Northwestern Bible School - Scroll Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

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announced, Wc stare proceedings today for Northwestern Evangelical Seminary to be added to our Bible Training School.” I was nonplussed, and 1 in ashamed to say, added, But where will we get the money To which my husband re¬ plied in absolute confidence, That’s no concern of mine. God has given me marching orders and He will provide —and He did. For a while the Bible School and the North¬ western Evangelical Seminary worked side by side. At that time Dr. Riley had no notion of further additions. (His heart from first to last was primari¬ ly in the Bible School for there lie felt sufficient in¬ struction in the Word of God could be given to assure the student a firm Biblical foundation.) However, after preaching on many of the great college campuses of the nation, he had the pro¬ found conviction that the average college of the day, in which youth was being educated, tended to produce skeptics rather than believers. Believing that such an education was the ruin of promising lives he could not escape the urge to so educate young men and women as to increase rather than to destroy their faith, So after another week of intensive praying and waiting on God for a definite answer, one morning he came out, his face aglow, and announced, Today we start proceedings for the Northwestern College of Liberal Arts.” On September 22, 1944, the college opened with an enrollment of 26 students. A greatly in¬ creased student attendance that fall created an¬ other crisis—that of more housing. Our four dor¬ mitories were not nearly sufficient. Once more Dr. Riley amazed me. He called in real estate men and set them on the search for nearby purchasable- buildings and found not less than a dozen, each of which he personally inspected. He soon faced his board with a recommendation for the purchase of Homestead” on West 15th Street, also faring Loring Park, a fourteen apartment building con¬ taining 68 rooms. On October 20, 1944, Home¬ stead became the fifth dormitory of the North¬ western Schools. Ever on the lookout for loyal teachers and ad¬ ministrators and with the realization that our stu¬ dent body was increasing at a rapid rate, j. Edwin Hartill was called to the Northwestern Schools in the fall of 1944. For eight years he had been the head of the London Bible Institute. In 1944, just before Dr. Moyer passed away, lie joined the Northwestern faculty and became Dean of Men. In 19-42, after completing 45 years as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Minneapolis, Dr. Riley resigned in order to give his full time and every ounce of his energy of his later years to the growing needs of the Northwestern Schools. The day following his resignation from the First Church I was nonplussed by his statement to me that we would drive to St, Paul to consult with an artist relative to preliminary plans for a 5250,000 building to be known as Memorial Hall, to be used as the administrative center of the schools. The reason for this was two-fold. First, our dose proximity to the First Baptist Church led many to falsely believe we were a Baptist School. Sec ondly, our continued growth demanded larger quarters. In quick succession came the purchase of property on Yale (including the present infirmary and parking lot) and further property on Harmon. Within two months a financial specialist was en¬ gaged, a campaign was planned, and the beautiful property adjacent to our dormitories facing Loring Park was purchased and paid for. His last two years were spent in planning this building that it might be the center of all North¬ western interests. In quick succession with untiring effort came trustee consultations, financial cam¬ paigns, architectural plans. At times the going was

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Yes, replied Dr. Riley, and you haven ' t given me a cent up to this time I want you to subscribe S2,000 to this building.” This he did. Others im¬ mediately came to his assistance, so the following week a $10,000 payment was made on the Lyman property. At the time when the school was born the leading restaurant in the city of Minneapolis was the Russell Coffee House. Mrs Russell, one of the first citizens of Minneapolis, and a woman, who in her youth had served as a nurse in the Civil War and whose indomitable will had made her suc¬ cessful in business, visited Dr. Riley, upon whose ministry she was accustomed to wait, and offered to make him her heir. She wanted to practically adopt the young pastor as her own boy and leave her estate to him. He replied, No, I couldn ' t ac¬ cept that, but if you want to give it to the North¬ western Bible and Missionary Training School, HI gladly accept it This was done and out of the estate there came $25,000 for the school Some time later, on a visit to Los Angeles, Dr. Riley heard of the generosity of Mr. Charles Stim- son who was especially interested in Bible training schools and went to see him. The result was that Mr. Stimson deeded to Dr. Riley, for the use of the Northwestern Bible School, property chat was valued at $60,000. However, due to the depres¬ sion which followed, shortly afterward, the prop¬ erty was sold for about S35,000. That’s why to¬ day Northwestern has both a Russell and a Stim¬ son Hall. In Dr. Riley’s own church there came to his aid a Godly woman who gave much larger sums to Northwestern than any other friend of the school. In her modesty she constantly refused to permit him to bestow any public honor or even mention her name Many, many thousands of dollars have come to the school from fundamentalists throughout the entire country who believed in Dr. Riley and what he was doing and knew of the things for which he stood For a period of nine years H. B. O. Phil ports acted as Dean of Men in the school, and also as instructor in some of the classes. Upon his resig¬ nation he was succeeded by the very popular Bible teacher, Dr. Robert L. Moyer, whose fidelity to the cause of Biblical interpretation, and whose loyal cooperation with the president was one of the prominent factors in producing glorious results. My own relationship to the school began in 1920 Although not a member of Dr. Riley ' s church, he had heard of my interest in education and knew that I loved the essential truths for which the Northwestern Bible Sch ool stood He urged me to come and assist in the English depart¬ ment at Northwestern and help to build the cur¬ riculum (There were only 50 students then ) At first I demurred, but his insistence resulted in my teaching some evening classes and in lending other assistance A little later, however, I decided that with my other duties this work was too arduous and I resigned, only to have the president urge and succeed in taking my full service in behalf of Northwestern—working on the curriculum, taking the headship of the English department and oc¬ cupying the office of the Dean of Women—a position I’ve held ever since. In 1933 the Dean of Women married the President! f shall never forget one day in the spring of 1934 Dr. Riley had been in prayer for several nights. I knew he was seeking God ' s will in some important matter—but I knew too that it was holy ground and I waited die result. One morning I was amazed, when with jubilant countenance he

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rough yet, with his usual faith he would quote again and again Isaiah 12:2, I shall trust and not be afraid for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song. 5 ’ He was deeply concerned as costs mounted; he pleaded for strictest economy. It was a momentous day when though frail he was able to witness the ground breaking and to dedicate this spot to the glory of God, the spot on which the William Bell Riley memorial now stands. We circled this ground daily as operations began. As they were driving in the piles—he thought fathoms deep—he figured the cost and was irked by any delay. Then came the cornerstone laying. From his wheel chair he wielded the crowd to add cement to put that in place. From then our daily drive was around the advancing construction. Just two days before God called him home, because med¬ icine had given him a better night he asked if I didn ' t think 1 could get him into the car once more to see the progress. That last time the construc¬ tion was up to the second floor and it looked as if Northwestern Memorial Hall was to be a reality. But as interested as he was in the ongoing of the material end of it, his deepest concern now was to find the right man as leader. Night after night he prayed that God would supply the one who would remain loyal to God and to His Word —that the schools might continue aggressively evangelistic, that graduates might have a positive witness. Some years back he had met a young man from North Carolina, not world-known then and God seemed to say, There is your man,” Never could he get away from the thought that this young evangelist of the cross should succeed him. When approached, the Carolinian laughed off the sug¬ gestion and pleaded his youth. But from that mo¬ ment my husband was always inte rested in his go¬ ings and comings; checked everything from his pen; and scrutinized his spiritual life. Then he asked for an interview. Never had my husband prayed more than that night before the last visit. He knew his strength was failing. When Mr. Graham entered, Dr. Riley had the open Bible on his bedside table. He pointed to that passage in Samuel, Thou art the man.” Then taking his fin¬ ger from out the coverlet he pointed it at Mr. Graham and said, Billy, read this; God has made ir plain to me; I shall meet you at the judgment seat with the responsibility of these three schools,” fc At a Board meeting held about his couch in the dosing days, he voiced in no uncertain sound his desires for the future of Northwestern and said, Should we waver one iota from the policy of the schools in militant conservatism for the cause of Christ we would perish.” So forceful was his ap¬ peal to all liis coworkers that without his request they rose as one to pledge themselves that an unadulterated presentation of Gospel truths would forever emanate from the halls of Northwestern. It was a solemn meeting, for all knew their leader was very frail and all meant it.