Reverend Water Hammon,
O.F.M.
Preacher, Pastor, Writer
Walter Hammon was born in Philadelphia,
PA
on July 21st, 1894. He
was the son of William and Julia (Marrah) Hammon.
On August 12th, 1920, Fr. Mathias Faust received him into the
Franciscan novitiate at
Paterson,
NJ. He began his studies in philosophy
in Croghan and continued with theology in Allegany,
NY. The
St.
Bonaventure Church in Allegany was the site of his ordination to the
priesthood on May 29th, 1927. Bishop
Mark Gannon, D.D. of Erie was the ordaining prelate.
While a student at St. Bonaventure's College and Seminary
he was instrumental in the construction of the Grotto
of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Soon after his ordination, he volunteered for the Chinese
Mission. Here Rev. Hammon was forced
to hide in an attic for several months due to political upheaval which had major
repercussions against western churches. After
living through this turmoil in
China
, permission was granted for him to return to the United States.
Since Fr. Hammon was a good public speaker, he served
several years on the New York Missionary Band.
He then taught for a year at Callicoon.
In 1933, he was appointed pastor of
St. Joseph’s Church in Wilkes-Barre,
PA. For four years, alongside his other duties, he redecorated and
landscaped the grounds with beautiful flowers and shrubbery.
Between 1940 and 1946, in response to Bishop Peter L.
Ireton’s request for friars to work in the region, he performed pastoral
duties in Emporia,VA. After
moving to Clarksville, VA in 1946, and despite
constant difficulties in securing materials and labor, he erected a church and
rectory for the growing Catholic population. After the dedication of the
building, he left for his new assignment at St. Francis Monastery in New York. In 1949, he returned to Virginia
for two years of duty. In 1951, he
was appointed provincial Archivist, with residence at
Holy
Name
College
in Washington,
DC. Here Fr. Hammon discovered
numerous documents which were previously unknown. He
microfilmed all his findings and assembled a complete record of the history of
the province.
In 1958, Rev. Walter Hammon, O.F.M. published The
First Bonaventure Men. The book
marked the centennial of the founding of St. Bonaventure University.
The book traces the history of the college and seminary from its founding
in 1856 to 1886. It was published by
St. Anthony’s Press. The
First Bonaventure Men is a skillfully
written story. It begins with
Nicholas Devereux and Bishop Timon of Buffalo starting the college and leads
into the series of administrators who saw St. Bonaventure’s needs and directed
it towards those ends.
Fr. Walter Hammon died after a long illness on February 24,
1959.
The Archives collection includes one box (.14 cu. ft.) of
material related to Hammon's writing of The First Bonaventure Men
including a typescript and correspondence relating to the publication of the
book.
Sources:
"Fr. Walter Hammon." The Provincial Annals (May 1959): 111-2.
Hammon, Walter, OFM. The First Bonaventure Men. Paterson: St.
Anthony's Pr., 1958.
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______________________________________________________________________________________
This site was created by Christopher Dianetti, intern in the St. Bonaventure
University Archives located in Friedsam Memorial Library during the spring 2006
semester.
Last updated: 30 August 2006
