Eastern Illinois University - Warbler Yearbook (Charleston, IL)

Page 13 text:

in it of ld and oung people say tahre for tire, and ahron for iron. The old people hold on to these habits, but the younger generation has lost many of them. Charleston is a city of old people and college people. They contrast in many waysg they live together in most of the large, old homes on FF' .KT My Sixth Street, which are rooming houses for students, owned by old people. The old are rooted in this area, close to the climate and the soil. The young are mobile, adapted to changes in living habits and technology. The population of the City has changed materially. The University has become its major industry and brought in new residents. Many of these people are true cosmopoli- tans: they complement the Mid- western traditionalists, who have the conservative, solid values of a rural people. The old and the young, the spirit of change in a peaceful setting- these are a part of Eastern.

Page 12 text:

astern efleets Midwestern haraeter :i f ,.. r 'S East Central Illinois is the edge of the prairie, Eastern reflects the influence of its farm environment. But today the farmer lives in an industrial world: fewer but larger, more mechanized farms operate in Coles County, local villages are bedrooms for more industrialized towns--Mattoon, Charleston, Tus- colag retiring farmers settle in town, their offspring move to cities. Technology created problems and opened new fields here: auto- mation slowly reduced farm em- ployment, but brought new in- dustry. How to adapt people? They must be trained. Eastern will play a part in this. Industrial skills must follow newly acquired industrial habits. The automobile, radio, television tie farm and small town to dy- namic urban culturesg aspects of stable country life are disappear- ing, urban materialism is growing. Some rural characteristics re- main: smoky pool halls flourish on the Square, strangers exchange friendly greetings in the street,

Page 14 text:

utsidersw lay arge Role at astern Eastern once was a college which served the East Central Illinois area almost exclusively. Now it draws a large proportion of its students from the indus- trial areas of Chicago and East St. Louis. In 1957, for example, students from the Chicago area made up four per cent of Eastern's populationg today they comprise ten per cent of the student body. Madison County, the East St. Louis area, is now tenth largest contributor of students. EIU also draws many people from distant states and countries. Outsiders,' infuse variety into the rural environ- ment. Chicawgoans bring new inventions called seandwiches, plus a vigorous pace of livingg a girl in flowing oriental dress pounds a typewriterg return- ing students swamp the Mattoon train station. Intel- lectual diversity becomes a reality at Eastern.