Under Supervision of St. Norbert's College

If m :•; AN INTRODUCTION We have selected as our announcer a "Shropshire Lad" for whom and for whose poetic lines, found in our scenic section and on our division pages, we are indebted to A. E. Housman. THE PES PEMES \3tu</ents o -f -w &Jr. DEDICATION To the first Abbot of the Pre- monstratensians in America, The Right Reverend B. H. Pennings, so singularly honored by His Holi ness, Pope Pius XI, do we, the students of St. Norbert's, gratefully desirous of showing him our appre ciation and esteem, humbly dedi cate the 1925 Des Peres. 1 FOREWORD As the time draws near when our tomorrows have become our yester days, when the brilliant dawn of youth has been mellowed by passing years into the soft sunset glow of age, when our eager anticipation of the days to come has given way to a fervent yearning for recollections of days gone by, then will the 1925 Des Peres be our most constant and consoling companion. X CONTENTS Book I —The College Book II —The Students Book III—Athletics Book IV—Organizations Book V —Humor THE STAFF H. Hubert Ed.-in-Chief B. McKeough Asst, Editor C. McAbee Bus. Manager C. McCcle Adv. Manager J. Stage Subs. Manager H. Schmitt Athletic Ed. J. McGarvey Society Ed. Wm. Hollister Art Ed. J. McCloskey Diarist E. DuCharme. Wit and Humor Ed. G. Beth Alumni Ed. A. Steinmetz College Class Ed. F. Van Zeeland .Academic Class Ed. M. Dewane .Commercial Class Ed. This is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, The happy highways where I went And cannot come again. Wake: the silver dusk returning Up the beach of darkness brims And the ship of sunrise burning Strands upon the eastern rims. ^•^1::_j^ssM^m^ Page Eleven ffffi^ Wake: the vaulted shadow shatters, Trampled to the floor it spanned, And the tent of night in tatters Straws the sky-pavilioned land. Page Twelve ml™', r x --•-^^••-:-••••••-••••:•• •• ^P' - ^* jTTlITTTl []-["[* M- 1 Up, lad: thews that lie and cumber Sunlit pallets never thrive; Morns abed and daylight slumber Were not meant for man alive. Page Thirteen ffi-y&#^ Page Fourteen •THE .DES: PE. S mq$m i;; r A Short Review of the Life and Works of I { The Right Reverend B. H. Pennings The history of any great institution is principally the history of its great men, so it will not be out of place to insert in this book a brief summary of the labors and successes of our president, the Right Reverend B. H. Pennings, Abbot. His solemn investiture on May 27, 1925 as Abbot, the first Norbertine Abbot in America, p ••• was an important event in the history of Wisconsin, and in the M\ history of America in general in as much as it represents the re ward of years of constant struggles against countless hardships. It was in 1893 that the Premonstratensian Fathers of Berne Abbey, Netherlands, came to Wisconsin. They had been invited £-:, by Archbishop Messmer of the Milwaukee diocese, at that time bishop of Green Bay. In that year, the need for priests familiar with the French and Flemish language had become imperative. Through the medium of Father Broens of Sturgeon Bay, whose brother was a professed religious and priest of Berne Abbey, :••••"• Archbishop Messmer learned that Fathers from that Abbey could be induced to come to America. Correspondence passed back and forth and finally the Rt. Rev. Bishop paid a personal visit to the Abbey. As a result Very Reverend B. H. Pennings, Rev. Lambert Broens, and Brother Servatius came to America Page Fifteen pg^i THEDESPEFES Wm?WW%^ in the fall of the year 1893. The Fathers were immediately given pastoral work in the so-called Belgian Peninsula. Father Pennings and Brother Servatius, after a short rest after their arduous sea-voyage, betook themselves to Delwiche, Wisconsin, the place assigned to the Fathers. Father Broens remained with his brother at Sturgeon Bay for some time. Father Pennings found his church at Delwiche in ruins from w. a recent fire, and his flock more or less influenced by the nefarious work of the notorious "Bishop" Villatte. The church was quickly repaired, and the Pastor and the Brother made the sacristy their dwelling place. In 1894, Father L. Broens was made pastor of Martinsville and its missions. In the same year, two more Premonstraten- sians, Rev. R. Van Rooy, and Brother Michael arrived in Wis consin from Berne Abbey, and were assigned to the church at Dykesville. In 1896 Rev. S. Mickers arrived, and he too was given pastoral care, namely the church at Rosiere. Bishop Messmer considered it an opportune time for the establishment of a house of the Order in this country. His Lord ship offered the Fathers St. Joseph's parish in De Pere, Wisconsin. The offer was accepted in 1898. In the same year, Father Pen nings went to Europe, with the intention of enlisting more priests from the Abbey of Berne, for missionary work in America. His efforts were successful and when he returned, he was accompanied by several Fathers and a Brother. On September 38, 1898, Bishop Messmer canonically es il tablished the Premonstratensian House at De Pere. Father Pennings was the superior of the little community, whose quar ters were of the poorest. Less than two weeks after the installa tion, saw the beginning of St. Norbert's college, in the person of Francis Van Dyke, now Father Van Dyke, the prefect of disci pline at the college. Amazing success accompanied this venture, and in 1901, the number of students had grown so large, that a properly equipped school building was found necessary. By fall of 1903 the new building was ready for occupancy. In 1915, through the liberal munificence of Mr. H. Boyle of Fond du Lac, whose son, Francis, had been a student at St. Norbert's, the Fathers received a sum of money sufficient to erect a thoroughly up-to-date structure which is known as the Francis Boyle Hall. This magnificent edifice was dedicated in September, 1916. In 5:: y^-, •XL Page Sixteen .A§ THE DES FEFES • '.'••.,•• the same year, a central heating plant was erected. At the present time, the attendance at St. Norbert's is about 250. Among its graduates may be counted some fifty priests, and a large number of influential men in the various professions. During the rise and growth of the College the Fathers did not neglect their spiritual work. Missions in the Belgian penin sula were cared for, priests were sent to Canada, to Michigan, to Montana and to Chicago, to minister to the Catholic people of those communities. Others of the Fathers were sent to institu tions of higher learning, such as the Gregorian College at Rome, the University of Louvain, the Catholic University of America, and Wisconsin University, to prepare themselves to present college courses at St. Norbert's, on an educational par with those of the best colleges in the country. So phenomenal has the success of the work of the Premons- tratensians in America been, that the General Chapter of the Order has decided to erect St. Norbert's Priory into an Abbey, the only one in North America. The Holy Father, Pope Pius XI, has appointed Prior B. H. Pennings as the first Abbot. Although Father Pennings was not the first Premonstratensian to try to establish a house of his Order in America, an unsuccessful attempt having been made by Rev. Adelbert Inama in 1845, yet he was the first to succeed. Father Pennings was born in Gemert, Holland, June 9, 1861. He received the Premonstratensian habit on Oct. 26, 1879, and emitted the vows of religion on June 6, 1884. He was ordained to the priesthood in June, 1886, and seven years later, as has been mentioned before, was sent by his superior to America. He was appointed Prior of the American establishment in Novem ber, 1903. And as a fitting culmination to the fatiguing and zealous work he has done, he has now been consecrated the first Premonstratensian Abbot in North America. ;,:, Page Seventeen Page Eighteen Rev. M. R. Lang, O. Praem. Rev. G. R. Rybrook, O. Praem., S. T. D. Rev. I. F. Van Dyke, 0. Praem., B. A. Rev. B. N. Mollen, 0. Praem., M. A. Rev. F. X. Exler, 0. Praem., Ph. D. Page Nineteen ^;^m>;- Rev. H. L. Traeger, 0. Praem., M. A. Rev. M. J. McKeough, 0. Praem., M. A. Rev. W. A. Paiement, O. Praem., B. A. Rev. L. A. V. DeCleene, 0. Praem., M. A. Rev. T. C. Alger, O. Praem., B. A. Page Twenty ===== ===== :P -mk % * m Rev. A. J. Martins, 0. Praem., B. A. Rev. J. G. Neault, 0. Praem., B. A. Rev. P. L. Savageau, 0. Praem., B. A. Frater P. N. Butler, 0. Praem., B. A. Frater F. H. Clabots, 0. Praem., B. A. Page Twenty-One Frater J. A. Wagner, 0. Praem., B. A. Frater R. A. Sromovsky, 0. Praem., B. A. Frater D. F. Hurley, O Praem., B. A. Mr. G. L. Carey, M. A. Mr. V. D. Engels, Ph. B. Prof. John Gysbers Page Twenty-Two When I would muse in boyhcod The wild green woods among, And nurse resolves and fancies Because the world was young, It was not foes to conquer, Nor sweethearts to be kind, But it was friends to die for That I would seek and find. I sought them far and found them, The sure, the straight, the kind, The hearts I lost my own to, And sadly leave behind.

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