Monmouth College - Ravelings Yearbook (Monmouth, IL)

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: M 1 ■ r PI iki fll affi ' j 5j|fi Baseball and Football Teams from the First Ravelings the steady advance of Monmouth College. Dr. McMichael returned to Sugar Creek, Ohio where his earliest days of ministry were spent. Here, in quiet, ear- nest labor and most pleasant social surroundings several happy years of service were given. It was during the latter part of Dr. J. B. McMichael ' s days as president of our college that the Monmouth College Auditorium was erected, in 1896 by contractor D. E. Wade of the class of ' 87. Rev. Samuel Ross Lyons was the third president of Monmouth College, from 1898 to 1901. It was during his administration that the endowment of the college was increased by $100,000.00 through a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Law of New York. Mr. Lyons was a man filled with the spirit of Christ and one who held the confidence of everyone. There is much to say yet little needs be said regarding the administration of the present president, Dr. T. H. McMichael who became president of Mon- mouth College in 1903. One has only to consider our college as it is today with its beautiful buildings and above all the high and noble standards and ideals of our beloved institution, to obtain even a limited conception of all that Dr. McMichael means to Monmouth College. It is impossible to estimate the wholesome influence inspired by his boundless spirit, in the hearts of the present student generation as well as in the hearts of the thousands of alumni whom Monmouth College has sent to all portions of the globe. We now come to the golden age in the history of Monmouth College when our present college buildings were erected in close succession. There was the Library building, made possible by the generous gift of Andrew Carnegie, built in 1907. Wallace Hall followed in 1908, and McMichael Hall or the Science building in 1909. Mr. Wade was again summoned to Monmouth College in the building of McMichael Home for the girls, in 1915. The latest but by no means the last acquisition to our group of college buildings is Sunyside , which appeared in

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19 TRAVELINGS 24 In September many again entered Monmouth College; but the empty sleeves and the resounding crutch on conscious floor told too plainly the story of their sacrifice. Let us now come to the second president of the college, the one who for nineteen years was its guide and counsellor, Dr. Jackson Burgess McMichael. He was born near the Class of -93 (From the First Raveiings ) village of Poland. Ohio, where he spent his early years. These seventeen years of farm life gave the rugged strength of mind and body, the knowledge of simple, homely things, and provided the balance so often lacking in the scholastic mind. At this time came that stirring within for more and better education and a desire to read and study those things that other men had wrought in oth r days. Later he entered Westminister from which he graduated in 1 859. After teaching for a few months he decided to fit himself for the ministry, and in 1862, after his three years in the seminary, he was ordained and took up his pastorate at Sugar Creek, Ohio. It was from this place that Dr. J. B. McMichael was called to the presi- dency of Monmouth College in 1878. He found awaiting him a small co-edu- cational college which in the years of his administration was to meet and grapple with some of the most serious problems of its existence. Church colleges had especial difficulties to face as the bigotry of religious instruction was urged and the breadth of secular education. In those days it seemed to be almost a losing fight. Dr. McMichael had to meet the demand for a broader curriculum; to make response to the appeals along scientific lines; to keep the college abreast with growng, expanding thought He had to do this with conservative prece- dents and lack of sufficient funds. It is a matter of great congratulation that through all of these years, Monmouth College has remained a college with firmly established standards, which believes with President Parsons, of Parson ' s Col- lege, The purpose of such a school is to found character and character of the right kind; to turn out men and women who are symmetrical. In all Dr. McMichael ' s contact with others there was that ever-abounding sense of humor which is the salt of character and likewise the lubricant of human relationship. The personal and human side of things was very near to him. He was ever close to his students. In his own home he was the soul of hospitality, and a ready and efficient help to the boy or girl in need of good, wholesome, fatherly advice. Dr. McMichael was a great believer in old fashioned scholarship as the basic law of learning. Also he was heart and soul in favor of wholesome ath- letics, being a familiar figure at the thletic field. Through nineteen long years of faithful friend and counsellor of recurring generations of students and watched -14—

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S TlQ TtAVELINGS 24 1920. Only a few years will revise this matter of college equipmenet in regard to buildings. So rapid is the progress which is being made on the new athletic field that work will soon be begun on the magnificent new gymnasium, the boys ' dormitory to follow, fraternity, and sorority houses, and only time can tell the story. We are thankful that Monmouth College has been an enterprising and growing institution since 1853 with the greater part of her history in the making; history, which only future generations can relate. Dr. David A. Wallace 1856-1878 Dr. J. B. McMichael 1878-1897 Rev. Samuel R. Lyons . . . 1898-1901 Dr. T. H. McMichael 1903-