High-resolution, full color images available online
Search, browse, read, and print yearbook pages
View college, high school, and military yearbooks
Browse our digital annual library spanning centuries
Support the schools in our program by subscribing
Privacy, as we do not track users or sell information
Page 7 text:
“
TABLE OF CONTENTS Bethel History 4 Fall Festival 10 Students 20 Fine Arts 58 Student Life 76 Sports 96 Clubs Organizations 114 1893-94 ALL SCHOOL PICTURE
”
Page 8 text:
“
THE FOUNDING OF BETHEL COLLEGE By Darrel Knoll The need for higher learning among the Mennonites of Kansas who immigrated to the United States in 1874 led to the chartering of Bethel College on May 23, 1887. Bethel College was the third school set up by the Kansas Mennonites pre- ceeded by the Emmental school in 1882, which moved to Halstead in 1 883, and be- came the Halstead Seminary. Both schools were efforts at better education, but did not quite meet the needs of the students. The result was the founding of a college which was to operate side by side with the Halstead Seminary whose purpose would be to prepare students for college. The Mennonites soon realized, however, that keeping both schools was too costly, so Halstead was closed and the task of educa- tion was left to Bethel College which opened its doors at Newton on September 20, 1893. In order to fully understand the faith and hope that was instrumental in found- ing a college, it is important to have some understanding of the hardships encoun- tered by the Mennonites. The branch of Mennonites who immagrated to Kansas were mostly from Russia but were not Rus- sian. Their original home was Holland, but they had left under severe persecution for Prussia. In Prussia (later Germany) their sit- uation improved, but they were not al- The Halstead Seminary was incorporated on May 5, 1883 and remained in session until 1893 when Bethel opened its doors. The school offered liberal-arts training, and the subjects were taught in both German and English. In the above picture, the students and teachers of the seminary are show n. They were: (seated in foreground) H.H. Ewert and Samuel Burkholder. (Front row left to right) David Toews, W.J. Magaw, C.E, Krehbiel, Ben Ewert, Japhet Amstutz, Simon Burchy, F.N. Funk, J.H. Eigsti, |oel Sprunger, H.E. Bergtholdt, P.J. Wedel, Gerhard Baergen, Cornelius Wall, William Wiegand, Margaretha Andres, and Margaretha Regier. lowed to h ave their own schools and could not worship freely. In 1786, however, Catherine the Great of Russia invited them to settle in the Ukraine of Russia, and of- fered them a better life than they had expe- rienced anywhere. Each family was promised a tract of land, and they were al- lowed to maintain their own schools and churches, to have local government, to keep their native language, originally Dutch but by now German, and to be ex- empted from military service. ' It was here that the need for education began to be realized. The 1870s, however, brought bad news to the Russian Mennonites. The Rus- sian government decided to Russianize all German immigrants who had entered Rus- sia under the offers of the previous monarchs. As a result, many Mennonites chose to move because the changes would not allow them to practice pacifism. In 1872, a committee visited Kansas, and by 1874, the Santa Fe Railroad was bringing Mennonites to Kansas. Within three years, plans for education were being made in or- der to help them integrate into the Ameri- can society. The first official Mennonite school of Kansas began in 1882, but dunng its first year, it was found that it was too small and not adequately prepared. Thus, plans were made for the Halstead Seminary. The Hal- stead College Association, with Bernard Warkentin as president and David Goerz as secretary was incorporated on May 5, 1883. It was dedicated later in the same year on September 16, 1883 and was opened for use. The purpose of the school was to prepare teachers for common schools, for college entrance, and to offer a liberal-arts training. The courses were out- lined for the students and were taught in both English and German. The seminary, however, faced many problems such as at- tendence fluctuation, a shortage of money, a shortage of proper facilities, and a short- age of teachers. In 1 887, a movement was begun which was to meet the needs of not only the local church but the entire Menonite church of North America. It was decided by the Kansas Conference to close
Are you trying to find old school friends, old classmates, fellow servicemen or shipmates? Do you want to see past girlfriends or boyfriends? Relive homecoming, prom, graduation, and other moments on campus captured in yearbook pictures. Revisit your fraternity or sorority and see familiar places. See members of old school clubs and relive old times. Start your search today!
Looking for old family members and relatives? Do you want to find pictures of parents or grandparents when they were in school? Want to find out what hairstyle was popular in the 1920s? E-Yearbook.com has a wealth of genealogy information spanning over a century for many schools with full text search. Use our online Genealogy Resource to uncover history quickly!
Are you planning a reunion and need assistance? E-Yearbook.com can help you with scanning and providing access to yearbook images for promotional materials and activities. We can provide you with an electronic version of your yearbook that can assist you with reunion planning. E-Yearbook.com will also publish the yearbook images online for people to share and enjoy.
