Biology? SMAS: No, that lasted for just two years when we got a regular science teacher. SMCM: How many students were there at Elizabeth Seton? SMAS: The first year, there were seventy-seven girls. When I left, I know there were at least Four Hundred Twelve. I remember that the new auditorium was large enough to accommodate this number. SMCM: What happened with you after 1954? SMAS: Well again, I went back to Sacred Heart High School for one year. I had my sabbatical, I guess. I was there three times for one year. Sister Marion McKelvy was the principal. Also, I would like to say how much I loved the Liturgies at Sacred Heart. SMCM: This is a continuation of the oral history being conducted on Sr. Mary Agnes Schildkamp at Assumption Hall. The date is February 18, 1988. SMCM: Good afternoon, Sr. Mary Agnes. SMAS: Good afternoon, Sr. Marie Corona SMCM: Sister, maybe you could go back and tell us a little more about your experience at St. Luke's High School in Carnegie. SMAS: That would take us back then thirty some years. I went there in August of 1955, much to my surprise for five years. The beginning of those five years occurred after I had one year at Sacred Heart High School. Previous to my one year at Sacred Heart I had been the Principal at Elizabeth Seton High School for twelve years. Sr. Mary Henry Hanse was ill, and I succeeded her as Principal of St. Luke's. St. Luke's was an excellent high school. We had students there from different parishes. Students went on to many fields of life from St. Luke's...doctors, lawyers, teachers, members of the Community, etc. One of the kinds of incidents that will remain in my memory is that of Father James Shanahan. Immediately after his Ordination in 1956, he was assigned as an assistant priest at St. Luke's. He was asked by Father James Kernan who was the Pastor to interest himself in the high school. He did this. He had a wonderful influence on the students. This influence was somewhat missionary related. You can understand this when I tell you that Father Shanahan went to the Pittsburgh Diocesan Mission in Chimbote, Peru from St. Luke's. I remember so well the farewell celebration that we had for him at St. Luke's. The building was a one-story, four-sided structure. Our students called it "The Cardboard Jungle", but would have big fights with anyone else who would call it such a name. Within those four walls were what is called the "Court." The celebration took place here. Johnny Geinser, who is now Father John Geinser,one of the spiritual directors at Mt. St. Mary's in Maryland, officiated at the celebration. He was president of the student council and he pretended to be Father Shanahan somewhere far off in the mountains of Peru calling to request a list of items. One of the girls, Mary Endy, who studied Spanish as part of the Business Course she was taking was the telephone operator, somewhere between Peru and St. Luke's. She was trying to relay between Spanish and English, Father Shanahan's needs. The jumble between Spanish and English was hilarious! I'm sorry now that this was at a time before you could record things. I feel that Father Shanahan became a martyr as a result of his being at St. Luke's and going to Peru from there. He has been dead about ten years now. He contracted Hepatitis in Peru, which led to Cancer and to his death which took place at Our Lady Of Loreto in Brookline, only about ten years after his ordination. I believe he died before the age of fifty. I loved those years at St. Luke's. SMCM: Were you a teaching principal, Sister? SMAS: Oh yes. I believe it is safe to say that every year up until now, when I retired from teaching English at Greensburg Central, I taught at least one class. I have always made it a point to know my graduates at St. Luke's and at Elizabeth Seton High School. Therefore, I taught English to the students. Later, when I became Director of Project Forward, I still taught young men and women who were studying for their GED. The atmosphere was a little different, as it took place in the local prison. SMAS: What else do you wish me to tell you? SMCM: I would like to hear about the closing of St. Luke's High School. SMAS: I was not the last principal at St. Luke's in Carnegie when it closed. I told you at the beginning of the interview that at the time I left St. Luke's, it was one of the two times in my community life when I felt that I was mugged! My mission was changed, much to my surprise at the end of July. I'll tell you how it happened. Apparently the Council was considering a change in principal at St. Pancratius in Lakewood, California. Sister Mary Amy Connelly had been ill. How my name came up, I still can't even guess. At any rate, St. Luke's still had two years to go. Freshmen had already been sent to the new Canevan High School. Sophomores went my last year at St. Luke's. There were still Juniors and Seniors left to go. That would have been nineteen hundred sixty. In July of 1960, Sister Teresa Clare Kernan, who was on the Council and in charge of Education sent for me. Mother Claudia Glenn was in the hospital. Sister Teresa Clare said: "I think you ought to talk to Sister Theodosia Murtha about your mission." There had been a meeting of the teaching sisters in the Visual Education Room that day, and I was pretty strong in advising a plan that we were preparing for in the diocese of Pittsburgh. I believe this is what stirred Sister Theodosia ab.d Sister Teresa Clare to think of me as the new principal for St. Pancratius. Then Sister Theodosia sent for me. My mother had died, and my father was living alone. This is the way Sister Theodosia put it to me. "Sister Mary Agnes, do you think your father would mind if you were sent to St. Pancratius in Lakewood, California?" I could speak for myself but not for my father. I remember his response so well. He said: "Well, I've often wondered if those platinum blondes in Hollywood are genuine or not. So, sure! You go to California and I'll come out to check it out." It happened though that he did not come out to check the genuineness of the platinum blondes in Hollywood. I was in California just a few months when my father died unexpectedly. That was on January 4, 1961. While I'm on the subject, I was already on my way to Pittsburgh, as-I had a flight from California to Pittsburgh. It was a cold, blustery, winter day. I didn't make it before my father died. He died at eleven o'clock in the morning on January 4, 1961. At eight o'clock in the morning in California, which is eleven o'clock in Pittsburgh, Father Kelty, the Pastor, offered Mass for my father. My family were all satisfied with this, even though we were not present when he died. He was remembered in prayer at that same hour. Returning now to the closing of St. Luke's as you requested. One year at a time, the student body at St. Luke's was reduced by a Freshmen class, and one year at a time, Canevan High School was established. Of personal importance to me was the Sister, who was like the Co-Principal, in charge of the girls. That was Sister Julia Teresa Dolan. Sister Julia Teresa and I entered together. We had been at Catholic University together and also on the same missions a number of times. Sister Mary Bernard O'Brien completed the last two years as Principal at St. Luke's. She had previously been principal for a number of years. I'm not sure what years. However, I can't think of anyone who was more suited for this task than Sr. Mary Bernard. St. Luke's was dear to her. She gave the students the warmth and interest which had been given in previous years. These last two years of St. Luke's might be referred to as the "lame duck" years. SMCM: Sister, when St. Luke's High School closed, did we still have sisters living in St. Luke's Convent who taught at Canevan? SMAS: Oh yes. I don't remember.who they were, other than Sister Julia Teresa. The Mission list would give you this information. Those sisters lived at St. Luke's Convent and commuted to Canevan High School. SMCM: Sister, what did you tell me happened to the building when St. Luke's closed? SMAS: I told you that the students called it "The Cardboard Jungle." I don't really know. It could have blown down for all I know. I understand that Sister Sabina McGinley, who was principal of the grade school wanted to use some of the rooms for her eighth graders. She had made this request even in my time there. However, we were never able to come to an agreement on this. There is a rather comical story I can tell you about this if you want to take the time to hear it. The photographer who took our year book pictures at St. Luke's presented me with not just an eight and a half by ten picture of myself, but one hundred wallet size pictures of myself. At any rate, I said to Sister Sabina: "We'll let your eighth graders use some rooms at the High School, if you will accept ninety-nine pictures ofme." She turned me down. I'm also relatively sure that they didn't use any of the rooms during Sr. Mary Bernard O'Brien's stay there. SMCM: I know that you were the principal at St. Pancratius in Lakewood, California, but I also heard that St. Pancratius was like a hospitality stop, especially for our Korean Sisters around the time of the opening of our Korean Mission in nineteen hundred sixty. Could you tell us about this? SMAS: Yes, the first two contingents of sisters who went to Korea went by Freighter out of San Francisco. They had to do that, not because it was less expensive, but because they had to take everything they needed for personal belongings, household items, things needed for their school, etc. I mean this involved big pieces of equipment. The Sisters were not sure when they would depart from San Francisco. The Columban Fathers in San Francisco were co-ordinating their journey. It wasn't just the Korean Sisters who would be going on the same Freighter. There were other groups. Also, the weather had something to do with it. The Sisters came to St. Pancratius around September of 1960. They did not depart for Korea until some time in October. There was the additional problem they had of getting to San Francisco, which was five hundred miles or more from Lakewood, California. It's like another state. In my mind, San Francisco reminded me of Pittsburgh, about which I can't get too enthusiastic, except at night when it's lighted up. Mrs. McGaffin, who was secretary of the High School was very helpful to us in traveling to San Francisco, as she knew her way all around California. Obviously I was not, but I was free to accompany the sisters. We drove up to San Francisco, and spent a week there, waiting for the green light to go on the Freighter, but also Sister Mary Agnes Carey, who was in charge of the Korean Mission had saved several big items to purchase in San Francisco. When I say saved, it was so that they didn't have to be transported across the state. As it was, there were numerous crates of supplies for our mission in Korea, for either the school or the house, that had been sent across the country and put into crates to be carried in the Freighter to Korea I remember one of these items was what we call a copy machine. We spent the week that we stayed with the Franciscan Missionary Sisters in San Francisco buying those items. We stayed with these Sisters at the fifth level, which was the top level of the structure overlooking San Francisco. The Sisters were welcoming and cordial. None ofus knew San Francisco, and so each ofus daily went down into the city to do the shopping which was necessary. The pioneers were: Sr. Mary Agnes Carey, Sr. Mary Noreen Lacey, Sr. Martin d, e Porres(left the community years later) and Sr. Alice Ruane. We had good directions...names of businesses, locations, etc., but we had to do a good bit of it on our own. Each time we stopped for directions or for lunch, we were picked up by someone whose name happened to be Irish. What I thought was the payoff, but it wasn't, there was another occurrence later, was a time when we were looking for a: building named McKenna. We had come to an area which came to a point, much like our Sixth and Fifth Avenue triangle in Pittsburgh. A policeman on a motorcycle pulled over to the curb, and one of us said, one of us should ask him. I'm the one who had to step forward and ask him about this building. Well, the others could hear his response, so clear and enthusiastic was his accent. He must recently have come from Ireland. He got off his motorcycle, put his arm around my shoulder and said in his very Irish brogue: "I'll show you." He walked us up partway to the triangle and down the other side. The other Sisters followed, almost.hysterically. At any rate, I thought that would be the peak of our nationality encounter there, but it wasn't. The Sisters who were going to Korea had to stay on the Freighter "The Golden Bear" over night, the night before they were to leave. There was a dinner provided for them, to which they could invite guests. So, I and can't exactly remember who it was went to this dinner. I know it wasn't Mrs. McGaffin, the woman from St. Pancratius, who so graciously was giving her time and energy to help us with this project. Nevertheless, we arranged to meet at St. Patrick' s Church, which was located near the pier, the next morning for the seven o'clock Mass. This we did. When we got inside the church, we saw five beautiful stained glass windows. They were marked: Matthew, Mark, Patrick, Luke, and John. I said to the Sisters: "There isn't another nationality that would split up the four Evangelists." It was the real payoffi Some years later Sr. Miriam Joseph and Sr. Paulina Glenn were in San Francisco. I had told them this story. They went down to check out St. Patrick's Church. I still have the note which they sent to me verifying "Matthew, Mark, Patrick, Luke and John being on the five, life sized windows in the church." They also enclosed a copy of the Sunday bulletin, which had been printed in green. Helping the Sisters travel .from Lakewood, California to San Francisco happened twice. The first time was in nineteen hundred sixty and the second in nineteen hundred sixty-two. As in the first · time, we were in San Francisco a week prior to the sisters leaving for Korea. Sister Jeanne Malloy( at this time Sr. Jeanne's name was Sr. Emmanuel) and Sister Jeremy Mahla were the sisters in the second group which went to Korea. Sister Catherine Mary Malloy, Sister of Sister Jeanne Malloy stayed with us at St. Pancratius and was able therefore to see her Sister off to Korea from San Francisco. Sr. Catherine Mary was stationed at the time in Arizona, which probably made it more possible to do this. These two experiences...seeing the Sisters off to Korea were the closest I ever got to Korea at the time. I was one of the two hundred who had volunteered to go to Korea. SMCM: Would you like now to tell about your time at Greensburg Central? SMAS: Before I do, I think it would be worthy of note for the history of the Community to point out that St. Pancratius was a welcoming place not just for the Sisters who were going to Korea, but for anyone who would like to come and see the many interesting sites. In fact, the layout of the convent was such that provisions were made for people to stay at the convent while enjoying their stay in Lakewood. There was a suite of rooms near the front entrance. That doesn't mean it was public. Without entering the convent area, there was room for visitors to stay. That particular feature was added to the convent at St. Therese's in Phoenix, Arizona. Sister Marian Grace's parents came and stayed on occasion. Sister M. Ethelreda Merz, Sister Helen Marie Haley, and I were delighted , being drivers to go back over and over to "Disney Land" and other points of interest. As far as "Disney Land" goes, the father of one of our students at St. Pancratius was an executive there, so we used his gift to us freely and frequently. SMCM: Did you ever take the children to "Disney Land?" SMAS: No. There wouldn't be any need to do this as the children have already been there. They could tell us about "Disney Land." St. Pancratius was a young parish. It was opened in nineteen fifty-four. The Sisters who were the first to go there...Sister Macaria Nestor, Sister Mary Amy Connelly, and I'm not sure of the others , lived in a little house, which I believe has been occupied by the Keane Family, the family whose father Bill Keane writes the Family Circus, the Cartoon which is in the Sunday newspaper. They probably lived there after the sisters moved out and into the newly built convent. I went to St. Pancratius in nineteen sixty. So, we were doing things for the first time. I can remember being invited to Baptisms, which I hadn't been to for years, not even in my own family. We were doing things for the first time with Father Kelty, the Pastor. Every Sunday morning, the year round without exception, after the six thirty AM Mass, the men of the parish served coffee, do-nuts, rolls and milk for the children. Whole families went to this early Mass. From there, they could go to the beach or mountain, etc. The men, with no women around, would have Fund Raisers for the athletic programs for both boys and girls. We had good athletic programs. SMCM: Was it a large school, Sister? SMAS: When I was there, the enrollment was nine hundred. There were eleven Sisters. Sister Barbara Coyle was there and she was a great help. I remember Sisters Carita Shields and Eileen Johnson each had about sixty children in their first grades. When I became weary or overwhelmed, I used to go and sit in the back of the first grade to cheer myself up. I didn't teach regularly. I ventured teaching English Composition from eighth, seventh, sixth, fifth, fourth, and third grades. I don't think I went lower than the third grade. SMCM: Sister, would you like to tell us anything about the Beatification trip to Rome? It was in 1963 that the Sisters were elected to go to the Beatification of Elizabeth Seton. We traveled in pairs. My partner was Sister Vincent de Paul Kramer. We were in Rome for eight days. There was a side trip offered which would have taken us to some of the other countries. Sister Vincent de Paul and I chose to stay in Rome, one of the reasons being that there was a triduum of Masses which were traditionally offered following the beatification of a saint. These Masses were celebrated at different churches in the area. I remember one was celebrated at St. Paul's outside the walls. The speakers were all excellent. One in particular I remember was Monsignor John Middleton. He was the pastor at St. Peter's church on Barclay Street in New York. Monsignor Middleton and the priest homilist at the second one of these Masses were excellent. The third one (couldn't hear him) was alright, but couldn't measure up to the first two. It was March when we were there. One of the evenings, Cardinal Spellman had invited all ofus to a celebration. It was teeming rain and very dark outside. The buses were lined up in the street to take us back to our hotel. The name of our hotel was the "Ritz." Well as miserable as things were, a funny thing did happen. A Sister who was a Daughter of Charity rapped on the bus door. It was during the time when the sisters wore the big, white wings. Hers of course at this point were quite droopy. The bus driver opened the door and announced that it was the bus going to our hotel...the Ritz. When he said this, she responded: "And I'm Queen Victoria!" The Beatification ceremony itself was unforgettable. I do have about seven minutes of moving pictures taken during our eight days in Rome. The film was given to me by one of the parents at St. Pancratius. When I returned he ( the parent) spliced and edited the film. This material will be handed into the Archives at Caritas Christi, when I'm ready to give it up. I had taken a picture of Pope John XXIII, before finding the sign advising that no cameras were allowed at this particular area. This was in 1963. When I came back, I was elected to the Council. My position·at St. Pancratius had been terminated. SMCM: You were on the council for how long, Sister? SMAS: Six years. I was on the Council from 1963-1969 with Mother Victoria Brown. Sister Theodosia Murtha was Assistant. I was Secretary. Sr. Theodosia resigned sometime during those six years, and Sister Richard Ann Watson was elected by the Council to take her place. Sister Anne Michaele Reilly was the Community Treasurer. Sister Alberta Sweeney, my dear friend was also on the Council. Sr. Alberta was my first grade teacher. SMCM: Were there any significant changes in the Community during your term on the Council? SMAS: Oh my goodness, yes. They were Post Vatican Council years. This part of the tape is very inaudible! I have tried many times to distinguish what Sister Mary Agnes is saying, but cannot. She does say that there were prominent people such as : Bishop Wright, Bishop Connare, and Archabbot Weakland who addressed the Community as to what Vatican Council II meant to the Sisters of Charity. Again, Sister refers to the special contribution for the Proper of the Mass for Elizabeth Ann Seton, which was composed by Archabbot Weakland. This took place in 1966. At that time, it was the beginning of small group discussions. We had many small groups set up in Sullivan Hall, in Maura Hall, etc. SMCM: Was there anything else you would like to say about your six years on the Council? SMAS: Well, there was one new mission. I believe Sister said that it was Holy Trinity up in North Huntington. I remember so well the Pastor (couldn't get his name) coming and asking for sisters, not to teach in the school, but to do CCD work. It wasn't done in the usual CCD manner that we were accustomed. It involved home visiting, adult education, and regular CCD classes. We weren't sure what sisters we had who were trained for this kind of work. During those six years, I participated in teaching CCD on Saturdays and Sundays at Sutersville. We talked a number of times about who would be prepared for this ministry. Sister Helen Cecilia Dwyer's name came up as sister had done quite a bit regarding CCD teaching. Sr. Helen Cecilia was a concert pianist. I heard her play the piano very artistically. However, due to having arthritis severely, she was no longer able to do this. At this time, she was teaching History at Holy Innocents High School in Pittsburgh. When I suggested Sr. Helen Cecilia's name to Mother Victoria, she expressed doubt as to whether Sister would want to consider this position, but gave. me permission to talk to Sister. Sister Helen Cecilia so graciously said:" I'd be happy to go wherever I'm sent on mission." I could hardly wait to get back to Seton Hill to report Sister's response. Here, Sister says there were other sisters, but she can't recall their names. (I believe that two of these people may have been...Sister M. Francina Skergan, and Sister M. Eugene O'Donnell.) The program went well. The people in the parish were delighted with the sisters' presence, teaching, and home visiting. Juniata College was there on campus. It is a sectarian college. I went up to Huntingdon for at least two summers for a week's vacation. At the time, the county fair was going on. It was most enjoyable and included all religions. I can't tell you how much they enjoyed and appreciated the sisters. SMCM: Were those sisters in residence in Altoona? SMAS: No, Father had a residence for them there. I also recall that Sister M. Jane Joyce was there as one the pioneers. SMCM: How many years was that mission opened? SMAS: I'm not really sure, but would take a guess at about ten. The priest who was the pastor was transferred to Johnstown but returned as pastor. He has very warm memories of the Sisters of Charity. There were occasions when he came to Greensburg, such as on festival days and always made it a point to visit at Assumption Hall where Sister Helen Cecilia and Sister Jane were living. SMCM: What happened after your years on the Council? SMAS: Project Forward was open. Sister Clare Handerhand ( no longer in the Community) started Project Forward in 1967. In 1968, she was responsible for being the director of Project and in charge of the Admissions Office at Seton Hill. She had interrupted her studies for her PHD in order to take care of these two positions. She received permission in 1969 to return to Catholic University in Washington, DC to complete her doctorate. I was asked to take over Project Forward, which lasted for about eleven years. SMCM: Sister, what exactly was involved in doing this job? SMAS: It's pretty hard to say exactly what I did. I have the history of Project Forward in the file drawer here. Project Forward was funded in the same act of Congress, which in 1965 gave birth for grants and loans for students who needed financial help to further their education beyond high school. The program called "Talent Search" was inserted in that act of Congress as the channel to locate students who would otherwise be missed in other channels. They might be missed because of low income, population, etc. Whatever the reason, we were commissioned to find them. We traveled around doing so. We went to high schools where some of the aforementioned problems existed. Very often we visited homes. People were intimidated by the word "loan." The last thing they needed was another debt. It got us involved in community action. We had six branches. Out of Brownsville, PA, we served three counties, and out of Greensburg, we served three counties. I was involved about twice a year in meetings with personnel from other areas and always came back inspired by the zeal and sacrifices of other project directors. I was the only Sister involved in the program. SMCM: And these were Seton Hill students? SMAS: Oh no, that's one of the altruistic aspects of Project Forward. To the credit of Seton Hill College and the Sisters of Charity, the property which had been St. Philomena's Shrine was , donated for the project forward program. Right now, I'm not sure of the legal status of the office. Who exactly owns this, as I said, I'm not sure. I believe it was incorporated into the nineteen ninety-nine lease which the board of the Sisters of Charity lease to the board of Seton Hill College. I know that the roof on the. property is badly in need of repair, so we may be able to determine the ownership by whoever pays that bill.· Funding is always a tight situation. It was particularly tight when I took over as Director. The program was begun in 1967, and there has really been very little turnover in Administration. I believe Sister Mary Agnes said that between sixteen and eighteen hundred students had been serviced each year. Right now, our funding is affected globally because of lay offs, etc. It was in the Spring of 1980 that I was changed and Sister Mary Philip Aaron took over as Director of Project Forward. SMCM: Was it possible for any teacher in the College to get help for someone? SMAS: Oh, yes. They are given the information needed to apply for help if they are eligible. SMCM: Sister, did you record all the work at Project Forward? SMAS: Yes, I kept a record each year. SMAS: Sister Marie Corona, I have several significant reasons for mentioning the "Eucharistic Congress" in 1976. It was the Bicentennial Year as you know, and therefore the city of Philadelphia was full of patriotic as well as religious climate would be the word to use. For those reasons, there must have been seven, eight, or possibly nine who went as a group from Seton Hill, and we stayed at the homes of two of the Dolan family. That is Sister Julia Teresa Dolan's family. One of her brothers settled there some years ago, and about four ofus stayed with Al and Betty Dolan. The others stayed in the home of their daughter, Mary. Mary and her husband and five children had gone to the shore that week. They permitted us to use their home. These homes were close to the railroad station, which made it convenient for us to go to downtown, Philadelphia. Another reason for remembering this is because of a group of Sisters which I spoke about previously and had interviewed in Lakewood, California. There were forty-eight of them in the community at that time. The entire group came by bus all the way across the country for the Eucharistic Congress. The bus was a gift, as was the driver. When they stopped for fuel, they used a credit card, which was also a gift, which gives you some idea of the esteem in which they were held by the Archdiocese of LosAngeles. This group of Sisters were Hungarian. The translation of the name of their Community is: "Society Devoted to the Sacred Heart." They were founded in the nineteen forties in Budapest. They were University women who devoted themselves, their time, energy etc., to religious education. There are many schools in Europe like our own. Not only did they teach, they prepared the materials which they used...albums, books, pictures, etcetera. They printed them professionally. They did this in Budapest. However, not too long after they were organized, Hungary was taken over by the Soviet Union. They had to go underground. Before doing this, they agreed to scatter before they met possibly in a year's time in Holland. There was no set date, but the group waited until all thirteen (I believe that was the number they started out as) met. They spent that year trying to help ministers, clergy, catholic and non-catholics to escape. The primary price was on the Sisters' heads. They were the main target. Eventually, the group did arrive in Holland and there they did many kinds ofwork...store clerks, cleaning, etc. to earn enough money to take them further. They managed to get to England, where again they did odd jobs to earn money. When they earned enough money, they managed to get themselves over to Canada. In Canada, which was more catholic than any of the places they had been, they set up a printing press. They printed church bulletins, church programs and any other odd printing jobs they could. In the meantime, they had their "ears open" for a diocese in the United States that would be willing to adopt them. This didn't take long. Cardinal McIntyre in Los Angeles welcomed them to the archdiocese and gave them a house to live in. Now, there must be fifty or sixty of them, are in charge of Religious Education in the archdiocese. They still produce tapes and albums, work with films, are on television, etc. During the summer months when they are not involved in teaching, they conduct retreats for boys and their families. There is a wonderful resort in "Bear Rocks" with several cottages. It's in Benadali California....wonderful place to escape the heat. I was privileged in 1987, when I was on my way to Japan and Korea to stay there with the sisters. It luckily was a break between two family retreats. Twenty-five of the sisters were getting ready to take care of ninety-five people who were coming to make retreat. Everything is beautifully organized. In the forty some years since they were founded, they have not lost one. sister by death. SMCM: What was your original connection with these sisters? SMAS: When I first went to St. Pancratius in Lakewood, California, it just happened that these sisters taught the teachers of religious education, which we know as CCD. They had instruction centers in various parts of the archdiocese. St. Pancratius was the center for the whole Long Beach area. Now, I'm going back to the Eucharistic Congress. These Sisters, the entire community, who had come via bus across the country had not written ahead for hospitality. They asked if there was a motherhouse in Philadelphia where they could stay. They brought their sleeping bags with them, not expecting this. What they particularly wanted to do was take one of the Eucharistic Congress days to go to Emmitsburg, and also possibly see some of Washington, D.C. I had written to Sr. Mary Donald Cusick in Bethesda and asked if the sisters could sleep in the classrooms over night. They had brought their sleeping bags. Well, you know Sr. Mary Donald's capacity for hospitality. She had organized the mothers to provide dinner. When we arrived in the evening, after attending a day at the Eucharistic Congress, there was a supper buffet. To show their appreciation and thanks for the sisters, the young sisters just sang songs to the sisters in Bethesda. We sat out on the Patio there enjoying each other's company. After that, the sisters took turns coming to the convent to shower before returning to the school that night to sleep. The next morning we were there for breakfast, and of course the sisters had good appetites. Sister Mary Donald had provided a tasty spread for us. Then we spent an enjoyable day in Emmitsburg, returning to Bethesda for the night. The next day we toured Washington, planning to stay for an hour or two, then going on to Philadelphia to continue participation in the Eucharistic Congress. Sister Mary Donald and Sister Mary Denise Dietrich had mapped out possible places for us to see in such a short time. SMCM: Sister, do you want to tell us anything in particular about your time at Greensburg Central? SMAS: I don't think there's anything very exciting to tell you about that. I know that I had come to the end of eleven years at "Project Forward." In 1979, we at Project Forward had to get to work on a new three year proposal. We used to have to write a new one every year, but I think this was the second time we were going to write up a proposal lasting three years, if the money held out that long. I had in my mind at that time that if the Community had any other thing for me to do, this would be a time for me to indicate my willingness to do it. This was in the Fall of 1979, and I didn't hear anything. Then in the Spring of 1980, Sister Baptista Madden contacted me to say that there was another sister interested in the work at Project Forward. That was Sister Mary Philip Aaron , who I believe was at Seton La Salle High School at the time. She has a real gift for the type of work done at Project Forward and now in the Financial Aid Office at Seton Hill. I agreed of course that Sister Mary Philip should take over. In the meantime, I was interviewed by Sister Patrice Hughes informally some place in Jeannette. She hired me to teach English at Greensburg Central. I found myself missioned to Greensburg Faculty as a full time English teacher. That was five periods a day for five years. After that, I reduced it to four, and then my last year there, I decided that three was enough. That would have been 1986-1987. ( I couldn't understand what Sister was saying for a few lines after the above.)- SMCM: Sister, besides your teaching, you were actively involved in prison ministry. Would you like to tell us about it? SMAS: Chronologically, I did this before teaching at Greensburg Central. I don't recall exactly how it got started. I do know, I guess, and this would have been 1970, there was the prison quite near and quite large, down on Route 119 as you go toward Youngwood, but closer to Greensburg. I was alone at first. At that time, there was one section which was intended to be for Juveniles. In this particular section at that time, there were four women confined there temporarily until their sentencing came through, whatever that process is. I had known the matron there for some time. She and her husband were parishioners at Our Lady of Grace. I can't remember their names at this time, but it may come to me. Our paths had crossed at some point. She called Project Forward and asked if there could be anything done for these women during this time of waiting. They're going to be here three or four months. Perhaps they could get a little bit of educational instruction, so that this time wouldn't be lost. SMCM: So you were at Project Forward at this time. SMAS: Oh yes, I went to Project Forward in 1969 and was there until 1980. So, I went down to the prison to interview the four women. They were all in one room. The Matron was there. I explained to the four women the advantages of having a high school certificate. I soon discovered how naive I was. The first woman kept saying: "I can't do that. I have too much on my mind." I learned later that she was there for committing a murder. The second woman said: "This isn't what I need. I need to brush up on shorthand and typing." I was beginning to awaken to needs other than the ones I was pedaling. The third one really surprised me. What I want are voice lessons. Right away Mrs. Sclerbee ( what it sounds like) spoke up and said: "That's right, Sister. Ifwe didn't have Audrey for the campus service in the morning and the interdenominational service in the afternoon there wouldn't be anything. She has a beautiful voice." The fourth woman just sat there and said nothing as she was just going to be there two or three weeks. When I said I would see what I could do about the woman needing shorthand and typing, and the one who wanted voice lessons, the woman who said that she had too much on her mind spoke up and said: "If you really want to know what I want, it's piano lessons." I said: "I'll see what I can do about that." For the piano, I have a niece who had Polio from birth. She used a cane and had braces, but she could drive. She was a senior at Greensburg Central. She too had piano lessons from Sister Mary Eleanor Frederick. I think I went to a piano recital for ten years. Sr. Mary Eleanor had her recitals at Seton Hill. So I thought Shannon (what it sounds like), would be happy to teach the piano lessons. As it turned out, her parents told me it was a great thing for Shannon because it being her senior year, thoughts were on prom, car, cabaret, party, etc. Some of this she could be part of, but popular as she was, she couldn' t be part of all of it. The typing and shorthand was taken care ofby Sister Margaret Louise Callahan. The girl didn' t have any shorthand, so it turned out to be typing only. Sister Helen Muha arranged for the voice lessons to be taught. One of her senior students who had just such a desire taught the voice lessons. We had three noisy courses being taught in the same room, which happened to be the chapel. So, we had a piano, a typewriter, and voice lessons going on at the same time. After so many lessons, the girl who taught voice took the group elsewhere and had them all singing. What this did to me, and I've thought of it many times, it showed me that these people who we think are down, deprived, disadvantaged, all of those words. That is not so. The Fine Arts are in everybody's life, whether you study cultures from Adam and Eve on down to the present, or whether you study the Fine Arts yourself, or you find someone who excels, all ofus can do or can enjoy. do enjoy. The Fine Arts are not a luxury. They' re part of our human system. You don' t just get gifts of bread and butter. You get dessert too! At any rate, one of the times I was down there because of these women, I was at the "control", which is what you have to go through to get in, when Father Gurl, a T.O.R. from Loretto came. He was stationed, I believe at St. Agnes in Pittsburgh. He was a large, booming man. When he saw me, he said: "Sister, what in the world can you do about getting some singing into our Sunday morning liturgies? Can you get some sisters to come down here?" That's how it started. I think that was in 1970 or 1971. SMCM: Then, was that your first contact with men in the prison ministry? SMAS: No, that was my first contact with the Sunday morning liturgies. SMCM: This is a continuation of the oral history of Sister Mary Agnes Schildkamp for the Archives at Caritas Christi. The interview is being conducted by Sr. Marie Corona Miller at Assumption Hall. The date is February 18, 1988. SMAS: To return to prison. I'm not sure which of these events happened first when I met Father Earl down at the prison asking if I could get someone down to the prison to sing at the Sunday morning liturgies, or when I had the interview with the four women, or when I started to teach the GED program. It all happened around the same time. We taught GED at the prison for I believe ten years. That would have been from 1970-1980. We taught in real Sister of Charity style. We had a departmental program in operation. We had five subjects. I remember that Sister Mary Zachary Endress and Sister Sister Edith Strong taught the Math, Sister Mary Leon, I, Sr. Mary Agnes taught English and sometimes Social Studies, Sister Patrice Hughes taught there. I'm having a hard time remembering everyone and what they taught. Nevertheless, we did this two or three evenings a week. We had two groups of five sisters doing this on these evenings. In 1980, it happened probably providentially that because of the union, volunteers were not permitted to teach at the prison.. There was a paid GED teacher for the daytime, but volunteers were not permitted to be in the capacity of teaching. This eased the situation for me, as it was in 1980 that I was sent to Greensburg Central, and I didn' t feel able to handle both positions. This also worked out well for Sister Edith Strong who was asked to teach some evening classes at Seton Hill College. We were still welcome and still are as volunteer teachers, but we didn't belong. We did in fact continue to attend the Sunday morning liturgies and occasionally an evening service. Sister Mary Helen Meyer and her mother and I used to go to the Liturgy on Sunday mornings until more sisters came to Greensburg Central meaning that more drivers were needed. Sister Edie Strong still goes there for Liturgy on Sundays and on Thursday evenings when they have some sort of service (I couldn't make out what kind). Meantime, that prison has tripled in size and went from being a minimum to a whatever is in the middle is called. It is not a maximum facility. In 1972, Father Vincent Rocco, now deceased, was the Chairman for Justice and Peace. At that time, it was called human rights. Sister Dorothy Marie Quigley was a board member on this committee, as was I. Father Rocco is the one who dreamed up and carried out a program known as "Operation Outward Reach." It was a program for men who were in the last six months of their sentence who showed potential for the building trade specifically carpentry and masonry. They started out in company houses in mining communities, like Father talks about just coming from. The first ones I recall hearing about was "Smock" ( difficult to hear). Very few persons around here were familiar with this name. However, people bought all these houses for a song as they had been shorn up nicely, and the companies had gone bankrupt. This project is still being carried out. Recently, I went to a dedication of a senior citizen complex in New Kensington which had been rebuilt from the basement up in masonry and carpentry. These men do not do the electrical or plumbing. They do prepare the lines which will be used for these utilities. Every six months they give twenty men this opportunity for a six month period just before his sentence is up. They've had very few drop outs on the program. Their potential is studied of course before the men are selected for the program. They have the same program now up in the state prison in Huntingdon and as of the Fall of 1987, the state prison in Mercer. The same Board is responsible for all three. It's incorporated. Father Bundt (sounds like) is on that Board. He is the treasurer. lam also on the Board. SMCM: Isn't it unusual that a priest was able to go into the prison, and start a program like this? SMAS: Yes. He was an unusual priest. I'm sure he was also in charge of a parish. SMCM: Sister, about the GED program. Was there anything done with this program at the prison? SMAS: Yes. Many of the men came ABE, which is adult basic education from third, fourth, and fifth grade reading levels. In the first months of their incarceration, they could work themselves up to the GED level. We of course prepared them for.the test. If they passed, they received a certificate from Harrisburg equivalent to a high school diploma. That's what GED means. These certificates were something which they could stand up tall about. SMCM: What were the ages of these prisoners? SMAS: I would say that most of them were between the ages of eighteen and thirty. They were well behaved. We had a classroom on the second floor...no policeman protecting us or looking in on us. Most of the men were studious. The ones who weren't too interested in the course work were interested in receiving that piece of paper. The passing score was two hundred twenty five points. I won't explain all of that. We had points as high as three hundred thirty-five. SMCM: How long did these courses have to be taught? SMAS: Well, it seems to me that we taught them the year round. In the summertime, we taught during the daytime. They took the test when they were ready. The test was given rather frequently in the institution itself. Other persons on the outside, we had GED programs through Project Forward. Those people would take their test down at Community College. I couldn't hear what Sister said about meeting at the "Coffee House" next to Bethel. Church as the first meeting place. Sister Helen Marie Haley and I taught these classes. SMCM: Sister, do you want to speak about your time on the Justice and Peace Committee? SMAS: There again, you don't keep a record of when you were called. SMCM: Who called you to be on this committee? SMAS: I'm not sure whether it was Bishop Wiliiam G. Connare or Monsignor Norbert Gaughan, who was not yet bishop. SMCM: How long did you hold this position? Also, where were you when you received this appointment? SMAS: I was on this Committee for about five years. I was stationed at Greensburg Central at the time. I don't want to be disrespectful, but I can tell you a funny little story connected with this. A few months ago, before the end of 1987, I was talking to one of the priests at the Chancery Office. These appointments are for the calendar year. When I told this priest that I didn't have this· commission in writing, He said: "Sister, don't you know that these assignments go on forever?" I knew that. It involved going to Harrisburg, PA three times a year. My second appointment was going to run out by 1987. That part of the assignment I have in writing from Bishop Connare. It's a two year assignment. We knew by this time that Bishop Anthony Bosco was coming to replace Bishop Connare. (This part of the tape is confusing, and also somewhat contradictory.) At any rate, it lasted for about five years. Meantime, Father Rocco died, as I say without permission. Another priest was assigned in his place. That priest after a few months accepted a teaching· position outside of the diocese. For about a year and a half nothing was done about it. Then I received a call asking if I would Chair the Committee. There were thirteen members on the Commission. We tried to have representation from the four counties which make up the diocese. We meet at least three times a year because there are two ofus Father Joel from St. Vincent's and I. We have our meetings with the other members as soon as possible after these meetings so that whatever transpired there can be channeled into our commission. What the commission does depends on what the emergency needs are at the diocesan level. Last year, and again this year, we're concentrating on adapting and studying the unsafe (sounds like), something about the Bishops on the economy. That sounds like it would be scholarly and dry and applied to a very small group of persons. That isn't so. The other night, we had what we call a brainstorming session at Greensburg Central. We meet at Central now because it is for convenient for people in the area. Bishop Bosco and four of the priests from the six deaneries attended this meeting. Monsignor Schuda sent a wonderful letter giving some points which he wanted to make, but couldn' t come to the meeting. We just thrashed out some needs of the area which we could do something about, whether we did it or we got others to do it, or we asked the Bishop to do it. It was partly the second step for us. We as a Commission did a good bit of studying and thrashing about among ourselves the message that was in the Bishops Pastoral Letter. Several ofus had small group meetings. I had four or five of them. Father Sedlack had a series of meetings at the Cathedral. Up in Lower Burrell, at St. Margaret Mary' s, one of the layman on the commission had meetings. The next step was to look into local needs. Every need that came out in our discussions, as you would expect, was related to the Pastoral poverty, unemployment, farming, whatever it happens to be. The purpose of our initial meeting was twofold. We wanted to discern the needs, and Bishop Bosco wanted to know what we do. He was new to the Diocese. SMCM: Sister, how were the other twelve members of the Commission chosen? SMAS: They were recommended . Then, it was the Bishop who sent them word as to whether or not they were chosen. Every diocese in the United States has a "Justice and Peace" Commission. SMCM: So, you were responsible for having an increased number of people on this? SMAS: It was my suggestion because of people coming from different geographic distances. SMCM: This interview is being conducted as part of the Oral History Program of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. The interviewee is Sister Mary Agnes Schildkamp. The interview is being conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller at Greensburg Faculty House. The date is October 28, 1989. Sister, I'm glad we're able to get together again. This is our fifth tape. Our focus today will be on our beloved Foundress, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. You are known by our own sisters and many others to have a great dedication and devotion to Mother Seton. We would like for you to share with us your precious memories of how this great Saint has continued to be an inspiration to you as a Sister of Charity. SMAS: Sister, this is going to be a story hour. Anything I know about Elizabeth Seton that happens to be in print, I'm going to omit. My first visit to Emittsburg, which was what sparked my devotion to Elizabeth Seton took place in the summer of 1938. I was teaching in Altoona at that time. Our principal was Sister Hildegarde Eichenlaub. Bishop Guilfoyle wanted to have a sodality for both boys and girls from the eighth grade in Cathedral School. He had asked us to attend a class in Washington, DC, which was given by Father Lord, the priest in charge of catholic action. (I'm going to omit some ofthis as it hasalready been said on previous tapes.) Sister Hildegarde was a graduate of the Academy at Seton Hill. One of her classmates, whom I believe is deceased, was a Daughter of Charity. Sister Hildegarde arranged to go to Emmitsburg from Washingon, DC to visit this friend. I, being a very young sister happily tagged along. I remember we stayed at least one overnight. I know that I was already in bed in one of the dormitories, when a dear little sister pulled my curtain aside, and, trying not to break night silence whispered to me: "Sister, when the bell rings at four thirty tomorrow morning, you don't have to get up. You can sleep until five thirty." I spent my time down there, simply roaming around. Sr. Hildegarde and her friend visited, leaving me lots of time to do this. That's my only recollection of that first visit. I'm going to move ahead until about twenty years later. In the meantime, I had been there on various occasions. In 1959, I was at Saint Luke's in Carnegie. One of the seniors, Diane Gates was dying from leukemia. In those days, leukemia was a shocking word. Apparently, there was nothing around to help this disease at that time. Diane did not graduate, but there was a highpoint in her life which I would like to emphasize, and would never forget. In the senior class play, which was written by Sister Cecilia Ward, Diane beautifully played the role of Elizabeth Ann Seton. We had everyone praying to Elizabeth Seton for Diane, including Diane herself It was a beautiful production. Diane didn't live very long. She enrolled in Duquesne University, but died in the middle of her first year. I still hear from Diane' s family. During the nineteen fifties, I don' t remember how the appointment happened, but there was a vocation committee comprised of sisters involved in part time vocation work: Sisters along the eastern coast of the United States were part of this, not just the Sisters of Charity, but also the Blessed Sacrament Sisters, and the Sisters of Mercy from Dobb's Ferry in New York. This was the community that Catherine Seton, Mother Seton's daughter belonged to. She entered at the age offourty-four. She had been living with her brother and acting pretty much like a hostess in his social affairs after his wife died. At any rate, she joined the Sisters of Mercy in New York. She was attracted to the community by their work in the prison...Sing Sing. I was able to procure, as a gift from the Archives of the Dobb's Ferry Sisters of Mercy charming stories about her work in the prison. She received a chest one time , after she was about eighty and retired, which was thought to be something to be given to the poor. However, when it was opened, it contained bars, (couldn' t determine) all the tools needed to commit burglary. There was a note on top telling sister that at last he had gone straight and wanted her to have these items to remember him by. There is another story about Sister Catherine Seton's death. She died at the age of ninety-one. Her nephew, Bishop Robert Seton, and her niece who also later entered this community came to see her. She said to them: "Darlings, you will never guess who came to see me last night." She went on to tell them that someone had come and stood at the foot of her bed. At frrst, she thought it was one of the sisters from her community. When I saw the profile and that she was wearing a cap on her head, I knew that it was my mother. I said to myself: "Of course, why wouldn't my mother come to see me when I'm sick? She did that when I was a child. She died that evening. I also have a book, for future reference, given to me by the Archivist, entitled "His Mercy Endures Forever" similar to the one written by Sister Electa Boyle, which contains information about the many things Sister Catherine Seton did. She was their frrst candidate and a member of the community for forty-five years. In 1963, when I was at St. Pancratius in California, it was my blessed privilege to go to Rome for the Beatification of Elizabeth Ann Seton. This was all arranged at Seton Hill. My companion was Sister Vincent de Paul Baker. Her good friend Sister Agnes Marie Reuben was in the group. Her companion was Sister Jean Wilburn, whom I had taught in grade school. {The next part of this tape recalling the event which all were invited by Cardinal Spellman has already been recorded on another tape.) On January 4 1968, Mother Richard Ann Watson and I were again pleased to go to Emmitsburg to attend the transfer of Mother Seton's relic. It was the happiest funeral occasion that anyone would possibly experience. After her body had been exhumed before the Canonization, her relics were place in a bronze coffin, it was just a child's coffin, and for a while was placed above the altar in the college chapel. When the big building, which we know now as the Provincial House was completed, the coffin was transferred over to the huge shrine on January 4, 1968. It was snowy and icy, but was a pleasant day. The coffin was actually carried by four ofthe seminarians from Mt. St. Mary's. It was an impressive event. The Archbishop of Baltimore was present. The seminarians seemed to be thrilled to have the privilege of carrying Mother Seton's coffin. A couple of years later, through some vocation awareness arrangement, I was staying with a Daughter of Charity from Emmitsburg, who was Director of Vocations. I was part time Vocation Director. We visited a few of the schools there to discuss religious life and religious community, with the eighth grade girls, especially Mother Seton' s Community. I honestly don' t know the name of the school. There were three rooms of.every grade. Because of what the experience was that sister and I had, neither one ofus remember information about the school. We had pictures and films to show. I believe we had ready a very nice presentation. When we arrived at the school, the principal showed us the auditorium. It was quite large. I did say to the principal: "I know your teachers like to have a little time off once in a while, so it won't be necessary for them to attend the presentation with the students." Sister and I went to the auditorium and set up our p phernalia ·. Believe it! Believe it! The children, both boys and girls came in in silent lines, beginning with the first grade. Little first graders sat up in the front seats. There was a teacher with every contingent. They filled the auditorium. We were prepared for eighth grade girls only. We just muttered something to each other and quickly changed things. We showed some slides and pictures. The. children returned just as quietly to their classrooms. We knew it was a fizzle! We didn't even talk to each other as we gathered up our paraphernalia. We did stop in the office as a matter of courtesy. While w·e were there, there was a noise just outside the office door and in, I have to say, anteloped a tall young priest into the office. He said: "I hear there are some Mother Seton Sisters here. Believe me, when I hear there are any Mother Seton Sisters for the rest of my life, I want.to meet them, because I want them to know who I am." He was one of the four seminarians who had carried Mother Seton's coffin to her last resting place. Sister and I went away jubilant, forgetting all about the disappointment of our presentation. What he did, was something worth treasuring. The next thing happened toward the middle of : Decemberin 1974. Monsignor Martin O'Toole had died. He was the pastor of St. Leonard's in Monessen, PA.· He was very much loved. His · brother Anthony O'Toole had been our wonderful .c ustodian at Elizabeth Seton High School for years. At that time, we were anticipating the announcement from Pope Paul VI regarding the date for Elizabeth Ann Seton in 1975. We were breathless about it. I was at Seton Hill at the time. Sister Helen Muha and the Music Department were getting ready for the Christmas concert. They planned on dedicating it to Elizabeth Seton . They also planned on having an announcement at Intermission about the date. There were also other celebrations. I was beginning to be concerned that we were making too much ofit. I don' t know why I was chosen to take care of this. We were told that we weren't to announce this, and that there was to be no news release until the Holy Father said it to those gathered in St. Peter's at his noon address. Noon means six o'clock in the morning for us. Bishop Connare had already told us that he would alert us. There had been an alert set up on December fourteenth for this purpose. I called Monsignor Thomas Klinzing, Chancellor of the diocese and asked him what would be the appropriate way to celebrate the announcement about Elizabeth Seton. I planned this question very carefully, but regretted it later. However, a few days later, we were gathered at St. Leonard's in Monessen for the funeral of Monsignor Martin O'Toole. After the funeral, we were gathered in clusters in the parking lot. Beside me was a group of priests, one of which was Monsignor Klinzing. I heard him say: "Sister Mary called (meaning me) and asked what the appropriate way would be to celebrate the announcement of Elizabeth Seton's Canonization?" And, I said to her: "Have a beer bust!" She then said: "May I please speak to Bishop Connare?" It just did not happen that way! When I returned to Seton Hill, I met Sister Mary Schmidt and said: "Oh, Sister Mary, you have quite a reputation." This was very confusing! Possibly Monsignor Klinzing thought he was speaking to Sister Mary Schmidt. In 1975, 1976, and 1977, I was still in charge of Project Forward. One of the men who was in charge of Talent Search, the federal name for Project Forward, from way down in the mountains of Virginia, Jim P (couldn't make out the rest), and I became friendly. I was very much interested in his hobby. He had quite a business, collecting and selling old books. The name of his store was: "Bookworm and Silver Fish, Incorporated." He was curious about Elizabeth Seton. He would save Metropolitan, as well as diocesan papers containing stories about her life and canonization. I could always be certain that any time we met, we would get into discussions about Elizabeth Seton. He called himself a black protestant. He Was not black, but wanted me to know they he wasn' t catholic. He questioned about relics. He said: "Don' t you run out ofr esources?" He was serious and reverent about this. At any rate, he was impressed by what he read in the papers. Every once in a while I would receive an old book from him. I have Volume I and Volume II of what is called "The Story of the Mount." It was based on the Annals. It's a very gossipy kind of story and is the history of Mt. St. Mary's. He saw the Seton name on these books. Another time, he gave me a book about "The Hundredth Anniversary Book of St. Peter's Cathedral", a church then. It came out in 1934 commemorating the founding of that parish and the first school. He sent the book because in the middle of it is a full page picture of Elizabeth Seton. He knew she would have had something to do with it. Sure enough, "The Daughters of Charity" had the school. Sister Margaret George, whom we all know about, was the first principal. It's really a precious book, almost falling apart. The most impressive of the books that he sent there's reference January 6, 1804 or 1805, when Elizabeth Seton was almost despairing. She was low with the decisions she had to make about becoming a catholic. She said that she took from the shelf a copy of "Bordeleau's Sermons". He was a French priest. She turned to the one for that feast...the Epiphany. There is a phrase in it that goes something like: "Oh you who have lost the star of Faith." Then it goes on to guide and console someone who would feel as she did at that time. Jim, my friend would not have known about Bordoleau and certainly not the Epiphany. This was at the time when my niece and her husband in Baltimore were killed in a plane crash. It was 1979. It was terrible. We went down there. There were no remains. It was a wooded area cordoned off. It was in February. The weather was terrible...very cold. There was no funeral. No one knew what to say. They were the hardest three days I have ever spent. When we came back, we were still very low. Do you know that in my mail when I got home was a copy of "Bordeleau?" That was providential, not just circumstantial. In October of 1975, we were invited to St. Joseph's Parish in Dover, OH. Sister Maria Theda Hisrich is from that parish. People from there know about Seton Hill. Other than that, I'm not sure why we were invited. It had to do of course with the canonization of Mother Seton. It was just a month after.· The pastor was one of the Capuchins from Pittsburgh. We talked at the Masses, to parents, visited the school, etc. What matters is not these things, but the day we arrived and visited the church, our attention was just riveted on what would have been the Blessed Mother's Altar off to the side. ·There was a life size window image of Elizabeth Ann Seton so to speak, which was lighted. Down on the left, it read: "A saint is someone, and on the right that the light shines through." Father told us that as he made his rounds through the school before we arrived, he would ask in the different rooms...What is a saint? It was one of the children in first or second grade who said: "A saint is someone who the light shines through." The windows in the church were Franciscan saints. I'm sure the children were taught about these saints and probably toured the church. Therefore, it was natural for them to think that a saint is someone who the light shines through. It's certainly a perfect image. I've used it a number of times ever since. I have in my hand a letter, dated September 15, 1975, which was addressed to Sr. M. Cornelia O' Friel; from the Saint Dismas Holy Name Society of Western Penn...the prison in Pittsburgh. The chaplain at that time was Father Earl Jennings, a T.O.R. from Loreto, Pennsylvania. Sister Cprnelia, I believe was the Administrator at Assumption Hall at the time. She's an Altoona person. She proceeded to read the letter, which I feel sure we have the copy of, and therefore am not recording it here. The weekend of Valentine's Day in 1976, chosen because it was the College Spring Break, eleven of us traveled in two cars on what we called "The Tin Cup" pilgrimage to New York. I called it this because we were traveling as inexpensively as possible. We stayed at my brother's home, which is in the upper part of New Jersey. I had arranged for him to be the leader. He and his wife, and I led the other two cars. We covered a lot of territory in those two days: Staten Island, St. Andrew's was there, several churches in Manhattan, and even got up to New Rochelle. I mentioned Staten Island where St. Andrew's church is, and it is the original church. Elizabeth Seton's grandfather was the pastor of St. Andrew's. We had not arranged previously with anyone at any of these places to be a tour guide. However, when we arrived at St. Andrew's, there was a funeral service going on in the cemetery. It so happened that the funeral was for a parishioner who had died and whose body was brought back for burial. We were just looking at the tombstones, waiting perhaps to see the priest. We·didn' t have to wait long. Father Sprieter ( if that's the correct spelling) came over to talk to us. He was one of the two U.S. Episcopal delegates at the canonization. Well, it was perfect! He was very familiar with the history of St. Andrew's church and especially of Mother Seton's mother's family, whose father had been the pastor at St. Andrew's. We noted in the church bulletin that during Lent, there would be a communion service two or three times a week. We mentioned to Father who already knew that for the monthly communion service at Trinity Episcopal, Mother Seton and her sister-in- law wouldn't miss it, and hurried then to attend another communion service at St. Paul's, which was a mission church of Trinity. Do you know what Father Sprieter's remark to this was? He said: Oh 23 yes, if Elizabeth Seton was living today, she would still be with us." We took in on the visit (inaudible), which is much like Our Lady of Mercy church in downtown Pittsburgh. Again we had not planned on meeting anybody, but the pastor came into the church. He was interested in who we were. He went into the sacristy, put on his cassock and surplus and came out and we had a prayer service. Sister Barbara Smelko started us out singing "What Light Is This?" We hardly got through it with the tears that it brought to our eyes. It was so thrilling...unplanned. We went to Calvary Cemetery. There are four or five Calvary Cemeteries right along the edges of Long Island. We knew that Catherine Seton, Mother Seton's daughter and her grand niece were buried there. We did know that it was in "Calvary Cemetery," Number One. We had arranged to have someone direct us. Ifwe had just been on our own, it would have been hopeless to find it. We were directed to the plot. The Sisters of Mercy must have been scattered in that early time of the cemetery. There is a large cross there listing the names of the sisters, including Sister Catherine Seton, and also the grand niece whose name was also Sister Catherine Seton. We went up to New Rochelle at a house where Elizabeth Seton's( Betty Bayley) uncle lived. The house is very fancy. It's quite a picturesque, historical site. It was then occupied by an elderly couple who owned it. Sister Edith Strong had written ahead noting that we knew it was her private home, but we would very much like to visit it. Sure enough, the lady did respond for us to come. The house is not the original. Two things are: One, the wine pantry above the wine cellar, the original pantry that her uncle Will Bayley had. Then in a couple of the rooms, like the living room, there were pictures. I don't know who in the family these persons were, but the husband's picture was in one room, and the wife's in the other. The woman who owned the house now said that perhaps they didn't talk much to each other We visited the local cemetery, the D.A.R.(sounds like). It was still Decoration Day, so we put a flag on Uncle Will Bayley's grave. We also visitedTrinity Episcopal Church, which had been hers and St. Paul's mission chapel. I remember in St. Paul's mission chapel that there is a sign on the benches or kneelers which says: "George Washington worshiped here." It was a perfect weekend. We took a chance on both the weather and circumstances. From here, we move to 1978, 1979, the first five years after the canonization. You might remember that the canonization prayer was on all the prayer cards and was used at the collect of the Mass for Mother Seton's canonization. The expression: "learn to express our love for God in service for our fellow men and women" was used. Quite a few ofus objected to this. In the first place, there was no prayer addressed to Elizabeth Seton either honoring her or about her. Children for example aren't going to pray for service to our fellow men and women. It was too formal. Some of us mentioned it to Bishop Connare. He suggested that we get in touch with Father Taggert in Emittsburg, who was still the Vice Postulator. Father Taggert and Bishop Connare had met on an occasion in Emmitsburg, and they had discussed the need. Father Taggert wrote back to me and said that he felt the same way about the prayer. However, he said that at first he did approve of the prayer, the reason being that it did mention women. There was then a revision made which read: "May we learn to express our love for you in love for one another." Bishop Connare did endorse this with a copy of his document indicating that the prayer could be used in the Diocese of Greensburg, signed "William G. Connare." Finally, it went to Archbishop Remberandt Weakland. He was the chairman for the Liturgy Committee for the United States Bishops. It was his suggestion that it came out as it did in the Sacramentary. Whatever way it stands right now came from Archbishop Weakland. Then to Baltimore. This would have been in the l 970's. There was an unusual gentleman there by the name of John Simms. He wasn't a catholic. His profession had to do with silver, crystal, etc. He himself was quite a flamboyant man. Anyhow, John Simms lived about four houses up a side street from Mother Seton's house. That whole area has been declared a historical part.of Baltimore. It's referred to as: "The Seton Hill of Baltimore, although it is not very much of a hill. John Simms was interested in the story of Elizabeth Seton and in the renovation of her house. He had money apparently. It was John who commissioned the lovely wood carved statue of Mother Seton to be in the basement chapel. He made the altar cloth which is used in the downstairs chapel. He wanted the best. There were other gifts that he made. He wanted things to be in keeping with the era....historically accurate. He never became a catholic. The nearest he could get was to be in the offertory procession when Father Sullivan, who had charge of Mother Seton's house at the time had Mass. John even went to Rome for the canonization of Mother Seton. His explanation was: "Well gee whiz, if one of your neighbors, four or five houses away is going to receive an honor like that, that's why I went!" John Simms is the one who is responsible for our having an enlargement of the portrait of Mother Seton, which she sat for in the house on Paca Street. He went to New York on occasion. He saw this portrait there in the archives and asked permission to take it clean it up...the glass, the portrait itself He had to make a couple of trips to make himself well known before it was finally entrusted to him. He received excellent references from Father John Sullivan, the Sulpician who had been in charge of Mother Seton's house. At any rate, that's how we happen to have that enlargement, including the latest, which was included on the prayer card. John Simms is dead. He was found dead, and I'm sure he received an unusual kind of welcome into eternity by Elizabeth Seton. In July of 1981,Sister Sara Louise Reilly and I were asked or we volunteered to do collections for Korea in Indiana. We were there two weekends. We must have had four churches. In the intervening days, we found a map on which Sister Sara Louise discovered that we were a short distance from Vincenze. Vincenze is an old, old city which dates back to the days of Lewis and Clark. It's on the banks of the Wabash River. Sister Sara Louise had made an excellent connection with a gentleman who was an archivist for the college there. I didn't realize how historical the city was until we got there. The "Lilly.Fo undation" a few years ago, subsidized a separate building for Bishop Brute's books. You recall, he had an extensive library in France. He was a medical doctor besides being a theologian. In several contingents, you might say, his books were finally moved from France to Maryland. He became Bishop ofVincenze in 1834. He wanted, of course, to have his precious library there. That library I would say had over seven hundred volumes or more. It is located in an especially built, air-conditioned building by "The Lilly Pharmaceutical Foundation." Sister Sara Louise, as I said had made connections with an archivist there in the education department of the college. The woman who was in charge of the library in the college was also very gracious. We were permitted to examine most of Bishop Brute's books...actually hold them in our hands. He had his name..S. Brute on the inside cover of most of his books. We had in our hands a bible, which belonged to him I guess, but was loaned to Mother Seton. She had notes in it. It went back to him after her death. I think that's how the exchange was made. There were cases on the main floor, which had cupboards containing his vestments, his crozier, portraits, etc. It was just a very thrilling return of Bishop Brute and Elizabeth Seton back in the Emmitsburg days. We loved it. One of the most memorable, and I've had many pilgrimages to Emmitsburg, for was with Sister Margie Nolan (no longer in the community) and the young people in her special religious education program in Wheeling, WV. We had arranged for them to have two nights at Mount St. Mary's. They gave us a dormitory on the ground level. Among them there were seven or eight disabled persons. That may not sound like many, but seven or eight disabled people require about four or five caretakers. One was blind, who incidentally was a lector at her parish church. She read from Braille. There were two young men who had been injured in automobile accidents which left them partially paralyzed. The young man who was driving under the influence of alcohol, is somewhat crippled, and his speech is affected. He uses a cane. He travels around the country visiting schools speaking against the use of alcohol while driving. It is part of what has become the nationwide slogan. "Just say no!" Another girl was in a wheel chair. Each one had serious disabilities. We used the cafeteria in Mt. St. Mary's. If you've been down there, you know that it's a long trek, if you use a cane, crutches, and you need someone to guide you. We spent two days visiting the places in Emmitsburg. They were full of questions. The first night that we were there, tired and all, we had a film on Elizabeth Seton. They opened up the social room for us at Mt. St. Mary's. The second night, we had a question and answer session, which lasted well into the night. That was an especially memorable pilgrimage, and I've kept in touch with that group since. They absorbed, admired, and loved Elizabeth Seton. Finally, I'm going to stop at this point. This year, 1989, Genevieve Blatt invited us to the fifteenth annual birthday party in honor of Elizabeth Seton at the end of August in Harrisburg. Genevieve Blatt, with her Mother Seton Club invited many young people whose name is Elizabeth Ann to come to the event. I'm not sure where she got the many young girls who attended. I went down there in 1979 ( I would presume) to Harrisburg with my niece, Beth Ann Johnson, as we know her. We have pictures of her taken there with Genevieve Blatt and with Bishop Hogan, Bishop of Altoona, who happened to be the Celebrant for the Mass for the occasion. One of the following years, Beth Ann's parents received a letter, inviting her again to the annual birthday party. Beth Ann's mother wrote to Genevieve Blatt and explained that Beth Ann died on the tragic Pan Am plane flight over Locherbk, Scotland on December 21, 1988. Beth Ann's mother mentioned an incident in the letter, saying that they would be forever grateful to Elizabeth Seton, that finally, Beth Ann's body had been found on January 4, 1989. The explosion occurred on December 21, 1988. Within a week, the girl who was with Beth Ann had been identified. I remember that we, Sister Jean Boggs and I were at the home of the girl's parents Doctor Saracene and wife, when the call came saying that their daughter Elise's body had been found and identified. Doctor Saracene and his wife worked in the art department at Seton Hill College. This of course had Beth Ann's parents waiting momentarily for a call. When it didn't come for another week, the Sisters in Pittsburgh suggested that the Sisters of Charity all, pray especially to Elizabeth Seton for Beth Ann's remains to be found. Word also went to our Sisters in Arizona and Korea. My sister, Genevieve and I talked about this on January third. I suggested to Genevieve that it would be nice to call Glenn and Carol, Beth Ann's parents and tell them about the special prayer project of The Sisters of Charity. Glenn and Carol were in London. I said : "It would be at least a bright moment for them to know that all the Sisters of Charity are praying." The next afternoon, I received a direct call from Carol in London saying that Elizabeth Seton came through. Beth Ann's parents were both happy to go down to Emmitsburg this past August. It was the only time since the tragedy that they were able to say when they came back that it was wonderful. I'm going to stop here. SMCM: Alright, Sister. You have given us a lot of wonderful memories that have been precious to you over the years. I know that these history notes you have given us will be treasured. SMAR: This is a somewhat edited edition of the oral history of Sister Mary Agnes Schildkamp, which was recorded on five cassette tapes. I completed this on September 19. 2011. OH-52-4-5 Sr. Mary Agnes Schildkamp -MEM This is a tape on the memoirs of Sister Mary Agnes Schildkamp about some of our beloved sisters. The interview is being conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller at the Greensburg Faculty House. The date is March third, nineteen eighty-nine. SMAS: Sister Marie Corona, my recollections of Sister Marie Francis Curran, the sister we are starting with today, is a brief, but very telling one, because it describes the personality of Sister Marie Francis. We were at Saint Simon and Jude in Blairsv ille, PA. This was in the early forties, so I was pretty young. Sister Marie Francis was the housekeeper there. It was far enough away from Seton Hill to be considered on the outskirts of Greensburg. Sister knew that I was just there temporarily, quite a little piece away from my family in Scottdale, and had just come from having surgery. She was particularly considerate. The one story I remember so vividly about her was that each day she would come out to the front porch of the convent. She knew recess time, which was when she did this. She would wave to me, and when she got my attention, she would hold up one finger or two fingers. If she could hold up three fingers, she almost jumped up and down. That meant that I had received mail that day. Sister Norberta Murrin, who died May 16, 1935 is the next sister. Sister Norberta was the supervisor of schools when I was beginning teaching. I was professed in 1935. I was stationed at Sacred Heart. Sister Norberta came for an overnight visit. She had an appointment in East Liberty the next day. I was asked to be her companion. In those days we kept silence on the streets. Since I was companion to the supervisor was the second reason why I kept silence. At any rate, we walked up Center Avenue, came to the intersection of Center and Highland. I kept on walking up Center. Sister Norberta turned up Highland Avenue. I was pretty far up Center Avenue before I even missed her. However, she was not very far up Highland Avenue before she missed me. She had turned around to see where I was. I didn't think it was funny. I laugh about it now. Remember, that in those days we wore outside bonnets that came out two or three inches past our face, so I couldn't see what Sister Norberta was doing. What I recall most vividly was I was sure I would be sent home or at least taken out of teaching. However, it was never mentioned at the convent. Sister Victorine didn't say anything about it. It was just passed off, but it never passed off with me. Sister Liguori Gillespie, who died June 5, 1931... I knew Sister Liguori for one special, personal reason. She entered several years before me...not sure how many. The first Sister Mary Agnes and the frrst Sister Liguori were blood sisters. I did not ask for Sister Mary Agnes' name. I think it was Sister Mary Paul who suggested it to Mother Mary Francis because she knew that my mother' s name was Mary Agnes. I would never have asked for it. Sister died a couple of weeks after I entered in 1928. I didn' t know Sr. Mary Agnes at the time, nor did I know Sr. Liguori, but I knew that Sr. Mary Agnes had a blood sister living. Sister Liguori was approached, probably by Mother Mary Francis McCullough about my having her sister's name. Her response was: "Yes indeed! I want to see the person who is going to have my sister's name!" I was pleased enough about that, but Sister Liguori seemed to be an assistant to Mother Mary Francis. She was around us novices all the time checking on us and advising us. That sort of thing. For instance, Sister Liguori would get my laundry every week before I did just to see if there was anything that needed to be mended. I wish I could say that she very graciously mended it for me. She brought whatever piece needed to be mended and showed me how to do it. I had to do it myself. I do recall and appreciate her sensitivity and attention to me just because I had her sister's name. She was well up in years. I remember one time in the novitiate at a Sunday morning conference, she held up a dining room service apron. I recognized it right away as mine. She said: "Sister Mary Agnes, what' s wrong with this apron?" I said to her: "Sister, it's too big. Is that what you wanted me to say?" I had pinned down the bib. Unfortunately, I left the pins in. I was in trouble for leaving the pins in to go through the laundry. So much for Sister Liguori. Now Sister Agnes Daugherty who died just three years ago on May 31, 1986. I've known Sister Agnes for many years. I lived with her at St. Luke's in Carnegie. I think I knew Sister Agnes pretty well even before that. She was an eighth grade teacher. Probably our having the same name, Agnes, and her friendly disposition would explain how we happened to be good friends for quite a few years. The five years I was at St. Luke's, Sister Agnes was there. I'll tell you just one story. Sister Agnes Marie Reuber was there too. She was principal of the grade school. Sister Agnes who was a soft spoken, gentle, loving, gracious and good teacher was in the eighth grade. At the beginning of our first year there, we had a meeting in the community room. After the meeting was over Sister Agnes Marie, who was the Sister Servant was in particularly good form. She said to me in Sister Agnes' s hearing: "You know Sister Mary Agnes, you and I are very fortunate. When some irate person comes to the door and·says: "I want to see that Sister Agnes, we'll give them Sister Agnes." Sister Agnes didn't mind, and of course we didn't have to refer anybody. Sister Agnes Geraldine Euler was next to me in the community. She died ten years ago on June 9, 1979. I knew her from nineteen twenty-eight on until she died. She was lively, bright, and loved teaching. She was a successful principal of Sacred Heart Elementary School. She was Supervisor of our elementary schools for many years. Naturally I would remember her last month on earth. Sister died of Cancer. We visited her often...! did at Assumption Hall. She was still the same pleasant; I wouldn't say calm, but lively, interested person she had been all through those years. At the time we were in the novitiate, Sister Agnes Geraldine, Sister Catherine Agnes Holpp, Sister Agnes Louise Green, and Sister Mary Agnes Schildkamp were know as the four noisy Agneses. The only explanation that I can give for this is that one time, we didn't realize the seriousness of the silence from two o'clock to three o'clock PM in the afternoon. We went down to the orchard where we had a wonderful time. We figured it was out of bounds and were excused from the two o' clock silence. I'm not sure whether or not anyone reported us, but the label "Four Noisy Agneses" stuck with us briefly. I don't think anyone refers to it any more. And now Sister Dominica O' Connor, who died on June 10, 1977. I knew Sister Dominica for a long time. I was with her in the mid thirties at Holy Innocents in Sheraden. That's where I came to know her well. Then later in the fifties, Sister was at Elizabeth Seton High School. At that time she was ill. She had a heart ailment. If there's such a person who is a typical, Irish, gracious, lovely, nun, it would be Sister Dominica O'Connor. She had lots of stories she would tell about the Irish from her own background. Maybe she made them up. She was an excellent teacher. She taught Social Studies. In Sheraden at Holy Innocents, and that would have been 1934, Sister Dominica had an eighth grade. Sister Kathleen Kennedy, who came over from Ireland and I had the two seventh grades, so we were a threesome. I must say that the threesome with me with a name like Schildkamp was an excellent threesome as far as I was concerned. I learned much about teaching from that experience. Sister Mary Cosmas King, who died on June 15, 1983, was born in one of the middle European countries. She did day work. How long she did this before entering, I don't know. Community records would show that. In Hazelwood, she met a woman named Mrs. Marie Peters. Sister Mary Cosmas, who was not yet Sr. Mary Cosmas and Marie became very good friends. I taught in Hazelwood from nineteen thirty until nineteen thirty-three. One of my students was Rita Peters, daughter of Marie. I taught Rita in the eighth grade. She died when she was either a Freshman or Sophomore in high school. It was from an accident. Mrs. Peters and her husband, Joe, grieved very much over the death of Rita. Sister Mary Cosmos, I remember, was a real consolation to Mrs. Peters and her husband at that time. I've kept in touch with Mrs. Peters, who now lives in Aliquippa. Her husband is deceased. My point is, that up until the death of Sister Mary Cosmas, she and Marie Peters kept in touch. Marie visited Sister Mary Cosmas at Assumption Hall. That relationship lasted over thirty or forty years. Sister Mary Cosmas was a housekeeper at St. Stephen's during the early thirties. She was really very good to us. Over half the house were novices, so we had many charges. Sister Mary Cosmas kept us in line. She knew what to do, and showed us how to do it. She was stem, and a little bossy, but I liked Sister Mary Cosmas. She was very good to us. Moving now to Sister Marie Antoinette Reilly. She died on July 13, 1947. I can tell you very little about her. I was at old Sacred Heart down on Center Avenue. At this time, I want to say that she was in charge of the poor. I don' t know what her title was. In Father Coakley' s time, there was a parish set up connected with the St. Vincent de Paul Society for helping the poor. Sister Marie Antoinette worked full time, even though she was she was pretty well up in years. This would have been in the late thirties. My warm recollection of Sister Marie Antoinette was that she was a model for service...always sweet, gentle, and courteous to anyone who came to the door. Some came at ungodly hours. Some coming shabbily dressed. Others not even sober. There were two houses which we used as our convent. The frrst floor of one of these houses was used by Sister Marie Antoinette for her work. All ofus admired and knew that Sister Marie Antoinette was giving us an example of St. Vincent de Paul's charity and I'm sure of Elizabeth Ann Seton' s as well. She was an inspiration. I was only there for one year, but I'm glad for that one year' s acquaintance. Now I come to Sister M. Virginia Donnelly. Sister died the year before I entered on July 16, 1927. She was from Scottdale as was I. Our family lived on Fifth Avenue. The Donnelly' s lived on Fourth Avenue. I couldn' t tell you how many times I carried a suitcase for Sister Virginia when she came to visit her parents. Mrs. Donnelly always met us at the door and to thank me gave me a holy card, a statue...something of that sort. There were two daughters in the convent, so I know now that Mrs. Donnelly probably had a good supply. Nonetheless, I did appreciate getting them. Sister Virginia and I walked up from the streetcar stop. We didn' t do much talking, but I thought she was very pretty. Now, coming to Sister Francis Mary Coleman. Sister Francis Mary died on July 21, 1987. My sponsor, we used to call them our spiritual mother, was. Sister Mary Paul Coleman. They were blood sisters. Sister Mary Paul was my teacher in high school at Scottdale. Just because Sister Mary Paul was my sponsor, Sister Francis Mary took great interest in me. I know that she spent many years out West, and that her service out there is on record some where else in the archives. Sister Francis Mary was one of the first sisters I came to know and remember because of her friendliness, and her similarity of course to Sister Mary Paul. Before Sister Francis Mary died, she was at Assumption Hall for a couple of years. I used to visit her. She was blind at that time and couldn' t see. I would only have to start to say this is Sister Mary Agnes. She would say something like: "Oh Sister Mary Agnes, I' m glad to see you." I know that I reminded her of her own Sister Mary Paul. I enjoyed my visits with Sister Francis Mary and marveled at her patience. She was not only blind, but she was incapacitated in other ways. Now, Sister Ildefonse Lambing, who died July 27, 1937. Sister Ildefonse was a blood sister to Father Michael Lambing, who was pastor at St. John' s in Scottdale for fifty years. I didn' t know him of course during his fifty years. He died just a couple of years after I entered, but at the time of my entrance, Sister Ildefonse was missioned to Scottdale. She taught piano. I took piano lessons from Sister Ildefonse. I admired her because I admired Father Lambing. We all did. Sister Helen Marie Haley, who entered the year before I, both remember that Sister Ildefonse helped to make some of the clothes we had to take with us when we entered. I know I watched Sister Helen Marie whose quite tall..must be five feet nine or five ten. She was standing on a bench in the convent parlor being measured for the night gowns that we wore. I guess they were percale. I remember thinking at the time that I didn' t want to go to bed looking like that...dressed in that sort of thing. I think it's awful! I was a year younger than Helen. Therefore, I couldn't enter with her. However, a year later, after my junior year at school, I stood on that same bench and let Sister Ildefonse measure me for the same nightgowns. And now, Sister M. Margretta Bernlohr, who died at Assumption 29, 1980. It happened that I and others were making a thirty day retreat at Doran Hall. What I remember almost solely were the trips we made to Assumption Hall to visit Sister Margretta who was dying. She was a little bit of a German sister. She was a real philosopher. Each time we went to see her , about three of us, even though she could hardly talk, she would give us just a few friendly words containing a moral message saying how wonderful it was to reach the point where you think you are going to Heaven, and are sure you will see the face of God. I know that whatever we heard from the retreat masters during these thirty days was made firm and real through our visits to Sister Margretta. Sure enough, she did go up to heaven before that retreat was over. We loved her. We' re moving into the month of August. Early in the month of August, on the sixth, two sisters, Mother M. Claudia Glenn and Sister M. Eugenia Hileman died on the same day. I knew Sister Eugenia at Sacred Heart High School. Sister M. Claire Blakely was the Principal. Sister Eugenia was pretty much the Administrator. Sister Eugenia was in the Religion Department. She was a prim, precise, very regular kind of sister. She expected the girls to be ladies. As I think of it now, her expectations of the girls, and her own disposition matched very much some of the sisters at Seton Hill College, who were deans of women, who expected Seton Hill women to look proper, to be gentle, to be courteous, etc. Let me put a little story in here. Now, this is 1989. The other day I was coming into the house via yellow cab. The cab driver told me he had just picked up four or five girls who were student teachers at Greensburg Salem High School. He said they were so quiet. This was at the end of the day. I said to them: "What's the matter with you girls? I thought college students were supposed to be rowdy!" Let me touch further on Mother M. Claudia Glenn. It was my memorable privilege to be at her bedside when she died at Assumption Hall. I had known her, not just as a Mother Superior, but also as an English teacher. I was in a couple of her classes at Seton Hill College. Then, even more personally than that, we lived on Fifth Avenue in Scottdale as afore mentioned, while the Glenns lived on Fourth Avenue. Again, although I never had to carry her suitcase, I remember her two sisters, the "Glenn girls" walking past our house with Mother Claudia. I knew Mother Claudia visited her sisters' homes frequently. Once, just once, when I was still a novice Sister Claudia was going to visit home, and I was going to visit my home. In those days, we had to have a companion. We left Seton Hill as companions, and I had the great joy of stopping off at our home all by myself, while she went on to Fourth Avenue to visit her family. It was unheard of. Sister Claudia had a companion. There were three of us. Sister Claudia has Sister M. Clementine Oler with her. They were great friends. Sister Clementine died on August 13, 1937. Now, I come to Sister Marie Maree Hannon, who died on August 22, 1974. Anyone who was in the Congregation in nineteen seventy-four must surely have known Maree. She was a little bit of a whippet , I thought of her. She had charge of the chapel, not the sanctuary, but all the rest of our chapel at Seton Hill. She really took charge of it. You kept your books straight, or she straightened them for you. You kept the kneelers up or down as they she be, or she did it for you. You never left anything on the bench part of the pew that didn' t belong there, or it would disappear. I remember one morning toward the end of October when the time changes, I had forgotten to change the time. I went into chapel and there was no one there. Then I realized that I had another hour and got up too soon until up front between the pews someplace, was this little bit of a woman. She had been shining the floor. It was like an apparition. I was startled at first. Maree and I made it ahead of everyone else that morning. Now, the morning that Sister Maree died. It was August twenty-second, the feast of the Blessed Mother. Somehow, Maree made it known that she wanted to die on the feast of the Blessed Mother, and she had another wish. That was that she would never have to go to Assumption Hall. Well, Sister Maree, as was her custom walked down to the Cathedral in Greensburg for an early Mass. Habitually, she would walk down the hill. She would have been wearing a mantle and our big bonnet. Sister Maree could walk quickly down the hill, and also up the hill, which was pretty steep to the Cathedral. However, this particular morning, I had some reason for going to the early Mass at the Cathedral too. Sister Rose Agnes McGowan wanted to go also. I was driving. As we were leaving Seton Hill, apparently there was some message at the switchboard about an accident. We remembered later. Well, we went out and got in the car. Sure enough, when we got to the foot of the hill, we saw Sister Maree, who had been struck by a car. There were no police there yet. There was a little bit of black fabric on the street, just below the curb on the side of the tunnel. It was Sister Maree. She was crossing the street to make her way up the hill to the Cathedral. Of course, this little bit of black fabric did not move. She was dead. The driver of the car's name was Locker(his last name). I don't remember his first name. He was a Produce Manager at one of the Kroger stores. He was on his way to work. He was crushed and heart broken. In a very short time an ambulance came, and we followed it up to Westmoreland Hospital. She was declared Dead On Arrival. I mention her dying on the feast of the Blessed Mother, and her not wanting to go to Assumption Hall. Bishop Connare celebrated her funeral liturgy. I remember his homily quite well. First of all, he consoled the Lockers. Mr. Locker and his wife were there. Bishop Connare told them that they should not feel guilty. By this time they knew how quickly Sister Maree moved and that she habitually went to this early Mass. She was not looking to the side. I know Bishop Connare made the Lockers feel much better. But then Bishop Connare said that Sister Maree had achieved two great wishes in her life...one was to die on the feast of the Blessed Mother and the other was that she would not have to go to Assumption Hall. We all laughed because we knew that Sister Maree had made this quite clear. Now, that brings me to Sister Leocadia Mulholland, who died on August 23, 1980. I knew Sister Leocadia at Elizabeth Seton High School. She was a wonderful cook and beautiful seamstress. Her needle work, which is framed hangs in Assumption Hall. Leocadia was a real artist with her hands...whether it was with food, or needle and thread. What's particularly amazing about it is that she had three fingers missing. When she was in the kitchen at Seton Hill, she lost these fingers in one of the machines. She continued in her work cooking and sewing. Even at Assumption Hall, she continued embroidering pillow slips, framing needle work, etc. She did the kinds of needle work that some of us could only admire, but not do. She was the housekeeper and cook at De Paul Institute when we were at Elizabeth Seton during the early years. In those early years at Seton, we had Mass in the house during the week days. We had to go up to De Paul for Sunday Mass, which was about a mile or more away for those of us who walked. Ordinarily though we went by taxi cabs. We didn't have cars in those days. Every Sunday, Sister Leocadia sent us home with pecan rolls or other goodies. She realized that we were pioneering. There was no one in our house at Seton who could begin to match her skill in the kitchen. Sister Marie Antonia McLinden was there at De Paul also. Between Sister Leocadia and Sister Marie Antonia, they were very good to us. That brings me to an outstanding school woman in the Community....Sister Borgia Casey. She died on August 31, 1949. Sister Borgia was supervisor of schools for a while, but I don't remember her so much as a supervisor, but as a beginning teacher. I'm going to omit saying anymore about Sister Borgia here, as Sister told about her in her own oral history. Immediately on my list is Sister M. Pauline Rodgers, who died on September 3, 1957. Sister Pauline was principal of St. John the Baptist School in Scottdale when I was in grade school there. I remember her very well. She gave the appearance of being stem and quite a disciplinarian, but she was a very understanding person. I recall that three or four of us girls, who, during Lent this particular year went to the six thirty Mass every morning. We ourselves considered that to be pretty heroic. One cold, wintry morning, we stayed around after Mass and skated right in front of the school. The school was set back on a concrete block. We had a long skating path made before we went home to get our breakfast. Well, when we got to school, Sister Pauline was looking for the young women who had made a dangerous, skating path. Didn' t we realize that the children could fall, that they could be injured, and that this was a very risky thing for us to do? We were thinking that we were pretty holy by going to Mass at six thirty in the morning. She was quite upset about this and said that she was going to call our parents. One of the girls was my cousin Ethel, and I knew that they did not have a telephone. The second girl was Helen Plutonic, and her mother didn't answer the phone because she didn' t speak English. I was the only one whose mother would get a phone call. When I mentioned the situation to Sister Pauline, I think she was relieved. She said: "Well then, you may go back to your classrooms. Just don' t make anymore skating paths." Here is Sister M. Carmelita Quigley's name coming up. During the first few years when we were pioneering at Elizabeth Seton High School, Sister Carmelita came just to be a senior sister on the mission. We knew her as a Music Professor at Seton Hill College. This was in the early pioneering days at Elizabeth Seton High School. We got to know another side of Sister Carmelita. She was so gracious. She was a perfect hostess, no matter who came. We lived in close quarters. She was not any more comfortable or better off than the rest of us, but she loved it. She was nice to the students and enjoyed whatever Music she heard during the day. And now, I'm still in the month of September, Sister Constantia Murphy. I think the story has gone down through the years, and this would have happened in the early nineteen thirties, when I was at Saint Stephen's in Hazelwood. Sister Constantia was the Music teacher...fue person. Sister had a great choir there...sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. We all remember the evening we were at dinner, of course in silence when the doorbell rang. Whoever went out and answered opened the door wide. The man who was delivering something shouted: "Sister Constantinople, is this where she lives?" Sister Charles Regina Davis was our fourth grade teacher at St. John the Baptist School in Scottdale. I'll tell you one story about her. The year I was in fourth grade, which was in the early twenties, the sisters changed from wearing the oil cloth cap to the silk cap. This happened at Christmas, which was understandable as Christmas was the day the sisters renewed their vows. When we came back to school after Christmas vacation, there was Sister Charles Regina in a shiny, new cap. We thought Sister Charles Regina was ancient, but there she was in this shiny, new cap, which made her look young. We had a weekly assignment every week, and that was to write about and get up and read whatever happened in the past week. Some of it we made up. This week after Christmas, we all had the same thing to say: " Sister Charles Regina came back to school wearing a shiny, new cap, and it makes her look like sixteen." She accepted every bit of our complimentary talk. Sister Agnes Marie Reuber, who died in 1975. She too is remembered by many of the sisters. Sister Agnes Marie and another sister whom I'll mentioned later was "a black eyed German." She referred to me also as being "a black eyed German." The other sister is Sister Hildegarde Eichenlaub. I came to know Sister Agnes Marie partly when she was on the council as procuratrix at Seton Hill, but mainly when she was principal of Cathedral School in Altoona. That would have been in the late nineteen thirties. I'm omitting this next part as Sister already told about it in her oral history. I would like to mention Sister Jeannine Connelly, who died in 1960. I remember Jeannine when she was a student at Elizabeth Seton High School. Her Baptismal name was also Jeannine. She died as a very young sister. And then, that brings us to November 1, 1951 when Sister Hildegarde Eichenlaub died. Sister Hildegarde was the principal of Cathedral School in Altoona. She was the one, who sent to my eighth grade door, a girl who was a problem. She lived in a house...I cannot say it was a home. Her mother brought her to Cathedral School as a last resort. She had just been expelled from a school in Lakemont, which is just outside of Altoona, for slapping or striking a teacher. She wasn' t interested in anything we were teaching, but in no time we discovered that she was an artist. If she was missing from class, or didn' t go home, the janitor had to make sure she wasn't in one of the primary classrooms helping to decorate bulletin boards. She was wonderful. She even did a commissioned piece of art work for Bishop Guilfoyle. The story is long, so I'm just going to tell you the ending. She was in and out of the church. She had two babies at Roselia Foundling. She died five years ago in Tucson, Arizona. She died of cancer. I heard that she had just a few weeks to live. I called her. Her sister, who was in her room, answered the phone. I identified myself and asked to speak to her. She had no voice, only breath. Her last words to me were: "Sister, you don' t have to worry anymore. Everything is fixed up." I learned that she had, on her own sent for the chaplain, and received the sacraments. A day or two later, she died. One story about Sister Mary Hubert Metzler, who died November 3, 1975. Mary Hubert was the telephone operator at Seton Hill for a long time. She was just a frail, little person. Her bones, as I recall, broke readily. She and I shared a room at Pittsburgh Hospital many years ago. ( I couldn't understand the time she gave.) While Sister Mary Hubert was a patient, her mother died. She was bed ridden and couldn't get to the funeral. I was many years younger than Sister Mary Hubert. She was sad and prayed. I laid in my bed admiring her courage, her resignation, and her understanding of what was best for her mother. Sister M. Hilda Corless, who died November 9, 1967. She was our eighth grade teacher at St. John the Baptist School in Scottdale. When I say our, I'm thinking of others who were in the class, like Sister Helen Marie Haley. Sister Hilda was a perfect lady. She did not want us to use slang. Now when I say slang, I mean words like alright. ( I couldn' t understand what she was saying. I did pick up that Sister Hilda considered the correct response to be "Very Well." Sister M. Lucilla Costel, who died November 12, 1955. She was from outside (couldn't determine). It was just outside of Scottdale. She was the oldest of three or four. She used to come to the school to meet her siblings. I suppose they hiked their way home. I recall her as the sacristan or assistant sacristan at Cathedral in Altoona. She was scrupulously careful about the sacred vessels. She wanted them shined. The same was true about the vestments, all of which were used in the Cathedral. I recall one time especially that she polished beautifully a chalice that belonged to Bishop Guilfoyle. He was very unhappy about it because it was old and he loved the evidence of its page and whatever discoloration happened to be on it. She had removed it all, and shined it up. He wasn't angry, but I recall the experience because it made me think when I see some old relic looking objects why you wouldn't want to shine them up. You want them to show their age. Sister Rose Vincent McNulty, who died December 3, 1968. No doubt in Sister Rose Vincent's file, there are many stories about the work she did both in administration and education. She was Sister Servant at Sacred Heart when I went there as a substitute. At any rate, she was particularly gracious and thoughtful. We were still just five year novices. There again, we saw her differently from when she was on the council as an administrator at Seton Hill. On the mission, we saw her as an interested, friendly person, not as an administrator. Sister M. Loyola Conrad, who died December 4, 1948. She was a dear, little second grade teacher at St. John the Baptist in Scottdale. We thought she was old, but she may not have been. She loved processions. She was in charge of any activity that the first and second grade were engaged in. She herself was little, so it was easy to be friends with Sister Loyola. I'm sure there are stories in her file about the confident teacher that she was, and of her unusual understanding of little children. I'm going to mention Sister Sara Marie O'Hara, who died on December 5, 1964. Her last mission was at Elizabeth Seton High School. She had multiple sclerosis. We saw her go from being a full time business teacher to being a part time (couldn't make out what she said) teacher, until she became a patient at Assumption Hall. At some stage of her illness, it was decided that she should go down to Washington DC for a week in the summertime for treatment. I was asked to go with her. I stayed at St. Anne's Orphanage with the Daughters of Charity. Sister Sara Marie, of course was with The Daughters of Charity in Emmitsburg. On July fourth, the Sister Servant, who had noticed that Sister was quite disabled suggested that we go over to Emmitsburg and spend the day with Sister Sara Marie, as she wouldn't be having any treatment that day. At that time, the Daughters in Emmitsburg, after their main meal went in procession to Mother Seton's tomb to pray for her canonization. There were about five hundred sisters in the procession. This particular day the sisters knew about Sister Sara Marie's condition. The Sister Servant had told them. The Sisters decided that the intention of the rosary that day would be for Sister Sara Marie. Now, Sister Sara Marie was able slowly to get to Mother Seton's tomb. Much of the rosary was over by the time we got there. I know that this event meant much to Sister Sara Marie. The Sister Servant gave her a first class relic of Mother Seton, which were not too plentiful at that time. What I personally remember about the event is that Sister Sara Marie said: "I'm going to say a rosary for you every day as long as I live." I'm sure that these rosaries are still a great trust fund for me. Sister Mary Paul Coleman, who died December 14, 1950. Sister Mary Paul was one of our high school teachers at St. John the Baptist in Scottdale. I think there were nine ofus who were candidates of Sister Mary Paul. She was a popular high school teacher. I remember that shortly after I entered in nineteen twenty-eight, Sister Mary Paul, who I thought was pretty well up in years , celebrated her Silver Jubilee. As far as I was concerned, that confirmed the fact that she was pretty well up in years. I've changed my mind about Jubilarians being old, since some of my former students are Golden Jubilarians. Sister M. Victorine Ellsworth, who died on December 14, 1952. Sister Victorine was principal of both the grade and the high school at St. John the Baptist in Scottdale when I entered. She was a good principal as far as I can recall, but she was a lively, friendly, person. I know she loved Music. It was her idea that we walk out of school at dismissal every day to the accompaniment of piano music. We think of the old days as being strict and structured, but Sister Victorine put life into what otherwise would have been a routine school day. Now I'm moving to Sister John Baptist Curren, who died on December 28, 1989. I have just one thing to say and that was that she was my second grade teacher. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Mary Agnes Schildkamp Subject The topic of the resource Sister Mary Agnes Schildkamp Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Mary Agnes Schildkamp, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1928 until 2006. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on November 19, 1986, February 18, 1988, February 20, 1988, March 3, 1989, and October 28, 1989. Sister Mary Agnes Schildkamp was born on April 21st, 1912 in Scottdale, Pa. Daughter of Henry Schildkamp and Mary Kosler, Florence Catherine Schildkamp entered the community on July 2nd, 1928 at the age of 16 as Sister Mary Agnes Schildkamp. Sister Mary Agnes taught upper elementary for 12 years and secondary for 20 years. She was an administrator in elementary for 3 years and in secondary for 13 years. She was the Director of Project Forward for 4 years. She taught at Elizabeth Seton High School, St. Luke's, and St. Pancratius. Sister Mary Agnes received her B.A. in English from the University of Pittsburgh in 1943 where she also studied biology and history. Then, in 1956, she received her M.A. in English and Philosophy from Catholic University. Sister Mary Agnes Schildkamp passed on November 3rd, 2006 at the age of 94. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1986/11/19 1988/02/18 1988/02/20 1989/03/03 1989/10/28 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-52 Catholic University Educational Administrator Pennsylvania Project Forward Scottdale Teacher University of Pittsburgh https://scsharchives.com/files/original/9f7b09cff0d74e7f24ea6f1b2115e7ff.mp3 9d46117bfe23109ccf6f19070af0fd9b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Marie Corona Miller Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Mary Aiden Geary Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Location The location of the interview St. James Convent Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:54 22:41 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Mary Aiden Geary Subject The topic of the resource Sister Mary Aiden Geary Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Mary Aiden Geary, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1933 until 2003. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on December 17, 1987. Sister Mary Aiden Geary - born Helen Regina Geary on May 4, 1913 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in 1933. She graduated from St. Joseph Academy and received a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Seton Hill College in 1958. She taught at Immaculate Conception, Sacred Heart, and St. James in West End, among other locations. She volunteered her time throughout the nineties. Sister Mary Aiden died on December 18, 2003. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987/12/17 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-77 Immaculate Conception School Sacred Heart School Seton Hill College St. James School West EndPGH St. Joseph Academy https://scsharchives.com/files/original/b6379efaaec0f4b191cfcddaf93d07f0.mp3 1fac4c8ea649307f339e03991427f868 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/24349a6a038b2c104e4a09a879fbd625.mp3 48185ea78ca71f60871f3e259d53f655 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Marie Corona Miller Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Mary Arthur Giseburt Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Location The location of the interview Assumption Hall Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:56 31:55 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Mary Arthur Giseburt Subject The topic of the resource Sister Mary Arthur Giseburt Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Mary Arthur Giseburt, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1932 until 1992. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on May 30, 1987. Sister Mary Arthur Giseburt - born Dorothy Mildred Giseburt on October 1, 1908 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in September of 1932. She served as a housekeeper and a kitchen assistant at a number of convent locations, including Resurrection in Pittsburgh, Cathedral in Greensburg, and at Assumption Hall. Sister Mary Arthur died on August 2, 1992. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987/05/30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-69 Assumption Hall Brookline PA Cathedral School Greensburg PA Resurrection School https://scsharchives.com/files/original/e15e5d1985778a7f75b3f78473ed3444.mp3 02d3d41b7db5558a11f746f11b3b5493 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/10824028aab2b876b9e0554edb458eab.mp3 cadb1ea9537fc7aa314da3f443446519 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Brigid Marie Grandey Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Mary Ellen McAvoy Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:34 31:34 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Mary Ellen McAvoy Subject The topic of the resource Sister Mary Ellen McAvoy Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Mary Ellen McAvoy, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1926 until 1997. The interview was conducted by Sister Brigid Marie Grandey on November 1, 1986. Sister Mary Ellen McAvoy was born on October 27, 1903 in Frostburg, Md. Daughter of Thomas P. McAvoy and Ellen C. Cunningham, Mary Rose McAvoy entered the community on September 8, 1926 as Sister Mary Ellen McAvoy. Sister Mary Ellen worked for six years as a secretary before entering the community. She ministered as a secondary education teacher in schools throughout the dioceses of Pittsburgh, Altoona, and Tucson, Az. Among the schools she taught at were St. Anselm, West End, Cathedral, Holy Innocents, Sacred Heart, Salpointe, and St. Mary in Chandler, Az. She also served as principal of Holy Innocents from 1950 to 1953. She later served at Seton Hill College, first as a secretary from 1972 to 1978, and later in supportive services from 1978 to 1984. Sister Mary Ellen earned her B.Ed. in History and English from Duquesne University in 1945 and earned her M.A. in Religion from Providence College in 1956. Sister Mary Ellen McAvoy passed away on July 11, 1991 at the age of 87. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1986/11/01 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-47 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/a4312bf911bb591bec7806d898e25858.mp3 552b2776475e7144820925077e51e968 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/6da88c60bfaf2feae915fda270ec91f6.mp3 1b6b2ec6760cb266359c50085bfa73eb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Virginia Pascaretta Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Mary Estelle Hensler Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Location The location of the interview Ennis Hall Greensburg (Pa.) Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:02 09:50 Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound 1 OH- 13-1 This is·an oral history tape for the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. The interviewee is Sister Mary Estelle Hensler. The interviewer is Sr. Virginia Pascaretta. The interview is taking place at Ennis Hall on March seventeenth, nineteen hundred eighty-five. SVP: Sr. Estelle, we asked you to do a little reflection on your personal life as a Sister of Charity. You agreed to do that. So, we will begin today as we said we would. SMEH: Today, March seventeenth, at the age of eighty-four, I have lived for sixty-six years at Seton Hill. I was born on July seventh, nineteen hundred in Carrick, which is a suburb of Pittsburgh. At the age of six months, I was carried by my father to a Midnight Mass at a parish church to ring out the old and bring in the new century. SVP: Sister, what was the parish church? SMEH: I believe it was St. Wendelin's in Carrick My mother's name was Margaret Elizabeth Klein, eldest daughter of Mary and Peter Klein, and one of eleven children. My father's name was Charles Peter Hensler, son of Peter and Elizabeth Hensler. He was the eldest of eleven children. Both my parents were born and reared in Carrick, were baptized and attended school at St. Wendelin's. They were married in St. Wendelin's Church in eighteen ninety-six: I was also baptized in St. Wendelin's Church and give the name of Clara Elizabeth Hensler. My grandparents were German immigrants . They cam-e to America in the eighteen forties to escape political and social unrest in their country. Here in America, they found freedom. Ittook several generations before their children and grandchildren gained economic stability. Here in America, at the same time, the country was being oppressed by the terrible financial Depression following the reconstruction period after the Civil War in eighteen sixty-one and eighteen sixty­ five. My parents' education, and that of their brothers and sisters ended with the eighth grade. As a young boy, my father wanted to study. for the priesthood, but his family could not afford the expense. At the age of twenty, he inarried my mothers He worked as a coal miner, receiving a • small amount daily in wages. My mother said that they saved more the first year of their marriage than the years that followed once the children began to arrive.· My father enrolled in a correspondence course in a stringent mining school to study mining engineering. This qualified him for a position in management in the coal mines of Southwestern Pennsylvania owned by sounded like the H. C. Frick Coal Company. Looking at his text books, I often wondered how he taught himself to work such difficult Math. problems. ·Toe mines were worked mainly by immigrants, brought by Frick from Europe; n9tably Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the Ukraine. They lived usually in small, four room, houses. These houses were built and owned by the company. They had no indoor plumbing, electricity, or furnace. One room served as a kitchen. The remaining ones were for sleeping. These small patches of houses were surrounded by farms. The trees were usually·cut down to make posts to buttress the place where the coal would come out. These towns had no doctors, dentists, or policemen and firemen for protection. Also, there usually were no schools or churches. These were at some distance to be reached only by walking or by trolley car. Learnin-g new language, new labor techniques, a new way oflife in a strange country often meant that miners were taken advantage of. They were poorly paid for the 2 dangerous work they had to do. They had long working hours, which began at five AM until five PM in the evening. The management personnel worked the same long hours as the miners. My father often worked overtime. They would come to him during the night for some emergency in the mine. Keeping the water pumps working required constant supervision. If the pumps weren't working, it caused a dangerous situation for the miners. My father' s position was changed often, which caused us to have to move frequently. SVP: Sister, may I ask a question at this point? I'm interested in the geography of the coal mines in relation to the city of Pittsburgh. Were these places relatively close to what we now call Pittsburgh? Were they in the outlying district? SMEH: They were in the outlying places. I can name some of them...Brownsville, Donaldson, Peter's Creek, etc. It was very difficult to hear what she was saying here. She mentions two mines which had the greatest impact on her, but neither was audible. One sounds like Heckla, which is where the family moved in nineteen hundred six. SMEH: When we moved to Heckla in nineteen hundred six, there were four children...Carl, Joseph, Cecilia, and myself. Then came John in 1908, and Mildred in 1911. At the age of seven, I entered first grade in a small, four room school, where I spent three weeks. My oldest brother, Carl, had taught me to read and write, so I was promoted to the second grade. Father O' Donnell, our pastor, came to Heckla every Friday afternoon to instruct us in Catechism. During the week, my mother supervised our assignments. Father O'Donnell was a strict teacher and insisted on our memorizing the Baltimore Catechism. In September of 1910, Carl and I were transferred to St. Joseph's in Mt. Pleasant. We had already received our First Communion. It was the first time children under twelve could receive. One of the things I remember vividly is that the day before we received our first Holy Communion, we met at school in the morning.• Father O'Donnell conducted what we would call a day of reflection. Our confessions were heard in the afternoon. We were instructed to be quiet. That night at supper, Carl and I were served by ourselves. Then , we prayed the litany before the May altar and went to bed. This experience helped us to realize how serious receiving Holy Communion should be. In nineteen hundred eleven, we moved to Standard Shaft, the largest of the· Frick mines. Living here, I made a life long friend, Sarah Jackson, later Sister Angeline Jackson. Every day, we walked to and from school together. On Sundays, we took a walk in the afternoon. Every week, our mothers sent us to a nearby farm to purchase butter. The farm lady always said: "Come right in girls." She would wrap the butter in wax paper, put it into our baskets, and then.co ver it with a sheet of paper, which was a tabloid. Sarah and I would always unwrap the butter and read the sheet which contained horror stories about runaway nuns and priests. Sarah and I would have a good laugh about it. I decided to give one of these sheets to my father, expecting the same reaction. However, he crumbled it up and threw it into the fire. Our growing up years were uneventful. We were a closely knit family. Our lives centered mainly around home, church, and school. With the exception of Sarah, I made few friends. Sometimes we went to a movie. Here, she says something about her brother, Carl, bringing home books in June, which he had from St. Vincent's. It was inaudible. One afternoon, my mother sent me into the kitchen to watch a pot of apple jelly on the stove, while she went out to the garden. I kept one eye on the 3 stove and the other away. Before I knew it, the jelly was running over. As punishment, I had to stand for one hour between the wall and the stove on a hot summer day. My childhood ended in nineteen fourteen with the death of my mother. I did not return to school, but remained at home to help my father hold the family together. With six small children, there was always something to take my time baby sitting or household chore. SVP: Sister, how old were you at the time.of y,o ur mother's death? SMEH: I was fourteen. After her death, I took on more responsibility. My father and I managed to keep the family together. I remained with my family for three years. One day, I received a letter from Sister Patrice McGuire, my seventh grade teacher. The letter said that I must remind my father that I should return to school. The next day, I returned to Seton Hill to register. for the eighth grade in the Fall of nineteen-seventeen. Away from home in a boarding school, I missed family and Sarah Jackson. I didn't make many friends, as·I was shy and three years older than · my classmates. The- daily schedule was much like that of the novitiate. We rose at seven, went. to prayers in the oratory, went for a walk around the building, and ate breakfast. SVP: Sister, you're speaking now of the academy at Seton Hill? Is that where you went to school? That's where yoti received a letter from Sister Patrice? SMEH: Yes. Morning classes began about nine AM. At eleven thirty, we assembled in the recreation hall before going to lunch. Afternoon classes began at one and ended at four. Then we all went for a long walk accompanied by one of the sisters. We never went beyond the statue of the angel at St. Mary's. They were the days! · . ' SVP: What were the classes like? Are you going to develop that idea, or are you just going to tell us the kind of classes you took? SMEH:I took regular eighth grade classes...Math, Spelling, Geography, History, etc. I believe she said that Sister Theodosia Murtha was one of her teachers. At fiv, e o 'd o .ck; we went to supper. We marched in line, in silence, from the recreation hall to the dining.room. We said Grace together, and dinner was served at five-thirty. SVP: Were you permitted to talk during your dinner meal? SMEH: Definitely no. I couldn't hear what all she was saying here. After dinner, we went to Study Hour at.seven o'clock. By eight-thirty, we were back in the dormitory to 'prepare for bed. At nine o'clock we prayed, and nine-fifte.en, it was ·lights out! SVP: Tell me this. What was the nature of the night prayer? SMEH: I would say...the Our Father, the Hail Mary, act of Faith, Hope, and Love. Of course we also said the De Profundis when the bell rang. SMEH: By nineteen-seventeen, the United States had joined our allies in a World War I effort to help our soldiers. The Red Cross had set up centers where articles were collected and·prepared to send to our troops overseas in England and.France. Periodically, we met with the professed sisters and faculty in their community room on Second Administration, where we rolled 4 bandages, knit socks, scarves, etc. for this war effort. Meeting there made me aware of the striking contrast between the peace and quiet there as opposed to the noise and turmoil in the students' residence. In the Spring of that year, nineteen hundred seventeen, we made a sev n day, silent retreat. I began to think about my religious life. I felt more prayerful and wanted to dedicate my life to God. My father supported my choice of vocation. Then on September eighth, nineteen hundred eighteen, I entered the Saint Joseph Novitiate at Seton Hill. Before being eligible to teach school, I learned that you had to be a high school graduate. I was the second candidate to enter on September eighth, nineteen-eighteen. There were six of us: Sister M. Gervase Shields, Sister Marie Dolores Haney, Sister Ann Catherine McDermott, Sister M. Agnes Daugherty, Sister Mary Samuel Klingensmith, and myself. All ofus persevered. Today, only Sister Agnes and I are living. Our days were full from morning until night with duties, such as: making beds, washing dishes, cleaning floors, serving meals, etc. We worked in the laundry on Mondays and · Tuesdays. We also worked at the switchboard. After supper and dishes, we recreated until eight­ fiftee-n, said night prayers, and from there prepared for bed. Lights were out at nine-fifteen. Mother Rose Genevieve Rodgers was our first mistress of novices. She taught us to be prayerful, work carefully, and instructed us in the Constitutions and the Praiseworthy Customs of the community. She taught us to be alert, attentive, and responsive. After breakfast-one morning, Sister Rose Xavier Garrity told me to get dressed to be ready to join the sisters who taught at St. Benedict's School, which is now the Cathedral School, to teach the eighth grade. I said: "Just in case you're not aware of my academic standing, I'm going to be a housekeeper." Her answer was:"Get ready for school, and off I went!" As novices, we were not allowed to talk to the professed sisters, nor to the students. We saw them in the chapel and in the dining room. Most meals were taken in silence. In later years, I realized that the senior sisters at that time...Sister Mary Louis Flick, Sister Mary Xavier Farrell, Sister Rosalia Crates and others were the pioneers of the community, and knew Mother Aloysia Lowe and Mother Ann Regina Ennis personally. On December eighth, nineteen hundred eighteen, I received the habit as a white cap, and given the name Sister Mary Estelle Hensler. After that, my father called me his dear little white cap novice. The following September eighth, nineteen-nineteen, I received the black cap. Instead of being missioned, I entered the academy as a high school freshman. My class work was sometimes interrupted by my having to do some substitute teaching. On the afternoon of New Year's Day in nineteen twenty, I packed my suitcase and met with a professed sister who was waiting for me at the front door. After a while in the railway coach, I asked: "Where are we going?" The answer was Sharpsburg, a place I heard of for the first time. I taught fourth grade for several months in Sharpsburg. Then on a Sunday afternoon, I was changed to Holy Innocents in Sheraden to teach second grade. In March of nineteen-twenty, Sister M. Anita McGinness, who taught painting at Seton Hill died. This event helped to change my life. In June of nineteen-twenty, we returned to Seton Hill for suinmer school. In the Fall, I was missioned to teach at St. Benedict's in Greensburg. On Saturday afternoons, I took drawing lessons from Sister M. Evangelist Yah1 in the art studio. From nineteen twenty-two until nineteen twenty-five, I alternated between going to school at Seton Hill, taking both high school and college subjects, and continuing art lessons with Sister M. Evangelist. By nineteen twenty­ four, it became apparent that-the only art courses needed in the college were those required for 5 majors in Music and Home Economics. These courses were dropped by Sister M. Evangelist Yahl. Since the courses did not constitute a major, they were electives and could not create a department. In nineteen twenty-five, I was missioned to teach elementary grades in Pittsburgh, mostly seventh grade. At this time I began to take art education courses on Saturday under Lucy (couldn't hear last name), who was a public school art teacher. During the years from nineteen twenty-five through nineteen thirty-two, I learned the ways ofliving on a local mission. During one of these years; I was relieved a semester to .go from school to school to give demonstration lessons in school art. In nineteen thirty-two, the community accepted the offer of a new mission ...Saints Peter and Paul in Tucson, Arizona. Soon, we were involved in other aspects of church service. Besides school teaching, we taught the deaf and blind children, Sunday School, the Indian, summer catechetical work to Mexican children in (I couldn't hear where this was). SVP: Sister, were you among the first to go the West? SMEH: We were the pioneer group. While in (inaudible) working with the Mexicans the summer of nineteen thirty-seven, a letter from Greensburg came. It read: "Send Sister Estelle home bag and baggage. SVP: Who was the major superior at that time? SMEH: I believe it was Mother Rose Genevieve Rodgers. I arrived in Greensburg via train two days after receiving the letter requesting my return. The following Monday morning, I registered for classes in Art History at Columbia University. Before leaving Greensburg however, I learned that Sister Evangelist Yahl had a serious heart problem. Because of my interest in Art, Sister Evangelist requested that I study Art History in preparation for the time when she could no longer teach. After six weeks of summer school, I returned to Seton Hill. On August twenty-second, nineteen thirty-seven, Sister Evangelist Yahl died. Within several days after her funeral, Sister M. Cyril Aaron, the Academic Dean, informed me that I would teach Sister Evangelist's classes. After this time, I tried as I usually did to accept any assignment, but this was different. Academically and technically, not only was I unprepared to teach courses to college students, but these students were paying for very competent teaching. I explained my situation.. My explanation was accepted, and a lay teacher was hired to teach these classes. I then enrolled in college courses for the Fall term. In June of nineteen-forty, I received my undergraduate degree. On commencement night, I boarded a night train for New York. I registered at New York University the morning I arrived. The following year(difficult to hear), I received a Master's degree in Art and returned to Seton Hill for the summer school session. I began my first full year teaching in the college in nineteen forty-one. I taught the required courses in Art, and like. other sisters on the'faculty had other charges. I taught Sunday School classes, monitored students in the dormitories in the evening Monday through Thursday from seven until eleven PM, and helped with college functions. Our places of residence changed from year to year. I lived by the day. During my first years of teaching in the college, the classes were small. As the enrollment became larger, class size increased to about thirty-five. There was also an increase in the number of courses taught. After World War II, campus life changed radically from previous years. There was rebellion and 6 unrest on campuses everywhere. The demands on academic and community life became increasingly difficult. Every aspect of life was changing, and continues to do so. After the first term of teaching in nineteen seventy-six, I realized that my teaching should terminate. This year coincided with the establishment of the Doran Hall Retreat And Renewal Center. Mother Richard Ann Watson appointed Sister Mary Francis Irwin and me to prepar, e the newly purchased Gumberg House, which became the New Generalate residence in nineteen seventy­ seven. After the community elections, Sister Mary Francis and I moved to Doran Hall to direct the transition from Novitiate to Retreat Center. For five years, I did the same kind of work I would have done had I become a housekeeper. SVP: After living at Doran Hall you moved to Ennis, which was the formation house for the Novitiate. Is that right? SMEH: That didn't happen until a few years later. SMEH: By nineteen eighty-two, the bigger part of my life was spent in an institutional set up. Since renewal in religious life began, there has been experimentation in small group community living. I felt it was my duty to participate. Doran Hall began to be used more and more for lay people, so my personal community life style became less possible. In nineteen eighty-two, I moved to Ennis Hall which was occupied by the sisters on the college faculty. After Christmas, Ennis Hall was named the house of formation for the community. I was assigned to work there. This change in residence was very difficult for the college sisters. In the novitiate, I was in charge of the library, and performed other household tasks. Living in the novitiate today is different compared to sixty-five or even twenty years ago. Just as the life style of everyone living in the United States today is changing, what we in religious life have experienced will take many years to understand. SVP: Sister, are there any reflections that you would like to make about your life in community? Perhaps, you might have some comment to make about it. the changes and how you see them affecting the community? SMEH: I remember telling Sister Theodosia Murtha back in nineteen-seventeen that I wanted to enter. All she said was: "Community life is not a bed of roses!" I found this to be true, but I have faith to believe that God acted through those years, and will continue to do so. SVP Sister, thank you for sharing your history with us. I'm sure it will be very helpful...motivating to a lot of young women as they come into the Community. I, in fact always enjoy hearing these histories. They' re very enlivening for me. Sr. Marie Arthur Hamilton: I completed transcribing this oral history of Sister Mary Estelle Hensler on May fifteenth, two thousand twelve. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Mary Estelle Hensler Subject The topic of the resource Sister Mary Estelle Hensler Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Mary Estelle Hensler, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1918 until 1998. The interview was conducted by Sister Virginia Pascaretta on March 17, 1985. Sister Mary Estelle Hensler - born Clara Elizabeth Hensler on July 7, 1900 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in September of 1918. She received a bachelor's degree in art and history from Seton Hill College in 1939 and a master's degree in art from New York University in 1940. She was a professor of art at Seton Hill College from 1943-1977, also serving as the chair of the art department from 1940-1967. She then served as Co-Director and resident artist at the Doran Hall Retreat and Renewal Center from 1977-1987. Along with Sister Mary Francis Irvin, Sister Estelle is remembered for her tireless efforts within Seton Hill's art department. Sister Mary Estelle died on November 23, 1998. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985/03/17 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-13 New York University Professor of Art History Seton Hill College https://scsharchives.com/files/original/7d93882a85698b68961b11080230cdf4.mp3 96262b98ca47514f59527169d70d372c https://scsharchives.com/files/original/a25e1204ae0ac4ea491e068fdfcf42db.mp3 6b0dbf07cc8e67d82ebb5062587e0bff https://scsharchives.com/files/original/6bc9f44b98677480a772254e811172a8.mp3 b6b7e0b726ac3f0c90db229dbeb91e69 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/ecdc47bd7469ac2f59cb5b87d8a79565.mp3 2387b4282188404cd20524014f5d7826 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Virginia Pascaretta Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Mary Estelle Hensler Sister Mary Francis Irvin Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Location The location of the interview Ennis Hall Greensburg (Pa.) Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:34 31:37 31:34 27:52 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Mary Estelle Hensler and Sister Mary Francis Irvin Subject The topic of the resource Sister Mary Estelle Hensler Sister Mary Francis Irvin Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Mary Estelle Hensler and Sister Mary Francis Irvin. The interview was conducted by Sister Virginia Pascaretta on March 24, 1985. Sister Mary Estelle Hensler and Sister Mary Francis Irvin were professors of art at Seton Hill College from the 1940's into the 1970's. Together, they are credited with building the art program at the college into a flourishing major. This oral history concerns their work in the art program. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985/03/24 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-93 Art Artist Professor of Art Seton Hill College https://scsharchives.com/files/original/f7ce6509be7acc1165f3138bf2dec30e.mp3 c3e3fcdd5a837cccd67c599075537958 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/47cad0ada4ba57551b3dc46ac92e1b1a.mp3 685ae13c9c20a7a86c429ef938686648 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Jean Ann Wilburn Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Mary Eustace Mullen Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:01 08:30 Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz 96kHz Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Mary Eustace Mullen Subject The topic of the resource Sister Mary Eustace Mullen Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Mary Eustace Mullen, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1912 until 1983. The interview was conducted by Sister Jean Ann Wilburn on May 12, 1982. Sister Mary Eustace Mullen - born Mary Catherine Mullen on October 23, 1894 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in September of 1912. Sister Mary Eustace received a bachelor's degree in education from Duquesne University in 1936. She served as a teacher at St. Joseph School in Sharpsburg, St. James Elementary School in Wilkinsburg, and at the House of Mary in Pittsburgh's Hill District for brief periods of time in the forties and fifties. She also served as a Sister Servant at Holy Cross School in Youngwood from 1945-1950. In the mid-fifties, she travelled west to Arizona where she taught at SS. Peter & Paul School in Tucson from 1953-1956 and at St. Mary-Basha Elementary School in Chandler from 1956-1957. Back east, she taught at St. Regis School in Trafford from 1957-1962 and was in residence at St. John the Evangelist in Pittsburgh from 1962-1970. Sister Mary Eustace died on May 30, 1983. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982/05/12 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-4 Holy Cross School House of Mary SS. Peter & Paul School St. James Elementary School St. John the Evangelist School St. Joseph School St. Mary-Basha Elementary School St. Regis School https://scsharchives.com/files/original/2364453a09167571e80eef3e0b3cd95a.mp3 43c6ce3936239408e98a5d1842832bd9 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/543c8a9f48d0e60f87841edcb313c7e0.mp3 08be8e6d2d3733e2b15e3f77f12e9d23 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/b4217dec785d226b2be685d735a22165.mp3 7691872d95a1d2c8516585796bc1bbc2 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/731a3ccebb57ea6a0023b38c8edea7b1.mp3 4d62ced62936f2e0dd85aab5961f5397 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/e386ab03d4c61ce078319aed111cb344.mp3 7c0f6170a47ce6f90a0a8ccb91e604ba https://scsharchives.com/files/original/59ea112d00aebe7ac0ecfe8d107f2ad4.mp3 7324a4b7c7eef39660ab3ae3854bb479 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/4c2788599753a331b03a1f9aa9bd5e4c.mp3 d388fe580c93ade9b9a8394e2e283489 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/37f0a5037f6da6698daf34f9d283f9ae.mp3 61f8823e61fe0f9131aa2211ed6056f5 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/2711499ef17089eacf3c6d492b74fe24.mp3 35a5f129712f34e6de127afd461b0edb https://scsharchives.com/files/original/a48d7a902baf412eb21710590af4b82c.mp3 3b921bba482fd5be7e3f166ef710feb9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights to this recording belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH Description An account of the resource To listen to an oral history, click on the record or search by the sister's name. Look under "Other Media" and click on the desired mp3 file to open the oral history. Multiple files indicate a continuation of the oral history. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Sister Marie Corona Miller Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Mary Francis Irvin Location The location of the interview Ennis Hall, Greensburg, Pennsylvania Caritas Christi, Greensburg, Pennsylvania Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 96kHz Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 31:58 31:57 31:54 31:54 31:54 31:55 31:57 31:56 20:41 24:29 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History: Sister Mary Francis Irvin Subject The topic of the resource Sister Mary Francis Irvin Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Mary Francis Irvin, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1933 until 2011. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller On June 16, 22, and 24, 1988 and an additional tape was added on August 16, 2001. Sister Mary Francis Irvin - born Lucy Irvin on October 3, 1914 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in September of 1933. She received a bachelor's degree in fine art from the Carnegie Institute of Technology - now known as Carnegie Mellon University - in 1944. She was one of two graduates that year due to the circumstances of the war. Sister Mary Francis later received a master's degree in fine art from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1953. She served in the art department of Seton Hill College as an assistant professor from 1944-1954 and as an associate professor from 1954-1977. Along with Sister Mary Estelle Hensler, Sister Mary Francis is remembered for her tireless efforts within Seton Hill's art department. Sister Mary Francis was one of the founders of the Doran Hall Retreat Center and worked in that capacity from 1977-1984. She also worked on the Seton Hill Capital Campaign, helped gather funds for the construction of Lynch Hall for Science on Seton Hill's campus, and was elected to the Seton Hill College Board of Trustees in 1980. Sister Mary Francis Irvin died on January 8, 2011. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988/06/16 1988/06/22 1988/06/24 2001/08/16 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource All rights belong to the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Audio cassette tape Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH-103 Artist Carnegie Institute of Technology Cranbrook Academy of Art Flu Epidemic of 1918 Novitiate Professor of Art Sacred Heart Elementary School Seton Hill College Seton Hill College Professor Sister Fides Glass