Concordia College - Spire / Concordian Yearbook (Fort Wayne, IN)

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COLLEGE LO OJ LO ll! ll fy'iffffffi-- . .Q., ffn'ss?lwf fw ue,ig1,aH'i A , llllllil mlflillgl V, fiullglnlr ,f Y 9,2 OTTOMAR KRUEGER banks of the Maumee below the locks. Fish fries and pancake fries on Saturdays in these caves pre- sented an opportunity to satisfy at least in part the unplenishable college hunger. Through these so- cieties the students found release from many in- hibited emotions, as any alumnus of that day will testify. Then, too, there were the annual athletic festivals, Turnfeste, which were held in James B. White's beautiful grove along the river just north of the canal locks. There was also the college fire- engine house, located north of Hanser Hall, a pop- ular resort for the college boys. The student volun- teers engaged regularly in drills in rushing to man the pumper. Special enthusiasm was manifested when the alarm was sounded during class hours. Six large cisterns and a well supplied the water. And, finally. there was military drill. A Captain Tyler had charge in the seventies. Drill was held once a week. and the captain also taught penman- ship once a week. The cadets then had wooden guns. but no uniforms. Yet, as we are told, an annual inspection by a government official was held. The boys paid an annual military fee of 255.00 and a separate athletic fee of 32.00. The faculty minutes show that the boys were permitted to march on Decoration Day in 1876, with the under- standing that they would not be required to attend the religious ceremonies at the cemetery. It seems that the boys have marched off and on since that time. The first printed catalog of the school after 1860 appeared in 1872-3. From it we learn that the students were aroused at 5. 5: 30, or 6 o'clock in the morning. depending on the season of the year. Next came chapel exercises, breakfast, and a study period until 7:30, A half hour was devoted to cleaning the rooms, making the beds, and the like. Recitations followed from 8 to 12. Then came the noon meal and free time until 2 o'clock. Lessons were resumed from 2 until 5 C4 on Wednesdaysl. The hours of 5 to 7 were free, and 7 to 10 was free study period and leisure time f freie Studienzeit und Unterhaltungul. The younger students retired at 9, and the older boys at 10. Summer vacations continued from June 30 to September 1. but for a few years, in the late seventies and early eighties, that time was changed to the end of July and the ASTRID J. BREDEMEIER Librarian Page 25

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-2 Y 18 3 9 'SEEEE T'-I- EEE T it T T T few?-if e e .- 3Q1iDIA WILLIAM C. BURHOP enterprises be established on this property. This left the campus as it is today. Judged by our standards, college life in the sixties and seventies would appear drab, but the alumni of that day assure us that such was not the A. H. SCHROEDER Business Manager Page 24 case. There was the Wabash-Erie canal which in- trigued every newcomer. Interest in it grew as the student became acclimated to college life. Near the present Kroger warehouses were the Fort Wayne locks of the canal. Every student knew Mutz, the caretaker of the locks, although no one seems to remember his first name. In the fall, the canal brought the winter's supply of wood. The three or four upper classes, being dismissed from lessons, spent two or three delightful days storing the wood in the basement and erecting a high wall around the building. When winter came, the canal was again a source of pleasure. The boys skated down town regularly to do their shopping, and on Satur- days they took their lunch and skated to New Haven and points east. An alumnus of the seven- ties gives the assurance that they frequently went as far as the second pair of locks several miles be- yond Defiance, Ohio. There were also many societies to interest the boys, such as the Cimbria, a dramatic club, the Urania Society, a cornet band, an orchestra, and singing organizations. The Buck- ingham Society, composed of members of the class of 1879, and other groups spent pleasant Saturdays in the caves which had been excavated along the

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c f f T , STUDENTS GOING TO CLASSES beginning of October on account of the recurring fever. The Christmas recess lasted from the day be- fore Christmas to Epiphany: the Easter recess, from Wednesday of Holy Week to the Sunday after Eas- ter: the Pentecost recess, from Saturday to the fol- lowing Wednesday. Once each month of the school year when there was no holiday a free day was inserted, on which the students were urged to take hikes. Board was 848.00 per year for the ministerial students and 860.00 for the non-ministerial and those whose parents did not belong to the Synodi- cal Conference. Heating and light was covered by a fee of 810.00 per year. The fee for medical ser- vice and medicine was 83.25, while those desiring homoeopathic treatment paid only 352.00 per year. Despite previous promises to the contrary. German was no longer used as a medium of instruction in English, in the geography of America, and in arith- metic. Examinations at the end of the semester were still public, and written reports were issued for behavior, effort, and progress. New students were admitted at Easter and were classified as Sexta B. This practice of admitting new students at Easter was abandoned in the present century. During this period the enrollment was mounting steadily. We have information on only two years in the sixties, but from 1872-73 to the present time the records are complete. The annual enrollment Huctuated considerably, directly reflecting condi- Page 26 CONCORDIA tions prevailing at the time. From 1861 to 1873 the college sent 138 graduates to St. Louis. In 1861-2 there were 78 students. This number had grown to 130 in 1866-7, and by 1874-5 a peak of 270 was reached. Not until 1912-3 was this number reached again. In the meantime other preparatory schools were founded. When Milwaukee and Bronxville, the first of our sister Concordias, were opened in 1881, the enrollment at Concordia dropped imme- diately. The largest enrollment during the hun- dred years of Concordia's history is recorded for 1922-3, when an influx of about 125 new students raised the total to 339. Comparatively few changes were made in the faculty in the last two decades of the nineteenth century. When Director Hanser left in 1879. Prof. John Frederick Zucker took his place. In 1881 he accepted a professorship of Greek and history, a position which he held until 1921. Professor Zucker received his education at Erlangen and served six years in India, 1870-1876, under the Leipzig Mis- sion Society. At the time when he was called to Concordia he was serving a congregation at Brook- lyn. After his resignation from the faculty, he filled the position of librarian until the spring of 1927. He died on September 13, 1927. When, in 1881, Professor Stellhorn left, the Rev. Otto Sie- mon was called as his successor. He continued on the faculty until the time of his death in 1902. Candidate August Schuelke served as assistant for two years, from 1888 to 1890. When, in 1886, Direc- tor Bischoff accepted a call into the ministry, an interregnum of about two years ensued, during which various members of the faculty assumed the duties of the director. Prof. Andrew Baepler, pro- fessor at St. Paul's College, Concordia, Mo., began his service as director in 1888. Six years later, in 1894, he accepted a call to Little Rock, Ark., but returned to St. Paul's College and taught there from 1899 to 1925. In 1894, Prof. Martin Joseph Schmidt became director, and held this position until 1903, when he accepted a professorship of history, teaching until 1917. Director Schmidt was a direct descendant of the Saxon immigrants. He was born at Altenburg in 1846, his parents being members of the original pioneer group. His charges in the ministry took him to Missouri, at Weston, and then to Michigan, to Dallas, and Saginaw. He was president of the Michigan District from 1882 to 1891. He died in the spring of 1930, thirteen years after his retirement. When in 1889, Concordia reached the half-cen- tury mark, the event was celebrated with great festivities. Excursions of special trains brought large crowds of people from Chicago and St. Louis. The main festivities were held in the grove on June 25, 1889. The speakers were the Rev. Johann Paul Beyer, president of the Eastern District: Prof. A. L. Graebner, of Concordia Seminaryg Director J. H. C. Kaeppel of St. Paul's College, Concordia,