Category: Notre Dame History

Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

Although a French man, Fr. Edward Sorin, founder of the University of Notre Dame, was quick to embrace American patriotism.  It is no coincidence that Washington Hall was named after the first President of the United States.

Notre Dame began organizing George Washington Birthday celebrations shortly after its 1842 founding.  The events often would consist of musical concerts and theatrical productions from Notre Dame student associations and lectures and speeches from faculty and visitors.

Cover of the 1869 Washington Day Exercises program

At the turn of the 20th century, a flag presentation was added to the Exercises.  An American flag was blessed and flown from Commencement throughout the next year.  By the mid-1900s, attendance at the Washington Day Exercises was required by Seniors in order to graduate.

Washington Day Exercises – Students in caps and gowns entering Washington Hall through the second floor entrance, c1930s

In 1954, Notre Dame established the Patriot of the Year Award, presented by the Senior Class.  The Seniors would vote from a list of prominent nominees and the award winner generally would speak at the Washington Day Exercises.  The award winners included Senator John F. Kennedy, Astronaut John Glenn, and Comedian Bob Hope.  See the entire list of winners here.

By the early 1970s, the mandatory, theatrical Washington Day celebrations had mostly subsided and there are no longer grand celebrations on campus.  “The Exercises through the years have aided many students in the formation of firm ideas about their obligations to the community.  The Washington Day Exercises constitute a public and formal acknowledgment of ‘God, Country, and Notre Dame.” [programs from the late 1950s to early 1960s in PNDP 70-Wa-01]

Sources:
PNDP 70-Wa-01
GDIS 50/61

Let There Be Light

“Sophocles by the electric light seems an anachronism”
As part of the 1882 Commencement exercises, Washington Hall was formally dedicated with a theatrical performance of Œdipus Tyrannus, completely in Greek, under electrical lights.  This is one of the earliest references to the use of electrical lighting at Notre Dame. [Scholastic, 07/01/1882, page 641]

An electrical engineering class in Science Hall (now LaFortune), c1880s-1890s

By 1885, Notre Dame had made much progress in electrifying buildings on campus, well ahead of other institutions and municipalities.  The South Bend Weekly Tribune praised Notre Dame for its advancements:  “It will be remembered by our South Bend people that Notre Dame University was considerably ahead of South Bend in adopting a system of lighting by electricity.  There is nothing too progressive for Notre Dame.  She is abreast of the times in all that goes toward making her one of the finest equipped institutions in this country.”  [South Bend Weekly Tribune, 11/21/1885, from PNDP 10-Zz-15]

In 1887, Professor Michael O’Dea wrote a brief history and the current of the use of incandescent lights at Notre Dame for the New York Electrical Review.  O’Dea refuted Bowdoin College’s claim to be “the first college in America to be lighted by electricity,” showing that Notre Dame had already been using electrical lights for six years.  Below is the reprint from Scholastic, 03/26/1887, pages 460-461:

Electric lights on campus were not only used to facilitate late-night studying, they were also used to adorn the statue of the Virgin Mary atop the Main Building Dome with a crown of twelve stars above her head and a crescent moon at her feet.

Workers on the Main Building Dome, perhaps regilding the Dome or maintaining the electrical lights, c1922

The lights were installed between 1884 and 1885, a few years after the Dome itself was completed.  The crown was first illuminated on October 23, 1884, but repairs and updates occurred in 1885.  Luigi Gregori designed the crescent beneath the statue, which was completed in November 1885.  When all the electric lights were fully illuminated for the first time, a South Bend Weekly Tribune reporter submitted the following account:

“As seen from the city, the light on the dome appears to be a solid blaze, having the appearance of an elongated moon.  The light can be seen for miles from Notre Dame, and as last night was the first time it was fully lighted up, a great many people were filled with wonderment as to what it was.” [South Bend Weekly Tribune, 11/21/1885, from PNDP 10-Zz-15]

Main Quad at night, early 1920s

The crown and crescent electric lights on the Dome were removed some time in the late 1920s or early 1930s, but the Dome itself is still illuminated every night.  Electrical lighting is now a given, but for the students and faculty living at Notre Dame in the late 1800s, incandescent lighting was cutting-edge technology and a sharp difference from gas lighting.

Sources:
PNDP 10-Zz-15
Scholastic
GTJS 4/12
GPHR 45/6887
GNDL 38/05

King Kersten

In the spring of 1972, Robert (Bob) Calhoun Kersten ran one of more memorable Student Body Presidential campaigns from his office in the fourth floor bathroom of Walsh Hall.

Bob Kersten and others on the sidelines of the ND vs. Purdue football game, 09/30/1972

Kersten’s candidacy was intended satire of student government and he ran under an oligarchy platform.  Despite University violations, Kersten’s running mate was Uncandidate the Cat, the “first female Notre Dame poobah” [Observer, 03/03/1972].

Profile and platform of Student Body President candidate Robert Calhoun Kersten [Observer, 02/22/1972]


In an apparent publicity stunt, Kersten was “abducted … from the third floor water closet in Keenan Hall” [Observer, 02/24/1972]


Page of the index of the Observer, maintained by the University Archives, listing some of Kersten’s activities during the 1972 Student Body Presidential elections and his first few months in office, including walking on water, coronation, and declaring martial war

Kersten wins the Student Body Presidential election [Observer, 03/03/1972]


Kersten won the election by the largest margin to date, although he hadn’t planned much for his actual presidency.  Student Body Vice President Uncandidate the Cat was replaced by Ed Gray, who was replaced by Dennis Etienne (H-Man) in October 1972.  Kersten’s presidency was relatively uneventful as Etienne ran much of the day-to-day activities.  Etienne won the following year’s SBP election.

Kersten’s antics are remembered still today.  The Observer and Notre Dame Magazine have mentioned him in recent articles.  Legend’s of Notre Dame Restaurant also offers a “King of Campus” steak in his honor.

Sources:
Observer
GRMD 3/57

The Juggler

The Juggler is a student literary and art magazine.  The first issue was published December 1919 as a stand-alone college humor and satire publication, which were common among other universities at the time.


Cover of the first issue of the Juggler, December 1919

In the prologue of the first 1919 issue, the editors write that they are not intending to replace the student-written literary essays and poems published at that time in Scholastic.  The editors write that they “shall strive to represent, for better or for worse, the lighter side of University life.”

Cartoon from the October 1924 issue of the Juggler.
Puns were common place in the Juggler during its early decades.

Over the years, Scholastic discontinued publishing such fictional student work and the Juggler took over that role and shifted toward publishing more serious literary and artistic works.  Old issues of the Juggler can be found in the University Archives and new issues are published once a semester.

Martin Luther King Jr. at Notre Dame

Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking in Stepan Center at Notre Dame, October 18, 1963

On October 18, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Notre Dame’s Stepan Center.  The South Bend Citizens’ Civic Planning Committee organized the event, which was  a fund-raiser for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).  Full-capacity was expected, with faculty, students, and community members in the audience.

King spoke of the problems of segregation, discrimination, and the civil right movement.  He also talked of similar issues throughout the world — “The world has shrunk into a neighborhood — now we must make it a brotherhood or we will die together as fools.” [Scholastic, October 25, 1963, page 13]

To see video of this speech, contact the Audio/Visual Archivist.


Sources:
Scholastic, October 1963

Art at Notre Dame

Art has long been an important offering in the curriculum at Notre Dame.  “Drawing and painting have been always favorite studies at Notre Dame, and improvements will be made to render these studies more attractive during the coming year [1870-1871].  Casts, busts, and valuable paintings will be procured for the use of the drawing class,  directed by Prof. C.A.B. Von Weller and Bro. Albert” [University catalog, 1869-1870, page 71].

Art class posed outside with their paintings and drawings, c1860s-1870s

Notre Dame has also been able to attract notable artists to the faculty, such as Luigi Gregori, Rev. Anthony Lauck, CSC, and Ivan Mestrovic, whose works continue to adorn campus.

Rev. Anthony Lauck teaching an Art Sculpture Class in a studio in the Main Building, Spring Semester 1953

 

Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh and Ivan Mestrovic in an Art Studio, c1960s

Notre Dame also has a long history of collecting art since the 1800s.  In 1917, University  President Rev. John Cavanaugh, CSC, obtained 136 paintings from Monseigneur Marois of Quebec.  Charles Wightman added another 108 masterpieces and became benefactor of the Wightman Memorial Gallery, housed in the University Library (now Bond Hall).

In 1932, the University hired Dr. Maurice H. Goldblatt as director of the Art Gallery.    He was a prominent authority on identifying originals from forgeries by examining chemical compositions of the paints and by using such tools as ultraviolet rays, x-rays, spectographs, and lightoscopes.  He worked on many high-profile international cases, including forgeries of the Mona Lisa.

Dr. Maurice Goldblatt, Director of the Wightman Art Collection, beside the fireplace of Francisco Borgia II in the Frederick H. Wickett Memorial Collection, c1933

The Snite Museum of Art was dedicated in 1980.  Notre Dame continues to collect and preserve important works and host traveling exhibits, including student work.  As such, the Snite Museum of Art is a valuable resource to the University and to the broader community.

 

Sources:
UDIS 214/29-30
GSBA 2/14
GPHR 45/1779
GNDL 41/18
GDIS 51/03

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The University Archives, along with all other Notre Dame administrative offices, will close for the Christmas Celebration on December 24th and reopen on Monday, January 3rd.


CAZA 40/01:  Christmas Card to Dr. Albert Zahm from the Wrights of Dayton, Ohio
(a certain Orville and Wilbur), 1909.

Dr. Zahm was a physics professor at Notre Dame from 1883 to 1892.  He was a pioneering figure in the development of aviation and aeronautics.  His relationship with the Wright brothers, however, deteriorated when he testified against them in favor of Glenn Curtiss in a patent lawsuit in the early 1910s.

Rev. John “Pop” Farley, CSC

John Farley arrived to Notre Dame in the fall of 1897.  He came to study for the priesthood, but also had a penchant for athletics.  He won nine varsity monogram letters in football, baseball, and track, and was heralded as one of the great Notre Dame athletes for years to come.  For over thirty years after his graduation, Farley became a beloved fixture among Notre Dame students as he served as a rector for three dorms.

Letter from John F. Farley to University President Rev. Andrew Morrissey, CSC, requesting information about attending Notre Dame as a student studying for the priesthood, 1897/0202.

In August of 1899, Farley wrote to University President Rev. Andrew Morrissey, CSC, with a dilemma — return to Notre Dame and continue his studies toward becoming a priest or attend Seton Hall, which was closer to home so he could better care for his mother and family [UPEL 75/11].  Morrissey’s response does not exist in the University Archives, but Farley decided to return and ended up spending most of the rest of his life at Notre Dame.

John Farley, Captain of the 1900 Varsity Football Team

Ordained into the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1907, Farley spent around thirty years as a rector of three dorms at Notre Dame:  Corby Hall, Walsh Hall, and Sorin Hall, where he reigned as “king.”  With his keen athleticism, Farley regularly coached interhall teams to championships.  He was gruff, but genial, and in counseling the students, he quickly earned the paternal nickname “Pop.”

Corby Hall Interhall Coaches – Al Feeney, “Pop” Farley, and Knute Rockne, c1913


Rev. John “Pop” Farley, CSC, distributing mail on the exterior steps of Walsh Hall, c1915

In 1937, Pop Farley suffered a stroke, which resulted in the amputation of one of his legs.  He spent the rest of his life in the Holy Cross community infirmary and died in 1939.  At Farley’s funeral, Rev. Eugene Burke, CSC, said “For over thirty years, wherever Notre Dame students gathered, Father Farley was in the midst of them, always as a cheerful leader or companion.  For all those years this kindly prefect, whose work was with and for the students, loved that work as dearly as a scholar ever loved his books, and through it won the respect and admiration of thousands of students.” [PNDP-02-Zz-01; South Bend Tribune, 01/17/1939]

In 1946, Notre Dame honored Pop Farley by naming a new dormitory after him.  Farley Hall became a women’s dorm in the second year of co-education (1973).  In 1976, the University created the Rev. John “Pop” Farley, CSC, Award, which “is given annually to honor distinguished service [of a faculty member] to student life at the University of Notre Dame.”

[photoshelter-img i_id=”I0000osVERwYpdNU” buy=”1″ caption=”Farley Hall exterior, c1950s.” width=”576″ height=”481″]

Sources:
PNDP 02-Zz-01
UPEL 61/18; 75/11
GSBB 2/15
GMIL 2/10
GMIL 1/13
GPHR 45/0020

Grover Miller Scrapbook

Grover Miller was the photo editor of the 1916 Dome yearbook.  Like many other students at the time, Miller kept a scrapbook of the photos he took and collected and various ephemera he collected.  However, unlike other students, Miller’s position with the Dome meant that he collected photographs beyond his sphere of friends and interests.  Fortunately for us today, this scrapbook richly documents student and campus life at Notre Dame in the mid-1910s.

Students working on the Dome yearbook –
unidentified, Ray Humphrey, and Grover Miller, c1915

Photography was also progressing technologically, making it easier and more practical to capture action, candids, and interiors.  This technology allowed for the people’s personalities to show through the photographs.  This was more difficult to achieve in the 1800s with long exposure times and complicated chemical processes.

Two students setting wooden pins in the Walsh Hall Bowling Alley, c1915

Grover Miller donated his scrapbook to the University Archives in the 1970s and it continues to be a valuable resource as it gives a very unique insight into life at Notre Dame around 1915.

A group of students, including Frank Rydzewski, George Waage, and Ray Miller,
eating Chinese food in a dorm room?, c1915

Notre Dame vs. Army

Notre Dame’s relationship with the military also extends to the athletic fields.  Many Notre Dame traditions and myths were born out of football games with Army.  In 1912, newly appointed Athletic Director Jesse Harper contacted West Point about arranging a football game for the 1913 season, which began a long and fierce rivalry.

Contract between Notre Dame Athletic Director Jesse Harper and West Point football team manager H.F. Loomis for the Notre Dame vs. Army football game, 1913

While Notre Dame was certainly the underdog, her team was far from untalented and struggling.  Notre Dame had already begun to make a name for herself on the football field with players like Louis “Red” Salmon (1903 third-team All American) and the 1909 Western Champions.  From 1906-1913, Notre Dame lost only three games, tied five, and won fifty-one.  The 1913 season would give Notre Dame an opportunity to showcase her talent outside of the Midwest, with formidable opponents such as Army, Penn State, and Texas.

Football team members and boosters in Kingston, New York, en route to West Point, 1913/1101. Includes Ray Eichenlaub, Charles (Gus) Dorais, George (Hullie) Hull, Art (Bunny) Larkin, Keith (Deac/Deak) Jones, Joe, Gush (Fred Gushurst?), Em (Emmett Keefe?), Charles (Sam) Finegan, Paul (Curly) Nowers, Allen (Mal) Elward, Knute Rockne, and Mike Calnon

Notre Dame took Army off-guard with plays using the newly-developed forward pass.  While this technique had been used in other games by other schools, Quarterback Gus Dorais and Knute Rockne often receive credit for its invention because of this high-profile opponent.

Football Game Scene – ND vs. Army, 1913/1101.
Caption: “The completion of one of the startling ‘[Gus] Dorais to Rockne’ passes which beat the Army in 1913 and modified the entire game of football. Here’s Knute making a touchdown.”

After the 1924 Army game, sports writer Grantland Rice forever changed the name of Don Miller, Harry Stuhldreher, Jim Crowley, and Elmer Layden to “The Four Horsemen.”

Dome yearbook 1925, page 291: Reprint of Grantland Rice’s famous article after the 1924 ND vs. Army football game

Student George Strickler, who worked as a press assistant for the Athletic Department, actually had put the bug about the nickname of the Four Horsemen into Grant’s ear in the press box.  After the game, Strickler arranged to have these four players photograph taken on top of actual horses, thus producing one of the most widely recognized photographs in sports history.

The Four Horsemen posed on horses —
Don Miller, Elmer Layden, Jim Crowley, and Harry Stuhldreher, 1924

Much lore surrounds the 1928 Army game when Coach Knute Rockne took a losing team into the locker room at halftime and gave a rousing speech, summoning the memory of George Gipp, which turned the tide for Notre Dame.  No one really knows what was said in that locker room or between Gipp and Rockne in 1920, but Rockne later published his “Win One for the Gipper” speech in Collier’s magazine.  Over the years it became ingrained in American culture, strengthened by its presence in the media, particularly Ronald Reagan’s portrayal of George Gipp in the 1940 movie Knute Rockne All American.

Collage of Notre Dame Players and the Army Mule after the 1928 Army Football Game

After 1947,  Notre Dame and Army met less often on the football field, only a handful of times per decade.  Saturday November 20, 2010, the two teams will meet again in Yankee Stadium, which was the venue for this rivalry every year from 1925-1946, with the exception of playing at Soldier Field in 1930.

Sources:
2010 Football Media Guide compiled by the Athletic Department (History & Records – Part 3)
Shake down the Thunder by Murray Sperber
UADR 3/21
GSBH 1/08
PATH 3-03-Bi-Tr-p10
Dome yearbook 1925
GBBY 45F/944
GBBY OVF/245