75 years ago this September I boarded the overnight train in Minneapolis and arrived at the Glenview Train station the next morning. Brother “Bonny” Bonaventure was waiting on the platform to take me and my cousin Mike to Techny for breakfast and the beginning of what would turn out to be the great adventure.
There must have been about 50 of us for this new High School project. Father Hotze had been wrestling up all these excited youg’ns and Father Nowicki would take it from there! Now, 75 years later the only stalwarts to have remained are Bob Mertes, Don Champane and me! (or is it I?) One other stalwart, Dan Kelly, lies in the SVD cemetery in Alexishafen, PNG among the SVD who truly died with boots on.
I had first come to Techny with my parents and some of my 11 siblings in 1948 to witness Mary, my older sister enter the Holy Spirit Convent as an SSpS sister. I was 11 years old. The sisters had arranged with the SVD down the road to accommodate us in the busy Guest House they had at that time. And there I met Father Studeny who made us all welcome and adopted me and my siblings to explore the wonders of that “Castle” across the road. He invited us to make use of the swimming pool. Not my sister Peg, of course. She was a girl! She was not happy!! To make a long story short the place, the friendship and its mission captured me from the first moment and held me fast. The Brothers especially; they and the workshops and activities laid a hold on me. Later, the suggestion that I look at the idea of becoming a Priest, was completely rejected, “In all your ways,” Proverbs says: “acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.” (3.6)
Well, those beginnings were the start of activities that started in Techny but took me all around the world.
Techny, with 400 priests, seminarians, Brothers, two respective Novitiates and even Sisters was like a huge Mission Factory. We were all placed on our respective tracks and proceeded through the factory, training (Benedictine-lite) formation until, at the end of the assembly line, we were given a new black suit, a collar, wrapped in plastic and shipped off to a waiting world! Upon arrival, the suit was soon covered with mildew, the collar gave us a rash, reality set in and we faced a whole new challenge.
Techny too, has changed since then. The beautiful French garden with its celestial observatory on the south, is now a parking lot. The English Garden on the North with its pond and folly (now also removed) is but a resemblance of what it once was; two of the building’s wings were demolished, the students have gone elsewhere for studies required today and the ducks have been replaced by flocks of Canadian Geese. The busy press burned down in January, 1961, the shops have all closed and salaried staff have taken over maintaining a now beautiful campus.
Personally I liked it better in 1951 but I’m funny that way. But now I find in Act (2:17) “Old men will dream dreams and young men will have visions.” I am now happily in the first category and will leave the rest to a whole new generation which I optimistically believe will take it from here. Now, with the ever wise advice from my mentor, Brother Ambrose ringing in my ears: “Don’t criticize my coffee. You may be old and weak yourself someday!” 75 years ago! Mirabile Dictum, indeed!
Bro. Steve Pardy,