His Reverence, Rev. T. Eck. O. S. B., Chosen from among men, Rev. Chas. McAniff, Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, Rev. E. L. Ford.

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1 First Solemn Mass Sunday, June 15th, marked an epoch in the history of Melrose. The Rev. E. Leo Ford, a native son, celebrated on that day his first solemn mass. Many there are who with intense interest and wistful eyes looked forward to this day. All who knew him as a boy those who associated with him have naught but praise for the you levte. A real gentleman to all, a model young man, a boy set apart for work other than that of this world. Melrose is Jubilant, Melrose is happy. We are happy not only because our community has sent forth a worker into the vineyard but we are thrice joyful because he is the first from Melrose ordained and consecrated to the priesthood. Long before the hour of festivity was sounded, hundreds from far and near were in readiness to bestow honor on him and the priesthood that he represents. Nature too was eager to present her best, warranting thereby a successful day. Nothing was left undone to make the day a huge success. The church was decorated for the festive event. Decked out in streamers of papal colors, in peonies and roses, hanging forms all richly blended with ornate vestments and flickering tapers, presented a picture of unspeakable beauty. Assisting the young levite at the solemn services were Presbyter Assistant, Rev. W. Cullinan, Dalmar, Deach, Rev. R. Eck, O. S. B. Conception, Mo., Sub-deacon, Rev. Mr. N. Neuberger, Fon Du Lac, Wis., Master of Ceremonies, Rev. C. R. Mullen, Kansas City, Mo. Thurifer, Patrick Carbin, Acolytes, Leo Coleman and Wm. Whalen. An awe inspiring masterly sermon was preached by the Rev. Lawrence Villing, O. S. B. a former professor of the celebrant. The identity of the priesthood, the indispensable value of the priestly ministry, a plea for generous souls to follow Christ s footsteps, these were the central points of that admirable sermon. At two o clock an elaborate four course dinner was served for the immediate friends and relatives at the open house. The hall was appropriately decorated with papal colors and American flags. During the banquet, a choice orchestra played selections suitable to the occasion. The toastmaster for the occasion was the Rev. C. R. Mullen, Kansas City, Mo. The following responded to toasts: The Master s Work, Rev. L. Villing. The Shepherd of Souls, Rev. O Neill, A Knight of the King, Rev. Neuberger. His Reverence, Rev. T. Eck. O. S. B., Chosen from among men, Rev. Chas. McAniff, Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, Rev. E. L. Ford. In the evening a reception was held for the young levite at the home of his parents. It was an interesting and inspiring spectacle to see clergy men and sisters and laity, young and old congratulate and give due honor to our own Father Ford. Many out of town guests were present. Card of Thanks The Rev. Leo Ford extends his sincere thanks to all those who assisted in making his celebration a success especially to those ladies who prepared the elaborate banquet and who served at the tables. Source: Melrose Bell, June 19, 1924 "All Over God's Irish Heaven" Melrose Native Writes On Ireland Revisited

2 When you publish a book about the Irish, it's entirely logical that the publication date be St. Patrick's Day, March 17. That's what the Rev. Father Leo Ward, a Melrose native, thought when his 16th book. "All Over God's Irish Heaven" was published on that date by Regnery. Father Ward, a former professor of philosophy at Notre Dame University, returned to Melrose again last summer when he served as pastor of St. Patrick's Catholic Church while the Rev. J. J. Morrissey was on a trip to the Holy Land. The current book tells of Father Ward's return visit to Ireland and to an Irish village in County Mayo where he had visited years previously. (At the moment Father Ward is looking forward to a Mediterranean tour, sponsored by Notre Dame University, on which he will serve as chaplain) Father Ward was also the subject of the daily book column in The Chicago Tribune earlier this week. Source: Monroe County News, April 20, 1964 Rev. Leo R. Ward The Rev. Leo R. Ward, SCS, 91, of Holy Cross House, Notre Dame, Ind., died at St. Joseph Medical Center, Notre Dame, Ind., after a brief illness. The son of Richard and Catherine Morrison Ward, he was born in Melrose, April 19, He attended Jackson Township School No. 6 and Melrose Public School. He taught four years in the rural schools in that area before entering the Holy Cross Seminary at Notre Dame in 1914 He made his first profession of vows in 1920 and graduated from the University of Notra Dame in After four years of theological studies at Holy Cross College, Washington, D.C., he was ordained to the priesthood on June 24, 1927 in Sacred Heart Church, Notre Dame and said his First Mass the following Sunday n St. Patrick s Catholic Church at Melrose. Fr. Ward earned his master s degree in philosophy at the Catholic University, Washington, D.C. in He did postdoctoral work tat Oxford in England and at the University of Louwain, Belgium, and was a member of the Notre Dame faculty for 1929 until his retirement. Since 1976, he has been residing at Holy Cross House. He was preceded in death by two sisters and four brothers. Surviving are 12 nieces and 12 nephews. Funeral services were held at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11 in the Sacred Heart Church, Notra Dame, with burial in the Community Cemetery there. Source: Albia Newspapers,

3 FATHER LEO R. WARD C.S.C. Father Leo Ward loved coming home. On his summer visits here, when he took over the reins of the parish while the pastor slipped away for a rest, he would talk from the pulpit to "my dear people... so you see", and during the weeks of his vacation, he could be seen strolling up and down the streets of the hometown, a tall slim figure of a man, dressed in his black suit with its white collar, fountain pen In the breast pocket, scratch- pad ready in his hand. While children hid behind their mother's skirt, or hung like a lead weight to Father's own pant leg, he would visit with their parents of times and events long since disappeared. Leo Ward left Melrose - with his suitcase tied down in the back of a springboard wagon - at a tender age many years ago, and then again, he really never left at all, his heart always being.with the south prairie and the people. In his Iowa books he spoke with love about the country here, rather prophetically too, when in "Holding up the Hills", he pointed out that this town is "kind of an iron center of things that cannot be washed away. What has kept it together?" he asked, "not riches or dough... it must really be the love of the people for each other, within the family and the community." Father is a genuine product of our soil, raised on the prairie south of town, grandson of Pioneers, the middle son of Richard and Cassle Ward. Born April 19, 1893, he attended Jackson Township school No. 6 and graduated in 1908, he and his brother, Martle, and a few neighborhood classmates, from the highest grade he could attain at the school in Melrose. Upon his graduation, his mother said, it now boys, you can't all farm!", so Leo took the required county test and became a country school teacher, teaching at Seldom Seen Country School north of Georgetown - so called, in Father's own words, "because it was situated in a wooded area, off the beaten path, and was - seldom seen." Before leaving to become a priest in the Congregation of Holy Cross, he taught classes at his own alma mater, Jackson No. 6, also known as Tick Ridge. He made his first profession of vows October 6, 1920, and graduated from the University of Notre Dame in After four years of theology training at Holy Cross College in Washington D.C., Leo was ordained into the priesthood at Sacred Heart Church, Notre Dame. A story is told about Father Leo's seminary days in Washington, when as a student there, he was studying day and night and night and day, and found what he needed most was an alarm clock. He went to his superior with the plea and was told if they gave him a clock, they'd have to give one to all ninety-nine others. To which Father replied, "It's either that or a wife!"

4 After his ordination, he earned a master's degree in philosophy at the Catholic University of America and then, on his own, traveled to Belgium to study at Louvain University and at the famed Oxford University in England. He began teaching philosophy in 1929 at Notre Dame and continued in this work for four decades and seven years, earning himself a place among the very greatest of that University. During his teaching years, he wrote many books related to his chosen field, and traveled extensively, making many trips to the old country which resulted in two of his most beloved works, "God in an Irish Kitchen", and "All Over God's Irish Heaven". When he returned to Ireland in 1961, after the publication of his first Irish book, "God in an Irish Kitchen", one woman said to his face, "Oh, the book; Some were not over-pleased with it you know." Maggie Browne was even more strong in her remarks; "You are a brave man coming back into this town." Similar remarks were made to Father Leo when he returned to Melrose after his book, "Holding up the Hills" made its way into the hands and homes of Jackson Township. His books hit close to home, but mostly, the people were proud and secretly pleased, and all felt like the woman who said, "my copy -- I wouldn't part with it, not for a million dollars." Mary Ann Murray, the heroine of his book, "Concerning Mary Ann", said at one time in regard to Father's teaching profession, "Father Ward is a smart man, but he teaches something we can't begin to understand." Another lady in the community has always maintained that, "Father Leo is the smartest man.who ever left this town!" Once he wrote home: "I'll tell you, and you can broadcast this to all and sundry - how I came to write Concerning Mary Ann." "A publisher had started a series to let each book of the series tell the story of any strong person in a community and thereby tell the story of that community. Someone told him I could do a book of that kind. Well, I set out to make Martin Murray the strong person, but he had forgotten many matters - and Mary Ann remembered them all..." On May 2nd of this year, Father Leo Ward was honored by Notre Dame In ceremonies recognizing his contributions to the university, and among many accolades, he was praised as one of the best moral philosophers of his generation. In the preface of Father Leo's bibliography, published for that special occasion, Ralph Mc lnerny, Director of the Jacques Maritain Center at the school, wrote: "That Father Ward is of Irish

5 decent is immediately obvious, that he is a Midwesterner could scarcely be overlooked, but that he is an American through and through is the most salient thing about him. Save one other. He is a priest." Now Father Leo Ward lives in Holy Cross House at Notre Dame, busy in his retirement writing and publishing books of poetry, the latest, a book in verse form, published in 1983, containing many of the great and "good things" sad by Pope John Paul II. Because of his advanced years, Father Leo has not been home to Melrose since 1973, but he conducts a wide and varied correspondence, and is visited daily by friends and former students from all over the world. He is Notre Dame, and he is Melrose - and we are proud! NOTE: Father Leo Ward died September 8, He was ninety-one years of age, and to the very last of his days his keen mind was sharp and productive. He was buried from the church of his ordination on a lovely late summer day, with all the pomp and pageantry his church could offer. As his nieces and nephews, friends and colleagues followed on foot, his remains were taken to their final resting place, escorted by the tolling bells of Notre Dame and the soft requiem sung by his brother clerics. Through the campus, to the cemetery surrounded by tall Indiana pines, we took our good friend to rest in peace in the soft breeze that passed silently among us. Leo A. Ward was a unique man. We will probably not see the likes of him again. He will be missed, surely, but he has left us a legacy rich in all that he has written for us, and to us, and about us, and we are proud! Source: "But of Course They Were Irish", by Evelyn Sinclair Tierney, pages