Visit to Springhill College

In August 2005, we were vacationing with Margie and Captain Jack in Ft. Myers, and talked about Danny being at Springhill College as a freshman. We also talked about Uncle Bill O’Leary, a Jesuit priest and Grandaddy’s mother’s brother (only boy of 6 children), who was president of Springhill back in World War II. I asked Margie if she would be willing to paint a portrait of Fr. Bill for Danny to present to the school. There is a freshman dorm named O’Leary Hall, and we thought that might be a good place for it to hang. Margie said she needed a project and would be glad to paint the portrait. She needed pictures to go by, and they were furnished by Kay.

Margie actually finished the painting in January or February of this year and sent it to Atlanta for us to have framed and to find out if Springhill would like to have it. I asked Edward to write a biography about Uncle Bill, took a picture of the painting, and I wrote a letter to the president, Fr. Lucey. Upon receipt of this package, he called me and said they would very much like to have the painting. He first put me in touch with Dr. May, his assistant who is in charge of the entire buildings and grounds. She thought it would be best to wait until the fall season to have the presentation.

I was then turned over to Fr. Mark Lewis, another assistant to Fr. Lucey, who is the archivist for the school. Together, by emails, we planned to have the presentation in late October.

Grandaddy and I drove down to Mobile Monday, October 30th, and the presentation and unveiling was scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in O’Leary Hall. We arrived at the school about 3:00 p.m. and Danny took us on a tour. We visited Danny’s dorm, the beautiful church that reminds me of a cathedral, the Administration Building where the Rotunda is located with the portraits of all those who have served as president since 1830, the baseball field where Danny pitched 5 innings on Sunday and won the game, and the cemetery where Fr. Bill is burried. It was an absolutely perfect day with blue skies, plenty of sunshine, and about 70 degrees.

We arrived at O’Leary Hall about 4:10 p.m. and Fr. Mark was waiting for us. He had arranged to have a reception following the unveiling with cold drinks and cookies. Fr. Lucey, Dr. May, some students and several of the administrative staff attended. Fr. Mark read some of the biography written by Edward, and there were flyers on all of the doors with Margie’s profile and a picture of Uncle Bill. When it came time to unveil the portrait, Danny was asked to do the honors. He did it very meticulously and everyone applauded. It was a nice ceremony.

After the reception, Grandaddy,Danny, Fr. Mark and I were invited to have dinner in the President’s Dining Hall. Fr. Lucey rode over with us, took us on a tour of the new offices, and invited us to have drinks in the sitting room overlooking the city of Mobile. Afterwards, we were escourted into the gorgeous dining room, with Waterford chandellier, huge and beautiful break-front, lovely chairs and banquet table. Fr. Lucey entertained us during dinner with many stories about the school and those who support it in various ways. The dinner was delicious and elegantly served. Danny seemed to enjoy it as much as we did and I can verify that both of us loved it.

After dinner we dropped Danny off at his dorm and went back to the motel. The next morning we attended 7:30 a.m. Mass in the quaint chapel by the cemetery we had visited the day before. Fr. Lucey celebrated the Mass. The chapel holds about 30 people and it was full. Fr. Lucey gave a very meaningful sermon about the tiny mustard seed and the yeast, each becoming something so much larger and better. He said that every small thing we do for God grows and makes a huge difference. It was a very spiritual ending to a memorable trip.