4 25 573 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/c22f8d3383d98e82f1cb36fc2461895d.mp3 31c74f83efb3ac22285704cef1bd5f46 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/147d27218d676e98ef907e0d4ee3e09d.mp3 599d83295d132ee582c0bdef18b2fef0 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/6bdcc33be56f9200a182125cb4608406.mp3 fe172d8870403337417736f0bad01a4c https://scsharchives.com/files/original/27a9d251eeba7c72704e192b0f80ae0c.mp3 79109719c4d0010e76abb030c58e6fc5 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/025d3e264d66c791452d2442487424fe.mp3 3f5a6506e4d20f9bac55fbbca6e27e2a 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 Francis Louise Honeychuck Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Audio cassette tape Location The location of the interview De Paul Institute Pittsburgh (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.) 31:54 31:55 31:52 07:54 01:02:34 Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Sister of Charity Oral Histories Interviewee: Sr. Francis Louise Honeychuck Interviewer: Sr. Marie Corona Miller July 15, 1987 This interview is being conduced as part of the Oral History program of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. The interviewee is Sister. Francis Louise Honeychuck. The interview is being conducted by Sister. Marie Corona Miller at De Paul Institute. The date is July 15th, 1987. Sr. M: Good morning Sister Francis Louise Sr. F.L: Good morning, how are you today? Sr. M: I’m fine how are you. Sr. F.L: I’m fine thank you. Sr. M: All right sister I came here to today to talk to you about your life as a sister of charity all the many things you have done and the ministries you have been involved in. Would you like to begin with your date of birth? Sr. F.L: I was born in Mount pleasant October 23, 1914 I have one sister whose name is Helen she’s married she lives in Florida, clear water and um originally she lived in Greensburg and her children attended Cathedral school and she has 5 children and they are all married except one and um her oldest daughter lives in Westminster Colorado and her two daughters are attending Catholic university in Washington DC there first year in college first and second year in college they both have college scholarships very bright children and she has two other sons who are also very bright her next daughter her oldest boy is Regus who was a went to St. Vincent college for a scholarship and then he went to Pitt University and received his master degree in Chemical Engineering. And then later on he went on for his doctorate and now he worked at Westinghouse for many years and he moved to Lakeland because his wife had arthritis and she was recommended to go to a warmer climate. So they have 5 children also and the oldest daughter is ready for college this beginning of September. Jimmy is another son and he lives in Orlando and he also has his master’s degree in Engineering and the youngest boy is John he has a masters degree in Electrical Engineering. And I have a brotherFather Bob who was educated at St. Vincent’s college and he is the oldest in the family and he has gone been to Pittsburgh Diocese then it was split and then he went to Greensburg of course and he’s now retired and he lives at Polyment house. He’s my favorite brother of course and our brother Andrew lives in Cleveland and he has is married and has 5 children and they’re all married and I can’t begin to tell you all their relationships because it’s so many children ok and then Brother Johnny is my youngest one and he lives in Irwin and he was 5 children and they’re all married. Sr. M: Which one is the nurse sister? Sr. F.L: And Larry whose the nurse and he lives in Mount Lebanon and he goes to our lady of Grace Parish and he has 2 children and they’re married. Ok that’s the extent of my family. My mother of course was a widow and she my father died in 1918 flu and so my mother had to work and she took in washings and all kinds of things in order to keep us together, and she was determined not to leave us go to any other families you know she kept us together and so we all survived under my mothers care and all grew up and I remember going into first grade and I attended St. Johns school and Sister Mary Eustice Mellon was my first teacher happy memories because I remember she asked us to say the sounds of the alphabet A “a” B “ba” C “ca” and I remember I use to do that at home when I was a little girl and I would look at the story books and she gave me a metal a beautiful little metal and she said you go to that other class because you remember all the sounds of the alphabet but the very first day I remember she went around saying what’s your name what is your name what is your name 60 children in a classroom you know we had 3 in a seat or 2 in a seat you know and she said what’s your name what’s your name what’s your name and after the 4th time I was tired of hearing say what’s your name I said I told you my name before and guess what I got a little crack. But anyhow I learned quickly to be quite you know. Sr.M: So what school was this? Sr. F.L: St. James, St. John the Baptist school in Scottdale. Ok now I remember some of the teachers we had after coming to 4th grade I had Sister Mary Martin Wit and in 5th grade Sister Perpetua Behe in 8th grade Sister Salome Kline and they were happy memories you know then I got into high school and then I had some wonderful teachers in high school I remember them very distinctly. Sr.M: And what High School is this? Sr. F.L: This is St. Johns St. Johns it was just the 3rd floor of the school and I had Sister Angelica Little, Sister Suzanne McIntire she taught me Spanish, Sister Joanna Gleeson was English, and Sister Bertha Shay and I remember her, very distinguished she talked in Latin and oh I love Latin and Sister Marie Anthony was my report teacher Sister Anthony and we had about 16 I guess 20 students in the class and a Sr.M: In the whole class? Sr. F.L: In in my class, in my class ok Sr. M: About how many were in the high school? Sr. F.L: About 90 maybe 100 all through and Sister Bertha was a favorite teacher of mine I liked her and Sister Marie Anthony of course taught the Geometry and the science general science classes. So I remained in high school until I was about till the Junior year and it was then I was contemplating and I remember very distinctly I was eating I took my lunch to school and we Sister Marie Anthony was there watching the lunch hour they take turns, one day it was Sister Marie Anthony the next day it was Sister Suzanne they took something time. And we were eating our lunch one day and she said to me you know I dreamed about you last night and I said you did? Ya she said I dreamed you were a Sister of Charity and I said Oh I don’t know about that but I’ve been thinking about it, I’ve been thinking about it. And so then I began to pray a lot you know and think about what I would like to do I wasn’t quit sure but I just knew well I wanted to devote myself and I remember one day at home my brother Andy and I were playing a game and he said and you know you have to say what would you like to be would you like to be a sailor you like to be a nurse you like to be this and so a saint was there and I said I wanted to be a saint and he said no you be a saint I said yes I’m going to be a saint but anyhow I thought you know that I thought well I wanted to think about being my vocation. So I then after that I approached sister Marie Anthony and I said you know what I’m thinking about entering the community and she said I’m not surprised so Sister Germaine and Sister Richard Ann, Mother Richard Ann and Sister Mary Watson we were all thinking about it too so then not much was said except for ?? She said well where would you like to go and I said well guess I think you got to break the ice don’t all three go together she said that’s not good Sr. M: Were all of you in the same class? Sr. F.L: We were in the same class we were junior year and so she said I think you got to break the ice, so I said I think maybe March 25th would be nice so in the October before that I went to Seton Hill to petition and I can’t remember who I went with probably with Sister Germaine I’m not sure but Mother Eveline Fisher was the Mother general, so she said you’re from Scottdale and I said yes and she said when would you like to come? And I said well I think maybe March 25th and she said oh that nice she said we have quit a few but I think you’re the first one to apply for that date I think you’re probably the first one but she said threes a girl in college that’s thinking about coming and she didn’t tell me who that was, but later I found that was Sister Eugene O’Donnell, and so I went home and I told my mother that I wanted and she said you wanna go to the community don’t you wanna finish your high school and I said I think maybe I want to go now. So then I wrote a letter to Father Bob and he was at St. Vincent’s at the time and I wanted to get him opinion and he though well kind of young you know and so he did so then he wrote back and he said he didn’t know about that, but then he said yes you can by all means go he said you have my blessing or he said you know whatever I can’t remember what he said but he said ill pray that you enter the Catholic vocation and God be with you that was it. So then I remember we were getting ready, and Sister Marie Anthony said you need some clothes you need this you need that, Sister Joanne offered to make me a Kimona and I said well I already have one I already made one myself and she said oh you sew and I said yes. So then they had a party for me my class had a party so we went to Kate Sherman’s house and they presented me with a napkin ring so that I have a napkin ring for my napkin at you know on the table those days you had your own napkin ring ok. So that’s what they gave me as a gift, we had nice evening had a nice party and I remember boys wanted to dance with me and I said ok it’s the last time we’ll dance so we danced and we had some music and so on and I came home and Larry brought me home cuz he was invited to the party and so March came and I kept thinking you know oh gosh it was midnight we got worried that I shouldn’t go until Easter Sunday because, March 25th in that year fell on Good Friday so they said do you think we should come on Good Friday wait till Easter Sunday. So Easter Sunday came and everything was bright and beautiful of course they had Easter candy all around and the bishop baskets you name it everything to make it look inviting. So I remember going up to the clothes room and the sister in charge was Sister Agnes Francina and she had a black dress for me and little black lace cap to put on my head and she said here I think this will fit you so we put it on and I said well ill go down to the parlor and see how everybody likes me so I went down to the parlor and Sister Marie Anthony was there and Sister Germaine and Mother Richard Ann Sr. M: They all went with you? Sr. F.L: They all went with me yes Sr.M: How did you all go? Sr.F.L: Sister Germaine’s father drove the car ok, my mother didn’t go she said goodbye to me at home and so they took me and so I went down and remember said how do you like me? They said well you look kinda nice, and name? looked at me and she said she kept thinking you know I guess I’ll be next you know because she was contemplating being in a spot in September and so we stayed for a little while and Sister Theodosia came down and took me up to the Bishop Sr. M: And she was the mistress? Sr. F.L: She was the mistress, she was the first mistress back then, we were the first novices ok her first novices. So I went up to the Bishop and I met Sister Jean Francis Peters, and she just got the white cap, and Sister Agatha, Sister Alice Marie and Theresa Martin and Margery and Anne Matthia and all that whole gang there was a whole good many. Sr.M: What Sister Margery was that? Sr. F.L: Sister Margery, she’s the one that just died from cancer a couple years ago. And so we went I went to the chapel and Sister Marie Anthony took me to the chapel after their incident, and she took me all the way up to the front pew on the Saint Josephs sides I remember distinctly, and she said now you’re here and you tell God you’re here to stay that’s what she said to me, you tell God you’re here to stay. And so I prayed for a while and she took me out and we went down to the parlor for a little while and we said goodbye to everybody and that was the end of that. Sister Marie Anthony’s visit, and so they all went home and said goodbye. So then I went up to the Bishop and I didn’t know what to expect you know it was all such a big thing to me. Sr.M: Now where was the Bishop Sister? Sr.F.L: The Bishop is where the Sister’s community room is now. Ok, and the senior division used that room across the hall you know they had a piano in there and so that whole floor was really the Bishop floor. We use to go to the oratory you know right across from them. Ok I was taken up to the fifth floor and shown where my bed room was suppose to be, it was really a dormitory with curtains all the way around it. Sr.M: Now this is the administration building. Sr. F.L.: Administration building, and Sister Rose Irene Boggs was in charge up there and she was the senior in that room. Sister Clara Marie McManama was in that room and Sister Rose Irene, and she showed me where the washrooms were, and told me when to get up early in the morning five o’clock in the morning, and I thought oh dear and morning prayers etc. So while I was a postulant I remained in that area. And I remember distinctly after about a month’s time I got very very homesick Sr.M: Now were you the only postulant? Sr. F.L.: In that room Sr.M: Well I mean though in the group Sr. F.L.: Oh no oh no, I should tell you that five entered Sr.M: On that same day? Sr. F.L.: On that same day, and they wore, they were Mary Greeley from Johnstown and Sister Jean Seton she got the name from when she became a white cap, and I can’t remember her Baptismal name. Sister Ruthann Kronenberger, and Sister Eugene O’Donnell and myself. And Mary Ann Greely only stayed about two weeks, she got very homesick and decided she wanted to go home. Sister Jean Seton was in the community only six months, she got the white cap and decided she wanted to go home, but we didn’t know she was going it was all on the secret we just missed her and then sister asked if she was gone. So that left the three of us, Sister Ruthann, Sister Eugene, and myself. Now Sister Ruthann was missioned out west in various places, Scottdale and so on and she was a really wonderful companion, so was Sister Eugene. I remember being in class with Sister Ruthann we were studying American History and also Children’s Literature in summer school at Seton Hill. Sr. M: Who taught those classes? Sr.F.L: Oh I can’t remember who they are. Sister Mary Ann Joseph was the Literature teacher and oh she was so exciting and wonderful, I just loved everything. Sister Mary Fidelis taught the American History. Well, I had so much work to do I had an awful lot of reading, Sister Mary Ann Joseph had all kinds of things that we had to read about which was very fascinating to me which I, and Sister Mary Fidelis had all kinds of assignments and I had to do an awful lot of reading and I have spent most of the time with history, because I had a test every week and I also had a test every week in the Literature. So we would go out on the swing, out in the yard and Sister Ruthann would say to me now Francine did you read this story and I said no I couldn’t have time I was doing history I was doing history I said I had to make this book report for history and I said I had to go to the library and think what I was gonna do for history make a pickery board. So I though I’ll go to the I’ll read this certain book, because I know the name, it was Ulysses Grant I knew something about him, I thought this is something easy I have to pick something easy because I don’t have time, I had so much preparation to do. It was just so much the assignments were so heavy. So sister Ruthann would say to me remember Moby Dick goes with this, and so and so goes with that remember this, so she would the night before the tests, she would tell me all these different things about this literature. Sr. M: Were you in the same class? Sr. F.L: The same class, and I said well I recall this and I recall this and I recall this, but I don’t have time to be studying this. So we took the test and low and behold we passed both of us but I thought oh how could I ever go through a summer like this again, I will never take two heavy classes again because each of those classes required so much reading and so much preparation. In fact it was so hard on me that I didn’t even go to recreation would you believe it. I couldn’t take time, and the sisters in the dormitory said Francis Louise you gonna come out and play basketball, you gonna come out and lets go swimming, lets go here, lets go and I said I can’t I have to study this I have to do this, I have to do this work for tomorrow I had no recreation it was awful. Sr. M: What about a charge, were you given a charge? Sr. F.L: Oh I had a charge; I had a big charge too Sr.M: Whatcha get? Sr. F.L: Well I can’t remember I think I had something over in the bathroom in Cannevan I had to do a bathroom in Cannevan that was an everyday requirement you know because you had to supply the needs you know that was required, and besides I’d mop it up once a week, but outside of that you know I was kept very busy it was a very busy summer. Ask me the question. Sr.M: How long were you a postulant? Sr. F.L: I was a postuland for three months. And then I got the white cap, and I remember going to the oratory and the priest who was in charge of Seton Hill I can’t remember his name he was a chaplain well he blessed the well I guess it was a retreat master a retreat master. Sr.M: Now what year was this? Sr. F.L.: This was 1934 ok, so after we made may day retreat and I remember going to the chapel everyday and the place was packed with Sisters the whole chapels filled with Sisters everyday, they even had chairs on the side to accommodate you know people the Sisters who made the retreat. And I remember going to the chapel everyday and praying and then going to the retreat and we had our retreat exercises in Cecilian Hall, and the best part about that retreat was to go to bed in the afternoon and sleep. I tell ya because we get up at five o’clock every morning and I was always exhausted and I slept, did I sleep, and then I’d carry some my stocking to darn and downstairs I’d mend my stockings while the person was doing the reading and it was usually a profess Sister and I think it was Sister Ann Mckale Orielley who was doing the reading, and she had a beautiful powerful voice and she read for twenty minutes and after twenty minutes we’d disappear and so do our where we had to go and then we’d have a four o’clock conference and then early to bed in the evening which I welcomed; and that was a really restful time for me because it was something that I really thought I needed. Sr. M: And this was in preparation for your receiving the habit. Sr. F.L: Yes, so then the morning, the night before the novices were received, they announced the names of the candidates who were going to receive their habit, so the Sister up in the balcony in the Chapel after the prayers were over everybody hold their ears open you know listening who these names were gonna who the candidates were gonna be so they named them, and they said Emma Honeychuck would be named Sister Francis Louise; and I remember hearing that and I was delighted and Sister Ruthann of course got her name Sister Eugene. Sr.M: Now where did you tell me about the name Francis? Sr. F.L: Well I asked for the when I went to petition mother said to me would you have you would you like think of a name and I said well I’d like to have some form of Francis or some form of Louise, and she said oh I see, well she said we’ll think about it. Sr.M: Now why was that? Sr. F.L: That was probably maybe a month before I received the habit. Sr. M: And why why did you want Francis and Louise? Sr. F.L: Well I know that Louise was connected with Vincent De Paul Sr. M: I see Sr. F.L: And I knew that and I petitioned on October 4th at least to Saint Francis, Francis of Assisi. So and I was surprised that I got those two names and I was happy. And so I remember the morning that I received the habit you know then we had a big celebration and you know and a Sr. M: With all the retreat Sisters? Sr. F.L: All the retreat Sisters and then of course you know we looked different in our white caps it was so tight you know with the bows tied and all that and I remember during the mission days I learned how to tie the white bows and then all be placed there and I tied the bows, and even when I got to De Paul Sister John Agnes McClory and Sister and all the Sisters here you know would said Fancis will you tie my bows will you tie my bows, even the black bows so I learned that quickly you know and that was kinda fascinating to me it was one of the old things I use to do. Sr. M: Who made your Habit? Sr. F.L: Well, Sister Agnes Francina had a Habit. Sr. M: What was her family name? Sr. F.L: I can’t remember her family name, but anyhow she well no we all went to class. We had to do some sewing we had to make our own white sleeves and of course I knew how to sew because I used to do a lot of sewing when I was little, and so we you know all got together and did that, so I remember making the white sleeves, and she would put our names on it and I remember we made our own collars, and white caps, and she taught us how to do that, and she helped us to make our Habits, so we had one good Habit for Sunday and one handy down for somebody else. Yes for your everyday Habit So we Sr. M: And what color were the Habit’s in those days? Sr. F.L: Oh they were black of course they were black, and some were flannel the everyday Habit was a flannel Habit it was made of flannel material and the other was like a Panama which is a bit of quality it was a nicer, and so I used to remember that I learned quickly how to make the Habits because when I went to WestEnd I helped Sister, different Sisters to help fix their Habits I leaned by fixing, I’d rip an old Habit to see how it was done and how the pleats were fixed you had four pleats across the bodice and how they were turned, and I remember fixing a Habit one time for Sister Marie Faycott the pleats were in backwards so I had to I had to rip it and I said I knew where the mistake was. So then after that I began doing a lot of sewing mending Habits and making Habits you know petti coats and all that kinda of stitching. Sr. M: Ok now that time when you received the Habit, is that when Mother Richard Ann entered in the following September? Sr. F.L: Following September Sr.M: In 1934 Sr. F.L: Ya, no yes 1934 no wait a minute no she entered I entered in 32 1932 and she came the September of 1932, see I came in March and she came the following September and I remember when she entered, she had long black hair and she Sr.M: So Sister Germaine had not come yet? Sr. F.L: No, she came the following September, she had graduated school. So then we started to you know take some classes in preparation for teaching and you know methods of different methods of you know you had to learn for preparation for classroom work. So I remember going over to the college and learning at night and completed my high school year. You know so then one day Annalise came to me one day and she said do you know you haven’t finished your science you need a credit in science, and she said Dr. Car will be teaching science this summer and there’s one young lady from Greensburg who was interest in taking this, and she’s paying for the course and she said there would just be two people in the class, would consider taking the science course with her, that’s college credit, and she said if you take this we would give you a credit for your high school as well, so I said I’ll try it. So we met Dr. Car and I remember Sister Marie Anthony Lavin was also teaching Chemistry, and she was teaching on the other side of the table, and she was doing experimentations with some Chemistry, and she would see us everyday, but she wasn’t aloud to talk to use cause we were I was a novice and you weren’t aloud to talk to novices to Profess Sisters even though she was my mother in religion. And so we got through the course and I passed it and I was very happy. So then when I went to Duquesne University to work for my degree, I learned that when they transferred my credits from Seton Hill that I had accreditation in college Chemistry and I wouldn’t have to take any science at Seton Hill, so I also got my high school and college for the one course because it was college credit. And that was all due to Sister De Chantal Leis, which I was very happy. Well then in the mean time I earned up a lot of credits for college, but I still wasn’t finished high school and I didn’t finish high school until I came to De Paul Institute. And I remember taking pre professional examinations and Sister Theresa Vincent Mahoney said to me you mean you’re gonna study this you going to study this you’re going to do this by yourself, and I said we have about a year to teach you this, and I said well if you just give me some regions books so I went to Sister Emanuel Manny, and she gave me some regions books, and she said what do you want, and I said well I want Economic Geography and another aspect of Geography and so I studied these regions books, and I would read on that, and go to the library and get some reference material and then I would study these answers and so on. So I took the test, and I passed the test and they were the only two that I needed so then I got my certification though the state of Pennsylvania and finished my pre professional examinations and I got my certificate. Well then from then on I was able to go on to my college work, get the rest of it ok. I don’t know what I wanna say with the mission. Sr. M: Sister do you wanna talk a little bit about your novitiate days? Sr. F.L: Yes, um I’d like to say that the good number of Sisters entered with us there was a good crowd of Sisters there, I remember Sister Ligouri Steinmiller, Sister Theresa Martin Henry, Sister Ann Agnes, Kilkeary, Sister Rose Irene Boggs,, Sister Alice MarieCrates, Sister Caroline Joseph Wilson, Sister Helen Hart, Sister Jean Francis Peters, Sister Sara Marie O’hara, Sister Agatha Procter, Sister Clara Marie McManama Sister Helen Mary Laferty, Sister Mary Mildred Curry, and Sister Marie George Abbott. One particular day I remember that when I was very homesick Sister Alice Marie, and Sister Caroline Joseph took me out to the barn and they said all kinds of silly things about the cows and the chickens and the everything connected with the farm and they got me laughing, got me out of my homesickness which I was very grateful. Sr.M: Sister can you remember any other incidents during your novitiate days? Sr. F.L: Oh yes, I think I can remember another incident, I recall that you know we always had to wash the dishes after the meal was over, in the Sisters dining room and after serving and passing the pans and reading up and Sister Ligouri Steinmiller was at the sink at the time, and she was splashing around making a lot of soap suds and it was going everywhere and somebody got splashed and I said oh splash back and just then that Sister and I said Saint Theresa did and just at that moment SisterTheodosia walks in and she said Saint Theresa I never heard that, everybody laughed. Sr.M: Did you serve in the dining room? Sr. F.L: Oh yes we all had to serve we had to take turns carrying pans and serving the meals and we carried it on trays always the hot food was prepared in the kitchen and carried the serving dishes on the trays and carried them into the dining room and put them on carts and same with the dish pans the soap and the water and the mops and towels and all that. And after the meal several of us had to take care of the towels take them down and wash them out and then hang them down in the tunnel downstairs to dry for the next morning and the next day we’d collect them and some Sisters worked in the butter house they had to cut the butter and get prepared for the morning meal it would be breakfast. Other people had to get the pans ready count them all out get the coffee pots ready I remember two of our Sisters were appointed to make coffee every morning, they’d go down to the kitchen and use the big urn you know and oh Sister Mary Terrence she’s the one that did that. One time. Sr.M: ? Sr.F.L: Sister Mary Terrence she was in our division too she’s long she’s dead Sr.M: What’s’ her family name Sister? Sr.F.L: Um Sister Mary Terrence Clancy. And I think Sister Clara Marie McManama went down with her they had to go early in the morning before the morning prayers that was around 5 you know, and so they had to make the coffee every morning, and by the time Sister Mary Terrence was laughing she said well I hope the coffee’s not too strong because I put too much in it I’m half asleep and I don’t even know what I’m doin. We all laughed about that. So everybody had chores to do you know for the breakfast and the lunch. We were responsible for a lot of things and we also had to take turns saying prayers nigh prayers morning prayers reading, and I just never had a turn for the morning prayers, I said the quarter prayers you know before the lunch but I didn’t have a turn for that the reading. So when I got on mission I Sister Theodosia said she remembered that I didn’t have a turn and she wondered how I was doing and Sister Levonnation said oh she’s doing ok she was my Sister servant. Sr.M: Sister what do you recall about the senior Sisters in the dining room, like you weren’t aloud to talk to them, but do you recall anything about the senior Sisters that you could remember? Sr.F.L: Hmm well I can’t remember Sr.M: How many tables were in the dining room when you were serving Sr.F.L: Oh I would say about maybe 8 on each side you know maybe 16 tables at least, well maybe not that many I guess yes I guess there were there were long tables and you had 8, 10 people at a table you know, we had white table cloths on all the time and we would take we every Wednesday we change the table we turned the table cloths over the dirty side went under the clean side went on top in those days why you then on Saturday you would clean them for the next week for the following week and we all had napkins and napkin rings and all that was in this place, and the dishes were in place, the silverware was there and the plates were turned upside- down and the silverware was there, and you had to make sure that the sugar bowels were attended to have sugar and salt, pepper those kinds of things. And that was just the ordinary run of things. Sr.M: Now what about your charge on the steps you had an amusing story about the steps. Sr.F.L: Oh that happened, when I was I guess I was a white cap then, and I remember well we all had extra things to do that day because some Sisters went on retreat or I can’t remember the incident but we all had extra work to do, and so Sister Feodosha appointed Sister Mary Celest Casalina and myself to do the stairways in the in the landing you know the chapel chapel landing and the floor near Cecilian Hall and then the one below that near the dining room was and I said to her you take one side and ill take the other side and we’ll meet you know downstairs, so we started work we had our mops and we had our dusters and we had to dust all the curlicues you know in those days we had banisters that were very ornate and they had a lot of you know things to put your finger through in order to get your finger all to get the dust off and with your cloth, and so we started and we worked for a while and about 15 minutes she came over to me oh Sister I think this is too hard, this is too much work and she said I think I ought to ask somebody for some help, and I said oh come on you do your side and I’ll do my side and we’ll get finished don’t worry about it. So we went back to work and about 20 minutes later she says did you find, did you go to Sister Feodosha and ask her if we could have some help, this is just too much can’t you can’t you you’re the senior you should go now you’re the senior you go ask Sister to get some help because I think this is too much. So I said no I’m not gonna go I said no we’ll get finished don’t worry about it. Well now are you gonna go or aren’t you gonna go, and I said no I don’t think I’m gonna go, well why not why not and I said well I’m not goin because I don’t think we have to go we don’t need any help. So we went back to work, and next thing you know she came back again did you find some help I think you ought a go. So I finally went to Sister Theodosia after much deliberation I went, so I explained what happened and she said well you tell Sister Celest that I want to see her. So Sister Celest began apologizing immediately she said Sister it’s my fault it’s my fault I urged Sister to talk to you and get help, she says it was my fault and I knew I shouldn’t have done that but I knew it was my fault. So anyhow that was the end of that. Sr.M: So did you get the steps done? Sr.F.L: Ya we got them done, sure we did we went back to work and they just sure we did. Sr.M: Did you have anything to do with the animals in the barn? Sr.F.L: No, oh no oh no no no no Sister’s didn’t do anything like that the men take care of that. Sr. M: Alright Sister then you went out on your fist mission Sr.F.L: Yes Sr.M: Ok, now where was that? Sr.F.L: Ya now the first mission well first I would tell you that yes I went to Westend, and I was assigned to take third grade and the former teacher had that and she was told or asked to take fourth grade so I could have the third grade because I have never taught before. It was my first experience at teaching and Sister Generosa was in charge of the teachers in training at that time for the community. She was a supervisor you know. So she came around periodically and she had visits with all of us, and so I remember going into third grade, I had about sixty children in third grade. Sister Anastesia Mellon was in the second grade, Sister Ann Seton Boyle was in the first grade and between the two of them they really gave me a lot of help, especially Sister Ann Seton, and I spent a lot of time observing Sister Ann Seton when she was preparing her vocabulary work for first grade all the I was asking her many questions well how do you do this, and why are you doing this and she’d tell me this is the vocabulary for tomorrow and then she’d have printing on the board she’d have all kinds of art work ready for the children so that they would be have something to do while she was teaching on group and or another class another group, and a Sister Anastesia Mellon had second grade she had over sixty children in there she was kind of on the stern people you know everything was did at task, and Sister Ann Seton was well more innovative I would say because she was younger, and so I learned a good bit from both of them and I had to do all the studying on my own to try to prepare things so things went pretty well. And then the following year I was appointed to have fifth and sixth grade and I was kind of un eerie about that because it was going to be my first year of fifth and sixth level. It was a double grade and I think we had fourth children in that room. Sister Erma Sullivan was sixth grade opposite of me we were down stairs in the basement of the school, and it was during that year, it was 1936 that the Pittsburgh you know the Saint Patrick’s day flood occurred the famous Saint Patrick’s day flood oh I’ll tell you that was some experience. I remember, we went to bed at night well into the evening because Mother Egnasha was a little bit you know upset, not exactly upset but she was I can’t think of the word Sr.M: Concerned? Sr.F.L: Concerned, she was concerned because the water was rising and there was a creek behind the convent and she could see that water rising, and she was concerned about the blessed sacrament being on the first floor where the chapel was. So we all went to bed and she didn’t say anything but it was late when we get up in the morning there was no bell ring and I said what’s the matter no bell look how high it is, and we looked out the window and here this water was way up high above the it was even with the convent porch which was high it was the old convent, and the fence across the street which was next to the Thady Seton School was covered with water the picket fence six feet high and it was covered with water. Every place you look and there was a woman across the street yelling and she says help help help from the second floor trying to get out, So first thing we did well I got dressed and so did we and we opened the cellar door and here was the water just about at the doorstep and we could see the cans up in the air floating tomato’s, beans, all these cans were coming out of the cupboards floating on top of the water ok, it was terrible. So we had to get out and the next thing I know a policemen came with three or four policemen in a boat, so we all got out and got into the boat and we went into the boat into a canoe all the way up to Stuben street if you can picture that that’s pretty high up we got out and went on Stuben street and we walked to the Devine Provence convent and they welcomed us somebody telephoned and said we were coming guessing Mother Ignatia did that or somebody and so they gave us breakfast and I remember specifically they gave us coffee and doughnuts and some cereal and some fruit they had apricots or what you know ready for us. Sr.M: Were they not flooded? Sr.F.L: They were not flooded because they were on a higher level ok so Sr.M: Do you remember the name of that convent Sister? Sr.F.L: Saint Martin’s, Saint Martin’s convent. Ok so it was there that Mother Ignatia had telephoned Mother Eveline finding out where we could go for the day. So we had to wait for about a half hour until everything was processed through and so they said well Hazelwood Saint Steven’s Hazelwood can accommodate five Sisters they don’t have heat, but they’ll take you ok there’s no heat in the convent but they’ll take you. So they decided to send Sister Veronica Scott, Sister Paula Moran, Sister Olivia Hamilton, Sister Ann Seton Boyle, and myself and they called us to find dionanies. And so we went to Hazelwood and Sr.M: In a boat? Sr.F.L: No, we went on a train and we got on the train and we went all across the city and you could see the water everywhere when we passed J & L steel building everything was flooded cars were covered and everything, it was terrible. So we finally got to Hazelwood going into the cold convent and Sister Mary Ann MacAfee was there and she was teaching there and some of the other sister, but I remember her because she was stationed her later at De Paul Institute. So it was the year after that that she came here. But so they accommodate us they serve us breakfast and everything and they had three tables in the dining room the place was cold but at least we had a bed to sleep in we were away from the water and we got our scripture reading there are our prayers and we served our meals and everything, so we were there for about a week, and then a telephone call came and said Mother Evalan called and said I would like Sister Ann Seton and Sister Francis Louise to go to Oakmont Saint… Sr.M: Now did they still carry on their school? Sr.F.L: Oh yes Sr.M: They had no problem with the flood? Sr.F.L: No, they carried on their school. Ok, and they didn’t have everybody because everybody wasn’t able to get there but they took care of the ones who came. Ok so then we went to Saint Irenaeau and Sister Ann Seton was told to do the CCD work after school and I was to do to take fifth and sixth grade because Sister Mary Albert Short was ill I believe she had scarlet fever and she would be away for at least three weeks. And they thought of me because I had fifth and sixth grade before at Westend. So when I got there, I didn’t have any problem and I thought oh gee this is nice this is small class in compared to Westend, and there’s no flood no water and I’m on in the safe land and its warm and it’s cozy and oh it’s nice and it was homey they only had about six Sisters on mission there Sr.M: What was the name of that convent? Sr.F.L: Saint Ireneaus where Sister Mary Anna Mcsherry was the principal and also the Sister servant. And so we slept upstairs and everyday I went to school and everyday Sister Mary Anna would peep in the window to see how things was going in the classroom. So after about three days, she said to me I can’t believe it she said she says this is the wildest class in the school and she says you have control over these kids she said I wish I could keep you and I said oh I have to go back to Westend when they’re ready for me I’ll have to go back there I said it’s not up to me to stay I said you know, so I just smiled and didn’t say anything and I know they seemed to be out of hand at first but I was very commanding in the very beginning because they warned me that it was a hard class but I Sr.M: How many children did you have? Sr.F.L: There must have been about forty not as big of class as I had. But anyhow, I found they to be very very nice. So after the week was over, after the week was over I went back to Westend but, we were not aloud to go down to the basement where my school classroom was we had to make they had to make changes no body was to use that room that place downstairs for children for the rest of the year. They had libe all over the place the board of health came around said no it has to dry completely and they had to make sure that there’s no bacteria no germs you know debree anything that might be contagious for the children. So we didn’t go down there and so we had to use the high school they emptied the library and the high school classes had to go in the library conduct some of their classes there and they vacated one whole room for Sister Erma and myself so we had she had sixth grade and I had fifth and sixth grade so we put the two classes together and that was over past sixth kids. So we worked it out that we’d you know go hand in hand we couldn’t have two teachers in the room but she took part of the time then I taught part of the time and so things went, we had to keep a record of everything and she was wonderful with me she said be sure you have everybody whose absent down and it’s a good thing I did because you know we had some wintery days and one boy whose name was David Lennon was in an accident after school he was sled riding and he accidently bumped into a truck or the truck bumped into him and of course the parents were wanted to have a lawsuit. So the next thing I knew some gentlemen stepped into my classroom and said hand me this note and said you’re ?? to court I couldn’t believe it and so then he explained this is all about David Lennon’s people wanting me to testify and so I went to Sister Erma immediately and she said oh Sister she said this is serious you’ll have to go, so then we told Sister Margret and Sister Margret said oh no you’re not going you not gonna go you’re not goin and Sister Erma said oh Sister we have to go we have to go or you’ll pay five hundred dollars. So we went Sr.M: Both of you went? Sr.F.L: We both went because we both handled him. So all I had to do of course was to take my register with me and testify the days they were absent and I had to say whether there was any preshable difference in his leaning you know capacity was he injured in any way that his leaning ability was you know demurred and of course I had to say that I didn’t see any difference in the child and so they won the case the family won the case, but I was very much unnerved because it was my first experience and I was a young Sister and I didn’t you know know what to expect. So it was hard on me but Sister Erma was very nice about it she went to the court with me I wouldn’t have gone alone you know which was nice. In those days we always went in two’s you never went by yourself you know you always went with a companion down the street or anywhere we just never went alone. Sr.M: Sister when the five of you went to Saint Eranas or Saint Steven’s where did the other Sisters from your house go? Sr.F.L: Well some of them went to Sacred Heart and some went different places ya I can’t remember just where they all went but Sr.M: And then you all came back together within a week Sr.F.L: Yes we did, yes we did. Then the following year Sr.M: What about um Sr.F.L: The following year we when the then there was a rumor that a flood was going to come back again you know the river was going to rise again but and it did rise to some extent but not like the Saint Patrick’s day flood. So father we had mass in the morning and Father Sheetie came over he’s the assistant pastor Father Gilman was the pastor at the time, but he was the assistant pastor and he said the rumor’s comin up you better get out and so we all decided to go somewhere while Sister Marie Ann to Sister Margret was in charge then and she said Sr.M: This is the second year? Sr.F.L: The year after 1938 ok no 1937 because the flood was 1936, 1937 it was the spring season and I can’t remember if it was in March or April but anyhow it was probably March. So they said they had room for three at De Paul Institute, so Sister Olivia and Sister Ann Seton and myself went to De Paul ok and the others went to different places some people went to Carnegie and some other people went I can’t remember all the missions they were, but anyhow we left. And some people went to Seton Hill I think, and so when I came to De Paul it was my first experience with deaf children I really didn’t know anything about De Paul institute I had heard of it but I didn’t know what it was like or what to expect. So I remember observing the classroom during the day while the children were in session Sister Elizabeth Ann Mahonie at the time was a teacher over in the primary school and I remember seeing her and observing, and Sister Olivia and Sister Ann Seton came along and we just sat and observed. The children were having reading and speech and ? training and matching pictures and everything. And I distinctly I saw a Sally lou Sister, she was just a little girl, she’s one of our teacher aids now you know and when she grew up she went to Sacred Heart high school and then she went to Mercy college but she didn’t finish, so then she came here and got a job and she was home economics teacher for a while now she’s a teacher aid working with Mr. Hope. But anyhow I was astounded at what the children could do you know I was very interested I couldn’t believe that they were doing and not hearing what the teacher was saying. So I said to Sister Elizabeth Ann would you not talk loud so she said alright ill talk without voice, so she did and she was saying the very same things that she said before but using no voice and the children were doing carrying on everything and that’s when I was convinced that they were really you know lip reading and I though isn’t that amazing I just couldn’t believe that. So I tried to talk to some of the children but I found it difficult to understand some of them because I wasn’t use to them but so after that then of course we were here for a couple days and then we went back to Westend and resumed our teaching you know everything was normal by that time but in the following June or I guess it was June, August when the mission list was read we all went to the Cecilian Hall and Mother Marie Benedict Monahaign was the Mother at the time and she read out the names of the Sisters for the various missions and you would have to listen very closely for your name you know as the mission was read so I was listening and listening and after it was all over I didn’t hear my name and I thought why I wonder where I’m going so after I started to go out to the end of the hall and I met Sister Margret and she said dearie where you going on mission and I said I don’t know I said I didn’t hear my name She said lets go to Mother and find out. Sr.M: Now this is Sister Margret Sr.F.L: Sister Margret McMan she was my Sister servant ok at Westend, so we went to the hall and Mother was talking with some Sister about Mother said you go to your mission go to your mission she said and you try it and if you if you contact me later that’s all I heard. So then Sister Margret says Mother where is this Sister going on mission and Mother looked at me and said oh she’s going to one of the Institutions and I thought well I’m not a nurse I can’t go to the hospital you know or maybe I’m going into and I going to send me to training or what so then I said you mean De Paul Mother and she said yes De Paul she said I want you come here she said now look she said I want you to try it for a year and see how you like it she says now that’s not for everybody and I know and she said everybody wouldn’t like that type of work but she said you try it and then next June she says you come back to me and you tell me, well I tried it for a year and I was thinking I was going to Seton Hill at the end of June like we always do all the novices went to Seton Hill you know course I was profess then I was a profess Sister and I expected to go to Seton Hill like everybody else and take classes and do all the things everybody else does get a charge out there and have recreation with everybody and do everything that you do in the summer time well, first thing I know Sister Regatta Fitzpatrick and myself were sent to Wane State University, teacher in training for the deaf so I never got Sr.M: Sister can I back up a little bit Sr.F.L: Yep Sr.M: into an incident that happened in the dining room you had said to me something about Sister Marie Antonio Mclenen was in the dining room eating with Mother Sr.F.L: Oh ya Sr.M: Was it mother Benedict Sr.F.L: It was Mother Marie Benedict yes Sr.M: and you were serving Sr.F.L Yes I was serving the dining room and I just heard a conversation saying oh that’s the one she’s the one I knew they were pointing to me but I didn’t know what the conversation was Sr.M: So this preceded your assignment Sr.F.L This preceded my assignment so I presumed that that’s probably what they were thinking about you know sending me there. Well I just don’t know whether that’s just ya Sr.M: Now who was the superior in the… Sr.F.L: Well then when I came to De Paul well then when I came to De Paul Sister Marie Antonio Mclenen was here she was the Sister servant and Sister Theresa Vincent Mahoney was the she was the Sr.M: Now what year was that? Sr.F.L: Was the principal, that was 1937 September 1937. So this is 1987 so guess what it will be fifty years in September. Well I had four years at Westend teaching and then I had forty nine years at De Paul in the classroom and so you add it up at it’s fifty three years in the classroom and while I was at De Paul I had many experiences many happy memories and I’ve learned a lot of things about the deaf and the children and from the very start I was you know asked to do teacher training and I there had been many many girls who have been here and one I cherish the most was Marlene Falco, she came from Connellsville and at that time they took the girls here and they resided in the school they slept here at the school and then they went on to Duquesne university for their education so they helped to teach during the day got their teacher training experience with the children with the with the model teacher supervising teacher and then they went to classes at night or after school you know at Duquesne and got their college credits that way. And so then after a certain number of years they were accredited to be able to go anywhere to teach you know they had got their certification from the state of Pennsylvania and so it was hard laborious work for them, but it was good for us too because we had somebody to rely on and they did a lot of things that we weren’t able to do because we had study hours and we had you know dining room you know duty we had to take care of the children while they ate their meals and there’s many activities, boy scouts, cubs you know brownies, and I had charge of the playmates Sr.M: And what were the playmates? Sr.F.L: They were a little group of children pre brownie group and we had Saint Agnes as out patron and I remember distinctly making the beanies they were made pink not flannel but pink felt and we make the beanies and then we had a lamb white lamb insignia to designate the patroness of Saint Agnes while was their patroness of the their playmate club and we had a playmate flag and it was pink and we had a big lamb on that also and periodically we had entertainment for the children and games and all kinds of activities for them plus health rules and citizenship rules all those kinds of things are necessary for little children and we dramatized the story of Saint Agnes and the children did that themselves one would be the Saint Agnes somebody would be the soldiers ect. So we use to use the stage in the what we use to call the boys hall and because we didn’t have Lady Victory hall then it wasn’t built yet. So we would invite the school and the children would participate from then on and I remember distinctly Mother Evan Fisher was living here at the time and when her birthday came around which was always around the feast of Saint Agnes she always wanted to see this play so we would put it on for her and Sr.M: How old were the children? Sr.F.L: They were six, seven, eight-year-old children they were growing really very active Sr.M: Now they would in those days those were the young children Sr.F.L: They were oh yes oh yes they were maybe younger than that. Our six years olds were called we called them the babies you know because they were just beginners and so well I have been working with the deaf children almost all the time I’ve been here except period in 1949 I distinctly remember that I was asked to learn the brail and so I was sent to Colombia University with Sister Justine for summer course and Ms. Madeline Lumis was the author of the text book and the teacher and so when I first arrived there I was the only people that applied for this brail course and so the sue provider said well I don’t think we can really you know ask you to take this course you’re the old pupil we couldn’t pay the teacher you know just for one pupil that’s not customary we usually have ten fifteen people in a class and he says where you from and I said Pittsburgh, what part? De Paul Institute oh De Paul Institute well that’s where Sister Theresa Vincent Mahoney’s from I said yes well you’re gonna stay and we’re going to provide a teacher for you because I visited your school and I remember that Sister and I will do that for you, so in the mean time this person Ms. Madeline Lewis was sick they thought she had appendix she really was having cancer but they didn’t know it they thought it was appendix so she had this operation and I had a substitute teacher and I had a hard time with her because I she I knew that she wasn’t as equipped as I expected her to be and the thing is… Sr.M: This is a continuation of an interview being conducted as part of the oral history program of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. The interviewee is Sister. Francis Louise Honeychuck the interview is being conducted by Sister. Marie Corona Miller at De Paul Institute the date is July 15th 1987 Sr.M: Sister you were talking about your training with the blind Sr.F.L: Yes, well at Colombia they coordinator of the program said that I could take the class so as I was saying I had to take the brail course and I was taught to use the slate and the stylus and that meant that I had to reverse the pattern in pricking the dots on paper which was difficult because it didn’t have the Perkins brail writer at the time we hadn’t purchased one yet this was all so new to me and so this was a six weeks course and after two weeks I was told that Madeline Lumis was ready to return when I was very happy to see her because everything was changed for me, she gave me a better understanding of this whole idea of brail and teaching blind children and I was thinking specifically of Ann Marie Jurard who was going to be our first blind student from Erie her mother had gone to Pittsburgh to consult with Bishop Derden to ask of it thee was any place that her child could be educated she wanted Ann Marie to have a Catholic education and there was no place provided in Erie there was no place in the Pittsburgh diocese and so Bishop Derden said well the only thing he knew that he could do would be Father Darley was building a new building our Lady of Victory Hall and he said maybe the Sisters of De Paul could provided education for her daughter and so in the meantime he consulted with Father Darley and said to specifically leave a classroom for the blind for the physical for the partially sighted and blind children and they mentioned Ann Maria Jurard so when I was taking the course I was thinking of her doing the slate and stylus and then I knew that when I got back to school that I would we would purchase a brail writer and all the things that we needed in the mean time Agnes Stone who was a graduate from Mount Mercy was a blind women who knew the brail very well and she lived in Oakland at the time and we hired her Sister Theresa Vincent invited her to come out and to work with me and she started Ann Marie some of the things on the brail you know slate and stylus and then she we started to she didn’t stay any more than a year or a year and a half and so then after she left and I took over the whole program and we had students starting to come in and we had then after I guess several years after that I can’t recall which years but it might have been probably fifty-two but I’m not sure 1952 Sister Angelica Little came so it was Sister Angelica and myself who really engineered the blind department she started the music with the children and provided the brail dots for them to read music notations so they could play we had important piano recitals and among those students were Earl Nixon and Thomas Burgander and Marita Matthews and Candy Deet, Cindy Cudis, Denise MCcrilin, Terry McMahons, Cathy Webber, and the Wisemen twins Larry and Jimmy, Larry Mahoney which was a grandnephew of Sister Theresa Vincent, Regee Sullivan, and Timon Jackson and there was another child who came later and I can’t remember his name but he came from the North side and he had a he had a tumor on the eye and when they operated he lost his sight but I can’t remember his name and I’m sorry that I can’t. So Sr.M: Sister in you and Sister Angelica could go to Catholic University? Sr.F.L: Well Sister did yes and I did too but I got most of my training my beginning training at Colombia at Colombia and then later on I went to Catholic University yes and I took some courses there eye in eye conditions and a few other things that you know was required. Then it was several years after that that Dr.Peabody came from Detroit and he was starting a program for the physically handicapped for the blind and partially sighted at the university so he came to visit our class room and he saw the children in their atmosphere, and he invited Sister Angelica and myself to attend the class so that he could begin teacher training so he wanted us to get pointers on what to do to teach the teachers in training so we went to class every week for six weeks and Dr. Mary Moral still lived with us and she was the person who was in charge of the United Presbyterian church who brailed material for us if we wanted anything done for the children she would get a group of women to do the brailing and Sr.M: Were these women blind? Sr.F.L: These women were not blind no and they did the brail work because it was impossible to use all the textbooks, we did the Catholic textbooks Sister Angelica and myself and we tried especially religion books, but they provided the other books and they schlack them on the other side so that dots would not rub out and then they bound them with a big string shoe strings or cut shoe strings and tied and they had the books were huge they were about seven by fifteen you know in size and they were cumbersome and heavy looking and thick and we had to provide story space for them in Lady Victory hall lockers and itemize everything everything we had . So we went every week to Pitt University and we offered our services and learned a lot too, and we had discussions about and these people came from the blind school and they came from other places that were going to start classes for the blind in the public schools just like they had classes for the deaf in public schools well it was unheard of to have deaf children then because this PL9142 wasn’t in existence then you know so after six weeks we finished our course but that was the beginning of the teacher training program at Pitt University we were invited to join in that you know work Sr.M: Sister I know that you had been very much involved in helping the children begin dressed for their production their theatrical productions here at De Paul. Can you tell us what you’ve been doing? Sr.F.L: Would you sake a theatrical productions Sr.M: Oh I think they’re theatrical Sr.F.L: Well Sr.M: What they can do Sr.F.L: Well anyhow Sr.M: Is marvelous Sr:F.L: It was a Christmas play well Sister Marie Stell and I both had a hand in that you know but lately I’d been doing most of it. In the beginning each teacher was responsible for getting her own costumes and sewing them and so I remember Sister Marie Michael Carol you know in years past needed a pair of pants for somebody and she just found two old pillow slips and sewed them together, but anyhow one point in time we had some material donated from the Altoona Silk Mills I can’t recall who sent them but we had boxes of them different colors of pinks and yellows and blues and you name it and it was boxes of that and I thought oh this would make nice costumes to make nice angel gowns and white you know would be nice for the angels you know Gabriel and so on and so after some time why we made you know people help make the wings and all kind of things and but recently I’ve been more or less commission to do the costumes for the cast so I guess the last six or seven years or so, maybe more than that. When the assignments were given to the teachers to dress the children you know each one had charge of certain groups, one would dress the soldiers and somebody else would dress Mary and Joseph and somebody else the Kings and somebody else the Shepard’s and so on, and Joseph and Mary and so I volunteered to dress them to prepare the costumes prepare the costumes so if any new costumes had to be made I went to the Altoona Silk Mill box and you know dug out some material and cut it up and tried to make costumes for the children, and we do preserve them from year to year and we try to use them over and over again so when they have to be laundered and pressed and everything and hemmed and re hemmed and re stitched or what have you or lengthened or shortened why I’ve always taken responsibility to do that. Sr.M: Sister beside Christmas play, I know the children did other kinds of plays that happened before I came. Now the one I know that has been mostly talked about was the play To Our lady of Lords now what Sister was in charge of that? Sr.F.L: Oh, that was Sister Larita McGorie and Sister Mary Linus Hoak, they did that their classes it was for the upper class children and that was really magnificent and the children carry candles and it was really really beautiful it was like our you know Lords. Sr.M: Sister when you were a young Sister starting out here at De Paul the pattern of the young sisters going to Seton Hill in the summer was not done by you nor those who were young like you here at De Paul can you explain why? Sr.F.L: Well every summer you see in order to be trained for the teacher of the deaf we had certain number of credits to get and so Sister Brugetta and myself went to Wayne State University for three whole summers and Sister Scholastica Joyce and Sister Ramada Manean taught me this also and it was three long summers and I remember it was eight weeks at a time and the last no ten weeks ten weeks and then the next summer was ten weeks and then the next summer was ten weeks and the last the third summer was eight weeks and in addition to that we had to get our thesis written and had to be in on a certain date and also I took classes at Duquesne University and I went to Pitt University and Catholic University and tried to get as many credits as I could in order to get my state certification so in the end I was certified as an elementary school teacher in the dioceses of Pittsburgh and also deaf education and hard of hearing and in addition to that sight handicapped and blind and then later I was certificated to be a speech correctionist so in all those areas I had my certification. Sr.M: So you almost continued to go to school. Sr.F.L: Yes, Sr.M: All the summers Sr.F.L: Yes, yes it was a continuation practically every summer and then when I wasn’t doing that we were working on curriculum. Now this present the past two years I’ve been working on the curriculum, and the team for that each there are coordinators for each of the teams and for instance Sister Justina Drysockend and David Williams and Thomas Hogue and myself were the language, reading language curriculum of which I was the coordinator responsible for accumulating all the material and seeing that it was done you know properly. This was a must from the state of Pennsylvania there were certain guidelines we had to do. We had to include our twelve goals of quality education and so we designed the curriculum the language reading curriculum so that any teacher coming in any person who wanted to learn about the deaf who expected to teach here at De Paul Institute would have something to have in hand so she would be able to follow in order to teach the reading systems, and we are presently using the Scott Forcemen series and we have been for sometime, we found them very valuable our children have scored very well in readings all the way up the line and they show progress so we know it’s a good program, and were not about to give it up and the Sister have preceded me have worked really very hard on that, Sister Helen Louise Connolly, Sister Florien Mcgorie and Sister Marylinus, and all those people and so I cant name everybody because there’s so many people involved but it just this year you know it has to be so in November were going to have an auditor is coming in and the state will evaluate our school, and so I’m not the only one this is not the only group we have to update our mathematics department, science Sister Jeremy has to do the science Sister Mary John is doing the mathematics they’re the coordinators of the speech Connie Mcgrogan and perception and all Sister Sara Marie and all the people down in the earlier you know preschool and readiness department they all have to do that. Sr.M: Sister now to go back a little bit further into at De Paul the community of De Paul would you just like you mentioned some of the Sisters who have come and are now gone many of the Sisters have died, like those in many other key positions other than teaching like I’m thinking of Sister Maureen Cogrus was here could you name some of them like some of the dieticians who were here who took care of the meals the nurses that were here. Sr.F.L: Well Sister Alice Elizabeth Nolan was here as a nurse Sister Equanatia Moore was here when I first came, Sister Ail Louise White took care of the laundry Sister Mary Louis Highland was in charge of the girls, Sister Benedicta and I can’t think of her last her family name she charge of the boys and Sister Lea Katy Mahallen was in kitchen she took care of the meals and we had other people also I can’t think of her their names Sr,M: Sister Theresa Marie Sr.F.L: Sister Theresa Marie Jenkins was in the kitchen, she came shortly after she had her hand cut you know she had an accident at Seton Hill and so she came here and I in fact I was her roommate at first over in the ? Sr.M: Well what about the laundry? Sr.F.L: Well Sister Mary Ali Louise White took care of the laundry she use to do my dusters for me and I never knew who ever took them so one day I found out that she was the one who was taking my dusters and washed them for me she was very kind. Sr.M: Well when did Swister come? Sr.F.L: She was always here, she was here when I was here you know she was here the year I arrived. Sr.M: Sister Rose Gazada Sr.F.L: Yes, ya Rosa Gazada. She talked an awful lot about Germany and periodically she’d get little candles from Germany and we’d have them for our peace days or Christmas we’d light them put them on the table have our peace days all day celebrations and one year she ordered a crucifix from Germany and so we all admired it some of the Sister said they would like to have one you know beautiful hand carved you know beautiful and. Sr.M: Sister what about some of the children who needed some extra help Sr.F.L: Well there were always children who need extra help especially in the summer time. I recall Mark Partridge came and who was now when I first got him in my classroom he could hardly speak in sentences at all and I was surprised the other day he came to visit and he’s present living in Florida and he’s attending NTID college for the deaf and he’s majoring in photography and I was amazed to hear his speech, he was talking as well as you and I beautiful clarity beautiful work beautiful speech but this past year this is Persvel Walker who has been our on auxiliary a member of the auxiliary club for many years at De Paul Institute and who’s son attended here earlier when he was seven years old I had him in the classroom he was a deaf child and recently he had some eye problems he was unable to see so the mother’s desperate and she asks what we could do he had gone to guild for the blind and Sister Connie Ball talked with him and she tried to get him interested in brail and he was very uncooperative and they exactly she called Sister Calamida one day on the phone and said they didn’t know what to do with Robby they didn’t know how to teach him because he’s deaf and so Sister Calamida talked with me and I said oh bring him out here I know Robby I’ll take him and I said it’s been years since I’ve had the brails but I said I’ll do what I can. Sr.M: How Robert Walker graduated in what year? Sr.F.L: Oh I can’t remember what year I can’t remember it’s so long ago probably the 60’s. And so anyhow he came with his father and his father’s now retired and the mother said that the father would bring him everyday for as many times as I would take him. So he stated in December December the fourth and we started out with brail and first he was in the beginning he was reluctant to learn brail because he just didn’t want to be bothered with it but then he began to see that he couldn’t to realize that he just couldn’t do without it because he can’t see can’t hear he can’t properly learn from talking books he can’t hear the talking book and he can’t see the television and he can’t read and so he was just desperate he just knew he had to have the brail. So he started and he came everyday during the month of December and we got started. In January he had to go to Boston for an eye operation and he saw a specialist there and it was really just a kind of preliminary to see what was what he could do and so after several weeks he came back and we resumed the brail lessons and I had him everyday I took him in the evening and I took him after school some days after school some days it was in the evening which ever time permitted on my schedule. So then during the month of May I didn’t hear from him they had gone to visit his sister in Long Island and they said they’d be away for a couple weeks, when they returned I called and said what happened and they said well there in the process of moving the mother and the father have felt that something has to be done for Robby and they didn’t they know they’re getting older and they didn’t want anything to happen to them without Robby being provided for so they decided to move to Richmond Virginia where they would be near her daughter. So if anything happened to the parents then the daughter would take over. And Robert is the type of person that was very clingy to his parents, he just can’t go without his parents and they realized that and so he’s very unsure of himself because this has happened to him. He was very outgoing in the beginning and he had a wonderful job as a proofreader in New York in Margs position and so it just the mothers just just crushed over this whole thing. So they broke the news to me that they were gonna move so I said alright I’ll take him everyday until he moves, which I did and he was getting along beautifully he began to read and was doing fine so then they had to leave and I said goodbye and I said I would keep in contact with them which I will, already sent a letter in brail to them and I guess it will be awhile until I hear anything because they have to get adjusted in their new home and moving and all that you know it takes time. So that’s that’s the present thing that’s happened. Sr.M: Sister would you like to comment as to the changes which the church as gone through since Vatican II and in turn our own community. How do you feel about those changes? Sr.F.L: Hmmm well when I think of Vatican II I think especially the liturgy. I really appreciate the liturgy in English it has been so meaningful to me. The epistles and the Gospels and the trend toward bible study, scripture, prayer meaningful to you to me to all of us. I have learned to be more spiritual in that area because I feel more prepared than I was at the time when we talked in Latin I mean Mass was in Latin and I am particularly happy to be at De Paul Institute for the liturgy because Father Convoy’s our present chaplain and he has certainly offered many many spiritual assets to our community by his homilies he always has very very touching homilies you know when you leave the chapel you always have something there. Although Fathers been with us so many years at least well I guess its thirteen fourteen years, and he has never repeated one ? and he everything is special when he’s estimation he takes each day as it comes liturgy and he plans everything. He also plans very carefully when we have parent days and also our facility meeting our facility mass meeting that’s at the school and he’s been very much of an inspiration to all of us and we’re very happy to have Father Convoy. And he certainly makes it very meaningful. As far as the clothing is concerned well I think I welcome the change. First I was reluctant to losing the habit and the rosary and the cap and all that but I can see it’s very beneficial in lots of ways you know Polyester can in to being and we had easier ways of taking care of your clothes and Sr.M: And you did you have done lots of sewing Sr.F.L: Oh yes Sr.M: In the meantime Sr.F.L: Lots of sewing for many people Sr.M: Helping them get into the tradition SR.F.L: Yes yes and ripping the old habits and I remember I ripped the old habit from scratch and made myself a modified dress in the beginning and then when polyester came in I grabbed the chance to do that because from you know stores on sales and to make my own clothes so I do make my own clothes I make my own suits everything my own caps and I offer to make caps for other people and Sr.M: You’ve always been generous Sister Sr.F.L: And so I you know I welcomed that because I liked to sew I’ve always I’ve been sewing a long time even since I’ve been a little girl. I would make baby doll clothes and Sr.M: Did you ever take a sewing class? Sr.F.L: No not really not really but I used to examine how things were made and I would read books and listen to people talking or you know one time Sister Shela was here and she talked about something and Sister Scholastica would talk about something and I’d be listening to them and pick up a lot of things like that and so you know it was more or less a hobby with me I feel relaxed when I sew it’s a hobby for me and some people have I like to do things with needle work too you know for instance last year I made craft work for the De Paul card party Noels for the Christmas items and God loves you, and Sister Mary Bazel Youngling graciously gave me the patterns and taught me how to do that. One day one December when I was on retreat I met her and I happened to spot something she was doing and she says come on and I’ll show you well after a few lessons I was able to do it and so she offered to give me the yarn and things I needed at the time and I recently I made a visit to Carnegie and she gave me some new patterns. So last November the first we had our De Paul card party and those items were presented at the party and you know on sale and so we expect to do some more this year. Sr.M: Sister what about the Sister dolls that you dress for the community Sr.F.L: Oh well Sister, Mother Victoria after the Vatican II changes and the habit she came here and visit me and she said I like you to do something for me she said could you consider would you consider dressing a doll that we could use for the archives and she said I know that you have done you have dressed many dolls for the Seton Hill festival and they use to raffle them off. Every year we’d have a doll raffled off Sister of Charity doll and I guess I did about ten of them and each year we would and I was in instrumental in getting these dolls through Sis Mrs. Cathy Mrs. Mrs. Webber she was the mother of of a blind student who was here years ago when I taught and she lives in the north side in Pittsburgh. So she would purchase the doll and I would get the material and I would try to get panama from our capes and discarded capes and aprons and anything that was up around anybody that wanted to offer anything were pretty good I would wash them and press them try to use them and so she would buy snaps for me she would you know then particularly remember the last doll that I did. She went to Currner’s especially to try to get a rosary that was long enough that had a preshable number of chains you know between the beads so it looked like our community rosary. So I remember particular that I I really put my heart and soul in it because I felt that was gonna be the last one that I would dress. Sr.M: This was still in the traditional habit? Sr.F.L: It is still in the traditional habit. And so I dressed that one and a woman from West end happened to be the winner at the festival, and she was delighted to be the winner and so she took it home and we never heard from her until last year or two years ago. Sister Sara Louise approached me while I was on retreat and said did you ever dress Sister of Charity dolls and I said yes I did and we laughed and she said well you know there’s a women at West end who won this doll at the festival and she’s had it for a number of years and she decided that she didn’t need it anymore and didn’t know what to do with it so she went to the Sisters of Saint James and asked what to do with it and they recommended that it be sent to Seton Hill so they directed it to me and Sister Sara Louise and here my name was on the outside of the box De Paul Institute it said. So she said would you consider you know she said I know that you dress a Sister of Charity doll for Mother Victoria, which is at the archives right now and she said the mother has gone through the trouble of making a special glass case for that and it stands on a stand and it’s covered so it’s preserved and she says Well Sister Sarah Louise said I know that you have you know dressed this doll for Mother Victoria Mother Victoria’s request now I would like to ask you if you would consider changing the black cap on this doll and putting on a white cap So we will have a white cap Sister of Charity and we’ll have a black cap Sister of Charity for the archives and I said ok I’ll do that I’ll do that. She Sr.M: Now did you already done that Sr.F.L: I’ve done it two years ago two years ago I made the white cap but I thought after I got the doll, I said I don’t even remember how to make the white cap it’s been so long since we wore a white cap and and I even Sister Agnes Theresa and those people around here don’t have any lose you know Sr.M: So what did you do? Sr.F.L: So I finally I didn’t have a pattern I didn’t have a pattern but I measured the head forehead to the back cross here to see how many inches I’d need across here and then I measured this part and I remembered that the pattern is cut into a like a an oval shape because you have to have more for over the ears ok so I cut it out of a piece of paper first newspaper and put it on her head and then put paper clips to hold it to the hair and then I started a pleat back there to see how it would go and I found out that I didn’t have enough over the ears so I thought this isn’t right I’ll cut more so I cut another pattern out and then I cut an old sheet and tried it on an old sheet first an old piece of muslin to see how that would work and I found it was gonna be workable. So then I got some white material and Sister Sarah Louise said do you need material and I said no I I’ll have something I’ll have something. So I made the white cap for her and then I took the sleeves out and I put new sleeves in it and I took the collar out and put a new collar in it made a new collar and then I took all the clothes off and washed them and pressed it so she was all done up freshened up and then I put her back in the box ah first I had her on the stand and I showed everybody and Sister Sara Marie wanted to take it to school and I said oh no you don’t the kids aren’t gonna touch this doll I don’t want it fingered I said it’s going to the archives. So so I sent it back to her and then I got a beautiful letter from Sister Sara Marie Sara Louise thanking me for doing that. So that was but I I I couldn’t do a doll anymore I just don’t have the patience and I don’t my fingers are not nimble enough to do the fine work that I’d like to do you know very tiny hems it’s really tedious work so that’s it. Sr.M: So Sister is there anything else that we left out that you want to tell me Sr.F.L: I think I’ve said everything I wanna say Sr.M: Well I really appreciate spending this time with you reminiscing about this the days here at De Paul and a lot of the things that I didn’t know that you went through before you came to De Paul. I just wanna say that community is very grateful for the time you’ve given and this will be a part of our archival collection for the oral history program. Sr.F.L: Thank you Sr.M: Thank you Sister God bless you A correction is needed to indicate Sister Francis Louise’s appointment for her first mission at Westend. Was given by Mother Rose Genevieve Rodgers instead of Mother Marie Benedict Manahon. Sr.F.L: Correction also was given the date of reception of the habit was not 1934 it was 1932 June 1932. Another correction navicent sisters who were with me in the first year of the navicent Sister Alice Marie Crates instead of Sister Alice Marie Moran. Thank you Sister of Charity Oral Histories Interviewee: Sr. Francis Louise Honeychuck Interviewer: Sr. Marie Corona Miller March 19,2004 This interview is being conduced as part of the Oral History program of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. The interviewee is Sister. Francis Louise Honeychuck. The interview is being conducted by Sister. Marie Corona Miller at Caritas Christi. The date is March 19,2004. This interview is a revision of one given at DePaul Institute with Sister Francis Louise on July 15,1987. Sr.M: Good morning Sister Francis Louise Sr.F.L: Good morning Sister Sr.M: I am happy to be with you again so that we can do a revision of your history. So do you want to begin you personal history? Sr.F.L: Yes, I was born in Mount Pleasant October 23,1914 and baptized on November 1 at visitation church Mount pleasant PA. My name was given the given name was Emma Marie. My father died on October 12,1918 during the flu epidemic after his death my widowed mother and her six children Robert age 10, Andrew age 8, Laurence age 6, myself age 4, Helen age 2, and John who was born three weeks after my fathers death moved from Mount Pleasant to Scottdale Pennsylvania. It was my mothers responsibility with her great faith and trust in God her life in prayer to raise us together as a united family. My mother went to work each day cleaning offices taking in washings and whatever she could find to earn the money to support and provide for our home and needs. She insisted upon having a good education for each one of us. We were fortunate to be educated at Saint John the Baptist school Scottdale PA by the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. I attended elementary education at Saint John the Baptist school Scottdale PA 1921 to 1929. I also attended high school at Saint John the Baptist school until my junior year. I recall some memories before school age how I had to keep my Sister Helen and my little brother John sitting on chairs all morning until my mother came home from work each day. We never thought of going outside or leaving the door open at anytime or making any noise while we were at home. We patiently waited for our mother to come home. Walking one and a half miles to school in the morning and coming home for lunch and back again to school in the afternoon gave me the exercise and the fresh air that I needed to keep me healthy. On rainy days I rode the streetcar the fare was three cents for a ticket. I recall when I was young I became interested in trying to sew baby doll clothes I cut the patterns from newspaper to make to try to make the clothing fit my doll, I remember going to Millers big store on Pittsburgh street Scottsdale PA. I looked all the patterns that were for sale on the rack I wanted especially to know how to make a dress with a flared shirt for my doll. After at looking at all the patterns about a cent in my pocket I came home and cut out a pattern. Since I was too little to peddle my mother’s sewing machine I sewed everything by hand. On Christmas morning Santa brought me my own sewing machine later I heard that it cost about five dollars, I was happy to get it, but after several tries I found out that it really did not satisfy me very well. So I naturally turned to my mother’s sewing machine. When I was in high school I made a dress for my sister Helen and one for myself. On Saturday mornings I helped my mother do the cleaning at the Casket factory Scottsdale PA. My job was to clean the sinks the toilets and to mop the floor with soap and water while my mother did the same to the rest of the building. I recall picking up oodles of straight pins off the chairs, floor, anywhere. They had been dropped by the ladies who used the pins to make while silk lining inside the coffins. Since I had to take care of Helen and John at home, I was almost seven years old when I started to go to the first grade at Saint John the Baptist school in Scottsdale PA. All my teachers were the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. When I entered high school at Saint John’s I began to take my lunch because the lunch hour was shorter and I had to be in class on time. It was during my junior year that I began to consider what my vocation might be in the future. At age 17 I entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill navicent on November 25,1932 actually it was Easter Sunday March 27th because Good Friday fell on March 25th the feast of annunciation in the year and I was told to come on Easter Sunday. I became a posolant to receive the black lace cap to cover my hair and a simple black dress with a short with a black short-sleeved cape and of course black cotton stockings to wear there. After six months and making a silent retreat for six days, I received my long black habit including a black surged pleated apron and cape a white starch collar and white cap with detachable bows under my chin. I also received a long black rosary to be worn at my left side. A new name was given to me now I was called Sister Francis Louise. One year later I made another silent retreat for six days, at the end of the retreat I received my first black silk cap and bows, I also received a new black habit pleated surge apron and pleated cape. One year later I pronounced my simple vows of poverty chap obedience. I renew them yearly until years later I pronounced vows for life. I attended classes in preparation for navicent training as well as methods of teaching technique and remained a Seton Hill navicent until 1934. Then I was assigned to begin teaching third, fifth, and sixth grade students at Saint James school Westend Pittsburgh PA from 1934 to 1937. During the Saint Patrick’s day flood 1936 all the Sisters in the convent were evacuated by boat to Divine Provence convent, we were welcomed there to eat our breakfast. Mother Evan Fisher told us to get to any convent and they would be able to take care of us. I went to Saint Stevens’ convent with four other Sisters’ by train to stay until the flood stages were over. Within a week I was asked to go to Saint Iranians Convent Oakmont PA with Sister Ann Seton Boyle. I was asked to substitute teach students in the fifth and sixth grade because the teacher was sick. I stayed there for two weeks, then I returned to Saint James school Pittsburgh PA and taught students on the second floor near the library because the basement classrooms were not useable. After teaching third, fifth, and sixth grade in elementary education at Saint James school Westend in Pittsburgh PA, I went to the DePaul Institute in 1937 to being the service training for the hearing impaired students. During the years I worked with severely deaf students ages six to twelve with six or seven students in the class with emphasis on teaching speech reading lip reading from blind to facial expression lip reading and speech and language development using the oral no sign language method of instruction for all elementary subjects. Many of these students didn’t have the educational background needed for success namely because they were transferred from other schools or just didn’t experience personal achievement in their early education. The ultimate mission of De Paul Institute was to prepare students for success in a hearing and speaking world. Since I had some experience in teaching hearing students at Saint James School, I realized that quality education was needed for a student to transfer to a regular school. I had to provide guidance and direction to make the most of the gifts and talents of the students and to advance them to there fullest potential so that they would make the transfer successfully, it was a hard laborious job but it was very rewarding in time. Many students have attended high school and college and have successful careers. During the years 1949, 1970 a new direction came to my teaching career. Bishop Diren of the Dioceses of Pittsburgh had requested De Paul Institute to begin teaching blind and partially sighted students the history of these years can be found in the archives of the Sisters of Charity and also the De Paul Institute archives. I was asked to take a course at Colombia University and to become certified in transcribing brail using the perpins brail writer. There were a number of blind partially sighted students who attended during those years. Other teachers and especially Sister Angelica Little were involved in teaching these children. I recall the many years that students from the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania came for a period of six to ten weeks for their in-service training in education for the deaf. The students welcomed the opportunity to use their lip reading skills in a variety of experiences, in which the in service training of the teachers provided for them. The students always enjoyed taking part in Christmas plays singing Christmas carols and patriotic songs. They had the advantage of being taught everything that a hearing student could experience in a regular school program, even joining boy scouts and Girl Scout activities. They were always eager to put on their costumes that were prepared for them by the Sisters of De Paul Institute. They loved to display their talents to please their parents who were proud of their accomplishment. After full time teaching, I spend five years tutoring students at De Paul Institute. This was done on the private basses for students who needed special individual help for reading and language development to further their success in joining other students in daily classes provided by the De Paul Institute curriculum. The parents were grateful for their accomplishment. For the next two years I volunteered recording individual speech records for students during the school hours. This consisted of a grant at De Paul Institute the teachers were required to record the minutes of each student for speech analysis rating them I for improvement N for no improvement. Papers were collected each week and recorded. The total number of papers for each month were recorded and given to the schools psychologist and were sent to the state of Pennsylvania for evaluation. Money was granted for the results of this money and it was used for to buy computers and other equipment for the use of the De Paul students. 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 Francis Louise Honeychuck Subject The topic of the resource Sister Francis Louise Honeychuck Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Francis Louise Honeychuck, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1932 until 2017. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller and was also partially self-taped. Sister Francis Louise Honeychuck - born Emma Marie Honeychuck on October 23, 1914 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in March of 1932. She received a bachelor's degree in education from Duquesne University in 1947 and a master's degree in education from Wayne University in 1955. She taught at St. James School in West End from 1934-1937 and at De Paul Institute from 1937-1997. From 1948-1970, she helped to develop and oversee De Paul's services for blind children. Having learned Braille through Columbia University, Sister Francis Louise submitted a Braille translation of the book Black Beauty in order to complete her program. She received a Volunteer Braille Transcriber certification from the Library of Congress in 1962. Sister Francis Louise died on April 29, 2017. 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 1987/07/15 1997/02/17 2004/03/19 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-65 Deaf Education DePaul Institute DePaul School for Hearing and Speech Duquesne University Pennsylvania Pittsburgh St. Jame's School West End Teacher Wayne University 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/0a012e4b37b1ccba9b6fbe02debad291.mp3 bf2b76075c9e303c718d9c350a27cbc7 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/010807d0b2dfe0a74852647ecaf356cb.mp3 052c055eb10183078bd985421a5db3c6 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/6495bd5b683aa7b2a24b2b7d7a92f0f8.mp3 9b71c2859db5113f99dad27e15f0acaf https://scsharchives.com/files/original/b1149c8742a2def137a96e9162f6b705.mp3 bb6a7f2e5bcb0894ed490c82b206ce51 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/d2ad2e50fa1832ef7c3e4d4a7e5b053d.mp3 bb6a7f2e5bcb0894ed490c82b206ce51 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 Pancratius 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 31:16 31:19 31:28 31:24 18:54 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 Pancratius Jablonski Subject The topic of the resource Sister Pancratius Jablonski Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Pancratius Jablonski, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1919 until 2001. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on February 21 and 22, 1988. Sister Pancratius Jabolonski - born Agnes Ann Jablonski on January 23, 1901 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in March of 1919. Her biological sister, Sister Marie Stephen Jablonski, entered two months later. She received a bachelor's degree in church music from Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart in 1949. She taught at Cathedral School in Altoona from 1943-1944, at St. Philip School in Crafton from 1944-1948 and 1953-1954, and at Sacred Heart Elementary School in Pittsburgh from 1948-1953. She volunteered her time at St. Anselm Parish in Pittsburgh from 1954-1985, conducting parish visits and offering her musical talent. Sister Pancratius died on May 23, 2001. 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 1988/02/21 1988/02/22 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-15 Cathedral School Sacred Heart Elementary School St. Anselm Parish St. Philip School 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 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 Harold Ann Jones 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 Harold Ann Jones Subject The topic of the resource Sister Harold Ann Jones Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Harold Ann Jones, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1940 until 2017. The interview was conducted by Sister James Marie Malone on July 8, 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 1987/07/08 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-91 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/631fef2e331065dd17d765960fe1526e.mp3 d4cabd54de91d0460d59679ea410f6fb https://scsharchives.com/files/original/aadede479a54cbc82ca0784aa993e6ce.mp3 570a5904f860eb666794b2b3ced0cdfb https://scsharchives.com/files/original/9ae23e9139466f90e8cc7c7e46d611fe.mp3 2feea42add78b3e93ed1aa30557b9799 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/1886a79f097e45a2041407381a0d9bc4.mp3 9c6c719a69bb7ad882209e94ef680d49 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. Michaele Keenan 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.) 31:00 31:02 31:01 24:28 Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound OH 22 1 Sr.Michaele Ke·enan This interview is being conducted as part of the Oral History Program of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. The interviewee is Sister M. Michaele Keenan. It is being done by Sr. Marie Corona Miller at St. Luke's Convent in Carnegie. The date is November Fifth, nineteen eighty-six. SMCM: Good morning, Sr. Michaele. I'm very happy to be here with you today to talk about some of the things regarding your personal history. Would you like to tell us? SMK: I'll be glad to do that. My father was Joseph Keenan. My mother was Mary Lane Keenan. They were married in St. James Church in the West End by Father Price. My father died in nineteen seventeen. My mother died in nineteen thirty-one. SMCM: Did you have any brothers or sisters? SMK: My mother had eight children. Six of them died at an early age. My brother and I lived. We moved to the West End when we were very young. I attended St. Francis de Sales School in McKees Rocks from First Grade through the Commercial Course in High School. I went to St. Francis de Sales all my life before entrance and was taught by the Sisters of Charity. It was the example of Sister Alice Marie Barron that influenced me to become a Sister of Charity. I kept in touch with her when she went to the different missions. I entered the Community on May First, nineteen twenty-one. My Novitiate was under the guidance of Sister Hildegarde Eichenlaub, who was very stem. SMCM: Who entered with you, Sister? SMK: Sister M. Clarissa Cunningham entered with me. She was from Scottdale. She also was influenced by Sr. Alice Marie Barron. Sr. Alice Marie was changed from St. Francis de Sales in McKees Rocks to St. John's in Scottdale. Sister Clarissa became very close to Sr. Alice Marie. She was a lovely lady. We both entered on the same day. We met at the bottom of the Hill. She pushed me in first because I was the oldest. Now, I will tell you about some of my years in the Community....where, what I taught, etc. The first place lwent to was down to St. Benedict's in Greensburg. I taught three days a week at St. Benedict's. The other two days I went to another school, but can't remember exactly where. It was also in the Greensburg Diocese. From there I went to St. Stephen's in Hazelwood for one year. After that, I was sent to Saint Simon and Jude in Blairsville. I was the first young Sister to go to Blairsville. They were all senior Sisters. SMCM: Who was the Sister Servant? SMK: At one time it was Sister M. Mildred Stephen. Then Sister M. Conrad Auth became the Sister Servant. I was there for eight years. They couldn't figure out why a young Sister was sent there. The people of the town thought I (couldn't get what she said). The Pastor, Father Haw (if correctly spelled) was very kind. Before I left Seton Hill, the Sisters in the Novitiate all said: "Oh, the steps are the tombs from the dead!" They all said you'll be afraid to sleep because people haunt you. It wasn't the Convent but it was the Rectory that was haunted for a number of years. The Pastor used to walk the streets at night. When he came back, he would go into the Church where the candles were already lit, but not by him. I often said to the housekeeper: "Aren't you afraid?" She said: No, I've gotten used to it. When Father Haw died, Father Carlin was sent. Father Carlin tore down the inner part of the Rectory. There was a big hall upstairs where the bedrooms were located. That was torn down, because that was where the trouble came. People wouldn't believe it. They had a Mission there. The Priest had to leave. He said that his bed was elevated at night. He couldn't tolerate it. SMCM: What was the cause of all that? SMK: No one seemed to really know. They thought that someone lacked having Masses said. SMCM: Did the Sisters ever experience anything like that? SMK: No, nothing ever happened in the Convent. SMCM: What Grade did you teach? SMK: No Grade. I taught Piano Lessons. SMCM: Sister, where did you get your background in Music? SMK: I received training in Music at St. Francis de Sales from the Sisters of Charity. Then, in the Community, I went to Duquesne University where I received my College Degree. SMCM: Do you remember who some of the Sisters were who were with you in Blairsville? SMK: There was: Sister M. Evarista Donovan, Sister Marie Francis Curran, Sister Alexandra McQuade, and Sister Jane Joyce. SMK: When I left Blairsville in nineteen thirty-five, I was sent to St. Luke's in Carnegie. It was lovely. I'll never forget Carnegie. They had their first flood on March seventeenth, nineteen thirty-six. The police came to the door with boats. They asked Sister Agnes Marie Reuber if they could take us. She said: "Anyone who chooses to do so, may go." No-one went. We had another flood in nineteen forty-two. SMCM: Did you have any damage from these floods? SMK: The damage was confined to the basement. It didn't come up into the upper part of the house. The cellar is situated in a different place now. They put the statue of the Blessed Mother at the top step. SMK: The flood in nineteen forty-two was caused by heavy rain, which made "The Washington Dam" ready to burst. Before it burst, they opened it. Therefore, we had more flooding. They notified men working in Mills, but they didn't notify Schools. They had to carry things from the High School over to the Convent. It was a terrible flood! They don't worry about floods now because of some preventive measures which have been taken. I can't actually say that there have never been any more floods, because after I left Carnegie, I was told that there had been flooding in the basement which caused damage to the Sisters' trunks SMCM: Sister, can you tell us anything about the nice things which took place at St. Luke's? SMK: Just living there was great! There was a High School there and so they had enjoyable events...plays, concerts, etc. SMCM: Did you teach Piano Lessons there? SMK: Yes, I taught Piano Lessons in the Grade School and High School. I taught Singing in the Grade School. It got so big for me that I had to ask Mother M. Claudia Glenn for help. She sent a Music teacher. I especially remember Sister M. Annina Fox. We worked well together, and had programs. We had a Piano Concert down at the Library. She said: "Sister Michaele, I could never have done that if you hadn' t been here to do it." I had to get money for the children so I had to have some events. SMCM: Was this at the Public Library? SMK: Yes, it was. The High School had things there too. For a while, we had things in the School, but as things became larger, we needed more space. SMCM: Sister, when you taught Singing, did the children come to you, or did you go to the classrooms? SMK: The High School students came over to the Hall in the Grade School. I went to the individual rooms in the Grade School. Ifwe had Choir Practice, it was in the Hall. SMCM: Sister, how many Sisters were there with you in nineteen thirty-five? SMK: In nineteen thirty-five, there were fifteen Sisters. When I was leaving St. Luke' s in nineteen fifty-five, there were twenty-eight Sisters. SMK: Nineteen fifty-five brought a big change in my life. I was sent to be the Sister Servant at St. Simon and Jude' s in Blairsville. When Mother Claudia informed me of this, I said: "You know Mother, I'm not Sister Ann Michaele Reilly, I'm just Sister Michaele." Father Mueller, the Pastor had a history of making it difficult for Sister Servants. SMCM: How many Sisters did you have with you? SMK: We had eight Sisters. They were very nice. It was a different situation. I was the Sister Servant, Principal, charge of the Music, etc. It's a wonder I didn't die! I had Postulants, Novices, and Professed Sisters. The one helping thing about it was that I had been there before. I knew the School. That was a big help. I knew the parents of the pupils. They would all ask: "Do you know my name, Sister? Do you know my name?" I was there for six years. It was quite different! I wouldn't want to go through it again. As far as being the Sister Servant. they weren't unkind to me, but it was hard, especially if you' re a young woman and it isn' t your forte in life. I had lots of visits from Seton Hill anyway. Each year someone would come and say: "One more year. One more year!" SMK: When my time was up in Blairsville, I was sent to Resurrection in Brookline. I was there for four years. When I went into that School, I thought it was the whole world because it was so large. SMCM: Were there a lot of Sisters at Resurrection? SMK: Yes, a good many. I forget who the Sister Servant was. There were, I believe six of every Grade.There was letters A, B, C, D, E, and F to indicate each. I was up on the second floor. Later, when St. Pius Catholic School was built (now Brookline Regional Catholic) I was on the first floor because we lost about two hundred students to St. Pius. So then we had four fourth Grades. Sister M. Clarasita Wolk had A, I had B, and the two seculars had C and D. I'll never forget Sister Clarasita. She was so kind. SMCM: Sister, what about your Music during those years? SMK: I taught Piano Lessons in the Convent after School. I didn't have very many because my teaching and other duties wouldn' t allow for it. After that, we went to different Schools for a year at a time. SMCM: Sister, I would like to ask you a question about Resurrection. Did you live in what was the new Convent? SMK: I must have because they were building that Convent in nineteen fifty. I went to Resurrection in nineteen fifty-five. It was a lovely Convent. There were many Sisters there. I was sorry to leave there. I was there for four happy years. I also liked the School. The last School I went to was Holy Innocents in Sheraden where I taught fourth Grade. I was there for a couple of years. From there I went back to St. Luke's in Carnegie in nineteen seventy. There was no High School at that time. It had closed after Canev,in: High School was built. I taught Singing in the Grade School and Piano Lessons. Then I was at St. Luke's from nineteen seventy until nineteen eight-six. I was here for twenty years the first time I was here. Sister M. Emily Miller was here for six of the years I was at St. Luke's. She was the Principal of the Grade School. In the High School Sister Mary Henry Hanse and Sister Mary Blanche Stokes seemed to take turns being the Principal of the High School. Sister Emily was a wonderful Sister, but she did not want to be disturbed when she came to School. That was her Reading time. They got her a big Rocker. She brought the Post over everyday to read. She was the nicest Sister, but they say that in her early days, she was a bit crabby. The enrollment was very low in the years when Sister Ann Patricia Barkin was the Principal. Sister Louise de Paul Burke was the only other Sister in the School. SMCM: Sister, what about the present Convent? Is it the one you lived in when you were there before? SMK: No, it's a new part. They built it while I was here. It's about twenty-five years old. It wasn't the Pastor, but the Assistant said that it was against Canon Law for more than one Sister to be in a bedroom. Previously, we had one Bathroom for about fifteen Sisters, big dorms for multiple Sisters. Monsignor Kernan was here for the finalizing of the building. There are lots of beautiful things about Carnegie. The people are good to us. At Holiday Times, they always bring you something. They do this for the entire group, not individually. When the various fruits and vegetables are harvested we receive strawberries, large amounts of tomatoes, etc. They're older people, and they think that the Sisters are special. When Sister Mary Alban Fitzgerald died, they were really upset. SMCM: Can you tell me anything about Sr. Mary Alban since you were with her for many years? SMK: Sr. Mary Alban came to St. Luke's in nineteen seventy-one. She was with me for just a short time the frrst time I was here. She came from being at St. James in the West End. She had a great deal of sickness. She was diabetic among other things. She didn't like going to the Doctor. She was nice to live with. SMCM: Did she teach? SMK: She did until her health got too poor. Then, she did special work. She worked up at John Kane with Sister Jean Frances Peters for a while. She was very active with the Senior Citizens Group in Carnegie. She packed to go to Ireland with the group, but died before getting to Ireland. That group was very upset. They knew however, that Sister probably lived beyond what her health would warrant. She didn't want to die, but eventually became reconciled to it. SMCM: Where did Sr. Mary Alban come from? SMK: She came from Hazelwood. She didn't have any immediate family. All of them were deceased. Her brother was the last one to die. She had nieces and nephews. SMCM: So, you're the Senior Sister at St.Luke's? SMK: I've been the Senior Sister since nineteen seventy. Sister Jean Augustine asked me if perhaps I should think about going to Assumption Hall, and Sister Sebastian Jellison, by way of invitation wondered if I would like to go there. I taught Sister Sebastian Piano Lessons when I was in Blairsville. I feel this way about going to Assumption Hall. If you're active, why not stay, because to live in one room, I'd lose my head. I would get senile right away. At the same time, I don't believe in waiting until you have to be sick in bed. I don't dislike Assumption Hall, but I don't have feeling for it. I think it's because I have lived so long at our Missions. Unless they close the School, I'll still be here. There are many charges which have to be taken care of here at St. Luke's. SMCM: What are some of the things you are responsible for doing? SMK: The kitchen needs to be kept in order....dishes done, garbage emptied, etc. I have charge of the Dining Room. I do the towels. The Dining Room is quite large. We have a woman who comes once a week to do the bigger things. I also take my turn getting breakfast. My day is Friday. SMCM: Sister, could we backtrack a bit? When you entered in nineteen twenty-one, who was your Mistress? SMK: Sister Hildegarde Eichenlaub was the Mistress. SMCM: Were you in the group who were Novices for five years? SMK: Yes, we were Novices for five years and three months. We had Sister Hildegarde for about three years. We had another Mistress, Mother Mary Francis McCullough. It was like from the ridiculous to the sublime! Sr. Hildegarde stood over you like you never knew how to scrub or do other things. Mother Mary Francis treated you like a woman. SMCM: What was your charge as a Novice? SMK: Most of the charges were on the first floor of the Administration Building. You moved around doing the various things in the Kitchen and Dining Room. Then there were some charges on other floors upstairs e.g. the Community Room. SMCM: Where did you live? SMK: We lived on the fourth and fifth floors of the Administration Building. SMCM: Were there many in the Novitiate? SMK: Yes, there was a large number of Sisters in the Novitiate with me. It was very strict. When I wrote home to my Mother about the cemetery, because I didn't know what else to say, I was criticized. The letter was given back to me. SMCM: So, your parents were still living when you entered? SMK: My father was deceased. My Mother died when I was in Blairsville in nineteen thirty-one. My Father and Mother both were killed, not together. It was between Christmas and New Year's. My Mother and I had influenza. My Father said that he was going to West End to wish his parents a greeting to ring out the old and bring in a New Year of happiness. In those days we didn't have a car. We traveled via streetcar. He got off the streetcar at Steuben Street to walk up to his parents. (She says something here about a streetcar and train stop possibly intersecting). Noone saw my Father being hit or killed. His body was pulled over to Main Street. My Aunt knew that my Father was coming, and she went out on the porch and said: "Oh, Joe must have gone up to my Mother's Mother place." The next day, a child came to my Grandparents house to see their Christmas tree. You know how children talk: Well, this child said: "By the way, there was a man killed last night." My Mother had called my Grandparents to see if they had sickness as my Father had-not .c ome home all night. My Aunt called the Morgue, and the man who answered said: "Yes, there is a man here,and his Son has come to identify him. My brother, John, who was a Western Union employee had been at work there. My Aunt called and asked the gentleman to put my brother on the line. My Aunt said: "John, is something wrong?" He said: "Yes, my Father died on his way to the hospital." John came home to my Mother and me. He said: "Well, Pop is dead!" My Father was laid out at home. (Sr. Marie Arthur...They had to have the Coroner, but there was loud crashing on the tape, so I couldn't get what she was saying). SMCM: What hit him, Sister? SMK: We think it was a train, but we're really not sure because of the circumstances. After that, my Grandmother went to bed and never got up again. That was in nineteen seventeen. He was forty-five years old. SMK: My Mother was killed on the bridge that goes across the Allegheny River in the West End. It was during Lent and Sister Mary Basil Jungling and I came in from Blairsville to visit our Mothers. It was the only available weekend that we could do this. Sister Mary Basil's Mother lived in Sheraden.. My Mother didn't know that I was coming. I went shopping with my Mother and then we went home. That's the last time I saw my Mother alive. My Mother said that she would take me over to Sheraden to be with Sister Mary Basil for the return trip to Blairsville. When my Mother was leaving Sheraden I asked if she was going directly home, but she said that she was going to Church. It was Friday. I never got to leave Sheraden that day as the call came that my Mother was in St. Joseph's Hospital because she had been hit by a driver from Sheraden. Anyhow, the Sister Servant (whom she didn't name) told her to stay over if her Mother wasn't going to live, but to come home if she lived. Sister Alberta Sweeney went with me. SMK: Another gentleman who witnessed the accident got her to the hospital where she eventually lost consciousness and died due to a serious head injury. She was fifty-four years old. Tape II Side I SMCM: This is a continuation of the interview being conducted as part of the Oral History Program of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. The Interviewee is Sister Michaele Keenan. The interview is being conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller at St. Luke's Convent in Carnegie. The date is November sixth, nineteen eighty-six. SMCM: Sister, we were talking about Sister Sister M. Clarissa Cunningham. She entered with you. Could you share some things about her with us? SMK: Yes, Sister Clarissa entered from Scottdale. Her Father and Grandmother reared them as children. She graduated from the Catholic School in Scottdale. She entered the Community on May First, nineteen twenty-one. She taught at St. Benedict's in Greensburg for many years. She was at Sacred Heart in the East End, I'm not sure how long. She was at Blairsville for just a year. Most of her teaching was in the eighth Grade. She was a very fine teacher and was also strict. She was held back from making Vows for a while. When I heard it, I went to Sister Hildegarde and asked her why Sr. Clarissa was being held back from Vows. She said: Well, she is sick." I said: "Well, if anyone needs to be held back, you can hold me back because Sister Clarissa is really looking forward to making Vows. Again, Sr. Hildegarde said: Well, if she doesn't get better, we'll have to send her home." Sr. Hildegarde further said: She was asked to help with a mattress, but said she couldn't because her arms were not strong enough." The person called her a baby. Another time she was in Pittsburgh Hospital. Her Father went to see her and told her he was going to take her home. We often laugh about it now. She made her Vows the following year with Sister Rose Xavier Garrity and Sister Mary Josephine McClory. I made Vows with Sister M. Agnita McCall and Sister Mary Lucy McDermitt. Sister Clarissa was very good in Latin, but I don't know if she ever taught it. SMCM: Sister, getting back to your Novitiate. What was it like when you were young Sisters? SMK: We had good times. I'll tell you who else was in our group Sister Florence Marie Scott. She was full oflife. Sister Veronica Scott, Sister to Sr. Florence Marie Scott was in the Novitiate then also, but she wasn't as wild as her sister. One time, we were over at the Bakery and we stole a pie. We took the Curtis method in Music. Miss or Mrs. Curtis was coming to visit us. Sister M. Angeline Jackson, Sister Mary Eleanor Frederick, and many other Sisters had to take the Course. Sister Helen Cecilia Dwyer wouldn't take it. Her hands were perfect. Mrs. Robinson was the regular Music teacher for the Summer. She took all of the Piano Teachers together in Sullivan Hall. Sister M. Angeline and her girlfriend Sister Mary Eleanor played. We were in the audience. It was time for the Class to end. The bell rang before it was time to go. I said to Sister Veronica: "Veronica, I'm leaving." Veronica said: "Okay, I'll go with you." Before we could breathe the second time, we were reported. We met Sister Helen Cecilia who said: "You go to Mother Claudia because you have been reported." I said: "What for?" She said: "For leaving class." Veronica said: "Well, Michaele, I'm not going." So, I walked over to see Mother Claudia. On my way in, Sister Mary Eleanor was on her way out crying. I said: "Mother, did you want me?" She said: "Yes, I'm surprised at you walking out of Class." I said: "The Class was over." She said: "The time was over, but the teacher wasn't finished with you." I said: "Well, she didn't do anything with us. She took two other people." She was lovely with me, but she knew I was right all the way through. She said: "Well, you get Sister Veronica, and you go and apologize to that teacher." We went and apologized. Mrs. Curtis was wonderful with us. She took us to the pianos and heard us play. In fact, her cab was there to take her, but she had the driver wait until she finished working with Sister Veronica and me. Tape II Side 2 SMCM: Sister, how did you choose your name? SMK: They said I looked like the Sister Anne Xavier Keenan who died. I didn't want the name Anne Xavier. Someone said I should ask for Michaele. I guess I shouldn't have done that because her Pastor is Michael. First, I didn't like the name, but I've grown to like it now. Every time I go to the Doctor, they say: "How do you spell it?" I say:" Michael with an eon it at the end." SMCM: Sister, is there anything else you would like to tell us? SMK: No, I think that I have told you enough. SMCM: How do you feel about the changes that have taken place in the Church and in the Community? SMK: It has been difficult, but I don't fight against the changes. I do what I can do. I don't relish the changes, but they are something which you have to go through. SMCM: Sister Michaele, I want to thank you in the name of the Community for giving your time and providing us with so many interesting stories. Our Community is very enthused about the Oral History Program, and are very pleased when the Sisters take part in it. Sr. Marie Arthur Hamilton: I completed the transcription of the Oral History for Sister Michaele Keenan on Wednesday, March twentieth. Two thousand thirteen.:.2013. 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. Michaele Keenan Subject The topic of the resource Sister M. Michaele Keenan Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister M. Michaele Keenan, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1921 until 1989. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on November 6, 1986. Sister M. Michaele Keenan - born Elizabeth Keenan on June 18, 1902 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in May of 1921. Sister Michaele received a bachelor's degree in music education from Duquesne University in 1944. She taught at St. Luke Elementary School from 1943-1955 and again from 1970-1985, offering private music lessons in the later years. She also taught at SS. Simon and Jude School in Blairsville from 1955-1961, at Resurrection School from 1961-1965, at St. Mary Magdalen School from 1965-1967, and at Holy Innocents School from 1967-1970. She primarily taught music, though she also served as Principal, Vice Principal, and Sister Servant at various points throughout her time of service. Sister Michaele Keenan died on November 7, 1989. 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 1986/11/06 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-22 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/e72b0287e40906e9b365d30b27fedb9b.mp3 8439499b2f9a424fe714b5afac6e2456 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/4f7be74bc18a8bc4a619297b1ae51f7d.mp3 e447e5f527a0750aa39a49d874143d7e https://scsharchives.com/files/original/ac728f427d9846fc37063cf2506cfa35.mp3 1b8360c1b6ad88b44bc4610cc21abdb8 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 Rebecca Kelsey 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.) 31:33 31:34 31:56 20:01 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 Mary Rebecca Kelsey Subject The topic of the resource Sister Mary Rebecca Kelsey Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Mary Rebecca Kelsey, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1928 until 2001. The interview was conducted by Sister Jean Ann Wilburn on November 1 and 7, 1987. Sister Mary Rebecca Kelsey - born Mary Dorothy Kelsey on October 4, 1910 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in September of 1928. She received a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Pittsburgh in 1941 and a master's degree in education from Loyola University of Los Angeles in 1958. Sister Mary Rebecca served as a teacher at St. John the Evangelist School in Pittsburgh from 1930-1935 and at Sacred Heart Elementary School from 1935-1936, going on to teach at Sacred Heart High School from 1936-1940. She then taught at St. Luke High School from 1940-1942, returning to Sacred Heart High School from 1942-1952, 1956-1957, and 1963-1969. In the early fifties Sister Mary Rebecca was missioned out west, teaching at Salpointe High School from 1952-1956 and at Seton Catholic Tri-City High School from 1969-1974. In later years, she served as Seton Hill College Treasurer and as an assistant in the library from 1975-1985. Sister Mary Rebecca Kelsey died on May 14, 2001. 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 1987/11/01 1987/11/01 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-53 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/c0839a57be1bda7613853e4ced8d1db2.mp3 5b5036fbd3691b6c2e2d6e4c628cea1f 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 Paul Gabriel Wilhere Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister Teresa Clare Kernan 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.) 31:02 Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound OH29-1 This interview is being conducted as part of the oral history program of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. The interviewee is Sister Teresa Clare Kernan. The interview is being conducted by Sister Paul Gabriel Wilhere at Assumption Hall. The date is August 24, 1982. SPGW: This is August 1982. We are at Assumption Hall getting an Oral History on Sister Teresa Clare Kernan. We are involved in getting Oral Histories on a number in the community. So I am pleased to be allowed to interview you because I hope to find out some things that I don' t know. Sister Teresa Clare, where do you come in your own family? STCK: Well, I am the eighth child often. But, the last two died as infants. So I always say I was a baby three times. I think that accounts for some of the things that you'll learn. SPGW: What about the older members of your family? STCK: Well, we had John and Ray who are the oldest of the family. No, Nellie was the oldest. I'm sorry. Nellie was the oldest and then John and Ray and Father Jim, and then Julia and Frank and Mary and I. Of that whole group, Mary and I are the only two now living. SPGW: Mary worked in a... STCK: She worked in a city department from high school. She went to school at Peabody High and had a position there before she graduated and continued to work there for a number of years until it became necessary for somebody to be at home with mother and unpaid who could drive the car and so Mary stayed home for a number of years. She didn't go back to work until she went to Sacred Heart as one of the office secretaries. SPGW: You and Mary have always been very close. I remember reunions at Oakmont where it seemed several generations gathered. Everybody belonging to everybody else. STCK: That's right. It's a strong family feeling from the youngest. I can remember one of our youngest ones one time at one of the family reunions just stood and looked at everybody and then she went to her Dad and she said, "Do they all belong to me?" That's very characteristic. I think the whole family feels that way. We all belong to each other. That' s good. SPGW: You mentioned Father Jim. His last assignment was as Pastor of Saint Luke's which was with our sisters. STCK: That's right. He was there as Pastor until he had to retire at the age of 75 according to the Diocesan regulations although he felt he could have continued for another few years. But he did remain there at Saint Luke's and died in 1981. SPGW: He wrote a family history, I understand, it's available ifwe want to know more about the Kemans. STCK: That's right. And his history is well done. SPGW: I would expect it to be. How did your parents feel about your entering? STCK: Well, my father was dead, but I don't think that would have brought him any pain and my mother was very happy about it. But, I was only 16 when I finished high school and she thought that was too young, so she told me if I waited until I was 18, she would be happier than if I were to go at 16. I was glad I did because in that interim time after high school I had a semester that I stayed home and helped at home because mother wasn't very well and somebody had to be in the house. Then I got into the teacher training school, which I probably would not have done, if I had gone right out of high school, you know. It was in that time that I learned about it and made application and was accepted and I graduated from there at the end of January 1923. I entered on the 2nd of February 1923. So, it was like a continuous education. SPGW: You entered from Saint Kieran Parish. Did you always live there? STCK: Yes. My father built the house that we lived in before he was married. He brought my mother there as a bride. My mother didn't live any place except that until after most of the family was dead and Jack built two small houses, one for him and one for mother. Those two are around Saint Mary's, so we really never left Saint Mary's, which is in the East End of Pittsburgh. The lands join to the same side of the road. SPGW: You said you entered from Saint Kieran's. Were you taught by the Sisters of Charity there? STCK: Oh, yes. The Sisters of Charity had come there early in the history of the community in the Pittsburgh Diocese. I don't remember the exact date, but I know it was a well­ established school when I went to it. Sister Zita was the Principal there when I was there. She was there for a number of years. She was related to Father Doyle who was our Pastor. There always seemed to be somebody of that relationship at Saint Kieran's Convent, and that was good. I think it was a good thing. SPGW: What year did you say you entered? STCK: I entered on February 2, 1923. SPGW: What was happening,just as a matter of interest and history, can you remember any of the things that were happening either in the city or in your neighborhood and in the country at that point? STCK: The First World War had just ended. All the time I was in high school we were, you know, making things for the soldiers. Father Coakley, who had been our Principal, went as a Chaplain and he sent us some forms of what was taking place and what the needs were. So all through high school time we were either making bandages or we were knitting or we were doing something to help in the First World War. So the City was just really recovering from the First World War by 1923. So in the industries, there weren't many men, particularly the steel mills, and then that had quieted down a little bit at that time. There was no depression or anything. The aftermath of the World War I was not the best thing. SPGW: What kind of work did your father do? STCK: My father was a brick layer , but he was a, I think what you would call an industrial brick layer. In other words, he had learned the trade in England, where he was from. He was born there and educated there and learned his trade there. Then when they came to this country and the steel mills were beginning to be, he was hired by Andrew Carnegie, in one of the first steel mills. They were the men who lined the furnaces with fire brick to make the steel, the grade of steel that they wanted. So it was a very professional job. He trained all the other men who worked under him to do that particular kind of thing. (As I remember, when he' d be reading a newspaper or a magazine or a book or anything , around the margins you could always tell about where he stopped because there would be a little snitch in pencil around that). A new kind of ceiling where the brick would merge in a certain way and there would be different kinds of arches and what have you at the part of seaming because the draft of the air to purify the steel, the iron as it was being converted into steel, had to be exact and that was the bricklayer's job. So it was always considered an important job in the steel mill. He and Andy Carnegie were on first term speaking thoughts. That's how close it was to the beginning of the steel mills and making an empire of steel in Pittsburgh. SPGW: Did any of your brothers follow that line of work? STCK: Yes. My oldest brother, Jack (John), and Ray both followed in his footsteps. They were trained under him and became expert bricklayers themselves. During the First World War, Jack went to the Army and was in service overseas in England. Ray took my father' s place in the mill. He was the Superintendent. When Jack came back from the service, Ray was already installed because Ray had married and Jack thought that that should be his place. So, Jack then went into independent work as a bricklayer and he went into construction work himself. He never went back to the steel mill after that. He developed the John J. Kernan Construction Company. SPGW: About the community, who was the Mother Superior when you petitioned to enter? In those days did you have to come up and asked to join the community? STCK: Yes. I came up. I remember I came in the summer. Because Sister Barbara, I was going to be Sister Barbara's postulant. Sister Barbara was from Saint Kieran. Her brothers had also worked in the steel mills with my father. Sister Barbara and Sister Charlotte Judge were both from Saint Kieran. In fact, I saw both of them, but I was Sister Barbara's postulant because she was the older of the two. That was in the summer of '22 when I petitioned, but I didn't enter until '23 because it was the decision of the superiors at that time that I should finish the teacher training program and graduate. SPGW: Who was the Mother Superior? Do you remember? STCK: She died in office. Mother... (Mother Mary Raymond Creed - transcriber's note) SPGW: It was not Josephine? STCK: No, later than that. I should remember because I looked it up. SPGW: What do you remember about your postulancy? Now in 1982, postulancies are very different. I think it would be interesting to know what your's was like. STCK: I enjoyed my postulancy very much. SPGW: Did you change clothes the day you entered? STCK: Yes. In fact, we had a funny experience coming. Father Jim, and Mother, and Mary and I came up together. The only means of transportation was by train. So, we had taken the train that we thought to Greensburg. Here it turned out to be the one that went out on the cut off toward Oakmont and that section. So we had to come back to East Liberty. So by the time we arrived at Seton Hill, it was well after seven o'clock at night. SPGW: Oh, my. STCK: They thought I got along the way and decided not to come or something like that. They often teased me about it as the years went on in the novitiate. SPGW: Did you have your supper? STCK: We called and told them that we had made this mistake and we were delayed. They said, "Now, don't stop and get supper any place. Come on up and we will have something for you." They had the table set up in the students' dining room and we all went in there to eat and the sisters came with us to accompany us. Then they took me upstairs and had me dress as a postulant before Mother and Father and Mary left so they'd see me. So by that time, it was almost time for night prayers and so that's as much as I had on the first night. SPGW: What was the postulant dress? STCK: A plain. It was made at home. Aunt Peg made it. It was a plain black dress. It buttoned up on the shoulder and down the one side. It had a little white sash across the one shoulder. Now the cape, which had also been made at home; it came down to our ankles. We were very comfortable and all looked very nice. They always wore a little white ribbon collar with it. The black dress had a high neck line and then that was just like a little edging on that. And the same way with the cuffs. The cuffs were just an edging on the long sleeves. I remember somebody in the family had done hemstitching on my cuffs. It looked very trim and neat. And the postulancy, you know, only lasted for a few months in those days. I entered in February and I received the habit in May, about three months. It would have been the extension, the ordinary extension. I could because I didn't think it was necessary, but that's the length of time it was for me. During that time, some time in February, ifl remember, it must have been around the 12th or the 131 something about Lincoln's birthday, around that time, a sister became ill who was teaching at Saint Mary's, so they asked ifl could go down and take her place in the boys school. So, I had everything from the first to the fourth grade in the boys school, which I liked very much. SPGW: You always liked boys. STCK: That's right. You know those little tots. We had a lot, I think something like 22 of them in the four grades. I remember them very well. I remember how excited they were when I was going to get the habit. You wouldn't think that would make any difference to them. But they were very excited. So I had one day that I was on retreat and then the next day I had the white cap on. So the next day when I went back to school with my white cap, they met me at the door and accompanied me into the classroom. SPGW: What did they call you before you got the habit? STCK: Sister. Sister Teresa. No, Sister Kernan. They used to call me Sister Kernan. Then, of course, I got Sister Teresa Clare for my name, and they liked that. I'm sure they changed it to suit me. SPGW: Did you ask for your name? STCK: No, but I was the first one to receive the habit following the beatification of the Little Flower. So, I was pretty sure... We were making a novena to her. I just felt that for sure they were going to put Teresa in some form. So I thought that Teresa Clare was a good combination. SPGW: That's right. Was it a one year white cap novitiate? STCK: Yes: SPGW: What did you do that year? What did that entail? STCK: As a white cap, well we did... SPGW: Did you continue teaching the boys? STCK: I finished out the year with them. I got the habit in May and then I finished that term. Then in June, or in August, I didn't come back to Saint Mary's. We were supposed to learn to do all the kinds of household work that was necessary. That meant having charge of the kitchen and the dining room. At that moment, I was assigned to the priests' dining room. So, at least part of that year I was in the priests' dining room. That was an art form itself. You know, at that time when we had a priests' dining room, but we had two priests and we had all the lay faculty. SPGW: Men. STCK: All the men from the lay faculty in the priests' dining room. That was on the ground floor of Saint Joseph Hall which had just been built and opened in the same year as I entered. So it was practically a brand new set up. But that's the way it was. There was a dining room on the west side of the building on the ground floor and a visitors' dining room across the hall from that. And as long as we worked there, I had the responsibility for the guests' dining room and also go out to the kitchen and get all the hot food and bring it in and do all that kind of thing. It was lots of fun. That was a part of the work. Then the other kinds of odd jobs that had to be done. You know. ­ The other novices who hadn't completed their high school were in class most of the time. So, a lot of odd jobs fell to me, I enjoyed that, one of them being the novitiate itself. Since I never liked to go to bed early, I used to do that charge after night prayers were over. SPGW: How soon did you go out on mission? STCK: I went out on mission the following year. I was a white cap for a year and then that summer I got the black cap, one year following the day I got the white cap. Then I was ready to go and the sisters went on mission in August. I went to Sheriden, Holy Innocents, my first assignment off the campus. So that would have been 1924. Is that right? SPGW: That's right. STCK: We were very welcome at Holy Innocents as well as necessary. I had the fourth grade to start with and that was a great treat. I really enjoyed that. Father Shields readers were being introduced about that time into the whole educational process and that was quite an aberration from the old, completely phonetic method of teaching. It was a challenge to me as well as to the students to the way that they were taught. But, I think they learned. SPGW: Yes. I know they did. You did go to Saturday school, though, as I remember. STCK: Yes. SPGW: You and a very tall sister. STCK: Sister Mary Dolores? SPGW: She died. No. Agnes... STCK: Agnes Clare. Yes. That's right. We were both teachers at that time. I did go with sister later. Then I continued to go to Duquesne for Saturday class and I used to meet the sisters from Crafton. They were going to Duquesne. I got on the same train with them on Saturday mornings. In those days, there were Saturday morning trains. And then we' d get off at Fourth Avenue Station and walk up the hill to Duquesne. They would do the reverse about coming back. There was an afternoon train that we could get. It was convenient as far as Sheriden was concerned, and it was also convenient for Crafton. That's what I remember about going to Duquesne. SPGW: This year we were talking about the 100th Anniversary of the Sisters coming to Seton Hill and then talking a great deal about Mother Seton, about Saint Vincent, and that sort of thing. What do you remember of the orientation of the spirit of the community in those days, was it pretty much oriented to Saint Vincent or were Mother Seton and Saint Vincent given equal seniority? STCK: Saint Vincent's Day was the biggest day of the year outside of Christmas, as I recall, and that was always the 19th of July. You prayed a novena in preparation for it and everybody came and it was an exciting day for the whole community. A chance to see the total community. Of course, Mother Seton was always regarded with reverence, but she had not yet been made venerable, or beatified or canonized. That kind of, in other words, I've only known her by her pictures, very simple pictures of her hanging in the novitiate, and I think the community room had one too, picturing her in the black cap and the simple black dress which our postulants very much liked, a cap and a little bit of white trim. But I would say the orientation at that time was toward Saint Vincent because Mother Seton, her cause had not yet come into existence. SPGW: Do you want to stop? STCK: No. SPGW: We will continue. Since you taught novices 50 years ago, and continue to orient them to the community now, what were some of the contacts you've had with novices through the years? STCK: Well, as a Supervisor of Schools, I had had them usually the previous year for orientation to classroom, like Introduction to Teaching or some place like that. Then when I went to their missions, I tried always to go if I knew they were brand new teachers in the school to be there as early as possible so that I could help them get oriented to the classroom. We would have lengthy discussions and lesson plans and all that kind of thing. They always said they were very helpful. Often times during my visit there, I would come in and have me take over and demonstrate a lesson so that they could pick up the method with their own children being there. Whatever way was possibleJ'd help them with their lesson plans and try to get... I'd try to have them to like to teach, like I liked to teach. I thought that was an important contribution to make, if I could help somebody else like to teach. I trained most of my novices. SPGW: You used to say that most of the people you taught have learned to like to teach. You mentioned in the schools what was your educational role, was that in the diocese or in the community? When you were Supervisor of Schools. STCK: Well, as a Supervisor of Schools, I was based in the diocese and in the community because at that time the diocese had a plan that there would be a supervisor in each school conducted by a particular community for every so many sisters. I don't remember at this point the exact number of sisters, but I would say off hand, maybe every 50 sisters. Maybe it was higher than that. It meant any community that had less than 50 sisters teaching in the diocese did not have a member of their own community who belonged to the board. If you did have, in our case we had, when I started out as a Supervisor. Sister Generosa and I were the active supervisors and then you'd have an older sister at Seton Hill who worked, to whom we reported regularly. Her name just went off of my head. SPGW: Sister Norberta? SICK: Norberta. OK. Sister Norberta had been the active supervisor. At that time she was no longer active, as least she didn't attend the meetings and she didn't do a lot of things, but she had a lot of contact with the sisters and always was very helpful with us. Any time we came back to Seton Hill, we would have a visit with her to bring her up to date with what was going on and ask her advice on whatever we were doing. So that kind of continuing contact with both the diocese and the community, I think was very good. SPGW: When you say the diocese, the Pittsburgh Diocese then encompassed what is now... STCK: The Greensburg Diocese SPGW: What about Altoona? STCK: Altoona was also, we say, in the diocese. Remember all three of them were in the Diocese of Pittsburgh at one time. So we always continue to think of it that way. Then Altoona became a separate diocese. SPGW: You supervised Altoona as well. When the schools opened out West, did they have their own supervisors? STCK: No. They never had a person who resided there who·was the supervisor and so we made a trip at least once a year to the West and remained long enough that we would visit all of the schools and be whatever help we could be to these young... In those days, very young sisters, who had not yet been trained were rarely sent to the West. One advantage that they had was that they were all experienced teachers when they went. SPGW: You mentioned working with Sister Generosa. Considering that it might be that her name may come up as we talk about the oral history. Sister Generosa... STCK: Cuniff was her family name. SPGW: And she transferred to the Dominicans, I understand, in Austin, Texas. Somewhere in the 1940's, probably 1946 or 1947. STCK: She had been the Principal and Sister Servant at Crafton, Saint Philip's. At the end of that term, she was released to go to Texas. I remember when she came to Seton Hill and said good-bye to the community. SPGW: Am I correct in thinking that you and Sister Generosa and Sister Marie Monica were probably involved in some of the very early departmental work back in 1928? STCK: That's right. It was really just being introduced into the diocesan program and we experimented with it in our own situations. And from that learned that there were things that would have to be rectified or would have to be made balance so that you didn't have too much emphasis on one thing and not enough on the other. 9 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 Teresa Clare Kernan Subject The topic of the resource Sister Teresa Clare Kernan Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Teresa Clare Kernan, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1923 until 1989. The interview was conducted by Sister Paul Gabriel Wilhere on August 24, 1982. Sister Teresa Clare Kernan - born Margaret Anne Kernan on October 5, 1903 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in February of 1923. Sister Teresa Clare received a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1930. She continued her studies there and went on to receive a master's degree in English education in 1937 and a doctorate in the same subject in 1949. Sister Teresa Clare served as a supervisor of schools and was based at St. Anselm Elementary School in this capacity from 1945-1952. She then taught English at Sacred Heart Elementary School from 1952-1957, returning as Sister Servant and Principal from 1963-1968. Sister Teresa Clare also served as a Councilor and Director of Education from 1957-1963, later serving as Seton Hill College's archivist from 1968-1981. Sister Teresa Clare Kernan died on March 29, 1989. 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 1982/08/24 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-29 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/4f6e96ef20a6e459e099f0ed8bcfcacf.mp3 4aa7d883657e315892a18e1b68ed31c9 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/a7fb8efa97391d887c7e17da125bdac3.mp3 06587ec3b4c09e9867bb7736f30a01b2 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/1e1be1393a97552742a68c8430ab5218.mp3 04503eb2e3cfc7de0a75f9156e239b81 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/a4f9d81b1910462131d6db562fdf5333.mp3 95a46b118b07f66fcad05f31a892a5b9 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/a0b7318c881b79822313b602bb9b1616.mp3 f32d60cd1418f62883d205cf43b9ea1e https://scsharchives.com/files/original/f59e37d881b500177c6551941b9e82e9.mp3 b9cc60b027bf1445ce3376eb29da4594 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/d7e008b30b4455b3b6837488caa571df.mp3 0fdeabd968c1aa85469be4f1c1e3e814 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/36d6d84d2ccf03f24c28468dd5162b1c.mp3 d7a73743fb296e555de907f21fc1a542 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 Noreen Lacey 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.) 31:28 31:31 31:34 31:33 31:32 31:32 31:32 31:33 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 Mary Noreen Lacey Subject The topic of the resource Sister Mary Noreen Lacey Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Mary Noreen Lacey, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1944 until 2009. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on September 23 and 24, 1986. Sister Mary Noreen Lacey - born Mildred Patricia Lacey on February 7, 1927 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in September of 1944. She received a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Seton Hill College in 1957. She was one of the first four Sisters of Charity to be missioned to Korea in 1960 and taught at St. Joseph School in Kang Tjin from 1961-2002. She died in Korea on November 12, 2009 and is buried there. 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 1986/09/23 1986/09/24 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-96 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. Caroline Lager 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.) 31:02 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 M. Caroline Lager Subject The topic of the resource Sister M. Caroline Lager Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister M. Caroline Lager, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1910 until 1990. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on June 9, 1986. Sister Caroline Lager - born Emily Catherine Elisabeth Lager on March 28, 1887 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in December of 1910. She served as an elementary school teacher in Pittsburgh area Catholic schools. Locations she taught at include Sacred Heart Elementary School in Pittsburgh from 1943-1957, St. Theresa School in Munhall from 1957-1961, St. Mary Magdalen School in Homestead from 1961-1962, St. Luke Elementary School in Carnegie from 1962-1967, and St. Philip School in Crafton from 1967-1972. The in-house dental center at Assumption Hall in Greensburg was named after her. Sister Caroline died on January 18, 1990. 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 1986/06/09 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-3 Sacred Heart Elementary School St. Luke Elementary School St. Mary Magdalen School St. Philip School St. Theresa School 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. Camilla Lasher 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.) 31:23 19:51 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. Camilla Lasher Subject The topic of the resource Sister M. Camilla Lasher Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister M. Camilla Lasher, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1918 until 1988. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on April 13, 1987. Sister Camilla Lasher - born Cecilia Dorothy Lasher on February 5, 1900 - entered the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in December of 1918. She taught at a number of Pittsburgh and Greensburg area schools, including St. Benedict School - later known as Cathedral School - from 1944-1945, 1948-1953, and 1957-1967. She also taught at St. Paul School and St. Bruno School in the mid-fifties and at Cathedral School in Altoona from 1967-1971. From 1971-1977, she volunteered at the Seton Hill College bookstore. Sister Camilla died on July 19, 1988. 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 1987/04/13 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-14 Cathedral School Sacred Heart Elementary School Seton Hill College St. Anselm Elementary School St. Benedict School St. Bruno School St. Paul School 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 Sara Ann Lauer 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.) 59:21 Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound OH 43-1 1 This interview is being conducted as part of the oral history program of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. The interviewee is Sisters Sara Ann Lauer. The interviewer is Sister Marie Corona Miller. This is being done at Assumption Hall. The date is February 26, 1983. SMC Hello, Sister Sara Ann. SSA: Hello. SMC: How are you? SSA: Oh, I'm fair. SMC: That's good. Sister, would you like to tell me a little bit about yourself? SSA: Well, I'll tell you if it might be of any benefit to you, then I'd be glad to tell you. SMC: Alright. Sister, when were you born? SSA: I was born at Kittaning Point near the Horseshoe Curve where Hershey Reservoir is now. The water company took that place over after about, 0, a good many years and they took the dwellings all away from up there. But my Aunt and Uncle, they had their home right close to the uh, where the reservoir was; and my father's sister was married to a man by the name of Jim McGinley and her name was Jane. Aunt Jane married and they lived . . . when I was a child I visited with them. And I stayed a week; I was awfully lonely. I was always worried about my little sister at home. SMC: What about your parents, Sister? SSA: My parents We lived up in what is now called Coupon and we lived about four miles away from Kitanning Point. SMC: Where did you go to school? SSA: Well, I went to public schools in different places. I quess my first year was in Coupon. It was called Delanyville at that time and they changed the name later to Coupon, PA because there was another town that had almost the same name and they were always getting mixed up so much they called it Coupon because the people who worked for the company all used coupons to get their groceries and things like that. SMC: Now Sister, what about the Sisters of Charity? When did you first come tin contact with the community? SSA: Oh, I met the Sisters of Charity I went in training for nursing with the Sisters of Mercy in Johnstown, and the Sisters of Charity seemed to be much plainer and seemed much more, uh, easier. And uh, I liked the sisters were working for the poor. I liked the habits they had much better than the Mercy Sisters because when it was cold they didn't seem to have to wear, as much. The clothes and they seemed to be too dressed up to me to work -the Sisters of Mercy. And on feast days, you know, they were even dressed up more; they put on copes and things. I thought I'd rather be with working with the poor and the Sisters came there to visit at the Mercy Hospital. They had people, patients here and there. And to me they seemed, well . . . you know a plainer and easier to work. 2 SMC: Did you say that you worked at Mercy Hospital in Johnstown? SSA: I did. I went in training there. I was there 15 months, I think. Then I took typhoid fever and I nearly died. Then I didn't go back. I took , I went to Philadelphia. I finished my training in Philadelphia , with the Coronet Sisters in Philadelphia. I got my diploma from them. SMC: What school was that, Sister? SSA: It was St. Vincent de Paul's and . . .uh... it was an orphanage and children's home. SMC: And after you got your training, is that when you entered the Sisters of Charity? SSA: Oh yes. Well, I went to the sanatorium, I went to the State Sanatorium. I didn't part with my nursing and I went to the State Sanatorium and worked there for four and a half years. SMC: Where was that Sanatorium, Sister? SSA: In Cresson, PA. It was State run. And I did private nursing in Pittsburgh for a while, too. I was in Pgh., Oh, I couldn't tell you how may years. I entered in '25. I had been working, nursing and then going home and helping my parents on the farm. And then I'd go back nursing again. And I saved my money and put it away for them, in case they didn't have and need a place to take care of them when they got old until they died. SMC: Did you take care of them while they were sick, Sister? SSA: I took care of my father, well I was in the community then; at home I took care of my father until he died. But my mother, she had to have a colostomy on her and she didn't get over it. She was, I think, 83 years old. She died in Mercy Hospital. I was teaching then at Johnstown, at Our Lady of Mercy. I was teaching there for a while. That's where I was when my mother had her operation, and died. SMC: Were you working at the hospital in Johnstown? SSA: No, I was working at the convent, at Our Lady of Mercy Convent. You know, I kept house for them for a couple of years. SMC: Who was your Mistress of Novices, Sister? SSA: Well, the first Mistress of Novices was Mother Mary Francis, and uh, she died while she was in office. And I was through training by that time, I think, yes. SMC: Sister, who entered with you in 1925? SSA: Sister Rita Mary and Sister Maureen and Sister Maureen and Sister Marguerite. The four of us entered together. SMC: Would you tell us a little bit about your novitiate? 3 SSA: Well,. to tell about the novitiate . . . there were the youngest sisters. There were two groups of us; there was the senior novices and there the younger novices. They had their novitiate; one of the big dormitories was the Senior's novitiate and ours was . . . well, Mother was with us most of the time. We'd get our prayers together still, rosary and all those other prayers we got together. We were about the same size, me and another sister and when they saw us coming, they didn't know whether it was Mother Mary Francis or us!! SMC: What did you do as a novice. Sister? SSA: Novice? Well, I guess the first job I had was taking care of Sister Maria-she was an invalid then and I took care of her. Then I went on night duty; I guess I was on night duty about eleven months. I had a nervous breakdown and I had get off duty for a while. When I got better, I did any extra nursing I could and uh, ... I helped on the novitiate floor. But I was on night duty 11 months; I used to go all around the house then. And I had charge of the floors; put me on day duty and I had charge of the whole house. Had to go every place all around the building if anyone was sick on either side. In the summer time the Sisters would come home and there would be a lot of sick and old on the different floors. Whenever they called, some of the sisters would go and find out about this or that one, and then I'd have to go over to where they were, and maybe it was the other end of the building. Then back to get medicine and try to fix them up. SMC: Well, Sister , you were really infirmarian? SSA: I was infirmarian, yes. I think I was about 15 months. SMC: Does that include your Postulancy year when you first entered? SSA: I guess it was, because I was sent to, uh, I was at the Foundling a while; can't remember how long. What do they call it? At that time it was the Roselia Hospital . . . What do they call it now? SMC: Philip Murray Hall SSA: Philip Murray. They done so much for them. When they put up the new building they called it Philip Murray Hall. SMC: So, after you finished your years as infirmarian, then what did you do? SSA: Well, I did nursing, taking care of the sick as long as I was able. I helped the sick any place, where ever I could be. I was on, did I tell you? I was on night duty for 11 months. I took care of Mary Xavier and she would always tell us her story. Sr. Fides was very, very fond of her. And I... well, I liked to hear her talk And Sr. Mary Xavier, she said, "I didn't want to quit teaching music". She said, "I asked for help and in place of giving me help" she said "they brought me home here and put a young sister in my place. What I wanted to do was just stay right there and have somebody help me because the teaching was too much for one." And so she, well, she .... Oh, I'm all l just can't think what to say. Besides, when she told the story, then her mother was bad, bad-sick and uh, she said that everybody she met would ask her "How's your mother?" and she would say she hasn't changed, she's just the same. So the mother one day Rose came in and asked how she was and she said, "Oh, I'm just living and that's all. And when she 4 came home they wanted to know what she meant by telling the people she was dying. Everybody was coming and calling. She said, "I didn't tell them you were dying, I just said what you said to Aunt Mary this morning You told her that you were just living and that was all." SMC: Sister, where did you live with Sr. Mary Xavier? SSA: Why- Seton Hill. She died while I was infirmarian. I was on nights while I was infirmarian. SMC: The date is February 27, 1983. Sister Sara Ann, can you tell us something about when you were at the foundling? What did you do there? SSA: I had charge of the larger children, everyone called them the "run arounds" ! I took them out to the park; you know we had a nice park there. And I took them out to the park. They had places to play, a very nice open place and they had sand to play in and different things to entertain them. They had their lunch hour there, at the-, you know at noon time, they'd have their lunch. I remember there was a big crowd. I couldn't just say how many now, but ah, those are the ones that I took to Beaver Falls. You know they got Beaver Falls, what they called the Kelly Farm. They had a nice home there and when I took them to Beaver Falls, they had a nice big barn, and they had the barn floored for a clothes room like, we could, ah, a nice place, then they fixed everything but the children stayed there for weeks at a time out ih the open spaces and in the summer months when it was nice and warm. And that was the time I took them there, I picked up one of the children to show her a chicken so she wouldn't be a scared of the chicken and she tripped up against the wall, and knocked me over and, uh, uh I injured my wrist very badly that I couldn't work for awhile. That's when I went back to the uh, Seton Hill. And I guess that was the last time that I went back to well, no I went back to the Foundling a second time and they called me home to take care of an old sister who was dying. By the time I got home, it was Sister Marie and she had died. And I, ah, that's when I was made infirmarian, at that time. SMC: How many years were you at the Foundling? SSA: Oh, I couldn't tell ya that; I was a good many years at the Foundling. I was at the Foundling when they moved the chapel-moved the chapel over there to the next building where it was the nurses' home. They had a chapel over there for a number of years. They moved the chapel out of the building when Gov. Pennypacker came in and he didn't want any religion in there, you know any place where he-where the government was giving money. So they moved the convent, uh, the chapel into the nurse residence and it was there for a number of years. Now, I couldn't tell you the dates or anything . SMC: That's all right, Sister. Sister Sara Ann, you have always loved to work outside in the garden. SSA: Yes , uh-huh. 5 SMC: Taking care of the plants Could you tell us a little bit about that? SSA: Well, I had ... when I came here after a sick spell, I guess, after nursing, why I could work outdoors and I could keep up. I tried working indoors with the sick people; I felt so bad with the sick people,..... you know it affected me. So I had...l took ! had a garden down,--- a nice place down at the end of the lot. I could go out and work in garden for hours. If I had to stay around sick people, it depressed me so much. Well, l. it affected so that I couldn't do the work that I wanted to do. SMC: What did you have in your garden? SSA: I had a little bit of everything, things that we'd use around the house. I had tomatoes, peppers, and cabbage. One year I had so much cabbage and it all came at one time. think I had about sixty head of cabbage that year-nice big cabbages. And then I had a few of those little acorn squashes. You know, I'd have enough for a meal every now and again for the whole house. I had the peppers, too, and they could bake the peppers. I had baked and stuffed peppers and uh, onions and radishes and all those things that could be planted in the garden. And I planted sweet corn, too; and we'd have sweet corn. SMC: Sister we still had the farm at Seton Hill, is that right? SSA: Yes, that was the chief here... SMC: At Assumption Hall? SSA: Yes. SMC: Oh. SSA: Assumption Hall. SMC: What year did you come to Assumption Hall? SSA: Why, I moved over when the house was first opened. I was one of the first ones that moved over. And then I went to the hospital -Mother Rose Genevieve wasn't good then and they sent me to the hospital to look after her. And so I went to the hospital until she got better. And they got the house finished and I brought her home brought to Seton Hill. SMC: I think that was in the early 1950's, Sister, right? SSA: Well....l couldn't tell you the dates. I can't remember, but she was at Seton Hill a number of years. She died over here, in the big room next to the chapel. SMC: So you had your garden on Assumption Hall grounds. SSA: Oh, yes. I didn't have any garden at Seton Hill. But I got things out of the garden and I canned them, cooked them, the tomatoes and things and got them ready for the kitchen. I canned tomatoes when I was there, too----canned pickles, tomatoes and things like that 6 out of the garden. When I was on night duty, I put up a good many jars of stuff like that when there wasn't too many sick people on the floor. Why, I'd put up some of the things for the kitchen, help the sisters out in the kitchen. SSC: What about fruits, sister? SSA: Well, the priest was over on the first floor, you know where they had their dining room. But I never took care of the priest. The priest lived over at the , what they called the priest's house; the house they had for the priests. It's still over there; it's called St. Mary's I think. I don't know just what they call the priest's house now. I think the building is still standing.... SSC: I think so, Sister. SSA: Yes, because there are a couple of priests there and each one of them has a suite of rooms. They are teachers, teachers up until they brought that priest. he's still getting pension over there. You know that priest; he took the whole suite of rooms. When Father Reeves took sick, they brought in a priest from New York. Do you remember his name? SSC: Monsignor Ryan? SSA: Monsignor Ryan. Now he took the whole suite of rooms; took nearly the whole house. don't know if it was his mother or sister when they put up the new building, he wanted them to put up a whole suite or rooms over the library so he could bring his mother or sister. But they didn't agree with that. SMC: You were still at Seton Hill then? SSA: Yeah. SMC: Sister, besides your garden of vegetables, didn't you pick fruit from the trees around the grounds? SSA: Oh, yes, I used to pick apples and get them ready for the kitchen. When I had the garden I'd get the apples and put them in, we had a nice, what you'd call a shanty down at the end of the lawn, and I'd put the apples in there and then when we'd get a chance we'd bring them up and we'd have an apple party. An evening when we could all get together. Why, we'd make 8 or 10 gallons of applesauce at a time! Get it ready and kept it in the cold storage so they could use it when they needed it. We had applesauce for breakfast so very often. And all the sisters wanted to have applesauce when it was cooking; some of them would come to the kitchen and ask if they could have a dish of applesauce it smelled so good. SMC: Sister, who would prepare the apples? SSA: We'd all come together. Like they're having now-parties in the evening you know. All the sisters and the novices, everybody that was around would all work together to make the apple sauce. 7 SMC: Did you just make applesauce, or did you use apples for anything else? SSA: We got them ready to use for pies, or anything they needed. We had big containers --------I guess, but we'd cook it in there and keep it in the cold storage. SMC: Did you make apple butter? SSA: I helped to make apple butter at Seton Hill; we made apple butter over there. But, not after we came over here. Apple butter takes a long while to cook and they cooked it in great big containers; then send it out on the missions. The missions got apple butter from the motherhouse SMC: And you did that at Seton Hill while you were nursing? SSA: No, I was off sick from nursing, and I didn't go back to nursing right away. I went and helped in the kitchen. When I was in the kitchen was when I helped to pick the apples. And the sister in charge; I think Sr. Rose Vincent was in charge. And she went out with us and we picked apples and brought them in. We got cider made, and apple butter for the missions. SMC: What other kind of fruit did you pick from the trees? SSA: Oh, there was pears, lots of them; we used to bring those in and keep them until they got ripe. The pears aren't tasty, but we had a couple of other pear trees that was around here and they were all the "rust coats" and they were real sweet pears. They had trees down here in the fields. And I have trees planted over here; down below here, I have planted golden balls and plums. The green ,Ihad a couple of trees of those. I had a sorry?? cherry tree; Mother Eveline and I put our money together and we bought the trees and had them planted, right below the house here. A good many cherries, the summer cherries came off; and we had peach trees, and pear trees. I had a beautiful big one. The pear tree--- what are those yellow ones called-the nice yellow, big pears? SMC: Sickle pears? SSA: No, sickle pears is the nice tree that they have down there; that's what they call sickle pear. Do you remember what those good pears are get in the summer time? SMC: I'm afraid not, Sister. Sister, you talked about the shanty, that is where your garden was. Could you tell me, where was the shanty on these grounds? SSA: It was down here next to the road. I think it was a tool shed, what the people had that was here before. But it was all finished nice, and protected. You could lock the door and keep things in. It wasn't a shanty; it was a nice tool shed. And that is where I put the pears and I raised a good many of those big turnips, cabbage, turnips or rutabagas. I had a lot of them too; I could bring them in, in the fall and keep them a while in that building. And I brought them in and tomatoes, too, when there was going to be frost. I'd be picking tomatoes and bringing them in to let them finish ripening. But mostly, I brought them up to the house, put them in the basement, and they would be ripe in just a 8 short while. But, I had bushels of tomatoes and rutabagas, too. SMC: Had you done a lot of that, Sister, before you entered? SSA: Well, we had a "truck patch" at home and we'd raise a lot of things to sell, to take to market. SMC: Was that in Coupon? SSA: No, in our own farm, well, yes, it belongs to the Coupon parish. SMC: Did your brothers and sisters work outside with you? SSA: Oh, yes. Yes, the ones that was home worked in the garden. SMC: How many brothers and sisters did you have? SSA: I had 4 sisters and 10 brothers. There's two of them living, two of my brothers living and one sister and myself. SMC: And you're the oldest of those who are living? SSA: Yes, the sister is the little one I took care of. She is six years younger than I am, but she still keeps house and is taking care of a retarded woman, Miss Gallagher. She had a brother a priest up at Johnstown; he used to take care of her. SMC: Were you the oldest of the 15 children? SSA: No, I was the sixth child. There were five older than I. Did I tell you before what my father and mother's names were? SMC: No. You didn't tell me that, Sister. SSA: I didn't? Are you sure I didn't? SMC: Yeah, I'm sure. SSA: Well, my mother's name was Sara Ann Cole. And my father's name was Augustine Henry Lauer. SMC: And you took your mother's name in religion? SSA: Yes. SMC: Sister, when you came to Assumption Hall, did you leave to go to another mission? You spent some time in Altoona? SSA: Well, it was after I was old enough to retire; when I got old and I felt that I wasn't able to do too much and I went to Altoona. I was there I guess on to part of three years 9 SMC: Do you remember what you did in Altoona? SSA: Well, I worked around the kitchen; I canned fruit for them. I used to go up the mountain; I'd bring home apples and tomatoes; I cooked and canned for the sisters at the Cathedral. I baked for them and I worked in the kitchen - made bread or buns or anything they wanted- made pies or things like that if they wanted them for their meals. SMC: So after you left Cathedral in Altoona , you came back to Assumption Hall? SSA: Yes. SMC: And you've been busy doing some things here at Assumption Hall? SSA: Well, I'm doing anything I can to help the sisters, to help anybody. You know, it wouldn't be too much because I'm up in years. I wasn't able when I had a spell with my heart. That's the reason I came, was brought back here. SMC: Sister, what about your love for plants? SSA: I had plants --- a place on the porch after I wasn't able to go to the garden, I had a place for plants on the porch. We always had flowers growing on the porch, you know, and I looked after the plants there. Whenever they'd have the parties for Korea, there was always a lot of plants to take to the Korean Card Party, and those kinds of things. SMC: What is your favorite kind of plant, Sister? SSA: Oh, I don't know about favorites, but I do like the coleus. It's a beautiful plant with all colors of leaves, without getting any flowers on it. It's surely a beautiful flower, beautiful plant. SMC: Do you still take care of some plants? SSA: No, 1-1 have a plant that is there in water. That's that Can you see those leaves over there? SMC: Yes, Sister, I see that. SSA: What's the name of that? SMC: I don't know. SSA: Well, I can't mention the name of it right now; it's just a little ivy leaf. My plant lives in the water and it works pretty good; it's just in water. SMC: You have revived it, right? SSA: Well, it's still living . . . . SMC: Sister, besides your caring for the plants at Assumption Hall, and visiting with the sisters. 10 SSA: Well, I try to get them to say certain prayers. The ones that are most sufficient; especially the seven Our Fathers and seven Hail Marys for the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost. And the consecration of the community to Our Blessed Lord. You know that prayer that I had written, I ask the sisters to say it . . . . The Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary for all your holy prayers and good works, the sorrows and joys of all thy faithful peoples all over the world in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that has been offered, that is being offered and ever will be offered to thy Divine Majesty .this day or anytime til the end of time. Then I say 7 Our Fathers and 7 Hail Marys and 7 Glorias for the 7 gifts of the Holy Ghost. I offer that to Almighty God for any intention He wishes to offer them for and especially for our Pope and our Church all the way through and for each and every one of us. SMC: Sister, you spend many hours in the chapel here at Assumption Hall. SSA: Well, I pray as long as I can and the rest of the time, I have to come to my room and sit down. Yes, I spend a good bit of time there. That is what I'd like to be doing now, in fact. I think I'd get more merit from sitting in the chapel than I would from writing notes or taking notes. SMC: Is there anything else you'd like to tell me? SSA: No, I don't think of anything special that I could tell you. I ask God's blessing on our community and all our friends and relatives. And do God's will in every way we can. And I pray the same for each and every one. 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 Sara Ann Lauer Subject The topic of the resource Sister Sara Ann Lauer Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Sara Ann Lauer, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1925 until 1983. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on February 26 and 27, 1983. Sister Sara Ann Lauer was born on August 5, 1882 in Kittanning Point, Pa. Daughter of Henry Lauer and Sara Ann Cole, Gertrude Jane Lauer entered the community on December 8, 1925 as Sister Sara Ann Lauer. Sister Sara Ann had a prolific medical career before entering the community. She had worked at Cresson State Hospital for four and a half years and worked private nurse in Pittsburgh. Upon entering the community, she continued to work in nursing. She first worked at the Roselia Foundling and Maternity Hospital in Pittsburgh for ten years, and then worked as a practical nurse for the older Sisters at Seton Hill until 1969. She then served at Cathedral Convent in Altoona until 1973. Sister Sara Ann completed her nurses’ training at Saint Vincent Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania prior to entering the community. Sister Sara Ann Lauer passed away on October 4, 1983 at the age of 101. 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 1983/02/26 1983/02/27 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-43 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/c6755470c25b3fa770760750e0c72dd2.mp3 629b0b54a10faf5c99de2291a9966270 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/7d750ecfb41d7de114ca46b822e2098e.mp3 21bfd2a85703b45acf5552c08860749a https://scsharchives.com/files/original/786e4767ffa01794d950b37f2ff38b22.mp3 df3c42394a4b2b85a77534a127cf6d58 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 David Mary Leonard 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.) 31:32 31:34 31:34 20:27 Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound OH 71-1 Sr. David Mary Leonard Tape I Side I This interview is being conducted as part of the Oral History Program of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. The interviewee is Sister David Mary Leonard. The interview is being conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller at De Paul Institute. The date is October twelfth, nineteen eighty-six. SMCM: Good morning, Sr. David Mary. Sister, I'm very happy to be here with you today to talk about your personal history. SDML: Good morning, Sister. I was born Kathleen Leonard, January twenty-third, nineteen fifteen in Cumberland, Maryland. My Father, David Leonard, was the youngest of twelve children, born to Adam and Emma Clarr Leonard in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. He had come to Cumberland as a young man and he met my Mother there. Her name was Edna Mason. She was the eighth of nine children born to Joseph Mason and Rose Mattingly Mason. Rose was a descendant of the original Mattingly’s who came to Southern Maryland with Lord Baltimore. There were three brothers. They settled...one in Ohio, one in Maryland, and one in Kentucky. My Grandmother told me that I would never meet a Mattingly who was not descended from one of those three. My Grandmother had a sister who entered the Seton Hill Sisters of Charity..Sister Louis Regina Mattingly. Sister died at a very young age in eighteen ninety after being in the Community for just four years. Her sister, Emma Mattingly, went to Kansas and entered the Ursuline Community there. My Mother's youngest sister, Lucy, followed her to Kansas. She is still living there. She is Sister Rosemary Mason. My Father, the youngest of twelve, never had the opportunity to attend a Catholic School. Both families were farm families. His family produced five Granddaughters to the Religious Life four Sisters of Charity and one to the Ursuline Community in Paoli, Kansas. His sister, Emma became a Visitation Nun in Georgetown, Kentucky. I grew up in St. Patrick's Parish in Cumberland, Maryland. I went to St. Patrick's Grade School where I was taught by the Sisters of Notre Dame. went to the High School there also which was upstairs. It was a very small school. My graduating class consisted of fifteen girls. The boys left after sixth grade and went across the yard to La Salle Institute which was conducted by the Christian Brothers. I can't remember anytime that I was not planning to be a Sister. It was always assumed that I would be a School Sister of Notre Dame because they were the only Sisters that I really knew. I knew about these relatives, but they were all sort of out there somewhere. There were Daughters of Charity in the town, but they were Hospital Sisters. I didn't know that they worked jn schools until much later. My Mother very wisely arranged for me to meet some of these Sister relatives from different places so that I would have a wider choice. Among the trips which she planned was one to Greensburg-. It was after my Sophomore year. I visited Sister Marie Elizabeth Leonard, Sister Jean Marie Leonard, and Sister Rita Mary Leonard, all of whom were first cousins. When I was in my Senior year, I was still going to be a School Sister of Notre Dame, but sometime in the Spring of that year, I made a retreat, during which I learned that I really belonged to Seton Hill. So, I wrote to the Mother Superior not knowing her name. She invited me to come to visit. I visited on June nineteenth. There had been no contact with the cousins. When I went to visit, Sr. Marie Elizabeth met me at the door. Mother Eveline Fisher had turned over my letter to Sister Theodosia Murtha, who was the Mistress of Novices. Sr. Theodosia then invited Sr. Marie Elizabeth. That was my offici I petitioning day. I found out later that it was .the anniversary of Sr. Louis Regina Mattingly's death. SMCM: What year was that, Sister? SDML: It was nineteen thirty-two. It was immediately after my graduation from High School. I was accepted and told to prepare- for September eighth. I spent the Summer trying to get my wardrobe together. Since I wasn't near any of the Sisters, it was like hit and miss, because I was trying to get the items on the clothes list. The School Sisters of Notre Dame were very gracious. They helped, and they ordered some things for me. So, I came to Greensburg on September eighth. My Father and my Brother and I left Cumberland at something like four o'clock in the morning by train and went to Connellsville. My cousin from Greensburg met us there. He took us to his home for breakfast. It was still only about eight o'clock in the morning. It was too early to go up to Seton Hill. Finally, we went up. Sr. Marie Elizabeth couldn't be there to take care of me because she was teaching. She delegated Sister Margaret Ann Hanley to put my lace cap on. She took me up to the Blessed Mother's altar. I left my Father and my Brother. I went up to the Novitiate and was ushered into the Senior Novitiate to help tie knots in haps. We would call them quilts or comforts, but they called them haps. SMCM: What time did you enter? Were you the first one? SDML: I think it was about ten o'clock in the morning. I think I may have been, but there were a couple of others there by lunch time. Sister Marie Celeste Cuzzolina and Sister Inez Mary Beckel came from Altoona. Sister Teresina Bridges, Sister Rosina Highland, Sister Miriam Ann Eck and Sister (couldn't get the name) came from Johnstown. The rest came in the afternoon. My biggest surprise was that Sister Theodosia was young and beautiful. I expected her to be old and cranky. By the evening meal everyone was there. Mother Richard Ann Watson, Sister Olivia Hamilton, Sister Maura Walsh, Sister Mary Arthur Giseburt, Sister Teresa Marie Jenkins, Sister Naomi Walsh, Sister Mary Timothy Adams, Sister John Joseph Weber, Sister Marie de Sales Clougherty, and Sister Mary Frederick Blatt. There were seventeen, and we became known as the" Notorius Seventeen." We had a good time, we learned a great deal, we worked hard, and we tried hard to pray. Some of the College teachers came over to the Novitiate from the very beginning and gave us classes. We had courses like...The History of Education, The Fundamentals of Education, and valuable things like that. Sister Francesca Brownlee, and Sister Teresa Clare Kernan were the main teachers. Sister Agnes Francina Kearney was in charge of the sewing room. Sister Ann Regina Sweeney had us for Choir. She had tryouts to determine eligibility. Sister Cecilia Clare Ott helped us to make our first habit. That was difficult, because most of us couldn't sew at all. We had a very interesting and busy postulancy which lasted only until January first. We received the habit and the white cap on January first, nineteen thirty-three. Then we had our canonical year which was mostly spiritual development. If we had any courses from the College, they would have been Religion classes. SMCM: Was Mother Evelyn at the head of the Community at this time? SDML: Yes, it was the beginning of her second term in Office. Sister Marie Antonio Mclinden, who was at De Paul Institute some time-later was the Assistant Mother on the Council. Sister Victorine Ellsworth was the Treasurer, and Sister Hildegarde Eichenlaub was the Procurator. That was the Council in those days. At the end of that year, January first, nineteen thirty-four, we received the black cap. Most of us were assigned to Missions. Sister Mary Frederick and I were not missioned. We were told that we were going to school. In the meantime, Sister Carolyn Lager had broken her leg at St. Philip's in Crafton. Instead of going to school, I was sent to Crafton to replace her. Sister Mary Frederick was also sent somewhere, but I don't remember where. Anyhow, we didn't get to go to school until some time later. I was sent to teach Sr. Carolyn's fourth grade temporarily for five weeks. Sister Angela Sullivan was the Principal and Sister Servant. She was very stern, but kind. She was in my classroom every day. - She just sat quietly in the back, keeping discipline I imagine. When Sister Carolyn returned, I was then needed at St. Anselm's in Swissvale. I substituted there for one week for Sister M. Gabriel McGivern, who had gone to visit her sister, who was. at Mt. Hope. When Sister Gabriel returned, I substituted for Sister Mary Patrick Donovan for the following week in the fifth grade, which was also at St. Anselm's. By that time it was Lent. I remember going to St. Luke's in Carnegie. Someone from St. Anselm's escorted me to Carnegie via train or streetcar. I was first put into the High School at St. Luke's to replace Sister Mary Henry Hanse who was off duty. After a few weeks there., Sister Agnes Marie Reuber, who was the Sister Servant and Principal of the High School and Grade School said to me: "Do you think you're a High School teacher?" I said: "I don't know, Sister." She said: "Well, you're not! Sister Mary Henry is back, and she will take her classes. So, you will go across the street to the seventh grade where someone else is off duty." I went over there and did my best in that seventh grade for the rest of the school year. I loved those children and everything about it. I returned to St. Luke's in August, which would have been August of nineteen thirty-four for another full year in that seventh grade. It was during that year that I taught Sister Camillus Erb- .·- At the end of that year, I would have been happy to come back to Carnegie forever, but it wasn't to be that way. In the meantime, there were three of us there who were preparing for Vows. As of January First, nineteen thirty-four, we were to pronounce our Vows for the first time. During that first semester, Sr. Agnes Marie Reuber, who was Sister Servant and Principal of both the grade and high school, nevertheless took us every Wednesday evening for a study of the Vow manual. SMCM: Sister, who were the three Sisters preparing for Vows? SDML: They were: Sister Teresa Marie Jenkins, Sister M. Naomi Walsh and myself. We were right next to each other in the Community. We slept up on the top floor, what we called the Attic, four of us in a room. I don't remember who the fourth Sister was. I remember once having a very bad cold, and Sr. Agnes Marie trudged up those steps to rub my chest. I got better fast! She was a very strong woman and forceful. She was a good, holy, woman. When she said something, it was said, and you did it. Sr. Agnes Marie also taught German in the High School. That Christmas, we went back to Seton Hill, to prepare for Vows, by making what was called the "Christmas Retreat." Then on January First, we pronounced our Vows. At that time, they were annual Vows. That was a big event. We knelt up in the front of the Chapel, and we said our Vows together between the two elevations of the Mass. Mother Eveline Fisher and Sister Marie Antonio Mclinden knelt up there with us to receive our Vows. Then we went back to Carnegie for the remainder of that year. When I left Carnegie, I had no thought about being transferred. Of course, we knew that we were always subject to being changed. When the mission list came out, it just happened to be the day that I was leaving for my first-visit home. My parents came to get me. We rode over night. I learned that I was going to De Paul Institute, which meant very little to me. I knew that Sister Inez Mary Beckel, who is in my group was at De Paul for a year, but I still knew very little about it. She was very excited about my coming to De Paul. I had never known any deaf people, except an Aunt and Uncle of a classmate of mine. I'm sure they were old time, deaf, who never learned any speech, and I was afraid of it. I went willingly and found myself happy to be there. Immediately, Sr. Marie Antonio, who was still on the Council, came to visit. She wanted to know how I liked it. I already was sold on it completely. SMCM: Who was the Sister Servant? SDML: Sister M. Bernadette Hayes was the Sister Servant in the absence of Sr. Marie Antonio. She really had never worked here, but she was sent here during the six years that Sr. Marie Antonio was on the Council. Sister Teresa Vincent Mahoney was the Principal. The Sisters here were: Sister Marie Michael Carroll, Sister Rose Gertrude Ritzert, Sister Emmanuel Manning, Sister Benedicta Sharp, (Sr. Benedicta had charge of the boys), Sister Mary Lois Highland, (Sr. Mary Lois had charge of the girls}, Sister Ethelreda Merz, Sister Teresa Mary Lacey, Sister M. Bridgetta Fitzpatrick, Sister Rose Xavier Garrity, Sister Mary Linus Hoag, Sister M. Fiorita McGrory, and Sister Inez Mary Beckel. SMCM: How many Sisters were there? SDML: I think there were about fifteen. I'm not remembering all of them because people were coming and going all the time. They were all very kind to me. I was assigned to observe Sister Rose Gertrude in the Primary Department. The youngest children we had were about seven years old. spent some time each day with Sr. Rose Gertrude, and then some time with Sr. Mary Linus at the next level. I also spent some time with Sr. Teresa Vincent, who, in addition to being Principal, was still trying to teach some classes. Time was spent too with Sr. Emmanuel and with Sr. Rose Xavier. Eventually, I had my first class, which was middle school children. They were about twelve years old. When Sister Emmanuel died in nineteen forty, I moved into the upper level, where I spent most of my time until I was made School Psychologist. We were still Novices even though we had made Vows once until we had completed five years. I don't know why, but five years and three months was the exact time. On December eighth, nineteen thirty-seven, we were officially professed Sisters. There was no ceremony connected with it. We just no longer reported to the Novitiate. During those five years, every time we went back to Greensburg, we were Senior Novices. We were still under Sister Theodosia Murtha. SMCM: Did you have to go back to Seton Hill every Summer? SDML: I went back the first two Summers, but I don't think we went back every Summer. SMCM: Did you go to school? SDML: We went to school. We took classes in the College. I remember one Summer when Mother M. Eveline Fisher was the Mother Superior and she said: "You went to school last Winter. So, you can spend the Summer in the laundry." I had gone to Duquesne from De Paul on Saturdays and took a class or two. I did then work in the lower part of the laundry mangling sheets, and taking charge of the Novices who came to the laundry to help. SMCM: Sister, who was in charge of the laundry at that time? SDML: I think that Sister M. Aloise White was still there, but maybe Sister Ruth Cecilia Giseburt was there by that time, but I don't think so. In any case, that was my part. I enjoyed it. I got a lot of reading done that Summer, didn't have to study, and that was very nice. Then after that, I didn't go back to Seton Hill in the Summers. I went to school at Duquesne and at St. John's Liberty Avenue where the Community had classes for the Sisters on Saturdays. I never matriculated at Duquesne, I just took courses there. After Sr. Emmanuel died suddenly the Easter of nineteen forty, I was sent to Pitt. I went there with about sixty-seven credits, most of which were from Seton Hill, and some from Duquesne. Tape I Side II SMCM: Sister, you were talking about your education. SDML: Yes. I started at the University of Pittsburgh the Summer of nineteen forty. I went there part time until January of nineteen forty-five when I graduated. I got my degree in Education with concentration on Psychology, and also in Geography. The Summer of nineteen forty-five, I was sent to Catholic University to work on a graduate level. Again, I majored in Education with a Minor in Religious Education. I spent six happy, very hard working Summers there. I graduated from Catholic University in nineteen fifty with a Master's Degree. SMCM: Sister, is that when our Sister Maurice McManama was there? SDML: Yes, I was there with Sister Maurice most of those years. She was very kind. She knew the ropes...the campus, etc. In fact, I took one course from her there. Every Summer there were several of our Sisters there, but I can't remember exactly in what order they came, or who were there which Summers. I know that Sister Mary Agnes Schildkamp and Sister Rebecca Kelsey were there for at least one Summer. Sister Deborah Kelly was there while I was there. Several Sisters from De Paul were there different Summers. I took the following year off from Study. In the Summer of nineteen fifty­ two, I was sent to Northwestern University for nine or ten weeks. I returned to Northwestern the Summers of nineteen fifty-three and fifty-four. At Northwestern University, I worked toward requirements needed for State certification in the Education of the Deaf. I didn't receive a degree from Northwestern. That was all Post Master's work. Then I went back to Duquesne University part time. I took special courses which were needed for certification. During those years of schooling, I acquired Certification in Elementary Education, Education of the Deaf, Speech Therapy, and finally in School Psychology. In the meantime, I had been teaching here at De Paul continuously. I remained in full time teaching until nineteen seventy, at . which time I was given part time as to work on School Psychology. In January, nineteen fifty-seven, when Sr. Teresa Vincent left here and Sister Helen Louise Connelly was made Principal; I was asked to take charge of the testing program. I was doing that while teaching full time for several years. Finally, in nineteen seventy-four, I was relieved from the classroom completely and given full time in the clinic. During those years, I worked closely with the Alumni. I had taught older children most of the time, so it was natural that I would keep in touch with them. We had an organized program going, and a Newsletter. It is still a very active on-going thing. They don't have organized meetings, but we still have the Newsletter, and they come to class re-unions. Sr. Marie Antonio returned here in the Fall of nineteen thirty-six, having completed her six years on the Council. She became the local Sister Servant at that time I believe. Sr. Teresa Vincent remained Principal. There were times when Sr. Teresa Vincent also seemed to be Sister Servant. They relieved each other on occasion, but Sr. Marie Antonio was always in the background. She was always at the top because she had been one of the original Founding Sisters back in nineteen hundred eight. SMCM: Who else was with Sr. Marie Antonio back in nineteen eight? SDML: There was a Sister Martha. I can't remember who the third one was. Two of them didn't stay in the work, but Sr. Marie Antonio did. In the early years at De Paul, we got back to Seton Hill just for retreat. As cars became more common, we were able to get there more often. When more of the Sisters became drivers, it became even more possible. The Sisters making renovation spent several Summers here at De Paul. We always had Sisters who were studying at Duquesne living here in the Summer. SMCM: What was your experience like living with the children when you first came to De Paul? SDML: That was very interesting. We lived in a dormitory, those of us who lived on the girls' side. You had a curtained corner with a very small stand and a cupboard somewhere out in the hall where you could hang your habit. You waited until the girls were in bed so that you could use the bathroom. If anyone got sick or anything like that during the night, you were responsible. Eventually, I graduated to a semi-private room. There were two of us in a room which was so small that if one person was saying their prayers, the other couldn't pass until she got up. I remember it being that way with Sister McClory. The Sisters who lived on the boys' side had little rooms between the dormitories. They had a window opening to the dormitory so that if they heard anything unusual, they could look through the window before going out. Those were interesting years. I don't remember having too much disturb us during the night. I think that I was so tired that I wouldn't have heard it. We taught all day. Every teacher had evening study hour with her class. The Angels ( Sisters who had charge of the children outside of school) had to be relieved for an hour in the evening so that they could pray. Some of us had to help the children to get ready for bed. The children were here even on the week-ends in those days. SMCM: Were there a lot of children in residence in those days? SDML: Everyone was in residence. The only ones who were not in residence, to my recollection, were two boys who lived in Brookline. They were permitted to go home. It was customary in Schools For the Deaf to keep all the children in residence. I think the reasoning was so that the teachers could have more access to them, but we learned gradually later on that the children needed their families as much as or more than they needed the school. So, we worked toward getting to be day pupils, but that was a long process. SMCM: Did you have dining room duty, Sister? SDML: Yes, the children were all seated and served. There were two Sisters on duty in that Dining Room...one on each end. We all took turns doing this. SMCM: You also took part in the program at Edgewood, didn't you? SDML: Oh, yes. I don't remember which years, but at least two or three years, I went out there every Monday after school here and we met those children. At bed time they were not allowed to be taught. We were not allowed to teach them Religion in their own school. A couple of Catholic teachers walked the children down to St. James school in Wilkinsburg where we met them. We used all of the classrooms in St. James School for an hour after school. SMCM: How long did that Monday night program go on? SDML: It went on for a long time. It started out being a Sunday morning program. I remember Sisters as far back as Sister Mary Linus, Sister Teresa Vincent meeting the children after Mass to teach them Religion. SMCM: Why did they change it? SDML: I don't know. I don't remember the reasoning, but the second phase was the Monday after school thing. The third phase was: A couple of Sisters by that time, we were down to one or two, went to the school itself to meet the children. The program still goes on, but I believe all of the teachers are lay teachers. SMCM: What group of children did you have when you helped? SDML: I had the oldest children. When one of the priests was there, I believe it was Father Daugherty, he took the oldest group, and I had the second oldest. When Father wasn't there, I had the oldest. It was difficult work, because the children were used to people signing to them. We didn't do that. I met some very nice people there. One of the boys, whom I taught, later married one of our girls. That couple has kept in close touch with me. . Another thing that we did was go to Canonsburg to a place called Morganza. I think it has a different name now. It was a school for delinquents. There were some deaf children there. A couple of us went out there for a while to teach them lip reading. It was for a short time, but it was another interesting experience. SMCM: Was that after school? SDML: I have a feeling that it was on Sundays. SDML: On May fifteenth, in nineteen forty-nine, Mother Rose Genevieve Rodgers went from mission to mission to receive the Sisters' Perpetual Vows. Up until that time, of course, we had been under Annual Vows. When Mother Rose Genevieve came to De Paul, we were all assembled in the Chapel, which is presently the Library. It was a very solemn moment. A lay person was taking care of the phone here. During that time, there was a phone call for me. When the ceremony was over, I was given the message to call Mary Halloran. I had the vague notion that Mary Halloran was the daughter of my mother's first cousin, who I knew lived in Pittsburgh. I called Mary, and she told me that she was interested in becoming a Sister of Charity. She was my second cousin. My Grandmother and her Grandfather had been brother and sister. Her mother had married a Pittsburgh man and had come here to live, so I probably only met her once that I could remember. Mary Halloran had been in our Sisters school in Brushton, in Father Black's parish until it closed. Eight years later, she wanted to enter. She looked me up because her Mother remembered that I was in Pittsburgh. SMCM: What was the name of that parish? SDML: Most Blessed Sacrament. It had been called Marian at one time, but got to be called just Father Black's. Mary wanted to be a Sister like one she had remembered from her early years in grade school. Mary's family went to an Italian parish after that, I believe it was Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Then she went to a Public High School and worked for four years before realizing that she wanted to become a Sister of Charity. Her Mother, her Aunt and I got into the act to put her in touch with me. She entered in September of nineteen forty-nine. Five years later, Rosemary Corwin, who lived in Jackson, Michigan, and was the daughter of my Aunt, my first cousin really by adoption, wanted to enter our Community. When she talked to me about it, I said: "Well, you know it's a long distance between Michigan and Greensburg. You won't get home very often." She was determined that this was what she wanted. SMCM: Sister, could you tell us a little bit about Sister Rose Virginia (Rosemary Corwin)? SDML: Her Mother had died when she was only two years old. Her Father, who had several other children, was not able to provide for her. The Pastor at the parish asked my Aunt to take this little girl. My Aunt and her second husband (her first husband had died) were more than willing to take this little girl. They enjoyed rearing her. She went to the Catholic schools in Michigan, first to the Dominican Sisters for grade school, then to the Cincinnati Sisters of Charity for high school. She had met me once or twice when she was small, so she decided that she would like to become a Greensburg Sister of Charity. Meantime, she had gone through college and had spent some time at Catholic University. SMCM: What was her field? SDML: It was Education. She was a teacher for several years before she entered. She finally came to see me in Greensburg. It was nineteen fifty­ four, the Marian Year. She was accepted for September eighth. I didn't see much of her in between times. She entered on September eighth, nineteen fifty-four. Both of Sister Rose Virginia's parents became invalids. There was no-one to take care of them. The Community gave Sister permission to go to Michigan to care for them. The Father died. After that, they sold their home and moved the Mother into an apartment. Sister had to stay with her. SMCM: Didn't Sister also teach at this time? SDML: She also taught at St. Mary's School with the Cincinnati Sisters of Charity. At one point, she taught at Queen's School, which is a Dominican School. She came back for one year and worked in Johnstown, but then she had to go back to Michigan again. When she went back, she took a part time job as a Librarian at St. Mary's. She had a person who stayed with her Mother during the hours when she was at the Library. SMCM: How long did she do this? SDML: I would say it was five or six years. Her Mother became weaker and weaker. Sister knew that she wasn't going to have her Mother much longer, but she didn't go to the Hospital as there really wasn't anything they could do. Three days before my Jubilee Celebration at Seton Hill, in nineteen eighty-two, Sister Rose Virginia called me to tell me that her Mother had died, and that she was taking her to Cumberland, Maryland to bury her. Her Father was also previously buried in Cumberland, Maryland. Of course, I had to go, but didn't go to Michigan. She had a Funeral Mass in Cumberland. I left immediately after the Mass for my Golden Jubilee with my Sisters to go to Cumberland. We arrived there that evening. Sister Rose Virginia had arrived shortly before us. We stayed with the Sisters of St. Ursula, who were very good to us. I think we stayed on in Cumberland for a day, and then returned here. SMCM: What happened with Sister Rose Virginia after that? SDML: She stayed here for a while for some much needed rest, but then had to return to Michigan to finalize her Mother's business. There was much to be done. She was there for at least a couple of months. Again, it wasn't possible for me to go to be with her, but she had many dear friends among her Mother's acquaintances. They moved right in and helped her. They had a family lawyer who took care of the financial end of things. Sister Rose Virginia got sick in Michigan. She came back to Greensburg, but she thought that if she could get back to the West where she had been happy, that she would get stronger. She got permission to go West, and was sent to Chandler, but she wasn't able to do much. She had been diagnosed by a specialist here.in Pennsylvania with leukemia. She knew before the Mother died that she wasn't well, but just didn't take time to look into it. The specialist at Mercy Hospital gave her permission to go to the West. He transferred her to a Doctor in Arizona, and sent her record. Sister Patricia Marie Stack, who was the Sister Servant at St. Mary's in Chandler, called me in late November or early December to tell me that Sr. Rose Virginia was quite ill, and that she would have to go back to Greensburg. She was flown home to Greensburg shortly before Christmas. The reason I know it was Christmas is that when I went out to see her, she had been caroling the night before with the Sisters. She wasn't really able to do that, but she wanted so much to be a part of it. She was so happy to be back with the Sisters at Assumption Hall. She was in the Hospital during New Year's that year. I remember talking to her on New Year's Day and telling her that everything was a sheet of ice. Tape II Side I SMCM: This is a continuation of the interview being conducted for the Oral History program for the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. The interviewee is Sister David Mary Leonard. Sister Marie Corona Miller is the interviewer. It is being conducted at De Paul Institute. The date is October twelfth, nineteen eighty-six. SDML: Sister Rose Virginia spent a long time in Jeannette Hospital. During that period, !·talked with her on the phone every day. I think Sister Sebastian Jellison must have visited her every day from Assumption Hall. Sister Rose Virginia learned to know Sr. Sebastian and to trust her completely. She confided to her all of her wishes concerning her few little belongings and every detail of her funeral. I remember Sr. Rose Virginia telling me that she wanted the "In Paradisum" in Latin because it flows better than the English translation. . During that time, her Dominican half­ sister came to visit her from Florida. There was also a cousin who came from Michigan two different times. They stayed at Assumption Hall for several days. Sr. Sebastian took them back and forth to see Sister at the Hospital. Those were highlights of that period while she was in the Hospital. There came a time when I called her and she couldn't talk. Finally, on March twenty-first, nineteen eighty-four, she died quietly at Assumption Hall. She wanted to die there. Sr. Sebastian called me immediately to inform me of Sister's death. Someone took me out to Assumption Hall and I stayed there until after the funeral. My sisters and their families came to the funeral. SMCM: How old was Sister when she died? SDML: I believe that she was fifty-four or fifty-six. SMCM: Where was she on mission? SDML: She was missione, d to many places. I remember that she was sent out as a postulant, along with Sister Laverne Cassidy; and Sister Barbara Mary Koval to St. Anselm's in Swissvale. She was also at: St. Stephen's in Hazelwood, St. James in Wilkinsburg, and a couple of western missions. I remember specifically that she was at St. Catherine's in Tucson. Her last mission out there was in Chandler. SMCM: I really appreciate you telling us about Sr. Rose Virginia. SMCM: Sister, is there anything else that you would like to tell us about your Religious life? SDML: As far as mission life is concerned, I was always happy that I had experience for about a year and a half on a smaller mission before I came to an institution. I think that it made me understand that the life of the other Sisters is different from ours. Since things have changed, the difference is not as big. There was one funny thing that happened here shortly after I came. I was in the classroom at the head of the stairway. I was very new and very green. This priest came to my door and wanted to know if I had a yardstick. I didn't have a yardstick, didn't know where to get one, nor did I know who he was. I found out later that he was the Reverend T. F. Coakley, who was the famous pastor of Sacred Heart Church, and also the first director at De Paul Institute: He had come to measure the niche, where St. Catherine now stands outside the kitchen door. She wasn't there yet. She was being made, and he wanted to measure the niche. did direct him down the hall to the Principal's office, but I was never allowed to forget that, because Father Coakley was like the name of the saint here. Soon after that, right before Christmas, he came out here to announce that he was resigning his position as Director of De Paul. He didn't feel that he could do justice to De Paul and to Sacred Heart Parish. The Sisters were so distressed about this. It seemed like the end of the world. The Capuchin Priests took care of our spiritual needs. They came for Mass, heard the childrens' confessions, did whatever needed to be done. Father Coakley still took care of the business end of things. He came often to do this. He brought back academic ideas from the different places he visited. He brought back materials from the original Montessori School. He was determined to make De Paul Institute the largest oral school for the deaf in the world. I think he came pretty close to doing this. He knew that the school was growing, so he felt that the school should be turned over to someone who could devote full time to it. That's when Father Raymond Daugherty was appointed as Director of De Paul. Another thing that I remember about Father Coakley was that when I came here, the old Annex was just being finished. We called it then "The Primary School." There were four new little classrooms available for whoever was going to use them. Father Coakley came out on the twenty­ fourth of October to dedicate that building. It was pouring rain. I remember escorting one of our big boys over to that building for the dedication under a large umbrella. We had many happy times at De Paul. Sisters came and stayed for a long time. I particularly recall what a delight Sister Marie Michael Carroll was, with her Irish brogue, quotations, lady-like manners, etc. She was the essence of refinement. Sister Rose Gertrude Ritzert was a chubby little German from Butler. She played the organ and taught the youngest children. SMCM: Can you tell us anything about Schwester(German Sister)? SDML: Oh, yes, Sister Rose Gonzaga Wieland. She had charge of the laundry, and sometimes she was in the kitchen. The biggest thing about her was her German trunk. Anything that you ever wanted, you could get from the German trunk....set of candles for the table, or a lovely brass candle holder, or some ribbon, whatever, it didn't matter, she had it, and she was more than willing to share it. She kept her trunk down near the laundry. She was very good about holidays. She liked to celebrate. She would do anything for anyone. SMCM: How long was Sr. Rose Gonzaga at De Paul? SDML: Oh, a long time. I wouldn't estimate how long. She left De Paul for a while and went to one of the missions. I think it was to St. Luke's. She must have returned here, because I can remember her being carried out of here to her death bed on St. Patrick's Day, nineteen sixty-six. She died on March twenty-fourth, so she was close to death when they removed her from De Paul. Her big concern was that she was spoiling Sister Bridgetta Fitzpatrick's birthday party. That's the kind of person that she was. SMCM: Sister Bridgetta was the Sister Servant then. SDML; Was she? Maybe she went to the hospital with Sister. SMCM: She did. SDML: Were you here then? SMCM: Yes. SDML: Well, that explains that then. Sr. Rose Gonzaga had one very close friend here in the city. She called her Cunni.....CunegLinda was probably her name....Cunegunda Koett. Once in a great while, Cunni would have Sr. Rose Gonzaga to her home. One time, Sister took me as companion. They served a heavy, rich soup first. I ate the soup, and thought that was the meal. That was just the introduction. Then they came with more and more of whatever. It ended with cheese cake. It was the first time I had ever eaten cheese cake. It was home made. That was the nearest thing that Sister had to family, besides the German Sisters in the Community, whom she didn't get to see very often. SMCM: Did she ever go back to Germany? SDML: She went back at least once to Studtgard. When she came back, she said: "Ve had to stay over night in Paris." We all said: "Oh, you poor thing!" That was a great event...getting ready for that. SMCM: What about some of the other Sisters, like Sister Maureen Coggers? SDML: Sister Maureen Coggers was a very efficient bookkeeper during her stay here at De Paul: She wasn't here very long. Sister Benedicta Sharp was what we called 'The Boys' Angel." She would have defended those boys with her life. She and Sister Mary Lois Highland worked well together. During another period of time here, there were other people in that position. Sister M. Liguori Steinmiller was here for a while as the boys' angel. SMCM: When did Sister Marie Andrea Dedig come? SDML: I don't remember dates clearly, but she probably followed Sister Liguori. Didn't Sr. Marie Andrea come directly here after she made her vows or after she got the black cap? I think she did. I don't believe that she was ever anywhere else. She dedicated· herself completely to the boys, and their welfare, and the baseball team. SMCM: What nurses were here during your time at De Paul? SDML: Sister M. Aquinata Moore was in charge of the infirmary when I came. I think she was a Practical Nurse. The infirmary was one small cupboard outside the Sacristy. She was also the Sacristan, so she had charge of the Sacristy. There was no Infirmary room. If she had to take care of one of the girls, she did it right there in the hallway. There was a small Infirmary room upstairs with three little cots. If someone was really sick, they were put in there. She also had a cupboard over on the other side for the boys, and she went over each day to tend to any needs. SMCM: How long was Sr. Aquinata there? SDML: I'm not sure, possibly three to five years. SMCM: Who followed Sr. Aquinata? SDML: It was probably Sister Alice Elizabeth Nolan. I can't remember anyone in between. SMCM: What about Sister Agnes Teresa Mclane? Wasn't she at De Paul twice? SDML: She had two turns here, and I don't know if one of them was before Sister Alice Elizabeth. You know who else was here briefly was Sister Agnes Joseph Hines. SMCM: I think that Sr. Agnes Teresa was here before Sr. Alice Elizabeth. SDML: That's probably correct....then after Sr. Alice Elizabeth the second time she was here. SMCM: Can you tell us about the kitchen? Didn't someone in your group work in the kitchen? SDML: Yes, Sister Teresa Marie Jenkins came here after she lost some of her fingers in an accident at Seton Hill. She was more or less recuperating when she first came. She gradually got well and she worked hard in the kitchen for several years. She was eventually in charge of the kitchen. There was another Sister here at one time in the kitchen....Sister M. Dominic Wivell. She was here for a while. Another Sister who was here briefly after she retired was Sister Mary Florence Hickey. She had been a teacher, but she came here to take charge of the children's dining room. She died here in the boys' house. SMCM: Did she serve in the dining room? 18 SDML: I don't think she served. She didn't know the children. She just took care of the dining room generally. SMCM: Several of the Sisters died here, didn't they? SDML: Sister Emmanuel Drake died here. That was the greatest shock! · She was getting ready to go to the Easter Retreat the next day. On Holy Saturday morning, she had polished the main hall, with the help of one of the boys. By Noon that day she was dying. She died in the early part of the afternoon on Holy Saturday. She was just forty-six years old. She was a very active person. She took part in everything that we had here. We had just celebrated her Silver Jubilee back in February of the same year. SMCM: How long was Sr. Emmanuel at De Paul? SDML: I think she spent most of, if not all of her Community life here. I think she was older when she entered, maybe twenty-one. I think she · taught before she entered, but don't believe she was ever on any other mission. She played the piano by ear. She loved to put on plays. I remember on St. Patrick's Day when we were still having silence for breakfast, that she got permission to play the piano in the school hall while we were coming down to breakfast. She was always wanting to celebrate something. Sister M. Adelaide Ford had charge of the "Baking House" at Seton Hill, and she was Sister Emmanuel's dear frjend. They had entered together. Sr. Emmanual made Sister Adelaide a complete, new habit for her Jubilee, even down to a new handkerchief for her pocket. She had great joy in doing that. The people here put on a play for her Jubilee. ·It was really elaborate. It was the story of Prince Galitzen, and she loved that. She was very history minded. I should tell you that Prince Galitzen, known as Father Smith, said Mass in the home of one of my Great, Great Grandfathers. My Grandmother told me that. Western Maryland was part of his territory. SDML: This Summer, Sr. Mary Antonio's niece came to visit. She had never been back to Pittsburgh since she was a young girl. She now lives in Florida. She was the daughter of Sr. Marie Antonio's sister. Those of us who remembered her went down to talk to her. I said to her: "Do you have one of the statues which was a souvenir of Sr. Marie Antonio's Jubilee?" She said: "No, I don't." I said: "I have one, and I'm going to give it to you." She was just delighted to have that, and after she went back to Florida, she wrote to me and thanked me again. She went through the Academy when we had it, and was present when the College was Incorporated in nineteen seventeen, I think it was. There were many Sisters who have come and stayed for a while and have gone. Sister Sophie Gloss was here for a while, Sister Jeannette Weisman was here for quite a while. Tape Two Side Two SDML: Other Sisters were: Sister Mary Francis Irvin, Sister Mary Kevin Kerrigan, Sr. Marie Michael Carroll, Sister Mary Ann McAfee spent most of her life here, except for one brief period when she was out on one of the other missions, Sister M. Dionysius Henry was here for two different terms...one before I came, and later when she was really not well. SMCM: What did Sister Dionysius do, Sister? SDML: She was in charge of the boys. I can't remember if she was well enough to be with the boys the second time she returned. Sister Mary James Brownlee had been here for some time before I came. believe she was here specifically to be the Sister Servant. SMCM: That's what I was going to ask you. I understand that the period of time when Sr. Marie Antonio and Sr. Teresa Vincent were both here, that there was another Sister here who was acting as Sister Servant. Sr. Marie Arthur: This issue is being repeated. It has already been recorded that Sr. M. Bernadette Hayes was the Sister Servant at De Paul while Sr. Marie Antonio was on the Council. SDML: In January of Nineteen Fifty-Seven Sr. Marie Antonio and Sr. Teresa Vincent left, at which time, Sister Helen Louise Connelly was made Sister Servant and Principal. After Sr. Helen Louise, Sister M. Bridgetta Fitzpatrick was Principal and Sister Servant, followed by Sister M. Justina Dreistadt as Sister Servant and Sister Philomena Mannion as Principal. SMCM: Did you also have Sister Leocadia in the kitchen for a while? SDML: Oh, yes, Sister Leocadia Mulholland. She was a great baker of pecan rolls. SMCM: Where did she come from? SDML: She came from Carnegie. I taught her niece at St. Luke's. She has a sister living in Brookline. She had several brothers and at least one sister. She was a wonderful cook and a great manager. Dorothy Jackson, who was Sister John Joseph Weber's sister, and who came here under Sr. Leocadia, and later had to take over, said that Sr. Leocadia taught her everything that she ever knew about cooking. SMCM: Whose place did Sr. Leocadia take? SDML: I suspect that Sr. Leocadia followed Sr. Teresa Marie Jenkins. Sr. Leocadia was here for quite a while. SMCM: Is there anyone else that you can recall? SDML: Sister Miriam Ruth Clark used to always tell us that her aunt, Sister Marie Aloysia Schreiber had been here some time back. I knew that the older deaf people talked about her. She spent a number of years at De · Paul. Also, Sister Agnes Dougherty was here and was well thought of, but she left here and went to St. Luke's, and she was equally well liked there. She taught the older children. Some of them who have gone out to Greensburg for funerals for other Sisters, like Sister Fiorita McGrory, have visited Sister Agnes in the Infirmary. SMCM: Did Sister Fiorita McGrory and Sister Rose Xavier Garrity come together? SDML: They came together in the same year. Sr. Rose Xavier was older in age, but Sr. Fiorita was already in the Community. Sr. Fiorita entered in Nineteen Fifteen, and Sr. Rose Xavier worked for a number of years in a bank. They lived together here for many years. Sr. Rose Xavier had charge of the Boy Scouts, and Sr. Fiorita had charge of the Girl Scouts. Anything concerning the boys, Sr. Rose Xavier took care of, e.g. The Holy Name Society, and anything pertaining to the girls Sr. Fiorita handled e.g. The Sodality. Sister Mary Linus Hoag was the third one of that team. They were a great team! Now we have Sr. Mary Linus's nephew on our faculty...Tom Hoag. At one point, Sr. Mary Linus left here for a year or so, because she had a very serious sinus condition. Someone thought that going to the West might help her. It did help her physically, but she missed De Paul. So she came back after a year or two and brought Sister Helen Louise Connelly with her. Sr . Helen Louise had been out there for a number of years and I never knew how it happened, but we always teased Sr. Mary Linus about getting Sr. Helen Louise for De Paul. SMCM: Sister David Mary; weren't you instrumental in teaching the deaf to communicate via wire? SDML: Well, I suppose so, but the instruments were given to me by the alumni. The one they gave me was an old PTY (sounds like they're saying, can't tell). It was a monster of a thing! It sounded like judgement day! However, it was a great benefit to the deaf people. What you did was attach the receiver of your phone to a cuppler, which in turn was attached to the PTY instrument. Then you dialed your number on the regular phone, which had to be connected with this instrument. Then the phone would ring in the deaf person's home and he or she had it rigged up to a light, so that when the light flashed, they knew the phone was ringing. Then he picked up his receiver and attached it to his instrument and we typed messages back and forth to each other. The first one that we had literally was a PTY. It was an old adapted tele typewriter which a deaf physicist, who was not from Pittsburgh, figured out a way to attach this typewriter to a telephone so that deaf people could communicate by telephone wires, but without hearing. Messages on the older models appeared on rolls of paper. The messages appear on screens on the newer models. (I couldn't make out the acronym letters for the newer models....sounds like TVD...which stands for Television V (can't determine) for the Deaf. The Alumni gave me two of the newer models for my Fiftieth Jubilee. SMCM: Is there anything else that you would like to say about your work at De Paul? SDML: It has been very gratifying. I've always been happy that I was sent here. Had I been consulted, I might not have known what to say. SMCM: At the present time, what are you doing? SDML: At the present time, I'm the school psychologist, but working for just a half day. I'm training a young man who has been on our staff for a number of years, to do my work. He's also taking courses at Duquesne University toward certification in Psychology. That's working out very well. SMCM: Are there any comments that you would like to make regarding changes in the Community and in the Church? SDML: I'm very hopeful on both counts. I feel that there is a considerable amount of unrest in the Church, there is some rebellion being shown, but I think in the end, that the Rock of Peter is still there, and it's going to come out right. In the Community, I believe that we are learning to live with diversity. I think that's good. I have my reservations about some angles of it, but that's alright too. SMCM: What do you think about the Faculty staffing of the school in light of having fewer Sisters? SDML: We have very fine lay people, and they are very dedicated to the work here. I feel that they are going to have more and more control of the school unless we get some Sisters. Our youngest Sisters are not really young. I can accept having more lay people, but would like it to stay in the hands of the Sisters. SMCM: Well Sister Mary David, I appreciate you taking the time to provide the Community with this important information, and the Community is also grateful. Sr. Marie Arthur: I completed the transcription of this oral history on Sister David Mary Leonard on June Fourth, Two Thousand Thirteen. 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 David Mary Leonard Subject The topic of the resource Sister David Mary Leonard Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister David Mary Leonard, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1932 until 2002. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on October 12, 1986. Sister David Mary Leonard was born on January 23, 1915 in Cumberland, Md. Daughter of David A. Leonard and Edna R. Mason, Kathleen C. Leonard entered the community on September 8, 1932 as Sister David Mary Leonard. Sister David Mary spent much of her ministry in education and care for the deaf and hard of hearing at the DePaul Institute in Brookline. She initially taught junior high education for the hard of hearing for 37 years, and later served as a full-time psychologist for the Institute. She also worked as coordinator of the “Share A Home” project and as liaison of the Alumni Office. She also coordinated to send older DePaul students to the Connelly Vocational School and the Vocational Center at South Hills High School to learn useful trades. Sister David Mary earned her B.S. in Education at the University of Pittsburgh in 1945 and earned her M.A. in Education at Catholic University in 1950. She was certified by the state as a teacher for Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Speech Correction and Public School Psychology and was certified by the Conference of Executives of American Schools for the Deaf. Sister David Mary Leonard passed away on May 7, 2002, 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 1986/10/12 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-71 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/39114c3e7b681efa26617fd00cab894a.mp3 943df87052b9000ecce930521c19bfc3 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/177a83edaa9459fcdb8b39c7ddf81b64.mp3 e25e4981282ad97cbbd3240f48abe6eb 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. Angelica Little 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.) 19:39 31:05 31:04 Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound OH 30-1 1 This is an interview for the Oral History Program of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, PA. The interviewee is Sister Angelica Little. The interviewer is Sister Virginia Pascaretta. The interview is taking place at DePaul Institute. The date is March 5, 1983. Sr. Virginia : Sr. Angelica, to begin with, would you please give me a little bit of your family background? Sr. Angelica: Well, I was born in Evansberg, PA in 1904 and I had five sisters and two brothers. My father was an attorney in the town and my mother was originally from Johnstown, my father, from Loretto. SVP: Would you like to give your father's name? SAL: Peter J. Little and my mother was Bertha O'Connor Little. SVP: I think that at one point in our conversations you mentioned that there was a reason for your going to Seton Hill Academy. SAL: Yes, my father grew up in the town of Loretto; Sr. Cecilia Schwab grew up there also. On one occasion Sister asked him if he would send his six daughters to Seton Hill and enroll them in St. Joseph's Academy; he agreed to do this and he did. When I went to Seton Hill, I had two older sisters there and three to come after me. So I entered th Academy in the Fall of 1918. There was a class of 200 girls and there were three Directresses that I lived under during my four years in the Academy: Sr. Francesca, beloved of all the girls, Sr. Angela Sullivan and Mother Claudia. The buildings there, I remember, were only two at the time, the Administration Building and Maura Hall. There was no passage way going over to the post office as there is now; it was possible to walk from the old laundry and the bake house straight down to the old gym. There was no building between the kitchen and what is now the dishwasher; that was all open then. The pantries were up, but nothing else. I enjoyed my years in the Academy very much. I was attracted to the community by the things that the Sisters did, just going about their work. In the evenings, many of them, on warm Spring days, would collect on the spiral stairways which extended from the porch on each side of the Administration Building. I loved to watch them. And another gathering was in the "court" where the Sisters with long paddles in their hands stirred apple butter in a big steaming kettle; it was beautiful thing to watch from upstairs. These things attracted me to the community. And another gathering was in the Fall, I was in the community then. Each sister, professed as well as novices, put on a gingham apron, got a pan and filled it with vegetables and fruit; we called it "courting". We would have a nice time down in the kitchen peeling our fruit and cutting up vegetable . Sr. Salome Kline was the one who did a lot of the canning and preserving in the old kitchen. We would smell the good spicy smells in the Fall. What really attracted me after I finished the Academy was. I was going to wait until I entered, for I always wanted to be a Sister, but I didn't talk to anyone about it because I thought they would be surprised on account of a few pranks I had been involved in. Then, Sr. Theodosia and I talked one time outside the chapel and she said that she wouldn't give anything in this world for even one year of her community life. That's when I decided to enter that September instead of coming back fro a second year of college. So I was in school five years. SVP: How did your parents accept that news? SAL: Well, Sr. Victoria, my sponsor, said I should go home and talk to them and when I got home, I just couldn't say a word about it. I came back and I wrote a note; instead of saying I'd like to enter, I wrote that I'd like to come back to stay. Well, they were delighted; they were very happy. When it was time to enter, my sister Claire was always taunting me saying, "Only three more dinners, only two more breakfasts", and I couldn't stand it anymore. So, I had my sister Margaret call the Mistress of Novices and ask if I could come early. I entered on the 6th of September, 1923. Mother Mary Francis didn't have any problem with the young sisters working in close contact with all the others and we had many happy talks with the senior sisters. We didn't know the pioneers but they did. Sr. Ligouri would work with us on our habits and one of her frequent sayings was " _ is the soul of a religious, without it you are not much more than a layman." Sr. Baptista and I used to talk, too; she had a niece in our community years later. She would tell me about Mother Aloysia Lowe. She said that one reason was she always wanted to build a house for the sisters; that was her goal. She said that when she thought of going back to Cincinnati, "It was hard to abandon the cradle that rocked me." Sr. Baptista would say that "She taught us how to live when too high were they the paths of knowledge; she taught us how to die." I used to go to the cemetery and read the tombstones; only two of them had inscriptions, really. Mother Aloysia's said: She has gone and left us; in her of love. Her image carved in So, therefore, is her children's guiding star Whose only death is in her for zeal. I used to go to every place on the campus, down to the dairy, and up to the towers, to read the inscription on the bell: Ave Maria peel out the bells, Over the hills and over the dales. All hail fair queen and mother of many Near whom the seraph's eyes gaze and Ring loud sweet bells, ring long sweet bells and pray In the words that are Gabriel's, - - Ave Maria. Well, what else? Well, the Novitiate life was very structured in those days, of course. We had morning prayers and a ½ hr. of meditation in the Grotto. Then, we had Mass and, our charge list was always hanging up, so we went to our charges. Sometimes to the laundry, sometimes to the kitchen. We always had time for a little walk, without shawls around us, outside. We had Chapter once a week and we really dreaded that because we had to kneel down publicly and tell our faults, such as, "We worked without our gingham aprons, we didn't keep our charges, we didn't keep recollection ." We had quarter prayers at quarter to 12, that's why they called them that, and we had our prayer for benefactors. I'm sure we must have prayed for Mother Seton's Canonization, all told, for over fifty years that God would hasten the time of her canonization. St. Vincent says that we always want an answer to prayers before God wants to give it. St. Theresa says God delays His answer because He loves prayer so much and we waited and prayed for fifty years for Mother Seton's canonization. We had recreation before night prayers during our Novitiate and then we'd have night prayers at quarter of eight. I always thought that was good to have silence right after night prayers, stop in the oratory after prayers for a little visit and then right up to bed. We'd have the lights out at 9:30 and be up at 5:00 the next day. The sisters entering today don't know the joy of getting the habit that we had years ago. It was a great joy in helping to make it, then putting it on and kissing the cap before putting it on. Sisters were always pinning the ends of their caps when walking down the hall. I'll never forget the time we came back for Christmas; some of us entered from the back of the chapel and the sisters were already assembled. We didn't know who some of them were. We thought, well, what's the matter? They hadn't any curtains on their caps! We didn't know Sr. Mary Cletus had red hair; we didn't know Sr. _ had curls behind her cap. We were amazed, but what happened was they had had a curtain on their caps. In the Academy we wore middies and skirts, of course. We had our mail given out in the community room at Cecilian Hall at noon. I always remember Sr. Marie Antoinette when she was our angel, she said that if there were any infractions that we were guilty of she wouldn't give out the mail to them. She used to say that she would "Communicate the intelligence verbally". And we'd think, "what? What did she say?" "Communicate the ." That didn't sound a bit like Sr. Marie Antoinette. When I entered I heard those words when the Community Customs were read and thought, "Oh, that's where Sister got that phrase." 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 Angelica Little Subject The topic of the resource Sister Angelica Little Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Angelica Little, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1923 until 1993. The interview was conducted by Sister Virginia Pascaretta on March 5, 1983 and March 15, 1983. Sister M. Angelica Little was born on September 23, 1904 in Ebensburg, Pa. Daughter of Peter J. Little and Bertha O’Connor, Mary Elizabeth Little joined the community on September 8, 1923 as Sister M. Angelica Little. Sister M. Angelica taught school education for many years, including at St. John’s High School, Scottsdale; and Sacred Heart High School, Pittsburgh; and later taught English at Seton Hill College. From 1953 to 1970, she taught visually handicapped children at the DePaul Institute, Brookline. After her retirement in 1970, she remained at the DePaul Institute as a tutor. Sister M. Angelica earned her B.A. in English and Education from Seton Hill college in 1926 and earned her M.A. in these subjects from Columbia University in 1933. She also studied Special Education for the Blind at Catholic University in the summers of 1953 and 1954. In 1942 she helped found the House of Mary during her social ministry in Pittsburgh. She was a prolific writer of songs, verses, and plays, and she directed her students at the DePaul Institute in her plays throughout her teaching career. She also introduced the Talking Prayerbook for the Catholic Blind recordings for her students in 1955. Sister M. Angelica Little passed away on March 10, 1993 at the age of 88. 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 1983/03/05 1983/03/05 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-30 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/44e1430000c669409013eb2f3241a2f3.mp3 86cdc23482ef88c0a345efc4e5d0d5f1 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/f0743e66654b47eebe5343b8b40a22b7.mp3 ab0b692cce1c543b1da5d240b4cefb09 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/84c935c605c0116a7fadfe8da0aa85c3.mp3 ce4bbe4e496add5b568e468182fc6fe5 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 Jean Malloy 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.) 32:08 32:07 09:35 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 Jean Malloy Subject The topic of the resource Sister Jean Malloy Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Jean Malloy, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1945 until 2006. The interview was conducted by Sister Mary Noel Kernan on July 17, 1987. Sister Jeanne Malloy was born on September 30, 1926 in Altoona, Pa. Daughter of John F. Malloy and Erma M. Luther, Jean Elizabeth Malloy entered the community on September 8, 1945 as Sister Jeanne Malloy. Sister Jeanne served as a teacher in diocesan schools throughout America and Korea. In her American ministry, she served in schools in the dioceses of Altoona-Johnstown, Greensburg, and Pittsburgh and the Archdiocese of Washington. In 1961, she travelled to South Korea to serve at the Sisters’ new schools there and returned to teach in America in 1976. She returned to teach in South Korea from 1981 to 1991, and then returned to America to teach until 1994. From 1994 to 2006, she volunteered with the Senior Companion Program at the Blair Senior Service Center. Sister Jeanne earned her B.M. in Piano and Voice instruction from Seton Hill College in 1959. Sister Jeanne Malloy passed away on March 7, 2006 at the age of 79. 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 1987/07/17 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-97 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/310786e5adb3581e89bd132f40bdbbc4.mp3 c906ea34f295bd1f382826ff17685949 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 Patricia Marie Stack Sister Rebecca Ann Espinosa Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Sister James Marie Malone 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.) 20:27 30:07 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 James Marie Malone Subject The topic of the resource Sister James Marie Malone Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister James Marie Malone, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1927 until 1992. The interview was conducted by Sister Patricia Marie Stack on April 23, 1983 and by Sister Rebecca Ann Espinosa on July 31, 1988. Sister James Marie Malone was born on August 31, 1908 in Pittsburgh, Pa. Daughter of James P. Malone and Ella Grace Cover, Mary Frances Malone entered the community on December 8, 1927 as Sister James Marie Malone. Sister James Marie ministered as a teacher at schools in western Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Arizona. She was one of the founding members of the Sisters’ SS. Peter and Paul’s School in Tucson in 1933 and taught there and at schools in Arizona, including Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Scottsdale and St. John Evangelist in Tucson, for over thirty years. Other schools she taught at include St. Anselm, Swissvale; St. Leo, Altoona; St. James, Wilkinsburg; and Sacred Heart, Glyndon, Maryland. Sister James Marie earned her B.Ed. in Mathematics with a minor in English from Duquesne University in 1947. In 1975, she wrote a history of the Sister of Charity’s missions in Arizona, which was a major source for this period of the Order’s history. Sister James Marie Malone passed away on August 30, 1992 at the age of 83. 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 1983/04/23 1988/07/31 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-51 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 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/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 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. Agnita McCall 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.) 20:31 Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound Sisters of Charity Oral Histories Interviewee: Sr. M. Agnita McCall Interviewer: Sr. Marie Corona Miller September 22, 1986 This interview is being conducted as part of the Oral History program of the Sister of Charity of Seton Hill. The interviewee is Sister Agnita McCall. The interview is being conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller at Marian Hall the date is September 22, 1986. Sr.M: Good morning Sister Agnita Sr.A: Good morning Sister Sr.M: I’m very happy to be here with you today Sr.A: And I am delighted to be with you. Sr.M: Would you like to tell me something about your life as a Sister of Charity? Sr.A: I’ll try. I was born on the 23rd of June 1900 4. One I am the youngest of 14 children. They’re all deceased except my dear self. I was born on a school picnic day. I was told that my mother had loaves of bread ready to be put into the pans when she knew it was time for me to come into this world. My oldest sister Mary a most happy memory then took over charge of the bread etc. My parents came from Ireland in 1860 and to start a business, which was the coke ovens. They borrowed $200 from Mr. Quigley father of our deceased Carmelita Quigley. The ovens were on Main Street close to Saint James church in West End but the convent and school were located on Steuben Street. At that time very few people had telephones so that the Sisters would come down to my father’s office to make their calls. He loved the Sisters. On Monday morning when he would see a Sister stretching out the clothesline, he would hurry to help her. He like my mother were great church workers. What influenced me to become a Sister of Charity from the time I was very young, I would pretend I was a Sister, you know how we use to get dressed in long clothes and have a rosary hung on our belt. I suppose to hearing my parents talking about respect and love they had for the Sisters was another thing that influenced me. When I started to school, it was even easier for me to see the love and concern the Sisters had for their class their classes, 125 children in the first grade. I entered the community on March 24, 1921 just in time for supper. Sr.M: Sister? Sr.A: Fried eggs and lettuce served by the whitecaps Sr.M: Sister before you go on there can you remembers any of your teachers at Saint James? Sr.A: Oh sure Sr.M: Can you just give us some of their names? Sr.A: Ok, my first grade teacher was a Sister who left the community, I can’t remember her name. Also I had Sister Leanor, Sister Recarda, Sister Marsclene, Sister…. oh I can’t remember the others just now. Sr.M: Thank you Sr.A: I enter on March oh I did say that. That was Holy Thursday; we had adoration of the Blessed Sacrament all night. Our dorm went to the chapel at 1:00 how delighted I was, I suppose it was for sperber. My earliest recollection of my community life were buried, we had our ups and downs, but for, they were alleviated by the kindness and understanding of our senior novices and our senior profess Sisters. I can look back to those days and recollect the help that was given to us as we tried to do our best. I could never enumerate all the happenings of our early days, but I know there were many interesting incidents. I recall this one, the day I received the white cap a senior Sister asked me “What is your name?” I said it is Sister Agnita said she “You shouldn’t have that name, that means little Agnes and you are too big for that” So I still hear, I still have my name and I still am big. Then when I worked in the butter house, I let fall a large tray of butter chips plus the butter, I did the same thing when I worked in the Priest dinning room. I broke a tray of beautiful glass finger bowls you can imagine what Sister Mary Lenard said, but bless her, she was always most forgiving. On December 12th 1923 my first assignment was to Saint Mary Magdalen School in Homestead. I arrived at suppertime to face 25 sisters who were in the dining room. I didn’t feel at ease at first but soon that wore off. The following day, Mother Mary Joseph a magnificent principal took me to my class 50 in the second grade, didn’t’ say a word to me, but handed me a register and that went on for about a week. After that mother came in each day and what help she gave was the foundation of my teaching career. To which to this very day I am most grateful. May mother rest in peace. I always enjoyed teaching I miss children very much and I think I played a part in the field of education by one method I always employed. Always find something good in each child that would encourage him to do better work. The saying a spoon full of sugar will carry more flies than a barrel of vinegar. I forget what saint said that. I taught in the schools in Pittsburgh, Altoona, and Tuscan many happy a days. I think I always related well to both religious and lay faculty. My last assignment was at Holy Innocence for 16 years for 6 years. On June 11, 1979 after 56 years of teaching I came to assumption hall, a little strange at first but it didn’t take long for me to adjust to the work I was about to begin. What am I doing now, what are my assignments they’re varied too. I work in the guild office writing names on menu slips, cutting and soaking stamps, visiting the sick, writing Christmas cards, and of course praying and reading. As to major changes in the community I have tried to corporate as far as I can. May the lord bless all who hear this tape and trust that your life will be as happy and blessed as mine. Please remember me in your prayers. Sr. M: Well thank you sister that was an interesting life. Sr. A: Ya but nothing spectacular. Sr.M It doesn’t have to be spectacular, honest. Sister can you just tell me who was the Mother Superior when you entered. Sr.A: Mary Joseph Sr.M: Mother Mary Joseph Sr.A: A huh, and then she that was her last year in office Sr.M: Oh I see Sr.A: See then when I went to Homestead she was my first principal Sr.M: Oh I see, I see. Who was your mistress of novices? Sr.A: Sister Hildegard Eichenlaub and Mother Mary Joseph Mother Mary Francis for a short time. Sr.M: And Sister did Sister Mary Lenard that you mentioned was she Sr.A: She was in charge of the priest dining room. Sr.M: Oh I see Sr.A: Very everything had to be just so. But as I said she was most forgiving. Sr.M: Well Sister thank you very much is there anything else you want to tell us? Sr.A: No Sr. M: No nothing else, okay Sister thank you very much God bless you Sr. M: Sister Agnita Sr.A: I’m here! Sr.M: I think we forgot to hear a couple stories that you had to tell us, would you like to share that, those stories with us? Sr.A: Yes, One time when I was in Homestead Sister Rose Xavier and myself shared the same bedroom. One Saturday afternoon we did not hear the bell for reading which was at two o’clock so naturally we had to report to Mother Mary Joseph that we missed the reading said said she will go and go and get your reading. We went to our room and Sister Rose Xavier opened the book, which said, it is good for us to be here. Sr.M: (laughing) very appropriate huh Sr.A: A huh, and I remember two more of my teachers, Sister Patricia for whom I took that name for my confirmation name therefore my name is Rose Helen Patricia. Another Sister was Sister Agnes and Charles Regina. Sister Charles Regina, I that’s all I can remember. Sr.M: Sister when you entered you were by yourself. Sr.A: A yes and Sister Mary Lucy entered a week before I did. Sister Michaela and Clarisa entered on the first of May Sister Rose Xavier and Mary Josephine on the third on June and that was our group plus some ahead of us that are dead and some below us that are dead. But I was one of those young ones that entered. Sr.M: You entered right after High school Sr.A: No before that even, I was only I was only 16 I celebrated by 17th birthday in the community. Sr.M: Oh I see. Now Sister Agnita there is another story that we would like to hear about your sister who also entered our community what was her name? Sr.A: Her name was Bernadette, then 28 years of age, entered the Sister of Charity in 1928. During her novitiate time, she was asked if she would go to Scottdale and be a nurse for Father Lambing. Sr.M: What was her religious name Sister? Sr.A: Her religious name was Mary Jude. Father Lambing had two Sisters in our community Sister Grace and Sister Ildephonse. How long Sister was over in Scottdale I don’t remember. Maybe you do not know this, but Sister died on Christmas day in 1943. One thing I can remember most visably about her is her great love for senior Sisters and perhaps the younger ones too but I know the Senior Sisters told me many kind things about her. In the community one time, she had a mastoid and when the doctor operated, the nerve was severed and her face was drawn to one side for a few years, then it was decided that she would go to Eye and Ear hospital for another operation. They took a nerve from her ankle and transplanted it in her ear her face became straight. But it didn’t last too long in the next year she went to God. Sr.M: Sister what about your mother you told me Sr.A: At the time of this mastoid operation, my mother was losing her sight and the last one of the last things that she saw was Mary Jude’s face crooked then when it was straighten then that was then my mother became totally blind and the memory of that crooked face was in her mind, but of course we told her about the operation and she seemed contended. Sr.M: Well that’s good, and after Sister died then what did you tell me about our present Sister Mary Jude? Sr.A: oh Sister Mary Jude died in 43 December 43. Sister Mary Jude McColligan was to receive the habit in April of 44. Mother Claudia called me and asked me if I would mind if my Sisters name would be given to somebody else and I was very happy to say I will be glad for that. Sr.M: Well thank you Sister for sharing this with us. Sr.A: You’re welcome This is a correction of the interview with Sister Agnita McCall. Father Lambing had one sister. Sister Ildephonse Lambing. 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. Agnita McCall Subject The topic of the resource Sister M. Agnita McCall Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister M. Agnita McCall, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1921 until 1998. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on September 22, 1986. Sister M. Agnita McCall was born on June 23, 1904 in Pittsburgh, Pa. Daughter of Michael McCall and Margaret Fullerton, Helen R. McCall entered the community on March 25, 1921 as Sister M. Agnita McCall. Sister M. Agnita received teaching certifications for elementary education in 1922, 1944, and 1968. She worked as an elementary school teacher for grades 4, 5, and 6, and taught for 56 years until her retirement in 1979. She taught at various schools in the Pittsburgh area, including St. Kieran, St. Philip, St. Stephen, St. Anselm, St. John the Evangelist, Resurrection, and Holy Innocents, as well as a brief career at SS. Peter and Paul in Tucson, AZ. Upon her retirement, she led the Assumption Hall Guild from 1980 to 1988, and provided a variety of volunteer services for her fellow sisters. Both of her parents were born in Ireland, and she was the youngest of 14 children. Sister M. Agnita McCall passed away on December 19, 1998 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 1986/09/22 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-21 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/e725a185f9dd062d8053ae4b8aba2d8e.mp3 85c4950c9af9925cdd067e65e28b6574 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/d844b3680d667f921e6d0ba5f53f5b6f.mp3 db4c0f83a6d46d028b246cd331222e4d https://scsharchives.com/files/original/2d8bbcc2d8d2ba3a05e927cea84abf50.mp3 0d583b267b0f9d951401dd0156d6fb2d https://scsharchives.com/files/original/7a69fb9781939d953921e315f20291e4.mp3 ca6fe860e2bb8a20de081098671a02bc https://scsharchives.com/files/original/95d51d97b512dfb99f103ecb6112bec6.mp3 6c008017df9069ebae2aa89531ad68e6 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/f3374a77e83ab6d3f2dd336a62413a90.mp3 182a8b5c3587aea88528ac61e3ca7d34 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 Ida Marie McCarthy 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 31:35 31:35 31:35 31:35 25:02 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 Ida Marie McCarthy Subject The topic of the resource Sister Ida Marie McCarthy Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Ida Marie McCarthy, a Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill from 1926 until 1989. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on October 8 and 21, 1986. Sister Ida Marie McCarthy was born on December 1, 1908 in Swissvale, Pittsburgh, Pa. Daughter of Jeremiah McCarthy and Margaret Loftus, Margaret Mary McCarthy entered the community on September 8, 1926 as Sister Ida Marie McCarthy. Sister Ida Marie taught primary schools throughout the Dioceses of Greensburg and Pittsburgh. The schools where she taught include Holy Cross, Youngwood; St. Anselm, Swissvale; Resurrection, Brookline; St. James, Wilkinsburg; Cathedral, Greensburg; St. Jane de Chantal, Bethesda, Md.; the Day Care Center, Greensburg, Seton Hill, Greensburg; and St. Edward, Pittsburgh. She also served as principal at St Jane de Chantal from 1953 to 1959, Mother of Sorrows in Murrysville from 1962 to 1965, and Holy Cross from 1965 to 1968. Beginning in 1974, she performed home visits to the elderly in the parishes of Greensburg and Irwin, before her retirement in 1984. Sister Ida Marie earned her B.Ed. in Kindergarten and Primary Education from Duquesne University in 1951. Sister Ida Marie McCarthy passed away on February 3, 1989 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 1986/10/08 1986/10/21 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-46 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/2a13ffbbd6262729a6d87e8fa9725f94.mp3 41fc1687ff88c4abd4cdb7347db8f081 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/728ad8717c5dcd112da30ca8023534e2.mp3 c89c502f51c5092115318e1d65bb7cfb 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 M. Callista McChesney 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.) 31:56 25:13 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. Callista McChesney Subject The topic of the resource Sister M. Callista McChesney Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister M. Callista McChesney, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1931 until 2007. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on April 17, 1988. Sister M. Callista McChesney was born on June 28, 1912 in Sharpsburg, Pa. Daughter of John McChesney and Elizabeth Katchey, Mary Elizabeth McChesney entered the community on February 2, 1931 as Sister Mary Callista McChesney. Sister M. Callista worked as a store clerk and telephone operator before entering the community. Over the course of her ministry, she taught primary education at schools in the dioceses of Pittsburgh, Greensburg, and Altoona-Johnstown as well as the Archdioceses of Los Angeles and Washington. Among the schools she taught at were St John Baptist, Scottdale; Holy Innocents, Sheraden, St. Philip, Crafton; St. Irenaeus, Oakmont; St. James the Greater, Apollo; St. Anselm, Swissvale; St. Pancratius, Ca.; St. Joseph, Tucson; SS. Peter and Paul, Tucson; and St Jane de Chantal, Bethesda, Md. She also taught elementary-level catechetical classes at Most Holy Trinity Parish, Huntington from 1968 to 1975. Later in life, she was the Coordinator of the Greensburg Central Catholic Faculty House, and then performed volunteer work at Saint Pius X Convent, Mount Pleasant. Sister M. Callista earned her B.Ed. in Education from Duquesne University in 1956. Sister M. Callista McChesney passed away on July 15, 2007, 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 1988/04/17 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-67 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/5fa60a920d9b2212a2ea28291d13e608.mp3 c373936cd11f2ce8a63b8e08e12c19b7 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/e2debceb682860730a1609dff32c3ee5.mp3 642befeefb9391284fb2db595c2778b8 https://scsharchives.com/files/original/6d4284029da6aa0bfabc1ea83990bc7e.mp3 730b91fc043ed0009d4d0e43c715590c https://scsharchives.com/files/original/ae23ee88e865b86718c4522afbf36194.mp3 46e5405aa6d19239cb5eb35450a3e55c 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 Josephine McClory 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 31:01 31:00 31:02 14:20 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: Sisters Mary Josephine McClory Subject The topic of the resource Sister Mary Josephine McClory Description An account of the resource An oral history of Sister Mary Josephine McClory, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1921 until 1985. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on February 19 and 20, 1985. Sister Mary Josephine McClory was born on July 14, 1891 in Pittsburgh, Pa. Daughter of John McClory and Elizabeth Boyce, Anna Marie McClory entered the community on June 3, 1921 at the age of 19 as Sister Mary Josephine McClory. Sister Mary Josephine worked throughout her ministry as a housekeeper for many of the Sisters of Charity’s convents throughout Pennsylvania, including Cathedral, Altoona; Our Lady of Mercy, Johnstown; Sacred Heart, Shadyside, Pittsburgh; and Saint John the Evangelist, Southside, Pittsburgh. She retired in 1943 due to poor health, and later worked as a switchboard operator at Assumption Hall. Sister Mary Josephine McClory passed away on June 2, 1985 at the age of 93. 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 1985/02/19 1985/02/19 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-23 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 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