Ripon College - Crimson Yearbook (Ripon, WI)

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i if A CRIMSONIB mv U21 Q The First Graduate ODAY there is no individual living better able to eulogize Ripon College than is Miss Luthera Adams, the only living graduate of the Class of 1867, the A ,uvii V first class to be graduated from this institution. It is to Miss Adams that this annual has been dedicated and to 'i if- ' 1e her that the staff is indebted for much of the material lulplyl i JAIIIA which is presented in this section. i 'i e I'm a pretty old lady, 'l Miss Adams smilingly speaks MUS -'Y 1111111-U '67 of herself. However, eighty-two years of service have not left the customary marks on Ripon's pioneer student, and, living alone in the homestead which her father built over seventy years ago in the little city of Omro, Miss Adams is still as active mentally and as interested in educational matters as she was during her several years both as student and instructor in Ripon College. A veritable storehouse of information, she is enthusiastic in her responses regarding herself, Ripon and the general drift of educational matters during the past two generations. lt is a. source of no little wonder to her how present-day students acquire any knowldedgeg rather, how they find time for studies in face of the other activities which must attract their attention. The remarkable memory of Miss Adams is demonstrated by her ability to recall names and faces. She is able to pursue the pages of an old photograph album which she completed during her stay at Ripon and designate the names of every individual, only having to pause casually to recall Christian names. Each face inevitably suggests an anecdote and an hour with Miss Adams is to become acquainted with a new type of student life, characteristic of colleges and universities in general sixty years ago. A X Miss Adams was a student at Ripon College for over seven years, her attend- ance being frequently interrupted by necessary periods of teaching at Mlaupun and Omro in order to secure money with which to continue. Coming to NVis- consin from New York with her parents, at the age of eight years. she had the advantage of very little early training. ltler father first settled at Pickett near relatives. but upon a visit to Oshkosh he heard of the erection of a new mill at Omro and the need of a blacksmith, which was his trade. So he moved his wife and only child and became one of the first settlers in that village. Today the Oniro High School and graded school buildings as well as several blocks of residences are on land originally claimed by John Adams. The first school which Miss-Adams attended was conducted by a Yale grad- uate who happened to spend a winter in Omro and who hired the back part ot' a vacant store building in which to hold his evening classes. Public schools were unheard of at that time a.nd most children depended upon their mothers for their learning. Prior to entering Ripon Uollege, which was then known as Brockway Hall. Miss Adams attended a seminary for girls at Rockford, Illinois. C01 E 15 04:1 5 vkmoi , mf f ' m , UD I '..l7 , , 1 ' Page I4

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,fin gg CICG'f2QgZ024CHIN1.5'0AfIln' B Q purchased and called Ingalls Park in honor of Mr, Ingalls who contributed generously to the movement. During the latter part of President Merrcll's ad- ministration the work of the college was greatly ob- structed by doctrinal and other controversiesg how- ever, the spirit with which the college was founded was nndaunted by even these new difficulties. The tireless effort and unfail- ing devotion of the presi- dents who followed, the Jf00Il1iffhl on G1-fm Lakr Reverend Rufus Flagg, Dr. R. C. Hughes, Dr. Silas E. Evans, and Dr. H. C. Culbcrtson,brought the college to the attainment of its present intellectual and moral standards, and to consequent recognition byiboth the Carnegie and Rockefeller Foundations, the Association of American Universities, the North Central Association of Colleges, and the Asso- ciation of AmericanColleges., Courses of instruction now provide completely the pre-professional require- ments in ZLg'1'lCUltUl'B,'-l'I168llCll1C, engineering, law and commerce, beside the usual college work in science and the liberal artsleading to the B.A. and BS. degrees. There is also an excellent education course affording professional training for the teaching profession: With the exception of the state university, Ripon is the only school in Wisconsin offering a four years' course in Military Science and Tactics. The collegiate activities have grown until at present they embrace forensics, journalism,dramatics and oratory. The college offers through the School of Music comlilete courses leading to the degree of Bachelor of Music and to a certificate in-.public school music. Ripon also holds a very enviable place at the head of Mfisconsin intercollegiate athletics, belonging to t.he Little Five and the Midwestern' Conferences. From an initial class of very few students, the enrollment has risen until the number new reaches four hundred and fifty. The college to date has conferred the following degrees: 717 Bachelor of Arts, 98 Bachelor of Science, 25 Bachelor of Philosophy, 61 Master ef Arts, 37 Doctor of Divinity, and 5 Doctor of Laws. coil, ibm K or W Us r '1n:1g fm gmt ,M c :v 20 Page 13

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uxrf C out fl-Tf1e1024 CRIM.f0NDj1 C gmac pp an Q :for one year. She remarks that even her seanty schooling surpassed that of most of the members oilf her class upon entering Brockway. The task of such an insti- tution was at that time, she declares, extremely difficult owing to the lack of preparation ot the beginners. Brockway College was originally more ol? an academy than a eollege. What is now a wing oi? East 'Hall was the only buildingg elasses 'lior girls were held on the 'first' tloor and for boys on the second. 'llhere were two teachers, one avman, the other a woman. It was the coming of the Reverend Wiliiam E. Merriman that gave Ripon its real beginning, as has been related above. - Several years atfter graduation Miss Adams returned to Ripon as head of the department ot Greek and Latin. One ot her most precious treasures today is a silver card tray, a remembrance from her last' class in Greek. She was forced to leave Ripon finally because ot? the death ot her mother. For 'fourteen years she kept house ilfor her tather until he also died. Miss Adams' has always, and still is, intensely interested in educational matters. She is a stauneh supporter ot the theory ol? discipline for its own sake. At her home in Omro she for many years privately coached boys and girls preparing t.o enter colleges and has been instrumental in sending many new students to Ripon. Today, she explains, I am still as interested as ever in my Latin and Greek, although l have not as much time to devote to them as formerly. ' ' Ripon College is rightly proud to designate such a remarkable woman as among its first' graduates. Miss Adams is an example which other generations of Riponites may well attempt to copy. She exemplifies the true Crimson spirit and is still as loyal to her alma mater as upon graduation day. In June, 1921, she attend- ed the eonnneneement exercises at the college, and, if possible, hopes to be present again this yea r. And yet, upon her own authority, her feel- i ing is not singular for a Riponiteg it is simply the spirit of New Ripon which lives eter- nal. Miss fldams' 1101110 in Omro fV. 'Gf me c 'mx nn rif t- e i g p pgwagfp 1111 p an gp .R 'll a-16+ Page I5