Tagging along with his grandfather to various job sites brought a young Jamie Peace to St. 20世纪60年代初的博纳旺蒂尔校园. He hailed from a family of master stonemasons and the university’s brick and mortar projects at the time (Doyle Hall and the 政府 Building) kept the crews busy, offering him a chance to watch artisans at work.
By the time the Reilly Center and Shay-Loughlen Halls were being built in back-to-back construction contracts, Peace was old enough to be moving about on his own and curious enough to be scolded for wandering into construction areas.
He also met the friars, and a lifelong bond was forged.
Peace grew up in Portville, New York, the eldest of five children in a Catholic family. His maternal grandfather, Jack Rowe, was founding partner of Stohr & Rowe masonry contractors in the mid-1930s. His uncles, father, and he himself helped continue the company into the 1990s. But his strong connection with the university drew him to creating a career here.
For 43 years and 44 classes, Peace has worked at St. 博纳旺蒂尔. He began as a roustabout and today serves as manager of mail and receiving.
“博纳旺蒂尔是我的生命，”他说. “Now my family is very much a Bona friar family.”
他的妻子伊冯(Yvonne)在全球网赌十大网站 Friary for 22 years and is now with 大学的部门. 他们的女儿, 德文郡, 和儿子, 乔, joined her at work in the Friary from the time they were born until they were each three years old. 这些天, the family can often be found visiting the friary or hosting the friars for barbecues at their home.
One friar whose memory will always linger with Peace is Fr. 格瓦斯·怀特，O.F.M., a 1951 alumnus who served 47 years at St. 博纳旺蒂尔.
“Fr. Gervase baptized both of our children and was the celebrant at our 25th wedding anniversary in the chapel,和平说.
Fr. Gervase was also the one who arranged for a playpen and crib in Yvonne’s office in the Friary for 德文郡 and 乔. 事实上, all of the friars helped keep an eye on the kids as their presence in the world was due to much prayer from the friars and 16 years of infertility treatments for Jamie and Yvonne.
“Br. 乔·赖利，神父手下的牧师. 他会向圣. Gerard, the patron saint of motherhood,” said Peace. “我们的儿子就是以他和圣人的名字命名的.”
Peace would join his family and the friars for lunch in those early years and would take the kids on the mail run with him. He’d strap them into a baby carrier, grab the mail, and go.
“You couldn’t do something like that today,他说, his smile hinting what good memories those mail runs remain.
His connection with the friars has only grown stronger through the years.
"Jamie has been one of the most faithful and dependable companions of the friars and their mission over the course of several decades,”他说。. 泽维尔·休伯特，O.F.M.修道院的守护者. “His attention to detail and industriousness can always be counted on, even during the most difficult of times and situations."
这些天, Peace works hard to keep ahead of the increased demands of the mail. While the use of stamps has decreased, the number of parcels has risen sharply. 邮寄文凭, 招生材料, 募捐活动, and athletic tickets take up the bulk of his time, 即使自动化程度提高了.
“如果你在工作上落后了, 你没有赶上进度,和平说, which is why he gets moving the minute his feet hit the floor in the morning.
他早上5点45分到学校.m. Lunch is usually a quick 15-minute break, only taken when the morning mail run is complete. He walks approximately 15 to 16 miles per day, averaging well over 10,000 steps before noon. As for mail pieces, he estimates that he has delivered tens of thousands.
“我很幸运，”他说. “In my position, I see and talk with everyone from the president on down. And I see the students through the years, many of whom look me up when they visit after graduating.”
His favorite spaces on campus include the Friary, built in 1986 by P&H砌体和多伊尔的教堂. “It’s the most beautiful chapel, so elegant and yet so plain,他说. His father and an elderly bricklayer from Germany built the reredos, which is the ornamental screen at the back of the altar, 材料从意大利进口.
He also loves the brickwork found in Francis Hall.
“Those bricks are from the Hanley brick company founded in the 1800s in Bradford, Pennsylvania. They are coal-fired, which gives them that special coloring,他说. “The Hanleys called it the ‘博纳旺蒂尔 Blend,’ and they made it especially for Tom Plassmann.”
The bricks used for Doyle Hall and the 政府 Building, he noted, are gas-fired. Each of the buildings feature “cross sets” within the brick design.
“与全球网赌十大网站 has tremendously impacted my life,和平说. “I just try to do a good job every day, continuing what was started so long ago. 今天这里发生了什么, with the many new academic programs and enhanced learning spaces, 这很令人兴奋. The dream continues and I’m proud to be part of it.”
作者:苏珊·安德森
2021年12月