Newark vs. Morristown
In the postwar era, the latent rivalry between the communities of Newark and Morristown for scarce human and economic resources began to come to the surface. Newark monks suspected that unauthorized funds were being expended in Morristown, and that the growth of the school was being pushed too aggressively to the detriment of St. Benedict’s and the abbey in Newark. In truth, Father Vincent and Father Stephen were masters at making due with small sums below the radar of full community scrutiny, and of underestimating costs that later seemed to escalate. At least that was the rumor on High Street.
The response to the effort to expand the former Kountze carriage house for Delbarton School use is an example of the suspicion that began to surface within the monastic community. The first floor had been adapted to serve as gymnasium and auditorium. In the summer of 1943 Fathers Vincent and Stephan conceived the idea of renovating the upper floor of the building as a dormitory to accommodate increasing resident student applicants. With the intention of making an inexpensive adaptation with cash on hand, the work was begun in early summer, and, confident of the increased capacity, additional students had been enrolled for the fall.
By August 1943, it became apparent, however, that additional funds would be required, and Prior Vincent now appealed to the Chapter for an additional $5,000. Despite the fact that Delbarton School had shown a net gain that year, the Chapter rejected the request. By adjusting the plans the amount required was lowered to $3,000, a sum that Abbot Patrick himself could expend with the consent of the Abbey's Council of Seniors or the Abbey Chapter. The abbot approached several members of the Council privately, and armed with their assent authorized the continuation of the work. But other members of the Council, absent at the time, had not been consulted, and no formal meeting had been held. Abbot Patrick later apologized to the Chapter for these actions.
Opposition to these moves continued, however, and they culminated in a long and stormy meeting of the Chapter in November 1943. A petition was presented, agreed to by almost every member of the community, which called for a committee to be formed to devise a long term plan for the development of the abbey and St. Benedict’s Prep. This was not the last time that Abbot Patrick would be presented with such an initiative from the floor at a Chapter meeting. While agreeing with its content on this occasion, he did not agree with the right to petition. Indeed, such an action is highly irregular, since only the abbot may make proposals to the Chapter. While nothing seems to have come of the proposed committee, the matter of additional funds for the carriage house at Delbarton was defeated by one vote and Father Vincent was forced to terminate the renovations as gracefully as possible.
Somehow the carriage house did become a dormitory. Subsequent events, however, made everyone glad that larger sums had not been expended. On the morning of 23 April 1947 catastrophe struck. As boys and faculty were at breakfast in the dining room of the main house, a horrified Brother Christopher Krais rushed in with the report that the building used as gymnasium and dormitory for some twenty resident students was ablaze. Lack of water hampered efforts to extinguish the fire, and the building and personal effects of students was a total loss with nothing but blackened stone and scorched bed posts to mark the spot.
In 1947, Delbarton was a school of one hundred ten boys in grades six through eleven, ninety of whom were resident students. Just the year before, in 1946, the building had been dubbed “Chapter Hall” because a General Chapter, a meeting of all Benedictine abbots of the Congregation, had been held there. Emergency housing had to be hurriedly assembled from generous families of day-hops who took in the “refugees” who had lost their home away from home.