Author: paula.mcgrew@gmail.com

March Madness is Nothing New

 

Gymnasium

It is time for March Madness!

The game of basketball began in 1891, and less than 25 years later had already become quite a competitive sport among high schools and colleges.

The West Virginia boys’ high school basketball tournament began in Buckhannon on March 21, 1914.  The Gymnasium had been built in 1912, and was considered to be the largest and finest in the state of West Virginia.

That year, Elkins and Wheeling each claimed to be the best in the state, and West Virginia Wesleyan issued an invitation to come and settle the matter. Elkins emerged victorious and became the first “State Champions.”

The following year, 1915, Wesleyan athletic director Harry Stansbury contacted high schools all over West Virginia, inviting them to participate in an open tournament for the state basketball title. Fourteen teams answered the call, and the building of a sports tradition was under way.

The Gymnasium stood until it was razed in 1974 – the year that the John D. Rockefeller IV Physical Education Center opened.

Gym Marker

Purposes – Or, What Are You Doing?

Carla Hayden and Paula McGrewLast week, I had an incredible opportunity to hear Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, speak two days in a row. Both days, her talk was focused on Collections of treasures, and how we can use them to learn about ourselves and our heritage. Both days, she mentioned the importance of sharing them. Both days, she gave speeches that I have made myself over the years. It was very validating! And, I may have to confess to a few tears of joy in hearing her talking about the purpose of libraries and how they are even more important now than ever before.

It had the same effect on me as an experience in 2011 when I was a participant in the Salzburg Global Seminar on The Future of Libraries and Museums in an Era of Participatory Culture. 

Salzburg Group 2011

The description of this session states: “Accepting the notion of democratic access, placing a major emphasis on public value and impact, and embracing lifelong learning were key overarching messages that emerged from deliberations at the recent seminar Libraries and Museums in an Era of Participatory Culture which was convened by the Salzburg Global Seminar in collaboration with the Washington-based Institute of Museum and Library Services. The session plunged fifty-eight library, museum, and cultural heritage leaders from thirty-one countries around the world into discussion, debate, and the development of a series of practical recommendations for ensuring maximum access to and engagement in museums and libraries, as they examined the meaning of “participatory culture” writ large.”   Wow! Talk about a mountain top experience.

Life Purpose

A few years ago, I saw a TED Talk by Adam Leipzig which was titled How to Know Your Life Purpose in 5 Minutes.  Even though this was false advertising about how long it was (actually 10:33) it was a very effective talk.  I just watched it again, and I still highly recommend it! By the end of it, I had written my Manifesto (Public Statement of Purpose). Others call it a Mission Statement or an Elevator Pitch, but I think that the word Manifesto sounds a bit stronger. I decided to write one. Much of what I based this on, I learned here at the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library as a student, staff member, and director.

The Purpose of the Library

“The library is operated by a group of people who are curious about everything, and have a deep desire to be helpful.  We provide Information, Inspiration, and Entertainment to Faculty, Staff, and Students and the raw materials and tools to do their work.  We help them to discover richer, more enjoyable, and more meaningful lives.” ~Paula McGrew, April 2016

So – now for Paula’s Library Manifesto (a word which means public statement of purpose)

What Libraries Do: Collect-Organize-Preserve-Share

What Libraries Are: Collections-Place-Service

What Libraries Provide: Information-Inspiration-Entertainment

Why We Do It:  To make sure that faculty and students have the raw materials that they need in order to fulfill THEIR purposes.

But what about my own personal manifesto for my retirement years?

“As a graduate of the WVWC Class of 1978, and as a person who has had a long line of family members who are graduates also, I bring my research skills, genealogy tools, and interest in the college to the work of Collecting-Organizing-Preserving-and Sharing stories of those who have studied and worked here since the founding of the school. I do this to ensure that past generations will have a place to share their memories and present and future generations will have a place to learn about their heritage, to be inspired by it, and to enjoy knowing about those who have come before them in The Orange Line.”                        ~Paula McGrew, March 2018

  1. Who am I? I am a graduate of the WVWC Class of 1978 and a Librarian who has spent her life learning to Collect-Organize-Preserve-and Share items to provide the raw materials for faculty and students to do their work.
  2. What I do: Bring my research skills, interest in genealogy, knowledge of both WVWC and the West Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church to the work of collecting the stories and putting them together on https://DreamersAndGiants.com.
  3. Why do I do this?  Because stories are being lost, and along with them a great deal of our institutional memory and heritage. Social media is great for getting word out quickly, but these things are fleeting. There are no longer any yearbooks. The newspaper stories are different from those in former times, and do not always convey the same types of information. I do this to honor those who have come before and to inspire those who are here now and who will be coming in the future.
  4. What do these people need and want? A perspective beyond that of their own time and a sense of the legacy they have been given.
  5. How are these people changed as a result of this work? They come to see themselves as a continuation of a larger purpose. Rather than just flitting from meeting to meeting, class to class, assignment to assignment, crisis to crisis, they are able to know about the situations that have been part of the history along the way. They can see how others have approached them. They truly become part of what we call The Orange Line. DreamersAndGiants cover

 

Walking the Walk

If it is wrong, say so. Founded on the Social Principles and Social Creed of the Methodist tradition, West Virginia Wesleyan alumni are walking the walk.

Several times over the past several weeks, I have come across an alumnus out there doing just what they have learned. From the Save the Crew movement in Columbus, OH to immigration issues, to economic justice, to advocating for ecological responsibility, they are out there. Each time, I can’t help but think that they are doing just what we have taught them is important.  Our Mission Statement says that:

West Virginia Wesleyan College prepares its students through its curriculum of arts and sciences, preprofessional, professional, and graduate studies, and its rich campus life program. As a residential institution of higher education, the College aspires to graduate broadly educated men and women who:

  • Think critically and creatively,
  • Communicate effectively,
  • Act responsibly, and
  • Demonstrate their local and world citizenship through service.

For example, Bishop Tom Bickerton, Class of 1980, is the Bishop of  the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. His recent statement in response to offensive remarks by public officials and the unfairness of their policies is full of grace, hope, and justice. It calls for all of us to do our part to restore dignity and justice.

Or Wilson Harvey, Class of 2017 speaking of the current situation in West Virginia where public employees are not being given the respect or the benefits that they deserve. Wilson writes,

“It would be a serious moral and political miscalculation to issue legal injunctions to try and end the strike. I think that politicians seem to severely underestimate the bipartisan support that teachers appear to have from the electorate. There are some against the strike, but at least anecdotally it would appear that voters have teachers backs. Trust me, the state’s teachers wouldn’t be on strike for the first time since 1990 if there wasn’t a really good reason.” Wilson is a secondary teacher in Lewis County, West Virginia.

And 2003 graduate Adena Barnette’s advocacy and leadership. She is a teacher in Jackson County, West Virginia who has gone over and above in her care for her students, her continued lifelong learning, and her advocacy in this current situation. She spoke before the PEIA Board. They turned a deaf ear. She then gave that same message in a different form, publishing it in the Charleston Gazette.

These three (and many thousands of WVWC Alumni all over the world) have learned at the feet of such people as John Warner, Arthur Holmes, Tamara Bailey, Melissa Buice, Rob and Lynn Rupp, Shirley Fortney, and many others through the years too numerous to list here. They embody the very mission of the college:

  • Think critically and creatively,
  • Communicate effectively,
  • Act responsibly, and
  • Demonstrate their local and world citizenship through service.

They are walking the walk and making us proud.

To read more about the people and events that have made West Virginia Wesleyan College great, check out https://DreamersAndGiants.com

Faces of Wesleyan

They All Have a Story

Curating the Stories

Who are these people? Each of them has been a major figure in the history of West Virginia Wesleyan College. There are thousands more. They put in long hours and made a difference in the lives of students. They made decisions that shaped the future of the school (which we now call the present).

How many times have I wished that I could tell them, “Your college is thriving. It is making a difference in the lives of students so that they can go out and make a difference in the world.”

How many times have I thought that the amazing faculty who is here today is a reflection of those who have gone before them? And yet, their memories are fading or disappearing altogether. As will ours in time unless someone tells our stories.

And so this work calls to me.

It goes beyond documenting facts. It goes to who I am and what I do. It goes to pride in what our WVWC ancestors were able to accomplish, and how they contributed mightily to what we are today.

It goes beyond calling out their names. It goes to telling about who they were and what they did.

It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or giving up.

It goes to the dreams that they had for this college, and those who would come after them (for us).

It goes to who they were and the kinds of decisions that they made. The paths that they chose.

It goes to celebrating the great times, and learning from the hard ones.

It goes to caring about and collecting their stories. Organizing and preserving them. And sharing them.

Because, as noted by Natalie Sleeth in the Hymn of Promise, “From the past will come the future, what it holds a mystery. Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.”

So, as a scribe called, I tell the stories of my WVWC family in hopes that these stories will call young and old to step up and restore the memories of our Home Among the Hills, or to learn them for the first time.

These are some of the reasons that this history is important. They are excerpts from the HistoryRelevance.com Value Statement. You can read the whole thing here.

History enables people to discover their own place in the stories of their families, communities, and nation. They learn the stories of the many individuals and groups that have come before them and shaped the world in which they live.

No place is a community until it has awareness of its history. Our connections and commitment to one another are strengthened when we share stories and experiences.

People are drawn to communities that have preserved a strong sense of historical identity and character.

Their stories reveal how they met the challenges of their day, which can give new leaders the courage and wisdom to confront the challenges of our time.

History, saved and preserved, is the foundation for future generations.

Be sure to check out the DreamersAndGiants.com website often. New photos and stories are being added regularly.

Education: A right? A privilege? A treasure? Thank you Morris Purdy Shawkey!!!

Shawkey, Morris Purdy
West Virginia Blue Book, 1919

Education is in the news everywhere in West Virginia right now. In our society today, we often think of it as something we take for granted. Of course there have always been schools and teachers around……..haven’t there? We sometimes see this as our right. Some even complain when they “have to” go to school or read something about the world. Very rarely do we truly understand what a treasure and a privilege it is to have these opportunities.

M.P. Shawkey taught at WVWC  from 1895-1897 (or the West Virginia Conference Seminary as it was named at that time). He died 77 years ago this week, and was featured in a story on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. It seems that he is widely recognized as the father of secondary education in West Virginia. He served three terms as the West Virginia State Superintendent of Free Schools, and during that time vastly increased the number of high schools (from 6 to 116) and was a huge supporter of having libraries in every school. You can read more about him here. Go ahead — it is a really fascinating story! It includes time spent as President of Marshall and of Morris Harvey among other things. It includes political intrigue and other elements that would make for a great feature film.

Morris Purdy Shawkey also wrote several books on West Virginia History, Geography, and Industry, which includes the best description I have ever read about the development of schools in West Virginia…..and why they mattered to communities and individuals alike. Read this description here!!!  Please!!! I wish each and every person in the legislature would read it.

We must value our schools. We must value our teachers. We must value those who work with our children. We must value those who provide the opportunities for our children to grow and shape our future as a society.

To read more things like this, check out https://DreamersAndGiants.com

Leadership – Then and Now

Wark, Homer E.

On February 25, 1931, WVWC President Wark was invited to speak to the Weekly Convocation at West Virginia University on the topic of “The Problem of Leadership”. Here is a summary of that speech, and a link to the Pharos article about the event. (You should read it! It could have been written today!)

Today we talk a lot about leadership styles, and how they come to be formed. We talk about Liberal Arts education (the kind of education that teaches you to think and learn — not a political ideology). Sometimes it is referred to as a Classical Education. The very first year of existence, the West Virginia Conference Seminary was strong in this. And has been growing stronger ever since as defined by the Association of American Colleges & Universities. We now blend Liberal Arts Education with our professional programs to help students to be true leaders in their fields. The best of both!

To find more things like this, be sure to check out the DreamersAndGiants webpage.

Dreamers and Giants Faced a Calamity on February 4, 1905

In 1890, the West Virginia Conference Seminary opened in Buckhannon. The result of much planning and dreaming on the part of the West Virginia Methodist Conference, this was a state-of-the-art preparatory school and not (as we would see it from our 21st Century perspective) a place for pastors to be trained for ministry. There were few public schools at that time, and families wanted to be able to educate their children without sending them out of state to do so. All activities took place in this building – from classrooms to offices to assembly hall to library room. Students boarded with approved families in town until dormitories could be built a few years later.

But on February 4, 1905 a fire destroyed this building. Everyone made it out safely, and much of the equipment and all of the records were saved. At that time, Roy McCuskey was a Seminary Student, and years later he recalled being in the building at the time of the fire. Read his memories here. 

The next issue of the Pharos included this drawing of the building after the fire. And, included an article entitled “Our Calamity” which was written by Frank B. Trotter. (Page 1 and Page 2. ) He was the Vice President, but was in charge that day as President Wier was attending a meeting in Charleston.  It gives details about the cause, the people inside, and his appreciation for the calm cooperation and composure of the students.

We are thankful that these people took photographs, made drawings, and wrote about this experience so that we can know more about the history of West Virginia Wesleyan College. It may have seemed that a Dream went up in smoke that day, but from the ashes the Giants that worked and studied here built the new Lynch-Raine Administration Building and kept right on teaching and learning. This event happened on a Saturday (yes, they had Saturday classes!) and by Monday they were meeting as usual in churches and houses throughout Buckhannon.

George W. Atkinson – A Legacy of Leadership and Information

There is a mysterious building between the Administration Building and the Martin Religious Center. Those who walked the WVWC campus before 1967 were very well acquainted with the Atkinson Auditorium. It served as chapel and theater and lecture hall. In fact, it served as the theater until the present Virginia Thomas Law Performing Arts Center was built in 2009.

The Atkinson Auditorium was dedicated in honor of George W. Atkinson. He had a wonderful career, including the honor of being the 10th Governor of West Virginia. You can read about all of the wonderful things that he did in this profile. But he has also provided us with priceless information about the early history and leaders of our state through his books. These have been digitized and are available for us to learn from today, and the links are included on the profile page. Thank you Governor Atkinson!

 

Registration Day and New Beginnings

Registration 1970

Registration 1970 Style

As students gather in the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library today, January 8, 2018, to register for Spring Semester, it seems fitting to take a look at what that process used to look like.

In 1970, there were punch cards instead of electronic databases and tools. There were only just so many cards per class, so you could tell immediately if the class was filling up. Many is the time that the person right in front of you in line got the very last card. At times, words were exchanged!

Once everyone had been through the line, the punch cards were run through the main frame computer which was located in Christopher Hall.

Best of luck to the current Bobcats for a great semester. Work hard, learn well, and enjoy your time at Wesleyan!  Believe it or not, these ARE the good old days!

To find out more about the people who have studied and worked here for the last 127 years or so, take a look at DreamersAndGiants.com.  This website is just getting started, and more is being added every day. After all, it took us well over a century to get this far! It will take a while to gather all of the stories.