It is not every day that a person has an opportunity to celebrate such a milestone! How does one even go about it? Gifts are certainly in order. Taking the time to reflect on the people who have been integral to such a long story of growth and success seems to be appropriate. What follows is my attempt to celebrate the founding of our Home Among the Hills, where the doors first opened on September 3, 1890 – and the people and adventures since that time.
Gift #1 – Faculty List
About 20 years ago, I asked what I thought to be a simple question. (Is there a list of all the people who have taught here through the years?) It turned out that the answer was that it was all in the catalogs. Yikes. There have been a LOT of those through the years! But, after many years of digging through those catalogs and making a spreadsheet, I finally came up with a list. It includes anyone who was listed as faculty in one of the catalogs – even some early student assistants in various lab classes. These are all people who have impacted lives. Some have taught here for decades. Others for just a few years, but if they happened to be YOUR years, they may have made a huge difference for you.
However, once I had the list I was still not satisfied. I wanted to know what they looked like, where they had come from, what they taught, and what kinds of people they were. So, I have been compiling that information as well by looking through yearbooks, alumni publications, and even researching some in places like LinkedIn or FindAGrave. Click here to see the results (with more coming!)
Gift #2 – Buildings
Buildings all have a story to tell us (many, actually). When it was built? Why was it built? What was the purpose for each? Where did the funds come from? Who was it named for? What has been written about each?
The Buildings section of DreamersAndGiants has been updated with a lot of that information. Click here to check it out!
Gift #3 – Online Course
Thanks to a suggestion from Provost Lynn Linder, and some great technical assistance and moral support from Traci Probst and Jon Benjamin, there is now an online course available for those who would like to know more. Click here to explore it!
Answers to some frequently asked questions:
- It is free.
- It is available for anyone to take (faculty, staff, current students, alumni, trustees, prospective students, or anyone who would like to know more).
- It covers the founding and early days, and the history of the buildings.
- The entire course takes about 2 1/2 hours, but you don’t have to do it all at once.
- At the end of the course, you recieve a certificate!
While I am not a student of numerology, I thought it would be interesting to see what the number 135 might signify. What I found seems pretty on target.
- Number 1 often represents new beginnings, independence, and self-leadership
- Number 3 represents creativity, communication, self-expression, and optimism
- Number 5 represents adaptability, freedom, positive change, and adventure
Happy 135th Birthday, WVWC!