Concordia College - Spire / Concordian Yearbook (Fort Wayne, IN)

Page 12 text:

The year 1850 was important in the history of the college for two other reasons. It was in this year that the college became the property of the Missouri Synod, which had been organ- ized in 1847. It was in this year also that the college finally got a name. The eleven-year old was now formally known as Concordia College. Trinity congregation in St. Louis and the Alten- burg congregation had drawn up some terms on which they were willing to turn the college over Toate 2 ae basa t. ve a “Giant oaks from little acorns grow”’ The log cabin college, Altenburg, Mo. to the newly organized Synod. On af these conditions was that the college must serve the Mis- souri Synod forever and must train only ministers and teachers. Later, it was agreed that anyone who wished to prepare for any other vocation might be admit- ted as long as the original pur- pose was dominant, the training of young men for the public ministry of preaching and teach- ing. Another stipulation was that the German language should al- ways remain the medium of in- struction except in certain semi- nary subjects which could be taught by the medium of Latin. Future genrations played havoc with some of these conditions. A peculiar development took place very shortly. The en- rollment for the early fifties showed a number of non-mini- sterial students. Concordia Col- lege, in other words, was attracting many stu- dents interested in a general education only, including even non-Lutherans. The officials is- sued a warning that Concordia must curtail its enrollment of non-ministerials, lest if lose sight of its original purpose. Names of the class rolls reveal many English students, who spoke only English and whose names were, therefore, printed in smaller type than the names of the German ministerial students. Demands for additional housing facilities resulted in a second building, completed in 1852. This structure was a coun- terpart of the first and so con- structed that eventually the area between the two could be added. The purchasing power of money in those days was rela- tively high. Students paid $1.25 per week for board or $4.00 per month, a special bargain price. Students’ fees for non-ministerials were $6.00 for the lower classes and $8.00 for the upper classes. Examinations were open to the public. Summer vacations were short, from about the end of July to the beginning of September. Christmas and Easter recesses lasted two weeks each. “Candy, classics, and customers’”’ Scene in the old college bookstore.

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| | | | The first building at St. Louis, Mo., 1850. The first students were a motley group of boys and girls that cannot be classified in accordance with any system of grading. The oldest was a little over fourteen years and the youngest scarcely five. The total number of pupils at some time or another dur- ing the first schoolyear was ten, seven boys and three girls. It has been argued that this was not co- education in our present sense. Whatever the situa- tion may have been, the fact remains that three girls were enrolled and attended classes just like the rest. All of these girls became wives of ministers and thus exerted a great influence on our early synodical his- tory. Much could be said about the life in the early years and about the subjects offered for study. There were no dormi- tories; all students lived at home or boarded out with some relatives or members of the Altenburg congregation. There was no student life in our modern sense whatsoever. One by one, as calls came in for them, the founders left the school to enter the holy ministry throughout the coun- try. The last one to leave did so in 1843. Here then, there was a school and no teachers. The man chosen by God who saved the school from utter extinction and who carried it through on wings of prayer was the Rev. Gotthold Loeber, pastor of the Al- tenburg congregation. He was aided by the members of Trinity Church in St. Louis. Moving was the next order of events when the college said fare-thee-well to Altenburg and occupied new quarters at St. Louis. The poor foundling was now housed in comparatively luxurious quarters. Cinderella had become a fairy princess! The official transfer was not accomplished with ease. There were bitter words, both pro and con, and for the Altenburg people there were tender ties of affection. Nevertheless, the new seminary and college building at St. Louis was dedicated with great promp and splendor on June 11, 1850, with three speeches (one in Latin—and for whom?) and a grand processional consisting of an orchestra, several choirs, and local organizations. ‘‘The Knights of the Cross’’ (Kreuzritter), with a red cross emblazoned over their hearts, were a special attraction. These knights were a group of young people organized for the purpose of helping the students. St. Louis, Mo., as it later sprouted new buildings.

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In 1855, the seminary and the college departments were separated, and Prof. Adolf Biewend was installed as director of the college division. He thus became the first ‘“‘president’’ of Concordia College. Installed with him was Rector George Schick, who taught at Concordia College until 1914, and thus became the ‘‘grand old man”’ of whom the alumni speak so much. The Wines home. The Concordia College Campus in 1861. There were no annual graduatian ex- ercises while the college was in St. Louis. Due to the urgent need of ministers, the candidates were released as they completed the prescribed courses. The largest group, consisting of ten, was released in 1860. Moving day! Rol- lers, long boards, and a team of horses bring the college from Dresden to Altenburg, Mo. In 1861, Concordia College was twenty-one years old, and once more it was moving time! After spirited arguments, the Syno- dical Convention of 1860 finally passed the mo- mentous resolution. Dr. Wilhelm Sihler of St. Paul’s Church in Fort Wayne, issued a 39 page pamphlet listing all points favorable to the move. Thus, Concordia College was officially transferred from St. Louis to Fort Wayne, and the entire Concordia family was moved, including the faculty and the student body. In September of 1861, the seventy-eight stu- dents assembled in St. Louis were brought to Fort Wayne on a special coach of the Wa- bash Railroad. August Crull, president of the student body and later German professor for many years was in charge as Primus Omnium. The train left St. Louis at noon and ar- rived in Fort Wayne on the evening of the following day. What a trip! The boys had more fun than a barrel of mon- keys. Once in Fort Wayne, the students were limbered up by being marched over the dusty roads to the college grounds for some real eating and much needed scrubbing down.