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By Elizabeth B. Scott
Collection Overview
Title: President's Office. Rev. James Petty, SSE, 1940-1946
ID: SMC 2/007
Extent: 1.5 Linear Feet
Arrangement: The material is not arranged.
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The Petty subgroup consists of materials from all aspects of Petty’s presidency, including financial materials.
Collection Historical Note
Fr. James Petty, who was born in Portland, Maine and came to Vermont at the age of 16. He attended Saint Anne’s Academy, the Society’s secondary school in Swanton and lived with the community during his time there. He then attended Saint Michael’s. After his ordination, he returned to SMC and held many different positions. He also worked in Swanton and in Putney before returning to Saint Michael’s as president. Soon after Petty began as president, on the eve of World War II, all the men on campus between the ages of 21 and 35 registered for the draft. Students joined the military in huge numbers following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and enrollment went down significantly. In an effort to remain solvent and meet the needs of the students, the College accelerated all courses so that graduation was pushed forward by a few months for the class of 1942 to almost a year for the class of 1944. All students remained in class for the summer. By 1943, both returning and new students were scarce, although again the president and administration attempted to fill the classroom with nurses from Fanny Allen Hospital nursing program. The nurses not only took classes but also lived on campus, although separated from male students by Route 15. Fr. Petty’s term ended in 1946, after he successfully maneuvered the College through the extremely difficult war period and began to prepare for the return of the veterans to campus. One of his last acts as president was to put procedures in motion for the purchase of the surplus army buildings that were to populate campus for the next decades.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Box:
[Box 1],
[
Box 2],
[
Box 3],
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All]
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Presidents Report Sept. 1945
- Folder 2: School of Social Welfare
- Folder 3: Nicolle, SSE, Rev. Victor
- Folder 4: Fanny Allen School of Nursing Graduation 1941
- Folder 5: Scholarships, Registrar
- Folder 6: Annual Convention of NE Catholic Student Peace Federation Dec. 1944
- Folder 7: "The Question-The Answer" Pamphlet, date?
- Folder 8: Letter of Support for SMC by purchasing War Bonds 1943
- Folder 9: War Price and Rationing Board/F.E. Robinson
- Folder 10: News Clipping on SMC from Vineulum of Montreal May 19, 1944
- Folder 11: Budget Information Aug. 14, 1946
- Folder 12: Finance Public Housing Administration, VT. 43059
- Folder 13: Federal Income Tax Exemption Certificate and Supporting Doc. 1946
- Folder 14: Swift, John E.
- Folder 15: Surplus Property Bulletins, 1945
- Folder 16: Acquisition of Surplus Government Property for Education 1946
- Folder 17: Surplus Property Agricultural
- Folder 18: Surplus Orders, Nov. 1945-April 1946
- Folder 19: Profits and Observations
- Folder 20: Fathers of St. Edmunds in Centennial Observance at SMC 1943
- Folder 21: Annual Financial Statement July 1, 1944
- Folder 22: Annual Financial Statement July 1, 1943
- Folder 23: Report on Examination June 30, 1944
- Folder 24: Report on Examination June 30, 1943
- Folder 25: Report on Examination August 4, 1942
Browse by Box:
[Box 1],
[
Box 2],
[
Box 3],
[
All]
