Hope College - Milestone Yearbook (Holland, MI)

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History of Hope ........ Fall.................. Winter.............. Spring .......... Organizations .. Greeks....... r Faculty ,J..... Seniors.......... Underclassmen ...... Advertisements........ Index..................I e ■ I aajMfci=r...VJ7.a»

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HISTORY OF HOPE Freshman-Sophomore beach party of 1890. There are bigger schools with more students, pro- fessors, housemothers, pine trees, and buildings to be found; yet our pride is in this small symbol of learning. It is said by some to be misplaced; by others, justified. We must often bear in silence those sneers and barbed comments at our provincial- ism, for we know that they are true; true because wooden shoes and Calvinism do not tell us much about the world around us. However, Calvinism and those Dutchmen with their wooden shoes are a part of our heritage. It was the vision of such great Christian leaders as Rev. Albcrtus C. Van Raalte and Rev. Dr. Philip Phelps, Jr. that launched the ideal for which we are still striving— well-rounded persons within a Christian background. It was Van Raalte’s lodestar, it was the compass by which he steered, th,e anchor of Hope” of his vision- ary vessel. As he so aptly stated: How could we answer to God and to posterity, if we had cared for our material posterity and not, nay principally, for the intellectual and spiritual interests of our future?” He, like all the other people in the Dutch colony, was interested in the establishment of schools and the promotion of Christian education. In addition, the eastern faction of the Reformed Church was interested in their welfare and education. Representatives were sent to confer with Van Raalte about the need of a Christian school. An outgrowth of this visit resulted in the assistance of the Reformed Church in the build- ing of a Pioneer School. In the fall of 1850, the anchor of Hope” became a reality as the building, now Van Vleck Hall, became the material evidence of Van Raaltc’s vision. This initial effort of the Reformed Church for the estab- lishment of Christian education in the west was Football Squad of 1899: Men, manly men, vigorous men, Men of brain and brawn, Men who are able to meet the Demands of this most strenuous Life of ours. ,