Fort Wayne Bible College - Vine / Light Tower Yearbook (Fort Wayne, IN)

Page 16 text:

Progress is still being made along every line of school life and work. Again the complaint is, Beho1d now, the place , . . is too strait for us. After the death of our beloved President, I. E. Ramseyer, many inquiries and suggestions rela- tive to a memorial were made. It seemed to be generally felt that some appropriate memorial should he undertaken. The General Committee of the Missionary Church Association felt that since many local churches, The Bible Institute, and other friends may wish to share in whatever would be done. it would be in order for such a memorial to be undertaken. A Committee appointed by the General Conference of the Missionary Church Association to draw up plans and solicit funds for this undertaking consists of Mr, S. A. Lehman of Fort Wayne: Mr. N. E. Roth of Grabill, Indiana: Mr. C. H. Muselman ol Berne, Indiana: Mr. F. W. Lagerholm of Chicago, Illinois: Rev. V. O. Harrold of Fort Wayne, Indiana: Rev. Earl Leonard of Peoria, Illinois: Rev. Q. I. Everest of South Bend, Indiana: Rev. Eli Steiner of Bluffton, Ohio: and L. Shirl Hatfield of Pandora. Ohio. To this number, the Committee is authorized to add an additional six names as it may deem wise. The committee has already added the names of Rev. I. A. Ringenberg: Mr. S. S. Gerig, Mr. Marion D. Lochner, Mr. Bert Hollopeter, all of Fort Wayne, and Mr. I. Francis Chase of Chicago, Illi- nois, It has also organized itself and elected the following officers: Mr. S. A. Lehman, Chairman: Rev. I. A. Ringenberg, Secretary: and Mr. S. S. Gerig, Treasurer. Since Daddy Ramseyer was in all things a very practical man and not given to expenditures for mere show, it was felt that the memorial should be in keeping with that principle. There was a

Page 15 text:

, av .- :Q .r . 'lx , t 1 ., -. 1 , , A 'll' tl ut 3 'li -1 . . .. ' The an services were from its earliest years a regular part ofthe school lite. The Quiet Hours also had their beginning with the school. These features have not changed. The growth ot the school made necessary other changes, however. ln addition to the regular Bible course a Bible-Music course was soon introduced. Several years later the Mission Band commenced the support of Rev, Clayton D. Steiner, a Bible Institute grad- uate laboring in Peru, South America. The steady increase in the number of students also made necessary an expansion of facilities. In 1929 an addition was proposed that would contain dormi- tory rooms and classrooms. In 1931 this building,BET1-IANY HALL, was completed at a cost of SBU,- 000 and was dedicated to the Lord. The tirst edition of the Light Tower was published this year. Since the enrollment continued to grow, the Annex was purchased in 1937, to provide living quar- ters for five married couples. The Administration Building also was quite extensively modernized the same year. Nineteen thirty-eight saw the beginning of the School of Correspondence which filled a definite need among those who could not be in residence at the Institute. Further growth demanded more room, until in 1940 plans tor a Music Hall were submitted. Since it was soon evi- dent that the original plans for only a music hall would not meet the need, they were enlarged to include classrooms, a gymnasium, a dining room. and a chapel. This much needed building, FOUNDERS' MEMORIAL, was completed in 1942 at a cost of S1l0,000. A further addition to the curriculum was made in 1944 when a summer term was added to th daily Chapel Hour and the Weekly Mission B d ' e regular schedule. ll

Page 17 text:

5 l'f 'l:ll'ae1 ...A fre , .ff ,f - 'L' r ? on ,Xml it , , t 'C T'-L T' lads, ,V,. .1512 v nl A rrpgr . , r A proiect that had been on Daddy Ramseyer's heart and to which he had directed an initial Sl,- 000.00 given him to place as he felt it was needed most. This proiect was in the form of a head- quarters building that would meet the various needs of the Bible Institute and the Missionary Church Association. The memorial proposed to meet this need is a building so arranged that the first iloor can be utilized tor ofiices. committee rooms, a book store, and probably, some apartments or rooms as space may permit. The upper floors are to be arranged into apartments and rooms suitable to the needs of the Institute and the Association. The estimated cost of this proposed new building is Sl50,000, The building will be held in trust by the Trustees of the Missionary Church Association and its use directed by a committee. two-thirds oi whose members are to be appointed by the General Committee of the Missionary Church Association and one-third by the Governing Board of the Institute. Six men have given 51000.00 each for the purchase oi a suitable lot which has been secured at a cost of S6000.00. This lot, 125 by 128 feet, is located on the southeast corner of South Wayne Avenue and Rudisill Boulevard diagonally across from the Bible Institute. In addition the students and alumni of the Bible Institute have raised in cash and subscriptions. over S4000.00. A number of other gifts have been given by interested friends. l 2. Bethany Hall 3. Founders' Memorial . Administration Building 5. First Missionary Church 6. Site of proposed Ramseyer Me- morial 4. Mother Ramseyer's Home 7. P. L. Eicher Home 8. The Annex