One hundred twenty six years ago in Baltimore, Maryland, Mary Frances Cunningham, later known as Mother Demetrias, noticed the children of color in her neighborhood had no access to religious education so she began teaching them on the front steps and in the basement of the church. Eventually the Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart (MHSH) would be found in schools, parishes, and orphanages across the continental United States as well as Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Guam. Their mission quickly expanded to include hearing impaired (deaf), Hispanic and Italian communities.
This collection is huge (just over 1,000 linear feet) and will take a long time to get fully processed. There is a preliminary inventory for the entire collection available upon request. Three sections that are now processed include Series 3: Motherhouse-Biddle St files, Series 4: Mother Demetrias, and Series 5: Mother Katharine Drexel. For my 120 hour practicum, these three series were fully processed and a finding aid created making these files easily accessible to researchers! As more sections get processed they will be added to the finding aid. Unfortunately at this time much of the general collection information is not included in the finding aid.
The Motherhouse-Biddle St files contain journals and correspondence for the foundational years of the organization while at their original motherhouse at 412 Biddle Street in Baltimore. The first four journals are digitized and available online. Mother Demetrias’ series has correspondence, conferences, journals, and personal items. As the founder of the MHSH, the Mother Demetrias materials have been separated from the other sisters’ files. There are also files on her cause. Mother Katharine Drexel is a very small section that contains correspondence between various sisters and Mother Katharine Drexel. These were pulled out of other correspondence due to the sainthood of Drexel.
Growing up just down the street, I passed by the MHSH Motherhouse in Towson often but I didn’t know much about the sisters until I began working on this project. Previously, Austin Powell created a Lib Guide for this collection where you can find more information on the Mission Helpers and their history. It was a great resource when beginning this Library Science practicum processing project, as was the MHSH website.
Today when most people think of Mardi Gras in New Orleans they think of big parades and parties with plastic beads and cheap masks. It turns out that there is an entirely different side to Mardi Gras where after the parade, guests attend lavish balls to honor the chosen king and queen of carnival. The Rex Organization has been hosting a Mardi Gras parade and ball since their founding 1872. With their motto “pro bono publico” or “for the public good” they are also known for their charity work within New Orleans.
“Since the founding of the Rex Organization in 1872 its traditions have helped define Mardi Gras. Rex’s Proclamation invites his subjects to the grand celebration of Carnival. His royal colors of purple, green, and gold are to this day the colors of Mardi Gras, and the song played in the first Rex parade, “If Ever I Cease to Love,” has become Carnival’s anthem. Rex and his Queen preside over the Rex Ball, Carnival’s glittering conclusion.”
More information can be found on their website rexorganization.com where they have a wonderful ‘tradition’ section to help inform everyone of their history and contributions to Mardi Gras celebrations.
The below images show the Rex Carnival Ball favors that were donated by Mrs. D.A. Blanchard. Each year Rex members would receive elaborate invitations to the even more elaborate Rex Carnival Ball in New Orleans where these party favors were sent home with each guest.
This Halloween marks 100 years since the fire that burned down the Catholic University Observatory.
Built at the request of Rev. George M. Searle, the initial structure was completed in 1890 and stood at the then highest point of campus with the equatorial telescope base sitting exactly on the 77th meridian from Greenwich. There were immediately plans to expand the building to include a small library and additional space for tools and instruments to be used. Rev. Searle was the director of the astronomical observatory at Catholic U and among his many accomplishments it was here he observed the periodicity of the Holmes Comet for what is believed to be the first time. In addition to the 9-inch equatorial telescope built specifically for Catholic University, the observatory housed a meridian clock, sidereal clock, chronograph, chronometer, and a double image micrometer. These instruments were vital to the prestige of the growing astronomy department and the loss was felt for many years to follow.
Sketch of Telescope built for Catholic University
Unlike many of the other vanished buildings around campus, there is evidence of exactly where the observatory once stood. The base of the telescope can be found on the path across from Curley Hall next to Centennial Village.
In the January 18, 1925 issue of The Tower, there was a brief article titled “C.U. in need of Observatory.” At this point it was clear the students believed the observatory would be rebuilt and even better as it would be designed to accommodate the new advances in the field. Just over 10 years after the fire, the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey erected a first-order triangulation station next to the remains of the observatory. In 1939,
Remains of the Observatory
Curley Hall went up on the land that was formerly Killion Field, leaving space so that a new observatory could still be built in the original location. In 1988, Centennial Village was constructed with care as to not disturb what became a historic landmark among the campus but, it did likely eliminate the chances of a new observatory being built in that location.
With The Tower not publishing until mid-November in 1924 due to staffing issues, one of the only accounts of the event comes from the 1924-1925 edition of The Cardinal Daily Diary. October 31 states “Big pep meeting for the Maryland game, with a bonfire, snake dance and many joyful huzzas. Some nut from outside spoiled it all, however by dropping an oil station and a gross of matches in the observatory.” A month after the fire, the senior classes met and came to the conclusion with certainty that no student was responsible for the fire.
Class in front of the Observatory
The question remains today of how the devastating fire started on this fretful Halloween night. While this author finds it unlikely to be an ill-fated prank by Maryland who were expected to win the football game the following day with great ease, the yearbook certainly suggests the possibility. Perhaps things got a bit too wild at the bonfire or some type of electrical issue sent the building up in flames. Although it seems unlikely that we will discover the ignition point 100 years later, it is almost certain that rumors surrounding the incident will live on for many more years to come.
