The World Comes to Wesleyan

Throughout the history of West Virginia Wesleyan College, many amazing people have come to Buckhannon to speak and to share ideas with our community. Although we are located in a small and rural town, we have consistently been right in the middle of the issues and arts of the world.  Here are just a few examples which might surprise you. Click on each photograph to find out more.

Maravich, Press 1950

Bond, Julian

Be sure to check out DreamersAndGiants.com to discover more about the people and events that have made West Virginia Wesleyan College a special place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transformation

Mural_Fall_2012
Fall 2012

In the fall of 2012, the room in the back on the first floor of the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library, the Upshur Reading Room, was beginning to be used for programs. Both campus and community members gathered to be informed, to be inspired, and to have discussions.

Like the Town Squares in the olden days, it was a place for people to come and find information and to discuss it.

One particularly inspirational evening in the autumn of 2012, Dr. Robert Rupp came to the library to give a lecture about candidates for an upcoming election. And we had quite a crowd.

But, the backdrop was not great – with open walls back to where journals were stored blocked off by a series of filing cabinets.

On the cabinets were stacks of papers, microfilm boxes, and dead plants.

Not exactly the kind of thing we were proud to show off on the evening news reports – and the press did come.

The Library was inspired…..to have a more appropriate and visually appealing place for these programs. Funding from the Friends of the Library made it possible to install a partition between the Reading Room and the periodical storage area. Filing cabinets and dead plants were removed.

In consultation with Professor Ellen Mueller, a professor in the Art Department from 2012-2017, we received submissions for the creation of a mural. She included the project as part of an assignment for the class. Several wonderful designs were submitted, and we chose a design by Spencer Kinnard.

Mural 2
Professor Ellen Mueller,                                                                    Artist, Spencer Kinnard
Director of Library Services, Paula McGrew

Click here to see a time lapse video of Spencer as he creates his masterpiece.

His design placed the Greek Philosophers in the center, scientists and medical leaders in the upper right corner, philosophers and religious readers in the lower right, artists and musicians on the lower left, and writers on the upper left.

This is generally where books on those topics are located in this library. Genius!

His tag line is:

  • Despite everything we have learned, questions linger and remain.
  • Who are we?
  • Where are we going?
  • And, what will tomorrow bring?

One thing tomorrow brought was a beautiful and meaningful transformation of the space. Be sure to stop by and take a closer look at it the next time you are in the library. (p.s. there is a cheat sheet mounted on the wall so that you can identify all of the people on the mural).

Transformation by Mural

Be sure to check out the DreamersAndGiants website!

March Madness is Nothing New

 

Gymnasium

It is time for March Madness!

The game of basketball began in 1891, and less than 25 years later had already become quite a competitive sport among high schools and colleges.

The West Virginia boys’ high school basketball tournament began in Buckhannon on March 21, 1914.  The Gymnasium had been built in 1912, and was considered to be the largest and finest in the state of West Virginia.

That year, Elkins and Wheeling each claimed to be the best in the state, and West Virginia Wesleyan issued an invitation to come and settle the matter. Elkins emerged victorious and became the first “State Champions.”

The following year, 1915, Wesleyan athletic director Harry Stansbury contacted high schools all over West Virginia, inviting them to participate in an open tournament for the state basketball title. Fourteen teams answered the call, and the building of a sports tradition was under way.

The Gymnasium stood until it was razed in 1974 – the year that the John D. Rockefeller IV Physical Education Center opened.

Gym Marker

Purposes – Or, What Are You Doing?

Carla Hayden and Paula McGrewLast week, I had an incredible opportunity to hear Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, speak two days in a row. Both days, her talk was focused on Collections of treasures, and how we can use them to learn about ourselves and our heritage. Both days, she mentioned the importance of sharing them. Both days, she gave speeches that I have made myself over the years. It was very validating! And, I may have to confess to a few tears of joy in hearing her talking about the purpose of libraries and how they are even more important now than ever before.

It had the same effect on me as an experience in 2011 when I was a participant in the Salzburg Global Seminar on The Future of Libraries and Museums in an Era of Participatory Culture. 

Salzburg Group 2011

The description of this session states: “Accepting the notion of democratic access, placing a major emphasis on public value and impact, and embracing lifelong learning were key overarching messages that emerged from deliberations at the recent seminar Libraries and Museums in an Era of Participatory Culture which was convened by the Salzburg Global Seminar in collaboration with the Washington-based Institute of Museum and Library Services. The session plunged fifty-eight library, museum, and cultural heritage leaders from thirty-one countries around the world into discussion, debate, and the development of a series of practical recommendations for ensuring maximum access to and engagement in museums and libraries, as they examined the meaning of “participatory culture” writ large.”   Wow! Talk about a mountain top experience.


Life Purpose

A few years ago, I saw a TED Talk by Adam Leipzig which was titled How to Know Your Life Purpose in 5 Minutes.  Even though this was false advertising about how long it was (actually 10:33) it was a very effective talk.  I just watched it again, and I still highly recommend it! By the end of it, I had written my Manifesto (Public Statement of Purpose). Others call it a Mission Statement or an Elevator Pitch, but I think that the word Manifesto sounds a bit stronger. I decided to write one. Much of what I based this on, I learned here at the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library as a student, staff member, and director.

The Purpose of the Library

“The library is operated by a group of people who are curious about everything, and have a deep desire to be helpful.  We provide Information, Inspiration, and Entertainment to Faculty, Staff, and Students and the raw materials and tools to do their work.  We help them to discover richer, more enjoyable, and more meaningful lives.” ~Paula McGrew, April 2016

So – now for Paula’s Library Manifesto (a word which means public statement of purpose)

What Libraries Do: Collect-Organize-Preserve-Share

What Libraries Are: Collections-Place-Service

What Libraries Provide: Information-Inspiration-Entertainment

Why We Do It:  To make sure that faculty and students have the raw materials that they need in order to fulfill THEIR purposes.


But what about my own personal manifesto for my retirement years?

“As a graduate of the WVWC Class of 1978, and as a person who has had a long line of family members who are graduates also, I bring my research skills, genealogy tools, and interest in the college to the work of Collecting-Organizing-Preserving-and Sharing stories of those who have studied and worked here since the founding of the school. I do this to ensure that past generations will have a place to share their memories and present and future generations will have a place to learn about their heritage, to be inspired by it, and to enjoy knowing about those who have come before them in The Orange Line.”                        ~Paula McGrew, March 2018

  1. Who am I? I am a graduate of the WVWC Class of 1978 and a Librarian who has spent her life learning to Collect-Organize-Preserve-and Share items to provide the raw materials for faculty and students to do their work.
  2. What I do: Bring my research skills, interest in genealogy, knowledge of both WVWC and the West Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church to the work of collecting the stories and putting them together on https://DreamersAndGiants.com.
  3. Why do I do this?  Because stories are being lost, and along with them a great deal of our institutional memory and heritage. Social media is great for getting word out quickly, but these things are fleeting. There are no longer any yearbooks. The newspaper stories are different from those in former times, and do not always convey the same types of information. I do this to honor those who have come before and to inspire those who are here now and who will be coming in the future.
  4. What do these people need and want? A perspective beyond that of their own time and a sense of the legacy they have been given.
  5. How are these people changed as a result of this work? They come to see themselves as a continuation of a larger purpose. Rather than just flitting from meeting to meeting, class to class, assignment to assignment, crisis to crisis, they are able to know about the situations that have been part of the history along the way. They can see how others have approached them. They truly become part of what we call The Orange Line. DreamersAndGiants cover