|
|
|
A large crowd turned out on June 30, 1947, when the cornerstone was placed for the handsome brick structure known as the Mt. Carmel School of Nursing.
Only a handful of Mt. Carmel officials were present Monday when that cornerstone was carefully pulled out by employees of Vilela Demolition and Excavation, who are in the process of razing the building.
Placed in the cornerstone was a sealed copper box, a time capsule reportedly holding two newspapers, assorted coins and lists of hospital personnel and staff. The box remained closed until Joe Orender of Heikes Masonry Co. sawed through the seal.
Sr. Pat Nicholson, CSJ, vice president of mission services at Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center, removed the contents, one by one. There were indeed two newspapers — the Pittsburg Headlight and the Advance Register, a Catholic publication, as well as the coins and lists of hospital personnel.
But there were also surprises. “This is a very old picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Health,” Sr. Nicholson said. “I’ll bet one of the Sisters of St. Joseph put it there.”
The cornerstone also held a small copy of the Infant of Prague, a famous statue of the infant Jesus, along with a prayer addressed to “Dear Little Infant King, we place you in this cornerstone as a shrine.” The prayer asks the Infant to bless the edifice and those who dwell in it, and ends with a P.S. “Jesus, please help us pay for this building.”
“That’s a prayer we still say,” noted Kathleen Flannery, executive director of the Mount Carmel Foundation.
Sr. Nicholson’s favorite item, though, was a statue of St. Joseph, around one inch tall, that had been placed inside a small metal cylinder. “When we build anything, we put St. Joseph in the wall,” she said. “That’s why the building is so strong. When we Sisters build something, we build it to last.”
Randy Vilela confirmed that the old nursing school was still solid. “I’ve torn down around 4,000 buildings and this was in the top one,” he said. “I also took down the old Mt. Carmel Hospital. This building is hard, and the hospital was extremely hard.”
The Mt. Carmel School of Nursing opened its doors in 1948 and continued into the 1970s when it was transitioned to the Pittsburg State University nursing education department The building later housed the Crawford County Health Department, a Juvenile Detention Center, Social and Rehabilitation Services and Kaw Valley Youth Services.
A large crowd turned out on June 30, 1947, when the cornerstone was placed for the handsome brick structure known as the Mt. Carmel School of Nursing.
Only a handful of Mt. Carmel officials were present Monday when that cornerstone was carefully pulled out by employees of Vilela Demolition and Excavation, who are in the process of razing the building.
Placed in the cornerstone was a sealed copper box, a time capsule reportedly holding two newspapers, assorted coins and lists of hospital personnel and staff. The box remained closed until Joe Orender of Heikes Masonry Co. sawed through the seal.
Sr. Pat Nicholson, CSJ, vice president of mission services at Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center, removed the contents, one by one. There were indeed two newspapers — the Pittsburg Headlight and the Advance Register, a Catholic publication, as well as the coins and lists of hospital personnel.
But there were also surprises. “This is a very old picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Health,” Sr. Nicholson said. “I’ll bet one of the Sisters of St. Joseph put it there.”
The cornerstone also held a small copy of the Infant of Prague, a famous statue of the infant Jesus, along with a prayer addressed to “Dear Little Infant King, we place you in this cornerstone as a shrine.” The prayer asks the Infant to bless the edifice and those who dwell in it, and ends with a P.S. “Jesus, please help us pay for this building.”
“That’s a prayer we still say,” noted Kathleen Flannery, executive director of the Mount Carmel Foundation.
Sr. Nicholson’s favorite item, though, was a statue of St. Joseph, around one inch tall, that had been placed inside a small metal cylinder. “When we build anything, we put St. Joseph in the wall,” she said. “That’s why the building is so strong. When we Sisters build something, we build it to last.”
Randy Vilela confirmed that the old nursing school was still solid. “I’ve torn down around 4,000 buildings and this was in the top one,” he said. “I also took down the old Mt. Carmel Hospital. This building is hard, and the hospital was extremely hard.”
The Mt. Carmel School of Nursing opened its doors in 1948 and continued into the 1970s when it was transitioned to the Pittsburg State University nursing education department The building later housed the Crawford County Health Department, a Juvenile Detention Center, Social and Rehabilitation Services and Kaw Valley Youth Services.
In use until the late 1990s, the building, once part of property which had been deeded over to Crawford County, has been vacant the past five to 10 years and in need of a new roof, plumbing and wiring. In December 2008, Crawford County Commissioners made the decision was made to demolish the building.
Chris Kelly, Mt. Carmel director of marketing/public relations, said the historic items, including the cornerstone itself and the stone work around the school entrance, will eventually be placed on display at Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center.
“It’s just really neat to look back,” Kelly said. “When Sister Pat put her hand in that box, it was like she was traveling back in time. I love to look back, but I also love to look ahead at where we’re going.”
