A Letter Never Sent Shares a Window into This Place in Another Time

This excerpt from a “Letter That Was Never Sent,” found among the parish historical papers, was probably written sometime after 1921 by a Paulist priest recently transferred to Austin from New York City.
 

Dear Parishioners in New York:

At last I have the opportunity of keeping my promise to tell you all about St. Austin’s and our work down here! First of all, let me say that I haven’t followed the advice which some of you gave me ‘to drop over to the Grand Canyon some fine day,’ as it happens to be farther from us than Chicago is from you. Secondly, no rattlesnakes have climbed into my window as yet. Austin, the capital of Texas, is a town of 50,000, beautifully located on several hills. They call it the ‘City of the Violet Crown,’ because it is surrounded by a circle of mountains which turn purple in the late afternoon. It is essentially a city of homes. There are wonderful trees, especially the great oaks with the Spanish moss hanging from them. Flowers are everywhere. Whole fields are blue with the bluebonnet.

About a mile from the capitol lies the campus of the University of Texas. Opposite the southwestern entrance is our group of buildings, forming one of the most attractive corners in Austin. The first one is Newman Hall, a three-story, yellow brick structure with cloisters, fronting on a landscape garden. It is conducted by the Dominican Sisters as a residence for Catholic girls attending the state University.

Behind the church, fronting on San Antonio Street, is our school, a little white bungalow with green roof, set in the midst of a big sunny yard with mesquite trees and flower beds in front and three fig trees near the sun pavilions in the rear. There are six grades and 66 pupils taught by three devoted Dominican nuns.

Sincerely in Christ,
Your Old Assistant Pastor