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1. Cow barn, Saint Benedict's Monastery Farm, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1953 - 1960
Description:
The cow barn was built in 1911 - 1912, close to the monastery buildings and later moved further to the west.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

2. Sisters praying in hospital chapel at St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Date Created:
1940 - 1949
Description:
Sisters praying in the chapel at St. Cloud Hospital.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

3. Sisters Julitta Hoppe (right) and Lawrence Kiffmeyer assisting with an emergency, St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Date Created:
1940 - 1949
Description:
Sister Julitta Hoppe and Sister Lawrence Kiffmeyer assist with an emergency.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

4. Sister Sandra Fleischhacker in the X-ray Department, St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Date Created:
1940 - 1949
Description:
Sister Sandra Fleischhacker worked in the X-ray Department of the St. Cloud Hospital.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

5. Sister Laura Hesch's class with Ojibwe children ends with a lunch at Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, Minnesota

Date Created:
1940 - 1949
Description:
Sister Laura Hesch had a way with children at the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe). She often treated them with a lunch when she taught them.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

6. Sister Laura Hesch, Order of St. Benedict, with Ojibwe children at Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, Minnesota

Date Created:
1940 - 1949
Description:
Until Sister Laura Hesch was given a larger mission center for her activities Mille Lacs Indian Reservation (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe), she met with Ojibwe children wherever she found them.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

7. Sister Laura Hesch, Order of St. Benedict, copes with the winters on the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, Minnesota

Date Created:
1940 - 1949
Description:
Sister Laura Hesch, OSB, was not daunted by the winter challenges in her work on the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

8. Sister Cunegund Kuefler in nursery at St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:
Molitor, Robert C.
Date Created:
1940 - 1949
Description:
Sister Cunegund Kuefler oversaw the nursery in the St. Cloud Hospital. She began her 64-year career in obstetrics at St. Raphael's Hospital in 1904.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

9. Sister Borgia Knelleken in the Animal Laboratory at St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Creator:
St. Cloud Edition Our Sunday Vivitor
Date Created:
1940 - 1949
Description:
Because Sister Borgia was willing to take on any task asked of her, she responded to Dr. Page E. Stangl's (pathologist) request to help him set up a laboratory of animals for research. She called herself the zoo-keeper and worked with this project in her quiet, unassuming way for 39 years--first in crowded conditions among the offices on 6th floor of the hospital and then in the seclusion of the sub-basement.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

10. School of Nursing homecoming of 1939, St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Date Created:
1940 - 1949
Description:
School of Nursing homecoming attendees of 1939 pose in front of St. Cloud Hospital.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

11. School of Nursing cadet nurses, St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Date Created:
1940 - 1949
Description:
Sister Giovanni Bieniek, the director of the St. Cloud School of Nursing poses with cadet nurses. This program existed from 1943 -1948.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

12. Employee Frank Karn (1928-1973) and Sister Consilia Nesges, St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Date Created:
1940 - 1949
Description:
Frank Karn transferred from employment from Saint Benedict's Convent to St. Cloud Hospital when it opened in 1928 and stayed on for 45 years. He was a registered engineer.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

13. Sisters Rita Claire Engel (right) and Danile Knight in the pharmacy, St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Date Created:
1939
Description:
Sister Rita Claire Engel and Sister Danile Knight served as pharmacists at the St. Cloud Hospital. The hospital kept up-to-date with the newest drugs.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

14. Aerial view of at St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Date Created:
1932
Description:
A 1932 aerial view of the St. Cloud Hospital reveals a half X-shape overlooking the Mississippi River.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

15. Preparing home-grown flax (hackling), St. Benedict's Monastery Farm, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1949
Description:
After the removal of all the chaff from the fiber inside the straws of flax, the fiber was combed through nails on a board in order to divide the strips of fiber into single strands. This process was known as "hackling." The flax fiber was then passed through hot water so that it would break while being twisted in the final step of "hand spinning."
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

16. Preparing home-grown flax for spinning (scutching), St. Benedict's Monastery Farm, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1949
Description:
Sisters Albina and Pretrina Hoeft, who learned this craft as girls in Bavaria, are shown "scutching" the flax to get rid of the chaff that remained on the fine fiber inside the stem after pounding away the coarse straw.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

17. Preparing home-grown flax for spinning (hand spinning), St. Benedict's Monastery Farm, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1949
Description:
The small fibers were twisted together and wound around a bobbin by spinning the large wheel.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

18. Sister Theophane Schneider with patient in iron lung in the isolation department, St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1947
Description:
Sister Theophane Schnieder tends a patient in an iron lung in the isolation department at St. Cloud Hospital.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

19. Turkeys ready for market, St. Benedict's Monastery Farm, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1939
Description:
The turkeys are plucked and ready for market.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

20. Turkeys in winter, St. Benedict's Monastery Farm, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1939
Description:
Sister tending her flock of turkeys outside their winter home at Saint Benedict's Monastery.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

21. Turkey pets at St. Benedict's Monastery Farm, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1939
Description:
Veronica (Sister Ruthelda) Klein hugs her pet turkey.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

22. Truckload of Harvested Potatoes, St. Benedict's Monastery Farm, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1939
Description:
From the fields, the harvested potatoes were taken to winter storage in a huge root cellar (60 feet in diameter) that had been constructed out of the sand pit dug on the campus at the time of building Sacred Heart Chapel in 1911 - 1914.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

23. Sister Laura treating Ojibwe children at Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1939
Description:
Sister Laura made inroads into life of reservation by making friends with the Ojibwe children who loved the treats she brought when she visited Mille Lacs Indian Reservation (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

24. Sister Laura Hesch with a 100-year-old Ojibwe woman at Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1939
Description:
Sister Laura Hesch befriended a 100-year-old Ojibwe woman who lived alone on the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe). It was through such relationships that she won the hearts of the Ojibwe.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

25. Sister Laura Hesch with an Ojibwe family at Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1939
Description:
Sister Laura Hesch with an Ojibwe family in front of a log cabin at the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

26. Sister George Weinand with her chickens, Saint Benedict's Monastery Farm, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1939
Description:
Sister George Weinand cared for chickens for almost 50 years at Saint Benedict's Monastery.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

27. Saint Benedict's Monastery Farm: Turkey caretaker, Sister Carolinda Medernach

Date Created:
1930 - 1939
Description:
Sister Carolinda Medernach tends to the turkeys.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

28. Poultry hoverer, Saint Benedict's Monastery Farm, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1939
Description:
A batch of newly-hatched poultry find warmth under the "hoverer."
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

29. Herbal enterprise at Saint Benedict's Monastery Farm, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1939
Description:
Sister Afra Schiesser cultivated, harvested and dried herbs from her herbal gardens. She provided herbal remedies for Sisters and students.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

30. Harvesting vegetables, St. Benedict's Monastery Farm, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1939
Description:
The novices are harvesting vegetables on Saint Benedict's Monastery Farm.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

31. Harvesting potatoes, St. Benedict's Monastery Farm, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1939
Description:
The Sisters and farm hands harvested the potatoes.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

32. College of Saint Benedict, Board of Lay Advisors, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1939
Description:
The Board of lay advisors includes (left to right:) Mother Rosamond Pratschner, Mrs. Rose Reilly, Ed Callahan, Dr. Joseph B. Gaida, Sister Claire Lynch, Joseph Matt, Dr. R. N. Jones, Francis Gross and Mrs. Robert Burns. It advised that the college to develop a 100-year plan which initiated the concept of a CSB building program.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

33. Apiary, Saint Benedict's Monastery Farm, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1930 - 1939
Description:
As early as 1923, there are records showing that Sisters were involved with bee culture. Left to right are Sister Annina Zierden, Sister Juliana Venne, Sister Crescentia Eich and Sister Amalia Eich.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

34. Sister Julitta Hoppe, hospital administrator (1923-1929), St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Date Created:
1927
Description:
Sister Julitta Hoppe was hospital administrator, first at St. Raphael's Hospital and then at the newly construction St. Cloud Hospital, (1923-1929).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

35. Sister Olivia Egan (one of the promoters of the college, librarian and teacher), hostessing a homecoming tea, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1920?
Description:
First 50 years of the College of Saint Benedict (CSB). Sister Olivia Egan entered St. Benedict's community in 1886, graduated from St. Benedict's Academy, taught in the Industrial School and then became librarian and teacher at the academy and the college. In the college, she served as librarian from 1916-1930. Because of her vital interest in the establishment of the college, Sister Mariella Gable cited her as one of its prime promoters.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

36. Sister Grace McDonald, author of centennial community history, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1920?
Description:
First 50 years of the College of Saint Benedict (CSB). Sister Grace McDonald contributed an immeasurably important service to the community in gathering and researching the materials that led to her publishing the story of the first 100 years of the community. Without her notes and the materials she collected over a period of many years, the archives would not have the records of the community's development that it now enjoys. Though she kept no administrative files as an archivist, she is considered the first community archivist (from 1933 to 1963) because of her role as collector, researcher and writer.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

37. Individual student advisement from registration to graduation, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1920?
Description:
First 50 years of the College of Saint Benedict (CSB). The academic dean, registrar, heads of departments and other faculty members advise students concerning their courses, academic progress and future plans. (Gable, OSB; Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

38. Sister with the communion class of 1909 at St. Ann's Church, Wadena, Minnesota

Date Created:
1909
Description:
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). Though St. Ann's parish in Wadena was slow in establishing a parochial school, the communion class of 1909 attests to its later rapid growth. In the late 1850s, Wadena began as a trading post with a population around 100. When the Northern Pacific railroad crossed the county in 1872, a town was established 15 miles west of the old trading post. It was named Wadena, meaning "little rounded hill" in Ojibwe. It took until 1903 before the Catholic community in Wadena managed to build a school of its own, St. Ann's School. Three Benedictine sisters accepted the invitation to teach 80 pupils there. In subsequent years, the enrollment peaked at 466 (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives, Olsenius, page 104).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

39. Eighth Grade Graduates of 1909, St. Mary's School, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Date Created:
1909
Description:
Schools in St. Cloud (1869-1909). The twenty-five eighth grade graduates of St. Mary's School, St. Cloud, MN, in 1909 are identified as follows: (Top row): Martha Franke, Hyacinth Libert, Eleanor Hall, Olivia Peffer, Victoria Majerus, Veronica Heitzmann, Isabelle Kuck, Mary Zierden, Sybilla Dietrich; (Middle row): Leo Schmidt, Carl Rosenberger, John Hiemenz, Walter Schmidt, Anthony Hunstiger, Floyd McConnell, Leo Heinen, Gretsch, Bernard Schepers; (Bottom row): Appolonia Huf, Rose Danzl, Mary Nickols, Alma Bernauer, Father Alfred Mayer, O.S.B., Hilda Wampach, Hilda Knopp, Magdalen Braun, Sister Chrysostom Sanz, O.S.B. (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

40. Sisters and students at St. Boniface School, Hastings, Minnesota

Date Created:
1908
Description:
Schools in south-central Minnesota (1876-1909). The German community of Hastings, the second oldest settlement in Minnesota, at first had the Sisters of St. Joseph as their teachers. In 1890, four Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph, MN, replaced the Sisters of St. Joseph teaching the 140 students in the parochial school provided by the German parish. This was due, perhaps, to the fact that the Benedictines were primarily a German community. In subsequent years the enrollment increased to 335 students. Though the photograph shows only boys, girls were also enrolled (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives, Shifra Stein's Day Trips: Gas-saving Getaways Less Than Two Hours from Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul, page 149).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

41. Pupils of St. Bonifacius' School, St. Bonifacius, Minnesota

Date Created:
1907?
Description:
Schools in south-central Minnesota (1876-1909); St. Benedict's Monastery (convent), St. Joseph, Minnesota. Known for its bee-keeping industry, St. Bonifacius became a typical small town German settlement with its own church and school. In 1885, sisters opened a school there which in time reached an enrollment of 180 (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives, Richard Olsenius, Minnesota Travel Companio, A Guide to the History Along Minnesota's Highways, page 154).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

42. Sisters and students of Room #1, St. Mary's School, Stillwater, Minnesota

Date Created:
1902
Description:
Schools in south-central Minnesota (1876-1909). In 1882, the new German parish in Stillwater, MN, invited Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph, MN, to teach in their school, St. Mary's. Because there was another parochial school, conducted by the Sisters of St. Joseph in the older English-speaking parish, the German parish school had only 85-100 pupils. In the subsequent 66 years of service given by the Benedictine sisters at St. Mary's School, the enrollment of this grade school remained steady between 100 and 125 and, for some time, high school classes were included for a small number of students (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 108-109).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

43. Sisters and pupils on school porch, Albany Township, Minnesota

Date Created:
1900?
Description:
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). The first settler, John Schwinghammer, came to this oak and maple-wooded area in 1862. When the St. Paul-Minneapolis-Manitoba line was constructed in 1871, a railroad station and hotel were quickly built and the town of Albany began to grow. The Catholic community invited two sisters to teach in the Albany District School #111 in 1884 but the public versus parochial school controversy soon relegated them to the church sacristy. Because the sacristy could only accommodate 15-20 pupils and because the resident pastor was recalled from Albany, the sisters withdrew in 1888. In 1904 the sisters returned to re-open the school in the old church. In subsequent years, a new school, Holy Family, was built and enrollment peaked at 325 (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

44. Pupils and faculty of Assumption School, Richfield (Bloomfield), Minnesota

Date Created:
1900?
Description:
Schools in south-central Minnesota (1876-1909). In 1900, two sisters and a candidate opened a school in the German parish (Assumption) in Richfield (originally Bloomfield). In spite of the fact that two other parishes had been established in Richfield, the Assumption School could boast of an enrollment of 202 students and 6 sisters teaching in subsequent years. By 1909, the Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph, MN, had staffed 20 schools in the Twin Cities and south-central Minnesota -- mainly in the German communities but also in the Montgomery-New Prague area, a stronghold of Czechoslovakian culture and heritage. For most of these 20 schools, St. Benedict's Monastery archives has no early photographs (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

45. Carriage used by the sisters, St. Benedict's Convent, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1900?
Description:
Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909). The carriage used by the sisters around 1900 was very likely the vehicle that met students and candidates at the St. Joseph train depot. It had first belonged to the administrator of the St. Cloud Diocese and is still preserved in St. Benedict's Monastery Museum (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

46. Faculty of St. Mary's School in 1900, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Date Created:
1900
Description:
Schools in St. Cloud (1869-1909).The sister-faculty of St. Mary's Parochial School in 1900 are identified as follows: (seated from left to right): Sisters Chrysostom Sanz, Wilhelmina Kahl, Cornelia Berg, Raymond Otto, Dionysia Meinhardt; (Standing): Sisters Carmel Fruth, Cleta Kurth, Evarista Stenzenberger, Loyola Kapsner, Rosebia Sieverding. The following summarizes the background of the sisters' presence in St. Mary's Parish, St. Cloud, MN: 1. Although the sisters left St. Cloud in 1863 because of the public versus parochial school controversy, it is not surprising that they accepted the invitation in 1869 to return to St. Mary's Parish which had been their first home when they came to Minnesota in 1857. This time they were specifically invited to teach in the District/Independent School which was located in the former St. Mary's Church adjacent to the convent. This school served as the parochial school for the growing St. Mary's Parish, but it was becoming inadequate. 2. When in 1875 the state legislature endorsed the concept that both the "District" and "Independent" Schools would be supported by local taxation, influential citizens spearheaded the building of a district school near St. Mary's Church. This new school continued its unique position as the district/parochial school and employed some sisters as teachers; the sisters also continued teaching in the original school adjacent to the convent--it became known as the "sisters' school." 3. However, despite the 1875 legislation, school conflicts continued to rage. So the sisters decided to withdraw from their teaching positions in the district school and put all of their energies into the convent school. Because of the rapid growth of the parish, the sisters could not accommodate all the children who wished to attend the convent school. It was at that point (1886-1887) that St. Mary's parishioners, after 25 years of conflict, built their first real parochial school ([Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives Witte, pages 77-78).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

47. Sisters Demetrius Keller and Catherine Siefner teaching at St. Mary's School, Long Prairie, Minnesota

Date Created:
1896?
Description:
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). As early as 1880, three sisters took charge of the parish school in Long Prairie, but within four years the sisters withdrew because of misunderstandings with the pastor. Ten years later, the sisters re-opened the mission and the school's subsequent enrollments grew to 280. Pictured are S. Demetria Keller (on left) and Catherine Siefner (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

48. Sister Lioba Braun at the organ, St. Benedict's Mission, White Earth, Minnesota

Date Created:
1895?
Description:
St. Benedict's Mission, White Earth Indian Reservation (White Earth Band of Ojibwe). Sister Lioba Braun, at the organ, leads the sisters at St. Benedict's Mission in song. Sister Lioba, one of the first sisters to help establish St. Benedict's Mission at White Earth, brought her gift of music and singing and soon had a choir that was able to sing at the religious services. The sister to the immediate right of Sister Lioba is identified as Sister Meinrad Burrell and the sister to Sister Meinrad's right as Sister Basilia Cosgrove. [SBMA]
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

49. Sisters and pupils at Holy Angels School, Browerville, Minnesota

Date Created:
1893
Description:
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). In 1892, two sisters (Adela Eich and Casimir Pietron) and a candidate (Miss Rose Carlin - later Sister Josephine) opened a mission in St. Joseph's Parish in Browerville. The parish had built a parochial school, named Holy Angels, consisting of three classrooms and living quarters for sisters. When dissension arose between the Polish and German parishioners that resulted in the establishment of a German parish (St. Peter's), a sister from Holy Angels School taught the German pupils in a rented store. In 1902, when the Germans built their own church, St. Peter's, the school was moved to the church basement. Both schools expanded and prospered, but were eventually consolidated and named Browerville Parochial School, later renamed Christ the King (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

50. Students of Room #5, St. Joseph's School, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Date Created:
1892
Description:
Schools in south-central Minnesota (1876-1909). Many class groups of students posed on the steps of this church, the pride of St. Joseph's Parish in Minneapolis. The twin steeples of St. Joseph's Church graced the city's landscape for about 100 years before the parish complex was razed by the city's highway system and the entire area was re-surfaced for inner city transportation (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

51. Sisters who started St. Bernard's School, St. Paul, Minnesota

Date Created:
1891
Description:
Schools in south-central Minnesota (1876-1909). The original group of three Benedictine sisters who opened St. Bernard's School: Sisters Eugenia ONeill (seated), Secunda Hansen (right), Auxilia Kapsner (left). The number of sisters at St. Bernard's Parish increased in subsequent years to thirty sisters serving on the faculty of St. Bernard's School (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

52. Students of St. Benedict's Mission School, White Earth, Minnesota

Date Created:
1890?
Description:
St. Benedict's Mission, White Earth Indian Reservation (White Earth Band of Ojibwe). About 85 boarding students and six sisters posed in the inner court of St. St. Benedict's Mission School in the early 1890s. Record keeping for this large a group of children was not simple. While the churches constructed and operated the schools on the reservations, government policy allowed the schools an annual appropriation of a flat rate for tuition, board and clothing annually; the amount varied from $100 to $150 per pupil. This policy required careful quarterly reports to be sent to Washington. All expenditures had to be accounted for - the number of pounds of meat, sacks of flour, bushels of beans and potatoes, barrels of sugar, pounds of rice, and gallons of syrup and soap These accounts show the frugality of the mission school's fare. For example, the 1886 end-of-year record shows $2.00 for candy and $2.50 for a pair of geese. [SBMA, McDonald, pp. 240-241]
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

53. Convent built by Sisters of St. Benedict, St. Augusta, Minnesota

Date Created:
1890?
Description:
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). In 1886, St. Benedict's Convent built a small residence for sisters teaching at St. Mary's School in St. Augusta and by 1903, it required an addition. Fifty years later the parish voted to change the district school to a parochial school, but it took another 10 years before a new parochial school was built. Sisters still serve in the St. Mary's School and parish, having given this settlement over 120 years of service (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

54. Melrose: St. Boniface Church, Convent and School, Melrose, Minnesota

Creator:
Saint John's Abbey (SJA), Collegeville, Minnesota
Date Created:
1890 - 1900
Description:
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). Melrose was settled at a ford in the river on the stagecoach trail between the Red River Valley and St. Cloud. It got its spurt of growth in 1871 as the terminus of the west-bound railroad, making it a marketing center. Melrose (named after Melissa Rose, the daughter of one of the early settlers) soon developed into a strong Catholic community eager to establish its own parish. In 1880, St. Boniface School (parish/district) was built and the Benedictine sisters responded to the pastor's invitation to teach there. By 1894, four sisters were teaching 170 pupils, despite the fact that at first they suffered from the usual prejudice of German communities regarding public versus parochial schools. In subsequent years, the enrollment peaked at 325 pupils even though the Irish parishioners established their own grade/high school and enrolled as many as 166 pupils. When St. Boniface and St. Patrick parishes merged in 1958, the parish and school were renamed St. Mary's School which reached a peak enrollment of 481 (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

55. Sisters and boarders at the Convent and School, St. Mary's Mission, Red Lake, Minnesota

Date Created:
1889?
Description:
St. Mary's Mission, Red Lake Indian Reservation (Red Lake Nation). Sisters and students pose on the porch of the convent/school. In 1889, with a donation received from the Drexel sisters, a convent/boarding school was built. Upstairs were sleeping quarters for the sisters and girls; downstairs contained the kitchen, recreation room, and refectory for serving meals. At the time there were five sisters, 35 boarding students of ages six to eighteen, and 25 day students. It proved to be so successful that it had to be enlarged within two years. A house was purchased to be the dormitory for boys and the temporary church (built in 1891) served as the dormitory for boys after a new church was completed in 1893. [SBMA; Lindblad, pp. 41-43]
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

56. Faculty of Holy Angels Grade School in 1889, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Date Created:
1889
Description:
Schools in St. Cloud (1869-1909). The sister-faculty of Holy Angels Grade School in St. Cloud at the turn of the century are identified as follows: (seated left to right): Sisters Ignatia Huntsinger, Eleanor Irving, Ursula Hoffmann, Pauline Heller, Sybilla Vogel; (standing): Sisters Edwina Noessen, Basilia Cosgrove, Sophia Zimmer, Louise Walz. The parish records of the monthly tuition payments for the year 1897-98 list the following number of pupils for each teacher: (listed by room number; the word "grade" is not used; at first there were simply the upper and lower levels): Room 1, Sister Sybilla Vogel, 122; Room 2, Sister Pauline Heller, 78; Room 3, Sister Bonaventure Theisen, 77; Room 4, Sister Sophia Zimmer, 73; Room 5, Sister Louise Walz, 65; Room 6, Sister Eleanor Irving, 58; Room 7, Sister Ursula Hoffmann, 31; Room 8 (George Stelzle), 33. Judging by this record of the size of classes, one can surmise that the lower-level classes had half-day sessions and that in those early years, less than half of the students went beyond a sixth grade education (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives ; McDonald, page 116; Voigt, page 39).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

57. Teachers and pupils at first St. Michael's School, Buckman, Minnesota

Creator:
Saint John's Abbey (SJA), Collegeville, Minnesota
Date Created:
1888?
Description:
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). In 1887, Sisters Clara Billig and Appolonia Jensen began teaching in this one-room parish/district school and convent in Buckman. A combination parochial-district school continued there without opposition for at least another 50 years (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

58. Sister Ethelburga Farrell and pastor, Father Augustine Brockmeyer, with pupils of St. Joseph's School, Moorhead, Minnesota

Date Created:
1887
Description:
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). Moorhead developed into one of the larger cities of Minnesota because it was a natural terminus for most forms of transportation: the early routes of the Red River ox carts, a steamboat landing for the Hudson Bay Company, and connections to Duluth by railroad and highway. By 1882, Moorhead had 14 hotels and restaurants and the Catholic community had established its church and school. In 1879, St. Joseph's Parish in Moorhead opened a school for 50-60 pupils. This photograph of Sister Ethelburga Farrell's class and Father Augustine Brockmyer, pastor of St. Joseph's Parish, was taken in 1887. By 1892 a new school was built. The enrollment continued to increase so that, within the next 20 years, six sisters were teaching 200 students resulting in the building of another new school (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; Olsenius, page 129).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

59. Class of 1885 who made profession of perpetual vows, St. Benedict's Convent, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Creator:
Saint John's Abbey (SJA), Collegeville, Minnesota
Date Created:
1885
Description:
Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909). In 1885, the following sisters made their profession of perpetual vows at St. Benedict's Convent: (left to right) (Front Row): Sisters Aquina Prettner, Justina Knapp, Paula Bechtold; (Row 2): Sisters Johanna Philippi, Mother Scholastica, Lidwina Weisser; (Row 3): Sister Meinrad Burrell; Row 4: Sisters Seraphica Kennedy, Vincentia Philipp, Patricia Egan; (Row 5): Sisters Amata Macket, Margaret Dellwo, Laurentia Koempel; (Row 6): Sisters: Franziska Pogatchnik, Elizabeth Reisgraf; (Row 7): Sisters: Martha Fenneis, Demetria Keller, Julia Will, DeSales Walz, Bonaventure Kapsner (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

60. Academy pupils at St. Benedict's Academy, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Creator:
Saint John's Abbey (SJA), Collegeville, Minnesota
Date Created:
1883 - 1884
Description:
St. Benedict's Academy (1883-1909); St. Benedict's Monastery (convent), St. Joseph, Minnesota. Academy class of 1883-1884, front row sitting left to right: Neville Ensor, Mary Schwartz, Elizabeth Spies, Tillie Keppers, Barbara Venne, Margaret Sanz, Ursula Glatzmeier, Anna Herron, Bertha Linnemann, Carrie Smith, Alta Letson, Frances Pfannenstein, Lena Bernick, Mary Rhodes, Lucretia Mutschlechner. Second row sitting: Rose Black, Mary Merten, Anna Brockmann, Theresa Schreiner, Margaret Klein, Stella LaComb, Margaret Kerst, Josephine Friend, Anna Wagner; (Third row sitting): Anna Kahl, Laura Bosworth, Margaret Lauermann, Magdalen Theisen, Barbara Eich; (First row standing): Eliza Darbelly, Louisa Maurin, Sister Alexia Kerst, Mary Roach, Clara Otto, Mary Kennedy; (Second row standing - next to building): Johanna Madigan, Mary Brockmann, Jennie McLean, Sister Bonaventure Kapsner, Margaret Claesgens, Margaret Farrell, Sarah Farrell, Louise Wall, Mattie Bosworth, Josie Smith, Mary Zimmer, Sarah Kelly, Lavina Huber, Sister Pius Roche, Sister Celestine Marschall, Josie Gerard, Mary Hoffmann. While the sisters rejoiced at the increasing enrollment, they were concerned about maintaining a small enough number to assure a homey atmosphere and a community spirit. In the early 1880s, because many of the students were of grade-school age, there was a built-in family atmosphere in the academy. Gradually, however, the academy drew students of high school age and older; by 1909, the academy was ready to consider offering college classes (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

61. Sisters and pupils at St. Henry's School, Perham, Minnesota

Creator:
Wetzel, Conrad Jr.
Date Created:
1880?
Description:
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). Perham marks the beginning of the Lake Park region of Minnesota. In 1873 the town was platted by the Lake Superior and Puget Sound Land Company and named after Josiah Perham, the first president of the Northern Pacific Railroad. The early businesses were the Glove Milling company and the Schmidt Wagon Works. Within ten years the Catholic community developed a school system, at one time having the three following Catholic schools in the area: 1.) St. Henry's - the Benedictine sisters opened a school in a section of the convent but when the enrollment increased, the former public school and a harness shop were utilized; enrollment there reached a peak of 269 pupils with 5-6 sisters teaching in subsequent years. 2.) St. Joseph - the Benedictine sisters began teaching in a district school (Ottertail County), three miles from Perham. (In 1885 St. Benedict's Convent built a large dwelling there intended to serve as a sisters' health resort; instead, it became the residence for the 5 sisters at St. Joseph's School. The dwelling was later sold for $1,100.) 3.) St. Stanislaus - in 1902, the Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph's also staffed this small school but three years later it closed because only 38 students enrolled. However, the pastor reopened it seven years later and the Polish-speaking Felician sisters staffed it for another twenty years (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

62. Mother Scholastica Kerst, OSB, prioress (1880-1890) at St. Benedict's Convent, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Creator:
Brown, William; Miller; Hill, J.
Date Created:
1880?
Description:
Besides fostering the mission of education, especially the academy, in which the sisters of St. Benedict's Convent were engaged by 1880, Mother Scholastica Kerst is best known for fearlessly launching the community into the new field of health care. Under her leadership, St. Benedict's Convent flourished as did the hospitals in Bismarck, Duluth and St. Cloud. During her administration of nine years, the membership of the community increased from 57 to 164; the number of parochial schools staffed by the sisters had grown from 10 to 28; the orphanages, schools and hospitals became monuments of her enterprise and executive ability. Mother Scholastica had the spirit of the American frontier in her blood. Mother Scholastica (Catherine) Kerst was born in Prussia in 1847 and came to St. Paul, MN, with her parents in her infancy. She entered St. Gertrude's Convent, Shakopee, MN, in 1862, two days after its establishment. Bishop Thomas Grace, O.P., of St. Paul, required that she spend some of her formation period at St. Gertrude's founding motherhouse in St. Marys, PA. This experience in a well-established, older convent and her own flair for leadership and good business, gave her the impetus to request permission to establish a convent in St. Paul with four other sisters. Instead, church authorities advised her to transfer to St. Benedict's Convent, St. Joseph, MN, which she did in 1877. Three years later Abbot Alexius Edelbrock appointed her prioress of St. Benedict's Convent. [Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives ; McDonald, ppage93-95]
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

63. Minims of St. Benedict's Academy with their prefect, Sister Ernesta Kranz, OSB, St. Joseph, Minnesota

Date Created:
1880?
Description:
Early ventures in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1880-1890). In the early years, an academy was geared to primary school education and only gradually developed into a secondary school. This photo shows the wide age-range of students attending St. Benedict's Academy before the 1900s. This range of ages may account for the family (community) spirit that developed in the school. It was customary to refer to the younger girls as "minims." The prefect with this group is Sister Ernesta Kranz; the child in the sailor suit is identified as Alice O'Niel (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

64. Sister Laura Hesch teaching Ojibwe children at Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, Minnesota

Description:
Before Sister Laura Hesch could establish a mission center on Mille Lacs Indian Reservation (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe), she taught Ojibwe children at their homes. Her motherly affection for children soon won their hearts.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs

65. Sister Laura Hesch, Order of St. Benedict, with her mission car at Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, Minnesota

Description:
During her first year at the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe), Sister Laura Hesch was given a car, a 1936 Plymouth, for her mission work.
Contributing Institution:
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:
Still Image
Format:
Black-and-white photographs
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