East Stroudsburg University - Stroud Yearbook (East Stroudsburg, PA)

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FIRST FACULTY 2. They reported that the building itself would not meet the state requirements in that the assembly room was not large enough, and there was no provision for the location of water closets, drainage, kitchen, method of heating, etc. There were also no plans for a model school, which was one of the first requirements of the Normal School Law. 3. The materials used for the construction were the poorest that the committee had ever seen. 4. The roof was too large, and it was feared that under the wind pressure it would not hold upfl The committee then apologized for having to make such an adverse report, but, WThe facts were such that we could not conscientiously do other' wisefl The fact that the buildings are still stand' ing shows that the committee was mistaken in its report. It is interesting to note that the rocks used for the foundation of the building were taken from the farms of Phillip Peters and Brown 'Smith on Franklin Hill, which are in the near vicinity. One of the points brought out by the local men in reply to the report of the Scranton committee was that In Stroudsburg, the State Normal School is away from the smoke of a smoky City, away from the vice and immorality and will prove a quietelnook: to students who come to study? It was announced in October that the buildings would be finished in December in spite of the opposition in Scranton. A bill was then introduced by a Scranton representative in the

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EARLY BICYCLISTS ON FRONT CAMPUS be known as Normal Avenue fifty feet wide, North seventy three degrees East, ten hundred and one feet to a stone, thence North seventy three degrees East, sixty two feet eight inches to a stone; then along a proposed street to be known as Ridgeway Avenue South seventy four degrees West, twelve hundred and thirty one feet to place of beginning covering eleven 51 acres. Workwas begun on the buildings in 1892, and on July 4th of that year the cornerstone was laid. According to the original charter the school was to be built in the Fourth Normal School District of Pennsylvania. Since Scranton is also located in the Fourth District, 8. group of Scrantonians de sired to have the school in that city. Much rivalry was shown between the two sections, and a com, mittee from Scranton was invited to East Strouds' burg to View the progress made in the erection of the buildings. The committee was headed by Mayor Fellows and other high ofhcials of Scran' ton. Upon returning to Scranton the committee gave a report of the visit at a meeting which was attended by interested people, including Lieu; tenant Governor Watres. Several items from the report were : b1. The location of the school was a fair one, but there was swampy land on each side of the site chosen and it was felt that more favorable grounds could have been found in Scranton. .. M 'HIW. Jrs-idb 'x? a

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state legislature to divide the Fourth Normal School District to provide for a school in Saran! ton. Seeley Rosenkrans, a local businessman, went to Harrisburg to look after local interest. There was much anxiety felt by the people of East Stroudsburg as to whether or not the school would be accepted by the state. The final victory came on March 22, 1893, when the buildings were accepted. The trustees were elected with Seeley Rosen' krans as president of the Board. The report on the costs of the buildings of the Normal School was given at this meeting. The estimated cost for the buildings was $100,000. To this sum was added a state appropriation of $35,000. The Board of Trustees then started making arrangements for the opening of the school. The first question was the securing of a principal. George P. Bible, principal of Indiana State Normal School, was elected principal of the East Stroudsburg State Normal School on May 26, 1893. The faculty was chosen in June, among them being E. L. Kemp, who was then principal of Palitinate College of Meyerstown. The night of the meeting at which the faculty was to be selected, several trustees called at the home of the president of the Board to help carry the apr plications, credentials, and photographs of those who were seeking positions as teachers in the Normal School. These applications were so numer' ous that they were carried to the meeting in market baskets. For weeks before this election of DOMESTIC SCIENCE CLASS