Archives Display: St. Kate's First 10 Presidents

As St. Kate's prepares for a new president we  look back on past ones.  Becky Roloff will be our eleventh president, so who were the women who came before her?  This display commemorates the first ten presidents of St. Catherine University, with artifacts connected to them drawn from the University Archives.  From Mother Antonia McHugh, famed for being our first college president, to Sister Andrea, who is just leaving us now, each president is represented.

One thing that is made clear through these artifacts is the constant communication between past and present presidents.  The Phi Beta Kappa pin of President Antonine O'Brien is accompanied by a note from President Alberta Huber, explaining that it was a loan Sister Antonine did not want returned.  Also on display is friendly correspondence from Sister Mary Edward Healy (president 1961-1964) to Sister Mary William Brady (president 1955-1961) concerning trips to Ireland and Rome.

Also evident is the recognition of St. Kate's presidents.  Class pins, honors pins, and a rosary gifted by Pope John XXIII sit beside documents celebrating presidents.  Not only was May 1st, 1979 declared Sister Alberta Huber day by the mayor of St. Paul in honor of President Huber's dedication to education, but President Anita Pampusch was invited to the White House by then First Lady Hillary Clinton in recognition of women in higher education.  Inside the envelope, beside the invitation, is a request from the Social Secretary of the White House asking President Pampusch to respond at her earliest convenience, "giving date of birth and social security number."  An invitation photo ID were needed to enter the visitor's entrance of the White House.  It is lucky we do not need such rigorous documentation to make appointments with the president of St. Kate's!

From Mother Antonia's passport photo and monogrammed silverware to a paperweight donated by Sister Andrea, this collection of artifacts and documents gives just a hint at the presidents of St. Catherine University.  To learn more, stop by the display itself, or, even better, come and visit us!

For more information on the history of St. Catherine University, visit the Archives and Special Collections online or in person in Room 062 in the lower level of the Library; open Monday-Friday from 9:30-4:30.

Archives Display: Ade Bethune

Have you ever seen or heard of the works of Ade Bethune?  In honor of Pope Francis declaring 2016 a Holy Year of Mercy the archives are displaying a variety of artwork by Ade Bethune depicting the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy and Spiritual Works of Mercy.  Ade Bethune was a world-renowned liturgical artist and social activist. Ms. Bethune was especially talented at drawing Biblical scenes and saints.  Her drawings normally would tend to be ordinary people doing chores and performing acts of mercy.  Later on in her life Ade Bethune was asked to do pieces for churches such as creating crucifixes, statues, stained glass and designing churches.

The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy are:

1.       To feed the hungry

2.       Give drink to the thirsty

3.       Shelter the homeless

4.       Visit the sick

5.       Visit the prisoners

6.       Bury the dead

7.       Give alms to the poor
 




The display includes both cards and drawings depicting the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy and two drawings of Spiritual Works of Mercy.  There are also cards of St. Peter Claver, St. Margaret and St. Vincent de Paul.  Ade Bethune was responsible for creating all of the blocks that were used to create these images and carved some from wood, while others were made of metals such as zinc and copper.

Ms. Bethune also did many works with churches and stained glass windows.  The works currently on display are a hand drawing of St. Theresa and a depiction of the completed window.  The display also features her sketches for the Precious Blood Monastery in Brooklyn, New York which was done in the late 1930's.

For more information on the history of St. Catherine University, visit the Archives and Special Collections online or in person in Room 62 in the lower level of the Library; open Monday-Friday from 9:30-4:30

New in the Archives: Cold War Sanitation Kit

Katies are always prepared for what ever strikes next and the Cold War was no exception.The St. Kate's campus was a fallout shelter for students and the surrounding neighborhoods. Look around campus and you'll see the weathered metal signs on Whitby, the Visual Arts Building and most other buildings. In the spirit of Katie preparedness, the reading room of the Archives and Special Collections features some items from the fallout shelters in a new display including a new addition to our collection: a sanitation kit!

The fallout shelters had to be prepared for an nuclear attack at any moment, and supplies were provided by the Civil Defense Department and included food, water, medicine, and sanitation kits.

The Archives and Special Collections recently acquired an original sanitation kit, left over from the fallout shelters on campus. The kit includes everything necessary to create a functioning bathroom for 50 people. The barrel itself is the body of the toilet and would have a plastic liner installed before use, a toilet seat would be added as the final touch. The kit comes with rolls of toilet paper but recommends that the toilet paper is used sparingly and divided among the group.

When the barrel is full there are brief instructions for disposal. The kit would just stay in the shelter until the all clear is given and people can move out of the fallout shelter and back into their homes. One can suppose that living in a fallout shelter you would have bigger problems and concerns than a cardboard toilet.

The display includes maps showing the fallout shelter in the Whitby basement and a map of St. Paul with all fallout shelters marked. There is also a letter to Mother Antoine informing her that St. Kate's will become a casualty and mass care center in the event of a nuclear attack. The display includes a small card with instructions in the event of a nuclear attack, what you should do depending on where you are, and if the attack came with warning or not. The card stresses to stay put until the all clear.

For more information on the history of St. Catherine University, visit the Archives and Special Collections online or in person in Room 62 in the lower level of the Library; open Monday-Friday from 9:30-4:30

March Book Madness!

Books are going head-to-head this March in the St. Kate's Library. In this 5-week fight, what books will make the final four and which book will be victorious? Will Ready Player One beat Oryx and Crake? Will Persepolis take down Saga? It's up to you!

You'll want to vote early and vote often to help your favorite book advance to the next round.

For the full bracket and to vote, visit the March Book Madness page.

You can also find the full bracket and all the books on display in the library, St. Paul campus.

Words Have Power

Words definitely have power, and in celebration of Black History Month, you should come into the St. Paul campus library and check out some great books written by influential black women. There are also whiteboards where you can write your own favorite quote.

If you can't make it into the library, here's a Pinterest board highlighting these and other great books by black women in our collection:

Follow St. Catherine University Library's board Words Have Power: Black History Month Reads on Pinterest.

Archives Display: Victorian Valentines

Valentine's Day is drawing near--have you gotten your valentine a card yet? If not, maybe you can draw some inspiration from these gems from the Victorian period! The Victorian Valentine Collection was donated to the St. Catherine University Archives and Special Collections by Helen Schoenheider in 1988. Schoenheider attended St. Kate's from 1924 to 1925. These early cards of love date all the way back to 1840! The collection has over 100 valentines dating all the way back to 1840! Some are even just for friends.

The collection contains the work of numerous artists such as Louis Prang (1824-1909), who was a German immigrant that settled in Boston in 1850. He was known as the "father of the American Christmas card" after he introduced Christmas cards to the American market in 1875.

Other notable artists and companies within the collection include Raphael Tuck & Co., McLaughton, Esther Howland, and George C. Whitney Manufacturing Company. Pictured below is a German mechanical card. They were called mechanical because of the unique way they popped out to the viewer. This particular card was made somewhere between 1890 and 1910, when they were extremely popular.





To see more Victorian valentines, visit the February display in the St. Kate's library, which can be found just behind and to the left of the circulation desk.

For more information on the history of St. Catherine University, visit the Archives and Special Collections online or in person in Room 062 in the lower level of the Library; open Monday-Friday from 9:30-4:30

Archives Display: Santons

A few figures in our santon display

In the spirit of Christmas, the reading room display in the Archives and Special Collections features an arrangement of santons. Santons, or little saints, are small clay figures created in the Provence region of southeastern France. They depict the nativity scene as well as people traditionally associated with village life in the Provence region. Santons are made of hand-painted fired clay, though more rarely they may be clay figures dressed in cloth, and once were made of wax and wood.

French artist Jean-Louis Lagnel, who had made figures for church nativity scenes, made the first santons. This was during the French Revolution, when anti-religious sentiment made large nativity scenes in churches forbidden, making smaller household ones desirable.  Some people even set their santons among flowers or moss to create a more realistic setting. Many families may move the figures daily, for instance increasing the distance the wise men traveled or placing Jesus in the crib only on Christmas.

Memo from Sister Marie Ursule Sanschargrin, 1986

Our set includes tradespeople, fishmongers, scissor-grinders, women spinning flax or wool, and fishermen, among other characters.  This set seems to be a mixture of pieces produced by several artists, with the signatures “Carbonel,” “TS,” and “Wincy[?]” marked on some of the figures. It was donated in 1986 by Sister Marie Ursule Sanschargrin, who taught French at St. Kates from 1926 to 1972, and who brought these santons from France.  Santons continue to be created today, with one website claiming that for between $880 and $1100 you can commission a santon of yourself!

We have over two dozen santons of various sizes in our display. The colors are bright and cheerful and the attention to detail is quite amazing. See for yourself when you visit the display (and us!) in person in Room 62 of the Library, open Monday-Friday from 9:30-4:30 p.m. 

Archives Display: Phi Beta Kappa Anniversary

On December 3 four students were initiated into St. Catherine's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. The nation's oldest and most prestigious academic honors society, Phi Beta Kappa was founded on December 5, 1776 at the College of William and Mary. To celebrate the initiation and the 239th anniversary of PBK, the Archives & Special Collections has put together materials from past Founder's Day events at St. Kate's.

St. Catherine became the first Catholic institution to be granted a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa when its chapter, Gamma of Minnesota, was installed in May of 1938, after 17 years of applying for a charter. The success was largely due to Sister Antonia McHugh's famous determination to get what she wanted for the college. Even afterwards there was some minor protesting about the Catholic affiliation of St. Kate's. 

Charles Buzicky serves 200th birthday cake to Sisters Eucharista
Galvin, Helen Margaret Peck, and Antonine O'Brien

The display features Sister Antonia's PBK pin and the beginning page of her speech The American Woman Scholar, given at St. Kate's first Founder's day in 1938. Other items include Hubert Humphrey's letter of regret at not speaking for Founder's Day due to scheduling conflicts and a picture of the birthday cake for Phi Beta Kappa's bicentennial. 

For more information, visit the Archives online or in person in Room 62 of the Library, open Monday-Friday from 9:30-4:30.

Archives Display: Women in Science

Attention all Science Students, this one is for you!

This month the St. Kate's Archives & Special Collections wanted to highlight women in science-- especially our very own! St. Catherine students have always been dedicated to exploring the natural and physical sciences. In the 1940s, a student club dedicated to the sciences was created and called Mendel Forum. This club was geared towards students majoring in the sciences, but also encouraged these students to be active in learning and engaging with all the sciences offered on campus.

The  display also features the scales, made out of horn, used and gifted by Sister Antonius Kennelly for her work on her Ph.D in Munich, Germany. We like to think Sister Antonius would be very proud of all the women doing amazing work in our science departments today!

The display features a wide variety of Mendel Forum artifacts, but we are missing artifacts and papers from modern science clubs! If you are a participant in any science club, please contact the Archives & Special Collections and learn how you can get your club's story preserved!

For more information, visit the Archives online or in person in Room 62 of the Library, open Monday-Friday from 9:30-4:30.

Archives Display: Student Life

Calling all Katies!

October is American Archives Month, and for this post we're asking your help in adding to the St. Kate's Archives and Special Collections. Do you want future St. Kate’s students to learn about your experience here on campus? YOU are what makes St. Catherine University and we want to include you in its history!

If you are part of a student club or organization, please help us preserve your group’s history by giving us flyers, posters, buttons, banners, meeting minutes, etc. We are also looking for handouts from campus events, workshops, and speeches you have attended, Residence Hall flyers about events within your building, playbills from on-campus concerts, plays, etc. Basically, anything that you think reflects your experience here at St. Kate’s! We know how busy you are--you can bring your collection to us anytime during the school year when it is convenient for you!

To recognize the variety of student life past and present, we are currently displaying photos and memorabilia of student groups and activities throughout the years. The display is located on the main level of the St. Paul Library, in the case in front of the video carrels. For more images of student life, you can also browse through our Digital Collections anytime.

Items on display include:

• Students roasting marshmallows in a fireplace in the common room of Mendel Hall, 1942
• Dolphin Club (Synchronized Swimmers) program, 1960s.
• Residence Life newsletter, titled “On Campus”, 1985.
• Chapstick from Senate with contact information on it, 2014.

If you have any questions about donating your student organization’s records and memorabilia, please let us know! For more information, visit the Archives online or in person in Room 62 of the Library, open Monday-Friday from 9:30-4:30.

October is American Archives Month!

Did you know that October is American Archives Month? Visit our archives display in the CDC atrium October 5-16 and discover unique pieces of St. Kate’s 110-year history!  We'll also be tabling October 13th.

Have you ever wondered what a gym uniform looked like in the 1940s? The yoga pants and leggings we wear today would definitely shock our fellow Katies!

Now we can access our student transcripts with the click of a button. Take a look at one student's paper transcript booklet from the early 1900s. Anyone interested in taking a course called Domestic Science?

 

Feeling groovy? Pages of a yearbook from 1973 will show you the differences (and similarities) between us and the women who called St. Kate's home over 40 years ago.

Illustration from La Concha, 1973

From recent history, we have Dew Drop Bop memorabilia and a DVD of Spring 2014 Commencement. Just think, some day your photos and memories may be a part of the St. Catherine University Archives!

Watch Twitter and Facebook for more highlights of St. Kate's history during October. For more information on the history of St. Catherine University, visit the Archives online or in person in Room 62 of the Library, open Monday- Friday from 9:30-4:30.

Index of Prohibited Books

Banned Books Week 2015 is September 27th – October 3rd. In recognition of this week, the St. Catherine University Archives and Special Collections has on display copies of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Index of Prohibited Books) from our rare book collections.

First published in 1559 by Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis (Vatican Polyglot Press), the Index was created to protect Catholics against Protestant error through maintaining their faith and morals. Eventually, the Index contained roughly 6,000 immoral and heretical works. The 20th and final edition was published in 1948.

Indice General de los Libros Prohibidos, 1844
Spanish version published in Madrid

Excommunication was the penalty for publishing or reading any books on the list. But St. Kate's students or faculty could request permission to study books on the Index in their courses. There are many of these letters in the Archives. The library also had to request permission to have these books, which were kept in a locked case.

Due to the publishing boom of the 1960s, the Index could not be updated as quickly as “questionable” materials were released. The last entry to the Index was added in 1961. In 1966, Pope John Paul VI concurred that the Index Librorum Prohibitorum no longer had the force of ecclesiastical law.

After the Index was abolished, the Church left what Catholics should and should not read up to their individual consciences. However, national conferences of bishops would be able to issue warnings--as distinct from bans--against specific books.

Items on display include:

• Copies of the Index of Prohibited Books from 1844 and 1948
• A 1960 memo from Sister Maris Stella requesting permission for students to read Madame Bovary 
• A 1957 pamphlet on the Index put out by the National Federation for Catholic College Students

The Index is considered one of the world’s rarest books and even many Catholic college libraries didn’t have a copy by 1966. This makes our collection very rare and a reason to stop by the display!

The display will be on view now through October 11th on the main level of the St. Paul Library, in the case in front of the video carrels. Stop by to learn more!

For more information on the history of St. Catherine University, visit the Archives online or in person in Room 62 of the Library, open Monday-Friday from 9:30-4:30.

Archives Display: May Festivities

This month's display features items from St. Kate's Archives relating to May Fête and Dew Drop Bop. Throughout St. Kate’s history, students have marked the passage of the academic year and the arrival of spring with a festival held in May.

Originally called Whoopee Day, the tradition was begun in 1938.  From 1939-1986, students celebrated it as May Fête, an annual event similar to May Day. An article in the April 24, 1947 Wheel described it this way:

For freshmen who have heard much talk and seen little action, May Fete is the school's contribution to Living A Life of Confusion and most of the planning is done behind locked doors . . . witness the soph skit and senior Varsity Show.

The May Fête revelry included a May pole dance (with the lamp post located inside the campus gate on Randolph Avenue serving as the May pole). Students gathered along the streets of campus to watch a parade in which Freshmen dressed in thematic costumes (often relating to their studies or extracurricular interests), drove cars that were decorated with balloons, flowers and other adornments. In the afternoon, Katies enjoyed the chance to take canoe rides on Dew Drop Pond. May Fête activities concluded with a play performed in honor of the senior class.

Students perform a May Pole dance.

In addition to providing fun, one of the purposes was to raise funds for a major project on the campus.  The first project was converting a former greenhouse into an addition to the student tea room in Whitby.  The second was to raise enough money to erect a shrine to Our Lady of Peace. It took 5 years, but the Shrine was dedicated in 1943.  The statue still stands on campus, now located on the south side of the CDC.

Since 1987, the annual May celebration has been known as the Dew Drop Bop. Whereas May Fête involved pageantry and performances such as a parade and a play, the Dew Drop Bop is similar to a modern day carnival held on the Quad.  The event features rides, games, crafts, live music, and food. Dew Drop Bop is an opportunity for students to socialize and celebrate the end of another academic year. True to its name, the Dew Drop Bop culminates with a dance held in the evening.

This display will be on view during the month of May on the main level of the St. Paul Library, in the case in front of the video of the carrels. Stop by to learn more!

Earth Day Archives Display

In honor of Earth Day, April 22, this month’s display highlights the work of Mel Knapton, groundskeeper at St. Kate’s from 1967 - 1976. Known as “Mr. Green Thumbs,” Knapton was recognized for his efforts in making St. Kate’s one of the most beautiful urban campuses in the nation. In addition, he was a pioneer of ecological and sustainable practices in landscape gardening long before these were widely used.

Knapton was awarded the Blue Flame Ecology Salute from the Blue Flame Gas Association in recognition of his achievements in ecology and conservation in 1972. That year, Knapton released 10,000 ladybugs on campus in an effort to control other insect pests while avoiding the use of potentially harmful pesticides.

Knapton’s work was recognized on a national level when St. Kate’s was named one of the top five best kept campuses by the Professional Grounds Management Society in 1975. He attended the awards ceremony in Williamsburg, VA and noted that St. Kate’s was the only school not on either coast that was given an award. An article was written about this achievement in St. Paul's evening newspaper, The Dispatch.

This display will be on view during the month of April on the main level of the St. Paul Library, in the case in front of the video of the carrels. Stop by to learn more!

Archives Display: Winter Wonderland

Katies have always found ways to have fun during the brutal Minnesota winter. Whether it was organizing a day for tobogganing by Dew Drop pond, or using cafeteria trays as sleds, students kept themselves entertained.

The February display features photos and other items from St. Kate’s Archives, which document these winter amusements. The photo at right shows winter carnival snow queen from 1940, Margaret Bishop, sitting atop her ice throne, with her attendants (from left to right: Beth Sheets, Kathleen Kressbach, Lucille Dickof, Mary Jane Sweeney).

These items will be on display during the month of February on the main level of the St. Paul Library, in the case in front of the video carrels. Stop in to have a look!

Archives Display: St. Kate's Veterans

Private Verla Phillips, 1944

In honor of Veterans Day, there is a display featuring items from St. Kate’s archives that were collected by Verla Phillips. Phillips served in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) during World War II. She was originally from Minneapolis and was deployed to Italy to serve in the Army Air Force. During her time in service, she kept a scrapbook, which she filled with keepsakes, news clippings, postcards and other mementos she collected.

Items from her scrapbook include a WAC calendar, a newsletter and a nursing pamphlet published by the American Red Cross. She also kept ticket stubs and playbills from performances she attended during her time in service. 

In addition to items collected by Phillips, the display also features articles about St. Kate’s students who served in the military. In the 1940s, several students formed the St. Catherine's Veterans' Association (known as the K-Vets), a club for students who had served in WWII. An article from The Wheel shows members of the K-Vets looking at photos and reminiscing about their military days.

Another article features a story about former service women who were pursuing an education at St. Kate’s under the G.I. Bill. One of the women featured in this article is Catherine Moore (later Sister Anne Joachim Moore). She went on to become the president of St. Mary’s Junior College, which is now the Minneapolis campus of St. Kate's.

This display will be on view for the month of November on the lower level of the St. Paul Library, in Archives and Special Collections, room 62.

Archives Display: Dance Cards

Many people are familiar with the phrase “my dance card is full” however there was a time when this expression could be used literally. In the past, dance cards were a fixture at formal dances at St. Kate’s and other academic institutions. The November display features a selection of dance cards from St. Kate’s Archives, as well as photos and documents related to these dances.

Dance cards from St. Kate's Archives

Not only did dance cards provide a place for students to record the names of their dance partners, they also functioned as a program for the evening’s entertainment. Information on the cards included the name of the band playing, a list of planning committee members and chaperones, and occasionally a menu (as seen on the dance card on display from St. Kate’s 1939 Junior Prom).

Several dances were held every year, each one sponsored by a different club or planning committee. These events were formal in nature and often centered around a carefully selected theme. For example, the drama club, known as the Laboratory Players, sponsored the Fall Formal Dance in 1964. The theme they selected was “On Broadway.” Documents on display from the Archives show that the club planned to decorate using a theatre marquis, with street lights and park benches, which they planned to borrow from the city of St. Paul.

The dance cards will be on display during the month of November on the main level of the St. Paul Library, in the case in front of the video carrels.

We like big books

Over the summer, in the St. Paul campus library, we started using one of our whiteboards to ask you a Question of the Week. Questions have ranged from favorite songs and favorite movies to pet peeves and an animal that represents you.

A couple weeks ago we asked you what book you would recommend to someone else, so we thought we'd put together a display with your book suggestions. But we didn't just add the books. We wanted to let you know how much we liked big books, and we cannot lie.

Come into the St. Kate's Library to check out some of these great book suggestions!

Archives Scrapbook Collection

A page from Angela Russell's scrapbook (1910).

The October display highlights the archives scrapbook collection. It consists of a selection of scrapbooks compiled by former students during their time on campus. The scrapbooks provide a record of student life from the early period of St. Kate’s history (1907-1927). They contain photographs, writings and a broad range of ephemera such as news clippings, playbills, pressed flowers, dance cards, party favors, autographs and inscriptions of fellow classmates.

Elizabeth Casey’s scrapbook from 1916 is an example of how this medium functioned as a predecessor to the yearbooks that later became popular. (The first yearbook was not published at St. Kate's until 1919). Casey's scrapbook contains photos she clipped of each of her classmates. Each photo is captioned with a quote that conveyed something about the student’s personality. For example, she invoked the words of French writer François de la Rochefoucauld, to describe a fellow classmate, “Nothing is rarer than real goodness.”

In addition to revealing aspects of student's personalities, the scrapbooks also document fashions of the time. Angela Russell’s scrapbook from 1910 shows her and her fellow classmates dressed in wide-brimmed hats and long dresses with corsets that were popular during that era, with a caption that reads, “Yes we’re ready!” 

The scrapbook collection will be on display during the month of October on the main level of the St. Paul Library, in the case in front of the video carrels.

Ade Bethune Collection: 30 Years

Ade Bethune at the dedication of the
Ade Bethune Collection

This month’s display commemorates the thirtieth anniversary of the Ade Bethune Collection at St. Catherine University.  The Collection was dedicated on May 4, 1984.

Born in 1914, Ade Bethune was a liturgical artist best known for her work as illustrator for the Catholic Worker, a newspaper edited by prominent social activist Dorothy Day.

Bethune’s relationship with St. Kate’s began in 1939, when she was invited to speak at the third annual conference of the Catholic Art Association, held on the St. Paul campus.  She spoke in Jeanne d'Arc auditorium on the topic "Personalism and the Industrial Counter-revolution." Over the years, she formed many enduring relationships with some of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, most notably with Sr. Cyril Clare Casey, and  Art Professor Judith Stoughton, CSJ.  Sr. Judith later wrote Proud Donkey of Schaerbeek, a biography of Bethune. Stoughton and several other CSJs were instrumental in persuading Bethune to donate her writings, artworks, and other belongings to the St. Catherine University archives in 1984.

Ade Bethune speaking at the Ade Bethune Collection dedication:

1. To learn more about the Ade Bethune Collection, please visit the St. Catherine University Archives online at http://library.stkate.edu/spcoll/bethune.html. Materials from this collection will be on display during the month of May on the main level of the St. Paul Library, in the case in front of the video carrels.