Missouri State University - Ozarko Yearbook (Springfield, MO)

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Larson of the SMS boxing team v Fencing team Archery class at STC - . ' . '- l a m e , L1 ,-,. 1: A -x ' ,, ' . V . ? ' far . . - -vw w h, fvf '- -1 -: as -. . . X-uw 't,w'. s, , . ' ' r, ' , :,,f, 1 if wr V , ' , X V ' . ' ' , ' . l a 5 'ifii1ff24f r 1 ' , . ' 3 Track meet at Brigg's Stadium Construction of McDonald Arena

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The birth of the new State Nor- mal occurred at the same time as the demise of Springfield Nor- mal. The first classes of State Normal were held in the Spring- field Normal building. President Taylor joined the staff of State Normal for a time and acted as .iv business manager. He brought with him five teachers from Springfield Normal, who re- mained as faculty members at State Normal. An examination of the catalogue of Springfield Normal reveals that the institu- tion offered a Bachelor of Peda- gogy degree for two years of study. The tuition charges for a 12-week term were 512. There were many graduates of Spring- field Normal who went on to significant careers in education and in business. A fourth factor leading to the es- tablishment of the Fourth Dis- trict Normal School was the strategic location and attractive- ness of the City of Springfield. Laura Ingalls Wilder has given us one description of the city. She passed through Springfield in 1894 on the way to settle at Mansfield. She describes the stop which the family made at Ash Grove for the evening and remembered that they had pur- chased a delicious 20-pound wa- termelon for only five cents. In her book, On the Way Home she says this about Springfield: Left camp at 6:28. Good road from Ash Grove all the way to Springfield, not hilly nor very stony. This is the Ozark plateau and the country looks much like prairie country though there are groves and timber always along the streams. Arrived in Springfield at 9:25. It is a thriving city with fine houses and four business blocks stand around a town square. The stores are well stocked and busy. Manly hitched the horses and we bought shoes for Rose and myself, a calico dress for me, and a new hat for Manly. It did not take much time and we drove right along through the city. We were out of it before noon. It'has 21,850 inhabitants, and is the ni- cest city we have seen yet. It is simply grand. We could see two straight miles down Walnut street, a very little down grade, with large shade trees on each side, large hand- some residences, and the pave- ment as smooth and clean as can be. n When the state government an- nounced that a normal school would be located in Southwest Missouri, there were several ap- plications. Webb City, Aurora, and Marshfield made concerted efforts to have the school located in their community. However, the state board which was given the responsibility for making the decision voted unanimously that the new school should be located in Springfield, which be- cause of its size and its location would be a good home for the institution. SMS emerged out of the ferment at the turn of the century. Its roots are to be found in the Pro- gressive Movement which ele- vated education as the best pro- cess for improving society. The School was designed to serve a largely rural population. The School appeared as a replace- ment for a proprietary normal and business school which did not meet the needs of the time. The pleasant, little city of Springfield was a fitting com- munity strategically located to serve the young men and women of the southwestern part of the state. I have mentioned several forces that were at work during this pe- riod. There was an additional force at work which had its im- pact upon the students of the time. I refer to inflation. In 1894, a student at Springfield Normal was charged a sum of 51.75 total for being served three meals a day and seven days a week. When the new State Normal opened in the fall of 1906, the cost of board for a week had ri- sen to 52.25.

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SPURTS Excitement at an intramural football game - 1970's Swimmers to your marks - go! A The old tennis courts - 1950's The gymnastics team practicing before a meet