St Paul Bible College - Shield Yearbook (St Paul, MN)

Page 17 text:

T 'Be Forgot en r9.4 -47 heimer, Lion Tucker, WV. M. Turnbull, P. W. Phill- pott, Oswald Smith, and others, visited the school and the new Tabernacle which was opened Iuly 9, 1918 with a capacity crowd of 2,000. Because of these men the school gained more and more recognition. It became necessary in 1919 to add new teachers. Among those added was Ioseph Hogue, the Scotch Irish evangelist, and elderly Mr. Chindler. Harold Freligh, a student of 1917, returned in 1919 as a teacher in which position he remained for 13 years. The first graduating class was, of course, small since only four st-udents had begun as freshmen in that 1916 class. The name of the first graduate is Rev. Ezra Cerig, now nationally known as the pastor of the Church of the Great Commission, Portland, Ore. But now the size of the student body began to grow by leaps and bounds. In 1919 there were almost 50 students, in 1920 over 100, and in 1924, eight years after its founding, 152 students were enrolled. A large chapel, seating 400, and a dining room and kitchen, were added to the school at a cost of El515,000. Many new departments were added to the school. Mrs. Ger- trude Rutenber was added to the faculty as Instructor in Teachers' Training and History, in which capacity she served until 1943 when she became an honorary member of the faculty. One of the sources of inspiration came from the many missionaries who visited the school every year. Then, as now, it proved to be one of the most heart searching and glorious experiences of days at St. Paul. It gave practical results in that between 30 and 40 missionaries went forth from the school in the first 10 years of the school's existence. In 1922, in a period of two months, student activity in t11e Christian work had resulted in 234 souls saved and 948 calls made, and 73,000 tracts given out! Present day students will have to look to their laurels! Then, unexpectedly, a call came from the Annual Council of 1923, which met that year in St. Paul, for Rev. and Mrs. Williams to go to the Philippines to establish a training school for native workers. Wil- liam Christie was appointed as Superintendent for that period of their absence-one year, and Harold F religh accepted the position of Principal, And so St. Paul bade boodbye to a good and great man and his capable wife. Attendance for the next five years held to about 130-150. In 1926 the graduating class numbered 53, the largest yet in the ten years of the scliool's exist- ence. However, the depression years hit hard and the number of students dropped to 80. ln 1929 the num- ber of graduates had dropped to 30. At the depth of the depression the fortunes of the school were at their lowest ebb. The enrollment had dropped to 78 in the fall term. Then in August of 1932, Principal Freligh left the school to take further training in the East. Mr. Freligh's contribution to the school had been great. His Bible teaching left an impact on the lives of all the students and the school felt a keen sense of loss at his departure. Rev. C. D. Strohm, returned missionary from China and the Philippines, was the commencement speaker at the graduating ceremonies for the class of 1932, and the following summer was engaged in missionary conferences throughout the District. Whezi Mr, F religh resigned, the District Committee approached Mr. Strohm, then holding a convention in Duluth, with the call to the Deanship of the Bible School. And so it was that Rev. G. D. Strohm began his work as Dean. Immediately the results of his leader- ship became apparent. The next fall the enrollment was in the high 90's, the second semester there were over 100 and from there the enrollment climbed until in 1946 there were 248 students enrolled in the fall session of the day school and 79 in the night school. Mr. Strohm immediately began the program of restoring the school to the standing of earlier years. He arranged long tours during the summers, and shorter ones during the weekends, to the various The Ent permanent home of the St. Paul Bible Institute- 1635 Sherbourne Avenue.

Page 16 text:

1 1916- 1 heSto1'y e er Rev. and Mrs. J. D. Williams, the founders of the St. Paul Blbla lnstltutu. CMuch of the following materia is taken from an article written by Rev. William Stuart McBirnie an alumnus of the St. Paul Bible Institute.j One hundred years ago there were no Bible Insti- tutes in America - there was no need for them. Frontier colleges and seminaries were yet in their infancy. The swing to liberal theology and sterile methods of Gospel propagation that gave rise to the Bible Institute had not yet taken place. When, however, it became apparent that the de- nominations were turning to modernism, those who vigorously championed the evangelical faith began to see the need of establishing schools that would train men and women with the aim of producing skilful soul winners and warriors that would be mighty in the Faith once delivered. And so it is this thrilling romance of conquest of the hearts of men by the Young Prince of Bethle- hem that is the story of the school that is now called The St. Paul Bible Institute. Listen to its story. It was the year 1916. Spring was in the air, although snow was on the ground-and there was spring in the hearts of Rev. and Mrs. D. Williams in spite of the cold Minnesota winter. The Williams had not been long in Minnesota for it had been only the previous year that the New York Board had appointed Mr. Williams to the Superintendency of the Northwest- ern District of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. The Williams fitted well into their new responsibility and the Twin Cities soon became the focal point from which the work might radiate into the sur- rounding towns and states. Suddenly there was a knock heard at tl1e door of the Williams' home. There stood a young farmer, fresh from a quarter section of Dakota farmland. He began by saying- I must preach the Gospel! Teach me God's Word. What could this mean-thefe were no facilities for teaching anyone. But the young farmer would not leave. Weeks passed. Three other men joined the first one. They must have training! But how? There was no place to meet. The situation seemed impossible. But God had a way. He chose to honor a servant of His-a man by the name of New- ton Frost. Mr. Frost opened his home to be used as a meet- ing place for Bible classes - and so the Frost home became the first home of the St. Paul Bible Training School. There were four boarding students that first year. Because the arrangement was only temporary some place must be found that could be permanent, more adequate to meet the demands of the now increasing interest. After a time of prayer the hearts of the group were turned to the consideration of a grazing lot on the corner of Fry and Sherbourne Avenue. It was under a large oak tree on that lot that Mr. Iackson, Uncle Morgan, D. VVilliams and E. C. Swanson knelt in prayer and faith, in full confidence in God. Al- ready, writes Mr. Williams, we are daring to think that perhaps we could here establish a home for Bible training. God answered. On October 12, 1916, a foundation for a school building was laid. When the building activities began there was but S28 in the building fund. God miraculously supplied the need. A friend of the founder wrote one check for 355,000- then another for EB10,000, and yet more from time to time. God was gracious. Then the great day arrived - October 3, 1917. The new training school was opened and Z6 boarding stu- dents, with many iiight class enrollees, made the first real start of the St. Paul Bible Institute. During the first year such luminaries as A. B. Simp- son, Gregory Mantle, Charles Blanchard, Max Wert-

Page 18 text:

churches throughout the Middle West. He featured a carefully planned musical appeal based upon the call of missions and the challenge of missions, and the challenge of consecration. The next step was to strengthen the faculty. In 1933 Charles Zeek, formerly of the Beulah Beach Bible School, came as a full time Bible Instructor. I. Merrill Tannehill, Instructor in Music, came from Minneapolis on a part time basis. In 1934 Gordon Meyer, pastor of the Alliance church in Duluth, Min- nesota, was called as the Instructor in Speech. In the same year L. A. Perkins was called as the pastor of the Alliance Tabernacle in the Midway, and he joined the faculty as the Instructor in Homiletics and Old Testament. A Thus, through careful promotion and a strength- ened faculty, the school was able to begin an upward growth in numbers as well as in effectiveness, that has lifted it to a place of prominence among Bible Institutes. By 1935 over 1200 students had been in attendance at the St. Paul Bible Training School. Of this num- ber 435 had graduated and some 48 had gone into foreign mission service. Of the 105 District workers 77 had received training at the school. But it was becoming more and more evident that new quarters must once again be sought. After much prayer, attention was called to the Norwegian Lu- theran Synod of North America which had in 1901 built a large, substantial, brick seminary building fat a cost of a quarter of a million dollarsj, at the corner of Hamline and Capitol Avenues. Because of a union in Lutheran Synods another location was chosen for a united seminary, which in turn left the St. Paul building vacant. It remained vacant until 1935 when it was offered in trade to the Northwestern District for the District properties and 510,000 The Sl0,000 One of the first Missionary Leagues to travel with Rev. G. D. Sirohm. was an impossible sum for the District and the matter was tabled. But, in March, 1935, the miracle hap- pened. The Lutheran representative offered the building at an even exchange. The new quarters which had lain idle for many years required much renovating and those who labored at the task' of cleaning and painting will still painfully tell of the shambles the building had become in the inside. Finally, with the help of student volunteers and pro- fessional workmen, the huge task was completed. In the summer of 1935 the Training School moved from 1635 Sherbourne to 1361 Capitol Avenue and the District Headquarters took oflices in the new building. The same year I. A. Peterson succeeded E. C. Swanson to the Superintendency of the Dis- trict and Presidency of the School. I. Merrill Tannehill joined the faculty of the school in a full time capacity, and with him came Theodore Bergman and George I-Iultgren to bring the music staff to four. Miss Maude Street had served for many years previous on the music staff. She continued in this capacity until 1941. The five years between 1935 and 1940 were years of growth and change. The average age of the student became lower and the average pre-education require- ment higher. The enrollment of the school mounted steadily. More and more denominations came to be represented in the student body. Students came from practically every state in the union and occasionally from foreign countries, especially Canada. Activities during this era included in 1936 the publication of the school paper, the Zithian, later changed to the Institute Digest in 1937-38, and the Institooter in 1945. It was in 1939 that the Senior class founded and published the first school yearbook, The Shield. Then war came. World War II began in Septem- ber 1939 - but the St. Paul Bible Institute, as it was now called, did not feel the effects of it until the selective service acts were passed and the rearmament program brought a new prosperity to the land. Like all other educational institutions, St. Paul suf- fered a depletion of the student body. However, the energetic efforts of President-Dean Strohm were able to maintain an excellent enrollment even though the number of men was proportionately less. The year 1941 brought another change. Dean G. D. Strohm and Miss Cora Schultz fwho was matron at this time and who had been connected with the school from the early daysj accepted positions at the Missionary Training Institute at Nyack. Upon Mr. Strohm's departure L. A. Perkins became the Dean of the school and the position of Dean of Men was