Despite the fact that the new St. Benedict's Hospital boasted of a modern heating system, an operating room, two private rooms, wards, and a kitchen, only ten patients were received during the first two months. The sisters began to worry about their hospital project until a cyclone swept over St. Cloud and the neighboring towns killing 58 and injuring hundreds. It wrecked all in its wake but the hospital which became the center for rescue work. The sisters toiled for 48 hours before relief came from the Twin Cities and neighboring towns. The catastrophe broke down the prejudice against hospitals and, thereafter, St. Benedict's Hospital did not lack patients; at the close of the second year of service, the number of patients received reached 400. When over-crowded conditions forced the sisters to build a new hospital, St. Benedict's Hospital was converted to an academy of art and music (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives , McDonald, page 254).
Group from the "Patriotic Pageant." View of women, wearing theatrical costumes, standing and sitting in rows, with some women holding trumpets to their mouths, river in background.
Exterior view of the Alumni House. Built by Claude Lewis, brother of author Sinclair Lewis, in the late 1920s, St. Cloud State acquired the home in 1973. Formerly known as the Alumni House, the home's name was changed to Lewis House in 2011.
Exterior view of the Alumni House. Built by Claude Lewis, brother of author Sinclair Lewis, in the late 1920s, St. Cloud State acquired the home in 1973. Formerly known as the Alumni House, the home's name was changed to Lewis House in 2011.