Oberlin College - Hi-O-Hi Yearbook (Oberlin, OH)

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OBERLINIANA. x CHAPTER I. PIONEER Rmnniscnncns. I V , D - N 1832, Rev. John L. Shipherd, pastor oi the Presbyterian Wm Church at Elyria, and Mr. P. P. Stewart, an ex-missionary, 5,15 conceived the plan of organizing a community in the wilds of . any Lorain county, which should become the secluded home of a 'li collegiate school. During that year they prayed and talked over the plan with their wives, and in the next year came to this Jlace. 1 The purpose of the colony was set forth in the 'L Oberlin Covenant W as that of it glorifying God in doing good to men to the extent of our abilityf' This was the animus of the community. To be sure, there were found also in this Hflovenantll the inculoation of self-denial, economy and industry, together with the germ of the present anti- tobacco sentiment, yet love to man was the vital principle in the new colony. . 95 it ,How far the reputation of Oberlin has been warped from this standard! The self-denial, the intensity of belief, and the earnest- ness.of life characteristic of the early residents were made the subject of unsparing ridicule. The word Oberlin became synony- mous with bigotry and asceticismg yet the faith of the early settlers was not one of austerity and gloom. The most trifling circumstances were outrageously distorted and heralded abroad over the land by the press: More often stories were fabricated out of whole cloth and circulated in the newspapers. The New York Observer used the expression, The latest Ober- linism, in reference to any instance of bigotry and intolerance. In short, the idea prevailed throughout the length and breadth of the land, that extreme fanaticism characterized the place. Later in the history of the place this calumny asserted itself in open forms. A guide-board fire miles -north of town represented a

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In keeping with the character of the occasion upon which the book is intro- duced, it has been the effort to paint the brighter side of Oberlin life. A very brief outline of the early career of both town and college is given in the first chapter, to serve as a faint background to the picture-in order that it may not seem to be entirely devoid of historical setting. Only warm, bright colorshave been used. Occasionally pathos, sentiment and fancy may have been employed to fill in With, but the presiding genius of the Whole is comedy. The surprising and amusing sides of Oberlin life have been portrayed, with due effort to avoid the dangerous extreme of coarseness and buffoonry so common in college pub- lications. It may be well to state in this introduction that, Qunless otherwise specified D, the incidents as given are without exception vouchedfor as strictly true by those Personally acquainted with the facts. Perhaps the gathering up of these tradi- tions could have been done more eiiectively by some of those still living who have Watched the growth of Oberlin from the early timesg but as these persons have either not been able or not inspired to take the matter in hand, it has been reserved for the students of modern times to do it as best they could. The result is, we hope, tolerably complete, considering the fact that nearly all the zicidents related had to be gathered by the interviewing process. And now it only remains, in sending forth this modest candidate for local favor, to add that, While we regret that the haste with which it was necessary to get out Oberliniana has not been compatible with a more exhaustive treat- ment of the subject and a more perfect typographical make-up, We nevertheless count none of the time and labor which the book represents lost, whatever may be its reception at the hands of the public. THE AUTHORS.

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l 10 , OBERLINIANA. negro running at full speed toward the settlement. Another at the Half-Vifay House between here and Elyria showed a fugitive slave pursued by a grinning tiger. Papers publicly discussed the right of Oberlin to be. Non-intercourse acts Were passed by the Pres- byteries, and Oberlin theology branded as heresy. Candidates for the ministry were met With the question, NDO you believe in the Oberlin ways of doing things? A monstrous pamphlet was pub- lished, entitled Oberlin Unmaskedf' Students seeking schools to teach did not dare to say they hailed from Oberlin, in such false odium was the place held. They could only reply to the question, 'tFrom Northern Ohioj' otherwise their application was hopeless. A large volume might be filled with instances of the slanders against the town. 9? SC- Once a white student, at Mr. Shipherd's request, drove a feeble colored servant girl a few miles for her health, the ride being pre- scribed by a physician, immediately the county paper issued an extra, denouncing the 4' amalgamation V, The next Cleveland paper announced in heavy head lines, if Marriage Extraordinary, and the hideous details in full. It is needless to say that the account was copied by at least forty papers throughout the United States. The vilest and most scurrilous accounts off imaginary events were published. Every mistake appeared as a monstrous crime. At -a great conference of IVestern churches held in Cleveland, Oberlin was bitterly denounced. It would be too much to say that Ober- lin was free from extremists, and doubtless mistakes were made by some, but kindness,charity, cheerfulness and purity were the chief characteristics of the early Oberlin fathers, and not noisy demonstrative piety. W Mr. J. A. V an Wagner of '45 says in reference to this opposition: f'We were shut out of the World, and had 'no sympathy from any- one. When I went away at any distance to lecture or preach, I didn't dare to tell them that I came from Oberlin. They would sooner give a night's lodging to a bear than to a man from Oberlin. Once, when I was out lecturing, I stopped at a good house with a very pleasant family. The lady of the house was bent on Ending out Where I got my education, and asked me several times. I dodged the question as long as I could, but at last she cornered me, and I had to tell her, 4 Oberlin.' ' OBERLIN 1' she exclaimed, with an expression of horror and contempt that I shall never forget. That was the spirit which we encountered everywhere. I had a discus-