Journeys of Ursuline Academy & College: Photographs and Memories from Paola, Kansas 1894-2009 (ISBN # 978-0-9822705-1-6) is a new history book chronicling the interaction between the citizens of Miami County, Kan., and the Ursuline Sisters. With its rich photo documentation and memories of local citizens, these 252 pages of public and personal history will appeal to those directly touched by the Ursulines in Paola as well as to those interested in local, popular, or religious history.
The book is available at Amazon.com and at the Miami County Historical Society, 12 E. Peoria, Paola, KS 66071. The book is selling for $34.95 on Amazon.
In 1894, a small group of Ursuline Sisters settled in Paola, Kan., after breaking with the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, Ky. Within a few years, with the assistance of local citizens they established an academy and college, which educated young woman from many states, Latin America, and Asia. The Ursuline Sisters of Paola closed the gates of the 35-acre convent grounds in 2009 to merge with the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph in Maple Mount, Ky.
In Journeys, the Miami County Historical and Genealogical Society captures the day-to-day and person-to-person impact of the Ursulines on Paola and of the town on Ursuline. In addition to newspaper, yearbook, and historical society archives, Mildred Haley, lead writer for the project, had the use of personal scrapbooks and photo albums loaned by local residents. To personalize the history, numerous current and former Paolans wrote personal narratives of moments they and Ursuline shared when it was a vital part of the Paola landscape and community.