Bluffton University - Ista Yearbook (Bluffton, OH)

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that he would enter in the fall word wa .ent from various directions to the office saying, My daughter will . at return to school. The college was small and students were needed. Nevertheless, John Sloan entered, and the daughters of men came back. But the most vital issue the college had to face during its forma- tive period was that of the religious thought. The people at home could not understand why college should cause a conflict and adjust- ment in thinking of the young people who attended. The fact was overlooked that there were honest, earnest souls just as anxious to know the truth as any of their forefathers. About the year 1908 the college again faced a financial crisis. It became increasingly clear that if the institution was to endure, an adequate endowment should be created. A considerable portion of the Mennonite constituency was still not in sympathy with the management and did not support the school. Under these conditions President Hirschy resigned. In the year 1910 Dr. S. K. Mosiman, who had been teaching Old Testament languages and philosophy, was called upon to become the leader of the college and to strive to create a new loyalty. Building upon the foundations which were there he has continued to enlarge the school and put it on a sound basis, religiously, financially and educationally. The endowment has grown from the ten thousand dollars of 1908 until in 1930 with the aid of a financing company, the faculty, stu- dents and friends of the college all pulling together have succeeded in raising more than the five hundred thousand dollars required for state recognition. Educationally the school has triumphed by its election in this year to the Ohio Association of Colleges, placing it on an equal basis with any teacher training institution in the state. The next step taken will be application for membership in the North Central Association. Strong Christian associations on the campus show that we have grown and are growing religiously as well. Instead of the one building of 1900 there are now two fine dormi- tories, a science hall, and a gymnasium, and the year 1930 has seen the addition of another gem of architecture, the new Musselman library. This building is the gift of Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Musselman. Truly, the year 1930 has witnessed the passing of another crisis in the school's life and it may continue to expand and grow. To those who have made all this progress possible, we who now reap its benefits gratefully dedicate this book. If we of the present student generation have had a little part in helping along we are more than repaid, and more than ever we feel our responsibility to make good and live up to the ideals of the school, that we may carry far and wide the benefits of her progress.

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Thirty Y- ,zrs of Progress Few know the real story of the thirty years of hoping, of work- ing, of the faithfulness and perseverance of those who have made this institution possible. Little do we, who enjoy its benefits now realize the cost with which every step was made. On June 19, 1900, the corner -:tone of the first building was laid, and in a few months the building was erected, but the far more difficult task of building the college was yet to be accomplished. The opening address by President Hirschy contained the principles upon which the foundations of a college could be built. It behooves us to lay foundations firm and broad so that the super-structure may have a strong support. Thoroughness should be written over every classroom door, and characterize every teacher and every student. We must learn to come face to face with truth, fearlessly to embrace it, and resolutely to live it every day. The opening exercise found eighteen students registered for regular academic work. Here was a college with one beautiful build- ing, in the midst of a natural grove, a conference of churches and a board of trustees backing it, and funds subscribed for five years maintenance. Then followed a long period of educational and religious conflict and financial struggles. In the very nature of things a college is the doorway by which young people enter into the world of affairs, and the time for projecting ones self into the world had not yet found general recognition among the Mennonites. The one principle of pacifism was expressed not with the idea of convincing the world of its value, but rather to hold fast to that for which their fathers died in the days of religious persecution. Finances from the beginning were small for the work under- taken, but large for the small constituency. At the close of the eighth year the endowment had reached ten thousand dollars. The first gift received toward the endowment was fr no Mary Herschler of Ashland, Ohio, and the amount was five thousand two hundred dollars. The number of books in the library was then increased to eight hundred and two. An interesting incident was brought about when during the summer of 1905 the students of a neighboring normal school rose up in rebellion demanding the exclusion of all colored students. News reached Bluffton at the same time that John P. Sloan, son of a Kentucky slave, was denied a fair chance in a neighboring high school. In spite of the feeling created by the aforesaid Normal school the young man was invited to attend Bluffton. When the news came out

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Q Autumn leaves in allfftheir glory glow I Then sink forgotten, neath the winter snow.