Florida Southern College - Interlachen Yearbook (Lakeland, FL)

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HISTORY OF boutkzin (-oLLscje BY HARRIS G. SIMS

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• •••■• ■- T FOREWORD HIS BOOK seeks to sum up the activities and services of Southern College during its fifty years of existence. Like all worthwhile institutions. Southern has passed through many perils . . . perils of freeze, fire and flood. So great were the dangers at times that many despaired of its future. The very foundations of the school seemed to be undermined. But 1935 finds our Alma Mater larger and doing more effective work than at any time during its entire history. With its thousands of alumni and other friends, it will find a larger place for itself in the life of our nation and in the on-going of God ' s Kingdom. Southern College and the Florida Methodist Conference are especially indebted to Professor Harris G. Sims for the comprehensive history of Southern which appears between these covers. He is peculiarly fitted to write about Southern. Within its walls, he received part of his education, and here he has served for the past seven years as a successful teacher and writer. Mr. Lionel Nelson, one of our most outstanding students, and his able staff are to be congratulated on the splendid work found in The Interlachen division of this book. I am profoundly grateful to all those who have helped to make this Story of Southern College a reality. LuDD M. Spivey, President ♦•♦

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THE EARLY YEARS r KE MOST INSTITUTIONS of higher learning, Southern College was born of the church. Like many church colleges, it has had a stormy struggle for existence. These adversities seem- ingly have strengthened its sinews and gradually enlarged its scope of service. There have been many dark moments, but there have always been friends with sufficient fortitude and faith to carry on against those heavy odds, preserving a small school for a big task. Whoever reads these pages undoubtedly will be amazed to observe the numerous financial difficul- ties through which Southern has passed. Many times loyal but discouraged souls have thought they had reached the end, that the closing of the school was inescapable, but something has alwavs happened to avert such a disaster. It is an inspiring thing to think of the courageous and faithful men and women who have made it possible to continue through these years. They have worked hard, sacrificed much and reaped a generous reward, the reward of seeing many worthy young people educated in a proper environment. Members of the board of trustees, holding one of their manv meetings back in the early years of the institution ' s history, sat in session throughout one afternoon without finishing their business, and voted to hold a night session. Thev grappled with their problems throughout the night. When dawn came, they were weary in body, but they doubtless felt new in spirit, because they had not forsaken the college which needed their help. The trustees seldom have had to go back to their -•homes and admit defeat. Even when passing prob- lems have gone without solution for the moment, trustees, members of the Florida Methodist Con- ference and friends of Southern everywhere have evinced a splendid optimism. They have always proceeded with a determination to keep the school open and progressing, despite all odds. Therefore, as the celebration of Southern ' s golden anniversary approaches, the people of Florida have cause to be eternally grateful that the past has given the institution so many good friends. Their unswerving support has brought light to many young lives. Their devotion has made possible the sending of balanced young men and women to many communities. The good work these trained personalities have done, and are doing, is of course incalculable. Although Southern has always been under the control of the Florida Methodist Conference, the scope of work done never has been limited by de- nominationalism. Through most of the years the school has been free of doctrinal furor and theo- logical quibbling. Certainly it is free of such now, and has been for many years. People realize more and more that churches have too much evil to oppose to spend their energies fighting one another over matters of secondary importance. The chief aim at Southern has been to train young people for effective living, right living. Baptist students are welcomed to Southern ' s campus. So are the Roman Catholic students, the Presbyterian students and all the others. Southern ' s campus is a democratic campus, a community surprisingly free of class distinction. In brief, Southern is a hearty small college where students are engaged in the common task of seeking the truth, learning how best to live. Such an institution as Southern now is apparently was in the minds of the men and women who made possible its founding half a century ago. There is no evidence that Southern was selfishly established by Methodists for Methodists. There is abundant evidence that it was established by Methodists for everybody. The faculty members represent several denominations, and this has been the case through- out the historv of the school. Before establishing at Leesburg, Florida, the institution now known as Southern College, Meth- odists of Florida made several other noteworthy attempts to found their own educational institu- tion, one of the chief purposes of which would be to provide adequate training for voung men who wished to enter actively into the ministry. TWO EARLY SCHOOLS FOUNDED The Florida Methodist Conference was organized at Tallahassee, February 6, 1845, and the movement for a conference educational institution began almost immediately. In 1853, the conference members had succeeded in establishing two insti- tutions. One of these, known as Fletcher Institute, was located near Thomasville, Georgia, which was then part of the Florida Conference. The other, known as the East Florida Seminary, was located at Micanopv. Fletcher Institute was operated with fair success until it was transferred to the South Georgia Con- ference. This transaction took place at the Live Oak session of the Florida Conference held in December, 1874. The school at Micanopy was watched with in- tense enthusiasm by those pioneers who felt that thev had begun an institution which would be properly supported. They hoped that friends of means would come to the rescue of this small insti- tution and expand it to greater usefulness. Great interest was manifested by members of the confer- ence, but they had no money and could do little more than serve as messengers with a worthy appeal. ■ ■ ■•■