A Sustainable Campus
A Community Bands Together
St. Procopius fared fairly well during the World War One years. A strong spirit of community and resourcefulness carried the day. The college and high school (both all male institutions at the time) as well as the Abbey all shared space within the recently enlarged Benedictine Hall.
Benedictine Hall, c. 1916. The East-West addition, completed in 1913, provided new space for science facilities. The Benedictine Sisters of the Sacred Heart lived in an addition, completed in 1916, on the southern part of the building.
Source of photo: Student Announcements 1918-1919
Source of text: Voices, Spring 2004
The Abbey maintained a garden and a small farm, which provided the St. Procopius community with items such as meat, eggs and vegetables. While there was no official rationing during the first World War, Americans were encouraged to adopt "food conservation," a term coined by Herbert Hoover. Hoover had been appointed United States Food Administrator by President Wilson. His "food conservation" was often known as a more familiar term - "Hooverizing." The campus was fortunate enough to have its own farming facilities.
Sources: Historical Boys' Clothing, World War I: United States Food Administration, last updated 12-21-2010, accessed 12-16-2013, http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww1/cou/us/food/w1cus-usfa.html; Voices, Spring 2004
Students and their trunks traveled this bumpy dirt road, now College Avenue, to get to St. Procopius College.