In the making of the DreamersAndGiants.com website, and in teaching WVWC History, I spend a good bit of time reading about the people who have taught here through the years. Occasionally I come across photographs of these people in places that are very familiar to me!
WVWC Faculty 1954-55
The 1954-1955 faculty is seen here in the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library where I have spent so much time. As a Library Science student, many of my classes were here as well as my work-study. Having worked in this building as a professional librarian from 2001-2017, it is safe to say that I know this building very well. To see a photograph of people like Dr. Ralph Brown, President Scarborough, Professor David Reemsnyder, and Professor Nellie Wilson sitting in that space is quite fascinating for me.
Faculty of WVWC ca Late 1950s
This group of people has always been of the highest academic stock, as a look at any of the college catalogs can attest. Here is the catalog for this particular year as an example. They have taught thousands of students and provided guidance and helped to shape the college as well as those students. They have served on countless committees, developed many new programs, and advised student groups of all kinds. They have hosted students in their homes and taken them on trips that have opened the world. Their teaching was not all done in a classroom.
Faculty in Atkinson Chapel, 1958
President Stanley H. Martin poses on the front steps of the Annie Merner Pfeiffer with the faculty in the early 1960s. Another place that I have passed several thousand times myself, not knowing that this photograph existed. This cloud of witnesses has been here before me.
WVWC Faculty 1971
This 1971 photograph in front of John Wesley, a familiar landmark today, includes some of those very iconic names and some more recent ones like William Mallory, who just retired last year. This is the group that I remember from my college years, and many of these people played a major role in my education and prepared me for my career.
WVWC Faculty Procession ca mid-late 1970s
Time marches on. But the work that they have done is not a thing of the past. It lives on in the hearts and memories of their students. And, sometimes, if you listen closely, they still have much to teach us.
Carved by Wolfgang Flor, as commissioned bythe Class of 1964, this seal hangs in the Social Hall of the Benedum Campus Community Center
The majority of this week’s post was written by Robert James (Jim) Stansbury in 1964, and illustrated by Paula McGrew in 2018. Please click on his name to read more about Jim.
Jim Stansbury (Photo by Howard Hiner)
Jim, the son of Harry A. Stansbury and Ada George Stansbury, held multiple positions at WVWC from 1954-1970
Director of Alumni Affairs 1954-1961
Assistant to the President (Stanley H. Martin) 1961-1963
Director of the Campus Center and Campus Coordinator 1963-1970
He wrote this on May 30, 1964 about the Wesleyan Seal which hangs in the Social Hall of the Benedum Campus Center. The class of 1964 had presented the seal as their class gift that year. This seal was carved by local sculptor Wolfgang Flor.
Jim Stansbury writes:
The Wesleyan Seal
History
The annual catalogues of the College and Seminary afford the only record of the beginnings of the present seal. A search of the minutes of the Board of Trustees has revealed no mention of any official seal.
The rudimentary evidence of a seal is found in the 1897-98 catalogue of the old Seminary; this plain emblem had two concentric circles with “CHRISTO ET ECCLESIAE” in the center and “WEST VIRGINIA CONFERENCE SEMINARY” between the circles. At the bottom was “1886,” the year of incorporation. This appeared twice more, in 1898-99 and in 1899-1900.
West Virginia Conference Seminary 1897-98
The first few College catalogues, beginning in 1903-04, contain no seals or emblems. President John Wier had endowed the school with the name, “The Wesleyan University of West Virginia” in 1903-04; in 1906 the Trustees changed the name to the present one. This name appears on the covers of the 1906 and 1907 issues, while the discarded name appears on the inside. The search for a seal at this time may have been an effort to make certain that the new name would be permanent.
Catalog 1906-07
Another emblem was used in 1907-08. It contains some of the basic elements of the present seal: three books, a candle holder, a candle giving forth light. A circle of leaves perhaps reflected the affection held for the Oak Grove.
The 1908-09 issue has on its cover the first rendition of the present seal. It was used in 1909-10 on both cover and frontispiece.
Catalog 1908-1909
In 1932-33 it shed its scalloped edge and was decorated with piping on the entire circumference. This version has been used almost continuously since then.
1932-1933 Catalog
Interpretation
The bas relief of the seal presented today is, in several ways, an interpretation by Mr. Flor. Changes in the original have been made over the years; such as the number of books (sometimes one or two), the design of the torch and lamp, a right or left and, and alterations in the Hebrew characters. Mr. Flor has gone back to the original seal and even consulted with Hebrew scholars to insure accuracy. Native Upshur County walnut was selected for stock, in part to harmonize with furnishings in the room.
The outer circumference has the suggestion of a scalloped edge like the traditional seal. The rough treatment of the wood is intended to convey the emerging of the seal from elementary beginnings to its present form. In keeping with this, the year of the institution’s founding, 1890, appears at the bottom, flanked by two oak leaves, symbolic of he first College seal and of the Oak Grove.
The seal itself is encircled by the more recent piping bordering the Latin name. The open book, representing “The Book of Books” proclaims, “Let there be Light” in Hebrew characters. The ancient oil vessel burns on as the student, clothed in academic garb, holds his torch of learning, receiving light from the lamp of knowledge.
The thoughtfulness of the Class of 1964 will make possible the continuing awareness of the purpose of Wesleyan. Mr. Flor has carved an inspiring symbol, which will be an enduring reminder of a noble past and a guide to a promising future.
May 30, 1964
James Stansbury
The college seal appears on official documents, catalogs, and on campus signage. It has also been carved into a podium by Bobby Hawkins, Physical Plant employee from 1978-2013.
To explore more about the history of West Virginia Wesleyan College go to https://DreamersAndGiants.com
On Saturday, I had the chance to sit down and talk with Bishop Peter D. Weaver. He was reflecting on his time at West Virginia Wesleyan and how it had prepared him for his life’s work.
Coming to Buckhannon
Pete Weaver was about 10 years old when his father, a Methodist minister, was assigned to the Emory Methodist Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A member of that congregation was Michael Late Benedum, the native of Bridgeport, WV who had amassed a fortune in the oil and gas industry. In spite of the large mansion and all of the trappings of a rich man, Weaver’s impression of Mr. Benedum was that of Christian humility.
Bridgeport United Methodist Church
The choir from Emory would go to Bridgeport and sing at Mr. Benedum’s home church each year, and when the time came for Pete to attend college, Mr. Benedum encouraged him to seek out a Methodist college. After visiting a few, he came to Buckhannon and immediately felt at home here among the beautiful campus and friendly people.
Values Taught, Learned, and Lived
He arrived as a freshman in 1962, and had the opportunity to learn from such Wesleyan Giants as Ralph C. Brown, Sidney Davis and Jose Franquiz. These men taught him Bible, Religion, Philosophy. All three of these had earned the Doctor of Sacred Theology degree from Boston University. President Stanley H. Martin and Dean Orlo Strunk, Jr. had also earned that degree from Boston University. Boston University’s program emphasized Social Justice, Mission, Ecumenical work, Counseling, and Ethics. These emphases are evident at West Virginia Wesleyan to this day — perhaps still echoing the legacy of these men and others.
Brown (1915), Davis (1936), and Strunk (1953) were also graduates of WVWC.
Ralph C. Brown
Sidney Thomas Davis
Jose Franquiz
Orlo Strunk, Jr.
Many other faculty members from Bible, Christian Education, History, Sociology, Psychology, and Religion were graduates of other theological schools as well including: Garrett-Evangelical, Iliff, Lutheran, Wesley, Western, and Yale Divinity School. The subjects being taught were being taught from the perspective of Love, Justice, Hope, and facing the realities of povery and injustice which was to be seen all throughout the world in various contexts.
In particular, he especially remembers the impact that Dr. Herb Coston had on his life in the class called Fundamental Social Problems. This was a course that was required of all freshmen. Read the course description here.
Other things kept Pete busy at Wesleyan as well, including writing for the Pharos, acting in plays, Phi Sigma Epsilon Fraternity, and serving on the Program Board for the new Benedum Campus Community Center.
Formative Times
College is always a formative time for students, and Peter Weaver was here at a very formative time for the college as well. Even as he was learning to struggle with the many social issues of the 1960s from faculty members who challenged and supported him, the college itself was being transformed.
The Stanley H. Martin era was one of incredible change and growth. New buildings included:
1958 McCuskey Hall
1959 Jenkins Hall
1962 Doney Hall
1963 Benedum Campus Community Center
1963 Holloway Hall
1964 Paul G. Benedum Hall
1967 Christopher Hall of Science
1967 Wesley Chapel and Martin Religious Center
1972 Middleton Hall
1972/1973 Wraparound addition to the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library
Coming Full Circle
After graduating from West Virginia Wesleyan in 1966, Peter earned his Masters of Divinity at Drew University and then followed in the footsteps of some of his mentor professors and went to Boston University to pursue the Doctor of Theology degree. He served churches for several years before being elected to be a Bishop in 1996 serving as Bishop in Eastern Pennsylvania and Deleware conferences. From 2004-2006 he served as the President of the Council of Bishops.
In 2004, Peter Weaver was appointed to the New England Conference. As he was sitting in Boston University’s Marsh Chapel in that role, he looked up and saw the plaque bearing the name of none other than Stanley H. Martin. The chapel was dedicated in 1950.
On Thursday, Peter Weaver gave the opening sermon for the West Virginia Annual Conference worship service — in Wesley Chapel. On Sunday, he assisted West Virginia’s Resident Bishop, Sandra Steiner Ball, in the ordination service for new clergy. He was home again on this campus which had so helped to build him even as Stanley Martin was building the campus.
I have to believe that Michael Benedum, Ralph C. Brown, Herb Coston, Jose Franquiz, Stanley Martin, Orlo Strunk, Jr., and all the rest, must be pleased.
This week, the campus will be busy. The Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church will be arriving — around 1,200 pastors and lay people. They will gather in Wesley Chapel and have worship services and business meetings.
They will set up displays in the gym to show all about projects and ministries they are doing all year.
The organ will play at full blast and, if tradition repeats itself once again, there will be more than 1,000 voices singing “O, for A Thousand Tongues to Sing”.
They will eat barbecue, ice cream, and have music out on campus.
They will have a homecoming. It is a like a huge family reunion!
This will be the 63rd consecutive year that they have done this. It seems like it has always been this way. For many of us it HAS always been this way in our lifetime, but before 1955 it had only happened 8 times! (1856, 1884, 1895, 1898, 1911, 1913, 1926, 1953). From 1955 to present, they have been here every year.
Since they actually founded the college in 1890, this makes a lot of sense. It took a lot of hard work and meetings, and planning, and fundraising for that to happen.
It is funny, though, that the college students who live here the rest of the year can hardly imagine this happening on “their” campus. They are never here during this event. Likewise, the conference people rarely see the students trudging through the snow on the way to class, or studying in the library. It is like two separate groups, yet their stories are closely intertwined.
That 1953 year must have been an interesting exception. That year, the Pharos tells us that Commencement, Alumni Activities, Dedication of the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library, and Conference all happened in the same week!!!!
Bishop Fred Pierce Corson
In his speech that week on May 27th, at the dedication of the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library, Bishop Fred Pierce Corson said, “First we build our buildings, and then they build us.” This has proven very true in the case of the conference and the college.
The conference built buildings, then the buildings (and the people who taught in them) built leaders. Many of those leaders throughout the years have also been active in building the conference.
