Baptist Missionary Training School - Beacon Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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i--- THE BEAcoN -1.-. meagre equipment. We were so happy in the work that inconveniences were not considered, and when our three months' training was over, We wished that it had been possible to stay longer. Friendships were formed that proved to be wonderfully inspiring in the years that followed. I shall always revere the memory of Miss Burdette and her inspiration to us all. She seemed to be the soul of the school. l am at present uncertain as to whether I shall be able to venture the journey to Chicago for the Fiftieth Anniversary. I should dearly love to go and if my strength permits, I will surely be there. ANNA NILSSON fMrs. Anna Hanson? - 1881 'f Y 'f The two years spent in B. M. T. S. were very happy. The home life and friendships formed at '24l l' will always be an abiding remembrance, as well as the helpful guidance of the saintly 'trio' - Mother Morris, Mother Whaley, and Miss Burdette. 'Their works do follow them after.' The school of today is far superior to the one we attended. The building itself has so many more advantages that make it suitable for this preparatory work, and the district where it is located opens a mission field of opportunities in the immediate vicinity. It has been a source of pleasure to visit the school during recent years while our daughter has been studying there. God bless the teachers and students of today. May all your wishes and plans for this Golden Anniversary be realized, is the wish of SIGRID TRANEUS fMrs. C. Adolph Andersonj - 1902 1 1 1 World-war days were stern days, when life was real and earnest. But dur- ing this period Mrs. Pinkham came to B. M. T. S. to brighten it with her radiant personality. Never has there been a higher soul than Dr. Behan, and under the direction of these two leaders the school prospered. Serious study, cordial relationship between faculty and students, and plenty of cheer and good fellowship characterized this period which lay between the old and the new regime. Many of the girls of that day are serving the denomination in some capacity. Their hearts ring true in loyalty to the ideals which have always MRS. ADAH H. BOYCE - 1917 1 1 1 been held before us. As I look over the Baptist Missionary Training School family album and acquaint myself with those heroic and far-seeing women who lifty years ago founded the school we love today, I am impressed more forcibly than ever with the rich heritage which is ours and with the challenge which the past brings to us of the present to build our part in the Master's work as worthily as did they. To me the Baptist Missionary Training School has indeed opened a door- way to service which is: bringing with it a peace and joy and a purposefulness in life that I have never felt before. As I try to evaluate my year at the school I Hnd that I cannot separate the various factors and say this particular class or that particular person meant the most' to me. The highest tribute I can give is that at the Baptist Missionary Training School I found a group of women trying in the best way they know how to live out in every phase of their lives' the teachings of Jesus. fConcIuded on page 402 39

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-l-- THE BEAcoN -M- ALUMNAE 1 Y 1 B. M. T. S. is rich in its Alumnae. It is said that the sun never sets upon its graduates. We are especially reminded this Golden Anniversary year of the Alumnae and theirinterest in the Training School, because, through their generous gift, the Morris Memorial Chapel has been remodeled in order that we may have a beautiful place in which to worship. What a sacrifice this has been to the Alumnae and yet what a proof of their love and loyalty to their Alma Mater. We, in the school, have felt the strength from the prayers of the Alumnae this year. Our school has grown in numbers. We have had eighty-four stu- dents in the school this year and it seems as if the goal of one hundred for 1931 might be reached. Some of the Alumnae have expressed their regard for the school now and in the days when they were students here. We join our own gratitude with their appreciation of our Alma Mater in the following letters: So far as I know, l am one of two members left of that first class to tell of the good we received. The first building was a rented one and the good women sent any pieces of furniture they could spare. Some sent folding canvas cotsp others a pillow, sheets and quilts, etc. Some students slept on a mattress on the floor. All went to the one bathroom to wash and without a looking glass. We looked in each other's eyes and laughed at failure to comb and fix right without help. Lack- ing chairs we could sit on box or board at table. Miss Burdette, who followed Mrs. Swift as Corresponding Secretary of the Board, brought furniture for her room and loaned one chair for the class room teacher. She also insisted that her bed was wide and she 'only needed a little space,' so she could take two students into her bed, and for a short time the three smallest persons used that bed. However, more furniture was being sent in almost daily, and while hardly two pieces in a room were related, they were thankfully used, and we were a happy family. I have been truly loving Mrs. Donnelley all these years. God gave great women to that work of starting things and they are being followed by good women. God bless all the efforts to advance B. M. T. S. and our W. A. B. H. M. Society, all dear to JENNIE L. PECK -1881 'iff I shall always have a warm place in my heart for the Training School and in memory of the many friendships formed, and happy days spent there, I have endowed a room in the school which bears my name. My recollection is that the first class numbered seventeen returned mis- sionaries, who came from near and far. Their fields included work among Swedes, Germans, Indians, and the coloredpeople of the South. The school was conducted in a three-story dwelling house at 2338 Michigan Avenue with 38

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---1 THE BEAcoN l--1 When I feel myself being caught in the whirl of city life where there is too little of normal balance, I check myself up with that life at the Training School, where there is a sane balanced living of the abundant lifeg where study, play, household tasks, service for others and spiritual development are moulded to- gether into Christ-centered lives. Be mine to serve as a worthy representative of this great school and its Master, Jesus Christ. r LOUISE MUNDT -- 1930 STUDENT GOVERNMENT You should come with me to a meeting some time, Molly, said Mr. Grey- mouse. Those girls are too amusing. Last Monday in their regular monthly meeting I sat in the corner listening, and I'l1 swan, I never was in such a live business meeting. Why, it was over in just a little more than an hour, and the things they discussed! They talked about something called a Seminary party, and seemed to be very interested. One of the young ladies moved that they buy drop cords for their pressing rooms and the motion was carried unanimously: you might even say joyously. Oh, and I must tell you, the president mentioned something about keeping food in the kitchenettes covered. I was rather put out about that and moved from my corner just a trifle, and as I stretched a bit, a motherly maiden sitting in the back row saw me, dropped her darning and jumped up onto her chair with both feet. I decided to leave. Well, well, they do have nice meetings, don't they? I've been to several student council meetings and they are iine, too. There is no criticism there, just discussion and trying to solve the problems that come up, squeaked Molly Mouse. I went to a Faculty-Student Council meeting one Saturday night, she continued. It certainly is line, isn't it, that the Faculty and Students meet together in this way so they can find out how better to cooperate and make an even friendlier spirit between the faculty and students? Yes, sir, said Mr, Greymouse, emphatically. I certainly wouldn't leave this school. Why there is never any squibbling or squabbling: they laugh and sing and are always helping each other. They consider each other's feelings, too. Why every night except Eriday and Sunday their lights are out at ten and they are as quiet as can be! Yes, I know, said Molly, they certainly are splendid girls. I heard one say one time something about 'seeking not his own but each other's good' and I am sure that is the principle on which they live. Yes, ma'm, I agree with you, declared Mr. Greymouse. Come on, let's see if there are any crackers in the kitchenette, called Molly. and she scampered off down the corridor! S F. . 40