Bloomsburg University - Obiter Yearbook (Bloomsburg, PA)

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One Hundred Years of Building RIoonisburt, ' State- Teachers College today is the product of Diie iiundred ) ' ears of building ' — one hundred years iif i rowth in a changing ' civilizaliim. The history of the school is a record cil the achievements f)f the men and wunKii h(i throughdut the IIi; i-:i£i:m I , .r ' . i,i,i:u ears have served in the various capacities of trustees, [Principals, and teachers. The editors wish to present here a general de- lineation of tlie college hislor through a record of the builders and their contriliu- tions. The Reverend 1). j. Waller, pastor of the I ' resbyterian C ' hurcli of Pdoomsburg. in 1839 laid the foundalicju of the colk-ge when he brought his brother, C. I ' . Waller, a graduate of Williams College, to lUooms- burg to fsfalilish a private academy. . t tlial time the general condition of tlu- pub- lic schools was unsatisfactor) ' , and there was a great need for i.|ualihed teachers. .Mr. C. i ' . W.-dler capably tilled the difhcult ]iosition of chief executive and head in- structor for two years, but was then called away. bor several v ' ears afterward, be- cause of the lack of teachers, the academy existed only during the summer months as a subscri])tion school. In 18.S6 Reveren l Waller w. ' is respon- sible for the second step forward when he organized a board of trustees, made up of the outstanding citizens of the town, who drafted a charter providing that the school be known as the Bloomsburg Literary In- stitute which had as its expressed purpose the promotion of education both in the ordinary and higher branches of English literature and science, and in the ancient and modern languages . This board of civic-minded men were de stined to become chiefly a committee of ways and means be- cause the period from 1856 to 1871 was the most critical one for the institution — teachers who jjossessed executive ability were not readily found, and the disciplinary problems connected with the older pupils discouraged those who ventured to teach them. f)ne of the principals, a valedic- torian of the C ' olle.ge of New Jersey, now Princeton Cniversity, had been turned head down by a student, and his watch had been ground under the heel of his as- sailant into the school room floor. In 1866 Henry Carver, of Binghamton, N. Y.. was made head of the school, and, luc to his dvnamic i:)ersonalit ' , executive I ' Ifiil ' -. IlKMO CAU KR , ' iud disciplinary ability, the school under- went a great change and enierged with a practicable program of studies, a well-di- 10

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SU i ' Carver Hall— 1869 «» ' « ' »S»iMh««» 5S3;

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reeled personiifl, and a well-ilisi-iplincil student body. The first faculty was composed of the following : Henry Carver, professor of civil engi- neering, intellectual and mural phi- losophy. Sara A. Carver, iirece]itress, teacher of French, Injtany, and (irn. ' innnlal branches. Isaac O. Best, A. 15., professor of ancient languages. Martin D. Kneeland, teacher of mathe- matics and English branches. Alice M. Carver, teacher of music. Jennie Rrice. head of the prim;ir de- partment. The program of studies was as follows: Scientihc, Classical, and Commercial. In 1866, at the insistence of Mr. L ar (.r the trustees drew up plans for the con- struction of a new building, ;m(l the pres- ent location was decided on. In order that the school might ofliciall)- be transferred from the old academy building to the new Literary Institute building, all the ])eople connected with the school marched from the old building to the new on the day of tlie d.edication, exactly eight months after the site had been determined. This build- ing, which is now Carver Hall, was lirst opened April 4, 1867. During the spring vacation of the follow- ing year, three students of the graduating class, George E. Elwell, Charles Unangst. and D. J. Waller, Jr., upon their own ini- tiative, raised enough money to bn . ' i $1,200 bell for the tower of the main build- ing. Throughout the years this bell has become an important part of the institution and after many years of silence was again lung b)- Dr. Waller in 1938 on Alumni Day t(j call all the members to the meeting. The first year in the new building was not completed until a change in the char- acter of the school was brought about through the efforts of the Hon. James P. Wickersham, State .Superintendent of Common Schools. He proposed to the trustees that additional buildings should be erected and the Institute be converted into a State Normal School. In order that the In;. ] . .1, W Ai.i.KK. .Ik. views of all might be considered, a public meeting was held in the court house, April 18, 1868, and the trustees were given the power to take the necessTry ste])S t i en- title the Bloomsburg Literary Institute to recognition as a I ' tate Normal School with all the privileges and immunities enjoyed b - nther institut ' ons of like clnaracter in this comn-onwcahh . J||«|; ' :f i i ¥a ' ' ai K 4 ( ' AnvBii H. i,i, — isr n 11