Indiana State University - Sycamore Yearbook (Terre Haute, IN)

Page 33 text:

ruaineuls (I 1) rii . A ' illi Its ihr.M ( ' uted liy Ihe t wcnty-Due students, tour walls .1 the pn.tVss„i-s. ' The Tcnv Haute IIio-1, pearance. School oeeiipieil a [loi-tion of the second llnor. On the tliird floor of their half coinplete l Let it he said that as an advertisement a puh- hiiilding. January n. ISTO (now celebrated as lishiiig coniiiany had presented the new institit- Foiinder ' s Day) eiiilit men gathered around the tion with a Bible and an unabridged dictionary. stovi on tlic niu ' lh -ide of the assembly room The facult - on that memorable first morning NORMAL BUILDING, 1570-1888 id ' 11 WOllK south side. What a enibly room. The ing on that raw. wi the range initiation for tlieus- lUs were cold and uninvit- try morning. Laboratories, ibraries. equipment, apparatus and other fa- •ilities now deemed an absolute necessity, there ivere none. The boy. h)g and teacher were rep- c((nsisted of a president. W. A. Jones, and two assistants, Miss Newall, one of the Innocents Abroad, and Prof. Bosworth. Later in the term Xathan Xewby. Miss Bruce and (xeorge P. Brown were added to the faculty, and the student body increased to forty. What a com- bination was here on this first nioriiina ' — a

Page 32 text:

block lying between Eagle and Mulbeiiy streets east of Sixth street, tlie campus of the old county seminary. Together with tiiis land wortli $l ' . i.O00. also ii;:)().(.)(lO in money was given. It was later stipulated that Terre Haute should bear forever one-half of the expenses of keep- ing the grounds and buildings in proper re- pair. This has been faithfully carried out. Thu- it was that on the banks of the Wabash, in the city of Terre Haute, in the very heart of the town, was established an institution the thrill (if whose life was soon to be felt in every taxpayer glai ' ed wi born came into an uu ' was liefore it. -tnig, tion from other iiisii gle to maintain a liig of public disappniva straggle to seciu ' e a] nomic legislature to fiM ■Icome community. There I — struggle for recogni- II ions of learning, strug- -tandard of work in face and Iciw attendance, and ropriatious from an eco- meet the constantly in- creasing expenses. Indeed, it has required the Host stringent economy to conduct the growing Highness and elH.-ieiicy upini the fun. Is pro- OLD COUNTY SEMINARY. 1868 hamlet, city anil town in the most remote dis- tricts of our fair state. Strange to say, the new school was not re- ceived with open arms. Tradition still holds us in its mighty grasp, despite our boasted in- telligence, we are loath to leave the old and are prone to glance askance at tlu ' new. The old jjedagogue frowned u[)on it as foolishness, the vided from year to year l)y our general assembly. Tile building, when completed, cost in round numbers, without any semblance of equipment, l it.OOO. It was buiit of brick with stone trim- ming, after the architectural style of the French Kennaissance. From the roof a symmetrical series of towers, cupolas and spires lifted their

Page 34 text:

Bible, a dictionary, three seers, a score of stu- dents, and four walls. For the first chapel exercise Barnabas C. Hobbs, the president of the Board of Trustees, and a man of patriarchial mien, read a lesson from the Bible and then kneeling- on the bare lloor before the students, in a fervent prayer for the future welfare of the school, lifted the souls and minds of the little gi-oup present into a land of new ideals. How i)rophetic of the future 1 A religious atmosphere seemed to permeate those early days. Perhaps it was due to a clause in the original bill defining the institu- tion, perhaps due to the pious nature of the first president. Attendance at the chai el exercises was compulsory. Each student brought his Bible. Frequently the one conducting the exer- cises would read responsively with the students and then comment upon the spiritual teaching of the Word. ' ' Any reference to sectarianism was carefully avoided, but many a prayer for divine guidance echoed through that old as- sembly hall. The students were conducted by classes from tlie assembly to the recitation rooms, and then Ijack, turning, .standing, and passing at the tap of a pencil. This was in keeping with the close military surveillance then deemed neces- sary with children and was practiced in all schools. The lack of individual liberty, tne narrow. ])rescribed course of study, the ham- pered facilities, the high standard of strenuous work maintained limited the attendance in those early days, but gave the institution its jjeculiar stamp of thoroughness ' which is still ditfused througli every branch of work under- taken. William A. Jones, president 1870 to 1879. can l)e rightly called the Father of the Indiana State Normal School. He was a native of Connecticut, a graduate of Williston Academy, and had been superintendent of the schools of Aurora. Illinois. By his efficient management of these schools he had attained first rank among the educators of the middle west. The Board of Trustees was verv wise in the choice of its man to carry out this unique experiment in education in Indiana. He believed in thor- ough work which went to the organic unity in everything. His constant theme was that the subject matter has an existence entirely apart from the text, that the teacher ' s knowledge of a subject was something further removed in that he must grasp the subject matter in con- nection with those mental laws which were in- volved in mastering it. He imbued the school with the idea of the value of professional train- ing though not dejDreciating the worth of higher scholarship on the part of the educator. His philosojjhy of method is aptly put in his favorite laconic expression. The fact in the thing, tlie law in the mind, the method in both. Of liim President Parsons says: I still give first place to William A. Jones among the educational people of the state that I have known. He was an educational prophet and seer possessing rare insiglit into all educa-