Month: May 2018

Soldiers, Students, and Fallen Heroes

On this Memorial Day, it is fitting to pay tribute to the role that West Virginia Wesleyan College played in the training of troops in various wars.

In his book, A History of West Virginia Wesleyan College 1890-1965, Kenneth M. Plummer writes of the impact of World Wars I and II on the campus.  In so doing, he also chronicles the impact of West Virginia Wesleyan on the Wars.

Student Army Training Corp 1918
World War I
Student Army Training Corp., 1918

“The entrance of the United States into World War I brought to the campus a Student Army Training Corp of about 200 men. The military training program which was to have begun September 1, 1918, actually ran only from the beginning of October to the early days of December. The corps was housed in the gymnasium. The Music Hall was converted to a hospital to care for members of the corps who were stricken during the influenza epidemic.” (Plummer, p.55)

There were other impacts as well, including the process of mourning and grieving for soldiers who did not come home. President Wallace B. Fleming is a beautiful example of this. Roy Earl Parrish, class of 1908, was one of those soldiers.

Please take a moment to read President Fleming’s prayer, which he offered on January 21, 1919 at the West Virginia Legislature’s Memorial Service for one of their own members. A Prayer for Roy Earl Parrish.

 

World War II

“The impact of World War II was brought dramatically to the campus when early in March 1943, there arrived a contingent of officers and trainees subsequently organized as the 49th College Training Detachment (Aircrew). Students in Agnes Howard Hall were vacated and moved to living quarters in town in order to provide living space and staff offices for the detachment. Classrooms were provided using available space inthe music hall, the gymnasiu and by increased use of other facilities. The trainees were fed in a basement hall in the gymnasium. The college obtained sole use of the flying field on Brushy Fork for the training of the detachment. In addition to the men being trained for combat service, the college also maintained a program for training aides to draftsmen, engineers and chemists at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio. A short, intensive course was provided for cadet nurses in training at St. Mary’s Hospital in Clarksburg. The training crew of aircrew cadets ended June 1944, the program for Wright Field aides was closed at the end of the war, the courses for cadet nurses were given during the summer terms if 1944 and 1945. Seven hundred seventy-four adircrew cadets, four hundred eighty-seven aides, and seventy-eight cadet nurses were registered in these programs. The courses offered were regular college courses modified according to the suggestions of military educational directors in order to meet the needs of the program. On February 29, 1946, in cooperation with the Air Technical Command Service of the United States Air Force, Wesleyan inaugurated a twelve-month course of training on the college level for veterans interested in placement as engineering aides in the laboratiories at Wright Field. The program was designed to train a minimum of one hundred fifty men.” (Plummer, 93-94)

Click the link below to read more about what life was like on our campus during the war years. Some familiar names are included!

Cub Flier (September 20, 1943)

Includes some interesting stories of wartime at Wesleyan, such as:

  •  Reemsnyder, Man With the Frog
  • The Song of the 49th
  • D.P. (Detachment Police) Keeps Eye on the 49ers

In memory of all who have given the ultimate sacrifice, and for those who have prepared for and fought bravely in wars long past, I offer these stories as reminders. For those in more recent years, I am also grateful.

Fear not that ye had died for naught,
The torch ye threw to us we caught,
Ten million hands will hold it high,
And freedom’s light shall never die!
We’ve learned the lesson that ye taught,
In Flanders field.

 

Caring for Campus

This 1915 photograph from the Library of Congress is not "Old Bob" but is representative of him

This 1915 photograph from the Library of Congress is not “Old Bob” but is representative of him

The May 1947 issue of the Sundial (alumni news publication) has a great little story about the retirement of an important member of the college community.

“Old Bob” Retires

“Old Bob,” the faithful horse-of-all-trades on the Wesleyan campus, has been replaced by two new pieces of equipment — a shiny red truck and an efficient gray tractor. To many Wesleyan alumni, “Old Bob” was a campus institution during his long years of service, and we are sure you will be happy to know that his new owner has promised to give him a good home. “Old Bob” was born on the Wesleyan campus 19 years ago, and it was a familiar sight to see him diligently mowing the lawns in summer or clearing snow from the walks in winter. Although the new machines will probably be more efficient than “Bob,” the Wesleyan horse will be missed by his many friends.

These photo post cards, published in the 1926 Murmurmontis show the campus as it appeared just two years before “Bob” was born on the campus. These were the only buildings until 1953.

Our campus has been a source of pride since the very beginning. The beautiful setting and the buildings are an important part of the Wesleyan experience. The 1926 Murmurmontis also included this message to past, current, and future students concerning the campus:

In case you find this difficult to read, here is the text:

TO YOU to whom Wesleyan lingers in a dear remembered past, to you for whom Wesleyan looms in a not far distant yesterday; to you for whom Wesleyan is yet in the promise of tomorrow, we dedicate these views. Perhaps they may bring back a recollection dimmed with years; mayhap provoke a smile of recent memories, or even bring a wistful dream into some quiet young eyes. And if some one or two of you, in gazing at these pages, slowly-turned, shall pause betimes and smile and then sigh, remembering dim, cool halls; sun-flecked walks; and the mellow peal of the old bell — then it is not in vain these memories have been given you.

The Giants who have kept these buildings maintained, the leaves raked in the fall, and those sun-flecked walks shoveled in winter have played a huge role in the history of the school. Their heroics too often go unsung.

Their tools are much different now.

So, on this 61st anniversary of his retirement, I would like to say: Well done, “Old Bob” and those who have come after. Your hard work has done much to create and care for the beautiful campus we enjoy today.

To find out more about the history of West Virginia Wesleyan College, be sure to explore DreamersAndGiants.com

 

Music – Methodists – Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day makes the news each year. We hear a lot about Anna Jarvis and the First Mother’s Day in 1908. But, as with most things, there are subplots to that story.

What do the things in the photo above have in common?

L.L. Loar

Lawson L. Loar was a successful merchant in Clarksburg, WV.  He was also the  Superintendent of the Sunday school of Andrews Methodist Episcopal church, in Grafton, W. Va. during the first Mother’s Day service held there in 1908, and gave of his time and money to help lead the plans for establishing the annual memorial to Motherhood. He died in 1938.

Until 1941, the West Virginia area was supporting two colleges: West Virginia Wesleyan and Morris Harvey College (now University of Charleston). With the uniting of the Methodist Episcopal North, the Methodist Episcopal South, and the Methodist Protestant Churches in 1939, it became obvious that the area could not support two colleges, and West Virginia Wesleyan was named the one college of what was then the fourth largest Conference in the Methodist Church.  1943, there was a campaign to help provide for the future and strengthening of the college (The Great Wesleyan Movement).

Through the close connection between West Virginia Wesleyan College and the Methodist Church, Mrs. Lawson L. Loar agreed in 1943 to provide funds for the Hall of Music as a memorial to the Loar Family. This was a great act of faith and commitment at a time when the nation was facing World War once again. The building was not finished until 1953, but the funds were assured.

L.L. Loar had a connection to Mother’s Day, and to the Methodist Church.

Mrs. L.L. Loar provided funds for the Hall of Music in memory of the family through her own strong connection with the Methodist Conference and her belief in West Virginia Wesleyan College.

Music — Methodists — Mother’s Day

There is another interesting connection between Mother’s Day and West Virginia Wesleyan College.  Dr. Katharine Antolini, Assistant Professor of History and Gender Studies, did her doctoral studies about Anna Jarvis and the Mother’s Day Shrine in Grafton, WV. According to Chapter 2, p. 46 of Antolini’s book, Jarvis was later offered a teaching position at the West Virginia Conference Seminary (now WVWC) to teach English and Shorthand. For reasons unknown, she did not come. Antolini is considered to be a primary expert on the subject of Anna Jarvis and serves on the Board of Trustees of the International Mother’s Day Shrine in Grafton.

 

Sources

Antolini, K. L. (2014). Memorializing motherhood: Anna Jarvis and the struggle for control of Mother’s Day. Morgantown, WV: WVU Press.

The Great Wesleyan Movement. (1943). The West Virginia Wesleyan College Bulletin, 36(3), 1-2. Retrieved May 14, 2018, from http://cdm16111.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16111coll2/id/482

Loar Memorial Hall Dedication Today. (1953). The Pharos, XLVII(6), 1-1. Retrieved from http://cdm16111.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p271901coll13/id/1653

West Virginia Wesleyan College Bulletin, 47 (2), Catalogue 1954-55, 23. (1954). Retrieved from https://archive.org/stream/westvirginiawesl19541955west#page/22/mode/2up.

To find out more about the history of West Virginia Wesleyan College, check out https://DreamersAndGiants.com

Hymn of Promise and Launching Graduates

We tend to think things have always been the way we have experienced them. Or, that they will always be the way they are now.  They haven’t and they won’t.

The students who graduated this Saturday will always have a particular image of West Virginia Wesleyan College in their minds. The Chapel Bells ringing from Wesley Chapel, the fountain cheerfully spraying orange water into the sky, the faces of those that they know, and have come to love, will be of particular people.

This, however, was the 127th Commencement at the college. Faces have changed. Buildings have changed. There were no Chapel Bells…..and no Wesley Chapel in years gone by. Commencement didn’t always happen in the John D. Rockefeller, IV Physical Education Building! Students who came here with dreams have gone out and fulfilled them, and done even more than they could have imagined. The 2018 graduates will do the same.

1968
2018

Natalie Sleeth, wife of Ronald E. Sleeth (the 13th President of West Virginia Wesleyan College) captured this idea beautifully. [Be sure to click on their names to discover more about these amazing people].

Her Hymn of Promise is one of the most beloved hymns of the 20th Century, and was written in 1985. It is often sung at funerals. In fact, Ronald requested that it be included in his own funeral a month after it was first performed. However, I think it is just as perfect and relevant for Commencements! It is universal. Each graduate has grown and matured. They are ready to launch into their future — something God alone can see.

To explore more about West Virginia Wesleyan College history, check out https://DreamersAndGiants.com