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

Page 13 text:

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.

Page 12 text:

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.

Page 14 text:

J. T. Browning Missionary and Industrial Normal, 1913. Professor Haughey was succeeded in 1899 by Professor Frederick Griggs, under whose direction the school made rapid advancement in scholastic standards, enrollment, and general development. . . . Several school courses beyond high school grades were introduced during these years, indicating a tendency toward junior col- lege rating, a goal which was to be realized a few years later. In 1902, Elder Miles built the Student Bindery in South Lancaster. By employ- ing student labor this enterprise has since enabled hundreds of young men and women to earn a part or all of their school expenses. . . . Elder Miles superintended this industry until his death in 1933. Since that time the business has been success- fully managed by his son, Walter E. Miles. In 1907 Professor Benjamin F. Machlan was chosen as Principal Griggs ' s suc- cessor. It was at this time that ' the scholarship plan for colporteurs was introduced to aid students to meet their school expenses. ' In December of this same year the students began to print a small sixteen-page monthly paper called the ' Student Idea. ' Principal Machlan had not long been settled in his new position when he ac- cepted a call to Australia, and Elder C. S. Longacre, who had been Bible teacher of the Academy, became principal. On October 30, 1912, a small group gathered on the campus to witness the laying of the granite cornerstone of the J. T. Browning Missionary and Industrial Normal. . . . Miss Hansa A. Browning had given a donation to the school for a normal building. . . . Besides classrooms sufficient for carrying on eight grades of school work and practice teaching, the third floor was well equipped for domestic science labora- tories, in which Doctor Lauretta Kress was the first instructor. Mrs. Jessie Osborne was the first normal director. . . . Much credit is due to Mr. Charles Kilgore for his untiring interest in the details of the construction and the equipment of the interior. Frederick Griggs, 1899-1907. Benjamin F. Machlan, 1907-09, 1913-16. 1921-28. Charles S. Longacre, 1909-13.