Concordia College - Corona Borealis Yearbook (Edmonton, Alberta Canada)

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Dedication, January 10, 1926 Then came the day of days - January 10, 1926 - the day on which our first Concordia in Canada was dedicated to the service of the Triune God. The weather had hitherto been un¬ usually favorable for building operations. Would it hold? Saturday night it began to rain, and on this basis it was safe to predict - in an Alberta January - snow and sub-zero temperature for the following day. But on Sunday morning the sun arose in all its splendor and in a cloud¬ less sky graciously smiled on us till dusk. Forty-three above zero was the maximum for the day, one that the Lord had made. Since the chapel provided for only 200 people, accommodation was found for more than 800 other guests in all available rooms of both the Administration Building and the boys ' dormi¬ tory. Here the visitors were amazed to find a public address system - quite a novelty for those days. Joy was added to the dedication by the presence of some seventy pastors and several teachers of the four western provinces, who held a pastoral conference in the college from Thursday to Monday. On the following night pastors and students assembled in the chapel for an academic celebration in which (according to an old custom in Synod) only the Latin language was used for the address as well as for the hymns and prayers. Prof. W. A. Baepler had chosen as his theme, The Importance of a Knowledge of Classical Languages for a Minister of the Gospel. Whether all those present understood the professor ' s address need not be dis¬ cussed here! The total cost of our new college plant, including real estate and some remodeling, was $146,873. Concordia was now 5 years old, and during these years our gracious God had been kind to us. This was the Lord ' s doing; it was marvellous in our eyes! New Residences and the Tax Case in 1930 In 1929 a building committee composed of Rev. E. Eberhardt, Prof. M. W. Riedel, and Mr. John Armbruster, authorized by Synod ' s Board of Directors, began to plan new resi¬ dences for our teachers, who has till now lived in rented homes. Preparatory to the construction of these homes, arrangements were made with the city land department to exchange, on even terms, the eleven lots at the north end of our property (along 112th Avenue) for eleven more serviceable lots along Ada Boulevard, across Seventy-first Street. That was a profitable trade for both parties. Our lots, which in those days were worth some $200 to $500 each, are valued today at many thousands of dollars. The Edmonton Charter exempted the following lands from municipal and school taxes: The land not exceeding four acres of and attached to or otherwise bona-fide used in con¬ nection with and for the purpose of any university, college, high school, public or separate school, seminary of learning or hospital owned by a corporation .... so long as such land is actually used and occupied by such institution but not if otherwise occupied. Before proceeding with any plans for new residences, Mr. Hy. Horst and our Board were determined to find out whether our residences would be exempt from taxation. In other words: are teachers ' residences considered to be buildings used in connection with and for the use of colleges and therefore exempt? In a written communication the city assessor said that they would be. (Cp. Yearbook 1946, p. 13)

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We completed our stay in rented quarters on December 23, 1925. A short thanksgiving service was held in the old administration building, where we had spent four years and two months and where a total of 126 had been enrolled. A class of 13 was graduated from the high school department on June 29, 1925; at which occasion Jacob L. Ulmer delivered the salutatory and Albert F. Reiner the valedictory. Of their number Walter Rosnau, later a River Forest graduate, was the first to enter the service of our church as Christian day school teacher in Stony Plain (1927) and Philip Unterschultz became the first graduate pastor, at Rochester, Alberta (1930). Of our first students (1921) 12 entered the ministry or teaching profession, and 8 are still active in the church today. Plans for New Buildings, 1924 When in 1920 the Synod at Detroit resolved to establish a college in western Canada and empowered its Board of Directors to select the location, it also appropriated $50, 000 for a building, exclusive of $22, 000, which the churches in Canada had promised to gather for the purchase of real estate. But these plans were delayed. For many years our members in Saskatchewan and Manitoba had taken a keen interest in the founding of a college. Convinced that a college would serve the church more adequately in Saskatchewan, these brethren addressed a petition to the Synod at Ft. Wayne, Indiana, in 1923, that the institution be moved from Edmonton to Saskatoon. The Synod referred the matter to its Board of Directors for adjudication. The Board made its final decision on September 10, 1924 - in favor of Edmonton. President Dr. F. Pfotenhauer and Mr. Henry Horst arrived in Edmonton on November 20, 1924, to advise the local Board of Control in building matters. (Mr. Horst was a con¬ tractor who at one time built a sub-division, complete with utilities and 460 well-appointed homes, in 117 days; and later the Philadelphia subway. ) As soon as they had left the train, they were taken to about a dozen sites. Without doubt the most beautiful property they saw that day was Summit Point at the McKinnon Ravine near 98th Avenue and 142nd Street. This would have been a magnificent location for the college. But it was several miles from the nearest utilities, more miles from St. Peter ' s church, and without transportation facilities. So the Board agreed to buy another excellent property, the Fraser estate (together with several lots owned by the city) covering in area 9. 11 acres, at the cost of $13, 800. This price included mineral rights, ownership of which prevented coal companies from mining underneath the property. Situated on Ada Boulevard and Seventy-first Street, this location is reputedly one of the finest in the city. It lies high above the beautiful valley of the North Saskatchewan River, borders the scenic Highlands golf course, and adjoins the Exhibition Grounds and Borden Park. At present the city is planning to build a bridge across the river several blocks east. Several smaller buildings were included in the purchase and also a large eight-room house said to have been erected in 1908. This was remodelled at a cost of $1939 and served from August 28, 1925 to December 1957 as the home of the president. It was situated immedi¬ ately south of the present Guild Hall. In 1948, 1. 86 acres of land on the west side of our property was bought at a cost of $5580. Laying of Cornerstone, July 5, 1925 After the Board had chosen the well-known architectural firm of G. H. MacDonald and H. A. Magoon to take charge of building operations, the beginning was made May 20, 1925. In a bi-lingual (German and English) service led by Pastor John C. Mueller, the ground was broken by the president of the college. For the cornerstone laying on July 5, 1925, also the pastors and lay delegates of the Alberta-British Columbia District were present. From their convention at Stony Plain they, together with fellow Lutherans, were conveyed the 25 miles to Edmonton and return by special train. A copper receptacle in the cornerstone contains the following: English Bible, German Bible, Book of Concord, English-German Catechism, June 1925 copy of our church papers, Catalog of Synod ' s Educational Institutions, Synodical Reports of the Missouri Synod, the Manitoba-Saskatchewan District, and the Alberta-British Columbia District, from 1920-24, containing chief dates and resolutions in the development of Concordia College, Statistical Yearbook, Lutheran Annual, Rules and Regulations governing students. History and Con¬ stitution of the Missouri Synod, pictures of old college buildings used as temporary quarters from 1921-25, The British North America Act 1867, The Alberta Act, The Edmonton Charter, Booklet Edmonton 1877 - 1920, map of Edmonton, copy of The Edmonton Journal, greetings from Mayor K. Blatchford, and the Order of Service for the Cornerstone Laying.

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It came, therefore, as a rude shock in 1930 when, after the residences had been completed, our Board received notice from this same assessor that these houses had been placed on the list of taxable property. Our complaints and arguments resulted in the decision of the city ' s legal department to place the matter before the Supreme Court of Alberta in the form of a test case. The trial judge decided in our favor; we won. The city appealed to the Appellate Division of Alberta; we lost. We submitted the case to the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa, where on February 6, 1934, we lost, three judges against us and two in our favor. Since then our residences have been taxable. FACULTY ROW: The four professors ' residences are shown to the right. On the left is the president ' s home. Co-education Introduced in 1925 On August 11, 1925, our Board was confronted with the request to enroll a Lutheran girl who wanted to become a Christian day school teacher. The request was granted. This action was sanctioned by Synod in 1926 with the resolution to approve the work which is now carried on, and the continuation thereof ... That Synod permit also the institution in Edmonton to enroll girls in the same way for the purpose of educating them as teachers for our parish schools, but that also in this case the number of female students must not exceed 20% of the total enrollment. Proceedings 1926, 76. 77) The girls found lodging in the homes of our teachers from 1925-28. Two old houses, bought with the property in 1924, were then joined, west of the administration building, and converted by our teachers into a girls ' dormitory. The girls lived here from 1928-31. Miss Melanie Lange of Claresholm, Alberta, served as matron from 1928-30. When the co-ed enrollment had dropped from 12 to only 4, in 1930, Mrs. Schwermann took over the supervision. It had become evident that girls preparing for the teaching profession did not receive adequate training in a school in which the curriculum had been designed for ministerial students only; and a limited staff did not permit the introduction of a number of courses re¬ quired as prerequisite for normal training. Co-education was dropped in 1931. More Co-eds in 1941 After the introduction of the provincial high school courses, co-eds enrolled again. Five appeared in the fall of 1941; and then their number grew to 13 in 1942, 15 in ' 43, 22 in ' 44, and 28 in ' 45. They received their meals in the college dining room and lodging in homes near the college. During the year 1945-46 eighteen had residence in the homes of our pro¬ fessors, where they paid $7. 50 per month for room rent.