Peru State College - Peruvian Yearbook (Peru, NE)

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AMPUS ml $■ Peru’s campus has undergone a lot. of change physically. When school started, there was one building to 60 acres. Today. Peru State governs over 100 acres, and over 20 buildings ranging in age, style, size, and purpose, can be found. The oldest building on campus is the present Health Center. It was constructed in 1889, and along with a library long gone cost $13,000. The Health Center was built originally as a heating plant. The gymnasium was originally intended as a chapel, and was built in 1903 for $43,500. The outmoded structure and its sister the Health Center will both be relieved of duties .pending the approval of the Peru Gym pro- posal. The library now in use was begun in 1906 as a simple story structure. It was added to in 1911, with much of the second floor going to classroom space. The whole building was remod- eled in 1963. The Administration Building was built in 1910 for $40,000 and- is still in heavy use today. How- ever, much of the original build- Contintued. . . 4

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 dates for graduation. Peru struggled in the early years, but steadily grew despite a high turnover of employees. Pern Normal went through no less than eight Presidents, or Principals as they were called in the first 10 years of existence. The campus itself changed radically with the construction, removal, or destruction of build- ings a more frequent thing than today. Peru was Nebraska's most important school at the time, and it was easier to get money from the state. . — The original library boasts approximately 80,000 volumes according to librarian Faye Brandt. Enrollment at Peru has fluctu- ated greatly from that original class of 32. By 1894 the school taught 556 (382 of which were female). Enrollment was at under 300 in the early 1950’s and broke the 1,000 mark in 1965. Today the school claims an enrollment of about 850. (Much of the pro- ceeding material was taken from The Normal on the Hill” by Ernest Longfellow. Continued. . . 3

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of 1000 OAKS ing was built for classes, and today only one classroom remains. T. J. Majors Hall, also called the Education Building, was con- structed in 1917 and cost a ''whopping” (at that time) $100,000. This was regarded as one of the finest buildings of its kind in the Midwest. Eliza Morgan Hall, the girls' dormitory, was constructed in 1929. It has undergone several changes, but still serves as the social hub of Peru State. Morgan girls have the reputation of being the ''do'ers” on campus. Morgan Halls opposite, Delzell Hall, was built in 1938 to house the male populace. The beautiful Fine Arts build- ing was built in 1966. The most recent construction involved cre- ation of the Centennial Complex in 1967. Now, Pern State is involved in trying to get a new gym Health center. When this story was writ- ten, the project was still going through the legislature. This important project will have much affect on Peru State’s future. Continued. . 5