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Journal Entry: Sister Irenaea Slyke (1896-1982)

Sister Irenaea was a member of the General Council of the St. Peter Province in 1946 when the opportunity to purchase property in Massachusetts presented itself. She and Mother Tharsilla Kramer were deeply involved in the negotiations and the institution of Camp Mishannock, a summer camp for girls on the site of the former Garnett Farm in Kingston.

September 30, 1947
Today is a day of celebration. It marks the beginning of our work in the northeast. Where has the time gone? It seems just yesterday that we first met our friend, Father Bruno Hagspiel, who set in motion events that would change the Community forever. It was a balmy April day. Mother Tharsilla, me, and the other Council members were engaged in our weekly meeting when we were interrupted with news of visitors. We were told that there was a priest and a young girl at the door. "The young girl may be a postulant," said Mother Tharsilla. And with that, she rushed to meet the guests. Returning within 30 minutes, Mother was laughing about the visitor. "The girl was no postulant," she said. "She was the driver for the priest, Father Bruno, who came to ask for our help." Mother told us that the priest was rector of a junior seminary in Massachusetts and he needed six Sisters to take over the kitchen. "I told him we never do that kind of work except in our own houses and institutions. And I told him, at any rate, we could never give him six Sisters - not even if I could cut them in half." We all had a good laugh and returned to business.

After our meeting, the conversation turned once more to Father Bruno's request. It seems he had been all over the country asking for Sisters, but to no avail. Upon his arrival in Pittsburgh, he was reminded that there were "Ketteler Sisters" here and he came to ask us for help. "He was quite enthused describing the beauty of the New England area - he even brought photographs," said Mother. He talked of their new Archbishop of Boston, Richard J. Cushing, and the deep respect and love he had for the work of the Sisters. He was sure that the Archbishop would approve of our settling in his diocese. Father brought up that since we already had two provinces in the U.S. , it may soon be necessary to form another, for Rome favored the formation of provinces. "It just so happens, that Father Bruno knows of a beautiful piece of property that we could purchase - and conveniently, it is not far from Miramar," said Mother Tharsilla with a smile. We asked many questions about the proposal, the property that was for sale, and the part that providence might be playing in Father's visit. It was at that point that Mother looked at me and said, "You seem to be so interested in all of this. Write a letter to Father Bruno tomorrow and tell him to put into writing our conversation of today. When we hear from him, we can take up the matter."

I wrote the letter and it brought forth a reply. When I showed it to Mother Tharsilla, she gave it a cursory glance and placed it into the middle drawer of her desk. There were other more pressing things to deal with. Though Mother forgot the letter, God had not forgotten. God's Providence had already decreed that in the annals of eternity, there should be written, "Sisters of Divine Providence purchase Gurnett Estate, September 30, 1946. Sisters of Divine Providence take up new duties at Miramar, January 1, 1947.

Father Bruno waited as long as his patience would allow. In June, he sent a brief telegram to Mother Tharsilla. "Did you receive my letter?" was all it said. The telegram jolted her memory, and Mother Tharsilla retrieved the letter from her desk drawer. She called a meeting of Council, discussed Father Bruno's proposal, and decided that she and I would visit Massachusetts. We traveled by night train, arriving at South Station, Boston on the morning of July 7. A young priest picked us up and drove us along the shoreline to Miramar. There we met Father Bruno who gave us a tour of the grounds and told us the history of the seminary. Later that afternoon, Father Bruno and his friend, Father Aubrey rode with us to the Gurnett property. We met Mrs. Gurnett, who was gracious and friendly. It was evident as we rode around the vast acreage that she loved the land. It was necessary to sell, she said, because she was recently widowed and the place was too much for her to care for. The property was beautiful, and the cool breeze was a welcome change from the torrid heat wave that we left behind in Pittsburgh. I overheard Mrs. Gurnett ask Father Aubrey if he thought the property was in too remote a location for the Sisters. He uttered what turned out to be a prophetic statement, "Have you ever heard that if you place two nuns on an abandoned prairie and return in ten years you will find a village?"

And so it happened. Not really a village, because the expanse of land has a way of keeping others at elbow's length, but there is a girls' camp that promises to flourish. I was pleased when Mother Tharsilla asked me to name the camp. Keeping in mind the Native American influence in the area, I researched words that might fit. I discovered the word mishonnack, meaning morning star in the dialect of the Algonquian. I thought immediately of Our Lady, our own dear Morning Star, and it seemed the perfect choice. I even wrote a poem about Mishannock that we may set to music. Two of the lines stand out in my mind as I recall the road we traveled to get here:

We are at the hopeful dawn of a bright future. The camp holds great promise as a place to share God's providence with many generations of children and young people. To maximize the use of the facility, it will be a kindergarten during the school year. And now we dare to envision a girls' school that will be the pride of the Archdiocese -- not to mention a great source of vocations! While things have gone smoothly, I do not mean to give the impression that we did not have difficulties over the past 18 months. But with the complete support of Archbishop Cushing, the determination of Mother Tharsilla, and the hard work of the pioneer Sisters in this new mission, we have great hope for the future of Providence in New England.

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