Graceland University - Acacia Yearbook (Lamoni, IA)

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urLc1 d Introduchonf13

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P Everyone who is a part of Graceland shares in, and adds to, the heritage of our college. Since the founding of the college in 1895, this heritage has been enriched by the lives of many individuals. Our llves, and our experiences during the school year now drawn to a close, have further enriched this heritage. In taking a closer look at what Graceland ls, one can too easily fo- cus on the present and Ignore the past. And yet the hlstory of our col lege, as reflected ln the growth that has occurred during 85 years of exls tence, ls also an important part of the heritage we share. On these pages are reminders of Graceland's hlstorlcal roots. Since lt would be im possible to tell all of Graceland's his tory on two pages, the history fbe lowy and photos printed here concentrate on only the earllest years of Graceland's existence. The hlstorlcal passage ls reprinted from the 1913 Acacia: the photos are re- produced from several Acaclas of the same decade. - D.G. Hlstory of Graceland fR6pflf7f6d ffOm fh9 1913 ACGCIO There ls a feeling, something like the patrlo tlsm that a man feels for his country, that blnds one to the customs and traditions of hls school, however lnslgnlflcant lt may seem to an outsider. Its history may seem colorless and unlnterestlng to others, to hlm It ls a thlng of Importance. We Gracelanders have few traditions to cherish, for we ourselves are as yet pioneers, and lt Is ours to make the past, that generations of Graceland studentsftobe wlll sometime cherlsh. Our Graceland ls not as yet a score of years old, and so has had but llttle time In which to make history. We wlll have to turn back only a few pages In her hlstory to begin 14 flmroducnon wlth the time when the slte of Graceland was only a piece of rolling prairie. That was only eighteen years ago. Three people gave the land that now makes up Graceland's campus, Mrs. Marietta Walker, Mrs. Minnie Wlckes, and Mr. W. A. Hopkins. On the twelfth day of November, 1895, near- ly everyone in the llttle village of Lamoni gath ered to the East Side School and marched wlth music and flags up the hill upon which Graceland now stands. They were to com memorate the laylng of Graceland's corner stone. President Joseph Smlth oftlclally laid the corner stone Cslcj ln a speech made there, the leading feature of a long program. Before the winter of 189596 closed the basement was completed and the walls up about as hlgh as the second floor. Thlrty-flve students enrolled that fall, and classes met for recltatlon ln the bulldlng known as the France Block, lust south of the post office, in the business dlstrlct of Lamonl. There were four on the faculty, vlz., Thomas J. Fltzpatrlck, Jo seph T. Pence, J. A. Gunsolley, and Nellie Da- vls. School work went on in this way untll the bulldlng on the hlll was ready to be dedl cated on January 1, 1897. The dedlcatory speech was delivered by Presldent Joseph Smith, with speeches also by Judge Towner and Joseph R. Lambert. The flfty students then enrolled were promptly transferred to the new bulldlng. ' The next year, Graceland held her first Com mencement with a graduating class of one, that one, President Frederick M. Smith, of lnde pendence, Missouri. So many able and efflclent men and wom en have served on Graceland's Faculty, that lt ls Impossible to mention all here, and to name all those who have given fully and free ly to make Graceland what she is to-day Cslcj would requlre a volume. It was not untll 1907 that an Industrial Depart- ment was established, and a dormitory sys- tem. Before that, students found boarding places and rooms ln town. In the year 1907, however, a dormitory WGS DIGDHGG Gnd built. and christened Marietta Hall, ln honor of Mrs. fMarlettaJ Walker, who had done so much to ward founding the College. In 1909 another dormitory, larger and better, was built, and the glrls moved from Marietta into the new Patron

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