The Record Delta
Page 8A
Friday, December 27, 2019
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HOMETOWN HEROES Hometown Heroes – Pallottine Foundation
By Alison Harrison Staff Writer
BUCKHANNON — For over 100 years the Pallottine Sisters have been the face of love, generosity and giving in the Upshur County community. The sisters set forth a tradition of healing, hospitality and hope. From the early history beginning on their mission to the United States in 1912, until the forming of the Pallottine Foundation in 2015, the Pallottine Sisters have always pledged to see out areas where they could be of help and establish faith and aid to humanity in whatever way possible. The pledge to humanity and faith is what prompted a group of sisters to come to the United States in 1912. Among the group of sisters were two of the three sisters who later started St. Joseph’s Hospital in Buckhannon. The young ladies took the train to Bremerhafen, from where they would embark on their transatlantic journey to the United States. Upon arrival at the immigration checkpoint, it was discovered that one of the sisters did not have her paperwork in order to continue. The other sisters chose to wait with her while the infamous Titanic set sail without them. The Pallottine Sisters waited several days for the next ship named the Bremen to take them to their destination.As the sisters waited for the ocean liner to arrive, they learned the fate of the Titanic and how it eventually sank in the freezing waters of the Atlantic Ocean. As the sisters journeyed across the Atlantic, they saw remnants of the wreckage from the Titanic still floating on the water as they thanked God for
Sister Francesca Lowis sparing their lives. The Titanic would not be the last brush with disaster for the sisters as they continued on their journey. Upon arrival in America, the sisters were scheduled to travel to Stella Niagra, New York to study English. The sisters would travel by train to the next destination, but before boarding the train, they received a telegram from Mother Superior of the Franciscans asking them to delay their journey until she could join them. The train the sisters intended to board left without them and wrecked before it reached Stella Niagra and many of the passengers on the train were killed. Sister Francesca Lowis tells the story of the Pallottine Sisters at each new employee training at the hospital. Lowis tells each group how the Pallottine Sisters were founded by Saint Vincent Pallotti in 1838 in Rome and
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impelled by the love of Christ. “The missionary part is very important because we started in Rome, Italy and went to Germany to start several missions, and Germany became the mother house or the foundation so to speak,” explained Sister Francesca, a German native. Sister Francesca, a teacher, came to the United States in 1963. It has been almost 25 years now that Sister Francesca has been in the Buckhannon area. Many young sisters were recruited from Germany to prepare for missions in Cameron, Africa. The Pallottine Sisters first went to Cameron, Africa to conduct their first foreign mission, it was then a German colony, and all of the German nationals were kicked out of Cameron at that time. From there, the idea to come to America was born. In 1912 when the four sisters set sail to
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The original St. Joseph’s Hospital of Buckhannon America, they were sponsored by a group of Franciscan sisters out of New York, according to Sister Francesca. From April until August 1912, the four sisters stayed with the Franciscans in New York. As they learned English and studied how schools and hospitals were run, a priest from Richwood, West Virginia visited the sisters in hopes of finding a few sisters to help him start a school back in WV. The brushes with tragedy that the sisters encountered along the way only strengthened their faith in God and helped them to be the strong women who formed a hospital and built a legacy in Upshur County. Sister Francesca indicated, “Back in those days, this is what priests and bishops did a lot, they just went to headquarters of sisters of priest congregations and asked if they had extra sisters they could send.” The Pallottine Sisters moved to Richwood, WV in August of 1912 to help the priest start a school. “In those days they had plenty of sisters and now days, not so much,” added Sister Francesca. The priest was transferred from Richwood to Buckhannon and he insisted that Buckhannon have a Catholic Hospital, although there were only around 10 Catholic families at the time, according to Sister Francesca. The Barlow Mansion and the surrounding pastureland were available for the sale price of $27,000, which the sisters borrowed from the diocese to start their hospital. The hospital started with eight beds, and in the beginning hardly any of the patients could pay with money, so they used the barter system. Anything that the sisters could use, such as coal or hay, they would accept for payment. Eventually, Sister Francesca said the sisters were told by the treasurer they needed to get some paying customers. In 1924, the hospital added the first new addition to the building. In 1930, the driveway to the hospital was paved for easier access. In 1938, a convent was built big enough to house 24 sisters, which has since been renamed the resource center, once the sisters moved to the new convent in 1992. Many years later in 1966, the new hospital was dedicated, and the Barlow Mansion and annex were torn down. Since that time, approximately every 20 years, some major construction has taken place at the hospital. The spirit, philosophy and values of the original sister pioneers have been kept alive and passed down over the many generations of sisters to staff. “In the sense of the corporate administration of the hospital, the sisters held that position up until a lay person took the position,” explained Sister Francesca. Like many other small hospitals, the sisters realized that they could not continue to survive, so the search began for an organization that would fit the needs of the hospital and they picked WVU Medicine. “We chose them for many reasons. We had already been working with them with our emergency
room, and in other ways too, so it was sort of a natural connection and we picked them out of several choices,” explained Sister Francesca. In 2015, the Pallottine Missionary Sisters established a foundation from the sale of the hospital. The vision of the foundation was to serve Buckhannon and surrounding areas, and help to support healthy lives, physically, emotionally and spiritually. The monies from the sale of the hospital would be used as seed money to start the foundation. The Pallottine Foundation of Buckhannon (PFB) seeks to partner with nonprofit, 501(c) (3) organizations that have the potential to inspire healthier choices for the communities of Barbour, Lewis, Randolph, Upshur and Webster counties. Foundation member Skip Gjolberg commented, “The Pallottine Foundation is a great example of how much the sisters care about the community. They took the money from the sale of St. Joseph’s Hospital and are using it to fund the Pallottine Foundation. This allows them to continue to give to the community to improve the health of Upshur and surrounding counties.” The PFB has four primary focus areas for funding: health and wellness, leadership development, lifestyle education, and spiritual and pastoral care. Sister Francesca stated, “The poor have always been our focus, and especially in rural areas like this, you have to look at the basic needs like preventive care. People are actually hungry and do not have enough to eat. We wanted to help other similar organizations to work on these issues and to get them to work together.” She added, “Even before the Foundation, we always set aside money for Women’s Aid in Crisis for many years; anything that had to do with new life and domestic violence.” Founding member for the PFB, Bryson VanNostrand, stated, “There is a tremendous need in our five-county service area for improved personal health, both physical and emotional. I hope that our local organizations and grant applicants will think creatively about starting new programs that fit our funding guidelines. We hope to stimulate a measurable improvement in our collective community wellbeing.” Sister Francesca added, “The opioid crisis was another big one,” that the sisters were passionate about supporting. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2019), West Virginia has the highest age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving opioids. Addiction to opioids and other substances is a health crisis in this region. Catholic charities and the Child Advocacy Center are two other organizations among many that the PFB supports. A local organization that the PFB has shown support to is Chapel Hill Methodist Church, assisting with food purchasing to prepare hot meals on Wednesday evenings that are
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open to anyone in the community. Mountain Hospice is another, to enhance and expand Camp Good Grief, a youth and adult community bereavement support program. The also work with the Mountaineer Food Bank to provide fresh food, education materials, recipes and food demonstrations. PFB also supports Rock Cave Elementary School, by building and expanding the school garden to teach students and families about proper health, nutrition and wellness. The Upshur County Family Resource Network, The Upshur County Public Library, Upshur Parish House, and West Virginia Wesleyan College are all among the many organizations supported by the Pallottine Foundation. Sister Francesca stated, “I really think that we should not spread ourselves too thin. The areas we have developed, we should stick with and support more.” She added, “Getting people to work together, and to help improve people’s lives,” are things she personally wants to see happen through the foundation. VanNostrand added, “I was honored to be asked by the Pallottine Missionary Sisters to help build a community foundation. I was born in St. Joseph’s Hospital many years ago, and both of my children were also born there. As such, my family has maintained a close relationship with the St. Joseph’s doctors and staff over the years, and I am very pleased to play a part in the Pallottine Missionary Sisters legacy in Buckhannon.” One of the main goals of the Pallottine Missionary Sisters was always reverence, respect for the God-given dignity of each person. As foundation member Dennis Xander stated, “The Pallottine Sisters have selflessly served Upshur and its surrounding counties for almost 100 years by establishing and operating St. Joseph’s Hospital. Now they have taken 100 years of equity they have amassed through their hard work and found a way to continue this amazing mission through the establishment of the Pallottine Foundation of Buckhannon. I am honored to serve the Foundation, and to help perpetuate the legacy of these wonderful women.” The Pallottine Foundation does so much throughout Upshur County and beyond, and many citizens may not be aware. The foundation wants the community to know that they are here, and any non-profit organization can apply for funding within the given criteria. The Pallottine Foundation has a website for further information, pallottinebuckhannon.org or contact Director Janell Ray at jeray@pallottinesac.org. The Record Delta appreciates the rich history of the Pallottine Missionary Sisters, all the values they stand for, and the continued support they provide to those less fortunate through funding from the foundation. Thank you to our December Hometown Hero, The Pallottine Foundation of Buckhannon.