Kenyon College - Reveille Yearbook (Gambier, OH)

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in 1824. Kenyon College, steeped in the tradition and based on the hesr educational influences of the great English colleges and the sturdy educational pioneering of young America, was made the foundation of learn- ing in the development of education west of the Allcgehenies. Kenyon has occupied a distinguished posi- tion among educational institutions in this country, ever since those days of Bishop Chase. It was originally dedicated to the cultural ideal and has clung to that ideal for the one hundred and nineteen years of its life. Kenyon has realized through all this time that men are best prepared for effective living if they have developed in them correct, properly directed, and well disciplined thinking; and that this develop- ment must be administered by the best edu- cators, the best educational equipment, and the advantage of working under the influ- ence of highly trained, understanding, and scholarly minds. The restriction of the num- ber of undergraduates at Kenyon gives a man an unquestionable opportunity, both in the classroom and in outside activities. He lives in small groups and in a congenial atmosphere between student and professor which almost demands educational, mental, intellectual, and social development. This close personal relationship between profes- sor and student permits an understanding of life as interpreted in education, activities, and fellow students that is not obtainable in any other way. Kenyon, then, is of the collegiate rather than the university tradition. It consists of beautiful ivy covered buildings in the se- cluded rural setting of the Ohio hill coun- try. The college, as a seat of learning, is devoted exclusively to liberal education. Its curricular and its extra-curricular activities are unsurpassed. Its social life and traditions mingle in an understanding among Kenyon men and between Kenyon men and their professors. The pages of this book try to show the result of the pages of Kenyon history—Kenyon today—the college build- ings, the professors, the students, the activi- ties of both, and the traditions of the college men of Gambier that make Kenyon College.

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Hent cM College 1824-1942 ALL the records that can be found in the libraries of Kenyon College show Phil- ander Chase, Kenyon’s far-seeing founder, to he a man of magnetic temperament, rare charm of manner, and distinguished phys- ical beauty. He was without a doubt a horn leader, a pioneer churchman, and a sturdy pillar in the foundation of American learning. In June of 1818 this tremendous personality was elected to be the first bishop of the state of Ohio. He left his comfortable home and quiet parish to or- ganize his new diocese in the wilderness, he rode over a thousand miles within his first twelve months in Ohio; between times, working on his homestead like any other pioneer. He found that the greatest need of the New American West was trained men. Thinking men. Men educated, as well as reared, in Ohio’s own hills and valleys. To build a college to fulfill this need was the fixed purpose of his life. One night in June, 1823. after Bishop Chase had eliminated all possibilities of help on his project, a thought came to him. —”A thought has struck me from Heaven I will appeal to England for assistance. If the truth is known, they will help us. This was the real beginning of Kenyon College, for without this inspiration the original col- lege could not have been financed. Bishop Chase went to England in the face of many difficulties and against the advice of all. He found a friend, however, in James, Lord Gambier, Admiral of the British Meet. Lord Gambicr introduced him to several of the most influential personages in England at the time, and helped him gain their sup- port. After ten hard months of struggle he returned to America with about three thousand dollars given him by Lord Gambicr, Lord Bexley, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lady Jane King, The Right Honorable Dowager Countess of Rosse; and Hannan More, a clever literary leader and philan- thropist. And so, after struggling desper- ately to gain the financial aid that wou t insure the future perfection of his college, the first bishop of the Northwest I erritor) returned to Ohio and founded the first co - lege of the territory, receiving its charter

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facuh the Path To the lover of architecture the buildings of Kenyon are the evi- dence of one of the country's most beautiful collections of college build- ings. For the most part the buildings are perpendicular Gothic of the Tudor or Collegiate type. Bexley Hall has been called the most per- fect building of this type in America. The design for this building was given to Bishop Mcllvaine by Henry Roberts, the architect of the Lon- don Crystal Palace. Down the maple-lined Middle Path, which is the axis of the col- lege buildings and the village, through the gate and by the traditional freshman jumping stone” to the College Park. The first structure past the gate is the College Chapel. It was built by the Church of the Ascen- sion of New York and is covered with ivy that was transplanted from Melrose Abbey, England. The nine college bells in its tower ring the Westminster Chimes at the quarter hour. Next to the Chapel is Hubbard Hall Library with its Stephen s Stack Room with some seventy thousand volumes. Then Peirce Hall (See color plate on title page), which has been called the most beauti- ful college commons in the United States, stands opposite stately Rosse Hall Gymnasium. Opposite is one of the oldest college buildings— Rosse Hall, an Ionic structure first built as the College Chapel. Past Mather Science Hall, which is the next building on the right as we go down the path, with its gargoyles and stately Gothic exterior and its extra-complete scientific interior; and Ascension Hall with its ivy-covered reddish-grey freestone; we come to the fraternity divisions in the three dormitories, Leonard Hall, Hanna Hall, and Old Kenyon. Old Kenyon was built by Philander Chase from plans by Charles Bulfinch, the architect of such distinguished buildings as the National Capitol Building at Washington. The materials for this build- ing were supplied by Philander s own quarry and lumber mill, which he built specifically for the purpose. The walls at the base of Old Kenyon measure four and one-half feet thick, built for protection against the Indians. Over the brow of The Hill lies Shaffer Pool, one of the finest swimming pools in this part of the country. Last, and newest of the Kenyon buildings, is the new Speech Building, dedicated solely to the study of speech and dramatics.