A Legacy of Brotherhood: The History of Saint Joseph in Metuchen

In the summer of 1902, Brothers Stanislaus Florent and Louis Fabian took up residence in a three-story roadhouse owned by Mr. Thomas Allen. Their task was to see that the hotel was made suitable for occupation and outfitted as a training center for novices. As the guests of Thomas and his wife, Louise Allen, the Brothers found the inn comfortable, but when the former proprietor left, the hardships began. They took with them all the tools, furniture, utensils and provisions, leaving the Brothers without the bare necessities. Due to the cost of property maintenance, the Brothers had little to spend on outfitting the house.

The unenviable task of obtaining vital supplies fell upon Brother Stanislaus who proved more than capable of stretching the community's dollar to its fullest.

As Brother Stanislaus tried to make the home hospitable, Brother Fabian worked at making it presentable. He graded the land to the right of the inn and turned it into a recreation yard for the novices. The large pine and elm trees that border the grassy plain were planted by his hands, as was the small vineyard.

Outfitting the house with beds and blankets was one thing, filling it with bodies was quite another.

The community had purchased the property in hopes of opening a novitiate; however, finding willing recruits proved to be difficult. Few people had heard of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart and despite Brother Stanislaus's best efforts, the response was less than enthusiastic. However, by the start of the first session, the Brothers had managed to gather ten postulants.

In November of 1902, Saint Joseph's tenure as a training center began.

The arrival of the additional personnel fueled the already growing support for the construction of a new building that could serve as both a dormitory and classroom.

The Brothers, eager to expand, set aside a large plot of land for the project.

However, in June of 1903, a fire destroyed Saint Stanislaus College and with it the hopes for the new building.

With a new financial strain on the Province, the Brothers were forced to make do with what they had and could afford to make only patchwork repairs.

This not only meant that plans for new buildings be terminated but also that the old farm equipment be cared for. The financial burdens of the time forced the Brothers to assume the roles of blacksmiths and carpenters in order to repair damaged equipment.

Frugality forced the Brothers to adopt several cost-cutting measures, one of which involved the heating of the various buildings. In order to conserve coal, only the furnace in the main building would use the ore, the stoves in the carriage house and other buildings were fueled by railroad ties that had been obtained from the Reading and Lehigh Valley railroads. However, it was the task of the novices to transport and cut the ties into useable lengths during their precious leisure time. Armed with simple handsaws and youthful exuberance, this proved to be quite a chore — for some of the timber was of bridge length!

Perhaps the greatest asset to the novitiate was the farm. The community could afford only things such as meat, bread, coffee and sugar. The rest had to be grown. The novices and postulants worked on the farm both on their free time and scheduled work rotations. But of course, there was always time to fish on Woodburn Pond.

The arrival of the sixteen novices from France created a problem that plagued the novitiate. Overcrowding became a fact of life at Saint Joseph's with more and more novices and postulants.

It had long been a dream of the Brothers living here to construct a building that would suit the place. But the community simply could not afford such a large-scale construction project. So instead, Saint Joseph's expanded piece by novitiate was officially moved to Belvidere.

With the newfound space, the Brothers decided to establish a high school and in the fall of 1961 admitted 150 ninth grade students — St. Joseph's first class. A high school grew out of the old postulant program, which had existed for some time at Saint Joseph's. Essentially, it was a regular high school program for those considering a vocation. The curriculum consisted of six subjects a year, though these varied between classes. All four grades adhered to a core curriculum of Religion, Mathematics, and English. To this base, Freshmen added French, Civics, and Speech. Sophomores continued with French and Speech, but added American History to their schedules. Third-year students were required to take Chemistry, World History and Typewriting, while seniors took Physics, Typewriting, and either Latin or Spanish.

Construction on the main school building began in 1962, built on the land occupied by Brother Fabian's vineyard that had been planted some sixty years before. Construction was completed in 1963 at the cost of one million dollars.

Students wasted no time in setting high academic standards for themselves.

The class of 1965 had two national merit semi-finalists and the school has had students in this elite group ever since. In 1964, the debate team represented the Diocese of Trenton in a national debate in Colorado. In 1972, four students represented Saint Joseph High School on "It's Academic", a television game show similar to Jeopardy that aired on NBC. The school won, securing a set of encyclopedias for the library.

While those students were busy setting an exceptional academic reputation, they also devoted their attention to the various sports programs. In 1963, Saint Joseph's established the first varsity teams — track, basketball and baseball - followed by varsity soccer a year later. These teams wasted no time in climbing to the top. The famed swim team was added in 1968 by Brother Aldric and has since gone on to dominate in state competition.

While students expanded their minds and strengthened their bodies, they found time to appreciate the arts. In 1963, the school paper, The Falcon, had a literary contest and published their winners in a special edition. This contest continued to be held under the auspices of the newspaper until it grew into the current school literary magazine, The Vignette, which has established quite a reputation for itself and the school by winning various awards and receiving national recognition. Another outgrowth of the arts program was the Drama Club, established in 1963 by Thomas Ryan, who served as the group's director.

Since their first production of Stalag 17, the Drama Club has continued to produce plays and musicals of outstanding quality.

Saint Joseph's High School was built on the sacrifices of those who lived through hard times, but nonetheless, held on to their pioneering spirit. The early years were difficult and the challenges at times seemed to be insurmountable.

But the determination of those who lived here proved to be strong enough to weather any challenge. Today, that spirit is kept alive in the classrooms and hallways of this high school. The faces may have changed, but the commitment to excellence lives on.