Ursinus College - Ruby Yearbook (Collegeville, PA)

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 The incidents of Valley Forge, although local to us, have become the possession of the country. There is, perhaps, no greater shrine in all the world than these very places, which are so near to us. The heart of the American citizen thrills with emotion as he ga .es on the hills of Valley Forge, where the wounded feet of the Continentals trod the snow in order to bequeath to him the breath of liberty. The soul of the scientist responds to a kindred glow when he looks upon the river banks, which the father of American Ornithology made historical by his labor. The life of the Christian rises to the spirit of a higher life as he glances at the place where holy men of old labored and sacrificed to sow the seeds of Christian teaching, that he might be drawn nearer to the great, loving heart of God. Clustered around these scenes, close by our door, there are entwined the names of America’s most noble heroes: Washington, Muhlenberg, Schlatter, Hancock, Hartranft, Audubon, and the innumerable company of the patriots, who bled and died and were forgotten by all save God, have pressed the same soil that we are treading, have seen the same landscapes that we have seen, and have hallowed them by their magnificent love and glorious fight for Liberty. THK lloMK l AMKKICA’S GRIiATIiST NATl'KAI.IST. ACI)CRON. 20

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Near Hancock, the “Superb,” but a stone-throw in distance, rests Hartranft, the “ Magnificent,” the soldier, statesman, and patriot. lie slumbers under that column erected to his memory by the National Guards of Pennsylvania. Let us stop and view that cenotaph. Its epitaph tells the story. A college graduate, he was a leader of men. Ho fought and held a command at Bull Run, at South Mountain, at Antietam, and at Vicksburg. He broke the Confederate cordon around Petersburg. and he was Governor of Penn sylvania. So reads the record, surrounding him with a halo of glory. Rut the deeds and heroism of war are more than equaled by the splendid achievements of peace in our district. The stupendous task, undertaken by our fathers in 1784, of building a bridge over the Per-kiomen at Phillip’s Ford has given us HIRTHPI.ACK OF C.ICN HANCOCK. NORRISTOWN the best-known historical landmark of the neighborhood. The strong, antique arches of Perkioinen Bridge are a tribute to the solidity of the men of a century ago. For over a hundred years the waters of the Perkioinen, in winter’s flood and summer’s drought, have washed its base| their onward flow to the sea, but the grim old stonework still stands and with calm indifference still hears the old stream’s lullaby. Adowu the banks of this gentle stream, nestling in the hillside in the bend of the river, there stands the home of America’s first naturalist, Audubon. Here, on this old plantation of Mill bank, the man who loved the beauties of nature and the plumage of the birds, lived ; and here he prepared his work on the birds of America, which took the world by storm. Many a time the waters of the river bore him to the opposite bank in his search for feathered singers, and many a time they bore him homeward, listening to the melody of his heart as he gazed with fondness at his winged prize. General history is made up of the most important events of local history. TOMB OF GHNKRAI, II ART RAN FT, NORRISTOWN '9

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Freeland Seminary. BY J SHKI.l.Y Wlil.NBRRGliR •' Still o’er these scenes my memory wakes Ami fondly liromls with wiser care. Time lml the impression deeper makes As streams their channels deeper wear Hunts. TO meet the increasing demand for educational facilities in the eastern section of Pennsylvania, Freeland Seminary was established in 1848 on a tract of land of ten acres pin chased by the Rev. Abraham Hun sicker from William Tenant Todd, situated in Upper Providence Township, and fronting the Perkionum and Reading Turnpike Road, in a community proverbial for sobriety, intelligence, and morality. The work of the school was commenced on the 7th of November, of the same year, with four pupils Only : but before the end of the scholastic year the number of students had increased to seventy-nine. The school was in successful operation for a period of twenty two years, until it was absorbed in Ursinus College in 1870. Rev. Abraham Hunsicker, a bishop of the Mennonite Church, was a man of strong religious convictions, and greatly felt the need of higher education among his Mennonite brethren. lie expected to receive his chief Support from them. But they soon became offended, called him proud, and finally excommunicated him from their fellowship. While he received anathemas from his brethren he grew in favor with other denominations and with men of liberal ideas. The school was non-sectarian from the start, conducted under the proprietorship of Rev. Abraham Hunsicker. the principalship of Henry A. Hunsicker. a son of the proprietor, and the leadership of Professor James Warren Sunderland, A.M., who was head teacher for three years. Subsequently the principal teachers were F. R. S. Hunsicker, J. H. Hendricks. William E. Williamson, J. Shelly Weinberger, J. T. Preston, and A. H. Fetterolf. No school in Eastern Pennsylvania was more popular. Students from all denominations of English and German communities between the Susquehanna and the Delaware, parts of New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware Hocked hereto the popular hoarding-school. Here Lucrctia Mott, the Quaker preacher ; lecturers on the abolition of slavery ; temperance reformers and anti tobacconists found congenial spirits. The first catalogue of Freeland Seminary sets forth the advantages and aims of the institution in the following manner : “ The edifice, an imposing structure of stone, four stories high and surmounted with a handsome railing and cupola, occupies a beautiful eminence, commanding a delightful and extensive prospect of the surrounding country, which is interspersed with farms, villages, and rich natural scenery. 21