3.3 Bernard Huss (1876 - 1948)
3.3.1 Bernard Huss the Educationist
St Francis College had been in existence for thirty years already when Huss was installed as its principal on 25th September 1915.108 It was the oldest Catholic institution of learning and also considered the best in Natal.109 A number of Sisters and Mariannhill priests had already been fully involved in the teaching at and development of the college over the years.110 According to
102 Schimlek and Sauter, "The Social Apostle of Mariannhill," in Mariannhill and Its Apostle, p.99.
103 Brian, Catholics in Natal II, p.272.
1 Gamble, Mariannhill: A Century of prayer and work, p. 158.
105 Ibid., p. 164.
106 Schimlek, Against the stream, p.32.
107 Brian, Catholics in Natal II, p.273.
108 Ibid., p. 34.
109 Schimlek and Sauter, "The social apostle of Mariannhill," in Mariannhill and Its Apostle, p. 100.
1,0 Ibid., p. 100.
Schimleck, although St Francis College was rated highly among the educational institutions in Natal, it had little to boast of in terms of its "native education".111 Lack of progress at the College had become a great concern for Mariannhill priests and it was Abbot Gerhard Wolpert whose vision it was to see that the College develop into "a first rate institution that shall bring credit to Mariannhill."112
The College needed an innovative leader who would impart new ideas and guide its development. Huss' name was suggested to the Abbot by Father Cyprian Ballweg as the ideal candidate to set the stage for the desired development of the College.113 When he met with the Abbot, Huss made the following pledge to demonstrate his determination and zeal for the work which lay ahead:
"As far as I am concerned, I shall put my shoulder to the wheel. It shall be my ambition, Venerable Father, to see to it that the College of Mariannhill shall become the best Bantu school in Natal, if possible, in the whole of the Union of South Africa, from which inspiring ideas will go forth and penetrate to the last Native [sic] Reserve, and even into the hearts of the hardened Xhosas of Keilands."114
The above statement expresses clearly his ambitions and determination to work with vengeance in order to succeed and put the College on a new trajectory of advancement. It is most likely that the painful experience of his failure at Keilands motivated him to set higher goals for himself at the College and to work hard to avoid any possibility of failure which could have been an embarrassment to him. The author contends that the conditions at Mariannhill presented Huss with the necessary resources and support which he lacked at Keilands.
Brian describes Huss as "a man of wide interest and considerable dedication", and this was demonstrated clearly during his tenure as principal of St Francis teachers' training college.
Schimlek and Sauter assert that as principal of the college, Huss, "took over religious instruction, musical training and rehearsals, psychology of education and the training in agriculture and
111 Ibid., p.39.
112 Ibid., p.40.
1,3 Ibid., p.40.
114 Ibid., p.40.
horticulture." Government authorities, particularly Dr Loram who was the chief inspector of native [sic] schools, took a keen interest in Huss' approach of training in agriculture and requested him to "write a textbook on agriculture for the Bantu [sic]."ne His book entitled A Textbook on Agriculture was printed and published by Longmans, Green, & Co. of London in 1920, and it was officially prescribed for all native [sic] schools in South Africa.117 In addition, Huss wrote a series of lectures in psychology for his students and for publication in the Johannesburg newspaper called Umthetheli.m
It was during his tenure as principal of St Francis College that Huss developed and refined his ideas for social work amongst the black people. His ideas culminated in the creation of his model of "Better homes, Better fields, Better hearts". Bhekizizwe Peterson asserts that, "at St Francis College Huss was compelled to rethink the nature of mission work and the education of black people"119 in the context of dislocation, impoverishment and alienation. Huss had come to the realization that mission work tended to place more emphasis on "the things of worship and religion, or the affairs of the inner life" and grossly neglected the social, political and economic realities of life.120 Therefore, the model of "Better homes, Better fields, Better hearts" was meant to provide a broader approach to mission work. It would seem that Huss understood mission work in these broad terms to include the amelioration of the socio-economic conditions and impoverishment of black people, which could not be ignored without undermining their dignity as human beings. According to Gamble, by creating the model of "Better homes, Better fields, Better hearts," Huss was attempting to put Jesus' declaration that he had come to offer humanity
"abundant life"121 into practical action.122 This implies that Huss viewed the socio-economic impoverishment of black people as a deprivation of that "abundant life," hence the need for a model to empower them to be self reliant and to participate in the modern economy. We shall now present and expound on each of the three components of the model.
115 Schimlek and Sauter, "The Apostle of Mariannhill," p.100.
"6Ibid.,p.lOO.
117 Ibid.,p.l00.
118 Brain, Catholics in Natal II, p.273.
119 Bhekiziwe Peterson, Monarchs, Missionaries and African Intellectuals : African Theatre and the Unmasking of Colonial Marginality, (Johannesburg : Witwatersrand University Press, 2000), p.26.
120 Schimlek, Against the stream, p.56.
121 Jn. 10:10.
1 Gamble, Mariannhill: A Century of prayer and work, p. 169.