I am sometimes asked where I find all of these stories about West Virginia Wesleyan College. One of the main places I find them is where Giants have placed them for safekeeping: student publications from the past.
Newspapers
The Seminary Herald
From 1893-1899, President Bennett Hutchinson wrote a newsletter called The Seminary Herald, which was basically intended to communicate with alumni and donors. On Pages In Time, a digital archive of West Virginia Wesleyan materials, you can find and read seven issues of this publication. These are the only ones in the library collection, and have been digitized for inclusion.
- Volume 1, #2 (1893-03)
- Volume 2, #1 (1894-01)
- Volume 2, #2 (1894-03)
- Volume 2, #3 (1894-10)
- Volume 2, #4 (1895-01)
- Volume 3, #3 (1895-11)
- Volume 3, #4 (1896-02)
The Seminary Collegiate
In 1899-1900, two students began monthly publication of The Seminary Collegiate, which included student writings and orations, alumni updates, and campus news. There are forty-six issues of The Seminary Collegiate available on Pages In Time. Here are some examples.
Thomas W. Haught explains in West Virginia Wesleyan College: The First Fifty Years, that it appears that there were managing editors among the students for the first several years. These included:
- 1900
- W. H. Franklin – who became Professor of English at Marshall College
- C.H. King – who went into the ministry, serving in the Genesee Conference
- 1901-02
- George C. Kellar – who became mayor of Flint, Michigan
- Walter Barnes – who became Professor of English at New York University
- 1902-03
- George C. Kellar
- I. Emory Ash – who became Professor of Education at Ohio University at Athens
- 1904-05
- C.E. Goodwin – who went into the ministry, serving in the West Virginia Conference
- J.F. Throckmorton – who became an attorney in Parkersburg, WV
Naming the Pharos
In 1904-05, J.F. Throckmorton approached the Faculty for assistance in selecting a new name for the publication, as Seminary Collegiate no longer reflected the name of the school.
The faculty, of course, appointed a committee which included Miss Jessie Trotter and Thomas W. Haught as well as editors Goodwin and Throckmorton. The name chosen was The Pharos after The Pharos of Alexandria, one of the seven wonders of the world, which was a lighthouse guiding ships into the harbor.
The Pharos
In the fall of 1904, the newspaper continued as The Pharos, but the first issue of that title included on Pages In Time is Volume 6, #3 (1904-11).
Thanks to the generosity of Marjorie (McCullough) Modlin, class of 1957, the Friends of the Library were able to have these items digitized. At the moment, issues up into the 1970s have been included. Student interns are helping to keep this work moving forward. Marjorie gave those funds to honor the memory of her husband, Charlie Modlin, class of 1958, who was the editor of the Pharos during his time at WVWC. As it turns out, Charlie’s father was the Editor-in-Chief of the Pharos in 1925-26 and his mother also served as editor in 1925. Dr. and Mrs. Modlin wrote about the Pharos in the 1920s in this article for the Sundial in March 1966.
Murmurmontis
Another student-led publication, the first edition of the college yearbook, was the idea of the Junior Class (Seminary Class of 1904) and was published in May of 1903. Although most of them had never heard of such a publication outside of the larger institutions, Joe V. Gibson (#4 in the photo below) had heard of them and “dreamed dreams.”
The Editor-In-Chief of the first Murmurmontis was Charles Aubrey Jones, and he wrote an article in the 1910 edition entitled, The Making of the First Murmurmontis. You can read the article here.
The First Edition of the Murmurmontis was a true masterpiece and a heroic venture.
The name, Murmurmontis, was suggested by Frank B. Trotter and is Latin for “Voice of the Mountain.” Very representative of both the school and of West Virginia.
All editions of the Murmurmontis from 1904-2010 are available on the Internet Archive, although there were a few years during the World Wars and the Great Depression where none was published. Internet Archive Tips Here.
These voices are still echoing through the mountains through the streams of time. These voices are still telling the stories and shining the light.
