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INSTALLMENT THREE - SEPTEMBER 2002 The
First Years of Saint Mary's College
When the academic semester opened in August of 1868 under the eight pioneer Brothers, the college was $75,000 in debt, and of the 49 students who had enrolled in June of that year, only 34 appeared for the first day. With characteristic action and practicality, Brother Justin took advantage of every opportunity to advertise the change in school administration. An article in the San Francisco Alta Californian, reports: |
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 An
astute business mind, Br. Justin also arranged for the college prospectus
to be published in the local papers for thirty days running. It advertised
that Saint Mary's offered over thirty courses in commercial, scientific
and classical studies. Like many other colleges of the nineteenth century
West, it offered classes for primary grades through university level.
Tuition was $60 per academic year for day students, and $250 for boarding
students (a fee which included washing of their laundry). Extra fees
were charged for music and drawing courses. Boarders were required to
bring at least three suits of clothing, handkerchiefs, towels, and table
napkins. A student's day was rigidly scheduled: between rising at 6
am and lights out at 8:30, the young men had unvarying hours set for
study, class, prayer, meals, and recreation. Parents remarked that they
had only to look at their watches to know what their sons were doing
at any hour during the day. The Brothers' believed that their close
and vigiliant supervision would provide the proper environment to enhance
learning: |
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Students were not allowed off-campus unless they were accompanied by a Brother or had special permission, and since their personal allowances were kept in the school office, they had little means to get around in the city. Some escape from confinement on college grounds came on Thursdays when younger Brothers organized field trips and hikes. In spite of close supervision, the young men were like boys of any period and place, and found opportunity to indulge in frowned-upon activities. John Cosgrave, a student at the time, recalled that the playground was where ". . . the boys spent their noons and recesses . . .and, I am sorry to say, here they sneaked out to get a fugitive whiff of a cigarette as often as possible. It was astonishing to what lengths the boys went to get a smoke." A manuscript written by Brother V. Cyril, titled "The Christian Brothers of the District of San Francisco, 1868-1900," records a mock mercantile business as part of the College curriculum. The room in which Mercantile Business was carried on in Old Saint Mary's was situated on the second floor and behind the platform which served as a stage for entertainments. It was fitted up with an intricate system of cages and wickets in imitation of a regular banking house. Not only were the external features of the firm introduced into Saint Mary's, but there also went with them the entire method of banking. Behind the cages, the Paying and Receiving Tellers did a lucrative business in College currency. This last must have been a innovation in business classes on the Pacific Coast at that time, as it is featured in the 1877-78 school catalogue on page 11: "By a system of fictitious values, a college currency, and offices for the various kinds of business, the instruction in this department is as practical as it is possible to make it outside of real business." Before public relations came to be a common term, Brother Justin recognized its importance. In the middle of the academic year, he arranged for the press to be brought to Saint Mary's in carriages, shown the campus, and informed of its aims. Throughout later years, the public was invited to graduation ceremonies, where students presented recitals in music and public speaking and where they were quizzed in front of the audiences. These efforts brought results. By the second year of the Brothers' administration, the student body had tripled, and the faculty had expanded. To ensure future enrollments, Brother Justin carefully tended to the development of feeder schools, establishing Saint Joseph's Academy in Oakland (1870), Sacred Heart College in downtown San Francisco (1874), and St. Patrick's Institute in Sacramento (1876). To enhance its academic standing, Brother Justin worked toward obtaining a charter. In 1872, one was awarded by the State Board of Education, allowing Saint Mary's to grant degrees. By 1875, Brother Justin could boast, "The college is big, far the largest of any in the state or on the coast." Four years later in 1879, Brother Justin was called back to the East Coast to take on the responsibilities of Visitor of the New York District. Taking over as Visitor of the San Francisco District was his half-brother, Bettelin McMahon (1830-1920). Brother Bettelin inherited an uncertain financial arrangement concerning the college. For years, negotiations had been ongoing with the Archbishop regarding rent and options to purchase the campus. These concerns were resolved when Brother Bettelin purchased property in Oakland at 30th and Broadway and proceeded to construct a new building. In 1889, with the approval of the recently installed Archbishop Riordan, Saint Mary's administration and faculty moved to the new location, finally free from the damp fog and blustery winds of the old San Francisco campus. At the groundbreaking of the new Saint Mary's in Oakland, Father William Gleeson's dedication address spoke to the Brothers' mission: "Brothers, today you take your stand before the community in the great work you propose to accomplish on this coast. Every eye is upon you and much is expected from you. I have no fears for your success. No, failure is a word that has not yet been written into your history. Succeed you shall, and Saint Mary's of Oakland shall become an honor to your name and a glory to the Diocese of San Francisco." Read more about the history of Saint Mary's College on the school's Web site at www.stmarys-ca.edu First
Installment: Pioneer
Brothers Leave New York for San Francisco, July 1868 |
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Until
the Brothers' arrival in 1868, Saint Mary's College struggled for
survival. Financial problems caused by debt and over-estimation of
donations plagued Archbishop Alemany and the first two Presidents,
Father Harrington and Father Grey. Enrollments rose and fell like
the tides, and tuition payments that were often made in goods and
produce rather than cash did little to bolster the perilous financial
situation. While the clergy that were placed in charge of the school
were very capable, they were often distracted by other concerns. Clearly
the college needed the attention of religious who were dedicated to
education; it was this situation that Archbishop Alemany was convinced
the Brothers of the Christian Schools could remedy.