The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1900-08-04
THE ST. ANTHONY SCHOOL.
The First Educational Institution In
MINNEAPOLIS.

Minneapolis.
The pioneer school of Mime
apolis" is the proud distinction the
school of ST. Anthony of Padua holds
among the splendid galaxy of educa-
tional institutions which is so adnlired~a
feature of Minneapolis civic greatness.
Minneapolis is justly proud of her
schools, both public and denominations
al. The Catholics Of Minneapolis must
recall with satisfaction that the first
school in this admirable system was
founded for the education of Catholic
children and maintained by Catholic
citizens. Before Minneapolis was, the
School OF St. Anthony gave instruction
to the boys and girls who have since,
as men and women, done much toward
developing the struggling village of St.
Anthony into the commercial metropo-
lis Of the west. Thus, paradoxical as it
may seem, Minneapolis oldest school
antedates, by dozen years, the official
existence of the city itself.
1t was in 1850 that Father La Don,
French priest of pious zeal and intrepid
spirit, gathered about him few of the
hardy frontiersmen of his own religion
and race and organized the parish OF ST.
Anthony. The patron OF Padua, hon
orcd by Hennepin when he discovered
and named the falls, was further men,
orialized by the first Catholics OF Mime.
apolis in the name OF the pioneer church
Before the close OF 1850 the clearing
around the log church was enlarged
considerably, another log house found a
place at the verge of the dense wood.
and almost within sound of the noisy
cataract OF ST. Anthony, close to the
bank OF the river on which still yet float
ed the canoes OF the reluctantly west
ward moving Dakotahs, three gentle, but
brave-spiritcd sisters Of St. Joseph
opened the first school in Minneapolis.
Under the direction of Mother Philo
meme of blessed memory, these three
sisters gave secular and spiritual i'll
struction to the children OF the sparsely-
settled village OF St. Anthony.
The village by the falls grew rapidly.
The progressive spirit of the SOS was
strong among the settlers at the falls
The tangled wood and sandy hillocks
were soon converted into town lots or
cultivated gardens, and the log house
was soon declared too primitive school
for the nascent city.
A frame house soon sheltered the nuns
and their rapidly increasing pupils. This
modern school was occupied until
1884, when it was removed to the Polish
Catholic parish, where, renovated and
relnodeled, it still does service as an
educational. home.
The mother Of the Catholic parochial
schools bears we'll the dignity conferred
by fifty years OF fruitful teaching Mo-
Their Philomene's little band has in.
creased to a community OF twelve nuns.
nine OF whom teach i'll the parish school.
From dozen children, mostly French,
wearing the l,omespun clothes and cop.
per-toed shoes typical of the time, the
attendance at the St. Anthony school
has increased to 500 children, represent
ing many nationalities, and typifying.
too, the prosperity which has blessed the
efforts of,thcir forefathers. The course
of study at St. Anthony school has
broadened in the course Of years and
with the changed times, but the high
standard set in the beginning has never
been departed from. Conscientious,
thorough training in the secular branch
es, supplemented by instruction in the
Catholic faith, has always been, and is
now, the aim of the teaching sisters of
St. Joseph's Order. That their work
was we'll done in the parish school of St.
Anthony is not without striking proof.
From among the early pupils of the
pioneer school the church has drawn
many noble priests, many sclf-sacrifc
ing, Jealous nuns. In the commercial
and political circles of Minneapolis, and
indeed in the Northwest, the roster of
the old school furnishes many promi
nent names. And could that roll-call,
accommodating through the past half cen
fury, be answered now, some responses
must doubtless come from the lower
rounds of the social or commercial lad
DER but whatever the lot in life of these
former pupils, whether they be laboring
with hand or head, surely an enduring
influence must be felt from lessons
taught by the worthy nuns of St. An
thongs parish school.
The School of St. Anthony, as it
stands today, is handsome stone struc-
ture in dark gray. The dull-colored
stone is richly relieved by perpendicular
panels of terra Gotta brick, which ex-
tend from caves to basement on either
side of the building. The same curious
combination of color and material is
used with striking effect in the face of
the building, where imposts and mold
ings of vivid colored brick are inter-
mixed with the somber gray of the walls
and buttresses. The rugged architec-
ture of the Gothic period is suggested
but not closely followed in the style of
the building. Sixteen years have left
little trace of wear on the sturdy stones.
solidIv but D1ainIv fashioned It's two