Monmouth College - Ravelings Yearbook (Monmouth, IL)

Page 10 text:

R A V E L I N ' G S NINETEEN ELEVEN life. Not only is the name of Dr. J. B. Mc- Michael commemorated, but somehow the worthy son of a worthy father comes in for commemoration also, for he has so wisely presided during the erection of all the new building ' s. In planning McMichael Hall an attempt was made to use the experience of other in- stitutions. Plans were studied and compared. A number of institutions were visited and the experience of those in charge of labora- tories old and new, large and small, was gone over in detail. Any feature found de- ficient by the test of daily use was omitted from the plans and wdiere possible improve- ments were attempted. All in all there are in the building 13 laboratory rooms, 3 lecture rooms, 3 store rooms or stock rooms, 3 assistant ' s rooms, 3 offices. 2 dark rooms, 2 toilet rooms, and one each of the following rooms : library, dissecting room, weighing room, unpacking room, animal room and work shop. The three floors are each devoted to a single subject, — the lower floor to Physics, the next to Biology and the upper floor to Chemistry. There are five miles of pipes in the thirteen systems of piping in the building, and all of these, with the exception of a few electrical conduits, are arranged so that they can be replaced in case of accident without disturbing anything else. Twenty-eight tons of Alberene stone was used, mostly on the chemical floor for table tops, hood floors and table shelving. This is a variety of soapstone from Alberene, Va., and is used here because it is not affected by acids or alkalies to any great extent. Distilled water is piped to each labora- tory from a large still and storage tank on the upper floor. The building is fireproof throughout, being built of brick, hollow tile and re-enforced concrete. The water table, window sills and ornaments, sup- porting columns, roof supports and floors are all re-enforced concrete. The two upper floors have wood laid over the concrete. An ample lift carries ap- paratus from one floor to another. It is a thoroughly well lighted, convenient, serviceable building. McMichael Hall is not yet completely equipped nor is it fully stocked with apparatus. It will require time and money to do these things. ' We have a good working outfit to start with and additions will be made from year to year. The full meaning of this equipment will only be realized as the years go by and as new generations of students working in McMichael Hall come in touch with nature ' s laws and thereby get their inspiration for a life of service to the God of all nature.

Page 9 text:

RAVELINGS NINETEEN ELEVEN McMICHAEL SCIENCE HALL The leading engineers of a former gen- eration were men of mental training but their technical skill came from the school of experience. In that day Monmouth College gave the necessary mental training. To-day the engineer coming into the activities of his profession and hoping for a leading po- sition must have the mental training as be- fore, but he is very much handicapped if in getting this mental training he has not ob- tained a wide acquaintance with scientific things. As is the case with the engineer, so it is with the other professions and with the leading positions in the industrial world. And there is the purely cultural side, too, for a knowledge of physics, chemistry, biol- ogy, astronomy and the other sciences is an essential element in the education of one who proposes to become cultured. These are the living, working, everywhere-present things which touch the activities of our lives, and to be cultured one must know of these things. It has come to be the opinion of the lead- ers in higher education in our country that a student in his college course should learn much of some one subject and something of many subjects. Not all students will become scientists, nor will they enter those professions which preeminently call for a scientific training, but all students should know the methods of science. They should come in contact with the facts of science and with the processes of science in dealing with these facts. They should get a view of the history and hopes of science and the scientific method of pro- cedure in trying to realize these hopes. To attain such ideals is the purpose of our new Science Hall. Not that these ideas are new, but for the first time in the history of the college has she been able to offer the material equipment which would lend itself to the carry- ing out of these ideas. It remains for us who teach science to plan such courses and to do such teaching as will bring about these results. The friends of Monmouth College are justly proud of her new buildings. They rejoice in the excellent laboratories provided for the work in science. The hundreds who have given money that these buildings might be, take pleasure in seeing the results of their efforts. ' Wallace Hall is a beautiful building and one eminently fitted for the work carried on in it. McMichael Hall while making no outward display, is wonderfully well arranged for the work to be done there. Said a bookman who visits educational institutions all over the central west, I have not seen a laboratory in any college or uni- versity which excels your laboratory. The name McMichael Hall recalls to our memories the sterling qualities of that great hearted servant of Monmouth College, who for a score of years gave unstintedlv of his own life that the college might have more abundant

Page 11 text:

RAVELIN GS NINETEEN ELEVEN INTRODUCTION A NOTHER year of Monmouth College life has been unraveled. The snarls and tangles have been many and perplexing, but at last the end of our thread has been reached. To you the Class of Nineteen Hun- dred and Eleven present the result, hoping that this volume may serve as a pleasant diversion from the more arduous task of unraveling life ' s snarls and tangles.