Marion University - Marionette Yearbook (Marion, IN)

Page 27 text:

Marion College Survives Depression In 1932 when I came to Marion College, the depression of the 30's was about at its worst. These were days when banks were closing, mercantile houses were liquidating and even colleges were going into bankruptcy. The Business Manager and the President wondered how Marion College could live, for we could get no money either. How we could keep Marion College in operation was something we had to find out and we did not immediately know the answer, but in the Providence of God, Marion was permitted to keep her doors open. -Dr. Wm. F. McConn College Church s When the college was first opened, the congregation, then known as the South Marion Wesleyan Church, sold their building, moved to the Chapel, and became the College Church. In 1937, a building program was launched which resulted in the construction of a beautiful College Church in 1938, situated on the corner of Fortieth and Washington Streets.

Page 26 text:

The,3Os: l , ll it ', -1 fl i .1 M Henry A. West, Acting President 1929-1932 Out yonder in the midst of a turbulent horizon is the star of safety, peace, and progress, and Marion College purposes to follow the star. Wm. F. McConn William F. McConn, President 1932-1960 College Gains Community Support The South Marion Booster Club, Know known as the South Marion Businessman's Clubl, comprised of nearly all the men engaged in some form of mercantile enterprise, was constantly on the outlook for a chance to help in the progress of the community. No improvement which they promoted attracted more favorable comments than the new boulevard lights placed along the college on Washington Street.

Page 28 text:

William F. McConn, President 1932-1960 The 7405: . Decade of djustment The Forties were filled with the uncertainties of war, but Dr. McConn successfully guided Marion College through those years of uncertainty. Marion College and the War Years In the days before Pearl Harbor, Marion College earnestly prayed that war would never come, but when it en ulfed our country the college immediately set out to give the best preparation to our boys who would be called in by the draft. Marion College first participated in the armed services programs of Enlisted Reserves, approved by the Arm , Navy, Air Corps, and Marines. Wllen the men began to return, Marion College qualified for ap- proval under the United States G.I. Bill of Rights. This provided that a serviceman honorably discharged from any branch of the service may receive one year of schooling for his first ninety days of service and a month for each additional month of active duty, with the government underwrit- ing the cost. Dr. McConn says Our boys have given to their country some of the best years of their lives and Marion College proposes to do everything within her power to afford them an educational opportunity comparable to the one they missed when called into the service.