Silver medal discovered from the 1850's

     This medal, awarded to St. Joseph’s student James W. Newlin in 1855, is a very rare find from some of the earliest days of Jesuit education in Philadelphia.  Although the opening of the Prep is traditionally set at 1851 – the year that the college began under the control of Fr. Felix Barbelin, SJ – it seems reasonable to believe that boys of high school age took courses at “Old” Saint Joseph’s Church in Willings Alley long before that date.  In fact, in his history of Saint Joseph’s Prep, Fr. James J. Gormley, S.J., notes that Jesuit education started as early as 1781 and turned into a high school between 1800 and 1833.  In the seminal work of an earlier Jesuit – “Jesuit Education in Philadelphia: Saint Joseph’s College 1851-1926” by Francis X. Talbot – it is also stated that a school had been constructed by the Jesuits (at the cost of £440, 15s.) in 1781.  Whatever the case may be, the Prep is really older than 1851.

     Although we at the Villiger Archives know very little about this medal, we can assume that it was presented at an end-of-school year assembly, similar to the one mentioned by Gormley on July 11, 1852.  Those alumni of Saint Joseph’s University who own David Contosta’ excellent history of the University should also note that a very similar medal is displayed on page 29.  Both medals are silver, and they are dated one year apart from each other.

     This medal is particularly important for a number of reasons.  Information about the Prep’s and the University’s earliest students is often difficult to come across, so knowing that there was a James W. Newlin at St. Joseph’s who received this medal is significant in and of itself.  Additionally, this may be one of only two surviving medals – (the other one is displayed in Contosta’s book).  Perhaps most significantly, it is another artifact from an increasingly distant time in our combined institutional histories.  It is hard to imagine being a Catholic student in the Philadelphia of the 1850’s, as James W. Newlin must have lived during the infamous riots of 1844, in a place and time decidedly distant from our own understanding.

Painting found, information needed!

     

     In October of 2009, while searching a storage area on the 4^th floor of Villiger Hall (the name students selected for the 1968 post-fire Prep building, and, yes, there is a partial 4^thfloor!), I came across the painting of St. Ignatius of Loyola pictured here.  No one seems to know anything about this 25” x 19” work, and I could find no artist’s signature or date.  My hunch is that this is a European work from the late 18th century. 

     Jaime Ball, one of the art teachers at the Prep, has a friend on the staff of the Philadelphia Museum of Art who has graciously volunteered to take a look at it, give an assessment of the age and origin, and make recommendations for proper conservation. 

     If you have any ideas or information, please get in touch.

Prep Crushes Roman! ... 92 years later

     This hand-drawn poster promotes a basketball game played on 25 January 1919 between St. Joe’s Prep and Catholic High, now known as Roman Catholic.  The artist was senior Clem McGovern of the Class of 1919.  As the story goes, after the Prep defeated the Cahillites by a score of 26 to 20, Clem gave the poster to Charles Laughlin, captain of the basketball team and a classmate of McGovern.

     Charlie eventually gave the poster to his daughter Betty, who married Joe Flynn of the Class of 1950.  The Flynns enjoyed the poster for many years, then donated it to the Villiger Archives at Joe’s 60^th reunion in the Fall of 2010.  The poster now hangs proudly in the second floor hallway of Jesuit Hall in a period frame.

     Beside the poster hangs a framed photo of the 1918-1919 squad.  Under the direction of Coach John Donoghue, the team was crowned the Catholic City Champions (the Philadelphia Catholic League did not yet exist) with a record of 21 and 2, and Charlie Laughlin was Philadelphia’s 1919 Free Throw Champ.

Home again: You can see these two great artifacts on display on the second floor of Jesuit Hall.