Category: Notre Dame History

The Military at Notre Dame

Notre Dame has had a long military tradition.  The administration organized student military units early on as a means of encouraging physical activity, leadership, and discipline.  In 1859, a company of students were organized under the name “Continental Cadets.”

Dome yearbook 1917, page 133: “Notre Dame at War” drawing featuring soldiers in World War I loading a cannon

During the Civil War, many Holy Cross priests, brothers, and sisters served as chaplains and nurses.  Most notable of these was Rev. William Corby, who gave absolution to the troops of the Irish Brigade before battle at Gettysburg.  Rev. Edward Sorin worked hard to make sure the Holy Cross clerics weren’t conscripted into actual fighting and gained support from Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant.  Not only did bearing arms conflict with the vocation of the religious, Notre Dame could ill afford to loose so many clerics and still remain functional as a university.  While the Notre Dame company did not serve as a whole unit, many individual students and alumni took up arms in the Civil War — most for the Union, but some for the Confederacy.

Notre Dame Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Post 569 Veterans, c1894-1897.
Seated (left to right) Brother Leander (James McLain), Lieutenant Colonel W.A. Olmstead, Rev. William Corby, CSC, Rev. Peter Paul Cooney, CSC, Brother John Chrysostom, CSC (Mark A. Wells)
Standing (left to right): Brother Benedict, CSC (James Mantell?), Brother Ignatius, CSC (Ignace Meyer), Colonel William Hoynes, Brother Raphael, CSC, Brother Cosmos, CSC (Nicholas A. Bath), Brother Eustachius, CSC (John McInerny)

After the Civil War, interest in student military organizations on campus ebbed and flowed.  In the 1880s, the a company in the senior department organized under the name “Hoynes Light Guards,” while the junior department were called “Sorin Cadets.”

Student Jose Gallart wearing a Sorin Cadet military uniform, c1900

In 1898, two-hundred and fifty students organized to be prepared to volunteer for the Spanish-American War.  Often drilling with the military units, “The university band will also be prepared to go.” [PNDP 30-Mi-02; Catholic News, NY, NY, 04/03/1898]

In 1910, the United States War Department sent retired Captain R.R. Stogsdall to Notre Dame to officially teach military tactics and instruction on campus.  This appointment moved Notre Dame toward having more professionally organized military companies.  Boys under the age of 17 were required to participate in such companies, while it was voluntary for collegiate-level students.

The onset of World War I brought about much militarist patriotism among Notre Dame students, faculty, and clergy.  Participation among students still remained voluntary, yet the companies swelled in number.  Rev. Matthew Walsh and Rev. Charles O’Donnell, both later University Presidents, served as chaplains.  O’Donnell’s helmet hangs in the War Memorial entrance to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

Student Military Company C at rifle practice in trenches on campus
with the Log Chapel and Old College in the background, 1915-1916.
This photo was published in the 1916 Dome yearbook, page 184.

Notre Dame’s relationship with the Navy began in 1927 and strengthened when University President Hugh O’Donnell “offered all of the facilities of this institution to the government.  In April of 1943 the V-7 Indoctrination School was created and the first group of 900 men, all college graduates enlisted for one month as apprentice seamen.” [PNDP 30-Mi-02; “Notre Dame’s Naval ROTC Unit,” Notre Dame, Fall 1959].  The relationship with the Navy helped to sustain Notre Dame at a time that was economically dire for the entire country.

Naval training units in ranks on South Quad during World War II

After World War II, such intense military training ended at Notre Dame.  In the 1950s, the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) was established at Notre Dame.  However, student sentiment towards the military heated up with the rest of the country during the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s.

Anti-Vietnam war protesters at the annual ROTC military review, May 1968

Notre Dame’s relationship with the military, its supporters and detractors, have historically reflected national sentiment and will probably continue to do so.  Notre Dame is one of a few universities with a ROTC program currently represented by all branches of the military — Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force.  Today we honor those veterans who have served our great country, particularly the sons and daughters of Notre Dame.

Army ROTC training with a helicopter on campus, August 2002

Sources:
Dome yearbook
PNDP 30-Mi-02, including the following articles:
—St. Joseph County Forum, June 18, 1859
–Letter to Abraham Lincoln from Fr. Sorin, September 28, 1863
—Catholic News, NY, NY, 04/03/1898
–“US Army Man to Drill Notre Dame Students,” South Bend Tribune, July 9, 1910
–“Notre Dame Classes Largest in History,” South Bend Times, September 20, 1910
–The Army Reserve Officer Training Program:  A Century’s Development at Notre Dame,” Notre Dame, Summer 1959
–“Notre Dame’s Naval ROTC Unit,” Notre Dame, Fall 1959
–“Notre Dame and the Draft,” by Virgil L. Levy, Lincoln Herald, Summer 1977
“God? Country? Notre Dame?,” by John Monczunski, Notre Dame Magazine, Spring 2001
GFCL 49/20
GSBB 2/07
GMIL 1/09
GDIS 22/49
GNDL 8/41
GMDG 12/34

For more information about Notre Dame in the Civil War, see also Blue for the Union and Green for Ireland: The Civil War Flags of the 63rd New York Volunteers, Irish Brigade, by Peter J. Lysy, Archivist, University of Notre Dame; as well as the blog and new book by James M. Schmidt:  http://notredamecivilwar.blogspot.com/

Crossroads Park and Fountain

During the summer of 1976, student Paul Linehan made his senior art project a reality before heading off to Harvard for graduate school. The University implemented Linehan’s design to beautify the quad enclosed by Nieuwland Science Hall, LaFortune Hall, Crowley Hall, and the Hayes Healy Center. The deign included brick-paved walkways and an hexagonal brick fountain.

Student Paul Linehan looking over plans for Crossroads Park, 1976


The Freshman Basketball Team gathered around the Crossroads Park Fountain, 1977

On May 11, 1980, Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh rededicated the Crossroads Park as the Joseph W. Evans Memorial Crossroads Park in honor of the late philosophy professor.  Evans “was the founding director of the University’s Jacques Maritain Center and was the first recipient in 1969 of the Sheedy Award for Excellence in Teaching in the College of Arts and Letters” [press release in PNDP 10-Ev-1].

Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh rededicating Crossroads Park as the Joseph W. Evans Memorial Crossroads Park, 1980/0511.

In the late 1990s to early 2000s, the University re-landscaped this quad and the fountain was removed.  The plaque honoring Professor Evans has since moved to outside of Malloy Hall.

Students gathered in Crossroads Park with Crowley Hall in the background, c1970s

Sources:
PNDP 10-Ev-1
UDIS 88/02
GPHR 35mm/06314
GPUB 1/26
GPUB 15/25
GPUB 16/38

Dinner is Served

The growing student population in the 1920s created demand for a new dining hall, a place where the entire student body could gather in one place on campus.  The result was the South Dining Hall in the space formerly occupied by the Notre Dame Farms on South Quad.  Planning for a new facility began around 1925 after the fire of the horse stables.

South Dining Hall was completed in 1927 and soon became an important part of student life at Notre Dame.  Previously, students would eat in the refectory in Main Building, in the Badin Hall cafeteria, or at off-campus establishments.  The new dining hall would be a place for students to bond in fraternity and a place for guests of the University to dine.  In addition to the two wings, there was a cafeteria in the center (the old Oak Room, which was removed during the renovation in the late 1990s), and a faculty dining lounge on the second floor.

In 1928 The Hotel Monthly wrote an incredibly detailed report on the new dining hall at Notre Dame.  The page above talks about the methodical lunch hour, with students taking their cues from flashing lights and ringing bells.  Student waiters served the students, who were allowed seconds and thirds, if they desired, something that was virtually unheard of at other institutions.

Interior view of the East Wing of South Dining Hall with place settings at every seat, c1927.

Notre Dame has long used students workers to help with the many tasks in the dining hall to earn money for tuition and room and board.  In the 1930s, football players also worked in the dining hall.

Football players James (Jim) McGoldrick and Harry Stevenson working as waiters in South Dining Hall, c1936-1938.

Years ago, students were assigned seats.  Today, students sit where they please, but as part of human nature, they tend to gravitate to their usual tables.  You can often hear students give their friends directions as to where they’ll be sitting once they get through the chaos of the food stations.  For instance, “right/right” means the West Hall on the northern end.

Dining Hall pass belonging to Lawrence S. Palkovic for the East Hall, 1932.

According to this 1940 pass, theft of dining hall items could result in suspension or dismissal from the University:

Below was a typical weekly menu for the dining hall around the time it opened in 1927 along with statistics of the daily usages of common items.

Sources:
“History, Tradition, and the New Dining Hall,” Notre Dame Alumnus, November 1927
“The New Dining Hall, Architecturally,” by Professor Francis Kervick, Notre Dame Alumnus, November 1927
PNDP 10-So-02:  “Impressions of University of Notre Dame Dining Halls,” by John Willy, The Hotel Monthly, 1928
CNDS 1/23
GBBY 45F/2067
GNDL 7/38
GSOL 1/10

Founder’s Day

October 13th is the feast day of St. Edward the Confessor, patron saint of
Rev. Edward Sorin, founder of the University of Notre Dame.

Statue of St. Edward the Confessor, holding a model of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, outside of St. Edward’s Hall, 1978

In the early 1840s, this feast day naturally became a day to honor the University’s most prominent figure and it quickly became one of the highlights of the school year for the students of all ages.  The students from Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s Academy celebrated the day, and often the eve as well, with theatrical and musical performances, athletic matches (such as three-legged races, boat races, baseball and football games), and a much anticipated feast in the dining hall.

Students running in a backward race on Cartier Field on Founder’s Day, 1913

Amid the festivities, students, clergy, and other well-wishers sent Fr. Sorin letters, telegrams, and cards, wishing him a happy feast day, expressing their gratitude and affection towards Sorin, of which a number are currently housed with the University Archives in Fr. Sorin’s papers.

Address to the Very Rev. Edward Sorin, CSC, Superior General [of the Congregation of Holy Cross], on his Patronal Festival by the Juniors 1885. The address contained the following excerpt: “It is in this wise dear Father General that St. Edward’s Day has come to be a kind of royal feast day at Notre Dame. For it is your name day and you are the illustrious founder and generous protector and director of our beloved Alma Mater.”


Cover of the hand-drawn card the Novices presented to Fr. Edward Sorin on the feast day of St. Edward, c1880s.

In the 1910s, the Columbus Day celebrations were combined with Founder’s Day.  In 1912, the Knights of Columbus Council at Notre Dame organized the Discovery Day celebration.  “The celebration [was] partly the result of a country wide campaign by the order to make the day a legal holiday in the various states” [South Bend Times, 10/12/1912, from PNDP 70-Sa-03].

Over the years, the exuberance of the feast day waned.  In the 1950s and 1960s, students placed wreaths at the base of the Fr. Sorin statue.  Today Mass will be celebrated in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart to honor St. Edward and to give thanks to Fr. Edward Sorin, who, in all of his tenacity, quickly turned a small school in the wilderness of Indiana into a nationally renowned institution.

Students and unidentified priest placing a wreath at Sorin Statue on Founder’s Day, 1960/1013.

Also of interest, AgencyND produced this video in 2008 regarding Founder’s Day, using a number of assets from the University Archives:

Sources:
Scholastic
Notre Dame:  100 Years, by Arthur J. Hope, CSC
PNDP 70-Sa-03
CSOR 3/06-19
GMIL 2/06
GPHR 45/4037
GNDM 78/041

 


Patriot of the Year Award

For over 120 years, Notre Dame celebrated George Washington’s Birthday with theatrical and musical presentations (more about that in a future post).  In 1954, the University created the Patriot of the Year Award to honor a public figure “who exemplifies the American ideals of justice, personal integrity and service to country” [Scholastic, 02/12/1954, page 10].

The senior class voted from a number of candidates and the honoree would address the students and faculty at the Washington Day Exercises.  FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was named the first Patriot of the Year.  Others that followed included Bishop Fulton Sheen, Senator John F. Kennedy, Vice President Richard Nixon, Comedian Bob Hop, Lt. Col. John Glenn, and Sargent Shriver.  In 1967 the candidates were Leonard Bernstein, J. William Fullbright, Chet Huntley/David Brinkley, Martin Luther King Jr., John Kenneth Galbraith, Carl Sandburg, Earl Warren, Arthur Goldberg, and Louis Armstrong, with Gen. William Westmoreland winning the nomination.

The Washington Day Exercises fizzled out around 1970 along with the Patriot of the Year Award, ending a long-beloved tradition at Notre Dame.

Tickets and press credentials for the Washington Day Exercises, 1960-1964


Senator John F. Kennedy receiving the Patriot of the Year Award from Senior Class President George Strake at the Washington Day Exercises, February 1957.


Vice President Richard Nixon receiving the Patriot of the Year Award from Senior Class President Richard Corbett, with Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC, 02/23/1960.
Nixon’s Notre Dame speech on patriotism was printed and distributed at the
1960 Republican Convention.

Comedian Bob Hope receiving the Patriot of the Year Award from Senior Class President Earl Linhan at the Washington Day Exercises in the Fieldhouse, 02/27/1962.
Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC, is also on stage.

Program cover from the 1965 Washington Day Exercises and Patriot of the Year Award Ceremony.  R. Sargent Shirver Jr. received the award this year.

Sources: 
Scholastic
PNDP-70-Wa-01
UDIS 73/14
GDIS 05/Kennedy
GPOR 12/08
GPHR 45/4332

See also the list of Patriot of the Year Award recipients

Notre Dame Farms

Father Edward Sorin and his compatriots began cultivating the land at Notre Dame shortly after their November 1842 arrival.  The farms were developed “to provide food stuffs for its resident staff, faculty, and students, as well as to generate revenue to finance other aspects of its educational work.”  [“The Notre Dame Farms, 1843-1940,” by Thomas Schlereth; The Old Courthouse News, winter 1975; PNDP 30-FA-8]

“An extensive complex of farm buildings was gradually constructed along the southeastern shore of St. Mary’s Lake as well as on the higher ground now enclosed by Corby,  Sorin, Walsh, and Badin Halls”  [Schlereth]

View of the farm buildings about where Bond Hall is now, 1888. The steeple is not complete on the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

The farm buildings included an ice-house, slaughter house, horse barn, dairy and cattle barns, “wagon sheds, tool houses, corn cribs, implement sheds, and wheat granaries. … Scattered among the farm buildings were water toughs fed by windmills and wells” [Schlereth].

Around 1900, the University moved the farm to South Quad and built a number of buildings.  “The farm complex included several farm houses for the brothers and hired hands, the University horse barn and livery, a dairy barn with a large Holstein herd, a circular barn and surrounding sties for raising over 700 Hampshire hogs, a hennery, and several grain-storage buildings.  Fields of corn, alfalfa, and wheat stretched beyond these structures to the South Bend city limits” [The University of Notre Dame: A Portrait of Its History and Campus, Thomas Schlereth, page 150].

View from the Basilica of the farms on South Quad, c1915. The University Stables were built in 1902 and destroyed by fire in 1925.

 

Interior view of the dairy cow barn, c1915.

In 1900, Brother Leo Donovan became director of the Notre Dame farms.  He went to Illinois and Iowa universities to learn agriculture techniques.  He renewed the farms at Notre Dame, which had become severely depleted due to a lack of crop rotation and proper fertilization of the fields.  In 1917, Brother Leo established an Agriculture School at Notre Dame, which was eventually discontinued in 1932.

Brother Leo Donovan with a work horse in front of the horse stables on South Quad

Brother Leo also became renowned in animal husbandry.  His livestock won many awards over the years at State Fairs and the International Stock Show in Chicago.  “Named Indiana State Champion Feeder in 1937, he supplied and slaughtered (in structures formerly behind Moreau Seminary) all the beef and pork for the University kitchens and shipped the surplus to the Chicago stockyards” [UND, Schlereth, page 152].

Notre Dame’s First Prize hogs at a livestock show, c1926.

 

Some of the ribbons won by Brother Leo Donovan at livestock shows, 1913-1937.

On October 13, 1925, the Notre Dame barn on South Quad burned and the University moved the farms to land east of campus near Bulla Road.  This newly opened space eventually made way for new dormitories and South Dining Hall.  All farming activity was later moved to St. Joseph’s Farm in Granger, Indiana.

A tractor in the farms east of campus with the Main Building in the background, 1924.

In 1867, the University bought 1300 acres of land near Granger and called this farm St. Joseph’s Farm, which “produced everything for the University from peat for fireplaces to tobacco for faculty cigars” [“The Notre Dame Farms,” Schlereth].  This farm was active until 1995, as it became less viable and there were fewer men entering the seminary with farming skills [South Bend Tribune, 03/18/1995, page A1, PNDP 30-Fa-8].

 

Sources:
PNDP 30-Fa-8
Brother Aiden’s extracts (PBAE, page 339)
Brother Leo Dononvan’s Papers (CLEF)
The University of Notre Dame:  A Portrait of Its History and Campus, Thomas Schlereth
GMIL 1/04
GMLS 1/04
GTJS 04/45, 4/50

Mid-Century Modern

In the 1950s and 1960s, Notre Dame administrators and students were embracing modern architecture.  They were turning their backs on what they considered to be old, stodgy buildings of the past and looking toward new designs.

Inside page of the Stepan Center Dedication program, 1962

“Mod Quad” began in 1962 with the geodesic dome Stepan Center, a bold architectural statement.  Plans were made for five high-rise dormitories and the Cardinal O’Hara Chapel, with a space-age design.  Flanner and Grace Halls were completed in 1969, but the plans for the rest of the buildings were eventually scrapped.

Architectural model of the proposed buildings for Mod Quad, c1967

As early as 1947, there were plans to tear down Main Building, which was showing signs of needing serious repair and renovation.  The idea was revisited in the early 1960s when the site of the Main Building was considered for the location of the new library.  Fortunately, the administration eventually settled on the site just north of the Stadium where the current Hesburgh Library now resides.  During this time, a number of students had little love loss over Main Building.  In 1959, John Bellairs poked fun at the dilapidated Main Building, writing a fictitious account of the building collapsing after a janitor pulled out a loose brick (“Decline and Fall of Main Building,” Scholastic 03/20/1959).

A sketch of a possible plaza and new library building in the place of Main Building, c1960

In 1962, Sam Haffey also supported the idea of the demolition of Main Building, saying “I feel that the character relation of Renaissance dome to French chateau is slightly ridiculous, and that to treat them as an architectural beauty to be preserved forever is also slightly ridiculous” (“A New Campus, Maybe?” Scholastic, 11/09/1962).  It wasn’t until the 1990s that the administration undertook extensive restoration of Main Building to preserve the historic building for generations to come.

Notre Dame’s Main Building is one of the most famous and widely recognizable buildings in the United States.  Its image is so deeply ingrained in the identity of this University that it is difficult to fathom the idea that people once thought to remove it.  Going into the 21st century, we moved back to preferring the traditional Collegiate Gothic look for our campus.  Indeed, the University recently cleared out several utilitarian buildings of the modern architectural era, such as the University Club and the old Post Office.  The architectural gem Stepan Center may not be far behind.  Varied buildings on campus add character to the University and are a reminder of ever-changing architectural aesthetics.

Sources:  Scholastic
A Dome of Learning: The University of Notre Dame’s Main Building by Thomas Schlereth
PNDP 10-St-3
GNDL 4/09A
UNDD:  Notre Dame Architectural Drawings

Notre Dame vs. Michigan

Notre Dame and Michigan have a long and storied history, but the 2010 game will only be the 38th time the two universities have faced each other on the football field over the past 123 years.  Their relationship in football began in 1887 when former Notre Dame student George De Haven scheduled to bring his University of Michigan teammates on a tour of football clubs in the Midwest.  Notre Dame rounded up its best players from the Senior Department to form the first varsity football team.  Notre Dame’s first three varsity games were against Michigan (one in the fall of 1887, two in April 1888).  Below is the published account from Scholastic of the first game played on November 23, 1887.

Scholastic 1887 article regarding first varsity football gameThe rivalry heated up in 1909 when Notre Dame went into Ann Arbor with a then 0-8 series record.  The Notre Dame victory came as a shock to Michigan fans and would later be the focal point in the debate over which team was the true Champion of the West.  Notre Dame went undefeated except for a tie to Marquette and Michigan only lost to Notre Dame.   Sports writers around the country debated for months with no clear resolution.  The yearbooks from both schools claimed bragging rights to the championship that year.

Mike (possibly owned by ND Coach Frank Longman) after the 1909 game

The scheduled 1910 game was canceled at the last minute when Michigan officials declared several Notre Dame players ineligible to play.   Animosity grew between the two universities and between Notre Dame and the Western Conference.  Notre Dame and Michigan wouldn’t meet on the gridiron again until 1942.  That series lasted only two years and the rivalry was picked up again in 1978.  In 1980, nearly a hundred years after their first meeting, Notre Dame finally got a win at home over Michigan with Harry Oliver’s last second, game-winning field goal.  Michigan and Notre Dame respectively rank first and second for the highest winning percentages in college football, further fueling the rivalry and making for a great Saturday match-up.

Sources: Scholastic 1887-1888 and 1909-1910
Natural Enemies by John Kryk
2010 Football Media Guide compiled by the Athletic Department (History & Records – Part 3)
William Schmitt Scrapbook (GATH 24-25)
Click here for more information about conducting sports research at the University Archives.

Shakespeare Marathon 1984

In the spring of 1984, English Professor Paul Rathburn organized a Shakespeare Reading Marathon to raise money for Adam Milani, a St. Joseph High School student who was seriously injured in a hockey game the previous December.  April 25-29, 1984, on the Fieldhouse Mall, students, staff, and faculty continuously read Shakespeare for 100 hours.  Among the campus celebrities who participated were Football Coach Gerry Faust (pictured), Men’s Basketball Coach Digger Phelps, Professor Emil T. Hofman, and the Glee Club.  For their efforts, they raised over $5000 for the Milani Fund and earned a Guinness World Record for continuous reading of Shakespeare.

Sources:  The Observer, April 26 and May 2, 1984
UDIS 208/25
GPHR 20/13

University Catalog 1863-1864

The University publishes its annual catalogs and bulletins to inform prospective students and their families of life at Notre Dame.  They often list the faculty, the students, and the academic calendar, and outline activities of the University, such as the available courses, student organizations, and regulations of the University, now known as du Lac.

The 1863-1864 catalog was the University’s twentieth such catalog.  Fr. Edward Sorin was president and the Golden Dome didn’t exist.  The Thespian Society had fifteen members and the Notre Dame Cricket Club had twenty-two members.  Room, board, and tuition was $200.  Each student was expected to arrive with six shirts, four towels, one hat, three pairs of shoes, and one setting of silverware, among a few other personal effects.  The Christmas holiday was only three days long.  Below are the three pages of regulations from the 1863-1864 catalog, which give insight into daily student life at Notre Dame.  Fortunately, students are no longer required to bathe in St. Joseph’s Lake.

[Source:  PNDP 30-BU-02 1863-1864]