By Jeff Watson
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

The year was 1911 as fire swept through the halls of Saint Charles College in Ellicott City, Md. Could anything good come from such a tragedy?

Dating back to 1789, the city of Baltimore had been the seat of the first Catholic Diocese in the United States. Amidst European and American pressures, the Saint Charles College had been conceived in 1830 and birthed 18 years later. Now it lay smoldering.

With courage, college leaders decided to move toward a new horizon. Laying a clean cornerstone miles away in Catonsville, Md., the college family re-dedicated itself to building a new chapel, dormitories, classrooms, and cemetery. The year was 1911.

Swinging like a hinge on a gate, 1911 closed an imaginary door to the past and opened an invisible door to the future. What does the proverb say: “The past is history; the future is mystery, but today is a gift! That’s why we call it ‘The Present’”?

We can’t run a good race, looking back over our shoulder; it’s too easy to stumble. So, in the marathon of life, we resist the temptation to get caught up with regret or nostalgia. We also can’t wait until all of our questions are answered about an uncertain future. We seek guidance; we make plans and we move ahead.

The people of Saint Charles College launched into a new era. The family thrived, the classrooms bulged, and a community came to life. People took their gifts— whatever they were—and shared them.

For more than half a century this college community met real needs—academic, spiritual, and social. Then change came knocking again and a new door opened to the future.

When college classes ended in 1969, the dormitories became quiet—except for when quarterback Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts held their preseason football practices on the campus. While ministries continued in the chapel and at the cemetery, these gracious buildings and grounds begged to make a fresh difference in the world.