 Okay, well let me begin by thanking each of you for coming this afternoon. It's wonderful to bring back a group of people who bring with them tradition, history, and stories, and I'm sure we will enjoy them. Our purpose today is to really think about the 100th anniversary of Villa Maria, the Villa Maria Nazareth complex, and to think about the many different functions that building has served. And at one time, it was the only building. And Lydia, did you bring with us that picture of the, are we not using it? We have a wonderful air shot of the Villa Nazareth complex and that was it, and the powerhouse. So before we begin to talk about that, I do want to take a moment and have us do a round robin so that the people who have the opportunity to look at this or to record some of the oral history will know who you are. So if we could go through, just briefly, an introduction, and Sister Rosanne, could we start with you? Sister Marie Rosanne Bonfini, I'm an ex-1957. I came in 1953, and left in 1955 to become a sister. I came back in 1968, and they were stuck with me until 2002. Thank you. I'm Sally Tamborello-Winterton. I was class of 68, a history major, and I lived for one year in Villa. Thank you, Sally. Sister Carol Esselman, I am currently the director of strategic initiatives here at Immaculata. I came to Immaculata in 1981 as a member of the faculty. I'm Sister Marion William-Hobin. I was president of Immaculata from 1982 to 1992. I am now a retired person, at least that's what they tell me I am. And I live at Camilla Hall. And when did you first come to Immaculata as faculty? I first came in 60, and I remained for 44 years. You might get the prize today for longevity. Thank you. I'm Sister Marie-Laurene Bruno. I'm the class of 51, and I came back to Immaculata as full-time teaching in the French department in 1971. And I'm Kathleen Mendte-Logan, and I'm a graduate. I graduated in 1960, and I was a commuter. Came back and forth by a bus from 69th Street every day. And I majored in history, and I had a minor in English, and ended up being able to teach English too, so. Thank you, Kathy. Sister Marie-Huebert Kealy, I arrived here, lived here on campus for two years as a freshman from 53 to 55, and then returned to campus in 1976 as a member of the English department and a worker on this stage for Children's Theater. I'm Tony Iaquinto-McKalsky. I'm a class of 1960 graduate. I left Immaculata at that time and returned in 1969 as a volunteer, and then in 1980 I was privileged to become a member of the development staff. I retired in, pardon me, 2005 after 25 years, and that's about it. Wonderful. Thank you all for helping us know your contribution from your living here and being a part of the institution. So we want to start tapping the oral history about the complex, about both the architecture, the changes we've made to the architecture, and especially to the functionality of the building. So in the early days, maybe even before some of you, all of us, were here, where were the classrooms? There was only one building. So let's talk a little bit about where were the different classrooms? The classrooms were all on the west end of Bill and Maria, which would be the area from the rotunda, which now has the boardroom and those rooms. And they were on the first, on the terrace and first and second floors. And on the third floor, there was a section in the corner, which was a business suite. So everything was right there. On the one building. And on one side of the building. And the terrace, who can talk about the labs that were down on the terrace level? The laboratories, does anybody remember the science labs? Well, I remember biology, because biology was the, where the book, where the office now of the financial businesses, business offices now. And that was two small classrooms and an amphitheater. And labs were all there together. And we passed the other labs. But I never went into the other labs, because I was not interested in science. Coming along that corridor, coming off the rotunda to the left side, I do believe the chemistry labs. Before that, underneath the rotunda in the south section was the, in 1945, was the cancer unit. Then chemistry labs. On the other side, on the right side, walking down, we had the physics labs, as I remember. And there was also a photography, a darkroom studio that Sister Maria Secora had on that side. And I do believe on the first floor, on the east side, there were classrooms. There was a French classroom at one point between the president's office and the registrar's office in the fifties. Well, even in the forties, some forty-seven. So let's talk a little bit about offices. Where were the offices? Where was the president's office in the early days? Still there? It's in the exact same place? Right down from the rotunda? Yeah. Right? It was the first one. If you were coming in the front door, you turned left and right. It was just that first little office. And the board files and all of the alumni files were in the closet there. Right off the rotunda was the president's office. The next room was the French classroom, and then you had the registrar's office. So the registrar's office was always in Villa Maria, on that first floor. So that's what everyone in our memory is. And if you continued on down to the corner office before you would go down the ramp, the very corner office was the dean of students, Mr. Mugenie's office was there. And I don't remember. There was at one point in the very beginning of the college, the corner, there is the green room, was an early place for post office. Yes, almost. It was the dean of students, it was the dean of the academic dean, Sister Celine was in there too. Yeah. The dean's office then moved to the front hall. When I was a student here in the late fifties, Sister Anastasia's office was to the right of the entrance that you came into the building. And Sister Anastasia was? Our dean of students. She was the dean. And students? Or the academic dean? Academic dean. And the academic dean. And Cosmis who preceded her. No, Margaret Mary preceded her and then before her was Cosmis and that was always the dean's office, as far as I can remember. I remember when Sister Anastasia got the appointment to be dean, she had been the registrar and the registrar's office was, of course, beyond, on the same side as the president, but down at the end. And so the great joke among the students was she could now close the door and read the newspaper and spin piece. Good. Wonderful. So were there any other offices? I can remember, they're talking about it, it was after my time, or before my time. If you were going toward the cafeteria when you first turned across in the bathroom, the corner office, outside Music Hall, was always the office of the facilities director who was the superior of the sisters. But at one point it was both Mother Loyola who was the president and she was also the mother of general of the congregation and they used to say this is Mother Loyola's office. I don't know how true that was, that was hearsay. In our time it was still the House Superior's office. And that's currently the academic affairs conference room. Right, that's correct. And what's the treasurer's office always where it is today? Yes, pretty much. Across from the president. And of course the switchboard room. As you would come in to Villa. Sort of the reception switchboard check-in and also an adjunct to the registrar where Sister Helen Juana is typed every grade in every transcript. It never made a mistake. And then there was the little shelf where the cards were for those who had to sign out as they left campus. That was right outside the academic dean's office, signed in and out. And what was that wonderful thing that buffeted us from the wind that had to be taken out because of fire regulations? On the front door. Yes. The shelves are almost like a shelter. Yes, it had a great place to wait for someone in the dead of winter. Say good night. Yes. Since we're at the front door. Because there was usually a sister at the switchboard. Till three o'clock in the morning, weekends. Who stayed at the three o'clock in the morning? Sister Gemma Mary, myself, the youngest always got it. Then we took turns. But who stayed out to 3 a.m.? Well, I can't tell. Not my class. I'm not telling. Somebody with special permission, I'm sure. I suspect. At that point, they were, in my time here as a faculty member, they were permitted to stay out later. So we've talked about the central part of Villa, Green Room. Was the Green Room always the Green Room? Yes, it was a lounge. We were there. When I was there, it was? Always. And my mother used to tell the story that the Green Room was where the first graduation was held, that the bay had a platform and that they had things there. But it was always a lounge, a large reception room. And I don't know when they put St. Michael in front, because Michael and the angels were always our patrons. The angels around the Rotunda and the angel Michael outside. But during the renovation, we decided to move him so that he wouldn't be damaged in some of the coming and going. We always thought he was stoner resin, but it turns out that Michael was really wood. And when they took him down, they found out that inside he wasn't so healthy. So they took him down to the powerhouse, turned him upside down, and he is now filled with cement and then redone and put back in. He's there for a while. He came from ridding. That's right. Thank you for remembering that. But I don't remember exactly when we couldn't find out. The husband of one of the alumni told me they never felt quite comfortable in the Green Room because the gentlemen, they swore that behind every palm tree or whatever the decorations were, was a sister. Well, that's where our dates would meet us. During the 60s, your date would check in at the switchboard, walk down. You would meet them there. Or if your father or uncle or brother came to visit, that's where you would visit with. That was also in my time. A package arrived one day in my time here when I was in the president's office. And in it was a very battered statue, a small bust of our lady. And the note was, I was so mad because I wasn't allowed to see my date. I took the statue, the bust, from the Green Room window sill. And it's been in my trunk ever since. This is a conscience return. No sign, nothing. So we know that in those early days, and it was just the one building, the Green Room was a wonderful reception space. But where did the students go to hang out? Thank you. Where did they go? Where did you relax? Well, it was Monville Hall. And that was where Passport is now. The advisement section is now. And there was some furniture in there. It wasn't that comfortable. But you could cross your legs, get comfortable, or even take a nap. But later on, I believe it became a smoker. But in our day, it was simply a place where you could go and sit and talk and study. And Monville Hall was on the terrace level of the villa. Across just off the Rotunda. Across from the pool. It's really what they now call the fish pool. The students now call it the fish pool. Oh, the glass wall. The glass wall. When I first saw that, I was thinking of assembly, a sample for an assembly. And that was up in what is now Memorial Hall. Memorial Hall. Memorial Hall. Lecture Hall. Thank you. Lecture Hall. Memorial Hall. But there was also weekly assemblies. Or we had some wonderful speakers. In fact, we had Father Harout Bey, the Jesuit, speak in our time. He's one whom I remember very vividly. And when those speakers came, that's where we would assemble to hear them. That was when I saw that I was going to the assembly. What about Gorman Lounge? I just wanted to excuse me if I could just follow up on speakers. Wasn't Helen Hayes here in those days? Yes, she was. And was Father Sheehan here? Right. At Bishop Sheehan? At Bishop Sheehan. Right. Yeah, Montseigneur at the time. Right. Mr. Rosé? Gorman Lounge, which is under the current cafeteria, that was also a place. And some of us remember Campy. Campy was the ice cream parlor of the time. And it was situated on the terrace under level of the library in Lourdes Hall. So that was after Lourdes was added. So let's think about that. When Lourdes was added, how did things change? Maybe everybody here was part of none of us that are sitting here, lived in Villa Maria before Lourdes was added in 1927. But from hearsay or from what you know, how did it change when Lourdes was added? I don't know about change, but my mother was the first class to live in Lourdes. She would have been a junior when Lourdes was finished. And she had a private room in Lourdes. And she and her friends, of course, whom I knew, always talked about living in the dorms but I don't know that changed living. I'm sure it changed very substantially because at the same time, the academy would have moved out. And the area that is now the home economics, which had been academy dorms, would have been changed over into classroom space being changed over. So there would have been a number of changes in the period between 27 and 30. For one thing, the library. The library was in Villa Maria and the front facing north and that moved, of course, to the new section. The periodical room, which is now the Immaculata room, is that first room, as you come up the steps into Lourdes, those things became fixtures. They moved from, and I don't know exactly where they had periodicals at the time, probably mixed with altogether in the book areas where the shelves were. So my day, we always considered Lourdes as the newer area, the ritz of the dorms, as opposed to Villa. So before Lourdes was built, the library periodical room was the Immaculata, what is now the Immaculata room? No, what is now the board room? The board room. So the periodical room was the board room? No, that was the library. That was the library. The periodicals were probably interspersed. There's probably mixed in. So there was one room that was the library and it was the current board room. Right. You must have been, you must have taken your English classes in that board room. Oh, I did, yes. Later, later, but because by the time I was... So it was a library, but when Lourdes was built, and then it became a double classroom where English was continental drama, classes like that were taught, yeah. So somebody mentioned Nazareth a few minutes ago when the academy was still here. So how was that building used? We had, on the terrace level, we've seen pictures of, and you've referenced Gorman Lounge, but as you go up the dining room, the chapel and the top level, how was that space used in those early days? Before Lourdes. The very earliest day, but it's now the psychology area was a gymnasium. And I'm always amazed that we didn't have more cracked heads because there are, of course, the pillars, which are not decorative, they belong, they have to be there, their support. And that was a gymnasium. Then later, of course, it gave other uses for the boarders. I mean, the commuters will remember it as the commuters lounge and the lockers. Right, lockers, that's right. And then the first floor for the dining room, remember it was separated. It was a place for the students and then there was a partition. Beyond the partition was a section where the sisters ate. And when they came down from the chapel, they walked through the dining room behind the doors and then it was just a small space before you got into the kitchen proper. And where did the academy children eat? My guess is the same place. Because that's the only building that has changed the least. I would say the chapel and the dining room are the same place where they have always been. It would be the top floor and the basement areas that have changed. The top floor was probably the dormitory. Yes, it was the dormitory. I know that there was a renovation of the chapel sometime in the 50s, I believe, or maybe later. But I remember. It was in the 70s. I think it was in the 70s? The 70s. After Vatican II. And I know that B. Braun Locke was class of 59. Her father was a carpenter and he had done the woodwork behind it. And B. was very proud of that. Oh, I wonder. Good. So now let's go back to Lourdes and in the Lourdes area, and again, going up the levels, you mentioned the terrace level where there was campy, which was a lounge. A lot of commuters did the commuters. It was only open for the mortars. Everybody used it. There were booths in there and a soda fountain and you could get some sandwiches. At lunchtime and it was open at night, the bell would ring. The bulk of the springtime tasted of the chives with the cows in our fields chewed. The cows. Which we disguised with all kinds of syrups, et cetera. But it was more like a little luncheonette, wouldn't you say? Then we had the library and that was two floors and then the dormitory. The dormitory was one floor. The first floor was the reading room or no? The first floor was the reading room and then the stacks were behind that. The second, third and fourth floors until the 60s were all residents. There were two levels down below were stacks. Oh yeah, but the stacks were behind. Behind, yeah. And went up, they were never a full floor high so there were several levels within the same, because the floors are very. Actually the planning for that was ingenious. They were on heat at hell ever. Excuse me. And door. And still door. Mr. Mary. In the 60s the English classroom was also used as a kind of informal meeting room. I remember sitting there for instructions on middle states before they came. It was, I guess it was a place where we really didn't have an auditorium as such and that would kind of take the place for a smaller meeting. But we also had there the first meeting, first of many meetings at which the sisters were told that we were trying to raise money for something and the usual way was the person who was hired to be the fundraiser would go around and get committees or whatever and call in the alumni and so on to help. But this man was called in and his theory was that the best fundraisers were sisters if we were fundraising for a maculada. Well, I had practically just arrived. I never heard of sisters raising money. We sold candy and so on to get money that way but we never actually went out and sat and looked at people in the face and said would you give us some money? So this is what he was saying and his theory was success depends on you and then you glare at all but you know sitting in these desks in the English classroom. So we were told to go out and contact any wealthy people we knew. Well, knowing us we didn't know too many wealthy people but some of the sisters did make phone calls and so on but anyhow Sister Mary Jean came to me and she had been stationed in Girardville and she said, Mary and I called Mr. So-and-So and his wife answered the phone and she recognized me right away from having been up there and she was charming and I said now I didn't tell her why we were coming, big surprise and she said, you know, as Mr. So-and-So told us just say we'd like to stop in and see you, you know and we're going to be in the area and so she said, and I know you're from upstate would you mind driving me up? And I said, oh no, I'd be glad to I guess I spoke the language or something, I don't know but anyhow we were all ready to go on Sunday and on Saturday Jean calls me again and she said, Mary and we're not going tomorrow and I said, why not? Doesn't he want to see us or is he sick? And she said, no, he's in jail he was arrested for stealing money from his company or something, that was the end of our fundraising in Hazelton, I mean in Girardville. Great story, great story. That's a good story. Well there's one area that we haven't really talked about that was in the original building I believe from the beginning and that's the little theater. Oh yes, yes. So, famous spot. Was it always there who can address the little theater? Well to my knowledge it was always there. In our time it was, I think it wasn't always there there's something in Father Camel's notes it says and now the student artist took possession of her theater and set it up. I don't know exactly when that was. I think it was in Shakespeare's time actually. When we were doing the renovation and we took down some of the things the, her motto is still up there on the wall. The Latin one, I play my part. At this point we need to play for the king. Come in and talk to us about it. I think it was there because I remember when I arrived here having the albums from the early plays and it's clear to me that the photographs were taken on that stage and they would date from the 20s. Now what would have happened in the days of the academy I guess those things went to the academy when the academy moved because it would be part of their archives. But the very earliest photograph of the theater of its play is, I guess they didn't have a flash bulb, the whole cast is standing outside on the back porch facing the south campus and the pictures of the crowds lined up. But the ones that I can tell are professionally taken were all taken on the stage. So. You know what I would like to know, was there ever a predecessor to Donavis? No. She was the first faculty. So when did she come? I have it right here. 1916. The reason I'm saying it, because I was, they're doing an article for the thing. In 1914, when the academy moved in here, such a Donavis arrived with the first sisters who moved on to this campus. The first five to eat on this campus were, and I can't know if I had them, would be Mother Loyola, Riyama and Donavis and I don't know who the other two were. Was it Sister Bernadette? Was it Sister Bernadette? Sister Bernadette? No, she was a student. She was a student. She was not a student. She was a student. Sister Bernadette Marie was in the first class. And Sister Eugene didn't know any other. But she, no, she wasn't here then. Helen Patricia. Okay. Helen Patricia? No, I'm sorry. I'm not, I'm wrong in that. Immaculate came a little later. And it was a student? English was Dynardus. I'm just trying to think. I had to think. Rorya? No, Rorya Eugene. Rorya was the first class. She was first class. It was a Columbine, something like that. Cosmos. Cosmos maybe. Cosmos, cosmos. And it was a Columbine who taught math. There were five. I don't know when she came. But they had their first meal on the campus. And later became Mr. Scherder's house, which no longer exists. That was the first meal on the campus. And then the others came later from Westchester with the bag and baggage. But Dynardus was here. The first play, the first play given here was an academy play in November of 1914. It was given in the campus. Wow, okay. Before the college. We didn't talk about the pool. What about the pool? What are your memories of the pool? Having to take a swimming test, I think the pool this week we were here. And if you passed that, I think you earned a credit. And so you did not have to take X number of gym credits. And some things never change. And that was a good thing. And that was a good thing. There are more tears shed over that. I had a good friend who was brilliant, wrote poetry, but she couldn't swim. And I felt so bad for her. Sometimes the students would have a tee or set up tables and have their dates there and then a dance around the pool area. So it was a very social place? Yes. It was another social gathering place. And I took the four semesters because I did not pass the test. So I had four semesters as we told. And I remember many people worrying about graduating because they hadn't passed swimming. I think that was a discussion into the 80s and 90s about that. About my first three years as a student. Were there recreational hours around the pool? Or did everybody just worry about the test? You know, they were worried about the test. But those who could swim had opportunities for taking life saving and other, there were recreational hours. There was one girl and she cried and cried every time she had to go near the water, you know. And she would say to Marge, I promise once, Marge, you'll be glad someday because when you're out in the ocean and you fall, I will never go on a boat. I won't even take a bath. She's just like... I had a French student who was honors warrior, as a senior wore her bathing suit under her clothes because she had to pass that test to graduate. And she was an honor student. Right to the end. In jeopardy. Do they still have that? I think, but it's not a problem today because this generation grows up with so many pools in their backyards. As we got more, by the way, going back to Q&K and as we got more students and more family and friends came to the plays, we moved over to Fieldhouse. And many plays were there. That's when I played Jessica and I was told, you'll never be an actress. Not my sister Donata's, but my members and my family. I have a little tidbit about the end, 1918. I didn't realize this till I was looking up some dates. From October 3rd to Sunday, November 17th, the Villamere Academy is quarantined because of influenza. And the novices who came over here to help were also quarantined with them because they came down. But the sisters were with the students who were sick and also some of the boys of Aloysius Academy. So it became a temporary infirmary in the third floor. Wow. Wow. During the influenza. That's interesting. That's, yeah. Yeah, it was very interesting. But the classrooms itself were closed. Yeah, they closed the entire academy and was closed in 1918. One of the areas that has not changed in architecture at all is the Rotunda. Oh, God. Yes, thank God. So as you think back about the history and the traditions, what are your memories of the Rotunda? Oh, beautiful memories. Investiture as a freshman. Of course, Carol Knight. Rings and the Lasers. Now we did not have the ring. I think Sister Eugenie started that when she was dean of students. Lasers? I don't know if I'm going to find it, if I'm correct. We did not walk through the ring. We received our lasers and our parents, as you were invited. So it was a family and friend. Also, Senior Week. There were very dignified ceremonies around the Rotunda. And you have beautiful memories. At least I have beautiful memories of it. Gailum, they have wonderful memories coming back, that registration desk and looking at the Rotunda again if they've been away for a while. The one thing that has changed that people don't realize, and it was a heartbreak for us, when we were doing the renovation in the 90s, we were forced to install sprinklers. And that was just, I went to the Chester County Authority tried to say, you know, this is a beautiful place, it's marble, it's glass, and it's stucco, there's nothing there. And he said, do you ever have anything in the Rotunda? And I had to say yes, as a matter of fact, we have a huge Christmas tree. He said that the only way that we could get away from not touching that Rotunda was if it were a cement room with no windows or any door. So they did put the sprinklers in, but if you really look closely, you will see the soffits go around in octagonal form on each of the three levels. So you really don't notice it, but I do. It was always nicely done, it's nicely done. It was also a place where there were some, there were dramatic activities also in the Rotunda. Donatas had a set of movable lights, which we could bring in, and there were plays from time to time in the Rotunda. Couldn't walk across it, unless you were a senior. That's right. Or faculty, I think faculty could walk through the Rotunda, but undergrads walked around it, right? I still do. Well, I do, I know, some things are habit. Even is a scene, and even today, when I walk through it, I think I shouldn't be. But how was that communicated to students that you should not walk on the glass? Or what was the... I don't think this was... I think there's a certain, the received tradition was passed down from one way or another. There were consequences. There were consequences. Is it your cosmos always, if she would see a person doing something she shouldn't have been doing, would remind us of what we should be doing? And the student council collected grants on the glass? Oh, no, I do, yes. If you did, you got this. Walking on the glass. I think it's symbolic of a baccalaureate. Well, I remember we just were going through the books the other day, and we saw pictures of people receiving their blazer. And when I was in high school, Kathy was here at a baccalaureate, and she came home with her white blazer. So, as a young high schooler, all I wanted was to get my white blazer at a baccalaureate, because Kathy would be walking around, lands down with her white blazer. And I wanted that white blazer. Never got it. We had a choice as a class. Whether we wanted the dark blue blazer with the white trim or the white blazer with the blue trim. Most classes opted for the white blazer with the blue. Our class did, but you had that choice. What about that? At least we did. You know, I think one of the most moving scenes in the movie about the Mighty Masks was when they came back and everyone was around the Rotunda. And every time I see that, I just cry, because as you said, Kathy, I think the Rotunda is so symbolic. It was, I can remember visiting as a prospective student and walking in there. And I have goosebumps thinking about it right now. There's something spectacular, even with the renovations about the Rotunda. And the fact that you have the different Greek style columns there is just beautiful. It is immaculate at that and the dome. And also what made that happen, we got word that they had lost. I was home. And the other people, Sister Marion and everybody else who always traveled with them, they were away. And I called over to Sister Maria Josida and Sister Maria Christie of Happy Memory and I said, they just lost. She said, we know. I said, we have to do something. So Sister Maria Josida got on the phone and called parents and trustees. Sister Maria Christie went around to all the students and said, we're gonna have a pep rally. Let's make signs, let's get balloons, let's do this. And by the time they came home, I had called ahead and I said, tell the bus driver, absolutely no one is to be brought to a parking lot. They have to come to the Rotunda. The Rotundas, under the dome they're gonna meet. So when they got off the bus, their heads were hanging, I'm at the top step and they're coming and I said, get in there. And when they got in there, the place erupted. But it was the dome, and they still talk about it. They said, I can't imagine that all these people arrived in so short a time. But it was the sisters who are no longer with us. And the idea that this is the dome, we celebrate our victories, but we also bring home people who have made a mark for history. Sally, your remarks really made me feel rather skunky because the first couple of years that I was there, we had to come down, the youngest faculty had to accompany some of the girls down here to Camilla and sing for the sisters. So we never saw Carol Knight. And then after that we got to go down and of course that was a big treat. But I spent then the next few years wondering what trick they were going to pull this year. And I felt like Sherlock Holmes looking around all the time to see, one year they hid the baby. And we found out later it was in a bathtub in one of the bathrooms down at the end of the hall. And waited until the very, very last minute and the girl is supposed to come in, she's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, what am I supposed to do here? And then the other lady comes running up the hall and puts it in her arms and then we shove her out of the thing. All right, then she was suitably punished, whatever that was. And then the next year they would have somebody would sneak in and hang some little thing on the tree that didn't belong on the Christmas tree. Like a nutty thing, it wasn't really. But there was always something that somebody did that was, you know, and you were looking around for what was it going to be. So now that I'm in my old age, I love to come to Carol Knight and just sit back and enjoy, I don't care what they're doing, but I'm just, it's enjoyable. As someone said to me, they look at that, look at that on the tree in the red tunder. And I looked and sure enough, it was an engagement ring. And she was engaged under the tree. It was one of the music writers. I'm not thinking that's taking a chance. That's how we found out about these customs and rules. As freshmen, we were initiated and went to campus by the sophomore class. And we were given a certain theme. I remember we were supposed to be Arabians and I hate to get dressed up. I'm not a Halloween person, but remember wearing two skirts on my legs. And I was, we had to learn the Kashmiri song. And we had the Esprit de Cour, that's what it was called, the little white thing. And we had better know what was in that because you didn't know what, when you were walking campus, you didn't know when a sophomore would stop you and ask you a question. We had to wear our dinkies. And it went on for about a week. So you learned what to do and what not to do. But we were initiated. And I guess it was like, it was a good thing in retrospect because it became a kind of sorority. The Machiaolata was a sisterhood. We were one that gave an Esprit de Cour. So many of you lived on campus and we talked about all of the different places of classrooms, et cetera. But when you lived on campus, what can you discuss a little bit about where you lived, what the dorm life was like? And I'm sure it was very different in the 50s than we experience it today in 2014. I think so. So who lived on campus and wants to, everybody, okay. Why don't we start with you, Sally? Oh, right. Yeah, you're just going right. Where'd you live? I lived on Third West and I was about two doors off of the Rotunda. And in 1964, that was the largest group of students, college entry, age students entering college in the history of the United States. So we were very crowded. We had three women in each of those rooms. And I think they were originally designed for two or maybe one. We had a sink and there's a photo of it. The sink was behind a bookcase. And then we had three beds. I think we had one, six drawer, chest of drawers. So each of us had two. We had about 18 inches of, what would you, in the closet, rod space for all of us. We measured it out and you can see I still remember it after all these years. And it worked out. The showers were down the hall as were the toilets. And that was the way it was. We had lights out at 11 o'clock and that was changed. Oh, you know, some of the wonderful traditions, we had 40 hours adoration, I guess, towards the end of the year. And if you lived on campus and if you were an undergrad, your time slot usually was in the middle of the night and you would go over to a chapel and there'd be maybe six or eight of you for an hour or an hour and a half. We had mass every Friday morning in academic dress. And also when we were doing 40 hours, we were in academic dress. I'm gonna add the number of persons who went to pajamas under the academic dress. And if you were caught, you were fined 50 cents by the student council. That's true, that's true. And then we wore mantillas at mass, these long white mantillas. So that was all part, you know, it's Nazareth and Villa, but part of being here on campus. We had, you, Tony mentioned about signing in and out. Whenever you left campus, you had to sign it out the time and where you were going and couldn't go out during the week. At all, I think we had dinner at five or 5.30. And then you went to your room or somewhere and studied. And then weekends, you could be out to 11 on a, no, midnight on the weekends. And 1 a.m. if you were escorted, you know, if you had a date. So that, yeah. Am I about right on that? It's about, the timing was a little bit different because we were about 10 years ahead of you. But it's, 10 o'clock lights. 10 o'clock lights. Oh, 10 o'clock lights. And then it got better. We're talking about Villa Maria though, even the grounds, if you look at it, the front of Villa Maria, if you notice now, is terraced, it goes down toward the railroad tracks. Well, in the earlier days, there was a, there's still there, if you look, there's a stone balustrade on either side. And then there were steps down all the way. And as late as 1969, you could walk down all the way. I went down on November 1st, 1969, with Mr. Margaret Mary. We decided we were gonna see if we could get to the tracks and we did. But when we were students in the 50s, you could go down easily. And we used to cross the tracks to get down to Route 30, Lancaster Pike, and get to some food on a Friday night. Some of the students recently have gone down, and we have, mostly boys. Yeah, it's very overgrown. They have gone down and have found the frame, the foundation of the train station. They've gone down that far. They come back and report that the foundation is there. It's still there, yeah. So, Sitcher, why don't we have a new, why don't we have a train station now? I said, good question. I don't know the answer. We tried, we tried. Yeah, indeed we did. We tried for many years, and that's something that, when you talk about people, there was a train stop there because apparently Mother Camilla, will pass it. Well, my memory of the girls on the hall, I guess my very first memory was, I didn't realize that if they knocked on your door after about nine o'clock, you were not allowed to open your door. And because by that time, you would be in your nightgown and robe, and the girls were not to see you in your nightgown and robe. So you would open the door about this much, and you would say, yes, can I help you, you know? And then the kid would get up near the slide on the door and she would answer back, whatever her problem was. It was the most ridiculous thing we ever had. I'll remember your story. It went on for quite a few years. It's just your memory, you have a story, the same thing. You told it. You were in your room and a girl knocked at the door, and you said, I'm sorry, but I can't come out. I'm not dressed, and the girl said to you, sister, we's all girls. Yeah. Oh. One of my memories of my second year here was Hurricane Hazel. And I think that I think we all mentioned that as part of the history of the thing. We had a great deal of damage in Villa Maria. And my strongest memory is of glass everywhere because the large, the windows came in and the storm hit Villa Maria head on. The noise wasn't touched because it was on, but as of the angle it was building. But we had terrific damage. And when we talk about signing out, what I remember about signing, I remember the day after the storm passed, I said, your Helen Patricia was having some event on camera. Pan American Conference, October 24th. Is that all? Yeah, she was having a... It was October 15th. 15th. She was having a Pan American Conference. But so the residents ate the catered dinner and then we were told to go home. And I can remember my senior Burns at the front door saying, don't bother to sign out, just go home and don't come back until you get a telephone call. So I don't remember how long we were out, but we were out. We were out a good time because my roommate had a family upstate. They didn't have a car. So I took her home with me and we did Philadelphia and all the environments, but there was a lot of damage. All the windows that faced the, on the arcade, Chapel arcade had blown out. And the from the building. Did the storm come from the valley or from the back? That part I don't remember. Well, the window blew in from the back. The blue is the blue. From the back. From the back. What I remember about that day, it was a Friday. So we were in class, we said to Donatus. I don't know what we were reading, but as the clouds got darker and darker, she, her comment was, we have atmosphere to go. Atmosphere to go with whatever we were reading. And so of course it hadn't rained yet and there was no wind yet. We just had to, you know, encroaching clouds. And I couldn't, so of course, by after dinner, we were all down in the commuter lounge waiting for the storm to pass. So we told, and then those of us who lived in Lourdes had no trouble, but anybody living in Villa were very likely had glass in her room. And we went then to the green room. That's one time we were rolled out to the, and we went to the chapel and got every candle that we could because we had no electricity. And we lighted the candles in the green room and prayed. And put the candles down the corridors too. Kathy, you were commuter. And I believe the only one who was a commuter is a commuter. You know I was a commuter. And you were a commuter. And so was Tony. And Tony was, so we have three commuters. Tell us a little bit about what that, how that was different from the other experiences of dorm life and did you ever stay overnight or, and you mentioned you took the bus from 69th Street. So talk to us a little bit about commuting and what that was like. Well, we took the bus from 69th Street and many people were doing their homework on the bus and waiting for someone else to get on that maybe had the same questions they had. And then, you know, we'd arrive at the campus. We got home, I guess about 5.30 at night. I guess I would assume. Now I took a bus then to Lansdale, the Oakview. And everybody, Tony lived in North Philadelphia. She probably took a bus to North Philadelphia. People took their buses all over. And that was, you know, that's what you did every day. Okay, tough. Yeah, riding the bus was fun. I mean, you know. And I was gonna say about the girls having to be in at 12 at night. I think when I was a junior, I must have had about four or five people asked me if they could stay at my house weekends because they wouldn't have to be in at midnight. So I've always had some people staying. You were a hostess, still all right? Well, I was a commuter, but my father wanted me to board. My mother said she's too young, and I was young. So I started to commute. And I have to say that we kind of, we made friends and it became fun. And we sang some rowdy songs. Which were harmless. But we, I didn't want it really to stay overnight because I knew of the restrictions which I didn't have at home. Yeah. And also, but I stayed frequently overnight. So I had that experience of knowing, you know, the sisters coming to check at night to make sure that lights were off. And as a guest, Sister Florita always had a little treat on the windowsill, which I thought was wonderful. When I would get to the room, there was a soda or cookies or whatever, because I was a guest. And so I had that other experience. But I stayed overnight and didn't have the restrictions at the time because I was always with my brother and his friends. And some people were almost like fixtures and Villa Maria, when you think about it, you can't disassociate Florita from Villa Maria. I said, I didn't get the cookies or the little candy or anything. And she just stole a ring. It didn't get that special. You didn't get the octopus on the windowsill. Maybe it stole a ring. Tony, what were you going to say? Well, I proposed to Sister Florita when I began to work at Immaculata during the summer months before air conditioning. The general afternoon treat was, Sister Florita coming around with her lemonade stand, so to speak. So that was a treat. But I took the bus with Jimmy, who was not a happy camper at the time, although he came to love us, I think. We were always teasing him and that Skookle Expressway was worse than it is today, I think. So we would try to get back in time. We'd leave the campus at 4.30, giving us about an hour if we wanted to after class, to go to the library or if there was a lecture. You know, we'd go right after the lecture on Wednesdays. But so 5.30, 6 o'clock, and we rolled into Hunting Park Abbey in Philadelphia. But we had some hairy rides. And Jimmy Hines was the good driver. I won't mention the other man. The bond was there with the bus people. That's nice. But going back to the building and to Villa, you mentioned Sister Florita. What about the personalities and the individuals that you associate with Villa, the Villanas with complex? Are there personalities that you specifically think of? Yes, the kitchen, Sheffi. Sheffi Vasosi. And he was a tremendous cook, but he also was an impresario. He loved to sing opera. So you could hear across the campus, Sheffi singing it when he was cooking. Well, I think Adelaide Polde played the banjo, but was also our cook, our head of the facilities. And fabulous corned beef at St. Patrick's Day and wonderful Halloween treats. And I thought it was great for the students when I worked here. We did have good food. Excellent. Good food. Very good food. And my memory is of, as a resident, is that we, the sisters who were on the hall with who had hall duty or the sisters who we met in classroom, it was like one community, basically. I mean, obviously they had their, they didn't talk to us after night prayer out. That's, we soon learned those things. But we also knew that we had a lot of friends. And that the, I don't remember, I don't remember any sister that taught me or through my new year, who I ever saw in Bad Humor. The exercise bell we learned to interpret, too. When the sisters would go to prayers or chapel or recreation, there were different bells. And we knew when the bell rang once, they were going to recreation. They were all going to be up in the blue room. So we could go and have some fun. Yeah, well, but I do remember, the one and only one we ever tried to get around was your Thomas Aquinas, who permitted us to take one book out at a time regardless of what you were working on. So we would wait until, again, the bell, she would go to examine or to evening prayers. And then we would go to sit your Joanne and say, and she would say, take whatever you need, but please bring them back one at a time. Right, exactly. Or the other thing is, if she was still there, one of your friends would wait outside. And if you were in the stacks, there's little windows would open and you'd drop the book down and she would catch it. And then you'd get it back the same way when she was off, when somebody else was on. One of the first, the first time I believe I met Sister Marie Antoine was in her role as a librarian in our library. And I remember being struck by her beauty and sweetness and I don't know how many books I checked out. She said, you're not going to read all these. I said, no, I'm just going to peruse the book, review them or something, but she was charming. Sister Leo, singing O'Tanambaum. After Carol Knight, and I can remember, just pounding on her door, not personally, for all of us, until she would sing O'Tanambaum for us. And that could be midnight or one in the morning, after Carol Knight. And I guess that was the last night before we left. Usually it was Christmas, but it would be Christmas before we left, and then we'd go out the next day. But there were two Carol Knights. There was the real one and then the informal one. The informal one. The informal one was the fun. The informal one was a tradition started after our time. Yeah, that's right. And it was not the informal one. No, there was an informal Carol Knight and it was not one that the faculty much liked. One of the places we have not touched on and was a part of a very early physical plant is the Post Office, the United States Post Office. Can we discuss a little bit about the fact that we had a U.S. Post Office? And where was it and what do we recall? Well, it's not in its present place. The very earliest Post Office was right outside the green room. Right. And then it moved right below to the terrace, right underneath there. On the end, where we come in from July, that end, that's where there's an office there now, but that was the Post Office when we were in school. On the east end of Villa. The east end of Villa. Near the turn for Lourdes. And it was Villa Maria. And because the Postal Service in those days did not admit a double name and also there was some confusion with Villa Maria and Erie. I think the Immaculata was changed and so the Post Office took Immaculata PA 19345 whenever it was at the time. I believe the date was 1917 or 19 for the beginning of the Post Office. The Post Office is 1917, I think. 17, I think so. And the change, the naming, the train station, and the Post Office had the same name. And then the college name was changed in the late 20s. 1929. And so Regina Francis, I think, was the original? And I think there was something about Jean Marie was Post Mistress. And so these were employees of the United States Postal Service. So Sister Jean Marie and then Sister Regina Francis. Regina Francis was appointed by President Roosevelt in the early 40s. Now, who was there, I mean? Who was, we're still in the 100 years, aren't we? Yes, we are. Okay. Well, who is it now? Now, it is David. Wislowski. Wislowski. Okay. So we don't have a Post Mistress. And Sister Regina Francis would tell you, there is no, you mean Mistress, I think you do not say Mistress, according to Sister Regina Francis. Oh, Post Mistress. The title is Post Master. And she would never permit you to use the other title. Okay. I have been corrected several times. Great. So the Post Office was moved to its current location, which is in the Paris West Side. Sometime, do we know when, approximately? While I was here, so it could have been 60, I think it was in the 60s, or 60s, I remember as a freshman going over to the corner by Lord's, and we would get mail twice a day, morning and then after dinner. And everybody would line up because, we didn't have a lot of phones then. And we purchased our books at the corner where the current book store, where the current Post Office is. We didn't, it was not a store. We went to a window in the wall. It was a book store. And just said what we needed. So I always think of the door that goes into the Post Office with the little shelf on it, was the place where we used to line up, and that other part was opened up later. But it was apparently just a large room. I don't know what it was. We just would sign up there with the, line up there with our titles, and the books would be handed to us, and our credit would be placed on whatever money was in the bank, upstairs, and the, Okay, so that's where you got books too. So let me go back to that original idea we were talking about. The complex was the Omeria, Nazareth, and the powerhouse. And the powerhouse was connected by a tunnel. That's right. The tunnel was still there. Used mostly for conduits, and wires, and electricity. But it was used for many other things in the early days. Does anybody have any history of the tunnel? Was anyone ever in it? What do you know about the tunnel? I went through it. You could walk through it? I walked through it. Because they wanted me to see what it was underground. It's very hot all the time. That's why you have the vents on the back of the cabinet. But it also passes right by the little statue of the infant king. And of course you know the statue of the infant was placed there because Mother Camilla made an ovena with the sisters. We were halted twice in the history of the building of Omeria once because they ran out of money. And the second was because they said that we couldn't open the school because there was no water. And Mother Camilla said there is water on these grounds. And so they said, well how do you know? And she said, do you see the trees, the sycamores? They don't grow where there isn't water underground. So at the end of the Novena they found two artesian wells. And so to commemorate that is the infant and then the tunnel passes underneath. I walked it once or twice just to see because we had a report of a young lady who was escaping through that at night and coming in. And indeed it was true. She was going out at night and coming in. But it was primarily used for laundry? Yes, it was for laundry. Where the powerhouses, because the novices would come on Saturdays to work in that laundry. I never did. And because Jimmy's name was first of all Jimmy Laundry. That's right, Jimmy. And I was also under the impression that they many times carried the laundry through that tunnel from the there, from the laundry to the dorms. Because I think the girls sheets were done. Here's something else that connects Bill and Maria to the laundry. I don't know if too many people know it. If you look in the rotunda on each of the floors you will see a small copper, looks like the end of a pipe with a cover. That is a vacuum. And the early days they could vacuum by plucking into there. And the refuse would go out through that, through the tunnel, and down into the powerhouse where the refuse was. They didn't have vacuum cleaners. They used this. And I don't know whether, because we had some employees, male employees who resided in there. And in my own memory it was only Jimmy, but there were others in the powerhouse. It was happy and Stanley. And Connie Sweeney. And Connie Sweeney was there until he took ill. And then we moved him to one of the priest's quarters until he died. But I don't know, it's possible that in bad weather that was also a place where they could come and get something to eat in the kitchen. Because the termination is the kitchen. The menus do. And one other area we haven't discussed in the above the rotunda is the fourth floor. Where the ghosts are. And the porch that goes off up on the fourth floor. So some memories of either being in the fourth floor, fourth floor of Villa Moreira, above the rotunda, will be done where Helen lived. And before Jolay Hall was built. I didn't know there was a porch up there. Neither did I. Well, the students were not allowed to go out there. Front and back. Before Jolay Hall was built, the sisters who were not assigned to work on the halls, live on the halls, lived in the fourth floor. They did. And also in my time, we had foreign sisters. And it was thought that the sisters who were students should not be, well, we didn't have room in Jolay. And there wasn't room in the dormitories. So the African and Asian sisters lived in the circle around the dome, along with Helen Nichols. That's right. And it wasn't infirmary as well, am I right? Yes, there was a quarter of a room. It was infirmary. And that became Sister Jean Anthony's room, and we didn't have enough. And then after Sister Jean Anthony, it was the president's wrapping room and storage of files. I don't know what it is now. There's a lot of storage up there now. There's a lot of storage up there. And in the renovation, most of that space is used for the piping for all of the HVAC. So it's, it's an unfinished, it appears to be very unfinished now because of all the exposed piping. Can I digress when you're talking about in the renovation of the 90s, of course we were trying to move ahead for technology. And in one of the architects and meetings with the construction men, they said, we're sorry, but we're going to have to blast the concrete on the fire stairs. And I said, you can't do that. I said, we need to have fire exits. They said, well, we need to have a place where we can run the wiring and all the things. And I said, well, you don't need to worry about that. There's a place at the end of all. They said, there isn't. I said, yes, there is. So I took them down. They said, no, that's a trash chute. And I said, next to the trash chutes, the old laundry chute, and they're perfectly clean and lined. And that's how they round the technology and the lumbaria from the basement all the way up. But see, this is the way they built. It was, it was amazing. The foresight, the providence and the practicality. Imagine putting electrical vacuum cleaners in a building in the turn of the century. Imagine thinking of a tunnel to join your powerhouse to your main building. It's just, and also as far as the structure, when we were doing the renovation, I went into the old plants. Every window sill in Villa Maria in the main building is 22 inches wide. And when they started to go through, I don't know if I have a sequence, right? It's not only plaster, but behind the plaster is the chicken wire. Behind the chicken wire is stuck, that tile, terracotta. Behind that is steel and then concrete. And you can imagine. So they broke more bits trying to go through walls than I think I know. When we wired the building, yes. And we didn't go through the floor. You just couldn't go through the floor. In the president's office, they tried and tried. They could not go through the floor to the basement. So they had to go around in the space behind the rotunda. There's a lot of space between the last office and the actual wall of the rotunda. If I had known it earlier, I would have made a closet. Yeah. So we were talking about personalities a little bit, but you've mentioned some just recently. And we had some employees who lived on the campus. Their life was here. You mentioned Jimmy. He was a bus driver and many other things. What are your memories of some of these personalities that worked at the campus, lived on the campus? Connie knew our heating system, like the palm of his hand, I think. And he also was a bus driver in my time and punctual. You had better be there on time. If not, you would have to tag along if you could possibly catch the bus by being on its running board or whatever. And another one was Jimmy, who we call Jimmy Trash, who knew no other family, I think, except us. He came when I was a freshman and he had come from a home and was a special person. He, and Sister Florita trained him. And he would run like a wild hare through Terrace Villa and she would call after him. And I, as a youngster, was somewhat afraid of him because he was so wiry and, but he was harmless. And then when I came back here in the 70s, I was at the switchboard because we would take turns of, sisters would take turns in relieving Sister Helen. And I was my turn to be at the switchboard and Jimmy came in and he stood there and he said, 25 years ago today, I came on this campus and I put my bags here and they took me to Mother Hill Truda's office. Do you remember? I said, I do. And he was here long after that and was cared for really by the sisters and also by some of the staff. He was awarded of the college and we took care of everything for him. And ultimately he had to be put into a home and he has since died. But he was in the midst of everything. He came on retreat with us at the end of the summer. He had a very good, had a love for music, good music. And I remember one time when he was riding back from the shore with us, he, one of his prize purchases down at Stone Harbor was a pasanonic boon box, a Pest Panasonic. I bought this pasanonic boon box. He was delightful. We were his family. Yeah, cool. And talking about personalities on campus, I guess we have to mention Sister Mary Leo and Olio, the dog. Olio, right? Olio. I remember the dog. Yeah. And when I was named. Connie also had a dog. Good. Father left a dog after, I can't remember his name, but it was a little white dog and he used to call the camp. Oh, Campbell? You can see him. No, father. Other man? Darnoy? I can't remember. And he had been in the service. In the chapel in the service. That's right. And he came and when he had to leave he couldn't take the dog and so the dog became Connie's and that dog followed every car that came on or off campus by the backpack. He would bark and yelp and go so far and then he'd leave and it was, it was kind of like, here you are. Okay. Hello. Do you remember? Jimmy heard that I was, I was made academic dean and he went around to all the offices saying, did you know Sister Marion's the new Acme Dean? I was so, that's all they called me for my term of office, the Acme Dean. You remember Mr. Allen? He was a great one. Oh, yes. When his husband, when he saw me. What do you remember about Mr. Allen? I remember just, he seemed to have unending work outside. Didn't he just take care of all the grounds? He did a lot of it. Inside too? Yeah. I think of Sister Florida and Mr. Allen and they seemed like they just had an amazing amount of space to take care of. They did. They did. I think that Sister Florida was the only person that knew where every closet is on this campus and what it, or what was in every closet. And remember her beautiful Christmas trees. Oh, she loved these things. Every pine cone she picked. Wow. And stored. And gilded. And gilded. The ribbons that she stored. And now Sister Thomas Aquinas, who was a little bitty, bitty, but had a lot of power, so to speak. She and Sister, I understand that she and Sister Donatus were graduates of John Hallowhand High School and took the trolleys together. So I don't know if they were one or two years stiff as between them, but Sister Donatus got here before she did. As you think back on the building, are there things that you're happy that they have not been changed because so much has? Well, I think the change has been gradual enough that we've come to absorb it. So even though our memories might be of a different time and a different use for the rooms and things, and we associate people like Sister Donatus with what is now the boardroom or with a little theater, which is now the registrar's office. But I think it's been a gentle transition in most cases. And so it's still a Maria. And an alumna who came to see me last week said, it's so very different, but she said it's not. It's the same place. I get the same feeling when I walk in the Rotunda as I used to. And there's another, I can tell you her name, because she wouldn't mind, Vicky Gutierrez-Juntel said that every once in a while, when things were really hard in her life, when her husband was so sick, she said, I get in the car, I drive out, and she said, I just come in to inhale a bit of peace, to ride around and go out, and I could face life again. There's more than one person who's used the campus to grieve, walk through, and feel peace here. About 20 years ago. 25 years ago, it was the principal of an elementary school, which is right down the hill, Catherine D. Markley School. And I've been fortunate. I have lived in the shadow of the dome my whole life. I live in Chester County, and I worked in the Great Valley School District. And so I would always see the dome every day, and there were many a day I would, just as Vicky, my classmate would do, just drive through campus on my way home to get that serenity. There's something about, I think you all know how I feel about a maculata, and I have goosebumps. There's just something special about this campus. I'm not sure what. Well, I can't articulate it, but there is something special. What I do like that hasn't changed is that the style, the architecture of Villa has been replicated, somewhat more modern, if you will, but the same basic style on all the buildings. And that's not typical of universities. They have a melange of different architectural styles. But here it all looks similar, but you can tell the newer buildings from the world. Mr. Marine will tell you that. One of the main concerns when we were doing Gabriel Library was we wanted to be a place that they can look at from every angle, and it can look out. But the thing was, she wanted it to look like the rest of the buildings, and it does. It does. It does. It does. It does. Gabriel Library. Looks like all the other buildings. It does. It's beautiful. Yeah, and it does. That's a tribute to people. The first time he came over and looked up, he thought there was going to be a little sign standing on a stick, you know, that said, Gabriel Library out on the lawn someplace. And he saw the name lit up and so on. And he got all filled up. I think a part of the secret has to do with the original spirit, the American spirit of pioneering, which the sisters really had, but they didn't have anything to do it with. So they had a great trust in Providence and hope that the rest of it would happen. In the meantime, there was that practicality, but enough to say, we want to do it well. So we'll wait and we'll hope and we'll build, not for us. Mother Camilla never saw the finish. She died in 1913, but she was the one, they said was nuts to try to come out to this boondock and build who would ever come out to this area. We know the answer to that. Well, I'd like to say that as much as it's changed, it's the same. I mean, when you're coming from outside, it's the same building. And yet it's changed inside. But, and I'm amazed hearing today, all the things that were put into this building in the beginning that you wouldn't have even thought they could have back in the 1900s. You know, they always say to respond to the people, to the needs of God's people. And it seems that every major change we've made along the way has been that way in a response to the needs. You know, the co-ed, the going co-ed, and the university and things like that, like they all seem to be responding to people's needs. Absolutely. And the people who did that initially were sometimes criticized like Mother Camilla, like evening division, is it going to be the same? Are we going to have second class degrees? The answer is no. And these were people who needed an education who couldn't do it in the usual way. And so the people who were willing to take a risk and willing to suffer some of the criticism and the naysayers, it's gradually they come on board and they realize that this was for the people. And as we begin to come to a close and we think about the spirit that each of you is alluding to, Villa Maria is at the center of it. So this year we're celebrating 100th anniversary, which is hard to believe as you walk through that building today and all of the changes that have been made to respond to the needs of the time, the students of today, think about your fondest memory, your best feeling. What is it that if somebody said to you, well, what does Villa Maria mean to you? What would you say? Our lady, the dome. The dome. It's the last thing. I guess I would say it was a place I'd never and never wanted to come to. I thought my life was over. I was not going to have any social life at all because you never saw the Immaculata teachers out at a movie or doing things like that. They were probably home studying. And it was just too big and I was going to be lost. And then about the first week, I guess, I changed my mind all the way around. And what did you change your mind to? I changed my mind to the fact that this place is not made up just of buildings and so on, but it's made up of people who are anxious to help a kid coming in from high school, from teaching high school, who was scared stiff, who didn't know what to do, and then a genius like Eugenie took her under her arm and taught her every single week what to say, including all the naughty stories about the author's private lives, which the kids probably like better than the literature. And I just never remember receiving so much kindness from so many people and people that were truly important people. Like, you know, they weren't looking for anything for me, God knows, but they were very, very good to me. And what were you saddled with at that first instance? What was I what? What were you saddled with? Didn't you get the document for Middle States from Mary of Lourdes to write in the very first years? I think you did. You wrote the document for Middle States. Oh yeah. You changed your mind and you fell in love. How about others, what were your feelings? I think it was a wonderful place to be. My friends from here, from my four years here, are still my friends today. So it was really a wonderful place to, you know, spend those four years. Anybody else? I received a fabulous education. It was the foundation. And I know without it, all that has happened in those 45 years wouldn't have happened without the education and the support of the sisters and all faculty and the alum. But I agreed the dome, Villa. I mean, you know, I was coming up this morning, and I thought, there it is, just beautiful, just beautiful. And Sally, whatever I taught you, I probably learned from you, Janie, the night before. That's okay. That's all right. That's okay. Just you, Janie, took care of most of us. You took me inside when I was my first week here. She said, people think I don't know much, but let me tell you a few practical things. And so I got a few practical things. Oh, that was my orientation to teaching at Immaculata. It was also you, Janie. Janie thought she was my public relations officer, and she was always running around saying, I'm good, I wish, and then she'd say, and so look at her. You wouldn't think she knew a thing. And I thought, I had a picture of myself walking in. There's a bookcase in the library that says, that is dedicated to the system of your Janie. It says, Thy memory fair as any star. And that is true. Absolutely. But from St. Mag, taught Latin, from the very beginning, it was a challenge. It was a great education, produced a great educational leader like Sally and so many others. I'm proud. I did not want to come here. My brother was dating someone from here, and he said, you have to go see that campus. And I said, I'm not going to an old girls' college. I've been finishing at an old girls' high school. And I had applied to Temple Penn in Swarthmore. And I was considering them. And I knew sisters. I had gone to Catechetical. I'd went to public school. And I went to the Philadelphia School for Girls. Most of our teachers there, their doctorates, I would never trade the education I got there. But when I came here, I was so impressed by the warmth and the humanity of the sisters. And the warmth and the sense of humor. Sister Maria Lucie was her dry, dry sense of humor. The intellectual geniuses they were, such as Sister Maria, Sister Donatas, Sister Yushaeney, another one who had brains to sell. But they were so warm, which was not in our teachers. And so here I am. And how fortunate we are. So God has strange ways. I guess I want to say too that it warms my heart when I look at what's happening and what is going to happen. And now the people here are still carrying on the tradition. I used to think it was hard, but I think it's harder now in many ways to cope with all the conflicting ideologies, all the technologies, and all the varying opinions about where people should go and what they should do. And I really want to say that I'm happy that we have the tradition, but I'm also happy that we have the foresight and the intuition to keep moving wherever we need to move. Well, the first thing that strikes me as we bring this to closure is that when I ask you about your thoughts of villa, I heard your thoughts of the maculata. Because in many people, villa is a maculata. And when you talk about a maculata, what I heard was not an institution, but people. It was the people who touched you. And what a beautiful memory you have created in discussing the humanity of what was a discussion about a building. Thank you so much for being a part of this, for sharing your memories and sharing your heart. Thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. My pleasure. Thank you.