Student Army Training Corps – DreamersAndGiants.com

You can hardly go an hour these days without a news report, Facebook post, Tweet, or other reminder about the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We have all heard the importance of washing our hands, staying out of large crowds, cleaning and disinfecting surfaces of all kinds. Much of this we have learned (if we have been paying attention) from those who have come before us. They have also experienced masks and quarantines!

This blog post is a reminder of another kind. The world has been in this situation before — many times. And, in particuar, the voices of WVWC folks will tell us what life was like on campus during the 1918 Spanish Influenza.

1918

On September 30, 1918, the Student Army Training Corp (200 strong) was sworn in. They were here to study and to train for World War I. Here is the first part of the article. Click here to read the rest of it as well as the story about preparations for the S.A.T.C.

S.A.T.C. Inaguration — Pharos, October 7, 1918

The day this article was published, October 7, there was also a notice that Chapel was not being held due to Spanish Influenza. On the 9th, the S.A.T.C. students went into the barracks under two weeks’ quarantine. The barracks were in the Gymnasium, with cots placed at a standard 18 inches apart. The mess hall was in the basement of the gym.

October 1918

A notice on page six of the October 21, 1918 Pharos mentions that the S.A.T.C. boys had donned gas masks, but that this did not prevent some flirting with the girls in the Hall.

Here are some of the other notices from that issue, which indicate that there were many students (and their families) who were suffering from this illness:

About twenty of the Hall girls sent the week end at home hile the flu scare was on. Among them were Hazel Metheny, Vera Reitz, Faith Craig, Ruth Vn Camp, Pearl Robinson, Trella Linville, Bonnie Ray, Grace Wilson, Ada Vanderhoff, Alta Gatewood, Margaret Blair and Mary Shay.
The S.A.T.C. men had planned a preaching service for Sunday evenig, also, but on account of the sudden outbreak of influenza in the barracks, their meeting was called off.
Four cases of influenza developed at the Hall last Wednesday. Misses Orpah Haymond, Floy Gamble, Mary Maxwell and Louise Schaffer were the fashionable girls.
All students are requested by college authorities to wear gauze masks in class rooms as a preventative of influenza.
The Flu has not manifested itself much in the faculty as yet. Miss Ryder is the only one.
Miss Irma Workman, ’17, who has been teaching at Sistersville High School, was at home last week – another victim of Flu. Three other members of the Workman family were ill of the same disease at the same time.
Miss Pearl Grosse, ’18, has returned to her home while the Huntington schools are closed on account of influenza.
Miss Anna Reger, ’15, who is teaching at Clendenin, is home while the epidemic of flu is so prevalent.
Aubrey Carl Smith, ’18, answered the call of his country in July, when he went to Camp Meade to be trained for service abroad. And on October 7, 1918, he answered the last roll call in response to the Captain of all men. He was nearly 26 years old.

At the height of the epidemic and the quarantine, the Music Conservatory (which we now know as the English Annex) was turned into a hospital for housing those who were quarantined.The building you see in the background is the Old Gymnasium.

November – A Bit of Good News

Everyone recovered and the Conservatory turned back to the Music Faculty — Pharos, November 4, 1918

December 1918

The soldiers may have recovered, but the Influenza lingered on. As World War I came to an end with the Armistice on November 11, the troops disbanded and their time on campus came to an end in the middle of December

The Pharos issue of December 15 indicated that WVWC students and faculty were still quite in the middle of the health issues of the day, including the only student death:

The Happenings column in that issue of the Pharos mentioned:

Misses Virginia Arbothnot, Elizabeth Hartley, and Delphia Bond have joined the class that has the flu.
Prof. Gotwald is able to be back to school after having the flu.
There were five cases of flu in the Hall last week. The victims were Zillah Short, Lucille Ferguson, Marie Turnbull, MargaretSigaoose, and Gladys Herold.
Miss Margaret Blair is in of influenza.
Miss Pearl Smith, substitute for Miss Harding during her illness, is ill of influenza.
Professor Ernest Stutzman, who has been very ill of influenza, is slowly recovering.
Ernest M. Pritchard is able for duty after about ten or eleven weeks of illness. He is at Camp Lee, Virginia.

January – The Flu Goes On

The January 20, 1919 issue of the Pharos tells us this about students and alumni:

Misses Carrie and Louis Boggs have returned to school after having been ill of the flu.
Gladys Haught, of Mannington, who has been qite ill of influenza, is improving, but is not yet able to return to school.
Ruth VanCamp has returned to school, after having had an attack of the flu.
Alice Thacker is still confined to her home at Franklin with the flu.
Louise VanCamp, Normal ’16, has had a severe attack of the flu.
Anna Reger, ’16, has returned to work at Clendenin High School, after an attack of influenza at her home here.
Floyd Ressegger, ’18, employed by the International Harvester Company at Akron, Ohio, is now at home recovering from an attack of the flu.

February

The February 3, 1919 issue of the Pharos tells us that it is STILL continuing.

Pearl Robinson was very ill of influenza last week.
John Post, who was in the aviation corps in California has received his discharge, and is now quarantined with flu.

March

The last mention of the struggles of the Wesleyan community with the Spanish Flu was in the March 31, 1919 issue of the Pharos.

Dr. MacWatters, who spent the winter at Daytona Beach, Florida, recovering from a serious case of pheumonia following influenza, has returned to Wesleyan.

Lessons Learned: Keep Calm and Wash Your Hands

It is important to take precautions. But, this is by far not the first time the world has experienced global health issues. The vast majority of voices from the Pharos went on to have a positive impact on the world for many years to come.

Fall semester of 1918 was like none other — before or in the 100 years since.

The U.S. had entered World War I, students had left to serve, the War Department organized Student Army Training Corps to train soldiers – one of the 500 was on the campus of Wesleyan – and the Spanish Influenza epidemic caused quarantines.

Students who were “Over Here” were thinking about their friends “Over There,” and soldiers “Over There” were writing letters home to friends, faculty members, and to President Wallace B. Fleming.

Student Army Training Corps (S.A.T.C.)

Student Army Training Corp 1918 — World War I
Student Army Training Corp., 1918

The War Department organized Student Army Training Corps units in about 500 schools around the country, including Wesleyan. The purpose was to allow students to continue their education while finding and preparing those who would become officers. Click here to read the 15 pages of Rules and Regulations for these units.

On September 30, 1918 there was an Inaguration Ceremony for the 200 troops who would study and train at Wesleyan. It was held in front of the Administration Building, and simultaneous to other such ceremonies across the country. President Fleming and Dean Thomas W. Haught spoke.

Three Lieutenants were present: Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Fred Horton, Jr., Adjutant Cecil G. Gaston, and Personnel Officer Neal Y. Pharr. Adjutant Gaston read words of greeting to the men from the President of the United States, the Secretary of War, and the Chief of Staff.

The October 7, 1918 issue of The Pharos gave some great details and descriptions of the program and of the ceremony. Click here to read the stories in their entirety.

The soldiers were housed in the Gymnasium, then only six years old, which was converted into sleeping quarters and a mess hall for the men. The basketball court was fitted with army cots, and the mess hall was located in the basement.

Their days were regulated with four hours of class work, two hours of supervised study, two hours of drill, and a required 8 1/2 hours of sleep from 9:30 pm to 6:00 am. The girls on campus were quite interested in meeting some of these soldiers, but there were fairly strict policies that limited those interactions.

The Music Hall (now known as the English Annex) was put into service as an infirmary when the Spanish Influenza epidemic made an appearance on campus. Quarantines were put into place for both S.A.T.C. soldiers and Wesleyan students.

Armistice Day (November 11, 1918)

The glad news came that the war was over at the 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month!

The War Department then disbanded the S.A.T.C. programs at the close of the term. The soldiers were able to be home by Christmas. Some chose to come back as regular students to the college during the next term.

Over There in the Fall of 1918

While all of this was happening here on campus, there were Wesleyan students abroad. They were on the battlefields and behind the lines. Several of them wrote letters to President Fleming, Professor Deck, and others at the school to let them know how they were doing. They were thinking of their days in Buckhannon as well. This issue of The Pharos was published just one week before the war ended.

Here are a few excerpts, and a link to the full letters:

W.H. Snedegar to President Fleming: “Just a few lines from one who, though far away, still carries with him pleasant thoughts of the past year spent at Wesleyan, and who still has the Wesleyan spirit running thru his veins. I was called for service June 24th, and on July 18 I was on my way to France.”

From Harvey Swisher: “I did not realize being an officer was so much superior to being a private until I began to travel, but we sure do get the best of service and treatment. Over here the officers are billited with French families, in good beds and with the finest of food. They are all very interesting and courteous to us. I am learning to speak French very well, and I think after a few months here will be able to carry on a fluent conversation.”

Also from Harvey Swisher: “We get our gas masks and steel helmets soon. The helmets are rather heavy, but one soon gets used to them. I am well clothed, have good shoes and boots to keep me warm and dry. I do not want you to worry, as I am getting along fine and am very able to take care of myself.”

From Grant Swisher: “I am glad to hear that old Wesleyan is going to have a military course this fall. I know that it will bring many new students to school. I wish you all the success in the world for the coming school year. I am well and getting along fine. We hope to be up where we can get a few Germans soon. Do not expect to stay away from the old U.S.A. so very much longer.”

From Edwin Krick: “We are in the trenches from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. It is a long and weary night, but the shells keep us busy moving around. I get a little sleep now and then, but have to be on the lookout for gas, as it is the thing we fear most………”No doubt you read a good deal of what is going on over here, but you do not get the facts. I have not gone over the top yet, but our time is at hand.”

The War Issue of the Murmurmontis (1920)

The 1920 edition of the Murmurmontis was designated as the War Issue to pay tribute to all of the things that had occurred, the lives changed, and is a record of things that somehow went on as usual during this remarkable time. It is certainly worth the time to look through it!

Some of the men did not return from the Great War, and are honored in this publication.

One of these was Lieutenant Roy Earl Parish, who was the subject of an earlier post to this blog. You can read it here.

Remembering All Who Were Involved

The world had never seen anything quite like it before. Celebrating 100 years since the end of World War I, and the chance for those involved to return to the lives that were interrupted.

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