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On Friday, July 24, Sister Susan Hutchens, OSB, St. Mary Monastery, Rock Island, was elected president of the Federation of St. Benedict. The Federation is an organization of 12 women’s Benedictine monasteries that provides mutual support and assistance to its member monasteries. The Federation of St. Benedict, one of four Federations of Benedictine women in the United States,  includes monasteries in the Midwest, west coast, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Taiwan and Japan.

St. Mary Monastery joined the Federation in 1955.

Sr. Susan is the first Sister from St. Mary Monastery to serve as president of the federation. Sr. Susan made her first monastic profession in 1975 and has done graduate work in mathematics education and financial administration. She has an M.A. in systematic theology from Saint John’s School of Theology. She is currently also the treasurer at St. Mary Monastery and a talented organist. Sr. Susan’s term of service begins immediately.

Beginning with a drive-through to point out sites of historical interest, the van continued next to Baxter’s Winery. There, they were greeted by Carol Sherrill, the pie baker, whose pies were nearly as pretty as her mentor’s, Sr. Jozefa. Brenda Logan was proud to acknowledge the winery’s recent awards — including an international prize — and offered samples to the Sisters. At 11 a.m., they declined, but regretfully. Brenda also said she was hopeful that they would again begin making and selling bleu cheese locally.

The Sisters climbed back aboard the van and drove to the Academy, which now is called Joseph Smith Academy. Entering the front door, and gaining permission to roam wherever they wished, the Sisters reminisced as they walked. Much had changed, from the absent bookstore to the carpeting that ran the length of the hall.

“The wall tile has been painted over,” Sr. Mary remarked as she pointed to a spot that had been scratched off. “There’s the original blue color.”

“There’s the principal’s office,” Sr. Peggy noted.

“Here’s a curiosity,” Sr. Mary said as she pulled open a tiny door in the middle of the opposite wall for Sr. Claudia and the others to peer through to the gymnasium. Sr. Anne sniffed. “That floor used to sparkle.”

Meantime, Srs. Peggy and Mary had disappeared into the old magazine room, where more chairs and tables now occupied the space. Next door, in what had been Sr. Mary O’s office, was a kitchen.

Next, the group proceeded up the stairs to Sr. Mary Core’s old classroom. At the end of the hall, next to Brother Bill’s old classroom, the Sisters pointed to where the girls’ infirmary had connected to the Sisters’ infirmary and  monastery. Handsome landscaping, replete with a bronze statue of Joseph Smith on a horse, occupies the ground where those parts of the buildings once sat.

Back down the stairs two flights, to the courtyard where the original monastery and academy once stood, the Sisters reminisced about Sr. Rosemary Murphy’s home economics room, the grotto and the laundry. Sr. Claudia opened the Sisters’ centennial book to compare St. Mary Academy to the new incarnation. Sr. Anne pointed to a picture. “We had a trailer right here in back of Joe Hall for a while, for our maintenance man,” Sr. Anne said. “And our softball diamond was down there.”

Golds and reds glinting in the sun, diamonds sparkling atop the Mississippi far below, one could easily imagine Academy girls and Sisters striding across the grounds on their way to one job or another. The trees still standing around the buildings could attest to those times gone by.

“They might have saved a lot of trees, but they cut down the beautiful old elms,” Sr. Anne said as she pulled out her photo album and pointed to a picture. “We planted these elms when Dutch Elm Disease was killing so many trees. Sr. Jane Fleshner wrapped the trees with a sticky blanket every night to trap the beetles. She did that for a year and saved those trees. The Sisters used to sit under them. We’d have fruit bees and vegetable bees there. Those elms were old, but they were still good.”

Nearby, Sr. Cabrini was kicking at the earth under a tree. “Looking for geodes!” she laughed. “This is where our grotto was. Look, here’s one!” Sr. Cabrini extracted three geode chunks before joining the rest of the group walking along the paved sidewalk around the Academy to Villa Marie. “I always wanted this to be paved,” Sr. Anne grumbled. “NOW it’s paved.” Next on the agenda was lunch at Grandpa John’s with Karen Simpson, Sr. Anne’s kitchen compatriot. Dan Kraus had opened the old theater for a special children’s movie showing, and the smell of popcorn competed with the smell of hamburgers as they reached the table. For dessert, Sr. Mary ordered a chocolate food with nuts and eight spoons.