Our History: Boarding at St. Anthony School

The earliest documentation of boarding at St. Anthony School was in the 1919 souvenir history book. It was stated that, “During the winter months, about twelve children board with the sisters at $8.00 per month per child.” It is also known that through the years if additional boarding space was needed, children stayed in the nearby Bordewick home. Over the years, the number of boarders ranged from as few as four to as many as 25.

These children were supervised by as many as four nuns at one time. Three nuns were classroom teachers and one would do the cleaning, cooking, gardening, and other household chores.

The student boarders arrived Monday morning and returned home on Friday afternoon. They slept in the large upstairs rooms of the school, which were set up as dormitories. Parents were requested to furnish beds and bedding for their boarding students. Fees were kept low as families gave what they could of their meat, garden produce, and fruit.

The evenings were spent in fun, work, and prayer. For fun, there were games such as tag, hide and seek, baseball, and making up skits to perform on stage for the good sisters. The work consisted of homework and chores around the school, convent, and church. Prayer included the rosary after supper and morning and bedtime prayers.

Through information provided by former boarders, Joan (Benz) Dietrich, Dottie (Stupasky) Klingele, and Ruth (Benz) Bange, we know, for the most part, boarding was a positive and rewarding experience.

The experience of boarding at St. Anthony School ended after the 1954-1955 school year. Even though boarding was a necessity for many, we can only imagine the heartache, sacrifice, and homesickness that were inevitable.