Eastern Kentucky University - Milestone Yearbook (Richmond, KY)

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Rac-a-chic-a-boom, Rac-a-chic-a-boom, Rac-a-chic-a-boom, Rac-a-chic-a-boom, You know, I know, Speak up loud, We know, they know, all the crowd, Thank her, thank her, this is meant, For our woman President, Zip boom bah, Zip boom bah, Roark, Roark, Rah Rah, Rah. 1916 tribute to Mary Roark OPPOSITE PAGE: Governor James B. McCreary and William J. Bryant leaves Sul- livan Hall after Bryant ' s visit in 1911. Upper right: Ruric Nevel Roark, Eastern ' s first presi- dent. Right: The EKSN basketball team of 1909 poses for its team picture. Above: Birdwatching enthusiasts go on a class hike at five in the morning.

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Easterns Beginnings Richmond Gets Normal School No. 1 By an act of the legislature of 1906, Eastern Kentucky State Normal School was established with an annual appropiation of $20,000 for maintenance. Not a vote against the bill creating the school was recorded in either house. The citizens of Richmond were primarily responsible for their city being chosen as the site of one of the new schools for training teachers. Having had Central University from 1874, until its merger with Cen- tre University in 1901, and then having been the home of Walters Collegiate institute, they knew the values of being a college town. Mayor Clarence E. Woods, Jere A. Sullivan, W. Rodes Shackelford and other promi- nent citizens led a group which lobbied to have Richmond chosen as the location for the state normal school. Woods traveled to Frankfort where he covered an entire wall of the Old Capitol Hotel with literature designed to influence the legislators. The display was entitled What Richmond Of- fers Free Of Cost to the State for a Normal School. One pamphlet cover read: What Richmond Offers A ready-made Normal School Plant. A main college building seating 800, worth $60,000. A dormitory, 35 rooms, worth $30,000. An athletic field, a grand stand . A city with a college and a school spirit. A railroad center — the most accessible point to the majority of Kentucky teachers. The legislature was duly im- pressed and on May 7, 1906 Eastern became Normal School No. 1 and Western became Normal School No. 2. The first regents were ap- pointed in May and on June 2, 1906 Dr. Ruric Nevel Roark was named president. Roark defined the goals of Normal, outlined the courses of study and selected the faculty. During his term, the home economics house, a home for the superintendent of buildings and grounds, Roark Hall, Sul- livan Hall, and the power plant were all completed at the staggering cost of $168,481. Dr. Roark died on April 10, 1909 at the young age of fifty. Four days later, Mary Creegan Roark, the late presi- dent ' s wife, was ap- pointed acting president of the school. She served in that posi- tion until Dr. John Grant Crabbe was appointed in 1910.

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LEFT: Eastern ' s second president, Dr. John Grant Crabbe, held office from 1910-1916. Right: Crabbe ' s successor, Dr. Thomas Jackson Coates, served from 1919-1928. Eastern Gains Four-Year Status Dr. Crabbe spent much of his term perfecting the or- ganizational structure of the Normal School. Three De- cades of Progress, Eastern ' s first recorded history, credits Crabbe with doubling the num- ber of faculty members and in- creasing the maintenance ap- propriation from the state. During his term, the presi- dent ' s home and a farm were purchased, an addition to Sul- livan Hall was constructed, and laboratory and library equipment were added. When the State Inspector McKenzie Todd visited Eastern in 1911, he wrote: In addition to his eminent ability and qualifications as an educator, Pres. Crabbe has proven himself a good business manager, has inaugurated many greatly needed reforms, one of which has been a splen- did system of books and ac- counts, being able to handle the financial affairs along safe and economic lines. In regard to the general management and financial condition, it appears to me that the real work of the school has just begun to be felt and the future will mark a more pronounced effect on the general education in the State. Dr. Crabbe left Eastern in 1916 to become president of Colorado State Teachers College. Europe was at war when Dr. Thomas Jackson Coates began tenure in office. His was the first Eastern administration to see its male enrollment drop as men prepared for war. However, enrollment rose once again when the war was over and life returned to nor- mal. In 1922, Eastern gained four- year status and became Eastern Kentucky State Nor- mal School and Teachers College. The Milestone and the Eastern Progress were both published for the first time that same year. Dr. Coates oversaw the campus ' first building boom. The Cammack Building, Burnam Hall, John Grant Crabbe Library Building, and the Coates Ad- ministration Building were completed during his term. Dr. Coates died on March 17, 1928.