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The Fire of 1929
It seems that almost every religious community that I’ve gotten to know has lived through a fire. Sometimes it’s their motherhouse or a big convent, other times it’s one of their schools or places of ministry. The Monroe IHM Sisters are no exception. In our collective memory is “The Fire”, a blaze that destroyed our college and academy.
Here’s how Sister Amata Miller, IHM, described it in “An Enterprise of Sisterhood: Building the IHM Motherhouse in the 1930s” (Building Sisterhood
On 3 June 1929, a disastrous fire gutted St. Mary College and Academy in the southeastern Michigan city of Monroe. Though no one was injured, the destruction of the newly renovated building — housing their premier educational institution — was a crushing blow to the IHM congregation. Keeping all-night vigil at the site of the tragedy, and providing sandwiches and coffee to those who had come to help fight the blaze, were the two women who together would lead the IHM congregation through the rebuilding process: Sister Ruth Hankerd, who would become the general superior in 1930, and Sister Miriam Raymo, who would be her partner as congregational treasurer.
Sisters Ruth and Miriam decided to not only rebuild the academy, but to build a new Motherhouse, as the current one (located on the banks of the River Raisin) was a “jerry-built complex” that was “rapidly falling into decay”.
What is amazing about all this, is that this project of rebuilding not one but two major complexes happened in the midst of the Great Depression. Sister Amata notes that the building project was reportedly one of the largest going on in the country at the time with skilled tradesmen coming long distances to work on it. It took the care and remarkable business and financial savvy of Sisters Ruth and Miriam as well as the scrimping and saving of the entire IHM community to make it through those years. Even though it was a difficult period, we never missed a payment.
And the building, though recently renovated, continues to serve us well.
Thanks to our amazing IHM Archivist Donna Westley
for the info and photo!
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