Lambuth College - Lantern Yearbook (Jackson, TN)

Page 11 text:

{ Continued) dence in themselves carried them to the end of their first term in India. Then, all they had endured — the sickness, the war, and most impor- tantly, the family separation was be- hind them and, on the insistence of President Womack, they came to Lambuth. When they arrived at Lambuth they found two buildings and a very basic curriculum, but, above all, a family atmosphere among the people of Lambuth. Mrs. Whetstone recalled Presiden t Womack as being sort of an Old Testament character, a patri- arch to the campus and its people. Dean Whetstone thought of the Stu- dent Christian Association as the group that set the tone of the cam- pus. During this time, chapel meet- ings, which were held three times a week, were an integral part of campus life. In 1952, the Whetstones once again felt the call of the missionary field in India and returned for their second term of service. « It took faith to come to Lambuth College in 1952, for when Dr. Luther L. Gobbel first came from Greensboro College, where he had served as Presi- dent since 1935, he found some dis- couraging conditions. According to Dr. Gobbel, Jones Hall was suffering from deferred maintenance, the Me- morial Chapel was far from comple- tion with sixty-five broken panels of glass and with a partially completed roof; the library had a two-foot hole in TOP — Freshmen of the early fifties arrive at Lambuth. ABOVE — Library in what is now the business office. BELOW — Students enjoy trip to a local hangout.

Page 10 text:

TOP — Dean Whetstone teaches a religion class. ABOVE — Construction begins on the gym (now the Theatre). BELOW LEFT — Pep club of the early 40 ' s. BELOW RIGHT — Homecoming parade gets underway. The Growth Of A College Lambuth would be a successful ven- ture. Describing Lambuth ' s early de- velopment, Miss Womack said poi- gnantly: It was a long, hard battle, for about twelve years passed before people really contributed to the col- lege. Influenced by Lambuth ' s shaky economic standing, board members many times urged my father to close the college, and they even suggested selling the college to a meat packer. However, adamant in his belief in the great future of Lambuth, my father declared, ' Over my dead body will you sell this college to a meat packer! ' In the early years of the college the first and only building was the ad- ministration building, now known as Jones Hall. According to Miss Wo- mack, at first the girls lived in a dor- mitory on the third floor. In addition, Miss Womack talked enthusiastically about her father ' s successful relationships with both the faculty and the students. He gained loyalty from the faculty by being hon- est with them from the very begin- ning. He gained loyalty from his stu- dents by being truly interested in their well-being. Moreover, he en- couraged the faculty to inspire stu- dents to search for the truth. This search for truth was uppermost in his mind. From 1940 through 1946, the Whet- stones lived and worked in Mathura, India, where Dean Whetstone was principal of Clancey High School. Their faith in God and their confi-

Page 12 text:

A College Grows (Continued) one side of the wall; and a dormitory for women was non-existent. These superficial discouragements sent Dr. Gobbel back to Greensboro with the thought that he would not come to Lambuth. However, to Lambuth he did return. His final resolve to come to Lambuth he attributes to three people: Dr. Richard E. Womack, Bishop Wil- liam T. Watkins, and his wife. Dr. Womack, President of Lambuth College, just would not take no for an answer. In September of 1952, he called Dr. Gobbel again. He and Bish- op Watkins pledged to Dr. Gobbel that the Memphis Annual Conference would raise the one and one-half mil- lion dollars that Dr. Gobbel had told the conference was requisite for his acceptance. Even with this financial pledge Dr. Gobbel was still uncertain that he should come to Lambuth. His wife helped him decide in favor of the move. She reminded Dr. Gobbel that Greensboro College had faced many of the same problems when he as- sumed its presidency. She maintained that his experiences at Greensboro could be of greater service to Christian higher education at Lambuth than at a more prestigious institution. With the assurances of Dr. Womack and Bish- op Watkins and with the encourage- ment of his wife, Dr. Luther L. Gobbel set out on a venture that ten years later came to be known throughout the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and the Synod of the Methodist Church as The Mir- acle of Lambuth. The miraculous growth of Lambuth College between 1952 and 1962 gives testimony to the adage the Lord helps those who help themselves. Accreditation, doubled enrollment, increased endowment, completion of the Memorial Chapel, completion of Sprague and Harris Hails, completion of a modern cafeteria and student cen- ter, and the erection of a new and spa- cious library, later named in honor of Dr. Gobbel, are achievements attrib- ABOVE — A paddle swap in one of the early fraternities. TOP RIGHT — Construction begins on the Memorial Chapel. RIGHT — Student Charles Bray and friend in the bookstore.