Kenyon College - Reveille Yearbook (Gambier, OH)

Page 14 text:

It was built during the thirties in an era of active building . Its lirat occupant wa3 Professor Sparrow. Bexley Hall was built to house seminarians in 1833. It is be- coming inadequate to house Bexleyitcs, who are growing in number. 12

Page 13 text:

 sacred land. Bronson demonstrated the necessity. Criticised severely for his divorce from ethical reason, this sensitive man resigned in 1850. Lorin Andrews became President after a short term by Thomas Mather Smith. The students gave him a warm welcome by illuminating Old Kenyon. His term is marked by the expansion of the College to an enrollment of two hundred and thirty stu- dents. The subsequent construction of Ascension Hall and im- provements of Bexley, built in 1833, and Old Kenyon were neces- sitated by the overflow’ of students. The College began to specu- late its small surplus money into dream railways such as the Delaware and Cochocton, Springfield and Loudonville Railroad. The only prerequisite for help from Kenyon seemed to be a stop at Gambier, no matter where the road led. In December, 1855, there appeared the first issue of a unique publication, the Reveille, the third of its kind in the United States. It was a newspaper of four eighteen-by-ten inch pages with an editorial for freshmen “commending virtue and industry to their susceptible young souls. The Collegian appeared in 1856, its main purpose being literary. Greek letter fraternities were introduced to 19th century Kenyon. The Lambda chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon was established in 1852. Theta Delta Chi appeared in 1853 and disappeared in 1861. Alpha Delta Phi entered the life of the Hill in 1858, at the same time as the local chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. Singing came into vogue in the fifties with the introduction of German university songs. Fraternities, in spirit of comradeship, developed their own sentimental ballads which rang out under the maples on Path generation after generation. The patriotism of the College community was clearly ex- pressed during the Civil War. President Andrews was the first in Ohio, reputedly, to offer his services as a soldier in the growing Union army. The southern contingent left the Hill for the Con- federate army quietly without perturbation or ill-feeling. Blankets and warm clothing were collected to keep the soldiers warm. Andrews returned to Gambier in 1861 to die. The term of James Kent Stone as President was marked by a theological outburst. The President, in strongly evangelical Gambier, leaned towards Tractarianism. He resigned after being made a fool of by the valedectorian at Commencement in 1867. 11

Page 15 text:

Later he became president of Hobart College and one year later joined the Roman Catholic Church. As a result of the Schism the enrollment of the College dropped to a scant fifty students. Eli Tappan was elected President in 1868 and was noted for his durability. The Church of the Holy Spirit was com- pleted in 1871 at the phenomenal cost of 42,000 dollars. Living in Gambier at the resignation of President Tappan was the Reverend William Budd Bodine a man who had been making himself useful in both the seminary and the College. He was resourceful and indefatigable. Determined to raise the tiny en- rollment of the College, he set out on an endless campaign of fund-raising and hopeful attraction of students. The number fluctuated but fell to thirty-three in 1890 at the outset of Bodine's resignation. Rutherford Birchard Hayes v as nominated for the Republican candidate for President of the United States in 1874, and was elected. His several short visits with cannons firing and flags waving brought Kenyon's name into the headlines. In an effort to build up the enrollment of the College Milnor Hall set out on a campaign for students. They were thoroughly successful, as the enrollment jumped to one hundred thirty-four in 1891. Drill and a general military atmosphere was introduced into Milnor Hall around 1885, the name was changed to Kenyon Military Academy. The College, however, did not grow along with the academy. Harcourt Seminary for Young Women was conceived in 1887. Bodine was successful in altering the constitution of the College so that Bexley and Kenyon were under one president. Athletics, inter-collegiate and intra-mural, came into being during this p eriod. Boating, px lo, lacrosse, ride to the hounds, were all tried. Baseball came into being and in 1896 its recent history v as described by the Collegian as almost a continuous line of defeats. October 1881 saw organized football instituted. Kenyon in 1891 played Granville, lost 18-0, and then played O.S.U. and won. Franklin Peirce was elected President in March of 1896. He was inaugurated with great gusto by the student body by the explosion of firecrackers, by bonfires and by speeches that showed student approval. His was a term of great expansion. In 1901, Marcus Hanna, Cleveland p olititian of dubious background, donated a dormitory to compensate for the overflow of men in overcrowded Old Kenyon. It was fondly dubbed the Politicians' 13