I uncovered much more history than could be included in
Hidden History of the Sebago Lakes Region. Here is a story that does not appear in the book:
St. Joseph’s College of Maine on
Whites Bridge Road in Standish is the only college in the country to have “the
monks” as its athletic nickname. One wouldn’t think that the monk would be an
appropriate mascot for a competitive college athlete. However, the monk logo is
pretty creepy, its blue bearded grim face peering menacingly out from under a
brown hood. There are other creepy things on this lovely campus as well.
The college was founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, Roman
Catholic nuns with a history of work in education. According to the college’s
website, Saint Joseph's College of Maine is a liberal arts college for men and
women of all faiths, located on 430 acres on the shore of Sebago on what was
once a large estate owned by the Verrill family of Portland. When the young son
of the landowner died, he was buried in the nearby chapel before the college
itself was erected. His body eventually had to be moved, but the boy apparently
stayed in the chapel where visitors reportedly can sometimes hear him laughing
and playing.
Others have sighted another child, a small girl, near the pond.
She reportedly drowned while playing near her little playhouse that her father
had built for her near the pond.
The spirit of a nun has been sighted in Xavier Hall, which was
once the Verrill family home. This grand building was built in 1925, in part
from native fieldstone, and the back windows overlook Sebago Lake with a direct
view of Mt. Washington, sixty miles away in New Hampshire. Beautiful
Xavier Hall was once a residence hall for senior women and is now used
as an administrative office building. When I visited in August, the gardens on
the well tended grounds were in full bloom.
