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JANUARY 13, 1934 THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA FIVE CAPT. RICE’S C. L, A. SUCCESS GRATIFYING TO CITY OF AUGUSTA Captain Rice Was an Augusta Institution Editorial in the Savannah Press PLEDGE AT BROTHER’S CASKET LODESTAR OF CAPT. RICE'S LIFE Passing of Belovd Georgian Mourned Editorial in the Columbus- News-Record DEATH OF CAPT. RICE CALLED THE PASSING OF A TRUE KNIGHT Editorial in The Augusta Herald In the death of Captain P. H. Rice Augusta has lost a citizen of rare at tainments and inestimable worth. Widely .known and greatly admired and beloved by a large circle of friends his sudden passing came as a distinct shock to the entire com munity. While it was known that he was somewhat enfeebled by the accumulation of the years and be cause of the vigorous enthusiasm and tenseness with which he had met the problem of life, his death nonetheless was a distressing blow to his family and intimate friends as well as to his fellow citizens. We dare say that no Augusta pos- sesed a more active mind and body than did Captain Rice. In late years he had taken little part in community affairs, but the older citizens will recall him as one of Augusta’s most forceful and most vigorous civic leaders and a man who _ always thought in terms of promoting the best interests of his city, his state and the nation. Good natured. adept at story telling, and a close observer of men and events, he fairly radiated friendliness, hospitality and good will. Somehow we like to think of Cap tain Rice in terms of character and community building. With respect to the former, it was a trait that he possessed to a high degree. For half a century he made the name of Rice synonymous with good merchandise and fair dealing. Generations of Georgians and South Carolinians transacted business with the pioneer firm that he headed on Broad Street, and he had more personal and inti mate contacts with the buying publ- lic of Augusta and the Savannah River Valley than any other business man of his time. As to community building, Cap tain Rice was a man teeming with ideas for the development of his com munity and his section. Not only did he originate many worthwhile move ments, but when any plan for the ad vancement of his city was suggested he was always ready to serve in any capacity assigned to him. Even today the average city finds it difficult to maintain a high degree of interest in its trade body. Twenty and thirty years ago, when such or ganizations were just beginning to play an important part in a com munity’s life, the problems in this respect were far more acute. It was in such a time that Captain Rice re vealed his true qualities for organiza tion and for civic leadership. A con siderable number of the accomplish ments of the old Merchants and Manufacturers’ Association, the Chamber of Commerce of its time, were due in great measure to the energy and the forcefulness of Cap tain Rice. He not only served as president of that body, but was for years one of its most active members. Temperate in speech and in deed, a man who idolized his family, loved his neighbor and his friend de votedly, Captain Rice possessed the attributes that are essential to citizenship of a high order. He was typical of that old school of Au- gustans who were noted far and wide for their hospitality and their friend liness. Not that Augustans are not today a hospitable and a friendly folk, but rather that Captain Rice was so typical of that character of hospitality for which Georgians of an earlier era were acclaimed. Captain Rice was also devoted to his church. He was a staunch Cath olic and it was largely due to his ef forts that an Association of Catholic Laymen was formed for the prime purpose of promoting better relations in Georgia between Catholic and Protestant. That he and his co workers have met with very substan tial success is gratifying to citizens in all walks of life. He entered into this public service with the same zeal he manifested as a merchant and a civic leader. For the reasons given, and for many more that space will not permit us to recount, Captain Rice’s death will be widely mourned in Augusta and in Georgia and South Carolina and the Herald feels that it voices the sentiments of this community and section in paying tribute to this most estimable man. Chattanooga Honors John Stagmaier CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.-John Stagmaier, who recently retired from the presidency of the Social Service Bureau of Chattanooga aften 19 years as its head, was honored here on the occasion of his retirement by the pre sentation of a framed scrool bearing testimonials to his service and of other gifts of remembrance and affec tion. The scroll .which was repro duced on the front page of The Chat tanooga Times, recorded Mr. Stag- meier’s services which have made his name “a household word in ever part of Chattanooga”, and was presented Capt. Pat Rice of Augusta is no more. He was a well-known figure and had friends in Savannah. Years ago he married a Savannah woman and every year at the Hibernian Society he was warmly greeted. Captain Rice was commander of the Order of St. Gregory, a prominent Catholic association, having been knighted by the Pope. He had lived over three-quarters of a century in Augusta, knew its history and its people. As a mere boy he became connected with the well-known busi ness of William Mulherin & Co., and Alex Gculey and Pat Rice were known to everybody on Broad Street, and of late years Captain Rice, as he grew to be called, was prominent in church organizations and leader in the Knights of Columbus. It was like a whiff of fresh air to meet Pat Rice in Savannah every year; to go over old times and to talk about old friends. He will be missed when his compatriots gather here every year and he will be miss ed in Augusta because everyone knew him and liked him. Pat Rice was an institution in the “Fountain City” and a valued visitor to Sa vannah, whese he had strong ties and many friends. Peace to his ashes! capt.IjgeHading CITIZEN OF AUGUSTA FOR A HALF CENTURY Editorial in The Augusta Chronicle The sudden death of Captain P. H. leader and churchman on yesterday, has caused a severe shock in this community where Captain Rice had lived throughout his 77 years and where he had been an outstanding citizen for one-half a century. Cap tain Rice had been in his accustomed good health up until the time he was stricken and his friends had predict ed that he would live to be ninety- years of age or even longer. Captain Rice had several years ago closed out the Rice & O’Connor Shoe business in which he was the senior partner and had retired from active business. The death of his lifelong friend and business associate, Mr. J. J. O’Connor, helped to about his decision to quit active business after a long career during which he was knwon as one of Augusta’s most suc cessful merchants. A great believer in Augusta, Cap tain Rice was foremost in civic activ ities and many years ago was presi dent of the Merchants & Manufactur ers’ Association, which occupied the same position in the community at the Chamber of Commerce does now. He was a believer in the future of Augusta through Savannah River transportation; he supported heartily every movement for deepening the channel of the Savannah. Many years ago when there were several packet steamers on the Savannah River Rice & O’Connor Shoe Company were large receivers of shoes which came from New England to Savannah by steamer and thence to Augusta by river boat. Captain Rice saw in the present movement for deepening the Savan nah River channel a golden future for Augusta and his words of en couragement to this editor and ethers who have been fighting for a deeper channel meant a great deal. Captain Rice was not only an able business man and prominent civic leader, but as a churchman he was conspicuously prominent. He was the founder of Sacred Heart Cadets Tem- pjerance Society, and he secured the title of “Captain" from the fact that he was commander for many years of this company of cadets pledged to temperance. A total abstainer him self all of his life, Captain Rice as sembled a group of young men under his banner and the Sacred Heart Ca dets were prominent in every me morial day parade and came out on numerous public occasions. As principal inspiration behind the formation of the Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia and for many years its president, Captain Rice be gan a work which is going on under able direction, and designed to pro mote a better feeling among people of all religious faiths. His great service to the Catholic Church was recognized a few years ago by the Pope of Rome who knighted Captain Rice and he was one of the few men in America who was ever a member of the Knights of St. Gregory. Augusta loses a veteran and valu able citizen, his family loses a de voted husband and father and grand father and the Catholic Church loses one of its most devout members in the passing of Captain P. H. Rice. as a memento “for you to hang some where where you can see it and be reminded of the love, the esteem and the honor that we and all the people of Chattanooga hold for you.” A gold watch chain ornament centered Father Cronin in Sermon Tells of Pledge Made Be side Coffin of His Priest- Brother in 1875 AUGUSTA, Ga.—A promise made to God over half a century ago as he knelt beside the coffin of his broth er, Father Michael Rice, that, as far as it was possible for a layman he would take his place, was the motive which inspired Captain Rice’s life of labor for the Church and Catholic movements, the Rev. Michael Cronin, S. J., declared in a sermon at the High Mass at Sacred Heart Church the Sunday following his funeral. Father Rice died in 1875. “One night last spring I paid one of my frequent visits to Captain Rice.” Father Cronin said, and he strolled back to the church with me. He was going to this very church to thank Our Lord again for giving him strength after his dangerous illness of the past winter, an illness in which he was close to death. “It was that night that he revealed to me the Christian motive which in spired his whole life. He recalled to me that he had a brother who was one of the first Georgians who ever became a secular priest of the Diocese of Savannah, Father Michael Rice. Father Rice was older than I was,’ Captain Rice said. ‘No brother was ever prouder of his older brother than I was of Father Michael. He was missionary, and he traveled the country districts of Georgia in his priestly labors. One cold night, while on a ministration of mercy he came to a swollen creek. Through the bitter waters of the creek he went without hesitation. The next day he was ill. He never recovered. Within a year he was dead. “ ‘I could not understand it. Why should God find it necessary to take the life of my brother, the brilliant young priest, when Georgia had such need of priests? But I knew that God’s ways are not our ways, and as I knelt, broken-hearted, by the casket of my brother, I promised God that, as far as it was possible for a layman, I would take his place.’ “That was over fifty years ago. How well Captain Rice has kept' his promise is written in every page of Catholic activity in the city and state during the past half-century or more. “It is written in the history of the Sacred Heart Cadets, that great temperance organization in which he was a pioneer and in which he was the dominant figure for so many years, an organization, which saved many a mother, wife and sister from broken hearts through his labors. “It is written in the history of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, of the Knights of Columbus, of the orphan age of the Diocese, of the retreat movement, of the Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia. Captain Rice was a successful businessman; he conducted a thriv ing business, but he was' never too busy for religious duties or religious labors. He was not merely a mem ber of religious organizations but an active worker in all of them. He never allowed his business to inter fere with his religious activities. “One of the most distinctive char acteristics was his humility. He la bored for the Church and for his city, state and nation, without thought of reward or honors. Honors were heaped upon him, unsought, even the Center of Christendom itself, when the Holy Father made him a Knight Commander of St. Gregory the Great, Military Class, an honor bestowed cm only one other American, also a Georgian. Admiral William S. Ben son. But he was ever the same, un assuming, humble man. Insofar as a layman can live it, his was indeed a priestly life. Captain P. H. Rice, retired Augusta merchant and beloved Georgian, died Wednesday in his 78th year. A lead er among Catholic laymen of the state, Captain Rice was widely known and was warmly esteemed for the high character and his fine personal traits. He had quite a number of friends in Columbus, who were shocked to learn of his death. Captain Rice was bom in Augusta and spent his entire life in that city, making to his home community a personal and civic contribution unus ual. and deeply appreciated by his fellow citizens. During the heur of his funeral, held from Sacred Heart Catholic Church, city flags in Au gusta were at half mast, and when a solemn high requiem Mass was said, the fire bells tolled. “Augusta has lost one of the finest, most bloved and respected citizens.” said Mayor W. D. Jennings, “and I have lost a close personal friend.” Augusta*s Tribute to Captain Rice and the Lesson Taught by It Editorial in The Record, Louisville “Daily he came to this church to commune with his Master, to spend time in private prayer. He talked over all his plans for Catholic activ ity with his Lord, and when he pro posed them to his associates, he pro posed them with confidence because he had placed them before his Mas ter. “Captain Rice’s life is another shin ing example of the fact that one cannot be an exemplary Catholic without at the same time being an exemplary citizen. It is seldom that any private citizen is honored as Saptain Rice was honored last week by the community in which he was born, in which he had always lived, and which he loved with his whole heart and soul. “He was true to his religious mo tive; he was faithful to his ideal; he did the will of his Master. An ex emplary Catholic, citizen, husband, father, his life is an inspiration to us all. May he rest in eternal peace.” with a diamond was also presented Mr. Stagmaier, whose retirement was occasioned by his health. The stroll was presented by Dr Thomas S. Mc- Callie, and the ornament by Secre tary -Hal F. Wiltse. Down in Georgia, where some eighteen years ago they enacted the first convent inspection law in this nation, and a few years later sent to the U. S. Senate the archbigot of his day, who was perhaps the most tal ented professional anti-Catholic our country has known, there died last week in Augusta. Captain P. H. Rice, a founder of the Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia, a Knight Commander of the Papal Order of St. Gregory. Noting his death, the Judge of the Superior Court, after paying tribute' to Captain Rice an nounced there would be no court on the day of his funeral. The Mayor of Augusta ordered the flags at half mast and that fire bells be tolled at the funeral hour. All the news papers paid him tribute. Captain Rice had never held a civic or political office; his great distinction in Geor gia was as founder and for fourteen years president of the Catholic Lay men’s Association. It was that which won him the papal recognition as Knight Commander in the Order of St. Gregory, and that which won him the tribute of the Superior Court and the Mayor of one of the principal Editorial in America, New York The death of Captain Patrick H. Rice at Augusta, Ga., on November 22, deprives his state and the whole South of a great citizen, and a val iant knight in the cause of Christ. He was in his seventy-eighth year. Only a few weeks before his lament ed death, Captain Rice, who had served as president of the Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia for fourteen years, was retired as presi dent-emeritus of that famous group of Catholic men which has dona more than any other organization to clear away prejudices in the South and to foster a spirit of good will and friendliness among all classes. This gentleman of the old school was outstanding in every good work. He was one of a group which intro duced the Knights of Columbus into Georgia, and first grand knight of his local council. Later he served the Order as State Deputy, Master of the Fourth Degree for Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas, and mem ber of the Supreme Board of Direcv- tors. He was deeply interested in the welfare of Catholic education, and for many years was vice-president of the diocesan home for orphan girls at Savannah. He never held public office, but as the editor of the Au gusta Herald writes, “he was a lead er in many movements for the devel opment of Augusta.” Eleven years ago, in recognition of his devotion to the Catholic cause, Pius XI made him a Knight Commander of St, Gregory. With his warm friend, the late Ad miral Benson, U.S.N., he was the only Knight of Military Grade in this country. While the Catholics of the South mourn for the loss of a great leader, the Editors of this Review mourn for the loss of a warm friend. His in terest in America was marked from its founding, and almost every year found him a welcome guest in the home of the Editors. He was truly a good man, “most loyal in the service of his Lord,” quick to promote every enterprise for the extension of the Kingdom of God. From our readers ’we ask a prayer for the repose of his soul. cities of Georgia. Perhaps the meth ods of the Catholic Laymen’s Asso ciation deserve more attention from Catholics in other sections than they have yet received. ^jiimmiimiiiiimiimz zjmiimimiiiimiHuitns SEE THIS EXCLUSIVE Kelvinator feature 4 REFRIGERATORS IN 1 FOOD PRESERVATION TEMPERATURE BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURE FAST FREEZING TEMPER ATUR1 EH WORLD'S RECORD ~ EAST ERUZINO C OME in and let us show you “4 refrig erators in 1”—4-Zones of Cold—each fully auto matic—each for a differ ent purpose—each nec essary for complete re frigeration. Kelvinator alone has it — a feature you will most surely want in your electric refrigera tor. 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