This appeal was printed in the American Home Missionary magazine of January 1833. It is a posting for the first member of the Wabash faculty. You will note that the position is listed for a teacher in the Crawfordsville Classical High School. From the founding minutes of November 21, 1832 we read, “Resolved unanimously that the institution be at first a classical and English High School rising into a college as soon as the wants of the country demand.”

It seems that Caleb Mills saw this posting and was intrigued enough to write to his friend Edmund O. Hovey, who was one of the founders, and inquire about the position. In June of 1833 Caleb Mills applied to James Thomson, President of the Board of Trustees, with these words, “Brother Hovey knows me, and is acquainted with my fitness and qualifications for such an office.”  A good recommendation must have followed as on July 16, 1833 Mills was appointed as the first member of the faculty.

As we read in the posting, this position included teaching during the week and preaching in local churches over the weekend. Mills did both, often walking several miles out to the church on Sunday morning and, after a good sermon and a good meal, would turn around and walk back to town. This preaching furnished a subsidy to the meager salary provided by Wabash. Later in his life Mills would note that at the beginning of his career, when he worked hardest, he made the least amount of money. As he neared the end of his career, and worked the least, he made his greatest salary.

Part of Caleb Mills’ passion for this position was his drive to see free common schools available to all children.  In a letter to Hovey Mills stated, “Public sentiment must be changed in regard to free schools, prejudice must be overcome, and the public mind awakened to the importance of carrying the means of education to every door. Though it is the work of years it must and can be done. The sooner we embark in the enterprise the better.” He stayed true to his vision and largely due to his drive and passion, the free public school system was created in Indiana. It is for this good work that he is known as the “Father of the Indiana public school system.”

Beth Swift

This image shows the first floor of the North Wing of Center Hall when it was a library. This location is now used by the Business Office and bears little resemblance to this picture. This was the campus library and in this photograph the camera is looking west or toward the mall. The space was built with 16’ ceilings which allowed for two floors of library luxury.   We can see the alcoves on the left and at the back of the picture. These were used to organize books. Several donors gave books, typically on a single topic, which filled their named alcove. Indeed, there are many books in the Lilly Library that still bear the old alcove bookplates.

A couple of years ago when the Business Office was gutted for a remodeling, I slipped in the side door and was amazed at the size of the space when completely open. It is hard to get that sense with the new walls in place.

I love this picture and like to share it when I can. At a presentation on campus Sherry Ross noted that the picture of Abraham Lincoln hangs behind her desk in the Deans’ offices.  It’s good to know that Abe hasn’t gone far…he’s just down the hall.

Beth Swift

W. Norwood Brigance Slides

This shot of the Wabash Marching Band was taken during the Georgetown football game of 1939 by W. Norwood Brigance.  Brigance was one of those people who took pictures all around campus. As the archivist,  I am so glad that he did and that his dozens of slides made it to the Archives many years later. One particularly lovely thing about his slide collection is that they are all in color. So often I see the history of Wabash in black in white photos, it is a real treat to see these vibrant, full color images.  The slides are all Kodachrome slides which are very stable and particularly known for holding their color over the decades.  Here is another great example of the vividness of the Brigance color slides we hold.

This image is of Center Hall and Old South on a sunny spring morning in 1940. The bricks, the grass and even the magnolias have all held their true colors. What a delight to see this lovely image 68 years later.

Beth Swift

Archivist

Wabash College

Bell Week

Sometimes the images just speak for themselves…

I would only add that this photo is from 1967, the Bachelor from 1951 and, of course…

Go Wabash!

Beth Swift

This aerial picture is from the 1950’s. I love it because it shows us Mud Hollow so very clearly. Mud Hollow was Wabash’s version of a veteran’s village to accommodate the men who attended Wabash with their families. It was also home to very new, very young faculty members at times including Vic and Marian Powell and Lew and Mary Ann Salter.

For reference, this image was taken from a plane flying over the Chapel. The top of the photo is south and the line through the middle is the Big Four Railroad. As we can see the baseball field was where we now have parking for the Allen Center.  The Lambda Chi house is hidden by the trees. The circle at the upper right of this photo is the Sycamore Hills addition as it is just being developed.

This image is one of a series of brilliant cartoons created by Don Cole [W1952] for the 1956 yearbook. This is the original Wally Wabash in his new role as a resident of Mud Hollow.

Here is a photo of a couple of real Wallys as they study. The caption notes that these are the Chuck Preston and Pete Hodges families, again this image is from the 1956 yearbook.

Beth Swift

Archivist

Wabash College

Hovey Museum

When I make a presentation about the history of the college, I like to start with this image. It is a photograph of the Hovey Museum taken for the 1898 Viewbook.The Hovey Musuem occupied the old Polytechnic Gymnasium which was demolished to build the “new” gym and Armory. I use this image to highlight the changing nature of work here in the Archives. With technology I can now scan an image and share it with anyone who might be interested. Additionally, the scanning helps with research in the following way. Whereas before this technology existed we could only look at this picture as it is here. We could and did use a magnifying glass to see more detail, but that was the extent of what we could learn from this image.

When we scan here in the Archives, we scan at a high level of resolution for our preservation images. We then downsize all our “use” images from that master. By scanning at a high resolution, we only need to scan once. Perhaps the biggest plus is that we can now see details that we couldn’t see before scanning. By having such a high resolution image, I can zoom right into the picture.

For instance, I can now tell you that the cabinet on the back wall holds starfish.  As you might imagine, with this hi-tech tool we are learning new things from our old “stuff”.

Beth Swift

Mock Conventions of the 20^th Century

While searching for a picture for a sign here in the Archives, I came across these photos of Mock Political conventions through the 20^th Century .

The first image is, I believe, from the 1960 election. While none of these pictures are dated, the signs are somewhat helpful in dating them.

This next photograph is easily identified as 1956, Eisenhower’s re-election campaign.

The next  images  are, I think, from the late 30’s. The picture with flags and FDR also has a very young Warren “Butch Shearer” seated at the desk. The question becomes, was he there as a student of the Class of 1936 or as a very young member of the faculty and lastly is the band playing “Happy Days are Here Again”?

The last of this set of pictures is from the 1970’s. My best guess is 1972 as in the middle of the picture below is a young Peter Frederick who came to Wabash in 1969.

Beth Swift

Archivist

Wabash College