Southwestern College - Moundbuilder Yearbook (Winfield, KS)

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ui 5..- The above paper was read at the first regular assembly of the year on Thursday, September 8, 1927 The ceremony proposed was ac- tually carried out, that night, at- tended by practically all students and professors. Dean Allen pre- sided and put in the first stone, on which Joe Neville, president of the student body, stood to dedi- cate the mound. The dedicatory prayer was offered by President A. E. Kirk. An unforeseen difficulty arose in the attempt of the vast crowd to put all the stones in at once. Some threw theirs over the heads of others, and Donald Teed, shoveling mortar on the pile, was cut on the head. This tirst martyr of the mound how- ever, had his head bandaged and went on. The iron box was placed at the bottom of the mound. Professor Poundstone at the last moment suggested that a list of all alumni of the school be included, and this was done, so that now all stu- dents of Southwestern from the beginning to the present time have their names in the mound. A mound three feet high and per- haps nine in diameter was the re- sult of the first year's building. The Traditional And time passed. The immutable, fine sands of seconds seeped through the hour glass of time one by one and time passed. Each year the stones were added and the mound grew. The fictitious call for tradition ripened into a cherished ritual. Once each year the mound became the mecca of fledgling and veteran Builders - emblazoned in glory and for the moment the holy of holies. Each bright ceremonial night was fol- lowed by the cold grey dawn of neglect. The Mound seldom served as a trysting spot for plighted trothsg nor the back- ground for victorious celebra- tionsg nor the arena for inspira- tional assemblies. Brambles and briars block the inquisitive visitor, and only the field mouse sought the shelter of the mound, a far cry from the way-station sanctu- ary envisioned by Dean Allen. Then too, the sound of comet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dul- cimer and saxaphone called for by the ceremony of the Building of the Mound, requires the vigi- lant application of the coronetist, the flutist, the harpist, the sack- butist, the psalterist, the dulci- merist and the saxaphonist. The Trademark Of same sands of time that fixed the ceremony into a meaningful tradi- tion eroded the very walls, stud- ding, beams and roof of the quaint and archaic G. l. colonial home of the fine artists, as it had obscured the symbolic mound. Change seemed inevitable. Con- ferences were held. Bold action was proposed. A new Fine Arts Complex was to be raised and on the very spot where the mound mournfully reminisced over what it might of been. But do we dare lay rude hands on such a sacred pile? To disturb the revered prexy's locks and the dean's check would be as to do violence to the casket of a loved one. These and other awe filling thoughts flickered with their awful portent through the minds of those who planned. But the dead hand of the past must not thwart the march of progress. The mound must be moved. Sweet Musick must be heard throughout the land. We are l 'I l I '. ,r .ht l I Xblxvlli NPWWV xllf ll, i ll T l 'iklkxwlt , L'11,f5?l'f, X' fl ' tilt ' . , . .- lvix SS52QQ-i ... 4.1 xtwl 0 , s lit .. .f lf!ti'l 'm '1'y,gQ',' 41 't-l' i ll iw WW' 'ln , XM , MH ,gi Q xi'-AY A ,Min L 7 LLB- --JAKE: ' Q' 'wxxsif Q' ' , X ',A M XX

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teaching here, year after year, 'til the memory shall cease of who suggested the custom or how or when it orginated, but still the ceremony shall be carried on and the mound shall grow. Only this year let there be, as a special feature never to be dupli- cated, the dedication of this mound. Let there be placed at its base, deeply imbedded in ce- ment, an iron box containing the original of the enacting docu- ment, a copy of college catalog, illustrated bulletin, student hand- book, Collegian, Moundbuilder, Winfield Courier, of the new ab- sence regulations, a lock of Prexy's hair and whatever else be thought helpful to future genera- tions in understanding the times in which we live, including a pen- ny, a nickel, a cancelled two-cent stamp and a check for one million dollars. Mayhap in eons yet to come some visitant from the South Sea lsland or the planet Mars, sitting on the ruins of Richardson Hall and wondering what strange go- ings-on were conducted by the long since forgotten inhabitants of this campus, will dig down into the mound and after centuries of effort men may be able to deci- pher some of the documents herein contained and exclaim: What fools those mortals werel This year the mound will be low and the sum total of our efforts discouraging, as the beginnings always are. But each year, as hun- dreds and thousands add their contributions to the monumental pile, it will grow with the growth and greatness of the College, and forever be a token of loyalty and devotion, so that visitors to the College will be shown the mound as one of the unique sights of the whole territory around.'And when they ask: What mean ye be these stones? they shall each alumnus reply: Loyalty to South- western so long as this mound shall stand! I am in that monu- ment and so is every son and daughter of the College and our hearts and hands are with her to the end. So shall a new spirit be born and lead Southwestern on from strength and from grace to grace. About this mound, so unique and appropriate a monument to the loyalty of all who have been con- nected with the institution over a long period of years, shall cluster many sacred memories. Here in days to come students shall as- semble to urge on their represen- tatives to grapple with the foe. Here they will gather when the victory shall have been won to celebrate the outcome. Here they shall come to plight their troth 'til death do them part. As one September succeeds an- other, with only a few short months between, this pile will be first a foundation, then a mound, then a monument, then a hill, and finally a mountain. The advantage to the agriculture of Cowley County and finally of Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado will be obvious. These states will gradually be cleared of stones as the students scour, first the vi- cinity of the College for stones to do their part in the ceremony and then are compelled to bring stones from their homes or re- quired to send them in with their applications for admission. An- other advantage to agriculture will be the condensation of mois- ture by this mountain, resulting in a plentiful rain-fall for this section as well as rushing mountain tor- rents which will furnish a purer and cheaper water supply and abundant power for the factories which will be erected to give work to needy students. Other advan- tages now loom over the far hori- zon. Far is surely the right word here. A mountain on our own campus will afford unlimited opportunities for picnics and hikes and for fish- ing in its streams and lakes as well as for hunting in its unexplored forests. The vision of its snow- capped peaks will be an inspira- tion to students and faculty alike to set their affections on things above. Cool summer resorts near at home will be a boon to frugal professors and their unfortunate families. The mountain will afford a splendid location for the South- western Summer School with es- cape from the heat of our South- ern climate. Thus again will be symbolized the invincible spirit of Southwestern. If the mountain will not come to us-then we will build a mountain of our own. Some disadvantages are, howev- er, foreseen and perhaps it may be just as well to specify now that cabins be erected at intervals of every few miles to shelter stu- dents who get lost in the moun- tains and to protect them from the storms till rescuing parties can reach them. Who can tell what may be the end of the pro- ject we start tonight? Let us enter into this matter with spirit and with will. Let us remem- ber what Daniel Webster said in his address at the dedication of Bunker Hill Monument: Man is not made of reason and judgment only but of imagination and senti- ment also. Surely that man who has not sentiment in his soul has something lacking. Let tonight be devoted to sentiment, and let that sentiment be loyalty to Southwestern!

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Southwestern College - The Mound builders. We literally build mounds, and building requires de- struction. The rock from which the Greek artist carved Winged Victory was torn from its first and natural setting. Even the Taj Mahal was once picturesquely scattered about the four corners of India. The mound could be re- built: We will move our mountain to the lower campus! Even if it means that the lower campus may become the upper campus. From the foundation of the old will riseithe new. And such a mountain as Dean Al- len never dreamed, will spring from the new. Indeed, it will grow on the lower campus in a con- spicuous spot, bathed in the soft glow by night, rimmed by bronze plaque and marble bench by day - clearly evident to all who pass by, that here - at the heart of our College - we reveal - we glorify - we proclaim - we visu- ally symbolize that we are build- ers. And the mountain will grow - overlapping and finally encasing the Library, Mossman Hall, the President's residence and the dormitories. Subterranean pas- sages, equipped with escalators, will serve as connectional arteries for the college facilities miles be- neath its forested and snow- capped peaks. While in those blissful carefree days of Dean Al- len, thoughts were of peaceful va- cationland and bountiful crops: our concern in the perilous 1962 is that this shield of rock will even- tually protect the future builder from Hydrogen bursts, and dead- ly fall out. As Dean, I envision silo- type launching pads, extending into the core of the mountain for the space craft of a later year. Academically we will not boast of a Washington Semester nor a Ju- nior year abroad, but rather of a Saturn Semester, and a Junior year aloft. The physics depart- ment will be in charge of the atomic reactors, producing pow- er, biologists will continue their experimentation with artificial life-giving light and fertilizers, and the maintenance crew will with vigilant care regulate the air puri- fication system in the same thor- ough manner as they now main- tain uniform heat throughout the buildings. The campus will be- come a self-contained unit, and as spasmodic wars range overhead, the quiet struggle for knowledge, X ri! N , ' ' lx -:S-ii N ' V l . .i . 'W l - 4 liyfi 4.,-, ll, Li,-24, 'ul-'irq 4, I Q ii ' I r I ii?-iff is QW - N , 7.-1.-515: , I ,gjggwi 1 . ,' - - , Miiii-,,lii,l' - ' 2fI..f'zi,,w.J - -1 s - , . if-75 Es . it g J, Q f ' I5 , RX Nu En QT IN,FglA, :Qi':,9iga-'L ...iff wisdom and grace will pulsate the Mound's protective covering. ln the occasional lulls between ons- laughts, the Builder scholars will venture forth Cproperly protected from the deadly airj and climb the 77,777 steps, and look out over the devastated countryside and call we who build here tonight - blessed among men. But seriously, the symbol of the mound will not change with the relocation of the site, Each age must rearrange its values and re- build its principles. That which en- dures from the old is a solid foun- dation on which to build even as the rocks and stones of the class of 1927 and 1937 rest here as a firm foundation. We once again cement a new bond with our heri- tage. And from the union will rise a new and more disciplined sym- bol of the Builder spirit. Loyalty to Southwestern need not be altered by erecting new sym- bols. The uniqueness of our con- structive spiritg the dedication of our lives to knowledge, hope and courage , the honor we pay our Alma Mater transcends the stones we lay on this mound. In rededicating this mound we also rededicate our lives to loyalty to our college: the improved welfare of our fellow meng and the greater glory of God. From a speech by Dean C. Robert Haywood. September 12, 1962. ii .