By: Erin Gaylord and Kaylee Boyd, Staff Writers
Saint Leo College was founded in 1889 but did not have electricity until 1913, according to “Pioneer College.” The guest bathrooms received flushable toilets in 1912. In 1913, flushable toilets were installed outside for the students. In November 1916, shower baths were installed. In 1919, a 12-foot “bathing tower” was built on the shore of the lake.
The school continued to upgrade the buildings by adding hot tubs, lights, and iceboxes. It was not until the 1930’s that change finally happened.
The Saint Leo Abbey received its first automobile in 1910. Seven years later, in 1917, the Abbey owned two Ford automobiles. The prior means of transportation at the time were ox driven carts. The railroads came to San Antonio 1988.
In 1920, Saint Leo College started showing silent movies for entertainment every Friday (except the Fridays in Lent). They would watch classical plays or comedies. It was one of the most highlighted events, according to “The Golden Jubilee.”
Saint Leo College received radios in 1921. Later in the year of 1927, the college gained a post office, telegraph office, express office, and ticket office, according to “The Golden Jubilee.”
The top sports teams at the college in 1937 were football, track and basketball, the athletic teams were becoming so popular that instead of traveling around by car, they maintained a student bus that would let them travel to compete with other colleges in the southern conference.
On March 31, 1939, the college was broadcast on the radio over the station of WFLA in Tampa.
