Knox College - Gale Yearbook (Galesburg, IL)

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THE NAUG-.HT-NINE GAL HISTORICAL STATEMENT WITH APOLOGIES T0 THE Knm College Catalogue EFORE Knox College was founded the Black Hawk War was the only thmg of mterest rn Northern Ill1no1s Black Hawk was a thorough behever rn the doctrme that xt pays to ad vertlse and by purchasmg two columns on the front page of every dally paper 1n the East rapmdly became a desperate char acter The youths of Whxtestown N Y were accustomed to buy all the dlfferent papers and hold secret sesslons every Sun day afternoon out behmd the barn Foxy Grandpa and the Katz enjammer Klds looked tame when compared wlth Black Hawk and h1s bxaves and even the p1nk sheets of the Sunday edrtlons were passed by unnotlced After reading these thrrllmg stories for several weeks, an afternoon extra brought the startlmg news to the young Amerlcans that the blg chlef had taken n1nety slx more scalps Thzs was too much for the young mhabltants of the Emplre state The same afternoon the whole group declded to move West and enter mto competltxon wxth the famous red man Some of the more busmess hke Juvenlles had even declded to meet the expenses of the trtp by sellmg alummum cookmg uten s11s to the unsuspectmg red men along the route Others had already laxd 1n a supply of Success Magazmes and stereoscopes for the same purpose The determmatlon of the young adventure seekers was genume and on the next Wednesday evenxng a band of youthful adventurers dressed llke Sunday Amerzcan Ind1ans s1lently made the1r way Westward down one of the sxde streets of Whltestown Each youth carrled a pack contammg a change of clothmg three pocket knlves two toy p1stols, a rmg of bologna, four boxes of Shredded Wheat B1scu1t and one or two packageS of smokmg tobacco so you may Imagine that the event had been planned wxth great care But lol they were d1scovered by the1r fond parents, who were just return1ng from Wednesday evenmg worshrp The next scene IS not recorded m hxstory, but lt rs generally understood that drasnc measures were taken to drnve out of the youthful adventure seekers any deslre to help the course of emplre mOVC Westward . . . . . .I . . - - 9 - -1 . . . , , .. x . . .. - . u 1 a u ' ' u l ' . . . u 1 I c ' . . . - . . s I ' ' , s . . . . . .. . . . . . 9 2 5 . . . 1 . . . . .. . . TH IRTEEN l

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THE NAUGHT-NINE GAL garded as the finest quality of yeast in the country. Every Knox man who swallows it is bound to rise. Every fall some prep student walks into town and every spring some alumnus comes back to commencement in a private car. It is generally an alumnus who walked into town, too. This concludes the tour, friends. I regret that I cannot show you the brass plate whlch marks the spot where S S McClure once debated the question of pure milk wlth a cow o the spot where John Fmley once sawed into lns thumb 1nstead of into a hickory knot the hall where Robert Mather once re cited Spartacus or the lunch counter where Ed Bancroft fed on blueberry pie every night after hterary society You must hunt these out for yourselves All out' X A li' gi, ICH . . . L Q 'S' is 1- l,Q 'N eff 'r t Fil. .f ,. yr l , ' I y ,E Ag, Q A , Bl RR CHAPEL A TWELVE

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But the youngsters were not to be downed The very next week they convmced their progemtors that the best course open to them was to move West and thus make about eight or mne chapters in history On January 7 1836 it was announced by the public cryer that a company was being organized to go to these unknown parts, build a college, pacify the Indian teach him the Apostles Creed, and acquamt him with the finer points of social etiquette This pleased the young inhabitants mightily and the very next day the young financiers might be seen selling Saturday Evemng Posts in order to gather enough money for the Journey This paper was just then inaugurating the first popular lady contest known the hard earned money of the pioneers proved sufficient to Hoat the stock of the company Another week saw the town of Whites town begin its Westward Journey The New York Limited hne and the inter urban troll1es were not yet completed, so the band was compelled to take advantage of other means of transporta tion in order to reach their destination After a strenuous Journey Illinois was finally reached and a plot of land selected It was well situated, fairly well improved close to a school house and railroad and the water supply was unlimited This land was the territory immediately surrounding Cedar River As soon as the contents of the wagons were safely deposited in sheltered places the erection of a church was begun The sec- ond building to be constructed was a cabin in which a land oiiice business could be carried on The next item of business, accord- ing to the schedule was the founding of an institution to tram up the boy in the way he should go This was done and the institution was called the Knox Manual Labor College For several decades the name was very appropriate, but by 1867 the college had begun to assume something of its present nature so the name was changed to Knox College During the first few years the institution was supported en- tirely by the loyal pioneers Andrew Carnegie and George Law- rence had not yet entered into the field of finance. When the expenses became too heavy to be borne by the founders alone, a tuition was demanded of the students. This fee proved insufficient to even up the debit and credit sides on the assistant treasurer's books so an incidental fee was added. By means of this system of finance the college has been kept in running order for over seventy years. The gentle reader is re- ferred to the College Catalogue for other items of interest about Knox. THE NAUGI-IT-NINE GALE to journalism. The contributions of the eager youths, added to FOURTEE N