The Tiger (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 6, Ed. 1 Tuesday, March 4, 2008 Page: 1 of 4
four pages : ill. ; page 15 x 12 in. Scanned from physical pages.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Tax Time is Here Again!
VITA Hours of Operation:*
Tuesdays/Thursdays, 1-7 pm
Wednesdays, 2-8 pm
Kenneth Bankston or Tom Milligan 568-3122 Saturdays, 9-3 pm
The VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Program
still needs volunteers to prepare tax returns for the more
than 2000 members of the community who will use this
critical service this tax year. For more information call
Volume 62 Number 6 • A Publication for Students and the Community of S'
Celebrating SPC History
By Mark Barnes
“...But Shapes, that come not at
an earthly call,/Will not depart when
mortal voices bid...”
Quoting from Wordsworth’s Dion,
Artemisia Bowden (shown, right)
prepared for her retirement from St.
Philip’s College, a labor of love in
which she had given 52 tireless years
of service. In telling St. Philip’s sto-
ry, one can not do it justice without
telling the story of Bowden, thought
by many to be the central figure in
the school’s 110-year history.
St. Philip’s College was bom in
1897, out of the vision of St. Philip’s
Church and Rev. Bishop James Step-
toe Johnston, then Bishop of The
Episcopal Diocese of West Texas.
As part of its ministry after the Civil
War, the organization thought it im-
portant to establish churches for the
newly emancipated slaves. Johnston
believed that there was no greater
service that could be done than to
establish a school in which former
slaves could receive a good gram-
mar school education.
The parishioners shared this vi-
sion and under the leadership of Rev.
W.H. Marshall, the Saturday Evening
Sewing Class was created. The class
was primarily girls from the church
Sunday school and was held in the
church rectory. The curriculum was
not limited to sewing, but included
other subjects that provided a well-
rounded Christian education. During
its initial year, the class served over
18 students, leading to the official
formation of St. Philip’s Vocational
Day School for Colored Children. On
March 1, 1898, the doors of the day
school opened with two students and
Alice G. Cowan at the helm. By July
of that year, the number of students
had increased to thirteen.
Mrs. Perry G. Walker replaced
Cowan after her resignation in 1900.
That same year the school’s name
was changed to St. Philip’s Indus-
trial School. Walker further reported
that three students had completed the
course work of the grammar school.
The first graduates were Minnie
Meade, Benjamin Lewis, and Ro-
setta Smith. Walker would take her
leave from the school in 1902.
When looking for Walker’s re-
placement, Johnston wanted the new
leader to be a black woman with a
strong Christian faith, pure charac-
ter, and the strength to undertake the
leadership of this young but promis-
ing school. Artemisia Bowden was
chosen to lead the school. In a let-
ter dated August 2, 1902, Johnston
extended an invitation to Bowden
to report to work on Monday, Sep-
tember 1. It was on that day that St.
Philip’s Industrial School began its
transformation into the college it is
today and “The Savior of St. Phil-
ip’s” would make her entrance.
Bowden had a vision for St.
Philip’s from the start. In her first
year, she organized the school into
three departments, Primary, Gram-
mar and Industrial. She assumed
responsibility for the grammar de-
partment, which included such sub-
jects as reading, writing, geometry,
botany, general history, and
civil government. Myrtle Hill
and Artemisia’s sister Mary JA
Bowden shared the teaching AM
responsibilities with Bowden.
In addition to her teaching du-
ties, the administrator also assumed
responsibility for fundraising. In a
report in 1904, Bowden stated, “I
can say, I believe the people are be-
ginning to see that St. Philip’s School
is the place to send their daughters in
order to make all-round women of
them. I feel that my year’s work has
not been in vain, because I can see
signs of improvement. Some of the
best girls of the city are St. Philip’s
girls. What we are trying to do is
to make good, true, pure women,
because I believe that the destiny
of a people rests in the hands of its
women...”
Statistics in that same report stated
that the enrollment for the year had
reached 80 students. The enrollment
of St. Philip’s steadily increased, and
in 1906 had reached 102 students.
During that time, the name of the
school changed again to St. Philip’s
Normal, Grammar and Industrial
School. During the Third Annual
Council, Johnston issued a spirited
plea for greater financial support of
the work taking place at St. Philip’s.
Help was given and additions to the
school included a second story on
the existing building and the addition
of a boarding facility.
In 1909, tragedy entered Bowden’s
life with the loss of her sister and col-
league, Mary. Being the oldest of the
siblings, it must have felt like losing
a child, and Bowden called deeply on
her faith to sustain her. Meanwhile,
she and Johnston continued to move
St. Philip’s forward. The year 1916
marked the end of Johnston’s tenure
as the elected leader of the Diocese
and was also the year that plans to
relocate St. Philip’s were explored.
Bowden traveled on several fund-
raising missions to secure funds
from northern friends of the bishop
to purchase the four original acres
that marked the beginning of present
day St. Philip’s College. On March
30, 1917, Bowden purchased lots 1
to 9 located on the eastern border of
downtown San Antonio from Hugo
Wiedenfeld for $6,076 dollars. In
1918, St. Philip’s relocated to 2120
Dakota Street.
Over the next three years the West
Texas Diocese experienced financial
difficulties and St. Philip’s budget
was directly affected. In response,
Bowden increased her fundraising
efforts to keep the doors of St. Phil-
ip’s open. On February 12, 1921,
the new Bishop, William T. Capers
gave Bowden his blessing and the
absolute power to “...appeal to any
source of financial aid that she may
reach...” He ended the letter by
writing that “Ms. Bowden deserved
the full confidence of the Church for
she had given eighteen years of de-
voted and self-sacrificing service to
a noble institution of the Church.”
Bowden would assume total finan-
cial responsibility of the school in
later years.
Bowden, with the help of the
Church, friends, family and an un-
yielding faith in God, continued to
see St. Philip’s grow from an in-
dustrial school to a private college
in 1927. When the Diocese again
experienced financial hardship in
1929, she again increased her fund-
raising efforts and raised $10,000 to-
wards the operational budget for St.
Philip’s College. In 1942, St. Phil-
ip’s College and San Antonio Col-
lege joined to form the San Antonio
Union Junior College District.
Bowden continued to serve St.
Philip’s College for the next twelve
years, finally retiring in 1954. She
was succeeded by Dr. Clarence W.
Norris Sr. Of her retirement, Bowden
said, “I welcome the opportunity of
my retirement. I am not looking for
another job. My dream is a reality.”
Consider a Career
in Respiratory Care
Do you like to travel or do you
like the stability of staying in one
place? Do you like the flexibility of
making your own work schedule? A
profession in Respiratory Care has
all that and more to offer.
Respiratory Care involves the as-
sessment and therapeutic manage-
ment of those diagnosed with car-
diopulmonary disease. Practitioners
perform procedures involving the
administration of oxygen and medi-
cal gases, humidify/aerosol therapy,
varied breathing treatments, cardio-
pulmonary resuscitation, mechanical
ventilation, diagnostic lung function
testing, and patient/family education.
This full-time program begins
each fall semester and is twenty-four
months in length. Applications must
be submitted by March 31. The pro-
gram consists of classroom, labora-
tory, and clinical course work.
Graduates of the program receive
an Associates of Applied Science
degree and are eligible to apply for
the Certified Respiratory Thera-
pist (CRT), Registered Respiratory
Therapist (RRT), and several clinical
specialty examinations. Credentials
are also offered through the Texas
Department of Health; practitioners
must apply for the state Respiratory
Care Practitioner (RCP) credential.
The program is fully accredited
through the Committee on Accredi-
tation for Respiratory Care (Co-
ARC). The program also received
Exemplary Status from the Texas
Higher Education Coordinating
Board (THECB) in October 2007.
If you think this exciting career
move is for you, stop by the Respira-
tory Care office in the Science build-
ing room 214, or call 531-3457. We
look forward to speaking with you.
SPC Interns Completing
First Year of Teaching
Twelve Interns in the SPC Teacher
Certification Center (TCC) are com-
pleting their first year of classroom
teaching and look forward to be-
coming fully certified teachers. Each
completed one semester of content
instruction and one semester of ped-
agogy prior to being hired as teach-
er/intems. Our interns have made
good use of their on-the-job training.
Not only are they classroom teach-
ers, but many are doing extra duties
like yearbook sponsors, science fan-
organizers and sponsors, and tutors
before and after school as well as on
Saturdays.
It isn’t easy to change professions.
These Interns have given up secure,
familiar jobs and have trusted the
Teacher Certification Center to pro-
vide support and encouragement
to assure a successful transition.
Shamia Priestley, Generalist 4-8
Intern at Martin Luther King Acad-
emy reports that, “St. Philip’s ATC
program has flexible hours that will
accommodate almost any schedule
and staff that really want to ensure
our success as a teacher.”
Karen Schneider, Generalist 4-
8 Intern at Barnes Middle School is
enthusiastic about her new vocation
and the support she received at SPC,
“(The program is) Great! By starting
in the fall you have time to live and
prepare to be in the classroom by the
next school year. Thanks for all the
help and the chance to join the teach-
ing profession.”
The TCC looks forward to even
more students and interns next fall.
The success of our students has a
direct bearing on the success of hun-
dreds of school children in San An-
tonio and the surrounding area.
2008 President’s Lecture Series p
rexico Border &
e on Immigration R
Dan Stein and Enrique Moro
day, March 27 • 11 am - 1
Watson Fine Arts Auditori
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Christine, Glynis & Agold, Cynthia. The Tiger (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 6, Ed. 1 Tuesday, March 4, 2008, newspaper, March 4, 2008; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth648693/m1/1/: accessed June 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting St. Philips College.