Augustana College - Rockety I Yearbook (Rock Island, IL)

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FIRST COLLEGE BUILDING. ROCK WSLAND. ILL. I 5

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Suki . wtwh tensive Swedish work. In the early days Swedish Was the only medium of instruction. Now the English language is the medium of instruction in all branches except in the Swedish which is taught as a special branch. As a special chair the Swedish language will always continue to be taught. As the courses of instruction have gradually been extended anti their scope en- larged. there has been from time to time an enlargement along the lines of departments. The Theological department was naturally the primary and for some years the oniy department, Out at the Theological the College and Academic departments developed through a natural process of growth. In addition to these departments we have new five others: The Normal, Conservatory, Alt, Elocution. and the Business Departments, The Normal course is pursued in connection with the Academy and the College with special attention given to such subjects as constitute Normal work. As early as l576 instruction began in book-keeping but it was not until i885 that we had a complete business course in a separate department. The musical element has aiways been One of the characteristics of Augustana. The first musical organization macie its appearance in the early clays at Paxton. Vocal music has been especially prominent, and as early as 1880, an Oratorio Society was organized through the efforts of Dr. 0. Olssnn. Dr. Olsson was at the time one at the professms of the Seminary. He later, in 1891 was elected to the presidency to succeed Dr. Hasselquist. Dr. Olsson had during a visit in England had the opportunity of hearing Handel's Messiah rendered; He returned with enthusiastic determination to organize an Oratorio Society here at home. The society was organized. The first tour was made in IBM, the chorus rendering pmgrams at Rock Island. Moline and towns in the vicinity. The fullcwing year more extensive tours were made, a trip being made even as far as Lindshurg. Kansas. It is from this organization that our Conservatory of Music had its beginnings, though any mention is not made in the College catalogue until the year 1356. lnstructicn in singing haul, hy the way, been given as eariy as l873. The musical organizations which for a longer or a shorter time Hourished have been various in nature and plentiful in number. Among those now existing the must prominent are, perhaps, the Wennerherg Chorus, the Chapel Chair. and the College Band. Very Closely connected with the Conservatory are the Art and Elocution depart- ments. Instruction has been given in bath departments since the year 1897. The entire numher nf students who have attended Augustana. is 12,000. From the College department, theie have been 542 graduates. The hrst class to graduate with the degree of Bachelor of Arts was the class of '577. The class was composed of six members. The largest number of graduates from any one department has been from the Business depattmcnt,f740. and the smallest number has been from the Normal department-i32. From the Theological department. there have been 659 graduates and from the Conservatoryefll Several Master of Arts degrees and two l4

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ahtgfbhllh C. S. D. degrees have been earned at the institution. The average attendance through- out the years has been somewhat mere than 550. Student life, in the Paxton days, and during the hrst period at Rock Island, pre- i sent: in some respects phases diHering very much from the present The students of i the early clays were as a rule. older men than those of the present time, and their views ii i of life were naturally more sober. During the days of Paxton. school life can best be ii compared to the life in a large Familyi Dr. Hasselquist was looked upon more in the il i light of a father than in that of the President. The students had various dutites, in il : the nature of chores, to perform such duties as chopping ancl sawing wood. They were even known to work in the heids on the college farm. Tu Shirk one's chores or rebel , against the established order invariably brought upon the deiinquent one the displeasure i I of Dr. Hasselquist. In fact. drones were not tolerated by the students themselves. t i As a spirit of piety and religiousness preveiied in the school circle those whose interests i were not in harmony with the standard such a condition set up. soon became unnum- i i furtable and usually left of their own accord. Generally harmony prevailed but -i - occasionally disagreements would rutHe the tranquillity. These disturbances usually were in the nature of Arguments indulged in between those of the students who had he come Americanized and those who carried with them the inHuences of previous training i in Sweden. The disagreements were. however, mostly on the surface and as time t I went on the difterent factions learned better to understand and appreciate each othetis- views and life long friendships often resulted. The students of Paxton fame are not to be thought of merely as austere, puritanistic beings, The humozous was by no means excluded from among them. As remnants from the humorous phase of the life there have come down to us several stories and anecdotes. One of the most interesting features of their love for fun we find in the names attached by them to the different buildings. The place where their meals were taken was called, Valhalla. because pork quite frequently appeared on the hill of fate. The home of Dr. Hasselquist was called, Asagard. Other builciings bore the names i i'Muspeihem. Nifelhem, and Ragnarok. One builtfing was called Skarselden. That Was the place where examinations were given. Gradually as the student body increased in number and varying conditions created new eicments of interest. the student life took on a diHerent appearance. The change however graaually became more pronounced as the initial years at Rock Island were added to history. During those first years of the Rock Island peIiDd much at the usimplicity at life was retained. Each student, for example. was required to keep his own room swept and clean and to make his own bed. and was expected to wait upon himself at meals. Each one was to keep himself supplied with an oil can, a custom, which, by the way, prevailed until recent years. There are many sadlyahumemus experiences on record in connection with those oil cans. If the supply of Upplysning should suddenly give out of an evening when the stores were closed the mental vision might be badly impaired the following day in the class room. The primitive mode of exercise at Augustana was as we have mentioned the use of the buck saw 01' similarly useful instruments. When the school was removed to Rock 16