Author: paula.mcgrew@gmail.com

Lenna’s Legacy

From the very beginning, the founders of the West Virginia Conference Seminary made sure to include female students. They recognized that there were very intelligent, dedicated, and creative young ladies in the rural areas of West Virginia and they wanted to be sure that they had opportunities for education. Maybe they were thinking of Lenna Lowe Yost.

Lenna Lowe Yost
Trustee 1927-42

On Friday, January 25, 1878 (142 years ago this week) Lenna Lowe was born.

Coming from a very small community, she rose to great prominence in political circles all over the country and served as a trustee of West Virginia Wesleyan College from 1927-43.

Lenna’s father died when she was only 8 years old.  Her mother operated a hat shop.  As many of these rural communities were, the community of Amos was very close-knit.

Lenna the Student

The only year that Lenna attended the West Virginia Conference Seminary was during the academic year 1896-97. She was listed in the Literary, Art, and Music programs. Of the 343 students listed that year, there were five from Amos, a community in Marion County which was in the Fairview area. Joining her at the Seminary were:

  • Sue Lillian Yost – (Literary and Elocution) – who was the sister of Lenna’s future husband, Ellis A. Yost.
  • Ora Louise Potter – (Literary and Music)
  • Claude S. Jarvis – (Literary and Elocution)
  • Frank J. Yost (Literary and Elocution) – possibly also related to Ellis Yost. He became a druggist and owned his own store in Fairview.

In only the seventh year, the West Virginia Conference Seminary did not yet offer college level degrees. The first full college class graduated in 1905. The coursework, however, was vigorous and challenging. Lenna and the others from Amos were all enrolled in the Literary Program, and each also chose other areas of study such as Art, Elocution, and Music. Here is the first year curriculum for the Literary Program:

Her science courses would have been taught by a very young Thomas W. Haught.

None of these students from Amos appeared in the catalog for the next year. Some may have gone on to Ohio Wesleyan or other out-of-state schools for their college work.

Lenna in the Early 1900s

In 1899, Lenna Lowe married Ellis A. Yost (6 years her elder, and also from Amos, WV).  Ellis received his law degree from West Virginia University in 1908 and became the mayor of Fairview. In 1910 he was elected to the West Virginia Legislature. In 1913, it was the Yost Law that strengthened the Prohibition Laws and led to the Department of Prohibition in the state.

Lenna worked closely with Ellis, and was quite a powerhouse in her own right. She served as the President of the West Virginia Women’s Temperance Union from 1908-18. In 1916 she was also the President of the West Virginia State Suffrage Association. During this time, she gained national recognition for her efforts to ratify the 19th Amendment.

1920s

Library of Congress

At long last, the 19th Amendment was ratified in West Virginia on March 10, 1920.

In Wheeling, at the 1920 State Republican Convention, Lenna became the first woman in state history to preside over the convention.

1920 brought another first for Lenna as she became the first woman to serve as a teller in a National Republican Convention in Chicago.

In 1921, Lenna was appointed by President Warren G. Harding to represent the United States at the International Congress Against Alcoholism which was held in Lausanne, Switzerland. In 1923, he appointed her to that gathering again, but this time in Copenhagen.

1921 was also the year that she was appointed to the West Virginia Board of Education — the first ever to be appointed. She served for twelve years, always championing issues for women. For example, she was quite adamant that the standards in state colleges and universities be high enough so that female students could qualify for membership in the AAUW (Association of American University Women). Is it a coincidence that the Buckhannon Chapter of AAUW was organized in 1928?  Click here to read more about the history of that group.

From 1923-32 Lenna Lowe Yost served as a member of the Republican National Committee. Her great work caused her to become a member of the Executive Committee, and to work for women’s issues throughout the country.

1924, at the West Virginia Republican Convention, Lenna was the first woman to be Chair of the Committee on Platform and Politics.

In 1927, Lenna was elected to a position on the West Virginia Wesleyan College Board of Trustees. She served in that role until 1942, and was the third woman to serve on the board. (The first two were Virginia Haymond (1912-17) and Lettie List (1912-19).

The Federal Prison for Women was located in Alderson, WV was located in Alderson, WV largely due to the influence of Lenna Lowe Yost. It opened in 1928.

On June 5, 1929, Lenna Lowe Yost received an Honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from West Virginia Wesleyan, the first woman to be so honored. Interestingly, Thomas W. Haught also received an Honorary Doctor of Science degree the same day.

1930s and Beyond

In 1930, Lenna Lowe Yost was appointed by the Republican National Committee to direct women’s activities throughout the nation. Before being named Director of the Women’s Division for the RNC, she had been working for the committee for no salary. In 1930 she received a salary comparable to the men. She held this post until 1935.

The 1933 Murmurmontis was dedicated to her. I find it a bit interesting that the drawing is of male students, but that may just be an indication that it was all students who appreciated her efforts.

Yes, the founders must have had just such a person in mind. 

Be watching for more celebrations of Lenna and her achievements in the coming days! For example, an event on the campus of WVWC on March 10 — the 100th anniversary of her successful work to ratify the 19th Amendment in West Virginia.

Meanwhile, you can check out her page on DreamersAndGiants.

Snapshot In Time

Some photographs have a way of coming up again and again.

Each time we see it, we see different things. For example, this photograph of the entire campus community in 1928 first came to my attention in the WVWC archives a decade or so ago. It was rolled up and placed in a box.  We unrolled it, flattened it out, and took it to an architectural firm who had a special scanner which could handle the size and format of this picture.

Faculty and Student Body in 1928
WVWC Faculty and Student Body in 1928

I found myself wondering who these people were. What did their experience at WVWC look like? What happened to them later?

These questions persisted, and the idea for DreamersAndGiants began to take hold. The photo surfaced again and a section of it is part of the graphic on the front page of the website.

It came up yet again in a Blog Post in June of 2018 (Cloud of Witnesses) when I was writing about the faculty through the years.  At that time, I was looking mainly at faculty, but I also continued to wonder about those students.

A Fresh Look in Context

The photograph was taken in March 1928. This was a full year and a half before the stock market would crash…..bringing on the Great Depression.

It was roughly a decade after World War I and a decade before World War II.

It was three years before the board accepted the resignation of President Homer Wark, and elected President Roy McCuskey.

It was eight years after Ladies Hall had been renamed Agnes Howard Hall.

Haymond Hall of Science was fourteen years old.

It would be twelve years before Thomas W. Haught (seated next to President Homer Wark in the center of this photograph) would write the first history of the college. West Virginia Wesleyan College : First Fifty Years 1890-1940. In fact, the school was not quite 40 years old at that moment.

Thomas W. Haught in the light colored suit, and President Homer Wark.

Because I have read this book and the two that followed (A History of West Virginia Wesleyan College 1890-1965 by KennethPlummer and Our Home Among the Hills: West Virginia Wesleyan College’s First 125 Years, by Brett T. Miller), and thanks to the digitization of college publications such as catalogs, yearbooks, Pharos, and alumni publications, I can now identifity people in this picture. Some are very familiar now, and I find that I can spot them right away.

Because of these resources, I now even know the stories of some of them, and have been able to share them on the DreamersAndGiants website and in the weekly Blog posts.

It turns out that there are definitely some Giants in this iconic photograph. And some who are yet unknown.

Who Was There? (Faculty)

Cecelia Alexander (WVWC’s first librarian. She died in an automobile accident five months after this picture was taken.)

Arthur Aylesworth (Bookkeeper and Treasurer 1922-44)

Jacob Bos (Professor of Languages 1923-52)

Ralph C. Brown (Class of 1915; Taught Bible and Religion 1922-61)

Lewis Chrisman (Professor of English Literature 1919-56)

Paul Crissman (Philosophy and Psychology 1925-28)

James Deck (German Languages, Greek, Modern Languages 1901-32)

Clara Fishpaugh (Education 1925-30)

Camp Wellington Foltz (Director of the Conservatory of Music 1925-27)

George Glauner (History 1923-66)

Eleanore Hancher (Biology 1926-28)

Thomas W. Haught (Sem. 1894, Many Roles!)

Nicholas Hyma (Chemistry 1919-56)

Oda Earl Karickhoff (Class of 1905; Sociology and Economics 1919-46)

Zeno Le Tellier (Mathematics 1922-28)

Reemt Eike Luebbbers (Business Administration and Finance 1926-30)

Bartlett Lyons (Public School Music 1926-33_

Lois Muree McCloskey (Home Economis 1922-29)

Frank Edwin Muzzy (Voice and Piano 1918-41)

Aiice Nason (Physical Education for Women 1922-39)

Rachel Ogden (Dean of Women 1926-34; Modern Languages 1926-47)

Ruth Raw (English Composition 1925-29)

Cecil B. (Cebe) Ross (Class of 1923; Coach, Director of Athletics; Physical Education 1925-42; 1946-54)

R. Ray Scott (Education 1921-35)

Leta Snodgrass (Sem.1904; Art 1913-49; WVWC Masters 1933)

Edgar Sorton (Violin 1926-28; Music 1938-44)

Homer Wark (President 1926-31)

Who Was There? (Students)

These students became doctors, lawyers, pastors, professors, and leaders in all walks of life. Some served in World War II. There were artists,  athletes, debaters, musicians, and writers.

Among these students are several people that we might recognize. For example:

Forrest Bachtel  (Class of 1930; Forrest Bachtel was the starting quarterback for Wesleyan for four years. He also lettered in basketball three times, as well as serving as the captain in 1930.)

Charles Ross Culpepper (Class of 1930; Honorary Doctor of Divinity in 1950. He became a prominent minister in the West Virginia Annual Conference and was a delegate to three World Conferences. He served in World War II on active duty for 4 1/2 years and was in the National Guard for 17 years, retiring as a colonel. He is the father of Marvin Culpepper who graduated in the class of 1951).

Katherine Ellen Currran (Class of 1930; Katherine eventually married classmate David Echols Reemsnyder and, when she died in 2013 at 104 years old, she was Wesleyan’s oldest alumna)

Randall Hamrick (Class of 1930; Director of Personnel 1938-42; Taught Bible, Philosophy, and Religion)

David Reemsnyder (Class of 1930; Physical Education 1935-73; Director of Athletics 1960-73)

The expressions on the faces of these students would tend to suggest that they were a lively bunch. Some look serious, some appear annoyed at having to pose for the photograph, and some look downright ornery. In other words, they are much like the students of today.

August 2019

A snapshot of a group of students. It is often hard to recognize the significance of a moment when we are in it.

Intentional Focus for 2020

Two years ago this month I started the DreamersAndGiants.com website. The goal was to honor and remember many of the people who have been part of WVWC throughout the history of the school.

Need for Intentionality

A couple of things happened on New Year’s Day. First of all, I realized that we were in a new decade, and I needed to add a page to record things that are happening now. Secondly, I realized that I have never managed to create a biography page for some of the very biggest Giants — like Roy McCuskey, for instance!

What if I needed to

2020 Focus

The year 2020 seems like a great time to consider my focus. Most of last year I jumped around and wrote blogs on whatever happened to come into my line of sight that week. It was a lot of fun! And, I was able to write about a lot of great things. It was somewhat like Alice in Wonderland going down Rabbit Holes!

What if this year, I tried to be more like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz? She knew exactly where she wanted to go and managed to get there even while having lots of adventures and making some new friends.

New Year – New Plan

This year, I have committed to taking a more strategic approach. The basis of this approach will be Chronologies. To that end, I have reconfigured the Chronology section on DreamersAndGiants.com. Instead of having a different page for each year, it is more streamlined. Take a look! There is a lot of good information already, and it will get stronger as we go. I have been working on several of these types of tools behind the scenes.

One of the first things I will need to do is to strengthen the decade review sections. As I do this, I will still be running into various Rabbit Holes. So, I think that this is a plan that I can enjoy while still being productive.

Happy New Year, everyone! Wishing you 2020 focus in whatever the new year brings your way.

The Year They Went To A Bowl Game

This time of the year, there are many Bowl Games to be seen.  It may surprise you to know of the West Virginia Wesleyan Bowl win on January 1, 1925.

The year started off with a loss in a historic game in Morgantown. The Methodists (aka Bob Cats) lost to WVU in the very first game ever played at Mountaineer Field.  Even that game had a uniquely WVWC connection as Wesleyan’s own Harry Stansbury was the Athletic Director at WVU, and was responsible for building that iconic stadium.

Only one other loss marred that incredible season. Coach Bob Higgins and his Cats racked up wins over Navy, Syracuse, and the University of Kentucky along the way. This brought national attention to the squad, and caused the great Knute Rockney to recommend the team for the Dixie Classic on New Years Day.

1926 Murmurmontis

Dixie Classic

This bowl game was played only three times, and is the forerunner of today’s Cotton Bowl.  Wesleyan played in the middle game.

January 2, 1922 saw Texas A&M defeated Centre College 22-14

January 1, 1925

Wikipedia

And on January 1, 1934  Arkansas and Centenary College tied with seven points each.

Pharos Pre-Game Coverage

As the exciting news was shared, the coverage in the Pharos was excellent. In the December 17, 1924 edition, there was a complete wrap-up of the season and interviews with the coaches on page 3. There was a story discussing travel plans and hopes to find a way to broadcast the game (on radio) so that the fans could hear the game. On page 4 was a photograph and write-up about each of the players.

Page 5 includes the following story: What Prominent Sports Writers Over the Country Have Said About Wesleyan.

I would recommend reading all of the coverage in that issue here.

And Coverage of the Big Victory

The January 14, 1925 issue was full of the adventure and glory of it all. There was an article written by William B. Ruggles of the Dallas Morning News, entitled Bob Cats Win From Texas Mustangs Nine to Seven. In the article he states:

The West Virginia line, however, deserves all of the praise that has been given it. The right side was weak at the start but when Collins was sent in end to end it succeeded in a large extent to holding its own through the shifting panorama of the offensive game it had to face. Schelb, Kemerer, Comstock, Collins, and Bullman are hard to beat and they succeeded in bringing into the limelight the well-balanced backfield that runs and plunges with ready abandon.

Two columns were written by the players themselves. Page three includes a travel diary written by All-American John Moore (A Bob Cat’s Diary During the Trip to Texas) and also one written by Gale Bullman, Captain Bullman Tells of Texas Trip.

Afterwards

The team members reunited on May 22-23, 1954 to celebrate their achievements thirty years later. In the July 1954 issue of the Sundial, is an article about that event. Nineteen of the twenty-four original playing squad were present, an several staff as well. They came from 12 states and represented 24 vocations.

They gathered again in 1974, but their numbers were fewer. There were eleven members there, and the widows of two others.

The Cotton Bowl Connection in 2019

When Bob Higgins left West Virginia Wesleyan, he coached for two years at Washington University in St. Louis before heading back to his Alma Mater — Pennsylvania State University, where he had been a three time All-American. There he was an assistant coach for Penn State from 1928-29 before becoming their head coach from 1930-48. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954 as a coach.

He returned to the Cotton Bowl with his Penn State team in 1948, only the second time that school had been to a bowl game. There, they played to a tie with none other than S.M.U. He was probably wishing he had his Bob Cats back that day!

This weekend, December 28, 2019, Pennsylvania State University won the Cotton Bowl, beating the Memphis Tigers 53-39. I’ll bet Bob Higgins was smiling.

Christmas Spirit — 1933

The year was 1933. 

 It was the height of the Great Depression, with unemployment peaking at 25.2%.

The 18th Amendment was repealed on December 5, effectively ending Prohibition.

The year began with Herbert Hoover as President of the United States until the inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 4.  Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30.

Christmas Eve, 1933 by Clifford Kennedy Berryman. Library of Congress.

The stockings represent some of the New Deal Programs wished for by F.D.R.

  • CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)
  • TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)
  • FCA (Farm Credit Administration)
  • CWA (Civil Works Administration)
  • FACA (Federal Advisory Committee Act)
  • AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Administration)
  • NRA (National Recovery Administration)
  • PWA (Public Works Administration)

Christmastime at WVWC in 1933

So, what was life like at West Virginia Wesleyan College in December of 1933? We get a wonderful view of that in the December 20, 1933 issue of the Pharos. It is only four pages long, but absolutely packed with information. I would encourage you to take a look at the entire issue!

Here are a few examples.

Page One alone has stories about academics, chapel, concerts, dinners, formals, fundraising, parties, and oratorical contests, and upcoming theater productions. According to this page, the following events occurred:

  • December 9     Sigma Delta Chi Formal
  • December 14   Christmas Dinner for Girls in Agnes Howard Hall
  • December 15    All-College Party
  • December 16   Sigma Delta Pi Formal
  • December 18   Special Chapel Service – Thuse
  • December 18   Ladies Hall Party
  • December 18   Oratorical Contest
  • December 19   Flute and Piano concert

It also included this article about Christmas Spirit

Notice the paragraph that begins with the word parties. Even though there was fun to be had, the spirit of Christmas included the opportunity to help others who lived in homes “where finances are very low.” During the Great Depression, this incuded many families.

Page 2

Page Two included Christmas greetings from the editors

Nineteen and thirty-four is not far off. It will give us our second childhood. May we profit by our past errors and use the coming year to advance our cause a little nearer to the goal we seek.

A Student Opinion Piece on Liberal Arts Education is there as well.

And an advertisement from the Colonial Theater on Main Street!

Page 3

Page 3 basically gives us sports highlights and advertisements.

  • Basketball season got off to a rough start in December 16 loss to WVU with a final score of (32-24)
  • The full basketball schedule is listed for the year
  • 3 Bobcats were named to All Conference in football, and 6 received honorable mention
  • Advertisements – both local and from further away.

Page 4

Page 4 includes an article named Idle Chatter, by Golly. It includes a fun take on the weather which may sound a bit familiar to us in the current day.

“How do you like this weather? Nice for Xmas, isn’t it? Or should I have said ducks? Or sleds? The fact of the matter is, you can’t tell a thing about weather. You are liable to have snow and sleet in the morning, finished by rain and spring weather in the afternoon with a beautiful harvest moon at night.”

All in all, this issue of the Pharos shows that life was going on more or less as “normal” at a very rough time. 

This strange little puzzle is actually a sign of the times. Maybe they were hesitant to make this too readable with Prohibition such a recent reality! It turns out that it is about Horse’s Neck (a drink that contained alcohol). Can you decipher it?  🙂

Feature Writer Asks Old Santa For New Ideas

Beginning on Page 1 and completed on Page 4, there is a poem which is a lot of fun. I will close with this, and wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I’ve added some illustrations and photographs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank You Note

It may be about 86 years late, but I consider this blog post as a Thank You to the fine folks at the Pharos in 1933. Their work has made it possible for us to know what life was like on campus in very different times — and that it all still looks pretty familiar!

Marking the Hours

The chimes in the steeple of Wesley Chapel have been a huge part of the college experience at West Virginia Wesleyan College.

January 2018

The October 24, 1973 issue of the Pharos includes a story written by Phil Loftis, For Whom the Bells Toll. In this article we learn that the original carillon of Schulmerich Chimes was given to the college by the Shannon family, and placed in Atkinson Chapel in 1961. When Wesley Chapel was built, the bells were transferred to the steeple, and an additional lower octave was added as a gift from the Phillips family. 

The music could be played automatically using similar technology to the old player piano rolls, or it could be played manually. Dr. Robert Shafer was the person to play them manually, and he did so at least once each week.

Westminster Chimes

At the top of each hour, the Westminster Chimes ring out. Many generations of students have run to class trying to beat that last chime!

The tune that is played is generally known as the Westminster Quarters. It originally was called the Cambridge Quarters, as it was composed for St. Mary the Great church in the center of that university in 1793. When the great clock (known as Big Ben) was installed in London in 1859, it became more widely known as the Westminster Quarters. Ringing small sections on the quarter hour, the full tune rings only at the top of each hour.

There are words!

The official words to this song are:

All through this hour

Lord be my guide

And by Thy power

No foot shall slide

Other variations, such as the one sung at the end of meetings of the Brownies in the U.K. and Canada, are similar.

Oh Lord our God

Thy children call

Grant us thy peace

And bless us all

Updated Variations

The bells were silent for a few years as the original equipment aged before a generous gift from former Board of Trustees members William, ’58, Hon. ’05 and Mara Linabarger Watson ’58 made it possible for the beautiful hourly chimes and the sounds of “Home Among the Hills” return to West Virginia Wesleyan College’s campus during the 2015 spring semester.

Thanks to the Watsons, the chimes have been upgraded to a digital version that will last for many generations more.

Today, the chimes are programmed and played by Neil Roth and Brett Miller. There is a different chime for Saturday just to keep things interesting.

When bad weather comes during times like Founders Day or Commencement, it is not unusual to hear them chiming Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head or Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

During the solar eclipse on August 21, 2017, the campus held a watch party. The chimes added to the festive atmosphere that day playing such things as I’m Being Followed by a Moon Shadow and Here Comes the Sun.

 

Finals 

As the Fall 2019 semester came to a close this week, and students were preparing for their final exams, I am almost sure that I heard a student singing:

It’s finals time

Why did I wait

To get to work

Now it’s too late

I am hoping that things will go well for that student, and that one day he may find himself graduating with his class.

The Bells of the Past, Present, and Future

The long tradition of hearing a reminder at the top of the hour that time is marching on reminds me of the song by Natalie Sleeth, Hymn of Promise. A few years ago I caught this beautiful song ringing out over the campus after commencement.

There are a lot of wonderful back stories to the chimes at WVWC. Another week I will focus on the generous people behind the bells that we so closely connect with the college experience there. But, for now…

Grades to turn in

What did they earn?

Finals are done

What did they learn?

Decisions, Decisions: Choose Your Own Adventures

Do you remember the old Choose Your Own Adventure books? They started in 1979, and for about twenty years they were very popular. In them, no two people were reading the same story. If you read it more than once, even your own experience would be different. You would read until you came to a point in the story where a decision needed to be made by the main character — and then YOU would make that decision.

I often think of these books in relation to our own stories. We do make some decisions that change everything – who we are, what we do, where we live.

Life’s decisions start way before this, but one of the first major ones that a person makes comes at the time when they graduate from high school. This is a decision that will have a major impact on how the adventure of your life will unfold.

Some choose to go to college. Some choose other paths to their adventures.

Many things go into this decision, but at the end of the day that is a yes or no question. The answer leads to new questions and decisions to be made.

Going to College

If your answer to the question of college was yes, you need to decide which college.

A lot of factors go into this.

  • Is it close to home? (If so, is this a good thing or a bad thing for you?)
  • Can you get scholarship assistance?
  • Does it offer the kinds of things you are interested in studying?
  • Does the school have a good reputation for high quality education?
Choosing A Major

  • Many students get to college knowing exactly what they want to do, and what major to choose.
  • Many others come with a vague idea of what they want to do – and find that their goals change once they get started. Yet others are interested in everything, and have to explore which direction they eventually want to focus.
  • At times, majors are chosen because of advice or pressure from others who are trying to help guide us.
  • Perhaps you get to college and discover that what you thought you loved is actually very different than you thought it was.
  • The bottom line at the end of all of these choices is for you to find what you love and where your strengths actually lie.
Choosing Your Classes

At registration time, there are a lot of options. Which classes should you choose?

  • If it is required for your major – Yes, but there may be flexibility in when to take it.
  • If it is required for general education – Maybe. There are many different things that can fulfill those requirements and there is a lot of flexibility as to when to take them.
  • Some classes are offered that are just things you want to know about! You have curiosity or a passion about that topic. This is a great opportunity to get started on your lifelong learning.
Attending Classes

The answer is yes.

  • The only exception is when you are really sick – you need to get well, and nobody else wants to catch what you have.
  • You are paying for these classes.
  • When you miss, you are cheating yourself.
  • You are also cheating others of your participation and insights.
  • If you are just unmotivated, or too lazy to go to class, you might want to look back at those earlier questions to remind yourself why you chose to be in college.
Doing the work

At the end of the semester, faculty know what is coming. 

  • Some students will have done the work all semester, and be fully prepared for the final exams.
  • Other students will have done just enough to get by, and they will be experiencing panic. Often these students start begging for extra credit points.
  • Some students will suddenly realize that they have put things off and left things undone, and will realize that they are about to be rewarded accordingly.
To Go Or Not To Go?

At WVWC in just the last week there have been hundreds of activities, concerts, plays, ball games and events. Decisions have to be made about how many and which ones to attend. 

It is also a busy time, in which people are buckling down to get ready for the end of the semester. Sometimes people really are too busy to go. Sometimes, they are just too tired. Sometimes, they just don’t know or just don’t go.

Here are just a few examples of things on the WVWC campus from last week:

A Luggage Drive will be hosted December 2nd through December 10th. The students in the WE LEAD Poverty Reduction Team are asking for donations of luggage (duffle bags, suitcases, totes, backpacks, etc.) and a variety of necessities such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, hairbrushes, new small blankets, books, and new stuffed toys. You may drop off your items in the CCE (behind the Bobcat Den) on the second floor of the Campus Center. The opportunity to make a difference.

West Virginia Dance Company, in its 43rd season, presented the a new evening long work entitled “Love of Power vs. Power of Love”, which explored the choice between exerting power over others or acting out of love. The piece unmasks the divisiveness, isolation and intolerance that involves the misuse of power, and reveals the power of love to heal, unite and remind us of our shared humanity.

Art Opening in the Corner Art Gallery: Elizabeth Graham’s exhibit of photographs entitled “What Once Was” which is a visual display of abandoned coalfields in West Virginia. 

Restorative Practices Conversation: an ongoing community exploration of Restorative Practices. In our time together, we will grow from our previous conversations on cultivating community well-being and accountability to discuss what constitutes mutually cared for, flourishing relationships, where we see restorative relationships in our community, and how to continue growing relationships like these on campus. All are welcome! Attendance at previous circle discussions is not necessary. Pizza will be provided! 

The last general Student Senate Meeting of the semester. The opportunity to be involved and share your thoughts, opinions, and dreams.

Marching Band Concert and New Uniform Unveiling:  The band has not had uniforms in decades. This week they unveiled the new ones. Were you there?

L to R: John Harvey, Caitlin Ware, Alyssa Perry, Corey Jackson, Alex Jones

The Planetarium Show: Saturday’s show was a treat for the ears and the eyes.  This show is similar to a laser light show with spectacular visuals on the dome as Tchaikovsky’s music plays in surround sound. It is not the same as being there in person but you can preview the show on Youtube.  After the video, we will take a tour of the December sky.  If the weather is nice, we will pull out the big telescope after the show and look at the Moon. 

Hanging of the Greens: Each year at Wesleyan, members from across the campus community work together to cut, create, and hang wreaths and garlands that decorate campus throughout the holiday season. The newly created adornments were then hung in Wesley Chapel.

Lessons and Carols: The service feaured Christmas carols and musical selections performed by Wesleyan’s Concentus Vocum, Concert Chorale, Wesleyan Singers, and the Wesleyan Brass Quintet, under the direction of Dr. R. Daniel Hughes, associate professor of music and director of choral activities. Carols included arrangements by David Willcocks and Alice Parker.

To read more about the history of this event, please click here.

Here is a link to the service on Facebook Live. Credits to the WVWC Performing Arts folks!

Lighting of the Campus Christmas Tree

Decisons, Decisions: Choose Your Own Adventures.

Tradition…….and traditions

Tradition

Derived from the Latin word traditio (to hand over, or give for safekeeping)

Our Tradition (That which we value and believe is important enough to protect for safekeeping and to share with others in the future.)

  • Provides us with a source of identity
  • Reinforces our values
  • Creates connection with each other, including past and future members the community
  • Provides us with lasting memories
  • Provides comfort and security, especially during times when there is a lot of change happening

For the purpose of this writing, I am making a bit of a distinction between the overarching Tradition and the traditions (specific activities, items, or groups) which help with that transmission to new generations. They amplify and exemplify the Tradition that we value.

Some Examples:

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was this week. The overarching value of this holiday is Thankfulness.  Thankfulness is the tradition.

Traditions of Pilgrims and Indians, turkey and Indian Corn have a very different connotation in modern days. We still give them a nod, but are much more focused on the Thankfulness. That tends to be illustrated by fall leaves, pumpkins, turkeys, parades, football, food, feasts, and family.

Facebook was full of photos of families and friends celebrating this holiday. They were all very different, and yet all focused on the Tradition of Thankfulness.

  • Norman Rockwell-like tables and family gathered around
  • Groups of two or three all the way up to twenty or thirty gathered at buffets, tables at Grandma’s house, or restaurants at the beach.
  • Many families missing the members who were out hunting
  • Tables decorated with pilgrims, pumpkins, and turkeys
  • Some of those tables with full-on Christmas decorations in the background
Christmas

Christmas has an overarching Tradition of Giving.

A celebration of the gift given by God. His very own son. We give gifts to each other as a way of remembering that gift. Even though the holiday is based on the Christian celebration of God’s Gift, it turns out that society in general also wanted to celebrate the Tradition of Giving. Secular images now compete with the religious symbols of this holiday. We tend to mix and match them in our decorating.

Angels, Shepherds, Wise Men, Stars, Baby Jesus in a Manger, Mary and Joseph are joined by Santa Claus, Reindeer, Snowmen, Elves, Gingerbread Houses, Candy Canes, Snowflakes, Trees, Ornaments (even ornaments based on every possible popular culture icon).

And yet, Giving is at the core of it all.

Hmmmm…..Thankfulness leads to Giving. No wonder some families have a hard time separating the two!  🙂

West Virginia Wesleyan College Tradition

Thomas W. Haught wrote an article in the Sundial in 1936 entitled, Some Observations on College Traditions.  It is a good read!

West Virginia Wesleyan has a long heritage, based on tradition.

John Wesley was the founder of the Methodist Church. These are the things that he believed to be important. These are the things that he passed down to those who would become the founders of WVWC.

When the Methodist Church in West Virginia wanted to pass on Sound Learning and Christian Character to a new generation, they founded the West Virginia Conference Seminary. The Trustees at that time made it clear that they wanted the school to be non-sectarian (in other words welcoming to all students regardless of their faith) and they wanted both male and female students and faculty to be included.  [Welcoming]

Thomas W. Haught enrolled just months later, during the second term of the school’s existence. He learned much from the early faculty, and was educated in this school that valued Sound Learning and Christian Character. That character included many things, among them a dedication to both service and compassion as well as an expectation of personal integrity.  [Christian Character]

As the school was not yet a college level institution, he then went to WVU to earn his undergraduate degree and on to Harvard University. In 1904 the school did grow and adapt into a college level institution. In fact, as the needs of the students and the society have changed, the school has grown and adapted to meet those needs time and time again. [Growth and Adaptation] [Sound Learning]

Returning to WVWC to teach for over 45 years, and to be involved with administration in the offices of Dean and Registrar as well as serving three times as the acting president, Thomas W. Haught continued passing down the values and traditions of the college to new generations. 

Looking at the WVWC of today, we still see them.

Using the Thomas W. Haught list, and adding a few of my own, I have come up with the following categories of values making up WVWC Tradition:

  • Christian Character (Service, Compassion, Personal Integrity)
  • Community
  • Growth and Adaptation
  • Sound Learning
  • Welcoming

Some WVWC Examples

I had planned to choose a few as examples here, but there are just too many. Many of them fit into one of these categories. Many could be considered in multiple categories. Most have something to do with Community. Instead, I will list some (certainly not all!) and you can attempt to see where they fit in and why these represent the values that we want to hand down to future generations for safekeeping.

So many traditions. Some have evolved. Some have disappeared over time. That, in itself, shows the value of Growth and Adaptation.

They are listed in alphabetical order…….(Once A Librarian Always A Librarian)

  • A source of identity
  • Reinforcing our values
  • Creates connection with each other, including past and future members the community
  • Provides us with lasting memories
  • Provides comfort and security, especially during times when there is a lot of change happening

What Did I Miss?

Click here to let me know what I missed!

DreamersAndGiants 101

101st Consecutive Weekly Blog

On January 8, 2018 I posted the very first of the DreamersAndGiants Blogs.  It was appropriately titled Registration Day and New Beginnings. In it I thought back to the days in the 1970s when registration was done via computer punch cards.

It also invited readers to take a look at my new website, DreamersAndGiants.com. The purpose of this new venture was to tell the stories about WVWC and the people who have studied and worked there through the years.

Today, I am amazed to discover, is the 101st consecutive time I have posted an announcement that Monday = Blog Day. No two of these have been alike. They consist of things that I have run across during the week or something that I have always wondered about. Many of them have been about people. Many are about buildings or things on campus that we generally just don’t notice in our busy lives.

I have been asked why I always use the DreamersAndGiants term without putting spaces between the words. Two reasons, really. One is that the url treats it that way. The other is that it is impossible to tell the Dreamers from the Giants.

People Who Have Worked And Studied On Our Campus

People Who Have Walked Where We Walk

Learning and Teaching

Throughout this process of creating a webpage and a blog to share the stories, I have learned a great deal: about the people, about the school, the resources for finding out more about the school, and about myself.

I have been teaching this information in courses on campus as well as a couple of times online.  More and more of the required readings have come from these blogs!  To take this course without actually taking it, you could simply read through these blogs – your very own DreamersAndGiants 101! The full list of the blogs can be found here.

Lots of Stories Left!

After 100 blogs, I have barely scratched the surface of the stories that are to be found. Our buildings, our faculty, our students, our alumni, our organizations and athletic teams all have so many! I have a long list of things still to explore and share. Several of you have given me some ideas to add to that list.

As we enter Thanksgiving Week 2019, I would like to thank those of you who have been reading along. Many have subscribed and receive an email notice when a new one goes up. Also, I am thankful for the rich heritage that we share and the chance to know more about it.  

As I mentioned way back in that first Blog, it took us well over a century to get this far, and it will take a while to gather all of the stories.

 

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

Jazz Legacy and Echoes

November 16, 2019

What would cause more than 30 people to travel from seven states (and one even from as far away as Malaysia) to Buckhannon, WV to play jazz in the middle of November? There is only one answer to that question.

Doc Milburn’s Jazz Family Reunion

From 1966-2004. David Milburn taught at West Virginia Wesleyan College. Hundreds of students were challenged and inspired by him. Many of them became musicians and educators, some found their callings in medicine, banking, law, business, and a multitude of other professions. There are even several Wesleyan Jazz Sweetheart couples!

These students considered themselves part of the Milburn family and stayed in touch with his wife and daughters throughout the years. It was this sense of family that brought these people together. That, and the fact that they had shared so many incredible experiences together.

So how did it all begin?? It was all a product of the times, and of something much bigger.

The 1950s

The world was in a mess. The Cold War was raging around the world, The Civil Rights Movement was dominating the news in America. Into that mix came Jazz Music right in the middle of it all.

Louis Armstrong and his wife                                                                              Bettmann/Getty Images

Time Magazine ran a story in the December 22, 2017 issue which puts all of this into perspective. The article, by Billy Perrigo, is titled How the U.S. Used Jazz as a Cold War Secret Weapon. 

The music of jazz, which was structured around improvisation within a set of commonly agreed-upon boundaries, was a perfect metaphor for America in the eyes of the State Department. Here was a music of democracy and freedom. What the bands looked like was important too. “The racism and violence within the U.S. was getting international exposure,” says Von Eschen. “For President Eisenhower and his Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, this was a great embarrassment.” By sending bands comprised of black and white musicians to play together around the world, the State Department could engineer an image of racial harmony to offset the bad press about racism at home.

  • 1956 – State Department sent Dizzy Gillespie as a Jazz Ambassador
  • 1957 – State Department sent Benny Goodman on a tour to the Far East
  • 1958 – Dave Brubeck toured Eastern Europe, Middle East, Southern Asia as an Ambassador. He championed racial integration and equality at home and abroad

Meanwhile, at Wesleyan

Music faculty at Wesleyan tended to focus more on more orthodox forms of serious music. Ensembles consisted basically of Orchestra, Choirs, and Chamber Ensembles. Vocal instruction was offered and piano, organ, and violin were stressed as well as other orchestral instruments. Faculty included such greats as Calvin Buell Agey, Robert Shafer, Irma Helen Hopkins, Bobby Loftis, and Owen West.

There was an emphasis on music theory, composition, orchestration, and form analysis. In other words, there were strict rules when it came to music.

The 1960s

The Cold War was in full force.

    • Construction began on the Berlin Wall (1961)
    • Cuban Missile Crisis – world on the brink of nuclear war (1962)
    • First U.S. combat troops arrived in South Vietnam (1965)
    • Prague Spring Uprising crushed by the Warsaw Pact (an organization of communist states in Central and Eastern Europe) (1968)

The 1960s also was a busy time in the Civil Rights Movement with protests, marches, assasinations and the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In 1962,  Dave Brubeck, and wife Iola, wrote a musical called “The Real Ambassadors for Louis Armstrong (a musical commentary on race relations in America). The State Department cultural diplomacy tours of the 1950s were often at odds with the Civil Rights issues at home. This musical was intended to address the difficulties of these contradictions in message.

Meanwhile at Wesleyan

Milburn, David (Hiner Photo)
David A. Milburn

In 1966 a new faculty member was hired in the Music Department.

David Milburn, as it turns out, was about to cause a major shift in the departmental approach to music. Having had exposure to the great jazz legends, he was probaby a bit frustrated with this description of the Instrumental Ensemble Course in the 1968-69 catalog:

In 1969, he requested to form a Jazz Ensemble. Dr. Agey refused on the basis that jazz was not serious music and had no place in the department. He said that it could not meet in Loar Hall. So, David Milburn, the rebel, started the group and met off campus or in the SCOW (Student Center of Wesleyan). With no budgetary support, the band members literally sat around listening to records and writing out their own parts by hand.  Click here to read his recollection of that period of time. He recalls that:

We had to practice ‘secretly’ off campus and occasionally we were allowed to practice in the ‘Scow’ as long as the music department didnt hear about it. After the first year we were finally accepted by the music department but we had to use the name “Modern American Music Ensemble,” but at least we were acknowledged as a legitimate organization and they allowed us to practice on campus and even use Loar Hall to practice in.

The group quickly gained popularity with audiences and musicians alike. They learned improvisation and composing and to arrange compositions. They began to live by musical rules that went beyond the strict rules of days gone by.

By 1973, a mere four years later, the West Virginia Wesleyan Jazz Ensemble participated in the first of what would be 10 Friendship Ambassador Tours to Eastern Europe, playing the music of freedom and democracy to audiences living under Communist Rule. They became part of that Cold War Secret Weapon of cutural diplomacy.

  • 1973 (July) Romania 
  • 1974 (August 6-30) Poland 
  • 1979 (May)Romania 
  • 1983 (Summer) Russia and Romania 
  • 1987 Hungary and Austria
  • 1992 (Spring) Russia, Romania, and the Ukraine
  • 1996 (May) The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania
  • 1997 Romania
  • 2001 Finland, Estonia, and Russia
  • 2004 (May) Bulgaria, Romania, and The Czech Republic

A documentary, The Jazz Ambassadors, was made in 2018. It was directed by Hugo Berkeley and stars Leslie Odom, Jr. It is currently available free on Amazon Prime. In it we see how The Cold War, The Civil Rights Movement, and Jazz collided.

David Milburn and the WVWC Jazz Ensemble took an active role in the cultural diplomacy of the times. Truly, this was a remarkable set of circumstances and a talented group of people. This rich legacy adds to the close-knit family feeling among the WVWC Jazz “Oldtimers.”

An Era Comes to a Close

As the final Milburn-led European trip came to a close in the summer of 2004, the band found itself performing in a theater in one of the largest cities in Bulgaria. On that particular evening, the concert stage was shared with a local jazz band. That group performed first, followed by WVWC.

At the end of the concert, Wesleyan welcomed the local Bulgarian jazz group to share the stage to perform the final song together as one “super-group.” While the vast majority of musicians from both groups were unable to communicate with each other through the language barrier, everyone was able to immediately bond through the one true universal language—music. The performance of that final song was a literal expression of everything the Wesleyan jazz group had come to represent in Eastern Europe over 30 years and 10 visits: bridging cultural divides, and bringing humanity closer together through music.

Following Dr. Milburn’s retirement in 2004, and with the different times in which we live today, the group is doing a few different things. For a couple of years, the program was led by David Wright, but in 2006, James Moore arrived at Wesleyan bringing with him his own hopes and dreams for the program. Jazz at WVWC is alive, well, and thriving.

That group has a story all of its own for another day, but suffice it to say that David Milburn would be excited to see the Legacy being carried forward.

Family Reunion!! (At least some of the family. There are hundreds more who were there in spirit as well)

A highlight of the evening was when the band played Hey Jude, and the audience which filled the Culpepper Auditorium joined in singing Hey Slide (Doc’s other nickname).

Special thanks to Jim Watson for getting the whole thing going and giving everyone the chance to create a wonderful tribute to our mentor and friend. And to Neil Randolph who stepped in to pull all of the musicians together and get them ready to swing.