Anne Hartnett, Interview with Melissa Newman, 2022

Anne (nee Vondrachek) Hartnett-Beasley attended Mundelein from the winter of 1961 to the fall of 1962. She discusses how she came to Mundelein through a chance meeting with Sister Katherine Forsyth, BVM. She was 23 years old when she enrolled at Mundelein College, and Sister Katherine found her a place to live in the Northland Hotel (before it became a Mundelein residence) with two Loyola graduate students. Anne remembers working at Patricia Vance Modeling School eight hours every Saturday and continuing to work for Trans World Airlines over Christmas vacation and in the summer to pay for Mundelein. She was married on Thanksgiving (November 28) in 1963 and due to finances and moving to Elmhurst with her husband, she did not continue her studies at Mundelein. She tells wonderfully meaningful stories of her relationship with her first husband, whom she met while at Mundelein College, and their connection to Padre Pio and San Giovanni Rotondo in Italy.

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February 8, 2022

Anne (nee Vondracheck) Hartnett-Beasley was born May 1, 1938 in Reedsville, Wisconsin. It was and still is a small town; at the time Anne was growing up, the population was about 591 and her graduating high school class was about 51. Anne was one of eight children; she had four sister and three brothers. After high school, she became a flight attendant and was able to travel the world, spending time in Europe seeing its many treasures.

Due to her public speaking skills in high school, Trans World Airlines (TWA), the airline she worked for, enlisted Anne into making speeches to recruit new flight attendants. It was at one such event where Anne crossed paths with Sister Katherine Forsyth, a Mundelein College math professor. Sister Katherine gave a speech about the importance of education for women. After the event, Sister Katherine and Anne got a ride home in the same car and Sister Katherine began asking Anne why she had never gone to college. The next day, Anne was in Sister Katherine’s office enrolling at Mundelein College

Anne wanted to be an English major and took many English and religion classes. She also attended daily mass at Loyola University Chicago’s Madonna Del Strata chapel with her roommates from Northland Hotel, who were both in graduate school programs at Loyola. Her roommates, Jean Comisky and Irene Miller, really took Anne under their wings and helped her settle in. Anne was so happy to be at Mundelein College and tried her hardest to keep up with her studies while working for Patricia Vance Modeling School every Saturday and for TWA over Christmas vacation and in the summer.

Melissa Newman was a graduate student at Loyola University Chicago and a graduate assistant at the Women and Leadership Archives in 2020-2022.

0-5 Minutes: Hartnett’s family and educational background, her work with Trans World Airlines, and her interaction with Sister Ann Ida Gannon who recruited her for Mundelein College.

5-10 Minutes: Hartnett’s experience beginning at Mundelein, meeting her future husband, and her relationship with Sister Ann Ida Gannon and Sister Katherine Forsythe.

10-15 Minutes: Hartnett reflects on why she chose Mundelein.

15-20 Minutes: Hartnett reflects on her English major, Madonna della Strada, living on campus, and her roommates.

20-25 Minutes: Hartnett’s determination to succeed at Mundelein, Mass at Mundelein, her time as a flight attendant, her interaction with Sister Madeleva Wolff, and her faith.

25-30 Minutes: The dating scene at Mundelein, meeting and marrying her husband Jim Hartnett, their trip to Italy, and Jim’s cancer diagnosis.

30-35 Minutes: The Hartnetts’ return trips to Italy, Anne’s pregnancy, and Jim’s remission.

35-40 Minutes: Hartnett’s faith, remarrying after Jim’s passing, and the impact of Mundelein on her faith.

40-45 Minutes: Hartnett’s time as a flight attendant, activism on campus, national events at the time, and studying on campus.

45-50 Minutes: Hartnett’s marriage, the fear of airline hijackings, flight attendant training, and nervousness while flying.

50-54:42 Minutes: Hartnett’s final reflections on the lasting impressions of Mundelein College and faculty.

1960 Republican National Convention, AH 0-5,

Albion Beach, AH 5-10, AH 25-30,

Beaver, Terry, AH 25-30, AH 30-35,

Butch McGuires (bar), AH 30-35,

Castro, Fidel, AH 40-45,

Chances R Bar, AH 25-30,
Chicago, IL., AH 5-10, AH 10-15, AH 30-35, 45-50,

Cuban Missile Crisis, AH 40-45, 45-50,

Elmhurst, IL., AH 5-10,

Evanston, IL., AH 5-10,

Forsyth, Katherine (Sister), AH 0-5, AH 5-10, AH 10-15, AH 15-20, AH 20-25, AH 50-54:42

Fort Myers, FL., AH 0-5,

Gannon, Ann Ida (Sister), AH 0-5, AH 5-10, AH 15-20, AH 20-25, AH 50-54:42

Good Council High School, AH 0-5,

Hartnett, Jim, AH 25-30, AH 30-35,

Hartnett, Mary Emily Garvey, AH 5-10,

Johnson, Lyndon B., AH 40-45,

Kansas City, MO., AH 35-40, 45-50,

Kennedy, John F., AH 40-45,

Koutnik, Frank J. Jr. (Father), AH 25-30,

Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL., AH 5-10,

Loyola University Chicago, AH 0-5, AH 5-10, AH 15-20, AH 20-25, AH 40-45,

Manitowoc, WI., AH 5-10,

Madonna della Strada Chapel, AH 5-10, AH 15-20,

Midway Airport, 45-50,

Mundelein College, AH 0-5, AH 5-10, AH 10-15, AH 15-20, AH 20-25, AH 25-30, AH 35-40, AH 40-45, AH 45-50, AH 50-54:42

Mundelein College Northland Hall, AH 0-5,

Mundelein College Piper Hall, AH 40-45,

Mundelein College Skyscraper Building, AH 40-45,

Newsweek, AH 10-15,

Orrington Hotel, AH 5-10,

Padre Pio, AH 25-30, AH 30-35, AH 35-40,

Palatine, IL., AH 0-5,

Paris, France, AH 25-30,

Patricia Vance Modeling School, AH 0-5, AH 5-10, AH 35-40,

Pendleton, CA., 45-50,

Philadelphia, PA., 45-50,

Reedsville, WI., AH 0-5, AH 25-30,

Rome, Italy, AH 25-30,

San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, AH 25-30, AH 30-35,

Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM), AH 5-10,

St. Ignatius Parish, AH 35-40,

St. Mary’s College, AH 20-25,

Surf St., Chicago, IL., AH 20-25,

Trans World Airlines, (TWA), AH 0-5, AH 5-10, AH 10-15, AH 40-45, 45-50,

United Airlines, 45-50,

United States Army, 45-50,

United States Marine Corps, 45-50,

University of Notre Dame, AH 20-25,

Vietnam War, AH 40-45,

Wolff, Madeleva (Sister), AH 20-25,

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