St Olaf College - Viking Yearbook (Northfield, MN)

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.1- N X -Sl - 1 , -ci. -5f ' 1' -3,-3:f.- T '-,ye U Mff.:2-f A --ll-.- Y:-f-,,-f-- agar, . . J Z: The man who, under God, had guided the destiny of St. Olaf College during :,,b E? the first twenty-five years of its existence was President Mohn. Few realize how much we owe to this man. Let future generations of St. Olaf Alumni try to re- alize their indebtedness to him who gave his life work to the upbuilding of the Christian college. I-Ie laid the foundation, and whatever St. Olaf is or ever will become must rest upon that. Besides what has been mentioned he prepared for the future expansion of the college by adding forty-seven acres to the campus, most of which he secured privately and afterwards deeded over to St. Olaf Col- lege. A new era of expansion began with the year 1899. The undergraduate stud- ents of the United Church Seminary were to be transferred to St. Olaf. This meant an immediate increase of about 2oo students, and to accommodate these the Boys' Dormitory was erected in 19oo. In this year the presidentls residence was also built. Then followed the Steensland Library in 1902, costing approximately SI3,000, which was given by Consul Halle Steensland, of Madison, Wisconsiii. In IQO5 the central heating plant was built. The next year saw the completion of the Hoyme Memorial Chapel, erected by the United Church in memory of its first pres- ident, Rev. Gjermund I-Ioyme, mainly through the efforts of our late lamented vice president, the Rev. Nils J. Ellestad. i . In 1907 the St. Olaf I-Iospital was built under the auspices of the St. Olaf As- sociation. A substantial barn was the next building. Then came the Finseth band stand, and last but not least, came the Mohn I-Iall, named in honor of the first president of St. Olaf College. This outward expansion has been accompanied by a corresponding expansion in other lines. The number of students has increased more than tenfold, and the number of teachers in proportion. The curriculum has developed new courses, and added new departments to the different courses from time to time. The li- brary has grown to Io,ooo volumes. Three laboratories for the teaching of sci- ence have been equipped. Independent student activities have been fostered in various directions. The students have taken a leading part in oratorical contests and intercollegiate debates. The St. Olaf College Band has gained an enviable rep- utation. Athletic sports have been cultivated. Society work lias prospered. Re- ligious organizations are making their influence felt in the uttermost parts of the earth. The banner of St. Olaf still floats, and on it are inscribed the words which President Mohn selected for inscription on the official seal of the College, the old battle cry of King Olaf: Pram, Pram, Cristmenn, Crossmenn! 11 X - ,1

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X acre lot on which the Old Hall is located. The price was 340 and S45 an acre, re- ' f' -J xv- Ax -N.,-i Q , -.1-rx 'Ex' ,,f,:-::'.7.b.f ,P V ---H U-,TWT V, aw, M- ----. - - --,-me s. ASZ xl,-f T-5 fm. Q Q4 -5 416 if 4'f': Q? spectively. Real estate has gone up some. Half acre lots are now selling at the rate of 31,200 an acre. Having secured the grounds, the next step was to erect the permanent building thereon. The corporation, however, had neither funds nor endowment, and although all the members of the board belonged to the Nor- wegian Synod, they could not count on any direct contribution from that body for a private venture. The only way open for them was to solicit subscriptions from thoise interested in the success of the project, the town people and the adjacent territory within a radius of 25 miles. In Northfield about 36,000 was subscribed, while the congregations of Reverend Muus and Reverend Quammen subscribed about 316,000 With this sum the Main building was erected in the years 1877 and ,78. The cornerstone, which may be seen in the northwest corner at the top- of the basement wall, was laid by the president of the Norwegian Synod, Rev. H. A. Preus, on the fourth of july, 1877. In the fall of 1878 the building was occupied and dedicated, although not finished. In fact, the tower was not completed till 1884. As soon as the old buildings in town were vacated, the lots were sold and the buildings torn down, and with this material Mr. Thorson, at his own expense, erected the Old Hall, which is practically the same building in which the school first started. With this equipment the school carried on its work for more than twenty years. 7 During these years it grew and gradually developed into a college, which had been the aim of the founder from the beginning. Up to 1890 the course required three years, after that it became a four years' course. The college course was launched in 1886 and of the Freshmen who entered the first class three completed the course in 1890. In 1889 the charter had been amended by an act of the Legis- lature of Minnesota, and the institution was henceforth officially styled St. Olaf College. At first the work of the college department was made possible by annual con- tributions from the Anti-Missourian Brotherhood, consisting of those congrega- tions and ministers who had separated from the Norwegian Synod on account of the controversy concerning the doctrine of predestination. Upon the organiza- tion of the United Church, in 1890, St. Olaf was made the college of the United Church. But a part of the Norwegian-Danish Conference, the so-called Augsburg element, did not look with favor upon this move and soon found a pre- text for openly opposing St. Olaf. The consequence was that St. Olaf was aban- doned by the United Church in 1893 and lived in exile till 1899. These were years of hardship for St. Olaf, and had it not been for the cordial support of its old friends and the strenuous efforts of Prof. Ytterboe, the financial secretary of the college, it would be hard to tell what would have happened. As it was St. Olaf kept on working for the best interest of the United Church, and was rewarded by re-adoption in 1899. 10

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N.- Rf 'xv-. g, -- .,..v-:F ..g A7-A, fLL.,.,. -7 , .- .,.x,s .. - N.,-CK ,F - St. Olaf College a Christian College By PRES. 1. N. KILDAHL. T. OLAF COLLEGE is a church school. It is the college of the United Lutheran Church. Why does the church maintain a col- 45, lege? Because the church believes in Christian education. What is the work of a Christian college? It is, of course, in many respects the same as that of any other college. Its work, i of course, must be college work. But, as logicians would express it, the term Christian college is wider in intention than the term college, because a Christian college has all the characteristics of a college, plus those characteristics which make it a Christian college. And what are the characteristics of a Chris- tian college? Or, in other words, what work must be done in a college in addition to general college work in order that it may be termed a Christian college? The special Work of a Christian college is to impart Christian knowledge, to inculcate Christian doctrine and Christian principles, to teach Christian morals and to in- fluence the students to lead Christian lives. This is what St. Olaf College is trying to do. It ought to be the aim of a college to develop symmetrically the whole man, and thus to produce the highest and most nearly perfect type of manhood and womanhood. The highest and most nearly perfect type of manhood and woman- hood is that which most resembles Christ. But this type of manhood and woman- hood can be obtained only by a thorough knowledge and constant practice of the Christian religion. It is evident that the college which neglects to develop the religious and spir- itual life of its students does not develop the whole man, and does not aim at pro- ducing the highest and most perfect type of manhood and womanhood. The ed- ucation which students of such a college get is very defective. And not only is de- velopment of the most important part of man neglected at a non-Christian college, but even the knowledge which is imparted at such an institution is very one-sided. The students of such a college study the works of Xenophon, Caesar, Goethe, Shakespeare, Longfellow, and Ibsen, but they do not study the greatest and most Wonderful book that has ever been published. They learn to know who Charle- magne and Henry VIII were, but they learn nothing about Moses and Paul, the two men who have influenced the world by far more than any other two men. They are instructed in regard to the relation between mind and body, but they are taught nothing as to the relation between man and God. The non-Christian college cannot give the best and most adequate education. ,. ,..-- 12