EIGH TEACHER EDUCATION at BLOOMSBURG 1869-1954 (FOUNDED 1839) THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FRANCIS B. HAAS, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ex-officio Member* REG. S. HEMINGWAY, President ..... ..... ........ .. .... ....... .............. ..... .. .... . Bloomsburg FRED W. DIEHL, Vice-President . ..... ....Danville MRs. ELSIE Yoru{S JONES, Secretary . Bloomsburg EARL V. W 1sE .... ... .... . .. ......... ....... ..... ..... .. ....... ......................... .......... Berwick GEORGE L. WEER .... ................. .... ............ .... .... ... ......... ................ .. ............. Kingston HowARD S. FERNSLER ............ ............. ......... .... ..... ..... .... .. ................ ... .. Pottsville CHARLES D. STEINER ....... .. ............ ................. ... ,..... ........................... ..... Shamokin C. WILLIAM KRB1sHER .... ............. .... .. ..... .. .................................. .. .. .. .. .... Catawissa VICTOR C. DIEHM ..... ................. ........... ..... ... .... .. .. ..... .... ..... ... ................. .Hazleton .. President of the College (1927-1939) ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS President DR. E. H. NELSON '11 ........ .... ... ..... ......... Bloomsburg Vice-President MRs. RuTH SPEARY GruFFITH '18 ........ ............ .. .... ... ....... .. ........... Wilkes-Barre Secretary MRs. C. C. HousEN1CK '05 ... ... Bloomsburg Treasurer Miss HARRIET F. CARPENTER '96 .. .. .. ...... .............. ........................... Bloomsburg MR. FRED W. DIEHL '12 ......... ... ......... ..... .............. .. ..... . .... .............. Danville MR. EnwARD F. ScHUYLBR '24 ... .... .... .. ... ...... .... .... ..... . ... Bloomsburg MR. HowARD F. FENsTEMAKER '12 ...... ..... ....... ... ..... ... .. ............ .. Espy HERVEY B. SMITH, EsQ. '22 .. ... Bloomsburg Miss ELIZABETH H. HuBLER '45 .. ..... ..... . Gordon .,. -THE WHITE TOWERS OF BLOOMSBURG I saw the towers of Bloomsburg as I was passing by, The white towers of Bloomsburg against the autumn sky. The river flowed beneath them across the purple hills, The town lies just below them with all its stores and mills. The towers shine white at Bloomsburg above the mountains grand, Looking at the clock there, no matter where you stand. There's a tower on old Carver and on sprawling Waller, too, This first one is the larger that shines against the blue. Those who come to Bloomsburg and see September's haze Are reminded always of their happy college days. Up the street to Carver with its ever-welcoming door, They've climbed with eager footsteps for four-score years or more. So we set up our signposts for those who follow here, That they may see the towers that we have tried to rear. Our towers may not point upward like fingers to the sky, But looking always at them we cannot fail to try To serve our Alma Mater and to it e'er be true, For the years look down upon us and others that we knew. HARVEY THE BLOOMSBURG BEACON . . dedicated to the Students Bloomsburg State Teachers College who made the Supreme Sacrifice in VV orld War II \ lo A. ANDRUSS GOLD STAR HONOR ROLL World War II Class 1944 ALLEN, KENNETH MORSE . Shamokin, Pennsylvania ... 1943 BLASS, LAMAR K. . 1937 Aristes, Pennsylvania . ... ... . 1934 Luzerne, Pennsylvania w ........ .. 1945 ... . . ... 1937 .. 1945 J. McHALE, PAUL 1940 Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania Catawissa, Pennsylvania J. .. 1942 Bloomsburg, Pennsdvania Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania . ····· 1941 ROWLAND, CYRIL J. ............. .l 938 RuDY, ALBERT E. ······ ·· ··· ·· 1948 .. 1933 ScHu YLER, MAnv F . 1944 SoBACK, l\11cnAEL 1941 TuHlNI, VICTOR R. Wyoming, Pennsylvania 1933 Rupert, Pennsylvania JENKINS, DONALD ....... ... .. ....... 1943 Forty Fort, Pennsylvania H. Bloomsburg, Pcnnsylvani::i 1945 w. REED, WALTER Bloomsburg, Pennsylvani:.i ... 1946 L. ...... 1937 Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania HOFFMAN, LEO J., JR. w. Connerton, Pennsylvania ... 1942 I-IARJ\1AN, JAMES REAGAN, THOMAS Shillington, Pennsylvania ... .1940 HANCOCK, Jmrn HUMMEL, vVooDROW McCRACKEN, ALLEN A. Lost Creek, Pennsylvania Ebervale, Pennsylvania 1-IowEn, JonN 1935 \i\Tilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Forty Fort, Pennsylvania HARRIS, EARL KITCH' CLYDE C. Riverside, Pennsylvania CARR, JOHN R. . J. . . ... . .. ... . .. 1944 Columbia, Pennsylvania Hatboro, Pennsylvania EvANCHO, JosEPH J. Dickson City, Pennsylvania ATKINSON, JOHN LEE CRESSWELL, ROBERT Class KANIA, \i\1ALTER WENRICH, CHALMERS s. 1939 H::irrisburg, Pennsylv:mia YENALAVAGE, ANTHONY C. Kingston, Pennsylvania 1943 _...,,,.... PROGRAM Carver Hall Auditorium, 8:30 P. M. . Francis Scott Kev The Star Spangled Banner"' Invocation Mr. Fred W . Diehl, Vice-President, Board of Trustees \,Velcome Dr. Harvey A. Andruss, President of the Collc; e BSNS and BSTC - -Dr. Francis B. Haas, Superintendent of Public Instruction Taylo r-Brahe Bless This House* Miss Diann Jones, Soloist Presentation of the Bloomsburg Beacon ( in memory of World \iVar II Gold Star Alumni) Mr. Reginald S. Hemingway, President, Board of Trustees Acceptance of the Bloomsburg Beacon Dr. E. H. Nelson, President, Alumni Association Where'er You Walk* Handel Quartet Richard Williams William Phillips Robert Ebner Samuel Hall Directed by Mr. Nelson A. Miller "Lengthened Shadows" Dean Emeritus William B. Sutliff Joseph H. Dennis The Alnia Mater* *Miss Mary Jo Williams, Accompanist ALMA MATER Far above the river winding Midst the mountains grand, Stands our College, dear to students Far throughout the land. J Chorus Bloomsburg, Bloomsburg, Bloomsburg College Up on Colle6e Hill; Years to come shall find us ever True to Bloomsburg still. Air-"Annie Lyle" At the Console-Miss Myra Albertson Carver Hall Lobby In the beginning It was midsummer, 1839. The young nation was paralyzed by panic. Accomplished politician that he was, President Martin Van Buren seemed powerless to do anything to relieve the widespread distress and suffering. Beneath the growing economic unrest bubbled the discontent of the Antislavery forces. In a few short weeks, grizzled William Henry Harrison, of Ohio, who enjoyed a tenuous reputation as a military hero, would be nominated for the Presidency on the Whig ticket in the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Harrisburg. The now-famous "Log Cabin and Cider" campaign was little more than a year away. In the sleepy Pennsylvania Town of Bloomsburg, however, something was stmmg. Here enterprising citizens, including the Reverend David Jewett Waller, Sr., a graduate of Williams College and Princeton Theological Seminary, were planning further ec1,ucation for the youth of the town. They persuaded Charles P. Waller, brother of the Rev. Mr. Waller, and later President Judge in the district of vVayne and Pike counties, to come to Bloomsburg to found an academy, which was established at Third and Jefferson Streets. Thus youth had an opportunity of securing a liberal education. Mr. Waller remained two years, and when he left the institution was in a Hourishing condition. From that time on it was touch and go, but in 1856, while nervous Americans watched the mounting political strife, the Rev. Mr. Waller prepared a charter providing for the Bloomsburg Literary Institute. The object of the corporation was to promote education, both in the ordinary and higher branches of English, Literature, and Science, and in the Ancient and Modern Languages. William Robison and others circulated the petition and obtained the signatures of twenty-seven other citizens. It was submitted to the court at the September term and confirmed. .j Despite increasing political tensions, the Bloomsburg Literary Institute began its service to the youth in the old Academy building. D. A. Beckley and others conducted the school, but there was no succession of teachers, and the Board of Trustees exercised little control over its management. The Institute struggled along through the critical days of the Civil War, but the end of the war brought expansion, increased enrollments, and progress. The Board of Trustees, of which the Rev. Mr. Waller was president, began a search for an educator of established reputation to head the Institute, the charter of which was revived on May 2, 1866. Shortly afterwards, amid rumors of the impending impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, Henry Carver of Binghamton, New York, was elected Principal. Carver was a self-educated man. After serving as principal of an academy in his native state of New York, he was head of the Preparatory Department of the University of California. While there he lost his left hand by the Dean Emeritus Sutliff and President Andruss examine original Trustees' Minutes dating from 1866. l d Waller Hall Lounge explosion of a fowling piece. After returning to his home in Binghamton, he made a trip down the Susquehanna River. Impressed by the beauty of the environment of Bloomsburg, he spent several days here and inquired about the local schools. After talking with the Rev. Mr. Waller, D. A. Beckley, and others, Carver was persuaded to remain in Bloomsburg and to open the Academy. On June 29, 1866, just one week after his election, the trustees passed a resolution to erect a building to accommodate 300 students at a cost not to exceed $15,000. Although this was five times the amount anyone but Carver had thought of expending, immediate steps were taken to raise the money. By the end of the summer, when the Fourteenth Amendment was being submitted to the states for ratification, $11,290 had been subscribed. The location of the building at once became a public issue. Four sites were offered, including three acres of land above the Forks Hotel, which stood squarely across Main Street. Despile objections filed in a minority report to the Board of Trustees, owners of stock, eligible to vote on the location of the building, met in the Court House June 16, 1866, and the present site was enthusiastically approved. The owners of the Forks Hotel agreed to move the building within a reasonable time and thus allow for the opening of Main Street up to the entrance of the Literary Institute Hall. Professor Carver was instructed to consult an architect in Washington and to secure plans for the erection of the proposed building. These were subrn itted to the Board of Trustees and adopted July 13, 1866. Meanwhile, Carver was busily engaged in advertising the opening of the Institute and securing teachers for the fall term. --Some difficulty was encountered in securing a capable contractor to erect the new building. On November 25, 1866, the Trustees requested the Principal "to employ a competent teacher for the balance of the term, at the expense of the Institute, to enable Professor Carver to devote his full-time to the pending Subscriptions and the erection of the building." ff'; .. For the dedication of the building on March 30, 1867, a committee was appointed "to invite the clergy of the Town and Judge Elwell to accompany the Trustees in a procession from the Academy to Institute Hall, on the following Wednesday at 1 :00 P. M. A band led the procession and the new building was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies." A faculty was selected and the classwork of the Bloomsburg Literary Institute began in Institute Hall, now Carver Hall. The first year in the new building was not completed when James P. Wickersham, State Superintendent of Common Schools, while passing through Bloomsburg on a train, saw the new school on the hill "ablaze with light." The location of a new normal school in the Sixth District was pending, and Mr. Wickersham, who had been principal of the Millersville Normal School, returned to Bloomsburg and addressed a meeting of the citizens, expressing the opinion that the Literary Institute would be an ideal location for a State Normal School. On March 9, 1868, the following resolution was adopted: "Resolved that the Trustees of the Bloomsburg Literary Institute agree to establish in connection with the same, 'A State Normal School' ..." Exactly one week later, the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson was begun with Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase presiding over the Senate of the United States. The hearings The new Business Office dragged on, but in Bloomsburg citizens were more concerned with progress of the school on the hill. A month later, Professor Carver, who had declined to serve as head of the school for more than two years unless a more suitable building was erected, submitted plans for a new dormitory. While funds for the building were being raised, news was received of the decision in Washington to vote on the 11th article of impeachment-whether President Andrew Johnson was guilty of high misdemeanors as charged. The Senate voted 35 for conviction, 19 (7 Republicans and 12 Democrats) for acquittal, one short of the necessary two-thirds. Interestingly enough, U. S. Senator Charles R. Buckalew, of Bloomsburg, cast one of the Democratic votes for acquittal. Buckalew later became a member of the Board of Trustees of the Normal School. Less than a month later, on June 25, 1868, the cornerstone of the new dormitory was laid. The occasion was a memorable one. Governor John White Geary, whose career in national politics was as distinguished as his military record in the Mexican and Civil \Vars, placed the stone in position, made an appropriate address, and handed the plans to Professor Carver, who accepted them and promised to complete the work as soon as possible. State Superintendent Wickersham, who addressed a still larger audience in Institute Hall that evening, was present along with the Honorable William Elwell, President Judge of the county courts, who spoke on behalf of the Board of Trustees. L. B. Rupert read a history of the institution, and the Rev. Mr. Waller offered prayer. Early in February, 1869, the trustees requested that a committee be appointed under the act of 1857 to consider the chartering of the Literary Institute as a State Normal School. On February 18, 1868, this committee examined the charter deeds, organization, methods of instruction, and other matters pertaining to the character of the institution. They reported favorably the following day, February 19, 1869, which is the birthday of the State Normal School of the Sixth District, although the proclamation of the State Superintendent was signed and sealed three days later. And so today, on the eighty-fifth anniversary of the formal recogmt10n of teacher education at Bloomsburg, it is significant that appropriate exercises are being held in Carver H