Senate Resolution 57

(As Adopted by Senate)

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING SAINT STANISLAUS COLLEGE ON THE OCCASION OF ITS SESQUICENTENNIAL (150TH) CELEBRATION.

WHEREAS, Saint Stanislaus College, a Catholic residency and day school for boys in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, is celebrating the school's Sesquicentennial (150th) Anniversary; and

WHEREAS, since 1854, Saint Stanislaus College has been witness to the success of over 10,000 students. As an emphasis on holistic education and the character development of its students have been hallmarks of the school for one hundred fifty years; and

WHEREAS, Father Stanislaus Buteaux, Pastor of Our Lady of the Gulf Parish in the 1850s, envisioned a school for the boys of his parish. In June, 1954, his dreams finally began to take shape with the arrival of three Brothers of the Sacred Heart. When four more Brothers arrived the following year, property was purchased and the first school building of what was then known as Saint Stanislaus Academy was erected; and

WHEREAS, The school flourished in spite of many hardships it faced during the first fifteen years of its existence, including the outbreak of the Civil War. Immediately following the resolution of that conflict, the school was beset by the yellow fever epidemic of 1867, and finished that year bankrupt; and

WHEREAS, In 1870, Saint Stanislaus College received a charter from the State of Mississippi which empowered the school to offer commercial college degrees. Around the same time, railroad tracks linking Bay Saint Louis to New Orleans and Mobile were completed. Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, the school participated in exhibitions in Paris and Chicago. During the same era, the first athletic teams were beginning to develop at the school, with interscholastic competition in baseball beginning in 1903; and

WHEREAS, 1903 brought other changes as well, including a devastating fire that destroyed nearly every building on campus. The alumni were rallied and money raised to assist in the $52,000 cost of reconstruction. The 1900s also saw an influx of foreign students, particularly from Central America and Cuba; and

WHEREAS, in 1914, the school constructed a gymnasium for the basketball team. By the end of the decade, the school, and the name Rockachaws, had exploded on the sports scene as basketball, football, cross country, tennis, track and field and gymnastics had all joined baseball in the realm of interscholastic sports. Much of the school's athletic success was owed to the legendary Coach Foster Commagere, who coached every sport and had championship teams in each, as well as Brother Peter Basso, who served as Athletic Director at the time and was later named President of the college; and

WHEREAS, in 1923, Saint Stanislaus dropped the commercial college curriculum to concentrate on the formation of young men in preparation for advanced studies at four-year colleges. Brother Peter was named President in 1926 and traveled the country giving talks on "Boyology" and the psychology of adolescent males; and

WHEREAS, in 1928, Camp Stanislaus was started to provide some fun in the summer for boys aged 8 to 14 and to promote character formation. Activities included archery, rifles, fishing, skiing, swimming, sailing and tennis and each day started with a character formation talk. Physical changes to the campus included the construction of a chapel in 1930, the building of a new dining hall in 1946 and a two-story pier in 1948. In 1959, the infirmary building (now Brothers' Residence) was added and, in 1966, the dormitory building - Aurelian Hall - was constructed; and

WHEREAS, in 1969, the school was once more struck with calamity as Hurricane Camille, the strongest hurricane on record to strike the U.S. mainland, chose to make that strike over the Bay of St. Louis. Extensive damage ensued, but the opening of school was delayed only two weeks, and Saint Stanislaus served as a refugee center for over seventy Bay Saint Louis residents rendered homeless by the storm. Once again the school was rebuilt and improved. A junior Olympic swimming pool was constructed in 1970 and the present school building was completed in 1972, and 1977 saw the construction of the Brother Peter Gymnasium; and

WHEREAS, the school continued to grow and adapt as the Twentieth Century gave way to the Twenty-first. Older resident students' rooms were wired for Internet and telephone access in 1999, and the school has made strides in using technology to stay in touch with parents, as well as alumni, living throughout the world. The latest addition to the school, a $2.6 Million Fitness Center and practice gymnasium, was completed in January, 2003; and

WHEREAS, Saint Stanislaus has endured many hardships since it opened its doors in 1854. In spite of the trials that the decades have brought, the school has realized many successes and blessings and looks forward to the challenges which are to come; and it is with pride that we recognize this landmark event in the history of an enduring institution:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend and congratulate Saint Stanislaus College on the occasion of its Sesquicentennial (150th) celebration which ends on May 8, 2004, and extend to the administration of the college the best wishes of the Senate on the future of this well-known school.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the Dean of Saint Stanislaus College and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.