Cool Hand Fluke
Bronze Member
Silver Historical Artifact Found in S.F. Identified & Returned!
Last weekend I dug up a piece of metal that at the time I thought was a piece of junk. It was at a construction project at St. Ignatius Church in San Francisco. This magnificent church was built in 1914. When I dug it out of the ground I thought it was a aluminum dog tag or something similar. When I arrived home that night I washed it off and discovered that it is sterling silver. It measures 2" X 1". It has a name and letters written on it, it says: Rev. R.A. Gleeson, S.J.
Tow days later I contacted one of the associate pastors at St. Ignatius to see if he wanted the sterling silver oval and also asked if he could help with identification of the name. Last Saturday I met with the pastor and gave him the sterling oval. He was delighted and very excited about the item I had found. He said he would do some research on the item and get back to me. Below is the email I received form the pastor.
Dear Mike,
Greetings. With the help of my camera as a magnifier (and a nice sunny afternoon), I was able to decifer the name on the silver piece. It looks like Rev. R.A. Gleeson, S.J. / Portland / Oregon. If so, he was a much beloved Jesuit who first came to teach at USF, then was made first President of what was to become Loyola University (now Loyola Marymount) in Los Angeles, then President of Santa Clara College (University), then head of the California Jesuits (Provincial) and finally Prefect of St. Ignatius Church (for 35 years). He was much beloved in SF. The USF library is named after him!
Most of the previous information I got from the USF website and a Google search. The Province archivist confirmed the Provincial and Portland connections. The Provincial headquarters were in Portland for a while, so the silver piece might relate to that time period, 1914-1918. I'll let you know, if Fr. Kotlanger, the USF archivist, has anything to add to the above.
Hence, it was a great find! Many thanks for bringing it forward. The church celebrates its centenary in 2014. We are planning to make a time capsule for the occasion. The silver piece could be a great object to include. In other words, the silver might be buried again!
Best wishes,
Jim
Last weekend I dug up a piece of metal that at the time I thought was a piece of junk. It was at a construction project at St. Ignatius Church in San Francisco. This magnificent church was built in 1914. When I dug it out of the ground I thought it was a aluminum dog tag or something similar. When I arrived home that night I washed it off and discovered that it is sterling silver. It measures 2" X 1". It has a name and letters written on it, it says: Rev. R.A. Gleeson, S.J.
Tow days later I contacted one of the associate pastors at St. Ignatius to see if he wanted the sterling silver oval and also asked if he could help with identification of the name. Last Saturday I met with the pastor and gave him the sterling oval. He was delighted and very excited about the item I had found. He said he would do some research on the item and get back to me. Below is the email I received form the pastor.
Dear Mike,
Greetings. With the help of my camera as a magnifier (and a nice sunny afternoon), I was able to decifer the name on the silver piece. It looks like Rev. R.A. Gleeson, S.J. / Portland / Oregon. If so, he was a much beloved Jesuit who first came to teach at USF, then was made first President of what was to become Loyola University (now Loyola Marymount) in Los Angeles, then President of Santa Clara College (University), then head of the California Jesuits (Provincial) and finally Prefect of St. Ignatius Church (for 35 years). He was much beloved in SF. The USF library is named after him!
Most of the previous information I got from the USF website and a Google search. The Province archivist confirmed the Provincial and Portland connections. The Provincial headquarters were in Portland for a while, so the silver piece might relate to that time period, 1914-1918. I'll let you know, if Fr. Kotlanger, the USF archivist, has anything to add to the above.
Hence, it was a great find! Many thanks for bringing it forward. The church celebrates its centenary in 2014. We are planning to make a time capsule for the occasion. The silver piece could be a great object to include. In other words, the silver might be buried again!
Best wishes,
Jim
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And dontcha just love the "who-dunnit-mysteries" that accompany some of our finds? 
