As we hurry along our busy way, we seldom stop to look left and right at fixtures along our path, but even many of the pillars and gates that we walk through have stories. Here are a few examples.
The Atkinson Gateway
On the left side of the photo below, you can see a brick pillar. This sign, a familiar sight to the students in the 1970s, looks quite strange to those who walk the campus today. It would also have looked quite strange to those from earlier years. It is interesting to see a place through the eyes of other times.
When zooming in even closer, we see that the inner pillars have a sign on them indicating that they were erected by George W. Atkinson in honor of the Normal Class of 1913.
The class had honored him by choosing his name for their own, and the feeling was evidently mutual.
This is, by the way, the same George W. Atkinson for whom Atkinson Chapel was named in 1922.
College Avenue Gate Near McCuskey Hall
Another interesting set of pillars is at the end of Main Street as it intersects College Avenue. This set has no official name that I am aware of, but it did have a very specific purpose……to keep motorcars from running onto the campus in 1921. This had apparently become somewhat of a problem, and a chain was attached to the pillars – you can still see where the chain was attached.
Gates to Ross Field
As you approach the turnstile gates to enter Cebe Ross Memorial Field, there are two brick ticket booths. These each have signs and pillars off to the side which are full of history. Built from bricks that were saved when the Old Gym was razed in 1974, they each bear informational signage as well.
As we pass through pillars and gates, and as we pass through our lives, we would do well to notice the things Which Give us insight into the rich heritage all around us. If Walls Might Speak!
