Who We Are

A Treasure in the Archives

Archivists have the privilege of caring for items that tell wonderful stories and bring history alive.  Today as I was sent to research something about St. Joseph Academy at Seton Hill I found a genuine treasure.  It was a handwritten story, “At Old St. Joseph’s,” penned in June, 1933 by Antoinette Weaver McGraw, a graduate of the second class in June, 1888.

“As all are aware, the Sisters of Charity were brought from Cincinnati to Altoona by Rev. John Twigg, afterward Bishop of Pittsburg.

Mother Aloysia Lowe and Mother Ann Regina Ennis remained after the others returned to the Mother House, and thus they became the Foundresses of the Seton Hill Sisters of Charity. 

In Altoona they conducted an Academy and a parochial school as well as several schools in Pittsburg.  In 1882 the present site of Seton Hill was purchased.  It was called at that time the ‘Stokes farm.’  The house which had been built before the Civil War was small and scarcely sufficed for the needs of the Sisters.  Yet here, in 1883 was established the new school.

The sisters came in August 1882.  In May of 1883 I first saw what was afterward to be my home for several years.  The occasion was the Crowning of the May Queen.  Young girls from the various schools in Pittsburg, where the sisters were teaching and also from Johnstown and Altoona schools were invited .  Several future students of St. Joseph’s were among those present. 

In September of 1883 we came to the new school.  The first one to enroll was Antoinette McLaughlin of Johnstown, Nellie Cronin of Pittsburg was the next and I, Antoinette Weaver, of Wilkinsburg, the third.  For the first four months, we three were the only ones here.  After Christmas, in January 1884, Sara Sullivan, Anna Briley, and Susie McCusker of Pittsburgh, and Anna Cope of Greensburg came.”

Antoinette McLaughlin, Mrs. Smith, has been dead for several years.  Mollie Cronin became Sister Mary Leo.  Sara Sullivan became Sister Angela, whom you all know.  Anna Cope is now Mrs. Fred Brinker, Anna Briley became Mrs Walsh and I am Mrs. McGraw.  Most of us are here today,.

Our life in the new school was necessarily very much like home.  Of course, lessons were to be done, but we were so few we grew to love one another and our teachers very much.

Sister Adelaide Dunn was the Directress, a highly cultured woman who had been educated in Ireland.  The studies included, History, English, Mathematics, Geography, Natural Philosophy, Domestic Economy,(the word Home Economics had not yet been invented).  We learned to cook and sew, especially to darn our stockings.  Apropos of the last we had among our students at a later time, a dear little girl, named Nell Baum, she was one of a family of five girls in the school.  Nell did not particularly like to darn her hose.  One day, a sign appeared on the clothes room door.’NB. Please do not ask for your clean laundry until you present your stockings darned.” Poor Nell read the sign and began to cry.  “It is bad enough to have to darn your stockings, without the whole school knowing they have holes in them.”  However, Nell became a beautiful darner and Mother Aloysia, whom we all loved very much , offered a prize, I believe a gold medal, to the girl who excelled in plain sewing, mending, and darning, and Nell won it.  She did beautiful work.  Sister Raphael was our “Angel.”  Perhaps you do not know that this is a term used only in schools of the Sisters of Charity.  Sister Marie, who is the only one of the first teachers still living was the music teacher.  Sister is with us today, an honored guest.  Sister Mary Josephine was the art teacher.  Sisters Gertrude, Mary Teresa and Rose Marie were our teachers. The little glass room on the second floor, which is now, I believe, the Baby’s nursery, was the first chapel.  Later when the school grew, a mansard Roof was added to the house and the permanent chapel was then established on the third floor.  While the repairs to the third floor were being made some of us slept at a small cottage just below the road.  Sometimes on rainy nights Mother Aloysia would have “the Man” take us in the Sisters Carriage to our quarters for the night, although it was just a stone’s throw from the cottage.  We enjoyed the novelty of going out for the night.

As the carriage, of course, would not accommodate us all at one time we went down in groups of four, five, or six, and invariably we would ask the driver to take us over to the town for a ride.  He would always make some excuse, saying, “there are some girls to be taken down yet.” or something or other.  However, one night he weakened.  There were four of us, and we made the usual request of Jim.  Saying, “Oh, Jim, take us over town for a ride.  He said, “You’re the last to go down, aren’t you?  When we said yes, he said “Well, I have to go to the post office for the Mail and I’ll take you with me.  He sped the horse, and we just flew by the cottage, over the railroad tracks up West Ottoman Street to the post office.  We enjoyed the ride immensely; but on the way back, as we drew near the cottage, we commenced to think more seriously about it and to “cap the climax, Jim turned around and said, “Now if I get into any trouble, on account of this, you girls must get me out of it.”  We promised to do so.  When we reached the cottage we heard the girls saying the rosary, we thought that sort of strange because we had said our rosary at the usual time that evening.  But when we went in we got down and finished it with the rest never dreaming they were praying for us.  Sister Raphael said they thought the horse had run off, and we might be picked up dead on the other side of the railroad.  She firmly demanded an explanation.  That was bad enough, but imagine our dismay on seeing Mother Aloysia walk in the door .She had been ill for a few days but on hearing about the affair, got up, and went down to the cottage.  I do not like to go into details regarding that escapade, and what followed, just here but “All’s well that ends well’ and we came out all right.  We pledged ourselves to take care of Jim, and we didn’t find it so easy a task.  We were obliged to see Mother a couple of times.  Mother Aloysia was very lovely and lovable, but at this time she was very firm.  However, Jim was kept.

At the time there was a large apple orchard just above the house, where we often spent our recreation hours, in nice weather.  The first couple of years we were at school, we had no commencements.  Mother Aloysia gave a garden party instead in the old orchard, to which the students as well as their relations were invited, and the sisters friends, especially those living in Greensburg.  I always felt that half of Greensburg was represented at St. Joseph’s at those delightful affairs. The best of things to eat were bountifully served, everybody met everybody else, and we had a general good time.  The parties were typical of Mother Aloysia’s gracious, Southern Hospitality. 

A summer house later graced the summit of the hill above old St. Joseph’s, and a statue of our Blessed Mother kept us in mind, even when we were at play, of the guardian care  of her who watches over her children.

On the front lawn was a statue of St. Joseph, the patron saint of the school.  This statue was donated by Reverend Father Grace of Pittsburg.  Father came himself to dig the foundation and erect the statue.  At present, it stands to the left of the main driveway.  March 19th was a gala day from the earliest years; second only to it was St. Cecilia’s Day.  Every Seton Hill Girl can still hear the refrain, “Oh! Tis St. Cecilia ‘s Day.”

The first great event in the school was the graduation of the first class in 1887.  Sara Sullivan, Anastasia Casey, Rose Podden, and Alice Akers made up the group .The Bishop presided.  Father Twigg, the good friend of the sisters in Altoona, was also present.  The next September when we returned to school, we were told that Sarah Sullivan had gone to Altoona to enter the Novitiate. 

In April 1885 Father Aloysia Blakely gave the first retreat and at its close we planted some trees near the present “Angel”.  Father took the occasion to tell us that planting of trees was a symbol of acquisitions of good or bad habits.  At first they may easily be uprooted, but as time goes on they become rooted firmly and become part of our selves.

In June 1888 our class, three in number bade farewell to the dear school and teachers.  Elizabeth Connell, now Mrs Garrigan, Josephine Blakely and I comprised the class.  In the summer Josephine Blakely, too, went to the novitiate. It had become a habit with the graduating classes.  About the same time two of our classmates entered.  My good friend Lizzie Ryan and also Rose Cush.  The former became Sister Hyacinth, and the latter Sister Alberta.

Our life at dear St. Joseph’s was at an end.  There was a twinge of sadness about it all.  No more should we visit our old haunts in the orchard, no more play hide and seek on the spooky stairs.  We had grown up, but something had been lost in the passing.  Although we were delighted to know that the new school which was gradually rising on the hill top, would be ready for the girls to move into the next year, yet we were glad we had known the beginnings of what we could see in the future would be a school which to quote a writer of a later time was to become “the Pride of the Diocese.”

Antoinette Weaver McGraw (June ‘33)
 
I hope this small glimpse into life at Seton Hill in the beginning days helps to bring those first years to life. As I read Antoinette’s account I thought that in spite of being without all the electronics and extra things we have today, young women of another day had dreams, ambitions, individual ideals, good hearts, and the wish to be the best they could be. 

The Archives is open daily from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM. Visits can be scheduled at other times by appointment. For information or to schedule a visit call Sister Louise Grundish, SC, Archivist at 724-853-7948 Ext. 126 or email her at lgrundish@scsh.org.