Catleolic Educati,maJ Endeavors
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the Chapel of St. Ursula by the Sea, to renew their vows and set forth resolutely to begin a new chapter of love and labor in another frontier com- munity of Texas on the threshold of the boundless West. The pioneers of the Dallas Ursuline Academy were Mother Joseph Holly, the first Superior; Mother St. Paul Kaufman, who served in turn as treasurer and Superior for twenty-five years; Mother May Patrick O'Flaherty; Mother Xavier Vindrier; Sisters St. Bernard Dowd, an elderly lay Sister, and Philomena Grangors, in poor health, who had to return to Galveston shortly. The little band made the trip by train in the company of Bishop Dubuis, who went to install them in their new home, a small wooden, four-room building still preserved on the grounds of the convent. They were spared the indescribable hardships of a long stage coach trip, but not the inevitable trials and discomforts of a pioneer community. They arrived on January 28, 1874, and, after attending the Bishop's Mass, they were taken to their new home. "It was entirely empty, with- out a bed, chair, table or even a stove to keep out the January chill." 29 The W. A. Rogers family fortunately took the bewildered Nuns to their home and lodged them until the humble convent and school could be furnished. Aided by Bishop Dubuis, Father Martiniere and the friendly neighbors, everything was made ready in five days. The school opened on February 2, 1874, to become the oldest Catholic school extant in the entire Diocese of Dallas. Through hard, lean years, these brave Sisters struggled with a deter- mination that could not help but succeed. In the early winters snow drifted in through the cracks, and frost-bitten hands were not unusual. Required funds could not be borrowed, yet the urgent need for expansion to accom- modate the increasing enrollment would not wait. Fifty students were taught the first year. The high scholastic and cultural standards steadily attracted more each year from all creeds, and conversions were not in- frequent. Recuits, too, joined the Community as postulates and soon many friends began to help. Among their numerous friends, Father Martiniere stood out. "He merits," wrote an historian of the Dallas Academy. "to have his name embossed in letters of gold ... and indelibly impressed on the grateful hearts ... of all St. Angela's daughters." Growt/e and De-,1elopme11t. By 1875, a new two-story building was erected. In 1881 the site of the present Convent was purchased and one year later the middle section of the modern building was completed. In 29Ursuline Academy of Dallas, Diamond Jul>ilee, 187-1-1947 [p.]8); Sister M. A. Ursulina, "Excerpts on The Ursulines in Dallas,'' 1. Typed notes in C. A. T.
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