SBU History Newsletter no. 7 (Year 17)

SBU HISTORY NEWSLETTER

YEAR 17, NO. 7

BY DR. THOMAS J. SCHAEPER---

Shrine of St. Joseph

The two pictures above show the Shrine of St. Joseph, which is located in woods behind St. Francis Hall. This shrine was erected more than a half century ago by seminarians of Christ the King Seminary (which later became St. Francis Hall). The shrine was built at the bottom of a former oil tank storage lot. The five-foot statue of St. Joseph holding the baby Jesus was donated by Rev. Joseph A. Burke, Bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo. Nowadays the shrine is difficult to find in the dense shrubbery. The statue was removed and put in storage. Perhaps when spring arrives adventurous students will rediscover this forgotten part of our history.

Summer Internships

Thanks to a generous grant from the university, the Department of History will be able to provide some financial support to students who wish to have summer internships getting hands-on experience in some history-related activity. Student interns will be able to do this work somewhere in or near their hometowns. This could be in a local historical society, museum, state park, or other such place. If you are interested in such an internship, you might wish to contact organizations near your homes over midterm break. For more information, contact me.
One of the largest programs for summer and regular-semester internships in our nation’s capital is run by the Washington Center. A representative of that organization, Amy Coons, will be on campus this week to speak with any interested students. She will be in the campus ministries lounge from 4:00 to 5:00 pm on Monday the 20^th.　

Presidential Quiz

This week we celebrate Presidents Day (or President’s Day, or Presidents’ Day, depending on the source). In honor of our chief executives, I offer this quiz. Scroll down for the answers.
1. Who was our shortest President?
2. Who was the tallest President?
3 Most Americans today know that in order to become President one has to be a US citizen at birth. Yet this was not true for some of our Presidents. Which ones were they?
4. Only one bachelor has served as President. Who was he?
5. Most Americans know that Franklin Delano Roosevelt served as President longer than any other person. Whose presidency was the shortest?
6. Who was the heaviest President?

Secondary Education

The School of Education will hold an information meeting this week for all students considering teaching at the middle or high school level. It will take place at 5:00 pm on Tuesday, 21 February, in the University Club–2nd floor in Hickey. Those who are interested but unable to attend the meeting should contact Dr. Paula Kenneson.

Top Ten Tips for Good Writing

1. Don’t use no double negatives.
2. Make each pronoun agree with their antecedent.
3. When dangling, watch your participles.
4. Don’t use commas, that aren’t necessary.
5. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
6. About those sentence fragments.
7. Try to not ever split infinitives.
8. It is important to use apostrophe’s correctly.
9. Always read what you have written to see you left any words out.
10. Correct spelling is esential.
(In order to avoid an 11^th mistake--ie, plagiarism–I should note that the above tips were created by a former editor of the London Sunday Times.)
　
Quiz Answers:
1. James Madison, at 5 ft. 4 in.
2. Abraham Lincoln, at 6 ft. 4 in.
3. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, and William Henry Harrison. All were born prior to 1776, before there was a United States.
4. James Buchanan
5. William Henry Harrison, who died just a few weeks after taking office.6. William Howard Taft, whose weight fluctuated between 300 and 340 pounds.