Eastern Nazarene College - Nautilus Yearbook (Quincy, MA)

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The Story of Saltern D [a%arene College Eastern Nazarene College — how often have we heard the faith expressed — is a vine of God ' s planting ; she is becoming a sturdy tree of grain storm-strengthened on a windy site. Hers has been no mushroom growth; every gain has been hard won and made her own. Her story is that of a steady widening of interest, burden, faith and financial support. For years she was kept alive only by the vision and effort of a few persons who recognized her worth and insisted that she should not die; now she belongs to us all, and we are proud to claim her. The name Eastern Nazarene College dates only from 191 8 and the location in Wollaston from 1919; but the Pentecostal Collegiate Institute was organized in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1900. It was cradled in the home of Rev. W. E. Riley, where the project was first discussed, and began its work in a bu ilding on Broadway. Its organization was heartily approved by the Annual Assembly of the Pentecostal Churches of America, and a supervisory Educational Committee was chosen. The first principal was Rev. F. W. Albrecht. Among the first four-year graduates were Rev. E. J. Lord, now Superintendent of the Northwestern District; and Miss Agnes Gardner and Dr. Julia R. Gibson, missionaries to India. In 1902 the institution was removed to the buildings of the famous Lapham Institute in North Scituate, Rhode Island. There, particularly under the far-visioned, godly leadership of Rev. E. E. Angell, who was principal from 1906 to 1914, P. C. I. knew glorious days of spiritual and intellectual growth — still as an accredited academy and a training school for Christian workers. Those were days of sacrifice, prayer, and persistent faith that paved the way for later advance. The equipment was inadequate; the burden rested heavily upon Brother Angell and his devoted faculty; but God was faithful. There the Pentecostal Trade Schools were organized in 1910; district superintendents and missionaries owe their educa- tion to the broom and mop factories. There many leading ministers of the church received their calls to the work and their solid grounding in the doctrines of holiness and Christian living. After the break in health of Brother Angell, Revs. J. C. Bearse, A. R. Archibald and J. E. L. Moore held the leadership for longer or shorter terms. In 1 91 8, incorporated as Eastern Nazarene College under a charter from the State of Rhode Island, and deeded to the four Eastern educational districts of the Church of the Nazarene, the institution offered one year of college work to a class of four students. The following year Eastern Nazarene College, through the influence of its new president, Rev. F. J. Shields, purchased the buildings and equipment of the Quincy Mansion School in Wollaston, Massachusetts, with a beautiful eight-acre campus. Since that time two dormi- tories have been built, an athletic field has been purchased (by the aid of the alumni), and a new gymnasium is being projected. During the presidency of Rev. F. W. Nease the college has known a steady gain in numbers, in educational standing, and in spiritual calibre. Its outstanding events have been revivals that have meant a deepening of spiritual insight and piety. Year by year new courses and instructors have been added, so that since 1922, in addition to Academy and Theological courses, four years of standardized College work have been offered, leading to the degrees of A.B., S.B., or Th.B., graduates being admitted on equal terms to postgraduate study in New England colleges and universities, and making good. Although the college is under the control of the Church of the Nazarene, the students enrolled represent numerous denominations, states and foreign countries. Their dynamic loyalty is demonstrated by the drives for a chapel piano and for a new gymnasium. But the story of these days is being told by The Nautilus. Eastern Nazarene College will live and grow because she is needed. Eastern United States has many larger colleges, but none that offers what she has to give. She stands for the gospel of Christ in experience, for sound Christian ethics, and for a type of education that is equally removed from shoddy superficiality and from godlessness. Page Nineteen