Among them was a signature left behind by Herndon, “big and bold and red”.
MdeC Project » Archives
Welcome to our page on the MdeC Archive Project. Founded in 1848, Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy was a Catholic girls’ school located “high upon a slope majestic” in Wheeling, WV. In 2008, her doors were closed forever. Though efforts to save the Mount’s main building failed in 2011, her spirit remains strong among those who knew and loved her. Her stories are hidden in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston Archives and this project serves to share those stories and keep her memory alive.
The Mount’s own Influencer: The Life and Work of Judith Herndon
Among them was a signature left behind by Herndon, “big and bold and red”.
In Her Own Words: Senator Judith Herndon
Judith Herndon was the original and best kind of influencer. Before her death at the al...
The Opus of the Hook Organ: The Fascinating Life of a Mount Artifact
“Simply stated, the pipe organ is a big box of whistles.”
The Night of the Angry Mob
By Christina Fisanick The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling, Virginia, was just four...
May Party Musings: Queens, Dancing, and the Most Important Day of the Year
May Party seems like one of those traditions that we always did without fully knowing w...
Whatever: The Wheeling film that Almost didn’t get Made, Part Two
by Christina Fisanick Obviously, 1981 Mount graduate, Michelle Yahn, was incredibly di...
An X-Rated Film Shot at the Mount? Whatever!
by Christina Fisanick For 160 years the women of Mount De Chantal Visitation Academy...
The Princess and the Page make Headlines with Cup Win
Today we journey back to a time when people gathered in large groups to w...
Panther Rally & Wheeling
by Christina Fisanick
The best part of working in the archives is the surprising disco...
Archive Visit 16: From the Class of ’55, “A Future Worthy of the Past”
Last week we took you back in time to the Mount’s very beginnings. This week, we’re fa...
Archive Visit 15: Harp Lessons Cost Extra
What did it cost to attend the Mount in the early days? The very, very early days? The...
Archive Visit 12: The Letter from the Martyr
A newspaper article. A portion of a letter that looks like it could still be brand new....
Archive Visit 8: Keep an eye on the Silver & Don’t Worry about Boys. Advice for Turkey Dinner or Advice for life?
Everything you do reflects upon the reputation of the school. Therefore, in placing you girls in complete charge of the Turkey Supper, Mount de Chantal is putting her reputation into your hands – which is the greatest honor and mark of confidence that the Sisters can give you.
Archive Visit 7 –It’s Turkey Dinner Time!
There’s not a Mountie alive who doesn’t salivate at the words “Turkey Dinner”. Whether ...
Archive Visit Number Six: The Intangible Contributions of Extraordinary Women
With the news that Kamala Harris will serve as the next Vice President of the United St...
Archive Visit Number Five: “Make your choice; either be burned alive in the cellar or have yourselves killed in the street.” The Harrowing story of the Monastery of Lafelt
On May 10, 1940, at 4 a.m., our monastery was suddenly bombed. We were able to get into the cellar without meeting any accidents. At 7 a.m. a solider came to show us a bloody bone, saying: “This your Chaplain’s skull,” and then he asked us if any of us had been wounded. Towards 11 a.m., another solder brought us the sacred Ciborium, saying: “You have no longer any Tabernacle.”
Archive Visit Number Four: Picture Postcards from the Front Lines
Along with the many letters shared with the Sisters of the Visitation at Mount de Chant...
Archive Visit Number Three: Linens and Vitamins and a Sister with a Station Wagon
CARE was recognized by all European countries, and its food packages reached their destination without serious damage. Monasteries in countries that were in “enemy territory” were included. Our collection of their letters of gratitude is touching, even in these late years of the 20th Century.
