Tennessee Wesleyan College - Nocatula Yearbook (Athens, TN)

Page 10 text:

Elizabeth Ritter Hall Through the years the Holston Conference of The Meth- odist Church has been joined in its support of the College by individuals and organizations both within and without the church. The Elizabeth Ritter Hall, erected in 1891, is owned and supported by the Woman ' s Society of Christian Service of the Board of Missions of The Methodist Church. The McMinn County Sentinel for May 17, 1907, carried a full and interesting story of the close of the year at Grant University. Included in the article was this statement con- cerning the first major improvement to Ritter after 1891: During the past few months a $12,000 addition to Ritter Home has been under construction. It is not yet complete, but it will be before the opening of the next year, and the old part is to be repaired. The new addi- tion provides new and more commodious rooms for dining and study rooms, and rooms for the accommoda- tion of thirty-two more girls. Banfield Hall C. H. Banfield Memorial Hall was erected in 1901, a gift of a long-time trustee and liberal contributor to the College.

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Old College Chapel In the Bulletin of Tennessee Wesleyan College (a monthly publication no longer issued) for May, 1928, an account is given of the razing of the old college chapel and the construction of the auditorium-gymnasium, re- dedicated in 1951 as Townsend Memorial Hall in honor of Colonel W. B. Townsend, generous benefactor of the College: The old college chapel held memories sacred to many students during the more than forty years of its ex- istence. It served its day and served it well. Onlv be- cause of the need for a larger and more adequate building was the decision finally made to tear away the old chapel. The final, farewell chapel service on Wednesday, November 14, 1923, was an impressive one. Prof. D. A. Bolton, who had been present at the laying of the cornerstone in 1882, was the chief speaker. The new auditorium-gymnasium is a real delight. . . The building was dedicated by Bishop W. P. Thirkiekl on October 28th, 1924. All who had any part in pro- viding this beautiful and serviceable building for the College have just cause to rejoice in the achievement. These two buildings, the old chapel on the one hand and the new auditorium on the other, are typical of the linking of the old and the new in Tennessee Wesleyan College. Just as the new building is built on the founda- tions of the old, so the new Tennessee Wesleyan is being built on the foundations— the history, the traditions, the ideals, the lovalties — of the old.

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r cscfesxst nfesxsa ' ? :I9 H JKSh I I ' - ft jfc,. 3 ' -US SP 1 Ek M ill James Lindsey Robb, A.M., was inaugurated President of Tennessee Wesley an College j October 2}, 1926. Interesting excerpts are given in this issue from his inaugural address. oaafKa B ir?M !Jii« ffisawwM wi!P«Ti4ti ' idMJui, The Southeastern Christian Advocate for November 11, 1926, carried an account of the inauguration of Dr. James L. Robb, Emeritus, to the presidency of the College: James Lindsey Robb, A.M., was inaugurated president of Tennessee Wesleyan College, Athens, Tennessee, October 25. A large crowd of friends and students assembled in the beauti- ful auditorium for the impressive exercises, which were opened with prayer by Bishop R. J. Cooke. The presentation was made by Prof. David A. Bolton, and the installation by Bishop W. P. Thirkield. Greetings for the Methodist Episcopal Church were presented by Bishop W. O. Shepard; for Tennessee, by Presi- dent Morgan, of the University of Tennesee; for the Board of Education of the Methodist Episcopal Church, by Secretary Bovard; for denominational colleges, by President Wilson, of Maryville College; for Holston and other Conferences, by the Rev. R. M. Millard; for friends in general, by Dr. John H. Race. The benediction was by President Brown, of the Uni- versity of Chattanooga. A large number of educational in- stitutions sent representatives, and many of the members of Holston Conference attended in a body. ' President Robb, in a timely and appropriate address, among many good things, said: ' The chief reason for maintaining denominational colleges is that they shall be great character-building institutions. . . We have seen that education is a science and is rapidly de- veloping as such, but teaching is an art. This has ever been true, is now and will continue to be. This calls for the artist — the teacher. . . Our section is facing an economic and in- dustrial development that is apt to be unprecedented in our nation . . . May this institution be used of Almighty God in helping to build an intelligent, honest, capable, and God- fearing people. . . In conclusion, my friends, may I remind you that we have a noble heritage, a glorious present, and an inspiring future! '