Illinois Wesleyan University - Wesleyana Yearbook (Bloomington, IL)

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u 1 J I . li iii T if 5 . AFEBIZZJKST i s fillf4i2i3f5fiQ 5? C 'S 4 ug: : m , 5 9 gR :::5L-i-r ....A.... H aawirf . 1 8, N-.,. , ' 8 'Mfr' aeTHE9tf -easter 1 1 . . Z ' Fl 1 'f' . I ii L l V A Q. otrmsaa 23. fees. c QE 'E 1 2 -'--Bliik---we 5 . if ixdiuar, 'Sim Hadnmze. Qian Qupgufiz Ilqgauz per imma. 1, I TABLE OF CONTENTS. mironxaw ....... ..,.... ..,. n'x,Aw nBmuvrMr.:4'r....,,..., 11 LJTERLRY ymonarzneangio-s.xun.a PB.EP'AhA'YORY.......,. ...... .. 1 l x.-gi: ms. .,.. ............,..,.......a AULDL.ANBSlNB.....,.,.. 12 1 MZINRIETTA HRLL9. .,., ...... Z1 co Lac:-Events. .... 12 ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY. 4 . Hwonmcimzv, hnmoxs. K Aff 'Jil l A ,,-- fi 5.aff,if Af,.,,L,, ,, The Werleyezn Bee, our first newspaper, was published between 1882 and 1887. The Elite journal appeared in 1887, championing barbarian fnon-fraternityj principles. The Athenian, with advertising on its cover, was published in 1890, supporting the cause of fraternities. The next campus was not acquired till June 24, 1854. It was bought from a nurseryman, F. K. Phoenix, for 382,000 This piece of ground, of two square blocks, is still the physical center of the Uni- versity. The present Old North Hall was erected in 1856, but left unfinished till 1857, when the classes that had been cancelled for lack of funds were resumed in the new building. An early catalogue fseconcl annual, 1858j paints a rosy picture of the recently completed academic hall, and incidentally of the tiny university: This is new, spacious and convenient, beautifully located in a pleasant grove in the north- ern part of the city. It affords the necessary accom- modations in the way of Chapel, Recitation Rooms, etc., for two hundred and fifty Studentsf, Up to that time the Methodist Church of Bloomington had housed all the activities of the slowly growing insti- tution. Illinois Wesleyan had a hard time getting a presi- dent, because of the pioneer experiment and the fi- nancial risk. Professor Erastus Wentworth was elected, but never served. Rev. Peter Akers was elected, but refused the post. Rev. John Dempster was elected, but was only a president in ezhfentiez, who may have occasionally visited the campus and yet probably performed no actual administrative duties or teaching. Rev. Clinton W. Sears was really the first president to hold office. He had previously acted as teacher, librarian, and fiscal agent, now he was chief executive, with a committee of five trustees to assist in managing the hazardous under- taking. His salary was set as 58800, to be paid in quarterly instalments. His term lasted only one year. The tough sledding of those early years is easily revealed in a simple note as to the total cash as- sets in January, 1853-the welcome, but alarming, amount of 817818. The first commencement exercises were held on july 7, 1853, with two degrees conferred, a B.A. and an M.A. The candidates were james Barger fthe trustee's sonj and Daniel Wilkins, jr. At the second commencement, in 1854, there was only one graduate, and he is said to have transferred from McKendree College for the purpose of furnishing Illinois Wesleyan with a graduating class! A unique situation in educational history was created with the election of Oliver S. Munsell as president in 1857 and the appointment of his two brothers to the staff. Charles served as financial agent and Edward as teacher. This triple threat from one family seems to have been a wholesome shot in the

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arm, because the institution which had been steadily slipping backward or almost standing still began to move gradually forward and over the hill. These three Munsell brothers fwhose name is perpetuated in a dormitory annexj spent and lost a lot of their own money in trying to keep the edu- cational ark afloat. Their enthusiasm and loyalty should be definitely and gratefully remembered whenever we trace the rugged history of Illinois Wesleyaii. In 1863 President Munsell was appointed by Presi- dent Abraham Lincoln as a member of the board of visitors for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and later was made president of the board, which included Ralph Waldo Emerson, fa- mous essayist and poet. The first year of the Civil War made no signifi- cant impact on the campus, but when an emergency call for volunteers by the governor of Illinois went out in 1862 more than three-fourths of the student body responded. They were assigned to the 68th Illinois Infantry, for duty in guarding Confederate prisoners at Camp Butler, near Springfield. They later saw some service around Wasliiiigton, DC., and in Virginia, but most of them were back on the campus for the 1862-65 session. Soon, however, various Wesleyaii men were drafted under the law recently passed. The first woman teacher at Illinois Wesley'an was appointed in 1863,-seven years before coeduca- tion came to the University, but she merely headed The Lichtenthaler Museum-ferns, algae, and shells- was housed in the room formerly occupied by the Adelphic society in Old Main. XVesleyan's museums were considered large for a small school, unfortunately, according to a for- mer faculty member, they were little used. A valuable asset to the Biology Department was the aquarium in the basement of Hedding Hall. . rs fmxsgmfksiff 'hwy