January 2019 – DreamersAndGiants.com

Food For Thought

Today, students take their meals in the French A. See Dining Center, commonly called “the caf”. It is a beautiful facility which was built in 1995, and named for local businessman and member of the class of 1939, French A. See. They come and go at times that are convenient to them depending on their class schedules or their co-curricular activities. They choose their foods from a variety of areas where the foods are all neatly labled with nutrition information. Food allergies are taken into consideration. This information is even available online. For the past several years, they do all of that without the use of trays! (They are still available for those of us who may need them when we dine there as guests.) Dress is casual. There is open seating.

For a change of pace, they may choose to eat at the Cat’s Claw or pick up a Grab-and-Go meal from the Sunny Buck’s convenience store. Between these three options, a student should be able to find something to eat on campus between the hours of 7:15am and 11:00pm. The Food Service is now Aladdin Food Management Service, LLC.

All of this would look very strange to students from earlier years at WVWC.

In 1895, Ladies Hall (known as Agnes Howard Hall since 1920) opened and had a Dining Room in the basement. Meals were served family style at set times. Only the female students ate there. Male students boarded in town with families at that time as there was no dormatory for men. Girls were expected to dress for dinner, and a hostess was assigned for each table.

A College Dining Hall was located in the basement of the Gymnasium, which was built in 1912, where male students eventually ate on campus as well. The college had a Dietitian on staff to oversee the nutritional aspects of meals.

These two were the places to eat on campus for decades.

The 1952-53 Student Handbook states that the Dining Halls “serve Breakfast at 7:15 on Monday through Friday and at 8:00 Saturday and Sunday; Lunch is at 12:15 every day except Sunday when Dinner is served at 12:30 p.m.; Supper is served at 5:45 every evening. Be prompt, because the food does not wait!”

To be a Waiter in one of these Dining Halls was to be part of an exclusive group. They dressed formally, and had a great responsibility. They worked closely together in a very professional manner. In the 1950 Murmurmontis, there is even a photograph of their organization: Lambda Theta Mu.

There was a definite set of instructions for Waiters. Click here to read the Duties of Waiters, How to Serve, and Suggestions to Waiters.

McCuskey and Jenkins

When McCuskey Hall opened in 1957 and Jenkins Hall in 1959, the Dining Rooms were located there. Today’s students have a difficult time imagining the Art Department area as a cafeteria. Likewise, the Fitness Center. At that time, the college catalog reported that “Dining rooms at West Virginia Wesleyan College are operated by the Saga Food Service of Oberlin, OH. Menus are scientifically correct. The food is excellent and plentiful.”

The food was not, however, neatly labeled as it is today – as those of us who experienced the phenomenon known as “mystery meat” can attest.

As the times have changed, so have the way students have their meals. From formal affairs to grab-and-go meals, from dietitians to corporate food service companies, from strict hours for family style serving to trayless cafeteria lines, things have changed. But, the importance of these opportunities for students to eat together is still strong. This is where friendships (and some courtships) take place. This is where hopes and dreams are shared.

Marching in the Footsteps of Dreamers

On March 24, 2017 I stood on a stone outside of the Lincoln Memorial that identified the very place where Martin Luther King, Jr. had stood on August 28, 1963 when making his famous “I Have A Dream” speech.

I stood there trying to imagine what that must have been like for the 250,000 or so people who were there that day. Each one had a story. Each one had challenges, frustrations, and dreams of their own.

But, there or not, many people were inspired to dream – and still are being inspired to this day. Dr. King’s words were timeless.

At WVWC, there have been many people inspired to dream and to help others to make their dreams a reality. In no way is this a full list, but merely a few examples to celebrate Martin Luther King’s vision and influence. The list would be extremely long even if it were possible to document the influence of Dr. King on each of these persons.

Robert Hunt, who was blind, taught history from 1959-1989. Students were often amazed to find that Dr. Hunt was an avid and talented bowler! He never let his blindness define who he was, and took students to Selma in 1965 for the March. One of the students wrote his thoughts about this trip. These young men from a small school in West Virginia were actively involved as volunteers. Dr. Hunt may not have had his sight, but he had the vision to take these students to volunteer at this important march.

Alfred Leon Moye, a junior, was elected Community Council President in 1959. He also ran track, sang in the choirs, acted in plays, sang in a quartet called the Chordials, and all this while being the top chemistry student at the school multiple years. At a time even before the Civil Rights Marches were being held, he managed to rise to the top. He has excelled in many areas of leadership throughout his life, including serving on the board of trustees for his Alma Mater from 1988-2013.

Lastly, I would like to mention a young sociology student from Ohio State University who rode the midnight bus from Columbus to Washington, D.C. to be present for the “I Have a Dream” speech in August of 1963.

Olson, Reginald Murmurmontis — Reginald Olson

Reginald Olson went on to become a United Methodist minister, professor of Sociology and Social Work at West Virginia Wesleyan, and a passionate worker for peace and justice. He taught at the college from 1979-1988, and during that time established the West Virginia Wesleyan College Peace Award which he personally presented to the first four recipients:

1985 (April 13) Senator Jennings Randolph for his work to establish the United States Institute of Peace
1985 (November 11) Jimmy Carter for the Camp David Peace Accords
1987 (November 10) Retired Admiral Eugene Carroll, Jr. of the Center for Defense Information
1988 (May 13) United Methodist Council of Bishops for their letter, “In Defense of Creation: The Nuclear Crisis and a Just Peace.”

Reginald and his wife, Barbara, were activists, pushing for openness and reform within the United Methodist Church and worked to change the church’s official policy that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. They advocated for a fully inclusive and loving church for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities at four international General Conferences between 2000 and 2012.

Peace. Honor. Respect. Justice.

Dr. King’s words were, indeed, timeless. We need to know them, study them, and remember them today. We need to keep marching.

It’s About Time

There is a concept that I refer to often. It is that of the perspective of time. We draw on our own experiences and memories when looking at a person, place, or event. These things shape how we see the world.

Atkinson

Through the years, Atkinson has served as the heart of the school.

The place where people had shared experiences of learning, worship, celebration, and mourning.

The place where faculty and students became a true community, and the place where that community grew to love the school.

The place where millions of memories were made although those memories will be very different depending on the perspective of time!

1906-1922 The Auditorium

1922-1967 Atkinson Chapel

1967-2008 Atkinson Auditorium

2008-2018 That strange building that is closed up.

1906-1922

When the administration building was built in 1906 (or College Hall as it was known at the time), it included a beautiful gathering space for 1,500 people. A place which was referred to from 1906-1922 as the auditorium.

Although it was certainly used for the required Chapel services, Atkinson was also the place which was used for drama productions, recitals and concerts were given by students and famous people alike, and many notable people came to speak.

For example, on Saturday, May 20, 1916, Helen Keller spoke in Atkinson Chapel. According to local papers, she received a standing ovation at the end of her speech, which she could neither see nor hear. She could, however, feel the vibrations in the floor so she knew her talk had been well received.

When President Wallace B. Fleming wrote our Alma Mater in 1918, it would have premiered here. And, through frequent singing of it, everyone would eventually have known all the words.

1922-1967

1922 it was renamed Atkinson Chapel in recognition of George W. Atkinson’s service to the college as a trustee and of his public service to the state of West Virginia. He also gave a gift of $4,000 that year – $3,000 of which was to be used to purchase a pipe organ for the chapel.

From 1922-1967 it was referred to mainly as Atkinson Chapel. Any of the students from that time would remember it as the place where they attended chapel services, lectures, concerts, thuses (pep rallies), and pretty much anything where the entire student body gathered. They inagurated presidents (from Doney to Martin).

The chapel services were required, and there were assigned seats. Roll was taken by student work-study workers. Not all services were strictly religious in nature, however, and some of these gatherings were addresses by presidents, deans, or faculty of the college. Some were nationally recognized speakers on topics relating to Liberal Arts Education or Social Justice.

Here is an example from October 1926

20th Paul Chrissman, Professor of Philosophy and Psychology, spoke on “Human Nature”
25th Thomas W. Haught, Professor of Geology, spoke on “The Last Leaf”
26th Ruth Raw, Professor of English Composition, spoke on “Following the Crowd”
27th Lewis H. Chrisman, Professor of English Literature, spoke on “Esau’s Example”
28th Nicholas Hyma, Professor of Chemistry, spoke on “Cheating”
29th Ralph C. Brown, Professor of Biblical Literature, spoke on “Elections”

1936 production of “The New Henrietta”

1967-2008

After Wesley Chapel was built in 1967, it was mainly referred to as Atkinson Auditorium – although at times the terms chapel and auditorium have seemed to be interchangeable.

The space was still frequently in use for theatre productions and some concerts. Those of us who attended in the mid 1970s might remember this as the place we all had to gather and watch Starry Starry Night with all of the freshman Humanities classes.

Although Atkinson received some renovations in 1953, by 2008 it was needing some serious repairs.

2008-2018

In 2008, after the completion of the Virginia Thomas Law Center for the Performing Arts was opened, the doors of Atkinson were closed. It was mainly used for storage for a full decade before recent activity to bring it back to life. Generations of Wesleyan students arrived and left without ever seeing inside Atkinson.

2019

Atkinson Returns — Photo by Tom Schoffler

This week, Tom Schoffler (Associate Professor of Musical Theater, and member of the class of 1997) was able to take his students back into Atkinson. He wrote on Facebook, “Today, for the first time in a decade, actors worked in Atkinson Auditorium!”

Comments began to fly………….

Alumni are rejoicing! (Reliving their own memories.)

Students are rejoicing! (They have been curious about this place.)

Long-time faculty are rejoicing! (They have missed the energy of the place.)

New faculty are rejoicing! (They are excited to experience this part of campus that has been closed to them.)

It’s about time!

Giants Among Us

Giants

When we think of Giants, what is the image that comes to mind?

Is it the Giants of folklore, like Paul Bunyan or John Henry? Or maybe Goliath, of Old Testament fame? Maybe some sort of mysterious huge person at the top of a beanstalk – or the Jolly Green Giant in the commercials.

At any rate, we are likely to think of someone who is very large.

Dictionaries use words like superhuman, exceptional, extraordinary. They talk of people who have great abilities, influence, power, or importance.

Ordinarily Extraordinary

Most of the Giants that I have discovered at West Virginia Wesleyan were not huge in physical stature, but there are many who have given exceptional love and service to the school. There are many who have had great influence, not because they were trying to be Giants but because they simply were (are).

Some of these names you have heard. Some of these names are on buildings. Other names have disappeared from common knowledge over the course of time. One such example is Thomas W. Haught (formerly known around campus as “Our Tommy”).

Thomas W. Haught came to Buckhannon as a student at the West Virginia Conference Seminary in the spring of 1891 — just months after the school opened its doors. He completed the Classical Course in 1894. Because the school did not offer college level degrees in those early days, he went on to get his A.B. degree at West Virginia University in 1896.

In the fall of 1896, he returned to teach Science, English, and Mathematics. From 1899-1901 he felt the call to further his education and went to study at Harvard University.

Fall 1901 brought him back to teach at his first Alma Mater once again. That fall a new art teacher also arrived on campus, and a courtship began between “Our Tommy” (as he was known by his students) and Miss Helen Wetmore. They married in 1903 much to the delight of everyone on campus. In the very first edition of the Murmurmontis they were literally on the same page.

Salaries were low, and in 1905 he reluctanly accepted an offer to administer the State school in Keyser – now known as Potomac State – a position he held until 1908 when he finally returned to Wesleyan for good.

He taught until his retirement in 1941, and then World War II made it necessary for him to continue teaching during “the emergency” of 1942.

Beyond the classroom, Thomas W. Haught served the college in many other capacities through the years:

Librarian 1901-03
Dean and Registrar 1910-26
Acting President Three Times (1913, 1922, 1925)
Dean 1927-30
Countless Committees

Recognized by Other Giants

Upon his death in 1957, others wrote about the gigantic things that Thomas W. Haught had done.

Here are a couple of highlights, but please Click Here to read this booklet.

Lewis H. Chrisman stated:

No name looms larger in the history of West Virginia Wesleyan College than that of Thomas W. Haught. No individual has made a greater contribution to the life of the institution. He belongs to its past, its present, and its future.

Roy McCuskey (former student of Thomas W. Haught) wrote an article titled, The Contribution of Thomas W. Haught to Wesleyan College. It begins:

And, James Stansbury closed his article, which was entitled The End of an Era, with these words:

But even with all of the things above, he is most of all a Giant in my eyes for the legacy of the written word about all that took place throughout those sixty-six years. Through his writings, he has given us our history. All of us who seek to know about the early years have consulted his work numerous times. They (we) are standing on the shoulders of this Giant named Thomas W. Haught.

Month: January 2019