Monmouth College - Ravelings Yearbook (Monmouth, IL)

Page 21 text:

RICH MARTIN Monmouth certainly has been an experience. Entering Monmouth a long, long time ago, or so it seems, never even having seen the place be- fore I got here, you couldn ' t ask for friendlier people. The climate of Monmouth was so alien to a New Jersey boy that I did have trouble adjusting. Having absolutely no desire to become a frat- rat, and enter a ridiculous Greek system, I im- mediately pledged the ZBT. You can ' t imagine how one group of men could so change, broaden and enlighten another person. I was never an outgoing person in high school, and certainly not a leader. After serving as president of the fraternity and co-chairman of Freshman Orientation for two years running, I ended up as Editor of the Oracle. In addition, Inter-fraternity Council, Kappa Delta Big Brothers, and a host of other activities added to incredible years of college. I ' m sorry it had to end before I tried everything. V E R Y I N T E R E S T I N G P E O P L E PA UL McCLA NA HA N Dr. Paul McClanahan has been at Monmouth College since 1964. Before that, however, Dr. McClanahan has had other ties with the college. Members of his family have been associated with the school since it was founded. His father was a member of the faculty at Monmouth Col- lege and held the position of chaplain. Dr. McClanahan now holds the position of chaplain of the college as his father had years ago. Dr. McClanahan has made students aware of Monmouth College ' s far-reaching influence. Be- fore taking his position at Monmouth College, he was associated with Assad College in Egypt. Many of the faculty in earlier years have taught in Egypt and then returned to Monmouth. In the eyes of Dr. McClanahan the major achievement of Monmouth College is the way they made it through the 1960 ' s. He felt that through a more open relationship between fac- ulty and students, some explosive situations were defused. 17

Page 20 text:

1853-1977 Sat. Nov. 5th s u n d a y N o V 6 t h Dr. Robert Gibson, past presi- dent of Monmouth College, re- turned to the campus to partici- pate in the 125th anniversary celebration. Former students, faculty, and friends all joined him to watch the traditional Bronze Turkey Game. Dr. Weeks, Dr. Gibson and Dr. Sorenson Monmouth Community Choir and Monmouth College Choir sing the Messiah

Page 22 text:

Bernice Fox The story of Bernice Fox is a rather interesting story. Bernice Fox did her undergraduate work at Kentucky Wesleyen College, which was about the size of Monmouth College. On her graduation day she graduated Magma Cum Laude, and received honors in five departments: Those being in English, Latin, Education, Math, and Bible. She furthered her education at the University of Ken- tucky, receiving her Masters and started working on her PHd., at Ohio State University. She had received a gradu- ate assistantship teaching Freshman English. In 1941, during World War II, she made the decision to help her country in the time of need. She became an Air- port Weather Reporter. At that time, she was the first and only woman weather reporter in the Midwest. This lasted almost three years. After that, she worked at several different jobs, consisting of doing accounts re- ceivable at a gift shop and an assistant to a CPA. In 1947, an old teacher called and told her that it was a crime that she was not teaching. From there she went job hunting and came to Monmouth College to teach English. In 1952, Dr. Gibson retired and she began to teach English and Latin, which led to just the Classics. On De- cember 24, 1952, Miss Fox found that she had cancer. When her students found out they sent cards, flowers, and pictures saying they needed her back. By this time, she found how wonderful students really are. During her absence of three weeks, her classes went on. She had all her tests made out and the Sunday be- fore she was to give her final in Classics, she came home to Monmouth. When she arrived at the train station, she was met by half a dozen of her students who took her home. On Monday morning, she was up and at school for her 7:30 final she had to give in Latin. Talking to Miss Fox, I asked her how she felt when she was told about having cancer. She replied with a smile: If I survived, it would be the most valuable lesson in my life. As you can see, I have had 25 years of happiness since then. D: What is the most important thing you must do to be a good teacher? F: Love your students and, by all means, maintain a sense of humor. D: What are the most important developments or addi- tions to the Monmouth College campus? F: The three greatest are the Science Center, the Li- brary, and the Carillon. These add a great dimension of beauty to the campus. The only thing we need now is a fine arts center. Miss Fox was also the first sponsor for Alpha Lamda Delta. She started the chapter of Eta Sigma Phi in 1956. She commented on this by saying that the Eta Sigma Phi has always been at the national convention and in 1973- 74 was given a plaque by the national chapter of Eta Sigma Phi, and in 1975 was Outstanding Educator of the Nation. Miss Fox also holds the president ' s position of the Illinois Classics Conference of Latin and Greek. D: How about your retirement? F: I ' m scheduled to retife in 1979. Although the govern- ment is working on the problem of discrimination against older citizens and rumors of my departure may be premature. As you can see, Miss Bernice Fox has served our cam- pus, students and given all she knows to such a small and great school. She has enjoyed her time here and wishes to continue. She has given every ounce of herself and more to this school she calls her life. 18