Inducted in 2011
Head Baker, Prep & University Kitchen Staff (1870-1876; 1880-1910)

Student reminiscences from the 19th century, as well as diaries and records of Prep prefects, or deans, carry an intriguing, recurring theme: buttered currant buns. These coveted scones were served daily at four o'clock during the boarding students' afternoon study break. But “Fordham Buns,” as they came to be called, were more than a snack — school culture revolved around them. Class officers were apparently elected solely for the purpose of transporting the buns from the campus bakery back to Second Division (as the Prep was known in those days), and these fortunate students not only earned the respect of their classmates, but also got a cup of coffee and an occasional extra bun in the deal. Punishments were often set in terms of withheld butter and rewards were measured in allotments of accompanying jelly or jam.

Any bun that is still recalled well over a century after its creation must have been extraordinary. But it is the man behind the scone who really captures the imagination: Bro. Jeremiah Flaherty, SJ, born in Ballyhea, County Cork, Ireland, on August 25, 1842. Records seem to indicate that his parents were Jeremiah Flaherty and Honora Walsh Flaherty.  Little else is known of his childhood except that he arrived in Brooklyn, New York with his parents in 1850 and would later entered the Jesuits at Sault Recollet in Canada as a young man.

After his novitiate years, Brother would make brief stops at several other Jesuit institutions — notably West Park (later St. Andrew-on-Hudson) and Brooklyn College — to take charge of domestic affairs at both institutions as they opened. He arrived at Fordham sometime during the 1870-1871 school year and spent six years on the campus before heading to Woodstock College in  Maryland for a brief stint.

Returning to Fordham, Flaherty would spend decades as the head baker at Rose Hill. It is thought that his first kitchen was in a now-demolished wing of the Administration Building or one of the small service buildings that dotted the area around Hughes Hall today. It was later moved to the basement of Rodrigue’s Cottage, which had been the home of William Rodrigue, architect of the University Church, the Prep’s first art teacher and the brother-in-law of Fordham's founder, Archbishop John Hughes.

Here is how a contemporary described the scene during Flaherty’s tenure: "The old bakeshop, with its flower beds outside, stood near Second Division; and here, at the rate of nearly a thousand a day, the justly celebrated currant buns were baked by Brother Flaherty. There is not one alumnus, even the sternest among us, who will not smile as he recalls those four o’clock buns."

It is difficult to imagine that a man who baked a thousand buns a day (in addition to the regular daily baking for student and staff meals) had time to do much else, but Brother did. It is said that he would pray the rosary often, usually several times a day. People who knew Brother described him as light-hearted, rosy, radiant, blithe-as-a-bird and always bubbling over with good humor, but never boisterous. A former student once recalled: "Do you remember how the bakeshop would sometimes teach more than the classroom? A bit of cake and an encouraging word from Brother has started more than one on the path to success. And a glass of bakeshop milk had the quality of melting the hardest lumps in one’s throat."

There is a story about a boy who was caught in the act of trampling the flower beds near the Bakeshop and was to be punished by a soaking under the old fashioned hand-operated water pump. But the story does not end there: “The trial…was transferred to another court, at which 'Judge Flaherty' presided, the reason being that the culprit had run to him for protection. The defendant admitted his guilt, and the judge acquitted him, pronouncing that such an admission showed he had an honest heart....An honest heart was what he valued most.”

Brother's career in baking came to a difficult end in 1910. He was riding a trolley car on Fordham Road when the vehicle stopped suddenly, knocking him off the step where he was perched. His hand fell under the trolley wheel, detaching his thumb and two fingers. In keeping with his resilient approach to life, he picked himself up, wrapped his hand in his handkerchief, and presented himself to Dr. Dunn at the Infirmary. The doctor was able to save the rest of Brother’s hand, but his baking days were clearly over. Flaherty insisted on calling the incident a “trifle.”

After his accident, Brother became prefect, or dean, of Fordham Grammar, or Third Division — Fordham's now-defunct middle school department — an adventure he started when he was well into his 70s. According to his obituary, "During his regime, there never was a happier time. Whether at the little candy counter or in the midst of a crowd of youngsters, teaching them their catechism, Bro. Flaherty was loved.” Among his beloved Third Divisioners would have been fellow Hall of Honor member Frankie Frisch, one of the last Prepsters to have been a Fordham Grammar graduate.

When the Third Division was closed, Brother was transferred to Gonzaga College in Washington, DC. At Gonzaga, Brother would supervise the bakery, overseeing the baking of what he persisted to call his Fordham Buns. As a result, Fordham Buns achieved national prominence and are even referenced in historical landmark documents.

On August 29, 1923 (although some documents record August 15th), Brother met death as he met life — with grace and rosary beads in hand. According to a biographer, “he did not display the slightest anxiety as the day of his parting approached and he chatted as pleasantly as ever with those who visited him. Thus he lived as he died, always in the sunshine…at no time had the windows to be opened ‘to let out the dark.’”

When the Prep inducted Jeremiah Flaherty to its Hall of Honor, it did so to honor Brother himself, but also as a powerful reaffirmation that the Fordham Prep experience is created from the time and talent of many individuals, and that there is no task so humble that it cannot bring joy and consolation to others. Nearly 150 years after Brother's arrival at Rose Hill, the Prep honored this man of extraordinary virtue and holiness, and celebrated his place in Fordham history by declaring September 25th, the Feast of St. Finbarr of Cork, Brother's special patron, to be Brother Flaherty Day at the Prep. Currant buns, of course, are the order of the day.

At the time of Bro. Flaherty's induction, while a list of the basic ingredients for the Fordham Bun had been gleaned from various sources, there was no record of the actual recipe.  Rev. Kenneth Boller, SJ, then Prep President, opened a contest to the members of the then newly-organized Cooking Club with the admonition that they not stray from the ingredients, but simply come up with the right proportions. The winning recipe was concocted by Cameron Garnes, Class of 2012.

At Boller's request, the Hall of Honor Induction Dinner was the premiere of Garnes' version of Brother's Fordham Bun. Also at Father's request, the famous Fordham Buns are once again available on occasion for the "Boys of the Second Division."

For Prep students now and always, Bro. Jeremiah Flaherty, SJ will be held up as a model of a life lived in service of others, and a reminder that all realms of human endeavor should ultimately be undertaken ad maiorem Dei gloriam, for the greater glory of God.