Atlantic Union College - Minuteman Yearbook (South Lancaster, MA)

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Joseph H. Haughey. 1894-99. As Professor Bell began to feel that his increasing responsibilities were be- coming too heavy, he resigned in the spring of 1884, and Elder D. A. Robinson, a minister in the New England Confer- ence, was appointed principal. . . . That fall there came to South Lancaster from Kansas a teacher who was eventually to wield a powerful influence in the school and to become a strong pillar in its up- building. This was Mrs. Sara J. Hall. Mrs. Hall ' s pupils, now scattered far and wide, will always be grateful to her for her in- sistence upon well-learned lessons. Prosperity attended Elder Robinson ' s wise management . . . but at the end of the spring term, he was called back to ministerial work, and the growing young school was again left without a principal. Then Elder Haskell sent a call to Professor Charles C. Ramsay of Healdsburg Col- lege, California, to take charge of South Lancaster Academy. He immediately be- gan to organize the school and planned regular courses of study. That much-travelled little schoolhouse . . . had not been idle, but having taken a short journey across to the east side of Sawyer Street, was now displaying over its door a big sign, ' Printing Office. ' Here the boys were learning the art of print- ing under the skilled instruction of Mrs. Emma L. Ball. Here too was published the first school paper, the ' True Educator ' . . . the forerunner of the ' Lancastrian. ' In the spring of 1886, Professor Ramsay enlisted the services of a young min- ister from the New York Conference to assist in methods of missionary endeavor. This young minister was E. Edgar Miles, who was destined to remain several years a mem- ber of the Academy faculty as Bible teacher and a resident of South Lancaster until his death in 1933. Elder Miles soon proved an indispensable addition to the faculty, and to the last a loyal supporter of the institution. The E. E. Miles Bindery, which has assisted thousands of students in earning their college expenses, stands as a memorial to his vision. Five years after its founding, the purpose of South Lancaster Academy was forcibly demonstrated, when one day in May, 1887, it gave its first foreign missionary from among its ranks. Teachers, students, and friends gathered in the church to bid farewell to Carrie Mace, a sister of Elder J. W. Mace and a charter member of the school, who had accepted a call to mission work in South Africa. With her were Elder D. A. Robinson, the second principal, who with his wife accompanied Miss Mace, and Elder S. N. Haskell with his secretary, William A. Spicer, who sailed for England on the same boat. Charles C. Ramsay, 1885-88. South Hall, 1894.

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Academy or Administration Building. For two years school was held in the church. On that first bright spring morning in front of Professor Bell and his assistant, Miss Edith Sprague, who had arrived a few days before from Battle Creek, sat nine- teen young men and women between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four. When the roll was called, the following answered ' present ' to their names: Orville Farnsworth, Horace Tucker, Otis Thayer, George Holley, Cortez Bee, Omar Bell, Ernest Stratton, Hermon Stowell, Herbert Stowell, William Weston, Joseph Mace, Rose Redmond, Ella Graham, Carrie Mace, Mina Robinson, Lizzie Spencer, Elsie Turple, Nettie Priest, and Bertha Priest. In a few days Edwin Cobb, Esther Richmond, Gertie Perry, Flora Piper, and Es ' .ella Clements joined the others, making a total enrollment of twenty-four for the term. In the summer of 1882, immediately after the close of the first term, as applica- tions for admission to the school came from all directions, immediate steps had to be taken to provide room for the anticipated increased enrollment. The two houses north of the Seventh-day Adventist Church were rented for dormitories. Again the little shop had to be abandoned, and for two years school was held in the church. In the fall of 1883 a board of managers was elected and the institution incor- porated under the laws of Massachusetts as South Lancaster Academy. The main part of the present Administration building and the section of the dormitory known as East Hall were completed in the summer of 1884. . . . The frugal school fathers believed in economy, for even the land in front of the Academy was planted to corn, the rows extending almost to the front steps. The dormitory was set in the midst of a large orchard and for many years tall apple trees grew in the front yard. Students ' Home, 1884-99. Dores A. Robinson, 1884-85. !

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First Graduating Class. 1888. Main Street Dormitory. 1895-99. May 12, 1888, was an eventful day in the history of South Lancaster Acad- emy, when the graduating exercises of the first senior class were held in the chapel. . . . Diplomas were presented by the Principal to a class of four young women, one of whom was Miss Rowena E. Purdon, who has taught in the Normal School, the College, and the Academy. After three years, Professor Ramsay resigned his position to continue his edu- cation at Harvard University, and at his suggestion his former pupil at Battle Creek College, Professor George W. Caviness, was chosen to succeed him. Professor Cav- iness laid plans for a new dormitory and a large addition to the academy building. He was called to the p residency of Battle Creek College in the spring of 1894, but the ideas for expansion which he had outlined were partly carried out during the sum- mer following. South Hall and another house on Prescott Street were rented to furnish rooms for students. Joseph H. Haughey, professor of mathematics in Battle Creek College, fol- lowed Professor Caviness as principal. All the buildings were overcrowded, and the girls in East Hall looked impatiently across the field to the slowly developing outlines of their new home, which was being erected on the present site of the Thayer Bird Museum. The curved brick walk now leading to the Museum was laid out by Professor Haughey ' s own geometric hand. Due to financial strain, the new dormitory was used only four years and then sold to the New England Sanitarium. After standing idle for four years old East Hall was quickly repaired, the four-story central portion and West Hall were added, and in the fall of 1899, the students were returned to their former place of abode on Prescott Street. George W. Caviness, 1888-94. West and East Halls. 1899.