Maryville – Caring for Children & Their Families since 1883

When newly appointed Archbishop Patrick A. Feehan looked out his window in the fall of 1882, the sight that greeted the first archbishop of Chicago was a street teeming with apparently homeless boys dressed in tattered clothing, snatching purses, and running from the police.  On his walks around the neighborhood, he would see the boys huddled together around a fire, sneaking into livery stables for warmth, and begging for food and money on the street corners.  “These boys deserve something better than this,” he thought.

By 1883, those thoughts became a reality called St. Mary’s Training School for Boys, an 880-acre working farm located north of Des Plaines, Illinois.  St. Mary’s was a place for the boys to live, learn a trade and get an education, preparing themselves for a life beyond petty thievery, homelessness, hunger and loneliness. When it was founded and in its history, St. Mary’s Training School (and Maryville) was at the task of rebuilding lives, rekindling spirits and renewing hope.

Times changed, world wars engulfed the globe, depressions came and went, wards of the state multiplied because of social ills, drugs and gang violence, and St. Mary’s Training School adapted – always changing to meet the needs of children in need.  It was an orphanage, a chance at a decent life, an educator, a family – it was home to literally thousands upon thousands of boys and girls. This booklet tells that story in words and pictures as St. Mary’s transitioned into what is now Maryville Academy.

Today, Maryville Academy still meets the ever changing needs of children and their families: from an orphanage to the teaching family model to today’s trauma informed care model, always keeping its mission in focus:

Rebuilding Lives. . . Rekindling Spirits . . . Renewing Hope 

Directing that mission in recent years has been Sr. Catherine Ryan, O.S.F. Sister Catherine was appointed Executive Director of Maryville Academy in December 2004.  She was formerly the chief of the Juvenile Justice Bureau at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.  Prior to that, Sister Catherine was in private practice where she concentrated her practice in child welfare and family law.

Although the landscape has changed at Maryville Academy, the voices of young people are heard around the campus and in the classroom.  Since her arrival, Sister has overseen the continuation of established programs and has been instrumental in the establishment of new programs, such as the Crisis Nursery and the Children's Healthcare Center on the Northwest Side of Chicago. The Maryville Crisis Nursery provides short-term care for children of families who are experiencing a severe disruptive crisis or are challenged with an urgent family matter.  Children ages newborn through six years are provided with 24-hour emergency child care, up to 72 hours, in a safe and nurturing environment designed to protect them from experiences and environments that could harm them.  Families may utilize the Maryville Crisis Nursery up to 30 days in a rolling calendar year.

The Maryville Crisis Nursery provides families with immediate support, counseling, and referrals to community resources for extended services.  The quality services provided to both the children and families in need are free. The Nursery is one of six crisis nurseries located in Illinois, and is the only crisis nursery located in the Chicagoland area.

Sharing the same building as the Nursery, Maryville's Children's Healthcare Center is a long-term acute care and sub-acute care facility that provides specialized clinical care for medically fragile children, ages newborn through 21. The Children's Healthcare Center is a "home away from home" for these children and their families.

The Children's Healthcare Center provides care to children who may be technology-dependent (e.g., ventilators, apnea monitoring) and training for parents, caregivers, and siblings to help them become more confident when attending to the fragile child's specialized needs. The Children's Healthcare Center also offers respite care for caregivers, giving them much needed breaks from demanding schedules.  

In addition, Sister Catherine began the Jen School on the Des Plaines campus. At Jen School, Maryville provides adolescent males, in grades 7 to 12 (ages 12-22), with integrated therapeutic and educational services.  The school serves children in Maryville’s residential programs and students from the community with complex emotional, behavioral and learning disabilities.  The Maryville Jen School staff uses hands-on, alternative and experiential teaching methods in conjunction with traditional instruction methods to maximize the student's potential for success.  Student-teacher rations are as low as three to one.

In the fall of 2010, Maryville started the St. Martin de Porres program on the Des Plaines campus for young men ages 14 to 18 who have had some success in other programs managing their behavior disorders.

In the time Sister Catherine has been at Maryville, the focus has remained on taking care of children who need help. Once a simple orphanage and a family teaching model, Maryville has continued to change and adapt.  The emphasis today is on a “trauma informed care” clinical model – to get to the roots of the trauma and understand and treat those problems.    

Maryville is proud to be accredited by both the COA (Council on Accreditation) and JCAHO (the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations).

Maryville remains a Chicago icon with a rich history that dates back more than a century and a quarter.

(The early years)

Brother Teliow and the Christian Brothers – The Early Days

Brother Teliow, three of his fellow religious and thirty boys from Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood descended on Knotts Farm, north of Des Plaines, in the spring of 1882. They moved into two farm buildings and began working 100 acres for crops and caring for recently purchased livestock – on the job training for thirty city boys.

While the brothers and the boys worked, Archbishop Feehan and his board of managers were busy drawing up plans for a training school for boys.  In October of 1882 ground was broken.  As the buildings took shape, more and more boys arrived.  By the time of the official dedication of St. Mary’s Training School for Boys in July, 1883, there were 150 boys in residence. Over 3,000 people attended the dedication ceremonies.

In those early days the routine was simple – mornings were dedicated to school; afternoons were farm work, animal husbandry or shoe making.  The boys prospered on the efforts of their own labor.

By 1892, there were 325 boys at St. Mary’s.  These were true orphans in most cases and many were “assigned” to St. Mary’s by the courts.  For each ward, the state provided $47 per year for “education and maintenance”.  Brother Teliow and his fellow religious taught the boys, supervised the farm work and looked after their spiritual needs.  In the late 1880s an additional 400 acres of farm land was purchased to provide more crops for the growing population.

In October of 1899, fire broke out in the chapel, possibly from an overturned candle.  It wasn’t long until the entire facility was in flames.  The only buildings sparred were the administration building and the Villa.  Fortunately, no one was injured and all the livestock survived.

Archbishop Feehan’s dreams were in ashes.  Just as he had when he first arrived, the Archbishop set about raising money for rebuilding.  Each parish was assessed based upon its ability to contribute. New plans were drawn that could accommodate up to 1600 boys.  The Plans included were a print shop, a dairy, shoe shop, and a greenhouse – all designed to prepare the boys for life beyond St. Mary’s.

Before the rebuilding was completed, Archbishop Feehan, in failing health, died on July12, 1902.  His successor, the Most Reverend James Quigley, took up the project with a focused effort.  The main building and the north wing dormitories were completed in 1906 and housed 690 boys.  Change was in the air – a new St. Mary’s was taking shape.

Rev. James Doran: 1911 – 1928 

Archbishop Quigley began implementing changes as the new buildings were being erected.  As the south wing was completed he replaced the Christian Brothers with the Sisters of Mercy, reasoning that he intended to make St. Mary’s co-educational, hopefully reuniting orphaned brothers and sisters.

The Archbishop appointed Rev. James Doran as superintendent.  Father Doran, a good businessman and administrator, saw a need for the boys and girls training to go beyond farming.  During this time the bakery was expanded; a machine shop and carpentry shop were added; the greenhouse enlarged; the printing center was updated to handle outside customers; and a tailoring shop was opened.

The older boys attended classes in the morning and worked on the farm or in one of the shops in the afternoons.  Separate classes were held for the girls in the morning; their afternoons were devoted to cooking and sewing classes; working in the laundry; or helping the sisters keeping the younger children occupied with games and activities.

Father Doran was also responsible for bringing music to St. Mary’s with the formation of a school band.  The children were eager to make music as a pleasant break from class and chores.  Under the direction of John Clancy (an early member of that first band) the St. Mary’s Band participated in the 1925 Eucharistic Congress and, under John’s direction, went on to win many city and state competitions.

The Archbishop instructed Father Doran to accept no “delinquent” children.  Although Father Doran didn’t exactly ignore the Archbishop’s request he did rationalize that he wasn’t sure just what a “delinquent”  was.  He did know what unfortunate circumstances were for a child and he accepted most that came his way, giving them a home and the tools and training to become productive citizens after St. Mary’s.

In 1921, Father Doran added a two year commercial course at St, Mary’s – typing, shorthand, bookkeeping, and filing.  The course was open to both boys and girls who might prefer the business world to a life in shop or on a farm.

Father Doran’s health was failing, but he was not ready to retire.  After all, he was responsible for over 1200 boys and girls.  In 1926, the Archbishop assigned Rev. John Collins as co-superintendent to assist Father Doran in the administration of St. Mary’s.

Rev. John Collins: 1928 – 1936

After Father Doran’s death in 1928, Father Collins was named superintendent.  A great depression was about to creep across the country, a calamity that would place many families in upheaval.  Work would become scarce and many families would turn to their churches to provide for their children.

Fortunately for many families in the Chicago area, St. Mary’s was there for them.  The children came until there simply was no more room.  This growing population put severe strains on St. Mary’s and the Archdiocese.  Father Collins set about rebuilding the sagging farm operation to feed his children and to sell the surplus to bring a little extra income.

He also instituted the St. Mary Cardinal  - the first student newspaper.  It was a great success with the children and each boy or girl mentioned in the publication reveled when their name would appear in print.  Unfortunately, because of lack of funding, the paper closed three years later.

Early in 1936, Father Collins left St. Mary’s to accept a parish assignment.

Most Reverend William O’Connor: 1936 – 1938

The first big change at St, Mary’s under Father O’Connor was not of his doing.  Cardinal Mundelein replaced the Sisters of Mercy with the Sisters of Charity of Providence whose Mother House was in Montreal.  Most of the sixty-four women who arrived at St. Mary’s had little or no grasp of English and, of course, the children didn’t speak French!  Somehow, total chaos was avoided.

Father O’Connor also felt that the dormitories were too institutional – housing up to 100 children to a dorm.  He broke the large rooms into smaller “halls”, each with its own living rooms and shower and toilet facilities – previously, the children had to troop to the basement for their showers.  A total of twenty halls were created, each of which could accommodate up to forty children.  Each hall was supervised by one of the sisters, often referred to as the Hall Mother.

In 1938, Father O’Connor resurrected the student newspaper, now called the Voice of St. Mary’s.  The children once again delighted in the news of their home and the mention of their friends and themselves in print, whether for heroics in sports or just as the butt of a prank.

Father Collins left St. Mary’s in 1938 to head Catholic Charities and later to become the Bishop of the Springfield, Illinois Diocese.

Msgr. Eugene Mulcahey: 1938 – 1954

Perhaps Msgr. Mulcahey’s most significant innovation was the creation of a four year high school at St. Mary’s with a full range of liberal arts courses.  Vocational courses were de-emphasized and spending an afternoon farming became a thing of the past.

War was looming in Europe and the Far East.  America was involved when Pearl Harbor was attacked.  Most of the boys who completed high school went directly into the military to serve their country.  Many never came back.  Msgr. Mulcahey must have dreaded the sound of his doorbell for fear that it would be Western Union delivering another sorrowful telegram about one of his boys.

During the war, the children at St. Mary’s did their part by collecting scrap metal and holding paper drives to help the war effort.  After the war, they collected clothing and non perishable food items for those who were destitute in Europe and the Far East.

Also, in Msgr. Mulcahey’s tenure, the “yellow jackets” were introduced to the children.  So called because of the jackets they wore, these were young men from St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois.  They spent their summers with the St. Mary’s children either at the summer camp on Fox Lake in Wisconsin or on the grounds in Des Plaines, supervising the children and talking them on excursions.

In 1950 an election was held – the children were asked to rename their home.  It was felt that St. Mary’s Training School was too institutional and dated.  The new name was Maryville Academy.  When asked where they went to school, the reply was “Maryville Academy”; when asked where they lived the response was “Maryville, City of Youth” a term that had first been used on a 1946 WGN Radio broadcast, “Citizens of Tomorrow” featuring children from St. Mary’s.

 An indoor pool was added adjacent to the gym in 1951, a gift from Fred Snite, the businessman who years earlier had donated a bus to St. Mary’s for transporting the children to camp, on outings and carried the athletic teams and the band to their respective competitions.

Maryville’s population was just over 700 in 1952.  The prosperity following World War II saw a decreasing need for institutions like Maryville.  Despite the shrinking population, deficits for Maryville kept growing and Catholic Charities picked up the slack.

Msgr. Mulcahey left his St. Mary’s – now Maryville – in 1954.

Msgr. George Halpin: 1954 – 1970

Msgr. Halpin was familiar with Maryville.  He had spent time as a “yellow jacket” while in the seminary and had returned as a young priest to teach and coach.

Under Msgr. Halpin, the large dormitories would begin to disappear and the population would continue to shrink, partly because more and more social workers felt that the days of the orphanage were outmoded.  Foster homes were the preferred solution for abandoned, orphaned and neglected children.

Msgr. Halpin engaged the services of the Brothers of St. Gabriel to work with the high school boys in 1958.  The brothers remained at Maryville until the high school closed in 1966.  A new residence for the high school boys opened in 1961.  Named for Msgr. Mulcahey this was not a dorm.  There were two boys to a room and the rooms were joined by connecting baths – a far cry from the large dorms with 100 beds!  The building also housed the administrative offices for Maryville.

In July, 1962, Msgr. Halpin welcomed a young, recently ordained priest to Maryville, Rev. John Smyth, whose duties would include teaching, coaching and supervising the boys.  Father John was a graduate of Notre Dame and had been not only captain of the varsity basketball team but had also played for the College All Star Team and was a first round draft choice in the NBA.

Under Msgr. Halpin a new Science and Craft building was erected.  On the other hand, it was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain and operate Maryville’s school.  In 1966 the high school was phased out and the grade school closed in 1968.  The children were now attending local schools around Maryville.

In 1966 Maryville established its first social services department, prompted mostly by the signs of abuse and neglect that the staff was seeing with new children.  Assessments needed to be made and many of the children were in need of therapeutic treatment.

In 1970, Msgr. Halpin was transferred to Holy Name Cathedral Parish.  He recommended that Father Smyth as an excellent choice for the new superintendent.

Rev. John Smyth: 1970 – 2004

After his appointment as superintendent, Father John soon realized that Maryville was in dire financial straits.  He had to let staff go.  When there was a ballgame schedule, Father John got out the mower and cut the field so the children could play ball.

Before the term became common usage, Father John began networking.  He established a board of directors – people he knew or knew of – who had connections to those who could help him financially, legally and organizationally.  There were faltering steps along the way, but, in the end, Father John and his board kept Maryville from disappearing; in fact, it prospered, helping literally thousands of children over his 34 years as Executive Director.

Old buildings came down; new cottage-like residential homes were built.  Fund raising events were many and successful, the most successful perhaps the annual ChuckWagon event in June.

Under Father John, the Family Teaching Model was utilized.  The children participated in the running and management of their own home, doing household chores, buying groceries, planning and budgeting.  A “live in” couple managed each home, supported by a staff of counselors, social workers and consultants.  The family model was quite successful.  Father John reasoned that the same methods could be applied away from the Des Plaines Campus.  A number of satellite homes were opened along with a number of innovative new programs.  More and more of the children coming under Maryville’s care were wards of the state.

Maryville would reach a peak of 21 locations throughout northern Illinois and Wisconsin (summer camps).  Included in those locations were programs for: parenting teens; the Maryville Scott Nolan Center/psychiatric hospital; residential programs for developmentally delayed, both girls and boys; stepping stone programs for transitioning back into society; emergency shelters; programs for mentally ill and substance abusive teens; a center for children with medically complex problems; and long term residential care for boys and girls who were unsuited for foster homes.

In time, the child welfare system changed.  The children were more and more complicated and needed more and more specialized attention.  The Department of Children and Family Services population of children was decreasing. In June 2003 the last of the DCFS children left Maryville’s Des Plaines Campus. In 2003, Father John stepped aside as Executive Director and Rev. David Ryan was named acting Executive Director of Maryville.  The board began a search for a new Executive Director. Sister Catherine came in in December of 2004.

The children returned in 2007 and remain to this day.