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St. John's sidebar: Highlights of the prep century

Posted September 13, 2007 11:00 pm

Myrna Fearer

· 1891: Xaverian Brothers purchase Spring estate for $19,500. St. John's Normal College opens Sept. 8.

· 1907: St. John's Preparatory College officially opens with classes on Sept. 10, 1907. Headed by Brother Benjamin, C.F.X., with seven Xaverian Brothers as faculty. Tuition is $225 for room and board for the 61 students enrolled. A gymnasium is built behind Porphyry Hall, the current Administration building.

· 1908: A chapel is added to Porphyry Hall, which serves for worship, additional sleeping quarters, a dining hall and classroom.

· 1910: Construction of Xavier Hall, a five-story dormitory and school building, begins. It's completed in 1911. Enrollment numbers 235; 202 students are from Massachusetts with others from as far away as Virginia, Ireland, Quebec and Cuba.

· 1911: First Commencement exercises conducted on June 16 for 21 graduates.

· 1916: Ryken Hall, a new residence, is dedicated.

· 1917: War years, 1917-1926, take their toll on the school and create challenges for Brother Norbert (1917-1926). The school has grown to include a student body of more than 300, with over 200 of them campus residents.

·1926: Memorial Dining Hall is dedicated to the memory of alumni killed during World War I.

· 1928-29: Football stadium and track are built and afterward named Cronin Memorial stadium in honor of the late student athlete Arthur Cronin, Class of '55, who died during the opening game of the season.

· 1929: Brother Edmund (1926-1929) reorganizes campus to maximize existing space. Infirmary, offices and all administrative operations are centralized in the Spring Mansion.

·1930: Brother Ambrose (1929-1934) initiates relationship with Sisters of the Most Holy Redeemer, a k a as the German Nuns. For 21 years, they serve as dietitians, nurses and cooks for the students and Brothers.

· 1932: William S. Collins of Connecticut is first son of an alumnus, William Collins, to enroll. Edward Ferguson of Danvers, son of George Ferguson, is the second.

· 1936: Post-graduate program increases under Brother Aubert (1934-1946).

· 1941: First issue of the Spire, senior class yearbook, published. James M. Curley, later Mayor of Boston, is one of the advertisers.

·1945: School holds first mid-year graduation for 13 students going off to war.

·1946: Brother Aloysius (1940-46) guides school through difficult World War II years. Post-graduate program phased out at end of war and a junior high school program established to compensate for diminishing enrollment caused by the war.

Brother William (1946-1949) is able to discontinue younger program when enrollment stabilizes at 218 resident students and 175 day students. Number of lay teachers, coaches and staff are increased and Camp Columbus, now Camp Christopher, opens.

· 1949: Guild of St. William, ladies volunteer organization, founded through the work of Marion Dorgan, mother of the Rev. Gerard Dorgan, Class of 1950 and current priest at St. Mary of the Annunciation Parish in Danvers.

· 1954: Memorial Gymnasium project is completed and opens. Then Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts attends a dinner in the gym honoring the 100th anniversary of the Xaverian Brothers' coming to the United States.

· 1958: Father's Club, now Parent's Club, is established to complement the Guild of St. William. Joint fundraising helps in the renovation and furnishings of Ryken, Xavier and Memorial halls.

·1964: Number of day students and resident students equalized. Growth leads to need for new academic facilities. Construction begins on Brother Benjamin Hall and Alumni Hall.

·1965: Cardinal Richard Cushing dedicates the two buildings featuring a new library, guidance and department offices and auditorium, on May 22.

· 1966: Old gym renovated and converted to McCourt Student Union. Gavitt Barn converted to an art studio, (now the Maintenance Barn) and the Brothers donate a portion of land to the town as conservation space.

· 1970: Day students outnumber residents; Board of Trustees votes to phase out residents in five-year plan. Following closing of St. Chretienne's in Salem and Cardinal Cushing Academy in West Newbury, trustees vote to admit a small number of girls: 16 enroll. Co-ed policy lasts six years and ends with the 1976-77 school year when the last of 77 young women graduate.

· 1984: U.S. Sen. Paul Tsongas, now deceased, delivers Commencement address.

· 1986-1987: Xaverian House, the old stone barn converted into a residence for Xaverian Brothers, is completed.

· 1989: Brother Edward Keefe is honored with a testimonial dinner at the Danversport Yacht Club on his retirement after 15 years as headmaster and on 40 years as a Xaverian Brother.

· 1989: Brother William Drinan, former resident director and faculty member, becomes the new headmaster.

· 1995: The Ryken Center for the Arts, once a dormitory, opens.

· 2001: Dr. Albert Shannon is named 15th headmaster of St. John's Prep and first lay headmaster.

· 2003: Edward Hardiman becomes first lay principal of the school.

· 2003-2004 school year: The 24,000 square foot two-story A.E. Studzinski Library opens on campus.

· 2005: A completely renovated Xavier Hall reopens with 31 new classrooms and a spacious Campus Ministry Center.

· 2007: St. John's Prep begins centennial celebration.

-Myrna Fearer

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