The Prep School Cultivated a Rich Heritage

Throughout the rich history of the Prep School, countless Prepsters bonded at Saint Vincent to form lifelong friendships that have produced many fond memories. The quality of education was a compelling reason for why so many parents entrusted their sons to the Benedictines, but the Prep experience was a special one, under the tutorage of the Benedictines, and it had to be lived to be fully appreciated. Saint Vincent will always be a special place for Prepsters because of the role that the Prep played in shaping their lives.

Between arriving as boys and graduating as men, Saint Vincent is the place where so many Prepsters ate, slept, studied, and prayed. It is the place where, by day they learned Latin, French, German, and English; history and religion; algebra, geometry, and trigonometry; chemistry and physics. Saint Vincent is the place where they played in the band and where they first appeared on stage. It is the place where they became skilled orators and debaters. It is the place where the football and basketball games were cheered on by Prepsters in the stands, with an intensity matching the competitiveness of their fellow Prepsters on the field. It is the place where they played intramural sports, where they swam or skated at the lake, and where they went hiking to the ridge. And, at night, it is the place where they danced - under the moonlight.

Saint Vincent wishes its campus to always be a special place for Prepsters to come home to…to visit and rekindle their memories. And…Oh! Those memories … Senior year, living in Placid Hall…Football pep rallies… Night games… The undefeated football season of the 1948-1949 academic year…Those well-chaperoned dances with the St. X girls ... Football banquets with members of the Steelers…The Shack… “Rack‘em up Corky”…The freshman dormitory, with its beamed ceilings in the attic of Maur Hall… Dorm beds reminiscent of army cots…Wooden clothes lockers…The clanging from the Bell Tower, heard at all hours of the night…A rude awakening in the morning…Lining up for a basin in the washroom…Marching in line to Mass and the refectories…Worn wooden stairs… The hallways with hardwood floors…The lighted crucifix and the stained glass window at either end of the ceramic tile-lined hallway on the main floor of “old” Benedict Hall…Waiting on tables…Silence at meals during table readings…Doughnuts and rolls - sometimes at breakfast… Soup - if you could arrange to get some at lunch…“Bearcat steak” - if all else failed at dinner…And always, Saint Vincent bread – toasted, if you were lucky…“German spaghetti” sauce…Pretzels from Br. Placid’s bakery, on your way to Fr. Camillus’ English class…Mandatory study hall, from 7:15 - 9:30 p.m.…Locking your desk drawer and lockers...Night prayers, while kneeling on your chair at your study hall desk…Lights out…Saturday night Benediction and the activities down at the lake afterwards… Sunday Vespers…Gregorian Chant at its best…Retreats before Thanksgiving holiday…Visiting Sundays…Haircuts from a classmate…“Skids”…“Windows”…Fire drills…WSVC and “the student voice of the Prep”…First weeks as a Pioneer…Where we were when Kennedy was shot…And, January 28, 1963 – The Fire.

The Prep truly was a special place.