Saint Anthony's Institute, Girls' Boarding School, 1880-81

URBANY, LEIENFELDER

Posted By: david reineke (email)
Date: 1/8/2005 at 11:38:43

I translated the following two articles about Saint Anthony’s Institute from Der Carroll Demokrat, a German-language newspaper published in Carroll, Iowa, between about 1874 and 1920. They were originally published in 1880 and 1881, and the date of each article is listed below. Any information in brackets or notes at the end is my own explanation. They read as follows:

[First Article, Friday 20 August 1880]

The Girls’ Secondary School

For a long time now, the residents, and especially the Catholics, of this and neighboring counties, have felt the need to have an institute in the area where parents could place their adolescent daughters without having to send them to far-away educational institutes. This project had been discussed for several years, but without success. But now the project is taking shape. A few weeks ago, Rev. John Urbanny, the local Catholic Priest, made a trip to La Crosse, Wisconsin, and on his return brought along the respected Mother of the Franciscans there. After she had visited and looked over the various parts of the county, she accepted the job with great eagerness and decided to build an advanced school for young ladies. The plan was immediately drawn up by her brother, Mr. Leienfelder, who accompanied her. He is a skilled and experienced architect. We give here the dimensions. The main building will be 32 by 42 feet in size, and three stories high. The annex, which will be used as a chapel, will be 14 by 18 feet. The entire building will be constructed so that, if necessary, wings may be added. The building will be constructed of bricks and stones, and 150,000 bricks have already been purchased. Side buildings for stalls and various purposes will also be erected. Mr. Leienfelder looked around for workers, and so everything is right on track. It is not to be denied that the undertaking will benefit the town as well as the county, and Carroll County and especially Carroll City can be proud to have such an institute.

[Second Article: Friday, 23 September 1881]

St. Anthony’s Institute.

Carroll City, Iowa, under direction of the Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Sacrament from La Crosse, Wisconsin, will open on 4 October 1881. This institute for young ladies will be run by the Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Sacrament, who have earned an honorable name through their educational skill. It offers to young ladies, without distinction as to religion, the best opportunity to obtain a quality higher education and a good, respectable, upbringing. Since the costs are rather low, it is also possible for less well-off parents to send their daughters there. No specific age is required for enrollment and, therefore, even those girls who have not yet received First Holy Communion are accepted, and they will receive very special attention to make them worthy for that most important and most influential day of their lives. This is a great advantage for farmers and people in general who live far from church and school, or who only seldom have services in their church. If such girls desire to attend the parochial school, and only room and board at the institute, special lower rates will be provided for them. It will be expected of all who attend the institute that they will obey its rules. They are lenient, but it will be insisted upon that they be observed. In general, the intention of the institute is to train young ladies for their future vocations, while leaving behind everything unnecessary and useless, and to equip them with all the knowledge which makes life useful and pleasant. For further details, the curriculum, prospectus, and so forth, one should apply to the Sister Superior, Saint Anthony’s Institute, Carroll, Iowa.

Subjects of Study.
Religion Instruction, German and English Languages, Grammar Instruction, Composition and Rhetoric, Calligraphy, Mathematical- and Physical Geography, National and World History, Natural History, Physiology, Zoology, Botany, Bookkeeping, Astronomy, Arithmetic and Algebra.

Prices.
Room and board per month . . . . $12.00

Extra.
Laundry per month . . . . . 2.00
Piano lessons for eight months . . . 10.00
Guitar as accompaniment for piano, eight months . 5.00
Guitar without piano accompaniment . . . 6.00
Zither . . . . . . . . 6.00
Dulcimer . . . . . . . . 5.00
Violin . . . . . . . . 5.00
Drawing . . . . . . . . 4.00
Embroidery . . . . . . . 4.00
Wax Working, 12 hours of instruction . . . 10.00
Hair and Zephyr Flower Work per month . . . .50
Hair Braiding per piece . . . . . . 1.00

NOTES: According to MacLean, “History of Carroll County, Iowa” (1912), the Institute was run by Sister Felicitas. It is not the same institution as St. Angela’s School for Domestic Sciences, which opened in 1909.