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

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12 OBERLINIANA. ttThe very 'Hrst prayer meeting in ,Oberlin was held by Uncle Pindar Pease and his nephew, P. B. Pease. They had traveled all day, Q 10 milesj, from Brownhelm, driving through mud thick and deep. Hitching their oxen, they cut down a tree, the iirst ever telled in Oberlin, and ate their supper. on the stump. Then both kneeled down by its side while Uncle Pindar offered prayer. ' After building a fire they curled up beside the log and slept calmly all night. Three years later, just beneath the shade of the 'big elm' tree, still standing, a log house was erected, in which lived Secretary Benham and his family. In the sleeping room,'which was entered by a ladder, thrust through a hole in the floor, for a long time there stood a box-a small box-in which a child, destined to become one of Oberlin's best men, was lulled to sleep each night by the gambols of rats and micefl Mrs. Shipherd has given the following account of the unifying oi the diverse views of Mr. Stewart and Mr. Shipherd, which resulted in the founding of Oberlin: In their deliberations they would exchange views, one would present one point of interest, another a different one. Mr. Stewart proposed a college, of which Mr. Shipherd could not see the neces- sity, as Hudson college was in its' infancy and poorly sustainedg but Mr, Stewart suggested the manua.l labor system, which Mr. Shipherd fully approved. Thus they labored and prayed, and while on their knees, one day, asking guidance, the whole plan developed itself to Mr, Shipherd's mind, and before rising to his feet-he said, L Come, let us arise and build? He then told Mr. Stewart what had come into his mind,-to procure a tract of land and collect a colony of Christian families, who should pledge themselves to sustain the school and identify themselves with all its interests. They came down from the study, and Mr. Shipherd, with a glowing face saidg Well, my dear, the child is born, and what shall its name be? The name selected for the contemplated colony and school' was Oberlin, after John Frederick Oberlin, well known as pastor of a parish in Eastern France, an interesting account of whose self- denying and successful labors in elevating the people under his charge, they had just .been reading. '

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PIONEER REMINISCENCES. , 11 sion with a man at one time, and when he could not beat me in any other Way, he told the crowd I was an 'Oberlin student? I had the privilege of attending the State Congregational Association of Michigan one year, and the President of the University at Ann Arbor, who was a member of the Association, rose and spoke of the L almost damnable theology of Oberlin' That is the way they felt toward us and our theology. -Y: But this digression has been made in order that the contumely heaped upon the place might be considered in connection with this, original compact of Hlove to all men. To return now to the little colony struggling against overwhelming opposition. The chief features ot' the school, which were especially obnoxious to the public, were the manual labor system and the system of co-education of the sexes. Both of these have now vindicated themselves, but they were then looked upon as highly hereticalq Reform was the essence of Oberlin doctrine, and for many of these reforms the World was not rea.dy. The school was many years in advance of its age. Often worthy, well-meaning men sought to crush the young enter- prise, and they were conscientious in this. Newspapers all over the country, particularly the Cleveland Plain Dealer, were illustrated with cartoons burlesquing and misrepresenting the school. Was it just to criticise thus without having investigated the facts? Cer- tainly no town ever became more universally unpopular, and certainly none was ever less understood. But the enterprise grew and prospered notwithstanding all this. The first year there were 100 students present. In 1834 the emi- nent Dr. Dascomb came, and all rejoiced in his versatile learning. The attendance of ladies was about 40 per cent. of the Whole attend- ance, and has since preserved about the same proportion. These ladies came from New England and various parts of the country. From Elyria to Oberlin, a distance of nine miles, they were often obliged to Walk, sometimes when the mud was ankle deep. The manual labor system involved at first, four hours' Work a day from all alike. An institution 'farm of 800 acres, a steam engine, mills, machinery, and - a workshop were established, the prices paid for labor varied from 3 to 7 cents per hour. an ' +2 The following incident was related by a relative of Mr. Pease, and is the reliable account of the events about which so much of interest centres: f

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PRINEITIVE OBERLIN. I ' I i Q ns I I I II I lsr Ch, LORAIN STREET. T IHI I A I I Q. 5 I I I olinrrrfs, , f.- I I ' E Iv.I Q 15 acres. E I 5 ' I 5 In 5 Q UE ' I-I Q -1 L 2 L ' -g I I s L I F - Q .1 i 1 Inn X COLLEGE STREET. I -if sf- I - I LJ I I I IJ I L I I I 5 I I I I I I I I I-. , 1 I J--O1'igina,lLo'f Cubin. 4-Obe1'linHall. 7-Mr. Finney's House. I. 2-Colonial Hail. 5-XVzLlton Hall. 8-T2l1J13'2L11 Haul. 3-LzLclies'Hall. 1 6--P1'es't Mz1lmn's House. 9-Cinclnnz1tiHa.l1, alias Slab Hall, alias Rebel Hall. I The above diagram represents, in a crude way. -the relative positions of the early buildings. The street named College Place had not then been laid out. Old Slab Hall, a cut of which appears on our rear cover, was superseded by the Laboratory. ' ' I