Hastings College - Bronco Yearbook (Hastings, NE)

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Rigbfz Korean students present- ed a play in the Little Theater dur- ing the summer of 1910. Ringland's resignation had served first as acting president and later as president for two years, in 1902 he resumed his duties as dean of the college, when Dr. E. Van Dyke Wight, pastor of the Hastings Presbyterian Church, was called to the presidency. In addition to his duties as dean, Mr. Filson also served as registrar and track coach. The new president, Dr. Wight, had become well acquainted with the college and its problems during his five years as Bible instructor, thus when he be- came president in 1902, he understood the situation which confronted the college, and he immediately began his campaign to raise building funds. He was able to make many contacts with people in the east- ern part of the United States and to arouse interest in the college a'mong friends. In 1902 the board of trustees set an endowment goal of S50,000. This figure was soon reached, and the campaign continued until the endowment rose to 5,100,000 in 1906. Among outstanding contributors at this time were Dr. D. K. Pierson of Pittsburgh, John H. Converse of Philadelphia, and ex-president Grover Cleveland of Princeton, N. Hastings College continued to advance in other ways. In 1906 Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate, made a gift of 520,000 to the college for the con- struction of a library, and the building was ready for occupancy by 1906. The dedication of Alexander Hall, girls, dormitory, in 1907 came as the culmina- tion of Dr. Wightis presidency. The new building, the third on the campus, was named in honor of Samuel Alexander, one of the founders of the col- lege and for many years vice-president of the board of trustees. Dr. Wight resigned his position in 1907. Dr. A. E. Turner, the fourth president of Hast- ings College, took office in 1907 and at once the college seemed to have an awakening. New interest was shown in the school by almost everyone, even the students themselves caught the new spirit. New societies were organized, athletics came to the fore, and the college became very much alive. The college was gradually developing an active interest in athletics. Baseball was one of the first games to attract students, and in the '90's students themselves laid out a diamond behind McCormick Hall. built bleachers, and there enjoyed the sport. Football increased in popularity and the college be- gan to schedule games in 1895. Hastings players at this time had a volunteer coach who was either a faculty member or one of the business men from down town. The team battled with opponents from Nebraska University, Grand Island College, York College, Hastings Fire Department, as well as Hast- ings, Lincoln, and Omaha High Schools. Doane, with whom Hastings has played more times than with any other team, first become an opponent in 1900. The Department of Athletics grew rapidly from 1907 to 1912. In 1908 August Holste, a graduate of the University of Chicago and a pupil of the fa- mous Alonzo Stagg, was employed as the first full- time athletic coach. His first football team claimed for the college its first conference title in 1908, the same year in which Hastings joined with other Ne- braska colleges to form the Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Association. In 1910 the team repeated its success and in so doing set a precedent for the many titles which the Broncos have captured in later years. The first gymnasium of Hastings College was a wooden structure built in 1911 just south of what is now Clarke Hall. Mr. P. L. Johnson, then secre- tary of the board of trustees and treasurer of the

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Leff: Students and friends Watch a football game from the Johnson Stadium, which was built by stu- dents and Mr. P. L, Johnson in 1911, and destroyed by fire in 1925. :et its expenses largely from gifts, for the endow- Wfhittierians and the Pestalozzians, both of which :nt was exceedingly smallg and tuition, as late as admitted college and academy men and women. 87, was only eight dollars a term. Other activities at this time consisted of debating, By 1897 more than 800 students from 14 dif- Oratory' and Composmon' rent states had been enrolled in the school. There Following Dr. Pattison's resignation in 1900, :re other evidences that this was an age of progress. Dean William N. Filson, one of the most versatile ie library, which was located in Ringland Hall, now men in the history of the college, was called upon to ntained 3,500 volumes plus hundreds of magazines. act as president. Mr. Filson had first joined the adents participated in two literary societies, the faculty in 1893 as instructor in Latin, and after Dr. Below: Academy students of the ,90,s pose for the camera man in front of McCormick Hall. At this time they out- numbered the regular students. c ' S 1 1 X xi 'x x x x x xxtsx: 9

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college, gave the first S500 for the building. He also drew up the plans and supervised the construc- tion of the building, each college man making a con- tribution of three days, voluntary labor. College students did all the work-carpentry, painting, erecting-and every member of the student body pledged to pay S1 per person per year until the pay- ments on the building were completed. This united effort marked the start of the pres- ent Student Association. The new gymnasium boasted a cushioned bas- ketball floor, which was said to be one of the best in the country at that time, and a seating capacity for 1,000 people. The structure caught fire and burned to the ground in 1925, and the present 535,- 000 brick building was constructed shortly after- Wards. Following the resignation of Dr. Turner in 1912, Dean Martin Kemp became acting president until the appointment of Reuben B. Crone, who came from the superintendency of the Fort Dodge, Iowa schools in the summer of the same year to assume the presi- dency of the institution. During Dr. Crone's admin- istration of eight years the college made more ad- vancement than it has during any similar period of years up to the present. The enrollment in 1912 was 615 by 1920 this figure had risen to 209. Dr. Crone was able to clear a 512,000 debt that the college had accumulated in 1912 and succeeded in raising a building fund of S160,000g he raised the endowment to 55243385 in 1920 and raised academic standards so that Hastings College was admitted to member- ship in the North Central Association of Colleges in Above: This picture of Edwin L. Stratton was taken in a training camp during World NVar I. 1916. One member of the board of trustees very aptly summed up Dr. Crone,s record when he stated, Dr, Crone was the man of the hour for Hastings College. Below: The annual spring May fete during World War days. Honored queen was Miss Elizabeth Bowen, now of the college faculty. Left to right are Willard Brown, Mabel Vance CMrs. Robert Taylorj, Grace Simrnering fMrs. E. L. Strattonj, May Finch, QMrs. Joe Matterj, Willabelle Nelson, Mary Simms, CMrs. Luther Steinj, Elizabeth Bowen, Curtis Galt, two unidentified persons, Margaret Brown, and Bob Harry. The two pages seated in front of the court are Don Foote, left, and Melville Foote, right.