Lambuth College - Lantern Yearbook (Jackson, TN)

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utable in Dr. Gobbel ' s words to team work and hard work. The team con- sisted of several groups. A fund-rais- ing organization, headed by Ward, Dreshmon, and Rinehart, was con- tacted before Dr. Gobbel ' s arrival to lead the Memphis Conference in its money-making campaign. On Febru- ary 2, 1953, the program of this orga- nization was unanimously adopted by the Memphis Annual Conference. From that point on other groups and individuals joined the team efforts to raise money for Lambuth College. Each district and each church had a quota. With hard work and dedica- tion, the leaders and members of indi- vidual congregations raised the mon- ey between February 2 and April 14, 1953. When Dr. Gobbel presided over the ground-breaking ceremonies for Sprague Hall that year, it was raining and Dr. Gobbel had influenza, but the ground was broken. Construction was begun. By January, 1954, the Hubert M. Owens Construction Company had completed Sprague Hall, the greatly needed dormitory for women. The completion of this dormitory was the beginning of the miraculous transformation of Lambuth College. The Miracle of Lambuth cannot be fully depicted without mentioning its accreditation by the Southern As- sociation of Colleges and Secondary Schools. In the minds of many, the only requirement that Lambuth did not meet was a financial one. This idea, however, was not true. There were other requirements that had not been met. Dr. Gobbel had the difficult task of convincing the board that in addition to an endowment of $300,000, the college also needed to increase its faculty and to renovate buildings and dormitories. The appli- cation for accreditation was submit- ted; a self-study was conducted; and a committee appointed by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secon- dary Schools came to Lambuth. The committee observed the campus and

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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.

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The Growth Of A College (Continued) interviewed faculty members, board members, and students of its own se- lection. Finally, at a meeting at 450 Roland this committee announced that it was impressed with what it had seen. In fact, one committee member stated, Such progress has been made that you ought to be shouting and singing. Lambuth College was accre- dited a year sooner than expected. Once, Dr. Gobbel ' s efforts to gel money for Lambuth quite literally sent him to the dogs. When asked about this accusation Dr. Gobbel re- plied, I went to the dogs with the Reverend F.A. Flatt. The Reverend Flatt had heard that Mr. Carl Duffield, a wealthy Texan, planned to enter his dogs in the field trials at Ames Planta- tion. Since gentlemen are naturally in- terested in the hunt, the Reverend Flatt and Dr. Gobbel decided to join the chase. They went to the field trial, rented horses and rode just as close as possible to Mr. Duffield. Dr. Gobbel and Mr. Duffield became friends. Vis- its and dinner engagements were ex- changed. Mr. Duffield was driven by Lambuth College and was shown the plans to increase the seating capacity of the M emorial Chapel. Mr. Duffield