Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringold County, Iowa
March, 2000

Funeral Mass for Sister Bernadine E. PIEPER CHM [Congregation of the Humility of Mary], 81, of Davenport, Iowa will be 11:00 a.m. Friday, February 25, 2000, at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, Davenport. Burial will be in Mount Calvary Cemetery, Davenport. Visitation will be 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 24 at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, Davenport. A rosary service will be recited at 4 p.m. at the Church and a Vigil Service will be recited at 7 p.m. at the Church. Halligan McCabe De Vries Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Sister died Sunday, February 20, 2000 at St. Anthony Care Center, Rock Island, Illinois.

Bernadine Elizabeth PIEPER was born February 21, 1918 in Mount Hammil, Iowa to Frank William and Mary (NICHTING) PIEPER. She entered the Congregation of the Humility of Mary September 8, 1938 and made her Final Profession August 15, 1944. She attended St. John high school, Houghton, Iowa and Ottumwa Heights College, Ottumwa, Iowa. She received her B.S. from Marycrest/Ambrose College, Davenport, her M.S. from St. Louis University and her PhD in zoology and botany from the University of Iowa.She took her post graduate work at Penn State, Michigan University, University of Michigan, University of Colorado and the University of Iowa.

Sister was a teacher at St. Mary's School, Ottumwa and taught biology and math at Marycrest College. She was assistant dean at Marycrest College, President of the Congregation of the Humility of Mary from 1966 to 1976, president, Ottumwa Heights College, Ottumwa from 1977-1979, executive secretary North Central Region American Friend Service Committee from 1979 to 1986, pastoral associate, Leon, Iowa and Prison Ministry and Rainbow Literacy Center volunteer, Canton, Mississippi.

Memorials may be made to CHM Retirement Fund or Our Lady of the Praire Retreat c/o CHM.

Sister Bernadine PIEPER was born on a farm in north Lee County, Iowa, the oldest of five children. Her borther, Jim, and his sons now farm the land their great-grandfather purchased 100 years ago.

Sister Bernadine holds a doctorate in zoology with a minor in botany from the University of Iowa. She taught biology for 22 years at Marycrest College in Davenport.

Before coming to Maloy, Sister devoted her talents to teaching in grade school and college and was president of her community, the Sisters of the Humility of Mary. Several sisters from this order taught in Maloy throughout the years. Sister Bernadine was president of the Ottumwa Heights College in Ottumwa.

For seven years, she was the administrator for the North Central Region of the American Friends Service Committee, an international peace and justice organization.

Between her teaching and AFSC roles, PIEPER wrote a book on the order of the Humility of Mary.

Sister came to Maloy as a member of the Leon Team Ministry in August and resides in the church rectory. Her vivacious personality and compassion for others make her a special new member of our community.

- Maloy Centennial Book

  Modesto Bee
Modesto, California
Thursday, September 24, 1970
page B-8

LOS BANOS, CA -- The head of the order of Catholic nuns which operates the Los Banos Community Hospital cautioned last night that if internal problems at the hospital are not resolved soon the community may find itself with sisters to run the facility.

Sister Mary Bernadine PIEPER, mother superior of the Sisters of the Holy Humility of Mary, of Ottumwa, Iowa, issued the warning afater an announcement that the hospital's nine-member governing board, of which she is a member, had in a closed session minutes earlier voted to "relieve Dr. Albert L. SOLGAARD of his duties as medical staff representative on the board."

A written statement of the action, read by Sister Ann, assistant hospital administrator and member of the board, said Dr. SOLGAARD was released from the board "because of conduct inconsistent with his duties as a member of the board. . . " The action, however, does not removed him from the hospital's medical staff.

Sister Bernadine, who works out of Ottumwa, said, "I shall expect to see cooperation between the medical staff and the governing board and I have asked the sisters to let me know by the first of December how well this has been accomplished."

She added, "If there has not been notable progress it seems to me it would give the sisters a month in which to secure replacement."

She added that the congregation has begun a process of "open application" where the sisters are no longer sent to places unless they themselves want to go, "so it is up to the people here to make the hospital a kind of place where the Sisters of Humility will find it possible to be a real service and this is something we all have to do together."

She said it is up to the community to provide an atmosphere that "you'll have sisters that want to come here."

She drew applause when, looking out over the crowd of close to 200 persons who attended the meeting at the junior high school gym, she said, "I trust this means a vote of confidence inthe operation of the hospital."

The attendance was less than half that of a meeting of the board last month when the delegation came to protest the curtailment of certain surgical privileges of Dr. James SMITH and Dr. John MEVI through action initiated by Dr. SOLGAARD and Dr. Diego BERMUDZ. The privileges have since been restored pending further investigation.

A detailed explanation of the legal framework of the hospital was given by Thomas COLLINS, an attorney for a Los Angeles-based firm specializing in non-profit corporations such as the hospital.

COLLINS said the nine-member board, composed of five nuns, three lay persons from the community and a representative of the medical staff is charged with the hospital's operation and while it is supposed to listen to recommendations from the medical staff, it has the final say.

In response to a question by Otto ZENTER, when questions were invited from the floor, COLLINS said that should the hospital close, the remaining assets and property after payment of all debts and obligations would have to be distributed to a non-profit fund, foundation or corporationoperated exclusively for charitable, education, religious or scientific purposes.

He said the hospital's bylaws do not require that upon dissolution its assets be distributed in California but that "it is highly unlikely that they (the assets) would be permitted to be removed from this area. As a practical matter in distributing assets from non-profit corporations the attorney general looks at the locale from which the funds come . . ."

Member Robert FALASCO of the governing board explained that initially three sisters of the Humility of Mary, who were residents of Los Banos, incorporated the hospital and adopted a set of bylaws calling for the nine members who were appointed by the incorporating sisters.

He added, that while the three incorporating nuns happened to be sisters of the order from Iowa, "we wouldn't have had any hospital without them because when the moneylenders were around they wanted them to sign the note."

Sister Bernadine said that, "perhaps it would ally your fears if I tell you that we have no intentions whatsoever of transferring any of the assets from Los Banos to Iowa."

"What we have come in for is to be of service. We have no wishes whatsoever to use this hospital for our own debits or anything of that nature. In fact the people here are the contributors and if we purport to be women of conscience it would seem to me this would be something that would not be right at all."

FALASCO said under the hospital's bylaws the medical staff will recommend another doctor to replace SOLGAARD on the board.

LOS BANOS, CA -- Leo USTICK, administrator of the 288-bed Nevada Convalescent Center at Las Vegas, Nev. has been employed as administrator of the Los Banos Community Hospital.

This was announced during a meeting of the hospital's governing board last night. He will start in mid-October. . .

USTICK served in the Navy from 1944 to 1968, holding the post of administrator of the dispensary at Norfolk, Va. as his last Navy assignment.

Prior to his Las Vegas job he was consultant of hospital relations for Medicare administration for Nevada and Washington.

C

The JZ Prairie and Grove (later re-named the Old Railroad Prairie and Grove) in Maloy was begun by Sister Bernadine PIEPER (1918-2000). Sister Bernadine was living in Maloy when the Catholic Church acquired a portion of abandoned railroad right of way. Bernadine and Father John ZEITLER decided that "a demonstration plot showing the way Ringgold County looked 150 years ago would be an educational and environmentally-sound project."

In 1989, after much planning, the project was begun.

On May 26, 1989, volunteers sowed praire grass seeds and transplanted wildflower seedlings. Slowly, the grasses took hold and the flowers spread. Over the years, Bernadine and others added more species of wildflowers (collected locally).

Now, after twenty years of development, the praire grasses grow tall and the wildflowers take their turns brightening the landscape.

In 1993, Sister Bernadine wrote a series of articles for the Mount Ayr Record-News, "A Year in the Life of the Prairie" which described the progression of events in the tall grass prairie throughout the year.

Last Saturday morning, taking advantage of a favorable southeastern breeze, we set fire to a couple years' worth of prairie growth.

The first controlled burn of the JZ Prairie in Maloy was on April 26, 1993 -- nearly four years after the initial planting.

In a 1993 article Bernadine described how periodic fires helped maintain the ancient prairies by suppressing the growth of trees and brush, how the Native Americans set fires to control the grazing patterns of the buffalo herds, and how wildfires were a hazard for the early settlers.

Sister Bernadine concluded, "The prairie fires of eons ago as well as of today all say to us that fire is integral to prairie. The natural prairies which met our ancestors, no less than the JZ Prairie, are a particular hybrid of nature and culture, fashioned by a cultural gift -- or blessing -- fire."

Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat is the fulfillment of a dream for a place of spiritual renewal in the Iowa heartland by a prayerful monk, a forward-thinking pastoral team and a visionary religious community with a commitment to spiritual growth and care of the earth.

In the late 1970s, when the Sisters of Humility were negotiating the sale of Ottumwa Heights College in Ottumwa, Iowa, concern was expressed by the school’s president, Sr. Bernadine PIEPER, about how to continue the religious mission of the college. A survey of parishes in the area indicated a great need for adult religious education and in 1979, New Horizons of Faith was chartered with an active board of directors meeting regularly to evaluate the parish educational needs of the Diocese of Davenport.

Throughout the 1980s, under the auspices of New Horizons of Faith, Father Vincent FABULA, a monk of New Melleray Abbey near Dubuque, Iowa, and Sister Joann KUEBRICH conducted adult religious education programs in the rural parishes of eastern Iowa. Over and over they heard requests from the laity for more opportunities for spiritual renewal. It soon became clear that what was needed was an accessible place for prayer; a centrally located retreat center devoted to spiritual growth and renewal for God’s people in the Davenport diocese.

Driven by a dream for a place of spiritual stillness, Father Vincent and Sister Joann toured the countryside looking at properties. They finally found the 200-acre DIERICK farm near Wheatland. With support from several state and federal conservation programs, a wild life pond was built and 90 acres of native prairie grasses and a variety of trees were planted. The Victorian farmhouse was restored and the property was named Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat.

Sadly in July, 1998, only months after the first guests were hosted at The Prairie, Father Vincent died of cancer. The ownership of The Prairie property reverted back to the Abbey but there was no one available to take over its operation.

In a letter to Humility of Mary president, Sister Jude FITZPATRICK, The Prairie was offered to the Sisters of Humility. The community became intrigued not only with the idea of a spiritual reflection center but the wooded location and native prairie grasses complemented the Sisters’ priority of "care of the earth." In 1999, the Congregation purchased the property with the goal of expanding the facility into a place of solitude and spiritual reflection for the CHM community as well as spiritual seekers of all faiths.

In order to accommodate larger groups, the Sisters launched a capital campaign to build "Prairie Heights," an all-purpose conference facility. As it was being completed, Marycrest College, founded in Davenport by the Sisters of Humility, closed its doors and two religious landmarks from the campus found new homes at The Prairie:

The Stations of the Cross from Our Lady’s Chapel were converted to outdoor Stations and now surround the labyrinth. Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat was officially blessed on October 4, 2003. Since then thousands of guests have come to relax, reflect and rediscover God’s voice in "the stillness" of The Prairie.

Sister Bernadine E. PIEPER

Sister Bernadine PIEPER was a member of the Congreagtion of the Humility of Mary and a life-long educator. Berandine earned a Ph.D in biology and taught at the college level [Marycrest College] for years. Before she left the education field, she also served as president of a college founded by her community.

As a scientist and an educator she developed a deep regard for the land, and an equally ddep commitment to prudent land use and protection. In her advocacy for care of the land, she developed (whether intentional or not) a very effective model for advocacy in general.

Bernadine's approach to advocacy for the land began on a personal level. She planted a great organic vegetable garden every summer. She planted and cared for perennial flower gardens and a rich variety of trees. On a community level, she helped to restore and care for a stretch of native prairie in the small town [Maloy] in Iowa where she lived. And she helped educate the community about the seasons and value of the prairie by writing articles for the loca newspaper [Mount Ayr Record-News] and hosting field trips for school children. Bernadine's approach to advocacy extended to a policy level as well. She participated at the state and national level in organizations that promoted policies related to land use and protection.

Bernadine's approach to advocacy for the land had a personal level, a community level and a policy level. She had a personal commitment to and engagement in the chage for which she advocated. She educated and engaged her community with regard to that change also. She advocated for change at a policy level as well. She was a triple threat.

Children & Family Urban Ministries, Summer 2008 Newsletter. Des Moines, IA

The statue of Mary, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom
now at Marycrest College, Davenport, Iowa

NOTE: Sister Bernadine PIEPER's book, Footprints: The Story of the Sisters of the Humility of Mary, Ottumwa, IA, Ottumwa Printing Co., 1978, is available from the Hooley-Bundschua Library, Avila University. Check with your local library for a possible inter-library loan.

Transcription and Note by Sharon R. Becker, April of 2010

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, June 9, 2011

The small prairie planting along the former railroad right-of-way in Maloy has undergone a few changes recently with a new sign and a new owner. The planting was organized 22 years ago by Sister Bernadine PIEPERr in 1989 on former railroad land acquired by the Catholic Church. Sister Bernadine had come to the conclusion that (in her words) "a demonstration plot showing the way Ringgold county looked 150 years ago would be an educational and environmentally-sound project."

As part of the liquidation of real estate following the closing of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Maloy in 2009, the prairie planting was turned over to Don RAY, who had participated in the initial planting and who has been maintaining the area for the past several years.

Photograph Courtesy of Mount Ayr Record-News

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, June of 2011

Immaculate Conception Church, Maloy