Month: September 2019

It’s The Little Things Working Together

On a recent Field Trip Friday excursion with my First Year Seminar class, one of the students made a discovery.

The Field Trip included five stops to look at some important plaques and markers that often go unnoticed. It included a trip into Haymond Hall of Science (after studying about the beginnings of that building during the week). It included a stop in the Sleeth Gallery in McCuskey Hall.

On the way into McCuskey, I happened to point out a small sculpture which was attached to the side of the building.

Photo by Ellen Mueller (2015)

When all was said and done, it was this sculpture that inspired one student to action. I explained that it was part of a series which had been installed on campus in 2015 by Ellen Mueller, who at that time was a faculty member in the Art Department. Click here to read more about Ellen.

A couple of days later, I received an email with photos of all of the pieces in the project. The student and a friend (not even in the class) had spent hours examining each building on the campus to try and locate the entire project. Beyond being intrigued by the pieces themselves, they found that they had many questions about the reason for these tiny sculptures and what the artist may have been thinking about.

Synergism

Ellen’s project was named Synergism. That word translates loosely to “working together” and that there are things that work better when combined together than they do as individual components. You can read more about it on her website.

In this project, there are five office-related objects, 3-D modeled in SketchUp and printed in 3-D in matte bronze steel by Shapeways. Each is designed to fit into a corner-space and are attached to buildings on the campus.

The Synergism project was featured in a journal article by Tiffany Funk in NMC/Media-N  (Spring 2015; Vol. 11, No. 02).

Ellen Mueller’s Synergism series (2015) demonstrates how subversive, radical discourse can take the form of small-scale interventions. The series consists of 3D modeled bronze-steel sculptures, ranging from three to eight inches, of office paraphernalia installed in a variety of institutional spaces, including office buildings, city halls, DMVs, post offices, and schools.

Though Synergism takes its inspiration from street art, it disrupts institutional architecture through corporate camouflage; by mimicking the bronze, classical sculptures often gracing entrances and lobbies, while drastically reducing their scale, these absurd interventions signify larger issues of the effects of workplace monetization, namely the objectification of individuals.

Office Chair located on McCuskey Hall
Clipboards located on the Benedum Campus Community Center
Filing Cabinets located on the Lynch-Raine Administration Building
Keyboards located on the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library
Staplers located on the O’Roark Nordstrom Welcome Center

Synergism in Curriculum

When I looked up the word Synergism in the Credo Reference database on the library webpage, there were 668 results returned. They were from many disciplines, including usage of the word in:

  • Art
  • Biology
  • Business
  • Chemistry
  • Communication
  • Computer Science
  • Education
  • Environmental Science
  • Medicine
  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Psychology
  • Religion
  • Social Sciences
  • Toxicology

It occurred to me that all of these things contribute to what we call a Liberal Arts Education. Each one of the areas is important on its own, but combined together they are even greater. Synergism.

Collaborations, Connections,  and Explanations

While I gave the best explanation that I could when asked about these pieces of art, I realized that I could do a much better job if I consulted the artist and made a connection with the student in that way. I asked Brenlyn what she would ask the artist if she could. Here are her questions and Ellen’s answers.

Question: Why Office Supplies and furniture? Why not art supplies or artists, or dogs, or panda bears or something?

Answer: I picked office supplies/furniture because I was very interested in bureaucracy and the systems that guide our everyday lives. These objects are completely intertwined with carrying out those systems of order.

Question: Why these particular buildings? How did you decide where to put them?

Answer: I put them on these buildings because I wanted to spread them out over the whole campus, and these buildings felt well-spread out from each other.

Question: How did you come up with this whole project in the first place?

Answer: I came up with the idea because I like bureaucracy from a personal point of view (I like things to be orderly), but I am also driven crazy by bureaucracy sometimes because I like to get things done, and it can slow things down!

Happy Birthday, Annie

Annie Merner Pfeiffer is a name that is familiar to us on the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan College. It is the name on our library.  When people notice that the library is named for her, they assume that she might have been a librarian here or maybe a faculty member. The truth is that Annie Merner Pfeiffer never set foot on the campus.

So why name a building after her? Especially one so central to the educational mission of the school?

Annie Merner Pfeiffer

Born on September 23, 1860 (159 years ago on the day I am writing this) in New Hamburg, Ontario, Canada, Annie Merner was educated in the public schools of Ontario. At the age of 22, she married Henry Pfeiffer.

Henry, born in Lewiston, Pennsylvania in 1857, moved with his family to Cedar Falls, Iowa when he was young. He worked in the retail drug business early in his career before moving to St. Louis, Missouri for a position in the drug manufacturing business. He founded the Pfeiffer Chemical Company in St. Louis in 1901 and in 1908 purchased William R. Warner & Company in Philadelphia.

According to his obituary in the New York Times (April 14, 1939):

Under his direction the Warner company, which had been founded in 1851, became oneof the leading manufacturers of drugs, pharmaceuticals and chemicals used in the drug trade. The company now maintains factories in New York and St. Louis and in fifteen foreign countries.

Philanthropy

Annie and Henry had no children of their own, and subscribed to the philosophy of Andrew Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth,” written in 1889, which said that those who were wealthy had an obligation to use that wealth to help others.

Like many of those who amassed great wealth in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Pfeiffers wanted to use their wealth to endow institutions that would build a strong and educated society – places like colleges,universities, and libraries.

Recipients of funds from Henry and Annie Merner Pfeiffer for colleges and universities, both in the United States and abroad, included:

  • Colegio Ward (Buenos Aires)
  • Yenching University (Peiping, China)
  • Ewha College (Seoul, Korea)
  • Albright College (Reading, PA)
  • Bennett College (Greensboro, NC)
  • Cornell College (Mount Vernon, IA)
  • North Central College (Naperville, IL)
  • Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, OH)
  • Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY)
  • Baldwin-Wallace College (Berea, OH)
  • Pfeiffer Junior College (Misenheimer, NC)
  • West Virginia Wesleyan College (Buckhannon, WV)
  • Tennessee Wesleyan University (Athens, TN)

This list is not complete. The thing that they had in common were connections to the Methodist Episcopal Church and the fact that they were private liberal arts schools. There were many others, and also scholarships for the students as well.

Annie Merner Pfeiffer was also a Member of the board for the New York Deaconess Association and Methodist Church Home.  The purpose of this institution was to prepare women for all branches of home and foreign missionary work.

Henry died in 1939, and a foundation was set up to continue the work that they had started. President Broyles had been talking with Annie Merner Pfeiffer in regards to a gift for our much-needed library. He died suddenly on September 29, 1945, but the day that his successor, Dr. William Scarborough, was elected by the Board of Trustees one of his first official acts was to announce that she had committed to a gift of $100,000 for the library – with two conditions.

To read this issue, click here.

We read in Kenneth Plummer’s book, A History of West Virginia Wesleyan College, that:

(1) funds were to be made available when construction of the building commenced

(2) at least two other buildings of equal cost were to be constructed at the same time. [Note: this turned out to be L.L. Loar Memorial Hall of Music and Fine Arts and Fleming Hall]

In her will, Mrs. Pfeiffer also left a substantial amount of money to the Methodist General Board of Education for distribution at its discretion. Upon recommendation of Dr. John O. Gross, secretary of the board, Wesleyan was given subsequently an additional $50,000 for the library fund.

As one who has lived in that building for many years (first as a Library Science major, then as a staff member, and as Director of Library Services for a decade), I would like to thank Annie Merner Pfeiffer for her generosity which has had a deep impact on my life.

Happy Birthday, Annie Merner Pfeiffer! And Thank You.

Lawrence Sherwood: Inspired and Inspiring

Lawrence Franklin Sherwood Jr., a young man from Roncevert, West Virginia,  graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1947.

While a student, Lawrence was very active on campus including:

  • Sigma Alpha Sigma (Local Scholarship Society)
  • Alpha Psi Omega (National Dramatic Fraternity)
  • Playshop
  • Ministerial Association
  • Christian Service Fellowship
  • Community Council
  • Student Union Council
  • Awards Committee
  • Religious Activities Committee
Christian Service Fellowship, 1947. One of their projects that year was to hold Sunday services for the mentally ill at the Weston State Hospital.

Seen in this photo seated next to Dr. Ralph C. Brown on the front row, Lawrence Sherwood’s student days brought him into close contact with Giant faculty members and mentors. In particular, his interactions with Dr. George Glauner (who taught History from 1922-66) and Dr. Ralph C. Brown (who taught Bible and Religion from 1922-61) seem to have greatly impacted his life’s work. Dr. Brown was an ordained Methodist Minister, and Dr. Glauner was an active preacher as well. Both were members of the West Virginia Annual Conference.

Harvey Harmer,  WVWC Trustee from 1906-37 and Trustee Emeritus 1937-61, was also very active in the West Virginia Methodist Historical Society, and was likely an influence and source of great information for young Lawrence.  Both Harmer and Glauner served as the top officer in the Methodist Historical Society for multiple terms.

Lawrence Sherwood was honored with a Doctor of Divinity Degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1964. I would imagine that few people in attendance could have been prouder of him than Dr. Brown and Dr. Glauner.

Beyond Campus

Lawrence did not limit his leadership to campus. He was also very active in state and regional organizations, even as World War II raged and created hardships at home and abroad. For example:

  • In April 1946 he was elected state treasurer for the Methodist Student Movement.

The United Methodist General Commission on Archives and History includes this description of the Methodist Student Movement:

The Methodist Student Movement has its direct roots with the Wesley Foundation campus ministries which was founded by James Baker in 1913 at the University of Illinois. With the intellectual and political higher landscape became more complex after World War 1 and the great Depression, there created a need to provide a progressive pastoral, yet prophetic, style of ministries for this new kind of college student. In 1938, the Methodist Student Movement was born in anticipation of church union among the three largest American Methodist bodies in 1939. Methodist college and seminary students now had a national platform to press forward their concerns on how the church specifically and society generally should be shaped while drawing on the vast resources of the new denomination to sustain its momentum. MSM was organized geographically by jurisdictions, regions and states along with a national board to promote its varied social interests of race, war, peace, ecumenism, new theologies, and art. Perhaps their greatest legacy comes in the form of their cutting edge magazine called motive. The movement’s high point of national influence came during the 1950 and 1960’s when American society began to radically reexamine its norms and mores which created great social upheaval. By 1969, the Methodist Student Movement burned itself out and disbanded to make room for a new focus on more ecumenical understanding rather than denominational.

  • In November 1946 he attended the regional Student Christian Movement meeting at Jackson’s Mill.
  • In April 1947 he served as a delegate to the Northeast Jurisdictional Spiritual Life Conference held at Auburn University.

West Virginia Annual Conference

1947 was a big year for Lawrence. Besides graduating from WVWC, he became a provisional member of the West Virginia Annual Conference.

Proceeding to Garrett Theological Seminary for further study, Lawrence earned his masters degree in 1949. That same year he received his Deacons Orders. The following year he was ordained Elder and became a full member of the conference, serving from 1950 until his retirement in 1996. The work that he did in that 46 year period of time is unmeasurable in terms of lives he touched.

Of course, retirement just gave him more time to pursue his love of Methodist History, both in West Virginia and denomination-wide.

History Hero

On June 10, 2011, at Annual Conference, Lawrence Sherwood was presented a Distinguished Historian Award for his historical research, writing, and teaching.

ARCHIVES AND HISTORY: Ginnie Lowther (clergy, Retired and Chair of
Archives and History) highlighted the upcoming celebration of the 225th anniversary of Old Rehoboth. She then introduced Lawrence Sherwood (clergy, retired) who has written a new book, “Francis Asbury Tours in West Virginia.” After reading a portion of Asbury’s diary, he presented a copy of the book to Bishop Grove and one for Bishop Lyght. Joe Kenaston (clergy, Lewisburg) shared insights about Bishop Francis Asbury. Rev. Kenaston will be portraying Bishop Asbury at the celebration at Old Rehoboth. Ginnie Lowther and Bill Wilson (clergy, Director of Connectional Ministries) presented Lawrence Sherwood with a plaque designating him as “Distinguished Historian,” citing his many years of dedication to the history of the conference.

Along with work in the West Virginia Annual Conference on the Methodist Historical Society, and later the Commission on Archives and History,  Lawrence was recognized beyond the borders of the conference for his historical work.

Left to Right: Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, Lawrence Sherwood, and Dr. Robert S. Conte, Historian. (Photo by Dewayne R. Lowther)

In 2014, he was honored by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History with a History Hero Award. His citation read:

A retired United Methodist pastor, Lawrence Franklin Sherwood Jr. serves on the West Virginia Annual Conference Commission on Archives and History. He was a charter member of the conference historical society and its first vice president, and he also has served as a vice president of the National Association of Methodist Historical Societies. For many years, Sherwood has been considered the “Historian in Residence” of the annual conference and in 2011 he was presented a Distinguished Historian Award for his historical research, writing, and teaching. His publications include “History of West Virginia Methodism” (1964) and The Tours of Bishop Francis Asbury in West Virginia, 1776-1815″ (2011).

In June of 2018, Lawrence Sherwood was one of two national recipients of the Ministry of Memory Award which was presented by the Historical Society of the United Methodist Church.

Tribute to Lawrence Sherwood

Lawrence Sherwood died on September 6, 2019 at the age of 93. He was at that time the longest-serving minister in the West Virginia Annual Conference.

Bishop William Boyd Grove wrote a beautiful tribute to him, which was shared on social media as well as read at his memorial service. It says exactly what I have been trying to say.

Today, while my body has been in Tennessee, my mind and spirit have been in Oakland Maryland with the family and friends of my dear friend and colleague.

Lawrence Sherwood
A tribute

He made Old Rehobeth new again.
He taught us who we have been,
Pioneers of the Spirit,
And who, by grace, we might be again.

He introduced us to those riders of the circuit
Who slept by campfires,
And read their bibles
By the light of the moon.

He quickened our spirts so we could ride with Asbury,
“Prophet of the long road;”
Crossing the mountains, fording rivers
Of what we would one day call
“Almost Heaven!”

When the angels came for him
He was senior member of his conference;
The longest link in the chain
Of what has been.

When he arrived at “the house not made with hands,”
Waiting by the door was Bishop Asbury!
Welcome home Lawrence.
I’ve been waiting a long time for you!”

William Boyd Grove

Friends and Family

There is something special about the people who knew you during the times when you were becoming the person you are. First it is the family that you were born into.

Fun fact: all of the people in this picture are graduates of WVWC, and there were others who came along later.

Later on, that circle widens to include those who were there when you were figuring out who you were, who you wanted to be, and what path you wanted to  follow for your life’s journey. Those who share that time of transition to adulthood with you hold a very special place in our hearts throughout our lives.

WVWC Sisters

This past week a group of WVWC friends met for lunch. We have seen each other sporadically through the years, and shared Christmas cards complete with pictures of the children who came along.  In recent years, we have taken to getting together for lunch every year or so. We have entertained various waiters and waitresses with our laughter and the telling of stories. (We always leave a nice tip in appreciation of their patience with us.)  LOL

We did the math this week, and were shocked to realize that we met 45 years ago when most of us were living in the same hallway in McCuskey Hall our freshman year at WVWC.  None of us were math majors, so we checked and double checked those numbers because we could not believe that the number could be correct. The years melted away immediately as they always do.

Jill Okes-Kinkade, Joyce Reneau Okes, Quinn, , Del Marie Lewis Brenn, Robin Barb Throckmorton, Kim Walls, Jane White, Paula McGrew.

We were also joined by Joyce’s daughter, Jill (who now works on the staff at WVWC) and by the next generation….Quinn Okes-Kinkade. Jill and my daughter also met during freshman year in their First Year Seminar class and have now been friends as well for nearly fifteen years! (More ridiculous math!)

Over the years we have celebrated marriages, births of children (and grandchildren), retirements, and various awards and honors.

We have supported each other through family deaths, battles with cancer, miscarriages, and other storms of life.

We have cheered on successes and provided a good place to vent frustrations.

There were many others who were not present at this lunch, but who are in touch often…even if only on Facebook. We keep up on the happenings in each other’s lives and support or celebrate there. Not quite as good as in person, but it keeps us connected between in-person gatherings.

Some of us found life partners during our college years, and have the added benefit of being able to tell college stories of shared experiences every day. This group is known as Wesleyan Sweethearts, and there have been more than 1,000 such couples.

Many people share this type of friendship. You can see it first-hand when you attend the homecoming activities in the fall. Alumni magazine articles tell of friends that travel together, have regular gatherings with other WVWC graduates in the areas where they live, or who show up in each other’s weddings.

I see these same types of friendships, for example, with my daughter’s group of Wesleyan friends.

Your role changes, but still you are part of these relationships. Sometimes:

  • you are the parent/grandparent/aunt/uncle
  • you are the child
  • you are the student
  • you are the teacher
  • you are the classmate
  • you are the co-worker
  • you are the freshman year roommate, or the person who lives down the hall

In the past few weeks, I have watched as students in my First Year Seminar class have begun to make these kinds of friendships as well. For now, with fellow students. Soon, with faculty and staff who will cheer their success (in and out of the classroom) and will challenge them to be their best, and who will support them along that journey. Who knows? Some may come back to be co-workers and fellow faculty members! It has happened before.

When people at WVWC talk about their Wesleyan Family or their Home Among the Hills, it is not just a figure of speech. It is a real thing!

Opening Day: September 3, 1890

Seminary Building 1890 Catalog Drawing
Drawing of Seminary Building in 1890 Catalog

September 3, 1890

The day was finally here. Opening day for the West Virginia Conference Seminary, which was the realization of the dreams and hard work of many.  Trustees had been working hard to make this a dream a reality: quality education for both boys and girls; non-sectarian. It was the dream of many Methodists from West Virginia, one which required many years of meetings, resolutions, fundraising and proposals. It was also the result of hard physical labor by those who dug the clay from campus grounds, made the bricks, and created the building itself.

One Building

The Seminary Building, the lone building, was described in the Prospectus:

The splendid new Seminary building is the best school or college building in the state; beautiful, substantial, convenient, and admirably adapted to school purposes. It is of brick, 106 x 80 feet, three stories in height, and stands upon an eminence overlooking the river and town.

According to Kenneth Plummer, in his book A History of West Virginia Wesleyan College, there was no money for furnishings and equipment. Gifts and loans from trustees and friends made it possible to aquire enough of these things for the school to open. For example, the money for chairs for the chapel and classrooms was advanced by The Rev. Dr. John W. Reger, a trustee of the school.

Six faculty members
From Thomas W. Haught’s West Virginia Wesleyan College, The First Forty Years 1890-1940, p.55

Like the building, the faculty was not yet quite complete. By the end of the first year, in June 1891, six more teachers had been added:

  • Professor D.M. McIver (Business Department)
  • Mrs. Alma G. McIver (Business Department)
  • Mr. W. H. Atha (Business Department)
  • Miss Ida V. Kent (Voice Culture and Piano)
  • Miss Maude McFarland (Drawing and Painting)
  • Mr. D.E. Phillips (Normal School Subjects and English)
70 students (first term)

The first 10-week term, there were 70 students enrolled.

Roy Reger graduate of WVU 1898
Photo from the West Virginia OnView, from WVU Libraries

The first one to sign the register was Roy Reger. He later writes about that experience and describes life on campus in a letter which you can read here.

Trustees

There were sixteen trustees, an equal number of ministers and laymen, at the time of the opening of the school in 1890.

Original Trustees Who Were Laymen
Ministers
Laymen
I think they would be pleased

If these people could see the West Virginia Wesleyan College of today, and meet the faculty and students who are here now, I think they would be very pleased and proud. That is why I am inspired to keep Curating the Stories of the Dreamers and the Giants on DreamersAndGiants.com.