II B HAHY 
 
 OF THE 
 UNIVERSITY 
 Of ILLINOIS 
 
 C 
 ttC«E 
 
 T 
 
 p . 2. 
 
 ! 
 
 ILL. HIST. SURVEY* 
 

Grandest of Enterprises 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://archive.org/details/grandestofenterpOOmars 
 
Gram; 
 
 o 
 
 riferbrises 
 
 Illinois State Normal University 
 1857-1957 
 
 BY HELEN E. MARSHALL 
 
 Normal, Illinois • December 1956 
 
Copyright 1956 
 Illinois State Normal University 
 
 Library of Congress Catalog Card 
 Number 56-12767 
 
 MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 
 AT THE LAKESIDE PRESS, R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AND CRAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANA 
 
TJi«j£» ^- ^>^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 \fl 
 
 & 
 
 
 / e^O 
 
 
 For the children of the free, 
 
 and their teachers 
 
"The education of the children of the state 
 is the grandest of enterprises,'* 
 
 — Richard Edwards, 1867 
 
First. A Few Word: 
 
 Almost a hundred years ago young Justin Richardson 
 of Bloomington wrote in his diary that he had on Tuesday, Septem- 
 ber 29, 1857, attended the laying of the cornerstone of the State 
 Normal University. The speakers, he wrote, seemed to gather in- 
 spiration from the "transcendent importance of the occasion." He 
 was elated that he, only a boy barely out of his teens, had been asked 
 to write out in his firm long hand the names of the county officials, 
 and of those persons who had made donations for the construction 
 of the building, so that they might be placed in the cornerstone. 
 
 Reminiscent of the oratory of the afternoon, he mused at length 
 upon "the untold influence for good the institution might exert in 
 years to come." 
 
 "Its powerful and salutary influence," he prophesied, "shall be 
 more enduring than the granite foundation, it shall be perpetuated 
 from one generation to another. . . ." 
 
 He envisaged the great building of brick and stone that would 
 presently rise above the cornfields and dominate the landscape. 
 "May this proud structure be but the emblem of its own proud 
 eminence among many similar institutions. It overlooks the sur- 
 rounding prairie spread out in all its beauty and loveliness. . . . 
 May coming generations rise up and call us blessed for establishing 
 such an institution." 
 
 Today Illinois State Normal University, a teachers college grant- 
 ing both bachelor's and master's degrees, is the rich fulfillment of 
 the dreams of Daniel Wilkins, Jonathan Turner, Simeon Wright, 
 George Bunsen, Jesse Fell, Newton Bateman, Charles Hovey, and 
 other men of action who called it into being. From a single build- 
 ing high on a lonely prairie, the school has grown into a beautiful 
 tree-shaded campus with many buildings, a faculty of nearly three 
 hundred, and a student body of thirty-four hundred. Its alumni 
 are numbered in thousands; its graduates are teaching throughout 
 the world. 
 
 vii 
 
viii First, A Few Words 
 
 Great teachers such as Thomas Metcalf, Charles DeGarmo, 
 Charles McMurry, Frank McMurry, Henry McCormick, Orson L. 
 Manchester, Lida Brown McMurry, June Rose Colby, and such able 
 administrators as Richard Edwards, John W. Cook, David Felmley 
 and Raymond W. Fairchild have implemented the ideals of the 
 founders, and have kept Illinois State Normal University what it 
 was intended to be — a training school for teachers. 
 
 At intervals of twenty-five years commemorative volumes have 
 recorded the progress of Normal University. James V. McHugh 
 and John Williston Cook, later president, published the history of 
 the first quarter-century in 1892. The Semi-centennial History 
 published in 1907 was a cooperative faculty enterprise under the 
 direction of John A. H. Keith. In 1935 the publication of The De- 
 velopment of the Teachers College in the United States with Special 
 Reference to Illinois State Normal University by Charles A. Harper 
 marked the anniversary of the first graduating class. The last pages 
 of this centennial history were written with a deep sense of obliga- 
 tion, not only to those who in the past have written so succinctly 
 and understandingly, but toward those who cherished and kept old 
 programs, clippings, letters, diaries, and scrapbooks. 
 
 I am especially grateful to Ellen Edwards who preserved the 
 voluminous papers of her father, President Richard Edwards, in 
 the hope that they might someday become the property of Normal 
 University, and to her brother, the late Owen Edwards, who exe- 
 cuted this trust; to Mrs. Agnes Gale who gave me access to her 
 collection of materials relating to her father, President John W. 
 Cook; to Mrs. Laura Hayes Pricer of the English department and 
 Mrs. Florence Sample Fleming, alumna, who supplied rich anec- 
 dotal material; to Dr. Robert Guy Buzzard, President of Eastern 
 Illinois Teachers College, who read several chapters and made 
 valuable suggestions; and to the late Dr. Raymond W. Fairchild, 
 President of Illinois State Normal University, at whose request I 
 undertook the writing of this volume. His confidence and encour- 
 agement were ever heart-warming and inspiring. Miss Eleanor 
 Welch, Director of Libraries; Mrs. Inez Dunn, McLean County 
 Historical Society; Miss Elizabeth Abraham, Withers Library; and 
 the late Dr. Harry Pratt of the Illinois Historical Library, helped 
 greatly in locating material and facilitating research. Dr. Gertrude 
 
First, A Few Words ix 
 
 Hall, Director of Publicity, secured many of the illustrations for the 
 earlier years, and Mr. Nelson R. Smith, University photographer, 
 has given unstintingly of his talents and time in procuring photo- 
 graphs of the later period. Dr. Esther Vinson, professor of English, 
 has read the entire manuscript and made suggestions as to style; 
 Mr. Harry J. Owens, alumnus, and various of his professional asso- 
 ciates, have assisted with matters of content, illustration, and for- 
 mat. To Mr. Paul Cary, my secretary, and to Mrs. Dorothy King, 
 who typed the final draft, I am likewise indebted. 
 
 What a privilege it is to serve in the training of teachers, to help 
 young men and young women comprehend the magnitude of their 
 calling and the trust that reposes in the schools of America. 
 
 Helen E. Marshall 
 Normal, Illinois 
 September 22, 1956 
 
Table of Contents 
 
 First, A Few Words vii 
 
 i. For the Common Schools 3 
 
 11. Major's Hall 27 
 
 in. The Noblest Building 50 
 
 iv. The Roll of Drums 64 
 
 v. In the Bridgewater Tradition 78 
 
 vi. Grandest of Enterprises 103 
 
 vii. The Era of Transition 143 
 
 viii. The Herbartians 174 
 
 ix. The Year of Arnold Tompkins 214 
 
 x. The Unforgettable Mr. Felmley 228 
 
 xi. From Normal School to Teachers' College . . 247 
 
 xii. The Era of Uncertainty 279 
 
 xni. R.W.F.: Architect and Builder 292 
 
 xiv. Prologue to the Second Century 324 
 
 Bibliography 329 
 
 Index 337 
 
Illustrations 
 
 Quotation from Plato, Capen Auditorium . . Frontispiece 
 
 Photographs for the Years following page 
 
 1857-1882 50 
 
 1883-1900 162 
 
 1901-1930 210 
 
 1931-1956 290 
 
 Xlll 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 For the Common School: 
 
 Jesse Fell looked up from the cubic yard of earth he had 
 turned, toward the setting sun. Before another day dawned, it could 
 be announced that work on the new State Normal University had 
 actually begun. That morning, Saturday, August 22, 1857, the con- 
 tractors, Soper and Mortimer of Chicago, their wives, along with 
 some Bloomington business men, some members of the State Board 
 of Education, and the architect, G. P. Randall, of Chicago, had 
 ridden out north of town and selected the site. It was near the 
 middle of the tract donated by Meshack Pike. 1 In the afternoon 
 Daniel Wilkins and other members of the Board had staked out 
 the lines for excavation and later Jesse Fell had returned alone and 
 set shovel to the ground. In a few weeks the contractors would have 
 workmen with picks and shovels swarming all over the place, but 
 the project was dear to Jesse Fell's heart and he was quietly in- 
 dulging himself in the satisfaction of having turned the first spade- 
 ful of earth. As long as he lived he would take pride in the role he 
 had played in founding the school. 2 Sometimes as he had gone 
 from door to door with subscription lists, he wondered if he were 
 not the only person seriously interested in the normal school. In 
 the end local business men had subscribed handsomely, the McLean 
 County Commissioners had voted a generous donation of swamp 
 lands, and Bloomington had secured the location. 3 
 
 It was a splendid site. The architect's plan called for a great 
 three-story building with a tower and dome a hundred and fifty 
 feet above the ground. From the crest of the beautiful swell of land 
 where Fell stood, the ground sloped gently in all directions. The 
 
 1 Daily Pantagraph (Bloomington), August 24, 1857. 
 
 2 Frances Milton I. Morehouse, Life of Jesse Fell ("University of Illinois Studies," Vol. V, 
 No. 42; Urbana: University of Illinois, 1916), pp. 4-45. 
 
 8 On September 28, 1850, the United States government gave to the state all swamp 
 and overflowed lands. John H. Burnham, History of McLean County, Illinois (Chicago: 
 William LeBaron, 1879), p. 116; Weekly Pantagraph (Bloomington), May 13, 1857; 
 Illinois State Journal (Springfield), February 2, 1857. 
 
4 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 building would be in direct line with that of Illinois Wesleyan 
 University, a mile to the south, and would command a fine view of 
 the surrounding country, including several miles of both railroads. 4 
 To the south and east beyond the cornfield, the hazel brush along 
 the slough, and the railroad tracks, on another rise of ground could 
 be seen Fell's own new home, just completed that summer. It was 
 a large square wooden structure with a cupola atop and verandas 
 on three sides. 5 It stood on a knoll in the center of a triangular park- 
 like tract. A few spindly trees had been planted to mark the streets 
 so ambitiously laid out two years before. On the whole North 
 Bloomington presented a new and barren look. The only other 
 house in the area was that of William McCambridge, station agent 
 at the Junction. 6 
 
 Jesse Fell had a keen interest in education. For a brief time be- 
 fore he became successively a lawyer, editor, farmer, nurseryman, 
 real estate promoter, and land speculator, he had been a teacher. 
 One of the things about the new country that had concerned him 
 was its lack of schools and its need of good teachers. 7 It was esti- 
 mated in 1840 that there were at least 100,000 children in Illinois 
 who were not in school and over 28,000 adults who were illiterate. 8 
 When Fell laid out lots for sales in his first addition to the town of 
 North Bloomington, he set aside the block opposite his home and 
 designated it as Seminary Block. He considered establishing a 
 school and had corresponded with Horace Mann of Massachusetts, 
 whose work he had so heartily approved, to inquire his ideas as to 
 the "constitution" of such a school, its scope and curriculum. 9 Fell 
 
 4 Weekly Pantagraph, August 26, 1857. 
 
 6 Morehouse, op. cit., p. 34. 
 
 •About thirty lots in North Bloomington were sold by W. F. Amy and Company, 
 June 15, 1854. Prices ranged from thirty to fifty dollars. In 1855 a company composed 
 of Jesse Fell, R. R. Landon, L. R. Case, C. W. Holder, and L. C. Blakesly began another 
 development. Later Fell bought out his partners. An ardent temperance man, and intent 
 on bringing to his neighborhood a desirable class of residents, he provided in all deeds to 
 lots in North Bloomington that intoxicating liquors should never be sold on the premises. 
 
 Burnham, History of McLean County, pp. 426-427. 
 
 'Thomas Campbell, Secretary of State and ex-officio Superintendent of Schools re- 
 ported January 21, 1847, that in fifty-seven counties there were 1,592 schools and 1,535 
 teachers. Of 155,715 persons under twenty years of age, only 46,814 were enrolled in 
 school. 
 
 John Williston Cook, Educational History of Illinois (Chicago: Henry O. Shepard, 1912), 
 p. 108. 
 
 8 Theodore Calvin Pease, The Frontier State, 1814-1848, Vol. II of The Centennial 
 History of Illinois, ed. C. W. Alvord (5 vols.; Springfield: Centennial Commission, 1919). 
 
 p. 43i. 
 
 9 Morehouse, op. cit., p. 46. 
 
For the Common Schools 5 
 
 regarded Mann as having a sound philosophy, high ideals, and 
 vision, and had hoped that the State Board of Education would 
 select him to direct the new normal school. 
 
 Although the building was not yet begun and not a single class 
 had met, the school had already had a dramatic and exciting his- 
 tory. Several factors contributed to the realization of the need for 
 more adequate preparation of teachers in the state. The rapid 
 growth in the population from 1840 to 1850 had been inevitably 
 accompanied by a dearth of teachers, and prior to 1850 anyone who 
 could read and write and had an elementary knowledge of the 
 so-called common branches might secure a position as a teacher. 
 Although the School Law of 1841 had required that all teachers be 
 examined and certified to draw public funds, 10 the scarcity of 
 qualified persons and the lack of educational experiences on the 
 part of the examining officers mitigated against the thoroughness 
 of the examination. In response to the demand for improvement in 
 the schools, the 1855 General Assembly created the elective office 
 of State Superintendent of Public Instruction and provided for a 
 school commissioner to visit schools and examine prospective 
 teachers. 
 
 The low salaries paid to teachers tended to discourage the liberal 
 arts graduate from staying long in the profession, if indeed he 
 entered it at all. For ministers and lawyers, teaching was often a 
 side-line, not a real vocation. The meager returns from teaching 
 sustained many a young lawyer while struggling to build up a 
 clientele or before turning, as Jesse Fell had done, to the more lucra- 
 tive and exciting business of land speculation and practical politics. 
 The brief teaching experience of these college trained men — physi- 
 cians, farmers, lawyers, and editors — did make them sympathetic 
 and alert to the needs of schools and teachers, however, and in the 
 press and legislative halls they valiantly championed the cause of 
 education. 11 
 
 "The Public School Law of 1841 had 109 sections. 
 
 Cook, Educational History of Illinois, p. 109; Arthur Charles Cole, The Era of the Civil 
 War, 1848-1870, Vol. Ill of The Centennial History of Illinois, ed. C. W. Alvord (5 vols.; 
 Springfield: Centennial Commission, 1919), p. 230. 
 
 11 William H. Powell, State Superintendent, reported December 15, 1858, that salaries 
 in Illinois were as low as five dollars for women and nine dollars for men, and as high 
 as $150 for men and sixty dollars for women. In 1859 the highest paid to men was $200 
 and sixty dollars to women. Cook, Educational History of Illinois, p. 82. 
 
6 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 The Common School Law of 1825 had provided that as soon as 
 there were fifteen families settled in a Congressional township a 
 common school free to persons between ages of five and twenty- 
 one could be started. Such schools were to be maintained at least 
 three months of each year, and a popular teacher might arrange 
 a teaching schedule so he could teach three or four short terms in 
 as many districts. Frequently literate farmers obtained teaching 
 employment in the slack seasons between fall harvesting and 
 spring planting. The law provided taxation not in excess of five 
 mills, and no one, however affluent, could be assessed more than 
 ten dollars per year for the support of schools. In addition two 
 dollars out of every hundred received by the state was set aside as 
 a school fund, and five-sixths of the interest was to be divided 
 among the counties of the state in proportion to the number of 
 white children under twenty-one. The law of 1825 was rendered 
 futile two years later when the power to enforce the collection of 
 taxes was taken away. 12 
 
 The situation was typical of the new West. The scarcity of 
 trained, devoted teachers was invariably noted by visitors. Oc- 
 casionally public spirited persons such as Catherine Beecher 13 and 
 former-Governor, William Slade of Vermont set about with true 
 evangelistic zeal to recruit well-trained young women who would 
 go west and teach in common schools or found seminaries. As 
 agent of the National Educational Society, Slade secured the co- 
 operation of the Illinois Educational Society, a volunteer organiza- 
 tion of editors, ministers, and civic-minded persons, and through 
 it arranged for the placement of his proteges. He made regular 
 visits to the state beginning in 1847. In that year he brought six- 
 teen young women to the state and in the following year eighteen. 
 The fourteenth group was sent west in September 1853, and the 
 recruitment continued for the rest of the decade. 
 
 The western "friends of education" complained that the young 
 
 13 Ibid., pp. 32-34; W. L. Pillsbury, "Illinois State Normal University," Seventeenth 
 Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, July i, 1886-June 30, 1888 
 (Springfield: State of Illinois, 1889), pp. LXXVII-LXXVIII. 
 
 13 Catherine Beecher (1800-1878), daughter of Reverend Lyman Beecher, and sister 
 of Edward, first president of Illinois College, and of Harriet Beecher Stowe, helped organize 
 the "Ladies Society for Promoting Education in the West," and was responsible for 
 founding female colleges at Quincy, Illinois, Burlington, Iowa, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 
 The latter has survived as Milwaukee-Downer College for Women. DAB, Vol. II, p. 125. 
 
For the Common Schools 7 
 
 women were not brought west fast enough. Too it was discovered 
 that the eastern teachers made excellent wives and mothers, and 
 in less than five years, two-thirds had been lured from the class- 
 room into domestic life. In some localities suspicion was voiced 
 that these imported eastern teachers were the "selected emissaries 
 of abolitionism" bent on converting Illinois youth into a likeness 
 of "New England caste and demogoguery." 14 By 1850 Illinois 
 had at least fourteen private colleges or schools above seminary 
 rank, mostly denominational, which were drawn upon heavily 
 for teachers but their graduates were not especially trained for 
 teaching and the supply was never equal to the demand. Too, the 
 traditional denominational college curriculum with its emphasis 
 on theology, Latin, and Greek drew the ire of certain practical 
 farmers who were advocating scientific studies in horticulture, 
 botany, physiology, and the causes and cure for animal diseases. 15 
 
 Through Congressional foresight the state had come into the 
 possession of certain lands and funds to be used as subsidies for 
 public education but in the late i82o's when the taxable property 
 of the state did not provide sufficient revenue to carry out the 
 grandiose schemes for public improvements projected by the 
 politicians of the state, legislation was passed authorizing the sale 
 of these lands, and empowering the governor to borrow the pro- 
 ceeds at six percent, the interest being added to the respective 
 funds. As an aid to the public schools, interest on the so-called 
 seminary fund was loaned to the school fund for annual distri- 
 bution. The seminary lands brought only $55,000, and as a result 
 no great backlog of funds was available when the friends of edu- 
 cation began to agitate for state-supported teacher training 
 schools. 16 
 
 To Jesse Fell, leaning on his spade that August afternoon, this 
 seemed the late fulfillment of a long dream — a dream shared in 
 common. In Jacksonville the year after Fell came to Illinois, the 
 Ladies Association for Educating Females launched its program 
 
 14 Stephen A. Douglas, a Vermont teacher-emigrant, later joined in this political cry. 
 Belleville Advocate, February 18, 1857; Ottawa Free Trader, March 15, 1851, quoted in 
 Cole, op. cit., p. 235. 
 
 18 Mary Turner Carriel, The Life of Jonathan Baldwin Turner (Jacksonville, 191 1), p. 95; 
 Lloyd Lewis, John S. Wright: Prophet of the Prairies (Chicago: Prairie Farm Publishing 
 Co., 1941), p. 167. 
 
 "Cook, Educational History of Illinois, pp. 71-77. 
 
8 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 to "encourage and assist young ladies to qualify themselves for 
 teachers." Four years later the Reverend John F. Brooks opened a 
 teachers' seminary in Waverly, but since it was not successful, he 
 moved to Springfield in 1840 and contented himself with opening 
 an academy with special attention given to the educating of teach- 
 ers. Neither the college nor the academy with emphasis on teacher 
 training was the answer to Illinois' problem. Latin and Greek, 
 calculus, and higher mathematics were not essential. Statistics on 
 illiteracy showed the real need for teachers who could teach boys 
 and girls to read and write and perform the simple mathematical 
 operations that would help them as farmers, storekeepers and 
 housewives. 
 
 Educational meetings at Vandalia in 1833 and in 1834 had con- 
 sidered the incompetency as well as scarcity of teachers. In Feb- 
 ruary 1835 William }. Gatewood, Senator from Gallatin County, 
 introduced a bill for a uniform system of common schools and 
 county seminaries throughout the state, and proposed memorial- 
 izing Congress for liberal appropriations for the support of 
 teachers' seminaries. The bill failed, but, undaunted, he intro- 
 duced it again at the special session of the legislature in 1836. 
 
 If the legislators were not convinced of the ripeness of the time 
 or the feasibility of the program, the sponsors did not despair. 
 They eagerly followed the work of James Carter and Charles 
 Brooks in Massachusetts and the creation of the Massachusetts 
 State Board of Education. They read the Reverend Calvin Stowe's 
 Report on Elementary Public Instruction "made to the General 
 Assembly of Ohio, calling attention to the normal schools of 
 Prussia." They were intrigued when the ofrer of Edmund Dwight 
 of Boston to give $10,000 to the state for the education of teachers, 
 provided the State of Massachusetts would appropriate an equal 
 sum, was accepted. Soon Massachusetts had not one but three 
 normal schools. 17 
 
 Illinois was hard hit by the panic of 1837. On the eve of the 
 great depression the state had embarked on a system of public 
 improvements, highways, canals and railroads. The stock of the 
 state bank fell to thirty-seven cents on the dollar, and by 1842 
 its credit had dropped to forty-four. It was forced to liquidate. The 
 
 17 Pillsbury, op. at., pp. LXXVIII— LXXX. 
 
For the Common Schools 9 
 
 Old Bank of Illinois, which had been reactivated in the more 
 prosperous era, likewise collapsed. The paralyzing effect of the 
 panic on private and public finance was far reaching. Men like 
 Jesse Fell and his friend Asahel Gridley had seen their fortunes 
 swept away. Governor Thomas Ford estimated the debt of the 
 State of Illinois, excluding interest, to be $15, 157,348.71. 18 Repu- 
 diation was neither moral nor desirable. 
 
 Public schools and teacher training were among the projects 
 that suffered, but men like John Wright, a commission merchant 
 who had built Chicago's first school building at his own expense, 
 would not permit the ideas to perish. Wright, who lost his fortune 
 in the panic, now offered his time and talents to organizing pro- 
 gressive farmers into a society to work for the betterment of 
 schools. In January 1839, he headed a delegation to the State 
 Capital at Vandalia to petition the Legislature to charter the Union 
 Agricultural Society, for the "sole purpose of instruction and 
 science and improvements in scientific and practical agriculture 
 and the mechanical arts in the counties of LaSalle, Will, Cook, 
 McHenry and Kane." On February 19 the act of incorporation 
 was passed, and six months later Wright was made secretary of 
 the $10,000 non-profit organization. In order to sell stock, Wright 
 insisted that the society establish a newspaper, arguing that a farm 
 paper could awaken readers to needs that the general paper did 
 not. Wright, who had never worked a day on a farm or written 
 a line for publication, became the editor and publisher for the 
 Union Agriculturalist, a monthly magazine. 19 
 
 When the first issue appeared in October 1839 the most con- 
 troversial article related to schools. Having discovered that the 
 College and Seminary funds had been borrowed by the state he 
 proposed that the $122,000 in the fund under the original terms 
 of the grants by Congress be used to endow a normal school or 
 teachers' seminary. In December 1840 he attended the organi- 
 zation meeting of the Illinois State Education Society, a voluntary 
 organization of ministers, lawyers, doctors, teachers and others 
 interested in education, in Springfield. He also talked over his 
 plan with members of the Legislature in January 1841. In a vig- 
 
 18 Pease, op. cit., pp. 317-324. 
 
 "The name of the Union Agriculturist was changed to Prairie Farmer in January 1843. 
 
io Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 orous editorial in the March 1842 number of the Union Agri- 
 culturalist Wright declared that in order to create a system of 
 common school instruction adequate to the needs of the state it 
 was absolutely essential that the state have a competent superin- 
 tendent and that it establish a teachers' seminary. 20 
 
 In 1844 Wright issued a call in the Prairie Farmer for an edu- 
 cational convention to be held in Peoria in October. Here it was 
 resolved that interest on the Seminary and College funds ought 
 to be applied to those seminaries in the state that would establish a 
 teachers' department 21 
 
 At a convention in Jacksonville in 1845, the teachers themselves 
 discussed the plan for state aid to colleges and seminaries in train- 
 ing teachers, along with such academic matters as vocational edu- 
 cation, and differences in the education of the sexes. 22 In October 
 1846 at a convention and institute in Chicago, the first held in 
 Illinois, Henry Barnard was the principal speaker. As superin- 
 tendent of schools in Connecticut, he was vigorously agitating for 
 a teachers' seminary in his home state. The Legislature the follow- 
 ing term asked the Committee on Schools to inquire into the 
 expediency of using a portion of the school College and Seminary 
 funds to support a teachers' seminary. 
 
 When the Constitutional Convention met in 1847, George 
 Bunsen of St. Clair County, a German immigrant farmer and 
 former teacher trained by Pestalozzi, proposed a detailed system 
 of organization for schools and teachers' seminaries, but nothing 
 came of it. Although disappointed, friends of education were not 
 rebuffed. 
 
 In an appeal in behalf of the common schools issued in April 
 1848, Horace S. Cooley, Secretary of State and ex-officio superin- 
 tendent of the common schools of Illinois, declared: "We should 
 not be unmindful of our paramount duty to secure the thorough 
 qualification of our own citizens, male and female, in the art of 
 teaching." 23 As a result the Illinois Education Society meeting in 
 Springfield in January 1849 discussed the matter of teacher train- 
 
 20 Quoted from the Union Agriculturist in Pillsbury, op. cit., p. LXXX. 
 
 21 When Reverend D. J. Pinckney of Mt. Morris introduced the resolution he probably 
 had in mind subsidizing the denominational colleges of the state. Pease, op. cit., p. 434. 
 
 22 Ibid., p. 432. 
 
 28 Pillsbury, op. cit., p. LXXXIV. 
 
For the Common Schools n 
 
 ing on four successive evenings. The secretary reported that C. B. 
 Denio, Colonel William H. Bissell, later governor, and Richard 
 Yates were among those who spoke eloquently in behalf of the 
 proposition. David Gregg, ex-officio superintendent of public in- 
 struction, in his report for 1857 ur g e d that the interest on the Col- 
 lege and Seminary funds, which had been loaned since 1837 to 
 the school fund and distributed with the income of the school 
 fund to the counties, be diverted no longer from its original pur- 
 pose but be used to educate teachers in the colleges of the state. 
 Accordingly Newton Cloud, Senator from Morgan County, intro- 
 duced a bill which if passed would have endowed colleges already 
 existing in the state. 24 
 
 But since the income and equipment of these colleges were in- 
 adequate, they were unable to compete with Eastern colleges in 
 securing students from wealthier families of the West. Friends of 
 these colleges were greatly impressed by Cloud's bill. The bill 
 passed the Senate, but its opponents succeeded in having it held 
 up and later laid on the table. 25 
 
 Jonathan Turner, graduate of Yale and former professor at 
 Illinois College, had another plan. In his presidential address at 
 the annual meeting of the Illinois Teachers Institute at Griggs- 
 ville, May 13, 1850, he proposed not only the founding of a state 
 university for the agricultural and general industrial classes of 
 Illinois, but a system whereby all the states of the Union would be 
 closely affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution in Wash- 
 ington. 26 
 
 On November 18, 1851 he spoke at a farmers' convention at 
 Granville, Putnam County, which had been called to consider 
 measures for establishing an agricultural school. Turner's plan 
 met with approval and was widely publicized in the Prairie 
 Farmer, Valley Farmer of St. Louis, the Bloomington Intelli- 
 gencer, Morgan Journal, Peoria Banner and other newspapers of 
 
 24 Ibid., p. LXXXVI. 
 
 25 Carriel, op. cit., p. 95. 
 
 26 Jonathan Baldwin Turner had been Professor of Belle Lettres, Latin and Greek at 
 Illinois College and had taught everything in the curriculum except chemistry. On the 
 side he carried on investments in land. His advanced ideas on abolition and religion were 
 investigated by the Presbyterian Synod of Illinois and he resigned in 1848, turning his 
 attention to horticulture, especially the development of the Osage orange. Ibid., p. 61, 
 pp. 74-94- 
 
12 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 the state. It led to the formation of the Illinois Industrial League, 
 chartered by the Legislature, February 8, 1853, t0 develop ways 
 and means for securing adequate educational institutions for in- 
 dustrial classes. 27 Turner's plan, in addition to agricultural and 
 mechanical departments, envisaged liberal arts, and a normal 
 school which would furnish annually a corps of skillful teachers 
 and lecturers who would go through all the towns and counties, 
 creating, establishing, and instructing lyceums, high schools, and 
 common schools of all sorts. 28 It proposed memorializing Con- 
 gress to appropriate to each state an amount of public land not 
 less than $500,000 in value "for the liberal endowment of a system 
 of state universities, to cooperate with each other, and the Smith- 
 sonian Institute, for the more liberal and practical education of 
 the industrial classes and their teachers ..." 
 
 It was 1854 before the matter was formally brought before 
 Congress. Meanwhile Turner lectured far and wide but the idea 
 did not take hold elsewhere as it had in Illinois. It was often 
 assailed from pulpit and press as "Turner's folly." Visionary and 
 absurd cartoons appeared, showing professors in tall silk hats 
 and kid gloves awkwardly holding plow handles and teaching 
 students the rudiments of farming. 29 
 
 In Washington on March 20, 1854, Elihu Washburne intro- 
 duced the resolution relative to the industrial university in the 
 House of Representatives and James Shields presented it in the 
 Senate. 30 A year before Horace Greeley, in The New York 
 Tribune had editorialized on the Illinois plan, as "a step to hasten 
 the coming of scientific and practical education for all who desire 
 and are willing to work for it. It cannot come too soon." Repre- 
 sentative Richard Yates asked Turner to draft a bill, but by the 
 time it reached Washington a strong wave of disapproval of the 
 government's overlavish land grants of the early fifties was being 
 felt, and as Senator Trumbull later wrote Turner, the idea was a 
 "grand one" but the hour was not propitious. He wisely suggested 
 that it might be well if the bill were presented by a representa- 
 tive from an old state rather than a new state which had already 
 
 "Ibid., p. 138. 
 
 28 Ibid., pp. 1 21-127. 
 
 29 Ibid., p. 144. 
 80 Ibid., p. 153. 
 
For the Common Schools 13 
 
 benefited from large grants for schools. Accordingly the bill was 
 entrusted to the new representative from Vermont, Justin S. 
 Morrill. 31 
 
 While Turner was busy agitating his university among farmers 
 and mechanics, principals of schools devised plans. In the fall of 
 1853 Harry H. Lee, Principal of the Garden City Institute of 
 Chicago, James A. Hawley of Dixon, an agent for an eastern book 
 publisher, and Daniel Wilkins, President of the Central Female 
 Institute, Bloomington, happened to meet in Bloomington. They 
 talked over school matters and decided to request Alexander 
 Starne, ex-officio superintendent of common schools, to call an 
 educational convention. Secretary Starnes would not issue the call 
 himself but agreed to head a call if issued by the educational men 
 of the state. Thirty-two educators endorsed the plan, and Starne 
 sent out notice of the convention to be held in Bloomington. 
 Teachers, superintendents, school commissioners and friends of 
 education were invited. 32 
 
 The session began at six o'clock Monday evening, December 26, 
 1853, in the Methodist Church in Bloomington. A permanent or- 
 ganization to be known as the State Teachers' Institute of Illinois 
 was effected, a constitution drawn up, and a program for action 
 agreed upon. 33 These were serious men, intent on implementing 
 resolutions, not merely making them; they were determined to 
 make the new organization truly professional and announced that 
 as soon as possible all offices would be filled with practical teach- 
 ers. 34 Resolved to raise the standard of teaching and to promote 
 the greatest diffusion of knowledge, the association promptly be- 
 gan agitating the creation of an independent office of superin- 
 tendent of public instruction, the enactment of a free school law, 
 
 81 Ibid., p. 159. 
 
 82 The signers of the call for the Bloomington Convention of 1853 included the presi- 
 dents of ShurtlefT College, Illinois Wesleyan, Knox College, and Central Illinois Female 
 Institute, six seminary principals, six ministers, one physician, two county superin- 
 tendents, seven college professors, one teachers' institute principal, principal of the Peoria 
 Classical Institute, an agent of the American Sabbath Union, and the president of the 
 Peoria County Educational Society. Irving F. Pearson, History of the Illinois Education 
 Association (Springfield: Illinois Education Association, 1953), p. 3. 
 
 83 Illinois State Journal (Springfield) December 29, 1853. 
 
 On December 26, 1855, the name "Illinois State Teachers Association" was officially 
 adopted. It was changed to "Illinois Education Association" in 1936. Pearson, op. cit., p. 5. 
 
 ** The constitution provided for a president, three vice-presidents, a secretary, an assistant 
 secretary, a treasurer, an executive committee, and committees on books and libraries, school 
 government, and exercises. Memberships were one dollar annually. 
 
14 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 and the establishment of a normal school. A committee appointed 
 to memorialize the Legislature on school matters was instructed 
 "to ask that honorable body to make conditional ventures in the 
 way of aiding in erecting suitable buildings and furnishing a 
 permanent endowment to citizens of any town or towns who may 
 be desirous of having a normal school erected in their midst. 35 
 Bronson Murry, who attended the meeting as a representative 
 of the Industrial League, was hopeful that the schoolmen would 
 go along with the plan for an industrial university with a normal 
 department. 
 
 At the meeting of schoolmen in Peoria in December 1854 P ro " 
 fessor Turner and Dr. R. C. Rutherford spoke in behalf of the 
 Industrial University. State Superintendent Ninian W. Edwards 
 advocated a separate institution. The schoolmen concluded the 
 latter would more quickly answer their need. When the bill for 
 the Industrial University was pending in 1855, they were in- 
 fluential in getting the bill amended so that the normal school 
 would have to be put into operation before other departments 
 could be annexed. The Industrial League was favorable to com- 
 mon school education and the normal department, but it had no 
 desire to have the agricultural, mechanical, literary and scientific 
 departments take subordinate place and so the bill was allowed 
 to die in the committee. 
 
 When the State Teachers* Institute met in Springfield in De- 
 cember 1855, the schoolmen solemnly resolved that they "did 
 not wish to discuss any university question, but to occupy them- 
 selves with the interests of common schools and normal schools." 
 By this time the public school teachers controlled the votes of the 
 Institute. Charles E. Hovey, who had migrated the year before 
 from Massachusetts to be principal of the Peoria Boys Stock 
 School, 36 was chosen president of the Institute, and also editor of 
 the Illinois Teacher which had been started the preceding Feb- 
 ruary. 37 The president and vice-presidents of the Institute set up 
 a committee known as the State Board of Education whose busi- 
 
 ^Pillsbury, op. cit., pp. LXXXVII-LXXXVni. 
 
 88 Ernest E. East, "C. E. Hovey, Educator and Soldier, Aided Public School System 
 Here," Peoria Journal Transcript, March 4, 1937; Harriette Hovey to Manfred Holmes, 
 January 28, 1913. Holmes Papers. 
 
 87 The first school journal in Illinois was the Common School Advocate, an eight page 
 
For the Common Schools 15 
 
 ness it was to supervise the general school interests throughout the 
 state. It was authorized to employ an agent to travel throughout 
 the state, to give lectures, and everywhere to advance the cause 
 of a normal school. 38 Newton Bateman, principal of West Jack- 
 sonville District School, was chosen to lead the crusade, and for 
 three years he spent as much time as he could lecturing and 
 conducting institutes. In 1857 he resigned, and Simeon Wright, 
 a teacher from Lee County, was appointed. 
 
 Meanwhile action taken to meet the crucial need for teachers 
 in the rising city of Chicago was to influence the normal school 
 movement. The ordinance in January 1855 establishing a high 
 school, stipulated that it "should have a department expressly for 
 the qualification of young ladies to teach." Graduates of the de- 
 partment, "all other things being equal," were to be preferred in 
 the appointment of teachers for the primary and grammar 
 schools. Ira Moore, from the State Normal School at Bridgewater, 
 Massachusetts, became head of the department and opened the 
 high school. A year later a city normal school was opened, with 
 William H. Wells, former principal of the Westfield, Massachu- 
 setts, Normal School, in charge. 39 
 
 The program of the Chicago meeting December 1856 was 
 slanted toward the normal school movement. Professor Charles 
 Hovey of Peoria presided. The morning and afternoon sessions 
 were given over to reports and recommendations, and the evening 
 sessions were devoted to inspirational addresses. The first evening 
 Principal Wells of the Chicago Schools spoke on "The Science of 
 Teaching," and the second evening Dr. Henry Barnard, who had 
 helped establish the Connecticut State Normal School at New 
 Britain five years before, addressed the three hundred or more 
 
 quarto, published monthly at Jacksonville by Calvin Gowdy and his brother, Ensley 
 Gowdy. Faculty of Illinois College, notably Dr. Theron Baldwin, supplied articles. The 
 paper, begun in January 1837, lasted only a year. From May 1841 to September 1841, 
 Edmund R. Wiley of Springfield issued the Illinois Common School Advocate, a thirty- 
 two octavo monthly magazine, as the official organ of the Illinois State Education Society. 
 The Union Agriculturist and Prairie Farmer, established in 1841 and edited by John 
 Wright, was both a farm and a school paper in its earlier years. Until the Illinois Teacher 
 appeared, Prairie Farmer was the great exponent and recorder of public education. Cook, 
 Educational History of Illinois, pp. 515-517. 
 
 88 Newton Bateman was employed as agent of State Teachers Institute at a salary of 
 $1200 per year. He resigned when his pay was not forthcoming and Simeon Wright was 
 made agent at the Decatur meeting in 1857. Ibid., p. 531. 
 
 "Pillsbury, op. cit., p. LXXXIX. 
 
i6 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 persons present on "The Duty of the State in Regard to Edu- 
 cation." The next morning a resolution was proposed 40 urging 
 that Illinois no longer delay "the immediate establishment of a 
 state normal school for the education of teachers." While the 
 members were discussing the recommendation that the Legis- 
 lature make an annual appropriation for the next five years 
 sufficient to support such an institution of learning, Newton Bate- 
 man rose to his feet and presented a letter from Jonathan Turner 
 addressed to the Illinois Teachers Institute assembled at Chicago. 
 
 After noting the use that the state had made of the educational 
 funds in the past, Professor Turner reiterated that it had always 
 been his opinion and that of the Industrial League that a normal 
 school with an agricultural department would be more strongly 
 bound to the interests of the people at large, and more prosperous 
 than if it stood alone. However if this were not agreeable to the 
 teachers of the state or friends of the normal school he now 
 wished them to arrange it as they thought best. He pledged that 
 the friends of the League would cooperate on any plan the 
 Teachers' Institute might devise, provided that the school was 
 "effectually separated from such partisan political control as would 
 make it a curse instead of a blessing to the State. 
 
 "It is high time, my friends," he magnanimously concluded, 
 "that you had your normal school whether we ever get an agri- 
 cultural department to it or not. Let us all take hold and obtain it, 
 in such form as you on the whole think best." 41 No longer would 
 the League and the Institute be working at cross purposes. The 
 cooperation so imperative to the success of the normal school was 
 assured. The concession gave over to the normal not only the 
 Seminary fund, to which it had good claim, but also the College 
 fund, which the university men might have justifiably insisted be 
 left unappropriated until they could obtain a charter. 
 
 With enthusiasm, the association moved a committee be ap- 
 pointed to secure the necessary legislation. Simeon Wright, 
 President-elect of the Association, Charles E. Hovey, and Daniel 
 Wilkins, Principal of the Female Institute, Bloomington, were 
 
 40 Alexander Wilder, "Annual Meeting, Illinois State Teachers Association," Illinois 
 Teacher, Vol. Ill (January 1857), p. 1. 
 
 41 Jonathan B. Turner to Chicago Teachers' Institute, December 20, 1856. Pillsbury, 
 op. tit., p. LX. 
 
For the Common Schools 17 
 
 immediately named. They were to be assisted by William H. 
 Powell, the newly elected state superintendent. 
 
 The sessions ended on a note of gayety and achievement. Over 
 five hundred persons attended the banquet at the Tremont House. 
 Chicago's popular superintendent, William Wells, presided and 
 the toastmasters, E. D. Osband of Chicago and Charles Hovey sat 
 at opposite ends of the long speakers' table. There was wit, good 
 humor, and fellowship. There were toasts to the "Old-Fashioned 
 School," "Graded Schools," "The Press," "The Railroads," 
 "Boarding Round," The Ladies of the State Teachers Association," 
 and such worthy personages as Simeon Wright, newly elected 
 president, and Charles Hovey, and to the Illinois Teacher now 
 starting its third year, and lastly to "Our Future Normal School — 
 the Crowning Act of Our Next Legislature." 42 
 
 When the Legislature assembled the next week in Springfield, 
 the Hon. Samuel W. Moulton, who had drafted the bills creating 
 the independent office of Superintendent of Public Instruction 
 at the special session in 1854 anc ^ tne ^ ree schools in 1855, took over 
 the management of the bill in the House, and Captain J. S. Post 
 of Decatur introduced it in the Senate. Zealous support was given 
 by members long known as "friends of education," among them 
 Wesley Sloan of Golconda, C. B. Denio of Jo Daviess County, and 
 Dr. Calvin Gowdy of Taylorville, who with his brother at Jack- 
 sonville, for some twenty years had published The Common 
 School Advocate. They assured the economy-minded legislators 
 that the training school for teachers would not cost the taxpayers 
 a cent, that the building would be constructed from the sub- 
 scriptions raised by the city which was successful in the compe- 
 tition for the location, and that revenue from the Seminary and 
 College fund would be adequate for maintenance. 43 The press 
 came to the aid of the cause. The Illinois State ]ournal on its 
 editorial page carried a letter entitled "Friend of the Public 
 Schools" in which a correspondent declared, "Instruction in the 
 normal school fits the mind for the specific duties of the 
 teacher. ... It is as important to a teacher as theology to a 
 preacher." Appealing to civic pride it further queried, "Will 
 
 42 Wilder, op. cit., pp. 1-42. 
 
 "The interest on the College and Seminary funds in 1856 amounted to approximately 
 $900. Illinois State Journal, January 30, 1857. 
 
18 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Illinois be behind in the encouragement of learning? Will she 
 neglect this crowning act in the liberal system she has just estab- 
 lished ?" 44 
 
 The bill easily passed the Senate, sixteen to four, but it met 
 opposition in the House and there the vote was thirty-nine to 
 twenty-five which was only one vote to spare, thirty-eight being 
 the constitutional majority then required to pass a bill in the 
 House. On February 18, 1857, Governor William Bissell, who had 
 long favored the creation of a normal school signed the bill and 
 the first milestone was reached. 
 
 The act named C. B. Denio of Jo Daviess County, Simeon 
 Wright of Lee County, Daniel Wilkins of McLean County, C. E. 
 Hovey of Peoria County, George P. Rex of Pike County, Samuel 
 W. Moulton of Shelby County, John Gillispie of Jasper County, 
 George Bunsen of St. Clair County, Wesley Sloan of Pope County, 
 Ninian Edwards of Sangamon County, William H. Wells of 
 Cook County, John Eden of Moultrie County, Flavel Moseley of 
 Cook County, and Albert Shannon of White County, together with 
 the ex-officio State Superintendent of Public Instruction, to con- 
 stitute a corporate body known as "The Board of Education of the 
 State of Illinois" empowered to contract, to acquire and hold 
 property, to have a common seal, to make and establish by-laws 
 for the government of the normal university. 45 
 
 Superintendent Powell explained that the name "Normal Uni- 
 versity" was designated in the bill because it permitted the insti- 
 tution to be readily "swelled into the full proportions of a uni- 
 versity, should the people of the State and the Legislature desire 
 it." 46 The name too may have been something of a gesture to- 
 ward the die-hards in the Industrial League, and, as Hovey often 
 remarked, the school did receive its income from a fund ear- 
 marked for a university. 47 
 
 u Ibid., January 31, 1857. 
 
 45 The term of the members of the Board was ordinarily for six years. At the first 
 meeting lots were drawn so that one-third would hold office for six years, one-third for 
 four years, and one-third for two years. There was no compensation, only traveling ex- 
 penses. Daily Pantagraph, March 28, 1857. 
 
 46 William H. Powell, Second Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction 
 of the State of Illinois, 1 857-1 858. (Springfield: State of Illinois, 1859), p. 54. 
 
 47 John Williston Cook credits Dr. Alexander Wilder, Associate Editor of the American 
 Journal of Education and College Review who was visiting in Springfield at the time 
 the bill was being drafted, as the originator of the somewhat misleading name "Normal 
 University." Wilder contributed frequently to the Illinois Teacher during Hovey's editor- 
 
For the Common Schools 19 
 
 The newly constituted Board met in Superintendent Powell's 
 office on March 26, and committees were set up to attend to the 
 matters of location, course of study, buildings and officers of the 
 school. Much of the success of the enterprise would depend upon 
 its location and the man chosen to head its faculty. On the eve of 
 the meeting Hovey had editorialized in the Illinois Teacher under 
 the heading "Who Shall Be Principal of the Normal University?" 
 
 We can not answer this question but we can say what manner of man he 
 ought to be. He ought to be a resident of Illinois, acquainted with her 
 people and her schools; he ought to be a thorough scholar, an accom- 
 plished teacher, of large experience, good common sense, gentlemanly 
 bearing, great executive ability, a shrewd judge of human nature, a skill- 
 ful disciplinarian, of tireless enthusiasm, great directness and oneness of 
 purpose, and in him should be wrapped a great big soul. 48 
 
 In approximately fifty words Editor Hovey had given an ad- 
 mirable self-portrait, although he was not ready to avow himself 
 as a candidate. 
 
 Hovey was a member of the Committee on Location and if 
 possible he wanted to secure the school for Peoria. While the bill 
 was being debated he had adroitly remarked, "If Peoria can 
 furnish a better building and better schools for model schools 
 than her sister cities she expects it, if not," he thoughtfully added, 
 "most likely Springfield, Bloomington, and Jacksonville would 
 also compete for it." 49 If a city had something to offer a school, 
 so a school had something to bring to a city. Midwest cities spoke 
 with pride of the cultural advantages their seminaries and colleges 
 afforded their communities. Jesse Fell, Daniel Wilkins, Kersey 
 Fell, David Davis, Edwin Bakewell, W. H. Allin, and other 
 business men were quick to see advantages of having the school 
 located in Bloomington. 50 For a time Fell considered offering 
 Seminary Block but concluded it would be better not to link his 
 activities with a specific site. The bill incorporating the Normal 
 
 ship. Cook, Educational History of Illinois, p. 94; John W. Cook to David Felmley 1908. 
 Charles Hovey, Editor of the Illinois Teacher, devoted the July 1857 issue to normal 
 schools. He explained the derivation of "normal" from the Latin word originally being 
 a "square" or rule used by carpenters; as applied to schools, it means a pattern, model, or 
 example. "A normal school signifies a school where the principles of teaching are taught, 
 and where the art of teaching is exemplified in practice." Illinois Teacher, July 1857, p. 233. 
 
 48 Ibid., March 1857, p. 107. 
 
 49 Ibid., February 1857, p. 67. 
 
 60 These Bloomington business men donated from $200 in cash to $10,000 in land. 
 
20 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 University stipulated that the permanent location would be in 
 the place which offered the most favorable inducements. 
 
 As Fell went about soliciting subscriptions for the school in 
 both cash and land, he spoke casually of his hope that Horace 
 Mann could be induced to come to Illinois as principal of the 
 school. Privately Fell's good friend John F. Eberhart, a guest at 
 the time in his home, was already corresponding with Mann. 
 All was not going well at Antioch and Mann expressed a definite 
 interest in the position if it would pay as much as $2500. It was 
 not known how much the Board would pay and on the first day 
 of May a subscription list was circulated in Bloomington for ma- 
 terial aid to bring the salary up to Mann's figure of $2500. Ten 
 business men pledged $750. 51 
 
 On May 4 the Board met in Springfield and heard the report 
 of the Committee on Location. Sealed bids had been received 
 from Peoria, Bloomington, and Washington. It was decided not 
 to open the bids until another inspection was made of the pro- 
 posed sites. Previously George Bunsen, George Rex, Daniel 
 Wilkins, and Charles Hovey had visited these cities as well as 
 Decatur, which had made no bid. Simeon Wright, who had been 
 the agent of the Illinois Teachers Association in publicizing the 
 school, was made the agent of the Board to arrange for an im- 
 mediate junket of the sites, and a recess meeting was called for 
 three o'clock in Peoria May seventh to make final decision on the 
 site. 52 
 
 It was a late wet spring. On Monday there had been a hard 
 rain, and although the downpour stopped on Wednesday before 
 the morning train bringing the Committee from Springfield 
 arrived, the weather was unpleasant, raw and cold. Water still 
 stood in puddles and the mud was ankle deep. The editor of the 
 Daily Pantagraph was at the station, along with other citizens, to 
 greet the visitors and to expound the cultural and healthful ad- 
 vantages of Bloomington. 53 Six tracts of land were offered as 
 possible sites for the school. 
 
 It was decided to inspect the sites east of town first. The streets 
 had been muddy but the roads were worse. Crossing a slough 
 
 61 Morehouse, op. cit., p. 46. 
 
 M Proceedings of the Board of Education (Springfield), May 4-6, 1857, pp. 5-7. 
 
 M Daily Pantagraph, May 5, 1857. 
 
For the Common Schools 21 
 
 about two and a half miles east of town, one of the carriages be- 
 came bogged down in the mud. The driver cracked his whip; 
 the horses plunged, tugged, and slipped. Another final effort, 
 and a singletree was broken; as the horses struggled to free them- 
 selves, the tongue plunged into the wet ground and snapped in 
 two. The occupants waded out into mud up to their boot tops 
 and crowded into the other carriages. The members of the visit- 
 ing Committee were not complimentary of what Bloomington 
 had to offer. 54 
 
 After a late lunch at the Pike House, the Committee again set 
 out, this time for the Junction north of town. Many of the cash 
 subscriptions as well as offers of land had been contingent upon 
 the location of the site within a mile or half mile of The Junction. 
 Although Jesse Fell had offered any ten acres of land that he 
 owned for a site if the Committee desired, he believed that the 
 tract offered by Meshack Pike and Joseph Payne, a part of the old 
 Parkinson farm, was perhaps the most desirable. It stood high 
 above the slough and the railroad, and the land sloped gently in 
 all directions. Fell was aware that the bare prairie about Bloom- 
 ington appeared like a hopeless swamp at this time of year, so 
 the afternoon before the Committee's visit he went very carefully 
 over the ground, located every mudhole and dry ridge, and 
 worked out a course that would minimize the dangers of being 
 mired down in a sea of Illinois mud. He wanted no broken axles, 
 no shaken nerves. On the ridge that seemed to him to be the 
 ideal spot he planted a flag atop a tall pole. 
 
 When the visitors left the Pike House, Fell was careful to ride 
 in the first carriage so as to direct the driver over the uncharted 
 soggy ground. On "threat of life and wages" the drivers of the 
 other carriages had been ordered to follow undeviatingly the 
 course of the first, and on no account were the horses to be allowed 
 to mire down. 55 
 
 Local boosters pointed with pride to Wesleyan College's lone 
 building a mile or more to the south, the cultural advantages of a 
 normal school in a college town, and the easy access to the Illinois 
 Central and the Chicago and Alton railroads. 
 
 61 Ibid., May 9, 1857. 
 "Morehouse, op. cit., p. 44. 
 
22 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 The land south of the tracks had been platted into town lots 
 in 1854 and offered for a sale of lots on June 15 of that year, but 
 aside from Jesse Fell's new home, Greenwood, little building had 
 been done. The location of the school, however, would probably 
 set off a veritable building boom. This new development referred 
 to as "North Bloomington" would be made an addition to the city 
 of Bloomington or it might be incorporated into a separate town. 
 
 Despite the shivering cold, the visitors conceded it was a pleas- 
 ant view, with the soft rolling prairie, the wandering ribbons of 
 railroad track, the brush swamp and the clumps of hazel, sumac, 
 and willow. In the distance the Wesleyan building and the spires 
 of Bloomington churches could be seen above tree-lined avenues. 
 "None better," thought Jesse Fell, as he gazed off in the direction 
 of the field of experimental sugar cane that had just been planted 
 and envisaged the neat rows of trees that would presently outline 
 the streets of North Bloomington. 
 
 The next morning the Committee and a party of townspeople, 
 including Jesse Fell, Leonard Swett, attorney, and Editor E. J. 
 Lewis of the Pantagraph, who was to keep his subscribers in- 
 formed of exactly what took place on the memorable journey, set 
 off for Peoria. They took the Illinois Central from Bloomington 
 as far as Peoria Junction, where they boarded the Peoria Oquawka 
 Eastern Extension passing through Secor, Cruger, Eureka, and 
 Washington. From the train could be seen the Academy Building 
 which Washington offered to the state for the new school. It was 
 noon when they reached Peoria and were taken to the Peoria 
 House for lunch. The editors of the Peoria newspapers, The 
 Statesman, The Republican, and The Transcript, confident and 
 gracious, were on hand to extol the virtues of Peoria. 56 Editor 
 Lewis was quite impressed with the good fellowship. 
 
 Eleven of the fifteen members of the Board were present when 
 the meeting began at three o'clock in the Peoria County Court 
 House. Ninian Edwards took the chair. W. H. Powell, Secretary 
 ex-officio, took his seat. Simeon Wright presented the bids. The 
 first bid was that of Batavia. The city offered $15,000 in cash, 20 to 
 22 A of land, and a three-story building 70 by 50 feet. The citizens 
 pledged to raise $25,000 of which $10,000 was to lift the debt on 
 
 66 Daily Pantagraph, May n, 1857. 
 
For the Common Schools 23 
 
 the building. The total bid amounted to $45,000. Washington's 
 bid in cash, land, and buildings amounted to $20,000. The city 
 and county of Peoria offered cash and land estimated to be worth 
 $80,000. The city of Bloomington and McLean County offered 
 cash and land amounting to $i4i,ooo. 5T 
 
 The offer was astounding. Charles Hovey could scarcely believe 
 Bloomington's bid exceeded Peoria's bid by $61,000. Daniel 
 Wilkins grinned broadly and wished that Jesse Fell and John 
 Eberhart had been in the room to see consternation on the faces 
 of the Board members who were so confident that one of the 
 Peoria locations would be selected. 58 John Eberhart had been in 
 Peoria the week previous, and in talking with a teacher learned 
 how much Peoria had raised. Eberhart disliked Peoria. To him it 
 was a "river town and a whisky town," and he did not want to 
 see the normal school located there. Back in Bloomington he held 
 council with Fell. It was decided Eberhart should go to Chicago 
 to interview the Board members there relative to the Blooming- 
 ton location and meanwhile Fell would try to raise more funds. 
 Fell hitched Old Tom to the buggy, took Eberhart to the station, 
 and started for Peoria. He covered the forty-five miles in time to 
 attend a citizen's meeting. Hovey recognized him but was un- 
 suspecting. There was no secret about the Peoria bid and the 
 citizens were confident that no other county would equal their 
 $80,000 pledge. 
 
 Fell hurried home that night. Time was precious. McLean 
 County citizens had already pledged $50,000 in cash and lands, 
 and the County Commissioners, A. J. Merriman of Bloomington, 
 Milton Smith of Pleasant Hill, and Hiram Buck of Leroy, pledged 
 that they would appropriate from the swamp lands funds an 
 amount equal to that subscribed by individuals. This brought the 
 total to $100,000. Fell believed an additional $25,000 should be 
 raised by private subscription, and that when this sum was 
 matched by the County Commissioners, the normal school would 
 be assured. He raised his own cash subscription to $2,000 and 
 pledged an equivalent of $7,500 in Jackson County lands, worth 
 about five dollars per acre. His enthusiasm was contagious; others 
 
 "Proceedings of the Board of Education (Peoria) May 7, 1857. 
 68 Editor Lewis credits Daniel Wilkins, Jesse Fell, and Captain Post for arousing the 
 people in McLean County. Daily Pantograph, May 12, 1857. 
 
24 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 added to their pledges until the total in private subscriptions was 
 $71,000. The Commissioners risked their popularity and tenure in 
 office and brought the McLean County total to f 141,00c. 59 
 
 Puzzled looks were exchanged when the Bloomington bid was 
 read. After a few minutes Wesley Sloan of Golconda rose to his 
 feet and proposed "that the Normal University be located in 
 County of McLean, near Bloomington on the 160 acres of land 
 which is to be granted for the construction of the school," but he 
 specified that the location should not be final until the total 
 amount of the bid was fully secured and delivered. Charles Hovey 
 proposed an amendment by which the location would be awarded 
 to Peoria if the citizens of Bloomington did not guarantee the 
 precarious county subscriptions within sixty days. 
 
 Dr. George Rex of Perry and Charles Hovey were appointed to 
 visit various normal and high schools in the East and to report at 
 the June meeting in Bloomington, on buildings, courses of study, 
 finances, and matters relative to the general management of a 
 normal school. At that meeting the new principal would be 
 selected. 
 
 Editor Lewis hurried from the Peoria Court House to telegraph 
 to the Pantagraph the good news : "Normal University located at 
 Bloomington by unanimous choice." 60 Attorney Leonard Swett, 
 who accompanied the Bloomington delegation, hastened to assure 
 the Board that the title to the swamp lands was bona fide. 
 
 Bloomington was elated, and when Wilkins, Swett, Fell, and 
 Lewis returned they had no difficulty securing guarantors. A 
 week later, on May 15, 1857, Abraham Lincoln, Esq., acting as 
 attorney for the Board, drew up the bond guaranteeing that citi- 
 zens of Bloomington would pay to the Board $14,000 on the first 
 day of August 1857, $14,000 on the first day of November 1857, 
 $14,000 on the first day of February 1858, $14,000 on the first day 
 of May 1858, and $14,000 on the first day of August 1858, to assure 
 the erection of the building of the Normal University on the 
 McLean County subscription. Eighty-five Bloomington citizens 
 
 69 The Board of Supervisors which replaced the Commissioners ratified the latter's 
 action the following May. J. H. Burnham, "How the Normal was Located," Transactions 
 of the McLean County Historical Society (Bloomington, 1903) II, 171; Morehouse, op. cit., 
 pp. 42-44- 
 
 60 Daily Pantagraph, May 8, 1857. 
 
For the Common Schools 25 
 
 pledged from five hundred dollars to five thousand dollars, and 
 in the event of any actual default, they agreed to share the loss, 
 pro rata according to the sums set opposite their names. 61 
 
 Jesse Fell continued his efforts to secure Horace Mann as 
 principal of the school. He and Eberhart personally interviewed 
 over half the members of the Board and found them agreeable. 
 Mann had insisted that there be harmony in the Board and that 
 the call be unanimous as he was too old to fight. About a week 
 before the meeting to be held in Bloomington protests against 
 Mann were heard. 
 
 A member of the Peoria faction came to Eberhart and warned 
 him that it was a matter of political necessity that an Illinoisan be 
 named to the position. "If you elect Mann, we'll kill him," he 
 threatened. He further intimated that Bloomington got the school 
 and that Peoria should name the principal. There were mutter- 
 ings about Mann's being a "damned abolitionist." Pro-slavery 
 advocates recalled how Mann had assailed Daniel Webster and 
 the Compromise of 1850. The Methodists, very powerful in 
 Illinois, questioned Mann's religious views and even branded him 
 as a dangerous person to be leading the young. When informed of 
 the situation, Mann wired Eberhart, asking that he be no longer 
 considered. 
 
 After Mann withdrew, Charles Hovey was considered the best 
 available man for the position. John Eberhart, graduate of Alle- 
 gheny College, former editor of the Dixon Transcript, and popu- 
 lar lecturer at teachers' institutes, refused to let his name be pre- 
 sented. 62 
 
 Those on the committee who advocated an out-of-state person 
 and one who had had actual experience in the administration of 
 a normal school favored William F. Phelps, Principal of the New 
 Jersey State Normal School, which had opened two years before. 
 Phelps had been most helpful to Rex and Hovey on their recent 
 survey of Eastern schools. The salary about to be proposed for 
 the principal of the new school was five hundred dollars more 
 
 91 The total amount subscribed by the guarantors was $214,000. Their guaranty was 
 never enforced. Some of the swamp lands were sold for cash, others on credit and the 
 proceeds used in the construction of the building. John W. Cook and James V. McHugh, 
 History of the Illinois State Normal University (Normal, 1882), pp. 21-22. 
 
 82 John Eberhart to Manfred J. Holmes (Undated) Holmes Papers; Morehouse, op. cit., 
 p. 46; Cook, Educational History of Illinois, pp. 599-602. 
 
26 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 than Phelps was receiving, an increase thought to be sufficient to 
 induce him to come west. In the end the committee deferred to 
 those who favored a local man, and only the majority report 
 recommending Charles Hovey was presented to the Board. The 
 name of William Phelps was brought up again during its de- 
 liberations, however, and when the vote was taken he had five 
 votes and Hovey six. As a gracious gesture toward their fellow 
 member and future principal the vote was made unanimous. 
 
 Late that afternoon Professor Hovey informed the Board he 
 would accept the office of Principal. 63 
 
 88 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Bloomington), June 23, 1857, p. 12. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 Majors Hall 
 
 The new principal took up his work with high hopes 
 and determination. In the report on the eastern schools which he 
 and Dr. Rex had visited, he had already outlined something of 
 the philosophy which he thought should underlie the operations 
 of a school for training teachers. The July issue of the Illinois 
 Teacher, much of which was already written and in the press, was 
 to set forth more of his ideas. "A normal school," he wrote, "sig- 
 nifies a school where the principles of teaching are taught, and 
 where the art of teaching is exemplified in practice." He con- 
 tinued with his conception of the responsibilities of the teacher: 
 
 When we consider the excellence of the material the teacher works upon, 
 — the undying mind, and the susceptibilities of that mind to good or evil 
 influences; when we consider the different results to which that mind is 
 brought, even if we do not look beyond the termination of its earthly 
 career; and when we consider the multitude and variety of the influences 
 that may be brought to bear upon it from the most elevating to the most 
 debasing; from heaven-aspiring tendencies that would carry it upward 
 along the ascending scale of virtue and piety, to all those downward 
 proclivities through which, one after another it may sweep to utter 
 perdition, do we not discover some reason, maybe a sovereign reason 
 why the guide and counselor of this mind, why the trainer and educator 
 of these immortal susceptibilities and faculties should himself be a work- 
 man that needeth to be ashamed; and for this purpose that he should 
 possess all the information, in relation to his art, possible to be obtained; 
 that is, that he himself should be taught. . . . 
 
 Education must be moral as well as physical or intellectual. The heart 
 must be cared for as well as the mind and the body. 1 
 
 Principal Hovey was conversant with the development of the 
 normal school idea from Pomerania through France, Ireland, Bel- 
 gium, Scotland, and Britain. He had read the reports of Dr. Alex- 
 
 1 Charles E. Hovey, "Normal Schools," Illinois Teacher, July 1857, pp. 233-239. 
 
 27 
 
28 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 ander Bache, the Reverend Calvin Stowe, Henry Barnard, Dr. 
 Samuel Gridley Howe, and others. He had personally visited 
 normal schools in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Penn- 
 sylvania, and Rhode Island. He sat in their classrooms, observed 
 their model schools, took notes on their equipment, and critically 
 studied their courses of study. Their good features he wished to 
 see emulated, their weak ones avoided. He was prepared to ad- 
 vance a three-year curriculum. 
 
 In the three years that Charles Hovey had been in Illinois he 
 had earned a reputation as a teacher, an administrator, and an 
 editor, to which some of his contemporaries would have added 
 politician. When Hovey accepted the principalship, he had just 
 turned thirty, was striking in appearance, tall and handsome, with 
 wavy dark chestnut hair, and quick, piercing eyes. He spoke with 
 ease and he made friends readily. 
 
 Charles Hovey was born in the town of Thetford, Vermont, 
 April 26, 1827, the son of Alfred and Abigail Howard Hovey. He 
 was one of eleven children, four daughters, and seven sons. The 
 father was a farmer. He sent his children to the district schools 
 when they were open. Young Charles developed an amazing gift 
 of solving arithmetical puzzles, reading fluently, and spelling hard 
 words, and when he was fifteen the school committee waived the 
 matter of age and offered him a school, for which he was to re- 
 ceive nine and a half dollars a month and board. 
 
 He soon advanced to a village school where he received twenty 
 dollars a month and board. During the Millerite frenzy of the 
 1840'$, he left the classroom and followed the trade of a lumber- 
 jack for a time before he took up teaching again. While a student 
 at Dartmouth College, he paid his expenses by teaching school 
 three or four months each year. 
 
 Hovey had graduated from Dartmouth College in 1852. He had 
 thought of studying law but had turned to teaching instead. For 
 two years he was principal of the Framingham Academy and 
 High School, Framingham, Massachusetts. 
 
 Hovey's experience in Framingham was a happy one. He found 
 the people "highly cultivated" and the students of the academy 
 and high school "wonderfully intelligent." Some twenty years 
 later, he affectionately described the Academy's preceptress, Miss 
 
Majors Hall 29 
 
 Harriette Farnham Spofford, as a "paragon of the graces." 2 
 
 The West beckoned to youth in the 1850's. One heard it pro- 
 claimed the land of opportunity from Greeley's Tribune to bro- 
 chures from Eli Thayer's New England Emigrant Aid Society. 
 Westward thousands came bringing their hopes, their ideals, their 
 convictions, and their prejudices. Some were cultured, well- 
 educated seeking for their offspring the opportunities they them- 
 selves had had; others, unlettered and untutored, seeking for their 
 children, those that they had not had. They came by wagon and 
 by boat, and by the new steam trains. Some came on horseback, 
 and a few walked, as Jesse Fell had done a generation before. 3 
 
 Gradually the prairies were broken. New towns sprang up 
 along the railroads and waterways and old ones saw new growth 
 and vigor. Peoria was such a town. It had a population of 5,095 
 in 1850, but within a decade it would exceed i4,ooo. 4 
 
 The only schools before 1850 were sporadic dame schools held 
 in a spare room in a home, in a church, or on the second floor of 
 a store building. They lacked continuity and equipment, and 
 the teachers were more willing than competent. Now and then a 
 lawyer or doctor just beginning to practice augmented his slender 
 income from professional services by taking pupils. A few teachers 
 disdained taking pupils at large and for slightly higher tuition 
 rates conducted "select schools." After 1849 in the Krim or lower 
 part of the city where many Germans had settled, private school- 
 masters taught their schools in the German language. Little teach- 
 ing was done above the elementary level. 
 
 In 1850 a group of citizens interested in better schooling for 
 their daughters organized the Female School Association and 
 opened what came to be known as The Girls Stock School. It 
 proved not only to be a successful school but a paying investment. 5 
 Three years later the same citizens began to agitate for a similar 
 school for boys. 
 
 'Charles E. Hovey, "Autobiography of General C. E. Hovey," reprinted from The 
 Schoolmaster (1889) in Cook and McHugh, op. cit., pp. 28-30. 
 
 "The Seventh U. S. Census (1850) reported 41,283 adults in Illinois who could 
 neither read nor write. Morehouse, op. cit., p. 15. 
 
 *The Seventh U. S. Census (1850) listed the population of Peoria as 5,095 including 
 84 free colored. The Eighth Census (i860) reported 14,045 persons. 
 
 6 H. W. Wells, Schools and the Early Teachers 0} Peoria (Peoria: Jaquin and Co., 
 1900), pp. 19-103. 
 
30 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Inquiries were made throughout the East for a capable man to 
 head the school. The name of Charles Hovey was presented. Here 
 was opportunity, the West, and a school to be organized and op- 
 erated along lines that were untrammeled and unfettered by 
 tradition. Hovey accepted. On October 9, 1854, he was married to 
 the "preceptress" of Framingham's Academy, and together they 
 started to their new home in Peoria. 6 
 
 The Boys Stock School opened November 27, 1854, w i tn IT 9 
 students the first term. Besides Mrs. Hovey, who taught classes in 
 grammar, there were two other regular teachers, two assistants, 
 and special teachers of German and music. Hovey was interested 
 in the new community, and above all its schools. He was out- 
 spoken. The one public school was held in a long narrow crum- 
 bling brick structure located in a stagnant, swampy section of 
 town. Hovey thought a wrong was being perpetrated upon the 
 school children of Peoria and that the situation was deplorable 
 for a city so rich and populous. The head of the public school re- 
 sented Hovey's interest. Hovey's school was in turn envied, 
 epitheted and compared. "It was a rich man's school, the aristo- 
 crat's school; relied on show and clothes." 
 
 The month after Hovey arrived the second meeting of State 
 Teachers Association was held in Peoria. He attended, and met 
 the educational leaders of the state, teachers like Simeon Wright, 
 Newton Bateman, John F. Brooks, Daniel Wilkins, and former 
 teachers who had been lured into political or more lucrative pur- 
 suits but who retained their interest in education, among them 
 Jonathan Turner, W. H. Powell, John F. Eberhart, Bronson 
 Murray, W. F. N. Amy, as well as a galaxy of publishers and 
 school supply men angling for contracts. He was quite intrigued 
 by "grand strategy of some of the latter" in trying to get hold of 
 the convention. His heart went out to the reformers, the men 
 with vision. He listened, as Turner expounded the merits of an 
 industrial university, and observed how the old college men from 
 Shurtleff, Knox, McKendree, and Wesleyan were working to get 
 the College and Seminary funds distributed among the colleges as 
 maintenance for normal departments. He was present when the 
 monthly organ of the Teachers Association, The Illinois Teacher, 
 
 e Cook and McHugh, op. cit., pp. 30-31. 
 
Major's Hall 31 
 
 was read. It was just the sort of publication he longed to edit, but 
 he was a new man in the state and for the time being he had to be 
 just an interested onlooker. A year later when the Association de- 
 cided to continue the organ but wished to disavow financial re- 
 sponsibility, the editorship was gladly handed over to Hovey. 
 
 The dream of a system of free public schools so captivated 
 Hovey that he could not let the matter rest. The academy had 
 barely had its legal status approved before he approached Judge 
 Onslow Peters, Judge Jacob Gale, A. P. Bartlett, and others 
 prominent in the Stock Association that employed him. It was 
 decided to put through the Legislature quietly, a bill that would 
 amend the city's charter and enable the citizens of Peoria to elect 
 a School Board and establish a system of free public schools. 7 
 Meanwhile he lobbied in the Legislature for statewide free public 
 schools. The Peoria bill was passed almost before people realized 
 what it was all about. 
 
 Within a year the private school buildings were purchased by 
 the Board. The building formerly occupied by the Female Asso- 
 ciation Girls Stock School became the high school and that of the 
 Boys Stock School, a grammar school. 8 Mrs. Hovey organized the 
 grammar school and Hovey became principal of the high school 
 and superintendent of all the schools. 
 
 There was much to be done. Schoolhouses had to be built, 
 courses of study planned, the teachers selected. Hovey worked 
 hard and the Board stood back of him. Word traveled over the 
 state that Charles Hovey was a man of action, he got things done. 
 
 At the December 1855 meeting in Springfield he was elected 
 president of the State Teachers Association and given the some- 
 what dubious carte blanche editorship of the Illinois Teacher. If 
 subscriptions came in as the schoolmen promised and the Illinois 
 Teacher succeeded, the profits would be Hovey's; if it failed the 
 loss would also be his. 9 The former publisher was pessimistic: 
 "If Hovey has fifteen hundred dollars to throw away, he has now 
 an excellent opportunity to do so." While Hovey busied himself 
 with copy, making arrangements for printing in Peoria and 
 
 7 Hovey's Stock School showed a profit of $307.86 the first year it was in operation. 
 C. Ballance, History of Peoria, Illinois (Peoria: N. C. Nason, 1870), p. 89. 
 
 8 Wells, op. cit., pp. 102-105. 
 
 9 Cook and McHugh, op. cit., p. 34. 
 
32 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 assuring himself that forthcoming issues would be on better 
 paper, in clearer type, and freer of typographical errors, Mrs. 
 Hovey took over the matter of subscriptions, mailing lists, and 
 accounts. 
 
 The first issue under the new editorship revealed not only 
 promise but great improvement. Hovey's friends were true to 
 their word and the subscriptions poured in, fifteen hundred of 
 them, — five times that of the first year. It was a proud and happy 
 editor who presided over the meeting of the State Teachers Asso- 
 ciation in Chicago in 1856; the budget was balanced, there was a 
 profit, and as a matter of record, over a hundred of its 1500 sub- 
 scribers were outside the state. 
 
 When Hovey was made principal of the new state Normal 
 University he resigned from all other positions except that of 
 editor of the Illinois Teacher. He gave notice that he would resign 
 that upon the election of a successor. 10 
 
 As soon as die Hoveys could pack up their belongings and take 
 care of business, they took up their residence in Bloomington, 
 where they received for the most part a gracious welcome. 11 
 
 There was no time to be lost. At its June meeting the Board had 
 authorized the Building Committee to make arrangements for 
 temporary housing and to announce the commencement of the 
 first term and to take the necessary steps for securing the ap- 
 pointment of students from the various counties. According to 
 section 7 of the enabling act, each county within the state was en- 
 titled to gratuitous instruction for one pupil in the University, 
 and each representative district was entitled to as many scholar- 
 ships as there were representatives in the district. If each county 
 and district were to use its full quota of scholarships accommo- 
 dations for around 175 students would be needed. That was hardly 
 to be expected. It was a goal that might not be realized ever unless 
 there were amendments to the law; in fact, the Board might have 
 to exercise its discretionary powers and admit more local students 
 
 10 The circulation of the Illinois Teacher when Hovey retired as editor in December, 
 1857, was 2,070. It boasted subscribers in twenty-three states, eighteen in Massachusetts, 
 twenty in Indiana, and others as far away as California, Alabama, and Vermont. 
 
 n The most outspoken objection to Hovey's appointment was an open letter to the 
 Pantograph signed "Punctum." The writer protested that Hovey was a member of the 
 Board, had no out-of-state reputation, and that for $2,500 the Board should have com- 
 manded a truly great educator. 
 
Major s Hall 33 
 
 in lieu of failure of counties and districts to avail themselves of 
 their quotas. 
 
 County school commissioners over the state were circularized 
 as to the manner of appointments and the qualifications of candi- 
 dates. Males not less than seventeen years of age and women not 
 less than sixteen were eligible, provided they could produce 
 certificates of good moral character, would sign a declaration of 
 intention to "devote themselves to school teaching" in Illinois, and 
 could pass satisfactory examinations before the proper officers, in 
 reading, spelling, writing, arithmetic, geography, and the ele- 
 ments of English grammar. 12 
 
 Hovey soon learned that the individual members of the Board, 
 however remote their residence, were loath to surrender authority 
 to the principal except on the more trivial or annoying details of 
 administration. There was a wide difference of opinion on the 
 curriculum and how much there should be of content and how 
 much of dieory. George Bunsen, learned as he was in German 
 pedagogy, would emphasize primary education. To him it was 
 the alpha and omega of normal training. At one point he was so 
 annoyed at Hovey's lack of sympathy that he proposed that the 
 Board inquire into the advisability of his removal. Ninian Ed- 
 wards, the ambitious son of the former governor, looked to liberal 
 arts colleges as a model. Hovey always regarded him as pompous 
 and a "little at sea." 
 
 A member of the Board who liked to dabble in drawing pre- 
 sented a set of plans for a building at the very first meeting of the 
 Board. "Utterly impossible" was Hovey's private verdict. He 
 hastened to propose the survey of school architecture that had 
 taken him and Dr. Rex on their tour through the East. Dr. Rex 
 had returned so enamored of the New Jersey Normal, its curricu- 
 lum and its architecture, that if Hovey would have concurred he 
 would have moved the exact duplication of the Trenton plan. 
 
 There were times when Hovey secretly rejoiced in having some 
 members of the Board so distant and preoccupied that they did 
 not interfere. Flavel Moseley, President of the Board of Education 
 of the City of Chicago, was quite content to let Hovey struggle 
 alone with the curriculum but artfully reminded him from time 
 
 12 W. H. Powell, op. cit., pp. 387-391. 
 
34 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 to time that it was he who proposed the very liberal salary for 
 the principal. 
 
 In order to fulfill the terms of the location and make the col- 
 lection of pledges easier, it was imperative that the building be 
 started as soon as possible. Hovey looked at the problem realis- 
 tically. "Given," he said, "five hundred adult students: required to 
 find how to construct an edifice wherein diey could be comfort- 
 ably accommodated and assembled in one room and separated 
 therefrom into several rooms and vice versa, in the least possible 
 time and confusion." A normal, he insisted, was not to be or- 
 ganized as a college where students studied in their rooms and 
 could conveniently go from one place to recitation and to an- 
 other for "prayers." Except for some minor changes to conform 
 with local taste, the drawings presented by G. P. Randall, architect 
 of Chicago were accepted at a July 14 meeting of the Building 
 Committee of the Board in Bloomington. 13 On August 18 the 
 bids were opened and contracts awarded to T. H. Soper and 
 Mortimer and Loburg of Chicago, 14 who assured the Committee 
 that the building could be finished within a year. 
 
 Temporary quarters were engaged in Major's Hall, on the third 
 floor over a general store on the corner of Front and East Streets 
 in Bloomington. That building was fairly new and the large hall 
 which had been completed just before the State Republican Con- 
 vention, the year before, would serve nicely as an assembly room. 
 Adjacent rooms could be used for classes. 15 Advertisements in the 
 Pantagraph appealed for boarding houses for thirty or forty stu- 
 dents "at as low a price as can be afforded." Circulars were sent 
 to prospective students, county commissioners of education, and 
 newspapers, announcing the opening date, Monday, October 5, 
 and advising that board could be obtained for three dollars a 
 week. 16 The Board empowered the principal to spend the sum of 
 
 13 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Bloomington), August 18, 1857, p. 13. 
 
 14 C. B. Denio, Board member from Galena, entered a bid of $100,000. T. H. Soper 
 bid $80,000 and Mortimer and Loburg $81,000. 
 
 15 In Major's Hall, May 29, 1856, Abraham Lincoln of Springfield, delivered his 
 famous "Lost Speech," the address by which he considered himself formally identified 
 with the Republican Party. 
 
 16 Daily Pantagraph, August 24, 1857, and October 1, 1857. 
 
 At the end of the first year Hovey reported that students could obtain board and room 
 for $2.50 to $3.00 a week exclusive of wood, lights, and laundry. W. H. Powell, op. cit., 
 p. 291. 
 
Majors Hall 35 
 
 $1,000 donated by the Merriam Publishing Company of Boston, 
 for desks, recitation benches, globes, maps, books, and other neces- 
 sary equipment. He was also given a free hand in the employing 
 of teachers, but on the matter of textbooks the Board retained full 
 authority. 17 
 
 In selecting his faculty Hovey chose from the Chicago normal 
 department, Ira Moore who had graduated from the Bridgewater 
 Normal and had for a time attended Yale. On his inspection of 
 eastern normals Hovey had been impressed most by the Bridge- 
 water school. In bringing Moore to Illinois State Normal Uni- 
 versity, he hoped to bring something of the passion for thorough- 
 ness, accuracy, and truth that Nicholas Tillinghast had given the 
 Massachusetts Normal. Since Hovey's budget for teachers was 
 limited, he decided to employ one outstanding educator and hire 
 part-time instruction as it was needed for such courses as music, 
 drawing, and mathematics. 
 
 Although the model schools in the East were not as enthusi- 
 astically supported as they were earlier, Hovey was convinced 
 that the Model School, with a master teacher in charge was one 
 of the most significant contributions that a normal school could 
 bring to teacher training. For the Model School, which was to 
 open November 2, Hovey selected Miss Mary Brooks, a teacher 
 in the Peoria Public Schools. 18 
 
 Shortly after Hovey came to Illinois, a timid young woman, 
 thin and large boned but with a most sincere and attractive face 
 presented herself at his schoolroom in the Boys Stock School. She 
 was Mary Brooks from Brimfield. A few years before she had 
 come west with her family from Vermont. She wanted to be a 
 teacher and asked if she might "pursue some preparatory studies" 
 under his tutelage. She developed rapidly, serving first as a pupil- 
 teacher and then as a full-time teacher. Children loved her at 
 sight. She seemed to have an "intuitive knowledge of a child's 
 mind at different stages of development, and was a genius for 
 inventing methods to aid its growth." 19 Mary Brooks was loyal. 
 Charles and Harriette Hovey became her best friends. How proud 
 
 17 For many years the Board retained its prerogative of selecting textbooks. If a teacher 
 preferred another text, he might petition the Board and present his reasons in writing. 
 
 18 National Flag (Bloomington), October 30, 1857. 
 18 Cook and McHugh, op. cit., p. 227. 
 
36 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 she had been at the teachers' meeting at the Tremont in Chicago 
 when her principal, Charles Hovey, had presided. She was proud 
 to be one of his teachers, one of the first that he had trained. 
 When he asked her to open the Model School he had not been 
 able to offer anything positive in the way of salary, only op- 
 portunity. At first the Model School might not pay as well as the 
 public schools in Peoria but in time it should do as well. Teacher 
 training was a "cause" in an age when causes were sacred. Mary 
 Brooks decided to cast her lot with the Hoveys and teacher edu- 
 cation. 20 Hovey worked frantically getting things in order. With 
 the help of his wife he wrote hundreds of letters to school super- 
 intendents, newspapers, and prospective students. During the long 
 hot days he hurried back and forth between the Junction where 
 construction had begun and the temporary headquarters in 
 Major's Hall where the odor of strong soap suds, wallpaper and 
 paint told of preparations being made for opening day. The 
 furniture had been ordered promptly because freight from Boston 
 was often delayed in transit and the Board was anxious that every- 
 thing be in readiness by the first week in October. 
 
 Hovey was delighted with the progress the builders were mak- 
 ing. The excavation was completed in record time and soon the 
 foundation of Joliet stone began to rise from the broad concrete 
 footings. Local townspeople were assisting with the plans for the 
 laying of the cornerstone. Two o'clock, Tuesday, September 29, 
 was the date set. More and more the community was coming to 
 realize the possibilities of the school. On July fourth, as orator 
 of the day, Leonard S. Swett had taken as his subject "The 
 Normal University." In commenting on its name, he had said 
 "school" was not big enough for the prairies. "University" was 
 better. He praised the county court for donating the land. Dr. 
 E. R. Roe who spoke later reiterated Swett's predictions. Bloom- 
 ington was to be the "educational head of the state." 21 The laying 
 of the cornerstone was to savor of celebration over the successful 
 location of the school and also to be a forecast of a greater one to 
 come, a prelude to the dedication ceremony which according to 
 
 20 Illinois had 11,000 teachers in 1857 and 13,000 in 1858. Salaries were as low as 
 five dollars a month for women and nine dollars for men, and ranged as high as $150 
 for men and $54 for women. Cook, Educational History of Illinois, p. 82. 
 
 n Daily Pantagraph, July 7, 1857. 
 
Major s Hall 37 
 
 Hovey's schedule would take place in September one year later. 
 
 The Honorable Samuel W. Moulton of Shelbyville, Member of 
 the House of Representatives, chairman of the Committee on 
 Education, and also chairman of the Board's Committee on Build- 
 ings, was asked to make the address. Governor Bissell and former 
 governor Matteson were invited to attend and participate in the 
 exercises. 
 
 A welcoming committee drove to the station to meet the dis- 
 tinguished visitors. The trains were late. When the Pantagraph 
 went to press it carried a note to the effect that the speakers had 
 not yet arrived but assured the readers that hand bills would be 
 printed and circulated if the morning trains arrived in time to 
 have the exercises as scheduled. About noon the crowd began to 
 disperse. The local committee held council. With or without dis- 
 tinguished guests the laying of the cornerstone must go on. The 
 masons must not be kept from their work. The townspeople 
 would have to make the speeches. Around two o'clock twenty or 
 thirty carriages bearing leading citizens and their wives, together 
 with a goodly company of children and adults on foot, made their 
 way to North Bloomington. 
 
 At three o'clock Dr. George Rex of the Board of Education 
 called the meeting to order as the people gathered about a large 
 block of Joliet stone on the southeast corner. The stone had been 
 hollowed sufficiently to hold a tin box twelve inches square and 
 six inches deep. The Reverend H. J. Eddy of the Baptist Church 
 invoked Divine Blessing upon the enterprise. Dr. Rex apologized 
 for the unexpected absence of Moulton and introduced the persons 
 who had been selected to deposit items in the cornerstone. The 
 Reverend Alfred Eddy of the Second Presbyterian Church de- 
 posited a copy of the Scriptures as testimony that "Christianity of 
 the Bible was the foundation of this edifice and the foundation of 
 the education to be given here." State Superintendent of Public 
 Instruction, W. H. Powell, deposited a copy of the School Laws 
 of Illinois and his latest report and prophesied that here Illinois 
 would have such an institution as no other state possessed. A letter 
 from former governor Matteson was read, and then Jesse Fell 
 placed a list of contributors to the institution in the little tin box. 
 He remarked upon the importance of popular education, and 
 
38 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 said that the great need of the state was educators. He hoped to 
 see it develop into an institution of wider scope than an ordinary 
 normal school, a real university with an agricultural school and 
 a model farm. 
 
 Principal Hovey deposited lithographic views of the building 
 as it would look when completed and copies of the Illinois 
 Teacher containing proceedings of the State Board in reference 
 to the institution. He then traced the history of the school since 
 the teachers meeting in Bloomington three years before, and 
 properly praised teachers, legislators, and townspeople who had a 
 part in its establishment. 
 
 Dr. Roe, editor of the Illinois Baptist, deposited copies of the 
 daily and weekly newspaper of Bloomington, Springfield, Chi- 
 cago, Alton, and Peoria. According to the Pantagraph, he made a 
 "humorous and eloquent speech." The press and the schoolhouse 
 were the two great engines of education, he hardly knew which to 
 put first. John Deitrich then soldered the box and Dr. Rex 
 solemnly placed it in the cavity. Mr. Loburg of the contracting 
 firm filled the remainder of the cavity with dry sand, a good bed 
 of cement was spread on the lower stone, and then Judge Merri- 
 man of the County Court laid the upper stone in its place. The 
 Reverend Taylor of the Congregational Church pronounced the 
 benediction. 22 There was hand-shaking and happy leave-taking 
 as the masons resumed their work. 
 
 Jesse Fell looked again toward Greenwood and smiled. Only a 
 few weeks before he had turned the first earth. The Hoveys, 
 beaming and happy, drove back to Bloomington. The cornerstone 
 had been laid and in less than a week classes would begin. 
 
 By seven o'clock on the morning of October fifth Principal 
 Hovey and his assistant, Ira Moore, were at Major's Hall to await 
 the coming of the students. They looked to see that everything 
 was in order in the large hall and the six small rooms that were to 
 serve as assembly room, offices, and classrooms. The desks and 
 chairs that had been ordered from Boston had not arrived. Back- 
 less benches had been improvised from rough oak and a few 
 tables and chairs had been borrowed. The "generous owners of 
 
 22 Daily Pantagraph, September 30, 1857; National Flag, September 30, 1857. 
 
Majors Hall 39 
 
 nearby church property supplied other essential requisites." 23 
 There was no way of knowing how many students would be 
 enrolling. On Friday the Pantagraph had carried a list of 102 
 bank failures. Eastern papers were beginning to print long stories 
 about unemployment. The nation was in the grip of a financial 
 panic. 24 
 
 The first student to arrive was Enoch A. Gastman, Jr., from 
 Hudson. He was twenty-three, tall, and well-built. A few years 
 before he had injured his foot with an axe and walked with a 
 limp. He had already taught school at Saybrook and Kappa and 
 between teaching jobs had spent a semester at Wesleyan and a 
 term at Eureka College. He was alert, interested, determined. 25 
 Hovey and Moore were pleased with the first arrival. Surely it 
 augured well for the school. In a short time Joseph G. Howell 
 from White County, John Hull from Marion County, and Sallie 
 Dunn from Bloomington arrived. During the morning nineteen 
 students enrolled, six men and thirteen young women. More came 
 in the afternoon. By the following morning the number had 
 risen to twenty-nine. When the last student enrolled for the first 
 term eight days later the total number was forty-three. 26 
 
 There were no spectators and no fanfare attending the opening 
 of school. Each student brought with him a letter testifying as to 
 his moral character, and if a scholarship student, a certificate of 
 appointment. Each signed a pledge to teach and agreed that for 
 three years after leaving the University each June and December 
 he would write the principal and tell where he had been and 
 how he was employed. Although textbooks were to be provided 
 for students, they were advised to bring along any books which 
 they had at home. As it later developed textbooks furnished by 
 the school were to be used in classroom only and the student who 
 wished to study at his room had to provide his own. The Text- 
 
 23 W. H. Powell, op. cit., pp. 388-389. 
 
 24 Daily "Pantagraph, October 2, 1857. It was reported that in Chicago 20,000 were 
 unemployed. There was not enough work on Chicago streets at seventy-five cents a day 
 for two days a week to meet the demand for jobs, so wages were cut to fifty cents and 
 one-third more men given the benefits of employment. 
 
 25 Mildred Tschlabach, "Enoch Gastman." MS., Illinois State Normal University; Cook, 
 Educational History of Illinois, p. 503. 
 
 28 No other normal school in America had opened with such an auspicious number 
 of students. The average age of students admitted the first term was twenty years and 
 two months. 
 
40 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 book Committee of the Board had presented its report on Au- 
 gust 1 8. The list contained many of the time-honored classics in 
 American educational history: McGuffy and Sanders' Revised 
 Spellers and Readers, Davies, Ray and Thompson's series of 
 Arithmetics, Cornell and Warren's Geographies, Cowderies' 
 Moral Lessons, Wells' Science of Common Things, Quackenboss' 
 Composition and Rhetoric, and Webster's Dictionaries, 21 
 
 Principal Hovey reserved for himself classes in metaphysics, 
 history and pedagogy and assigned the teaching of the other sub- 
 jects to his assistant, Ira Moore. With the increasing enrollment 
 and supervision of the building construction Hovey found it 
 necessary to hire a second assistant, Charlton Lewis, and to turn 
 much of his own work over to Moore. 28 
 
 The Model School opened on November second in one of the 
 rooms on the second floor of Major's Hall. There were only seven 
 pupils, one of whom could not pay the fifty cents a week tuition, 
 but Mary Brooks accepted him gratuitously. She hoped the repu- 
 tation of her school would be favorable and that by the end of 
 the ten weeks' term it would not only be self-sustaining but 
 remunerative. Board and room in Bloomington, fortunately, was 
 not high. 29 
 
 Principal Hovey believed the Model School to be the true heart 
 of the normal school and Mary Brooks was a master teacher. 
 When Editor Edward J. Lewis of the Pantagraph made a visit to 
 the Model School the second week after it started, he was moved 
 to write an editorial on the Normal University. The seats and 
 desks from Ross' in Boston had just been installed. He spent con- 
 siderable time in the primary department, where he was deeply 
 impressed by the "kind and familiar but efficient manner" of Miss 
 Brooks and by the "interest and docility of her little pupils." 30 
 When Board member Dr. George Bunsen, a Pestalozzian who 
 maintained his own little private school for training teachers in 
 
 27 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Bloomington), August 18, 1857, p. 14. 
 
 28 Daily Pantagraph, January 18, 1858. Charlton Lewis, lawyer and classicist, taught 
 mathematics at Normal University for one term. He was later prominent as an insurance 
 actuary and classical scholar, lecturing at Harvard, Columbia, and Cornell, DAB. 
 
 29 Rates at the city's finest hotel, The Pike House, were only $3.50 a week. In the 
 private home where Mary Brooks lived it was much less. Wood, candles, and laundry 
 were extra. 
 
 80 Daily Pantagraph, November 14, 1857. 
 
Major's Hall 41 
 
 St. Clair County, visited the Model School, he was amazed and 
 delighted. He had always placed great emphasis on number work, 
 phonics, and object lessons. "From the known to the unknown," 
 he was constantly repeating. To him Mary Brooks was the kind 
 of teacher from whom not only children but adults could learn. 81 
 Years later Hovey recalled how Bunsen would "sit for hours, 
 sometimes whole days watching Mary's work as pleased as any 
 of the children, and apparently unconscious of the lapse of 
 
 time." 32 
 
 The fame of Mary Brooks spread. The second term opened 
 with ten pupils and closed with fourteen. When the third term 
 opened over fifty who applied had to be turned away for lack of 
 room. Section A began observations in earnest, and a few privi- 
 leged students were employed as part-time teacher assistants. 
 Principal Hovey proudly reported to the Board that receipts for 
 the Model School during the first year amounted to $439.50 and 
 the sum applied wholly for the payment of Miss Brooks and her 
 
 * 33 
 
 assistants. 
 
 On Friday evening after the opening of school the men stu- 
 dents, led by Charles Irons and Harvey Dutton, met in one of the 
 small classrooms, lighted by a single sputtering tallow candle. The 
 meeting was called to discuss the formation of a debating club. 
 It was believed that such a society would extend social relations, 
 elevate moral character and intellectual attainments. On this high 
 note a committee was appointed to draft a constitution and to 
 present it the following evening. The completed document in 
 less than a hundred and fifty words committed the signers to 
 attend regularly, to appear on programs and perform such other 
 duties as the society imposed. It threatened with expulsion any 
 member who should move dissolution of the society. The constitu- 
 tion provided for nine officers; in addition to the usual ones, the 
 Normal Debating Society, as it was decided for the time being to 
 call the organization, provided for a marshal, a student critic, 
 editress and chorister. Terms of office were short. It was expected 
 that there would be sufficient rotation that all members would 
 have the privilege, and discipline of office-holding. To discourage 
 
 81 Minnie Niess, "George Bunsen." MS., Felmley Papers. 
 83 Cook and McHugh, op. cit., p. 227. 
 88 W. H. Powell, op. cit., p. 393. 
 
42 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 tardiness, a twenty-live cent fine was assessed late-comers. All of 
 the fifteen men currently enrolled, except one, were present and 
 signed the document. Charles Irons was elected president; Justin 
 L. Spaulding, vice-president; Harvey Dutton, secretary, and John 
 Hull, treasurer. For a debate at the regular meeting the following 
 Wednesday, the subject chosen was, "Is a lawyer justified in de- 
 fending a bad case ?" Five speakers were selected for the affirma- 
 tive and Rvt for the negative. 
 
 Charter members of the society were men but the ratio of two 
 women to one man, could not long be ignored. It is not known 
 just when women students were admitted to membership but it 
 must have been quite early in the first term. The Pantagraph re- 
 lates that on Friday evening, January 15, 1858, at the conclusion 
 of Dr. Roe's lecture on "Respiratory Organs" the Lyceum re- 
 cently organized by the students convened. On behalf of the stu- 
 dents Matilda Reisinger presented Professor Charlton Lewis, who 
 was giving up teaching because of his health, a "magnificently 
 bound copy of Mrs. Cowden Clarke's World-Noted Women.'" 
 Following a debate in which all the men students took part, the 
 Ladies Garland, a manuscript periodical prepared by two of the 
 women students was read. 34 In the years to come there would be 
 many stirring debates, a few near disastrous clashes but withal 
 fierce loyalty and an ever-widening horizon of activity. The de- 
 bating society, begun so inauspiciously by the light of a single 
 candle, was to cast its beam across the life of the University for 
 ninety years. 
 
 The masons continued their work and from time to time the 
 editor of the Pantagraph reported on the progress that was being 
 made. However the panic which had swept across the nation 
 struck Bloomington and McLean County. Lands took a drop in 
 price, the market for farm commodities struck an all-time low, 
 and there was no market for the swamp lands donated by the 
 county. Subscriptions so enthusiastically made in May failed to 
 come in. When the Board met in December 1857, the treasurer, 
 John McClum, reported that he had received only $311.25 and 
 
 ** Daily Pantagraph, January 18, 1858. Prior to this meeting the Ladies Garland was 
 a manuscript periodical known simply as The Garland. In early society history debate 
 was the province of men; editing of the society paper was given to the women. Cook and 
 McHugh, op. cit., pp. 102-103. 
 
Major* s Hall 43 
 
 that he had already paid out $1,141, making the Board his debtor 
 by $879.25. He reported however that most of the subscriptions 
 had been converted into notes and if the Board wished, it might 
 by law force collection. Bonds had been taken for deeds of the 
 lands donated by Judge Davis, E. W. Bakewell, Meshack Pike, 
 and Joseph Payne. 30 It was certain that construction could not go 
 on without funds. The chairman of the Building Committee, 
 C. B. Denio of Galva, proposed that the guarantors of the county's 
 subscription of swamp lands be required to pay $14,000 by Febru- 
 ary first and that if the money were not forthcoming, the Board's 
 attorney, Abraham Lincoln, should be instructed to bring suit. 
 To Hovey this was a severe measure. He did not want to see 
 friends of the school treated so harshly. Better, he thought, to 
 cover the materials that had been delivered and suspend construc- 
 tion temporarily than ruin men who had pledged their support 
 in good faith. 36 
 
 As the Building Committee pondered ways and means, the first 
 term drew to a close. The Pantagraph carried an announcement 
 of the final examinations, to which the public was invited. 
 
 All twelve members of the Board of Education and a number 
 of townspeople, including Editor Lewis of the Pantagraph at- 
 tended the public examinations, which concluded the term. The 
 students were examined and drilled in reading, arithmetic, gram- 
 mar, and geography. Sentences were analyzed and maps were 
 drawn freehand and from memory on the blackboard. There were 
 exercises in mental arithmetic which greatly impressed the Panta- 
 graph reporter. 
 
 The teacher would say for instance, "Add 7 and 9 together, subtract 4, 
 divide by 3, multiply by 6, add 9, multiply by 2, extract the square root, 
 divide by 3, add 7, and what is the result." He would talk as fast as he 
 could and we thought for a time that none of the scholars could keep 
 even with him, but whenever he stopped, several hands would be raised 
 as signs that they knew the correct answer. 37 
 
 After the teacher drilled and questioned the class for a time, mem- 
 bers of the class were called to question the group. Now and then 
 
 35 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Bloomington), December 23, 1857, pp. 
 18-19. 
 88 Cook and McHugh, op. cit., pp. 42-43. 
 87 Daily Pantagraph, December 23, 1857. 
 
44 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Board members and other visitors propounded questions. Samuel 
 Moulton, President of the Board, asked a question which he 
 thought most provocative. Slowly he began, "At Cairo, where I 
 reside we get the white pine lumber of New York and yellow pine 
 lumber of Mississippi all the way by water; and none if it comes 
 up stream. How does it come? and by what route?" To his amaze- 
 ment one of the young women promptly raised her hand. The 
 answer was correct. 
 
 Principal Hovey moved quietly in and out anxiously, listening 
 to questions and answers. He watched the expressions on the faces 
 of the Board members. He smiled encouragingly at the students. 
 At last the examinations were over, and Board members Denio, 
 Moulton, and Sloan made speeches approving the work of the 
 school. 39 
 
 When the second term opened after the Christmas recess, work 
 on the building had stopped. But there were six more students in 
 the normal department, and the Model School, which had gotten 
 off to a slow start, now had twice the enrollment of the first term. 
 At the moment Principal Hovey was not greatly disconcerted 
 that building operations had been suspended. In a short time he 
 thought normal business conditions would be restored, the donors 
 would redeem their pledges, and there would be a market for the 
 McLean County lands. Most of the lands designated as swamp 
 were far from being swamps ; in fact most of McLean County was 
 fertile productive prairie with here and there a rich grove of oak 
 or walnut. 
 
 Hovey felt indeed fortunate that he had been able to secure the 
 services of Chauncey Cady of Chicago as part time teacher of 
 music. Professor Cady was editor of the Chicago Musical Review, 
 a composer of local note, and conductor of the Chicago Musical 
 Union. 40 
 
 Hovey enjoyed music for itself and regarded it "as a means of 
 giving expression to the highest and holiest emotions of the soul" 
 . . . "capable of exerting an important influence upon human 
 character and progress." He believed the young could be taught 
 
 88 Ibid., December 29, 1 857. 
 **lbid., December 24, 1857. 
 
 40 Hovey was so impressed with Professor Cady's address before the state teachers meet- 
 ing that he asked to have it published. Illinois Teacher, April 1857, pp. 1 46-151. 
 
Majors Hall 45 
 
 to sing as well as to read and write and saw no reason "why vocal 
 music should not enter into every elementary course of study and 
 take its place beside the essential branches." 
 
 As principal he was concerned about the social life of the stu- 
 dents. He wanted them to be happy and to have rich friendships. 
 For the time being the students were dependent on the churches 
 and their own devices for entertainmnt. Repertory stock com- 
 panies frequently stopped in Bloomington and played to capacity 
 audiences in College Hall or at the National Theatre, but few 
 students could afford fifty cents for admission. The week follow- 
 ing the opening of school in October the Henderson Stock Com- 
 pany, "starring Miss Etta Henderson" presented "Star of the 
 North," "The Queen's Own," "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and "The 
 Hunchback." 41 Hovey hoped when he built his home in North 
 Bloomington that it would be a center for student gatherings. 
 
 The second term had barely begun when trouble arose from an 
 unexpected quarter — the Debating Society. Enoch Gastman was 
 just beginning his term as fourth president of the society. A rule 
 of the society made it the duty of the presiding officer to fine any 
 member who left the room without his permission. An exciting 
 debate prolonged the meeting. C. D. Irons, Harvey Dutton, and 
 Justin Spaulding asked permission to leave. As the meeting was 
 almost over, President Gastman asked the gentlemen to remain 
 until adjournment. The three members promptly left the room, 
 and the somewhat disgruntled officer ordered a fine of twenty-five 
 cents assessed each of the refractory gentlemen. The following 
 afternoon a special meeting was called. The society resolved itself 
 into a committee of the whole. Irons, Dutton, and Spaulding ap- 
 pealed to the house from the decision of the chair in the matter 
 of the fine. There was much wrangling. Some one called for the 
 question. Gastman stated it swiftly, "Will the society sustain the 
 President?" The vote was in the affirmative. Henry Pope moved 
 that the fines be expunged from the record. The motion carried. 
 The matter was not solved. Spaulding, Dutton, and Irons felt they 
 had been mistreated. Two factions developed. John Hull rushed 
 to the aid of his friend Enoch Gastman. A week later when 
 
 41 The southern element in Bloomington was not favorable to a second performance of 
 "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and the Hendersons tacitly substituted "The Hunchback." National 
 Flag, October 13, 1857. 
 
46 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Spaulding, Dutton, and Irons turned in the resignations Hull 
 moved that Irons be expelled. The majority concurred, but a 
 special meeting engineered by Irons' friends was called the next 
 day and his resignation accepted. Agitation continued until Irons 
 and his friends obtained "honorable discharges." 
 
 Irons and his friends were not content without the cultural and 
 social contacts that the literary society afforded. They were an- 
 noyed when told that the original society has changed its name to 
 Philadelphian, since without Irons, Dutton, and Spaulding, the 
 members worked together harmoniously, in a "spirit of brotherly 
 love." When the D and E sections entered in the spring term, with 
 twenty new men and sixteen women the time seemed ripe for the 
 organization of another literary society. The second day after the 
 term opened, the new students were invited to a meeting in one 
 of the classrooms. The principal speakers were students who had 
 been or were members of the existing society. Some of the re- 
 marks made were in poor taste and registered so much of personal 
 bias that some one suggested that before any action was taken, it 
 might be well for the new students first to attend a meeting of 
 the present society and later decide whether they cared to organize 
 a new and rival society. 
 
 Meanwhile some of the new students took a Saturday hike to 
 look at the foundation of the new building. From a copy of the 
 architect's drawings, they noted on the third floor provisions for 
 two society halls. The meeting of the old society to which new 
 students had been invited turned out to be such a poor exhibition 
 of literary ability that it required little effort to convince the 
 majority that the D and E sections could organize and carry on a 
 society, the equal of the one in existence. 
 
 Principal Hovey was not favorable to the idea but after talking 
 it over with Ira Moore, who was definitely opposed to the new 
 society, and with Board member, Simeon Wright, who was 
 kindly disposed toward it, he decided to let the rival be organized 
 as a temporary expedient. He warned that the time might soon 
 come when both societies might be broken up and new institu- 
 tions organized along a different basis. 
 
 The Philadelphians believed their organization was permanent 
 and superior. It was given a choice of evenings for using the hall 
 
Majors Hall 47 
 
 for its meetings. The new society demonstrated great zeal and 
 pride in its performance. Simeon Wright was especially pleased 
 with the new society. He counseled its members as to the work 
 that it could accomplish for the school. He had been impressed 
 with society libraries in other colleges and suggested this to the 
 D and E Society. Meanwhile the organization found its name 
 inconvenient. The members wished to devise a name that would 
 surpass that of the Philadelphians. Their knowledge of Greek and 
 Latin was too limited to construct an original word, but they fell 
 back on first principles and declared that their society required an 
 expressive name of English origin. Someone suggested that the 
 society be named for Simeon Wright, who had not only been one 
 of the founders of the school but had more recently prevailed 
 upon the principal to give the new society his approval "as an 
 experiment." 42 Eleven of the seventeen votes cast favored the 
 change in name, and Vice-President John Burnham, who was 
 presiding, solemnly ruled that that eleven was two-thirds of 
 seventeen, the majority required to amend the constitution. The 
 six who opposed the name appealed from the decision of the 
 chairman. The discussion waxed loud and spirited. Burnham 
 tried to think of a parliamentary device by which his ruling could 
 be sustained. Simple majorities were required on all other ques- 
 tions. He now asked for a vote to sustain the decision of the chair. 
 By a bare majority the decision was sustained and by a somewhat 
 questionable ruling, Wrightonia became the name of the Uni- 
 versity's second literary society. 
 
 After a few weeks students settled down, and the only reports 
 from the societies that came to Principal Hovey were those en- 
 thusiastic over the programs which by this time were being 
 widened to include not only debates but essays, musical numbers, 
 and a society newspaper. Simeon Wright secured for each of the 
 societies the donation of one of Moore's district school libraries, 
 of over one hundred volumes each, with five library cases. To his 
 namesake, he personally donated a number of valuable books. 
 
 As the school year drew to a close in July, Principal Hovey be- 
 gan to think of some suitable ways of entertaining the public. 
 There would be no graduating class until i860, but it seemed fit- 
 
 42 Cook and McHugh, op. cit., pp. 102-129. 
 
48 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 ting and proper that more cognizance should be taken of the clos- 
 ing of the school than the usual drills and examinations. Many 
 persons in Bloomington interested in the two societies had formed 
 a habit of coming to Major's Hall on Friday and Saturday nights 
 and listening to the students' programs. Favorites developed. Why 
 not celebrate the conclusion of the first school year by an inter- 
 society contest? 
 
 In an address of welcome as principal, he might bring towns- 
 people, parents, and friends up to date on the progress of the 
 school. The examinations and the debate, the music and the 
 literary offerings could speak for themselves, but there were other 
 things Hovey wanted the public to know. The record was good. 
 Eighty-eight different students had been enrolled in the normal 
 department. No Eastern normal could boast as many for its first 
 year. There were three regular teachers and Miss Brooks in the 
 Model School. Professor Cady gave lessons in music twice a week 
 and Dr. E. R. Roe, Bloomington physician, gave a weekly lecture 
 in physiology. True, construction on the building had halted, but 
 as soon as crops were harvested and subscriptions began to come 
 in, work would resume. Just this past June, some of the leading 
 naturalists in the state had organized a society for diffusing in- 
 formation on the natural history of Illinois, and voted to locate 
 their museum in the Normal University, thus making the society 
 auxiliary to the normal school. 43 Jesse Fell had been asked by the 
 Board to consult with experts relative to the landscaping of the 
 campus, and William Saunders, landscape gardener of Phila- 
 delphia, who lately had drawn up a plan for Mr. Fell's estate, 
 Greenwood, had made a similar one for the Normal University. 
 With trees, flowers, shrubs, and lawn and the magnificent build- 
 ing of red brick topped with a white tower and dome, the campus 
 would be a joy to behold. 
 
 The Philadelphian and Wrightonian societies quickly fell in 
 with the plan. The debate especially appealed to them. Budding 
 orators were trying to improve their style. When court was in 
 session they frequently dropped in to listen to the local bar, 
 Leonard Swett, Ward Lamon, and David Davis. 
 
 The topic selected for the debate, the only part of the program 
 
 43 W. H. Powell, op. cit., p. 392. 
 
Majors Hall 49 
 
 on which the judges were to render a decision, was "Resolved 
 that Compulsory Attendance is Beneficial.' , Peter Harper and 
 James Ridlon upheld the affirmative for the Philadelphian Society 
 and Peleg Walker and John Burnham, the negative for the 
 Wrightonian Society. 
 
 A manuscript periodical prepared by four young women of the 
 school was read and then came the debate. The discussion was as 
 exciting as the subject and the honor of the two societies would 
 permit. While the judges deliberated, Board member Charles 
 Denio talked of the past, present, and future of the school, the 
 building situation, and the role that Normal University was 
 destined to play in educating teachers for the schools of Illinois. 
 
 The judges came quietly back into the room. Anxiously the 
 audience waited the decision. Denio sat down, and after a hurried 
 conference with the judges, the chairman made the fateful an- 
 nouncement. 
 
 Wrightonia had won. 44 
 
 44 Daily Pantagraph, July 3, 1858 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 The Noblest Building 
 
 Events of 1858 proved Hovey's optimism ill-founded. 
 Despite a consistent rising enrollment, there was dissatisfaction 
 throughout the state. Since Bloomington and McLean County had 
 defaulted in the matter of subscriptions there was talk of moving 
 the location. Some unsympathetic persons were even advising 
 that the project be abandoned. The situation called for action. If 
 only there were buyers for the swamp lands! These tracts were 
 good land with black, rich soil but local speculators were already 
 up to their necks in debt and dared not buy more. 
 
 By this time Hovey liked Bloomington. He admired men like 
 Charles Ames, Jesse Fell and his brother Kersey, Daniel Wilkins, 
 Dr. Henry Schroeder, John McClun, and dozens of others who 
 had given generously of themselves as well as of their means that 
 the Normal University might be located at Bloomington. He was 
 quite in sympathy with Jesse Fell's idea of platting all North 
 Bloomington and having it set aside as a separate town, with a 
 separate charter. Fell wanted the charter to contain a clause pro- 
 hibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors and restricting the opera- 
 tion of billiard parlors, and public dancehalls. Whenever Fell sold 
 lots he stipulated in the deed that no intoxicating liquors were 
 ever to be sold on the premises. 1 Bloomington had been a prohibi- 
 tion town in 1854 and 1855, but by the time the Normal Uni- 
 versity was founded, the National Flag was lamenting that "per- 
 haps there is no town where drinking is carried to such an extent 
 for the number of inhabitants as Bloomington. Innumerable are 
 its doggeries, places of resort for drinking, gambling, crime of 
 all descriptions." 2 Perhaps the same thing could have been said 
 for Peoria or Springfield or Urbana. Hovey realized if the location 
 were changed, the whole educational system would be retarded. 
 
 1 Morehouse, op. cit., p. 73. 
 
 2 National Flag, November 25, 1857. 
 
 50 
 
Jesse Fell, friend of the School for over Charles Hovey, principal, 1857-1862, 
 thirty years, was directly responsible for rose from Colonel in the Illinois Thirty- 
 its location in McLean County. third Volunteer Infantry to the rank of 
 
 Brevet Major General in 1863. 
 
 Mary Brooks, first teacher in the Model 
 School, taught from 1857 to 1860. 
 
 Thomas Metcalf, training school teacher, 
 member of the facultv, 1862-1894. 
 
 UNIVERSE OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 
Richard Edwards, who was second presi- 
 dent of Normal University 1862 to 1876, 
 described teaching as the grandest of 
 enterprises. 
 
 Edwin C. Hewett joined the faculty in 
 
 1858 and as president, 1876-1890, carried 
 
 on the Bridgewater tradition. 
 
 'Uncle" Simeon Wright, defender of the 
 D and E Society. 
 
 Miss Emma Dryer, 1863-1870. 
 An early Preceptress. 
 
—>^0«r//////y/r// &i~ t &0.//J2- 
 
 e & 
 
 *$~ 
 
 
 
 Hewett comes to Normal, 1858. 
 
Major's Hall, Bloomington, scene of Lincoln's "Lost Speech," where first Normal classes 
 
 met, October 5, 1857. 
 
 Graduating class of 1860. 
 
Normal pioneered in audio- visual aids. 
 
 Normal Hall, third floor of Old Main, where all auditorium events were held until 1909. 
 
President Hewett and faculty. 
 
 The office and reception room when Hewett was president, 1889. 
 
Old Main in the 1860's. 
 
 Old Main loses her crowning glory, May, 1946. 
 
Drawing was once required of every elementary student teacher. 
 
 The Charles Hovey home, built in 1863, is now an apartment house. 
 
The Noblest Building 51 
 
 A year and a half went by. The enrollment increased but the 
 coffers did not. Some of the donors who subscribed lands had re- 
 fused to deed them until the building should be completed. Hovey 
 never forgave Judge David Davis for the example he set by with- 
 holding the deed to the forty acres he had subscribed. Every one 
 knew that in the end the state would pay the necessary bills, but 
 the immediate need was prompt payment of the subscription on 
 faith of which the Board had located the Normal University in 
 McLean County. 3 
 
 The county subscription of seventy thousand dollars, which 
 would go a long way toward completing the building, was pay- 
 able out of the proceeds from the sale of her swamp lands, but by 
 law these could not be sold for less than their appraised value. 
 The Board did not think it should go to the Legislature and ask 
 for funds inasmuch as one of the considerations that prompted the 
 passage of the Normal University Act was the provision that the 
 building would be constructed by local subscription and that it 
 would not cost the state a cent. 
 
 If the location were changed, the materials already purchased 
 and the work already paid for would be lost. There seemed but 
 one way out of the awkward situation, and it might not work. It 
 was possible that the McLean County subscription could be used 
 as collateral on which to borrow money. The Legislature would not 
 meet again until January 1861, so there was no chance of any aid 
 coming from that quarter. Neither could the location be changed 
 for eighteen months! 
 
 The Board had conferred what amounted to dictatorial powers 
 on the Building Committee. As resident member of the Commit- 
 tee, Charles Hovey was left very much with the job. As Hovey 
 said later no man ever had "worse means, or better backing." 
 Superintendent W. H. Powell, Samuel Moulton, Simeon Wright, 
 Charles Denio, and Dr. George Rex would leave their own busi- 
 ness at any time on call and come to Normal. 
 
 The Board further authorized the sending of an agent east to 
 sell the county lands. It was intended that James Miller, State 
 Treasurer and a resident of Bloomington who was familiar with 
 the land and its value, should be the agent. Although he was 
 
 8 Cook and McHugh, op. cit., p. 40. 
 
52 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 neither a donor nor a guarantor, it was believed that his knowl- 
 edge, wealth, and prestige as a state officer would afford him 
 enough influence that he would find a purchaser. He refused this 
 somewhat dubious honor. When other rich and influential men 
 refused to assist, Hovey turned to his faculty. 
 
 One of these was Chauncey Cady, instructor in vocal music, a 
 man of pluck and tact, and as Hovey later related, "not afflicted 
 with a serious tenderness about investing his skill in an attempt to 
 negotiate the sale of the county lands." With a list and description 
 of the lands he set off for New York, where he seems to have made 
 something of a stir in the real estate world but Cady needed more 
 than a list of the lands. He could do nothing without bonds for 
 deeds which could be transferred by a simple endorsement and 
 although Cady had a buyer, he had to have authority or bonds 
 before the transaction could be cleared. 
 
 Hovey immediately asked the county authorities for bonds for 
 the lands, but they would not enter into any kind of a transaction 
 except a direct sale. The only way that he could get deeds for 
 Cady was to buy the lands himself, paying for them by a small 
 cash advance and the balance in time notes. Accordingly he 
 bought seven or eight thousand acres of land at a cost of twenty- 
 five or thirty thousand dollars. 4 On the assumption that the Board 
 would take over the titles and provide bond for the deeds required 
 by Cady, Hovey had borrowed money and purchased the swamp 
 land. But the deal with the County had been made without the 
 Board's sanction and it refused to take over the transaction. Hovey 
 then realized that he had exceeded his authority both as principal 
 and as member of the Building Committee, and that he must 
 shoulder this tremendous financial responsibility alone. The 
 county authorities turned over to the Board his personal notes to the 
 amount of approximately $25,000, and the Building Committee 
 paid them out to various contractors for labor and materials. 
 
 As soon as Hovey obtained the bonds he notified Cady but the 
 parties with whom the latter was negotiating failed, the deal fell 
 through, and he was unable to find another purchaser. Those 
 were hectic days for Charles and Harriette Hovey. The Board 
 
 *Hovey's account of the transaction was told years later and the exact amount of his 
 purchases is not known. 
 
The Noblest Building 53 
 
 held Hovey's notes. If he did not meet them promptly or if he 
 could not pay them at all, he was at its mercy. In June, George 
 Bunsen moved that the Board appoint a committee of three to 
 determine whether all necessary steps had been taken in the ad- 
 ministration of the school to secure the results called for in 
 Paragraph 4 of the Statute concerning Illinois State Normal 
 University and to report at the next meeting. This was a shocking 
 proposal and was promptly defeated; however when it was later 
 introduced by Superintendent Powell, it carried. Bunsen, Simeon 
 Wright, and Powell made up the investigating committee. When 
 Bunsen saw his proposal was regarded as a personal attack on 
 Hovey, he resigned from the Board. He later told Bateman that 
 to his mind "the institution was giving a . . . purely academic 
 training and that it could hardly be distinguished from any other 
 academic institution" and that Principal Hovey, "while a man of 
 unimpeachable integrity of character and genuine piety, was a 
 practical man of the world, who by means of real estate transac- 
 tions managed to add annually five hundred to fifteen hundred 
 dollars to his income and that he lacked zealous devotion to the 
 cause ... the first requisite in the head of a training school for 
 teachers." 5 Hovey's honor was involved. Then his beloved little 
 son, Charles Edward, died suddenly of diphtheria. 6 After this 
 tragic blow Hovey seemed for weeks not to sleep. He scarcely 
 spoke to any one about the house and seldom mentioned the 
 child's name. Harriette, away at the time, was deeply stunned, but 
 her "brighter nature rallied" and she sought to console her hus- 
 band for whose sanity she feared. 7 
 
 Somehow the news got circulated that over $25,000 worth of 
 swamp lands had been purchased by one party but the county 
 authorities divulged no names. The story spread, and in the tell- 
 ing the amount of the transaction grew. Hovey took care to have 
 it suggested that all the swamp lands would soon be sold. 
 Through the efforts of Superintendent Powell, McLean County 
 swamp lands were purchased by state officers in Springfield, 
 Auditor Jesse K. Dubois, Treasurer James Miller, and Secretary 
 
 5 Minnie Niess, "George Bunsen." MS., Felmley Papers. 
 
 6 Letter, Agnes Cook Gale, to Helen Marshall, Chicago. February 17, 1955. Marshall 
 Papers. 
 
 'Ibid. 
 
54 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 of State Ozias M. Hatch. Hovey and Powell were careful to see 
 that wide publicity was given the investments of these men. 
 Others took heart, bought land, and soon there were sufficient 
 funds in the treasury to resume construction. 
 
 The original contractors for the masonry, Mortimer and Loberg, 
 were paid off and their contract was surrendered. Of the $17,845.60 
 account, $844.65 had already been paid. The remaining $9400 the 
 Board agreed to pay within two years with ten percent interest. 
 A first lien was awarded the firm. 8 Soper, who had the contract 
 for the carpentry work, decided to retain his contract and take 
 his chances on being paid. It was difficult to find a mason who 
 would be willing to undertake construction of the walls, with 
 subscriptions as the only evidence of payment. Bloomington 
 masons were wary of the job, but by dint of much talk, appeals to 
 local pride, and the confidence that sales of the county lands 
 generated, Samuel D. Rounds was prevailed upon to take the 
 contract in April. 9 
 
 On May 18, 1859, the Pantagraph proudly announced that 
 
 Mr. Rounds after prospecting carefully all over the neighborhood of 
 Normal University, without success, has at last struck upon a bed of it, 
 (clay) seven feet thick and of excellent quality at the very summit of the 
 hill, and just as near the site of the building as he would have wished it, 
 had the depositing of it been left at his discretion. The bed is not ex- 
 tensive but abundantly enough for the purpose. 
 
 The reporter then thoughtfully added 
 
 Was there ever a more opportune discovery ? Had it been made while the 
 location of the institution was still in dispute, wouldn't it have looked as 
 if the finger of Providence was in it ? Doesn't it look so as it is ? 10 
 
 Rounds was to have the brick work completed on or before the 
 first of October 1859. He was to receive "$14 per 1000 brick in the 
 wall." The stone work was to cost $22 per cord. When Rounds 
 provided the stone he was to receive $40 per cord. 11 He erected a 
 kiln for firing the brick about a hundred yards from the clay pit 
 and about twice the distance from the building. 12 When a Panta- 
 
 8 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Bloomington), July i, 1859, p. 5. 
 
 9 Illinois State Journal, April 27, 1859; Cook and McHugh, op. cit., p. 45. 
 
 10 Weekly Pantagraph, May 18, 1859. 
 
 11 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Bloomington), July 1, 1859, p. 5. 
 
 12 The clay pit was near the site of the present Baptist Church and the kiln stood where 
 the Normal Central School is now located. 
 
The Noblest Building 55 
 
 graph reporter visited the University in mid-August, he reported 
 that the window frames had been set for first story above the base- 
 ment and that the joists were in for the second floor. Sixteen 
 bricklayers, their hodmen, and four or five carpenters were on 
 the job. 13 To Hovey the construction seemed to be going at a 
 snail's pace, and some weeks it did not progress at all. After 
 Rounds took the cream of the subscriptions, there was little left 
 to pay carpenters, painters, plumbers, and plasterers. 
 
 Once more the point was reached where work could not go on 
 without funds. It was evident that money could not be obtained 
 on the credit of the Board, nor could it come from private notes 
 based on the assets of the Board. Hovey saw but one way: once 
 more friends of the institution must either loan it money or give 
 it credit. Moulton and Hovey borrowed a few thousand dollars, 
 but it did not last long. Jesse Fell and Charles Holder volunteered 
 to help and put their names to a paper on which Hovey and 
 Moulton obtained more money. In this way from time to time, 
 funds were secured. Hovey often said that without the help of the 
 Fells and the Holders construction could not have gone on. 
 
 Hovey told merchants of Bloomington that he would be per- 
 sonally responsible, and that they would be paid out of the first 
 money the Board received for building supplies if they would 
 supply Soper with the materials he needed, hardware, paints, oils, 
 glass, lumber, groceries, clothing, and other provisions for his 
 family and workmen. The Legislature was to meet the following 
 January and Hovey assured the merchants it would appropriate 
 funds for any deficiency in the building funds, and that they 
 would be paid out of this appropriation. It was a daring piece of 
 financiering but it worked. The materials Soper needed were pro- 
 vided and the building proceeded. 
 
 On Saturday, November 4, the last brick was laid. The men 
 drew lots for the honor of putting this last brick on the north wall 
 of the third story. W. H. Powell, representing the Board of Educa- 
 tion, passed out slips of paper. S. D. Rounds who held the contract 
 then laid the last brick, with his son serving as hodman. There 
 were loud cheers from the townsmen gathered below. The work- 
 men climbed down from the scaffolding and gathered around a 
 
 " Wee\ly Pantograph, August 17, 1859. 
 
56 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 table that had been set with refreshments. Colonel Asahel Gridley, 
 one of Round's heaviest creditors, made a brief speech congratu- 
 lating him. Judge John McClun spoke in behalf of the Board, 
 and then everyone present was invited to enjoy the free lunch of 
 bread, cheese, and lager beer. 14 
 
 Much remained to be done, but Hovey and the Board hoped 
 that the building would be completed in time for the first gradu- 
 ating class to have had classes in it for a short time at least. Again 
 there were delays. At last assurance came from the contractors 
 that the two central halls on the second and third stories would be 
 floored and in shape for commencement but it would be late 
 summer before the classrooms would be finished. Plans were 
 made accordingly. Parents and friends must see the building 
 which was already being extravagantly described as "the finest 
 building of its kind in all America." Examinations would be held 
 in Major's Hall, but the graduating exercises and the grand col- 
 lation to follow would be held at the building in North Bloom- 
 ington. 
 
 The last week in June was an eventful one. As Mrs. David 
 Davis wrote her sister, Fanny Williams, in Stockbridge, Massa- 
 chusetts, "This is the week of the meetings, agricultural, horti- 
 cultural, historical, and last but not least meeting of the Friends 
 of the Normal School. I hear 1,000 invitations were given to 
 friends abroad." 15 Chicago and local papers styled it Anniversary 
 Week and both the Chicago Times and the Chicago Press and 
 Tribune had special reporters to cover the events. On Tuesday the 
 Ilinois Natural History Society, organized two years before, held 
 its annual three-day meeting in Phoenix Hall. It had as one of its 
 major projects the developing of a museum to be located at the 
 State Normal School building, and the collecting and mounting 
 of every species of plants, birds, shells, fishes, insects, quadrupeds, 
 minerals and fossils in Illinois and conducting exchange of speci- 
 mens with similar societies throughout the nation and other parts 
 of the world. Many of its members stayed over for the joint meet- 
 ing of the State Agricultural and Horticultural Society, which 
 
 14: lbid., November 9, 1859. This is probably the only time that beer has been served 
 at an official function on the campus of Illinois State Normal University! 
 
 "Mrs. David (Sarah Walker) Davis to her sister, Fanny Williams, Bloomington, 
 June 28, i860. Davis Papers, Williams College. 
 
The Noblest Building 57 
 
 opened its session in Phoenix Hall on Wednesday afternoon. The 
 convention concerned itself with agricultural education. All of the 
 delegates and friends were invited to the festivities of commence- 
 ment on Friday as well as the examinations on Thursday and the 
 special society program on Thursday night. 16 
 
 Despite a heavy rain on Thursday the examinations were well 
 attended. Among the spectators who sat on the platform at 
 Major's Hall and observed the examinations were Governor John 
 Wood, State Auditor Jesse K. Dubois, Newton Bateman, late of 
 Jacksonville, who succeeded Hovey as editor of the Illinois 
 Teacher and was now the State Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
 tion, all twelve members of the Board of Education, Captain J. N. 
 Brown, Lewis Ellsworth, and a large number of well-known and 
 prominent citizens of Illinois. 
 
 At nine o'clock Principal Hovey opened the exercises with a 
 devotional service. A chapter of the New Testament was read 
 responsively, with the principal and the students alternating 
 verses. This was followed by the repetition of the Lord's Prayer. 
 
 Professor Leander H. Potter examined the students in selec- 
 tions taken at random from the first two books of the Aeneid. 
 The students then assumed the teacher's place and questioned 
 each other. "No chance for collusion," or "benefit from any cram- 
 ming process, and there seemed to be need of none," commented 
 the reporter. 
 
 Professor Ira Moore examined his students in mathematics, and 
 Professor Edwin Hewett in geography and history and Professor 
 Sewall in botany and chemistry. Twice during the forenoon Pro- 
 fessor Cady led the entire school in singing. 
 
 Several times the sound of childish voices from the floor below 
 lured the Press and Tribune reporter to visit the Model School. He 
 found thirty children gathering about their teacher, Mary Brooks, 
 "forming altogether one of the happiest and most united little 
 communities imaginable." He saw nothing of the "straight- 
 jacket" about the Model School. "Each child apparently was as 
 
 18 Press clippings of the Agricultural Convention, the Annual Meeting of the Illinois 
 Natural History Society, the Commencement Exercises of the State Normal University, 
 and a concluding paper descriptive of the course of study, faculty, and prospects of the 
 Normal University were published in a pamphlet entitled, "Anniversary Week in Bloom- 
 ington." This was distributed to friends of the school and to prospective students. 
 
58 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 responsive to their teacher's voice and look as organ keys to the 
 touch of a skillful player." Later when these bright-faced and 
 happy children filed upstairs and took their places on the plat- 
 form and gave their exhibit of proficiency, reading and singing in 
 concert, he was reminded of a "tree full of canaries." There was 
 deep emotion when tiny Fanny Graves in a neat little faltering 
 speech presented Mary Brooks, now resigning to be married, a 
 writing desk as a gift from her pupils. Mary Brooks smiled and 
 hesitated, but tears not words came. Principal Hovey stepped for- 
 ward and acknowledged the gift for her. 17 
 
 On Thursday evening the Reverend Thomas Hill, who had 
 succeeded Horace Mann as President of Antioch College, spoke 
 before a joint and open session of the Wrightonian and Phila- 
 delphian Societies. The day closed with heavy showers and as 
 a consequence the audience was small, but Commencement morn- 
 ing rose bright and clear. The dust that clogged the roads and 
 covered the cornfields was laid and the fields glistened fresh and 
 bright in the sunshine. The students arrived early to finish the 
 last touches of cedar boughs and flowers that were to decorate the 
 two halls. Soon families began to arrive with well-filled baskets, 
 dishes, and carefully labeled silverware to be used at the dinner 
 which would follow the graduating exercises. There was excite- 
 ment in the air. "By nine o'clock the road from town toward the 
 University was a busy scene," the reporter wrote, "with vehicles 
 of all classes and numerous pedestrians." 18 
 
 Seats had been improvised and chairs brought out from Bloom- 
 ington and long before nine o'clock the room was filled with 
 parents, townspeople, and friends. The muddy roads caused some 
 of the distinguished visitors to be late in arriving. Professor Cady 
 rose to the occasion and led the company in group singing. 
 
 At last the Board, state officers, and graduates filed in. Principal 
 Hovey took his place and announced the Lord's Prayer. Quietly, 
 clearly, reverently, and solemnly the words were repeated. Hovey 
 then announced that the special subjects on which the graduates 
 would speak or read compositions had been assigned but that 
 none of the finished papers had ever been read by any teacher 
 
 "^Anniversary Wee\ at Bloomington (Chicago), July i860, pp. 46-49. 
 18 Ibid., p. 52. 
 
The Noblest Building 59 
 
 and the faculty as well as the audience was in complete ignorance 
 of what was to be heard. 
 
 Enoch Gastman from Hudson, who had been the first to enroll, 
 was given first place on the program. He had a further distinction 
 of never having been absent from classes. His subject was "Horace 
 Mann." Mary Washburn read a paper on "The Fine Arts in the 
 Classroom," and Edwin Philbrook presented his graduating essay 
 on "The Agriculturalist." Then there was the chorus from 
 Masoneillo, "Away, Away, the Morning Freshly Breaking" by 
 Auber. Silas Hays next spoke on "What Poverty Has Done." 
 Elizabeth Mitchell read her composition, "The Worship of the 
 Past," and Peter Harper read his on "Amusements." A male 
 chorus directed by Professor Cady lustily sang "The Ship of 
 Union." 
 
 Sail on, O ship of State 
 Sail on O Union, strong and great 
 Humanity with all its fears 
 With all the hopes of future years 
 Is hanging breathless on fate. 19 
 
 John Hull spoke feelingly of "Our Calling" and Frances Peter- 
 son, "The Wealth of a Nation Is in Its Men." Again there was a 
 musical break, a four-part song, "Never Forget the Dear Ones." 
 Sarah Dunn spoke on "Hereditary Opinions" and Joseph Howell 
 delivered the last of the class speeches on "Positive and Negative 
 Men." 
 
 The class rose and sang its graduating song which Professor 
 Cady arranged. It began 
 
 We walked, the morning seen beneath 
 Glad wand'ring side 
 Our hopes entwined, a pleasant wreath 
 Bright friendship's smile our guide . . . 
 
 And ended two stanzas later, 
 
 Oh, may we to our God, the Light 
 Uplift our gaze afar 
 
 Beholding through the darksome night 
 The bright and morning star. 
 
 19 "The Ship of Union" is an excerpt from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's long poem 
 "The Building of the Ship." It was set to music by George F. Root, who was Chauncey 
 Cady's partner in the music publishing business in Chicago. 
 
60 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 And finally that climactic moment came toward which they had 
 ordered their lives for the past three years. Samuel Moulton, Presi- 
 dent of the Board, spoke briefly and appropriately and then 
 stepped to the be-ribboned rolls of parchment that Principal Hovey 
 had brought forward. "Enoch Gastman, McLean County." It was 
 Principal Hovey's voice. Enoch limped forward, took his diploma 
 and shook hands. Illinois State Normal University had graduated 
 its first student. There was loud applause. There were four more 
 graduates from McLean County and one each from Fayette, 
 Peoria, Lee, Marion, and White Counties. After the last round of 
 applause, the Reverend Alfred Eddy of the Second Presbyterian 
 Church, Bloomington, came forward, and pronounced the bene- 
 diction. 20 
 
 Friends pressed forward to congratulate the graduates and Prin- 
 cipal Hovey. Some members of the class could wait no longer. Off 
 from the diplomas came the bows and streamers. Proudly they 
 were unrolled, read, and displayed. 
 
 The collation beckoned those who had not been too excited to 
 become hungry. Those fortunate enough to have received one of 
 the invitations sent out by a committee of the graduating class 
 pressed toward the stairs. All during the exercises the occasional 
 rattle of dishes, and the rustle of starched skirts going up and 
 down the stairs gave rich promise of good things to come. Earlier 
 in the week editorially the Pantagraph had commented, 
 
 We trust our citizens will do themselves honor this week in extending 
 hospitality to those who will visit us. Unless our friends have reflected 
 upon this subject they are not prepared to realize its importance. Let 
 liberal donations to the collation on Friday make it a handsome thing 
 and one to which all participated therein shall hereafter recur with 
 pleasure. 21 
 
 The long tables with their white cloths decorated with bouquets 
 and laden with great platters of cold roast, fried chicken, pressed 
 veal, baked beans, potato salad, cole slaw, pickled beets, deviled 
 eggs, cottage cheese, pickles, jellies, jams, freshly churned butter, 
 home-baked bread, pies, cakes, lemonade and iced tea bespoke 
 the generous response of Bloomington housewives. 
 
 ^Anniversary Wee\, pp. 53-55. 
 
 21 Weekly Pantagraph, June 27, i860. 
 
The Noblest Building 61 
 
 It was a gay and happy occasion. It was certainly well-planned, 
 thought Mrs. Jesse Fell, as she surveyed the company. Even Pro- 
 fessor Ira Moore, who was often unpopular with the class and 
 the butt of some of their harsh jokes, seemed to have mellowed as 
 he and Professors Hewett and Potter greeted the visitors. Prin- 
 cipal Hovey, beaming on the graduates, found it difficult to de- 
 cide which of the four girls was loveliest in the specially designed 
 dresses, with tight basque, long full skirts, and carefully brushed 
 hair. Some of the boys appeared ill-at-ease, in their long-tailed 
 coats, starched shirts and bowstring ties, but after all such clothes 
 were the marks of the profession. Soon they would become ac- 
 customed to them as well as to being addressed as "professor." 
 Substantial farmers from various sections of the state had re- 
 mained after the close of the Agricultural Convention to be pres- 
 ent at the Commencement and collation. The Bloomington clergy 
 seemed to have turned out in full force, and well they might. 
 Every member of the graduating class was a member of a church, 
 and the majority of them had made their affiliation since coming 
 to the Normal University. 22 The governor did not stay over for 
 the Commencement, but the presence of other state officials gave 
 an air of importance to the scene. 
 
 The first toast on the printed program was appropriately ad- 
 dressed to the hosts and donors of the building. "The citizens of 
 Bloomington, in this splendid structure have given proof of their 
 noble devotion to learning, it will be fitly associated in pleasant 
 memories by the graceful hospitality of today." Bloomington's 
 finest orator, Leonard Swett, responded and paid high tribute to 
 donors and predicted a glorious future for the school. The Rev- 
 erend Thomas Hill, President of Antioch, who had given the 
 societies' address the evening before, responded to the toast to 
 "Our Higher Institutions." "The Desk," "The State Board of Edu- 
 cation," "The Ferule," "The Plow," "The Bar" were among the 
 other toasts. C. B. Wilber, President of the State Natural History 
 Society, replied to the toast, "Rocks, Sermons in Stones," and told 
 of plans for the museum. Jesse Fell, long patron and friend of the 
 school, responded to the toast "Planting of Trees." He envisaged 
 
 22 Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian (Old and New), Congregational, and Christian 
 churches were represented in the graduating class. Anniversary Wee\, p. 64. 
 
(a Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 a campus with a carnage road winding among the trees of every 
 known variety that would grow in Illinois — birches, magnolias, 
 beeches, oak, walnut, ash, elm, tulip, chestnut, larch, gum, pine, 
 balsam, hemlock, fir, willow as well as shrubs and flowers. It was 
 reminiscent of the plan which William Saunders had drawn up 
 three years before. Fell was proud that already some of the trees 
 had been planted. A few were already as large as an inch in 
 diameter and tall as a man's head. After thirteen formal toasts, 
 there were numerous voluntary ones and responses. Someone 
 remembered the role of Charles Hovey and paid high tribute to 
 his labors and sacrifices. Another remembered the contractors, 
 who were the Board's creditors by several thousands of dollars. 
 Another proposed the mechanics. Through it all Mary Brooks sat 
 entranced, her face slightly flushed. She had resigned and soon 
 she would be leaving. "The Model School," someone was saying. 
 "These rivulets hitherto fed by the beautiful and intellectual 
 Brooks, may they speedily become rivers of intelligence." A burst 
 of loud applause. Blushing, she bowed. In three years Mary Brooks 
 had set a standard for the Model School that was not to be for- 
 gotten. 23 
 
 The Hoveys drove slowly back to Bloomington. It would be 
 eleven weeks before school reopened. Harriette hoped that her 
 husband would take a good rest. He was especially concerned 
 about building the house on the lot he had bought over on Mul- 
 berry Street not far from the school. During the panic, when his 
 funds had been tied up in the swamp lands, all he had been able 
 to do was to plant a hedge and set out a few trees. 24 Now he was 
 particularly anxious to get the house finished. One of the ad- 
 vantages of having classes in Bloomington had been the avail- 
 ability of room and board. With classes in the new building so far 
 from town there was the problem of housing students. Plans for 
 his own home were such that he could take care of sixteen young 
 ladies in addition to his own family. He encouraged his faculty 
 to build houses and take in students. The Hewetts were projecting 
 quite a large house, and he hoped other houses would soon be 
 built. His own home was so nearly a reality that he had included 
 
 28 Weekly Pantagraph, July 4, i860. 
 
 24 Edwin C. Hewett's description of his first visit to The Junction, 1858. Index 1901, 
 p. 14. 
 
The Noblest Building 63 
 
 in the Anniversary Week souvenir the statement "The social 
 gatherings of the students are expected to be hereafter at the resi- 
 dence of the Principal, at such times and so often as the officers 
 of the Institution shall deem expedient." 
 
 For the time being Hovey dismissed the mile and a half that 
 the large portion of students would have to walk from their board- 
 ing houses to the school as affording "regular and sufficient exer- 
 cise." 25 Always planning! Harriette Hovey marveled at her 
 husband's ambitions. She thought he was looking better, not 
 rested but less harassed. She would never forget the agony of 
 those anxious months before his equity in the swamp lands was 
 sold and while he was undergoing shock of the loss of their first- 
 born son. 
 
 But now the building was up. Commencement and a grand col- 
 lation had taken place beneath its roof; by September classrooms 
 would be finished. Heavy debts hung over the school and there 
 was a mortgage on the very building. Thousands of dollars' worth 
 of subscriptions made in good faith could never be paid. There 
 was only one thing to do, Hovey had told the Board, and that was 
 to go before the Legislature in January and ask for an appropria- 
 tion to lift the school's indebtedness. He was confident that An- 
 niversary Week had demonstrated the school a going concern 
 and one that was rendering a real service to the state. 
 
 It was a beautiful building, everyone agreed. It seemed to rise 
 out of the prairie in red and white grandeur. Someday above that 
 silvery dome a flag would float and a bell ring out. 
 
 25 Anniversary Wee\, p. 64. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 The Roll of Drums 
 
 Before the Legislature met in January 1861, Principal 
 Hovey and his friends made careful plans. The Board went on 
 record as approving the appeal for funds. Samuel Moulton, Presi- 
 dent of the Board, reported that the building now completed, 
 with its fixtures, had cost approximately $145,000. This, together 
 with one hundred and sixty acres of land and unpaid collectable 
 subscriptions, represented the property holdings of the corporation 
 of $200,000. The Board had collected all but $76,000, and lia- 
 bilities amounted to $65,000. "The encumbrances," said Moulton, 
 "must be discharged or the whole of it will have to be abandoned 
 to the rapacity of the creditors." 
 
 If the legislators saw the school, they would surely appreciate 
 the work being done and lift the burden of debt. At its December 
 meeting in Bloomington the Board concurred in a plan to bring 
 the entire Legislature to visit the school on the occasion of the 
 dedication of the building on January 24. 1 Hovey conferred with 
 his good friends, Jesse Fell and C. W. Holder. A community's honor 
 was involved and the Legislature's visit should be a community 
 responsibility. The City Council appointed a local committee with 
 Hamilton Spencer as chairman and Editor Lewis as secretary. 
 Spencer was public spirited and a good fund raiser, and Lewis was 
 needed to give the blessing of the press. Mayor H. S. Herr and 
 other leading citizens were adroitly given roles to play. The St. 
 Louis, Alton and Chicago Railroad, ever-anxious to ingratiate it- 
 self with the law-makers, agreed to provide a special train from 
 Springfield to Bloomington and return. Transportation would be 
 free to members of the Legislature, their wives, sons or daughters, 
 or anyone invited by the local committee. 
 
 There would be a grand tour of the building, a cold collation in 
 Normal Hall, and to show the school in operation there would be 
 
 1 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Bloomington), December 20, i860, p. 1. 
 
 64 
 
The Roll of Drums 65 
 
 a demonstration in music and exercises in geography and mental 
 arithmetic. After this there would be the dedicatory program, and 
 at night a banquet in Royce's Hall and a grand ball at Phoenix 
 Hall. 2 Mrs. Jesse Fell and her cousin, Mrs. C. W. Holder, arranged 
 with Gray of Gray's Hotel to serve the meal at the school, and 
 with the well-known caterer Smith to have charge of the evening 
 banquet at Royce's. 3 This time Bloomington businessmen, not 
 their wives, were providing the hospitality. Even hotel accom- 
 modations were free to the special invited guests. 4 
 
 The day was very cold but clear. After a gay two-hour trip, 
 enlivened by occasional music from a Springfield band, the special 
 train arrived at the Junction about eleven-thirty. Members of the 
 delegation buttoned their coats tightly and walked over the corn 
 stalks, across the slough and on to the building. Governor Richard 
 Yates failed to make the special train, but the local committee 
 was assured that he would be along on the next train and that the 
 festivities should proceed without him. 
 
 Soon between four and five hundred persons were traipsing up 
 and down the stairs, marveling at the beautiful walnut balustrade 
 and nodding approvingly at the highly polished brass cuspidors 
 that lined the lower halls. The building was just as the architect 
 described it. Visitors entered from the south and on passing the 
 vestibule found the public reception room on the right side, soon 
 to be enhanced by a Brussels carpet. 5 They saw two halls, ten feet 
 wide, running quite through the building, crossing each other at 
 right angles and terminating in the middle of the sides and ends 
 with vestibules and outside doors. The students, the visitors were 
 told, entered at the east and west ends, near the dressing rooms. 
 These, too, were a noticeable feature of the building. They were 
 large, fitted with wash bowls, hat-hooks, mirrors, and boxes for 
 rubbers and slippers, and near the entrance so that in wet weather 
 the students could take off their boots and put on slippers before 
 they had gone far enough into the building to soil the floors. On 
 the north side of the building ranged side by side were four Model 
 School rooms, primary, intermediate, grammar, and high school. 
 
 *The Illinois Teacher, February 1861, p. 78. 
 8 Morehouse, op. cit., p. 48. 
 
 * Weekly Pantagraph, January 23, 1861. 
 
 * Proceedings of the Board of Education (Bloomington), December 20, i860, p. 14. 
 
66 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 If one proceeded to the basement he found it largely above 
 ground. Here were the janitor's quarters of four rooms, the 
 chemical lecture and laboratory rooms, the water closets, the coal 
 furnace and boiler room. 
 
 The second story was the Normal School floor. In the center 
 was a large hall, 70 by 80 feet, with a high ceiling and lighted 
 from north and south by many windows. It was approached by 
 two flights of stairs. Across the wide halls at the opposite ends of 
 the great study hall were four large classrooms. This grouping 
 of the classrooms around the assembly or study room with "ample 
 means of ingress and egress at separate doors," Principal Hovey 
 pointed out, "enabled a school of three hundred pupils to be 
 shifted from room to room without confusion in the same length 
 of time that a single class could be moved. The double stairways, 
 on either side of the main hall, one for ladies and one for gentle- 
 men, furnish ample means of escape in case of accident or fire." 
 
 The third floor was the students' pride. Directly above the as- 
 sembly room was Normal Hall, high, airy, and described as one 
 of the finest auditoriums in the state. Nearby were the rooms of 
 the Philadelphian and Wrightonian Societies, the Gallery of Art 
 and the Museum of the Illinois Natural History Society. Large 
 locked bookcases in the hall were opened several times each week 
 for use of students interested in consulting the atlases and govern- 
 ment documents with which their shelves abounded. The literary 
 societies had the largest collections of books for circulation. Books 
 from their libraries could be checked out during the hour preced- 
 ing the regular meeting. Although textbooks were furnished by 
 the state, students were encouraged to purchase books for their 
 personal use outside the classroom. 
 
 Some of the younger visitors ascended the narrower stairs past 
 the attic water cisterns and on to the belfry and the observatory. 
 The view of the city of Bloomington and the adjacent prairies, 
 they reported, was well worth the climb. 6 
 
 The collation over, the visitors were directed into the school-hall 
 where the pupils were anxiously waiting to begin their exercises. 
 Principal Hovey talked briefly on the history of the school and its 
 
 6 Catalogue of the State Normal University for the Academic Year ending June 29, 1 860. 
 Description of building in preface. 
 
The Roll of Drums 6j 
 
 service to the state. The pupils gave a demonstration of what they 
 had learned in singing. Professor Hewett conducted an exercise in 
 geography, and an essay on Normal Schools, designed to bring the 
 audience up to date on the progress of modern education, was 
 read by a pupil. By January 1861 the secession of South Carolina 
 and the position of Major Anderson's garrison at Fort Sumter was 
 uppermost in men's minds, and a special exercise was devoted to a 
 description of Fort Sumter and the principles of fortification il- 
 lustrated in its structure. The students then lustily sang Long- 
 fellow's "Ship of State" which Professor Cady had taught them 
 for the past Commencement. Professor Moore put the students 
 through a quick drill in mental arithmetic. Amazing feats 
 were performed in the addition, division, and multiplication of 
 numbers of several digits, all without recourse to pencil and 
 paper. 
 
 Governor Yates had not arrived by three o'clock, but President 
 Moulton, representing the Board, nevertheless took the chair. He 
 congratulated the state, the community, the principal, the teachers, 
 and the pupils. There was stirring music by the Springfield band. 
 According to reports, when Governor Yates finally arrived, he 
 spoke with his "usual felicity and eloquence, placing the perma- 
 nence of our glorious institution upon the intelligence and virtue 
 of the whole people, referring to our schoolhouses and our 
 churches as the stronghold of our country and as the sure indices 
 of a happy and invincible people, and urged all present to con- 
 tribute their share in making our beloved state the center of the 
 great union." 7 
 
 Judge Underwood, Senator from St. Clair County, "stirred the 
 audience to experience the same noble and patriotic emotions 
 which swayed his heart," while Senator Richard Oglesby "with 
 wit, humor, and practical sense kept the audience in a roar of 
 laughter." 
 
 After a brief speech by Speaker of the House Cullom of Spring- 
 field, came the culminating feature of the afternoon's program, 
 the singing of the "Dedication Ode" written by Henry B. Norton, 
 a member of the next year's graduating class, and set to music by 
 Chauncey M. Cady, now of Chicago. 
 
 7 Weekly Pantograph, January 30, 1861. 
 
68 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Copies of the Ode were available to all who wished them. 8 
 
 The ancient Night is almost gone; 
 Deep answers to awakening deep; 
 As ever westward, ever on, 
 The banners of the morning sweep 
 New thought from out the chaos starts 
 New powers are struggling into birth 
 The crisis call for kingly hearts 
 To guide the progress of the earth. 
 
 The opening era points the way, 
 
 And makes that mission work sublime 
 
 Which moulds the infants of today 
 
 To giants of the coming time 
 
 And joyfully we gather here 
 
 To consecrate with solemn praise 
 
 A fame which honest men may rear 
 
 For such a work in future days. 
 
 By all the progress and the might 
 Which other ages shall enfold 
 By all the prophecies that light 
 The Future's skies of morning gold; 
 By all which sheds a cheering ray 
 Upon the path the past has trod 
 We dedicate its walls today 
 To Truth, Humanity, and God. 
 
 Despite the bitter cold a thousand persons crowded into the build- 
 ing to listen to the dedicatory program and at seven, three hundred 
 persons attended the banquet in Royce's Hall. The editor of the 
 Illinois Teacher reported the meal as a "sumptuous dinner" Jesse 
 Fell, as toastmaster, made the evening a gala affair. Hester Fell 
 was very proud of her husband that night. There was so much 
 laughter that one wondered if the high sentiments enunciated 
 during the afternoon were alone the motivating force of the 
 evening. Such a multiplicity of toasts. No one seemed to be for- 
 gotten. There were toasts to the University, the Common Schools, 
 the Railroads, and the members of the Legislature. It became 
 slightly wearisome to those who had gone through the inspection 
 
 8 Illinois Teacher, February 1861, p. 78. Chauncey Cady had become associated with 
 George F. Root in the music publishing business. 
 
The Roll of Drums 69 
 
 tour, the examinations, the dedicatory ceremonies, and two heavy 
 meals; still there were so many young and energetic persons in 
 attendance that the ball from nine to midnight at Phoenix Hall 
 was well patronized. The legislators returned to Springfield in a 
 convivial if not convinced state of mind. The Illinois Teacher re- 
 gretted the "noisy carousal" that marked the end of the day. Some 
 of the legislators were so imbued with Bloomington hospitality 
 that they failed to make the mid-night special and remained to 
 take the trains next day. 9 
 
 To Hovey the whole affair was one of deepest tension. So 
 much hung in the balance. The governor and the legislators with 
 whom he had talked privately were reassuring. For the next two 
 weeks he anxiously waited news from Springfield. The Board had 
 granted him two months' leave beginning March first to again 
 visit normal schools in the East and Canada. Dire threats to the 
 nation might make it impossible for him to go. Secession by South 
 Carolina, the calling of a meeting in Montgomery, Alabama, on 
 February 4, the proposal of the State of Virginia that the various 
 states appoint commissioners to meet in Washington on the same 
 date and consider peaceable means of settling difficulties between 
 the states, and the preoccupation of the Legislature with federal 
 affairs, made Hovey wonder if the Normal School Bill might be 
 lost in the many caucuses being held in Springfield. President- 
 elect Abraham Lincoln, standing firm against any concessions 
 to the South, advised that Illinois take no action and that Governor 
 Yates appoint no commissioners. It was reported that Lincoln had 
 said he "would rather be hung by the neck till he was dead on the 
 steps of the Capitol before he would beg or buy a peaceful 
 inauguration." 10 
 
 On February 12 the amended act "to refund interest on the 
 University Fund and to appropriate same to use of the Illinois 
 State Normal University" was reported back from the House. 
 Two days later it was law. Perhaps now the University could 
 move forward free of debt and financial embarrassment. 11 
 
 Events on the national scene were very close to the students at 
 Illinois State Normal University. The Dred Scott decision was 
 
 9 ibid. 
 
 10 Cole, op. cit., pp. 257-258. 
 
 ^Proceedings of the Board of Education (Bloomington), December 20, i860, p. 10 1. 
 
70 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 still a topic of conversation when the school opened in 1857. They 
 avidly followed the campaign of Lincoln and Douglas in 1858. 
 John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, his trial, and execution 
 roused their emotions. Some of the students were especially at- 
 tracted to the Reverend Charles Ames, pastor of the newly estab- 
 lished Free Congregational Church in Bloomington. 12 He an- 
 nounced that if the telegraph brought news of John Brown's 
 execution, he would preach his funeral sermon on the following 
 Sunday. An immense crowd gave rapt attention. A week later 
 members of the church paid to have it printed verbatim in the 
 Pantagraph. 13 
 
 The students and faculty had carefully followed the political 
 campaign of i860. They had heard Douglas and Lincoln speak 
 and knew what they stood for. After the election when Lincoln 
 passed through Bloomington on his trip to Chicago to confer with 
 Hannibal Hamlin, Normal University students were in the crowd 
 that gathered at the railway station to hear him speak his ap- 
 preciation of the voters of McLean County. They pressed forward 
 to shake his hand and get a better look at Mrs. Lincoln, enroute 
 to the city to buy a wardrobe for the inaugural. 14 Through the 
 newspapers students and faculty had followed the progress of 
 Lincoln's trip east and anxiously awaited the inaugural. What 
 action would Lincoln take ? What of the forts that had been occu- 
 pied ? What of Major Anderson whose provisions were dwindling 
 at Sumter ? Buchanan had vacillated. The Star of the West, with 
 reinforcements, had been fired upon in January. Was that incident 
 not an act of war ? Why had Lincoln refused to meet with delega- 
 tions ? What of the Minute Men organizations that were springing 
 up over the country ? How long would it be before Bloomington 
 men would be drilling? 
 
 Then came the news by telegraph on Friday, April 12 — "Fort 
 Sumter fired upon!" The Powhatan had been unable to land re- 
 inforcements. On Sunday people on their way to church were 
 
 "The Free Congregational Church which later became identified with the Unitarian 
 movement, was organized in Bloomington, August 14, 1859. Among its early members 
 were Jesse Fell, Kersey Fell, Cyrenius Wakefield, F. K. Phoenix, E. M. Prince, C. P. 
 Merriman, and Meshack Pike. The first pastor was the Reverend Charles G. Ames. 
 
 Burnham, History of McLean County, Illinois, p. 358. 
 
 18 Weekly Pantagraph, November 14, 1859. 
 
 "Lincoln passed through Bloomington enroute to Chicago on November 20, i860. 
 
The Roll of Drums 71 
 
 startled by a man on horseback, who had just come from the tele- 
 graph office shouting, "Anderson surrenders, to march out at one 
 o'clock." 
 
 The next morning President Lincoln called for 75,000 three- 
 months volunteers. The word spread like wild-fire. That night a 
 crowd gathered at the court house. The flag had been fired upon. 
 The Union, consecrated by the blood of patriots through two wars, 
 had been attacked. That all this would mean fratricide made it 
 more dramatic. William H. Harvey, a veteran of the Mexican 
 War, respected for high character and courage, opened the south 
 window on the west side of the court house and called for volun- 
 teers, announcing that he would go with them. Young men 
 pressed forward to sign their names to an enlistment paper. The 
 evening's muster roll when completed bore the names of one 
 hundred and thirteen men, among them five from the Normal 
 University: Joseph G. Howell, a graduate of the Class of i860, 
 now a member of the faculty, and students, Henry C. Prevost, 
 Charles M. Clark, Hiram W. Johnson, and Justin L. Spaulding. 15 
 
 On Tuesday morning Jesse Fell hurriedly called together a 
 group of the leading men of Bloomington in an upper room on 
 Washington Street. He had prepared some resolutions in which 
 all of the men except D. J. Snow, editor of the Bloomington 
 Times, concurred. Snow sympathized with the secessionists and 
 was outspoken on the subject. The local union leaders turned 
 their attention to building up sentiment. Handbills announcing 
 the mass meeting to be held in Phoenix Hall that night were 
 printed and distributed. The group decided upon a long program 
 of speakers upon whose sentiments they could rely. They deter- 
 mined to leave no time for dissenting volunteers to come from 
 the audience. Bloomington's most respected lawyer, the vener- 
 able Hamilton Spencer, presided, and first one prominent citizen 
 and then another spoke: James S. Ewing, Colonel W. Boyd, Dr. 
 E. R. Roe, the Reverend C. G. Ames, Harvey Hogg, and E. M. 
 Prince. Professor Messer, the new teacher of music at Normal 
 University, led the audience in the spirited singing of the 
 Marseillaise and similar stirring songs. A great flag draped across 
 the platform proclaimed its message of loyalty. The Reverend Mr. 
 
 " Weekly Pantograph, April 24, 1861. 
 
72 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Ames read the resolutions calling for allegiance to the govern- 
 ment of the United States and avowing the President's authority 
 as granted in the Constitution. He asked that all "who in their 
 hearts swore to the sentiments therein expressed" raise their 
 right hands. According to one present, "A response like thunder 
 came up from the densely packed audience and a thousand hands 
 flashed in the light above the sea of heads, like the drawing of 
 myriad swords." 16 
 
 Next day when Governor Yates issued a call for six regiments, 
 the Bloomington Company was promptly tendered. Thursday the 
 volunteers met at Royce's Hall and elected officers. The veteran, 
 William H. Harvey, who had offered the electrifying challenge on 
 Monday night, was chosen Captain, and Henry Prevost of the 
 Normal University was elected one of the company's four 
 sergeants. 
 
 On Friday night the company paraded by torch light to music 
 by the German Band. A beautiful silk flag was presented by the 
 Prairie Bird Engine and Hose Company, Number One. W. W. 
 Orme asked that it be defended "to the bitter end." Asahel Grid- 
 ley pledged the honor of the company as he proclaimed the word 
 that Governor Yates had accepted the Bloomington Company 
 and that the men were to obtain undress uniforms if possible and 
 to come to Springfield at once. Following a brief speech by 
 Captain Harvey a subscription was started to buy Colt's revolvers 
 for the local volunteers. One citizen subscribed fifty dollars. 
 "This," said the Pantagraph, "is a holy war in defense of the best 
 government that ever blest the earth." 1T On Monday, April 23, 
 the company entrained for Springfield, where they were to make 
 camp at the State Fair Grounds until called into action. 
 
 As Principal Hovey and Ira Moore wondered about the effect 
 upon the Normal School, they pondered their own roles in the 
 months to come. Lincoln had called for volunteers for three 
 months only. If he had expected it would take longer to settle 
 the problem, he would surely have asked for longer enlistments. 
 The spring term had just begun and Hovey did not want to see 
 
 16 The Bloomington mass meeting was one of the first to be held in Illinois. Jesse Fell 
 moved that the Bloomington resolutions be sent to the leading newspapers throughout 
 the state. Morehouse, op. cit., pp. 65-66. Weekly Pantagraph, April 24, 1861. 
 
 17 Ibid. 
 
The Roll of Drums 73 
 
 the school disrupted. The need for teachers was critical. Those 
 who stood behind the desk served the nation as well as those who 
 took up arms. 
 
 But the men were restless; they missed Howell and Spaulding 
 and Johnson and Clark and Prevost, and wondered if they were 
 shirking their duty to remain in school. As they ate their cold 
 lunches at noon, they talked of nothing else. They discussed en- 
 listment with the women students. They wrote home to their 
 parents. Hovey talked with them in class, in the corridors, and 
 wherever he saw little groups talking together. He counseled 
 against immediate enlistment. He knew if war truly came, they 
 should all be needed. He proposed that while the men remained 
 in school they should prepare for the day when they might be 
 called. Then he would go with them. John W. White was hired 
 as drillmaster. The yard where the brick kilns stood was cleared 
 away. The girls of the school lined up beside the Parade Grounds 
 as the old brick yard came to be called and watched the men at 
 their daily drill. A few men had guns, but most of them had only 
 drilled with make-believe guns sawed and whittled from cast-off 
 wood. Left, right! Forward, march! Left! Right! Left! 
 
 As spring wore on into summer, it became inevitable that the 
 "Normal Rifles," as the students chose to call their company, 
 would be needed. The drillmaster was encouraging. The men 
 were beginning to march more like soldiers, less like "clod- 
 hoppers." They could keep step. They could go through the 
 manual of arms. They stood straighter, walked more briskly. 
 
 When Joseph G. Howell, a captain, came home on furlough 
 after re-enlisting, it was as the return of a conquering hero. The 
 faculty and students gathered around the man who had been the 
 youngest and conceded to be the most brilliant member of the 
 first graduating class. His former pupils admired his trim blue 
 uniform and filled his soldier's cap with flowers. 
 
 The women of the school quickly fell into the spirit of the 
 times. They collected old linen, scraped lint and rolled bandages 
 and talked over how they could help. Some one suggested a 
 banner for the Rifles, another a ceremony of dedication. A beauti- 
 ful flag was carefully designed and made, and June 5 set aside 
 for the presentation. The school was aflutter with expectancy as 
 
74 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 students and townspeople gathered in Normal Hall once more. 
 Professor George F. Root's new song, "The First Gun is Fired," 
 was sung by the young women of the school. Sophie Crist, a 
 member of the graduating class was chosen to make the pre- 
 sentation. Long and hard she had labored over her speech. One 
 detected deep emotion as she spoke: 
 
 Captain Hovey and the Normal Rifles, the ladies of the University have 
 conferred upon me the honor of addressing you today in their behalf. 
 Hitherto we have known you only as teachers and as schoolmates. 
 
 There was a moment of hesitation; then she launched into a 
 tribute to Charles Hovey, an appreciation of his work, and an ex- 
 pression of the love and affection which they had for their princi- 
 pal. Turning again to the flag, she continued: 
 
 We cannot say, 'go forth to danger,' and it may be to death but if go you 
 must, take with you this banner, which is to all the nation the emblem of 
 our common freedom. Let its colors inspire you on the battlefield, and 
 in the stillness of the night, when the campfire dimly burns, and the 
 bayonet is at rest, when heaven's glittering canopy shall be your only 
 shelter, it shall proudly float above you to the breeze and as the mellow- 
 ing moonlight falls upon it, ever and anon its stars of beauty will peep 
 from beneath its silken folds as talisman of your holy mission, and too in 
 that sacred hour, will oft time pour out from the depths of memory, the 
 scenes in which you have mingled here. 
 
 Now and then, we, your pupils, your sisters shall come in fancy to re- 
 mind you of the high positions, the social pleasures you have sacrificed 
 upon your country's altar, and the manly tears, will steal forth all un- 
 bidden, but you will not falter for the sweet invisible power that shall 
 bring us to you, will return to us laden with kindly memories of you, 
 and warm sympathy and prayers shall encircle you, and you shall gather 
 strength on each succeeding day. Trust in the living God. 18 
 
 On July 2 the term ended, the Rifles disbanded, and the silken 
 banner was folded away until the company should be called to 
 duty. Hovey promised his students that if their services were 
 needed, he would organize a Schoolmaster's regiment. In com- 
 pany of Jesse Fell he set off for Washington to talk the matter 
 over with Secretary of War Simon Cameron and President Lin- 
 coln. The ninety-day enlistment period for the April volunteers 
 
 u Wee\ly Pantagraph, June 5, 1861. 
 
The Roll of Drums 75 
 
 was soon to expire. By the time Hovey and Fell arrived at the 
 Capitol, there were loud cries for action. What was McDowell 
 doing? The public was impatient and the volunteers were be- 
 coming restive. Congress authorized the President on July 5 to 
 accept services of 500,000 volunteers for three years. 19 On every 
 hand was heard the cry "On to Richmond! On to Richmond!" 
 
 In Washington, it was predicted that there would be an en- 
 gagement on Sunday, July 21, between McDowell's forces, then 
 bivouaced at Centreville, and Beauregard's, stationed not far 
 away on Manassas Creek. Visitors were under no military re- 
 straint: they brought their own supplies, passed to and fro among 
 the troops as they pleased, and gave the scene the appearance of 
 a great military picnic. Senators and representatives with whom 
 Hovey and Fell talked felt that an attack was imminent. Since it 
 was known that a number of carriages were going over on Sun- 
 day, Hovey and Fell arranged to go along. The Battle of Bull 
 Run proved to be more than a skirmish. It was a rout. By four 
 o'clock the raw troops that had fought so well in the beginning 
 were demoralized; dead and dying men lay everywhere. The 
 Union men began to drop back with the Confederates in close 
 pursuit. They fired upon supply wagons and Congressmen's car- 
 riages. There was terrific panic, and the bridge over Cub Run 
 was impassable with the jam of pleasure carriages, gun carriages, 
 and ammunition wagons. 
 
 When the smoke of battle cleared away, Hovey and Fell, who 
 had been observing from a safe distance in the rear, moved for- 
 ward and surveyed the scene. Hovey looked over the field while 
 Fell busied himself giving what aid he could to the wounded and 
 helping about the improvised hospitals. 20 
 
 Immediately after Bull Run, Lincoln acted upon Hovey' s peti- 
 tion, commissioned him a colonel, and authorized the formation 
 of the Schoolmaster's Regiment as Hovey chose to call it. He 
 hurried home to recruit his men, and call back the Rifles who had 
 left school, pledging that if needed they would enlist as a body. 
 
 Headquarters for the Normal Regiment were set up on the 
 second floor at 7 Front Street west of the McLean County Bank. 
 
 19 James Ford Rhodes, History of the Civil War (New York: Macmillan Co., 191 7), p. 47. 
 10 Morehouse, op. cit., p. 68. 
 
j6 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Ira Moore, Hovey's first assistant at the Normal University, helped 
 with recruitment. 21 Students, teachers, and educational men were 
 invited to join. Only one other western regiment had a college 
 president as its commanding officer. It was the 42nd Ohio Regi- 
 ment under Colonel James A. Garfield from Hiram College. 
 Forty-six members of the Illinois Thirty-third Infantry had been 
 students at Normal and twenty of these had drilled with the 
 Normal Rifles. Not all the Rifles waited for the Schoolmaster's 
 Regiment but had volunteered and enlisted in other regiments. 
 
 The day that Hovey received his commission as Colonel he be- 
 gan mustering men into service. Ninety-four men from McLean 
 County signed on August 15, sixty on August 20, and seventeen 
 on August 21. Within a month nine hundred men throughout 
 the state had enlisted in the Illinois Thirty-third Infantry. The 
 company was formally organized in Springfield early in Septem- 
 ber. Herman J. Eddy, Pastor of the Baptist Church, Bloomington, 
 became chaplain. Normalites J. Howard Burnham became lieu- 
 tenant of Company A., Henry Pope captain of Company D., Pro- 
 fessor Ira Moore captain of Company G., Leander H. Potter cap- 
 tain of Company A., and Julian E. Bryant second lieutenant of 
 Company E., Dr. George P. Rex, Board member from Perry, be- 
 came regimental surgeon, and Simeon Wright, Kinmundy, an- 
 other member, quartermaster. 22 
 
 On September 20, the Schoolmaster's Regiment was moved 
 from Camp Butler to Pilot Knob near Ironton, Missouri. Here 
 officers and men went into serious training. 
 
 When the fall term of school began, there were only about 
 eighty students enrolled, fifty of these were in the entering class, 
 composed of twenty-three men and twenty-seven women. In place 
 of Charles Hovey, there was Perkins Bass of Chicago, member of 
 the Board, a former principal of the First Ward School in Chi- 
 cago but now practicing lawyer, who agreed to serve as principal 
 until some one could be found to substitute or Hovey should 
 return. 
 
 21 John H. Burnham, "The School and the War," Semi-Centennial History of Illinois 
 State Normal University (Bloomington, 1907), pp. 19-31. Weekly Pantograph, August 21, 
 1861. 
 
 22 Adjutant General's Report Illinois (1861-1866) revised Roster of Officers and Enlisted 
 Men 16-35. Vol. II (Springfield, 1900), pp. 621-653. 
 
 23 Proceedings of the Board of Education (December 21, 1862), pp. 68-73. 
 
The Roll of Drums 77 
 
 The Parade Grounds had grown over with weeds during the 
 summer. The golden rod and the cattails along the slough were 
 as profuse as ever. Students walking across the stubble on their 
 way to classes exchanged the latest news from the front and 
 shared letters and copies of The Picket, the little paper from the 
 headquarters of the Thirty-third Infantry. In the life of the school, 
 the coming of the war marked the end of one era and the be- 
 ginning of another. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 In the Bridgewater Tradition 
 
 Perkins Bass believed so strongly in teacher training 
 that he was willing to sacrifice his legal practice temporarily. He 
 wanted to hold the school together and to continue the work that 
 had been started. He had no great plan for developing the cur- 
 riculum. Hovey had taken up that matter cautiously. The three- 
 year course of study had been patterned after recommendations 
 of the Board and plans in use in the best eastern schools. No de- 
 tailed catalog was printed until after the first class had graduated 
 in i860. 
 
 The school year was forty weeks in length. The first term con- 
 sisted of fifteen weeks, the second term of thirteen weeks, and the 
 third term of twelve weeks. Hovey had classified the work under 
 the different instructors as divisions. Bass' most significant de- 
 parture was to group "divisions" as much as possible around 
 subject matter. 1 
 
 When Bass took up his duties as acting principal in September 
 1861, only four members of the regular faculty of the previous 
 spring remained. Edwin C. Hewett, a graduate of Bridgewater 
 Normal School who came in 1858 and was to remain for thirty- 
 two years spending the last fourteen years as president, was the 
 very thorough and exacting instructor in geography and history. 
 Joseph A. Sewall, 2 instructor in natural sciences, who had studied 
 at Yale and Harvard, had come to Normal University only the 
 year before. Frances A. Peterson, a graduate of i860, taught math- 
 ematics and Latin. B. S. Messer now took over the teaching of 
 
 1 Catalogs, Years ending July 3, 1861; June 27, 1862; and June 26, 1863. 
 
 a In 1858 Joseph Addison Sewall, druggist and physician from Tonica, Illinois, called 
 to see his old New England friend, Principal Hovey. The latter was looking for a 
 science teacher. Sewall had an M.D. from Harvard and asked how much training would 
 be required to qualify. He returned to Cambridge for scientific studies under Gray and 
 Agassiz. In the fall of i860 he was appointed Professor of Natural Sciences at Illinois 
 State Normal University. He left Normal in 1878 and later became President of the 
 University of Colorado. Cook and McHugh, op. cit., p. 48. 
 
 78 
 
In the Bridgewater Tradition 79 
 
 drawing in addition to music. Henry Norton, who had graduated 
 in the spring and had assisted in the Model School, became 
 principal of the Model School with two women teachers as his 
 assistants. 
 
 Bass took over the classes in "mental science" and "laws," and 
 John Hull, a graduate of i860, was employed to teach Ira Moore's 
 classes in mathematics. 3 Margaret Osband became instructress in 
 grammar, taking over the classes formerly taught by Leander 
 Potter. The museum of the State Laboratory of Natural History 
 was now being established on the third floor and arrangements 
 were made to have Charles D. Wilber, general agent for the 
 Society, teach courses in geology. 
 
 In i860 an arrangement was made whereby Public School Dis- 
 trict No. 2 was merged with the Model School and all the chil- 
 dren in the area of the Junction would attend classes in the 
 Normal University building or in other buildings that might be 
 constructed as the need arose. Already a program was evolving 
 by which upper class students might be given an opportunity to 
 teach in the Model School or "practice teach" as some were be- 
 ginning to speak of it. 
 
 Perkins Bass did not find his task an easy one, but some of the 
 decisions that he made respecting the selection of faculty were to 
 leave a deep imprint on the University. At the end of the first 
 term, Henry B. Norton, who was in charge of the Model School, 
 left to take a better position in Warsaw schools and his assistants 
 also resigned. 4 Charles F. Childs, who had been principal of 
 Franklin School in St. Louis, was elected principal of the Model 
 School, with Livonia Ketcham as teacher in the primary depart- 
 ment. Childs, who was about thirty-two years old, had graduated 
 from Antioch while Horace Mann was its president and was a 
 teacher of considerable experience. 5 Almost immediately he began 
 to make plans for developing a high school along with the Model 
 School. 
 
 "John Hull resigned in 1862 to become principal of the Bloomington High School. 
 He was later superintendent of McLean County Schools, and editor of the Illinois School- 
 master. In 1875 he joined the staff of Southern Illinois Normal at Carbondale. 
 
 * Report of Principal Richard Edwards to the Board of Education, Fourth Biennial 
 Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1861-1862, pp. 62-63. 
 
 6 Charles F. Childs returned to St. Louis in June 1863 to become principal of the high 
 school. He died in 1866. Cook and McHugh, op. cit., p. 225. 
 
80 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 When John Hull announced that he was resigning at the end of 
 the second term to become principal of the Bloomington High 
 School, and that a teacher of mathematics would need to be em- 
 ployed, Childs recommended his friend Richard Edwards, prin- 
 cipal of the St. Louis Normal and High School, an institution in 
 sad straits financially. 
 
 Edwards had attended the Illinois State Teachers Association in 
 Springfield in December 1861 and was known to Superintendent 
 Bateman, W. H. Wells, Simeon Wright, and Bass. His salary of 
 $1200 was quite inadequate for him and his wife and their grow- 
 ing family of six children, and since payment depended on tuition 
 collected, his salary was often in arrears, and he was looking 
 desperately for another position. Although Edwards was con- 
 sidering a position in Washington University when the vacancy 
 at Normal University occurred, he had even thought of giving up 
 teaching and going into business. 6 
 
 Although Hovey had not resigned, Bass assured Edwards that 
 he could feel reasonably safe in coming to Normal University on 
 the assumption that he would be made principal and his con- 
 nection with the school would be permanent if he chose to remain. 
 On February 22, 1862, Edwards completed arrangements to come 
 to Normal University as teacher of mathematics. His tried and 
 trusted friend, Thomas Metcalf, also a Bridgewater graduate, 
 succeeded him as principal of the normal and high school at 
 St. Louis. 
 
 On April 15, 1862, Hovey replied to a letter from Edwards 
 saying he was glad that he had come to Normal and that he 
 would like to see him remain as principal. Bass, who was anxious 
 to get back to his law practice in Chicago, assured Edwards that 
 the Board would support him. At the annual meeting at the Pike 
 House in Bloomington a letter from Hovey was read : 
 
 Headquarters, Second Brigade 
 
 First Division A S W 
 
 Camp near Batesville Arkansas 
 
 _ . . . June 16, 1862 
 
 Pres. Moulton 
 
 Dear Sir: It will be entirely impossible, with my plans for the future for 
 
 6 Burt Weed Loomis, The Educational Influence of Richard Edwards. (Nashville: 
 George Peabody College for Teachers, 1932), pp. 60-61. 
 
In the Bridge water Tradition 81 
 
 me to again assume duties in the Normal University; I beg you tender 
 to the Board over which you preside, my grateful acknowledgments of 
 the thousand kindnesses which they extended to the first Principal of 
 the University. I am very truly 
 
 Your obedient servant 
 
 C. E. Hovey 
 
 Bass announced he was returning to Chicago and that the prin- 
 cipalship was vacant. 7 The Board resolved thanks for the energetic 
 and successful manner in which Bass had conducted the school 
 and the "judicious and able manner in which he managed 
 the finances and business matters" and then proceeded to elect 
 Richard Edwards principal by a unanimous vote. The following 
 morning Dr. Calvin Gowdy of Taylorville, was appointed to 
 notify Edwards. At three that afternoon he read Edwards' reply. 
 
 Bloomington, June 26, 1862 
 Dr. Gowdy — 
 
 Dear Sir : In reply to your note of today, I answer that I cheerfully ac- 
 cept the appointment you have done me the honor to tender me; and I 
 invoke the cooperation of the Board, in my attempts, feeble though they 
 may be, to make this school what it ought to be, the best normal school 
 on the continent. 
 
 Very respectfully 
 Richard Edwards 8 
 
 A week later Perkins Bass returned to Chicago and resumed his 
 practice of law. 9 
 
 The appointment of Richard Edwards was a fortunate one. He 
 was well-known to educators throughout the state. He was a 
 provocative and forceful speaker. Almost immediately upon his 
 arrival in St. Louis in 1857, he was asked to address educational 
 meetings and institutes in Illinois. He spoke on "Normal Schools" 
 at the Illinois State Teachers Association in Chicago, Decem- 
 ber 30, 1857. 10 Two years later he addressed the first annual con- 
 vention of the American Normal School Association meeting in 
 Trenton, New Jersey, on "The Course of Study Best Suited to the 
 American Normal Schools." n 
 
 ''Proceedings of the Board of Education (Bloomington), June 25, 1862, p. 3. 
 
 8 Ibid., p. 7. 
 
 9 Weekly Pantograph, July 9, 1862. 
 ™The Illinois Teacher, 1858 III, 2-3. 
 
 11 Proceedings of the First Annual Convention of American Norman School Association, 
 August 19-20, 1859, p. 73. 
 
82 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Edwards had discussed courses of study in great detail with 
 Hovey and Moore and there was marked similarity between the 
 Normal University's first printed catalog in i860 and the one that 
 Edwards had issued earlier at the St. Louis Normal. Both bore 
 testimony to the genius of Nicholas Tillinghast and the Bridge- 
 water Normal. 
 
 The background of Richard Edwards was unique among the 
 early normal school men. He was a Welshman, born in Cardigan- 
 shire, South Wales, on December 23, 1822. He was the eldest son 
 of Richard Hugh Edwards, a stone-mason, and his wife, Anne 
 Jones, the daughter of a thrifty farmer. 12 The family lived in a 
 small thatch-roofed, one-room earthen house with a single win- 
 dow to provide light and ventilation. The father had worked 
 hard at his trade but wages were low. His wife and children 
 helped to till a ten acre farm which provided vegetables for their 
 table and a small surplus to market in the nearby village. 
 
 The Edwards family belonged to the Calvinistic Methodist 
 Church while their gentry neighbors were mostly Anglican. Like 
 other members of the congregation, the Edwardses were very 
 loyal to their church and the Welsh language. Religious instruc- 
 tion was given in Welsh, the Bible was diligently studied in the 
 home, and the children regularly attended Sunday School. 
 
 English was spoken in the day school, but the instruction was 
 crude and Welsh-speaking people were wont to pronounce words 
 according to their own taste and convenience. The poverty of the 
 family precluded extensive schooling for their children. Richard 
 was sent to a "loud school" where the tuition was low. Instruction 
 was limited to the three R's and the pupils shouted as they read 
 their lessons from their seats. In this noisy and sing-song manner 
 he learned the English Catechism, the multiplication tables, and 
 the essense of good manners. 
 
 When Richard Edwards was ten, his parents emigrated to the 
 Western Reserve in Ohio. John Jones, an uncle who had come to 
 America earlier, had written such favorable reports to his sister, 
 that she and her family were led to follow his example. They 
 sailed by brig from Liverpool to Quebec and thence by steamer 
 to Montreal, via Lake Champlain and Schenectady and Utica, 
 
 "Ellen Edwards "Life of Richard Edwards," MS., Illinois State Normal University. 
 
In the Bridgewater Tradition 83 
 
 where they enjoyed the hospitality of their countrymen. After 
 purchasing a wagon and team, they drove the remaining four 
 hundred miles to the home of John Jones in Palmyra. Their total 
 resources were by this time only a little more than a hundred 
 dollars, most of which was soon used to make the initial payment 
 on fifty acres of land. 
 
 Although much of young Edwards' time was spent helping his 
 father on the farm or carrying hod for him when on a masonry 
 job, he did manage to go part time to the district school taught 
 by a farmer who augmented his income by teaching during slack 
 seasons on the farm. Here as in Wales the curriculum was limited 
 to the barest essentials. 
 
 At sixteen Richard Edwards was apprenticed to a joiner and 
 carpenter at Ravenna, Ohio. He advanced to "boss carpenter" and 
 thence to foreman and junior contractor, but he was more in- 
 terested in reading the books in his employer's library relating to 
 Greece and Rome than those on architecture. 
 
 His daily work brought him in contact with men of prominence 
 in the community. He became very much excited over the cam- 
 paign of 1840. He regretted that he was not old enough to vote 
 for William Henry Harrison, but he joined heartily in the songs 
 and yells of the log cabin and hard cider campaign. "Tippecanoe" 
 was a champion of the working class, and it had been to enjoy 
 the privileges and opportunities of this class that his father and 
 Uncle John had migrated to America. Edwards' democracy would 
 give suffrage to the laborer, education for the deaf and blind, and 
 freedom for the slaves. 
 
 In the fall of 1843, he gave up farming and carpentry to teach a 
 district school near Ravenna at a salary of eleven dollars and 
 "board 'round." In a debating society organized for mutual im- 
 provement, Edwards met Henry Hudson, a Harvard theological 
 student, who was conducting a private school in Akron. Hudson 
 saw that Edwards had unusual ability, began tutoring him at 
 night, and urged that he go east for further study. 
 
 After the district school term ended, Edwards took up car- 
 pentry in Akron. He met Samuel S. Greeley, who had succeeded 
 Henry Hudson as principal of the private school. Greeley tutored 
 Edwards and insisted that he go to Massachusetts and enter a 
 
84 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 normal school. He loaned Edwards some money and gave him 
 two letters of introduction, one to the Reverend Samuel J. May, 
 principal of the Lexington Normal School, and the other to 
 Horace Mann, Secretary of the Board of Education. 
 
 With thirty dollars in his pocket Edwards set off for Massa- 
 chusetts on October 27, 1844. He traveled by stage, canal, and on 
 foot. It was twelve days before he reached the home of Samuel 
 May in Lexington. The normal school had meanwhile been 
 moved from Lexington to West Newton, and May was no longer 
 principal. West Newton was receiving only women students, so 
 May advised that Edwards enter Bridgewater Normal rather than 
 the recently re-activated normal at Westfield. After conferring 
 with Cyrus Pierce at West Newton, Edwards thought it advisable 
 to teach a term of school and earn some money. He walked 
 twenty-seven miles one day, only to find the vacancy filled; how- 
 ever, he continued on to Hingham, where he received appoint- 
 ment for a six months' term at twenty-five dollars a month. He 
 read all that he could on normal schools and education in general. 
 
 One day shortly after his school opened he walked in high 
 enthusiasm the eighteen miles from Hingham to Bridgewater to 
 talk with Nicholas Tillinghast about his plans for entering Bridge- 
 water Normal. Nicholas Tillinghast, a former West Point instruc- 
 tor, appeared neither interested nor cordial, and had it not been 
 for May's encouragement and counsel Edwards might have given 
 up the idea of attending Bridgewater. When his school was out, 
 Edwards again took up carpentry, studying Latin and Algebra at 
 night. After paying his debts, he was able to spend a term at 
 Bridgewater. 
 
 Edwards' work with Nicholas Tillinghast began on July 30, 
 1845. His mind was "awakened into a new consciousness." 
 
 Heretofore Edwards had read by instinct and fancy. Tillinghast 
 was constantly asking "Why? Why?" His students had to have 
 reasons; they had to know the facts. They made no generalizations 
 without supporting evidence. 
 
 When Edwards entered Bridgewater Normal, Horace Mann's 
 Seventh and Eighth Annual Reports to the Board of Education 
 were being widely discussed, as were the issues over which Mann 
 and the schoolmasters in nearby Boston were disputing. Fully in 
 
In the Bridgewater Tradition 85 
 
 sympathy with Mann, Edwards debated the questions of corporal 
 punishment and methods of teaching before the Bridgewater 
 Lyceum. 
 
 In November 1845 Edwards resumed his teaching at Hingham 
 and continued until April 1846. He returned to carpentry until it 
 was time for Bridgewater Normal to open again. This time he 
 was able to stay through two consecutive terms and graduated on 
 November 6, 1846. Meanwhile Edwards had made the personal 
 acquaintance of Mann and was ever to be his friend and co- 
 champion of free public education and normal schools. 
 
 Edwards' next teaching position was a difficult school in nearby 
 Waltham at forty dollars a month, and despite his convictions as 
 to corporal punishment, he occasionally resorted to the switch. 
 
 While at the Tarpelo School in Waltham, he was made presi- 
 dent of the Bridgewater Normal Association, an organization of 
 the alumni and faculty dedicated to bringing about a professional 
 attitude toward teaching. They assisted Mann in arguing in behalf 
 of normal schools at institutes and teachers' meetings. 
 
 Edwards was not content with his normal school diploma. He 
 felt the need of perfecting himself in subject matter and in June 
 1847 he entered Rensselaer at Troy, New York. With financial 
 assistance from friends, family, and odd jobs of carpentry he was 
 able to stay in school until he completed his Bachelor of Science 
 degree October 1, 1847. The subject of his graduating thesis was 
 "Diatase, and Its Chemical Relation to the Feculas in Germina- 
 tion." An assistantship enabled him to complete a Civil Engineer's 
 Course in March 1848. He was now equipped to do civil engineer- 
 ing but he preferred teaching. 
 
 He had barely begun his work as assistant engineer on the 
 Boston Water Works when he was invited to lecture at the 
 Bridgewater Lyceum. He called on Nicholas Tillinghast who was 
 in ill health. A few days later Tillinghast asked him to take over 
 his work for a term. The salary was only $300 a year but it would 
 give Edwards opportunity to teach and to promote the cause of 
 normal schools. 
 
 The Bridgewater appointment originally for a single term ex- 
 tended over five years. Six hundred dollars a year and additional 
 remuneration from institutes and lyceums enabled him to marry 
 
86 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Betty Josslyn Samson of Pembroke, Massachusetts on July 5, 1849. 
 
 Edwards' work in institutes and teachers' associations brought 
 him in close touch with educational leaders such as Barnas Sears, 
 who had followed Horace Mann as secretary of the Massachusetts 
 Board of Education, Louis Agassiz, Dana P. Colburn, Cyrus 
 Pierce, and Lowell Mason. 
 
 In December 1852 Edwards was asked to come to Salem as 
 principal of Bowditch High School, at double the Bridgewater 
 salary. He could not afford to decline, although the school was 
 small and he had no assistants the first term. Eleven months later 
 he resigned to become agent for the State Board under Barnas 
 Sears. He visited schools throughout the state, talked with school 
 boards and with teachers on how schools could be improved. 
 Sometimes he taught a demonstration class in order to help a 
 teacher. He urged the abandoning of the district system. 
 
 When the Salem Normal School was opened in 1854, Richard 
 Edwards was made its principal. He had one assistant, Martha 
 Kingman, who had trained at Bridgewater and later assisted him 
 in the Bowditch High School. Within two years Salem was the 
 largest of the four Massachusetts normal schools; its course of 
 study and methods were far in advance of the other normal 
 schools and its students were accepting positions before finishing 
 their course. Essex County, of which Salem was the county seat, 
 had been the center of opposition to Horace Mann. Now the old 
 guard Yale and Harvard graduates of the Essex County Teachers 
 Association transferred their opposition to Edwards and the 
 normal schools. They saw teachers who had gone to normal 
 schools for brief periods taking positions that they might have 
 had. They debated with Edwards, ridiculing him and his work. 
 "Teachers are born, not taught," they contended. 
 
 Edwards carried the fight to the State Teachers Association in 
 1856, when he spoke on "The Necessity of a Special Preparation 
 for the Business of Teaching." He attacked the position of the 
 college men and pleaded for a profession of teaching. Edwards 
 won for himself recognition, but he could not quell the scholastics 
 and Essex County combustibles. Three years after Edwards left 
 the state, they launched a move to abolish the state normal schools. 
 
 In the spring of 1856 William H. Wells, principal of the West- 
 
In the Bridgewater Tradition 87 
 
 field Normal School, accepted a position as Superintendent of 
 Chicago Schools. In organizing the high school, he set up a de- 
 partment for training teachers. A few months later Horace Mann, 
 now President of Antioch, wrote Edwards that he had been 
 asked to find a principal for a projected normal school in St. 
 Louis. The salary was $2500, a thousand more than Edwards was 
 receiving at Salem. The offer was made to Edwards, but the ailing 
 condition of Nicholas Tillinghast and his connection with the 
 Massachusetts Teacher as an editor led him to defer the decision a 
 year. 13 
 
 The death of Tillinghast and the financial demands of his 
 growing family made it easier to break eastern ties when he re- 
 ceived the second offer to become head of the St. Louis Normal. 14 
 Enroute to St. Louis he stopped with the Manns in Antioch. 
 
 In St. Louis on October 28, 1857, twenty-three young women 
 appeared for entrance examinations. Edwards admitted sixteen of 
 them. To this group were added twelve students from the high 
 school and two substitute teachers, making this an opening class 
 of thirty. The course of study and plan of entrance examination, 
 system of keeping diaries, reports, methods and discussions were 
 patterned after those in use at Salem. As Edwards stated in the 
 preface to the course of study, the St. Louis Normal was a "strictly 
 professional school," its object being to prepare teachers for ele- 
 mentary and primary grades. Most of the course was concerned 
 with professional studies. Training in academic subjects such as 
 science and advanced mathematics could be obtained in the high 
 school. 
 
 One of the innovations which Edwards developed in St. Louis 
 was a program of Saturday classes for teachers who wished to im- 
 prove their teaching. Thomas Metcalf, a former Bridgewater 
 pupil who had been employed to teach English in the high school 
 took over one of the Saturday morning classes in orthography and 
 enunciation. In i860 mental philosophy was added to the list of 
 
 13 During Tillinghast's last illness, Edwards along with other former students contributed 
 liberally to defray expenses of the beloved teacher. Edwards gave the memorial address 
 before the Bridgewater Association. It was later read at the first meeting of the Normal 
 Association. Loomis, op. cit., p. 46. 
 
 "Edwards' work in the Salem schools was long remembered. When the old normal 
 school building was torn down in 191 9, and the site converted to a park, it was named 
 in his honor, Edwards Park. 
 
88 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Saturday classes taught by Edwards, who for ten years or more 
 had been following the philosophic writings of Emerson, Alcott, 
 and other Transcendentalists. Among those stimulated by Ed- 
 wards' lectures was William T. Harris, later noted as leader in 
 the St. Louis Movement. 
 
 Just as the work of the St. Louis Normal was beginning to be 
 recognized, the Civil War came. Business in St. Louis was at a 
 standstill. Revenues from the state for school purposes were cut 
 off, and only by reducing salaries to the "lowest living rate" and 
 charging tuition could the high school and the normal be re- 
 opened. Many of the faculty took employment elsewhere; Ed- 
 wards, now the father of six young children, was in a quandary. 
 It was at this point he had written to Wells in Chicago about the 
 advisability of going into business. 
 
 When Richard Edwards came to Normal University as a 
 teacher of mathematics in the spring of 1862, there were only 
 about a dozen houses in the vicinity of the school and not over 
 thirty in the area designated as North Bloomington. The town 
 had been platted, and with his customary zeal Jesse Fell, along 
 with F. K. Phoenix and other nurserymen, had set out lines of 
 trees, many of them in double rows to shade the sidewalks of the 
 future. Fell had planted 12,000 before a single house was built. 
 Bloomington was already spoken of as "Evergreen City." Unsold 
 lots near the school were utilized as branch nurseries. Their well- 
 tended rows of seedlings, grafted fruit and shade trees, evergreens, 
 and grapes gave a charm and certain sense of order to the com- 
 munity. 
 
 One day shortly after Edwards began his work at the Normal 
 he decided to investigate why some of the young women had not 
 reported to class. He found them drying their skirts and feet, 
 which had become wet from walking through the mud and slush 
 from Bloomington. Quickly Sue Pike challenged the teacher, 
 "Give us a day off and we'll raise money enough to build a side- 
 walk." To her surprise he replied, "I'll do it." Sue Pike and Harriet 
 Dunn promptly entered upon a canvass of the business men of 
 Bloomington and in one day obtained ninety-five dollars in cash, 
 and contributions in lumber. On Saturday following, the young 
 men of the school aided by a few Bloomington men, completed 
 
In the Bridge water Tradition 89 
 
 the sidewalk. It was only two boards in width, and as much of 
 the lumber was still green, it soon warped and buckled. 15 
 
 Hard pressed for funds to care for the vast lawn about the build- 
 ing the Board instructed the principal to have the yard resurveyed 
 and to assign each student a portion to keep in order. 16 A few 
 trees and shrubs, donations of local nurserymen had been set out, 
 but to Jesse Fell's disappointment most of the Saunders' landscape 
 plan was still in the blue print stage. 
 
 Inside the building halls and classrooms had taken on the fin- 
 ished appearance of well-appointed schools of the period. There 
 was ample blackboard space in all classrooms. Framed steel en- 
 gravings hung midway between the blackboard and the high 
 ceiling. The equipment was of the latest model and best quality. 
 The teachers' desks stood on an elevated dais at the front. The 
 desk was of soundest walnut supported by slender iron stanchions, 
 and was equipped with a book rail and a cloth-covered, hinged 
 writing board formed a slanting cover to a deep hold where 
 registers and purloined articles were stored. A narrow drawer in 
 front provided space for pencils and pens while a larger drawer 
 on either side held other supplies. A few feet from the dais in 
 front of the teacher's desk were the recitation benches or "pupils' 
 settees." Beyond these were the neat rows of carefully bolted down 
 desks and chairs. The pupils' desks were simple, shallow oak 
 troughs with cloth-covered, hinged covers, likewise supported by 
 iron stanchions. Some of the desks were single but most were 
 double. The double desks took up less space and afforded easy 
 exchange of textbooks. Cupboards afforded storage for maps and 
 charts, globes, wooden spheres, cubes, rulers, yard sticks, and 
 measuring equipment, which facilitated teaching. A set of raised 
 or relief maps, imported from France, was a prized possession of 
 the school and never failed to excite comment from visitors. 17 
 
 The museum of the State Laboratory of Natural History on the 
 east end of the third floor, with its growing collection of stuffed 
 owls, eagles, grasses, and rocks was another object of pride, but 
 it was the society halls that claimed the first affection of the stu- 
 
 15 Elmer Warren Cavins, "Student Life in the Town," Semi-Centennial History of 
 Illinois State Normal University, pp. 165-166. 
 
 18 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Bloomington), June 26, 1862, p. 8. 
 17 Weekly Pantograph, July 6, 1859. 
 
90 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 dents. On the west side Philadelphia occupied the south hall, 18 
 and Wrightonia, with its motto sapere aude (dare to be wise) 
 boldly painted over the transom, occupied the north hall. Pro- 
 fessor Ira Moore, who had no love for Wrightonia, had, to the 
 delight of Philadelphians, once translated the inscription to mean 
 "sapheads and adders," a thrust that Wrightonians were never 
 willing to forgive. 19 The Board granted the halls to the societies, 
 but the elaborate furnishings, carpets, drapes, chandeliers, pic- 
 tures, and pianos had to be financed by the members. Faculty 
 members were equally divided among the two societies and 
 assigned by the principal, but student members were assigned 
 alternately and alphabetically. Dues, fines, gifts, and sundry 
 money-making schemes were used to obtain funds. 
 
 In 1861, the Philadelphian Society contrived to surprise its rival 
 at Commencement by displaying a new red and white Brussels 
 carpet costing two hundred and fifty dollars, the gift of Professors 
 Hewett, Moore, and Hovey, and a few other members of the 
 society. The secret was not well kept, however, and the Wrighton- 
 ians by almost superhuman effort obtained pledges for two hun- 
 dred twenty-five dollars and ordered a carpet from New York by 
 telegraph, to be sent by express to Bloomington. To the chagrin 
 of the Philadelphians, the Wrightonian carpet arrived first. It was 
 several years before either society could afford a piano. A small 
 piano could be taken upstairs alternately by the societies on con- 
 dition that it be carried down after the meeting. Few musical 
 numbers were worth the effort, and more often the societies sang 
 a capella or to the accompaniment of a harmonica, jewsharp, or 
 comb. 
 
 Once each year the Wrights and Phils laid aside their rivalries, 
 joined forces and presented a public lecture during Commence- 
 ment week to which the entire school and townspeople were 
 invited. Bayard Taylor, editor of the Chicago Evening Journal, 
 had given the first of these annual lectures in 1859. 
 
 In June 1862 Richard Edwards, who was expected to be the new 
 principal, was invited to give the lecture. Edwards selected as his 
 
 18 The Philadelphian Society secured the most desirable location by assisting Professor 
 Ira Moore through the transom and taking possession of the room for the society. In 
 later years Philadelphia occupied rooms vacated by the museum. 
 
 19 Cook and McHugh, op. cit., p. 109. 
 
In the Bridgewater Tradition 91 
 
 subject "The Heritage of Culture." In an eloquent address he 
 traced the great achievements of history through the character 
 and precepts of great men. "Culture has consisted," said Ed- 
 wards, "in the effort on the part of students to master the thoughts 
 of some great mind, worthy disciples of whom it is the height of 
 their ambition to become." 
 
 From a vast knowledge and understanding of the historic past 
 he traced the evolution of the modern heritage. From Ancient 
 Greece, Rome, Israel, China, the great religions, philosophers, 
 prophets and saints he marshaled illustration after illustration, 
 precious gifts laid at the feet of humanity by Zoroaster, Pythagoras, 
 Socrates, Plato, Elisha, the Christian marytrs. "History," declared 
 Edwards, "teaches us the lesson of a Divine Intelligence presiding 
 over the affairs of men ; of a consistent plan in the development of 
 human society." "Culture," he asserted, "is no less than the history 
 of human thought in its highest and noblest efforts. It is the spur 
 of our youth and the solace of our age. It kindles our aspirations 
 and refines our souls. It establishes a bond between us and our 
 kind through all time. It exalts our conception of humanity by 
 keeping before us the noblest results it has achieved." He cited 
 the humanitarian movements of the nineteenth century, man's 
 concern for man, the unfortunate, the erring, the sick and the 
 insane, concluding that "inasmuch as moral greatness is more 
 than intellectual we have here an element of greatness more 
 glorious than anything of which the ancient world can boast." He 
 concluded: 
 
 If fortune is to frown upon us at all, we bid her take our outward pros- 
 perity, our houses, our railways, our shipping . . . ; if dire necessity 
 comes, let her take from us even the institutions that have protected our 
 infancy and nourished our manhood; but let her not rob us of that which 
 underlies our institutions, and is of more value than all our wealth, and 
 is the best part of our life, — the heritage of knowledge and culture which 
 has descended from the good and great of bygone times. 
 
 The address given following Edwards' formal acceptance of 
 the principalship set forth a manifesto of truths. The Board 
 members who had been the special guests of the societies that eve- 
 ning, listened attentively to the earnest young teacher. The next 
 day they voted the "interesting and elegant" address well worthy 
 
92 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 of preservation among the archives of the University: and offered 
 to help defray the cost of publication. 20 
 
 Edwards began his administration with his usual energy and 
 precision. He saw great possibilities in the institution intrusted to 
 him. His influence on the curriculum had long been felt through 
 his association with Charles Hovey and Ira Moore. He sought to 
 implement the program by bringing to the staff instructors that 
 were tried and true, and turned quite naturally to the protegees 
 of Nicholas Tillinghast. 
 
 For his own position in mathematics he secured Thomas Met- 
 calf, who had followed him as head of the St. Louis Normal and 
 High School. 21 Metcalf was a scholar and a gentleman, meticulous 
 in dress and precise in speech. Years later Charles DeGarmo said 
 that to Metcalf "a false pronunciation, a slip in grammar, a mis- 
 take in spelling or calculation, was a kind of sin, a departure from 
 the true and right." Metcalf was the kind of man Edwards would 
 naturally turn to, for he too was meticulous in speech. Once after 
 Edwards had given an address, John Cook, later to be president 
 of the University, raised his hand to ask a question. Edwards 
 looked over his glasses, and said, "Yes, Mr. Cook." Cook rose and 
 said, "I did not get the i'dea." To which Edwards laconically re- 
 plied, "When you get it, accent the second syllable." 22 
 
 Albert Stetson, high school principal of Provincetown, Massa- 
 chusetts, a student an Antioch preparatory in the days of Horace 
 Mann, and graduate of Harvard, Class of 1861, was employed to 
 teach language. Margaret Osband, relieved of some of the work 
 in language, now taught drawing in addition to grammar. Only 
 two of Hovey's faculty remained: Edwin C. Hewett, a former 
 pupil of Edwards at Bridgewater who taught geography, and 
 Joseph Addison Sewall, who was to have complete charge of 
 science, the Board having voted to dispense with the lectures in 
 Natural History. 23 Charles F. Childs was in charge of the high 
 school and Livonia Ketcham, formerly of the Foster School of 
 Chicago, the primary department. 
 
 20 Richard Edwards "The Heritage of Culture," an address delivered before the Literary 
 Societies of the State Normal University at Bloomington, Illinois, June 26, 1862. (Pamphlet) 
 
 21 E. C. Hewett, "Thomas Metcalf," The Index 1895, p. 20; Loomis, op. cit., p. 61. 
 
 22 Interview with C. W. Whitten, Class of 1900, July 5, 1953. 
 
 23 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Bloomington), June 26, 1862, p. 5. 
 
In the Bridgewater Tradition 93 
 
 The Model School was Edwards' particular pride. He con- 
 curred with Hovey on its importance and regretted that it had 
 not been emphasized at Bridgewater. The difficulties under which 
 he labored in St. Louis had allowed no opportunity for developing 
 a unique system of observation and practice. He regarded a strong 
 model school as essential in guiding students in the method and 
 discipline of their own schools and insisted that it be placed under 
 instructors "whose methods and skills in teaching and in govern- 
 ing" might be held before the uninitiated as the best known. 
 When students were required to teach in the school and have 
 their work observed and criticised by teachers of both the normal 
 and model schools, he felt there was "an opportunity for im- 
 provement in the art of teaching such as offered by no other in- 
 strumentality." 24 
 
 The course of study in the Model School embraced every grade 
 from primary through high school. At the beginning of each 
 term the principal designated those students in the upper classes 
 that he felt were qualified for practice in the Model School. One 
 class for one hour a day was assigned to each student for a term, 
 and the "pupil teacher" was held responsible for the progress of 
 his class. He was observed by the principal and other teachers, 
 who gave suggestions for improvement. From time to time the 
 class, under its teacher would be called upon to go through an 
 exercise before the faculty and the other pupil teachers. After the 
 pupils were dismissed, the manner and methods of the instructor 
 were freely discussed by all present and merits and defects noted. 
 Principles of pedogogy were set forth, illustrated, and fixed in the 
 minds of the students. The community liked the Model School, 
 and by the fall of 1862 enrollment had increased from 80 to 153 
 pupils, 109 of whom were in the high and grammar departments 
 and 44 in the primary and intermediate departments. There were 
 138 in the normal department. 
 
 Although Edwards was ever alert and receptive to new ideas in 
 education, he carefully evaluated the new before discarding the 
 old. When Edward Austin Sheldon became secretary of the 
 Oswego (New York) Board of Education, he developed a model 
 school in which considerable experimental teaching was done. 
 
 24 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), December 17, 1862, p. 77. 
 
94 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Edwards followed the Oswego plan with interest. On a visit to 
 Toronto, Sheldon had come across some new and remarkable 
 apparatus, charts, pictures, and educational manuals published in 
 London by the Society for the Promotion of Knowledge, and be- 
 gan corresponding with the society and in May 1861 brought 
 Miss Margaret E. M. Jones from the English Home and Colonial 
 Infant Society to take charge of the teachers' department in the 
 public schools of Oswego. 25 The Pestalozzian methods which she 
 introduced were well-received, and in the spring of 1862 the 
 Board of Education of the City of Oswego proudly issued an invi- 
 tation to American educators to examine and report on the system. 
 At the instance of Richard Edwards, Livonia Ketcham at her own 
 expense made the trip to Oswego to observe Miss Jones and the 
 Oswego Model School. Miss Ketcham resigned however the fol- 
 lowing spring and it is not known how much of Pestalozzi via 
 London and Oswego reached into Normal University's Model 
 School in its formative years. 
 
 Richard Edwards believed that teachers functioned by example 
 as well as precept, and to that end he insisted on rigid discipline 
 of both faculty and student body. Restraint should be sufficient to 
 ward off temptations too strong for the feeblest to resist. He 
 tolerated no practices bearing the slightest appearance of evil. He 
 believed a student strong in good purposes would respect rules be- 
 cause he saw the propriety of them and that a person of feeble 
 moral power owed them his support because they could provide 
 him with the precise aid that he needed. A regulation, he said, 
 should never be announced until consideration was given all cir- 
 cumstances bearing upon it, and once made, obedience should be 
 inexorably and impartially insisted upon; but always a student 
 should be approached in a kind and courteous manner. 
 
 From the time that the school moved to the campus there had 
 been some kind of physical exercise but with the Edwards regime 
 came a new improvement, "free gymnastics" accompanied by 
 music. He dwelt enthusiastically upon the matter in his first Re- 
 port to the Board. The musical accompaniment had the advan- 
 tages of giving precision to movement, relaxing the mind, and 
 
 ^Charles A. Harper, A Century of Teacher Education (Washington, D.C.: National 
 Education Association, 1939), p. 48. 
 
In the Bridgewater Tradition 95 
 
 adding to the interest and enjoyment of the exercises. He 
 wondered if the general vigor and good health throughout the 
 school might not be attributed in part to this system of exercises. 26 
 
 Edwards soon saw that the war had made its impact on Illinois 
 as well as Missouri. No battles had been fought in Illinois; busi- 
 ness had not been paralyzed nor schools closed, but there were 
 heavy demands for men and for taxes. Expenditures were ques- 
 tioned and teacher training came under scrutiny. Was the Normal 
 University accomplishing the objects for which it was established? 
 Carefully Edwards marshaled his facts. He set out to show that a 
 sufficient number of persons had been recipients of instruction to 
 justify the expense. To date, 228 men and 278 women had at- 
 tended the school, a total of 506 students from eighty-one counties. 
 Twenty-six of these had been granted diplomas at the end of the 
 three-year course. Edwards pointed out that the influence of the 
 school was not to be measured at the moment by either the 
 number or the character of its graduates. Many of the students 
 who remained but a year were among the best and most serious- 
 minded "scholars." Often young men and women with superior 
 preparation and some teaching experience were the ones whose 
 circumstances did not permit them to stay in school long enough 
 to graduate. However, there were those who after one year's con- 
 nection with the school by virtue of their maturity and previous 
 experience, carried away from the school more of its spirit and its 
 good training than others might after staying twice as long. 27 
 
 Of the 506 students who had enrolled prior to the winter term 
 of 1862, only 52 remained to graduate. The proportion of men to 
 women was 228 to 278 entering; and of those graduating, 19 to 23. 
 The war deeply affected the enrollment and the number of stu- 
 dents who remained to graduate. Young men who were potential 
 schoolmasters entered the army, and young women often took no 
 more courses than were necessary to qualify them to teach in 
 schools that were literally crying for teachers. 
 
 The stress and tension of war was seen in classrooms and in the 
 faces of students waiting for news from the front. The Normal 
 Rifles, as some still referred to the Normal University contingent 
 
 * Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), December 17, 1862, p. 71. 
 " Ibid., p. 75. 
 
96 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 in the Illinois Thirty-third Regiment, saw their first engagement 
 at Fredericktown, Missouri. Shortly before Richard Edwards 
 came to Normal University, word had come of the first casualty. 
 Lieutenant Joseph G. Howell, Company K, 8th Illinois Infantry, 
 member of the first graduating class and former teacher in the 
 Model School, was shot off his horse in the Battle of Fort Donel- 
 son, February 15, 1862. 28 
 
 Through the newspapers and letters students and teachers fol- 
 lowed the progress of the Illinois Regiments. Colonel Charles 
 Hovey was promoted for distinguished conduct under fire, at Bayou 
 Cache in July 1862. When five hundred Confederates suddenly 
 attacked, he dashed from the rear at the first sound of battle and 
 desperately tried to rally his men. Buckshot ripped through his 
 clothing and pierced his chest. The pain was intense, and for an 
 instant he staggered. Then he tore open his shirt to feel of his 
 wound. Quickly drawing out two or three buckshot with his hand, 
 he reassured his men: "It is nothing but a flesh wound, and some 
 buckshot. I am not hurt." He again threw himself in the battle 
 and reorganized his soldiers for a desperate defense. Other troops 
 arrived and the Texas regiment dispersed. 
 
 In their spare time young women knitted for the Soldiers Aid 
 Society, scraped lint, and rolled old sheets into bandages and wrote 
 cheering letters to their soldier friends. Over their lunch pails, 
 they exchanged news and rumors. Once in the summer of 1862, 
 the students were almost paralyzed with fear when word spread 
 that a Confederate army had invaded Springfield. Later they 
 learned that the dispatch referred to Springfield, Missouri. There 
 were tales of escaped slaves and whispered activities of the under- 
 ground. It was well known that certain Bloomington citizens 
 aided and abetted escaping Negroes. No one doubted where Rich- 
 ard Edwards stood on the matter of abolition. 
 
 Edwards was happy to be away from the tensions in St. Louis. 
 Shortly after Hovey had gone away with the Schoolmaster's Regi- 
 ment in 1861, Edwards had applied for the position. He wrote his 
 wife, who was visiting relatives in Wisconsin, that he had applied 
 for the position although he was not sure it was vacant. He 
 
 28 Letter, C. M. Clark, Camp Lyon, Missouri, February 19, 1862 to E. C. Hewett. 
 Hewett-Reeder Papers. Howell's body was returned to Illinois and school, community 
 joined in a memorial service honoring the hero. 
 
In the Bridgewater Tradition 97 
 
 thought Bloomington "a pleasanter place to live," 29 and set about 
 a long range campaign to secure the position. He missed no op- 
 portunities to speak in Illinois Institutes and teachers' meetings, 
 and to make friends with Illinois educators. 
 
 Edwards did not move his family to Illinois when he accepted 
 the temporary appointment in mathematics, which he was as- 
 sured would lead to a permanent assignment as president. He 
 took a room with the Hewetts, who were still living in Blooming- 
 ton and boarded with them for three dollars a week. 30 Of the 
 students he wrote his wife, "They seem on the whole to get their 
 lessons very well. Their chief deficiency is in quickness and 
 promptness." Of the Caesar class, consisting of only three students, 
 two of whom were from the Model School, he said "I pile the 
 work on the students, you may be assured, and they seem to like 
 it on the whole. 31 For Perkins Bass, who was substituting in 
 Hovey's absence, Edwards had great respect. He had brought 
 order out of confusion, and reduced the school to a "very whole- 
 some state of discipline." The difficulty, he confided to Betsey, had 
 stemmed largely from Hovey's practice of allowing the affairs of 
 school "to be managed to a great extent by the students and the 
 people of the neighborhood. Mr. Bass had partially dispelled that 
 illusion." He concluded that it was really fortunate that he had 
 not been "so lucky" as to have come in the fall. The students were 
 "very respectful" to him, and he was confident he would have no 
 trouble in managing the school. He took it as a matter of course 
 that "in places of this size everybody knows or tries to know 
 everybody's business." 
 
 Mindful of his wife's concern for the health of the family, he 
 wrote reassuringly "the climate here seems on the whole very 
 healthy. The young women in school are fat and rosy, far differ- 
 ent from St. Louis girls or even Massachusetts girls." 32 A hand- 
 kerchief that he carried for a week looked cleaner than it would 
 in St. Louis for one day of wear. 
 
 29 Letter, Richard Edwards to his wife in Wisconsin, St. Louis, September 16, 1861. 
 Edwards MS. 
 
 30 Letter, Richard Edwards to his wife in St. Louis, Bloomington, March 22, 1862. 
 Edwards MS. 
 
 81 Letter, Richard Edwards to his wife in St. Louis, Bloomington, April 11, 1862. 
 Edwards MS. 
 
 ^Richard Edwards to his wife, Bloomington, April 1, 1862. Edwards MS. 
 
98 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Without currying favors or lowering his standards, Edwards 
 sought the good will of the students. "They have two societies 
 here like the Bridgewater Lyceum," he wrote his wife, "and each 
 has a weekly meeting and a paper and one of my woes is that 
 they want an article apiece from me every week. ... I write 
 these articles because I want to do so much to secure popularity, 
 inasmuch as I do nothing else that looks that way at all. . . . 
 They wish me to join one of the societies but I think it is not best 
 at present." 33 
 
 There were times when Edwards was skeptical of the future. In 
 January 1861 the Legislature had appropriated $65,000 to clear up 
 indebtedness on the building, but a new crop of claims amounting 
 to between twenty and thirty thousand dollars arose; some of the 
 creditors proceeded to bring suit and threatened to close the 
 school. It did not appear likely that the Legislature would be will- 
 ing to grant additional relief. In desperation Edwards wrote to 
 Samuel Moulton, President of the Board, for a clear statement of 
 exactly how things stood with the school; at the same time he 
 dispatched a letter to Dr. William Greenleaf Eliot, St. Louis, in- 
 quiring about the possibility of employment in Washington Uni- 
 versity. The fact that Dr. Eliot could offer but $1500 made 
 Edwards all the more concerned about the appointment at Illinois 
 State Normal University. 34 
 
 Earlier he had written his wife, "If I ever get comfortably settled 
 down in a decent place like this, catch me moving if you can." 35 
 Although no formal offer of the principalship had been made, 
 he was led to expect that it would be given him. In April Hovey 
 had written that he did not expect to return and that, if necessary, 
 he or Wright "would come up and set matters right" about the 
 appointment. 36 But Hovey's resignation had been slow in coming 
 through. It was in this state of "glorious uncertainty" that he 
 wrote his memorable Heritage of Culture, setting forth all the 
 wisdom he had gleaned from the classics, Tillinghast, Bridge- 
 water, Mann, Salem, and St. Louis. 
 
 With the appointment signed, sealed, and delivered, Edwards 
 
 88 Richard Edwards to his wife, Bloomington, April n, 1862. Edwards MS. 
 
 84 Richard Edwards to his wife, Bloomington, May 24, 1862. Edwards MS. 
 
 85 Richard Edwards to his wife, Bloomington, May 10, 1862. Edwards MS. 
 
 86 Richard Edwards to his wife, Bloomington, April 26, 1862. Edwards MS' 
 
In the Bridgewater Tradition 99 
 
 seemed to breathe more easily. The Hewetts were going East for 
 the summer and had offered Edwards and his family the use of 
 their home. He wrote his wife that they should accept the offer: 
 "The situation is healthy, the garden is abundantly stocked with 
 all manner of vegetables ... a horse and buggy in the stable, all 
 of which we can use, . . . also a cow that gives an abundance of 
 milk." 37 
 
 With the curriculum built so closely after Edwards' own ideas, 
 he had no changes to suggest; nor was it altered materially during 
 the fourteen years of his administration. Science courses, reading, 
 and criticism were given greater emphasis. The three year course 
 concentrated on a review of elementary subjects and the methods 
 of teaching and administering schools. 
 
 The subjects comprising the course at Normal University in 
 1860-1876 were grouped in six categories: 
 
 (1) metaphysics, didactics, history and methods of education, school 
 laws of Illinois, constitution of the United States and of Illinois, and 
 teaching 
 
 (2) reading, spelling, grammar, rhetoric criticism, and English literature 
 
 (3) arithmetic, bookkeeping, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and 
 higher mathematics 
 
 (4) natural philosophy, astronomy, geography, botany, physiology, 
 zoology, chemistry, and general history 
 
 (5) writing, drawing, and vocal music 
 
 (6) optional studies : Latin, French, and higher mathematics 
 
 Edwards explained to the Board in December 1862, 
 
 True scholarship and proper mental culture are much better promoted 
 by a few studies well taught than by a superficial acquaintance with an 
 extensive course. More valuable mental acquisitions will be secured by a 
 thorough conquest of one or two provinces in the realm of knowledge, 
 than by skirmishing on the frontiers of a hundred. The man who has 
 thoroughly and philosophically mastered a few sciences, or even prin- 
 ciples, is prepared to go on by himself. . . . All knowledge is, in a sense, 
 within his reach. 38 
 
 Edwards made it clear that he considered discipline and proper 
 behavior of students at all times essential to the "great moral pur- 
 
 87 Richard Edwards to his wife, Bloomington, May 31, 1862. Edwards MS. 
 
 88 Richard Edwards, Report to the Board of Education, Fourth Biennial Report of the 
 Superintendent, 1861-1862, p. 72. 
 
ioo Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 poses of the school." "Every teacher," he said, "is continually sur- 
 rounded by a multitude ready to note any deviation from rectitude 
 which he may exhibit. ... A single false step may cost him all 
 his reputation." 
 
 He was fully aware of "temptations lying in wait" for virtuous 
 young people away from parental restraints for the first time, for 
 the well-intentioned who lacked pertinacity of purpose, and for 
 those who were ignorant of what constituted proper conduct or 
 unable to perceive the "immutable but delicately shaded and 
 illusive line that divides the realms of virtue from those of vice." 
 Always the students should be under the influence of good ex- 
 ample and positive precepts. Rules were established regulating the 
 hours students were to keep. Edwards, having convinced him- 
 self that a regulation was desirable and within his power to 
 execute, impartially demanded full, honest obedience. 39 
 
 Young men and young women, during the first years of the 
 school, roomed at the same house, sat on the same porch and 
 studied under the same harvest moon; but they were expected to 
 be in their own rooms at 7 p.m. in winter and at 7:30 p.m. during 
 other seasons, except on weekends. Saturday curfew was at 10 p.m. 
 and Sunday at 9 p.m. There were no extra-curricular activities at 
 night except the literary societies on Saturday nights; students 
 were expected to do their studying at home. A student who vio- 
 lated the rules was asked to explain the matter to the president. 
 Edwards had a desk in the assembly hall, and here he held a little 
 court, calling up one at a time those who for one reason or another 
 had been reported by the faculty. Henry McCormick recalled 
 that Monday morning brought the most students to the presi- 
 dent's desk. Sunday night's curfew was the hardest. 40 
 
 There were rules for conduct at school as well as in the rooming 
 houses. Men students were required to change from shoes to 
 slippers upon entering the building, in order to reduce the noise 
 and at the same time keep mud of! the floor. Only for reasons of 
 health were men allowed to wear their shoes in classrooms. Men 
 from the faculty were posted at the student entrances, to see that 
 no mud was carried into the building. Not until sidewalks were 
 
 "Ibid., p. 71. 
 
 *° Henry McCormick, The Index 1907, pp. 27-28. 
 
In the Bridgewater Tradition 101 
 
 laid and scrapers installed did the faculty escape their onerous 
 turn as "mud-guards." During school hours all students when not 
 in classes were expected to be in the library or Normal Hall. They 
 could not go to their rooms between recitations or visit on the 
 stairs or in the halls. Never were they to be seen on the streets 
 during school hours. 
 
 Of student opinion, Henry McCormick wrote years later, "Dr. 
 Edwards was so enthusiastic himself that every one of his pupils 
 felt 'Woe is me, if I do not teach.' In his masterly way he so 
 pointed out the great possibilities for bettering humanity that 
 were open to the teacher that the matter of salary seemed a 
 secondary afTair, . . . ." 41 
 
 In a similar vein John Calvin Hanna reminisced, "Who can 
 forget the impression of massive intellect and power embodied 
 in President Richard Edwards as he twirled his glasses and 
 came down on his heels in his brief and pungent morning ad- 
 dresses." 42 
 
 "A teacher," he said, "must be animated by a higher motive 
 than a mercenary one. He must teach because he loves to teach; 
 because he looks upon teaching as a noble, ... a holy employ- 
 ment." 43 
 
 Nor were Edwards' services to education unheralded and un- 
 sung. In the spring of 1863 his good friend, W. H. Wells, wrote 
 Edwards he had been recommended by President Hill as a 
 possibility for an honorary master's degree at Harvard. In reply 
 Edwards wrote a prompt, modest, but very detailed and con- 
 vincing list of his attainments, citing his teaching experience, his 
 academic training at Bridgewater and Rensselaer. He was careful 
 not to overlook his knowledge of Latin, Greek, French, and 
 German but added that he was self-taught or tutored in those 
 fields and was currently "rusty." He suggested Governor Bout- 
 well of Massachusetts and Professor Crosby as desirable persons 
 to consult relative to his fitness. He prefaced his letter by saying 
 that although the honor would be very agreeable to him person- 
 ally that it might also be of some use to the Normal to have its 
 
 41 ibid., P . 26. 
 
 42 John Calvin Hanna, "Early Days at Normal." MS Milner Library. 
 
 48 Richard Edwards, Report to the Board of Education, December 14, 1864. Fifth 
 Biennial Report of Superintendent of Public Instruction, (Springfield, 1865), p. 44. 
 
102 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 president receive a degree from Harvard, or other college of 
 similar grade. 44 
 
 On July 15 Edwards received a letter from his old friend 
 Thomas Hill, whom he had known during his early teaching 
 years at the Tarpelo School in Waltham. It read: 
 
 I take pleasure in informing you that the Government of this University 
 have this day conferred upon you the degree of Master of Arts in recog- 
 nition of your long, valuable, and successful labors in the cause of educa- 
 tion, and in recognition also of your own personal worth of character. 
 The diploma will be forwarded by mail in a few days. 45 
 
 Later Hill wrote informally that he had been heartily glad that 
 the very first honorary degree that he had conferred in Harvard 
 College had been upon one he had known and honored so long. 
 He remembered how he urged in vain that the School Committee 
 employ Edwards permanently in Waltham. 46 Instead, Richard 
 Edwards had chosen teacher training. He had pioneered at Salem 
 and in St. Louis; he had matured at Normal University. Two other 
 colleges were to confer honorary degrees upon him: Shurtleff 
 College, Alton, Illinois, the degree of LL. D. in 1866, and Black- 
 burn College at Carlinville, Illinois, the degree of Doctor of Di- 
 vinity in 1 89 1. 
 
 ^Letter, Richard Edwards to W. H. Wells, Esq., Bloomington, May 30, 1863. Edwards 
 MS. 
 
 46 Letter, Thomas Hill to Richard Edwards, Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 15, 1863. 
 Edwards MS. 
 
 "Letter, Thomas Hill to Richard Edwards, Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 23, 1863. 
 Edwards MS. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 When Richard Edwards came to the Normal Uni- 
 versity in 1862, he had the advantage of coming to a school al- 
 ready familiar with the philosophy in which he had been trained. 
 Because of the demands on Hovey in supervising the construction 
 of the building and in raising funds, much of the teaching and di- 
 rection of the school had fallen to his assistant, Ira Moore, a 
 graduate of Bridgewater. 1 Edwin Crawford Hewett, who had 
 joined the staff in its second year as teacher of geography and 
 history, had graduated from Bridgewater while Edwards was 
 acting as principal during Tillinghast's illness. Edwards' early ap- 
 pointments were likewise Bridgewater men. His first appoint- 
 ment was his old friend and former associate in the St. Louis High 
 School, the meticulous and gentle Thomas Metcalf, one of Tilling- 
 hast's most devoted students. He was induced to give up a position 
 paying $2,000 for one which paid only $1,300. Metcalf was em- 
 ployed to take over Edwards' position in mathematics, but he later 
 took over the training department and remained on the staff for 
 thirty-two years. 2 Albert Stetson, who came in the fall of 1862 to 
 teach grammar and literature, was a former pupil of Edwards at 
 Bridgewater. He had taught under Horace Mann at Antioch. 3 
 
 x Ira Moore was a thorough teacher but not always popular. The Board voted not to 
 re-employ him after his sojourn in the army. He went to Minnesota, taught in the 
 University and became president of the normal school at St. Cloud. Later he was president 
 of the State Normal School, San Jose, California. He died October 28, 1897. 
 
 a Thomas Metcalf was born in West Wrentham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts in 
 1826. He attended rural schools in winter, worked on his father's farm, and during off 
 hours braided straw for bonnets. At sixteen he substituted eleven weeks for a homesick 
 teacher at her regular salary of three dollars a week. When twenty-one, he spent a year 
 at Bridgewater. After seven years as principal of a grammar school he moved to St. 
 Louis. He taught at Illinois State Normal University for thirty-two years. He died in 
 January 1894. Cook and McHugh, op. cit., p. 47. 
 
 "Albert Stetson, born in Kingston, Massachusetts, in 1834, studied at Bridgewater 
 1 852-1 853. After a year in charge of a grammar school on Cape Cod, he entered the 
 preparatory school at Antioch, Yellow Springs, Ohio. In 1858 he entered Harvard and 
 graduated in 1 861 . He was a student editor of the Harvard Magazine. He taught Latin, 
 rhetoric and grammar at Illinois State Normal University 1 862-1 887. He married Margaret 
 
 103 
 
104 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 It was a noble coterie: Edwards of the sonorous voice and the 
 great vision; Hewett, slight of build, honest, energetic and fun- 
 loving; Stetson, polished, precise, and so highly irascible that he 
 kept a palm leaf fan on his desk to cool his temper when his 
 indignation had been aroused; and the handsome, immaculate 
 Metcalf, the great training teacher "whose criticisms always closed 
 like a church service, with a benediction." All had sat at the feet 
 of Nicholas Tillinghast, 4 has been assistants at the Bridgewater 
 school for at least a term, and they ascribed a large part of what- 
 ever success attended their labors to the great Tillinghast. For 
 forty-two years, five of his Bridgewater graduates provided leader- 
 ship in determining the policies and spirit of the prairie normal 
 school, and most of its other teachers for the generation 1857-1876 
 were pupils of these Rvc. 5 
 
 The mentor of these early teachers, Nicholas Tillinghast, first 
 principal of Bridgewater Normal School, was a graduate of the 
 Military Academy at West Point. During an army career of 
 twelve years in which he advanced to rank of captain, he alter- 
 nated tours of duty on the western frontier with assignments to 
 the staff at West Point. When ill health and a distaste for military 
 life led him to resign his commission, he opened a preparatory 
 school for young men who wished to prepare for West Point or 
 for engineering. When a third normal school was to be opened in 
 Massachusetts, Horace Mann, then Secretary of Education, had 
 urged Tillinghast to become its principal. Reluctantly he agreed; 
 and for a year he studied, prepared lectures, and observed the 
 work in the normal schools at Barre and Lexington. In 1840 
 Bridgewater opened. Soon Nicholas Tillinghast began to exert a 
 telling influence upon the public schools of the state. The Bridge- 
 water Normal was poorly housed, meagerly equipped, and attend- 
 ance small; but its influence was not to be measured statistically. 
 
 Osband, the school's first preceptress, in 1887 and migrated to California where he 
 entered into the Cable Car business. 
 
 John W. Cook "History of the Faculty.'* Semi-Centennial History of Illinois State 
 Normal University 1 857-1 907 (Normal: 1907), p. 102. 
 
 4 W. R. Heath "Genesis of the Chicago Club," an address given before the Illinois State 
 Normal University Club of Chicago, 1905. Printed and circulated with the club's Hand- 
 book and Directory, 1907. 
 
 6 Charles A. Harper, Development of the Teachers College in the United States with 
 special reference to the Illinois State Normal University. (Bloomington: McKnight and 
 McKnight, 1935), p. 79. 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 105 
 
 Over his students Tillinghast had a sort of fascination, a strange 
 power that enabled him to fill them in a great measure with his 
 own spirit and to confer upon them his own quiet, unflinching 
 devotion to principle. Reserved and modest, he at first seemed cold 
 and forbidding, but when one came to know him, Tillinghast was 
 generous and kind. His words were few, but they carried with 
 them the force of judgment, integrity of purpose, sincerity, purity 
 of character, and justice. His pupils seemed to surrender uncon- 
 ditionally to his influence; no one wished to pursue a course 
 which he disapproved or to incur even his mildest reprimand. 
 
 A lesson taught by Tillinghast was a stimulating experience. 
 He demanded logic, proof, accuracy, punctuality. He would not 
 abide idleness or deception or neglect of duty. Graduates of 
 Bridgewater became crusaders for moral values. But the course at 
 Bridgewater left much to be desired, and Tillinghast realized it. 
 For the first few years pupils were expected to graduate as full- 
 fledged teachers after two terms, not necessarily consecutive; and 
 in some instances graduation was achieved by a single term. The 
 curriculum offered little more than an attempted mastery of the 
 common branches and some attention to method, ethics, and 
 discipline. Near the end of his teaching career, Tillinghast wrote 
 to Henry Barnard: 
 
 My idea of a normal school is that it should have a term of four years; 
 and that those studies should be pursued that shall lay a foundation upon 
 which to build an education. The teacher should be trained to be above 
 his textbook. Whatever has been done in teaching in all countries, dif- 
 ferent methods, the thought of the best minds on the sciences and the art 
 of instruction should be laid before the neophyte teacher. In a proper 
 normal school there should be departments and the ablest men should 
 be put over them. 6 
 
 Although Tillinghast failed to attain his goal at Bridgewater, 
 he laid down precepts that were to guide Edwards in his efforts 
 to make Illinois State Normal University the best normal school 
 on the continent. 7 Other teachers at Normal University soon 
 caught the spirit of Bridgewater and the vision of Edwards. 
 
 6 Richard Edwards, "Memoir of Nicholas Tillinghast," an address given before the 
 graduates of the State Normal School, Bridgewater, July 30, 1856. Reprint, American 
 Journal of Education (December 1856), pp. 6-23. 
 
 'Harper, Development of the Teachers College, p. 83. 
 
106 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 There had been a model school at Bridgewater during its first 
 years but it was soon allowed to lapse, perhaps because of lack of 
 public interest and financial support. At Normal University the 
 Model or Training School was ever a prime consideration. Hovey 
 had started it during the first term in Major's Hall, and when 
 Edwards came he continued and expanded the program. When 
 Childs returned to St. Louis and Miss Ketcham resigned, Wil- 
 liam L. Pillsbury, who had recently graduated from Harvard, was 
 placed in charge of the Model School. Miss Marion Hammond of 
 St. Louis was appointed to the primary department, and Miss 
 Bandusia Wakefield, a student, was made assistant. Lyman B. 
 Kellogg, another student, served as an additional instructor. In 
 1866 a grammar division was set up. Margaret Osband, who 
 taught drawing and music for a short time before becoming the 
 wife of Professor Stetson, had other duties which earned for her 
 the title of "Preceptress." 
 
 The purpose of the Model School had been to furnish the 
 Normal pupils an opportunity for practice in teaching, but under 
 the act incorporating the University, the Board was not to be 
 responsible for its operation. The only way that it could be 
 operated was through a tuition charge. In the beginning the pupil 
 teachers had little supervision. The principal of the University 
 was almost as busy teaching as any of the other instructors, and 
 the principal of the Model School had a full load as teacher of 
 high school classes. Edwards determined to bring up the quality 
 of teaching and arranged to have his hours vacant at the time 
 most of the pupil teachers were teaching and then called pupil 
 teachers after school hours to discuss their work. Each pupil 
 teacher was required to keep a diary, with an account of every 
 recitation, its subject matter, procedures in conduction, successes 
 and failures. Lectures were given and conferences held. Although 
 supervision was a full-time job, it was 1874 before the Board be- 
 came convinced that a special training teacher should be em- 
 ployed, and Thomas Metcalf was released from teaching 
 mathematics to take over the work. 8 An object of the high school 
 department of the Model School during this era was the 
 "thorough fitting of boys for the best colleges of the country." 
 
 8 Cook and McHugh, op. cit., p. 198. 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 107 
 
 Bloomington had established a high school in 1857, 9 but its 
 teachers were not so well trained. The reputation of Professors 
 Pillsbury, Sewall, Stetson, and Hewett led many a Bloomington 
 youth to ride the Illinois Central to the Junction every day or walk 
 the two miles in the hope that instruction given in the classics 
 at the Normal's high school would enable him to enter Harvard 
 or Yale or Princeton without embarrassing conditions. 
 
 There was no defined pattern of sequence in the high school 
 and normal work. Some students entered the normal department 
 directly from elementary school, others after graduating from 
 high school. Often high school students and normal students 
 took the same studies. Sometimes after teaching several years 
 graduates of the normal department returned to take courses in 
 the high school and increase their fund of subject matter. Some 
 took special courses such as drawing and penmanship. 
 
 The first class was graduated from the high school just as the 
 Civil War drew to its close. There were seven in the class: 
 Gertrude Case, Jesse Fell's daughter Clara, Charles L. Capen and 
 Robert McCart, who went on to study law; Howard Crist, who 
 became a physician; Hosea Howard, who became an accountant 
 for the Wabash Railway; and William McCambridge, who after 
 twenty-six years as editor of the Bloomington Daily Pantagraph, 
 became confidential secretary to the Interstate Commerce Com- 
 mission. 10 
 
 On Saturday, April 15, six weeks before Commencement, the 
 nation had been shocked by the news of the assassination of Presi- 
 dent Lincoln. He had been attorney for the school when it was 
 founded, and he was personally known to most of the students 
 and faculty. The Wrightonian Society discarded the humorous 
 program scheduled for that evening for an impromptu one ap- 
 propriate to the occasion. 11 The political campaign of 1864 seemed 
 as only yesterday — the great mass meeting in October, the morn- 
 ing procession, the speeches, the fireworks at night, and the 
 torch-light parade of the young "Wide-Awakes" from the 
 Normal. The "Union" men had kept their stores lighted and one 
 
 8 National Flag, September 26, 1857; October 29, 1857. 
 
 10 "Alumni Register," Semi-Centennial History of Illinois State Normal University, 
 p. 254. 
 
 "Charles L. Capen, Index 1909, p. 145. 
 
108 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 rarely saw a darkened window. 12 In June i860 the Board had 
 ruled that "since it was its policy to administer its affairs without 
 reference to political parties, it was improper for teachers in the 
 University to take an active part in partisan politics." They were 
 free to vote as their consciences dictated but warned against doing 
 anything that would prejudice the school. Consequently, they had 
 been careful not to participate in political demonstrations, al- 
 though they felt free to stand along the line of march and smile 
 indulgently, if not encouragingly, at the students. 
 
 Now the University and the community joined in mourning. 
 On April 19, at a memorial service in the great hall of the Uni- 
 versity President Edwards delivered the principal address on "The 
 Life and Character of Abraham Lincoln." 13 Two weeks later 
 when the funeral train approached the University at four forty- 
 five in the morning, it passed under a large memorial arch erected 
 by students and townspeople. 14 At the University a memorial 
 evergreen was planted in front of the Normal Building just south 
 of the carriage drive. 15 As its gift to the school the class of 1865 
 left a bust of Lincoln. 
 
 Alert to the needs of teachers in the common schools, Edwards 
 organized a four-week institute to be held at the Normal Uni- 
 versity, beginning September 14, 1863. The announcement printed 
 on a single sheet of pink paper sent out in August stated that the 
 time would be devoted to thorough drill in the Philosophy and 
 Methods of Teaching the Common Branches, discussion on the 
 Duties of Teachers, Discipline and Organization of a School, 
 Hearing Recitations, and Rights of Teachers Under the Law. The 
 "exercises" were to be conducted by the regular instructors of the 
 University, who would each give an hour of the day to the insti- 
 tute, and there would be addresses by prominent educators from 
 other parts of the state. County Commissioners were invited to be 
 present. Prospective members of the institute were admonished 
 that "constant and thorough work would be required." Fifteen 
 teachers attended. 16 
 
 12 Weekly Pantagraph, October 19, 1864. 
 
 "Richard Edwards "Life and Character of Abraham Lincoln," an address delivered 
 at the Hall of the Normal University, April 19, 1865. Pamphlet. M. J. Holmes Collection. 
 14 Daily Pantagraph, May 4, 1865. 
 "Capen, op. cit., pp. 145-146. 
 16 Weekly Pantagraph, August 19, 1863. 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 109 
 
 At its tenth annual meeting the Illinois Teachers Association 
 went on record as favoring an institute during August, and ac- 
 cordingly on May 1, 1864, President Edwards 17 sent out a circular 
 to the effect that such an institute would be held if seventy-five 
 teachers would pledge in advance to attend. 18 More than the 
 requisite number pledged attendance, and the institute was adver- 
 tised to begin August 1, 1864. There was no tuition, and the 
 faculty served without pay. One hundred and twenty-seven 
 teachers came. While in attendance they organized into a perma- 
 nent institute, adopted a constitution, and elected officers. 
 
 No sessions were held in 1865 and 1866, but in 1867 Edwards 
 inserted a notice in the May Illinois Teacher that an institute 
 would be held in July or August if before the next issue of the 
 Teacher went to press one hundred teachers would promise to 
 attend. Teachers institutes were taken seriously. Railroads pro- 
 vided reduced fares. Two sessions were held each day except 
 Saturday. Roll was called at the beginning of each session, and 
 the morning session opened with devotional exercises. Each day's 
 proceedings were criticised by some one previously appointed. A 
 Query Box was set up and fifteen minutes a day set aside to con- 
 sider its contents. A literary society was organized for general dis- 
 cussion of questions such as "The Duties of a Principal of a Grade 
 School," "Securing Prompt and Regular Attendance," "Promot- 
 ing the Moral Growth of the Pupil," "The Best Method of 
 Securing Good Recitations and Good Behavior," and "The Self- 
 Reporting System." 
 
 President Edwards, always popular as a teacher, conducted 
 classes in the theory and art of teaching, reading, and the 
 teaching of reading, and Professor Hewett taught geography 
 and history; Professor Metcalf, arithmetic methods, and phonics; 
 Dr. Sewall, botany and physiology; Professor Stetson, grammar 
 and composition; and Professor William L. Pillsbury gave instruc- 
 tion in etymology and the Dio Lewis system of free gymnastics. 
 The members of the institute were so impressed with Pillsbury's 
 work that they unanimously resolved "that physical culture ought 
 to receive attention in all our public schools, . . . ." It further re- 
 
 17 The title of "principal" was changed to "president" in 1862. 
 
 18 Weekly Pantagraph, June 28, 1864. 
 
no Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 solved that all children of lawful age, without regard to race or 
 color, should be freely admitted on terms of entire equality to the 
 public schools of the state. 19 
 
 At the conclusion of the institute a 174 page pamphlet "con- 
 taining as extended a setting-forth of the work done at the insti- 
 tute as it was possible for the instructors to prepare" was published 
 at the expense of the members. The pamphlet was in such de- 
 mand that the supply was soon exhausted. 20 
 
 A fourth institute was held at the Normal University in 1868. 
 Writing to his wife June 26, 1868, from Quincy, where he was 
 assisting in a county meeting, Edwards implored : 
 
 Talk institute to anybody and everybody. Say that we shall be strong- 
 handed — Hewett, Stetson, Pillsbury, Miss Johnson and . . . Tell every- 
 body that everybody must be prompt for the machine only runs two 
 weeks. . . . You must become skillful as a diplomat. $4,000 per annum 
 requires a good deal of arfortifying. . . . Good bye, I am more cheerful 
 than when I left home. How long it will last I cannot say. Have drunk 
 nothing stronger than coffee. 21 
 
 The institute in 1868 was attended by 248 teachers from fifty 
 counties. By this time the pattern of the Normal Institute was very 
 well established. Examination for teachers' certificates was held 
 the second week. In 1869 the attendance was 291 with fifty-five 
 counties represented. The report for that year proudly states that 
 of the twenty-three who took the examinations "nearly all 
 passed." 22 In 1870, the enrollment was 242 and in 1871 it was 215, 
 representing forty-four counties. At a three week session in 1872 
 devoted to the study of the new school law, three hundred were 
 in attendance. 23 
 
 Meanwhile the five-day county institutes became more general, 
 and the services of faculty members were in great demand. Al- 
 though the School Law of 1855 had provided that county com- 
 missioners and supervisors might make appropriations for teachers 
 institutes, it was not until Newton Bateman, State Superintendent, 
 
 19 Report of the Illinois Teachers Institute, held at the Normal University, Normal, 
 Illinois, August 1867, (Peoria: N. C. Nason, 1867), pp. 15-19. 
 
 20 Richard Edwards, "Decennial Address" delivered at the State Normal University, 
 June 27, 1872, (Peoria: N. C. Nason, 1872), p. 27. 
 
 21 Richard Edwards to his wife, Quincy, June 26, 1868. Edwards MS. 
 
 32 Report of the Illinois Teachers Institute, Normal, Illinois, 1869, p. 14. 
 28 Edwards, "Decennial Address," p. 27. 
 
Gran dest of En ter prises 1 1 1 
 
 worked out a practical formula for financing that the county insti- 
 tute began to flourish. Faculty members enjoyed these off -campus 
 contacts. They were good drawing cards for their classes during 
 the regular year, and furthermore the instructors were paid for 
 their work at the county institutes but not paid for the institutes 
 held on campus. 24 
 
 Of all the institute speakers none was in greater demand than 
 President Edwards. His diaries and letters to his family seldom 
 indicate a week that he did not lecture somewhere. When he was 
 not speaking before institutes and teachers meetings, he was 
 occupying pulpits. If the Governor of the state could not attend 
 the dedication of a building or the laying of a cornerstone, an 
 inspiring address by President Edwards of the Normal University 
 was regarded as a highly satisfactory substitute. 
 
 With the war over, President Edwards believed that the state 
 should give serious attention to teacher training and provide the 
 Normal University with some facilities it had long been needing. 
 When the Board met in Bloomington on June 22, 1865, Edwards 
 lamented the poor quarters and food available to students. The 
 school was a long two-mile walk from Bloomington. The im- 
 mediate neighborhood had only a few rooms for rent. While 
 General Hovey had been away with the army, his large house on 
 Mulberry Street, designed to care for his family and sixteen stu- 
 dents, had been completed. After leaving the army Hovey had 
 gone to Washington but his wife remained in the big house for 
 many months, renting rooms to students and faculty, 25 now and 
 then befriending Negroes in their flight to Canada. 26 President 
 Edwards' own home on Broadway cared for twenty-four students. 
 Professor Hewett had built a large house on Ash Street and 
 Professor Metcalf, one on the corner of North and Broadway. 
 The Jesse Fells and two or three other families helped by keeping 
 from two to twenty students. These facilities were quite inade- 
 
 ** Cook, Educational History of Illinois, p. 122. 
 
 25 From the upstairs windows of the Hovey home the girls waved to soldiers on their 
 way to the front. Among Mrs. Hovey's boarders were Lyman B. Kellogg, a student who 
 later became president of Kansas State Normal at Emporia, and E. Clarence Messer, a 
 teacher of art in Bloomington. He was later associated with the Corcoran Gallery in 
 Washington, D. C, and painted the portrait of General Hovey which was presented by 
 the Illinois State Normal University Club of New York in 1913. "Greeting from Lyman 
 B. Kellogg, '64" Program files, Milner Library. 
 
 "Interview with Agnes Cook Gale, July 5, 1955. 
 
ii2 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 quate for the needs of a growing school and Edwards did not feel 
 he could keep on indefinitely asking new faculty to build houses 
 to provide student lodging. He proposed to the Board that a build- 
 ing capable of accommodating 150 students be erected by the 
 state or private subscription and "furnished with most approved 
 cooking apparatus, with sleeping, bathing, and study rooms and a 
 gymnasium conveniently arranged, also with parlors for receiving 
 company." He believed the cost of board could be set at a very 
 low figure since there would be no rent to pay and on so large a 
 scale everything could be systematized. 
 
 Another advantage, he said, was that the formation of the 
 pupils' habits could be "guided by the faculty," and "moral forces 
 could be brought to bear upon them" as under no other system. 27 
 
 President Edwards again advanced the idea of a dormitory in 
 the Sixth Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
 tion. In the Seventh Biennial Report he reinforced his appeal with 
 a paper written by Miss Dryer, the preceptress. Briefly citing the 
 high cost of living in Normal, board and room often being as 
 much as five dollars a week, she dwelt at length on the cultural, 
 social, and health benefits from living in a carefully supervised 
 dormitory. She described vividly the students carrying coal up two 
 or three flights of stairs, storing, cooking, and eating food in the 
 same room in which they studied and slept, as many as four oc- 
 cupying a room furnished with odds and ends brought from 
 home, rickety bedsteads with straw ticks, soiled bedding, inade- 
 quate lighting, ventilation, and closet space for clothing — a dismal 
 picture but one that persisted until long past the turn of the 
 
 no 
 
 century. 
 
 No dormitory was forthcoming, but the Legislature in 1867 
 voted $3,000 to beautify the campus, $500 for repairs and $2,500 
 for the Natural History Museum. Already the building had begun 
 to show signs of wear and the weakness of construction that was 
 to plague it for the rest of its existence. The indoor toilets that had 
 marked the building as so very modern when it opened in i860 
 proved unsatisfactory, and the Board ruled that they should be 
 removed from the building during the summer vacation and 
 
 27 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Bloomington) June 22, 1865, pp. 6-7. 
 
 88 Seventh Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction 1 867-1 868, p. 349. 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 113 
 
 proper out-houses be erected under the "superintendency of the 
 chairman of the Building Committee." 29 
 
 High hopes of expanding the nature and function of the Uni- 
 versity came in 1867, when it was proposed that the State of 
 Illinois avail itself of the provisions of the Morrill Act of 1862 and 
 establish an industrial university. Jesse Fell, who had always 
 dreamed of an ideal educational system emanating from a great 
 university which embraced schools of liberal arts, medicine, law, 
 teacher training, agriculture, and engineering, took up his familiar 
 subscription lists. "Teachers," he said, "would profit by the 
 breadth gained in coming into contact with those who were in 
 turn training for other kinds of work; and as education was a 
 field as dignified as that of any other calling, it was practicable 
 to make the normal school one of the colleges of the University." 
 Over a half million dollars was quickly subscribed, Fell's own 
 $15,000 ranking next to Judge David Davis's, as the largest pledge. 
 A site of 140 acres was offered. 
 
 Assuming there would be strong competition from Champaign, 
 Logan, and Morgan counties, Fell organized a party to go to 
 Springfield and lobby for the location at Bloomington. Urbana, 
 especially to plead its cause, had elected to the Legislature the 
 powerful and persuasive Clark R. Griggs. He promptly intro- 
 duced a bill definitely locating the institution at Urbana, provided 
 the offer therein listed proved bona fide. Competition was thus 
 eliminated, and it was understood if the Legislature did not act 
 at this term the state would probably lose out as a beneficiary of 
 the land grant act. There were rumblings of discontent and 
 rumors of bribery. Fell would have no part in anything that 
 savored of underhandedness. 30 In the end Champaign won the 
 location and Illinois State Normal University dedicated its future 
 solely to the training of teachers. 
 
 In January 1869 bills for a dormitory and gymnasium were 
 again brought before the Legislature, but the measures were de- 
 
 29 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), June 24, 1868, p. 5. 
 
 80 After McLean County failed to get the land grant university, Fell labored that the 
 university at Urbana-Champaign should be a real university with an advanced professional 
 curriculum, not a glorified high school. He helped secure the Soldiers and Sailors Orphans 
 Home for Normal. He wanted it to be a trade school. When it did not develop in that 
 direction he said, "Don't call it my school, it is not what I wanted it to be." Morehouse, 
 op. cit., pp. 78-82. 
 
H4 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 feated. The new normal school at Carbondale and the state uni- 
 versity were claiming shares of the state's educational budget. 
 Some of the faculty blamed the local community because the 
 citizens had not responded with a strong lobby. "They deserve 
 it," declared the disappointed preceptress. Writing to her husband 
 who was attending an educational meeting in Providence, Rhode 
 Island, and telling of a students' indignation meeting, Betsey 
 Edwards wryly commented, "They will feel better now." 31 
 
 Shortly after the Saunders plan was submitted, Fell had trans- 
 planted many trees from his own grounds, including the row of 
 tulip trees along the south edge of a horse shoe drive south of the 
 building. After storms Fell would drive out to the campus and 
 replace the tattered tulip trees and put up props to protect them. 
 Trees and shrubs were donated by local nurserymen the first year, 
 but after that the campus landscaping was sadly neglected. When 
 Jesse Fell became a member of the Board in 1867, it was his 
 avowed purpose to see that the original Saunders plan was carried 
 out. He was instrumental in securing a legislative appropriation 
 of $3,000 in 1867. During that summer he supervised the plough- 
 ing and subsoiling of the entire campus, and the next spring he 
 set out 1740 trees, and the following year 107 more. He even had a 
 small portion of the campus set aside as a nursery to provide re- 
 placements. In 1871, a length of new board fence costing $1,015.04 
 was set around the grounds to keep out the horses and cows which 
 were wont to graze on the lush grass and nibble the tender 
 saplings. 32 For over seventy-five years the campus of the Normal 
 University was known and praised throughout the Midwest for 
 the variety and beauty of its trees. 33 
 
 The community was likewise being improved. Jesse Fell had 
 come home from a visit to West Philadelphia and Germantown 
 in 1856 convinced that a tree-planting campaign would make 
 North Bloomington as lovely as any town in the East. Before 
 the Normal University was established, he had planted thirteen 
 thousand trees in the projected addition to North Bloomington. 
 At first he planted black locust, because of its rapid growth and 
 
 81 Betsey Edwards to Richard Edwards, Normal, January 27, 1869. Edwards MS. 
 
 82 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) December 5-6, 1871, p. 12. 
 
 88 William Saunders who did the original landscape planning for the University charged 
 sixty-five dollars for his services. Morehouse, op. cit., p. 108. 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 115 
 
 durable wood, but when borers attacked the young locust groves 
 he turned to hard and soft maples, ash, American and British elm, 
 linden, catalpa, European larch, and varieties of evergreen. 
 Within a few years a sizable village grew up around the Junction 
 and the Normal University. Spacious homes and modest cottages 
 sprang up along its tree-lined streets and new business was at- 
 tracted to the area. A hotel, the Pennell House, was erected 
 across from the Junction by Jesse Fell and William Pennell. It 
 was a four-story Mansard-roofed structure with spacious rooms 
 and wide verandas. Good hostelries were rare, and its large ball- 
 room made it for a time the social center of the two towns. 34 Jesse 
 Fell induced W. H. Mann, Cyrus Overman, and F. K. Phoenix 
 to locate their nurseries in the Normal area, and so made Bloom- 
 ington one of the largest nursery centers in the nation. A foundry 
 and a grist mill operated east of the Junction for a time. In 1861, 
 a post office was established, and like the name of the township, 
 the village came by common consent to be known as Normal. 
 
 When in 1867 the population had grown to several hundred, 
 the citizens took advantage of the State Law of 1865 and had the 
 town incorporated. A unique feature of the charter stipulated that 
 no intoxicating liquors were to be sold within its borders. Jesse 
 Fell had previously included a clause in title deeds for lots that 
 he sold that no liquor should ever be sold upon the premises, thus 
 laying a foundation for a "prohibition" community. For many 
 years parents believed that the absence of saloons and pool rooms 
 and undesirable persons who so often frequent them made 
 Normal a more desirable place for raising their families and 
 sending their sons and daughters to school. President Edwards, 
 ever a "temperance" man, joined forces with Fell, John Dodge, 
 and William Pennell in obtaining signers to the petition to the 
 Legislature that the prohibition clause be included in the town's 
 charter. He secured the signatures of the students at the Normal 
 University. Over nine hundred names appeared on the petition; 
 it was said to have been signed by every man, woman, and child 
 in Normal who was over the age of six. 35 
 
 34 The Pennell House burned in 1 872 and was not rebuilt. 
 
 85 Morehouse, op. cit., p. 74; also David Felmley, "Debt of Normal University to Jesse 
 W. Fell," Alumni Quarterly (August 191 6), p. 4; Daily Pantagraph, December 19, 
 1866. 
 
n6 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Churches were organized: the Methodist and the Congrega- 
 tional in 1865, the Baptist in 1866, the Presbyterian in 1868, and 
 the Christian in 1873. Soon church spires rose above the tops of 
 trees. Visiting pastors from Bloomington churches no longer held 
 Sunday afternoon services in the Assembly Hall at the University, 
 and students were urged to affiliate with the local church of their 
 choice. 36 
 
 Normal became an even more desirable place to live when a 
 street railway was opened between the two towns. In 1867 a com- 
 pany of public-spirited men, including Jesse Fell, William Hen- 
 drix, William Pennell, Henry C. Fell, Norval Dixon, and Lyman 
 Ferre, undertook to construct a car line, not for profit but for civic 
 improvement. The lines were soon extended over the entire city of 
 Bloomington. At first Board members seriously questioned the ad- 
 visability of allowing tracks to be laid across the east side of the 
 campus. One member feared that strange men riding on the cars 
 past the rooming houses where the women students lived might 
 attempt to engage in flirtations and distract the young ladies from 
 their studies. However Fell was able to convince the Board that the 
 car line would be more of a service than a hazard. At first the cars 
 were hauled by a steam dummy engine, but the panting, puffing 
 little engines left long trails of black smoke behind which rose to 
 darken laundry drying on the line and lace curtains at the win- 
 dows. The shrill whistles "disturbed the scholastic quiet of the 
 university towns," and so many complaints were made that the 
 dummy engines were replaced by mules, which pulled the little 
 bobbing cars with ten or twelve passengers back and forth be- 
 tween the two towns until the lines were electrified in 1890. 37 The 
 small cars were bitter cold in winter and to protect the feet of 
 the passengers the floors were covered with heavy straw. In the 
 early years the cars operated on a forty-minute schedule with no 
 service after nine at night. 38 
 
 86 Burnham, History of McLean County, p. 450. 
 
 87 Jacob L. Hasbrouck, History of McLean County, Illinois (Topeka -Indianapolis: 
 Historical Publishing Company, 1924), pp. 224-5: Harriet Fyffe Richardson, Quaker 
 Pioneers (Milwaukee: Gillet Company, 1940), p. 37. 
 
 88 Although gas lighting of streets in Bloomington came with the Bloomington Gas, 
 Light and Coke Company in 1857, gas did not come to Normal until 1901. In addition to 
 passenger service, the car line did an extensive business from 1868 to 1873 hauling 
 wheat from the tracks of the Chicago and Alton in Normal to the Novelty Mills, Market 
 and East Streets in Bloomington. 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 117 
 
 For many years it was with reluctance that the state made any 
 appropriations to assist the Normal University. The school had 
 been chartered on the premise that it would cost the state nothing, 
 the building being provided by private subscriptions and the ex- 
 penses of operation paid from income of the University and 
 Seminary funds. The Model School, instituted on a self-sustaining 
 basis, had in the course of years more than paid for itself. Edwards 
 in his report in December 1867 declared that if the Model School 
 were discontinued the normal school could not be maintained. 
 The State Fund yielded but $12,445.99 per year. Faculty salaries 
 amounted to $9,900.00, leaving a balance of only $2,545.99 for 
 janitors' fees, heating, stationery, personal expenses of members 
 of the Board, and other contingencies. The heating alone had cost 
 $2,300 a year, and if it had not been for the surplus from the 
 Model School, there would have been a deficit of $3,485.07 for the 
 school year 1 866-1 867. 
 
 Edwards believed that the creation of the university at Urbana 
 cut in deeply on the appropriations that might have otherwise 
 been granted to advance the cause of teacher education — a convic- 
 tion which subsequent presidents of the Normal University have 
 shared. 39 The enrollment in December 1867 reached an all-time 
 high of 327. Prices had risen as a result of war-time inflation, but 
 the salaries of staff members had remained unchanged. Dis- 
 content mounted. Hewett, Sewall, Metcalf, and Stetson in a peti- 
 tion to the Board said their present salaries were not equal to 
 current family expenses, that public school teachers in small towns 
 were better paid, and that they considered it a disgrace to work 
 for less than others in positions involving less responsibility. The 
 Board complimented the four professors on their valuable services 
 and promised to raise their salaries, and that of the preceptress, as 
 soon as possible. 40 
 
 The following June Edwards reported that "the loyalty of 
 some members of our faculty has been severely tried. . . . Dr. 
 Sewall and Professor Powell, in particular, have been repeatedly 
 urged to accept higher salaries and easier labor. But their love 
 for the Normal, and their hope of better things to come in respect 
 
 89 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), June 26, 1867, p. 7. 
 40 Ibid. (Normal), December 17, 1867, p. 7. 
 
n8 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 to salaries here, have enabled them thus far successfully to resist 
 all appeals." Edwards warned that "either this institution must 
 descend from the high position it now occupies, or there must be 
 larger appropriations for it. . . . The question can not much 
 longer remain unsettled." 41 
 
 The Board's response was the authorization of increases in 
 salary. President Edwards was to receive $4,000, the same as was 
 being paid to the President of the New Illinois Industrial Uni- 
 versity. Four professors — Sewall, Metcalf, Stetson, and Pillsbury 
 of the Model School, whose salaries had been $1,500, were to re- 
 ceive $2,000; Miss Dryer, the preceptress, $1,100, and Mrs. Haynie, 
 the new language and grammar teacher, $900. A teacher to take 
 Mr. Hewett's work while he was on leave "without pay" was to 
 have $1,500, and the new primary teacher $7oo. 42 Prices had risen 
 over a hundred percent, and the professors were grateful for 
 small favors. They remained ever watchful of opportunities to 
 earn a few extra dollars, speaking at farmers' meetings and 
 teachers' institutes, and tutoring. Edwards projected a series of 
 analytical readers and quietly began a little private speculation in 
 Iowa lands which was to provide for him a comfortable old age. 
 
 Along with the Bridgewater coterie was another professor who 
 was to add to the reputation of the Normal University. In March 
 1867 John Wesley Powell became official curator of the Illinois 
 Natural History Collection housed in the museum on the third 
 floor. Powell came from Illinois Wesleyan University, where as 
 professor of natural sciences he had taught courses in botany, 
 histology, comparative anatomy and physiology, zoology, biology, 
 natural philosophy, the logic of natural science, geology, and 
 mineralogy. He had fought in the Civil War and given his right 
 arm for the Union. 43 He had studied at Wheaton, Illinois College, 
 and Oberlin. Before the war he had been teacher of the upper 
 grades at Hennepin on the Illinois River. Weekends and after 
 school he had searched the region for mollusks, plants, and fos- 
 sils. He became interested in the work of the Illinois Natural 
 History Society, and in the fall of 1859 began a barnstorming tour 
 
 41 Ibid. (Normal), June 24, 1868, p. 5. 
 
 42 Ibid., p. 7. 
 
 48 William Culp Darrah, Powell of the Colorado (Princeton: University Press, 195 1), 
 p. 76. 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 119 
 
 of institutes and teachers' meetings, urging that science be in- 
 cluded in the common school studies. He gathered specimens for 
 his own collection and exchanged with others. Many were sent to 
 the new museum at Normal. 
 
 During the war Powell met many men in the Illinois Thirty- 
 third, Schoolmasters Regiment, who had been associated with the 
 Normal University and were also members of the Natural History 
 Society. While at Vicksburg in 1863 he was awarded for his con- 
 tribution to the study of science an M. A. degree from Illinois 
 Wesleyan University, receiving one of the first honorary degrees 
 conferred by the school. 44 
 
 In the fall of 1865 he came to Wesleyan as professor of geology 
 at a salary of $1,000 per year. He was an inspired and inspiring 
 teacher. He taught his students about their environment first 
 hand. He took them to the woods to gather specimens of plants 
 and animals, and on their return they used his microscope to 
 study the minute structure of leaves, fruits, and insects. They 
 made notebooks of pressed flowers, leaves, and grasses. Powell 
 believed that the classification of knowledge was not enough. 
 Practical use must be made of it. At the annual trustees meeting in 
 June 1866 he was singled out for special commendation and appre- 
 ciation for his labors in improving the college campus and for his 
 contributions to the museum. 45 
 
 Two months after coming to Wesleyan, Powell helped to 
 organize a branch chapter of the State Natural History Society 
 and he often visited the State Society's collections at Normal Uni- 
 versity. 46 The work of arranging and collating the specimens had 
 been entirely voluntary. Professor C. D. Wilber, the unofficial 
 curator of the museum, had given whatever time he could to the 
 classification of materials. Much remained to be done to make 
 the museum a truly functional one. 
 
 At the meeting of the Natural History Society in Bloomington 
 on July 30, 1866, Powell moved that a committee confer with the 
 State Board of Education to explore the possibility of an appropria- 
 tion for the museum. 
 
 "Elmo Scott Watson, The Illinois Wesleyan Story, 1850-1950 (Bloomington: Illinois 
 Wesleyan University Press, 1950), p. 69. 
 *lbid„ p. 74. 
 48 Darrah, op cit., p. 77. 
 
120 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Meanwhile an idea was taking shape. 
 
 Powell was a brilliant teacher but had the wanderlust in his 
 veins. He was aware that exploring and collecting was an ex- 
 pensive avocation. More than anything he wanted to explore the 
 Rockies. He talked over a plan with Emma, his wife, by which 
 he could eat his cake and have it too. Emma was willing to go 
 along, provided they could finance the trip without losing their 
 home. Powell proposed to attach himself to the faculty of one of 
 the colleges in such a way as to allow himself considerable free- 
 dom. Normal University, as headquarters of the Natural History 
 Society, would serve his purposes better than Wesleyan. 
 
 His plan was first to suggest that he give a course of lectures in 
 geology at Normal ; after that he would press the establishment of 
 a paid curatorship and secure the job for himself. He felt assured 
 that Joseph Sewall, professor of natural science who was tempo- 
 rarily serving as curator, would welcome relief from this responsi- 
 bility. 
 
 The two colleges and the Natural History Society concurred in 
 Powell's recommendation for a state appropriation for the mu- 
 seum and named him as agent in Springfield. He spoke three 
 times before the General Assembly. The Illinois Society, he said, 
 was analogous to the Royal Societies of London, Russia, Belgium, 
 Sweden, the Smithsonian and other government-supported insti- 
 tutions. He proposed a general commissioner and full-time 
 curator whose duty would be "to superintend research and col- 
 lections, take charge of the museum, carry on the exchanges, and 
 make the contributions." He asked for an appropriation of $1,500 
 for the salary of the general commissioner and curator and an 
 additional $1,000 for books, apparatus, and other supplies. The 
 appropriation was secured and the Board of Education was made 
 administrator of the fund. When the Board met at Normal, 
 March 26, 1867, and unanimously chose Powell to be the general 
 commissoner and curator, he was prepared to make a neat little 
 speech. 
 
 He explained that he had planned to spend the summer explor- 
 ing the Rockies and that since a trip to that little-known region 
 would greatly enhance the collections of the museum he now pro- 
 posed that part of the thousand-dollar appropriation be allocated 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 121 
 
 to the expedition. The Board promptly set aside five hundred 
 dollars for field expenses. 47 
 
 The Powell expedition was the Normal University's first ven- 
 ture in extensive field trips. Each member of the party, student 
 and teacher alike, was to pay his own expenses. Five hundred 
 dollars was only a small amount of the money needed, and Powell 
 had to look to other sources. He went to Washington to enlist the 
 support of his old commander, General Grant, now of the War 
 Department. He succeeded in obtaining an order on the Com- 
 missary for rations at government rates for a party of twelve and 
 an escort of soldiers from Fort Laramie through the Bad Lands. 48 
 
 Meanwhile Powell, who always liked to be sure of a teaching 
 position to fall back on, secured a two years' leave of absence 
 from Wesleyan. He quietly negotiated with the trustees of the new 
 Industrial University at Urbana for a professorship there and ob- 
 tained an appropriation of $500 from its funds by agreeing to 
 send that university duplicates of all natural history specimens 
 that he collected, as well as duplicates from his own cabinet pre- 
 viously collected. The Chicago Academy of Science advanced 
 $100 and tools and supplies as a token for specimens that it would 
 receive. 49 The total that he was able to obtain from the Normal 
 University, the University at Urbana, and the Chicago Academy 
 amounted to $1100. Powell estimated this would be about one- 
 half the cost of the expedition. The rest he would have to supply 
 himself. 50 
 
 Powell solicited free transportation for his men, equipment and 
 specimens. His appeals were as dynamic as his lectures. Various 
 railroads responded with passes valued at more than seventeen 
 hundred dollars, and express companies agreed to transport 
 parcels without charge. Expensive scientific equipment required 
 for making topographical measurements was borrowed from the 
 Smithsonian Institution on condition that copies of the data ob- 
 
 47 In a burst of fervor and enthusiasm, the Board authorized the curator to have 
 printed and displayed conspicuously in the museum the scriptural text, "The visible 
 things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the 
 things that are made." Romans I, 20. Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), 
 March 26, 1867, p. 10. 
 
 48 Darrah, op. cit., p. 81. 
 
 49 Watson, op. cit., p. 84. 
 
 60 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Bloomington), March 30, 1867, p. 9. 
 
122 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 tained would be deposited later with the institution in Washington. 51 
 Powell had little difficulty in obtaining personnel for his expedi- 
 tion to the Rockies. He was vigorous and enthusiastic. Barely 
 turned thirty-four, he was short but well built and handsome, 
 with his thick dark reddish hair and neatly trimmed sideburns. 
 (Presently he would grow a beard.) President Edwards caught 
 some of his enthusiasm and reported that the museum of the 
 school would be greatly enriched with many and rare specimens 
 in the various fields of natural science and "that to the Normal 
 University will belong the credit of having been among the first 
 to explore in the interest of science, a region supposed to be very 
 rich in the means of guiding the thoughts of scientific men." 52 
 
 In the main Powell's party was composed of amateur naturalists, 
 but their listings in the report to the State Society and to the 
 Smithsonian were imposing; four of his former Wesleyan stu- 
 dents, Martin Titterington, S. H. Kerrick, Joseph C. Hartzell, and 
 Francis M. Bishop were listed respectively as herpetologist, min- 
 eralogist, zoologist, and assistant zoologist. T. J. Burrill, a graduate 
 of Normal University and principal of public schools at Urbana, 
 was designated as botanist; A. H. Thompson, superintendent of 
 Bloomington public schools, entomologist; Edwards Spencer, 
 Rock Island and S. H. Huse, Evanston, ornithologists. George D. 
 Platte of Rock Island, skillful in the new science of photography 
 as well as with pencil and brushes, was artist for the expedition. 
 Powell, as curator of the Illinois Natural Historical Society, was 
 listed as geologist. 53 
 
 Leaving Illinois late in May, Powell and his party proceeded by 
 train to Council Bluffs, where riding animals, teams, wagons, and 
 equipment were purchased. On the long trek westward from 
 Omaha the party began collecting vast numbers of specimens of 
 plants, insects, mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes, and fossils. Powell 
 had heavy commitments in regard to duplicates. He had agreed 
 before the General Assembly to supply collections for schools over 
 the state and had contracted to provide the Chicago Academy, 
 the University at Urbana, the museum at Wesleyan, and Normal 
 University with duplicate specimens in exchange for funds. 
 
 61 Watson, op. cit., p. 82. 
 
 62 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), June 26, 1867, p. 4. 
 ra Darrah, op. cit., p. 83. 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 123 
 
 A warning from the War Department that there were hostile 
 Indians in the Dakotas deterred Powell from visiting the Bad 
 Lands and he headed directly for Denver taking the route along 
 the south bank of the Platte. Without mishap the party reached 
 Denver in July and then proceeded over the Rampart Range and 
 through Bergen Park to Pike's Peak. The party ascended the 
 Peak on July 27, and Emma Powell claimed the distinction of be- 
 ing the first woman to ascend its rugged and dizzy heights. The 
 party next explored the headwaters of the South Platte and re- 
 turned to Denver by way of Central City, where Powell spent con- 
 siderable time adding to his great variety of fossils and mineral 
 specimens. 
 
 Letters written to the Daily Pantagraph carried descriptions of 
 snow-crowned mountains, vast parched prairies, great forests and 
 tremendous boulders, rock-slides, the difficult and near tragic 
 ascent and descent of Pike's Peak, the monotony of hardtack and 
 cold beef, but ever the enthusiasm of the indomitable Powell and 
 the courage and endurance of his faithful Emma. 
 
 The party disbanded in late August and all except Powell and 
 his wife returned to Illinois. They remained in Denver to as- 
 semble, sort, and pack the collections of skeletons, skins, birds, 
 insects, reptiles, fossils, minerals, and rocks that some months 
 later would arrive at Normal in great boxes and barrels to clutter 
 the halls while awaiting further classification and distribution. 
 
 In December Powell appeared before the Board and presented 
 his report on the expedition and a detailed financial statement. 
 Exclusive of favors rendered by the railroads, express companies, 
 Smithsonian Institution, and the War Department, it had cost 
 
 |2,i 3 8. 54 
 
 The Board was greatly impressed with the report as well as his 
 plans for a second expedition to the West and unanimously re- 
 solved that a sum of three hundred dollars be appropriated for the 
 purpose of paying the actual expenses incurred by Professor 
 Powell, curator of the museum, in making his large and valuable 
 private collection which he had placed in the museum of the 
 University, and that a further sum of six hundred dollars be ap- 
 propriated to enable him "to resume and still further prosecute his 
 
 64 Powell estimated the donation, transportation, cartage, and escort service at $10,000. 
 
124 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 explorations and general field work during the coming year." It 
 authorized him to distribute duplicates among the principal 
 schools where he thought advisable. Meanwhile the petition of 
 Hewett, Sewall, Metcalf, and Stetson for salary increases received 
 but a promise for serious future consideration. 55 
 
 Powell and four assistants hired at his own expense labeled, 
 catalogued, arranged exhibits from the collections of the past 
 summer's expedition. By the middle of March most of the ar- 
 rangements had been completed for the second expedition, which 
 the press entitled "The Rocky Mountain Scientific Exploring Ex- 
 pedition." 56 Powell was much in demand for public lectures, 
 especially the one with the delightful alliterative title, "The Peaks, 
 the Parks and the Plains." Both Normal and Wesleyan looked 
 with pride on the distinguished professor who was coming to be 
 recognized as one of the nation's outstanding natural scientists. 
 They had no way of knowing that quietly and without the fan- 
 fare that usually accompanied Powell's comings and goings, the 
 trustees of the Industrial University at Urbana had unanimously 
 elected him to the Professorship of Natural History, his term to 
 commence at such time as could be agreed upon between himself 
 and the Committee on Faculty and the Courses of Study. Neither 
 the appointment nor the tentative acceptance was announced be- 
 cause at the time Powell could not easily ask a release from Normal 
 University when he was receiving support from the Board on his 
 impending expedition to the Colorado. 
 
 The second expedition officially began from Chicago on 
 June 29, when the party embarked on the Union Pacific for 
 Cheyenne, where the individual members would be provided with 
 horse and pack mule. Once more the public-spirited railroads 
 and express companies provided free transportation. This time 
 there were twenty-one in the party, five of whom were students, 
 Samuel Garman, a sophomore from Normal University and four 
 others from Wesleyan. Two ministers from Chicago served as 
 historians and correspondents to keep newspapers informed of the 
 progress of the expedition. Dr. George Vasey, prominent member 
 of the Natural History Society, was now able to accompany the 
 
 56 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), December 18, 1867, p. 15. 
 68 Daily Pantograph, March 17, 1868. 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 125 
 
 party as botanist. The Reverend W. H. Daniels, former professor 
 of literature at Wesleyan, and Dr. Henry Wing, ailing Board 
 member from Collinsville, paid their own expenses as did every 
 other member of the expedition but had no official listing. 
 
 When the Board met in early June, Powell, whose resignation 
 at Wesleyan had been accepted only the evening before, took the 
 members on a personally conducted tour of the museum, pointing 
 out the vast number of specimens that had resulted from the 
 exploration of the previous summer. The field catalog showed 
 that they had found nine hundred birds, several hundred plants, 
 and thousands of insects. The series of rocks, minerals, fossils, 
 reptiles, skins and skeletons of mammals was considerably smaller. 
 It had been a most successful expedition. 57 
 
 Dr. Wing and President Edwards were especially enthusiastic 
 over the work that Powell was doing. Edwards asserted that 
 Professor Powell had given to Normal University's museum, and 
 to the subject of natural history, as pursued at the school, a na- 
 tional reputation. 
 
 The Board belatedly voted that an order be drawn on the 
 Natural History Society's fund for four hundred dollars in favor 
 of Professor Powell to enable him to purchase "philosophical" 
 instruments as would be needed on the exploring expedition to 
 the Colorado River and in connection with his services as curator. 
 
 Dr. Wing accompanied the party only as far as the Rocky 
 Mountains but his association with Vasey and Powell made him 
 such an ardent enthusiast for the study of botany that at the meet- 
 ing in December 1869, he moved that the Board "in the interest 
 of science and education" go on record as recommending that the 
 scientific survey of the state include botany as well as geology 
 and entomology; and that a State Botanist should be appointed 
 who would deposit at Normal and in the Industrial University, 
 a complete collection of the grasses and plants of the state. 58 
 
 Powell remained in the West during the winter following his 
 hazardous trip down the Colorado, collecting specimens and fol- 
 lowing his interest in Indian culture. President Edwards proudly 
 
 B7 Darrah, op. cit., p. 91. 
 
 68 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), December 16, 1868, p. 13; also 
 Wallace Stegner, Beyond the Hundredth Meridian (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 
 1954), PP- 18-30. 
 
126 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 reported that Powell had already sent back parcels of specimens 
 totaling over half a ton "free of expenses through the liberality of 
 the railroads transporting them." In the lot were more than &ve 
 hundred birds and two hundred fifty specimens of mammals 
 "ranging from the little chief of the Arctic regions" to four huge 
 grizzly bears which had been captured during the past winter by 
 residents of the mountains. He also commented on the contribu- 
 tions of the explorers in their extensive meteorological observa- 
 tions, topographical notes, and especially Powell's own observa- 
 tions on the geology of the mountains and parks. All of this new 
 and rare data had unusual scientific value. 
 
 Powell's determination to continue his explorations in the West 
 led him to resign from the post he had never filled at the In- 
 dustrial University. When the story leaked out, it was disillusion- 
 ing to Normal. It was evident Powell had not intended to return 
 to the museum. Some of his colleagues recalled the special con- 
 siderations he had been shown and were annoyed at the sight of 
 the piles of unopened boxes of specimens. 
 
 When Powell came back his reputation as a scientist had sky- 
 rocketed, but after the first excited greetings by former students 
 and faculty friends, he found he had lost considerable popularity. 
 He was greatly in demand for lectures and he turned from the 
 unfinished business of mounting, collating, and distributing speci- 
 mens to more exciting matters of describing his adventures and 
 the wild and little-known country that he had explored. 59 
 
 Powell was not satisfied with the accomplishments of the 1869 
 trip. Parts of the notes taken were lost, some of the collection had 
 to be cached and left behind, and many points of interest had to 
 be passed by in the closing weeks of the expedition. The Major 
 now planned a second canyon expedition to supplement the first. 
 This one would probably cover two years. As in the past he would 
 hire assistants to do work in the museum from time to time, to 
 unpack the specimens as they were sent back, and to show the 
 exhibits to visitors and classes. He began the rounds of getting 
 financial assistance. None was forthcoming from the Industrial 
 University, but he was confident of at least $1,500 of the General 
 
 59 Powell had numerous speaking engagements throughout the fall and winter of 
 1 869-1 870. Among them were Detroit, Cincinnati, Wheaton, Chicago, Hennepin, and 
 Bloomington. 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 127 
 
 Assembly's appropriation of $2,500 annually for the curator and 
 maintenance of the museum, and the rest he would try to secure 
 from the Federal Government and the railroads. 
 
 Through the efforts of Powell and friends of the Natural 
 History Society the museum on the third floor was literally burst- 
 ing at the seams. The collections were valued at $95,000. The 
 botany collection, which numbered 100,000 specimens, was alone 
 valued at $25,000; 15,000 fossils were valued at $20,000; and 15,000 
 shells were listed as worth $15,000. There were a thousand books 
 in the library cases of the museum. 60 It was impossible to display 
 the collections properly. There was no way for the museum to 
 expand. Halls and passageways of the building were already being 
 used for classrooms. Professor Agassiz, Dr. Sewall's old friend and 
 teacher from Harvard, had examined the collections with much 
 satisfaction but had remarked that "fire should not have so great 
 a temptation." In December 1870 a special committee appointed 
 to inquire into the expediency of erecting a suitable fireproof 
 building to house the collections of the museum, reported that a 
 fireproof building was imperative. Many valuable contributions 
 to the museum were being withheld because the donors did not 
 wish to place their valuable collections where the fire hazard 
 was so great. 
 
 The committee recommended a two-story fireproof building 
 50 by 70 feet with a basement which would provide space for a 
 workshop, furnace room, and three storerooms. A plan worked 
 out by Powell, Vasey, A. H. Thompson, and Sewall, had been 
 submitted to architect and preliminary drawings made. On the 
 first floor there would be halls for botany, zoology, and library, 
 and on the second floor, laboratories for geology, ethnology. The 
 floors were to be of masonry supported by iron girders, the roof of 
 iron and slate, and the stairways and shelves of iron. It was esti- 
 mated that such a building could be built for $60,000 and fully 
 equipped for an additional $15,000. 
 
 The Assembly was reluctant to appropriate money to house 
 collections which the state did not own, and further question arose 
 as to whether the state was justified in making an appropriation 
 to assist the Natural History Society in carrying out its program 
 
 "° Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), December 6, 1870, p. 6. 
 
128 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 unless title in the collections was transferred to the state. 61 
 
 The Appropriation Act which passed April 1871 was subject 
 to the condition "that the collections, cases, and equipment of the 
 Natural History Society, then in the museum, should be made 
 over to the state in such a way as should be satisfactory to the 
 governor." The transfer was effected June 22, 1871, and the Board 
 of Education now acted as agent of the State rather than the 
 Society. 62 
 
 It became clear both to the Society and to the Normal Uni- 
 versity that Powell, the dynamic teacher and intrepid explorer, 
 had no intention of returning to the laborious and unexciting job 
 of collating specimens and arranging exhibits. It had been a 
 steppingstone to fame, but now a wider horizon was being 
 glimpsed. On June 28, 1872, Powell resigned, and Stephen A. 
 Forbes was appointed curator. An inventory of the museum gave 
 a total of 24,230 specimens, with 3,000 different species of plants, 
 1,200 species of fossils, and 26 species of mammals. 63 
 
 On the first of June Powell had purchased a house at 
 910 M Street, Washington, D. C. He now prepared to dispose of 
 his holdings in Normal, and packed his collections and personal 
 effects to ship to Washington. Members of the Board who had 
 grown tired of the sight of halls cluttered with great wooden 
 boxes, now became apprehensive about the ownership of materials 
 in the museum. It was well known that Powell had been a col- 
 lector for years before he came to Normal and had placed some 
 of his own materials in the museum. A question also arose about 
 the propriety of Powell taking any of the specimens obtained on 
 his western expeditions while in the employ of the Natural 
 History Society, for whom the Board of Education acted as agent. 
 
 Jesse Fell, Enoch Gastman, and C. F. Noetling were appointed 
 to "instruct the curator of the museum to prevent all persons 
 
 61 The act chartering the Natural History Society in 1867 provided that the state's 
 appropriation was to be expended under the Board of Education, and under its direction 
 the curator was to be appointed. 
 
 62 During the year 1872 Dr. George Vasey who had accompanied Powell on his first 
 trip down the Colorado served as acting curator and added to the museum from his 
 own herbarium several hundred items of botanical specimens, grasses, and plants indigenous 
 to Illinois. He also sent specimens of fossils, minerals, wood, plants, shells, and geological 
 items to twelve of the principal schools of the state. Cook and McHugh, op. cit., 
 pp. 237-238. 
 
 68 Ibid., p. 239. 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 129 
 
 from removing any of the contents of the museum except on order 
 of the committee." All questions of doubt about legality and 
 propriety of removal were to be referred to Fell. 64 
 
 The fact that only a single sentence in President Edwards' 
 Decennial Address, delivered the following day at the Commence- 
 ment, referred to Powell and his work indicates he had lost favor 
 with the administration. The new curator in his semiannual re- 
 port six months later stated that, although he found much work 
 to be done, a very good beginning had been made, and he thought 
 it "proper to say that Drs. Sewall and Vasey have left behind 
 them unmistakable evidences of conscientious and thorough 
 work." He too avoided reference to Powell. 
 
 Meanwhile the Major, with his thoughts on greener pastures, 
 dispatched great boxes of collections to the Smithsonian and his 
 new home in Washington, paying little heed to communications 
 from Jesse Fell in behalf of the "Committee Upon Lost Property 
 of the Museum." 
 
 After Forbes reported the wide gaps in the exhibits in ornithol- 
 ogy, entomology, mammals, reptiles, and fishes, the Board author- 
 ized Fell to correspond with Professor Joseph Henry of the 
 Smithsonian and to assert the right of the Board to the Relics of 
 the Ute Indians sent from the museum to the Smithsonian Insti- 
 tution. 65 Fell's request that all of Powell's materials be returned 
 to Illinois was ignored and the claim later disallowed on grounds 
 that Powell was in federal employ. 66 Later Powell, on his own 
 initiative, returned specimens of Indian arts to replace those sent 
 from the Normal museum to the Smithsonian. 
 
 In 1872 the museum took on new significance when four new 
 sciences were introduced in the common school course in which 
 knowledge was required for certification. Few teachers were truly 
 qualified to teach the new courses. The museum promptly sent 
 out circulars listing its facilities and suggesting a program of mu- 
 tual exchanges. Cabinets of duplicate specimens were arranged 
 and sent to schools where there was greatest need. A vacation 
 school of natural history was conducted in the museum in July 
 and August 1875. Visiting professors from Cornell and from the 
 
 64 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), June 26, 1872, p. 4. 
 
 w Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), December 3, 1872, pp. 13-17. 
 
 "Darrah, op. cit., p. 186. 
 
130 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Illinois Industrial University as well as the state entomologist 
 aided Dr. Sewall and Curator Forbes. So outstanding was their 
 work that the Board concluded to send an exhibit of natural 
 history as pursued in Illinois schools to the Centennial Exposition 
 in Philadelphia. 67 
 
 In addressing the graduating class in 1872, President Edwards 
 took occasion to review the fifteen years of the school's existence. 
 Of the thirteen classes that had graduated he had supervised all 
 but two. Of the faculty when Edwards came in 1862, only Dr. 
 Sewall and Professor Hewett remained although two of his first 
 appointments, Dr. Metcalf and Professor Stetson, were still on the 
 staff, vigorously carrying on the work of the school in the Bridge- 
 water tradition. Admissions to the student body to 1870 had 
 averaged 174% P er vear > but for the two years past it had averaged 
 266% pupils. The total number of admissions to the normal 
 school was 2617 and to the Model School 2626. Two hundred had 
 remained to take diplomas from the normal department and 
 seventeen from the high school. 
 
 Edwards dwelt upon the Model School, its service to teacher 
 training and to the community. From the time that the school 
 moved to the new building in i860 until 1868 the Model School 
 was the only school in the village of Normal. 68 By 1863 the Model 
 School, with its 170 pupils, occupied six large rooms of the first 
 floor of the building. Four years later it enrolled 580 children. 
 The income from the Model School was $5,000 a year. All chil- 
 dren of school age in District 2 attended the Model School, which 
 until 1866 was under the supervision of the principal of the high 
 school. A separate grammar department was organized in 1866. 
 The population of the village and the number of children in- 
 creased so that the rooms at the University became inadequate, 
 and a schoolhouse on the corner of Ash and School Streets was 
 built by the district. In April 1867 the grammar and intermediate 
 grades were moved to the new building. 
 
 67 A second vacation school of natural history was held at the University laboratory 
 in the summer of 1878. Both were attended by Ange. Milner, later librarian, 1890-1929. 
 Cook and McHugh, op. cit., p. 240. 
 
 68 The first public school in the district of Normal was taught by Miss Mary Shannon 
 in a small building erected by John Rees as a shop for the workmen while constructing 
 Jesse Fell's residence, Greenwood. It closed in 1856 after six month's term. In 1859 a 
 private school was maintained in the library of the Fell home. Owenetta Mildred Edwards, 
 "Early Schools and Teachers in McLean County." 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 131 
 
 For seven years school moneys of the district had been turned 
 over to the State Board of Education, and the University in turn 
 had provided buildings and teachers. Objection to such an eco- 
 nomic windfall to a community was bound to come, but the 
 criticism against the arrangement was touched off in an unex- 
 pected manner. President Edwards saw no objection to educa- 
 tional opportunities for Negroes in the normal departments and 
 had boldly stated his opinions. The test came in 1867 when a 
 Negro child was admitted to the Model School. The storm was 
 brief but fierce. The Chicago Republican, May 11, 1867, reported: 
 
 The other morning a little girl of color was found sitting in her right 
 mind in the Model School waiting to have her idea taught to shoot. 
 The world didn't hear of the circumstance or it would immediately have 
 come to an end; but the one and a half Democrats of the place had a 
 regular conniption . . . However Topsy stuck to her seat. The teachers 
 taught her; the president treated her as he thought the Saviour would 
 have treated her if she had come to Him to be taught. All is now quiet 
 at Normal. 69 
 
 However the incident rankled and President Edwards asked 
 for a directive from the Board relative to receiving pupils in the 
 district. Judge Green, W. H. Wells, and Jesse Fell were named to 
 draw up a policy report. A majority report submitted by Green 
 and Wells favored separating the schools, whereupon the Board 
 agreed that the president of the University, with the advice and 
 consent of the president of the Board, might make any arrange- 
 ments with the Board of Education for the city of Normal that 
 might be mutually advantageous, but that no contract should be 
 for more than one year at a time. 70 
 
 In December the Board voted to terminate the existing connec- 
 tions between the District School of the village of Normal, at the 
 close of the scholastic year. 71 In February 1868 the Chicago Times 
 took a blast at the school. 
 
 Here is an institution supported at great expense by the taxpayers of 
 Illinois, and run in the interest of nigger-radicals, and radical niggers. 
 Our hope is that if ever white people have a voice in controlling the af- 
 fairs of Illinois again, they will blot out of existence this, and all similar 
 
 68 Quoted, Harper, Development of the Teachers College, p. in. 
 
 70 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), June 27, 1867, pp. 10-11. 
 
 71 Ibid., December 16, 1867. 
 
132 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 institutions, that are carried on for the benefit of the radical party and 
 niggers, at the expense of the people. They are of no benefit, save only 
 as miscegenation and money-squandering establishments. 72 
 
 The Model School continued to serve pupils from outside the 
 district, from faculty families, and from those Normal and 
 Bloomington homes where the parents preferred to pay tuition in 
 order that their children might receive their training at the 
 Normal University. Not until 190 1 was tuition discontinued. 73 
 The Model School had always been more than self-sustaining; in 
 fact the surplus from the Model School went a long way toward 
 paying salaries of the professors in the Normal Department, 
 which was largely dependent upon the $12,445 income from the 
 Seminary Fund. It now became evident that if the Normal Uni- 
 versity were to continue properly its work for teacher education, 
 the Legislature would have to consider substantial biennial ap- 
 propriations. 
 
 The matter of Negroes attending the Normal University would 
 come up again. President Edwards had his private opinion, but 
 he tactfully referred the matter to the Board in December 1871: 
 "Applications have been made by a number of colored persons for 
 admission to the University. I respectfully ask that some order 
 may be taken on this subject by which I may hereafter be guided." 
 In a report signed by Newton Bateman and Enoch Gastman, the 
 Committee on Teachers enunciated what has ever since been one 
 of the guiding principles of the Normal University relative to 
 admissions. 
 
 In our opinion, neither the Board nor the Faculty of the University has 
 any right to recognize distinctions of race or color in determining who 
 shall or who shall not be admitted to the several departments of the Uni- 
 versity, the equal rights of all the youth of the state to participate in the 
 benefits of our system of public education, of which the Normal Uni- 
 versity is a part, being, as we think, fully established and guaranteed by 
 the organic laws of the state. 74 
 
 These sentiments were quite in accord with Edwards' own 
 
 "Chicago Times, February 22, 1868. Quoted, Harper, Development of the Teachers 
 College, pp. in. 
 
 78 John W. Keith, "Development of the Model School," Semi-Centennial History of the 
 Illinois State Normal University, p. 80. 
 
 74 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), December 5, 1871, p. 4. 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 133 
 
 principles. Years later Manfred Holmes, a professor of education 
 at Normal University, wrote that he believed Edwards' champion- 
 ship of the colored pupil seeking an education after the Civil War 
 was a handicap to him with certain educators in Indiana and 
 Illinois. Some students left school when colored pupils were ad- 
 mitted. 75 
 
 Richard Edwards always had high standards for teachers. He 
 wanted a graduate of the Normal University to have a well- 
 rounded education as well as training in method. He himself had 
 not been satisfied with his Bridgewater training in subject matter 
 and had gone on to Rensselaer. Likewise Stetson had gone to 
 Harvard after Antioch and Bridgewater. It worried Edwards that 
 the large percentage of persons who applied at the Normal Uni- 
 versity had little more than eighth grade schooling and conse- 
 quently he had considered the high school and liberal arts subjects 
 in the normal department as essential to developing better teachers. 
 
 Not all members of the Board agreed with Edwards' educa- 
 tional ideas. In his fourteen years as president, Edwards weathered 
 many a storm. Eight times there was a threat that the school 
 would have to change its policies or close. Notable was an attack 
 made on the curriculum and organization of the school in June 
 1868. Benaiah G. Roots, Board Member from Tamaroa, recom- 
 mended that the standards for qualifications for admission to the 
 Normal University be "materially elevated" and that two types of 
 diplomas be awarded to those who desired them, one when the 
 applicants were qualified to organize and teach primary or com- 
 mon district schools and another for those qualified to become 
 principals of grammar and high schools. He further proposed 
 that the policy of the University be modified to enable persons 
 qualified in all respects except in the Theory and Art of Teach- 
 ing, to pursue such a course and be graduated as soon as they have 
 completed it. 
 
 The Board delayed action and asked Roots to prepare a writ- 
 ten report to be presented at a subsequent meeting. Roots main- 
 tained that there were now schools in every county in which 
 pupils could acquire all the knowledge necessary to entitle them 
 to a first grade certificate, "except for a theoretical and practical 
 
 75 Manfred Holmes' personal notes (n.d.) Holmes Papers, Milner Library. 
 
134 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 acquaintance with the complicated and responsible duties of the 
 professional teacher." Consequently he recommended that high 
 school and high school subjects be eliminated from the curricu- 
 lum of the Normal University, that it cease to be a rival or 
 competitor of the high schools, academies and colleges of the 
 state, and that it operate within the province originally created 
 for it — a professional school for teachers. He would shorten, 
 rather than lengthen, the period spent in the professional school — 
 the wider knowledge of subject matter which he so strongly 
 advocated would be secured elsewhere. The resolutions that he 
 proposed were tactfully tabled for further consideration. 
 
 From other quarters came the question, "Do students who go to 
 Normal really teach?" Edwards marshaled his statistics. He sent 
 out letters of inquiry to county superintendents and others of the 
 2084 young persons who had attended Normal University prior to 
 September 1869, 145 of whom had graduated. Replies revealed 
 that only twenty-nine of the graduates or seven percent were not 
 teaching. Even thirteen of these who were now married had 
 taught one year; six were deceased. Of the graduates Edwards 
 found that only ten had abandoned the profession, and none with- 
 out having first taught several years. He warned the Board that 
 
 Periodically it is asserted normal schools are a failure. Like discoverers 
 of perpetual motion, these inventors of disaster reproduce the old com- 
 plaints with the regularity of the decades. It matters not that they have 
 been refuted. In each new reiteration, they find a new champion and 
 each effort requires a new hand. 
 
 In June 1870 Edwards was proud to report that a cultured 
 English traveler wrote in the London Christian World of his visit 
 to the school : 
 
 I had the privilege lately to participate in the annual examinations and 
 exercises of the commencement of this noble institution and can testify 
 that it is conducted with the most honorable and happy results. The pro- 
 ficiency of the graduates who received their diplomas amidst the loving 
 greetings of hundreds of fellow students and a large assembly of friends, 
 together with the enthusiasm of all present in the noble cause of Chris- 
 tian Culture, afforded inspiring hope for the future of the community. 76 
 
 76 Quoted, Richard Edwards, "Report to the State Superintendent," Seventh Biennial 
 Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, p. 86. 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 135 
 
 By 1873 Normal University led the nation's normal schools in 
 enrollment and expenditures. It was eighteenth in per capita cost. 
 Ypsilanti, Michigan, was second with an enrollment of 250 and 
 Buffalo, New York, was third. 77 The superintendent of Boston 
 schools in 1870 had declared the Normal University inferior to 
 none. 
 
 As in other schools of the period the literary societies were the 
 strongest student organizations. Every student who attended 
 Normal became by lot either a Wrightonian or a Philadelphian. 78 
 Only by careful conniving in registration lines over the years, 
 was it possible for several members of a family to belong to the 
 same society. 
 
 The societies obtained charters from the Legislature in 1867 
 and, as corporate bodies, they could now borrow money, own 
 property, sue and be sued; in the course of time each experienced 
 the frustrations of debts and litigation. Rivalry between the two 
 societies led to contests not only in programs but in furnishing 
 their respective halls with expensive carpets, draperies, bookcases, 
 books, pictures, chairs, plaster copies of Greek and Roman busts, 
 secretary's tables and elaborate frescoing. Philadelphia boasted a 
 red and white Brussels carpet and Wrightonia a floral. Phila- 
 delphia bought opera chairs and Wrightonia, captains' chairs. 
 From tallow candles the societies progressed to wall lamps and 
 elegant kerosene chandeliers. Both societies purchased grand 
 pianos in 1864. Wrightonia chose a beautiful rosewood piano. 
 
 Heating and plumbing facilities for the large building were in- 
 adequate, and the rooms on the third floor were often so cold that 
 meetings had to be disbanded. The societies at their own expense 
 experimented with temperamental ventilating stoves and loyal 
 volunteers carried kindling and buckets of coal up the three long 
 flights of stairs. As the societies became more affluent, janitor 
 service was hired, with the fees advancing from eighteen cents a 
 week to a dollar and a quarter. 
 
 To pay for their luxurious furnishings, they collected dues, 
 made pledges to be redeemed after a year's teaching, gave plays, 
 sponsored lectures, union suppers and strawberry socials, and held 
 
 77 Charles A. Harper, "A Century of Teacher Training." Daily Pantagraph, April 2, 1939. 
 
 78 Weekly Pantagraph, June 27, 1864. 
 
136 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 festivals. The proceeds from all sorts of gambling devices such as 
 grab-bags, ring cakes, and fish ponds were divided equally. 
 Honorary memberships were conferred upon prominent persons 
 who were actively interested in the University, and who usually 
 contributed from one dollar to ten or twenty dollars. During the 
 Civil War Wrightonia voted to make Abraham Lincoln an 
 honorary member. 
 
 The women students were quite as loyal to their respective 
 societies as the men. They were faithful in attendance and in 
 writing essays, in delivering dramatic recitations with gestures 
 and costumes as occasion demanded; they played the piano, sang 
 in the choruses, and edited the Philadelphian Ladies Garland and 
 the Wrightonian Oleastellus. They prepared deviled eggs, ham 
 sandwiches, potato salad, layer cake, and lemonade for picnics 
 and spreads, but in the early decades debating and holding office 
 above the rank and glamour of secretary taking copious notes and 
 writing up "minutes," was regarded as the sacred province of 
 the stronger sex. 
 
 When Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, and Elizabeth Cady 
 were campaigning across the nation for women's rights, it was 
 inevitable that there should be echoes and repercussions on college 
 campuses. In 1870 after a hard fight Alice Emmons, daughter of 
 an Illinois judge, and a senior who had already had some teach- 
 ing experience, was elected president of the Philadelphian Society. 
 There was evidence of wounded pride with the election of a 
 woman to this exalted position and there was mumbling about 
 "collusion." A committee was appointed to canvass the election, 
 with the result that Miss Emmons was unseated and R. Arthur 
 Edwards, son of President Edwards, chosen to fill the vacancy. 79 
 The women labored not alone for Alice's election but for a noble 
 cause. Subsequently Louise C. Allen, a member of the same class, 
 was elected president of Wrightonia. 80 
 
 Since the first commencement in i860, an original essay or ora- 
 tion had been presented by each member of the graduating class. 
 Under the benign influence of the Natural History Society, Dr. 
 Henry Wing proposed and the Board enthusiastically concurred 
 
 79 Cook and McHugh, op. cit., p. 106. 
 
 80 Ibid., p. 129. 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 137 
 
 that henceforth, two months before his contemplated graduation, 
 each candidate should present a paper "discussing either the 
 geology, botany, or some department of the Natural History of 
 the district in which he or she resided." While the archives ac- 
 cumulated theses on oaks, pines, elms, common locust, osage 
 orange, mosses, the topography of various counties, frogs and 
 varieties of maples, the graduation programs carried titles of 
 essays and orations such as "Our Legacy from the Past," "Intel- 
 lectual Independence," "Common Sense," "The Power of Ex- 
 ample," "Pathfinders," "Man the Master of His Own Destiny," 
 and "The Influence of Imagination upon Character." Salutatorians 
 and valedictorians were appointed on the basis of scholarship, but 
 when the classes were very large the other speakers were drawn 
 by lot. The honor of being a commencement speaker was coveted 
 by every serious student. 
 
 Commencements became precious memories and diplomas 
 prized possessions. Since so many students did not complete the 
 three-year curriculum the Board began in 1869 to award diplomas 
 to those who had finished the first two years. The diploma certi- 
 fied that the possessor had the respect and confidence of the 
 faculty and had completed a two-year study in the subjects of 
 "Arithmetic, Geography of North and South America and 
 Europe, History of the United States and Ancient History, Spell- 
 ing, Phonic Analysis, Reading, English Grammar, Theory and 
 Art of Teaching, Mental Philosophy, Rhetoric, English Criticism, 
 Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Drawing, Chemistry, Botany, 
 Physical Geography," had had two terms in practice teaching and 
 "is accordingly recommended as a teacher." Space was provided 
 for signatures of the President of the University, the President 
 and the Secretary of the Board of Education, and ten teachers. 
 
 In 1870 Richard Edwards took his first real vacation. For eight 
 years he had labored at the Normal University as a teacher and 
 administrator. He had lectured throughout Illinois and traveled as 
 far as Rhode Island and Kansas to conduct institutes and make 
 educational addresses. He had launched a successful campaign for 
 a second normal school at Carbondale. He had also written 
 textbooks, preached, and, with Jesse Fell, speculated in Iowa, 
 Nebraska, and Missouri lands. Both Edwards and the University 
 
138 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 had prospered. 81 His reward to himself was a trip to his beloved 
 Wales, with excursions into England and Scotland, and across 
 the Channel to Belgium and France. 82 
 
 His wife and their ten children ranging in age from twenty 
 years to one week would remain in Normal. 83 The children had 
 been trained to take responsibility about the home, and he felt no 
 apprehension about leaving them. Arthur, the eldest son, who 
 was attending the Institute that summer, was entrusted with look- 
 ing after his father's correspondence at the University and mail- 
 ing the catalogs as soon as they came from the printer. Betsey 
 promised to keep her husband informed of local happenings, 
 births, illnesses, and deaths, the Institute, the repairs being made 
 at the University, and the well-being of the family, especially 
 "the youngest juvenile" as she called the baby. In turn Edwards 
 would keep a diary and write long letters home describing the 
 historic places that he visited, the amusing and interesting people 
 that he met, educational conditions, and every member of the 
 family would receive a present upon his return. Aside from the 
 estate which turned out to be non-existent, Edwards' vacation 
 abroad was all that he wished it to be. His outlook was broadened 
 and enriched, and he was able to plunge into his work with re- 
 newed vigor. 
 
 He scarcely recognized the campus. During his absence the 
 grounds had been given some overdue improvements, the fence 
 had been repaired, some new trees had been planted, and the 
 building painted cream color. 84 
 
 81 Edwards collaborated with Russell Webb in publishing the Analytical Series of Readers 
 (Chicago: George Sherwood and Company, 1866) (New York: Taintor and Company, 
 1866). There were six books in the series. Between 1867 and 1875 they had an annual 
 sale of 80,000 copies. They were revised in 1880 and for years continued in demand. The 
 illustrations were by Thomas Nast. The Analytical Speller (Chicago: George Sherwood 
 and Company, 1867) was quite as popular in its field. Loomis, op. cit., pp. 97-113. 
 Edwards noted in his Diary April 3, 1876 the valuation of his holdings in Normal, in 
 Chicago, and in Iowa, Missouri, and California "at low figures" to be $30,157. 
 
 82 The upshot of Edwards going abroad at this particular time was that a relative 
 in Wales reputed to be quite wealthy had died and he was concerned about the Edwards' 
 interest in the estate. 
 
 83 The Edwards children: Annie Marie (born 1850); Richard Arthur (1851); Ellen 
 Samson (1853); Mary Caroline (1855); George Herbert (i860); Walter Allison (1862); 
 Ralph Allen (1865, died 1869); Owen Meredith and Florence Mildred, twins (1868); and 
 Frederick Newton (1870). Edwards MS. 
 
 84 Betsey Edwards to Richard Edwards, August 21, 1870. "The University has donned 
 a new dress, cream color. I do not like it, perhaps the more fastidious ones will." 
 Edwards MS. 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 139 
 
 Edwards' reputation as an educator was becoming known 
 throughout the world, and through his lectures, and the graduates 
 he trained, Normal University gained stature. Edwards fre- 
 quently spoke before joint meetings of the Normal School As- 
 sociation and the National Teachers Association, in which he held 
 advisory offices. He was president of the National Teachers As- 
 sociation, 1863-1864. The subject of his presidential address was 
 "One or More Normal Schools Should be Established at Public 
 Expense in Each State." He was asked to repeat it before the 
 same organization in 1865. He worked on the joint committee of 
 the National Teachers Association and the National Association 
 of Superintendents to secure a Federal Bureau of Education. He 
 was present at thirteen of the first sixteen meetings of the Na- 
 tional Education Association and had a paper read at another. He 
 invited the Association to hold its annual meeting in 1870 in 
 Normal but it selected Cleveland instead. 85 
 
 In December following Edwards' return from Europe, he spoke 
 before the Illinois State Teachers Association on "Educational 
 Fallacies." In 1871 he gave two addresses before the National 
 Education Association meeting in St. Louis: "The Model School 
 in Connection with Normal Schools," and "How Much Culture 
 Shall Be Imparted in Our Free Schools." He declined an invita- 
 tion to go to Japan and organize its school system. 86 
 
 When the Kalamazoo case was arousing considerable opinion 
 on public tax-supported high schools in 1872, Edwards spoke 
 boldly. Taxpayers, he pointed out to the Illinois State Teachers 
 Association were not playing the role of benefactors or giving 
 charity when moneys were appropriated for high school con- 
 struction. The high school and university as well as common 
 school tend to increase wealth, decrease crime, and build better 
 citizens. "Ignorance," he asserted, "was responsible for ninety per- 
 cent of the crimes committed. It was not the business of the school 
 to furnish students with opinions but to develop their powers so 
 they may form just opinions of their own." In a noble peroration 
 he declared: 
 
 No limit should be set beyond which the state shall not go in educating 
 
 ^Loomis, op. cit., pp. 1 14-126. 
 "Ibid., p. 186. 
 
140 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 its children. Whatever there is of value in the charms of literature, in the 
 writings of history, in the revelations of science, or in the beauty of art 
 should be offered freely to the millions who are coming upon the stage. 
 
 Let us cling to our noble system of free education. It is the birthright 
 of the American people, it is in keeping with our political freedom. Let 
 it be as free as the sunshine and rain. 87 
 
 Withal his professional demands, Edwards took an active in- 
 terest in community affairs. He was a faithful member of the 
 Presbyterian Church, a member of a literary club, and a patron of 
 the Bloomington Library Association. He played the role of Shy- 
 lock in a benefit performance of the Merchant of Venice in the 
 new Durley Hall, December 12, 13, 1872. 88 
 
 Edwards reorganized the training school in 1873 following 
 some recommendations of the Board. Thomas Metcalf of the 
 careful diction and refined manner was promoted to the position 
 of training teacher. Edwards was granted a leave in order to visit 
 other schools, and upon his return in order that he might give 
 more time to classroom supervision and general affairs about the 
 University, he was empowered to hire a bookkeeper whose serv- 
 ices were not to exceed three hundred dollars a year. Until 1874 
 th president of the University had served in the capacity of book- 
 keeper, purchasing agent, public relations officer, registrar and 
 recorder of grades as well as teacher and supervisor. It is under- 
 standable that Richard Edwards complained to his wife that the 
 work was growing heavier and heavier each year. Sometimes he 
 wondered if he should go on teaching. In January 1875 he de- 
 clined the chancellorship of the University of Nebraska. 89 
 
 The legislative session of 1873 was especially trying. When the 
 appropriation bill for the Normal University was introduced, the 
 opposition asserted that normal students did not teach, that the 
 faculty was radical, and that the institution was a home for 
 broken-down New Englanders. In 1875 the fight was even more 
 bitter. The Chicago Times, which had opposed the use of the 
 Edwards Readers and posed as a champion in exposing frauds in 
 
 87 Proceedings of the National Educational Association 1873, p. 58. 
 
 88 McLean County Historical Transactions II, 253. 
 
 89 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), December 10, 1873, p. 10; Richard 
 Edwards to his wife, Princeton, Illinois, January 5, 1875. 
 
Grandest of Enterprises 141 
 
 education, came forth in a blasting editorial. The Times alleged 
 that tax-supported schools had been so long protected that great 
 abuses had grown up within the system, that the Normal Uni- 
 versity, being farthest from public scrutiny, was the worst of- 
 fender, and that in its seclusion the energy and talent of those in 
 charge at Normal had been employed in devising new methods 
 to create a demand for new appliances, textbooks, charts, and 
 similar teaching devices invented by its president. 90 In a sarcastic 
 vein a legislator introduced a bill to abolish the normal schools at 
 Normal and Carbondale, and to convert one into a refuge for the 
 hopelessly mentally ill and the other into a home for feebleminded 
 children. Another legislator quite as contemptuously proposed 
 closing the school and giving the building back to McLean 
 County. 
 
 The Normal University was prepared not only to defend itself 
 but to launch an aggressive campaign. So effectively did Edwards 
 and Bateman and friends of the University refute the charges 
 made against it that never again was such a direct attack made 
 upon it in the Legislature. 91 
 
 After 1874 Edwards' rugged constitution began to show signs 
 of strain. Like so many of the early normal schoolmen he was 
 deeply religious. He began accepting speaking engagements in 
 churches as a service that might be expected of a normal school 
 president. After he was ordained in 1873 as a minister, there was 
 seldom a Sunday when he was not "supplying" a pulpit. The late 
 night hours preparing sermons, traveling great distances, arriv- 
 ing home and going to work without sleep, along with a variety 
 of poorly cooked food, began to tell upon him. He loved to 
 preach, and Illinois had need for good preaching. He talked the 
 matter over with Betsey, who generally deferred to his judgment, 
 especially when it involved greater protection for his health. 
 
 On December 15, 1876 Edwards presented his resignation to 
 become effective on the first of January. The Board had not antici- 
 pated his action and asked him to reconsider. Already Edwards 
 had thought the matter over long and prayerfully. He attributed 
 the disturbed condition of his nervous system not so much to the 
 
 90 Quoted, Harper, Development of the Teachers College, pp. 94-95. 
 61 Tenth Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1 873-1 874, pp. 
 130-133; Richard Edwards to his wife, Princeton, Illinois, January 5, 1875. 
 
142 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 intellectual work he was performing as to the responsibility it in- 
 volved. A pastorate would afford more needed rest. 
 
 Four churches quickly called him: one at Winona in Minnesota, 
 and others at Bloomington, Galesburg, and Princeton, in Illinois. 
 He accepted the invitation of Owen Lovejoy's old church, the 
 Congregational in Princeton. When his eyesight failed nine years 
 later, he became financial agent for Knox College. He had re- 
 fused to be a candidate for Congress, but in 1886 he was elected 
 State Superintendent of Public Instruction. During his admin- 
 istration Illinois' forward-looking compulsory education laws were 
 enacted. After being defeated for reelection, he served for a year 
 as president of Blackburn College. 
 
 Bloomington-Normal was ever dear to Richard Edwards, and 
 there he chose to retire. He often reminisced of the fourteen years 
 he had been president of Normal University. Together he and 
 Betsey laughed over amusing things that had happened in the days 
 when he felt he had to keep a straight face and maintain stern 
 decorum. He followed the progress of the students he had taught: 
 Lyman Kellogg, who organized the first Kansas State Normal 
 School at Emporia; Charles DeGarmo, who became president of 
 Swarthmore; John Cook, who became president of Normal Uni- 
 versity and later president of the normal school at De Kalb; Lida 
 Brown McMurry, and scores of others who rose to distinguished 
 positions. He lived to see eighty books written by twenty-nine of his 
 students. From his home on North Park Street in Bloomington, he 
 was in easy sight of the great silver dome atop the white clock 
 tower. On pleasant days he often wandered out to visit with his 
 old friends, John Cook, Henry McCormick, Ange. Milner, and 
 Clarissa Ela, and to talk with those young professors, Orson Man- 
 chester, David Felmley, and June Rose Colby. His interest in the 
 literary societies and public speaking led to the establishing of an 
 annual contest in oratory and poetry reading. For many years he 
 personally awarded the gold medals to the winners. Only a week 
 before his death, March 7, 1908, he addressed the student body. 92 
 
 The imprint of Richard Edwards upon Normal University was 
 deep, rich, and enduring. 
 
 92 Since the death of Richard Edwards, members of his family have continued to 
 provide medals for the winners of the annual Edwards Medal Contests. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 The Era of Transition 
 
 When Richard Edwards refused to reconsider his 
 resignation, the Board of Education turned to Professor Edwin C. 
 Hewett, who had been a member of the staff since 1858. Too short 
 of stature to qualify for military service, he had watched Joseph 
 Howell and Ira Moore go away to war, and later Charles Hovey 
 and the Normal Rifles, while he remained to serve his country in 
 the classroom. He had been Perkins Bass's righthand man the 
 year he had managed the affairs of the school, and Richard Ed- 
 wards had taken lodging in his home when he came to Normal 
 University in the spring of 1862. 
 
 Often they had recalled their association at Bridgewater. Hewett 
 had been a student, and Edwards, assistant to the ailing Tilling- 
 hast. They had much in common — friendships, training, ideals, 
 goals. Now after fourteen years Edwin Hewett was taking over 
 Edwards' position as president. 
 
 Hewett was well-liked by the students, faculty, and towns- 
 people. He neither courted popularity nor shrank from it. Barely 
 five feet two inches in height and never weighing more than 120 
 pounds, he was not prepossessing in appearance, but he was good- 
 natured, industrious, patient, and devoted to truth. He was fear- 
 less, willing to part company with the world and go his way alone 
 when he believed the world was wrong and he was right. 1 
 
 Edwin Crawford Hewett was born in Worcester County, Mas- 
 sachusetts, November 1, 1828, the son of Timothy and Levina 
 Leonard Hewett. The father was a farmer, wheelwright, and 
 plowmaker. Theirs was a thrifty, frugal, liberty-loving, God- 
 fearing household, but it afforded little means for education. At 
 thirteen Edwin Hewett was sent to learn the shoe-maker's trade 
 but he longed to go to school. He managed to finish the grammar 
 
 1 Cook, "History of the Faculty," Semi-Centennial History of the Illinois State Normal 
 University, pp. 95-99. 
 
 143 
 
144 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 school and later attended the local academy. At twenty-one he 
 began teaching at thirteen dollars a month. Not content with 
 either his salary or his meager training he entered Bridgewater 
 in March 1851. He was there only one year, but he brought to his 
 studies a mature, eager, and receptive mind. The rigid methods 
 and strong character of Nicholas Tillinghast greatly appealed to 
 the Puritan-trained youth. He was inspired by Richard Edwards' 
 zeal for popular education. After a year as assistant in the high 
 school at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, he was made a member of the 
 Bridgewater staff, where he remained for four years. Meanwhile 
 he had become engaged to Angeline N. Benton of Franklin 
 County, Massachusetts, whose family had moved to Sublette, 
 Illinois. The offer of a more liberal salary in a grammar school 
 in Worcester enabled him to journey to Illinois, where he was 
 married to Miss Benton in August 1857. 
 
 Charles Hovey, who was then organizing the staff for the new 
 Normal University, heard of Hewett, possibly through Ira Moore, 
 whom he had just employed as his assistant. Hovey was impressed 
 and a year later after a short correspondence he invited Hewett 
 to join the faculty as teacher of geography and history at a salary 
 of $1,200 a year. 2 
 
 Hewett liked what he had seen of Illinois the year before: the 
 soil was rich, the school was new, and it was withal the land of 
 opportunity. His wife longed to be near her family, and doubtless 
 the salary would be increased as the school prospered and he 
 proved satisfactory. After all, ten years before he had been teach- 
 ing for thirteen dollars a month and he was not employed a full 
 year. 
 
 When the Hewetts first came to Bloomington, they had taken 
 rooms on Main Street but after classes were moved to the campus 
 they built a house at 202 West Ash Street. The house was larger 
 than was needed by Hewett, his wife, and the little daughter May, 
 who was born in i860, but Hovey had advised that he build a 
 larger house and rent rooms to students "as an investment as well 
 as a service to the school." 
 
 In 1858 Bloomington had a population of 7,000 and not a foot 
 of paved streets and only a few brick or board sidewalks. Hewett 
 
 a C. E. Hovey to E. C. Hewett. Bloomington August 26, 1868. Reeder-Uewett Papers. 
 
The Era of Transition 145 
 
 was not impressed with Major's Hall and its coal stoves belching 
 forth noxious yellow smoke. The fall and winter were very 
 rainy and, as he said years later, he had had "an impressive intro- 
 duction" to Illinois mud. It tracked into the schoolroom, where 
 it dried and was set afloat by the sweeper's brooms to settle on 
 books and furniture. He often related how he walked out to the 
 Junction on the first Saturday he was in Bloomington, to see how 
 the building was coming along. The campus was only a cornfield 
 with plenty of cornstalks but not a tree or shrub upon it. The 
 basement was nearly finished but work was at a standstill. He 
 remembered the first commencement in the incompleted struc- 
 ture in i860, and the ill fortune that had plagued the building in 
 these early years. The great dome when barely finished was struck 
 by lightning, two rafters were torn out, the covering badly dam- 
 aged, and one of the posts which supported the dome reduced to 
 splinters. 3 Another time in the spring of 1876, when the roof was 
 being repaired, a severe rain storm damaged so badly the Steinway 
 Grand piano in the hall on the third floor that it had to be sent 
 to New York to be renovated. The plumbing and the heating 
 of the building were unsatisfactory, and although the lead water 
 tanks in the attic with minor repairs lasted for fifty years, the 
 great weight inadequately supported took heavy toll of the struc- 
 ture. 
 
 But in spite of misfortune and delays, in eighteen years Hewett 
 had seen the campus transformed into a beautiful park with the 
 finest collection of tree specimens in the West. The cow belonging 
 to Peter Kettleson, the janitor, was still grazing on the plot north- 
 east of the building, but before very long the janitor's quarters 
 would be moved out of the basement and the pasture used as a 
 playground. The shrubs and trees were now a veritable haven 
 for birds and squirrels. Migratory birds paused, and their chatter 
 and song inspired some of Hewett's finest poems. 
 
 Hewett had been hired to teach geography and history but over 
 the years he had also taught classes in mathematics, literature, 
 pedagogy, spelling, and psychology. He was thorough and ex- 
 acting after the manner of Tillinghast and Edwards. In the year 
 before Hewett came little attention had been paid to anything 
 
 8 Wee\ly Pantograph, July 4, i860. 
 
146 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 approaching a definite method of instruction in geography. He 
 placed emphasis on definitions and map-making. No student was 
 qualified to pass the course in geography unless he could go to the 
 blackboard and draw freehand, to approximate scale, any of the 
 five continents, and locate countries, states, important cities, pen- 
 insulas, mountains, and rivers. When Robert Bower of LaSalle 
 protested that he could not draw a straight line, much less a map, 
 Hewett was not impressed. The map was an assignment and 
 Bower manfully shouldered his burden, became the best map- 
 drawer in the class and eventually progressed to be head of the 
 map publishing division of Rand, McNally and Company. 4 Stu- 
 dents complained among themselves over his assignments, saying 
 they were developing literal curvature of the spine from carrying 
 around Lippincott's Universal Gazetteer, the chief textbook in 
 geography. 5 
 
 Hewett read widely. In the subjects of astronomy, science, 
 literature, psychology, philosophy and the Scriptures he was 
 largely self-educated. He bought good books, borrowed good 
 books, read them and pondered over them. He delighted in dis- 
 cussing the ideas of other men. If Bridgewater had not provided 
 him with a complete classical education, it had sharpened his 
 curiosity, taught him how to think and provided him with the 
 tools that were to make him a careful and discerning scholar. 
 
 Edwards had appreciated having on his star? men of the calibre 
 of Hewett, Stetson, Sewall, and Metcalf and students such as 
 Henry McCormick, Charles DeGarmo, and John Cook. He ad- 
 vanced them as he could and recommended them as speakers for 
 institutes and teachers' associations. He encouraged them to attend 
 the state and national association meetings, introduced them to his 
 friends and used his influence to have them put on programs. 
 They helped, he said, "put Normal University on the map." The 
 year that Harvard conferred the Master of Arts degree on Ed- 
 wards, the University of Chicago took cognizance of Hewett and 
 awarded him a similar honorary degree, although perhaps at the 
 time a degree from Chicago was regarded as less significant. In 
 1864 the Daily Pantagraph took note of Hewett's work. After he 
 
 4 Semi-Centennial History of Illinois State Normal University, p. 201. 
 B McCormick, "Historical Sketch," Index, 1907, p. 29. 
 
The Era of Transition 147 
 
 had conducted a week's institute for the teachers of Macoupin 
 County, a letter signed "Traveler" praised him for a lecture he 
 had given one evening to a full house of townspeople and 
 teachers. "The state can not overestimate the services of such men 
 as Mr. Hewett," the anonymous correspondent wrote, "He is quiet 
 and unpretending but he makes himself friends wherever he goes. 
 He is not a giant in stature but when he places his shoulder to 
 the educational wheel, all the interests of the state are ad- 
 vanced." 6 
 
 A few months later, the Pantagraph, commenting on the term's 
 final examination at the Normal University, conferred on him one 
 of the highest accolades of the times. "Hewett did not spare his 
 pupils," the reporter wrote. For two hours he had questioned his 
 pupils at random until the "theories of the common phenomena 
 of nature were explained in a satisfactory manner." 7 
 
 In the years that Hewett had been on the faculty he had grown, 
 mellowed and ripened. He had a sense of humor that he had not 
 hesitated to share with his students. Edwards had appeared more 
 straight-laced and dignified, preferring to store up amusing inci- 
 dents and laugh over them later with Betsey at home. Hewett 
 often laughed with the students, sometimes he "downright joked" 
 with them. In 1862, when there was some internal friction in the 
 school that needed pacification, he had taken the affirmative side 
 of a comic debate with Dr. Sewall on the subject, "Is Mother 
 Goose to be believed when she said 'Hey, diddle, diddle, the cat 
 and the fiddle'?" Years later he chuckled over the arguments. 8 
 
 Hewett even enjoyed seeing Edwards squirm behind his official 
 dignity. In an age when practical jokes were common rather than 
 unusual, a group of students and young men about Normal who 
 called themselves "Scribes and Pharisees" decided to play a trick. 
 One Sunday night they stole a wagon, took it apart, climbed up a 
 ladder, cut out a window pane with a glazier's diamond, and re- 
 assembled the wagon in the central aisle of the study hall on the 
 second floor. Edwards learned that mischief was afoot. He waited 
 until the culprits were safely away from the scene, and had the 
 wagon cleared away before morning. The students who had been 
 
 6 Daily Pantagraph, April 12, 1864. 
 ''Daily Pantagraph, December 15, 1864. 
 8 Index, 1 90 1, p. 15. 
 
148 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 in on the joke were surprised not to find the wagon and awaited 
 President Edwards' opening remarks with uncommon interest. 
 Professor Sewall came in just as Edwards, stern faced and solemn, 
 was about to begin his lecture. Sewall quickly noted an empty 
 bottle of Pike's Peak Whiskey on the president's desk, one which 
 Edwards had evidently missed while cleaning up after the Scribes 
 and Pharisees. Holding it up so everyone could see, he called out 
 in a loud voice, "Well, Mr. President, you might have left a little 
 for the rest of us." The students laughed loud and long. The 
 amazed Edwards was forced to grin, and forthwith changed the 
 subject of his morning's discourse. 9 
 
 President Hewett was deeply religious, a Baptist by affiliation. 
 Like Edwards he had an open and receptive mind on matters of 
 religion. He made a special study of theology and the Bible and 
 taught a Bible class up to the time of his death. Each year he gave 
 a hundred dollars to educate young men for the ministry, and he 
 was himself licensed to preach by the Baptist denomination. Be- 
 cause of the peace and satisfaction that religion had brought into 
 his own life, he looked with favor upon the organization of young 
 men and young women on the campus into religious associations. 
 
 Since 1866 Christian associations had been springing up over 
 the country. In 1871 seven young men from the Normal Uni- 
 versity met in the Presbyterian Church on Linden Street and held 
 an informal prayer meeting. The following February, a constitu- 
 tion was drawn up and the organization became the first college 
 Young Men's Christian Association in Illinois and the fifth in the 
 United States. A leader in the organization was Isaac Eddy 
 Brown. On November 12, 1872, his sister, Lida Brown invited six 
 friends to come to her room in Mrs. Charlotte McMurry's home, 
 512 North School Street, and spend an hour in prayer and singing 
 hymns. The meeting was so uplifting that the young women 
 decided to hold meetings every Sunday afternoon. 10 Before a 
 week had passed every woman in school had received an invita- 
 tion to join the group. So many responded that it was no longer 
 
 9 Hanna, op. cit. 
 
 "Those present were Jennie Leonard, Ida Brown, Emma Stewart, Mrs. Charlotte 
 McMurry, Mrs. Harriet Lawson and Miss Hopkins. Index, 1896. In 1874 the name 
 chosen was the Young Ladies' Christian Association. In 1883 it became known as the 
 Y. W. C. A. During the first two winters it was recorded that 120 students professed 
 conversion. 
 
The Era of Transition 149 
 
 possible to hold meetings in the little study bedroom and the 
 Congregational Church offered its quarters to the devoted group 
 of women. The first college Y. W. C. A. had been founded. After 
 the Congregational Church burned in 1873, the organization 
 found a temporary home in the Methodist Church. When the 
 new Congregational Church was completed, meetings were re- 
 sumed there. 
 
 The two societies carried on a very active campaign to interest 
 their fellow students in religious activities in attending revival 
 meetings, and in becoming affiliated with a church group. For 
 the first three years following its organization the Women's Asso- 
 ciation held twenty-minute prayer meetings at noon in the White 
 Room in the basement of the University building. 11 
 
 This upsurge in religious activity came about the same time 
 that science was being given a marked emphasis in the curriculum 
 and when there was a number of intellectually curious young men 
 in school. In the fall of 1874 a so-called "Liberal Club" was or- 
 ganized. Meetings were usually held in a small office off campus. 
 No man could become a member who had not attended at least 
 two meetings and been elected unanimously to membership. 
 The "Liberals" were supposedly dedicated to impartial investi- 
 gation of subjects of common interest and the opinions expressed 
 by members on all subjects of education, politics, morals, and re- 
 ligion were to be treated with respect. They read and discussed 
 the writings of Draper, Tyndall, Huxley, Darwin, Herbert 
 Spencer, and Theodore Parker. Essays were written and criticized 
 by the members. All the members were inclined toward liberalism 
 in theology and they frequently were out-spoken in their opin- 
 ions in the Wrightonian and Philadelphian meetings. The ortho- 
 dox members, especially those who belonged to the Young Men's 
 Christian Association, disapproved. Soon there was a clash be- 
 tween the fundamentalists and modernists, the readers of Genesis, 
 and the readers of Darwin and Huxley. The controversy per- 
 meated the societies and the classrooms. After the close of the 
 day's classes students would sit around in groups and discuss the 
 deliverances of Huxley and Spencer with heat and vigor until 
 the janitor's sweeping chased them out. 
 
 n "The Y. W. C. A. 1 872-1 922" (Pamphlet) (Normal, 1922). 
 
150 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 School politics became envolved. For the presidency of the 
 Philadelphia!! Society in the spring of 1875, the Y. M. C. A. ad- 
 vanced a candidate and the Liberals supported a rival candidate, 
 Charles McMurry, a non-member. When McMurry was elected, 
 there were loud cries of fraud. The die-hards called for a new 
 election, but McMurry and his friends would not consent. The 
 strife grew fiercer day by day until a faculty member got both 
 factions to agree to a new election. A campaign was started to 
 get members to pay their dues so they would be eligible to vote. 
 Philadelphia's paid membership more than doubled, its indebted- 
 ness was cleared, and a nice reserve accumulated toward a new 
 carpet. When McMurry won, the issue on campus died down, 
 but it was not before it had come to the attention of the press and 
 the Board. 12 The societies were solemnly warned that in the future 
 they would be deprived of their rooms "if their exercises became 
 of such nature as to be derogatory to the good name and useful- 
 ness of the University." To some of the faculty who had been quite 
 disturbed about the affair Hewett had only remarked, "It will . . . 
 have no permanent effects. It's like the chicken pox, they (the 
 students) will get over it." 13 
 
 Hewett made no promises to revolutionize the course of study. 
 He had sat in on most of the deliberations of the Edwards regime 
 and was content at least for the time being to let things go along 
 as they were. Although he allowed several faculty members to 
 recast their departments and to add new courses, there was no 
 relaxing of standards. Each teacher tried to make his department 
 the best in the school. In his first report to the Board, Hewett 
 stated that students were sometimes rejected at Normal Uni- 
 versity, largely because of deficiencies in grammar, arithmetic, 
 and geography, and since the demand for teachers was so great, 
 good students often stayed in school only a short time. 14 
 
 He cautioned his faculty that they must be thorough in in- 
 struction and make sure that their students were well-grounded 
 in the rudiments of their subjects, and in the tool subjects of 
 penmanship, arithmetic, and spelling. As a guide to self- 
 
 12 Cook and McHugh, op. cit., pp. 115, 164-166. 
 
 u Hanna, op. cit., Ms.; Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), June 30, 
 1875, pp. 25-26. 
 
 14 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), June 30, 1876, p. 6. 
 
The Era of Transition 151 
 
 education, he insisted students must know how to use a dictionary. 
 Spelling was an everyday occurrence. During Henry McCor- 
 mick's student days the class in spelling was held following the 
 noon recess. Rows of young men could be seen sitting in the 
 dressing room during the intermission with a slice of bread and 
 butter in one hand and a copy of Edwards' speller in the other, 
 doing their daily four columns. 15 
 
 One of Hewett's first official acts was to dispatch to the Phila- 
 delphia Exposition, about to open, an exhibit designed to give 
 educationally-minded visitors some idea of how one midwestern 
 state was training teachers for its common schools. Illinois State 
 Normal University, the second oldest normal school west of the 
 Alleghenies and the tenth in the United States, took second place 
 to none. Statistics accompanying the exhibit indicated that the 
 appropriation made to it by the Illinois General Assembly far 
 exceeded that of other states, but that the large number of stu- 
 dents reduced the per capita cost to about half what instruction 
 was costing in other states. 16 
 
 There were photographs of the large building standing on its 
 prairie eminence. It looked a little less stark and barren now that 
 trees and shrubs were growing up. There were photographs of 
 society rooms — of Wrightonia with its rows of captains' chairs 
 and Philadelphia with its more formal opera seats, and of class- 
 rooms showing high blackboards with careful assignments in 
 the teacher's best Spencerian handwriting, and prim, rigid seating 
 with a teacher's desk and recitation benches up front. There were 
 pictures of model classrooms with teachers and pupil assistants 
 and little children with hands upraised or firmly clasped on the 
 desk. Some of the little girls in braids wore pinafores reaching to 
 their shoe tops. The teacher, with high pompadour and long dark 
 dress relieved only by a watch and chain and ruching at the top 
 of her high collar, pointer in hand, illustrated the difference in 
 "vulgar," proper, and improper fractions. There were pictures of 
 young women performing wand drills, and the young men exer- 
 
 15 Index, 1907, p. 28. 
 
 16 Under a tabulation prepared by the Normal School Board of Minnesota, Illinois 
 State Normal University ranked eighteenth in per capita cost, and the first in the number 
 of pupils and total expenditures. Seventh Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public 
 Instruction of the State of Minnesota 1 867-1 868, p. 34. Quoted in Harper, Development 
 of the Teachers College, p. 92. 
 
152 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 cising with Indian clubs. Although the Normal University as yet 
 did not have a gymnasium (and what normal school did?), it 
 made the best of its facilities and considered body building im- 
 portant along with mind teaching. A large book of drawings and 
 maps made by students in the normal department, the high school 
 and the Model School and eight volumes of selected class exer- 
 cises were evidence of the superior work being done in grammar, 
 composition, Greek, mathematics, and other subjects. The curator 
 of the Museum likewise sent representative materials. No funds 
 had been appropriated for the exhibit, and as there was little 
 money in the meager contingent fund that could be diverted to it, 
 the students and faculty contributed $108 to pay the costs of 
 transportation. 17 
 
 Illinois visitors to the Fair, among them Professor and Mrs. 
 Stetson, President and Mrs. Hewett, their daughter May, the 
 Adlai Stevensons of Bloomington, Dr. Richard Edwards, and later 
 his wife, Betsey — all spoke favorably and proudly of the place 
 accorded the Normal University. 18 
 
 Attendance in all departments decreased sharply in 1 875-1 876. 
 The new president attributed this decline to the demand for 
 teachers and the tightness of money, which kept many from at- 
 tending or completing the courses already begun. All students 
 were required to sign a pledge to teach. Only in rare cases was a 
 student ever permitted to deviate from the printed course of study 
 which required professional work from the start. President 
 Hewett surmised that if the Board were to establish a "Com- 
 mercial Department," a "Literary Department," a "Classicial De- 
 partment," a "Musical Department" and others, the school would 
 be overrun with students. "By so doing," he said, "we should 
 cease to be a normal school in any proper sense of the term." 19 
 He feared that the faculty had perhaps not been as aggressive as 
 formerly in doing county institute work and inducing bright and 
 capable country teachers to come to the Normal University for 
 further training. Fewer candidates had been rejected, although 
 standards had not been lowered. 
 
 When the Model School decreased in enrollment, practice op- 
 
 17 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), June 21, 1876, p. 7. 
 
 18 Correspondence, Betsey and Richard Edwards, Summer 1 876. Edwards MS. 
 
 19 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), December 18, 1878, p. 7. 
 
The Era of Transition 153 
 
 portunities for pupil teachers were limited. In order to bring 
 attendance in the training department to a point where it was 
 practical for the needs of the normal department, President 
 Hewett issued a circular to parents in Normal offering to eighteen 
 pupils under the age of seven one term in the Model School with- 
 out tuition. The response was good, and on a limited scale kinder- 
 garten techniques, which he highly favored, were introduced into 
 the primary school. 20 Standards in the high school were raised 
 to meet the requirements of Eastern colleges to which the more 
 affluent Bloomington citizens were beginning to send their sons. 
 It was always a matter of great pride to the faculty that University 
 High School graduates were admitted to Yale and Harvard and 
 Princeton. Both a general and a classical course were offered. The 
 latter, especially designed to fit students for college, embraced 
 three years of Greek, four years of Latin and courses in Greek and 
 Roman history, arithmetic, physiology, English grammar, algebra, 
 English literature, chemistry, and criticism. 21 
 
 In February 1878 President Hewett spent three weeks visiting 
 normal schools at Ypsilanti, Toronto, Oswego, Albany, Millers- 
 ville, and Terre Haute. "On comparing our work with what I 
 saw in these schools," he reported, "I am satisfied that we have 
 no reason to feel ashamed of what we are doing here. I saw many 
 things to commend in the schools I visited; in some points, I 
 thought some of them were surpassing us. But on the whole I 
 believe the Illinois Normal University is doing as good work as 
 any of them." 22 Shortly thereafter the economic recession struck 
 Illinois, and an immediate retrenchment in expenditures was 
 ordered at Normal. Hewett was forced to lay aside any new ideas 
 involving money. Teachers' salaries were cut back, and as a result 
 some of the teachers resigned. President Hewett's own salary was 
 cut from $3,500 to $3,150. Professors Metcalf, Forbes, Stetson, 
 Cook, and McCormick were reduced from $2,000 to $1,800. The 
 women whose salaries were normally only half that paid to the 
 men were reduced only by a hundred dollars. Miss Wakefield, 
 whose salary was $700, was reduced to $630. Miss Miller, the art 
 teacher, continued to receive $600. The salary of the principal of 
 
 20 Ibid. (Normal). December 13, 1876, p. 10. 
 
 21 Annual catalog of Normal University for year ending July 1, 1895. 
 
 83 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), June 19, 1878, p. 12. 
 
154 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 the high school was cut from $2,000 to $1,500 or $1,800 depending 
 on the income from the Model School. 23 Three years later the 
 cuts were restored to the women teachers, and the following year 
 President Hewett's salary of $3,500 and those of the male pro- 
 fessors were restored. 24 The regular school year was reduced to 
 three terms of twelve weeks each. The third term was arranged 
 to end early in May so that the young men could help with the 
 harvest. Hewett also proposed a four-week summer term in 
 August in which all faculty would teach. 25 
 
 The first special summer term for teachers was held in August 
 1880. One hundred ninety-eight persons, 123 women and 75 men, 
 attended. Some of the persons attending had taught from five to 
 ten years, only eight had never taught, and approximately forty- 
 five percent had at some time attended the Normal University. 
 
 By 1880 attendance was again on the upgrade at the Normal 
 University. After salaries were restored, President Hewett took 
 up the matter of extensive improvements which the retrenchment 
 program had not permitted. The building was cramped for class- 
 room space. The Board looked with some favor upon the con- 
 struction of a separate fire-proof building to house its valuable 
 museum, but the Legislature failed to share in the enthusiasm 
 for mollusks, pressed flowers, birds' nests, and skeletons; neither 
 did it seem interested in gymnasiums, although it had no scruples 
 in prescribing specific courses in other departments. As other 
 schools developed "physical culture" programs, President Hewett 
 would repeat his recommendation for a gymnasium. Meanwhile 
 it behooved the University to make the best of its facilities. 
 
 Since i860 the janitor had had four rooms in the basement for 
 his residence. If a cottage were erected for the janitor, these rooms 
 might be used for classes. The arrangement had not been alto- 
 gether happy. Peter Kettleson was a faithful employee, but his 
 taste in food ran to highly seasoned sauerkraut, onions, and sau- 
 sage, and the odor that wafted upward from his kitchen often 
 penetrated quite incongruously the atmosphere of Greek and 
 Roman culture that ambitious teachers were trying to recreate. 
 The boiler and furnace rooms were in the middle of the basement 
 
 28 Ibid., pp. 28-29. 
 
 ^Ibid., May 24, 1882, pp. 20-21. 
 
 85 Ibid., June 25, 1879, pp. 11, 16 
 
The Era of Transition 155 
 
 on the north side. The steam pipes were arranged horizontally 
 around the walls. In cold weather the pipes snapped loudly and 
 persistently, at times drowning out the voices of pupils and 
 teachers. During the winter, entertainments in Normal Hall were 
 almost disrupted by the noises in the steam pipes. If the heating 
 plant and coal storage were moved outside, space might be pro- 
 vided for instruction in manual training, which was becoming 
 popular throughout the cities, and for gymnastic exercises. For 
 several years gymnastic exercises had been conducted in the large 
 halls on the third floor, but the rhythmic movements of so many 
 persons put too great a strain on the building. Marching exercises 
 between the rows of seats in study hall on the second floor likewise 
 had to be abandoned. 26 
 
 A solution to the problem of janitor's quarters came when Peter 
 Kettleson resigned after sixteen years. His cow no longer rested 
 in the shade or had to be tethered in some remote corner of the 
 campus when the boys desired to use her pasture as a baseball 
 field. When a new janitor was employed, it was understood that 
 he would maintain a home elsewhere and that only sleeping 
 quarters were retained for the janitor who also served as night 
 watchman and fireman. It was now possible to convert the two 
 dressing rooms on the first floor into classrooms and to transform 
 the former janitor's quarters into a classroom for primary children 
 and dressing rooms for both men and women. Hewett was grate- 
 ful that a new primary room could be outfitted for only $2o6. 2T 
 
 During the dry season of 1880 the water supply in the lead tanks 
 failed and water had to be hauled from the city water works at 
 the cost of about nine cents a barrel. To offset any further re- 
 currences of water shortage, a university well was dug and con- 
 nected with the steam pump in the basement. The lead tanks 
 continued to be used for some years, and iron supports were in- 
 stalled in various parts of the building to relieve the strain in the 
 floors and walls. 
 
 A new brick walk in 1882 replaced the old broken boards, and 
 the campus took on an air of elegance and refinement that was a 
 delight to the University and the townspeople. 
 
 26 Ibid., December 12, 1888, p. 8. 
 "Ibid., January 17, 1883, p. 20. 
 
156 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 More appreciated perhaps was the installation of kerosene 
 chandeliers in the large hall and the reception room. For years an 
 evening entertainment in Normal Hall had necessitated borrow- 
 ing reflection lamps and chandeliers from the society halls and 
 from churches about the town. 28 It seemed but another evidence 
 of the ill fortune that plagued the building that on the first 
 occasion the new lights were being used, one of the chandeliers, 
 improperly installed, crashed to the floor, tearing out the ceiling 
 plaster and throwing oil over the floor. Only the quick action of 
 two young men averted a devastating fire. 29 Leaky gutters and 
 roof damage and seepage from the attic cisterns constantly 
 threatened the plaster. It fell off in little pieces, and again in great 
 chunks. Corrugated wood ceilings had to be installed in 1885. 30 
 
 One day in 1880 the bell in the tower, which for years had 
 served as evening curfew and marked the time for students to go 
 to classes and housewives to prepare and serve meals, suddenly 
 cracked and fell apart. The town seemed very quiet and lost 
 without the bell. President Hewett said a new one was imperative, 
 and although the Board concurred, it was two years before the 
 new one was installed. There was considerable copper in the old 
 bell; its tones had been quite mellow, and the bidding for the old 
 scrap was sharp. Vanduzen and Tift of Cincinnati cast the new 
 bell on a low bid of twenty-seven cents a pound and nineteen 
 cents for the scrap. The new bell was as large as could be con- 
 veniently placed in the belfry and was hung at a cost of only 
 $139.33. The old clock which had lost so many of its parts and 
 no longer worked, was entirely removed. 31 
 
 The hazards of fire had always worried President Hewett, and 
 after the state discontinued the practice of insuring its buildings, 
 he was doubly concerned about the safety of the Normal building. 
 Lightning rods had been put up as a precaution and fire hoses had 
 been attached to the tanks in the attic, but there were other 
 dangers. After the fire at Carbondale Normal School in Novem- 
 ber 1883, ten dozen Harden hand grenades were distributed about 
 the Normal University to be used in case of fire, and doors were 
 
 88 Ibid., May 26, 1881, p. 18. 
 "Ibid., June 18, 1882, p. 14. 
 
 80 Ibid., June 24, 1885, p. 18. 
 
 81 Ibid., January 17, 1883, p. 21. 
 
The Era of Transition 157 
 
 changed to open outward. 32 To President Hewett's request for a 
 telephone, the Committee on Buildings and Grounds ruled that 
 this was "a modern improvement which can not well be dispensed 
 with in this institution, that it is not only a convenience to the 
 faculty and the Normal School generally but .... in case of 
 fire in the building the fire department of the City of Blooming- 
 ton could be notified in less than a minute." The telephone was 
 installed in the reception room with a signal bell in the assembly 
 room above. 33 
 
 The General Assembly passed legislation in 1877 creating the 
 State Museum at Springfield and converting the Illinois Natural 
 History Museum at the Normal University into a State Labora- 
 tory. Duplicates of zoological and botanical specimens at the 
 Normal University Museum were transferred to the new state 
 museum in the west wing of the State House. Stephen Forbes, 
 who had replaced Dr. George Vasey, Powell's successor, as curator 
 of the Museum, now asked to be known as Director of the Labo- 
 ratory. He asked for drawer space for taxidermist materials, 
 microscopes, and breeding cages for the study of embryology, and 
 a library of scientific books, all of which was granted him. 34 His 
 work was now divided between original research and the "des- 
 semination of knowledge." He continued to send cabinets of 
 specimens to high schools until by 1883 seventy-five schools had 
 been supplied. 
 
 In 1882 Forbes became State Entomologist with a staff of eight 
 assistants. An extension program of research upon plant, animal, 
 and insect life of the state was launched. In 1885, when Forbes 
 resigned to go to Indiana University, Minor Lawrence Seymour, 
 professor of science, took over the local museum and laboratory, 
 and in a short time the surplus collections were removed to the 
 State House in Springfield and the University at Urbana. The 
 museum and laboratory had occupied a space 98 by 32 feet. This 
 space was now available for classrooms. 
 
 One of Hewett's fondest hopes was a library which would 
 
 82 Ibid., June 8, 1884, p. 12. 
 
 38 The telephone system was set up in Bloomington in 1880. Hasbrouck, op. cit., I, 231. 
 The cost of installing the first telephone at the University in 1880 was fifty-five dollars. 
 The cost of operation was estimated at fifty dollars a year. Proceedings of the Board of 
 Education (Normal), January 19, 1881, p. 20. 
 
 84 Ibid., June 21, 1877, pp. 17, 25. 
 
158 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 gather in one place various collections of scientific literature, refer- 
 ence volumes and documents scattered about the building. The 
 printed catalog for 1889 listed 1030 different titles. The books were 
 widely used. 35 There was no authorized librarian. From $200 to 
 $400 was allocated a year for the purchase of books but from time 
 to time portions of the library fund were diverted to buy maps 
 and scientific materials. With the advice and suggestions of fac- 
 ulty members, the president ordered the books, mainly reference 
 and pedagogy, and applied to the Board for reimbursement. A 
 student borrowing a book wrote his name in a large register and 
 the student librarian wrote the name of the book borrowed. The 
 chief student librarian received fifty dollars a year for his services 
 and the three assisting student librarians were given five dollars 
 a term. 36 Biography, history, and books of fiction were available 
 in the libraries of the Wrightonian and Philadelphian societies 
 which were open for half an hour before the programs and half 
 an hour afterward. Neither faculty nor students liked the system, 
 both favoring a general library with a paid librarian. In 1889 the 
 two societies voted to transfer their libraries to a general library "if 
 the Board would provide a suitable room for the library and 
 maintain an efficient librarian." The only reservations were that 
 the society libraries were to be kept separate and apart from the 
 general library and that the societies were to have the privilege of 
 adding to them. 37 
 
 In the spring of 1890 Miss Ange. V. Milner was employed to 
 prepare a card catalog of the books in the five libraries of the 
 school. The reception room on the first floor, which had more 
 recently also served as a lounge for faculty women, was designated 
 as the room to be used and fifty dollars set aside to put it in con- 
 dition. This space was quite inadequate and it was September 
 before the new general library was set up in the old reception 
 room. 38 
 
 After the Board in 1885 had directed the Committee on Training 
 to prepare a course in free gymnastics as a regular branch of in- 
 struction in the normal and model schools, the matter of place 
 
 86 Ibid., June 26, 1889, p. 9. 
 89 Ibid., June 25, 1873, p. 6. 
 
 87 Ibid., June 25, 1889, p. 10. 
 
 88 Ibid., December 10, 1890, p. 23. 
 
The Era of Transition 159 
 
 in which to conduct the classes was of much concern. 39 The 
 General Assembly was petitioned in 1889 for a new boiler house 
 and a combination gymnasium and grammar school to cost about 
 $12,000. The boiler house was granted, but the gymnasium-school 
 item was voted down. Hewett was disappointed but not dis- 
 couraged. The request would be repeated at the next session and 
 again until it would eventually be granted. With the removal of the 
 heating plant and the coal, temporary rooms could be outfitted 
 where exercises with wands and Indian clubs, and marching 
 and calisthenic drills could be performed without fear of en- 
 dangering the building. One hundred dollars had already been 
 spent for dumbbells and wands. 40 A room on the northeast corner 
 of the basement was outfitted with tools and benches with $250 
 appropriated by the Board to try out an experiment in manual 
 training. Professor Reeder, who was in charge of the experiment, 
 devoted two hours a day to teaching rudimentary wood work to 
 boys in the grammar school. He was instructed to keep very 
 careful notes, especially on the effect this type of training had on 
 their other subjects. 
 
 In the 1880's there was much talk of the perennial "new edu- 
 cation." Hewett wrote in 1884: 
 
 The air is full of talk about the new education. The meaning of the term 
 is not very clearly defined yet I am certain that it stands for some things 
 of value. The problem to be solved is, in my opinion, to avail ourselves of 
 all that is good in it, and still adhere to the old methods of thorough drill 
 in the several branches sufficiently to instill fair scholarship as that term 
 is commonly understood. 41 
 
 In Hewett's own book, A Treatise on Pedagogy for Young Teach- 
 ers, psychology was made the basis of educational method. He 
 defined "education as the development of the faculties or germs 
 of power in man, and the transforming of them into harmonious 
 action in obedience to the laws of reason and morality." 42 "All 
 method," he said, "must rest on principle." He briefly stated what 
 he considered to be the four grand principles or fundamental 
 truths of pedagogy: (1) All power under control of will may be 
 
 89 Ibid., January 21, 1885, p. 10. 
 40 Ibid., June 26, 1889, p. 9. 
 a Ibid., June 18, 1884, p. 8. 
 
 42 Edwin C. Hewett, A Treatise on Pedagogy for Young Teachers (New York: American 
 Book Company, 1884), p. 40. 
 
160 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 cultivated or trained. (2) These powers are trained only by wise 
 use. (3) The wisest training will be directed to those powers that 
 are conspicuously active at the time. (4) An indispensable pre- 
 requisite to any profitable training is careful attention to the 
 matter in hand. 43 It was a philosophy as modern as Dewey and the 
 Progressives, as ageless as truth, expressed in less than fifty words, 
 and considerably simpler than that of Rosenkranz, whose text- 
 book had for years been evoking endless groans and frequent 
 tears. 
 
 Hewett was quite as gifted as Edwards in his ability to discover 
 rare teacher potential among his students and in his willingness to 
 encourage them, and, when they were ready, to place them on his 
 own faculty. John Cook, a graduate of 1865, was moved from 
 principal of the grammar school to professor of mathematics, and 
 Charles DeGarmo, a promising graduate of 1873, was made 
 second assistant in the grammar school, under the direction of 
 Thomas Metcalf . Bandusia Wakefield and Ellen Edwards, gradu- 
 ates of 1865 and 1873, were brought back as second assistants in 
 the normal department. Lida Brown McMurry, a graduate of 
 1874, and her brothers-in-law Charles McMurry (1876) and 
 Frank McMurry (1876) were later to return to the faculty and 
 make significant contributions to education. In 1879 Edmund 
 Janes James, who graduated from the high school in 1873 and 
 had studied at Northwestern and Harvard and Halle, became 
 principal of the high school. 44 
 
 Some of these young teachers would later study at Halle and 
 Jena, return to their alma mater and after a brief but inspired 
 sojourn, move on to other colleges and universities to make far- 
 reaching impacts. Charles DeGarmo would, in the course of time, 
 be president of Swarthmore, and professor of education at Cor- 
 nell; Charles McMurry and Frank McMurry would be prominent 
 in the development of Teachers College, Columbia; John W. 
 Cook would in turn become president of his alma mater, and 
 when he left to become first president of Northern State Normal 
 
 43 Ibid., pp. 45-46. 
 
 "Edmund James had come up through the elementary department of the Model 
 School. His mother before entering him in 1863, had gone from school to school, visiting 
 classrooms. After she decided on the Model School, her husband bought a farm within 
 easy walking distance of the building. 
 
The Era of Transition 161 
 
 School at DeKalb, Illinois, he took with him Lida Brown Mc- 
 Murry, author of numerous children's books, as one of the train- 
 ing school teachers. 45 
 
 When Edmund James became principal of the University High 
 School in 1879, he had already studied at Halle and come under 
 the influence of the disciples of John Frederick Herbart, the 
 German educator whose philosophy was later to give Normal 
 University an international reputation. President Hewett was 
 especially challenged by a circular on German Normal Schools 
 which had come to him from the United States Bureau of Edu- 
 cation in 1878. From it he learned that teachers' seminaries had 
 been in existence in Germany for one hundred forty years, that 
 there were ten such schools in Prussia and that no person was 
 allowed to teach in a public school who did not have a diploma 
 from one. He compared the German curriculums with the course 
 of study at Normal University and with considerable satisfaction 
 informed the Board that "the proportion of professional to other 
 studies is no greater than it is with us." "This fact," he said, "is 
 very significant in view of the claim often urged that our normal 
 schools ought to do nothing but professional work." 46 
 
 When Charles DeGarmo returned to the faculty in the fall of 
 1886, he was instrumental in organizing the "Faculty Club," 
 which met every two weeks. Half of the meeting was devoted to 
 the study of some topic bearing on the philosophy of education 
 and the remainder in discussing the work being carried on at 
 Normal. Out of their deliberations came a faculty lecture to stu- 
 dents once every four weeks. 47 A photograph of the Faculty Club 
 made at A. M. Marston's fashionable studio in Bloomington 
 shows ten men and six women grouped about a marble-topped 
 table. In the most honored places sat the venerable, stately 
 Thomas Metcalf and President Hewett, short but sitting as tall 
 and erect as possible, quite conscious that he was dwarfed by the 
 stout and stalwart Henry McCormick seated at his right. They 
 appear to have been a serious lot, these men in narrow-collared 
 dress suits, Rvc in bearded dignity, four with moustaches and only 
 one smooth-shaven, and women in tightly buttoned basques and 
 
 48 "Alumni Register," Normal School Quarterly, July, 1927. 
 
 46 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), December 18, 1878, p. 12. 
 
 "Ibid., December 14, 1887, p. 8. 
 
162 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 long bustle-backed skirts. They looked capable of discussing any- 
 thing from Kant, Aristotle, or Froebel to calisthenics and manual 
 training. The proportion of men and women is interesting. Upon 
 the motion of N. E. Worthington, the Board ruled in 1874 that 
 since the majority of students were women and since women had 
 demonstrated their capacity to compete with men teachers at 
 least one third of the regular professorships should be given to 
 women as soon as possible. 48 However, for many years, Mrs. 
 Martha D. Haynie, teacher of modern language, was the only 
 woman to attain the rank of professor. The differential between 
 the salary of the women and men who held the same rank was 
 roughly $8oo. 49 
 
 Nor were members of the faculty alone in their desire for self- 
 improvement. In 1879 a group of hopeful young men, enamored 
 of Roman history and political thought, organized a club which 
 they called the Ciceronian. Its meetings were given over to debate, 
 oratory, parliamentary procedures, and a study of issues, local, 
 state, and national. A model Senate took the place of the regular 
 program every fourth meeting night. Members took assigned 
 seats, Republicans and Democrats sitting on opposite sides of the 
 room. Meetings were held in the White Room in the basement 
 until membership expanded beyond its comfortable limits. 
 Wrightonia then graciously extended her hall to the use of the 
 society. 50 
 
 There was much talk about Ciceronian, the men's very select 
 and important club. In October 1887 a number of girls decided to 
 crash the Ciceronian Society, and learn about it for themselves. 
 The men were expecting the impending visit, and made no effort 
 to oust their visitors. The girls regarded it as quite a joke, and 
 thinking they might be bored decided to take along their em- 
 broidery, tatting, and crochet. In spite of themselves they became 
 so interested that they decided to start a similar society. After con- 
 sulting the preceptress, Miss Flora Pennell, and other members 
 of the faculty, a meeting of all women students was called. A 
 
 48 Ibid., June 24, 1874, P- M* 
 
 49 Mrs. Martha Haynie who taught English, French, and German for twenty years 
 was receiving $1,200 when she resigned in June 1886. Her successor, Charles DeGarmo 
 received $2,000. Ibid., June 22, 1886, pp. 10, 16. 
 
 60 Index, 1901, pp. 66-68. 
 
ST f9s .*— 
 
 11 psj 
 
 m 
 
 
 r ^m 
 
 - « 7^ fl? 
 
 
 
 sy 
 
 §m 
 
 HI Ij 
 
 di* * 
 
 u i 
 
 — =3L_ 
 
 ^ts^^Ltm 
 
 -n 
 
 rdlx 
 
 
 HEZ 
 
 
 Bloomington Square fifty years ago. 
 
 The old gate and the iron fence. 
 
Mrs. Martha D. L. Haynie, teacher Mary Hartmann, teacher of mathematics, 
 
 of languages, 1866-1886. 1882-1907. 
 
 June Rose Colby taught literature from Mrs. Lida Brown McMurry, member 
 1892 to 1932. She served for a time as of the training school faculty, 1891-1900. 
 Preceptress. 
 
Charles DeGarmo, Principal of Grammar Frank McMurry, a graduate of Normal 
 
 School, 1876-83; languages and reading, and a member of the faculty, studied in 
 
 1886-1890. Germany under Dr. Rien and became a 
 
 leader of the Herbartians in America. 
 
 John Williston Cook, president, 1890- Arnold Tompkins, president, 1899-1900. 
 1899, an alumnus of 1865, joined the In one year he wrought a revolution, 
 faculty in 1866. 
 
President John W. Cook and members of his faculty. By his side is Thomas Metcalf and 
 at the extreme left, David Felmley. 
 
 President Tompkins and the devoted class of 1900. 
 
Clarissa Ela introduced art appreciation and art history into the curriculum in the 1890' 
 
 Normal's own bloomer girls, 1900. 
 
Study hall, Old Main, in the 1890's. 
 
 A candle making project in the lower grades of the training school, 1900. 
 
Altgeld's pride— gymnasium, 1897, 
 
 The old training school building, now known as North Hall, was first occupied in 1892. 
 

 Students' and architects' dream of student center, 1893. 
 
 And here it is, the Student Union, opened September, 1956. 
 
The Era of Transition 163 
 
 committee was appointed to draw up by-laws for the new society. 
 The new group chose to be known as the Sapphonian, after the 
 Tenth Muse, Sappho, the Greek lyric poetess. The first meeting 
 was held November 4, 1887. With enthusiasm unbounded the 
 Sapphonians undertook a study of art, literature, travel, and 
 music. They evolved elaborate rituals for initiation and the instal- 
 lation of officers. Before a year had passed they had inaugurated 
 the pleasant custom of exchanging programs with the Cicero- 
 nians, an evening of declamations, essays, music, a social hour, 
 and refreshments. Four years later they were beginning an annual 
 clash of talents and wits — the Greek Muses versus the Roman 
 Senators. 51 
 
 If the Normal University students of the first half century were 
 timid about standing up, speaking out and being heard, they 
 dedicated themselves to overcoming their timidity and mastering 
 the niceties of diction and elocution. Commencement offered the 
 grand and final opportunity for speech-making. When the first 
 class had graduated in i860, each of the ten graduates had a place 
 on the program. Each had either delivered an oration or read an 
 essay, and each had written a paper, an essay or a "thesis," as it 
 came to be called, to be filed in the school's archives as testimony 
 of his ability to use language and organize ideas. At first these 
 papers were written on professional topics, but in the seventies 
 when natural science was becoming prominent, the essays had 
 been on related topics. Efforts were made to publish these grad- 
 uating papers in educational journals and periodicals throughout 
 the state. With slight changes many of these could be converted 
 into papers suitable to be read at commencement. 
 
 As the classes increased in size, it was evident that something 
 needed to be done to shorten the graduating exercises. Various 
 proposals were made and tried, such as having addresses by only 
 the valedictorian and the salutatorian, or choosing speakers by 
 casting of lots. In 1880 the members of the senior class petitioned 
 that the custom of allowing all the members of the graduating 
 class to participate in commencement exercises be re-established. 
 The members of the class of 1881 likewise wanted all members to 
 appear on the program. That year there were twenty-three grad- 
 
 a Ibid. t 1902 (n.p.). 
 
164 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 uating from the normal department and two from the high 
 school. One Board member proposed that a five-minute limit be 
 set. A motion to amend the limit to ten minutes failed, and the 
 Board finally agreed to let all members of the class speak but ruled 
 that there should be a morning and an afternoon session, the time 
 being left to the faculty. 52 
 
 On January 18, 1882, the Board voted that members of grad- 
 uating classes should be allowed to speak in the graduating 
 exercises until ordered otherwise, 53 and in June 1882 the com- 
 mencement program listed twenty-one graduates from the normal 
 department and one from the high school. The orations ran the 
 gamut from the salutatory on "Thou Art the Man" to "A Plea for 
 Mediocrity." There were essays on "Margins Make Life's Suc- 
 cesses," "The Liberal Education of Women," "Silent Builders," 
 and "The Small Boy." The valedictorian came down to earth 
 with an essay on "Reading." The exercises began at nine o'clock. 
 The essays and orations were interspersed with music, and mid- 
 way in the program came the noon recess. The programs were 
 long, but the graduates and their parents did not seem to mind. 
 Some deemed it a right, not a privilege, to appear on the program. 
 Families brought well-filled picnic hampers and were prepared to 
 spend the day. The faculty were mildly tolerant, but soon the 
 Board members, who were expected to sit on the platform, made 
 objections. To forestall long commencement programs, William 
 Green in January 1883 moved that seven members of the grad- 
 uating class deliver addresses at commencement, three to be se- 
 lected by the class and four by the faculty. There was not a single 
 dissenting vote. 54 
 
 The students, however, did not relinquish time-honored places 
 on the program without a murmur of protest. The class of 1884, 
 which numbered but twenty-six, appealed once more to have all 
 its members speak, but in case the Board refused, proposed the 
 alternative of a speech by one "lady" and one "gentleman" chosen 
 from the class as the Board would direct. But the Board was 
 
 63 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), May 20, 1880, p. 22; Ibid., 
 January 19, 1881, p. 21. 
 
 68 Ibid., January 18, 1882, p. 19. 
 
 84 Ibid., January 17, 1883, p. 30. The printed programs for 1883 listed the full tides 
 of the orations and essays of the forty-five graduates of the high school and normal 
 departments. 
 
The Era of Transition 165 
 
 adamant. There would be seven speakers. The printed programs 
 continued to list the theses, as the original essays and orations 
 came to be known, and it was not until 1921 the practice of re- 
 quiring a graduating paper was abandoned. 55 
 
 In 1887 the Normal University suffered the loss of its loyal 
 friend and supporter, Jesse Fell. He died February 25, at the age 
 of seventy-nine. He was highly regarded by the people of Bloom- 
 ington and Normal and particularly by the faculty and students 
 of Illinois Wesleyan and Normal University, the schools he had 
 helped to found. No church was large enough for his funeral and 
 the services were held in the Assembly Hall, on the third floor 
 of the Normal University building. The public schools were 
 closed, and special streetcars were run out from Bloomington. 
 Sixteen hundred people thronged the aisles, corridors, and stairs. 
 The minister and the choir came out from the Unitarian Church 
 which he had also helped to found, and Richard Edwards, former 
 president of the Normal University, and now state superintendent 
 of public instruction, gave the eulogy. Shabby and smart vehicles 
 alternated in the long cortege on its way to Evergreen Cemetery 
 on the southern outskirts of Bloomington. As the last carriage 
 left Normal University, the first reached the Court House, with 
 its flag at half-mast, where the Bloomington school children were 
 waiting to join the school children from Normal. 56 
 
 At conventions of the National Education Association, state 
 teachers' meetings, and sessions of the General Assembly, Edwin 
 Hewett, the short little man trying to look taller in a high silk 
 hat and a long frock coat, was a familiar figure. He always wore 
 the fine gold watch and carried the handsome little cane that his 
 grateful students had given him in the days before the Board had 
 ruled against gifts being presented to teachers. His poise, affa- 
 bility, and sense of humor made him an entertaining companion. 
 He was energetic but calmer than Edwards. Occasionally he ap- 
 peared on programs but never so often as Edwards. Although the 
 work of administration increased with the years he refused to 
 retire from supervision. The Board realized his situation and 
 allowed $200 annually for the services of a bookkeeper, and a few 
 
 65 Ibid., January 16, 1884, p. 21. Rachel Crothers, high school 1891, later a distinguished 
 American Dramatist, wrote as her thesis, "The Proper Study of Mankind is Man." 
 "Richardson, op. cit., p. 85; Morehouse, op. cit., p. 116. 
 
166 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 months before he retired voted $250 for clerical help to assist 
 members of the faculty. 
 
 For the position of chief clerk he employed Flora Pennell 
 Dodge, who was to remain the personal secretary for four presi- 
 dents. Ever with his New England eye on the budget he carefully 
 explained that he had selected Miss Dodge because she knew how 
 to use the typewriter and the "multiplying pads." Typewriters 
 were rare in the 1880's and to be able to use one was a special ac- 
 complishment. Hectographs as a device for duplicating materials 
 were also new. "Her work," he continued, "promises to be a great 
 help. She is receiving seven dollars a week for her services, a 
 portion of her wage to be paid from instruction in shorthand 
 and typewriting, which she will give so far as it is desired and 
 as her time will allow." 57 
 
 Although the Normal University was operating on a fairly firm 
 foundation by the time Edwin Hewett became president and was 
 no longer threatened with dissolution as under President Ed- 
 wards, his administration was by no means free of annoyances. 
 Especially recurring were the Bakewell claims. 
 
 Edwin W. Bakewell sought to have returned to him a forty- 
 acre tract of land which he had donated to the University in 1857. 
 Along with many other donors he had signed the subscription 
 paper circulated to secure the location of the Normal University 
 for Bloomington. He had attached the stipulation relative to the 
 teaching of experimental agricultural chemistry. This paper had 
 been lost or destroyed before or shortly after the first meeting of 
 the Board on May 7, 1857. The forty acres donated by Bakewell 
 was a part of his farm of 360 acres. He expected the other 320 to 
 increase in value by its proximity to the Normal University. Prior 
 to the meeting in Peoria on May 7, 1857, J esse Fell took care to 
 convert the existing subscriptions to legal binding form. When 
 Bakewell put his subscription into the form of a bond for a deed, 
 nothing was said about the teaching of agricultural chemistry. 
 The bond valued the land at $8,000, although it was probably 
 not worth more than |>i,ooo. 58 When the Board on May 15, 1857, 
 
 67 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), December 12, 1888, p. 7. 
 
 58 Bakewell was reputed as wealthy. His father-in-law, Alexander Campbell, founder 
 of Disciples of Christ Church, was a "vocal" supporter of the proposed normal. Ibid., 
 December 18, 1893, p. 18. 
 
The Era of Transition 167 
 
 demanded a guaranty that $70,000 of the Bloomington pledge 
 should be paid at certain fixed intervals in order to secure the lo- 
 cation, Bakewell obligated himself for $5,000. On February 5, 
 1858, Bakewell and his wife Julia executed a deed of warranty to 
 the tract with only one restricting clause, "Provided, the Normal 
 University, under the control of the Board of Education of the 
 State of Illinois, shall forever remain where now located." On 
 February 9, i860, Bakewell and his wife executed another deed 
 to the Board specifying that the foregoing provision was the only 
 one attending the transfer of title. 
 
 From time to time the Board disposed of land which had been 
 donated for securing the location and construction of the building. 
 The Bakewell tract was rented to various farmers for cash from 
 $325 to $700, or to nurseries, of which there were a large number 
 in the area. In 1859 the Board talked of establishing an agricul- 
 tural professorship, but the means of the Normal University were 
 currently inadequate and the matter was tabled until after the 
 new building was occupied. 
 
 Edwin Bakewell suffered severe financial losses during the de- 
 pression of 1873. In 1875 he asked the Board to convey the land he 
 had subscribed to his wife Julia A. Bakewell on the ground that 
 no attempt had been made to carry out the conditions of the 
 grant. The Board contended that since it had been given bonds 
 for deeds to lands subscribed in 1857 and not the original sub- 
 scription paper and that since neither the bond for the Bakewell 
 deed nor the warranty deed contained a qualification relative to 
 the teaching of agriculture and as a consequence was unknown to 
 the Board, there was no contract. 
 
 In 1878 Bakewell brought an unsuccessful suit against the state. 
 Many of the more prominent citizens supported his claim and he 
 took the matter before two successive legislatures. The Thirty- 
 third General Assembly in 1885 ordered the Board to reconvey 
 the land to Bakewell. The Board refused, asserting that the Legis- 
 lature had no jurisdiction. 
 
 The appropriations bill in 1887 originally carried a rider which 
 made the release of funds contingent upon the restoration of the 
 Bakewell land, but friends of the school intervened and the rider 
 was removed. Bakewell took his case to the Supreme Court, which 
 
168 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 rendered the judgment that the Normal University was a private 
 corporation protected in its charter from legislative dictation. 
 Judge Green hastened to say that this should not bar the Legis- 
 lature from making appropriations. 59 This decision again was 
 obviously against Bakewell, but he would not be silenced for 
 long. 
 
 In 1882 the Normal University celebrated the completion of its 
 first twenty-five years. Despite the early struggle for existence the 
 school had proved its worth as a "necessary auxiliary to the com- 
 mon schools." It had not deviated from its original purpose to 
 prepare teachers for the schools of the state and as such was attain- 
 ing recognition. When the observance of the Quarter Centennial 
 was held on August 24, 1882, Professor Cook, to whom President 
 Hewett had turned over the matter of statistics, was able to report 
 that at least 968 former Normal University students were cur- 
 rently teaching in eighty-eight of the 102 counties of the state 
 and that 104 were known to be teaching in seventeen other states 
 and territories, and several had gone to foreign countries. Many 
 of the graduates had gone on to other colleges, taken degrees, and 
 were teaching in other normal schools. A number were county 
 superintendents and city superintendents in Illinois and other 
 states. 
 
 A fair number of these returned for the reunion, the early 
 classes being well represented. Charles Hovey, first president, re- 
 turned from Washington and joined former president Richard 
 Edwards and President Hewett on the platform that first evening. 
 One outcome of the alumni business meeting was the taking of a 
 subscription for a monument to Joseph Howell, training school 
 teacher and member of the class of i860. He was one of the first 
 six students who enrolled that first day in October 1857 and the 
 first to enlist from Normal University when Lincoln called for 
 volunteers and among the first from Normal University to fall 
 in battle. The funds collected provided a marble tablet which 
 was placed in the wall of the classroom where he taught. At 
 this reunion "Wrights" and "Phils" renewed acquaintances and 
 reminisced over the old contests, the old rivalries, the hay rides 
 
 88 David Felmlcy to F. W. Shepardson, August 22, 191 8, Felmley Papers; Proceedings of 
 the Board of Education (Normal), February 1, 1887, p. 5. 
 
The Era of Transition 169 
 
 and the sleigh rides, and the practical jokes. Did President Edwards 
 ever know that a group of fellows had a duplicate of Janitor 
 Kettleson's key to the attic made and used it to slip up to the belfry 
 and play euchre ? 60 The Wrightonians recalled "Uncle" Simeon 
 Wright, their patron, to whom they owed their society's existence 
 to say nothing of its library. When the members heard that he 
 had willed their society a thousand dollars, they had gone on a 
 spending spree, only to learn later that his estate did not cover 
 the bequest. 
 
 A visit to the old school brought to mind many memories. 
 There was that never-to-be-forgotten evening of March 18, 1870, 
 when Professor Hewett had debated Miss Susan B. Anthony on 
 the question, "Is it best for the women of America that they 
 should vote?" Every seat in Schroeder's Opera House was occu- 
 pied. Special streetcars had been necessary to bring the crowds 
 who wanted to see the genial little professor match wits with the 
 mighty Amazon. President Edwards had presided. Miss Anthony 
 talked for twenty-five minutes and Hewett for thirty; then each 
 had twenty minutes for refutation, and Miss Anthony five min- 
 utes for summary. Hewett asserted that men always gave women 
 what they wanted. Miss Anthony boomed, "The women of 
 Bloomington want the grog shops closed. Have the men closed 
 them?" The sparring went on. Hewett warned, "Womanly 
 power will not be developed by voting." Miss Anthony countered, 
 "Voting with men will not contaminate women any more than 
 living with them!" 61 
 
 There was sparkle and affection in Hovey's eyes as he reviewed 
 the founding of the school and paid tribute to those who sup- 
 ported him in the dark days. Richard Edwards spoke of the 
 training school, of Childs, Metcalf, and Powell, and the other 
 teachers who had helped to build the school. W. L. Pillsbury, who 
 had once been in charge of the Model School, told of Childs and 
 Mary Brooks and the coming of the high school. Hewett, whose 
 association with the University dated from 1858, took up where 
 the others left off and filled in the gaps. It was heart-warming and 
 inspiring to see these three presidents together and to hear from 
 
 w Hanna, op. cit. 
 
 81 Daily Pantagraph, March 19, 1870. 
 
170 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 their own lips their dream of a great institution for teacher train- 
 ing. 62 
 
 In the Hewett administration as in that of Hovey and Edwards 
 the Board continued to direct, if not dictate, educational policies 
 and procedures of the school. The Committee on Textbooks and 
 Course of Study from time to time visited the school, observed 
 classes, took notes on teaching techniques, and evaluated the work 
 being done. Recommendations might come from the president or 
 the faculty, but decisions and frequently curriculum changes were 
 initiated by Board members. In January 1887 the Board recom- 
 mended to the Committee on Textbooks and Course of Study that 
 the amount of time in the training department by each pupil 
 teacher be doubled, and that the time devoted to reading, gram- 
 mar, and arithmetic be doubled, but that whenever any student 
 could make a grade of 85 in spelling and geography he would be 
 excused from one-half the time ordinarily allotted to those subjects. 
 In the Hewett regime there was considerable relaxation of the 
 standards of spelling, but when Richard Edwards was president, 
 no student had been allowed to "pass" spelling until he had gone 
 a term without missing a single word. Some students took spelling 
 as many as five terms before they successfully "carried" it. 
 
 The committee modified its recommendations after talking 
 over their findings with such teachers as Thomas Metcalf, Henry 
 McCormick, Charles DeGarmo, Mary Hartman, President 
 Hewett and young Rudolph Reeder, assistant training teacher. 63 
 Despite the seeming arbitrary rule of the Board, the right of 
 petition, individual and collective, direct or through the president 
 was genuinely respected. In June 1890, Clarissa Ela, 64 teacher of 
 drawing for the past year and a half, appealed for more than two 
 terms of drawing if teachers were to be adequately prepared for 
 the demands of the public school. She proposed that a term in 
 art history be added to the course of study and that more time be 
 
 88 Two hundred twenty persons attended the banquet which lasted for five hours. 
 The speeches of the Quarter Centennial are printed in Cook and McHugh, op. cit., pp. 171- 
 
 68 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), June 22, 1887, p. 12; ibid., 
 December 14, 1887, p. 9. 
 
 64 Clarissa Ela, graduate of 1884, was first employed in 1888 at fifty dollars a month 
 for four hours a day. She had previously studied one year in Boston and had taught 
 three years in Bloomington. Ibid., December 12, 1888, p. 7. 
 
The Era of Transition 171 
 
 spent on art in the Model and high schools. Music had been 
 dropped from the curriculum in the very early years and had not 
 been restored. When Miss Ela appealed for art, John Cook, pro- 
 fessor of mathematics, who had an especially fine voice and 
 thoroughly enjoyed singing, asked the Board through President 
 Hewett, that a part time teacher of vocal music be employed to 
 give two lessons a week and that all students completing the 
 normal course should be qualified to give instruction in vocal 
 music in the public schools. 65 The members listened respectfully 
 to these pleas for the fine arts, and later made up their own minds 
 how far they could go. 
 
 Art history was not included in the course of study, but the 
 number of terms required in drawing was increased, and the 
 president was allocated $200 to employ a part-time teacher in 
 vocal music. Often a faculty member, seeking what he considered 
 a just increase in salary used this direct approach. Student peti- 
 tions varied from protests against spelling requirements and 
 against Rosenkranz as a textbook to requests for heating for their 
 society rooms. 66 
 
 As the school year 1889-1890 drew to a close, President Hewett 
 found himself a little more weary than usual. He had been in 
 educational work for forty-one years. Of the thirty-three years 
 that the Normal University had been in existence he had been 
 on the faculty every year except the first. He had labored with 
 Hovey and Edwards through the vicissitudes of early years, and 
 he himself had been head of the school for fourteen and a half 
 years. He had seen the faculty increase to eighteen, the enrollment 
 of the normal school to 677, and the Model School to 503. The 
 income had risen to $36,200. Like Hovey and Edwards he had 
 been interested in writing, and for a time he took over the editor- 
 ship of the Illinois Teacher. In 1871 Hewett and Aaron Gove pur- 
 chased the Chicago Schoolmaster, and in 1873 they purchased the 
 Illinois Teacher and united the two publications under the name 
 of the Illinois Schoolmaster. When Gove went to Denver as su- 
 perintendent of schools in 1874, his brother-in-law John W. Cook, 
 
 M Ibid., June 23, 1890, p. 23. 
 
 68 President Edwards, a stickler for spelling, decreed that failure of more than one word 
 during a term, out of the twenty-five that were assigned for each day would mean failure 
 of the course. 
 
172 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 succeeded to his place as joint editor and proprietor with 
 Hewett. 67 
 
 After Hewett became president in 1876, Cook became sole 
 proprietor and editor. Hewett continued to write occasional ar- 
 ticles on educational subjects and to indulge in his hobby of 
 writing poetry. In 1881 Edmund James and Charles DeGarmo 
 brought out the first issue of a new educational monthly, The 
 Illinois School journal. The young editors stated that the purpose 
 of the publication was to free their minds as to certain "definite 
 and firm convictions" on the various subjects which they meant to 
 discuss. For a time it was a sort of university organ wherein every 
 faculty member might crystallize ideas and see them in print. 
 When DeGarmo went to Germany in 1883, John Cook bought 
 the paper and took another fling at educational journalism. 
 Within a year he had taken in Rudolph Reeder as a partner. In 
 1886 Cook and Reeder sold out to George P. Brown, former 
 president of the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute, 
 who had retired because of ill health and recently moved to 
 Bloomington. 68 
 
 Brown published The Illinois School Journal for three years, 
 then changed the name to The Public School Journal, and later to 
 School and Home Education. Brown was a scholar and a philos- 
 opher, and a great friend of William T. Harris. The faculties of 
 Wesleyan and Normal took him quickly to their hearts. Hewett 
 and Brown became fast friends. Hewett began contributing to 
 The Public School Journal. Before very long he again found him- 
 self a partner in a publishing enterprise. Brown had found satis- 
 faction in this "type of retirement" from teaching. Perhaps he 
 would too. 
 
 At the conclusion of his report to the Board on June 25, 1890, 
 Hewett resigned "his connection with Illinois State Normal Uni- 
 versity to take effect on the first of September next or sooner if 
 
 67 In 1859 Hewett was editor of the Illinois Teacher for one year. John Hull, McLean 
 County Superintendent of Schools, purchased the old Normal begun in 1866 by E. D. 
 Harris, and issued a new paper known as the Chicago Schoolmaster. Cook sold his 
 interest in the Illinois Schoolmaster in December 1876 to a Chicago firm which after 
 buying up several educational journals undertook a new publication The Educational 
 Weekly. It soon failed. Aaron Gove had married Carolyn SpofTord and John Cook had 
 married Lydia Spoflord; both were sisters of Harriette Spofford Hovey. Semi-Centennial 
 History of Illinois State Normal University, pp. 169-170. 
 
 w Ibid. 
 
The Era of Transition 173 
 
 the Board so elect." The resignation was brief but not unexpected. 
 
 The newspapers that carried the report of Hewett's resignation 
 also carried the news of John Williston Cook's appointment as his 
 successor. 
 
 The mantle had failed on Hewett's beloved and respected pupil, 
 an alumnus of the class of 1865. 69 
 
 69 Edwin C. Hewett died March 31, 1905. Three years after the death of his wife in 
 1895 he had been married to Mrs. Helen Clute Paisley. Daily Pantagraph, April 1, 1905. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 The Herbartians 
 
 On July i, 1890, John Williston Cook took up his 
 duties as fourth president of Illinois State Normal University. He 
 had long been associated with the school, first as a student and 
 later as a teacher. As a young farm boy making occasional trips 
 to Bloomington he had seen the great red brick building with its 
 high tower and silver dome rise above the corn fields that sur- 
 rounded it. As a country school pupil he had been fascinated by 
 what he saw and heard. Someday he hoped to attend the new 
 normal school. 
 
 He entered the Normal University in the fall of 1862 and grad- 
 uated in 1865. He was a student of Richard Edwards and Edwin 
 Hewett, had done his student teaching under Thomas Metcalf, 
 and had come to know Charles Hovey through his marriage to 
 Lydia Spofford, a sister of Hovey's wife. He was thoroughly in- 
 doctrinated with the educational philosophy of his three pre- 
 decessors. He knew firsthand much of the tradition and history of 
 the school. With James V. McHugh, he published in 1882 a his- 
 tory of the Normal University's first twenty-five years. He brought 
 to the presidency of the school, not only the fine flower and ap- 
 preciation of the past, but a positive program for its growth. 
 
 John W. Cook was born April 20, 1844, in Oneida, New York. 
 His father, Harry Dewitt Cook, was a carpenter and a railroad 
 bridge builder; his mother, Joanna Hall Cook, was a former 
 school teacher. When Harry Cook heard that the General As- 
 sembly had passed legislation providing for the construction of 
 the Illinois Central Railroad, he prepared to move his family to 
 Illinois. They made the long trip by Conestoga wagon and settled 
 in McLean County about nine miles north and east of Blooming- 
 ton. John Cook attended the log schoolhouse near his home. 
 Earlier he had for a time attended a private school in a basement 
 of a hotel in Oneida. After the railroad bridges on the Illinois 
 
 i74 
 
The Herbartians 175 
 
 Central were completed the family moved to Kappa, where the 
 father became station master and grain dealer. During the winter 
 the boy attended school in Kappa and in summer he worked on 
 farms or clerked in local stores. He often drove a yoke of five 
 oxen to plough the hard unyielding sod. The wages were small, 
 from eight to ten dollars a month, but young Cook managed to 
 save enough to start his normal school work at Normal Uni- 
 versity. 
 
 From his mother, John Cook had inherited a love of books and 
 an inquiring mind. His record as a scholar was impressive; he was 
 an alert and intelligent reader. He was active in the Wrightonian 
 Society, representing the society in the annual contests with the 
 Philadelphian Society in 1862 in vocal music, and in 1865 in 
 debate. 
 
 Following graduation he taught one year in Brimfield, Illinois, 
 where one of his most valued patrons and counselors was Mrs. 
 James Wiley, who as Mary Brooks had been the first teacher of 
 Normal University's Model School. 
 
 After a year President Edwards asked him to come back to 
 Normal University as principal of the grammar department of 
 the Model School. While Professor Hewett was on leave in 1868, 
 Cook took over his work in geography and history. In 1869 he 
 was made professor of reading and elocution, and when Harriet 
 Case resigned her work in mathematics in 1876, he took over her 
 classes. For the next fourteen years he taught mostly mathematics 
 and physics with an occasional class in reading. 1 
 
 Cook soon became well-known and respected among the 
 schoolmen of the state. He participated in teachers' institutes and 
 was a popular speaker at state and county teachers' meetings. In 
 1874 and a g a i n m 1883 he ventured into publishing, first The 
 Illinois Schoolmaster and later The Illinois School Journal. 2 
 
 Cook had no formal education beyond the diploma of Illinois 
 State Normal University, but he read widely. Whenever a book 
 was recommended to him, he took pains to read it, and if possible 
 to discuss it later with the person who had suggested it. He had a 
 keen analytical mind and a wide range of interests. The business 
 
 1 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal), June 21, 1899, p. 9; Daily Pantograph, 
 July 17, 1922; DAB. 
 
 a Clipping (n.d., n.p.) Gale MS. 
 
176 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 of self-education was a serious one. He was ever open-minded 
 and he cultivated men of learning and ideas. He was active in the 
 Faculty Club, preparing papers and taking part in discussion. 
 George P. Brown, who had bought Cook's and Reeder's Illinois 
 School ]ournal in 1886, became a very special friend. Through 
 him Cook became acquainted with William Torrey Harris. He 
 kept in close touch with his friends Edmund James, Charles 
 DeGarmo, Frank and Charles McMurry, John Hall, John J. 
 Wilkinson, Elmer Ellsworth Brown, and several others from 
 Normal University who attended German universities between 
 1883 and 1900. 3 He could not afford to go abroad himself, but he 
 was generous in loaning money to bright young men who desired 
 to do advanced study either in American or foreign universities. 
 In turn they wrote to him of the courses they were taking, the 
 points of view, and methods of presentation. At home he read 
 Kant and Hegel and corresponded with Dr. William Rien, under 
 whom so many of his friends had studied in Jena. Cook sent Rien 
 catalogs of the Normal University, institute programs, and edu- 
 cational addresses by Normal faculty members. He was happy 
 when Rien wrote that he was impressed by the work being done 
 at Normal University. 
 
 Cook's public addresses were marked by a gentle and nimble 
 wit, clear and apt phrasing, and pertinent illustrations. In 1880 
 he was elected president of the State Teachers Association. Knox 
 College recognized his leadership in education and in 1883 con- 
 ferred upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts. Later in 
 1892, when Richard Edwards was president of Blackburn College, 
 he was to receive a second honorary degree, that of LL.D. 4 
 
 When Cook came to the presidency of Illinois State Normal 
 University the faculty was composed of seven women and twelve 
 men. Seven, including Ruth Morris, the Preceptress, who taught 
 English, held the title or rank of professor. Others were listed as 
 teacher, training teacher, assistant or principal. 
 
 Cook was truly proud of his faculty. Seven held earned degrees. 
 Charles DeGarmo, Professor of Modern Languages and Reading, 
 had the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from Halle in Germany. 
 
 "Harper, Development of the Teachers College, p. 199. 
 
 * Clipping, New Yor\ School Journal, January 19, 1895. Gale MS. 
 
The Herbartians 177 
 
 He had graduated from Normal University in 1873. After three 
 years as a principal of an Illinois grade school, he had returned 
 to Normal University to take charge of one of the departments of 
 the Model School. In 1883 he went to Germany to study and re- 
 turned three years later to teach modern languages. At Halle he 
 was deeply influenced by the educational philosophy of John 
 Frederick Herbart, who was coming to be an accepted leader 
 among prominent German educators. DeGarmo saw in Her- 
 bartianism a return to the Greek ideal of many-sided interests as 
 the aim of education. 5 DeGarmo had been a prolific writer of 
 educational essays and reviews ever since he and Edmund James 
 had founded The Illinois School Journal in 1881. He had collab- 
 orated with Thomas Metcalf on A System of Dictionary Wor\ 
 for Common Schools, which was published in 1879. Now he was 
 about to bring out a new book, Essentials of Method? 
 
 Buel P. Colton, M. A., Professor of Natural Sciences since 1888, 
 was a worthy successor to Minor Seymour and Stephen Forbes. 
 Mary Hartmann, M. A., alert and quick-witted, assistant in math- 
 ematics, was regarded as being quite as competent in the field as 
 Cook himself. 7 Henry McCormick, beloved and respected teacher 
 of history and geography and the only other staff member to hold 
 a doctor's degree, had been a member of the staff since 1869. 8 
 Staunch supporter of his former pupil was the venerable Thomas 
 Metcalf, the man of careful diction, gentle voice, and gracious 
 manners, who had been a member of the faculty since 1862. 
 Clarissa Ela, teacher of drawing, a graduate of 1884 who had 
 joined the faculty two years before and would remain for over 
 forty years, was doing a commendable piece of work. 9 New to 
 
 B John Frederick Herbart (i 776-1 841) studied under Fichte, and later took Kant's 
 chair of philosophy at Konigsburg. William von Humboldt, Commissioner of Education 
 for Prussia, made him a member of the Commission in Charge of Higher Education. 
 He established an experimental school. The school operated by William Rien at Jena 
 was the outgrowth of Herbart's philosophy that the understanding of child behavior is 
 the basis of educational method. Herbart's most distinguished work was The Moral 
 Revelation of the World as the Chief Function of Education. 
 
 6 Harper, Development of the Teachers College, pp. 201-203. 
 
 7 Mary Hartmann, A. B., M.A., Lombard College, taught mathematics at Illinois State 
 Normal University, 1 882-1910. 
 
 8 Henry McCormick obtained a Master's and a Doctor of Laws degree from Illinois 
 Wesleyan University by examination in non-resident work. "Alumni Register" The 
 Normal School Quarterly, July 1927, p. 11. 
 
 "Clarissa Ela graduated from the Massachusetts Normal Art School in 1888. She 
 taught at Illinois State Normal University 188 8-1 931. 
 
178 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 the faculty was David Felmley, A. B., University of Michigan, 
 professor of mathematics who would remain forty years, ten years 
 as a teacher and thirty as president. That same fall the school 
 had its first full-time paid librarian, Ange. Vernon Milner, a frail 
 little woman who remained the school's librarian for thirty-eight 
 years. 
 
 Within the year Orson Leroy Manchester, principal of Joliet 
 High School, who had both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of 
 Arts degree from Dartmouth, became principal of University 
 High School. Professor Manchester was to remain on the faculty 
 thirty-seven years, serving first as high school principal, then as 
 teacher of foreign languages, next as teacher of economics, and 
 finally as dean, meanwhile endearing himself to the community 
 as the far-sighted and efficient mayor of Normal for ten years. 
 When Charles DeGarmo resigned to become professor of logic, 
 psychology, and philosophy at the University of Illinois, Frank 
 McMurry, another alumnus and ardent Herbartian with a Ph.D. 
 from Jena, would become "superintendent of the training work 
 in the primary and intermediate grades." 10 Soon McMurry's 
 sister-in-law, Lida Brown McMurry, another outstanding gradu- 
 ate and teacher in the Normal public schools would become train- 
 ing teacher in the primary department. Already she had earned 
 a reputation as a speaker and writer of children's stories. 
 
 The Faculty Club continued its study of philosophy and edu- 
 cational method. Under the inspired leadership first of DeGarmo, 
 then of Frank McMurry, Charles McMurry, and later Charles 
 Van Liew, and the patronage of George P. Brown, who published 
 educational essays which the faculty wrote, Illinois State Normal 
 University became the center of the Herbartian Movement in 
 America, a program that promised a scientific approach to edu- 
 cation. 11 
 
 John W. Cook stretched himself to his full height as he sur- 
 veyed the Normal University, its objectives, its curriculum, its 
 buildings, its faculty and its students. He saw himself the executor 
 of a sacred trust, traditions of nearly thirty years standing, and 
 the unfulfilled dreams of the three presidents who had preceded 
 
 10 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) June 24, 1891, p. 13. 
 u Chris A. De Young, Introduction to American Public Education (New York: McGraw- 
 Hill, 1942), p. 175; Harper, Development of the Teachers College, pp. 170, 199-221. 
 
The Herbartians 179 
 
 him. He also had his own ideas and ambitions for the school. 
 Where to begin? There were many changes that he wanted to 
 see made in the curriculum. He wanted psychology, vocal and 
 instrumental music, drawing, and physical culture to have a 
 larger place in teacher training. However, the new president was 
 loath to jeopardize his administration at the outset by undertaking 
 any radical changes in such a delicate and sensitive area. He 
 astutely turned to matters of the training school and the over- 
 crowded building. 
 
 In his first report to the Board, December 2, 1890, he stated the 
 case for a new training school concisely: "A normal school with- 
 out a suitable training school is like an industrial school without 
 proper shops for practical work." The supervising force, he said, 
 was strong but all departments were hampered by lack of room. 
 Thirty-nine pupil teachers were teaching in the primary room 
 that fall. With the exception of one class there were never more 
 than six or eight pupils to a teacher. It was impossible under such 
 circumstances "to give any adequate training to the pupil teachers 
 in those most difficult arts of discipline and management." In 
 some rooms three, four or five classes were being conducted 
 simultaneously. The din and confusion was almost beyond de- 
 scription. By an arrangement with the normal public schools two 
 of its departments were used for a part of the day. Thirty-seven 
 pupil teachers were employed in other departments of the train- 
 ing school. Twenty-three classes recited in dark, ill-ventilated 
 basement rooms, and on cloudy days it was necessary to use coal 
 oil lamps. The high school increased in such numbers that Her- 
 bert J. Barton, the principal, advised that the enrollment be re- 
 stricted from its current number of 179 students to 160, that 
 permission be granted to drop pupils from the rolls who did not 
 make satisfactory marks, that the tuition be increased from $32 
 a year to $39, and that an additional instructor be employed. 
 
 The immediate need was a training school building. The young 
 president pleaded his case well. Upon the motion of a new mem- 
 ber of the Board, Mrs. Ella Flagg Young of Chicago, a committee 
 was instructed to prepare plans and specifications for a new ten- 
 room building, two stories in height, heated by steam, and cor- 
 responding in architecture with the present building, to cost ap- 
 
180 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 proximately twenty-five thousand dollars, a very modest figure. 12 
 
 A committee of seven, including former president Richard 
 Edwards, the new state superintendent, was to present the matter 
 to the Legislature when it met in January 1891. 
 
 The General Assembly acted favorably on the matter of a train- 
 ing school building but it reduced the amount appropriated to 
 eighteen thousand dollars. The architects had to redraw the plans. 
 President Cook, however, was not dismayed. In fact, he said, "The 
 action of the Legislature is most encouraging. In a few months we 
 shall bid adieu to basement dungeons that a pressing necessity 
 has forced us to use, the halls will no longer serve the double 
 purpose of corridor and recitation room; four classes in a room 
 simultaneously will pass into the traditions. Let us be duly thank- 
 ful." 13 
 
 That same year the sale of two sections of Jackson County land, 
 subscribed by Jesse Fell in 1857, yielded enough money to war- 
 rant extensive repairs on the building such as replacing plaster 
 ceilings of several rooms with wood, painting the interior wood- 
 work and walls, installing new blackboards, repairing the roof and 
 heating system, putting new matting in the library rooms and 
 carpet in the reception room. 14 Of all the improvements the most 
 highly acclaimed was the installation of 106 electric lights. No 
 longer would the societies have to worry over the filling of the 
 lamps, trimming the wicks, and polishing the chimneys. It was 
 rumored that before long there would be electric lights in the 
 students' rooming houses. 15 
 
 Without legislative or Board ruling, President Cook quietly dis- 
 posed of the cuspidors that had been annoying him for thirty 
 years as they lined the main corridors and served as stumbling 
 blocks for absent-minded professors and unwary students. He 
 looked forward to improving the campus and making it more 
 attractive, with new shrubs, trees, and a better fence. All too long 
 the campus had been described as the state cow pasture. 16 
 
 " Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) December 10, 1890, pp. 10-24. 
 
 M Ibid., June 24, 1891, p. 13. 
 
 "The Fell lands in Jackson County sold for $5.15 per acre. 
 
 15 The Vidette, September 1892, p. 29; Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) 
 December 21, 1892, p. 13. 
 
 "The janitor's cow grazing over the baseball diamond and the tennis courts was an 
 abomination to the students. The Vidette, April 1891, printed a long poem written by 
 
The Herbartians 181 
 
 On their own initiative the students were attempting to relieve 
 the cramped classroom situation. Wrightonians and Phila- 
 delphians laid plans for a Society Hall with quarters ample for 
 the societies' rooms, a large auditorium, parlors and reception 
 room, adequate for the six hundred persons who were presently 
 trying to pack themselves into quarters that were crowded by 
 half that number. Many college campuses had beautiful buildings 
 erected through gifts of alumni and friends, quite a number of 
 these buildings being society halls or student unions, as they were 
 later called. Why could not Normal University have such a build- 
 ing? In October 1891, the two societies at Illinois State Normal 
 University set up the joint "Philadelphian and Wrightonian Inter- 
 Society Building Committee" to collect funds for the construction 
 of a building. George Miller, Bloomington architect, drew plans 
 for an elaborate structure of brick and stone, with a basement and 
 enormous attic beneath the steep slate-covered roof that combined 
 the gable features of a Swiss chalet and the turrets of a Turkish 
 mosque. It fitted in well with the design of the new training 
 school building, and the students were enthusiastic. The estimated 
 cost was fifteen thousand dollars. Construction would begin when 
 twelve thousand dollars had been subscribed and paid. The terms 
 of the subscriptions uniquely stated that no part of any subscrip- 
 tion would be due until the gross amount of bona fide pledges 
 should reach twelve thousand dollars. When that sum was 
 reached, all subscriptions would become due and payable after 
 thirty days' notice from the Inter-Society Building Committee. If 
 twelve thousand dollars were not pledged by July 1, 1893, all sub- 
 scriptions would be null and void. 
 
 The response of the first few weeks was most gratifying. Presi- 
 dent Cook, Charles DeGarmo, Edmund James, Frank Gove, and 
 three or four other generous alumni gave momentum and un- 
 qualified endorsement to the scheme by each pledging one 
 hundred dollars. Other members of the faculty subscribed smaller 
 
 E. M. Wilson, deploring her Bovine Highness. The last stanza reads: 
 Oh the janitor's cow, of her I am fond 
 For she feeds where the flowers are fairest 
 And the water she sips from the lily-brimmed pool 
 Is fragrant with odors the rarest 
 I love her — my love I often have boasted 
 But if all were equal, I'd like her best roasted. 
 
1 82 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 amounts. One volunteered to increase his pledge upon the aboli- 
 tion of the Inter-Society Contests that since 1858 had been the most 
 exciting event of the school year. A cautious student made his 
 subscription contingent upon his graduation. 17 The graduating 
 Section A of 1892 pledged a total of $1065, and as the deadline of 
 July 1, 1893, approached the two societies each voted to subscribe 
 two thousand dollars while President Cook agreed to secure a 
 donation of two thousand dollars. The student publication, the 
 Vidette in June 1893, went to press with the confident assurance 
 that "the new society hall will ere long take its place upon our 
 campus as the home of Wrightonia and Philadelphia." 18 
 
 The editors of the Vidette, engrossed in preparations for final 
 examinations and the World's Fair in Chicago, had not taken into 
 account certain grave portents. Early in May members of the 
 faculty and the few students who had money deposited in W. H. 
 Schureman's bank in Normal were horrified to learn that it had 
 closed its doors. There were rumors that it might pay off fifty 
 cents on the dollar, then fifteen cents, and finally only five cents. 
 Many of the townspeople, loyal supporters of the University, lost 
 all that they possessed. 19 July first came, and the requisite twelve 
 thousand dollars had not been subscribed. Not a dollar for the 
 Society Hall was ever collected. The project that had motivated 
 every meeting of Wrightonia and Philadelphia for nearly two 
 years collapsed. 20 
 
 To the disappointed and heart-broken students President Cook 
 offered a palliative. Since the days of President Edwards he too 
 had dreamed of a gymnasium for Normal University. When the 
 Wrights and Phils first began their campaign for funds, he had 
 brought the matter before the Board and suggested the possibility 
 of a combination society building and gymnasium. He thought 
 
 17 The original pledges are in Milner Library. 
 "The Vidette, June 1893, P- 2 5- 
 
 19 Heads of departments deposited any moneys that they collected in a fund at 
 Schureman's bank. The principal of the grammar school had $515 deposited to his 
 account as treasurer when the bank closed. After much deliberation the Board voted 
 to assume the loss. Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) December 20, 
 1893, p. 12. 
 
 20 The Index 1894 p. 9 in telling the story of the failure of the proposed Society 
 Hall, declared the idea was "not abandoned." It was "confidently expected" that it 
 would be realized "before many years should pass." Sixty-two years later the first 
 earth was turned for a Student Union. Meanwhile the two societies which sponsored the 
 first venture died of apathy and neglect. 
 
 
The Herbartians 183 
 
 that a room eighteen feet high and sixty feet by eighty feet could 
 be built for ten thousand dollars. He built a strong case for a 
 gymnasium. Heretofore all physical culture had been for girls: 
 calisthenics and wand drills, exercises designed to improve their 
 posture and insure better health. He felt exercise even more 
 necessary for men. Accustomed to manual labor, they found the 
 transition to the sedentary life of a student abrupt, even harmful. 
 A gymnasium would aid not health alone but "the cultivation of 
 graces of the body." Nowhere was there greater need for good 
 carriage than in the schoolroom. It was impossible to use the great 
 hall for exercises because of its threat to the building. A combina- 
 tion gymnasium and a society building was included in the 
 budget to be presented to the General Assembly in 1895. 21 
 
 President Cook was a strong and vigorous man. He enjoyed 
 outdoor games, baseball, football, and tennis, and thought sports 
 were excellent for relaxation and body-building. He was quite 
 intrigued by reports of a new game called basketball, which could 
 be played indoors when the weather was inclement. He was glad 
 when the Vidette took cognizance of sports and devoted a special 
 half column each month to the subject of athletics. 22 
 
 Lawn tennis was very popular among the students. Every 
 spring the campus broke out in a rash of tennis courts. Wherever 
 students could find a level spot between the trees that was large 
 enough for a tennis court, they preempted it, cleared it, and 
 strung up a net. Even the young women seemed to prefer the 
 new game to the less strenuous and more ladylike croquet. The 
 fashionable shirtwaist blouse, with its wide Gibson pleat and 
 generous sleeves, and its companion ankle-length fourteen gored 
 skirt allowed freedom of movement for the quick running, jump- 
 ing, and serving. There was seldom a sunny afternoon that one 
 did not see at least a dozen girls on the Normal courts, with stiff 
 sailor hats perched atop their high pompadours, running about, 
 deftly swinging their rackets and shouting, "Love, five! Love, 
 ten!" 23 As yet, there was no athletic association, and the school 
 
 n Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) June 22, 1892, p. 10. 
 
 22 The Vidette first appeared as a monthly publication, March 1888. Its lone predecessor 
 The Ventilator was a rowdy sheet and after one issue the editors were expelled. 
 
 28 Index 1932, p. 30. One report says there were sixty lawn tennis courts on the campus 
 in 1892. 
 
184 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 owned no sports equipment except for a few dumbbells, wands, 
 Indian clubs, ball bats, baseballs, and gloves. Students provided 
 their own rackets and tennis balls and pooled their resources, 
 bought nets, and limed the courts. When football first made its 
 appearance on the campus in 1884, the players provided their own 
 gear. 
 
 The year 1893 was marked not only by the panic and the defeat 
 of the Society Hall project but by the World's Fair in Chicago, 
 the issue of the school's second yearbook, The Index, and the be- 
 ginning of a number of new campus organizations. Six weeks 
 before school was out in June 1892, one of the girls received a copy 
 of the Purdue yearbook and showed it to her fellow students. 
 John B. Cleveland, George W. Riley, and Herbert Hicks decided 
 that an annual should be put out for Illinois State Normal Uni- 
 versity. A local print shop estimated the cost at seven hundred 
 dollars. Advance subscriptions were taken, and the three self- 
 appointed editors with the blessing of the faculty, promises of 
 photographs and articles, set about frantically to get the book off 
 the press before Commencement. Owen Reeves, Jr., a bank clerk 
 in Bloomington, who had a flair for cartooning, was inveigled into 
 supplying the comic touch and the black and white pen drawings 
 that were characteristic of school annuals of the period. 24 
 
 The great Columbian Exposition about to open in Chicago kept 
 students and faculty in a fever of excitement and anticipation 
 throughout the school year 1892-1893. President Cook, Henry 
 McCormick, and Thomas Metcalf recalled the exhibit that the 
 Normal University had sent to the Exposition in Philadelphia in 
 1876. The Chicago exhibit must be larger and better. It must 
 depict the growth that the school had made in the past seventeen 
 years and properly indicate its prestige among the teacher training 
 institutions of the nation. The State of Illinois, in a great burst of 
 pride, had appropriated funds to construct a beautiful neo-classic 
 edifice of stone, lath and plaster to house exhibits from its fields, 
 factories, and schools. Two thousand dollars was allocated to 
 Illinois State Normal University to finance its exhibit, and an area 
 27 by 29 feet was set aside for it in the east wing of the Illinois 
 Building. Each department was instructed to prepare a display of 
 
 84 Index 1892; ibid., 1926 p. 220; Vidette, April 1892. 
 
The Herbartians 185 
 
 its best work depicting subject matter and method. When the 
 exhibit was finally assembled, it filled eight glass cases. There 
 were experimental projects in science, maps in geography, chrono- 
 logical tables and essays in history and pedagogy, and examples 
 of student art. There were photographs of the building and class- 
 rooms showing teachers and students at their work. In an ad- 
 joining section there was a similar exhibit from the Southern 
 Normal School at Carbondale. Normal University had been frugal 
 in its expenditures, spending only about $1250 on its exhibit. With 
 the remainder of its funds, a young student, John Keith, was hired 
 to greet the visitors, explain the exhibit, answer questions and 
 hand out leaflets on the school. 25 Here friends gathered, registered, 
 talked over old times and rested between visits to the Court of 
 Honor, the Palace of Art, Machinery Hall, the Pigmy Village or 
 other unique attractions of the highly publicized Midway 
 Plaisance. 
 
 What fine reports came from the campus, the new training 
 building, the repairs on the "old" building, as the original struc- 
 ture was now so often called. That very summer A. T. Fagerburg 
 was painting the brick red again and lining the mortar and trim 
 in white. 26 
 
 For visitors inquiring about former teachers, there was news 
 that Dr. Frank McMurry and John Hall of the grammar school 
 were going abroad to study and that Dr. Charles McMurry was 
 coming from the Minnesota State Normal School at Winona to 
 take over his brother's work in pedagogy and be assistant in the 
 training school. Miss June Rose Colby, the first woman to receive 
 a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Michigan, 
 was the new preceptress and professor of literature. Miss Colby 
 was a most unusual person. She was an ardent feminist. Regard- 
 less of fashion she always had pockets in her skirts, insisting that 
 pockets were as useful to women as to men. She entered into 
 the teaching of Shakespeare with her whole soul. No one would 
 ever forget the way she read poetry. She made her students love 
 literature and she did not believe in examinations. 27 Despite heavy 
 
 25 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) December 21, 1892, pp. 8-9. 
 29 Considering current prices, the Fagerburg contract of $760 for painting the exterior 
 and lining the mortar seems fabulously cheap. Ibid., December 20, 1893, p. 15. 
 
 27 Harry J. Owens, "Great Personalities at ISNU ," Alumni Quarterly, February 1954, p. 5. 
 
186 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 demands on Dr. Cook as president, he still continued to teach as 
 many as fifteen hours each week. Dr. Henry McCormick was 
 named vice-president and now helped with the work of admin- 
 istration. 28 What a gain since the days of Edwards and Hewett, 
 when the president not only taught, supervised, and personally 
 attended to the school's records but carried on the school's ex- 
 tensive correspondence in long hand. Each year Flora Dodge and 
 the "typing machine" were becoming more indispensable. 
 
 The YMCA and the YWCA were flourishing. That year each 
 of the organizations through dint of self-sacrifice and a variety of 
 fund-raising schemes was contributing Rwe hundred dollars for 
 the support of six native missionaries in China, India, and 
 Armenia. 29 In November the state organization of the YWCA 
 would hold its annual meeting on the campus. The Union Sun- 
 day afternoon meeting of the "Y's" was well attended, and as 
 the winter season advanced and the boarding house parlors be- 
 came crowded, an increasing number of young couples were seen 
 at evening services of Normal's four churches. 
 
 Alumni stopping at the Normal University's exhibit at the 
 Exposition invariably inquired about the boarding clubs, the 
 Hitchcock, the Misses Shinn, the Jones, the Giddings, the Dur- 
 ham, and Clark's O.N.T. It had often been months before the new 
 student learned that the letters O.N.T. were only the girls' 
 facetious reference to a popular brand of cotton thread. Some of 
 the old grads were as loyal to their boarding clubs as if they had 
 been fraternities. They solicited patronage of young friends about 
 to enter Normal University and in turn wrote letters in their be- 
 half. A visit to the campus always meant a call at the old club 
 and if possible a meal in the dining room. The price of board re- 
 mained about the same, $1.75 to $2.07 a week. Few students had 
 meals in private homes, and none boarded at restaurants. In a 
 private home, board and room, exclusive of fuel, lights and 
 laundry, was between three and four dollars a week. It was 
 cheaper to "light housekeep," but to take one's meals at a club 
 was ever so much more enjoyable. Would one ever forget the 
 good-natured arguments, the heated discussions, the pranks, the 
 
 ^Ibid., December 5, 1894, p. 8: June 22, 1892, p. 18. 
 ™ Index, 1893, p. 74. 
 
The Herbartians 187 
 
 budding romances, and the inevitable oyster soup on Friday 
 night? 30 
 
 As often as President Cook could get away, he came up to the 
 Fair to greet visitors at the Normal University's exhibit and in- 
 form them of the distinguished place the school was coming to 
 have as a leader in teacher education. He spoke of the graduates 
 who had gone abroad to study and returned to make a contribu- 
 tion to American educational thought. He was especially pleased 
 with the part the graduates of Illinois State Normal University 
 had had in the formation of the Herbart Club the year before, 
 at the meeting of the National Education Association in Saratoga, 
 New York. Yes, Rosenkranz was still being used as a text, but it 
 was supplemented by a new book, Introduction to Education, by 
 John Dewey, a promising young professor at the University of 
 Chicago. 31 
 
 Nothing delighted President Cook more on these trips to Chi- 
 cago than meeting fellow normal school administrators. In a 
 secluded corner away from the noisy midway and the milling 
 crowds, the educators talked shop. They used such terms as 
 "perception" and "apperception," "concentration," "correlation" 
 and "coordination." To the uninitiated it was a bewildering jargon, 
 but to consecrated Herbartians, seeking to develop a science of 
 education, terminology, and procedures were all important. Com- 
 mon understandings were essential to common goals. Cook en- 
 joyed telling how things were being done at Normal University. 
 One of his earliest accomplishments as president was lengthening 
 the courses in psychology and pedagogy. Another was the re- 
 organizing of the elementary courses in the Model School along 
 Herbartian lines. The application of the principal of apperception 
 required a carefully worked-out course of study with continuity, 
 and the work of each grade was planned to give pupils experiences 
 and understanding that could be utilized in later years. 32 
 
 80 List of clubs compiled from advertisements in the Vidette and the Index 1893, and 
 the prices of board and lodgings from catalogs, diaries, and letters of the era. 
 
 81 Henry Hugh Edmunds, "History of the Herbartian Movement in the United States 
 and Its Relation to Present Trends in Education" (Unpublished manuscript, 1929) 
 Milner Library, p. 5. 
 
 82 Dorothy McMurry, Herbartian Contributions to History Instruction in American 
 Elementary Schools. ("Teachers College Contributions to Education" No. 920; New York: 
 Teachers College, Columbia, 1929), p. 74. 
 
188 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 In this connection Cook often cited the work being done in the 
 training school by Charles McMurry, with the assistance of two 
 critic teachers and a number of paid students. To interested 
 listeners he would explain how the culture epoch could be used 
 to correlate the work in history, geography, science, arithmetic, 
 and language. McMurry would teach an epoch only one time and 
 then it would be done thoroughly. For example, in the fifth grade 
 at Normal University the story of Captain John Smith would be 
 read in history. At the same time, in geography the class would 
 investigate the Chesapeake area, its climate, soil and products, 
 such as clams, oysters, fruit, and tobacco. In science the tobacco 
 plant, oyster, and other products would be studied. In arithmetic 
 there would be statistics on amount of tobacco produced, exported, 
 and consumed. The findings in these various areas would be 
 carefully recorded and thus serve the purposes of language compo- 
 sition in narration, description, and exposition. To McMurry and 
 his fellow Herbartians, history was very important in the elemen- 
 tary curriculum. 33 
 
 Correlation and integration as practiced in the training depart- 
 ment at Normal University, said Cook, was natural, logical, and 
 extremely practical. A central topic of interest motivated all 
 activities and commanded the use of all basic skills. President 
 Cook was becoming an authority on training techniques, and 
 when he spoke an ever-increasing audience listened. Normal Uni- 
 versity was assuming a leadership in its new approach to educa- 
 tion. Members of the faculty found time to write, and their books 
 were eagerly read. In 1892 Charles McMurry published Elements 
 of General Method Based on Principles of Herbart. M In 1890 he 
 had published How to Conduct the Recitation, and in clear con- 
 cise terms outlined the five formal steps of procedure: preparation, 
 presentation, comparison, generalization, and application. 35 Both 
 of these early publications were widely read and acclaimed. The 
 title page of the 1901 edition of The Elements of General Method 
 noted that it was part of the ninth edition, forty-second thousand. 
 
 **Ibid., pp. 94, 146. 
 
 34 Charles A. McMurry, Elements of General Method Based on Principles of Herbart 
 (Bloomington: Public School Publishing Company, 1892) 
 
 85 Dorothy McMurry, op. cit., p. 107; Charles McMurry, How to Conduct the Recitation 
 (Chicago: A. Flanagan, 1890) 
 
The Herbartians 189 
 
 The Method of the Recitation, in which McMurry and his 
 younger brother Frank collaborated, sold over thirty-six thousand 
 copies. Charles McMurry sought to implement his philosophy by 
 preparing a Course of Study for the Eight Grades of the Common 
 School and a handbook for teachers which he published in 1895. 36 
 In 1893 Charles McMurry published Special Method for Liter a- 
 ture and History in Common Schools, which was to go through 
 two editions. To facilitate the teaching of history in the elemen- 
 tary grades, a matter which had been greatly neglected before 
 1890, he prepared a series of books on American Pioneers on vari- 
 ous grade levels. 37 His sister-in-law, Lida Brown McMurry, was 
 working out a plan along Herbartian lines for teaching science in 
 the primary grades, and with Mary Hall Husted, a former critic, 
 she was adapting the story of Robinson Crusoe for young chil- 
 dren. Mrs. McMurry was also writing stories and poems which 
 she would publish later. C. C. Van Liew, Ph. D. (Jena), of St. 
 Cloud, Minnesota, who joined the faculty when Rudolph Reeder 
 left the University to enter business, was also a confirmed 
 Herbartian. 38 An article by him on "Culture Epochs" appeared 
 in the First Yearbook of the Her bar t Society for the Scientific 
 Study of Education. In 1893 he published his translation of Life of 
 Herbart and the Development of His Pedagogical Doctrines. 
 Charles DeGarmo's Essentials of Method, published in 1889, con- 
 tinued to identify him with Normal University long after he had 
 gone on to Swarthmore College. The Yearbooks of the Herbartian 
 Society and George P. Brown's Public School Journal at times 
 seemed to be the mouthpieces of Normal University, so con- 
 sistently did its faculty and graduates contribute articles. It was 
 indeed gratifying to Cook to see his school "on the map," but he 
 was never sure whether he was a true Herbartian or not. In some 
 respects he was greatly influenced by Herbart's ideas, in other 
 directions he found himself not aroused at all. He could never 
 
 86 Charles A. McMurry, A Course of Study for the Eight Grades of the Common School, 
 including a Handbook of Practical Suggestions to Teachers (Bloomington: Public School 
 Publishing Company, 1895) 
 
 87 Charles McMurry Pioneer series included Pioneer History Series for Third and Fourth 
 Grade (1891), Pioneers on Land and Sea (1904), Pioneers of the Mississippi Valley 
 (1904), and Pioneers of the Rocky Mountains and the West (1904) (New York: Macmil- 
 lan, 1891-1904) 
 
 88 Charles C. Van Liew had worked under Dr. Rien in his Practice School at Jena. 
 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) December 20, 1 893, pp. 7-8. 
 
190 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 go along with such an extremist as W. P. Burris of Bluffton, 
 Indiana, who declared Herbartian pedagogy to be "the angel to 
 roll away the stone from the sepulchre of formalism in which 
 the schools of America have been entombed." 39 
 
 Cook's open-mindedness, along with his determination not to 
 become over-balanced about any particular system, kept the 
 Normal University on an even keel, and his ability as a moderator 
 and parliamentarian did much to keep discussions at meetings of 
 the Faculty Club from going too far afield. Interest in philosophy 
 and education by such men as George P. Brown and Richard 
 Edwards led the staff to grant the privilege of membership to 
 persons off campus. Through the facilities of Brown's Public 
 School Journal, the faculty hoped to extend the influence of the 
 club beyond the institution. Non-residents were invited to partici- 
 pate in the deliberations by correspondence, by submitting papers 
 to be read before the club, articles for the Journal or critical com- 
 ment in its columns. In 1890 eight of the older more mature men 
 students had organized themselves into a Philosophy Club, and 
 under the direction of Professor Reeder spent an hour and a half 
 each week studying and discussing William Torrey Harris' 
 Introduction to Philosophy. The following year the four men left 
 in the club began the vigorous study of Schwegler's History of 
 Philosophy* The more advanced and interested students were 
 admitted to membership in the reorganized Pedagogical Club, as 
 President Cook often referred to the study group. The first project 
 undertaken by the club was the arrangement of a course in science 
 teaching adapted to all the grades of the public school. 41 
 
 Cook always liked to think of normal schools as service institu- 
 tions. He believed that one very good way in which Normal Uni- 
 versity could be of help to teachers in service would be through 
 summer courses on campus with the regular faculty and an oc- 
 casional visiting lecturer in charge. The staff was in sympathy 
 
 89 First supplement to the First Yearbook of the Herbart Society for the Study of 
 Education. Quoted, Dorothy McMurry, op. cit., p. 50. 
 
 * Index, 1892, n.p. 
 
 41 At the outset of the Cook administration regular monthly faculty meetings were 
 held and two evenings were set aside for "discussing ways and means to promote the 
 general welfare of the school, and especially to formulate a distinct body of educational 
 doctrines that may be kept before our classes and illustrated in the ordinary work of 
 instruction." Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) December 9, 1891, p. 9; 
 December 20, 1893, p. 10. 
 
The Herbartians 191 
 
 with the idea, especially since it offered the prospect of eventual 
 paid summer employment. When President Cook recommended 
 that a teachers' institute be held in University Hall for a term of 
 three weeks beginning May 21, 1894, the Board approved with the 
 terse qualification that the instructors should be members of the 
 Normal faculty who should serve "without extra pay." 42 Most 
 of the rural and city schools were out by that time so that the 
 institute was concurrent with the ninth, tenth, and eleventh weeks 
 of the spring term. The course of instruction arranged by Henry 
 Raab, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and President 
 Cook provided for observation of the regular work of the normal 
 school, observation of the practice school including teachers' meet- 
 ings, attendance at a course of daily lectures by members of the 
 faculty, and a series of round table discussions conducted by Pro- 
 fessors Colton, McCormick, Van Liew, and McMurry. Elmer 
 Cavins, teacher of spelling and penmanship, gave one lecture on 
 penmanship. Miss Colby spoke on "Literature for High Schools," 
 Professor Manchester discussed "Methods in Latin," Miss Milner 
 gave a "Talk About Libraries," the venerable Professor Metcalf, 
 about to retire at the end of the year, called his lecture "Hints from 
 a Teacher's Notebook." Dr. Van Liew lectured on "Herbart," Miss 
 Ela talked of "Methods in Drawing," Miss Lucas, the new reading 
 teacher, spoke on "Physical Culture in Connection with Reading." 
 President Cook reserved for himself the final lectures, speaking one 
 day on "Feelings and the Will" and the last on "The History of 
 Education." 
 
 To the surprise of President Cook, the Board, and the faculty, 
 161 teachers from forty-two counties and one other state enrolled. 
 At the last session it was resolved that the institute be held an- 
 nually. 43 The large enrollment was particularly gratifying because 
 the panic had brought about a decline in attendance at all col- 
 leges and normal schools during the year 1893-1894. Summer 
 institutes of three weeks were again conducted in 1895 and 1896. 
 In 1896 the attendance was 120 teachers. A poll of the teachers 
 revealed opinion that the institute came too early and that a sum- 
 mer term when other classes were not in session would more 
 
 42 ibid., P . 16. 
 
 ** Ibid., June 20, 1894, p. IX. 
 
192 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 nearly serve the needs of teachers in the field. To meet this de- 
 mand such a three- week session was held in 1897 and tuition 
 charged to defray the cost of operation. Meanwhile President 
 Cook tried to convince the Board that the appropriations should 
 cover a forty-eight week year, as was currently being done at the 
 University of Chicago. 44 One hundred attended the summer term 
 in 1897, Dut tne financial return to the faculty was so low that few 
 were willing to undertake another summer. President Cook was 
 compelled to abandon the project for the summer of 1898 but re- 
 peated his request to the Board for at least an additional five 
 thousand dollars to be allocated for a summer session. The re- 
 quest fell upon deaf ears, and for the next few years potential 
 summer students gravitated toward the University of Chicago, 
 other colleges, and county institutes that were providing special 
 courses for public school teachers. The faculty at Normal Uni- 
 versity eagerly sought employment in county institutes or used 
 the long summer vacation to advance their own training by taking 
 work in the summer schools. 
 
 The depression brought a sharp decline in attendance in the 
 spring of 1893, especially in the Model School, but by fall there 
 was an encouraging upswing in enrollment. Meanwhile the 
 Legislature, with a weather eye on state income, called for re- 
 trenchment in all departments. It was futile to ask for new build- 
 ings at this juncture. President Cook tried to pinch pennies where 
 he could, hiring new teachers at much lower salaries than had 
 been paid their predecessors, and doling out supplies with a care- 
 ful hand. Repairs on the furnace and an iron fence around the 
 campus to keep out stray teams were necessities. 45 
 
 Two other matters threatened the peace and progress of the 
 school. The Bakewell Claims Case was being renewed, and there 
 was severe criticism of the high school. The panic of 1893 had 
 brought distress to the aging Bakewells, who had deeded forty 
 acres to the University in 1858, and despite a decision of the 
 Supreme Court in 1887 46 and his failure to get an injunction 
 against the school, Bakewell was once more trying to recover the 
 tract. The Board reviewed the matter of the missing subscription 
 
 44 Ibid., June 23, 1897, p. 12. 
 
 48 Ibid., December 20, 1893, pp. 7-15. 
 
 46 Board of Education v. Julia A. Bakewell 122 111. 339 (1887). 
 
The Herbartians 193 
 
 paper wherein Bakewell alleged he had made his donation con- 
 tingent on the teaching of agricultural chemistry, and the war- 
 ranty deed which he and his wife signed, conditional only upon 
 the Normal University's remaining where it was then located. 
 Again the Board rejected Bakewell's petition, little dreaming that 
 the case would ever rise again, and eventually lend shape and 
 substance to the curriculum. 47 
 
 Since 1862 the high school had been an integral part of the 
 Normal University's program. Its graduates had received diplomas 
 and participated in the festivities of Commencement. To attract 
 students to the normal department, President Cook had instituted 
 a two-year course open to high school graduates. In 1895 a four- 
 year course was set up with Latin and German for students who 
 were anticipating further work in college. Soon attendance in the 
 high school greatly exceeded the primary, intermediate, and gram- 
 mar departments of the Model School. The record of University 
 High School graduates at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, where 
 the wealthier citizens of Bloomington were wont to send their 
 sons, spoke well for their training, but the high school itself was 
 of little direct service to the normal department. Occasionally a 
 student graduated from both the high school and the normal de- 
 partment and received two diplomas at the same Commencement, 
 and sometimes after graduating from the normal department a 
 student would return and take courses in the high school. Some 
 normal students of their own choosing took Latin, Greek and 
 German in the high school classes. In fact, the revenue from the 
 tuition of high school students exceeded the salaries paid the three 
 high school teachers whose time was chiefly given to teaching 
 languages. On the other hand, forty-four percent of the total in- 
 struction received by the high school students was given by the 
 regular normal department teachers, whose classes were already 
 overcrowded. Many felt that their classes suffered from the pres- 
 ence of so many "juveniles." 
 
 In 1891 the Board limited the enrollment in the high school to 
 160 and raised the tuition to thirty-nine dollars. President Cook 
 discussed the matter of the high school with Governor Altgeld 
 when he laid before him the school's proposed budget for 1895- 
 
 " Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) December 5, 1894, p. 13. 
 
194 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 1897. Altgeld was favorable to the request for a gymnasium but 
 insisted that the Normal University have only two classes of peo- 
 ple in it, young men and women who would agree to teach, and 
 those children necessary to make up a model school. He would 
 permit no children in the institution who were not absolutely 
 essential for that purpose. 48 
 
 Governor Altgeld did not attend the meeting of the Board, but 
 the letter he sent made clear his position. 
 
 It is not the business of the state to run neighborhood high schools. What 
 the state does want at Normal is the very highest grade of a Normal 
 University that can be established. To accomplish this it is necessary 
 to concentrate. Only in this way can the highest point of excellence be 
 achieved. Teach everything it is necessary to be taught in a perfect 
 Normal University. 
 
 As you are aware, this is not a new idea, but has been the policy of this 
 administration from the beginning and I shall now have to insist upon 
 its being carried out and that without any attempt to compromise. 49 
 
 By vote of seven to six the Board concurred with the governor 
 and the high school was abolished. 
 
 It had long been a rumor that Governor Altgeld was going to 
 do away with the high school, but it was not a rumor that stu- 
 dents or alumni wanted to believe. They thought the high school 
 a well-established institution and were proud of its graduates. 
 Charles Capen, member of the first graduating class in 1865, had 
 gone to Harvard, where he had taken both a bachelor's and a 
 master's degree, then studied law at Wesleyan and was now on 
 the Normal School Board. Arthur Edwards, class of 1869, had 
 taken bachelor's and master's degrees from Princeton and was 
 now teaching English literature. William Bury and William Duff 
 Haynie, class of 1871, had both graduated from Harvard and were 
 now practicing law in Chicago. Edmund Janes James, a graduate 
 of 1873, who had taken a Ph. D. from Halle in Germany, was 
 Director of the Wharton School of Finance at the University of 
 Pennsylvania. Frank Hall Thorp, class of 1883, had taken a Ph. D., 
 cum laude, from the University of Heidelburg and returned to 
 
 48 Governor John P. Altgeld to John W. Cook, Springfield, June i, 1895. Ibid., June 19, 
 1895, p. 11. 
 
 49 Ibid. 
 
The Herbartians 195 
 
 teach chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. 
 Charles McMurry, currently a member of the Normal University 
 faculty, had graduated from University High School before going 
 on to Germany for advanced study. A roster of successful Bloom- 
 ington businessmen included graduates of University High School, 
 Dickey Templeton, banker and civic leader, Jacob Bohrer, lawyer, 
 and Nelson McCormick, physician. 50 
 
 It did not seem possible that anything so "catastrophic" could 
 happen. In the 1895 Index the author of the high school editorial 
 had facetiously posed the question, "What would the normal stu- 
 dents do if there were not high school classes in Latin, Greek, and 
 German for them to enter?" Political economy taught by Pro- 
 fessors Manchester and Felmley was likewise attracting many of 
 the "pedagogs." 
 
 The governor's ruling evoked much comment. The Daily 
 Pantagraph in a long editorial commended the faculty on the fine 
 work it had done in the University High School and regretted 
 its closing. Former President Richard Edwards regarded the clos- 
 ing of the school as a calamity to the entire community. B. E. 
 Smith, superintendent of schools for the town of Normal, said 
 that the town would now be compelled to build its own high 
 school. David Felmley, while regretting the closing of the school, 
 justified the governor's action on grounds of economy. He said 
 that despite the tuition paid by the students the high school 
 had never paid its way. Salaries paid to teachers always ex- 
 ceeded the amount paid in tuition, and the presence of the high 
 school students had contributed greatly to the overcrowded con- 
 ditions. 
 
 The students pondered the matter. They determined to let the 
 public know how they felt about it. Carefully a group began to 
 lay plans for a demonstration to be staged the night before Com- 
 mencement. The Pantagraph reported that "at midnight the quiet 
 town of Normal was thrown into a fever of excitement unparal- 
 leled in history." There was "a gruesome scene full of spectral 
 horrors," not unlike the "horrible ghost scene in Hamlet." At 
 11:30 p.m. about fifty students assembled on the south side of 
 
 60 Reminiscenses of Dr. Ralph Peairs, graduate from University High School, 1897; 
 Daily Pantagraph, June 20, 1895, June 21, 1895. 
 
196 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 town where they dressed themselves in black shrouds and masks. 
 Soon a procession of dark figures bearing torches, picks, and 
 shovels began moving to the sound of muffled drums broken now 
 and then by the shrill blast of a bugle. Four silent figures carried 
 a coffin, and four others bore a straw stuffed image of Governor 
 John Peter Altgeld astride a rail. The procession proceeded north 
 on Broadway past Professor Manchester's and Professor Felmley's 
 homes and over to the campus. Curious faces peered from behind 
 the curtains, and some of the more venturesome dressed and 
 headed for the campus, where they knew some mischief was 
 afoot. The electric current had been shut off. At one o'clock the 
 bell on Old Main broke the silence. Slowly it tolled as the weird 
 procession formed a circle at the south entrance of the building. 
 Two figures solemnly dug a shallow grave and the coffin was 
 deposited. A masked orator stepped forward and delivered an 
 eulogy on University High School. He assailed John "Pardon" 
 Altgeld, Governor of Illinois, as the assassin. Someone pointed to 
 the figure of Altgeld. Cries rang out. "Hang him!" "Burn him!" 
 The dummy was soon hanging from a nearby tree. Loud cheers 
 and hisses rang out. As the flames lighted up the scene and re- 
 vealed a gathering crowd of townspeople, the masked figures 
 quickly dispersed in the darkness. 
 
 The fury of the students must have calmed considerably by 
 1896, as the Index for that year was discreetly dedicated to "The 
 Honorable John P. Altgeld, A Friend of Education." If the Uni- 
 versity High School was abolished in name, it was not abolished in 
 fact. Students who wished to continue their studies were per- 
 mitted to take courses in the normal department's enriched cur- 
 riculum and amass credits if not a diploma. Few students in the 
 normal department availed themselves of the opportunity to take 
 Latin, Greek, and economics or mathematics beyond arithmetic, 
 and instruction remained on the high school level. The school was 
 no longer advertised as a preparatory school whose graduates 
 were readily accepted by eastern colleges. The catalog now merely 
 stated that the practice department, a necessary adjunct of the 
 normal department, consisted of twelve grades. Thus, says Pro- 
 fessor Charles Harper in the Development of the Teachers Col- 
 lege, the high school became a functional part of the practice 
 
The Herbartians 197 
 
 school, 51 and with the increased demands for high school teachers, 
 the Normal University began to place an emphasis on practice 
 teaching on the high school level. 
 
 At the turn of the century more and more of Normal Uni- 
 versity's graduates went on to the great universities and colleges. 
 In his lectures to the student body President Cook was constantly 
 urging the students upon their graduation to take college training. 
 To interest students in higher education, he conducted for several 
 years a spring field trip to the University of Illinois. The students 
 and their faculty chaperons made the trip by train and streetcar, 
 carrying box lunches. They visited classes, listened to a specially 
 arranged lecture, and made a tour of the campus. 52 Distinguished 
 graduates of years past acted as lodestones, and soon little colonies 
 of Normal University graduates were found at Harvard, Mich- 
 igan, and Swarthmore. In 1896 five graduates of Normal Uni- 
 versity were attending Harvard, and when Charles DeGarmo 
 became president of Swarthmore, graduates of Normal Univer- 
 sity followed him. Frank G. Blair, later state superintendent of 
 public instruction, and another of Cook's innumerable proteges, 
 was among the number. When he won the Pennsylvania Inter- 
 Collegiate Oratorical Contest in 1896 as much joy and excitement 
 pervaded the Normal University as if "Old Normal" had won the 
 honors. These fine scholars paved the way for further recognition 
 of Normal University graduates. Through Professor Edmund 
 Janes James arrangements were made by which Normal Univer- 
 sity graduates might go to the University of Pennsylvania and 
 after two years receive the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. 53 By 
 1897 it was possible for graduates of Normal University to enter 
 junior classes at the University of Illinois. Graduates of the four- 
 year normal course or the two-year course for high school gradu- 
 ates could obtain bachelor's degrees at the end of two years, while 
 graduates of the three-year normal course could obtain the Bach- 
 elor of Science in two years. 54 
 
 When the General Assembly appropriated $40,000 for a fire- 
 
 a Vidette, April 1890, p. 21; Catalog, Illinois State Normal University 1 897-1 898, 
 p. 7; Harper, Development of the Teachers College, p. 191. 
 62 Index, 1896, pp. 134-135. 
 68 Vidette, March 1892, p. 17. 
 54 Catalog Illinois State Normal University, 1897, p. 71. 
 
198 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 proof gymnasium in 1895, the societies believed that their dream 
 of "more stately mansions" would be soon realized, but after a 
 conference with Governor Altgeld, the Building Committee of 
 the Board ruled otherwise, explaining that it was folly to leave 
 the University's valuable library and museum to the mercy of a 
 fire. Perhaps the removal of the museum, the library and the 
 laboratories would afford more ample quarters for the ever- 
 expanding societies. A delay came when the Governor disapproved 
 the architect's plan for the new building. He thought since the 
 building was to be situated on a beautiful campus, the ornamenta- 
 tion should be at the top. Personally he favored the turreted 
 castles of his home Rhineland. What a beautiful picture they 
 made silhouetted against the setting sun! 55 
 
 The prospect of a gymnasium brought an upsurge in all things 
 athletic, and plans were made for the use of the new building. 
 President Cook was positive of one thing, classes in physical 
 culture for young women. In the fall of 1890, when Miss Ruth 
 Morris, the new preceptress and teacher of grammar learned how 
 desirous President Cook was of providing the young women with 
 instruction in the Del Sarte system of physical training, she em- 
 ployed a competent instructor to give part-time instruction during 
 the winter term, and paid her from her own salary. 56 President 
 Cook was so delighted with the experiment he resolved to employ 
 a permanent teacher. In the fall of 1891 Miss Lucia Raines, of 
 Memphis, Tennessee, was engaged to teach elocution and gym- 
 nastics. When she resigned after a year to be married, Cook told 
 the Board, "She has established the work of physical culture" and 
 "I am confident we shall be slow to abandon it. Its admirable re- 
 sults are manifested in a great variety of ways." 57 Miss Amelia 
 Lucas, a graduate of the Emerson School of Oratory in Boston, was 
 next employed as a teacher of reading and gymnastics. She gave 
 instruction in the latter to both men and women students until 
 1896 when Frank Dillon was employed for three hours a day at 
 
 ^Vidette, October 1895, p. 12. 
 
 The Index 1896 has a caricature of Governor Altgeld dressed in medieval costume 
 with armour, buckler, and sword, surrounded by drawings of castles and sketches of 
 the state penitentiary and mental hospital. It bears the caption "Our governor has decided 
 ideas on architecture." p. 87. 
 
 86 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) June 24, 1891, p. 11. 
 
 67 Ibid., June 22, 1 892, p. 9. 
 
The Herbartians 199 
 
 $25 a month to assist with the gymnastic work. 58 He soon became 
 known as "Coach." Two years before, a group of men had 
 organized the Normal Cadet Corps and their officers had asked 
 the Board to apply to the United States government for the detail 
 of a drillmaster and requisite stands of arms. The Board got no 
 further than appointing a committee to investigate, and with the 
 new interest in sports, the desire for military drill subsided. 59 
 Meanwhile indoor classes for both men and women were held in 
 basement rooms formerly occupied by the janitor and the heating 
 plant. There were no dressing rooms or lockers and no standard 
 uniforms. Cook thought at least $750 might be spent for equip- 
 ment even before moving into the building. 
 
 Baseball had long been popular on campus. The event that 
 launched the closing exercises of the school year was the baseball 
 game with the faculty. Early issues of the Index note that Normal's 
 "White Stockings" played baseball with Wesleyan, Eureka Col- 
 lege, Lincoln University, and Minonk. Football came to the 
 campus in the early 1890's. In 1893 games were played with 
 Wesleyan, Peoria, Eureka, and Gibson City. It was a rough and 
 serious game to spectators as well as players. 60 
 
 When Normal University's football team played at Gibson 
 City in 1894, it was insulted by the crowd. Normal protested and 
 Gibson City refused to give a return game. When Eureka played 
 Normal University a return game at Wesleyan's ball park, the 
 decision of Eureka's umpire was regarded as "so unfair that 
 Normal refused to play the game to a finish." 61 
 
 Basketball was introduced to the campus about 1895. Girls 
 were initiated into the game in September 1896. The first girls' 
 team organized was known as the Pioneer Team. During the 
 first year that the girls played basketball twenty teams were 
 organized. Toward the end of the winter term there was a 
 contest for the school championship. The "Red and White" team 
 (so-called from the ribbons they wore) won over the Pioneers. 62 
 
 The first annual field day was held on Saturday, June 8, 1895. 
 
 "'Ibid., December 2, 1896, p. 60. 
 K Ibid., December 5, 1894, p. 12. 
 80 Index 1894, pp. 105-106. 
 91 Ibid., p. 86. 
 "Ibid., 1897, p. 90. 
 
200 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Sixty-five dollars' worth of prizes had been solicited from the 
 businessmen of Normal and Bloomington. Events included foot 
 races, pole vault, discus throw, hammer throw, shot-put, kicking, 
 jumping, tennis, bicycle races, and the less spectacular sack and 
 potato races. Little time had been spent in training, but the Index 
 proudly boasted that "Athletics now seem to have taken firm root 
 in the school and by the aid of a new gymnasium building we 
 hope in a few years to see Illinois State Normal University second 
 to none in athletics and field sports." 63 
 
 A campus athletic association was organized in 1897, an d tne 
 president, Ferd McCormick, represented Normal University at 
 the Illinois Inter-Collegiate Football Association, and was elected 
 
 • fi4 
 
 its treasurer. 
 
 In 1897 B. C. Edwards, graduate of Boston School of Oratory 
 was employed as teacher of reading and gymnastics. Whether the 
 emphasis on sports had become too great is not known, but Presi- 
 dent Cook explained that he had employed Edwards because of 
 his different outlook on physical culture. "My purpose," Cook 
 said, "has been to use the gymnasium for training that should tell 
 directly upon physical expression. ... It is not to be forgotten that 
 one great purpose of our gymnasium is to prepare teachers for 
 giving to boys and girls in ordinary schoolrooms that mastery 
 over their bodies which is so essential to health and grace." 65 
 
 President Cook wanted to see the students have every oppor- 
 tunity to grow culturally and socially as well as physically and 
 academically. He watched with interest the work of the old 
 societies, Wrightonia and Philadelphia, the Philosophy Club, 
 Political Economy Club so assiduously studying Henry George 
 under the direction of Professor Manchester, and the new Sappho 
 and Ciceronian societies, the former providing for the young 
 women a varied study program of travel, history and art, and the 
 latter giving men practical experience in public speaking and 
 parliamentary procedures. 66 He gave every encouragement pos- 
 sible to the sporadic and struggling musical organizations that 
 
 68 ibid., 1895, p. 83. 
 
 "Ibid., p. 86. 
 
 68 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) December 8, 1897, p. 8. 
 
 66 The Sapphonian Society was organized in the fall of 1887 under the guidance of 
 the preceptress, Miss Flora Pennell. The Ciceronian Society developed from the Edwards 
 Debating Club about 1879. 
 
The Herbartians 201 
 
 appeared on campus, the five or six piece orchestras, the quartets, 
 and the bands that flourished from time to time. He hoped that 
 it would soon be possible to employ a full-time music teacher. 
 
 The lecture course had been started the year before Cook be- 
 came president. Originally it was voted to have only lectures and 
 no musical or other entertainment, but in 1892 the constitution 
 was revised and the attractions expanded. The Lecture Board 
 was composed of twenty-five members, later reduced to fifteen, 
 who pledged themselves to share the loss if the course failed to pay 
 expenses. Any surplus was to be given to the president of the Uni- 
 versity to be held for the next year's treasurer. For their labors 
 (and risks) the board members received two tickets, and the 
 treasurer was allowed $7.50. In 1894 tne course had six numbers 
 — three lectures, two musical programs, and an interpretative 
 reader. Among the distinguished numbers that appeared in 
 Normal Hall during the Cook Era were the Old Boston Quartette; 
 Kate Field, who presented "An Evening with Dickens"; Rus- 
 sell H. Conwell, famous Baptist preacher of Philadelphia, who 
 spoke on "The Silver Crown or Born a King"; Maud Powell's 
 Concert Company; Henry Watterson, who lectured on "Lincoln"; 
 The New York Philharmonic; Professor Edmund Janes James, 
 who spoke on "Bismarck"; and Francis Hopkinson Smith, who 
 gave a program of readings. No number cost less than one 
 hundred dollars and none over two hundred. 67 
 
 Although Wrightonia and Philadelphia early added variety to 
 their programs by the use of dialogs and dramatic skits, it was 
 not until the 1890's that the true impact of "A play's the thing" 
 was felt on campus. Traveling stock companies had early visited 
 Bloomington and Dr. Henry Schroeder's Opera House; The 
 Chatterton and the Durley Theatre had brought to their boards 
 such actors as Joe Jefferson, Edwin Booth, Julia Marlowe, Lillian 
 Russell, and the community's own opera star, Marie von Eisner 
 or "Litta" as she was known in Paris, New York, and Chicago. 
 Many students had never attended a real theatre before coming 
 to Normal University. Rachel Crothers, daughter of a Blooming- 
 ton physician, and an 1890 graduate of University High School 
 was one of those upon whom the local billings made a deep im- 
 
 91 Index 1894, pp. 88-89; J 895, pp. 70-71; 1896, p. 147; 1897, P* 129. 
 
202 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 pression. She was fired with a desire to act, to write, and to pro- 
 duce. No longer content to write plays to be acted by her friends 
 in the front parlor of her home, she joined some other theatre- 
 minded young persons in organizing a dramatic club that dared 
 to rent lodge halls and charge admisison to their plays. 
 
 Inspired by these Bloomington players, Philadelphian and 
 Wrightonian joined as one in a dramatic club, and in Normal 
 Hall on June 19, 1892, under the direction of Professor Reeder, 
 presented Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, On November 24, 
 1894, tne Philadelphian Society presented Shakespeare's As You 
 Like It, and on June 8, 1895, Wrightonia played Twelfth Night or 
 What You Will. It was as good as plays went in Normal Hall, but 
 not even the most loyal Wrightonian would say it approached 
 Julia Marlowe's production in Bloomington the previous season. 68 
 It is a matter of conjecture whether Shakespeare's plays were 
 selected because the students had come to know them through 
 Miss Colby's classes, or because Shakespeare was currently enjoy- 
 ing a revival among Eastern "highbrows" and the societies desired 
 to keep Normal University in the vanguard of good taste, or 
 simply because his plays no longer required royalty. The high- 
 light of the 1897 Commencement was the production of Gilbert 
 and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore. 
 
 As President Cook looked at the student body each morning 
 in General Exercises, he often thought of his own youth. Now a 
 polished, well-groomed, self-made man, he remembered the days 
 when he too felt self-conscious, awkward, and uncertain as to 
 soical amenities. He still winced at the word "clod-hopper." In 
 his appeal for the gymnasium he had stressed the importance of 
 posture and good carriage in the schoolroom. In one of his keying 
 up talks in the fall of 1897 he had advised the students to learn 
 to dance. Some were a bit surprised at the suggestion. Others 
 promptly took it up, and with President Cook's blessing the 
 Fortnightly Dancing Club was organized. Its membership was 
 limited to thirty gentlemen of the school who were free to invite 
 any of their "lady" friends to meetings on alternate Friday 
 evenings at the Normal Opera House. Later the club held its 
 fortnightly party in Trimmer's Hall, where there was music by 
 
 w lbid., 1892, n.p.; 1895, pp. 98, 103. 
 
The Herbartians 203 
 
 Ashton's Orchestra. 69 Cook thought school dances might be one 
 of the uses of the new gymnasium, but when Charles Capen, 
 alumnus and local Board member, proposed that the president be 
 authorized to permit the occasional use of the gym for dancing if 
 it involved no expense, the vote was a resounding "No." 70 
 
 Not all of the daily General Exercises were given over to Scrip- 
 ture reading, "keying up" talks, professional homilies, and com- 
 munity singing, but occasionally there were special features, such 
 as lectures by visiting professors or returned missionaries who 
 spoke engagingly of life in distant lands. Among President Cook's 
 papers is a letter which tells its own story of how he sought to 
 bring novelty and variety to General Exercises. 
 
 Bloomington, March 25, 1897 
 (President Cook) 
 
 Kind friend : When I met you in this city and made arrangements with 
 you to come out to the University and give an entertainment with my 
 Graphophone I told you I would come for three dollars. Of course I 
 want to make you rates as cheap as possible but I went to the extream by 
 saying I would come for three $. 
 
 I expect to give your school a first class entertainment and as my pieces 
 each cost me one dollar each, I think that five dollars is cheap enough. 
 Please let me know as soon as possible the day and date that you want 
 me to come so that I will know just what arrangements to make. 
 
 Yours truly 
 
 JohnK.H 71 
 
 Increased costs of labor, materials and change of plans delayed 
 completion of the gymnasium and hindered for a time the ex- 
 pansion of the physical training program. In 1897 the General 
 Assembly voted an additional $16,000 and the building was ready 
 for occupancy in the fall of 1898. To those who liked the cold 
 gray stone of medieval castle and mongrel Renaissance the build- 
 ing was a joy to behold. It was located one hundred fifty feet 
 south of the Main building, faced the east, and as a contemporary 
 wrote "could easily be seen from the streetcar station and North 
 
 60 Ibid., 1898, p. 42; 1902, p. 145. 
 
 70 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) June 28, 1898, p. 15. 
 
 71 Coo\ Tapers. Milner Library. 
 
204 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Street." 72 The gymnasium proper was 40 by 90 feet and 22 feet 
 in height. A gallery provided seats for spectators. Adjoining it 
 was a three-story wing, the lower floor to be used for dressing 
 rooms, baths, toilets, and storage; the second floor to be used as a 
 library; and the third floor given over to science, biological and 
 physical, with classrooms and laboratories. The original plans 
 called for a basement and sub-basement, where an indoor swim- 
 ming pool would be located. Expense made the pool prohibitive 
 at the time and later developments proved the location undesir- 
 able. To those who were disappointed President Cook counseled 
 patience. It had been thirty-three years since President Edwards 
 had first gone before the General Assembly and asked for a gym- 
 nasium. 
 
 The new gymnasium boasted the popular equipment of the era — 
 ropes, ladders, rings, slippery pole, parallel bars, turning, huge 
 leather horses, and racks of Indian clubs and dumbbells. There was 
 an alley for bowling but it was not yet outfitted. The students, gen- 
 erally speaking, took to physical training classes with much 
 enthusiasm. Basketball was now an indoor sport, and competition 
 between teams, societies and clubs took on a new emphasis. 
 Wrightonians met Philadelphians on the basketball court as well 
 as in forensics. The young women were quite as active as the 
 young men in scheduling match games, and learning to use the 
 new equipment. At last there were dressing rooms and a place to 
 leave one's athletic gear. In the women's section might be seen 
 rows of dark serge suits, long ample bloomers, and blouses with 
 close necks and full three-quarter sleeves. 73 
 
 Carter Harris, the janitor at the Training School, was trans- 
 ferred to the new gymnasium. This gentle son of a slave mother 
 regarded the new post as a promotion, a reward, and a sacred 
 trust. For over forty years he swept the building and locked the 
 doors, and performed the humblest tasks with dignity. He pre- 
 ferred to be thought of as a custodian, not a mere janitor. Late 
 evenings about his work he sometimes softly whistled or hummed 
 
 n Index 1896, p. 58. 
 
 78 Four yards of fifty-four inch serge was required for the average girl's gym suit 
 which was usually made at home from a pattern supplied by the instructor. The girl who 
 complained of the weight of the suit might be reminded by her mother that at least it 
 was modest. 
 
The Herbartians 205 
 
 the hymns and spirituals he had sung in his own college days at 
 Fisk University. He became deeply attached to the boys who came 
 out for sports. He cheered the teams to victory and consoled them 
 in defeat. He lived frugally; in his off hours he and his wife 
 worked as caterers, saving their money and investing it wisely. 
 Often when a boy was discouraged, hungry and about to quit 
 school, a word and a loan from Carter Harris would tide him over 
 to receive his diploma. 74 
 
 In the winter of 1 887-1 888 Charles Beach, a student, organized 
 an all-school oratorical contest which for several years was a red 
 letter event. Two prizes were offered by the Oratorical Board, and 
 Wrightonia and Philadelphia each offered fifteen dollars to its 
 member receiving the highest mark but not for winning first or 
 second prize. 75 When smaller audiences and scantier door receipts 
 almost smothered the enthusiasm of the faithful few who labored 
 to maintain the oratorical contest, Mr. Beach, now a prosperous 
 businessman, came to the rescue. In 1896 he began offering an 
 annual cash prize of one hundred dollars, and a gold medal to the 
 winner. That same year at the instance of President Reynolds 
 Taylor of the Kansas State Normal School at Emporia, a league 
 of Normal School Oratoricals was formed. Schools in Kansas, 
 Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Illinois were invited to join. 
 President Cook was quick to see the value of the league, and 
 Illinois State Normal University promptly joined. In the first 
 Inter-State Contest held in Warrensburg, Missouri, the winner 
 of the Beach Medal took third place. 76 
 
 On May 6, 1898, Normal University was host to the third Inter- 
 State Oratorical Contest. There were seventy off-campus dele- 
 gates. The presidents of four normal schools along with one or 
 
 74 Unpublished MS. by Manfred J. Holmes. "A toast to have been given at a dinner 
 honoring Carter Harris' retirement." 
 
 Carter Harris (i 856-1944) was of mixed white, Negro and Indian parentage. A bright 
 and capable youth, he exchanged manual labor with a legal firm for schooling. After 
 two years in Fisk he organized plantation schools in Mississippi. For a time he was a 
 tobacco tester and ran a grocery. 
 
 A Negro girl whom he later married had come north and was employed by Professor 
 Metcalf. She encouraged him to come to Normal where he found work as a jack-of-all- 
 trades. In 1892 he became janitor of the new Training School at a salary of $480 per year. 
 He remained on the staff forty-eight years. 
 
 Harris was highly respected as a citizen, a Bible scholar, and a director of the Normal 
 Building and Loan Association. 
 
 76 Index 1 892 n.p. 
 
 78 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) June 17, 1896, p. 47. 
 
206 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 more faculty members accompanied their "entries." A delegation 
 of fifty came from Kansas State and thrilled to see their orator 
 win first place for fifty dollars and a gold medal. Normal's orator 
 ranked fifth in the contest but the Index for 1898 took care to ex- 
 plain that he had had a very bad cold. 77 
 
 The General Assembly that made the original appropriation for 
 the gymnasium at Normal University, also passed "surprise" legis- 
 lation creating two new normal schools. President Cook, Charles 
 McMurry, and other educators had been advocating the move for 
 several years. Cook felt that Illinois had lagged behind the other 
 states in providing both normal schools and extension work. 
 Massachusetts now had nine normal schools, Pennsylvania had 
 fourteen and New York had twelve normals and the state was 
 supplementing their work by supporting more than a hundred 
 training classes in connection with high schools and colleges. 
 While the General Assembly was deliberating, Cook helped to 
 organize county Committees on Educational Progress, with the 
 avowed purpose of creating sentiment in favor of normal 
 schools. 78 
 
 Another person very active in securing the new schools was 
 Clinton Rosette, of DeKalb, a former schoolmaster who had been 
 appointed to the State Board of Education by Governor Altgeld. 
 While serving in his new capacity, Rosette began to speculate on 
 what a similar institution might do for his community. He ap- 
 proached his fellow townsmen Joseph F. Glidden, Jacob Haisch, 
 and Isaac L. Ellwood, who had made fortunes in barbed wire, 
 about donations to secure the location of a normal school. Glidden 
 offered a tract of land adjoining the city as a site, and Haisch 
 subscribed $10,000 for a library. Politicians in the eastern part of 
 the state were likewise interested in benefits for their section. 
 Rockford, Oregon, Polo, and DeKalb were the chief competitors 
 for the northern school, but the generosity of Rosette's friends 
 enabled DeKalb to secure the location. Similar competition be- 
 tween Charleston and Mattoon resulted in the location of the 
 Eastern Normal School at Charleston. 79 Subsequendy plans were 
 drawn and appropriations made. In September 1899 both schools 
 
 n Index 1898, p. 49. 
 
 "Harper, Development of the Teachers College, p. 177. 
 
 79 Cook, Educational History of Illinois, pp. 244-254; Charles H. Coleman, Eastern 
 
The Herbartians 207 
 
 were ready to start classes, each with a massive greystone building 
 reminiscent of castles on the Rhine. 
 
 In June 1897, Illinois State Normal University celebrated its 
 fortiedi anniversary. Present together for the last time on the 
 rostrum of Normal Hall were the three former presidents, Gen- 
 eral Charles E. Hovey, Dr. Richard Edwards, and Dr. Edwin 
 Hewett. Hundreds of alumni came for the two-day observance. 
 Charles DeGarmo, President of Swarthmore, returned to speak 
 on "The Normal School and President Edwards." Enoch Gast- 
 man, Superintendent of the Decatur Public Schools and a mem- 
 ber of the first graduating class, spoke on "Early Teachers in the 
 Normal School." Dr. Edwards, second president, spoke on 
 "Nicholas Tillinghast and the Bridgewater Normal School." 
 General Hovey, sick and scarcely able to travel, recalled "The 
 Beginnings of the Normal School." The Honorable S. W. 
 Moulton of Shelbyville, first president of the Board of Education, 
 told of "The Normal School and the General Assembly of 1857." 
 Mrs. Sarah Raymond Fitzwilliam appropriately talked on 
 "Women of the Normal School." 80 
 
 There had been many changes. There were new buildings, new 
 students, new faculty. They missed the old teachers. The gentle, 
 lovable Mr. Metcalf, who liked to have his name pronounced 
 "Metcaulf" had died three years before, but the training building 
 of which he had dreamed so long was now a reality. 
 
 From the balcony atop the south porch the four presidents 
 looked across the campus. Hovey, resting on the arm of President 
 Cook, noted the carefully laid out streets, the jangling little street 
 car, and the many, many trees where once there had been only a 
 cornfield. Cook told him of the terrible storm in June 1892, the 
 wind, the lightning, and the rain. The roof had been torn off Old 
 Main, eleven of her sixteen chimneys demolished, water had 
 stood four inches deep in the study hall floor. He showed him the 
 Lincoln tree that had been broken in half. It had taken six weeks 
 to clear the campus and the town. 81 Hewett, still wearing a tall 
 hat and the gold watch and chain that the students had given 
 
 Illinois State College Fifty Years of Service (Charleston: Eastern State College, 1950), 
 pp. 9-25. 
 
 80 Index 1897, p. 145. 
 
 81 Ibid., 1892, p. 28. 
 
208 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 him so many years before and carrying his short little cane, stood 
 apart with Edwards and pointed to the unfinished gymnasium. 
 Edwards smiled and shook his head. It had been thirty-five years 
 since he had broached the matter to the Legislature. He had 
 also asked for a dormitory. When would that be forthcoming? 
 President Cook called their attention to the new well, 82 the iron 
 fence, the carriage gates, the tennis courts, and the lily pond. It 
 was a pleasing sight. The old men smiled. John Cook was a 
 worthy successor. 
 
 When the final day had come to a close and the last guest and 
 graduate departed, General Hovey — pale, wan, and weak — turned 
 to his brother-in-law. "John," he said, "I'm very tired." He spent 
 the remainder of that sweltering summer at Cook's home in 
 Normal. After a hundred days he summoned strength enough 
 to return to his home in Washington, D. C. On November 17 he 
 died. 83 He was buried with full military honors in the National 
 Cemetery at nearby Arlington. 
 
 In visiting other schools, President Cook found Normal Uni- 
 versity was behind in facilities for music and kindergarten train- 
 ing. He believed that it was important for normal schools to pre- 
 pare teachers who could give instruction in vocal music in the 
 public schools and that there should be a well-graded course of 
 music organized in the Practice School. As he talked with Ella 
 Flagg Young, John Dewey, Francis Parker, Elizabeth Harrison, 
 and other educators, he was convinced that Normal University 
 had also neglected the kindergarten. "Very few normals of the 
 age and rank of ours," he told the Board, "have neglected the kin- 
 dergarten as we have done." A room in the training school had 
 been set aside originally for a kindergarten, but it had never been 
 equipped for that purpose. Cook now asked authorization to em- 
 ploy a kindergartner at a salary not exceeding $1,000 the first year. 
 The Board generously voted approval of both a kindergarten and 
 a music teacher, but it soon developed that sufficient funds were 
 not available. The closing of the high school had shut off a source 
 of income, and when three of the University's best teachers, 
 
 82 The new well, 218 feet deep with 120 feet of water in it, cost $213.42. Proceedings 
 of the Board of Education (Normal) December 8, 1897, p. 9. 
 
 88 John W. Cook "General Charles E. Hovey," Memorial in Twenty-second Biennial 
 Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (Springfield, 1898), p. LXXIV. 
 
The Herbartians 209 
 
 Charles Van Liew, Louis Galbreath, and Irving Reed, 84 were en- 
 ticed to better paying positions, Cook knew that he could not 
 employ a director of physical education, which the new gym- 
 nasium necessitated, and replace these men at lower salaries. Gal- 
 breath, an alumnus of 1885, who had taken a degree at Cornell, 
 was valued not only for his teaching of pedagogy but for his 
 ability and willingness to coach various sports in which the stu- 
 dents were increasingly interested. Dr. Van Liew had come to 
 Normal in 1894 to teach reading and pedagogy and in the absence 
 of Dr. Charles McMurry had supervised student teaching. Van 
 Liew wrote and spoke well, had been prominent in the Illinois 
 Society for Child Study, and was largely responsible for the 
 society going "Herbartian" rather than along lines advocated by 
 G. Stanley Hall. 85 Fortunately Charles McMurry, on leave at the 
 University of Chicago, and Mary Potter, teacher of foreign 
 languages were returning, and Cook was able to secure in Van 
 Liew's place Manfred J. Holmes of the Minnesota State Normal 
 School, a graduate of Cornell University. 
 
 Although Cook wanted a kindergarten, music, manual train- 
 ing, a print shop, and a summer school, he would not jeopardize 
 old departments by instituting new ones. Bravely he waived his 
 dreams and recommended instead that salaries of the librarian 
 and the assistant training teachers be raised from $800 to $900, 
 that of the teacher of penmanship from $650 to $750, and that of 
 the professor of mental science and didactics from $1,800 to 
 $2,ooo. 86 
 
 Cook believed in the purpose and destiny of the Normal Uni- 
 versity. He fought for good salaries for good men. As Professor 
 Harper wrote in his Development of the Teachers College Cook 
 was willing to participate in any fight if he thought there was 
 danger of an educational position being filled on any other basis 
 than merit. 87 He bristled at the faintest suggestion of outside in- 
 
 84 Charles Van Liew was widely known for his contributions to American and German 
 educational magazines. He was president of the State Normal School, Chico, California, 
 1899-1910. 
 
 85 The Illinois Society for Child Study was organized in Champaign in May 1894 
 for the purpose of making known to parents and teachers the fundamental principles of 
 child growth and development. Subsequently societies were organized in other states and 
 eventually a national organization was effected. 
 
 88 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) June 28, 1898, p. 15. 
 87 Harper, Development of the Teachers College, p. 176. 
 
210 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 fluence or pressure in the affairs of the school. He was determined 
 to keep his school and other schools free from nepotism and 
 political interference. He refused to employ a niece of the presi- 
 dent of the Board for a position in which there was no vacancy. 
 He respected Governor Altgeld as a friend of the public schools 
 and a believer in education as the great hope of democracy and 
 social justice, but he would not consent to the Governor's re- 
 moval of David Felmley from the faculty because he was a 
 Democrat and had been active in the campaign in 1896. When the 
 McLean County Republican Chairman, confronted with the 
 matter of a campaign chest in 1892, wrote President Cook advis- 
 ing him that the amount to be contributed by his staff had been 
 set at $400, one-half of which should be paid very soon, Cook's 
 anger knew only decent restraint. He promptly replied in words 
 whose meaning was unmistakable. 
 
 This institution is not in any sense a political institution under control of 
 the Republican party. If it were ever so understood by the General As- 
 sembly of the state, it would never receive another appropriation. When 
 the time comes that this institution must depend upon any one political 
 party for its support, it will have a very short lease of life. 
 
 I wish to say most unequivocally, that I cannot submit to any suggestion 
 from any person as to the amount of money that I shall contribute to a 
 political campaign. This is an impertinence I cannot allow. If that is a 
 condition to my present position, I shall certainly leave it. I shall doubt- 
 less make contributions, as I always have; doubtless others of the teachers 
 will do the same but it must be upon their own motion, I certainly shall 
 not suggest it to them. 
 
 He warned that if it became known that the Republican party, 
 through its official committees was attempting to place educa- 
 tional institutions — institutions thus far free from suspicion — in 
 the category of political machines operated in the interests of a 
 particular political party, there would be a mighty cry of indigna- 
 tion throughout the state. He defied anyone to subject the Normal 
 University to such criticism and place its faculty in such a dilemma 
 while he had anything to say about it. 88 
 
 Cook's frankness, honesty, sense of fair play, and straight for- 
 
 88 John W. Cook to Calvin Rayburn, Treasurer, McLean County Central Committee. 
 Normal, September 13, 1892. Coo\ Papers. 
 
Olive Lillian Barton, a sweet girl gradu- O. L. Manchester, who taught Latin and 
 ate of 1899, taught mathematics, 1906- economics from 1890 to 1928, found time 
 1911, and was dean of women, 1911-1940. from his duties as dean to be mayor of 
 
 Normal. 
 
 Henry McCormick, alumnus of 1868, on Carter Harris, beloved janitor, resigned 
 faculty, 1869-1918. in 1940 after forty-eight years of devoted 
 
 service. 
 
Cat Kile brad in ; 
 
 see ud nm ctM. Cm slicce hito 
 Tonet Id wren noli! a I, f ht brawn. A 
 
 MOCK ALMOND CROUTONS 
 
 i c. milk (ncelded) 
 
 » tap. Kit 
 
 ,V tap. cinnamon 
 
 elt to hat milk . W 
 
 arm place ta rise. When light, add melted butter, beat, 
 form • soft donf b. Knead and let riae trntU doable la b 
 •lacoit cutter, lay on a butterd baking abeet. let riae, ce 
 th milk. Bake id a moderate oven 30-40 minute*. Mai 
 
 HOT CROSS BUNS WITH BAKING POWDER 
 
 4 tap. baking powder #*> c - "uk 
 
 X tap. aalt 1 eg 
 
 X c. sugar X c. curranta 
 
 Mix dry ingredienta, chop fat into the flour with a knife, mix part of the milk with 
 eg, and slowly add sufficient of the liquid to make a dough not too aoft to be handled. 
 lite adding the liquid mix in the curranta abo. Toaa and roll dough gently on a allghtly 
 
 ENGLISH RAISIN BRED 
 r 4 tbap. batter or lard 
 
 X tap. nutmeg grating tf c. currant. 
 He. resins 
 Mix and aift the Soar, baking powder, aalt. eugar. and nutmeg twice, chop i 
 
 David Felmley succeeded John Cook as pro- President Felmley was a firm believer in sim- 
 fessor of mathematics and was president from plified spelling. Carrie Lyford's cookbook was 
 1900 to 1930. published with the new spelling. 
 
 The last Happy Birthday for President Felmley, 1929. 
 
President Felmley's office and the reception room featuring 
 "the new Oliver typing machine." 
 
 Hill'-- 
 
 ! % 
 
 fcKKS 
 
 
 1***1 
 
 ■ *** 1 
 ■****■ 
 
 ■ •••1 
 
 ■ ••* I 
 
 ••1 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 ;4 
 
 M0 
 
 -L 
 
 
 
 
 ' *♦ 
 
 ir^H 
 
 
 ^Rn 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 • 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 MM 
 
 r _, 
 
 H% 
 
 Ejpjfjfl- *^ i 
 
 *^^ 
 
 
 (S». *^*' j* 
 
 ^P i 
 
 r 
 
 ■Y'/l 
 
 
 3^ 
 
 ^i^ *^ii 
 
 Be 
 
 i- 
 
 Hp - i -^T* , ^ , *t ,fc 
 
 — '^^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 '**% 
 
 _^ 
 
 ' — 
 
 --- 
 
 
 During World War I, Ange. V. Milner, librarian 1890-1927, wrote eight hundred letters 
 to soldiers and former students. 
 

 A science class, about 1911. 
 
 Frank Westhoff, director of music, 1901-1935 and an early orchestra. 
 
Douglas Ridgley, professor of geography, 1903-1922, popularized field trips. 
 Summer students in his class visit a waterfall near Starved Rock. 
 
 Early physical examination: curvatures ascertained by a plumb line 
 

 ; ^•-•••>S 
 
 M jgm 
 
 Dancing on the green, from an early May fete. 
 
 Scene from "The Piper," presented by the Senior Class in 1921. 
 
Scene in training school: those exciting stereopticon views. 
 
 Dr. Harvey Peterson and two students experiment in testing. 
 
The old summer trolley. 
 
 
 V. 
 
 7 »> ; 
 
 »3w 
 
 * iiii 
 
 o> .-< 'K 
 
 " ' 
 
 t 
 
 ., / <*''?- 
 
 4f£' 1 
 
 \ t#*i 
 
 
 
 m "'' m i 
 
 r*Sd 
 
 
 
 A student prepares his meal in his room, 1908. 
 
The Herbartians 211 
 
 wardness enabled him to deal successfully with the General As- 
 sembly as well as faculty and students. When he appeared before 
 the Legislature he got what he asked for. Not once during his 
 administration had his requests for general expenses ever been 
 cut and two new buildings had been secured. For the decade 
 prior to 1890 the average annual appropriation was $28,930.60, 
 while the average during the decade 1890 to 1900 was $42,8o7.50. 89 
 
 No educator in the state had looked with greater favor upon the 
 creation of the two new normal schools than Cook. He saw in the 
 new schools great opportunity for leadership untrammeled by 
 tradition. The Charleston Board selected for its president State 
 Superintendent of Public Instruction Samuel M. Inglis of Green- 
 ville, Illinois, who had not intended to be a candidate for re- 
 election. Before assuming his new duties he died, June 1898, and 
 the Board turned to candidates outside the state and selected 
 Livingston C. Lord, president of the Minnesota State Normal. 90 
 
 When it became apparent in the spring of 1899 mat me build- 
 ing at DeKalb would be ready for occupancy in September, the 
 Board of the new school approached President John W. Cook of 
 Normal. He was known in DeKalb, having spoken at the laying 
 of the cornerstone. He was admired and respected. Cook hesi- 
 tated. He had spent thirty-nine years of his life in Normal, as a 
 student, teacher, administrator. The board painted a glowing 
 future for the school and offered him unlimited authority in 
 the selection of his faculty. He was offered an annual salary of 
 $5,000, and Colonel Ellwood offered to pay out of his funds an 
 additional sum of $1,000. To the latter President Cook shook his 
 head. The one consideration that would influence him to accept 
 the position would be greater opportunity to be of service to the 
 cause of education and to shape the course of the new institution. 
 
 As soon as it became known that Cook was being considered for 
 the DeKalb position, his friends in Normal became worried. The 
 Vidette in May reported that ever since President Cook had gone 
 to DeKalb in April to confer with the Board of Education in 
 charge of the new normal school there had been much speculation 
 as to whether he would accept the offer. "In behalf of the stu- 
 
 89 Index 1904, p. 21. 
 
 90 Coleman, op. cit., pp. 33-34. 
 
212 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 dents of this school," the editor wrote, "we sincerely hope he may 
 not leave us." 91 
 
 When Cook announced his decision to accept the DeKalb oiler 
 and to present his formal resignation to the Board when it met in 
 June, the Vidette staff made elaborate plans for its Commence- 
 ment issue. It would feature a symposium of parting tributes to 
 President Cook. The editor of the Vidette would speak for the 
 student body on Cook as a teacher and friend. Cook's good friend 
 George P. Brown would evaluate his work as an educator, Charles 
 McMurry would praise him as an administrator, and Richard 
 Edwards, as a man of affairs. 
 
 While Cook prepared his baccalaureate sermon and began 
 rounding out his affairs in Normal and lining up a faculty for 
 the new school, the Committee on Teachers was busy looking 
 for a successor. Some consideration was given to President 
 Richard G. Boone of Ypsilanti, Michigan, but the three favored 
 candidates were Henry McCormick, Rudolph Reeder, and Arnold 
 Tompkins of the University of Illinois. 92 
 
 When the Board met, President Cook modestly reviewed the 
 nine years of his administration. In 1890, there was yet no regular 
 librarian; the reference library was in the end of a narrow hall 
 on the second floor, and the small circulating library was open 
 half an hour on Friday afternoons. Ange. Milner was soon em- 
 ployed to assemble and catalog the books in the various collections 
 about the school and the old reception room was converted into a 
 library. When the Practice Building was completed, the library 
 was moved to more commodious quarters in the Main Building, 
 and with the completion of the gymnasium and classrooms, it 
 had been moved there. The Practice School in 1890 was also 
 located in the original building; two critic teachers supervised the 
 student teachers who heard classes in the halls, in the basement 
 and under the stairs. In 1891 the General Assembly appropriated 
 $24,000 for the building, which currently was adequate to the 
 needs of the practice school. The 1895 appropriation of $40,000 
 and the supplementary appropriation of $16,000 in 1897 nac ^ made 
 possible the new gymnasium. (Bowling alleys were still uncon- 
 
 91 Vidette, May 1899, p. 182. 
 
 62 Daily Pantograph, June 23, 1899; Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) 
 June 21, 1899, p. 15. 
 
The Herbartians 213 
 
 strutted.) 93 A heating plant had been built. Attendance in the 
 normal department increased from 464 in 1890 to 840 in the school 
 year 1 898-1 899. 
 
 The course of study, Cook said, had been altered "almost as 
 materially as the physical plant." The changes in professional 
 courses had been made in an effort to conform to modern trends 
 in education. Cook had labored hard to maintain the purpose and 
 spirit of the school as conceived by the founders and its early 
 leaders. 
 
 Ella Flagg Young moved that Cook be commended for his 
 services as a student, teacher, and president in advancing his alma 
 mater to high rank among the normal schools, and that it take 
 cognizance of the "immense intellectual and moral force" which 
 would be withdrawn from the Normal University upon his de- 
 parture. Later in the afternoon the Committee on Teachers and 
 Salaries presented the name of Arnold Tompkins, Professor of 
 Pedagogy at the University of Illinois, as its choice for president. 
 
 A vote was taken and there was a hurried call to Professor Tomp- 
 kins. Would he please come to Normal at once. 94 
 
 98 The bowling alleys were installed later but the construction of the pool in the 
 basement was abandoned. 
 
 M Two other candidates were nominated from the floor but Tompkins received 
 twice as many votes as the others and was declared elected. Proceedings of the Board of 
 Education (Normal) June 21, 1899, p. 17. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 The Year of Arnold Tompkins 
 
 As Arnold Tompkins sat beside President Cook at the 
 Fortieth Commencement, he made a good impression. He was 
 tall and large of frame, smooth shaven, and almost jovial in ap- 
 pearance. He was alert and interested, and his blue eyes twinkled 
 when he smiled. He had been making friends ever since he ar- 
 rived in Normal the evening before. He had hurried over from 
 Champaign to attend the banquet honoring President Cook and 
 had not had time to change to formal dress. When introduced, 
 he made an amusing apology and charmed the guests with his 
 humor, poise, and sincerity. Here was a man large of mind and 
 large of heart. He beamed affectionately on President Cook as 
 townspeople and faculty paid him tribute and the students pre- 
 sented a parting gift of a handsome gold watch and chain. 1 
 
 Cook had confidence in the man who had been chosen his suc- 
 cessor. He described Arnold Tompkins as "poet, philosopher, seer, 
 and prophet all in one." As the procession of sixty-five graduates, 
 the women in long white dresses of silk and organdy and the men 
 in dark suits and stir! high collars, filed across the stage to receive 
 their diplomas, they bowed respectfully to the new president. The 
 next year's seniors, sitting down in front, took him to their hearts 
 at once. For them the year to follow would be rich and joyous, 
 long to be remembered. 
 
 Arnold Tompkins was born on his father's farm eight miles 
 south of Paris, Illinois, on September 10, 1849. His first schooling 
 was obtained at "Possum Kingdom," a rural school near his home. 
 At the age of fifteen he walked three miles to attend another 
 country school where a college-trained man enriched the cur- 
 riculum for the older pupils by teaching geometry and algebra. 
 This teacher inspired young Tompkins to go on to college. At 
 the age of seventeen he taught a term of rural school and attended 
 
 1 Daily Pantograph, June 23, 1899. 
 214 
 
The Year of Arnold Tomp\ins 215 
 
 the high school in Paris for two or three months. Then he re- 
 turned to rural teaching and saved his money for college. 
 
 In 1869 Tompkins entered Indiana University but dropped out 
 before the end of the year because of overwork. The following 
 September he entered Butler University, but was again forced to 
 leave on account of illness. 
 
 While principal of a two-room school at Grand View, Illinois, 
 he married Jennie Snyder, his associate teacher. For several years 
 they alternately taught and attended school, usually teaching 
 through the winter and attending school in the spring. Both 
 entered Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute in the 
 spring of 1875. Tompkins' work with William A. Jones, first 
 president of the school, aroused his interest in organic thinking. 
 Tompkins and his wife graduated in 1880, and for the next two 
 years they taught at Worthington, Indiana. In the fall of 1882 he 
 became superintendent of schools at Franklin, Indiana. Here he 
 began his real work in organizing schools on a philosophical 
 basis. At the conclusion of his first year he published A Graded 
 Course of Study for the Franklin Public School, a book of 240 
 pages, based on psychological factors in education. In this begin- 
 ning work he was far in advance of the general school thought. 2 
 
 Tompkins became head of the English department of the 
 normal school of DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, in 
 1885 and was made dean of the school in 1889. That same year he 
 took his Bachelor's degree from Indiana University, just twenty 
 years after his matriculation. Two years later he received his 
 Master's from the same institution. 
 
 In 1890 the normal school was abandoned at DePauw and 
 Tompkins accepted an offer to become head of the English de- 
 partment of the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute. 
 After two years he entered the graduate school of the University 
 of Chicago, where he studied for two years. In 1895 he received 
 a doctorate from the University of Ohio. That fall he accepted the 
 chair of pedagogy at the University of Illinois. 
 
 He had already achieved recognition as a writer and lecturer. 
 His well-received text on composition, The Science of Discourse, 
 
 ""Arnold Tompkins, A Memorial," Chicago Normal School, November 5, 1905, 
 PP- 3-4- 
 
216 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 had been published in 1889 while he was at DePauw. The 
 Philosophy of Teaching and a reprint of The Science of Discourse 
 appeared in 1893, an d hi 1895, while he was still a student at the 
 University of Chicago, his Philosophy of School Management was 
 published. Shorter articles appeared from time to time in the 
 Indiana School Journal and other educational magazines. While 
 superintendent at Franklin, he began lecturing before teachers' 
 institutes. He was as dynamic as a speaker as he was powerful 
 in the classroom. 
 
 As professor of pedagogy at the University of Illinois, Tomp- 
 kins was often called upon to speak at county institutes, state 
 teachers' meetings, and national associations. He had always kept 
 in close touch with the common schools, and was unusually 
 sympathetic with normal schools. He believed a full-fledged prac- 
 tice school at the University would be an adjunct to the depart- 
 ment of pedagogy, but this idea was far too advanced for its 
 governing board. Few teachers at the University at the time were 
 so vitally concerned as he with influencing teachers of the state. 3 
 
 Tompkins was an idealist, and one of the early educators who 
 could lay a distinct claim to having developed a real philosophy 
 of education. Alfred Bayliss, State Superintendent of Public In- 
 struction, said of him, "In the power of vivid presentation of edu- 
 cational doctrines and ideas Arnold Tompkins had few equals 
 in the United States. He could make the commonest of us feel 
 that the whole sky of truth bends over each recitation; and the 
 teacher needs but climb Sinai to receive the divine law." 4 
 
 A few months before accepting the presidency of Normal Uni- 
 versity he had made an address before the National Superintend- 
 ents Association in Columbus in which he brought together what 
 he considered the fundamental precepts of education. He called it 
 The Implications and Applications of the Principle of Self- 
 Activity in Education: 
 
 The impressive lesson from the history of thought is that the human 
 mind can find no peace except in search for ultimate unity and reality of 
 the Universe. This unity, as discerned from afar by the eye of faith in 
 religion, and established by reason in art, science and philosophy, is the 
 
 8 Harper, Development of the Teachers College, pp. 249-250. 
 * "Arnold Tompkins, A Memorial,'* p. 23. 
 
The Year of Arnold Totnp\ins 217 
 
 ultimate goal of man's earthly endeavor. All processes of thought, from 
 sense perception to reason, are but modes of satisfying the craving of the 
 soul for touch with ultimate reality, with the life that binds the seemingly 
 chaotic world into orderly system. 
 
 It is little wonder that John Cook called him "a poet, a prophet, 
 and seer." 
 
 "All educational discussions," Tompkins continued, "are based 
 on the assumption and prompted by the faith that there is a unify- 
 ing principle which organizes and systematizes the distracting 
 variety of details in the process of education." Although education 
 made use of logic, ethics, psychology, and the other sciences he 
 maintained that "the science of education went forth in its own 
 right and organized all the sciences from its own creative center. 
 The central principle which ordered all the details of the complex 
 process of education in a unified harmonious whole was the 
 principle of self -activity." 5 
 
 To Tompkins this principle manifested itself primarily as a 
 tension between the real and the ideal. He saw man in a "seek- 
 ing, searching, surging world, constantly striving." The following 
 aphorisms illustrate the character of his thought: 
 
 Coming to consciousness of the better self is the second birth of the soul. 
 
 At every stroke of the teacher some present stress must be released, and 
 some new ideal born; some new stress set up. 
 
 To educate is to move the life onward and upward under the stress of 
 ideals. 
 
 Secondly he saw the principle of self -activity assuming a form 
 of tension between subject and object: "Whenever teaching is 
 found to be dead, it is because the teacher tries to induce action 
 from without, instead of utilizing the self-activity of the pupil." 
 To Tompkins the subjects of the curriculum were but so many 
 avenues to the enlargement of the self. History, language, math- 
 ematics, science were taught that the pupil "might have life and 
 have it more abundantly." The precept, the concept, the judg- 
 ment, and the syllogism were but processes in the unity of subject 
 and object. 
 
 Lastly he envisaged the tension between the universal and the 
 
 6 Ibid., pp. 6-7. 
 
218 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 individual, creative energy and its object. These tensions Tomp- 
 kins believed should determine the methods, construct the course 
 of study, organize and manage the school. Following this prin- 
 ciple of self-activity would bring all school work into conscious 
 and organic relation to every other educational force — the church, 
 the state, the home. "All move," he concluded, "under the same 
 principle to the same end — the full realization of all the beauty 
 and worth implicit in human nature." 6 
 
 The applause at Columbus had hardly died away when Tomp- 
 kins accepted the presidency of Normal University. Here was the 
 great opportunity to blueprint the principle, draft it into the 
 curriculum, to implement the idea into reality. Tompkins lost no 
 time. He seemed to have no time to lose. With his warmth and 
 depth of human understanding, transparent honesty and passion 
 for beauty and perfection he easily won over his faculty. He so 
 completely identified himself with his beliefs that he seemed to 
 be the living embodiment of his philosophy of life. The students 
 were captivated and inspired. 7 
 
 Cook had taken with him to DeKalb two outstanding members 
 of the Normal University faculty — Charles McMurry, Professor 
 of Pedagogy, and Miss Mary Potter, Professor of Ancient and 
 Modern Languages. John J. Wilkinson, a graduate of 1885 who 
 had studied at Jena and Berlin and recently taken a Ph. D. from 
 Leipsig was selected by the Board to fill McMurry's place. He was 
 considered well qualified to carry on the Herbartian tradition at 
 Normal. The possibility of a decline in enrollment because of the 
 opening of the two new normals relieved the Board of the neces- 
 sity of immediately hiring a new language teacher. 
 
 When school opened in September 1899, there were 490 students 
 enrolled in the normal department, 219 fewer students than there 
 had been the previous September. Tompkins was not discon- 
 certed. He heartily favored additional normal schools and felt 
 confident that the need for qualified teachers was so great that in 
 a few years a fifth normal school would be established. In the 
 interim much work needed to be done. 
 
 6 "Address of Arnold Tompkins before the National Superintendents Association, 
 Columbus, Ohio, February 23, 1899." Quoted, Ibid., pp. 6-14. 
 
 7 Interviews, Mrs. Florence Sample Fleming, Class of 1900, June 6, 1953; C. W. Whitten, 
 Class of 1900, July 5, 1953. 
 
The Year of Arnold Tomp\ins 219 
 
 David Felmley asserted later that no year in the preceding 
 thirty years had seen so much change as Tompkins wrought in 
 1899-1900. There were radical changes in the organization, ad- 
 ministration, and spirit of the school. 8 Everywhere there was 
 "new freedom in school life, less pressure, and more spontaneity." 
 Attendance was now required only in the classes and at General 
 Exercises. The rigid spelling standards that had sorely vexed the 
 students since the days of President Edwards were relaxed. A 
 flexible course of study was drawn up to serve the varying needs 
 of students. 
 
 By December, the Tompkins' blueprint was ready. He had gone 
 carefully over the structure with his faculty. His first recom- 
 mendation was for four sessions a year of twelve weeks each as 
 soon as the requisite appropriations could be obtained. Mean- 
 while he proposed the school year be divided into three terms of 
 twelve weeks, and a summer term of six weeks, thus lengthening 
 the school year from thirty-nine to forty-three weeks. A tuition of 
 six dollars would be collected from the summer students to defray 
 expenses and the faculty donate their services as far as necessary. 
 
 That Tompkins regarded the presidency as involving his per- 
 sonal, if not arbitrary, leadership is shown in his forthright pre- 
 liminary statement to his plan for reorganization of the faculty. 
 "I consider it my specific function to direct the thought move- 
 ment of the school as a whole, to control the normal school process 
 as a whole as indicated in the 'Logical View of the Course of 
 Study'." That the mere external details of administration would 
 claim as little of his attention as was consistent with the "thought 
 movement" of the school, he delegated the bookkeeping to 
 Mr. Elmer Cavins and employed a messenger boy. Flora Dodge 
 continued to serve as clerk as she had done under Hewett and 
 Cook, taking dictation, typing letters, mailing out catalogs, and 
 keeping records of the faculty and graduates, but she no longer 
 found time to reimburse the state by giving lessons in shorthand 
 and typewriting. 9 
 
 Tompkins in his reorganization plan differentiated between 
 the "Faculty in Theory" and the "Faculty in Practice." Under the 
 
 "David Felmley in "Arnold Tompkins, A Memorial," pp. 22-23. 
 9 In ten years Flora P. Dodge's salary as secretary increased from seven dollars a week to 
 $480 a year. 
 
220 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 "Faculty in Theory" were grouped the department of Philosophy 
 of Education, General Method, involving what he liked to term 
 "the logical and psychological movement of thought," Special 
 Methods, and Science and the Art of Instruction. The "Faculty in 
 Practice" embraced the Model School faculty from kindergarten 
 through high school and the supervising teachers, or as he styled 
 them, "the faculty of criticism." In the Model School, "master" 
 teachers taught to illustrate theory and to make the ideal appear 
 in the real, while in the Practice School the pupil-teachers taught 
 to develop skill. 10 
 
 As Tompkins viewed the situation, the Practice School was the 
 weakest part of the University. "The model aspects of it," he 
 said, "are almost wholly wanting." He believed much could be 
 learned from "scientific" observation of master teachers and much 
 was to be gained from careful counseling and criticism of pupil- 
 teachers. Under the existing set-up he did not think it possible to 
 turn out the carefully trained graduates that were needed in the 
 schools of Illinois. He thought the departments of reading and 
 gymnastics, for example, should be separated and asked for ad- 
 ditional teachers in the Model School. 11 
 
 The high school, which had been officially abolished upon the 
 order of Governor Altgeld in 1895, had been quietly functioning 
 as a preparatory department giving pre-normal work. Tompkins 
 resolved to bring it out in the open again as a rightful part of the 
 Practice School. The Herbartians had regarded the elementary 
 school and the training of elementary teachers the chief concern 
 of the normal school. "The normal school," said Tompkins, "must 
 exhibit work, and an opportunity for practice, throughout the 
 public school system of the state." High schools were increasing 
 in number throughout the state, but there was no school in Illinois 
 outside the normal schools offering the necessary preparation for 
 high school teaching. In 1899 there were but two years of high 
 school represented in the Model School. President Tompkins 
 sought to extend this to four. He was careful to explain that what 
 
 10 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) December 6, 1899, pp. 10-13. 
 
 "The board approved the separation of reading and gymnastics, with B. C. Edwards 
 as teacher of gymnastics, and Miss Amelia F. Lucas, teacher of reading; thereupon the 
 University entered a new era in physical education. Soon the emphasis on sports took the 
 place of physical exercise for body-building and personal development. Ibid., December 6, 
 1899. P- IS- 
 
The Year of Arnold Tomp\ins 221 
 
 he wanted was a high school having definite connection with the 
 Practice School and not simply one having an administrative 
 connection with the normal school. In this regard he hearkened 
 back to the philosophy of Hovey and Edwards. "The normal 
 school must prepare teachers for all the schools." Coming as he 
 did from the State University with a growing department of 
 pedagogy, he clearly realized that the normal school must 
 strengthen its offerings and lengthen its line of defense if it would 
 be the agency for training high school teachers. 
 
 In defense of the new Course of Study he explained that it had 
 not been made by following tradition and patching together 
 courses of study from other normal schools. "It is the result of an 
 attempt to construct originally from the central idea of a normal 
 school working under the environment in which our school is 
 placed." The main effort in revising the course was to secure a 
 high degree of organic unity from a strictly professional stand- 
 point. Class periods were lengthened twenty minutes. The num- 
 ber of courses that a student could take was now reduced to four, 
 with each class meeting daily. Formerly a student might have as 
 many as thirty-one recitation periods in a week. Electives pro- 
 vided for the needs of individual teachers, but there was no other 
 deviation from the standard course, which required twenty-four 
 credits for graduation. 
 
 Dr. Tompkins inspired the same confidence among members 
 of the Board as among the faculty and students. When he pre- 
 sented an idea the Board listened and almost invariably voted to 
 consider it. Often the chairman of a committee, noting the nods 
 of approval among the members, would propose immediate 
 action. For the first time in the Board's forty-two years the presi- 
 dent of the University was added to the Committee on Textbooks 
 and Course of Instruction. 12 
 
 In developing the new course of study, Tompkins had brought 
 to the Faculty Club educators of the calibre of Ella Flagg Young, 
 now Professor of Education at the University of Chicago and soon 
 to earn a Ph. D. under John Dewey, Superintendent Enoch Gast- 
 man of Decatur, and Superintendent Peleg R. Walker of Rock- 
 ford. 
 
 "ibid. 
 
222 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Tompkins believed that the curriculum should be profession- 
 alized and also flexible. To him every normal school teacher was 
 a professor of pedagogy. There were no strictly academic teachers. 
 He would reduce the hours in pedagogy but not the emphasis. 13 
 This the faculty could not see. He told Mrs. Young that the fac- 
 ulty generally believed that it was "the chief business of the 
 school to give good academic instruction to those people who have 
 failed to receive such in their home school." He was sympathetic 
 when the faculty found it difficult to go along with some of the 
 more radical changes that he hoped to effect. "I could not expect 
 them to understand suddenly that which I have spent years on," 
 he wrote Alfred Bayliss, State Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
 tion. "From the first it has been to me a most interesting study to 
 watch the working in the minds of the different members of the 
 faculty. They were accustomed to think in terms of mathematics 
 and mechanism and not in terms of spiritual organism. This is a 
 matter of growth and their own personal development." 14 
 
 Like Cook he too wanted a kindergarten and training in music 
 but he thought it best to wait until other departments already a 
 part of the school organization were built up and sufficient funds 
 were available to set up the proper equipment and pay qualified 
 teachers. 
 
 The matter of the Practice School concerned him most. In 
 January he circularized the Board relative to a plan of cooperating 
 with the local school board whereby students in the Normal Uni- 
 versity could have wider experience in teaching, but nothing came 
 out of it. 15 When he presented his second report in June he 
 reiterated the three points of weakness in the Practice School, the 
 scarcity of pupils, the scarcity of critic teachers, and the lack of 
 unity and organic life in the school as a whole and especially be- 
 tween the Practice School and the normal school proper. 16 To 
 meet the problem of scarcity of pupils President Tompkins rec- 
 ommended that a flat rate of one dollar be charged per pupil in 
 the elementary grades and six dollars per pupil in the high school 
 
 18 Arnold Tompkins to Ella F. Young, Normal, December 13, 1899. Tompkins 
 Letterboo\, pp. 134-135. 
 
 "Arnold Tompkins to Alfred Bayliss, Normal, December 12, 1899. Ibid., p. 128. 
 
 15 Arnold Tompkins to Judge William H. Green of Cairo, Illinois. Normal, January 19, 
 1900. Ibid., p. 179. 
 
 M Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) June 19, 1900, p. 12. 
 
The Year of Arnold Tomp\ins 223 
 
 instead of the former rates of $4.50 in the first six grades and 
 $7.75 for all above. The resignations of two of the higher salaried 
 teachers in the Practice School — Maud Valentine, who left for 
 further study at Columbia, and Mrs. Lida Brown McMurry, who 
 joined President Cook and her brother-in-law, Charles McMurry, 
 at DeKalb — provided some money with which to angle for a 
 large staff, but it would not stretch far enough. The Board must 
 seek larger appropriations from the next General Assembly. 17 
 
 Tompkins also wanted to beautify the campus with more trees, 
 shrubs, and flowers. He was grateful to Mrs. John W. Cook for 
 planting ivy around the gymnasium and the Practice Building 
 before moving to DeKalb. He wanted to do away with the ugly 
 cinder paths that marred the campus. He thought a covered con- 
 nection between the buildings might add to their usefulness and 
 be attractive as well. The library might be used more in bad 
 weather if it were more accessible from the classrooms. He also 
 wanted beauty brought into the classrooms through pictures and 
 objects of art. He wanted the halls and corridors to be attractive 
 with pictures and not to be mere passageways. 
 
 While President Tompkins labored over the curriculum and 
 the budget, the faculty tried to implement the new guiding 
 philosophy in their classes. In grading, there was less emphasis 
 placed on arbitrary percentages. Under the old system anyone 
 receiving a mark of ninety percent was on the verge of perfection, 
 while seventy percent was passing and one point less was failure. 
 Tompkins took over the classes that Cook had formerly taught, 
 and was regarded as somewhat negligent in the matter of check- 
 ing attendance and grades. It was what the student learned and 
 not what he failed to learn that concerned the new president. 
 Seniors in his philosophy class loved the genial teacher who would 
 not only laugh with them but would take them soaring to the 
 heights. 
 
 Student life went on much as it had before. 18 The Wrightonian, 
 Philadelphian, Sapphonian, Ciceronian societies, the YMCA and 
 the YWCA, and the Fortnightly Dancing Club held their sched- 
 uled meetings, exchanged programs, and joined forces in en- 
 
 17 ibid. 
 
 18 Interview, C. W. Whitten, July 5, 1953. 
 
224 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 couraging local entrants in the Inter-Collegiate Forensic Contests. 
 They marched in a body to the train to give the Normal repre- 
 sentatives to the annual contests a rousing send-off. They sat up 
 late to get telegraphic returns and again turned out at the station 
 to welcome them home. 
 
 Wrightonia and Philadelphia caught the spirit of the Tomp- 
 kins' clean-up, brighten-up campaign and remodeled their halls. 
 The two societies spent $600 each in flooring and frescoing their 
 spacious halls and providing new stage decorations and furnish- 
 ing. Wrightonian raised its floor two feet in the rear to slope down 
 to the stage. New open seats were purchased, and the aisles 
 carpeted. The 1899 Index describes the arch over the stage as very 
 beautiful. "Round pillars with their capitals and footlights make 
 the stage very pretty indeed." New curtains were placed at the 
 windows. All manner of fund-raising devices were employed, and 
 many a senior pledged a large part of his first month's wages to 
 "dear old" Philadelphia or Wrightonia. 
 
 The Inter-Society Contest was the high mark of the year. Seven 
 Wrightonians competed against seven Philadelphians in oratory, 
 debate, declamation, essay, piano solo, and vocal solo. Weeks of 
 preparation went into the contests. There was a task for every 
 society member. Skilled artists of Chicago, Bloomington, and 
 St. Louis might be employed to coach the contestants. Always 
 there were the tryouts and selection of contestants within the 
 societies, the joint meeting of officers to draw up and amend the 
 rules, the winner of the previous contest always having preferred 
 status. Then there was the night of the contest with every loyal 
 Wright and Phil sitting on the edge of his seat, listening, ap- 
 plauding, and almost prayerfully waiting the judges' decision. 
 Next there was the banquet, the celebration or the consolation, 
 and after that plans for the next year's contest — thus ran the cycle 
 of the societies. 
 
 Nor were the YMCA and the YWCA to be outdone by the 
 societies. Delegates were sent to the annual conferences at Lake 
 Geneva, and The Universal Day of Prayer was observed by sun- 
 rise prayer meetings. Both organizations lent their support to the 
 great temperance movement in Bloomington which collapsed in 
 its efforts to vote liquor out of the city. In the winter term 1899- 
 
The Year of Arnold Tompfyns 225 
 
 1900 seventeen young women were studying missions with the 
 thought of eventually becoming foreign missionaries. That same 
 fall the young women's organization felt it should play a larger 
 role in the social life of the school and rented rooms in the home 
 of Mrs. John S. Ball, 320 North Street. Here study groups met, 
 teas and socials were held. Joint YWCA and YMCA functions 
 were held in the gymnasium, the only place on the campus large 
 enough to accommodate the student body. 
 
 The boarding clubs continued as popular social rendevous, and 
 each year the rivalry between the respective clubs grew keener. 
 Stewards were no longer content to greet students at the station 
 in Normal, grab the nervous young co-ed's valise and politely offer 
 to conduct her to lodgings, but they often walked to Hudson or 
 Towanda, boarded trains, and solicited patronage for their re- 
 spective clubs. Cleanliness, variety of meals, excellence of cooking, 
 generous portions, good fellowship, access to rooming houses and 
 the campus were points stressed by the energetic, ambitious young 
 stewards. After 1898 men and women were no longer permitted 
 to room in the same houses, but they could take their meals at 
 the same boarding clubs. 
 
 In sports, tennis, bicycling, and skating in season continued to 
 be popular, although the Index for 1899 averred, "Basketball is 
 pre-eminently the game for the Normal Schools. It provides de- 
 lightful recreation for a large number of persons. Twelve to 
 sixteen teams may use one field. The game is easily learned." The 
 enthusiastic reporter admitted that there were a few casualties but 
 these were not too severe. To prove it he cited the list of injuries 
 incurred by players during the past season — one knee gashed 
 against a radiator, one dislocated finger, one strained shoulder, 
 one sprained wrist, and two blackened eyes. The new game, he 
 said, "cultivates courage, alertness, and subordination." 19 
 
 After the University of Illinois Men's Glee Club presented a 
 concert in the community in the fall of 1898, the men at Normal 
 University took stock of their voices and decided that their school 
 too should have a glee club. In January the singers organized and 
 prevailed on Mary Hartmann, teacher of mathematics, and Eliza- 
 beth Mavity, teacher of grammar, to serve as directors. A few 
 
 M Index, 1899, p. 107. 
 
226 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 weeks later the women of the school organized a glee club. On 
 March 17, 1899, the men presented their first concert. 
 
 Students of this era never despaired for lack of training, and 
 they were loath for any other school to surpass them in extra- 
 curricular activities. They rallied round their debaters and orators 
 with the same enthusiasm that later generations gave to inter- 
 collegiate sports. As boldly as they had undertaken Shakespearian 
 plays in the early nineties, they took to opera in the late nineties. 
 With only the help of some of the more musically inclined mem- 
 bers of the faculty, the senior class of 1899 dared to present the 
 opera Castanea as a feature of Commencement Week. So well was 
 the innovation received that for a time opera "threatened" to be- 
 come a commencement tradition. 
 
 Arnold Tompkins had arrived on campus only the day before 
 school began in September 1899, but in the ten months that fol- 
 lowed he had wrought a revolution. He had won over the con- 
 servative, Herbartian-minded faculty, and on Wednesday before 
 school closed in June die Board reluctantly but without dissent 
 approved his plan for reorganizing the faculty and the curriculum 
 and reducing tuition. It did not seem possible so much could be 
 done in so short a time. 
 
 The students who sat starry-eyed listening to President Arnold 
 Tompkins deliver the baccalaureate address that warm Sunday 
 in June, 1900, little dreamed that they were listening to a vale- 
 dictory. Perhaps he was not aware of it himself. 
 
 In the little school house by the road, without noise of drum or trumpet, 
 without bluster of eloquence or spectacular display are the victories for 
 humanity won. No work more humble or self-sacrificing. You will cast 
 your bread upon the waters believing it will return in a higher order of 
 humanity. 20 
 
 In less than a week after Commencement the community was 
 agog with rumors. Chicago papers reported that the Chicago 
 Normal School Board had selected Arnold Tompkins for presi- 
 dent and David Felmley, as professor of mathematics. Tompkins 
 would receive $5,000 and Felmley $3,000. It was well-known that 
 Felmley had been offered the vice-presidency of the Chicago 
 
 20 Arnold Tompkins, "Baccalaureate Sermon, June 17, 1900," Daily Pantograph June 18, 
 1900. 
 
The Year of Arnold Tomp\ins 227 
 
 Normal School but that he had declined because the salary was 
 not enough. The present offer was $750 more than he was re- 
 ceiving at Normal as professor of mathematics. The Daily Vanta- 
 graph on June 28, under a Chicago date line, carried the news 
 that Tompkins' election had been confirmed and that it was 
 understood that Felmley and Tompkins would accept. 21 When 
 interviewed by the Pantagraph reporter that afternoon, Tompkins 
 said he would accept, but Felmley was still undecided, and said 
 that the statement that Tompkins would not go without him was 
 unauthorized. 
 
 On Saturday morning June 30, President Tompkins sent identi- 
 cal letters to members of the Board: 
 
 You have a right to know my reasons . . . the Chicago school has so 
 much more adequate equipment to carry out the plans I have projected 
 here. Chicago has double the faculty for the same number of students; 
 and a large practice school well organized. We have no kindergartener, 
 Chicago has four and one of them is Elizabeth Harrison. They have two 
 teachers in music; we can have none. They pay, when necessary $3,000 
 salaries. They will soon have a new building. Briefly I would say that 
 equipment and opportunity to carry out my plans is my reason . . . 22 
 
 Professor Harper maintains that Tompkins was aware that 
 
 Stern battles would have to be fought before the legislature if the 
 Normal University were to maintain an important place in the educa- 
 tional system of Illinois or in the reputation of educators. His nature re- 
 belled against that long fight as he realized how heavy were the odds 
 and how unequal the struggle. 23 
 
 Jennie Tompkins, however, knew the real reason for her hus- 
 band's seemingly sudden decision to leave Normal. Working by 
 his side and knowing him as she had known him for a quarter 
 of a century, she could not but approve. To be president of the 
 Chicago Normal School and follow in the footsteps of Colonel 
 Francis Parker was to Arnold Tompkins ambition fulfilled. 24 
 
 21 Ibid., June 27, 1900; June 28, 1900. 
 
 22 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) July 31, 1900, p. 7. 
 
 23 Harper, Development of the Teachers College, p. 259. 
 
 24 "Arnold Tompkins, A Memorial," p. 3. 
 
 Arnold Tompkins spent five stormy years as head of the Chicago Normal School. 
 His faculty was too devoted to Colonel Francis Parker to welcome change and the 
 Chicago Normal's Board was too economy-minded to carry out his program. He contracted 
 typhoid fever and died at his country home near Menlo, Georgia, August 12, 1905. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 The Unforgettable Mr. Felmley 
 
 It was a dismayed and disgruntled Board that as- 
 sembled in a special session in the president's office in Normal on 
 July 31. It had met to take formal action on Arnold Tompkins' 
 resignation and to name his successor. The Committee on Teach- 
 ers and Salaries recommended that Tompkins' resignation, to be- 
 come effective September 4, be accepted, but State Superintendent 
 Alfred Bayliss, who had expected much from Tompkins and was 
 indignant at his leaving, quickly moved "that the resignation not 
 be accepted"; however, Enoch Gastman's substitute motion "that 
 it be accepted" prevailed. The members agreed that Tompkins' 
 successor must be willing to realize the full compass of his am- 
 bitions at Normal University, for a decent period at least, and 
 give assurance that he had no intention of using the position as a 
 stepping stone to one more lucrative and influential. 1 
 
 David Felmley, who had been privately interviewed, sat in an 
 adjoining room. He was well-liked and respected by faculty, stu- 
 dents, and townspeople. He had been thinking long and seriously 
 about the future, his own and that of the school. He was ready to 
 cast his lot with the University. 
 
 The vote for David Felmley was unanimous. Introduced a few 
 minutes later, he assured the Board he "had no ambition beyond 
 the presidency of Illinois State Normal University: and that he 
 "was willing to limit his career to the opportunities for service 
 and achievements that the position afforded." 2 It was a pledge 
 solemnly made and solemnly kept. 
 
 David Felmley, sixth president of Illinois State Normal Uni- 
 versity, was born near Somerville, New Jersey, April 24, 1857. His 
 father, John S. Felmley, was of German descent and his mother, 
 Ellen Voorhees, Dutch. The father died when David was three. 
 
 1 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) July 31, 1900, p. 8. 
 "David Felmley to Francis G. Blair, October 23, 1892. Quoted. Ibid., (Carbondale) 
 November 4, 1929, p. 13. 
 
 228 
 
The Unforgettable Mr. Felmley 229 
 
 His earliest education was in the village school at Somerville. In 
 1868 the family moved to a farm near Perry, in Pike County, 
 Illinois. His boyhood was spent in a home well provided with 
 books and periodicals. He enjoyed reading. A farm hand inter- 
 ested him in natural science and started him in a study of botany 
 and zoology by the rational method. Joseph Dobbins, a former 
 student at Normal University, interested him in mathematics and 
 literature. In 1873 he enrolled in Blackburn College, Carlinville, 
 Illinois. After studying the classics there for three years, he entered 
 the University of Michigan, at the age of nineteen. After studying 
 at Michigan two years, he dropped out to teach, the first year in 
 a rural school near Virden, Illinois, and the second at Carrollton, 
 Illinois. He returned to Ann Arbor in the fall of 1880, and took 
 his baccalaureate degree the following year. At the University of 
 Michigan, young Felmley distinguished himself as a student, a 
 debater, and a politician. He attained the highest scholastic rating 
 that had ever been given to a graduate of the institution, and 
 when he took his teacher's examination in Illinois he received the 
 highest rating ever given from the office of the state superin- 
 tendent. 3 
 
 In the fall of 188 1 Felmley became superintendent of schools 
 at Carrollton, Illinois. Six years later he was married to Auta 
 Stout. 4 
 
 In 1890 Felmley came to Normal to take charge of the work in 
 mathematics. Three years before he had declined Hewett's offer 
 of a position in English. Cook had made for the mathematics de- 
 partment a reputation that was a challenge to his successor. The 
 fact that Cook had searched far and wide for a worthy man gave 
 Felmley a certain prestige among the faculty. 5 
 
 Felmley soon ranked as one of the best teachers in the Normal 
 University. With President Cook he prepared the work in arith- 
 metic in the State Course of Study for sixth, seventh, and eighth 
 grades. He was quick and accurate in his thinking and as a 
 mathematician, he was clear, logical, and thorough. He was a 
 forceful speaker and was in demand at institutes throughout the 
 
 8 Vidette, September 1890, p. 2. 
 
 4 Three children were born to David and Auta Felmley, Ruth, Mildred Helen, and John 
 Benjamin. 
 
 6 Harper, Development of the Teachers College, p. 262. 
 
230 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 state. He had an almost uncanny memory for facts and names. 
 Students and faculty marveled at his wide range of interests and 
 his vast store of information. He was as much at home with the 
 Astronomy Club studying Orion, Venus, and Mars as he was with 
 the Economics Club struggling with the single tax theories of 
 Henry George in the Saturday morning discussions of Progress 
 and Poverty. He followed closely the work of the Popular Science 
 Monthly in focusing attention on the need of scientific education. 
 He came to the conclusion that the study of science was more 
 pertinent to an understanding of the modern age than the study 
 of the classics in which he had been so well trained. 
 
 He believed deeply in personal liberty and resented the injustice 
 of outmoded institutions. He supported the Granger Movement, 
 announced himself a "free-trader," a single taxer, and a silver 
 Democrat. He dared incur the wrath of Governor Altgeld by 
 writing and speaking in behalf of William Jennings Bryan in the 
 campaign of 1896. 
 
 In the spring of 1897 it looked for a time as though new ap- 
 pointments to the Board might be conditional on willingness to 
 dismiss the "unpolitic" young professor. President Cook wrote 
 William Green, "It is quite clear that a fight is on against 
 Mr. Felmley. It has been on in fact for over three months. ... If 
 it should happen that the politicians are really to come into our 
 school and determine our teachers on the basis of their connection 
 with political parties it will be the most lamentable thing this 
 institution has ever encountered." 6 The incident stood between 
 Felmley and the presidency in 1899. Cook did not think it wise 
 at that time to nominate as his successor a man who incurred the 
 ill will of politicians in Springfield. 7 By July 1900 tensions had 
 eased, and Cook was relieved and pleased when Felmley was 
 made president. 
 
 Fortunately for the school Felmley had cooperated faithfully 
 and enthusiastically with Arnold Tompkins in the reorganization 
 plan. The faculty breathed a sigh of relief; with David Felmley 
 as president the work of the past year would not have to be done 
 over. What a dither and whirlwind of faculty meetings the re- 
 
 6 John W. Cook to Honorable William H. Green, Normal, April 26, 1897. Quoted. 
 Ibid., p. 264. 
 
 7 John W. Cook, "Our Guest of Honor," Alumni Quarterly, III (August 1914), p. 4. 
 
The Unforgettable Mr. Felmley 231 
 
 organization had entailed! Clarissa Ela wondered if now she 
 might find a little leisure to pursue her art. J. Rose Colby resolved 
 that if she had any time to be spared from the English poets and 
 the grading of themes she would devote it to the cause of woman 
 suffrage. Professor Manchester, who was becoming more and 
 more interested in economics and political science, had plans for 
 serious professional reading. Henry McCormick was beginning to 
 talk of retirement. Ange. Milner agreed it was comfortable to 
 have some one whom they all knew as president. But if the mem- 
 bers of the faculty thought they could placidly return to their 
 classrooms and the status quo they would be sadly mistaken. 
 Stagnation would not be possible under David Felmley. 
 
 Attendance at the summer school in 1900 was 469. The teachers, 
 who came largely from city schools, were enthusiastic over their 
 work and wanted to return. President Felmley announced the 
 summer school would be a regular part of the Normal Uni- 
 versity. How to pay the faculty was the immediate problem. A 
 fee of six dollars was charged those who attended and the total 
 amount pro-rated among the teachers but this plan had its dis- 
 advantages and Felmley knew that faculty altruism and pro- 
 fessional zeal could not be capitalized or imposed upon year after 
 year. He proposed that teachers be employed for forty-two weeks 
 instead of thirty-nine and that whenever a faculty member chose 
 not to teach in the summer school, one-thirteenth of his salary 
 would be deducted. The Board acquiesced, provided the revenues 
 of the summer school justified the additional compensation. A 
 half -loaf was better than no loaf, and Felmley began thinking of 
 how he could best use the one hundred dollars allocated for ad- 
 vertising the next summer school. 8 
 
 Something had to be done about the situation in the Practice 
 School. There were not enough rooms and not enough pupils to 
 provide proper teaching experience for the practice teachers. In 
 1900 there were only 251 pupils distributed through twelve grades. 
 Twelve classes were taught by critics or regular teachers for pur- 
 poses of observation while for practice eighty-two student teachers 
 each taught two consecutive classes. A new building on the 
 campus was desirable, but when the low tuition rate of only a 
 
 8 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) December 5, 1900, pp. 16, 24. 
 
232 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 dollar failed to bring in enough pupils, the structure could not be 
 justified. 9 
 
 In 190 1 a contract was made with the local public school board 
 by which as many grades as were needed were placed at the dis- 
 posal of the University, a plan being pursued in a number of the 
 normal schools. Tuition was free to residents of Normal. The 
 public school buildings were close to the campus, and certain 
 grades were taught in the Model School building and others in 
 the town buildings. The Model High School was discontinued, 
 and all high school work was done in the high school building on 
 Ash Street, where the University provided teachers for six high 
 school classes. The city superintendent reviewed lesson plans and 
 supervised the high school, while supervision and direction of 
 the grade school work was conducted by the University. Teach- 
 ers in the public schools to whose rooms practice teachers were 
 assigned were given additional compensation by the University. 
 Facilities of the University in art, music, and physical education 
 were made available to the pupils of the public schools. Felmley 
 realized that there were many imperfections in the plan, but it 
 was the best that could be done. A reassuring clause in the con- 
 tract provided that either the University or the public school 
 could terminate the arrangement any year by giving written 
 notice prior to June 30. 10 
 
 The Board was in sympathy with plans to beautify the campus, 
 but no financial support was forthcoming until after the great 
 storm of June 10, 1902, had left the campus in a state of shambles 
 and ruin. As well as wrecking trees and shrubs, much damage 
 was done to the buildings. The following year after the buildings 
 were repaired, and the wreckage cleared away, John L. Gregory 
 was employed to take charge of the grounds and school garden. 
 In three months he planted 350 trees of seventy-four varieties, 
 254 flowering shrubs of sixty-nine varieties, and 113 climbing 
 vines of twenty-seven varieties. Felmley urged the planting of 
 nut-bearing trees. He had in mind not only a beautiful campus 
 for students but a preserve for squirrels and birds. In 1904 Bruno 
 Nehrling, a graduate in landscape and ornamental gardening 
 
 9 Ibid., p. 15. 
 
 10 Ibid., (Normal) July 31, 1901, pp. 10-12. 
 
The Unforgettable Mr. Felmley 233 
 
 from the Missouri Botanical Gardens, Washington University, 
 St. Louis, was engaged to take over the planting and gardening. 
 There was no greenhouse, so classrooms, sunny basement win- 
 dows, and the heating plant had to double for cutting, storage, 
 and workrooms. 11 
 
 When Felmley became president he selected George H. Howe, 
 Ph. D., a graduate of the Oswego Normal School, to take over his 
 own work in mathematics. The employment of Frank W. West- 
 hoff, supervisor in music in the Decatur schools, as a full-time 
 music teacher was considered by the new president as one of his 
 first real achievements. Professor Westhoff directed the entire 
 school in singing for twenty minutes each day during the period 
 of General Exercises, held regular classes in the afternoon, and 
 also directed the glee clubs. The handsome and dignified pro- 
 fessor had a love for music that was infectious, and presently 
 President Felmley was commenting that "music seems the most 
 popular study today in the Normal School." Frank Westhofr" was 
 to remain on the faculty for over thirty years and number among 
 the thousands the students whom he taught to sing. 12 
 
 Another victory was won when a free kindergarten was made 
 an integral part of the Practice School. In September of 1902 
 Caroleen Robinson, of Saginaw, Michigan, began her work as the 
 school's first kindergarten teacher at a salary of sixty dollars a 
 month. Thirty-four pupils were enrolled but only twenty-nine 
 were regular in attendance and paid requisite fees. Upon President 
 Felmley's recommendation the Board voted to eliminate the fees 
 and to restrict the enrollment to forty pupils. Miss Robinson also 
 taught a course in the philosophy and methods of the kinder- 
 garten which was set up as an elective in place of one of the regu- 
 lar courses in pedagogy. 13 
 
 President Felmley's long range plans for an enriched curric- 
 
 11 Of the 2500 trees planted in 1867 after the original Saunders plan, only eight hundred 
 trees and forty-two varieties survived to 1902. Index 1902, p. 13. 
 
 12 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) December 18, 1901, p. 9. 
 Frank W. Westhoff (1 863-1 938) was in charge of music at Illinois State Normal 
 University from 1901 to 1934. He began the study of music at the age of eight under an 
 uncle who had taught music in Germany. At fourteen he studied organ and piano, and 
 at sixteen was director of a church choir. Meanwhile he had studied orchestra, coronet, 
 and clarinet. In 1884 he taught piano and organ privately. In 1892 he took over vocal 
 music in the Decatur schools. 
 
 ™lbid., (Normal) December 19, 1902, pp. 7-8. 
 
234 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 ulum included training in manual arts, household arts, and dra- 
 matics, as well as in music. He also wanted improvements in 
 physical education and in the library. Courses in these fields could 
 not be offered to any extent without new buildings. 
 
 In 1903 the northwest room in the basement of the Main Build- 
 ing was outfitted for shop work, and twelve Tole benches were 
 installed. William T. Bawden of Buffalo, New York, a graduate 
 of Denison University who had done additional work in the 
 Mechanics Institute at Rochester and Teachers College, Columbia, 
 was employed as teacher of manual training. He was also to do 
 some work in men's athletics. 14 
 
 Fifteen hours a week in manual training were given to normal 
 classes, seven hours to grammar grade classes, and five hours to 
 high school. Thursday evenings and Saturday forenoons he taught 
 classes for teachers currently employed in the public schools. The 
 first term that work was offered sixteen Normal students en- 
 rolled ; the second term there were three times as many. An extra 
 class was formed to meet after school and a number of applicants 
 had to be turned away. The following year eight more benches 
 were added, but again the equipment was inadequate to the de- 
 mand. 
 
 In 1904 President Felmley broached the matter of a department 
 of domestic science. Throughout the nation, women's clubs and 
 farmers institutes were urging that schools provide training in 
 household arts, and that teachers be given special training in these 
 fields. 15 However, west of Indiana few normal schools had as yet 
 provided such instruction. Here was an opportunity for Illinois 
 State Normal University to blaze a trail. The Forty-fourth General 
 Assembly voted an appropriation of $75,000 for a Manual Training 
 Building designed to accommodate the departments of art, man- 
 ual training and domestic science, offices for instructors, and an 
 auditorium, but Governor Deneen vetoed the bill. Two years 
 later an omnibus bill carrying an appropriation of $110,000 for a 
 
 14 Ibid., (Normal) June 2, 1903, pp. 10, 21; (Normal) December 16, 1903, p. 7. 
 
 18 During the first term of the summer session of 1904 the Parents Club of Normal 
 maintained a school of domestic science in one of the public school buildings. These 
 classes were open to students of Normal University without cost. Twenty-four women 
 and forty-eight girls of grammar school age enrolled. 
 
The Unforgettable Mr. Felmley 235 
 
 manual arts building and other improvements won the approval 
 of the governor. 16 
 
 Prior to 1904 no regular work in public speaking was required 
 of students. Philadelphian, Wrightonian, Sapphonian, Cicero- 
 nian, the Girls' Debating Club, and the Young Men's and the 
 Young Women's Christian Associations, together with the annual 
 February contests in oratory and declamation, the annual debates 
 with the State Normal at Oshkosh, and the speeches at Com- 
 mencement were expected to provide ample training in forensics. 
 An investigation revealed that a large percentage of the students 
 graduated without having availed themselves of educational ex- 
 periences and training that these voluntary organizations af- 
 forded. Alarmed and disturbed by the facts, the faculty requested 
 that some rhetorical work be required of all students either in the 
 volunteer student societies or in regular classes organized for this 
 purpose, and that three exercises, speeches, or public appearances 
 be required each term. 
 
 Beginning with the year 1904-1905 rhetoricals were regularly 
 required of all students, and the work distributed among the 
 faculty. Assignments were made after consulting the students' 
 preferences. It was a favorite joke with President Felmley that 
 few students chose his section. 
 
 The rhetoricals, which substituted for General Exercises on 
 Tuesday and lasted for forty-five minutes, varied with the in- 
 structor. Some emphasized oratory, some interpretative reading. 
 Miss Colby and her pupils read poetry. 17 They were fascinated 
 as they listened. Miss Colby neither read nor sang; she seemed to 
 chant, withal capturing the innermost thought of the poet and 
 recreating anew the scene. As she read, Banquo's ghost seemed 
 suddenly near, another day Lear's grief might be as their own. 
 Not all the rhetoricals were quite so inspirational. Those who 
 were so naive or daring as to select the president's section testify 
 it was a rigorous experience, one they would neither forget nor 
 care to repeat. Regardless of the section, rhetoricals required 
 preparation and before long the societies were complaining that 
 
 18 Francis G. Blair to David Felmley, Springfield, May 20, 1907. Felmley Papers; 
 Index 1907, p. 164. 
 
 "Interview, Lela Winegarner, June 5, 1953. 
 
236 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 the new rhetorical system was making inroads on attendance. 18 
 Rhetoricals continued for over twenty years. At home nothing 
 may have been "as sure as death and taxes," but at Normal it was 
 "rhetoricals and senior themes." 19 
 
 While the students groaned beneath their load and openly 
 voiced complaint in the columns of the Vidette and in Index 
 cartoons and editorials, the faculty were wont to shake their heads 
 and sigh privately. The "critique," wherein a faculty member 
 taught a model class before the student body and then later sat 
 through a criticism of it by other members of the staff, abandoned 
 when Arnold Tompkins became president, was revived under 
 President Felmley. 20 
 
 The union of training school and public school seemed to 
 work very well at first. Seventy percent of the 661 citizens who 
 had voted favored the arrangement. The union cost to the public 
 school board was a little over $2,100, mostly in salaries for the 
 critic teachers. In turn the children in the public school were 
 given art, music, physical training, and privileges of the library, 
 campus, and gymnasium. A minority of the townspeople were 
 never reconciled to the idea and in the fall of 1903 began to agitate 
 for a dissolution of the union. The school board of Normal, be- 
 lieving that most of the parents were pleased with the training 
 that their children were receiving, declined to submit the question 
 to a vote. Andrew Lindblad then applied to the Circuit Court of 
 McLean County for an injunction to keep the school board from 
 paying salaries of the critic teachers ; he also instituted suits against 
 the members of the board for the recovery of such salaries as 
 had been paid. In December at an election called by Lindblad 
 and his friends, a vote of 459 was cast for dissolution of the union, 
 the friends of the union generally abstaining from voting. The 
 next day the school board yielded to this sudden show of strength 
 and notified President Felmley that the union would terminate 
 June 30, 1904. 
 
 18 Index 191 2, p. 86. 
 
 19 In December 1922 President Felmley reported there were forty-one rhetorical classes 
 meeting each Tuesday for forty-five minutes. Students who showed proficiency in public 
 speaking if elected to active membership in the literary societies were "excused" from 
 rhetoricals. Proceedings of the Board of Education (DeKalb) December 6, 1922, p. 25. 
 
 The Board had voted December 12, 1921 to eliminate the graduating theme. 
 20 Ibid., (Normal) December 18, 1901, p. 8; Index 1902, p. 102. 
 
The Unforgettable Mr. F elm ley 237 
 
 When Lindblad proceeded with his suits against the school 
 board, the members became indignant and the notice sent to 
 President Felmley was recalled, pending the action of the Circuit 
 Court. The decision denied the petition for an injunction and up- 
 held the right of the school board to contract with the State 
 Board of Education. 
 
 Lindblad took the case to the Appellate Court and on to the 
 Supreme Court. Meanwhile there was school as usual. Members 
 elected to the local board in 1905 and 1906 favored the union and 
 it seemed the matter was settled. Plans went forward to strengthen 
 the relationship and add to the efficiency of the training depart- 
 ment. On April 18, 1906, the Supreme Court handed down its 
 fateful decision that the union was unlawful by three counts: 
 first, because the board of education of the town of Normal had 
 delegated a portion of its powers to the Normal University; 
 second, because public school funds were paid to critic teachers 
 whose job it was, not to train children but Normal students in 
 the art of teaching; and third, because children, when taught by 
 student teachers, were taught by persons not legally qualified 
 through a teacher's certificate. It looked as though the University's 
 training program had been dealt a hard blow. 
 
 Upon hearing of the decision Enoch Gastman hurried over 
 from Decatur and conferred with President Felmley, Charles 
 Capen, and F. D. Marquis. On April 27, Gastman advised the 
 town school board that Normal University was withdrawing its 
 eighty-four student teachers from the public school but that the 
 town board would be permitted to re-employ the critic teachers as 
 regular teachers for the rest of the year. Thirty-seven of the 
 student teachers quickly obtained certificates from County Super- 
 intendent Wren and were employed as assistant teachers for the 
 rest of the year, while the other forty-seven continued as "ob- 
 
 servers." 
 
 It was gratifying to the Normal University that in May 1906, 
 when the local board requested the parents of children attending 
 the elementary schools to state whether they preferred to send 
 their children to the public school or to the University Model 
 School, of the 449 children in attendance, parents of 245 voted in 
 favor of the University, the parents of 121 children for the public 
 
238 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 school, and those of 83 children failed to report. 21 A majority of 
 the parents did not feel their children were injured by being "prac- 
 ticed upon" by student teachers. There was no doubt whether 
 there would be sufficient pupils to operate a model school success- 
 fully. The problem henceforth would be a matter of selection. 
 
 While the battle of the Model School was being fought on the 
 home front the University of Illinois took cognizance of David 
 Felmley's work and conferred upon him the honorary degree of 
 Doctor of Laws at its convocation in 1906. 22 
 
 The Model School was reorganized and tailored to the limi- 
 tations of space. Seven grades and the kindergarten were housed 
 in the Training Building, and the eighth grade was brought into 
 the old high school room in the Main Building. A training school 
 building adequate for the Normal University's program to pre- 
 pare teachers for the common schools was a matter of urgent 
 need, but a manual training building and auditorium should 
 come first. It was not a good idea to abandon one building in 
 favor of another and scarcely politic to ask for two buildings in a 
 single appropriation. But no sooner did the General Assembly 
 vote favorably on the manual arts building than plans were laid 
 to ask for a new training building. 
 
 The Lindly Act, passed by the General Assembly in 1905, pro- 
 vided for one free scholarship per township upon competitive 
 examination of eighth grade graduates. President Felmley be- 
 lieved this would bring more students to Normal University and 
 that the high school department should be built up to meet their 
 need. The severance of the union with the Normal public schools 
 made this more imperative. Since many of the eighth grade 
 graduates were under sixteen and entrance requirements to the 
 normal schools were still sixteen, the development of a high 
 school program was more important than ever. The increase in 
 the number of students attending high school in the state would 
 soon be placing a new emphasis on training teachers beyond the 
 common branches and needs of elementary principals. 
 
 Normal University needed to be prepared to meet the new 
 challenge. So President Felmley told the faculty as they pre- 
 
 21 David Felmley to Alfred Bayliss, Normal, May i, 1906. Felmley Papers. Proceedings 
 of the Board of Education (Normal) June 6, 1906, pp. 8-9. 
 88 Harper, Development of the Teachers College, p. 276. 
 
The Unforgettable Mr. Felmley 239 
 
 pared to celebrate the first fifty years of the history of Normal 
 University. A backward glance and a flush of pride were not 
 ill-becoming. Illinois State Normal University was known 
 throughout the length and breadth of the land. Six Filipino stu- 
 dents on campus, as beneficiaries of the Congressional Act of 
 July 1903, bore living testimony to the high regard in which the 
 Federal Commissioner of Education held the institution. 23 Like 
 the Bridgewater Normal of an earlier era, Illinois State Normal 
 University had contributed so many graduates to presidencies and 
 faculties of other normals that it was often spoken of as the 
 Mother of Western Normals. Educational literature had been en- 
 riched by the writings of the McMurrys, Edmund James, Charles 
 DeGarmo, John Keith, and other graduates. As director of the 
 Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, 
 Edmund James first showed an American university how to 
 educate business leaders. 
 
 To mark the passing of the years, members of the faculty under 
 the direction of Professor O. L. Manchester and Professor John 
 A. H. Keith prepared a Semi-Centennial History together with 
 an Alumni, Faculty, and Board Register. 24 
 
 Meanwhile the social life of the school centered in the gym- 
 nasium, Normal Hall, and the Wrightonian and Philadelphian 
 societies. Though not averse to inter-scholastic athletics President 
 Felmley believed that the students should share in the responsi- 
 bility of managing athletic events, and in 190 1 an Athletic Asso- 
 ciation was formed and the supervision of sports delegated to a 
 Board of Control consisting of three students and two faculty 
 members. The personnel changed each quarter. The emphasis 
 around the turn of the century was in intramural contests, tennis, 
 and basketball, but with the new interest in football, students and 
 players looked beyond the campus for competition worthy of their 
 prowess. 
 
 Girls played inter-scholastic games in basketball with Wesleyan, 
 Eureka, and nearby high schools. They wore pleated bloomers 
 bloused below the knee, high-ribbed stockings, high-necked waists 
 
 88 Index 1905, pp. 131-132. 
 
 24 Twelve hundred copies of the Semi-Centennial History were printed at a cost of $900. 
 The book sold for one dollar. Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) June 5, 
 1907, p. 12. 
 
240 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 with long sleeves, middy collars, and dickeys, and their hair was 
 held secure with ribbons and bows. For the boys' basketball it 
 was an era of turtle-neck sweaters and knee trousers. 25 Lawn 
 tennis was played in the short grass until about 190 1, when 
 devotees Professor Manchester and student Thomas Barger set a 
 new fashion by having a good clay court built. 
 
 By 1906 season tickets were being sold to athletic events, and 
 the new speech teacher, Howard Spencer Woodward, organized a 
 yelling section. Rowdiness and poor sportsmanship were not un- 
 usual. The Index of 1902 explained that the University's poor 
 luck in football the past season was due among other things to 
 poor coaching. In 1905 Normal University's team objected to the 
 refereeing at Jacksonville and left the field after sixteen minutes 
 of play in the second half, asserting that "leaving the field" was a 
 prerogative to get "decent refereeing" and for the preservation of 
 the sport. 
 
 Such conduct led to considerable opposition to football from 
 some of the faculty and students. President Felmley spoke sar- 
 castically of the game two or three times a week in General Exer- 
 cises, and after announcing a forthcoming game in a colorless 
 way would say, "I hope many of you will see fit to attend this 
 game." 26 Intramural contests were looked upon with greater 
 favor by most of the faculty. However, these contests were "not 
 without incident." One of the devices to arouse interest before an 
 inter-society athletic or forensic event was a "color rush." There 
 was a mad and excited scramble to see which society would 
 succeed in flying its colors high above the gymnasium or from 
 the cupola of the Main Building. Fighting sometimes followed, 
 as in 190 1, when window panes were broken. During the melee 
 President Felmley appeared, seized several of the culprits, and 
 later assessed damages against the societies. Another time banisters 
 were broken during a junior-senior color rush preceding a basket- 
 ball game. 27 
 
 A coach was hired in 1908 to take over training for athletic 
 contests, 28 but a campus row in the winter of 1909-1910 led the 
 
 25 Index 1902, p. 92. 
 
 28 Ibid., 1906, p. 96. 
 
 "Ibid., pp. 54-55. 
 
 ^Willfred George Binneweis, A.B. (DePauw) was the popular coach at Shurtleff 
 
The Unforgettable Mr. Felmley 241 
 
 faculty to suspend inter-scholastic games in baseball and foot- 
 ball. 29 No baseball was played in 1910, but the game was resumed 
 in 1911. 30 
 
 The inter-society forensic contests that had excited rivalry and 
 attracted townspeople for over fifty years, commencement exer- 
 cises, the entertainment series, and the daily General Exercises 
 were held on the third floor of the Main Building. School parties, 
 receptions, and banquets were held in the gymnasium. The Fort- 
 nightly Club, encouraged by President Felmley, succeeded in 
 getting the Board to open the gymnasium for dancing in Septem- 
 ber 1903. When the teacher of gymnastics forbade the waxing of 
 the floor the students parafined their shoes. After each dance a 
 committee scrubbed the floors. 31 
 
 The Junior-Senior banquet was the great social climax of the 
 year. Class officers and faculty received the guests in the library 
 on the second floor of the gymnasium building. The somber book- 
 lined shelves were enlivened by potted palms and large baskets of 
 spring flowers. Tables were set up in the gymnasium on the first 
 floor. The bleak walls and gallery were masked and transformed 
 into a "fairyland of crepe paper streamers, green boughs and 
 flowers." The caterers took over the dressing rooms. Here Carter 
 Harris and his wife and their helpers busied themselves with 
 borrowed silver and china, and tried their best to keep the hot 
 foods warm and the iced foods from melting. Each junior class 
 fondly hoped it would be entertained in the new building. 
 
 It was 1909 before the new manual arts building was completed. 
 The lowest bid had been $30,000 over the amount appropriated, 
 and new plans had to be drawn. Room sizes were cut and tile 
 floor and marble base gave way to hard maple and other econo- 
 mies that were later regretted. 32 The bridge connecting the two 
 buildings, a suggestion of Ella Flagg Young, happily was not 
 one of the items that had to be sacrificed. 
 
 College, Alton. When Shurtleff students collected $300 to induce him to remain, 
 President Felmley countered by increasing Normal University's offer $300. Binneweis 
 assisted in German while on the faculty 1908-1910. 
 
 29 In 1908 "N" sweaters were awarded to men who played in three games. Index 
 1908, p. 47. 
 
 80 Ibid., 1911, p. 118. 
 
 81 Ibid., 1904, p. 115. 
 
 82 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) December 18, 1907, pp. 23-24. 
 
242 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 The opening program held in the auditorium later named in 
 honor of resident Board member, Charles L. Capen, was the de- 
 bate with Oshkosh Normal on Friday, May 21, 1909. Normal 
 won a unanimous decision on the subject of the "Commission 
 Plan of Government for Cities over 25,000." Elaborate plans for 
 the visitors from Oshkosh included a drive about Bloomington 
 on Saturday morning. At noon the Domestic Science Department 
 served a luncheon for the Oratorical Board, the guests from Osh- 
 kosh, the Normal debaters, and a few of the faculty. So royally 
 were the guests entertained that they missed their train. 33 
 
 In 1901 as the result of a class vote, the seniors petitioned the 
 Board for a special Commencement speaker instead of the seven 
 class speakers, the expedient used after the classes became too 
 large to permit each member to present an essay or oration, but 
 the proposition was voted down as being undesirable at the time 
 "to change the established custom of the school." Succeeding 
 classes made similar appeals, and in 1915 it was left to the faculty 
 to decide whether there would be seven class speakers or one 
 eminent outsider. 
 
 While the students resolved to spell progress on the campus by 
 outlawing old customs and establishing new precedents, President 
 Felmley quietly, but no less determinedly, pursued a reform of 
 his own. It was simplified spelling. David Felmley believed that 
 every teacher should be a good speller and throughout his long 
 administration every candidate for a diploma had to pass a 
 qualifying test in spelling. Prospective teachers not only had to be 
 able to spell but they had to know all the rules of spelling. As 
 rules for sports were revised from time to time and the game 
 improved, so President Felmley believed spelling reform would 
 do service to the language. 
 
 To David Felmley silent letters were an abomination. Why a 
 final e if it were not pronounced ? What was the virtue of a double 
 letter, the second of which was never pronounced? What justifi- 
 cation was there for such antiquated combinations of unsounded 
 letters as "ough"? It is not known when President Felmley de- 
 veloped his convictions on spelling, but it was reassuring to him 
 to learn of the organization of the Simplified Spelling Board in 
 
 88 Index 1909, p. 102. 
 
The Unforgettable Mr. Felmley 243 
 
 New York on January 13, 1906. 34 He was by no means blazing a 
 trail. He found himself in such illustrious company as David 
 Starr Jordan, President of the University of California; Wil- 
 liam T. Harris, United States Commissioner of Education; Theo- 
 dore Roosevelt, President of the United States; Mark Twain; and 
 Richard Watson Gilder of Century Magazine. 
 
 Shortly thereafter letterheads from the office of the president of 
 Illinois State Normal University carried the legend "The spellings 
 recommended by the Simplified Spelling Board are used in the 
 correspondence of this office." Flora Dodge, the secretary, pains- 
 takingly learned the new system and noted when and to whom 
 to use the conventional spelling and to whom to use the reformed. 
 Whenever President Felmley attended a meeting of the Simplified 
 Spelling Board or received an annual report she expected to have 
 to revise her spellings. 
 
 Not every one connected with the Normal University shared 
 President Felmley's enthusiasm for simplified spelling. Ella Flagg 
 Young, principal of the Chicago Normal School and long a mem- 
 ber of the State Board of Education, could not accept the new 
 reform. The use of "ar," "sho," "nite," and "rite" annoyed 
 Mrs. Young. She could not understand why David Felmley could 
 subscribe to such unconventional practices, and she often chided 
 him about his hobby. On May 1, 1909, she replied to one of his 
 letters : 
 My dear Mr. Felmley : 
 
 After careful and painful effort I have succeeded in translating your 
 deformed spelling into my own vernacular. I make out that the world 
 looks pretty fair at Normal . . . you are to be congratulated. 35 
 
 At institutes and other educational meetings President Felmley 
 spoke in behalf of simplified spelling. The Simplified Spelling 
 Board took cognizance of his efforts and invited him to member- 
 ship. 
 
 Students were enthusiastic until they learned that President 
 Felmley's case for simplified spelling did not "make every man 
 his own spelling authority" and that the SSB only substituted new 
 and more numerous rules for spelling. 
 
 84 Helen E. Marshall, "Simplified Spelling — And David Felmley," Alumni Quarterly 
 (May 1954). PP. 8-9. 
 86 Ella Flagg Young to David Felmley, Chicago, May i, 1909. Felmley Papers. 
 
244 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Aside from catalogs, board reports, and University bulletins, 
 the most significant piece of printing employing simplified spell- 
 ing to come from Normal University during the Felmley regime 
 was a cookbook. When Miss Carrie Alberta Lyford came to 
 Normal University in 1908 as its first home economics teacher, 
 she not only had some very definite ideas about household science 
 but she was aware of the scarcity of good textbooks. Continually 
 besieged for copies of her choice recipes, she longed to commit 
 them to print and posterity. She told President Felmley that she 
 would like to prepare a cookbook for her advanced class if the 
 University would arrange for its publication. Outside sales, she 
 added, might provide some much needed equipment. President 
 Felmley agreed to undertake publication only if the book were 
 written in simplified spelling. In glee he told Carrie Lyford that 
 her Advanced Cookery would probably be America's first cook- 
 book to use simplified spelling. Little did Miss Lyford realize the 
 mutilation to which her precious recipes would be subjected. Date 
 buns and English muffins came to rest under "Breds." Eggs lost 
 a "g" and mouthwatering meringues seemed less mouthwatering 
 deprived of their useless "ue." Parsley was now "chopt" not 
 "chopped"; onions were "minst" although pies remained the tra- 
 ditional "minced." Braised tongue emerging as "tung" was more 
 suggestive of fresh paint than food. "Doughnuts" mysteriously 
 escaped President Felmley's creative genius and he can be given no 
 credit for the current popular "do-nut." 36 
 
 When educational foundations were no longer interested in 
 underwriting the activities of the Simplified Spelling Board, the 
 organization fell apart. In his personal correspondence President 
 Felmley never deviated, although in his later years there was 
 greater conformity to conventional spelling in printed materials 
 sent out from the Normal University. 
 
 The installation of a pipe organ in the new auditorium was a 
 great delight to President Felmley. To his surprise it had not been 
 cut from the appropriation for the new auditorium. Mrs. Young 
 had forewarned him that he had had more courage than she to 
 
 86 Page one of Carrie Lyford's Advanced Cookery brings the interesting information 
 that in her day and that of David Felmley "Cocktails are of two classes, fish cocktails 
 and fruit cocktails." 
 
The Unforgettable Mr. Felmley 245 
 
 ask for it. 37 Felmley knew nothing about pipe organs, but he 
 welcomed the opportunity to learn something new and off his 
 beaten track. He consulted Frank Westhoff, Professor of Music, 
 William T. Bawden of the Manual Training Department, and 
 local organists. After zealously studying various makes, models 
 and qualities of organs, he announced he was ready to let the con- 
 tract. The organ was built by Hillgreen, Lane, and Company of 
 Alliance, Ohio, at a cost of $6,400. It had a three-manual console 
 with thirty-four registers, and 2,184 pip es ? couplers, combinations 
 and accessories. The Board of Education thought an expert should 
 test the organ before final payment was made. President Felmley 
 insisted that a hundred dollars for this service was reckless ex- 
 travagance. He said he would read up on organs and do the test- 
 ing himself. The Board hired the expert but Felmley checked the 
 work. While the organ was being installed, President Felmley 
 was constantly at the heels of the workmen asking questions 
 about the pipes, the wiring, and the console. When the students 
 assembled each day for "Gen. Ex." and beheld the pipe strewn 
 stage he passed along to them the knowledge he had so recently 
 acquired. Later he had much satisfaction in showing prospective 
 teachers of music the organ, asking them questions they had 
 never expected, and then telling them things they never expected 
 a college president to tell them. 38 
 
 The interviews to which he subjected applicants live long in 
 the memories of those who successfully answered his scrutinizing 
 questions and became members of his faculty. David Felmley 
 had little use for timid vacillating souls. He respected the teacher 
 who had opinions and the courage to defend them, but he re- 
 sented arrogance and willful display. If a teacher failed to give 
 satisfaction, he had no hesitancy in suggesting, even demanding, 
 a resignation. Those who met his standards and continued on the 
 staff became for the most part his devoted friends. They marveled 
 at his vast knowledge of so many things, and reveled in his quick 
 repartee. They accepted his judgment and his leadership, arbitrary 
 though it may have seemed at times. 
 
 "Ella Flagg Young to David Felmley, Chicago, February 13, 1909. Felmley Papers. 
 88 Interview, Miss Ruth Stroud, Normal, Illinois, June 2, 1954. 
 
246 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 A man of less fortitude and vision might have given up in the 
 face of dwindling enrollments and a penurious Legislature and 
 succumbed to more tempting offers. 
 
 David Felmley was born to fight. He stayed on. 39 
 
 89 Although the enrollment in May 1906 was ninety-five percent higher than in May 
 1924, it was twenty-one percent less than in 1901, the first year of David Felmley's 
 administration. Index 1906, p. 7. Illinois School Reports 1902, 1904, 1906, 1908. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 From Normal School to Teachers 
 
 College 
 
 In the paradox of decreased enrollment in the normal 
 schools and the increased number of high schools, President 
 Felmley saw the handwriting on the wall. Teacher training was 
 being siphoned away from the normal schools by high schools, 
 four-year colleges and the state university. A diploma from a 
 normal school did not constitute a certificate to teach. 1 Although 
 the Normal University had been a professional school from the 
 beginning, it did not have authority to license those who com- 
 pleted its course. It was assumed that its function was to train 
 every kind of teacher needed in the public schools, from first 
 grade through high school. 2 In the late 1880's midwestern uni- 
 versities became aware of the phenomenal growth of high schools 
 and the need for adequately prepared secondary teachers. In- 
 spired by the University of Michigan, other universities began a 
 movement to standardize and accredit high schools. They in- 
 sisted upon graduation from a recognized college as a prerequisite 
 for high school teaching. Chairs of pedagogy, later departments of 
 education, and finally schools of education were established by 
 the universities. This new aggressiveness on the part of the uni- 
 versities all too often relegated the normal schools to "step-child" 
 status with the sole function of preparing teachers for the ele- 
 mentary schools. 
 
 Illinois State Normal University, says Professor Harper, had 
 from its beginning "certain ideals, concepts and practices, char- 
 acteristic of an institution of higher education." It was compelled 
 to compromise with educational situations as they existed, but its 
 
 1 Under the antiquated certification laws all teachers in order to receive salaries from 
 public funds were required to pass county superintendent examinations. The marks 
 received determined whether the certificate was first, second, or third grade. 
 
 "David Felmley to F. W. Shepardson, Normal, December 7, 191 8. Felmley Papers. 
 
 247 
 
248 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 ultimate goal was the training of teachers for all the schools. In 
 1859 Charles Hovey, first principal, a Dartmouth graduate, in 
 speaking before the first Normal School Convention said, 
 
 If it be attempted to prepare fully for high schools and similar institu- 
 tions, I do not see how to avoid the ordinary four-year college courses, 
 with all that is necessary as a preparation, and the professional courses 
 besides. If the pupils were taken from the best of the grammar schools, 
 the work here indicated would require at least eight years of time. 3 
 
 Richard Edwards, who succeeded Hovey, believed that normal 
 schools should confer a professional degree to indicate the pro- 
 fession of teaching and to give "distinctness, dignity, and in- 
 fluence" to teaching and "place it along side the other professions 
 where for usefulness and worthiness it justly belongs." The 
 Normal University curriculum in the 1870's included advanced 
 work in mathematics, natural science, Latin, Greek, German, and 
 French, and an extensive course in English. In order to complete 
 the optional studies a student found it necessary to lengthen his 
 term of study to four years. Graduates of the Normal University 
 were in such demand prior to 19 10 that more men secured em- 
 ployment as administrators and high school teachers than as 
 elementary teachers. 4 Although in the early years the high school 
 was not an integral part of the practice school, some student teach- 
 ing was done in its classes; when the high school was restored 
 after its official discontinuance under Governor Altgeld, it was 
 recognized as a bona fide practice department. 
 
 President Felmley regarded with concern the sudden leader- 
 ship assumed by the universities. The normal schools were under 
 attack: they were accused of being shallow, of being out of touch 
 with the educational life of the state, and of making no contri- 
 bution to the science of education. Felmley bluntly declared the 
 first two accusations were untrue and that the third was an af- 
 front. Was not the Normal University the cradle of the great 
 Herbartian Movement? 
 
 8 Charles E. Hovey, Proceedings of the First Normal School Convention 1859, pp. 81-82. 
 Quoted, Harper, Development of the Teachers College, p. 308. 
 
 4 David Felmley, "The Expansion of the Normal School," Educational Review, XIV 
 (April 1913) p. 410. 
 
From Normal School to Teachers College 249 
 
 As Felmley accompanied the Normal University's students to 
 the annual debate and oratorical contests in Oshkosh, Emporia, 
 Kirksville, or Cedar Falls, he talked with other normal school 
 presidents. Their problems were much the same. In order to 
 have more opportunity for discussion and exchange of infor- 
 mation on teacher education, Felmley and his friends organized 
 the North Central Council of State Normal Schools in 1902. A 
 Department of Normal Schools had been created within the 
 National Education Association in 1870, but the new Council 
 composed of presidents and principals of public-supported insti- 
 tutions, which met separately and inaugurated special studies, 
 better served their needs. In 1917 the North Central Council ex- 
 panded into a national association; a year later the degree- 
 granting western schools desiring a more aggressive organization 
 formed the American Association of Teachers Colleges. It pub- 
 lished its first yearbook in 1922. In 1936 the North Central Asso- 
 ciation joined the American Association of Teachers Colleges 
 under the name of the latter. Two years later it replaced the 
 department of normal schools within the National Education 
 Association. Subsequently it became known as the American 
 Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. 5 It has worked 
 consistently for higher standards in teacher training. 
 
 While the question as to whether normal schools or colleges 
 should train high school teachers was being threshed out in the 
 annual meetings of the National Education Association 1900- 
 1920, leadership in behalf of normal schools was taken by Presi- 
 dent Felmley, Homer Seerley, president of Iowa State Teachers 
 College, Cedar Falls, and John Kirk, president of the Normal 
 School, Kirksville, Missouri. 6 They insisted that the colleges, in 
 ignoring courses in method and educational psychology, did not 
 turn out good teachers, that it was unwise to train high school 
 teachers apart from elementary teachers, that the essential outlook 
 could not be obtained in the colleges and universities, and that 
 the colleges and universities could not alone supply the number 
 
 "Donald P. Cottrell, Teacher Education for a Free People (Oneonta, New York: 
 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 1956), pp. 31-32. 
 
 6 Felmley paid tribute to John Kirk on his twenty-fifth anniversary, calling him "the 
 resolute champion of the teachers college against the Brahminical pundits of the tradi- 
 tional college and the arrogance of the university." David Felmley to John Kirk, Normal, 
 October 30, 1923. Felmley Papers. 
 
250 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 of high school teachers that were needed. 7 On one occasion 
 Felmley declared, 
 
 Any rule of the North Central Association that confirms the tendency to 
 educate elementary teachers in one kind of an institution and high 
 school teachers in a different institution with different traditions, 
 methods, standards and ideals, drives a wedge horizontally through our 
 public school system. There is already too great a separation between the 
 pedagogical aristocracy of the high school and the commonalty of the 
 grades, too little appreciation of their common problems where mutual 
 understanding and cooperation are vital to the best interests of the 
 school. 8 
 
 He questioned the merits of some of the accrediting agencies 
 and doubted if the quality of high school teaching had improved 
 merely by the requirement of a degree. He thought that teachers 
 should know how to teach and he told the N. E. A. in 1902 that 
 too much attention was paid to degrees. "A degree," he said, "is 
 not a sacrament. It is not the outward and visible sign of an in- 
 visible and inward spiritual grace." He was often sarcastic about 
 the quality of university teaching. 
 
 The controversy not only put the normal schools on the de- 
 fensive but it forced them to take careful stock of their offerings. 
 Their curriculums had to be revised if they were to command the 
 respect of the universities and accrediting agencies. Shortly after 
 becoming president, Felmley began to agitate for legislative per- 
 mission to grant a professional degree. Iowa State Normal inaugu- 
 rated a four-year college curriculum leading to the degree of 
 Bachelor of Arts in 1904. 9 
 
 In December 1906 President Felmley advised the Board that 
 the course of study had been developed to a point where it justi- 
 fied asking the General Assembly for authority to confer degrees 
 on persons who had completed two years of work beyond that 
 prescribed for the diploma. 10 The presidents of the other four 
 
 'David Felmley, "The Educational Progress of a Quarter Century" Normal School 
 Quarterly (April, 1909), p. 17. 
 
 8 David Felmley "In Defense of Our Senior College" Alumni Quarterly (May, 1912), 
 
 P- 13. 
 
 9 The name of Iowa State Normal was changed to Iowa State Teachers College April 5, 
 1909. Irving H. Hart, The First Seventy-five Years, (Cedar Falls: Iowa State Teachers 
 College, 1951), pp. 16-18. 
 
 10 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) December 19, 1906, p. 10. 
 
From Normal School to Teachers College 251 
 
 normal schools promptly sought degree-granting status for their 
 institutions and four similar bills were introduced. Strong oppo- 
 sition came from the small colleges. President Chamberlin of 
 McKendree College wrote Governor Charles Deneen that the 
 normal school degree bill was "another attempt to put the razor 
 to the throat of our private institutions." n 
 
 President Felmley reassured the college presidents that the 
 normals had no desire to invade the domain of the liberal arts 
 college or proselyte for students. They were only trying to do 
 their own work better and the degree to be conferred would not 
 be a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of 
 Philosophy, but a strictly professional degree. 12 The fury tempo- 
 rarily subsided, and the General Assembly before adjourning in 
 1907 conferred the right to grant degrees not only to Normal 
 University, but also to the normal schools at Carbondale, DeKalb 
 and Charleston. 13 
 
 In June 1908 two students, Alma Mary Hamilton and Lillie R. 
 Paisley, had completed requirements at Normal University and 
 were awarded the degree of Bachelor of Education. 
 
 The small colleges were appeased, but there remained the threat 
 of the ever-expanding state university. Through its inspection and 
 accrediting of high schools it might discredit the teachers college 
 degree and discourage prospective high school teachers from at- 
 tending teachers colleges. It might refuse to honor at face value 
 credits of students transferring from normal schools to the under- 
 graduate school or those who wished to take advanced degrees. 
 Furthermore by obtaining huge appropriations at the expense of 
 the teachers colleges, the university could cripple their programs 
 for expansion. President Felmley became apprehensive in the fall 
 of 1910, when the university began a pre-legislative campaign 
 for $250,000 for a School of Education Building. When a reso- 
 lution urging the appropriation was adopted by the High School 
 Conference, Felmley bristled. This one building would cost more 
 than the state had expended for all the buildings at Normal Uni- 
 versity ! 
 
 11 Quoted, Francis G. Blair to David Felmley, Springfield, April 20, 1907. Felmley 
 Papers. 
 
 "David Felmley to Francis G. Blair, Normal, April 30, 1907. Felmley Papers. 
 "The privilege of granting a degree was extended to Macomb in 191 7. 
 
252 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 In somewhat restrained simplified spelling Felmley directed a 
 ten-page letter to Edmund James, president of the University of 
 Illinois, copies of which were sent to the Board and to the press. 
 Felmley was indignant that the Legislature had denied the 
 normal schools' appeal for larger appropriations to provide for in- 
 creased enrollment and expanded programs because the state uni- 
 versity was asking so much. He had made no protest when a de- 
 partment of education had been set up as a part of the university's 
 graduate school, but now that the university projected a school 
 of education that appeared to compete with the normal schools, 
 he was furious. 14 
 
 The move on the part of the University of Illinois to undertake 
 the training of principals, superintendents, high school and special 
 teachers had especially tragic overtones for Normal University be- 
 cause Edmund James, president of the University of Illinois, was 
 a graduate of the Normal University High School in 1873 and 
 had been its principal from 1879 to 1883. Peleg Walker, a gradu- 
 ate of Normal University and a member of the Board, agreed with 
 Felmley but he was more pessimistic as to the outcome, "I believe 
 the chains are now forged and we are beaten." 15 
 
 Charles Capen, local Board member, supported Felmley. "My 
 own opinion," he said, "is the Normal schools should lock horns 
 on this issue with the state university." 1Q 
 
 Neither President Cook of DeKalb nor President Lord of 
 Charleston was quite as disturbed over the prospects for the future 
 of the normal schools. President Bayliss of Macomb was non- 
 committal. 17 President Parkinson of Carbondale saw possibilities 
 of compromise by which both the normal schools and the uni- 
 versity might profit. 18 
 
 President James in his reply to President Felmley, reiterated 
 his belief "that there should be no feeling of competition between 
 the state university and the normal schools." He suggested a 
 meeting of the presidents of the schools and some of the leading 
 
 "David Felmley to Edmund J. James, Normal, November 21, 1910. Felmley Papers. 
 w Peleg R. Walker to David Felmley, Rockford, November 28, 1910. Felmley Papers. 
 
 16 Charles L. Capen to David Felmley, Bloomington, November 28, 1910. Felmley Papers. 
 
 17 L. C. Lord to David Felmley, Charleston, November 21, 1910; John W. Cook to 
 David Felmley, DeKalb, November 28, 1910; Alfred Bayliss to David Felmley, Macomb, 
 December 5, 1910. Felmley Papers. 
 
 18 D. B. Parkinson to David Felmley, Carbondale, December 3, 1910. Felmley Papers. 
 
From Normal School to Teachers College 253 
 
 educational men of the state to talk over their common problems. 19 
 Meanwhile the Illinois State Normal University Club at the 
 University of Illinois adopted resolutions favoring the state uni- 
 versity's program for a practice school, expressing the opinion 
 that Felmley's attack on the University of Illinois would only 
 react against the normal school, and urging all loyal alumni to 
 use their influence to persuade the president to withdraw his op- 
 position. 20 Copies were circulated among the alumni and edu- 
 cators of the state. 
 
 In an effort to thresh out matters in advance of the State Teach- 
 ers Meeting, Francis G. Blair asked the presidents of the Uni- 
 versity of Illinois and the normal schools to come to Normal on 
 December 19. James had a previous engagement and sent Pro- 
 fessor William C. Bagley to present the university's position; 21 
 Parkinson of Southern missed his train. 22 After a long and serious 
 talk, the small group that attended decided it unwise to fight 
 the proposed appropriation for the university. Instead it should 
 be endorsed along with a highly expanded program for the 
 normal schools. In the end David Felmley, who had fought so 
 hard against the university, helped to write the resolutions to be 
 brought before the State Teachers Meeting the following week. 
 When they were presented he rose and publicly seconded the 
 motion to approve. 
 
 The normal schools doubtless made gains by the compromise, 
 but not all apprehension of the so-called "Colossus of education" 
 was allayed. Particularly irritating to President Felmley was the 
 state university's unwillingness to accept reports and recommen- 
 dations of the high school inspector from the office of the State 
 Superintendent of Public Instruction. The university employed 
 its own high school visitor to inspect and accredit the high schools 
 of the state. Felmley believed that in the smaller high schools of 
 the state the visitor exercised strong pressure upon school boards 
 
 "Edmund J. James to David Felmley, Urbana-Champaign, November 23, 1910. Felmley 
 Papers. 
 
 20 David Felmley to Edmund J. James, Normal, December 24, 1910. (Mimeographed) 
 Felmley Papers. 
 
 21 Edmund J. James to David Felmley, Urbana-Champaign, December 21, 1910. Felmley 
 Papers. 
 
 22 D. B. Parkinson to David Felmley, Carbondale, December 21, 1910. Felmley Papers. 
 28 Journal of the Proceedings of the Illinois State Teachers Association, 1910, pp. 14-15. 
 
254 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 to employ teachers who were graduates of the University of 
 Illinois rather than the normal schools or other colleges, and that 
 the majority of young persons who planned to become high 
 school teachers were thus lured away from the normal schools. 24 
 
 The university was also reluctant to grant full credit for work 
 done in the new teachers colleges, and graduates who wished to 
 do advanced study at the university were confronted by con- 
 siderable loss in credit. A ruling of the American Association of 
 State Universities provided that the rating accorded any school 
 or college by its own state university would be accepted as the 
 same by all other state universities. Graduates of normal schools 
 of Iowa and Kansas, where universities and teachers colleges were 
 administered by the same board and enjoyed full exchange of 
 credit, might enter the University of Illinois without loss of credit. 
 
 Felmley was determined that Normal University should be a 
 teachers college in the best sense of the word. A circular broad- 
 cast the school's progress in meeting the challenge of the times 
 through the establishment of special departments to prepare 
 teachers in the fields of music, domestic science, manual training, 
 and nature study with special emphasis on the elements of agri- 
 culture. In order that the school might "move forward in its 
 legitimate and larger field, its present resources required a new 
 model school building costing not less than $110,000, a rural 
 school department to keep in touch with rural schools and pro- 
 vide the best preparation for rural teachers, increased library 
 facilities, an expanded curriculum for the training and prepara- 
 tion of high school teachers, and a larger teaching force." 25 
 
 It was a masterly campaign, and in June 191 1 Felmley was 
 able to report, "The Forty-seventh General Assembly has dealt 
 more liberally with this institution than has any other Legislature 
 in the history of the state." 26 
 
 The new training school building, for which it appropriated 
 funds, although not entirely completed, was opened for use in the 
 fall of 1913 and made possible an expanded program in teacher 
 
 24 David Felmley to Francis W. Shepardson, Normal, December 7, 1908. Felmley 
 Papers. 
 
 28 David Felmley, Circular letter, Normal, December 17, 1910. (Mimeographed) Felm- 
 ley Papers. 
 
 28 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) June 7, 1911, p. 12. 
 
From Normal School to Teachers College 255 
 
 training. This three-story brick building, 96 by 216 feet, costing 
 approximately $140,000, was situated east of the Main Building 
 and connected to it by a bridge corresponding to the one between 
 the Main Building and the Manual Arts Building. This building 
 which was to be the home of the kindergarten, the elementary 
 school, and the high school for more than forty years, was named 
 for Thomas Metcalf, one of the early and best loved training 
 teachers. 
 
 In 1916 an arrangement with the Illinois Soldiers Orphans 
 Home 27 whereby the University assumed responsibility for the 
 educational program of the institution further extended op- 
 portunity for student teaching and observation. 28 
 
 The old training school building was converted now into a 
 library, and part of the lower floors provided classroom space for 
 what Miss Milner described as "the more quiet departments such 
 as geography." The space released in the Castle, as the classroom 
 wing of the gymnasium was known, made room for a new com- 
 mercial department. Business courses were being established in 
 high schools of the state, but as yet no institution had set up 
 courses to give special training for high school teachers of com- 
 mercial subjects. As early as December 1912 President Felmley 
 asked for two teachers "to start the ball rolling," and place 
 Normal University among the first to recognize the need for 
 training teachers in this special field. One teacher would have 
 classes in typing and stenography, and the other, classes in book- 
 keeping, business methods, and commercial law. 29 
 
 In the summer of 19 14 Arthur R. Williams, A. B. and M. A., 
 Kenyon College, was employed to teach commercial subjects. To 
 attract publicity to the University's program in training com- 
 mercial teachers, Professor Williams arranged a statewide contest 
 in shorthand and typing to be held in Normal, May 22, 19 15. 
 Sixty-eight contestants from thirteen high schools sat for the 
 test. 30 The following fall twenty-two students enrolled in the 
 commercial courses in the normal department and twenty-three 
 in the high school. The second state-wide contest attracted 185 
 
 87 Later known as Illinois Soldiers and Sailors Childrens School. 
 
 28 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) June 7, 1916, p. 12. 
 
 "Ibid., (Normal) December 18, 1912, p. 10. 
 
 **lbid., (Normal) June 9, 1915, p. 13. 
 
256 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 contestants from twenty-seven high schools. A second teacher was 
 employed, and another new department was securely launched. 31 
 
 In 19 1 1 Illinois led the list of states in the number of one-room 
 rural schools. 32 To serve more effectively the needs of rural 
 schools, a country school department was authorized by the 
 Board. Many prospective rural teachers came from urban com- 
 munities and knew nothing of rural life. Two programs were out- 
 lined, a two-year course for students who had finished the eighth 
 grade and a one-year course for students who had had at least 
 two years of high school. For the director of the new department 
 President Felmley selected Miss Mabel Carney, a vigorous and 
 enthusiastic young woman from the country school department of 
 Washington State Normal School at Cheney. Miss Carney was a 
 graduate of the Northern State Normal School at DeKalb and 
 had already had teaching experience in Illinois rural and normal 
 schools. She had a national reputation as a speaker on rural life. 
 She agreed with President Felmley that the country school de- 
 partment must take into account that young teachers could not 
 be expected to apply general principles and methods to the 
 particular conditions of the one-room rural school without obser- 
 vation and supervision. A course was needed for not only town- 
 bred teachers but for young teachers who had grown up in 
 badly-managed country schools. 33 
 
 An arrangement was made in 1913 with the directors of the 
 Walker School, south of Bloomington, by which advanced stu- 
 dents in the country school department could come there for ob- 
 servation. Miss Eula Atkinson, a graduate of the State Normal 
 School at Florence, Alabama, who had studied at Teachers Col- 
 lege, Columbia University and had been a rural supervisor under 
 the Peabody Fund, was employed as teacher at the Walker 
 School. 34 Normal University students traveled back and forth on 
 the trolley cars to observe teaching in this model rural school. 
 In the three years that Mabel Carney was in charge of the de- 
 partment she not only aroused students to the peculiar needs of 
 
 81 Ibid., (Normal) June 3, 1914, p. 13. 
 
 32 Stanley Brown to David Felmley, DeKalb, June 6, 1926. Felmley Papers. 
 88 David Felmley, Annual Report to State Superintendent for the Year Ending June 30, 
 1 91 2. (Typescript n.p.) 
 34 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) December 17, 1913, p. 9. 
 
From Normal School to Teachers College 257 
 
 rural schools, but as a speaker at farmers' institutes she did much 
 to convince rural folk of the necessity of providing better educa- 
 tional opportunities for their children. 35 When she suddenly re- 
 signed to become Supervisor of the Training Departments for 
 Country Teachers in the High Schools of Minnesota, President 
 Felmley was dubious about the future of Normal's country school 
 department 36 and affiliation with the Walker School was tem- 
 porarily suspended. However, his fears as to the future of the de- 
 partment were groundless, a remarkable esprit de corps had been 
 built up. Students in the department became veritable crusaders 
 in behalf of better country schools. "The Pioneers," as the alumni 
 of the department styled themselves, returned each year to meet 
 with those finishing the course and to share experiences at a 
 banquet and reunion. 37 
 
 At the same time Mabel Carney was appointed teacher of rural 
 school management, Irwin Arthur Madden was appointed pro- 
 fessor of agriculture. His appointment marked the inauguration 
 of a department of agriculture, 38 which opened with seven normal 
 students and twenty-two high school students. With agitation on 
 the part of farmers' institutes for practical work in agriculture in 
 the schools, Professor Madden, energetic and far-sighted, longed 
 to see more constructive use made of the Bakewell tract, which 
 had figured in so much litigation in times past. 
 
 In 1903 when President Felmley asked an appropriation for a 
 greenhouse he had called attention to the need of developing 
 teachers of agriculture. He noted that European schools had gar- 
 dens. Teachers in the training school and their pupils were soon 
 cultivating small tracts set aside at the University farm. The Act 
 of 1857, which established the Normal University, stipulated that 
 instruction should be given in agricultural chemistry, "animal 
 and vegetable physiology." How literally the obligation had been 
 followed in the past was open to question, but Felmley determined 
 it should be observed to the letter. For fifty years the land had 
 
 85 During Mabel Carney's first year at Normal, she made ninety-eight addresses in 
 eighty-three different localities. Ibid., (Normal) June 5, 1912, p. 12. 
 
 86 David Felmley to Francis G. Blair, Normal, March 31, 1914; Francis G. Blair to 
 David Felmley, Springfield, April 6, 1914. Felmley Papers. 
 
 87 Edgar Packard succeeded Mabel Carney as head of the country school department. 
 Index 1913, p. 75. 
 
 88 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) June 7, 191 1, p. 25. 
 
258 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 been rented to nurseries for a low annual fee. When the Augus- 
 tine contract expired December 1, 1909, it was rented for crops. 
 The Farmers Institute of the Seventeenth District sought ways 
 and means by which at least a portion of the tract might be 
 transferred to the University of Illinois as an experiment station. 39 
 To this proposal President Felmley would not consent. 
 
 Meanwhile consolidated schools were calling for teachers of 
 agriculture and offering as much as $100 per month for young 
 men able to teach agriculture in the high school grades. "This 
 situation," said Felmley, "imposes upon the normal schools a 
 new duty to prepare teachers for the widening fields of rural 
 education. . . . Any plan for the training of teachers must in- 
 clude use of the University farm. No instruction can be of lasting 
 value unless exemplified by actual farm conditions." 
 
 No sooner had Madden arrived on campus and outlined the 
 courses in agriculture than he began laying plans for the organi- 
 zation of the farm and the construction of the necessary farm 
 buildings. By spring 19 14 the farm house, a barn, and a silo were 
 completed, construction of hog and chicken houses and a dairy 
 barn begun, and a farm manager was employed. 
 
 By the end of the year President Felmley was able to point out 
 to any returning Bakewell heirs or alumni the University's model 
 farm. The house cost $7,760, including window screens, interior 
 shades, furnace, cistern, and soft water supply as well as city water 
 in every part of the house. As a final flourish there were other 
 "conveniences that will lighten the labor of the farmer's wife." 40 
 Four Percheron mares, two of which were imported, were pur- 
 chased at a cost of $1,630.55. Twenty Holstein cows, a bull, eleven 
 Duroc Jersey hogs, and seventy-one Plymouth Rock chickens 
 constituted the original livestock. Before President Felmley real- 
 ized it, Normal University was in the dairy business. A bottling 
 machine was installed and a milk route was established. Soon one 
 hundred sixty families were being supplied with milk from the 
 University's choice herd, bottled in its "spotless" dairy house. 41 
 By June 1915 it was impossible to cover the milk route with one 
 
 89 Resolutions adopted by Farmers Institute, Seventeenth Congressional District, 1909. 
 Quoted, Ibid., (Normal) June 2, 1909, pp. 23-24. 
 
 40 Ibid., (Normal) June 3, 1914; (Normal) December 16, 1914, p. 12. 
 
 41 Ibid,, (Normal) December 16, 1914, p. 12. 
 
From Normal School to Teachers College 259 
 
 or even two horses, and a Ford car was purchased to care for the 
 eighteen-dollar-a-day sales. 42 
 
 The reputation of the new agriculture department and the 
 model farm became widely known, and high schools were soon 
 asking for more teachers of agriculture than the Normal Uni- 
 versity was able to supply. It became necessary to employ an as- 
 sistant to Mr. Madden. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 for extension 
 work in agriculture and home economics focused attention on the 
 need of scientific training in agriculture. When the Smith-Hughes 
 Act for vocational agriculture was passed in 1917, there were high 
 hopes that Normal University would be in on the "ground floor." 
 Little did President Felmley dream that for the next forty years, 
 Smith-Hughes recognition would harass the administration at 
 Normal University. 
 
 For sixty-five years one of the needs of the school had been 
 dormitories. In 1915 the Forty-ninth General Assembly was asked 
 for an appropriation of $150,000 for a women's building which 
 would serve as a women's dormitory and social center for the Uni- 
 versity, but only $95,000 was granted. Upon the advice of the 
 state architect, plans were drawn for a building with its equip- 
 ment to cost $150,000 as originally proposed, such portions of the 
 building to be constructed as the funds available would permit. 
 The old lily pond and aquatic garden in the grove south of the 
 gymnasium was chosen for the site. The new dormitory was to be 
 known as Fell Hall in honor of Jesse Fell, early friend of the 
 school. Again contractors defaulted, and it was late spring 1918 
 before the building was ready for occupancy. 43 There was not 
 enough money to provide walks and approaches, and for months 
 cinder paths had to suffice. It was thirty years before funds were ap- 
 propriated to complete the south wing, and ninety years since 
 President Edwards had first sought funds for a dormitory. 
 
 Students and faculty were often disappointed by the scant ap- 
 propriations, but they did not despair. More and more the school 
 was taking on the semblance of a real college. Conveniences and 
 improvements were being slowly added. A new $30,000 heating 
 
 42 Ibid., (Normal) June 9, 1915, p. 14. 
 
 48 Ibid., (Normal) December 20, 191 6, p. 22. Board and room was $6.50 a week at the 
 new dormitory. Miss Eleanor Sheldon, M.A., teacher of English and dean of women, 
 191 7-1 920, was the first resident director of Fell Hall. 
 
260 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 plant completed in 1916 gave more even heat and comfort in 
 classrooms. On the campus south of North Street, a waiting sta- 
 tion had been built by the Bloomington and Normal Railway and 
 Light Company. Its ample porches and heated waiting room 
 provided shelter for streetcar patrons and at the store inside one 
 might buy stationery, school supplies, ice cream and candy. 44 
 
 At the east entrance to the campus drive an imposing gray sand- 
 stone Fell Memorial Gateway, erected by the Women's Improve- 
 ment League and the heirs of Jesse Fell in 1914, lent a gracious 
 dignity and friendliness that was never attained by the old 
 wooden gate with its overhead admonition "For Carriages Only." 
 
 Each year more students returned to take work beyond the two- 
 year diploma. More teachers attended summer school to meet in- 
 creased certification requirements and accumulated credits toward 
 a diploma or degree. Commencement took on a university atmos- 
 phere. No longer did the graduating class elect speakers. The 
 address was given by a distinguished outsider. The four-year 
 graduates in 19 17 for the first time posed for Index pictures in cap 
 and gown. 45 Although some students and faculty looked favorably 
 upon a commencement procession with staff as well as graduates 
 in academic costume, President Felmley was adamant in his op- 
 position. As late as 1926 he wrote a prospective faculty member: 
 
 We have not yet indulged in an academic procession at Commencement, 
 or at any other time for a display of academic millinery. Some of our 
 seniors have rented caps and gowns; there was some little talk of a 
 "procession" as a feature of our Commencement. The other members of 
 our faculty are inflexibly opposed to this innovation. They think it de- 
 tracts from the real dignity and significance of the occasion 
 
 I trust it will be a long day before you will need a master's regalia at 
 
 Normal. 
 
 Cordially yours, 
 David Felmley 46 
 
 With the expansion of Curriculum K, as the four-year course 
 
 44 The waiting station 25 feet by 57 feet had an enclosed portion 16 feet by 40 feet 
 which contained an office, waiting room and store. It was built in 191 at a cost of 
 $1,800. No tobacco was sold and none could be used inside the waiting room. The 
 President had authority to inspect and rule on the deportment of students at all times. 
 David Felmley to Peleg R. Walker, Normal, September 28, 191 0. Felmley Papers. 
 
 45 When the graduating class of 1 896 discussed wearing caps and gowns, the men 
 favored the idea but were outvoted by the women. Index, 1896, p. 54. 
 
 46 David Felmley to Esther Vinson, Tucson, Arizona, April 5, 1926. Index, 1917. 
 
From Normal School to Teachers College 261 
 
 for secondary teachers was called, numerous departmental clubs 
 sprang up, some of which still exist. 47 Others languished after a 
 few terms, and later were reactivated or disbanded. The Story 
 Telling League organized by Miss Frances E. Foote, "an artistic 
 story teller of much renown" who joined the faculty in 191 1 as 
 third grade critic, was one for which enthusiasm skyrocketed 
 and then dropped when its sponsor moved to another position 
 three years later. 48 The Dramatics Club was first organized 
 through the efforts of Grace Arlington Owen, teacher of reading 
 in 1909. In 1913 President Felmley's daughter, Mildred, who had 
 just graduated from the University of Illinois, entered the normal 
 school, and through her efforts the old Dramatics Club was re- 
 organized into the Jesters. 49 The Country Life Club was composed 
 of students in the country school curriculum and a few others 
 whose rural background inspired an interest in its program. A 
 Social Science Club was organized in 1916. Seventy students 
 under the leadership of Professor Manchester 50 closely followed 
 the political events of that election year and trends for several 
 years thereafter. 51 The old long-established literary societies, 
 Wrightonian and Philadelphian, felt competition from the new 
 specialized clubs and the new emphasis on athletics, but they 
 continued their periodic meetings and the inter-society contests. 
 The Sapphonian Society succumbed in 1913 after a quarter of a 
 century, but the Ciceronian lingered on to become a casualty of 
 the First World War. The Index of 1919 lamented: 
 
 Lead out the pageant: sad and low 
 
 As fits an universal woe 
 
 The last great Ciceronian is gone. 52 
 
 The Nature Study Club under the guidance of Alice Jean Patter- 
 son, teacher of nature study with her interest in gardens, became 
 
 "The Alumni Quarterly, May 191 6, noted thirty -five student organizations. 
 
 48 Index 191 1, p. 100; Ibid., 1913, p. 131. 
 
 49 The Jesters' first play was Green Stockings, March 5, 1914. Ibid., 1915, p. 139. 
 
 60 Professor Manchester was long remembered for his famous "fish problem," a device 
 involving a skill in mathematics as well as an understanding of the operation of certain 
 economic laws. The variables were changed from time to time and the student who 
 could work the fish problem on the final examination was sure to pass the course. 
 
 61 The present Social Science Club was organized in 1935 under the direction of Dr. 
 Lucy Lucile Tasher, professor of American history. 
 
 62 Index 1919, p. 205. 
 
262 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 the pattern and parent of hundreds of other nature study clubs 
 throughout Illinois schools. 
 
 Alumni were brought up to date on happenings at their alma 
 mater through the Alumni Quarterly which appeared in Febru- 
 ary 1912, as the outgrowth of action taken at the alumni meeting 
 during Commencement of the previous year. By June of 1912, the 
 Quarterly had three hundred subscribers. 
 
 Since 1909, Founders Day, February 18, had been an occasion 
 for reunion and reminiscence. A feature at the first annual 
 banquet was an address by Captain John H. Burnham of the 
 Class of 1 861, who told of the founding of the school. 53 At the 
 second Founders Day observance, members of the Class of 1900 
 presented a portrait of President Arnold Tompkins. 54 In 1913 a 
 reception with addresses rather than a banquet paid tribute to 
 the University's first president, Charles E. Hovey. A portrait of 
 Hovey in the uniform of a Union general, painted by Clarence 
 Messer, was presented by the ISNU Club of New York City. 55 
 Honoring the occasion, Mrs. Hovey sent along to the school her 
 husband's dress sword and scabbard, his field sword which 
 showed usage, his general's yellow sash, his colonel's red sash, 
 epaulets and minor military relics together with the first battle 
 flag of the Normal Regiment. 56 In a few years the portraits of all 
 former presidents of the University, its benign founder, Jesse Fell, 
 and the beloved teacher, Thomas Metcalf, would look down from 
 the walls of the reception room in Old Main. 
 
 When other colleges and universities began laying plans for 
 commemorating the three hundredth anniversary of the death of 
 Shakespeare, Professor June Rose Colby decided this was an event 
 which Normal University should not overlook. She envisaged it as 
 a wonderful opportunity for the departments of English, speech, 
 physical education, art and music to work together on a pageant 
 portraying "The Evolution of the Drama." Grace Arlington 
 Owen, imaginative and energetic teacher of reading, who five 
 
 ^Ibid., 1909, p. 115. 
 
 "Ibid., 1 910, p. 118. 
 
 66 E. C. Messer who painted the Hovey portrait taught music and art privately in 
 Bloomington and Normal during the Civil War. In 1863 he lived at the Hovey home. 
 Later he was associated with the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D. C. 
 
 "Harriette F. Hovey to David Felmley, Washington, D. C, January 15, 19 13. Felmley 
 Papers. 
 
From Normal School to Teachers College 263 
 
 years before had written and staged a remarkable masque "Judg- 
 ment of die Ages," was enthusiastic over the idea. Soon the 
 pageant assumed community proportions with a cast of 2,000 per- 
 sons. Bloomington High School, the Normal Public School, the 
 Soldiers Orphans Home and the Wesleyan College of Music 
 joined forces with the University. In six colorful episodes, the 
 story of drama was projected, from wandering troubadors, miracle 
 and morality plays, folk dances and music, to the Court of Queen 
 Elizabeth with a Bacchanalia, the great bard and characters from 
 his plays. The scene was set on the south campus among the 
 trees and shrubbery near the old lily pool that was soon to be 
 drained for the site of the dormitory. Bleachers were set up and 
 tickets sold for the greatest dramatic event in the history of the 
 school. No one seemed to reckon with the possibility of summer 
 showers. Thunder clouds appeared a week before the perform- 
 ance was scheduled and for ten days there was rain. Commence- 
 ment came, and the students went home. The rented costumes 
 were returned. An abridged performance during the summer 
 term honored the memory of William Shakespeare, but it failed to 
 erase the deficit. 57 
 
 The new certification laws had the effect of bringing enroll- 
 ment in the summer school of 1916 to a record-breaking 2,285, 
 despite auxiliary schools at Carlinville, Danville, Spring Valley, 
 Canton, and Kewanee. Additional teachers had to be employed, 
 and rooms in the Normal public school were used for the over- 
 flow of classes. Rooming houses and boarding clubs were filled, 
 and the restaurants in Normal found it difficult to feed the hungry 
 hordes that descended upon them at noon time. Students from 
 Bloomington brought their lunches and ate under the trees. 
 
 In response to the many requests of teachers who wished to im- 
 prove their professional status, an extension service was inaugu- 
 rated in 1913. Professor E. A. Turner taught Principles of 
 Teaching at Joliet, and Professor Douglas Ridgley had a geog- 
 raphy class in Springfield. These were ninety-minute thirty-week 
 courses. Soon Professor Herman Schroeder had three classes in 
 
 57 Index 1916, pp. 98-99; Alumni Quarterly, August 1916, p. 31. An old program 
 advised that box lunches could be obtained for fifteen cents and coffee, sandwiches, and 
 ice cream for a nickel at the Metcalf Building. Marchpane, an Elizabethan sweetmeat, 
 and Banbury tarts were to be sold by vendors. 
 
264 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Principles of Teaching at Pontiac, Dwight, and Joliet. 58 Two dol- 
 lars was charged for the course, and one credit in each course 
 could be earned toward graduation. The extension idea took hold 
 quickly. For the school year 1914-1915 forty-seven students were 
 registered in four centers. A special director of extension was em- 
 ployed in 1915, and in the following year 474 persons were en- 
 rolled in twenty-one classes at sixteen centers. The fourth year 
 saw an enrollment of 639, with eight teachers conducting classes 
 in twenty centers. Correspondence courses begun in 1916 together 
 with the war precipitated an abrupt decline in extension and by 
 the year 192 1- 1922, there was only one off -campus course with an 
 enrollment of nine persons. 59 
 
 World War I made a heavy impact on the Normal University. 
 The new program with its completely reorganized curriculum 
 and allocation of special authority to the heads of the twenty de- 
 partments was just getting under way when the war came. 60 War 
 was declared just three weeks after the spring term began and 
 three weeks before the special midterm was scheduled to start. A 
 movement was started to introduce military training in the school. 
 Two hours of daily drill was offered to all men who cared to 
 take it, but there was no equipment, and enthusiasm for broom- 
 stick parades soon waned. Many men left school, some to enlist, 
 some to join units of the Students Army Training Corps on other 
 campuses, and others to return to the farm. By June 1917, seventy- 
 two young men had left the school — one-fourth to enlist, the 
 others to farm. 61 The Normal School Board permitted seniors 
 who were making passing marks at the time they enlisted to sub- 
 stitute military service for the remaining credits, and their 
 diplomas were conferred in absentia? 2 Students who left Normal 
 
 68 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) December 17, 1913, p. 11. 
 
 69 Statistics , Division of Field Services, 1915. 
 
 60 The departments as set up in 191 6 were education, mathematics, physical science, 
 biological science, geography, history and political science, economics and sociology, 
 literature and composition, reading and public speaking, music, art and design, manual 
 training, household science, household art, agriculture, commerce, the training school 
 with divisions of elementary, high school and Soldiers Orphans Home, country school 
 department, normal school extension, and physical education. 
 
 81 Index 191 7, p. 93; Proceedings of the Board of Education (Normal) June 6, 1917, p. 11. 
 
 63 Ibid., (Carbondale) January 21, 1918, p. 4. Under the Civil Administrative Code, 
 the separate boards of trustees for the five normal schools were replaced July 1, 1917 
 by the Normal School Board, consisting of nine members appointed by the governor and 
 two ex -officio members — the Director of the Department of Registration and Education 
 
From Normal School to Teachers College 265 
 
 University to perform service on farms were granted credit for 
 the courses they were taking upon statements that they had com- 
 pleted assignments in their spare time and had kept a diary of 
 their agricultural work. 63 In 19 16 there were 2,285 enrolled for 
 the first term of summer school; in 1917 there were 1,823? °f 
 whom only 100 were men. Enrollment in the normal and college 
 department declined from 834 for the fall term 19 16 to 605 in 
 1917. Each succeeding term saw a decline in attendance. 
 
 On September 18, 1918, President Felmley wrote Superintend- 
 ent Blair that enrollment in the normal and college department 
 was 362, of whom twelve were men. This was forty percent less 
 than the number in September 19 17 and less than half of the fall 
 term in 1916. 
 
 It is evident the normal schools ar going to hav hard sledding this fall. 
 Our senior class numbers only a little more than a hundred. We shal 
 not hav students enuf properly to care for classes in the Soldiers Orphans 
 Home, in Normal University High School and Elementary Training 
 School. . . . Our faculty is needlessly large (seventy-two) ... all our 
 teachers but three or four are underworkt. 
 
 The "underworkt" teachers, he said, were free to start cor- 
 respondence courses, and already members of the staff were pre- 
 paring to offer correspondence work in geography, history, civil 
 government, economics, ethics, history of education, psychology, 
 teaching of high school biology, nature study, English grammar, 
 advanced composition, English literature, teaching of reading in 
 both upper and lower grades, elementary drawing, mechanical 
 drawing, accounting, typewriting, and Gregg shorthand. 64 A 
 month later he reported that correspondence courses were being 
 conducted in twenty-two subjects with from one to three persons 
 enrolled in each course. The charge for the course was one dol- 
 lar, with the student paying all postage. 65 
 
 Administratively the war years were difficult years. The Fiftieth 
 General Assembly, in session at the time of the declaration of war, 
 was reluctant to increase appropriations. The situation under the 
 
 who served as chairman, and the Superintendent who served as secretary. No less than 
 five meetings were to be held annually. 
 
 68 Many of these letters and diaries are among the Felmley Papers. 
 
 "David Felmley to Francis G. Blair, Normal, September 18, 191 8. Felmley Papers. 
 
 85 Proceedings of the Normal School Board (Springfield) October 15, 1918, p. 18. 
 
266 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 new Civil Code was frustrating. No longer were the presidents of 
 the normal schools able to operate as the letter of the law and 
 their consciences dictated, now the final arbiter was Francis 
 Shepardson, Director of Registration and Education, who was 
 vigorously trying to bring order and uniformity into the admin- 
 istration of a large and unwieldy department. Under the old 
 system the Auditor had permitted the presidents to treat the en- 
 tire appropriation for salaries and wages as a single fund from 
 which faculty and other employees were paid. The appropriations 
 bill in 1917 had itemized salaries and wages for the various 
 teachers and other employees for the biennium. It was no longer 
 possible to raise the salary of a good teacher to hold him through 
 the saving that accrued in employing a new and younger teacher 
 in some other vacant position. Furthermore the new Civil Code 
 required that tuition fees and other receipts be turned in to the 
 State Treasury. Additional staff could be employed and paid from 
 the Reserve and Contingencies Fund up to the amount each 
 school had turned in to the Treasury, but none of this money 
 could be used to augment slender salaries. It took rare juggling 
 ability on the part of a normal school president to shift a teacher 
 from a position paid out of the salaries and wages appropriation 
 to one paid out of the Reserve and Contingencies Fund. Salary 
 checks were now issued from the office of the Director of Registra- 
 tion and Education and not from the offices of the respective 
 normal school presidents. 66 
 
 As prices skyrocketed, the teaching, clerical and maintenance 
 personnel suffered. The maintenance staff, noting an increase in 
 commodities from fifty to one hundred percent, petitioned for an 
 increase of forty percent in wages, similar to that being given in 
 other fields of labor. Good teachers were enticed to better paying 
 positions. A few asked for leaves of absence to enter military serv- 
 ice or take up war work. Women whose salaries averaged seven 
 hundred dollars below those of men were especially hard hit by 
 the rising prices. Spreading the annual salary over thirty-six week 
 school year instead of thirty-nine additional compensation for 
 summer school, and distributing funds from unfilled vacancies 
 and military leaves, provided scant relief. Many persons remained 
 
 "Ibid., (Normal) December 11, 191 7, p. 22. 
 
From Normal School to Teachers College 267 
 
 on the staff because they had property or families in Normal, 
 many because of their loyalty to the institution and to President 
 Felmley who was making every effort to improve salaries. The 
 Board voted favorably on a $1,000 increase for the presidents and 
 a twenty-five percent increase for other staff members, although 
 the governor and Director of Finance approved only a ten per- 
 cent increase for the faculty. President Felmley wrote Francis 
 Shepardson, Director of Registration and Education, that he did 
 not think any of the presidents would be willing to accept an 
 additional $1,000 if the over all faculty increase was only ten 
 percent. Shepardson replied that the normal school seemed to 
 doubt the integrity of the governor and the Budget Commission 
 and that, through the action of the Normal School Board, his 
 department had been the only one to oppose the administration 
 but added that a faculty committee could still go to the governor 
 and talk it over. 67 And they did ! A shortage of coal, a flu epidemic 
 that closed the school for three weeks, and a smallpox scare were 
 among the other worries of the war years. 
 
 Except for the high school and the training school the campus 
 took on the semblance of being largely a woman's world. When 
 the number of men in the normal and college department 
 dropped to twelve, girls were encouraged to take up manual 
 training and meet the teacher demand in that field. 68 In addition 
 to classes, the campus hummed with war-time activities. Early in 
 April 1917 a Red Cross auxiliary was organized, and Miss Colby, 
 who normally prided herself on not being domestic, urged girls 
 and faculty women to join the unit and spend their spare time 
 sewing, making surgical dressings, and rolling bandages in the 
 faculty women's cloakroom, which had been outfitted as a sewing 
 room. Courses in home economics were fitted to war-time needs 
 with special courses in food conservation. On May 9, 1917, the 
 Vidette issued a special Red Cross number. Young women 
 brought their sewing to the rhetorical section of Miss O. Lillian 
 Barton, Dean of Women, and in General Exercises knitting 
 needles clicked as Professor Westhoff led the singing of "Over 
 There" and "Keep the Home Fires Burning." Wrightonia, the 
 
 67 David Felmley to Francis Shepardson, Normal, November 26, 191 8; Francis Shepard- 
 son to David Felmley, December 31, 1918. Felmley Papers. 
 
 "David Felmley to Livingston C. Lord, Normal, September 18, 191 8. Felmley Papers. 
 
268 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 YW, and the Science Club rented plots of ground and started 
 gardens in the southwest part of town. The gospel of thrift, sav- 
 ing, and giving permeated Normal University from kindergarten 
 through college. Peach, apricot, and cherry stones were brought 
 to school and sent away to be used in gas masks. Trench candles 
 were made of old newspapers, melted paraffin and wax. Thrift 
 stamps were sold by the secretary in the president's office. 69 
 Rhetoricals took on the zest and force of a crusade as kits of 
 speeches for "Four Minute Men" arrived from the Office of War 
 Information. The war gave new motivation to what had often 
 been a burdensome performance. Now the appeal for funds in a 
 rhetorical might be so dramatic and compelling that then and 
 there a collection would be taken and a drive begun. 
 
 The University participated in the Student Friendship Fund, 70 
 the YMCA War Emergency Fund, Fatherless Children of France 
 Campaign, 71 the various war loan drives, and the United War 
 Work Campaign. A War Service Commission was set up to co- 
 ordinate war-time activities. It conducted a column in the Vidette 
 with a message from a faculty member in each issue and mailed 
 copies to the men and women in service. It also maintained a 
 service flag and prepared a roster and a permanent file of those in 
 service. Each faculty member considered himself a member of a 
 committee on correspondence and after the war when Ange. 
 Milner counted up the letters she had received, she found she 
 had written over eight hundred. 
 
 The news of the Armistice came out just after the "flu recess" 
 and before all the students had returned to the campus, but those 
 present joined with the community in celebrating "peace and 
 victory." In a few weeks the war-time activities began closing up 
 their work and compiling records. At the final count the service 
 flag bore 626 stars, fourteen of them gold ones. On Arbor Day in 
 1919 a group of ex-service men planted a tree to honor Normal 
 University's "fallen heroes who died for democracy." By the 
 spring term a number of veterans were back in school, and for 
 
 w Index, 1 91 9, pp. 112, 109. 
 
 70 Ibid., 191 8, p. 67. 
 
 71 For the "Fatherless Children of France" the French government gave ten cents a 
 day and a donor in the United States gave ten cents a day or $36.50 a year. Twenty-four 
 adoptions were made by student organizations and faculty members. Index 191 9, pp. 
 105, 107. 
 
From Normal School to Teachers College 269 
 
 the first time Commencement featured an original production 
 "And They Did Come Back, A War Time Revue," with songs, 
 dances and music, as the program announced, "Written, directed 
 and produced by them." 72 
 
 There was little doubt that the enrollment in the college and 
 normal department, which had dropped to 350 the past winter, 
 would soon increase and that the limited facilities of the school 
 would soon be sorely felt. President Felmley believed that all too 
 long the Normal University had been the Cinderella of the state's 
 educational institutions. 73 In league with the other state normal 
 school presidents, he drafted a budget that would include an ex- 
 tensive building program and a substantial increase in teachers' 
 salaries. He had always been sensitive about his own $6,000 salary 
 when there were teachers on his staff who were receiving as little 
 as $850 for thirty-six weeks and no guarantee of summer em- 
 ployment. Boldly he asked for a fifty percent increase in salaries. 
 After twenty-two teachers had resigned because of low salaries, 
 President Felmley told Professor Manchester and Professor 
 John L. Pricer, teacher of biology, who had directed a faculty 
 study on salaries to feel free to go ahead as they saw fit to pub- 
 licize the need of salary increases. He told the Board in Septem- 
 ber 1920 that he had spent a large part of his time that summer 
 "trying to capture a $2,000 teacher with a $400 salary." 74 
 
 Meanwhile Dean Manchester, with his characteristic vigor, pre- 
 pared a "brief" for salary increases. He reduced the matter to an 
 economic formula, using data from Dunn, Bradstreet, the Anna- 
 list, and the Bureau of Statistics. He compared the salaries of 
 teachers in twenty-seven leading normal schools. He noted that 
 salaries at the University of Illinois had increased from seventy- 
 five to one hundred percent, but even then President James said 
 they did not keep pace with the increase in the cost of living. 
 Manchester asserted that the faculty at Normal would have to ask 
 a seventy-five percent increase to put them on a level with the 
 University of Illinois. "Penuriousness in pay," he warned, "will 
 
 12 ibid.,?. 114. 
 
 78 On October 30, 1916 Felmley wrote Governor Dunne, "The University of Illinois 
 with its $900,000 per annum for building purposes may build as it pleases, consequently 
 it builds in marble and furnishes in mahogany, while we are obliged to build with 
 common brick at $10 per M and furnish in oak, pine, and poplar. . . ." Felmley Papers. 
 
 74 Proceedings of the Normal School Board (Carbondale) September 24, 1920, p. 29. 
 
270 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 be followed by strained relations, fleeting attachments, penurious- 
 ness in service. . . . Teachers should stay in the Normal, not be- 
 cause they cannot get out, but because it profits them to stay." 75 
 
 Despite the warning of Shepardson that the Budget Committee 
 would consider only those buildings that were absolutely neces- 
 sary, Felmley drew up both long range and immediate building 
 plans and stated his case for each. He listed first a $225,000 gym- 
 nasium. The old one had been in use for twenty-three years. By 
 law, pupils in schools of the state were required to have one hour 
 of physical education each week, and so many students desired 
 to become special teachers or supervisors that a special curriculum 
 for such training was being offered. 76 He asked for a gymnasium 
 with parallel basketball courts, with arrangements for seating 
 1,500 spectators, and with a swimming pool, requisite locker- 
 rooms, showers, and a club room for men. 
 
 President Felmley's other askings looked forward both in cur- 
 riculum and in housing. Realizing that a new building was neces- 
 sary if the Normal University were to continue its pioneer work 
 in nature study and science, he asked for a $250,000 science build- 
 ing. In 19 1 8 the Normal University had been designated a teacher 
 training institution in home economics and agriculture under the 
 provisions of the Smith-Hughes Act. One requirement was a 
 house and furnishings where the young women could have 
 practical experience in household management through coopera- 
 tive housekeeping. Two thousand dollars had been appropriated 
 in 19 19 for renting and furnishing a house, but when President 
 Felmley tried to find a suitable house none was available. He now 
 renewed the request and sought an appropriation for a house. He 
 further asked for the rebuilding of the greenhouse and toolhouse, 
 the completion of the south wing of Fell Hall, which he thought 
 could be done for $75,000, a fine arts building, a second dormitory 
 for women, and a house for the president. Reluctantly he had 
 joined the other presidents in asking the state to provide homes 
 for the normal school presidents. A home had been built for the 
 
 "Orson L. Manchester "Work and Pay of the Normal School Teacher." (Mimeo- 
 graphed) Manchester Papers. 
 
 "In 1 91 6 President Felmley had asked the Board to include a science building and a 
 gymnasium in the 191 7 budget but the coming of the war dashed all hopes of new 
 buildings. 
 
From Normal School to Teachers College 271 
 
 president of the University of Illinois twenty-five years before. 77 
 Felmley was growing weary of all the petty economies that he had 
 been practicing and forcing upon students and faculty through 
 all the years — the cheap stationery, writing on both sides of the 
 paper, the low grade of chalk, and the homemade erasers. 78 Per- 
 haps one way to stop the General Assembly from looking upon 
 teacher training institutions as educational step-children would 
 be for their presidents to make their "askings" comparable to 
 those of the University of Illinois. 79 
 
 To the economy-minded legislators, the requests were fantastic. 
 Although the case for salary increases could not be ignored, there 
 would be no money for new buildings, and repairs on old ones 
 were to be kept at a minimum. 
 
 Felmley resolved to renew his requests. By hammering away, 
 year after year, from one session to the next he might obtain some 
 of the badly needed buildings. In 1923, the $250,000 request for a 
 new gymnasium had been whittled down to $150,000. Felmley 
 determined the original plan would be carried out as far as the 
 $150,000 grant would permit, even though some features such as 
 the swimming pool and the running track would have to be left 
 out. 80 Two years later appropriations were made for a hall of 
 science. The other buildings might not come in his time, but he 
 would keep on asking. 81 
 
 True to Felmley's predictions the enrollment took a sharp turn 
 upward after the war. By December 1925 there were 1,300 stu- 
 dents in the college department, and the first summer term in 
 1924 saw 2,726 students on campus and 1,090 the second term. 
 Every available room in Normal and Bloomington was rented, 
 and many students commuted from nearby towns on the Illinois 
 Terminal. 82 After 192 1 it had been necessary to open a cafeteria 
 in the boys' playroom in the Metcalf Building and take over the 
 
 77 Proceedings of the Normal School Board (Springfield) November 8, 1920, p. 15. 
 
 78 When a passenger train was wrecked near Normal President Felmley obtained per- 
 mission to have the plush ripped off the broken seats, and had the manual training 
 students nail layers of the plush on blocks of wood and thereby save the price of new 
 felt erasers. As late as 1936 some of these erasers were still in use in Old Main. 
 
 79 David Felmley to Francis Shepardson, Normal, December 5, 191 8. Felmley Papers. 
 
 80 Proceedings of the Normal School Board (Macomb) September 25, 1923, p. 19. 
 
 81 Felmley in 1920 estimated the total value of the university plant including the 
 land, buildings, and equipment of the farm, at $1,000,054.00. David Felmley to Francis 
 Shepardson, Normal, October 2, 1920. Felmley Papers. 
 
 62 Proceedings of the Normal School Board (Chicago) October 13, 1924, pp. 21-22. 
 
272 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 home economics room across the hall as a kitchen. Additional 
 teachers were employed in summer and the heavy student load 
 in the regular year curtailed the extension and correspondence 
 work that had formerly attracted many teachers. 83 In 1926 to 
 provide adequate teaching experiences and observation for stu- 
 dents in rural and special curricula as art, music, and physical 
 education, an affiliation was made with two rural schools, the 
 Price and later the Houghton, and by 1928 the Little Brick School 
 and the Rose Hill School were added to the list. A base salary 
 paid by the district to the supervising teacher was supplemented 
 by the University. Transportation of student teachers was pro- 
 vided by the University. 84 
 
 The health of the students had long been a concern of the 
 faculty and administration, and in September 1923, Florence 
 Ames, M. D., took up her work as the Normal University's first 
 physician. Dr. Ames taught seven classes in personal hygiene each 
 week, examined all women on admission to the school and all 
 men on athletic teams, and daily inspected the rooms of the train- 
 ing school. She engaged in no private practice and collected no 
 fees but was available for consultation and administered medi- 
 cation for minor ailments. 85 
 
 The increased attendance of the 1920's brought about many 
 changes in the social and cultural life of the school. The governing 
 bodies had never looked with favor on social fraternities and 
 sororities, and none was ever established. Filling their place on the 
 campus was a multiplicity of clubs, organizations, and other extra- 
 curricular activities. In 1920 a student council, composed of a 
 representative of each club, was set up to coordinate student 
 activities and to assist new students in adjusting to college life. 
 In 192 1 it published a Students' Hand Book offering sage advice. 
 Students were admonished not to use ink in the study hall except 
 in fountain pens; for best home study conditions, sixty-eight de- 
 gree temperature and a forty to sixty watt light bulb were sug- 
 gested; and three baths a week were recommended. 
 
 In addition to the time-honored Wrightonian and Philadel- 
 
 88 Ibid., (Carbondale) September 24, 1920, p. 32. 
 
 84 Affiliated schools in 1928 were Soldiers Orphans Home, Price, Houghton, Little 
 Brick, and Rose Hill. 
 
 85 Proceedings of the Normal School Board (Macomb) September 25, 1923, p. 20. 
 
From Normal School to Teachers College 273 
 
 phian societies, the YWCA, the reactivated YMCA, the Women's 
 Athletic Association, Jesters, the Kindergarten Club, the Latin 
 Club, and the Nature Study Club — all of which antedated and 
 survived the war, there were the various musical organizations 
 such as the glee clubs, chorus, orchestra, and bands that had main- 
 tained a certain continuity through the years. The Lowell Mason 
 Club for music majors, sponsored by Professor Frank Westhoff, 
 came into being in 1922. A Varsity Club for men was organized in 
 1919, and a Women's League "to assist the Dean of Women" was 
 organized in 1926. An Art Club was formed in 1920. Majors in 
 agriculture organized the Hopkins Agriculture Club in 1922, and 
 a year later majors in industrial arts formed their Manual Arts 
 Club. The more strictly professional Hieronymus Club developed 
 out of the Country Life Association, and before long the Women's 
 Athletic Association was spawning its Orchesis and the Women's 
 League its League of Women Voters; and the Varsity Club and 
 Men's Athletic Association were sponsoring the N Club, where 
 membership was conferred on men who had earned letters in 
 sports, and later the Gamma Phi, a physical education fraternity 
 soon to be noted for its annual circus. Mathematics majors were 
 organized into a "Euclidean Circle" in 1927 as the French majors 
 had been in Le Circle Francais in 1924 and the Spanish majors 
 in El Circulo Espanol in 1926. The German Club, Der Bildungs- 
 verein, had become one of the war casualties when German had 
 been dropped from the curriculum. In the midst of the curricular 
 clubs, national Greek letter honor societies appeared and neo- 
 phytes learned the ancient alphabet. The first of these, Kappa 
 Delta Pi, education society, received its charter in 1922. Pi Kappa 
 Delta, forensic organization, in 1923 afforded membership for 
 students who had done distinguished work in the field of oratory 
 and debate. Theta Alpha Phi, national dramatic organization, 
 installed Delta chapter in 1926. In 1928 Theta chapter of Pi 
 Omega Pi was installed for the recognition of commerce majors. 
 There was no national organization for geography majors and on 
 May 15, 1928, the faculty granted permission to the ambitious 
 Geography Club to organize a fraternity under the sponsorship of 
 Dr. R. G. Buzzard, head of the department of geography, and to 
 expand its scope nationally if the work of the organization war- 
 
274 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 ranted, and thus Alpha chapter of Gamma Theta Upsilon was 
 begun. 
 
 Coeducational religious clubs made their appearance — the New- 
 man Club for Catholic students in 1924 and the Lutheran Club 
 in 1926. With the coming of other religious organizations, par- 
 ticipation in the activities of the YM and YW declined and their 
 quarters were moved from their rooms on North Street back to 
 the campus. Wrightonia and Philadelphia lingered on for an- 
 other generation. Each of the "modern" organizations, as a vet- 
 eran faculty member described the newer clubs, sponsored a 
 variety of social events, picnics, skating parties, dances, and ban- 
 quets and gave new tone to the programs in the daily General 
 Exercises. The Index each year beneath the name and picture of 
 each graduate listed his distinctions and memberships. Some of 
 the faculty were wont to shake their heads: the school was be- 
 coming a university of joiners. 86 
 
 An innovation after the war was the Homecoming each fall 
 sponsored jointly by the student body and the Alumni Asso- 
 ciation. On a visit to the East during the winter of 1920-1921 
 President Felmley was impressed by the "Homecoming Trend" 
 in eastern schools. He thought such an event on campus might 
 help dispel "popular feeling that the Normal School was not 
 progressing." Annabelle Harper and Annette Cooper, members 
 of the faculty and graduates of the Normal University, asked 
 President Felmley to approve one for the school. He promptly 
 named them to a committee, added the name of Harrison Russell, 
 the football coach, and allowed $75 for expenses. Students and 
 faculty were at the trains on November 4-5, 192 1, to meet return- 
 ing alumni. Guests registered in the Main Office, were given a 
 souvenir booklet, a badge and a bunch of wahoo berries. By noon 
 on Saturday seven hundred had registered. On Friday night there 
 was the Jester play and an Auld Lang Syne party afterward. On 
 Saturday morning the girls in the domestic science class served a 
 waffle breakfast, and Miss Milner held open house in the library. 
 At one-thirty there was a parade from Old Main to the football 
 field. The Wrights and Phils met in their halls at seven and ad- 
 
 88 Data on student organizations has been obtained from club records, files of Vidette 
 and Index. 
 
From Normal School to Teachers College 275 
 
 journed for a party in Fell Hall and the dance in the gymnasium. 87 
 So successful was the affair that it became an annual event, and 
 with slight modification the first Homecoming has been the 
 model for subsequent celebrations. In 1923 a Hobo parade 
 through the streets of downtown Normal was sponsored by the 
 Hopkins Agriculture Club. When the new gymnasium was 
 opened for inspection in 1925, extra streetcars had to be switched 
 to the Park Street line to care for the crowds. Houses were deco- 
 rated for the first time in 1927. 88 
 
 In 1925 David Felmley rounded out his twenty-fifth year as 
 president, and his thirty-fifth on the campus. He found it difficult 
 to believe he was growing old, although each year since 1906 the 
 students had been celebrating his birthday, April 24, in one way 
 or another. Sometimes there were surprise programs in General 
 Exercises, songs and tributes from the classes. Always there was a 
 basket of flowers, a rose or a carnation for each year of his busy 
 life. Although President Felmley prided himself on being a busy 
 man, he found time to know students. He made a point of re- 
 membering names, curriculums and home towns. Students could 
 have loved him for this trait alone. He was touched by these 
 birthday demonstrations and for the time being dropped off a bit 
 of what those who did not know him well described as "crusti- 
 ness." Privately he recapitulated, noting things accomplished and 
 things yet to be done. Someday he would retire but not yet. He 
 would spare himself a bit, perhaps take longer and more frequent 
 vacations, find more time for bridge, which he enjoyed and played 
 so well, often to the discomfiture of many of his faculty compet- 
 itors. He would let one of the younger men climb to the tower 
 and oil the clock. He was not ready to leave. For one thing, 
 there was the matter of rating and recognition. In 1920 when the 
 University of Illinois had sent six faculty members to the Normal 
 University to examine the library, catalog, and faculty credentials 
 to see if its graduates should be admitted to the graduate school 
 at Urbana, they had reported Illinois State Normal University not 
 qualified. At the invitation of the registrar Felmley had taken 
 
 87 Index 1922, p. 18; Alumni Quarterly (November 1925), p. 14. 
 
 88 An unidentified clipping says the first parade "reeked with originality." In the 
 walking entries were such popular characters as "Andy and Min," "Uncle Walt," "Skeezix," 
 and "The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe." 
 
276 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 three of his staff to Urbana and gone over the report. The Uni- 
 versity had then given the Normal University "B" rating, which 
 meant that four-year graduates were admitted with eight to six- 
 teen hours "on condition." It could be scaled down for good work 
 and entirely canceled for the superior student. He wanted to live 
 to see the Normal University accorded an "A" rating. 89 
 
 There were so many things he wanted for the school, things for 
 which he had long been agitating — greater selectivity in admis- 
 sions so that ultimately a better product could be returned to the 
 classrooms, 90 improved standards of certification that would raise 
 the level of teaching in the high schools of the state, 91 a positive 
 assurance that the normal schools would be permitted to go on 
 training teachers for the secondary schools, 92 opportunity to de- 
 velop the program of visual aids in which Douglas Ridgley had 
 pioneered some years before. 93 He wanted to be able to encourage 
 more pioneering in the various departments, such as Professor 
 Buzzard had been doing with the geography tours. He wanted to 
 see an adequate salary and retirement system that would attract 
 good teachers. It was hard to be always trying to hire good teach- 
 ers at low salaries, and harder still to see good teachers leaving 
 for better paying positions. He wanted means for helping gifted 
 but financially poor students to attend teachers college. The 
 Lindly scholarships and a student loan fund dating from 1902 
 supported by plays and benefits, and the Faculty Women's Club 
 Loan Fund established in 1916 helped, but these did not meet 
 
 89 David Felmley to Stanley Brown, Normal, May 26, 1920; David Felmley to Francis 
 Shepardson, Normal, May 26, 1920. Felmley Papers. Proceedings of the Normal School 
 Board (Springfield) June 21, 1920, p. 21. 
 
 90 David Felmley to Francis G. Blair, Normal, January 25, 1921. Felmley Papers. 
 
 91 David Felmley to Livingston C. Lord, Normal, December 16, 1924. Felmley Papers. 
 
 92 Proceedings of the Normal School Board (Chicago) May 7, 1923, p. 4. 
 
 98 Douglas Ridgley worked with the Keystone Company in preparing geographic 
 slides for stereopticon news, and later slides for classroom use. As early as 191 1 Mabel 
 Carney asked the Board to allow $180 for a "lantern" to take to institutes. In 1920 
 Felmley asked Shepardson to get permission from the governor for Ridgley to attend a 
 conference on visual aids in Madison. His reasons for the trip were that Normal Univer- 
 sity was making extensive use of moving picture films in educational work, and that 
 the school has been a distributing point for films prepared by the United States govern- 
 ment during and after the war. Felmley wanted to spend $500 for photographic 
 equipment to be used by the agriculture teacher who was an expert photographer but 
 Shepardson said it was providing "busy work." This angered Felmley who replied, 
 "We can get along without it, just as people can get along without many things that 
 add to the pleasure and dignity of life." For fifteen years Felmley wanted to have photog- 
 raphy taught in the school. David Felmley to Francis Shepardson, Normal, August 24, 
 1920. Felmley Papers. 
 
From Normal School to Teachers College 277 
 
 the need. He admitted quite frankly that he had not worked out 
 solutions to all these problems, but he wanted to try a little while 
 longer. 
 
 He had not asked much for himself. He had had offers to go 
 elsewhere, but he considered the pledge he made when he ac- 
 cepted the presidency as a thing inviolate. He was repeatedly 
 asked to run for state superintendent, but his only venture in 
 politics was when he considered becoming a delegate to a Consti- 
 tutional Convention. A frown of disapproval from the Board 
 brought him back on his academic heels but not without a pro- 
 nouncement that politically he stood for the utmost freedom of 
 discussion on all social and political reform. 94 The Board had 
 been generous in the matter of salary for the five normal school 
 presidents. Sometimes Felmley felt embarrassed at his own 
 $7,500 when members of his faculty, some of them more highly 
 trained, were receiving so much less. He had his own ideas of how 
 the Board could be organized to function more effectively. 
 
 The physical condition that had been harassing President 
 Felmley for several months got the upper hand in the late sum- 
 mer of 1929. He was unable to attend the Board meeting in 
 Springfield in August and had his report read by Herman H. 
 Schroeder, who had been serving as dean since O. L. Manchester's 
 sudden death in June 1928. He did not improve, but he managed 
 to arrange student programs in September, employ teachers, make 
 out reports and attend to correspondence from his bed at his home 
 near the campus. Finally he began to allocate to others, one by 
 one, the duties he had so zealously performed for over thirty 
 years. Randolph D. Marsh came in as the newly appointed busi- 
 ness manager on November 15 and relieved him of many time- 
 consuming details that had hitherto always been a part of the 
 president's job. 95 
 
 When President Felmley prepared his fall report, he also dic- 
 tated a letter which he asked Dean Schroeder to read to the 
 Board. It was his valedictory, forthright and unadorned. With- 
 out vainglory he reviewed the nearly thirty years that he had 
 served as president. He was grateful for the confidence and co- 
 
 94 David Felmley to Francis Shepardson, Normal, January 3, 1920, and July 10, 1919. 
 Felmley Papers. 
 
 95 Proceedings of the Normal School Board (Springfield) January 16, 1930, p. 9. 
 
278 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 operation that he had been given. There was no hope of recovery. 
 Perhaps the Board might feel that the interests of the Normal 
 University required an able-bodied man at its head. In that event 
 he was ready to accept emeritus rating under the plan adopted 
 the previous year. 
 
 A few hours later Francis Blair dispatched the Board's reply. 
 Felmley should continue as president until such continuance inter- 
 fered with his own peace and happiness. The same mail brought 
 word that the new science building would be known as Felmley 
 Hall of Science and that a different name would be given the 
 gymnasium. 96 Both letters pleased the ailing president. He had 
 never been particularly happy over the naming of the gymna- 
 sium in his honor. Science, rather than athletics, had been his 
 abiding interest. 
 
 Close by his side those long months was his wife, Jennie Green, 
 to whom he had been married only a little over a year. The day 
 after Christmas he dictated his letter of resignation, but before it 
 reached the Board he had lapsed into a coma. On January 24, 1930, 
 he died at his home on School Street. 97 
 
 w Ibid., (Carbondale) November 4, 1929, pp. 14-16. 
 
 87 Ibid., (Macomb) April 28, 1930, p. 31; The Normcdite, January 24, 1930. 
 
 &XA2& 
 
 / V%V& S ' 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 The Era of Uncertainty 
 
 Herman Henry Schroeder, professor of education and 
 psychology since 19 13 and dean of the Normal University since 
 June 1929, was named acting president. 1 He was thorough, me- 
 thodical, well-informed, and possessed of many of the qualities 
 for which President Felmley had been noted. He prided himself 
 on his virtues of thrift, promptness, and accuracy. It embarrassed 
 him to make mistakes. He was willing to work long hours, and 
 he stood adamant on any point he regarded as a matter of prin- 
 ciple. He had not been on campus long when President Felmley 
 met him in the hall on the way to a class. He inquired how 
 things were going. Professor Schroeder did not stop, but taking 
 out his watch, called back, "I have never been late to a class, Sir, 
 and I will not begin now." Felmley turned to some students who 
 were standing nearby, "Great fellow, Schroeder." 
 
 By the time Dean Schroeder was given full authority as acting 
 president, a committee from the Board had already been ap- 
 pointed to select Felmley's successor and had reviewed thirty-two 
 applications and interviewed several candidates. Meanwhile Man- 
 fred J. Holmes temporarily took over the work of dean, and Dean 
 Schroeder bent his efforts toward keeping affairs of the school 
 running smoothly and carrying out the policies of his predecessor. 
 Staff members found him approachable and willing to listen. 
 Students found him fair-minded and firm but not insensible to 
 tears. His judgments were generally respected, and some persons 
 hoped the Board would select him as president. 2 
 
 1 When President Felmley became very ill Superintendent Blair, as secretary of the 
 Board, authorized Dean Schroeder to assume the duties of the president. In April 1930, 
 the Board confirmed his appointment as acting president at the regular salary of $7,500 
 and made it retroactive to February 1, 1930. Proceedings of the Normal School Board 
 (Macomb) April 28, 1930, p. 67. 
 
 2 Thirty-six candidates sought the position; ten were from Illinois, three from the 
 faculty — all Illinois men off the faculty were receiving more money. The best qualified 
 man who could come without personal sacrifice was the president of Wisconsin State 
 Teachers College at Oshkosh. He and his wife went to Charleston and were interviewed 
 by the Board. Ibid., (Charleston) May 26, 1930, pp. 5-6. 
 
 279 
 
280 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Late in May the news was released that Dr. Harry Alvin 
 Brown, president of Wisconsin Teachers College, Oshkosh, had 
 been named president of the Normal University. The selection 
 was heralded as a wise one. Dr. Brown had wide experience as a 
 teacher and administrator. Since 1917 he had been president of 
 the Wisconsin State Teachers College at Oshkosh. He had 
 brought that school from a two-year course to full college level, 
 with a four-year curriculum and a degree that was recognized by 
 the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. 
 He had organized the college into divisions each with a director 
 and divisions into departments with a specially trained head. 
 Members of the faculty had been urged to get additional training 
 and courses had been reorganized. 3 
 
 After publishing a provocative article in the Elementary School 
 Journal, November 1924, on "Standards for Teachers Colleges," 
 Harry Brown was named chairman of a Committee on Standards 
 set up by the American Association of Teachers Colleges. After 
 visiting every teacher training institution in the country, he pre- 
 pared a set of standards which was adopted by the Association. 
 It was regarded the most significant forward step in the history 
 of the Association. In 1926 Dr. Brown reported his findings to the 
 National Education Association in an address, "On What Should 
 State Teachers Colleges Place Chief Emphasis in Developing 
 Higher Standards." 4 President Felmley had known Dr. Brown 
 through the American Association of Teachers Colleges. They 
 had occasionally exchanged letters, and Felmley had been im- 
 pressed by the constructive work being done by Brown of Osh- 
 kosh. 
 
 Harry Alvin Brown was fifty-one years of age when he became 
 president of Illinois State Normal University. He was tall, well- 
 built, carefully groomed, and distinguished in appearance. His 
 dark hair, Van Dyke beard and closely cropped mustache set him 
 apart in any gathering. He was not as approachable as Dean 
 Schroeder or President Felmley, and there was something about 
 him that suggested "stranger" rather than "home folk." Despite 
 living in Wisconsin for thirteen years, his speech bore the unmis- 
 
 8 Teachers College Advance, Oshkosh. Quoted, Vidette, June 2, 1930. 
 4 Vidette, May 26, 1930; Alumni Quarterly, August 1930, p. 7. 
 
The Era of Uncertainty 281 
 
 takable accent of an Easterner. Frequent nostalgic references to 
 Maine woods and New Hampshire hills betrayed an origin not 
 of the Midwest. 
 
 Harry Brown was the son of Alonzo Allen and Caroline 
 Knowlton Brown. He was born in Liberty, Maine, August 19, 
 1879. He taught rural schools in Maine while working for his 
 bachelor's degree at Bates College in Lewiston. After receiving 
 his degree in 1903, he served as supervising principal and district 
 superintendent for schools in Maine and New Hampshire for four 
 years. In 1907 he took a master's degree from the University of 
 Colorado, and after two years as superintendent of schools in 
 Glasgow, Montana, he returned to New Hampshire. At Christ- 
 mas time in 1908 he had been married to Florence Maria Sever of 
 Keene, New Hampshire. In the summer of 1912 he taught psy- 
 chology and education at the State Normal School at Plymouth, 
 New Hampshire and the following year he joined the staff of the 
 New Hampshire Superintendent of Public Instruction as Director 
 of the Bureau of Educational Research. In the summers he taught 
 courses in psychology and education in the State Normal School 
 at Keene, New Hampshire. In 1917 he became president at Osh- 
 kosh. Ten years later he published a study "Latin in the Secondary 
 Schools." 5 He received the honorary degree of Ed. D. in 1925 
 from both Bates College and Miami University. 
 
 Dr. Brown visited Normal on June 24, and Dean Schroeder 
 presented him to the summer school students in General Exer- 
 cises. He pledged his loyalty to the school. "My main purpose," 
 he said, "in existing as president is the upbuilding of the school. 
 I shall strive to make this the outstanding teachers college in the 
 United States. It has the background and the setting to be that." 
 A week later he returned and settled himself to the task that lay 
 ahead. Dean Schroeder, in charge of the summer school, was 
 told to remain the president's office in Old Main and President 
 Brown took temporary quarters on the second floor of the new 
 science building. It was quiet there, and he had much work to do. 
 Later, he decided that he preferred the location, and a suite of 
 rooms was outfitted as a permanent office. 
 
 President Brown's immediate concern was the revision of the 
 
 5 Who's Who In Education 1 929-1 930, p. 119. 
 
282 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 curriculum and teacher load — conditions responsible for the 
 dropping of the institution from the North Central Association's 
 "A" rating. Many teachers at Normal University taught twenty 
 classes a week rather than the prescribed maximum of sixteen. 
 President Brown discussed with Dean Schroeder recommenda- 
 tions which the faculty had drawn up previously and held group 
 meetings with staff members. 
 
 The catalog for 1931-1932 contained no material changes in 
 courses and curricula except that the curricula were organized 
 under thirteen divisional headings corresponding to the different 
 types of teachers which the school prepared. Code letters for 
 curricula were abandoned, and no longer were the courses for 
 prospective high school teachers listed under K, commerce un- 
 der J, and music under D. Each curriculum provided for the 
 completion of four years of work, instead of two or three as 
 previously indicated. 6 
 
 In March 193 1 the North Central Association restored the 
 Normal University to "A" rating, but the American Association 
 of Teachers Colleges placed the school in "A" classification with 
 a deficiency under Standard IV, which related to the staff of the 
 training School. Under Standard XIV no school having a defi- 
 ciency would be given an "A" rating in 1932. The staff at Normal 
 was considerably less than standard requirement for the number 
 of student teachers to be supervised each year. To prevent the 
 Normal University from being relegated to a "B" rating, Presi- 
 dent Brown secured approval to employ a dean or director for all 
 the training schools, and three additional staff members who were 
 to serve as part-time supervisors in the training schools and as 
 part-time instructors in the college, thus "unifying instruction in 
 method and practice in teaching." 7 
 
 The coming of a director of training schools and three new 
 supervisors necessitated the shifting about of some of the old 
 faculty, a considerable amount of which was being done without 
 consent or consultation with teachers who had established repu- 
 tations in certain fields and courses. These changes made deep 
 wounds which were slow to heal. Meanwhile some of the faculty 
 
 6 Catalog, Illinois State Normal University, 1 931-1932. Proceedings of the Normal 
 School Board (Charleston) May 11, 1931, p. 53. 
 'Ibid., p. 55. 
 
The Era of Uncertainty 283 
 
 learned from professional associates at Oshkosh, a number of 
 whom were graduates of Normal University, that all had not 
 gone well for Dr. Brown at Oshkosh. 8 It was reported that he had 
 had "favorites" at Oshkosh and that eventually he would probably 
 place them on his faculty at Normal. When the first Oshkosh 
 teacher came to Normal at the beginning of the second term in 
 December, one or two persons were apprehensive, but when the 
 appointee displayed unusual ability, their fears were temporarily 
 allayed. However, before long it became apparent that the po- 
 sitions of at least two of the older staff members were in jeopardy. 9 
 
 Those faculty members unaware of the undercurrents were 
 loyal and appreciative of the consideration President Brown had 
 shown in providing office space and desks for study and confer- 
 ences when classes were not in session. No longer were the wide 
 window sills cluttered with the books and papers of faculty mem- 
 bers who had no other place to put them. The rickety table back 
 stage in Capen Auditorium, which had for years been the dra- 
 matics coach's professional hide-out, was consigned to the kin- 
 dling pile. 
 
 President Brown neither courted nor excited popularity among 
 the students. Most of them stood somewhat in awe of the bearded 
 president in the oak paneled office in the Science Building. They 
 were far more inclined to take their problems to Dean Schroeder, 
 to Miss Barton, the Dean of Women, to "Doc" Linkins, Dean of 
 Men, or to one of the coaches. However, they went along en- 
 thusiastically with some of the "reforms." A weekly assembly 
 was greatly to be praised over a daily period of General Exercises. 
 A freshly painted and refurbished lounge for girls in the basement 
 of Old Main added to the comfort of the women students. 
 
 Most of the students were pleased over the new placement 
 system. In February 1932 President Brown employed Miss Hester 
 Hood, formerly with the American College Bureau, to organize 
 a bureau of appointments on the campus. 10 The matter of recom- 
 mending graduates for positions had come to be largely the pre- 
 
 8 R. G. Buzzard to Helen E. Marshall, Charleston, February 22, 1956. Marshall Papers. 
 
 9 Only fragments of President Brown's papers are extant. Details of his administration 
 have been obtained from interviews and correspondence with members of his faculty, 
 newspapers, Board reports and miscellaneous notes and papers in Milner Library. 
 
 10 Proceedings of the Normal School Board (Charleston) April 4, 1932, p. 26. 
 
284 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 rogative of Professor E. A. Turner, who directed student teaching 
 and carried names of seniors and prospective teachers, their cur- 
 riculums and qualifications carefully coded in a little black book. 
 Occasionally senior classes had set up their own placement com- 
 mittee for locating vacancies, and the faculty wrote recommenda- 
 tions directly to school boards and superintendents. In a few 
 months Miss Hood had set up a complete, orderly, and efficient 
 system of records. 11 
 
 The new president extended cordial good wishes to the success 
 of the athletic teams but said he would be too busy to attend many 
 of the games. Like President Felmley he regretted colleges tended 
 to limit their recreational programs to the few men who partici- 
 pated in major sports. He thought all men in college should build 
 strong bodies and participate in the recreational and health values 
 of sports and exercise. He believed they should get a training that 
 would enable them to be leaders of high school boys in whole- 
 some recreation and healthful living, and through their influence 
 be builders of right-minded citizens. 12 When the basketball team 
 won the Little Nineteen championship, he assured the student 
 body that he too rejoiced. The 1931 Index was prudently if not 
 affectionately dedicated to the new president in appreciation of 
 his interest, the things he had accomplished in one year and the 
 great things planned. 13 
 
 The Vidette predicted: 
 
 Even now one can safely say that when the Centennial history of Old 
 Normal is written twenty-six years hence the year just drawing to a 
 close will be considered a milestone. The year 1930-1931 has been one of 
 reorganization, achievement, and of the infusion of new blood. . . . 
 With the high quality of President Brown's leadership and the continued 
 faith on the part of the students and faculty in the future of this school, 
 Old Normal will be one of the institutions that will lead in making of 
 teaching a real profession. 14 
 
 At Homecoming in the fall of 1930 President Brown had 
 greeted alumni and taken an active part in the dedication of 
 
 n Interview, Mrs. Lorene Meeker, Secretary in Office of Bureau of Appointments since 
 1932, January 12, 1956. 
 
 "An interview with President Harry A. Brown in the Vidette, Summer 1931. Quoted 
 Alumni Quarterly, November 1931, p. 14. 
 
 ™ Index 1 93 1, p. 23. 
 
 14 Vidette, June 1931. 
 
The Era of Uncertainty 285 
 
 Felmley Hall of Science and the renaming of the gymnasium in 
 honor of Professor Henry McCormick, who had given forty-three 
 years of service to Normal University. The new president had his 
 dreams of buildings too — a new library, a new classroom building, 
 a manual arts building, but this was hardly the time to project a 
 building program. As he looked toward Old Main, however, he 
 could see the tower leaning dangerously to one side after the 
 manner of Pisa. The roof was sagging and the walls and floors 
 were beginning to show the effects of wind and weight and time. 
 Something would have to be done about it before another year. 
 Meanwhile he would confine his proposals to the internal develop- 
 ment of the institution. 15 
 
 A few months after the existing curricula had been regrouped 
 in divisions and printed in the catalog for 1931-1932, President 
 Brown sought the authorization of an entirely new curriculum. 
 Illinois schools were coming rapidly to provide learning op- 
 portunities for every child. Several cities had separate classes or 
 schools for crippled children and provided special instruction for 
 children with defective vision or who were blind and for children 
 with defective hearing or who were deaf. Other cities had made 
 provision for so-called subnormal children. One city in Illinois 
 had set up special classes for gifted children. 
 
 President Brown believed that provisions for groups of non- 
 typical children had gone far enough to justify a teachers college 
 in establishing some courses for teachers of such children. He 
 wanted to see the Normal University introduce a curriculum de- 
 signed to prepare teachers of atypical children of different kinds. 
 It would be an expensive program and he did not think it possible 
 to offer a complete program at once, but he thought that in the 
 near future several courses might be offered as electives which 
 would represent the beginnings of a definite curriculum and give 
 teachers some preparation for this special work in Illinois schools. 
 He further stressed the idea that progress made with atypical 
 children in public schools would be affected by the availability of 
 teachers. Eventually, he believed, special training should be given 
 in a study of the problems of the gifted, the crippled, the mentally 
 
 18 Harry A. Brown to Governor Louis Emmerson, Fifteenth Annual Report, Department 
 of Registration and Education, p. 15. 
 
286 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 deficient, the incorrigibles and truants, and those with specific de- 
 fects in speech, hearing, and sight. The Board listened to his plea 
 for an expansion of the curriculum of Normal University to pro- 
 vide for exceptional children and referred the matter to the 
 Council of Presidents of the Rye teachers colleges for further con- 
 sideration. 16 In April 1932, President Brown, recently honored by 
 election to the presidency of the American Association of Teach- 
 ers Colleges, again brought up the matter, and once more it was 
 postponed. 17 
 
 By this time the nation was in the throes of a depression. Illinois 
 fared no better than the rest of the country. There were hundreds 
 of persons in the bread lines in cities such as Chicago, Rockford, 
 Rock Island, Moline, Peoria, and East St. Louis. In Cook County 
 alone 135,000 families were being cared for by relief agencies, 
 and over 18,000 unemployed and unattached persons were being 
 cared for in shelters. 18 President Brown's plans for special edu- 
 cation and new buildings had to be abandoned. When it was dis- 
 covered that the floor in the corridor of the second story of the 
 Old Main had dropped about three inches overnight, a call to 
 Springfield released funds appropriated by the Fifty-seventh 
 General Assembly, for the repair of the tower. During Easter va- 
 cation 1932, steel supports were placed from foundation to clock 
 tower, bisecting the large study hall on the second floor. The lean- 
 ing tower was straightened and the upper part of the structure 
 preserved for a few more years. 19 
 
 Despite hard times enrollment in teachers colleges increased. 
 Many young people gravitated toward teachers colleges because 
 of the low tuition and the declining opportunities in industry. A 
 large percentage of the students hoped to work their way through 
 school. Some did well to raise enough money for tuition. Many 
 worked for board and room. Some brought food from home and 
 lived in the cheapest of furnished rooms, cooking their meals on 
 gas burners in basements or on single electric plates in their 
 rooms. Their clothing was often shabby and worn. Patched blue 
 
 19 Proceedings of the Normal School Board (De Kalb) November 9, 1931, pp. 52-53, 55. 
 "Ibid., (Charleston) April 4, 1932, p. 46. 
 
 18 First Annual Report of the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission (July 27, 1932- 
 February 5, 1933) Chicago: 1933, pp. 59, 75. 
 
 19 Index 1932, p. 236. 
 
The Era of Uncertainty 287 
 
 jeans were not uncommon, and sox were saved for special oc- 
 casions. Haircuts were luxuries and often a boy had to borrow 
 money for a suit to wear on an interview for a position. The Fac- 
 ulty Women's Club gave benefits to provide scholarships and 
 loans to needy students. 20 There were more requests for loans than 
 could be granted. 
 
 Nor were faculty members immune from fear. Their salaries 
 were low. The General Assembly, facing the growing depression, 
 had granted only an eighteen percent increase in appropriations, 
 and the faculty had asked for sixty percent. 21 New appointments 
 had been managed out of economies such as savings on salaries 
 of teachers on leave for advanced study whose vacancies were 
 filled at lower figures, and an occasional resort to the revolving 
 fund. Instructors received as little as $1,700, assistant librarians, 
 $1,200. The highest paid professor received $4,230, while the aver- 
 age received $3,500. No associate professor received over $3,400. 
 Many teachers shared their meager salaries with less fortunate 
 relatives. Demands for retrenchment were incessant. There were 
 rumors that the faculty might have to be employed on a month- 
 to-month basis, and salaries be subjected to cuts as the finances of 
 the state dictated. Many school districts throughout the state were 
 unable to pay their teachers except in script, which was heavily 
 discounted by local banks. Would a similar situation confront the 
 faculty in teachers colleges? President Brown and the teachers 
 college presidents stood adamant on the matter of salaries. They 
 would reduce other expenditures but they would oppose any re- 
 duction of teachers' salaries until it was necessary to cut the wages 
 of all state employees. President Brown in the interest of economy 
 dropped the Home Study Department, which had enrolled 333 
 persons in 1930. Supplies were doled out with a meager hand. In 
 March 1933 the cut came. All salaries over $100 per month were 
 reduced ten percent. Most of the faculty accepted the cut stoically : 
 at least they had employment and, being state employees, their 
 credit was good. 
 
 On other scores there was murmuring among the faculty. As 
 the months went on and President Brown advanced more and 
 
 a 
 
 The Faculty Women's Club was organized in 191 6. 
 Alumni Quarterly, August 1931, p. 16. 
 
288 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 more changes in the school, questions arose as to the wisdom, 
 method, and purpose of his procedures. Dr. Brown had worked 
 rapidly and intensely, vamping and revamping the curriculum. 
 Not since the days of Arnold Tompkins had the course of study 
 been subjected to such fury. Brown wanted to see his ideas crys- 
 tallized, but he did not take the faculty as a group into his confi- 
 dence. They missed the give-and-take of President Felmley's wide 
 open faculty meetings, where every staff member was free to 
 speak until interrupted and "outspoken" by another. Dr. Brown 
 did not have President Felmley's gift of being able to direct fac- 
 ulty debate; in fact he found it distasteful. He ignored the "elder 
 statesmen" of the faculty, preferring to counsel with his own 
 appointees. There were rumors of discriminations in salary. Presi- 
 dent Brown was accused of being aloof and unsocial, of with- 
 drawing to his paneled office and trying to avoid commitments 
 and conferences that savored of anything that might be unpleas- 
 ant and embarrassing. He preferred to write notes or send bulle- 
 tins to staff members. Privately there came to be considerable 
 headshaking, name-calling, and suspicion. To some persons the 
 president was arbitrary and dictatorial; to others he was "cow- 
 ardly" and "spineless." When the controversial head of the train- 
 ing school, one of President Brown's own appointees, was abruptly 
 dismissed for reasons not generally regarded as justifiable, even 
 those who disliked him were moved to sympathy. 
 
 Discontent grew with the passing months. A few were be- 
 ginning to fear that peace and security and progress would never 
 come as long as Harry A. Brown remained president. In some 
 small groups the president's failings and faults were grimly 
 recounted. Instances were cited where he seemed to have no busi- 
 ness sense, where he exercised poor judgment, had been incon- 
 sistent and unfair, extravagant in personal expenditures and in 
 the outfitting of his office, and where he failed to keep appoint- 
 ments. 22 Could nothing be done to restore peace and equanimity ? 
 
 About a year after President Brown came it was learned quite 
 by accident that he intended to replace one of the older men in a 
 very responsible position by a younger new appointee with a 
 
 22 "Reasons Why the President's Office Should Terminate, July i, 1933." (Manuscript) 
 Milner Library. 
 
The Era of Uncertainty 289 
 
 Ph. D. If displaced in these days of economic stringency, the older 
 man would find it difficult to secure a position. A small group of 
 young professors who were aware of the charges of favoritism, 
 highhandedness, and duplicity leveled at Dr. Brown at Oshkosh 
 were indignant but bided their time. Wisconsin friends had said 
 that if a critical situation ever developed at Normal they were 
 willing to present factual evidence which might be of service. In 
 the spring of 1933 the older professor was advised that he was 
 being replaced, and another professor who had been promised in 
 writing that he would be permitted to teach certain courses in 
 which he enjoyed a wide and favorable reputation was told that 
 his courses were being dropped. Both had rendered years of 
 valued service to the school. It was too late for either of these 
 men to begin work for doctorates, and the chances were that 
 neither could secure a position as good as that held at Normal. 
 Their younger colleagues now went into action. Securing the 
 confidence and advice of a member of the Board, they proceeded 
 to send for the Wisconsin evidence. They were well aware that 
 if it were not what its sponsors claimed, President Brown might 
 charge them with insubordination, in which case, they would 
 resign. Believing they could find positions more easily than the 
 older men, the younger men assumed the burden of proof. The 
 evidence which came confidentially from Wisconsin was startling. 
 During an executive meeting at the Normal School Board in 
 the Administrative Building of the World's Fair in Chicago on 
 June 3, 1933, several members reported that criticism had come 
 to them relative to administrative action at Normal. A committee 
 was appointed to visit the institution, investigate, and report at 
 the meeting in Springfield on June 26. The seven men who 
 constituted the self-appointed faculty committee kept careful 
 watch for visitors to the campus, and when Saturday, June 24, 
 came and it seemed no one from the Board had appeared, a 
 spokesman telephoned C. M. Bardwell, chairman of the Board's 
 investigating committee, and asked if they might come to Aurora 
 that afternoon and talk with him. Bardwell received them gra- 
 ciously and explained that he had been to Normal early in the 
 week, had lunch with President Brown at his home, and been 
 assured that everything was going well at the school. A few 
 
290 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 faculty members were disconcerted over changes in professional 
 supervision, but it was nothing to be alarmed about. Bardwell 
 said he had already sent a report to Secretary Blair exonerating 
 President Brown. 
 
 A theoretical question was then put to Bardwell. As a superin- 
 tendent of schools, what would he do if he found he had em- 
 ployed a teacher whose credentials were spurious? Without 
 hesitation Bardwell answered that he would dismiss anyone who 
 was dishonest in stating credentials. He was asked to read three 
 letters and a telegram. They related to a transcript of sixty-four 
 hours of college credit which President Brown had sent from the 
 Teachers College, Oshkosh, to Columbia Teachers College for a 
 teacher now on the staff at Normal. The letters stated there was 
 no record of the person ever having enrolled at Oshkosh in any 
 class at any time. The telegram from New York confirmed the 
 signature on the transcript as that of President Brown rather than 
 that of the registrar. 
 
 Bardwell was then informed that if the Teachers College Board 
 had not discharged President Brown by Monday afternoon or 
 he had not resigned, the group would give the whole story to the 
 Associated Press and ask the teaching profession of Illinois to 
 protest to the Board. The threat of publicity carried with it polit- 
 ical implications. Bardwell asked the men to appear before the 
 Board on Monday. When they replied they could not be absent 
 from duty without President Brown's permission, he wrote an 
 order for each of the seven men to meet him and members of 
 the Board in Springfield on Monday, June 26, an hour before the 
 Board was scheduled to meet in Superintendent Blair's office. 
 
 When summoned before the Board, they presented the single 
 charge against President Brown: he had recommended for em- 
 ployment by the Normal School Board in December 1930, and 
 repeated this recommendation each succeeding year, a person 
 whose credentials he knew were spurious in that they were se- 
 cured through unethical or forged credit. As evidence the three 
 letters from Oshkosh and the telegram from Columbia were 
 submitted. The faculty spokesman told the Board that unless 
 Brown were dismissed, the whole story would be given to the 
 Associated Press. 
 
Harry A. Brown, president, 1930-1933, 
 undertook an academic revolution dur- 
 ing an economic depression. 
 
 Raymond W. Fairchild, president, 
 1933-1954. 
 
 Arthur H. Larsen, acting president, 
 1954-1956. 
 
 Robert G. Bone, ninth president, 
 1956. 
 
Draft horses at the farm were the special pride of the "Ag" boys. 
 
 "Anchors Aweigh!" Sixth graduation class U. S. Naval V-12 Unit. June, 1945. 
 
 ■ 
 
 Teachers from foreign lands arrive to study teacher training at Normal, 1956. 
 
Dr. Arthur Watterson, professor of geography, 
 takes his European field trip by air, 1954. 
 
 The Edna Gueffroy doll collection in Milner 
 
 Library has a never failing interest for young 
 
 visitors. 
 
 Homecoming parade moves east on Beaufort Street. 
 
Story time with a student teacher. 
 
 Special education: learning to read by the Touch System. 
 
Catalog room, Milner Library. 
 
 Creative art is a serious matter. 
 
Home Economics Department, 1956: foods in the modern manner. 
 
 A class in modern office practice. 
 
The play's the thing — "Ethan Frome," 1955. 
 
 The Gamma Phi Circus, since 1928 a spring highlight in entertainment. 
 
£ s 
 
 < rt 
 
 x^ ~ § § 3 8 
 
 mm c w _g M E fj 2 32 w „ "3 £? 
 
 "3 *3 ^ 3 E a § "3 =3 | "a . § .2 - 2 I w £ 
 
 l-l.ll s ilsleS l1ll"II^II|! 
 Ml> :il: "4ii^Iil^1-x{^sagU!Ji|'! 
 
The Era of Uncertainty 291 
 
 A few minutes after the interview terminated, President Brown 
 was called in, confronted with the charges and the evidence, and 
 advised to prepare his resignation in writing. There was no alter- 
 native. 
 
 After routine business the Board again went into executive 
 session. President Brown was called in and told that his resig- 
 nation had been accepted, that he would be given a leave of 
 absence with pay for July and August and that Dean H. H. 
 Schroeder would assume the duties of acting president on July 1, 
 1933. Subsequently, Dean Schroeder was called in and informed 
 he had been made acting president, and invested with authority 
 to dismiss such of the new appointees as he thought the interests 
 of the school demanded. 23 
 
 It was an unhappy incident, one that neither the school nor the 
 Board wished to publicize or ever see happen again. The press 
 was merely informed that Harry A. Brown, president of Illinois 
 State Normal University since 1930, had resigned. Not until 
 August 15 did the Daily Pantagraph mention the nature of the 
 difficulties north of Sugar Creek. 24 Harry Alvin Brown returned 
 from Springfield, cleared out his files and packed his goods, and 
 he and his wife left Normal, never to return. 25 
 
 28 Proceedings of the Normal School Board (Springfield) June 25, 1933, p. 25. 
 
 24 Daily Pantagraph, August 15, 1933; September 23, 1933. 
 
 26 After leaving Normal, Harry A. Brown took graduate work in Teachers College, 
 Columbia University and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Education. He served 
 as a successful superintendent of schools in a suburb of Boston for several years before 
 his death on July 8, 1949. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 R. W.F. : Architect and Builder 
 
 The summer and early fall of 1933 were filled with 
 anxiety and suspense for the University and townspeople. Never 
 before in the long life of the school was it so generally felt that 
 the future and prestige of the institution rested upon the choice 
 made by the eleven members of the Board. Meanwhile Dean 
 Schroeder, who had effectively held the school together during 
 President Felmley's illness and death, undertook to reassure the 
 student body and faculty alike and to put matters in order for 
 the fall term and the new president. He took great care in select- 
 ing persons to fill vacancies. He scrutinized credentials and made 
 3ure that applicants were not only qualified by training and ex- 
 perience but were professionally minded and devoted to the cause 
 of teacher education. Herman Schroeder put his whole soul into 
 the task that had fallen to his lot for the second time. He was 
 the first to arrive at Old Main in the morning and the last to 
 leave at night. It might be that he would be asked to continue 
 as president. Both the Pantagraph and the Normalite had edi- 
 torially placed their stamp of approval upon him as a candidate. 1 
 On Monday, October 9, the Board announced its decision. 
 Raymond Wilber Fairchild, Professor, School of Education, 
 Northwestern University, was named president. Two days later 
 the newly elected president visited Normal. When he arrived at 
 the office of William Bach, resident Board member, he found a 
 Pantagraph reporter waiting to take a photograph and secure a 
 statement for the press. Bach hurriedly brought the new president 
 to the campus, where the faculty had been assembled in Capen 
 Auditorium. Mr. Bach paid high tribute to Dean Schroeder and 
 then presented Dr. Fairchild. The new president had not planned 
 to make an address, but he quickly sensed the spirit of the oc- 
 casion, expressed appreciation for Dean Schroeder's work, and 
 
 1 Daily Pantagraph, September 20, 23, 1933. Normalite, September 8, 15, 22, 1933. 
 292 
 
R.W.F.: Architect and Builder 293 
 
 set the tone that was to dominate his administration for the next 
 twenty years. 
 
 I came with no preconceived ideas of teacher training as applies to this 
 or any other institution. An administration of this school is a purely co- 
 operative enterprise. I shall maintain an open attitude and my office 
 door shall always be open. This policy I intend to maintain. Not revolu- 
 tion but evolution will be the policy of progress at the University. . . . 
 I hope to take up my duties here without factional feelings, to make a 
 new start, without reference to past difficulties. 2 
 
 In Old Main, the University farm manager, a paper in hand, 
 sat anxiously awaiting Dr. Fairchild's appearance. Would the 
 president authorize the exchanging of seventeen pigs for five 
 calves ? Unless a direct trade could be made, it would be necessary 
 to advertise a sale and have the livestock checked by the Depart- 
 ment of Agriculture. In that length of time the pigs would 
 probably be hogs and the calves would have reached the butcher's 
 block. President Fairchild smiled and reached for a pen. Within 
 an hour he had met the faculty, made a speech, and performed 
 his first official act. 3 
 
 Raymond W. Fairchild was forty-four years of age, the father 
 of two sons, Ralph Bronson and Robert Eugene, and was in his 
 prime at the time he came to the presidency of Illinois State 
 Normal University. He had the clean vigorous look of an athlete, 
 and there was warmth and strength in his firm handclasp. He 
 was smooth shaven, his light brown hair was carefully groomed, 
 and his blue eyes were friendly and kind and fun-loving. He 
 stood six feet four, broad-shouldered and straight. A small boy 
 at the Soldiers and Sailors Childrens School seeing him for the 
 first time asked, "Are you really a giant?" 
 
 President Fairchild was a midwesterner of native stock. He 
 was born in Bismarck, Illinois, September 9, 1889, the son of 
 Wilber Daniel and Serena Mattie Johnson Fairchild. His father 
 was a Methodist minister, a brilliant and scholarly man and 
 erstwhile professor at Illinois Wesleyan. The two Fairchild sons, 
 Raymond and Donald Hurlstone, attended public schools in the 
 towns where their father held pastorates. After high school Ray- 
 
 2 Vidette, October 13, 1933. 
 
 "Interview, R. W. Fairchild, Normal, January 2, 1956. 
 
294 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 mond attended the University of Illinois and Illinois Wesleyan, 
 where he held an assistantship, majored in biology, and earned a 
 letter in track. He decided not to take his degree at Illinois be- 
 cause he wished to study with a famous bacteriologist at the Uni- 
 versity of Michigan. 
 
 He taught biology and social studies, coached football, and 
 acted as assistant principal of the high school in Vandalia, 1909- 
 1910. From 1910 to 1914, he held a similar position at the Moline 
 High School. On June 25, 1913, he was married to Nellie Bron- 
 son. He studied summers at the University of Michigan, and in 
 19 14 was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in bacteriology. He 
 was dean of men at Wisconsin Teachers College, Stevens Point, 
 from 1914 to 1920. He continued his summer study at the Uni- 
 versity of Michigan and was granted a Master of Arts in 1919. He 
 was superintendent of schools, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, 1920- 
 1923, and superintendent of schools at Elgin, Illinois from 1923 
 to 1930. He then began graduate study in education and admin- 
 istration at Northwestern University. While completing the work 
 for his doctor's degree in 1930-1932, he taught classes in the 
 School of Education at Northwestern. 
 
 Walter Dill Scott, president of Northwestern, believed there 
 should be special training for teachers college administrators, and 
 that this was a field in which his university might well pioneer. 
 He selected Professor Fairchild with his background of liberal 
 arts, public school, and teachers college experience, as the man 
 most able to assist in the development of such a program. He 
 wanted first of all a survey of administrative practices and pro- 
 cedures in the teachers colleges of the United States. Dr. Fairchild 
 was teaching mostly graduate classes, so it was possible for him 
 to be away from the campus for as long as two weeks at a time. 
 He traveled over 25,000 miles and visited seventy teachers colleges 
 in forty-three states. He was "saturated" with teachers college 
 work. These visitations served as a basis for his doctoral disserta- 
 tion, "The Improvement of Teacher Education." As a conse- 
 quence President Fairchild came to Normal prepared for teachers 
 college administration as were few men at that time. 
 
 Carter Harris, the beloved "custodian" of Old Castle as the 
 University High School gymnasium was then known, watched 
 
R.W.F.: Architect and Builder 295 
 
 the new president as he went from building to building, acquaint- 
 ing himself with the plant, talking with employees, and pausing 
 to watch the boys at football practice. Harris was glad the presi- 
 dent's office was being set up in Old Main again. After hearing 
 Dr. Fairchild speak, he confided to his friend Manfred Holmes 
 that he was afraid the new president would not stay, that the 
 school would not be big enough. 4 
 
 As a school superintendent he had seen shortcomings in the 
 preparation of teachers. He was now in a position to work out 
 ideas. He had his own theories but he also wanted to know what 
 others were thinking. After all he had promised progress, service, 
 evolution, not revolution. There was a feeling abroad that teach- 
 ers colleges had walls around them and operated without regard 
 to the public schools whose teachers they supplied. President 
 Fairchild invited the principals and superintendents of twenty- 
 seven counties served by the Normal University to come to the 
 campus on the first Saturday of December and talk things over. 
 After a keynote speech the crowd would break up into small 
 groups, and discuss phases of the topic, "What's wrong with 
 teachers colleges and Illinois State Normal University?" At noon 
 they would be guests at a luncheon in Fell Hall. From a popular 
 song of the day, the meeting was styled "The First Round-up of 
 Superintendents and Principals." President Fairchild hoped that 
 the "First Round-up" would not be the last. 
 
 Never before had the public school administrators of Illinois 
 been invited to participate in such a conference. Some came out 
 of curiosity, a few to voice grievances, and others to meet friends. 
 The faculty were asked to attend, to listen, and to learn. The Uni- 
 versity promised to do something about the complaints and report 
 progress at a similar meeting a year hence if the administrators 
 approved. The schoolmen liked the idea, and the University 
 gained from the frank exchange of opinion, and the Roundup 
 became an annual affair. 5 
 
 There was also the matter of acquainting the faculty with what 
 was going on in the public schools. The new president urged his 
 teachers to take visiting days to observe teaching as it was done 
 
 4 Manfred J. Holmes, "Carter Harris," Holmes Papers. 
 
 6 As this Centennial History leaves the press, preparations are under way for the 
 twenty-four annual Round-up. 
 
296 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 in rural, elementary, and secondary schools. A county contact 
 system, later to become effective in recruiting students, was set up 
 to acquaint the schools with the offerings of the Normal Uni- 
 versity and to bring back to the campus written reports of the 
 teaching in the schools. President Fairchild used every opportu- 
 nity to bring teacher education and Illinois State Normal Uni- 
 versity to the attention of the public. From October 11, 1933, to 
 May 8, 1934, he made seventy-eight speeches. 6 
 
 For some time there had been no regular faculty meetings. The 
 new president promptly set up the second Tuesday of each month 
 for faculty meetings. The first year's meetings were devoted to 
 faculty relations — with each other, to students, to the community, 
 to the school territory served, and to the training profession. Presi- 
 dent Fairchild accepted the divisional and departmental organi- 
 zation set up by President Brown without making any immediate 
 changes. However, in April 1935, he organized a University Senate, 
 composed of the directors of divisions, departmental heads, deans, 
 the registrar, and other administrative officers, for the purpose of 
 initiating and furthering administrative policies and obtaining a 
 wide range of ideas and reactions. This new body promptly began 
 discussion of a new grading system, selective admission, the school 
 calendar, class attendance and absences. 7 Three years later an 
 Administrative Council composed of the deans and other adminis- 
 trative officers for purpose of assisting in matters of discipline and 
 other important decisions was effected. 8 
 
 When President Fairchild came to Normal University in 1933, 
 twenty-six percent of the faculty had less than master's degrees, 
 and only thirteen persons had doctorates. He began immediately 
 to work for improvement of faculty qualifications. He advised 
 against employing persons who did not have at least a master's 
 degree and those having five years of teaching experience were 
 preferred. Within two years, the number of doctorates increased 
 to thirty and there were only one or two staff members who had 
 not yet completed work for the master's degree. 9 Within the first 
 five years of his administration 87 percent of the faculty had 
 
 6 Proceedings of the Normal School Board (Springfield) May 15, 1934, p. 51. 
 
 ''Index 1936, p. 24. 
 
 8 Ibid., 1942, p. 18. 
 
 6 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Carbondale) October 7, 1935, p. 140. 
 
R.WJ 7 .: Architect and Builder 297 
 
 taken graduate work through leaves of absence, summer courses, 
 or extension work. By 1938 thirty-four percent of the staff held 
 doctorates and the remainder master's degrees. In the five-year 
 period fourteen books and ninety-six articles were published by 
 members of the faculty. 10 At the same time that President Fair- 
 child encouraged his faculty to undertake advanced studies, he 
 made efforts to get the ten percent salary cuts restored and a 
 salary schedule set up. 
 
 He saw the same need for buildings that his predecessors had 
 seen. A poll of the faculty confirmed his own belief that the 
 library was the school's most critical need. Next to that was per- 
 haps a center where students could gather between classes. But 
 with fifteen percent of the state's population on relief in 1933, it 
 was difficult to see how any of the state's revenues could be 
 diverted into buildings. 11 Although the library would have to 
 wait, it was possible to do something about a student social center. 
 Fell Hall still served admirably for formal all-school receptions 
 and other functions, but a place was needed for club meetings 
 and where students could go between classes for a social hour with 
 friends. Through the Civil Works Administration funds for labor 
 and the University's resources for materials, a lounge was set up in 
 the southeast corner of the basement of Old Main in what had 
 been originally the living quarters of the janitor and more re- 
 cently a scene shop for classes in dramatic production and a 
 convenient catchall for broken and discarded furniture and jani- 
 tor's supplies. The Student Council, with the aid of numerous 
 clubs and a generous faculty, raised $1,200 to furnish it. The 
 lounge opened officially April 6, 1934. 12 A student union building 
 would not be lost sight of, although for the time being, three 
 large rooms and a kitchenette would have to suffice for dancing, 
 cards, club functions, and teas. 
 
 In the days of economic depression students had little money 
 to spend on necessities, to say nothing of the pleasures of college 
 life. Since 19 15 an activity fee had been charged each student to 
 cover cost of the Vidette, lecture course, oratorical and musical 
 events, and literary and athletic contests. The fee had gradually 
 
 10 R. W. Fairchild, "Five Years in Retrospect," 1938. MS Fairchild Papers. 
 
 11 Statistical Abstract, State of Illinois 1937-1938, p. 327. 
 
 12 Proceedings of the Board of Education (Springfield) May 15, 1934, p. 50. 
 
298 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 increased from J1.25 to $3.00 a quarter. 13 The fund thus obtained 
 was apportioned among various organizations and activities by a 
 board of faculty, students, and administration. During the school 
 year 1933-1934, for the first time free movies — and according to 
 the Index "good ones at that" — were provided for the students. 14 
 In 1935 the fee was increased to cover cost of the Index, class dues, 
 organizations which provided entertainment and services for the 
 entire student body, health service, and hospitalization. Fell Hall 
 had long served as a residence and social center for women, but 
 there was no comparable dormitory or center for men. In 1934 
 the University Club, under the sponsorship of Ralph H. Linkins, 
 Dean of Men, leased the large home of Colonel Dudley C. Smith 
 on University Street opposite the South Campus and provided 
 residence for thirty-two men. 15 
 
 On May 21, 1934, the University held open house for the com- 
 munity. Townspeople and alumni were invited to visit the cam- 
 pus, inspect the buildings, witness demonstrations and exhibits in 
 the various areas and departments. Despite threatening skies 3,000 
 came. They wandered through the buildings, saw musical or- 
 ganizations and a play in rehearsal, observed spectacular experi- 
 ments in science. Student guides and "barkers" outside the various 
 exhibits gave a touch of carnival atmosphere to the miniature 
 century of progess. 16 The visitors found a friendly welcome, 
 intriguing displays and went away pleased. President Fairchild in 
 addressing the Normal Chamber of Commerce in March had 
 been presented as the man who had taken down the iron fence 
 around the University and brought school and community to- 
 gether. The open house was further proof. 
 
 Commencement 1934 was highlighted by a full dress academic 
 procession. This year for the first time the graduating exercises 
 were held out-of-doors in a grove of trees which had come to be 
 known as Sherwood Forest. The two-year graduates in their blue 
 robes, led by marshals in bright red robes with white velvet sleeve 
 
 "Ibid., (Normal) November 16, 191 4, p. 28; David Felmley to Livingston C. Lord, 
 Normal June 16, 191 9. Felmley Papers. 
 
 14 Index 1934, p. 4. 
 
 "Smith Hall was purchased in 1941 at a cost of $25,000. Proceedings of the Teachers 
 College Board (formerly Board of Education, Normal School Board) December 15, 1941, 
 p. 211. 
 
 16 Vidette, May 18, 1915; May 23, 1915. 
 
R.W.F.: Architect and Builder 299 
 
 bars and white tassels on their mortarboards and carrying white 
 batons headed the procession. They were followed by the four- 
 year graduates in black baccalaureate gowns, and the faculty and 
 administration in black relieved by velvet sleeve bars and facings 
 and the bright satin chevrons on their academic hoods, with here 
 and there the sparkle of a fresh gold tassel. As the double line 
 moved slowly from Old Main across the campus to the strains of 
 "Pomp and Circumstance," parents waited in the improvised 
 bleachers, but undergraduates and alumni loitered along the line 
 of march, cameras in hand, snapping pictures of favorite pro- 
 fessors or graduating friends in their academic regalia. 17 
 
 The summer session of 1934 witnessed two more innovations 
 that were to become annual events, an Educational Conference at 
 which leading educators of the nation were invited to speak and 
 an Educational Exhibit to which representatives of school supply 
 houses were invited to set up displays of their respective wares. 
 Principals, superintendents, teachers, members of school boards 
 throughout the area, faculty and students assembled in Capen 
 Auditorium for morning and afternoon sessions on the pertinent 
 topic of "Readjustment in Education." They listened to addresses 
 in the morning and panel discussions in the afternoon, and then 
 they asked questions. Before, after, and between the sessions they 
 visited the exhibits set up in McCormick Gymnasium. 18 Pub- 
 lishers sent copies of their standard and latest texts, maps, work- 
 books, and other classroom aids. Seating companies displayed the 
 newest in tables, chairs, and desks. Other firms exhibited modern 
 equipment for shopwork, for physics and chemistry and business 
 machines, typewriters and comptometers. There were demon- 
 strations in the teaching of handwriting, in arts and crafts, and 
 in the use of audio-visual aids. The first year forty firms exhibited, 
 and two thousand persons registered as visitors. Four years later 
 120 firms were listed and there were more than four thousand 
 
 . . I Q 
 
 visitors. 
 
 The vigorous young president was reaching out and bringing 
 people to the campus. In the summer handwriting clinics, reading 
 clinics, and parent-teacher workshops brought hundreds of other 
 
 17 Ibid., June 5, 1934. 
 ™1bid., June 21, 1934. 
 
 18 Fairchild, "Five Years in Retrospect" MS. 
 
300 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 persons to the University for one or two weeks to avail them- 
 selves of instruction under specialists. President Fairchild wanted 
 the school to be recognized as a service institution. In 1935 ex- 
 tension classes were resumed in five centers with ten classes and 
 an enrollment of 196. Two years later thirty-six classes were being 
 taught in twenty-one centers with 1089 persons enrolled. 20 A 
 publicity office was established to serve as a clearing house for 
 university news, to issue certain university publications, and to 
 carry on public relations projects. 
 
 The financial situation of the Normal University in 1932 ren- 
 dered it impractical to attempt any extensive observation of the 
 seventy-fifth anniversary of the founding of the school. Professor 
 Charles A. Harper had written a volume tracing the history of 
 the Normal University in relation to the development of the 
 teachers college in the United States, but there were no funds to 
 publish it. Economic conditions were somewhat improved by 
 1935, and the faculty voted to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee 
 of the first graduating class. Professor Harper's book was pub- 
 lished and twice during commencement week a pageant, The 
 Lighter of Flames, was presented in front of Old Main. 
 
 The pageant based on Professor Harper's book was the most 
 ambitious and elaborate dramatic presentation attempted on the 
 campus since the ill-fated Shakespearean production nearly 
 twenty years before. This time the cast had only hvt hundred 
 persons, but the weather was favorable and more than four 
 thousand witnessed the two performances. The Lighter of Flames, 
 like its predecessor, was a cooperative enterprise. Miss Mabel Clare 
 Allen, director of dramatics, was general chairman and staged 
 the production, while numerous committees of faculty, faculty 
 wives and students worked on script, costumes, properties, music, 
 publicity, finance, and seating. In music, color, action, and song, 
 the story of seventy-five years unfolded, showing the position of 
 dignity which the school had had from the beginning and the 
 efforts of its administrators to justify the faith of its founders in 
 its role of educational leadership. By 1870 it had been the largest 
 and most respected normal school in America. Its graduates not 
 
 20 "Summary of Extension Program September 1913 to June 1, 1955" Division of 
 Field Services, Illinois State Normal University. MS. 
 
R . W.F. : Architect an d Builder 30 1 
 
 only had taught in Illinois schools but some had gone out to 
 establish other normals. As Bridgewater was the inspiration of 
 eastern normals, so Illinois State Normal University was the 
 model for western normals. 21 After the final scene depicting the 
 years of expansion under President Felmley, came the epilogue: 
 
 Three quarters of a century have now been recorded. Illinois State 
 Normal University enters upon a new phase of her existence. A new 
 leader is upon her campus. A new hand takes up the pen to write a 
 future record significant as the past. . . , 22 
 
 Already there was evidence of the new leadership. Student 
 assemblies were revived on a weekly rather than a daily basis. A 
 board of students and faculty planned programs designed both to 
 entertain and to widen the horizon of the members of the uni- 
 versity community, and to build school spirit, loyalty, and pro- 
 fessionalism. The president used time in assembly as well as 
 monthly faculty meetings to acquaint his audience with needs 
 and progress of the school, always stressing the importance of 
 cooperative effort. Faculty committees undertook surveys on 
 subjects ranging from the curriculum to buildings, and studies on 
 professional growth and welfare. Broadcasts from the Tower 
 Studios in Cook Hall, through the facilities of Bloomington's 
 new radio station, WJBC, brought special programs and news 
 of the campus to alumni and friends of the University. 
 
 By the summer of 1935 a number of significant developments 
 had taken place in the curriculum. Psychology was separated from 
 education and organized as a special department. The offerings 
 of other departments were expanded, notably in music education, 
 art education, physical education, visual education, and journal- 
 ism. An increase in number of affiliated schools offered greater 
 opportunities for observation and student teaching. The catalog 
 for 1935-1936 announced that beginning in September the Nor- 
 mal University would operate on a semester basis and that in 
 
 "Lyman B. Kellogg, Class of 1864, was made president of Kansas State Normal, 
 Emporia, Kansas, in 1864. In 1875 Henry Norton, Class of 1861, who had gone to 
 Emporia with Kellogg pioneered in California as vice-principal of the Normal School 
 at San Jose. President Edwards often visited the school at Emporia and sent his best 
 graduates to Kellogg. 
 
 22 Program, "The Lighter of Flames" a pageant commemorating the Seventy-fifth 
 Anniversary of the first graduating class of Illinois State Normal University, 1 860-1 935. 
 June 7, 8, 1935, p. 10. 
 
302 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 place of the traditional percentage system of grades, there would 
 be one of letters and honor points. By 1936 Dr. Fairchild was 
 talking in terms of work beyond the bachelor's degree and was 
 selecting faculty who were qualified by training and experience 
 to teach courses on a graduate level. 23 
 
 The new president quickly made use of federal funds under 
 the CWA, the WPA, and the NYA to improve the general ap- 
 pearance of the campus, in the construction of walks, drives, 
 tennis courts and playing fields, and explored the possibilities of 
 PWA grants for the construction of buildings. From the million- 
 dollar state appropriation Governor Horner released $18,500 which 
 permitted some badly needed painting and rewiring of Old Main 
 and other buildings. Federal funds for labor helped stretch the 
 slender resources of the school, and by excavating here and 
 partitioning there in various buildings, twenty-four additional 
 classrooms and offices for thirty-two more teachers were made 
 available. A lounge for faculty women was provided in the base- 
 ment of Old Main, and a room 30 feet by 80 feet excavated be- 
 neath the Old Castle was made into a music rehearsal hall. 24 
 
 The General Assembly sent a Committee to visit Educational 
 Institutions in the spring of 1935. The chairman, Senator T. V. 
 Smith, made a scintillating report, and although it produced no 
 marked increase in appropriations it was nevertheless a vote of 
 confidence. The state, he concluded 
 
 . . . can not afford not to support substantial education for all its chil- 
 dren. To provide instruments for this substantial education is the prime 
 duty of the normal colleges. This provided, other departments of the 
 state that have achieved the same efficiency of economy may then be 
 allowed the luxury of paying patronage with remaining surplus funds 
 of the state. Put first things first by reversing the places now occupied by 
 patronage and principle, and we shall soon enough see how much 
 easier it is to afford education, from normal college to one-room school, 
 than it is to afford public officials who mince every educational ap- 
 propriation li\e a miser but play the patron to many a lesser need. Only 
 pudgy politicians will treat li\e a stepmother, this fine mother of all our 
 stoutest virtues, the educational system of Illinois?* 
 
 23 Proceedings of the Teachers College Board (Formerly Normal School Board) 
 (Springfield) May 25, 1936, p. 43. 
 
 24 Fairchild, "Five Years in Retrospect," 1938 MS. 
 
 25 T. V. Smith and W. E. C. Clifford, Senate Committee Report on the Normal Colleges, 
 State of Illinois, 1935 (DeKalb: Northern State Teachers College Press, 1936) p. 12. 
 
R.W.F.: Architect and Builder 303 
 
 Salary cuts were restored for the other teachers colleges in 1935, 26 
 but it was 1937 before the restoration came to Normal University. 
 Until faculty salaries were improved, President Fairchild would 
 not press the case for badly needed buildings. He asked only for 
 some costly repairs that were urged by the office of Architecture 
 and Engineering. New roofs on Old Castle, Old Main, McCor- 
 mick Gymnasium, and parts of the library and the strengthening 
 of the smoke-stack at the heating plant were imperative. The 
 greenhouse, for which state and federal funds had been made 
 available, was completed in the summer of 1937. In view of 
 steadily increasing enrollment, President Fairchild asked the 
 Board to approve a program of selective admission and a limi- 
 tation of 1850 on the student body until classroom and other 
 housing facilities could be expanded. This request was approved, 
 October 7, 1935, and was operative for four years. 27 
 
 In 1937 the Budget Committee of the Normal School Board 
 recommended the construction of three buildings at Normal Uni- 
 versity — a library, an auditorium-music-speech-administration 
 building, and a home management house. However the General 
 Assembly did not appropriate sufficient funds to satisfy all the 
 building needs at the various teachers colleges and under a ro- 
 tation system funds were released to Normal University in Octo- 
 ber for the construction of a home management house costing 
 $34,800, of which $20,000 was provided by the state and the re- 
 mainder from federal funds. 28 The following March work began 
 on the $556,000 library. The home management house, known as 
 Jessie E. Rambo Home, was occupied in September 1939, and the 
 library with a capacity of half a million books named in honor of 
 Ange. V. Milner, although not entirely completed, was dedicated 
 during Commencement Week, June 1940. 29 An art gallery and 
 four museum rooms afforded space for temporary exhibits and 
 permanent collections relating to the history of the University, 
 natural science, agriculture, and a remarkable doll collection given 
 to the school by Dr. Edna GuefTroy, of the geography department. 
 Carter Harris, aging janitor of Cook Hall, as Old Castle was now 
 
 28 Proceedings of the Normal School Board (Chicago) February 18, 1935, p. 20. 
 27 Ibid., (Springfield) February 19, 1940, p. 24. Limits were removed, June 19, 1939. 
 
 28 Ibid., (Springfield) November 14, 1938, p. 157. 
 
 29 Dedication brochure "Milner Library" June 10, 1940. (n.p.) 
 
304 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 called, trudged over to inspect the beautiful red brick Georgian 
 building with its sandstone columns. As he stood inside the grey 
 marble foyer looking at the handsome balustrade and double 
 winding stairs, he remembered what he had said to Manfred 
 Holmes five years before. "I was wrong," he mused, "Instead of 
 leaving because the school is too small, President Fairchild is 
 staying on and building it to his own size." 30 
 
 In an article, "Approaching the Century Mark," in the Alumni 
 Quarterly, May 1940, President Fairchild shared his plans with 
 the alumni. As for buildings they included the speech-art-music- 
 auditorium and administration building, a high school building, 
 improvements at the University farm, a swimming pool, the com- 
 pletion of the south wing to Fell Hall, and a student union 
 which he hoped could be begun that very fall. 31 
 
 The General Assembly in 1941 acted favorably upon the pro- 
 posals to complete the gymnasium and the entrance to Fell Hall, 
 but while the Division of Architecture and Engineering was 
 drawing plans, ominous events were taking place. As the war in 
 Europe progressed the United States embarked upon an all-out 
 defense program. By the summer of 194 1 the government de- 
 mands for structural steel forced the suspension of plans for non- 
 essential buildings. Facilities of Normal University were placed at 
 the disposal of the federal government, and certain departmental 
 courses were geared to the national emergency. 
 
 With community cooperation and federal funds allocated 
 through the State Board of Vocational Education, the University 
 facilities were used intensively in national defense. The Industrial 
 Arts Department in six-hour shifts gave round-the-clock instruc- 
 tion in machine tool work, sheet metal, welding, polishing, and 
 blueprint reading. Over seven hundred persons received training 
 in this program under the director, Professor Ray Stombaugh. 32 
 When the National Youth Agricultural-Industrial Project was 
 discontinued in December by federal order, a new emphasis was 
 placed on preparing workers for the heavier defense industries. 
 
 80 Holmes, "Carter Harris." Holmes Papers 
 
 81 R. W. Fairchild, "Approaching the Century Mark," Alumni Quarterly, May 1940, 
 
 P- 3- 
 
 82 Gertrude M. Hall, "Defense Classes at State Normal," Alumni Quarterly, February 
 1942, p. 16; Proceedings of the Teachers College Board (Carbondale) May 19, 1941, p. 72. 
 
R.W.F.: Architect and Builder 305 
 
 However, a short intensive course for training farm workers was 
 given in the spring of 1943, and from it 175 men were placed on 
 Illinois farms. A civilian pilot training program was begun as a 
 non-credit course in the summer of 1940, with a junked airplane 
 stored at the University farm serving as a laboratory piece. Pro- 
 fessors Clarence Cross, Harry Lathrop, and Howard Adams gave 
 nine weeks' instruction in the principles of navigation, meteor- 
 ology, and mechanics; Art Carnahan of the Bloomington Airport 
 and two other pilot teachers gave flight training. In the first two 
 years the program was in operation over no students received 
 their wings. 33 In the spring of 1943 Normal University was desig- 
 nated as a center for training of high school instructors in pre- 
 flight aeronautics. 
 
 In July 1942 the Civilian Pilot Training program was changed 
 to a War Training Service program, and twenty army flyers were 
 assigned to Normal University for an intensive eight-weeks 
 course. The army program continued until January 1943, when 
 navy flyers replaced the army under the Navy V-5 program. 34 
 
 Meanwhile the regular enrollment took a sharp decline. The 
 number of students in the college for the first semester 1940-1941 
 was 1820, for the same period, 1941-1942 it was 1621, and in the 
 fall following the attack on Pearl Harbor it had dropped to 1067. 
 Only 779 civilian students were enrolled in the college during 
 the first semester 1943-1944, and fifty fewer students during the 
 second semester. 35 During the second semester 1943-1944 the 
 number of civilian men in the college dropped to fifty-six. Emer- 
 gency teaching positions, war work, armed services, early mar- 
 riages and lucrative jobs in industry took toll of college women 
 as well as men. Nor was the faculty unaffected. Numerous leaves 
 were granted to teachers who served in the armed forces or who 
 were "loaned" to defense work. 
 
 As classes became smaller and the ratio of teachers per students 
 became disproportionate, many of the faculty were troubled lest 
 they find themselves without employment. President Fairchild 
 remained ever hopeful and encouraging. No new teachers would 
 be employed, but he would keep a place for all who wished to re- 
 
 ^ Index 1942, pp. 120-121. 
 
 84 Proceedings of the Teachers College Board (Chicago) May 17, 1943, p. 60. 
 
 K Ibid„ (Chicago) April 3, 1944, p. 36. 
 
306 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 main on the staff and find constructive work for them to do. 
 There would be an upsurge in enrollment after the war, and it 
 would not be easy to build up a strong faculty. He encouraged 
 those who did not have doctorates to take advantage of the decline 
 in enrollment and engage in advanced study. Extension courses 
 were offered in as many centers as public transportation and the 
 restrictions on gasoline and tires permitted. First aid courses were 
 taught by Professor Clifford Horton and other members of the 
 health and physical education staff, and Red Cross certificates as 
 well as college credit were earned by students completing the 
 courses. Professor Leslie Holmes taught short courses in map- 
 reading, and the home economics staff offered their talents widely 
 in developing healthful meals within the restrictions of sugar and 
 red and blue ration coupons. 
 
 A War Service Council was set up to coordinate different areas 
 of student and faculty war-time activities. The War Funds Board 
 supervised drives for funds, the War Records Board gathered data 
 on university personnel in service, the War Literature Board col- 
 lected literature, photographs, and phonograph records, the Stu- 
 dent Activities Board sponsored a multiplicity of projects from 
 making surgical dressings to serving in Red Cross canteens and 
 mailing copies of the Vidette to camps where former students 
 were based; a Government Relations and Americanism Board 
 cooperated with the American Legion, the DAR and the Red 
 Cross, while the Community War Service Board did its share to 
 build up morale and patriotism. 36 
 
 Dwindling enrollments and vanishing man power cast a 
 shadow of apprehension and gloom over the school. The great 
 lift to the general morale of the school came with the announce- 
 ment from Washington in the spring of 1943 that the University 
 would receive a unit of from two hundred sixty to three hundred 
 men in the Navy V-12 program. 37 On July 1 a contingent of 291 
 men arrived at Fell Hall and with the Commanding Officer, 
 Meldrim F. Burrill, were inducted into the Unit. 38 They came 
 
 88 Index 1942, p. 179. 
 
 87 Proceedings of the Teachers College Board (Chicago) May 17, 1943, p. 61. 
 
 88 Other officers of the Navy V-12 Unit were Lt. (j.g.) Eugene W. Bowman, executive 
 officer, Lt. (j.g.) Edwin A. Busse, and Lt. (j.g.) Merrill W. Rusher, medical officer. 
 A ship's company of five enlisted men served as athletic specialists, yeoman, storekeeper 
 and pharmacist's mate. 
 
R.W.F.: Architect and Builder 307 
 
 from thirty-one midwestern colleges and universities. A few had 
 seen active duty and one bore the purple heart. Four-fifths of the 
 men were quartered in Fell Hall, the Unit's headquarters, and 
 the others in Smith Hall. Three sixteen-week terms a year were 
 set up, and the length of time the men spent on campus depended 
 on their previous college work. Regular staff members taught 
 courses in physics, English, advanced mathematics, chemistry, 
 engineering, history, United States naval history, economics, and 
 foreign languages. Upon completion of their college work the 
 students with good records went on to midshipmen schools, from 
 which they were commissioned as ensigns; those who failed in 
 their work were dispatched to boot camp or the fleet. 39 
 
 On the whole the V-12 boys were a superior lot. When their 
 close and full schedules permitted, they participated in university 
 extracurricular activities, music, sports, and dramatics. In their 
 trim uniforms of winter blue and summer white they added color 
 and life to a campus that deplored complete feminization. 
 
 The south reserve room at Milner Library was set aside for 
 "naval personnel only." Weekday bounds were from Beaufort 
 to Willow and from Main to Fell, and often at closing time a 
 co-ed walked her seaman from the library to his dormitory, bade 
 him a fond goodnight, and scurried home alone. 
 
 Saturday reviews on McCormick Field and morning inspection 
 in front of Old Main ending with a salute to the flag attracted 
 much attention, and an invitation to the Navy V-12 semester's 
 formal dance was esteemed by many co-eds as next to making the 
 academic honor roll; others secretly rated the honors in the re- 
 verse order. 
 
 The second V-12 term had barely begun when the continuance of 
 the Unit was threatened. About noon on November 9, the com- 
 munity was startled by the shriek of fire sirens, the clanging of 
 the fire trucks, the odor of burning timbers and the heavy pall of 
 smoke that quickly enveloped the campus. Fell Hall, the navy 
 ship, was on fire! The town's volunteer fire fighting equipment 
 rushed to the scene. Additional fire trucks came from Blooming- 
 ton and the Soldiers and Sailors Childrens School to help battle 
 the flames. The navy men had already rescued most of the valu- 
 
 89 Gertrude M. Hall, "The Fleet's In," Alumni Quarterly, August 1943, pp. 2-3. 
 
308 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 ables in the hall. Damage by fire was confined entirely to the 
 attic and the roof, but water damaged other parts of the building. 
 
 While the faculty and women students speculated on the out- 
 come of the fire, the townspeople, the commanding officer, and 
 President Fairchild were busy. Dr. Fairchild telephoned Spring- 
 field, and Lieutenant Burrill telephoned Washington. Priorities 
 on repair materials were granted immediately, and by the middle 
 of the afternoon the State Architect was on the grounds initiating 
 steps for repairs. The people of Normal offered food and lodgings 
 but by night the seamen had temporary beds neatly arranged on 
 the floor of McCormick Gymnasium. Within twenty-four hours 
 the kitchen and dining room were again in operation and less 
 than half a day was lost from classes. 40 
 
 Six hundred four seamen were trained at Normal University 
 before the V-12 Unit was disbanded in June 1945. At a final con- 
 vocation on June 16, the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant 
 Meldrim F. Burrill, presented President Fairchild with a citation 
 of appreciation and commendation from Secretary of the Navy 
 James Forestal, together with the battalion flag and the United 
 States flag of the Unit, to be placed in Milner Library as a re- 
 membrance of "service beyond the call of duty." 41 
 
 For some time prior to the disbanding of the Navy Unit the 
 University began making plans for "reconversion" to the needs of 
 a post-war era. It was expected that there would be a sharp up- 
 trend in enrollment. During the war, the University inaugurated 
 an extensive adult education program in which evening classes 
 were taught by members of the staff. Despite restrictions on gaso- 
 line and tires, the classes, especially those in typing, arts and 
 crafts, were well attended. Eventually the program was turned 
 over to the Bloomington Public School system, one of the best in 
 the area. Public school adult programs are now well-established 
 with a part-time coordinator in the office of the State Superin- 
 tendent of Public Instruction. 
 
 40 Proceedings of the Teachers College Board (Chicago) December 18, 1943, pp. 279-280. 
 
 41 Meldrim F. Burrill, "Brief History of the Officer Training Navy V-12 Unit, Illinois 
 State Normal University. 
 
 The U. S. Navy paid a total of $380,498.08 to Normal University for use of plant and 
 teaching personnel for the V-12 program; of this $69,000 was available for rehabilitating 
 Fell Hall and Smith Hall. Proceedings of the Teachers College Board (Springfield) 
 October 15, 1945, p. 61. 
 
R.W.F.: Architect and Builder 309 
 
 Graduate work, with Dr. Chris A. DeYoung as the first graduate 
 Dean, was inaugurated at the inter-session and summer session 
 of 1944. 42 The first summer thirty-eight students were enrolled in 
 five qualified departments. In order to qualify for offering gradu- 
 ate work, fifty percent of the department's staff had to have 
 doctoral degrees, and graduate courses were taught only by per- 
 sons who held such degrees. Thirty-two semester hours of gradu- 
 ate study was required for the degree of Master of Science in 
 Education. No graduate courses were offered by extension, and 
 no graduate courses were open to seniors except to those within 
 seven hours of graduation and then only with special permission. 
 A thesis or equivalent was required. 43 During the first year ninety- 
 four persons availed themselves of the program. Courses held in 
 late afternoon, evenings, and Saturdays were attractive to teachers 
 in service. On June 4, 1945, the first degree of Master of Science in 
 Education was granted to Charlotte Elizabeth Wilcox in biologi- 
 cal science. The subject of her thesis was "Rapid Methods for 
 Health Teachers and Health Educators to Use in Spotting Stream 
 Pollution." 44 From June 1944 to June 1956, 148 1 students have 
 been enrolled in graduate courses at Illinois State Normal Uni- 
 versity, and degrees have been conferred on 478 persons. 
 
 The University also cooperated closely with the federal govern- 
 ment in providing counseling and testing services for veterans as 
 well as special training facilities. In the spring of 1945 Normal 
 University became one of the five counseling and testing centers 
 in the state of Illinois. Two Veterans Administration representa- 
 tives and a secretary were assigned to the campus to handle ad- 
 ministrative details, and five members of the psychology depart- 
 ment gave counseling services. From September 1945 to June 1, 
 1947, a School for Veterans taught by members of the regular 
 staff of teachers and graduate assistants enabled ex-service men 
 
 43 A Graduate Council consisting of the President, the Dean, the Director of Admis- 
 sions, the Director of Research, the Director of Student Teaching, Head of the Department 
 of Education, and Coordinator of Curricular Activities and one member from each of 
 the departments approved for graduate study, was organized in 1943 to develop the 
 graduate program. Ibid., (Chicago) September 7, 1943, p. 183. 
 
 43 Ibid., (Chicago) January 26, 1944, p. 9. 
 
 44 Subsequently Charlotte Wilcox took a M.S. in Public Health, University of North 
 Carolina and D.Ed, in Health Education, University of Illinois. She is co-author of ten 
 textbooks in health for elementary grades (Health Action Series, Chicago: Beckley- 
 Cardy Company, 1 952-1 955). Since 1948 she has been a member of the Normal Univer- 
 sity staff. 
 
310 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 to complete high school work. Veterans could enter at any time, 
 and courses were geared to needs, interest, and abilities of the 
 individual student. Of the 186 persons enrolled, varying in age 
 from eighteen to forty-five years, 122 passed the G.E.D. test 
 (high school level), five failed, and thirty-one withdrew before 
 completing their work. The Veterans Guidance and Counseling 
 Center, which was closed June 30, 1947, had given tests and 
 counsel to 832 persons. 45 Those with special aptitude for teaching 
 were encouraged to take further work in the university. 
 
 Outstanding among the developments of the post-war years 
 has been the Division of Special Education with curricula for 
 training teachers of exceptional children. In July 1943 at a meet- 
 ing to discuss future plans for the teachers colleges, President 
 Fairchild suggested that some school should do something for the 
 handicapped. The previous January, Irving Pearson, secretary of 
 the Illinois Education Association, had written him that the 
 Illinois Commission for Handicapped Children, Director Rod- 
 ney H. Brandon of the Welfare Department, and "a host of 
 others" were interested in setting up at an early date child study 
 bureaus in the various teacher-training institutions that would 
 provide teachers and prospective teachers with general training 
 in diagnosis and treatment of atypical children, physically or 
 mentally handicapped. 46 Superintendent of Public Instruction 
 Vernon Nickell was also in sympathy with such a program. Since 
 1923 the state had been extending financial assistance to school 
 units to provide educational facilities first for crippled children, 
 then for children with defective vision and impaired hearing, 
 until study, experimentation, and public interest led to the pas- 
 sage of a law in 1943 which provided special education for all 
 types of physically handicapped. In 1942 there had been 3,723 
 children in special classes in Illinois, ninety percent of these in 
 Chicago. Few trained teachers were available. 47 The Board im- 
 mediately seemed interested in such a program. President Buz- 
 zard believed Normal University was the place for carrying on 
 
 45 Proceedings of the Teachers College Board (Macomb) June 14, 1947, pp. 189-190. 
 
 "Irving Pearson to R. W. Fairchild, Springfield, January 16, 1943. Fairchild Papers. 
 
 47 In 191 1 state aid was made available for providing education of children declared 
 delinquent by the courts. The state of Illinois appropriated $1,717,500 for special educa- 
 tion 1941-1943. Ray Graham, "History of Special Education in Illinois." Dedicatory 
 brochure, Special Education Building, Illinois State Normal University, March 2, 1951. 
 
R.W.F.: Architect and Builder 311 
 
 the work. President Fairchild was advised to include such a pro- 
 posal in his next Board Report. 48 
 
 On September 27, the organization of a Division of Special 
 Education at Normal University received formal approval. To 
 head the new division President Fairchild recommended Dr. 
 Rose E. Parker, who was acting as Director of the Division of 
 Rural Education. Not only did Miss Parker have ability as an 
 administrator, but she was peculiarly fitted to organize curricula 
 in the new field. Since 1932 she had been teaching courses dealing 
 with exceptional children, such as "The Psychology of the 
 Maladjusted School Child," and "Diagnosis and Remedial Teach- 
 ing." She had also cooperated with Dr. Chris DeYoung, then 
 head of the Department of Education, in the organization of two 
 courses, "Behavior Problems in the Elementary Schools," and 
 "The Education of Exceptional Children." 
 
 A Committee of Thirteen, from administration and special 
 fields of health, science, speech, and education and psychology, 
 began a study of the problem. Conferences were held with Ray 
 Graham, newly appointed State Director of Education for Excep- 
 tional Children ; Lawrence J. Linck, Secretary of the Illinois Com- 
 mission for Handicapped Children; and Edward H. Stullken, 
 principal of the Montefiore Special School in Chicago. The 
 eleventh annual Administrative Round-up in December 1943 was 
 given over to the consideration of "The Education of Special 
 Children in Illinois." Returning from one of these conferences, 
 Mr. Graham wrote President Fairchild: 
 
 Your conference yesterday has not adjourned. The sessions continued 
 all the way home and so far as my mental processes are concerned, it 
 is still going on. I think you should know that the group spoke very 
 warmly of your fine concept and vision in regard to this problem .... 
 It gives ... a great feeling of elation to note the sanity and breadth of 
 vision which you have concerning this problem. 49 
 
 By September 1944 complete curricula were offered leading to 
 the degree of Bachelor of Science in Special Education in given 
 areas such as the socially maladjusted, partially sighted, mentally 
 subnormal, and speech correction. Subsequently the training was 
 
 48 R. W. Fairchild, Interview, January 2, 1956; Proceedings of the Teachers College 
 Board (Chicago) September 27, 1943, p. 141, 188. 
 
 49 Ray Graham to R. W. Fairchild, Springfield, November 18, 1943. Fairchild Papers. 
 
312 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 added in the areas of the deaf and hard of hearing, the blind, and 
 the physically handicapped. A fifth year of work leading to 
 Master of Science in Special Education began in 1945. Three stu- 
 dents were enrolled in the curricula in 1944; the number had risen 
 to 225 in 1955. 
 
 From its inception at Normal University, the basic principles 
 of the work in special education have been that every child has a 
 right to the education he can use to advantage, that exceptional 
 children are like normal children in many ways, that teachers in 
 the usual classrooms should share responsibility for some handi- 
 capped children, and that teachers should regard their work an 
 integral and not a segregated part of the school system. 50 
 
 In 1945 the General Assembly appropriated $976,000 for a 
 Special Education Building and authorized the purchase of prop- 
 erty adjacent to the campus as a site for it and other contemplated 
 buildings. The amount appropriated for the Special Education 
 Building was not adequate to build the type of structure de- 
 manded by the program, and two years later the Legislature re- 
 appropriated the same amount and added to it funds originally 
 allocated to other buildings at Normal, thus making a total of 
 $1,900,000 available for a building to serve as a Special Education 
 Center. Rising construction costs made it necessary to call upon 
 the Legislature in 1949 for $740,000 to complete the building and 
 $215,000 to equip it. Built of red brick and white stone in modified 
 Georgian architecture, the block-long, three-story building with 
 its solarium and deck is an imposing structure. The east wing, 
 housing the University Health Center, provides convenient access 
 to its services. 
 
 When the building was dedicated on March 2, 195 1, thirty-five 
 hundred persons filed through its halls, admiring its spaciousness, 
 its beauty, and the purposeful planning that had gone into it. 
 Nowhere was there a building like it, and the architects had had 
 to be guided solely by the composite thinking of those who were 
 responsible for the program. Uppermost had always been the 
 need of the children requiring special services — the hard of hear- 
 ing, the deaf, those with defective vision and defective speech, the 
 
 60 Rose E. Parker, "Special Education — A New Division." Alumni Quarterly, February i, 
 1944, P- 3- 
 
R.W.F.: Architect and Builder 313 
 
 blind, the palsied, and the cardiac cases. The special services re- 
 quired meant special equipment with provision for testing, 
 counseling, and therapy, and facilities for play and exercise, 
 music, and art. 
 
 Nor were these exceptional children to be segregated into a 
 world apart. They were to have varied contacts and experiences 
 with other children in regular classrooms from the kindergarten 
 through the elementary school. To achieve these ends, specially 
 trained teachers share responsibility for many exceptional chil- 
 dren. Dr. Parker, commenting on "The Program of Teacher Edu- 
 cation for Exceptional Children," said at the dedication of the 
 building: 
 
 For ninety-four years Illinois State Normal University has been dedi- 
 cated to the preparation of teachers. This latest assignment, growing out 
 of an extension of services in the public schools of the state, places on 
 this University the obligation to prepare teachers for exceptional chil- 
 dren; teachers with sound mental health, common sense, ability to enjoy 
 work and play with children and to cooperate with people, an unfailing 
 sense of humor, and an abundant capacity for hard work .... The new 
 obligation has been accepted in the spirit which has characterized this 
 University from the beginning, to the end that teachers of courage, devo- 
 tion and intelligence may go forth "gladly to lerne and gladly teche" 
 the exceptional child of Illinois. 51 
 
 While the staff was engrossed in plans for the Special Educa- 
 tion Building, the Administrative Unit of what was originally 
 planned to be an administration, music, art, and auditorium 
 building, and a pair of self-liquidating dormitories, calamity fell 
 upon the school. President Fairchild enroute to Cleveland to 
 speak at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Educa- 
 tion was called to Springfield on Thursday, February 21, 1946, 
 to hear a report from the Division of Architecture and Engineer- 
 ing. Old Main had been examined and found unsafe. That after- 
 noon the faculty was summoned to Capen Auditorium. Only a 
 few persons knew the reason for the president's unexpected re- 
 turn. Standing tall and pale, his voice somewhat affected by the 
 gravity of the occasion, Dr. Fairchild spoke briefly. The con- 
 dition of Old Main was dangerous, the tower was leaning and the 
 
 61 Rose E. Parker, "Program of Teacher Education for Exceptional Children at Illinois 
 State Normal University." Dedicatory brochure, March 2, 1951. 
 
314 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 third floor was unsafe. All offices and classrooms above the first 
 floor would have to be evacuated within forty-eight hours. Tem- 
 porary quarters would have to be found in churches and buildings 
 about town. An assembly of students was called Friday morning, 
 and on Monday there were padlocked gates on all stairs leading up 
 from the first floor of Old Main. 52 Never again would Wrights and 
 Phils assemble in the old hall. 
 
 On May 22, the bell tolled for the last time from what was once 
 a majestic tower. Classes were dismissed and faculty and students 
 stood mutely by as a giant crane lifted the great dome from its 
 resting place and lowered it slowly to the earth. By the end of the 
 summer, memories were all that remained of the old landmark 
 and the third story with its halls sacred to Wrightonia and Phila- 
 delphia. A flat roof and steel reinforcements again made twelve 
 classrooms and a number of offices available. In September 1950 
 administrative offices were moved into the new Administration 
 Building, and only faculty offices and classes remained within the 
 venerable and decaying walls. To thousands of alumni the spot 
 where once Old Main stood in all her glory is hallowed ground, 
 and her tower forever the symbol of Normal University. 
 
 As government defense plants and war installations were dis- 
 mantled after the war, President Fairchild was successful in ob- 
 taining considerable surplus property in machine tools and a 
 number of barracks. These temporary structures provided class- 
 rooms and rehearsal halls for the ever-increasing bands and 
 orchestras. Twenty-seven units located on the south side of the 
 farm and known as Cardinal Court furnished accommodations 
 for eighty-five married veterans and ninety-six unmarried vet- 
 erans. 
 
 The upsurge in enrollment had only begun. Each year scarcity 
 of desirable rooms and eating places became more critical. The 
 deans of men and women and the housing director conducted 
 a door-to-door survey in their search for rooms. The week after 
 the Navy V-12 Unit departed, a cafeteria was opened in Fell Hall. 
 Smith Hall and Fell Hall were crowded beyond their capacity. 
 Meanwhile building costs rose, and the Budget Director took a 
 
 ™Vidette, February 22, 1946; R. W. Fairchild, "The Sad Plight of Old Main," 
 Alumni Quarterly, November 1949, pp. 2-3. 
 
R.W.F.: Architect and Builder 315 
 
 gloomy view of the teachers colleges' demands for additional 
 housing. 
 
 In 1947 Richard Dunn, resident Board member and alumnus 
 of Illinois State Normal University, drafted a bill authorizing the 
 construction of self -liquidating projects on the Illinois teachers 
 college campuses. When it was enacted in law, the way was 
 opened whereby housing facilities could be obtained at no expense 
 to the state and at lower figures than under state contract. Two 
 dormitories built under this program were ready for occupancy in 
 the fall of 1951. The residence for men was named Dunn Hall in 
 honor of Mr. Dunn, and the residence for women was named 
 Barton Hall in honor of Olive Lillian Barton, alumna and long 
 the beloved dean of women. About the same time the south wing to 
 Fell Hall was completed after thirty-five years. A third self- 
 liquidating residence hall with facilities for 410 young women 
 was opened in September 1955 and named Walker Hall in honor 
 of Lewis Walker, chairman of the Teachers College Board and 
 an alumnus of Normal University. 
 
 A student union was not overlooked in the planning of new 
 buildings. Increased enrollments made a social and recreational 
 center more imperative. A rustic building was proposed first, 
 and later a Georgian structure costing about $40,000 had been 
 suggested for the South Campus, but the matter of financing had 
 held back construction. President Fairchild had hoped for some- 
 thing better and more substantial. Through his efforts and those 
 of the other college presidents and the approval of the Board, 
 legislation was passed making it possible for the teachers colleges 
 to set up foundations and accept gifts. With the self-liquidating 
 measure enacted in 1947, it was now possible to combine gifts and 
 loans and proceed with the construction of a union adequate to 
 the needs of the student body. To undertake such a project would 
 require the assessing of fees and pledges of gifts from faculty, 
 alumni, and business men before a bonding company would ad- 
 vance funds. The Student Council presented the matter before 
 the student body, and of the 1305 who voted on May 14, 1953, only 
 twenty-eight opposed the levying of a ten dollar union fee. Dr. 
 Harold Gibson, Director of the Bureau of Appointments, who 
 had had phenomenal success in fund drives elsewhere was given 
 
316 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 the task of directing a campaign to raise $i5o,ooo. 53 The funds 
 were raised, plans approved, contracts let, and construction begun. 
 
 The modern structure of brick and plate glass, with its lounges, 
 dining halls, cafeteria, snack bar, game and conference rooms, and 
 alumni headquarters differs greatly from the plans for the Society 
 Hall, the turreted monstrosity projected by Wrightonia and Phil- 
 adelphia in the iScjo's, 54 and the rustic retreat envisaged in the 
 1930's or the Georgian edifice proposed in the 1940's. The new 
 union building, completed in 1956, is more in keeping with the 
 activities and philosophy of the University's second century than 
 any of the previous plans. 55 
 
 As Dr. Fairchild approached his twentieth year as president he 
 could well be proud of the growth the University had made. In 
 two decades new buildings on the campus and at the university 
 farm stood as monuments to his labors. The enrollment had al- 
 most doubled, the number and qualifications of the staff had been 
 greatly strengthened and faculty salaries increased; student en- 
 trance qualifications were raised; the curriculum and off -campus 
 services had been expanded; a graduate school and a Division 
 of Special Education had been offered and a junior college 
 projected; off -campus student teaching facilities had been ex- 
 panded; there was wider faculty participation in policy-making 
 through the elected University Council. 
 
 President Fairchild was especially gratified over developments 
 in certain training areas such as music and art. In 1933 there had 
 been four teachers in music and fifteen majors; by 1954 the Divi- 
 sion had a staff of fifteen and enrolled 140 students. The course 
 offerings had been expanded from a single sequence of thirty-two 
 semester hours with major emphasis on basic fundamentals and 
 methods to a series of sequences ranging from forty-three to sixty 
 semester hours, including many phases of music and music edu- 
 cation. An extensive music library, an ample supply of instru- 
 
 68 Proceedings of the Teachers College Board (Normal) February 21, 1954, p. 342; 
 Vidette May 5, 1954. 
 
 54 The Wrightonian and Philadelphia!! societies succumbed to the pressures of the 
 extracurricular clubs, organized forensics, dramatics and honor societies and were formally 
 disbanded in 1952 after ninety-five years of continuous operation. 
 
 66 The students wished to name the union in honor of President Fairchild but he 
 demurred saying he wished to be remembered for his academic work. In 1954 the Board 
 designated the Special Education Building as Fairchild Hail. 
 
R.W.F.: Architect and Builder 317 
 
 ments, and a well-equipped technological laboratory had been 
 acquired, and graduate work had been initiated. 
 
 Similar advance had been made in art. Monthly senior art 
 shows on the bridge between Old Main and Industrial Arts Build- 
 ing acquainted the passerby as well as the major with the work 
 being done in art. "Art for the individual" rather than the train- 
 ing of the professional craftsman was the new emphasis of the 
 art curriculum. The completion of Milner Library with its art 
 gallery made it possible for temporary exhibits from the leading 
 galleries to be brought to the campus. In 1953 a Radio Arts Class 
 for Grades Three to Eight was begun. The response was en- 
 thusiastic, and it has been estimated that 12,000 children partici- 
 pated in the programs broadcast over stations in Bloomington, 
 Danville, and Ottawa. 
 
 The matter of approval of graduates in agriculture for Smith- 
 Hughes positions was however the most frustrating problem dur- 
 ing President Fairchild's entire administration. The education of 
 men to become teachers of vocational agriculture began at Normal 
 University in 1922. Graduates of the two-year course in agriculture 
 had been accepted as teachers of vocational agriculture in high 
 schools of the state for a period of four years. In 1926 the State 
 Vocational Board raised the standards and required the satis- 
 factory completion of a four-year course. By the fall of 1929 
 Normal University had a four-year curriculum in agriculture. 
 From 1922 to 1938 graduates of the Normal University agriculture 
 curriculum were recognized by the State Board for Vocational 
 Education, but after 1938 they secured positions only on an emer- 
 gency basis. Legislation enacted in 1937 made it necessary for 
 teacher training institutions offering work in vocational agri- 
 culture to be approved by the U. S. Office of Education. Normal 
 University's request for approval in 1937 was denied on the 
 grounds that its facilities were inadequate. 56 Governor Henry 
 Horner promptly released $10,000 to repair farm buildings and 
 construct a stock-judging pavilion. Additional stock and farm 
 equipment were purchased and certain experimental work begun. 
 On June 22, 1938, President Fairchild conferred with the Federal 
 
 "Ralph A. Benton, "The Ag Department Looks Ahead," Alumni Quarterly, May 1950, 
 p. 6. 
 
318 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Board in Washington and learned to his surprise that the State 
 Vocational Board had a larger voice in the destiny of agriculture 
 at Normal University than the federal office. A week later when 
 the State Board approved the June graduates, President Fairchild 
 was assured that if standards were met, an amendment would be 
 presented to the Federal Board to include Normal University in 
 the five-year plan as a regular Smith-Hughes training institution. 
 But no action was forthcoming. 57 
 
 During World War II few men were enrolled in the agriculture 
 curriculum, but in 1947 the Normal University renewed its re- 
 quest for Smith-Hughes approval. This time the State Board 
 approved the application, but before action had been taken in 
 Washington, a letter of protest was issued by Dr. George W. 
 Stoddard, President of the University of Illinois, declaring that 
 the State University had a priority in training teachers for voca- 
 tional agriculture, that its facilities were adequate for training all 
 agricultural teachers needed in the state and that approval of 
 graduates from the agricultural departments of the state teacher 
 training institutions would be an unnecessary expense. 58 The fact 
 remained that despite facilities at the State University not enough 
 men were trained to meet the demand. Meanwhile the Normal 
 University improved its plant and increased its staff. Some of the 
 faculty already employed engaged in advanced study. In 1949 
 application for recognition in the 1947-1952 plan was again made. 
 The Board for Vocational Education sent a committee to Normal 
 to evaluate facilities and personnel, and on April 28, 1950, the 
 State Board voted 8 to 1 in favor of approving the Normal Uni- 
 versity. With high hopes the request was referred to Washing- 
 ton. Again the reply from the Assistant Commissioner on 
 Vocational Education was "Recommend disapproval." Through- 
 out the long struggle President Fairchild remained resolute. He 
 personally checked inventories, facilities, and personnel against 
 standards. If a cow barn or sheep barn or a hog shed was needed, 
 it was built. He urged the professors of agriculture to complete 
 their doctorates and add more academic lustre to the milking 
 parlor and the poultry house. There were times when it seemed 
 
 87 Proceedings of the Teachers College Board (Springfield) November 14, 1938, p. 90. 
 ™lbid„ (Macomb) July 14, 1947, p. 145. 
 
R.W.F.: Architect and Builder 319 
 
 that the purchase of a tractor or a Guernsey bull took precedence 
 over a piano or a curtain for the stage in Capen Auditorium. 
 
 On April 30, 1954 the Illinois Board for Vocational Education 
 in considering Normal University's most recent petition voted to 
 delay approval until a survey "to secure the latest data available 
 upon which to base their judgment" was made. 59 Notwithstand- 
 ing, young men continue to enroll in agriculture hopeful that 
 before their course is half completed the division will be approved 
 and they can remain at Normal and graduate fully qualified for 
 Smith-Hughes positions. 
 
 The changes that took place at Illinois State Normal University 
 during Dr. Fairchild's persidency were by no means solely the 
 work of its capable administrator. Although the Board held the 
 college presidents strictly accountable and charged them with 
 the responsibility of seeing that the teachers colleges kept pace 
 with educational trends as well as providing leadership in the 
 general field of public education, the faculty played a substantial 
 role in advancing programs and implementing those proposed by 
 the administrators. 
 
 In the early years of the institution the role of the president 
 was arbitrary, and the faculty had small voice in deciding such 
 matters as curriculum, admissions, student welfare, and public 
 relations. Hovey had discussed some matters with Ira Moore, and 
 Edwards had consulted with Hewett, Metcalf, and Sewall, but 
 in the main the presidents had made their own decisions. Hewett 
 and Cook were more inclined to take the entire faculty into their 
 confidence and relied especially on the bright young men who 
 had returned to teach at their alma mater after a sojourn in 
 European universities. During the Herbartian era the Faculty 
 Club had much to do with the shaping of University policy, but 
 the system of standing committees seems to have been a twentieth- 
 century development. The catalog did not list committees until 
 191 1 but the fact that twenty-nine were listed for that year indi- 
 cates the system doubtless had been in existence for some time. 
 The catalog for 19 15 listed thirty-eight committees, and the cata- 
 log for 1923 listed thirty-nine. Between 1924 and 1930 there was 
 
 69 Vernon L. Nickell to R. W. Fairchild, May 5, 1954. Quoted, "An Inventory of the 
 Facilities of Illinois State Normal University to Meet the Evaluative Criteria for Teacher 
 Training Institutions for Vocational Agriculture." (Typescript) 1956. Fairchild Papers. 
 
320 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 some reorganization, and by the time of President Brown the 
 number of committees had been reduced to twenty-three. 
 
 The expansion of the University in the middle thirties resulted 
 in the creation of many new committees with some overlapping 
 of areas and duplication of effort. A few of the faculty served on 
 as many as six committees. After two years of study a Committee 
 on Committees was ready to report. On September 25, 1942, the 
 faculty went into a two-day retreat at East Bay Camp, Lake 
 Bloomington, to take action upon the matter of areas and com- 
 mittee loads. An unprecedented and heavy snowfall the first 
 afternoon sent cars back to town for blankets and winter coats. 
 The next morning as the odor of mothballs mingled with that of 
 pine burning in the great fireplace, the shivering faculty set to 
 work in all seriousness to reduce the burden of committees. 
 Instead of twenty-two committees the day ended with thirty as- 
 signed to five areas with a coordinator for each area. The num- 
 ber of committees on which a staff member might serve was 
 limited. 60 
 
 The role of the faculty in administration, which had been ex- 
 tended first through the Senate in 1935 and then the Admin- 
 istrative Council in 1938, was further extended in 1951 when the 
 Board authorized the formation of an elective university council 
 at each of the teachers colleges to make recommendations on cur- 
 riculum, campus planning, scholarship, the budget, and the ap- 
 pointment, promotion, and tenure of staff members. Since the 
 formation of this representative body special studies have been 
 made of travel funds, methods of choosing department heads, 
 retirement, loyalty oaths, scholastic standards, credit unions, the 
 junior high school, faculty committees, and the improvement of 
 college teaching. 61 Faculty forums held under the auspices of the 
 Professional Affairs Committee have afforded opportunity for the 
 exchange of opinion and the crystallization of policy. Since 1942 
 an Advisory Council of twenty or more persons from the com- 
 munity including the mayors of the two towns, local members 
 of the state legislature, and representatives of civic organizations 
 such as the chambers of commerce and the press, have rendered 
 
 60 Catalogs, Illinois State Normal University 1942-1943 and 1944-1945. 
 81 Minutes of the University Council, 1 951-1956. 
 
R.W.F.: Architect and Builder 321 
 
 valuable service in interpreting the University to the public, in 
 suggesting ways for mutual help, and in acting as a sounding 
 board for school policy on such matters as housing, recreation, 
 and campus expansion. 62 
 
 To relieve the president of certain routine responsibilities, the 
 position of Administrative Assistant to the President was created 
 in 194 1, and Dr. Chris De Young, Head of the Education De- 
 partment, filled the post until 1943, when he became Dean of 
 the University upon the retirement of Dean Schroeder. Dr. Leslie 
 Holmes of the Geography Department then became the Admin- 
 istrative Assistant to the President. When Dr. Holmes resigned 
 to become president of Northern State Teachers College, DeKalb, 
 Dr. Bjarne Ullsvik, Professor of Mathematics, became assistant to 
 President Fairchild. Meanwhile Dr. Arthur Hoff Larsen became 
 Assistant Dean of the University in 1944. Dr. DeYoung volun- 
 tarily resigned the deanship in 1949 in order to devote more time 
 to classroom teaching, writing, lecturing, and educational work 
 of an international character. 63 Dr. Larsen then became Dean of 
 the University. 
 
 In the post war years the reputation of the school again spread 
 abroad through members of the staff on leave as exchange pro- 
 fessors, Fulbright scholars, and consultants on education to 
 foreign governments. Teachers and administrators from England, 
 Germany, Sweden, South America, Thailand, Pakistan, and India 
 came to study and observe. 
 
 In October 1953, as Dr. Fairchild rounded out his twentieth 
 year as president, the faculty wished to honor him for his services. 
 Although he would be eligible for retirement in 1956, it was 
 known that he did not intend to retire until after the Centennial. 
 The faculty wished to show appreciation to the man who had 
 done so much for the University and who at the same time could 
 be first to congratulate a staff member upon receiving an ad- 
 vanced degree, the publication of a book, or the arrival of a new 
 baby, and the first to offer sympathy in bereavement. He did not 
 
 82 In 1954 the Advisory Council undertook as a Centennial project the raising of funds 
 for the portrait of President Fairchild. 
 
 68 In 1947 Dr. De Young served as educational consultant with the U. S. Army. His 
 Introduction to American Public Education, first published in 1942 is regarded as 
 standard text in the history of American education and has been translated for use in Italy. 
 
322 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 take kindly to the idea of public recognition. "My work is not 
 done," he said. It was known that Eastern State College was 
 honoring President Buzzard on the completion of his twentieth 
 year with a special convocation at which President Fairchild was 
 asked to make the address. Finally Dr. Fairchild consented to a 
 family party at Normal. "No fanfare," he cautioned. "No fulsome 
 praise, no distinguished guests, no long speeches." And so it was. 
 The Jesters were repeating his favorite comedy, Seven Keys to 
 Baldpate, at Homecoming, and from it the speakers took their 
 cue. His own purloined key ring provided the motivation for a 
 gay and spirited review of his twenty years at Normal. Given 
 back all of his keys save one, he responded with an appreciation 
 of his loyal faculty and his hopes for the future growth of the 
 school. The seventh key represented a gift from the faculty, a 
 television set, given in appreciation and in the hope that he would 
 spend more of his evening hours away from his office. 
 
 Ever working long hours, going over committee reports, 
 carrying on an extensive correspondence, making public ad- 
 dresses, attending educational conferences, participating in sur- 
 veys and studies, serving on church and civic committees, counsel- 
 ing with students and faculty, and at the same time managing to 
 attend many of the school functions, plays, musicals, concerts, 
 and sports events, President Fairchild's health began to break. 
 In 1950 he was given a temporary sick leave, and Dean Larsen 
 was authorized to act in Dr. Fairchild's absence. 64 
 
 After three and one-half months' rest, President Fairchild re- 
 turned to his office. Soon he was working as hard as ever, meeting 
 with committees, studying architect's designs for dormitories, 
 classroom buildings, a new high school, and an elementary school, 
 striving for Smith-Hughes approval and for continued recognition 
 by the American Association of University Women, arranging for 
 the Visitation Committee of the American Association of Col- 
 leges for Teacher Education, and feverishly planning for a greater 
 university. Above everything he considered the laboratory school 
 essential to rounding out his concept of teacher education at 
 Normal University. He never missed an alumni meeting if it was 
 
 64 Proceedings of the Teachers College Board (Macomb) March 27, 1950, p. 177; 
 (Springfield) July 21, 1950, pp. 353'354- 
 
R.W.F.: Architect and Builder 323 
 
 possible for him to attend. He enjoyed meeting the former stu- 
 dents, and they regarded the president's remarks almost as good 
 as a visit to the campus. He always spoke graphically of the 
 changes, the improvements. He shared his dreams for the future 
 and his conviction that Normal University must ever remain a 
 professional school, a teacher training institution. Of late years he 
 liked to tell of the fine new snack bar in the new wing of Fell 
 Hall, the large attractive room with a sun porch where young 
 people could linger long over a coke or quickly devour a ham- 
 burger. He wished he had time to drop in more often for a 
 "malted" and visit with the students. He was especially pleased 
 over the prospects of a Student Union, a project he had had in 
 mind ever since his first official visit to the campus on that mem- 
 orable day in October 1933. 
 
 On May 24, 1954, upon returning from a trip to Springfield to 
 see what could be done about the Smith-Hughes situation, Presi- 
 dent Fairchild was in such excruciating pain that he had to be 
 taken to the hospital. On June 22 he underwent surgery, having 
 his right leg above the knee removed. The operation was success- 
 ful and Dr. Fairchild planned to return to the campus in Septem- 
 ber, but he was slow in regaining his strength. When he realized 
 that his recovery would require more time than he had antici- 
 pated, he asked the Board on August 15, 1955, to take steps to 
 secure his successor. 65 
 
 Like President Hewett many years before, President Fairchild 
 would resign, but Normal would remain his home. 66 Others 
 would grasp his vision, carry out his plans. 
 
 65 Daily Pantagraph, August 15, 1955. 
 
 66 President Fairchild died June 12, 1956. As he lay in state in Capen Auditorium 
 where he had presided over countless student assemblies, faculty meetings, and public 
 gatherings, hundreds came to pay tribute — members of the Teachers College Board, 
 educational leaders, former students, faculty, townspeople, and friends. Messages poured 
 in from over the nation. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Prologue to the Second Century 
 
 When President Fairchild resigned, Dr. Arthur Hoff 
 Larsen, Dean of the University, was asked to continue as acting 
 president until a worthy successor to Dr. Fairchild could be found. 
 As Dean of the University since 1949, Dr. Larsen had worked 
 closely with President Fairchild. He knew what Dr. Fairchild 
 had projected for the University. During Dr. Fairchild's first ill- 
 ness he had performed his duties as acting president with direct- 
 ness, insight, and humility. It was natural for the Board to turn 
 to him when the president again became ill. 
 
 A member of the faculty since 1935, first as teacher of math- 
 ematics in the University High School, and later as Professor of 
 Education and head of the Department of Education, Dean 
 Larsen had witnessed most of the growth that had taken place 
 under the administration of President Fairchild. 1 He now took 
 up the unfinished business of the construction of the Student 
 Union, the matter of the laboratory school, so dear to President 
 Fairchild, and for which money for plans had been appropriated 
 in 195 1, and again in 1953, a classroom building, some curricular 
 reorganization, and further plans for the Centennial. 
 
 With 3,059 students enrolled in September 1955, the matter of 
 additional classrooms became a pressing issue. A building for 
 college classes and enlarged facilities and another to house a 
 combination elementary and junior high school unit of the labora- 
 tory school would release rooms in Metcalf for high school use 
 and rooms in other buildings used by the high school could revert 
 to college use. Dunn, Barton, and Walker halls had been built 
 under self-liquidating programs, and except for the extension to 
 Fell Hall granted by the Sixty-seventh General Assembly, the 
 
 1 Arthur HofT Larsen, of Danish parentage, was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1907. 
 He received his B. Ed. from Wisconsin State Teachers College, Superior, and both his 
 Ph.M. and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. He was married to Faith 
 Herrick in 1933. 
 
 3 2 4 
 
Prologue to the Second Century 325 
 
 state had made no appropriation for major construction at 
 Normal University since the Administration Building and the 
 Special Education Building. 2 
 
 The Advisory Council gave support to plans for the construc- 
 tion of a new classroom building and the laboratory unit of a 
 combined elementary and junior high school. Among the voices 
 strongly urging both projects were those of the Daily Pantagraph's 
 editor, H. Clay Tate, and State Senator David Davis III. The 
 editor of the Pantagraph kept in close touch with the area and 
 knew well the paramount needs of the University. The senator 
 as vice-chairman of the School Problems Commission had made 
 a careful study of educational conditions throughout the state. 
 The Davis family, moreover, from the time of Judge David Davis, 
 had had first-hand knowledge of the school, many of its mem- 
 bers having attended the University high school. To some of the 
 Board and some of the faculty as well as many of the alumni, 
 public school people, notably the Illinois Education Association 
 and other friends of the school, the erection of a modern labora- 
 tory school meant giving to the University an opportunity to 
 improve its major function, the preparation of teachers for Illinois 
 schools. 
 
 When Acting President Larsen prepared the budget to go 
 before the Sixty-ninth General Assembly in January 1955, he in- 
 cluded these buildings in his request. Friends of Normal Uni- 
 versity had done their work well, and before the session closed, 
 $1,900,000 had been appropriated for the laboratory school and 
 $950,000 for a class-room building. 3 Plans for the classroom build- 
 ing to be located on Mulberry Street north and west of Old Main 
 were drawn and approved, and construction on both buildings was 
 begun in the spring and summer of 1956. The Board concurred 
 with the wishes of the faculty in naming the new classroom build- 
 ing "Schroeder Hall" in memory of Herman Henry Schroeder, 
 Dean of Normal University from 1929 to 1946. 
 
 Meanwhile the Board considered the appointment of a successor 
 to Dr. Fairchild. On September 19, 1955, a resolution was passed 
 
 3 The amount appropriated for Fell Hall addition was $717,420 for construction and 
 $75,000 for furnishings. Appropriations Regular Session Sixty-seventh General Assembly. 
 Compiled by the Department of Finance, Springfield 1953, p. 339. 
 
 *lbid., Sixty-ninth General Assembly 1955, pp. 159-160. 
 
326 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 relative to the manner of selecting a new president. The faculty 
 were invited to participate in the evaluation of candidates through 
 an elective committee with one member each from the ranks of 
 professor, associate professor, assistant professor, and instructor; 
 the fifth member who was to act as chairman was the chairman 
 of the University Council. Under a ruling of the Board, present 
 staff members were not eligible for consideration for the presi- 
 dency. 
 
 For six months a special committee of the Board and the faculty 
 committee reviewed credentials and interviewed candidates. 4 On 
 March 31 the Board announced that Dr. Robert Gehlmann Bone, 
 assistant provost of the University of Illinois, had been named 
 president. 
 
 Dr. Bone, for twenty-one years a member of the faculty of the 
 University of Illinois, had rich training and experience to qualify 
 him for the position. After completing his bachelor's degree at 
 Wooster College in Ohio in 1928, he taught English and com- 
 mercial law (French) in the American University of Alexandria 
 in Egypt for three years, serving as acting director during his last 
 year. He returned to the United States and took his M.A. in 
 history from the University of Illinois the following year. From 
 1932 to 1934 he was professor of history and speech at Lincoln 
 College, Lincoln, Illinois, where he was also dean for one year. 
 In 1934 he was invited to teach ancient history at the University of 
 Illinois while Professor J. Ward Swain was on leave; in 1937 after 
 receiving his Ph.D. he joined the permanent staff. He was 
 selected by the honor students in 1939 as one of the most effective 
 teachers in the University. 
 
 During World War II Dr. Bone went through officers' training 
 school in the Army Air Corps and for two years was assigned to 
 cadet pilot training at San Antonio, Texas. In the fall of 1944 he 
 was sent overseas as a member of the Headquarters Staff of the 
 U. S. Forces in Europe. He helped to organize the American 
 University at Schrivenham, England, and during its existence, 
 
 4 "Resolution Concerning the Election of the President of Illinois State Normal 
 University" Proceedings of the Teachers College Board (Normal) September 19, 1955. 
 (Reprint) Committee of the Board: Vernon L. Nickell, Clarence Ropp, William Reed, 
 R. A. Stipes, Jr., J. A. Houle, Jr. Committee of the faculty: Burton O'Connor, chairman, 
 Chris De Young, Howard Ivens, Howard Hancock, Margaret Westhoff. 
 
Prologue to the Second Century 327 
 
 was head of the history department. He was separated from the 
 service as a major in July 1945. 
 
 He returned to the History Department and the Division of 
 General Studies of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the 
 University of Illinois, in 1946 and was made director of the divi- 
 sion. In 1947 he was named Director of the Division of Special 
 Services, established in 1945 to set up special curricula for return- 
 ing veterans. In 1952 he resigned from the Division of Special 
 Services and returned to teaching history and administering the 
 Division of General Studies. A few months later he was asked 
 to serve as acting Dean of the College of Education, a position he 
 held for a year until a new dean was selected. In October 1954 he 
 became Assistant Provost of the University. Meanwhile he served 
 in important committee posts and was a member of the Athletic 
 Board of Control. 5 
 
 Dr. Bone is of native Illinois stock. He was born in Springfield, 
 Illinois, June 2, 1906, and attended the Springfield public schools. 
 His father was the late Judge Eugene E. Bone. In 1944 Dr. Bone 
 was married to Karin Levanius of Springfield, a graduate of the 
 National College of Education. They have two sons, John L. 
 and Robert G., Jr. 
 
 When Dr. Bone was asked what led him to accept the presi- 
 dency of Normal University, his reply was brief and succinct, 
 "The Challenge!" Then thoughtfully he added, "The challenge 
 to build a great school into a greater one, to provide more and 
 better teachers for the schools of Illinois." Almost immediately he 
 set about saturating himself with the history and traditions of the 
 institution whose second century he was to launch. 
 
 On May 8, when he was formally presented to the faculty by 
 the Teachers College Board, he was thoroughly familiar with 
 the many facets of Illinois State Normal University's program 
 and the leadership and ambitions of the presidents who had pre- 
 ceded him. 
 
 Standing tall and straight in gray tweeds, his face somewhat 
 pale beneath its summer tan, Dr. Bone seemed fully aware of the 
 responsibility that rested upon him. He asked for time to study 
 
 5 Daily Pantograph, April i, 1956. He and his wife have been active in the Parent 
 Teacher Association, Cub Scouts, church and civic projects. 
 
328 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 and to know the faculty and the school before embarking upon 
 any sweeping changes. He spoke humbly and earnestly and in a 
 manner that invoked confidence and good will. He concluded: 
 
 Ever mindful of the great history of the past ninety-eight years of 
 Illinois State Normal University, it is essential that we look toward the 
 future and develop this university so that it will be even greater in its 
 second century. 
 
 A century ago, Jesse Fell, Newton Bateman, Jonathan B. Turner, 
 Simeon Wright, Ninian Edwards, Samuel Moulton, and others of the 
 founding fathers were carefully planning and working hard to create 
 this university. They dreamed and hoped, and at times they were daring 
 in their procedure. Their work and their dreams have obviously been 
 continued through the decades. Teachers and administrators have come 
 and gone, and each has contributed in the development of this institu- 
 tion. Their mantles have fallen upon us. We must dream and hope. We 
 must plan and work. We must at times dare and try. 
 
 We must present our individual plans, our ideas, and our ideals. We 
 must work out a common plan. It is essential that we realize that people, 
 who have imaginations and who think, often feel strongly concerning 
 their ideas and plans. We must discuss and study them. There will be 
 disagreements. However, they may be healthy provided we have under- 
 standing and can agreeably disagree. In the end we must reach decisions; 
 these may be compromises. In any case, when a decision is made in what 
 is felt to be the best interests of this university, it is essential that we have 
 a united front. As Jonathan B. Turner said on December 20, 1856, in a 
 speech concerning the need for a normal school in Illinois, "Let us all 
 take hold and strive toward the future, in such form as we think best." 
 
 Each member of the Board, each teacher and administrator of Illinois 
 State Normal University must dedicate himself to that great principle 
 so ably stated by President Richard Edwards in 1867 when he wrote, 
 "The education of the children of the state is the grandest of enter- 
 prises." 6 
 
 "Robert G. Bone, "Address to the Faculty, Illinois State Normal University," May 8, 
 1956. (Manuscript) 
 
Bibliography 
 
 a. PRINTED MATERIALS 
 Books and Pamphlets 
 
 Anniversary Wee\ in Bloomington. Chicago, i860. 
 
 Arnold Tomp\ins: A Memorial. Chicago: Chicago Normal School, 1905. 
 
 Ballance, C. History of Peoria, Illinois. Peoria: N. C. Nason, 1870. 
 
 Brown, Harry Alvin. Certain Basic Teacher Education Policies. New York: 
 Teachers College, Columbia, 1937. 
 
 Burnham, John Howard. History of Bloomington and Normal. Blooming- 
 ton, 1879. 
 
 History of McLean County, Illinois. Chicago: William LeBaron, 
 
 1879. 
 
 .. Some Influences Which Led to the Founding of Normal Uni- 
 
 versity. Bloomington, 1909. 
 Carriel, Mary Turner. Life of Jonathon B. Turner. Jacksonville, Illinois: By 
 
 the author, 191 1. 
 Cole, Arthur Charles. Era of the Civil War. Springfield: Illinois Centennial 
 
 Commission, 19 19. 
 Coleman, Charles H. Eastern State College, Fifty Years of Public Service. 
 
 Charleston: Eastern State College, 1950. 
 Cook, John Williston. An Appreciation of Richard Edwards. Privately 
 
 printed, 1922. 
 . Educational History of Illinois. Chicago: Henry O. Sheppard, 
 
 1912. 
 
 .. and McHugh, James V. History of Illinois State Normal Uni- 
 
 versity, 185J-1882. Normal: Pantagraph Printing Press, 1882. 
 
 Cottrell, Donald P. Teacher Education for a Free People. Oneonta, New 
 York: American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 1956. 
 
 Darrah, William Culp. Powell of the Colorado. Princeton: Princeton Uni- 
 versity Press, 195 1. 
 
 Darroch, Alexander. Herbart and the Herbartian Theory of Education. 
 New York: Longmans, Green, 1903. 
 
 DeYoung, Chris A. Introduction to American Public Education. New 
 York: McGraw-Hill, 1942. 
 
 Duis, E. Good Old Times in McLean County. Bloomington: Leader Pub- 
 lishing House, 1874. 
 
 Edwards, Richard. Fifth Reader. New York: Mason, 1866. 
 
 Decennial Address, Illinois State Normal University, June 27, 
 
 1882. Peoria: N. C. Nason, 1882. 
 
 329 
 
330 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 The Heritage of Culture, An Address delivered before the So- 
 
 cieties of Illinois State Normal University, at Bloomington, June 26, 1862. 
 Bloomington: Daily Pantagraph Printing House, 1862. 
 
 Life and Character of Abraham Lincoln, An Address delivered 
 
 in the hall of Normal University, April 19, 1865. Peoria: N. C. Nason, 
 1865. 
 
 Memoir of Nicholas Tillinghast. Boston: J. Robinson Company, 
 
 1857. 
 
 .. Universal Education, An Address before the St. Clair County 
 
 Teachers Institute, Belleville, Illinois, April 15, 1863. Bloomington: 
 Daily Pantagraph Book and Job Printing House, 1863. 
 
 and Warren, Mortimer A. Analytical Speller. Chicago: George 
 
 Sherwood Company, 1871. 
 Edwards, Owenetta. Early Schools and Teachers in McLean County. 
 
 Bloomington: Lang-Fuller, n.d. 
 Fairchild, Raymond W. How Teacher Training Institutions May Produce 
 
 a More Effective Type of Teacher. Normal: Illinois State Normal Uni- 
 versity, 1934. 
 Felmley, David. Elements of Efficiency or Some Essentials of Twentieth 
 
 Century Ethics. Normal: Illinois State Normal University, 1922. 
 . Our School Revenues. Presidential address before the Central 
 
 Illinois Teachers Association, Quincy, 1899. Jacksonville: Press of the 
 
 State School for the Deaf, 1900. 
 
 The Maying of a Man. Bloomington: Pantagraph Printing Com- 
 
 pany, 1904. 
 
 Gorky, John P. Rise and Growth of the Normal School Idea in the United 
 States. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1891. 
 
 Gray, Miriam (Ed.) A Century of Growth: The Historical Development 
 of Physical Education for Women in Selected Colleges of Six Mid- 
 western States. Ann Arbor: Edward Brothers, 1951. 
 
 Harper, Charles A. A Century of Teacher Education. Washington: Na- 
 tional Education Association, 1939. 
 
 Development of the Teachers College in the United States With 
 
 Special Reference to Illinois State Normal University. Bloomington: 
 McKnight and McKnight, 1935. 
 
 Hart, Irving H. The First Seventy-five Years. Cedar Falls: Iowa State 
 Teachers College, 1951. 
 
 Hasbrouck, Jacob L. History of McLean County, Illinois. Topeka- 
 Indianapolis: Historical Publishing Company, 1924. 
 
 Hewett, Edwin C. Elements of Psychology. Cincinnati: Van Antwerp, 
 Bragg, 1889. 
 
 Manual of Arithmetic. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1896. 
 
 Practical Arithmetic. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1897. 
 
 A Treatise on Pedagogy for Young Teachers. New York: Ameri- 
 
 Book Company, 1884. 
 
Bibliography 331 
 
 Hurst, Homer. Illinois State Normal University and the Public Normal 
 School Movement. Nashville: George Peabody College for Teachers, 
 1948. 
 
 Index. Yearbook, Illinois State Normal University, 1 892-1 956. 
 
 Keith, John A. H. (Ed.) Semi-Centennial History of Illinois State Normal 
 University. Normal: 1907. 
 
 Lewis, Lloyd. John S. Wright — Prophet of the Prairies. Chicago: Prairie 
 Farm Publishing Company, 1941. 
 
 Loomis, Burt Weed. Educational Influence of Richard Edwards. Nashville: 
 George Peabody College for Teachers, 1932. 
 
 Lovinger, Warren C. General Education in Teachers Colleges. Oneonta, 
 New York: American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 
 1948. 
 
 Lyford, Carrie Alberta. Advanced Cookery. Normal: Illinois State Normal 
 University, n.d. 
 
 McMurry, Charles A. A Course of Study for the Eight Grades of the Com- 
 mon Schools, Including a Handbook of Practical Suggestions to Teach- 
 ers. Bloomington: Public School Publishing Company, 1892. 
 
 . Elements of General Method Based on Principles of Herbart. 
 
 Bloomington: Public School Publishing Company, 1892. 
 
 How to Conduct the Recitation. Chicago: A. Flanagan, 1890. 
 
 McMurry, Dorothy. Herbartian Contributions to History Instruction in 
 American Elementary Schools. New York: Teachers College, Columbia, 
 1946. 
 
 Manchester, Orson L. The Normal School Crisis. Springfield: Schnepp and 
 Barnes, 1921. 
 
 Marshall, Albert O. Army Life: From a Soldier s Journal. Joliet: Printed 
 by the author, 1883. 
 
 Morehouse, Frances Milton I. Life of Jesse W. Fell. University of Illinois 
 Studies in Social Science Vol. V. No. 42, Urbana: University of Illinois, 
 1916. 
 
 Parker, Rose E. "Program of Teacher Education for Exceptional Children 
 at Illinois State Normal University," Dedicatory Brochure, Special Edu- 
 cation Building, (later named Fairchild Hall) March 2, 195 1. 
 
 Pease, Theodore Calvin. The Frontier State. Springfield: Illinois Centennial 
 Commission, 19 18. 
 
 Rhodes, James Ford. History of the Civil War. New York: Macmillan, 
 1917. 
 
 Richardson, Harriet Fyfife, Quaker Pioneers. Milwaukee: Gillet and Co., 
 1940. 
 
 Russell, John Dale. Report of the Study of the Structure of Tax-supported 
 System of Higher Education of Illinois. Springfield, 1950. 
 
 Schroeder, Herman Henry. War, Peace and Education. An Address de- 
 livered at the Eighty-fourth Annual Commencement, Illinois State Nor- 
 mal University, June 14, 1943. Normal: Illinois State Normal University, 
 1943. 
 
332 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Stegner, Wallace. Beyond the Hundredth Meridian. Boston: Houghton, 
 Mifflin, 1954. 
 
 Watson, Elmo Scott. The Illinois Wesleyan Story, 1850-1950. Blooming- 
 ton: Illinois Wesleyan Press, 1950. 
 
 Wells, H. W. Schools and Teachers of Early Peoria. Peoria: Jacquin and 
 Company, 1900. 
 
 YWCA, 1872-1922. Normal, 1922. 
 
 YWCA: Recognition of Seventy-five Years. Normal: Illinois State Normal 
 University, 1947. 
 
 Periodicals 
 
 Alumni Quarterly, Illinois State Normal University, (1912-1956). 
 
 "Alumni Register, Illinois State Normal University 1 860-1927," Normal 
 
 School Quarterly, XXII (July, 1927) 5-362. 
 Benton, Ralph A. "The Ag Department Looks Ahead," Alumni Quarterly, 
 
 XXXIX (May, 1950), 5-7. 
 Browne, Richard G. "Let's Have an Autonomous Teachers College Board," 
 
 Alumni Quarterly, XXXVIII (November, 1949) 5-8. 
 "The Quality of our Graduates," Education Today, XIII (March, 
 
 1954) 2-4. 
 
 Cook, John W. "Jesse Fell," Alumni Quarterly, V (August 19 16), 7-16. 
 Education Today. Published by the Illinois State Teachers Colleges, 1941- 
 
 1956. 
 Fairchild, Raymond W. "ISNU Approaches the Century Mark," Alumni, 
 
 Quarterly, XXXVI (February, 1947), 3-4. 
 "The Sad Plight of Old Main," Alumni Quarterly, XXXVIII 
 
 (November, 1949), 2-3. 
 Felmley, David. "Defense of Simplified Spelling," Alumni Quarterly, I 
 
 (August, 1912) 11-14. 
 "Expansion of the Normal School," Educational Review, XLV 
 
 (April, 1913), 409-415. 
 
 .. "Normal School and the Training School." National Education 
 
 Association, Journal of Proceedings and Addresses (1911), 700-704. 
 
 .. "Reorganization of the Normal School Curriculum," National 
 
 Education Association, Journal of Proceedings and Addresses (19 14), 
 
 498-504. 
 Hall, Gertrude M. "The Fleet's In," Alumni Quarterly, XXXII (August, 
 
 1943), 2-4. 
 Hovey, Charles. "Who Shall be Principal of the Normal University?" 
 
 Illinois Teacher III (March, 1857), 107. 
 Illinois School Journal, 1 881-1889, known as The Public School Journal, 
 
 1 889-1 898, and as School and Home Education, 1 898-1922. 
 Illin ois Teach er, ( 1 855-1 860) . 
 Marshall, Helen E. "Simplified Spelling— And David Felmley," Alumni 
 
 Quarterly, XXXII (May, 1954), 8-10. 
 
Bibliography 333 
 
 Parker, Rose E. "Open Letter to Administrators," Education Today, VII 
 
 (December, 1948) 3. 
 "Progress Report on the Preparation of Teachers for Exceptional 
 
 Children," Education Today, IV (December, 1945) 3. 
 
 "Special Education: A New Division," Alumni Quarterly, 
 
 XXXIII (February 1944), 2-4. 
 Teacher Education, Field Service Bulletin of the Illinois State Normal 
 University, issued four times a year, September, December, March, and 
 June. 1938-1956. 
 
 Documents 
 
 Illinois, Adjutant General, Illinois 1861-1866 (revised) Roster of Officers 
 
 and Enlisted Men, 16-35 Vol. II, 1900. 
 Illinois, Board of Education of the State of Illinois, Proceedings, 1857- 
 
 1917 continued as Proceedings of the Normal School Board, 1917-1941, 
 
 and as Proceedings of the Teachers College Board, 1941-1956. 
 Illinois, Illinois State Normal University, Catalogs, 1 860-1 956. 
 Illinois, Illinois Emergency Relief Commission, First Annual Report, (July 
 
 27, 1932 to February 5, 1933) Chicago, 1933. 
 Illinois, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Biennial Reports, 1855— 
 
 1955- 
 U. S., Bureau of the Census, Census of the United States: Population, 1850, 
 
 i860, 1870. 
 
 Newspapers 
 
 Daily National Flag (Bloomington, Illinois), 1 857-1 858. 
 
 Daily Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois), 1 853-1956. 
 
 Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 1853, J ^57- (Daily) 
 
 Normalite (Normal, Illinois), 1920-1956. (Weekly) 
 
 Peoria Journal Transcript, 1937. (Daily) 
 
 Vidette (Illinois State Normal University student publication, currendy 
 
 issued once a week, was originally a monthly, and later a bi-weekly and 
 
 a semi-weekly), 1888-1956. 
 Weekly Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois), 1 857-1876. 
 
 b. UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS 
 
 Manuscripts 
 
 Barger, Thomas Morse. "Study of the Curricula Offered for the Preparation 
 of High School Teachers in State Teachers Colleges of Illinois," Un- 
 published Master's thesis, University of Illinois, 1933. 
 
 Burrill, Meldrim F. "Brief History of the Officer Training Navy V-12 
 Unit, Illinois State Normal University." Marshall Papers. 
 
334 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Burrington, L. L. "Examination in Greek Conducted by the Principal of 
 Illinois State Normal University High School Department," 1876. Milner 
 Library. 
 
 Cook Papers. Fragmentary collection of letters to and from John W. Cook, 
 President of Illinois State Normal University, 1 890-1 899. Milner Library. 
 
 Davis Papers. Letters of Judge David Davis and his family. Courtesy of 
 Willard L. King, Chicago, Illinois. 
 
 Edmunds, Henry Hugh. "History of the Herbartian Movement in the 
 United States and Its Relation to Present Trends in Education," 1929. 
 (Typewritten) Milner Library. 
 
 Edwards, Betsey Samson. Letters to her husband, Richard Edwards, 1844- 
 1900. Edwards Papers. Milner Library. 
 
 Edwards, Ellen. "Biography of Richard Edwards." (Typewritten) Ellen 
 Edwards Collection, Milner Library. 
 
 Collection of letters exchanged by members of Richard Edwards 
 
 family, also diaries, poems, and essays by Ellen Edwards. Milner Library. 
 
 Edwards, Richard. "Autobiography of Richard Edwards." (Typewritten) 
 Edwards Papers. Milner Library. 
 
 Edwards Papers. Diaries, letters, sermons, and addresses by Richard Ed- 
 wards, President of Illinois State Normal University, 1 862-1 876. Over 
 one thousand items. (Manuscript and typed) Milner Library. 
 
 Fairchild, Raymond W. "Five Years in Retrospect, 1933-1938." (Type- 
 written) Fairchild Papers. Office of the President, Illinois State Normal 
 University. 
 
 "Modern Trends in the Training of Secondary Teachers," An 
 
 Address, Thirty-second annual meeting of the Federation of Illinois Col- 
 leges, Lake Forest, Illinois, February 14-15, 1936. (Typewritten) Fair- 
 child Papers. 
 
 .. "Teaching Teachers to Teach," Address, College Alumni Club, 
 
 April 18, 1952. (Typewritten) Fairchild Papers. 
 
 Fairchild Papers. Correspondence and miscellaneous notes of Raymond W. 
 
 Fairchild, President of Illinois State Normal University, 1933-1955. 
 
 Milner Library. 
 Fell Papers. Letters of Jesse W. Fell. Illinois Historical Survey. University 
 
 of Illinois, Urbana. 
 Felmley, David. "The Great Delusion." (Typewritten) Milner Library. 
 Felmley Papers. Correspondence, notebooks, and manuscript writings of 
 
 David Felmley, President of Illinois State Normal University, 1900-1929. 
 
 Milner Library. 
 Gale Manuscripts. Papers relating to John W. Cook, collected by his 
 
 daughter, Agnes Cook Gale. Chicago, Illinois. 
 Hanna, John C. "Early Days at Normal." (Typewritten) Milner Library. 
 Harper Papers. Notes assembled by Charles A. Harper in preparation of 
 
 the seventy-fifth year history. Milner Library. 
 
Bibliography 335 
 
 Hewett-Reeder Papers. Fragmentary collection of letters and papers of 
 Edwin C. Hewett, President of Illinois State Normal University, 1876- 
 1890. E. H. Reeder, Champaign, Illinois. 
 
 Holmes Papers. Letters and miscellaneous notes of Manfred J. Holmes. 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Holmes Funk, Normal, Illinois. 
 
 "Inventory of the Facilities of Illinois State Normal University to Meet the 
 Evaluation Criteria for Teacher Training Institutions for Vocational 
 Agriculture," Illinois State Normal University, 1956. (Mimeographed) 
 
 "Lighter of Flames." A pageant commemorating the seventy-fifth anni- 
 versary of the first graduating class, 1860-1935, presented June 7, 8, 1935. 
 (Mimeographed) 
 
 Marshall Papers. Letters to Helen E. Marshall from faculty, students, 
 alumni and friends of the school, contributing historical data, memo- 
 rabilia, and reminiscence. Milner Library. 
 
 Minutes, Faculty Meetings, 1935-1956. 
 
 Niess, Minnie. "George Bunsen." (Manuscript) Milner Library. 
 
 Pearson, Irving F. "History of the Illinois Education Association." Spring- 
 field: Illinois Education Association, 1953. (Mimeographed) 
 
 Pike, Meshack. "Will." McLean County Courthouse. Bloomington, Illinois. 
 
 Philadelphian Society Records. Milner Library. 
 
 Philadelphian-Wrightonian Joint Records. Milner Library. 
 
 "Summary of Extension Program, September 1913 to June 1, 1955." Di- 
 vision of Field Services, Illinois State Normal University. (Typewritten) 
 
 Thomasson, Arnold Lee. "A Half-century of Teacher Training in State 
 Normal Schools and Teachers Colleges in the United States, 1890-1940." 
 Unpublished Ph.D. thesis. University of Illinois, 1943. (Typewritten) 
 
 Tompkins, Arnold. Letterbook. Copies of letters written by Arnold Tomp- 
 kins, President of Illinois State Normal University, 1 899-1900. Milner 
 Library. 
 
 University Council Minutes, 1951-1956. (Mimeographed) 
 
 Wakefield, Bandusia. "Examination of first six weeks work of a beginning 
 class in syntax." 1876. (Manuscript) 
 
 Wrightonia Society Records. Milner Library. 
 
 SCRAPBOOKS 
 
 Burtis, Edwin. Programs, photographs, clippings and memorabilia relating 
 to student days of the Burtis family at Illinois State Normal University. 
 Edwin Burtis, El Paso, Texas. 
 
 Edwards, Florence. Clippings relative to the Richard Edwards family, 
 Normal University, and the cultural life of Normal and Bloomington. 
 Milner Library. 
 
 Gale, Agnes Cook. Volumes relating to John W. Cook while president of 
 Illinois State Normal University and later as president of Northern State 
 Normal School, DeKalb, Illinois. Mrs. Henry Gale, Chicago, Illinois. 
 
336 Grandest of Enterprises 
 
 Holmes, Manfred James. Photographs and clippings relating to Normal 
 University. Mrs. Elizabeth Holmes Funk, Normal, Illinois. 
 
 Lindsay, Mrs. Vernon. Programs, clippings, and memorabilia of the 
 Felmley era. Milner Library. 
 
 McLean County Historical Society. Newspaper files, miscellaneous col- 
 lections. 
 
 Sanders, Sue Pike. A niece of Meshack Pike who donated the original 
 campus. Volumes relating to cultural and civic affairs in Normal and 
 Bloomington. Withers Library, Bloomington, Illinois. 
 
 Withers Clipping File. Withers Library. 
 
 Other Sources 
 
 Illinois State Normal University. Personal interviews with administrative 
 officers, faculty, students, and alumni. 1953-1956. (See footnotes) 
 
 Office of the Registrar. Miscellaneous records, grades, tuition, at- 
 tendance. 1 857-1 956. 
 
Ind, 
 
 ex 
 
 A Graded Course of Study for Franklin 
 Public School, 215 
 
 Academic procession, 298 
 
 Accrediting agencies, 247, 253, 280, 282; 
 U. of I., 253; see American Associa- 
 tion of Colleges for Teacher Educa- 
 tion 
 
 Accredition of graduates of Normal, 197 
 
 Academic regalia, 260 
 
 Act of 1857, 257 
 
 Adams, Howard, 305 
 
 Administrative Assistant to President, 
 321 
 
 Administration Building, 325 
 
 Administrative Council, 296, 320 
 
 Admissions, 319 
 
 Advanced Coo\ery, 244 
 
 Advisory Council, 320, 325 
 
 Affiliated schools, Houghton, 272; Little 
 Brick, 272; Price, 272; Rose Hill, 272; 
 Soldiers and Sailors, 255, 272; Walker, 
 
 Agassiz, Louis, 86, 127 
 
 Agricultural Convention i860, 61 
 
 Agricultural Department, 257, 259 
 
 Agricultural education, 9, 11, 12; Mor- 
 rill of Vermont, 13 
 
 Agricultural professorship, discussed, 
 167 
 
 Agriculture, teaching, 167 
 
 Akron, Ohio, 83 
 
 Alabama State Normal School, 256 
 
 Albany, New York, 153 
 
 Allegheny College, 25 
 
 Allen, Louise C, 136 
 
 Allen, Mabel Clare, 300 
 
 Alliance, Ohio, 245 
 
 Allin, W. H., 19 
 
 Altgeld, Governor J. P., 193, 194, 196, 
 198, 206, 210, 220, 230, 248 
 
 Alton, Illinois, 38, 102 
 
 Alumni Association, 274 
 
 Alumni Quarterly, 262, 304 
 
 American Association of Colleges for 
 Teacher Education, 280, 313, 249; 
 Visitation Committee, 322 
 
 American Association of State Univer- 
 sities, 254 
 
 American Association of Teachers Col- 
 leges, 249 
 
 American Association of University 
 Women, 322 
 
 American College Bureau, 283 
 
 American Legion, 306 
 
 American Normal Association, first 
 meeting, 1859, 81 
 
 American University of Alexandria, 
 Egypt, 326 
 
 American University, Schrivenham, 
 England, 326 
 
 Ames, Charles, 50, 70, 71, 72; funeral 
 sermon for John Brown, 70 
 
 Ames, Florence, M.D., 272 
 
 Analytical Series of Readers (Richard 
 Edwards), 138 
 
 Anderson, Major Robert, 70, 71 
 
 Ann Arbor, Michigan, 229 
 
 Anniversary, Fortieth, 207 
 
 Anniversary Week, 63 
 
 Anthony, S. B., 169, 136; women's 
 rights, 231; see Colby, J. R. 
 
 Antioch College, 58, 61, 79, 87, 92, 103, 
 
 133 
 
 Appellate Court, 237 
 
 Appropriation Act of 1871, 128 
 
 Aristotle, 162 
 
 Arlington National Cemetery, 208 
 
 Art Club, 273, 317 
 
 Associated Press, 290 
 
 Astronomy Club, 230 
 
 Athletic Association, 239, 240, 273; or- 
 ganized 1897, 200 
 
 Athletics, Board of Control, 239 
 
 Atkinson, Eula, 256 
 
 Augustine, Captain Henry, 258 
 
 Bach, William, 292 
 Bache, Alexander, 28 
 Bagley, William C, 253 
 Bakewell Claims Case, 192, 193 
 Bakewell deed, 166, 192 
 Bakewell, Edwin W., 166, 167, 168, 258; 
 Bakewell tract, 257; bond for lands, 
 
 337 
 
33« 
 
 Index 
 
 Bakewell, Edwin W. — continued 
 43; seeks location of school in Bloom- 
 ington, 19 
 
 Bakewell, Julia, 167 
 
 Baldwin, Dr. Theron, 15 
 
 Ball, Mrs. J. S., 225 
 
 Bank of Illinois, 9 
 
 Banner for the Rifles, 73 
 
 Baptist Church, Normal, 116 
 
 Bardwell, C. M., 289, 290 
 
 Barnard, Dr. Henry, 15, 28, 105; Mas- 
 sachusetts, 104 
 
 Bartlett, A. P., 31 
 
 Barton Hall, 324 
 
 Barton, Herbert J., 179 
 
 Barton, O. Lillian, 267, 283, 315 
 
 Baseball, 199, 241 
 
 Basketball, 199, 204, 225, 239, 240 
 
 Bass, Perkins, 76, 78, 79, 97, 143 
 
 Batavia, Illinois, bids $45,000 for site, 
 22 
 
 Bateman, Newton, 15, 16, 80, no, 132, 
 141, 328; editor of Illinois Teacher, 57 
 
 Bates College, 281 
 
 Battle of Bull Run, 75 
 
 Bawden, William T., 234, 245 
 
 Bayliss, Alfred, 216, 222, 238, 252 
 
 Beach, Charles, 205 
 
 Beecher, Catherine, 6 
 
 Benton, Angeline (Mrs. C. E. Hewett), 
 144 
 
 Bergen Park, 123 
 
 Berlin, Germany, 218 
 
 Bell, 314 
 
 Binneweis, Wilfred George, 240, 241 
 
 Bishop, Francis M., 122 
 
 Bissell, Governor William H., n, 37; 
 signs Normal School Bill, Febru- 
 ary 18, 1857, 18 
 
 Blakesly, L. C, 4 
 
 Blackburn College, 102, 142, 176, 229 
 
 Blair, Francis G., 197, 253, 265, 278, 290 
 
 Bloomington, Illinois, 13, 16, 19, 20, 21, 
 23, 24, 25, 34, 36, 38, 39, 42, 48, 50, 
 5 1 , 54, 55, 58, 60, 61, 62, 64, 70, 71, 
 72, 76, 81, 90, 97, 107, in, 113, 116, 
 119, 122, 132, 142, 144, 145, 153, 157, 
 161, 165, 166, 172, 174, 200, 201, 224, 
 271, 305, 308, 317 
 
 Bloomington City Council, 64 
 
 Bloomington High School, 80, 107, 263 
 
 Bloomington Intelligencer, n 
 
 Bloomington Library Association, 140 
 
 Bloomington and McLean County 
 
 $141,000, 23 
 Bloomington and Normal Railway and 
 
 Light Company, 260 
 Bloomington subscription, 24 
 Bloomington Teachers Convention, 
 
 1853, 13 
 
 Bloomington Times, 71 
 
 Bloomington Volunteers Flag, 72 
 
 Bluffton, Indiana, 190 
 
 Board, Board of Education 1857-1917, 
 Normal School Board 1917-1941, 
 Teachers College Board since 194 1-4, 
 14, 18, 20, 22, 25, 26, 31, 40, 42, 43, 
 48, 51, 52, 55, 57, 58, 60, 62, 63, 64, 
 69, 80, 81, 89, 90, 91, 92, 94, 98, 
 99, 103, 106, 108, in, 112, 114, 117, 
 118, 119, 120, 121, 125, 128, 130, 131, 
 
 132, 133, 134, 136, 137, 140, 141, 143, 
 150, 152, 154, 156, 158, 162, 164, 165, 
 166, 167, 170, 171, 172, 173, 180, 191, 
 192, 193, 194, 197, 198, 199, 203, 206, 
 207, 208, 210, 211, 212, 213, 218, 221, 
 222, 223, 226, 228, 231, 232, 237, 241, 
 242, 245, 250, 252, 256, 264, 267, 277, 
 278, 279, 286, 289, 290, 291, 292, 303, 
 311, 315, 319, 320, 323, 324, 325, 326 
 Board for Vocational Education, 318, 
 
 319 
 
 Boarding clubs, 186, 225, 263 
 
 Bohrer, Jacob, 195 
 
 Bone, Judge Eugene E., 327 
 
 Bone, John L., 327 
 
 Bone, Dr. Robert Gehlmann, addresses 
 faculty, May 8, 1956, 328; biographical 
 data, 327, 328; selected to be ninth 
 president, 326 
 
 Bone, Robert G., Jr., 327 
 
 Boone, Richard G., 212 
 
 Booth, Edwin, 201 
 
 Boston, Massachusetts, 35, 40, 135 
 
 Boutwell, Governor George Sewall, 101 
 
 Bower, Robert, 146 
 
 Boyd, Colonel W., 71 
 
 Brandon, Rodney H., 310 
 
 Brick kiln, 54 
 
 Brick walk built 1882, 155 
 
 Bridgewater Lyceum, 85, 98 
 
 Bridgewater Normal School, 15, 82, 84, 
 86, 92, 93, 98, 101, 103, 104, 133, 143, 
 146, 207, 239, 301 
 
 Bridgewater Normal School Associa- 
 tion, 85 
 
 Bridgewater tradition, 103, 104, 105, 118 
 
Index 
 
 339 
 
 Brimfield, Illinois, 35, 175 
 
 Brooks, Charles, 8 
 
 Brooks, Reverend John R, 8 
 
 Brooks, Mary, 48, 62, 169; first teacher 
 of Model School, 35, 36; opens Model 
 School, November 2, 1857, 40; master 
 teacher, 57; resigns, 58 
 
 Brown, Alonzo Allen, 281 
 
 Brown, Caroline Knowlton, 281 
 
 Brown, Elmer Ellsworth, 176 
 
 Brown, Florence Maria Sever (Mrs. H. 
 A.), 281 
 
 Brown, George P., 172, 176, 178, 189, 
 190 
 
 Brown, Harry Alvin, 281, 296, 320; 
 asked to resign, 291; becomes un- 
 popular, 288; biographical data, 280; 
 curriculum, 285; curriculum revision, 
 282; difficulties at Oshkosh, 283; 
 elected president of the American As- 
 sociation of Teachers Colleges, 286; 
 establishes Bureau of Appointments, 
 284; forged transcripts, 290; named 
 president, 280; proposes special pro- 
 gram for atypical children, 285; re- 
 percussions from Oshkosh, 289; serves 
 on important national educational 
 committees, 280; works for higher 
 faculty salaries, 287 
 
 Brown, Isaac Eddy, 148 
 
 Brown, Captain J. N., 57 
 
 Brown, John, funeral sermon, 70 
 
 Brown, Lida (Mrs. William McMurry), 
 148 
 
 Bryan, William Jennings, 230 
 
 Bryant, Julian E., 76 
 
 Buck, Hiram, 23 
 
 Budget Commission, 267 
 
 Budget director, 314 
 
 Buffalo, New York, 234 
 
 Buffalo Normal School, New York, 135 
 
 Building, see Old Main 
 
 Bunsen, George, 10, 18, 20, 33, 40, 41, 
 
 53 
 Bureau of Appointments, 283, 315 
 Burnham, John H., 47, 49, 76, 262 
 Burrill, Meldrim F., 306, 308 
 Burrill, T. J., 122 
 Burris, W. P., 190 
 Bury, William, 194 
 Butler University, 215 
 Buzzard, Robert Guy, 273, 276, 310, 322 
 
 Cady, Chauncey, 44, 48, 52, 53, 59, 67 
 
 Cady, Elizabeth (Mrs. H. B. Stanton), 
 
 Cairo, Illinois, 44 
 
 Calisthenics, 162; see gymnastics 
 
 Cameron, Simon, 74 
 
 Campbell, Alexander, 166 
 
 Campus, 114; after storm of 1902, 232; 
 described by C. E. Hewett 1858, 145; 
 development, 180; improvement, 223 
 
 Canton, Illinois, 263 
 
 Capen Auditorium, 242, 283, 319 
 
 Capen, Charles L., 107, 194, 203, 237, 252 
 
 Carbondale, Illinois, 79, 114, 137, 251 
 
 Cardiganshire, South Wales, 82 
 
 Cardinal Court, 314 
 
 Cavins, Elmer, 191, 214 
 
 Carlinville, Illinois, 102, 229, 263 
 
 Carnahan, Art, 305 
 
 Carney, Mabel, 256, 257 
 
 Carrollton, Illinois, 229 
 
 Carter, James, 8 
 
 Case, Gertrude, 107 
 
 Case, Harriet, 175 
 
 Case, L. R., 4 
 
 Castle, The, 255 
 
 Catalog i860, 78; first, 82 
 
 Cedar Falls, Iowa, 249 
 
 Centennial, 321, 324 
 
 Centennial Exposition, 130; see Phila- 
 delphia Exposition 
 
 Centennial History, 284 
 
 Central City, Colorado, 123 
 
 Central Female Institute, Bloomington, 
 13 
 
 Century Magazine, 243 
 
 Certification, 5, no, 237, 247, 263 
 
 Chamberlin, McKendree Hypes, 251 
 
 Champaign, Illinois, 113, 209, 214 
 
 Charleston, Illinois, 206, 251, 252 
 
 Charleston Board, 211 
 
 Chatterton Theatre, 201 
 
 Cheyenne, Wyoming, 124 
 
 Cheyney, Washington, 256 
 
 Chicago, Illinois, 15, 16, 17, 23, 32, 34, 
 35, 38, 44, 76, 81, 87, 88, 92, 124, 
 187, 224, 226, 227, 286 
 
 Chicago Academy of Science, 121, 122 
 
 Chicago and Alton Railroad, 21 
 
 Chicago Evening Journal, 90 
 
 Chicago Normal School, 227 
 
 Chicago Normal School Board, 226 
 
 Chicago Press, 56 
 
 Chicago Republican, 131 
 
 Chicago Schoolmaster, 171 
 
34° 
 
 Index 
 
 Chicago Times, 56, 131; attacks Illinois 
 State Normal University 1875, 141; 
 opposes Edwards, 140 
 
 Chicago Tribune, 56 
 
 Childs, Charles R, 79, 80, 92, 106, 169 
 
 Christian Church, Normal, founded 
 1873, 116 
 
 Ciceronian Society, 162, 163, 200, 223, 
 235, 261; see student organizations 
 
 Circuit Court of McLean County, 236 
 
 Civil Administrative Code, 19 17, 264, 
 266 
 
 Civil War, 73, 88, 107, 118; attack on 
 Sumter, 67; Pilot Knob, Missouri, 
 76; Impact, 95, 96; death of Lieu- 
 tenant Joseph G. Howell, 96; infla- 
 tion, 117; see Normal Rifles 
 
 Civil Works Administration, 297, 302 
 
 Civilian Pilot Training, 305 
 
 Clark, Charles M., 71 
 
 Cleveland, John B., 184 
 
 Cleveland, Ohio, 139, 313 
 
 Cloud, Newton, 11 
 
 Colburn, Dana P., 86 
 
 Colby, June Rose, 142, 185, 191, 202, 
 231, 235, 262, 267 
 
 College fund, 9 
 
 College Hall, 45 
 
 Colleges, Illinois 1850, 7, 10, 11 
 
 College and Seminary Funds, 11, 17, 30 
 
 Collinsville, Illinois, 125 
 
 Color rush, 240 
 
 Colorado River, 124, 125 
 
 Colton, Buel P., 177, 191 
 
 Columbia Exposition, 184; see World's 
 Fair 1893 
 
 Columbia Teachers College, 160 
 
 Columbia University, 223, 256 
 
 Columbus, Ohio, 216, 218 
 
 Commencement, 58, 107, 136, 137, 145, 
 164, 165, 193, 202, 214, 226, 242, 260, 
 298, 303 
 
 Commercial Department, 255, 256 
 
 Committee on Teachers and Salaries, 
 
 213 
 Committee system, 319, 320 
 Committee to select the ninth president, 
 
 326 
 Common School Advocate, 14 
 Common School Law of 1825, 6 
 Community War Service Board, World 
 
 War II, 306 
 Congregational Church, Normal, 116 
 
 Connecticut State Normal School, New 
 Britain, 15 
 
 Constitutional Convention, Illinois, 10 
 
 Cook, Harry DeWitt, 174 
 
 Cook, Joanna Hall (Mrs. Harry De- 
 Witt), 174 
 
 Cook, John Williston, 18, 92, 142, 146, 
 153, 160, 168, 171, 183, 188, 192, 214, 
 217, 218, 222, 223, 229, 252, 319; 
 chosen president, 173; biographical, 
 174-175; encourages the Herbartians, 
 176; honored by fellow teachers and 
 other colleges, 176; strengthens fac- 
 ulty, 178-179; his building program, 
 180; pledges aid the financing of 
 "Society Hall," 181-182; advocates 
 the construction of a gymnasium, 
 182-183; publicized work of school 
 at the Chicago World's Fair, 187; 
 relation to the Herbartian Movement, 
 188-190; starts teachers institute, 191; 
 course for high school graduates, 193; 
 educational field trips, 197; wants 
 physical education for women, 198; 
 purchases athletic equipment, 199; 
 concept of the function of physical 
 education, 200; approves social danc- 
 ing on campus, 202-203; recommends 
 that state set up additional normals, 
 206; advocates a kindergarten, 208; 
 efforts to increase faculty salaries, 209; 
 respects Altgeld's position on high 
 school, 210; defends Felmley's polit- 
 ical activities, 210; elected president 
 of Northern State Normal, 211; re- 
 signs, 212; reviews his accomplish- 
 ments and is commended by the 
 Board, 213; is pleased to be succeeded 
 by Felmley, 230 
 
 Cook, Lydia Spofford (Mrs. John W.), 
 223 
 
 Cooley, Horace S., 10 
 
 Cooper, Annette, 274 
 
 Cornell University, 129, 209 
 
 Correspondence courses, 264, 265, 272, 
 287; see Home Study Department 
 
 Council Bluffs, Iowa, 122 
 
 Council of Presidents, 286 
 
 Country Life Association, 273 
 
 Country Life Club, 261 
 
 Country School Department, 256, 257 
 
 County institutes, no, in 
 
 Course of study, 213, 299; see curric- 
 ulum 
 
Index 
 
 34* 
 
 Court House, 165 
 
 Crist, Howard, 107 
 
 Crist, Sophie, 74 
 
 "Critiques," 236 
 
 Cross, Clarence, 305 
 
 Crothers, Rachel, 201 
 
 Cruger, Illinois, 22 
 
 Cullom, Shelby, 67 
 
 Curriculum, 48, 78, 82, 93, 99, 107, 133, 
 134, 137, 150, 153, 161, 170, 196, 208, 
 219, 221, 223, 233, 248, 264, 270, 282, 
 285, 301, 311, 319, 324 
 
 Curriculum K, 260 
 
 Dame schools, 29 
 
 D and E Society, 46, 
 
 Daniels, Reverend W. H., 125 
 
 Danville, Illinois, 263, 317 
 
 Daughters of the American Revolu- 
 tion, 306 
 
 Dartmouth College, 28, 178, 248 
 
 Darwin, Charles, 149 
 
 Davis, Judge David, 19, 43, 48, 56, 113, 
 325 
 
 Davis, David, III, 325 
 
 Dean of Women, 106, 167; see precep- 
 tress 
 
 Debate, 41, 42, 45, 49, see Philadelphian 
 Society, Wrightonian Society, Cicero- 
 nian Society 
 
 Decatur, Illinois, 221, 233 
 
 Decennial Address (Richard Edwards), 
 129 
 
 DeGarmo, Charles, 92, 142, 146, 160, 161, 
 170, 172, 176, 178, 181, 197, 207, 239 
 
 Deitrich, John, 38 
 
 DeKalb, Illinois, 142, 161, 206, 218, 223, 
 251, 256, 321 
 
 Del Sarte system of physical education, 
 198 
 
 Democratic party, 234 
 
 Deneen, Governor Charles, 234, 251 
 
 Denio, C. B., n, 17, 18, 43, 44, 49, 51 
 
 Denison University, 7, 10, 11 
 
 Denominational colleges in 1850, 7, 10, 
 11 
 
 Denver, Colorado, 123, 171 
 
 DePauw University, 215 
 
 Depression of the 1930's, 286 
 
 Der Bildungsverein, 273 
 
 Dewey, John, 160, 187, 208, 221 
 
 DeYoung, Dr. Chris, 309, 320 
 
 Dillon, Frank, 198 
 
 Diplomas, Two year, 137 
 
 Director of Finance, 267 
 
 Director of Registration and Education, 
 
 266 
 Director of Training School, First, 282 
 Dixon, Illinois, 13 
 Dixon, Norval, 116 
 Dobbins, Joseph, 229 
 Dodge, Flora P., 166, 186, 219, 243 
 Dodge, John, 115 
 Domestic Science, 234, 242; see home 
 
 economics 
 Dormitories, 112, 113, 259, 307, 314, 324; 
 
 see Barton Hall, Dunn Hall, Fell Hall, 
 
 Smith Hall, and Walker Hall 
 Douglas, Stephen A., 70 
 Draper, Henry, 149 
 
 Drama, 45, 140, 201, 226, 273, 274, 322 
 Dramatics Club, 261; see Jesters, also 
 
 Theta Alpha Phi 
 Drawing classes, 35; see Clarissa Ela 
 Dred Scot Decision, 69 
 Dryer, Emma, 112, 114, 118 
 DuBois, Jesse K., 53, 57 
 Duff, William, 194 
 Dunn Hall, 324 
 Dunn, Harriet E., 88 
 Dunn, Richard, 315 
 Dunn, Sarah, "Sallie", 39 
 Durley Hall Theatre, 140, 201 
 Dutton, Harvey, 41, 42, 45, 46 
 Dwight, Edmund, 8, 264 
 
 East Bay Camp, Retreat, 320 
 East St. Louis, Illinois, 286 
 Eastern State Normal School, Charles- 
 ton, Illinois, 206 
 Eberhart, John F., 20, 23, 25 
 Economics Club, 230 
 Eddy, Reverend Alfred, 37, 60 
 Eddy, Reverend Herman J., 37, 76 
 Eden, John, 18 
 
 Education Department, 320, 324 
 Educational Conference, Annual, 299 
 Educational Exhibit, Annual, 299 
 Edwards, B. C, 200, 220 
 Edwards, Betsey Josslyn Samson (Mrs. 
 Richard), 86, 97, 98, 99, 114, 138, 141, 
 142, 152 
 Edwards Debating Club, 200 
 Edwards, Ellen, 160 
 Edwards, Ninian, 14, 18, 33, 328 
 Edwards Park, Salem, Massachusetts, 87 
 Edwards, Anna Jones (Mrs. Richard 
 Hugh), 82 
 
342 
 
 Index 
 
 Edwards, Richard, 80, 82, 92, 96, 100, 
 102, 103, 105, 106, 109, in, 115, 117, 
 118, 125, 131, 132, 133, 134, 138, 143, 
 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 151, 152, 165, 
 168, 169, 171, 174, 180, 182, 186, 190, 
 248, 259; takes mathematics position 
 at Normal, 80; elected president in 
 June 1862, 81; addresses American 
 Normal Association, 81; course of 
 study, 82; biographical, 82-87; stim- 
 ulated by the Transcendentalists, 88; 
 addresses the societies on "The Her- 
 itage of Culture," 90-91; interest in 
 Model School, 93; sees need for gym- 
 nastic exercises, 94; investigates the 
 Oswego plan of instruction, 94; 
 studies and defends record of the 
 Normal University, 95; desires pupil 
 respect rather than popularity, 98; 
 enthusiasm for teaching, 101; honor- 
 ary degrees, 101-102; delivers oration 
 upon the death of Lincoln, 108; ap- 
 peals to legislature for dormitory, 
 112; publishes series of readers and 
 speculates in Iowa land, 118; approves 
 assistance to the John Wesley Powell 
 expedition, 122; delivers "Decennial 
 Address" in 1882, 129; reviews his 
 administration, 130; goes abroad, 137; 
 children, 138; declines to organize 
 Japanese schools, 139; elected presi- 
 dent of National Teachers Associa- 
 tion, 139; the amateur Shakespearean 
 actor, 140; declines chancellorship of 
 the University of Nebraska, 140; re- 
 signs in January, 1876, 141; becomes 
 agent for Knox College, 142; declines 
 to run for Congress but is later elected 
 state superintendent, 142; becomes 
 president of Blackburn College, 176; 
 indignant when Governor Altgeld 
 closed University High School, 195; 
 returns for Fortieth Anniversary, 207; 
 evaluates Cook's administration, 212 
 
 Edwards, Richard Hugh, 82 
 
 Ela, Clarissa, 142, 170, 171, 177, 191, 231 
 
 El Circulo Espanol, 273 
 
 Electric lights installed, 180 
 
 Elementary School Journal, 280 
 
 Elementary Training School, 265; see 
 Model School, Practice School, Lab- 
 oratory School 
 
 Elgin, Illinois, 294 
 
 Eliot, Dr. William Greenleaf, 98 
 
 Ellsworth, Lewis, 57 
 
 Ellwood, Colonel Isaac, 206, 211 
 
 Emerson School of Oratory, 198 
 
 Emmons, Alice, 136 
 
 Emporia, Kansas, 142, 249 
 
 English Home and Colonial Infant So- 
 ciety, 94 
 
 Enrollment, 48, 51, 117, 130, 135, 213, 
 267, 269, 271, 303, 305, 314 
 
 Entrance Requirements in 1857, 33 
 
 Essentials of Method (Charles DeGar- 
 mo), 177 
 
 Essex County Teachers Association, 86 
 
 Euclidean Circle, 273 
 
 Eureka College, 22, 39, 199, 239 
 
 Evanston, Illinois, 122 
 
 Evergreen Cemetery, 165 
 
 Ewing, James S., 71 
 
 Examinations, Public, 43, 57, 147 
 
 Exceptional children, 312, 313 
 
 Extension, Field Services, 263, 264, 272, 
 300 
 
 Faculty Club, 161, 176, 178, 190, 221, 
 
 319 
 
 Faculty Women's Club, 276, 287 
 
 Faculty Forum, 320 
 
 Faculty meetings, 301 
 
 Fagerburg, A. T., 185 
 
 Fairchild, Donald Hurlstone, 293 
 
 Fairchild, Nellie Bronson (Mrs. R. W.), 
 294 
 
 Fairchild, Ralph Bronson, 293 
 
 Fairchild, Dr. Raymond Wilber, 292, 
 311, 313, 315, 318, 324; biographical, 
 293-294; establishes annual conference 
 of administrators, 295; publicizes the 
 University, 296; sets up long range 
 building plan, 297; Normal Univer- 
 sity as a service institution, 300; pro- 
 jects graduate school, 302; seeks 
 increase in faculty salaries, 303; shares 
 his plans for future development, 304; 
 intent on keeping faculty intact dur- 
 ing decreased enrollment of the war 
 years, 306; Fell Hall fire, 307-308; 
 advances special education program, 
 310; division of special education es- 
 tablished, 311; Special Education 
 Building (Fairchild Hall), 312; third 
 floor and tower of Old Main con- 
 demned, 313; obtains government 
 surplus property for the school, 314; 
 review of twenty-year administration, 
 
Index 
 
 343 
 
 316-317; fight for Smith-Hughes rec- 
 ognition, 317-318; honored by fac- 
 ulty, October 1953, 321; on sick leave 
 1950, 1954, 322; retirement and death, 
 
 323 
 
 Fairchild, Robert Eugene, 293 
 
 Fairchild, Serena Mattie Johnson (Mrs. 
 W. D.),293 
 
 Fairchild, Wilber Daniel, 293 
 
 Farmers Convention, Granville, 1851, 11 
 
 Farmers Institute, 258 
 
 Fatherless Children of France, 268 
 
 Fell, Clara, 107 
 
 Fell Hall, 259, 270, 275, 297, 298, 304, 
 306, 307, 314, 315, 323, 324 
 
 Fell, Henry C, 116 
 
 Fell, Hester Brown (Mrs. Jesse), 61, 65, 
 68 
 
 Fell, Jesse, 3, 9, 75, 107, tit, 128, T29, 
 131, 137, 166, 259, 260, 262, 328; 
 corresponds with Horace Mann about 
 founding a seminary, 4; versatility, 
 5; seeks location of state normal 
 school for Bloomington, 19; suggests 
 Mann for principal as he solicits sub- 
 scriptions, 20; favors the Junction lo- 
 cation, 21; accompanies the inspection 
 committee to Peoria, 22; obtains 
 pledge of swamp lands from County 
 Commissioners, 23; campaigns to have 
 Mann selected principal, 25; deposits 
 list of contributors in cornerstone, 37; 
 undertakes to beautify campus, 48; 
 plats a town, 50; endorses Hovey's 
 notes, 55; at the first commencement, 
 61; helps plan the legislative visit to 
 the school, 64; toastmaster at the 
 dedication dinner, 68; serves in Union 
 Army, 71; goes to Washington with 
 Hovey, 74; plants trees in North 
 Bloomington, 88; wants to see an in- 
 dustrial university combined with 
 Normal University, 113; becomes a 
 member of the Board, 114; builds 
 hotel, the Pennell House, 115; inter- 
 ested in streetcar line, 116; gives Jack- 
 son County land to the University, 
 180; dies in 1887, funeral in Normal 
 Hall, 165 
 
 Fell, Kersey, works for location of nor- 
 mal school in Bloomington, 19; long 
 a friend of the school, 50 
 
 Federal Aid, 302 
 
 Federal Bureau of Education, 319 
 
 Federal Board of Vocational Agricul- 
 ture, 318 
 Federal Commissioner of Education, 
 
 239 
 
 Felmley, Auta Stout (Mrs. David, 1st), 
 241, 245 
 
 Felmley, David, T42, 219, 226, 227, 231, 
 235, 236, 237, 241, 245, 246, 247, 249, 
 251, 259, 265, 269, 274, 279, 280, 288; 
 joins the faculty, 178; defends Altgeld 
 in closing University High School, 
 195; elected president, 228; biograph- 
 ical data, 228-229; wide interests and 
 remarkable memory, 230; attacks the 
 problem of opportunities for student 
 teaching, 231; contracts with the pub- 
 lic schools of the town of Normal 
 for practice teaching privileges, 1901, 
 232; establishes kindergarten, 233; 
 receives honorary Doctor of Laws 
 from University of Illinois, 238; 
 launches campaign for simplified 
 spelling, 242; becomes pipe organ 
 authority, 244; defends work of the 
 normal schools, 248; skeptical of de- 
 grees and accrediting agencies, 250; 
 opposes a school of education building 
 at the University of Illinois, 252; 
 attacks University of Illinois invasion 
 of teacher training field, 253; sets up 
 a building program, 254; pioneers in 
 business education, 255; starts a special 
 program for training teachers for 
 rural schools, 256; decided to develop 
 the University farm, 257; plans to 
 train teachers of agriculture, 258; 
 seeks increases in salary for faculty, 
 269; asks for new gymnasium and a 
 science building, 270; wearies of petty 
 economies, 271; birthday celebrations, 
 275; declines public office, 277; last 
 illness and resignation, 278 
 
 Felmley, Ellen Vorhees (Mrs. John S.), 
 228 
 
 Felmley Hall of Science, 278, 281, 285 
 
 Felmley, Jennie Green (Mrs. David, 
 2nd), 229 
 
 Felmley, John Benjamin, 229 
 
 Felmley, John S., 228 
 
 Felmley Memorial Gateway, 260 
 
 Felmley, Mildred, 229, 261, 278 
 
 Felmley, Ruth, 229 
 
 Ferre, Lyman, 116 
 
 Field day, 1895, 199 
 
344 
 
 Index 
 
 Field, Kate, 201 
 
 Field trips, 121 
 
 Filipino students, 239 
 
 Flag for the Normal Rifles, 274 
 
 Florence, Alabama, 256 
 
 Football, 199, 240 
 
 Foote, Frances E., 261 
 
 Forbes, Stephen A., 128, 129, £30, 253, 
 177 
 
 Ford, Governor Thomas, 9 
 
 Foreign normals, 27; see Prussian 
 normals 
 
 Forestal, James, 308 
 
 Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, 294 
 
 Fort Laramie, Wyoming, 121 
 
 Fortnightly Dancing Club, 202, 223, 241 
 
 Fort Sumter attacked, 67 
 
 Founders Day first celebrated, 1909, 262 
 
 Framingham, Massachusetts, 28 
 
 Franklin, Indiana, 215, 216 
 
 Free Congregational Church (Unitar- 
 ian), Bloomington, 70 
 
 Free schools proposed, 1853, 13 
 
 Fredericktown, Missouri, 96 
 
 Froebel, Friedrich, 162 
 
 Fundamentalists, 149 
 
 Galbreath, Louis, 209 
 
 Gale, Jacob, 31 
 
 Galesburg, Illinois, 142 
 
 Gallery of Art, 66 
 
 Gamma Phi, 273 
 
 Gamma Theta Upsilon, 274 
 
 Garden City Institute of Chicago, 13 
 
 Garfield, James A., 76 
 
 Garman, Samuel, 124 
 
 Gas, Normal, 1901, 116 
 
 Gastman, Enoch A. J., 39, 45, 59, 60, 128, 
 132, 207, 221, 228, 237 
 
 Gatewood, William J., 8 
 
 General Assembly, 4, 64, 68, 69, 120, 122, 
 127, 140, 151, 157, 159, 167, 168, 174, 
 180, 183, 203, 204, 206, 208, 211, 212, 
 
 234, 238, 246, 250, 251, 254, 259, 265, 
 271, 286, 287, 302, 303, 304, 312, 324, 
 
 325 
 General Exercises, 202, 203, 219, 233, 
 
 235, 240, 241, 245, 267, 274, 275, 283 
 Geography Club, 273 
 
 George, Henry, 230 
 German, 193 
 
 German Normal Schools, 161 
 Germantown, Pennsylvania, 114 
 Gibson City, 199 
 
 Gibson, Harold, 315 
 
 Gilder, Richard Watson, 243 
 
 Gillispie, John, 18 
 
 Girls Debating Club, 235 
 
 Glee Clubs, 233 
 
 Glidden, Joseph F., 206 
 
 Grandview, Illinois, 215 
 
 Gove, Aaron, 171 
 
 Gove, Frank, 181 
 
 Government Relations and American- 
 ism Board, 306 
 
 Gowdy, Calvin, 15, 17, 81 
 
 Gowdy, Ensley, 15 
 
 Golconda, Illinois, 17, 24 
 
 Graded Course of Study for Fran\lin 
 Public School (Arnold Tompkins), 
 215 
 
 Grading systems, 223 
 
 Graduate School, 309, 316 
 
 Graduating Class of i860, 56 
 
 Graduation themes, 58, 136, 137, 163, 
 
 235 
 Graham, Ray, 311 
 
 Grammar Department, 106, 130, 160 
 Granger Movement, 230 
 Grant, General Ulysses S., 121 
 Granville, Illinois, n 
 Greek, 193 
 Greeley, Horace, approves Turner plan, 
 
 12 
 Greeley, Samuel S., 83 
 Gregg, David, ex-officio superintendent 
 
 of public instruction, n 
 Gregory, John L., 232 
 Green, Judge William H., 131, 164, 168, 
 
 222, 230 
 Greenville, Illinois, 211 
 Greenwood, 38, 48 
 Gridley, Asahel, 9, 56, 72 
 Griggs, Clark R., 113 
 Gymnasium, 154, 159, 198, 203, 212, 241, 
 
 271, 285 
 Gymnastics, 155, 220; Dio Lewis System, 
 
 109 
 Gueffroy, Edna, 303 
 
 Haisch, Jacob, 206 
 Hall, G. Stanley, 209 
 Hall, John, 176, 185 
 Halle, 160, 161, 176, 194 
 Hamilton, Alma Mary, 251 
 Hammond, Marion, 106 
 Hamlin, Hannibal, 70 
 Hanna, John Calvin, 101 
 Harper, Annabelle, 274 
 
Index 
 
 345 
 
 Harper, Charles A., 196, 209, 227, 247, 
 
 300 
 Harper, Peter, 49, 59 
 Harris, Carter, 204, 205, 241, 294, 295, 
 
 303 
 Harris, Ida (Mrs. Carter), 241 
 Harris, William T\, 88, 172, 176, 190, 
 
 243 
 
 Harrison, Elizabeth, 208, 227 
 
 Harrison, William Henry, 83 
 
 Hartmann, Mary, 170, 225 
 
 Hartzell, Joseph C, 122 
 
 Harvey, William H., 71, 72 
 
 Harvard University, 78, 86, 92, 102, 103, 
 106, 107, 127, 146, 153, 160, 193, 194, 
 197 
 
 Hatch, Ozias, 54 
 
 Hawley, James A., 13 
 
 Haynie, Mrs. Martha D., 162 
 
 Hays, Silas, 59 
 
 Headquarters Staff, U. S. Forces in 
 Europe, 326 
 
 Health Service, 272 
 
 Heating system, 155, 213, 260 
 
 Hectograph, Use of, 166 
 
 Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, 176 
 
 Hendrix, William, 116 
 
 Hennepin, Illinois, 118 
 
 Henry, Joseph, 129 
 
 Herbart Club, 187 
 
 Herbart, John Frederick, 161, 177 
 
 Herbartian Movement, 176, 177, 178, 
 187, 188, 190, 209, 218, 220, 319 
 
 "Heritage of Culture" (Richard Ed- 
 wards), 91, 98 
 
 Hewett, Angeline Benton (Mrs. C. E., 
 1st), 144 
 
 Hewett, Edwin Crawford, 78, 90, 92, 97, 
 99, 103, 109, no, in, 117, 124, 130, 
 145, 150, 152, 153, 154, 156, 161, 168, 
 169, 170, 171, 172 175, 186, 219, 319, 
 323; teacher of geography and history, 
 57; builds a home in Normal to pro- 
 vide student lodgings, 62; named pres- 
 ident, 143; biographical data, 143-144; 
 work in geography, 145; the scholar, 
 146; praised as a lecturer, 147; or- 
 dained as a Baptist preacher, 148; sends 
 exhibit to Philadelphia Exposition, 
 151; visits other normals, 153; plans 
 for a school library, 157; asks for a 
 gymnasium, 159; publishes Treatise 
 on Pedagogy for Young Teachers, 
 159; develops a strong faculty, 160; 
 
 resigns, 173; present at Fortieth Anni- 
 versary, 207 
 
 Hewett, Helen Clute Paisley (Mrs. C. 
 E., 2nd), 173 
 
 Hewett, Levina Leonard (Mrs. Tim- 
 othy), 143 
 
 Hewett, May (Mrs. Rudolph Reeder), 
 144, 152 
 
 Hewett, Timothy, 143 
 
 Hieronymus Club, 273 
 
 High School, see University High 
 School 
 
 High School, Chicago, 1855, 15 
 
 High School Conference, 251 
 
 High School teachers, 220 
 
 Hill, Reverend Thomas, 58, 61, 101, 102 
 
 Hingham, Massachusetts, 84 
 
 Hiram College, 76 
 
 History of Illinois State Normal Univer- 
 sity (J. W. Cook and James Mc- 
 Hugh), 174 
 
 Hobo parade, 275 
 
 Hogg, Harvey, 71 
 
 Holder, Charles W., 4, 55, 64 
 
 Holder, Mrs. C. W., 65 
 
 Holmes, Dr. Leslie, 321 
 
 Holmes, Manfred, 133, 209, 279, 295, 
 
 304 
 Homecoming, 274, 284 
 Home Economics, 234, 254, 267 
 Home Management House, 270, 303 
 Home Study Department, 287; see cor- 
 respondence courses 
 Hood, Hester, 283, 284 
 Horner, Governor Henry, 302, 317 
 Horton, Dr. Clifford E., 306 
 Hopkins Agricultural Club, 273, 275 
 Housing for students, 34, 62, in, 286 
 Hovey, Charles E., 73, 74, 78, 90, 92, 97, 
 103, 106, in, 143, 168, 169, 170, 171, 
 248, 262, 319; migrates to Peoria, 14; 
 President of Teachers' Institute, Chi- 
 cago meeting, 15; lobbies for free 
 public schools and a normal school, 
 16; editoralizes on the principal of the 
 new normal school and is named to 
 the Board of Education, 18; explains 
 use of the term "normal university," 
 19; inspects sites for the school, 20; 
 favors Peoria location, 23; visits east- 
 ern normals, 24; Peoria friends ad- 
 vance his name for the principalship, 
 25; accepts office of principal, June 23, 
 1857, 26; his philosophy of a normal 
 
346 
 
 Index 
 
 Hovey, Charles E. — continued 
 school, 27; biographical, 28-30; work 
 as editor of the Illinois Teacher and 
 principal of high school and super- 
 intendent of all schools in Peoria, 31; 
 moves to Bloomington, 32; hires fac- 
 ulty, 355 greets students in Major's 
 Hall, October 5, 1857, 38; teaches 
 metaphysics, history, and pedagogy, 
 40; strong believer in a Model School, 
 40; Model School on a paying basis, 
 41; builds a home to be center for 
 student gatherings, 45; opposes for- 
 mation of second literary society, 46; 
 initiates inter-society contests, 48; 
 grows to like Bloomington, 50; in 
 charge of the building construction, 
 51; risks personal fortune for the 
 school, 52; death of young son, 53; his 
 administration investigated, 53; bor- 
 rows money on his own credit to com- 
 plete building, 55; conducts religious 
 service before public examination, 57; 
 first commencement, 58, 60, 61; com- 
 mended for his works, 62; explains 
 the "features" of the building, 65; 
 worried about the financial situation, 
 69; given commission as colonel in 
 Union Army, 75; musters men into 
 service, 76; resigns from the principal- 
 ship, 80, 81; wounded at Bayou Cache, 
 96; returns for Fortieth Anniversary, 
 207; buried in Arlington National 
 Cemetery, 208 
 
 Hovey, Harriette Farnham Spofford 
 (Mrs. C. E.), 30, 31, 32, 52, 53, 172 
 
 Howard, Hosea, 107 
 
 Howe, George H., 233 
 
 Howe, Dr. Samuel Gridley, 28 
 
 Howell, Joseph, 39, 59, 71, 73, 96, 143, 
 168 
 
 Hudson, Henry, 83 
 
 Hudson, Illinois, 38, 59 
 
 Hull, John, 39, 42, 45, 46, 59, 79, 80 
 
 Huse, S. H., 122 
 
 Husted, Mrs. Mary Hall, 189 
 
 Huxley, Thomas, 149 
 
 Illinois, 123, 129, 137, 152 
 
 Illinois Agricultural and Horticultural 
 
 Society, 56 
 Illinois Baptist, The, 38 
 Illinois Central Railroad, 21, 107, 174 
 Illinois College, 118 
 
 Illinois Commission for Handicapped 
 
 Children, 310 
 Illinois Common School Advocate, 15 
 Illinois Education Association, 310, 325; 
 see Illinois State Teachers Association 
 Illinois Educational Society, 6, 10 
 Illinois Industrial League, 12, 14, 16, 18 
 Illinois Industrial University, 14, 113, 
 118, 121, 124, 125, 126, 130; see Uni- 
 versity of Illinois 
 Illinois Inter-Collegiate Football Associ- 
 ation, 200 
 Illinois Natural History Society, 56, 61, 
 
 79, 118, 119, 120, 122, 124, 125, 127, 
 
 x 3 6 . 
 Illinois Natural History Society Mu- 
 seum, 66, 112, 118, 128, 129, 157 
 Illinois River, 118 
 
 Illinois School Journal, 172, 175, 177 
 Illinois Schoolmaster, 171, 175 
 Illinois Society for Child Study, 209 
 Illinois State Education Society, 1840, 9 
 Illinois State Journal, 17 
 Illinois State Teachers Association, 30, 
 
 80, 81, 109, 139, 253; see Illinois Edu- 
 cation Association 
 
 Illinois State Normal University, 3, 18, 
 80, 88, 95, 99, 101, 102, 103, 105, 106, 
 107, 108, no, in, 113, 114, 115, 117, 
 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 
 128, 130, 131, 133, 134, 135, 137, 139, 
 140, 141, 142, 143, 146, 147, 148, 150, 
 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 157, 161, 165, 
 166, 167, 168, 172, 175, 178, 185, 186, 
 187, 188, 189, 190, 192, 194, 195, 197, 
 199, 200, 205, 207, 213, 214, 218, 220, 
 222, 224, 225, 227, 228, 229, 232, 233, 
 234, 237, 238, 239, 240, 242, 243, 244, 
 247, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 258, 259, 
 262, 264, 265, 267, 268, 269, 270, 272, 
 274, 275, 276, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 
 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 298, 
 300, 301, 303, 304, 305, 308, 309, 312, 
 315, 317, 318, 319, 322, 325, 327, 328 
 
 Illinois State Normal University Club 
 of New York, 262 
 
 Illinois Teacher, The, 14, 17, 27, 30, 31, 
 32, 38, 57, 68, 69, 109, 171 
 
 Illinois Teachers Institutes, 11, 13, 14, 
 15, 108, 109, no, in, 191; see sum- 
 mer school 
 
 Illinois Terminal Railway, 271 
 
 Illinois Thirty-third Regiment (Infan- 
 try), 76, 77> 96, n8 
 
Index 
 
 347 
 
 Illinois Wesleyan University, 4, 21, 30, 
 39, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 124, 125, 
 165, 172, 194, 199, 239, 240, 263, 294 
 Illiteracy, 4 
 
 Implications and Applications of the 
 Principle of Self Activity in Education 
 (Arnold Tompkins), 216 
 Index, The, 184, 195, 196, 199, 205, 224, 
 
 236, 240, 261, 274, 284, 298 
 Indiana State Normal School, 215 
 Indiana University, 157, 215 
 Industrial Arts Department, 304 
 Inglis, Samuel M., 211 
 Insurance on buildings, 156 
 Inter-collegiate forensic contests, 224 
 Inter-mural sports, 199, 204, 239 
 Inter-Society Building Committee, 181 
 Inter-society contests, 49, 182; see 
 
 Wrightonia and Philadelphia 
 Interstate Commerce Commission, 107 
 Inter-State Oratorical Contests, 205 
 Iowa State Normal (Iowa State Teach- 
 ers College), 249, 254 
 Irons, Charles D., 41, 42, 45, 56 
 Ironton, Missouri, 76 
 
 Jackson County lands, 23, 180 
 Jacksonville, Illinois, 10, 57, 240 
 James, Edmund J., 160, 161, 172, 176, 
 
 177, 181, 194, 197, 201, 239, 252, 253 
 Jefferson, Joe, 201 
 Jena, 160, 177, 218 
 Jesters, 261, 273, 275, 322 
 John Brown's raid, 70 
 Johnson, Hiram W., 71 
 Joliet High School, 178 
 Joliet, Illinois, 263, 264 
 Jones, John, 82, 83 
 Jones, Margaret, 94 
 Jones, William A., 215 
 Jordan, David, 243 
 Junction, The, 4, 21, 36, 62, 65, 79, 88, 
 
 107, 115, 145; see North Bloomington, 
 
 Normal 
 Junior-senior banquets, 241 
 
 Kalamazoo Case, 139 
 
 Kansas, 137 
 
 Kansas State Normal, 142, 205, 254 
 
 Kant, Immanuel, 162, 176 
 
 Kappa, Illinois, 39, 175 
 
 Kappa Delta Pi, 273 
 
 Keene, New Hampshire, 281 
 
 Keith, John A. H., 185, 239 
 
 Kellogg, Lyman B., 106, in, 142 
 
 Kenyon College, 255 
 
 Kerrick, S. H., 122 
 
 Ketcham, Livonia, 79, 92, 94, 106 
 
 Kettleson, Peter, 145, 154, 155, 169 
 
 Kewanee, Illinois, 263 
 
 Kindergarten, 208, 222, 233 
 
 Kindergarten Club, 273 
 
 Kingman, Martha, 86 
 
 Kingston, Massachusetts, 103 
 
 Kinmundy, Illinois, 76 
 
 Kirk, John, 249 
 
 Kirksville, Missouri, 249 
 
 Knox College, 30, 142, 176 
 
 Laboratory School, 324, 325 
 
 Ladies Association for Educating Fe- 
 males, 7 
 
 Ladies Garland, 42, 136 
 
 Lake Champlain, 82 
 
 Lake Geneva Conference, 224 
 
 Lamon, Ward, 48 
 
 Larsen, Dr. Arthur H., 321, 324, 325 
 
 LaSalle, Illinois, 146 
 
 Lathrop, Harry, 305 
 
 Latin, 57, 193 
 
 Latin Club, 273 
 
 Lead tanks, 155 
 
 League of Women Voters, 273 
 
 LeCircle Francais, 273 
 
 Lecture Board, 201 
 
 Lecture Course, 200, 201 
 
 Lee, Harry H., 13 
 
 Legislature, 9, 10, 12, 14, 17, 18, 51, 64, 
 98, 112, 113, 114, 132, 135, 141, 262; 
 see General Assembly 
 
 Legislative visits, 65, 67, 69 
 
 Leipsig University, 218 
 
 Leroy, Illinois, 23 
 
 Levanius, Karin (Mrs. R. G. Bone), 327 
 
 Lewis, Charlton, 40, 42 
 
 Lewis, E. J., 22, 24, 40, 43, 64 
 
 Lewiston, Maine, 281 
 
 Lexington, Massachusetts, 104 
 
 Lexington, Massachusetts, Normal 
 School, 84 
 
 Liberal Club, 149 
 
 Liberty, Maine, 281 
 
 Library, 47, 157, 303 
 
 Library, 255; see Milner Library 
 
 Light Opera, 202 
 
 Lighter of Flames, 300 
 
 Linck, Lawrence J., 311 
 
348 
 
 Index 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, 24, 34, 43, 69, 70, 71, 
 72, 74, 75, 107, 108, 136, 168 
 
 Lincoln, Mrs. Abraham, 70 
 
 Lincoln College, 326 
 
 Lincoln tree, 207 
 
 Lincoln University, 199 
 
 Lindblad, Andrew, 236, 237 
 
 Lindly Scholarship Act, 238, 276 
 
 Linkins, Ralph, 283, 298 
 
 Lippencott's Universal Gazetteer, 146 
 
 Literary Societies, see Ciceronian, Phila- 
 delphian, Sapphonian, Wrightonian 
 
 "Litta", von Eisner, Marie, 201 
 
 Little Brick, 272 
 
 Liverpool, 82 
 
 Location bids, 20 
 
 London Christian World, 134 
 
 Lord, Livingston C, 211, 252 
 
 "Loud school," 82 
 
 Lovejoy, Owen, 142 
 
 Lowell Mason Club, 273 
 
 Lucas, Amelia, 191, 198, 220 
 
 Lutheran Club, 274 
 
 Lyford, Carrie Alberta, 244 
 
 McCambridge, William, 4, 107 
 
 McCart, Robert, 107 
 
 McClun, John, 42, 50, 56 
 
 McCormick, Ferd, 200 
 
 McCormick Field, 307 
 
 McCormick Gymnasium, 285, 299, 303, 
 
 308 
 McCormick, Henry, 100, 101, 142, 146, 
 
 151, 153, 161, 170, 177, 184, 186, 191, 
 
 212, 231 
 McCormick, Nelson, 195 
 McHugh, James, 174 
 McKendree College, 30 
 McLean County, 70, 113, 141 
 McLean County Commissioners, 3, 23 
 McLean County schools, 79 
 McLean County swamp lands, 3, 44, 50, 
 
 5*> 52, 53 
 McMurry, Charles, 150, 160, 176, 185, 
 
 188, 189, 191, 195, 206, 209, 212, 218, 
 
 223, 239 
 McMurry, Mrs. Charlotte, 148 
 McMurry, Frank, 160, 176, 178, 185, 189, 
 
 239 
 McMurry, Mrs. Lida Brown, 89, 142, 
 160, 161, 178, 223 
 
 Madden, Irwin Arthur, 257, 258, 259 
 Main Building, see Old Main 
 
 Major's Hall, 34, 36, 38, 40, 48, 56, 57, 
 
 106, 145 
 Manchester, Orson Leroy, 142, 178, 191, 
 
 195, 200, 231, 239, 240, 261, 269, 277 
 Mann, Horace, 4, 20, 25, 58, 59, 79, 84, 
 
 85, 86, 87, 92, 98, 103, 104, 115 
 Manual Arts Building, 238, 241 
 Manual Arts Club, 273 
 Manual training, 159, 234 
 Marlowe, Julia, 201, 202 
 Marquis, F. D., 237 
 Marsh, Randolph D., 277 
 Marston, A. M., 161 
 Mason, Lowell, 86 
 
 Massachusetts Board of Education, 8, 86 
 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 
 
 195 
 
 Massachusetts State Teachers Associa- 
 tion, 86 
 
 Massachusetts Teacher, 87 
 
 Masters theses, 309 
 
 Mathematics, 35 
 
 Matteson, Governor Joel Aldrich, 37 
 
 Mattoon, Illinois, 206 
 
 Mavity, Elizabeth, 225 
 
 May, Samuel J., 84 
 
 Mechanics Institute, Rochester, New 
 York, 234 
 
 Memphis, Tennessee, 198 
 
 Merriman, A. J., 23, 38 
 
 Merriam Publishing Company, dona- 
 tion, 35 
 
 Messer, B. S., 71, 78 
 
 Messer, Clarence, in, 262 
 
 Metcalf Building, 255, 271, 324 
 
 Metcalf, Thomas, 80, 87, 92, 103, 104, 
 106, 109, in, 117, 118, 123, 130, 140, 
 146, 153, 160, 161, 169, 170, 174, 177, 
 191, 262, 319 
 
 Methodist Church, Normal, 1865, 116, 
 149 
 
 Methodists question Mann's religious 
 views, 25 
 
 Mexican War, 71 
 
 Miami University, 28 
 
 Military training, 264 
 
 Miller, George, 181 
 
 Miller, James, State Treasurer, 51, 53 
 
 Miller, Rosalie, 153 
 
 Millersville Normal, Pennsylvania, 153 
 
 Milner, Ange. Vernon, 142, 158, 178, 
 191, 212, 231, 255, 268, 274, 303 
 
 Milner Library, 303, 307, 308, 317 
 
 Minonk, Illinois, 199 
 
Index 
 
 349 
 
 Minnesota State Normal School, Moor- 
 head, 211 
 
 Minnesota State Normal School, 
 Winona, 185, 209 
 
 Minute Men, 70 
 
 Missouri Botanical Gardens, 233 
 
 Mitchell, Elizabeth, 59 
 
 Model School, 44, 48, 57, 62, 79, 93, 96, 
 97, 106, 117, 118, 130, 131, 132, 152, 
 
 153, I54, l60, 169, 171, 187, I92, 220, 
 
 237, 238; opens November 2, 1857, 
 35; tuition, 40; gives reputation to 
 school, 41; self-supporting, 106; tui- 
 tion discontinued 1901, 132; see Uni- 
 versity High School 
 
 Model School Building, New, 54 
 
 Modernists, 149 
 
 Moline, Illinois, 286, 294 
 
 Montgomery, Alabama, 69 
 
 Montreal, Canada, 82 
 
 Moore, 15, 35, 40, 46, 57, 61, 67, 72, 76, 
 79, 90, 92, 103, 143, 319 
 
 Morgan Journal, 11 
 
 Morrill Act of 1862, 113 
 
 Morrill, Justin S., sponsors Turner's 
 agricultural education program, 13 
 
 Morris, Ruth, 176, 198 
 
 Mortimer and Loburg, 34, 54 
 
 Moseley, Flavel, 18, 33 
 
 Moulton, Samuel W., 17, 18, 37, 44, 51, 
 55, 60, 64, 67, 80, 98, 207, 328 
 
 Murray, Bronson, 14 
 
 Museum, Milner Library, 303 
 
 Museum, Natural History Society, 66, 
 89, 127, 152 
 
 Music, 25, 44, 222, 301 
 
 Music organizations, 200, 201 
 
 N Club, 273 
 
 National Association of Superintend- 
 ents, 139, 249 
 
 National Defense Program, 304 
 
 National Education Association, 139, 
 165, 187, 249, 250 
 
 National Educational Society, 6 
 
 National Teachers Association, 139; see 
 National Education Association, 139 
 
 National Theatre, Bloomington, 45 
 
 National Whig, 50 
 
 National Youth Administration, 302 
 
 National Youth Agriculture-Industrial 
 Project, 304 
 
 Nature Study Club, 261, 273 
 
 Navy V-5, 305 
 
 Navy V-12, 306, 307, 314 
 
 Negroes, in, 131, 132, 133 
 
 Nehrling, Bruno, 232 
 
 New Britain, Connecticut, 15 
 
 New England Emigrant Aid Society, 29 
 
 New Jersey Normal, Trenton, 33 
 
 Newman Club, 274 
 
 New York City, 52, 90, 145, 243 
 
 New York Philharmonic Orchestra, 201 
 
 New YorJ{ Tribune, 12, 29 
 
 Nickell, Vernon, 310 
 
 Noetling, C. F., 128 
 
 Normal Building and Loan Association, 
 
 205 
 Normal Cadet Corps, 199 
 Normal Churches, 116; see Methodist, 
 
 Congregational, Baptist, Presbyterian, 
 
 Christian 
 Normal Debating Society, 41, 46; see 
 
 Philadelphia 
 Normal Department, 130, 132, 160, 249 
 Normal Hall, 64, 66, 74, 10 1, 108, 155, 
 
 165, 201, 202, 207, 239 
 Normal, Illinois, 50, 51, 80, 112, 113, 
 
 115, 120, 130, 131, 132, 139, 200, 267, 
 
 271, 275, 323 
 Normal, Illinois, Public Schools, 79, 130, 
 
 131, 232-236, 263 
 Normalite, 2.91 
 Normal, see North Bloomington, The 
 
 Junction 
 Normal Opera House, 202 
 Normal Regiment, 75; see School- 
 masters' Regiment, Normal Rifles 
 Normal Regiment Flag, 262 
 Normal Rifles, 73, 74, 76, 95, 143; see 
 
 Civil War 
 Normal School Association, 139, 249; 
 
 see American Association of Colleges 
 
 for Teacher Education 
 Normal Schools, Early, 206 
 Normal School Oratorical League, 205 
 Normal University, see Illinois State 
 
 Normal University 
 North Bloomington, 4, 22, 37, 56, 88, 
 
 114; see The Junction, Normal, town 
 
 of 
 North Central Association, 250, 280, 282 
 North Central Council of State Normal 
 
 Schools, 249 
 Northern State Normal School, DeKalb, 
 
 Illinois, 142, 160, 161, 206, 251, 256, 
 
 321 
 
350 
 
 Index 
 
 Northern State Teachers College, see 
 
 Northern State Normal School 
 Northwestern University, 160, 292, 294 
 Norton, Henry B., 67, 79 
 Nurseries, 88, 115 
 
 Oberlin College, 118 
 
 Off-campus student teaching, 316; see 
 affiliated schools 
 
 Office of War Information, 268 
 
 Oglesby, Richard, 67 
 
 Old Boston Quartette, 201 
 
 Old Castle, 294, 302, 303; see Cook 
 Hall 
 
 Old Main, 3, 212, 234, 238, 240, 241, 
 243, 262, 274, 281, 283, 285, 286, 292, 
 295, 297, 299, 302, 303, 313, 314, 325; 
 construction contract awarded, 34; 
 cornerstone laid, September 29, 1857, 
 36, 37; construction costs, 54; last 
 brick laid, 55; houses Natural History 
 Society's museum, 63; description of 
 the building, 65, 66; dedication cere- 
 monies, 67, 68; debt lifted, 69; plumb- 
 ing, 112, 113, 145; damaged by storms, 
 145; White Room, 149; clock and 
 bell removed, 156; electric lights in- 
 stalled, 180; storm of 1892 damages 
 building and campus, 207 
 
 Oleastellus, 136 
 
 Omaha, Nebraska, 122 
 
 Oneida, New York, 174 
 
 Opera, Castanea, 226 
 
 Oratorical Board, 205, 242 
 
 Orchesis, 273 
 
 Oregon, Illinois, 206 
 
 Orme, W. W., 72 
 
 Osband, E. D., 17 
 
 Osband, Margaret, 79, 92, 106 
 
 Oshkosh, Wisconsin, 242, 249, 280, 283, 
 289, 290 
 
 Oswego Model School, 93, 94 
 
 Oswego, New York, Board of Educa- 
 tion, 93, 94 
 
 Oswego Normal School, 153, 233 
 
 Ottawa, Illinois, 317 
 
 Overman, Cyrus, 115 
 
 Owen, Grace Arlington, 261, 262 
 
 Paisley, Mrs. Helen Clute (Mrs. E. C. 
 
 Hewett, 2nd), 173 
 Paisley, Lillie R., 251 
 Panic of 1837, 8 
 
 Panic of 1857, 39, 42, 50 
 
 Panic of 1893, 184, 192 
 
 Pantagraph, 34, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 
 
 54, 60, 70, 72, 107, 123, 146, 147, 195, 
 
 227, 291, 292, 325 
 Parade Grounds, 73, 77 
 Paris, Illinois, 214, 215 
 Parker, Francis, 208 
 Parker, Dr. Rose E., 311, 313 
 Parker, Theodore, 149 
 Parkinson, D. B., 252, 253 
 Patterson, Alice Jean, 261 
 Payne, Joseph, 21, 43 
 Peabody Fund, 256 
 "Peaks, Parks and Plains" (John Wesley 
 
 Powell), 124 
 Pearl Harbor, 305 
 Pearson, Irving, 310 
 Pedagogical Club, 190 
 Pembroke, Massachusetts, 86 
 Pennell, Flora P., 162, 200 
 Pennell House, 115 
 Pennell, William, 115, 116 
 Pennsylvania Inter-Collegiate Oratorical 
 
 Contest, 197 
 Peoria, 10, 14, 15, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 
 
 2 9> 3°> 38, 150, 166, 199, 286 
 Peoria Banner, 11 
 Peoria Boys Stock School, 14, 35 
 Peoria Classical Institute, 13 
 Peoria Female Association Stock 
 
 School, 29, 31 
 Peoria, Oquawka Railroad, 22 
 Peoria Public Schools, 35 
 Peoria State Teachers Meeting, 30 
 Perry, Illinois, 76, 229 
 Pestalozzi, 10, 94 
 Peters, Onslow, 31 
 Peterson, Frances, 59, 78 
 Phelps, William F., 25, 26 
 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, 
 
 152, 184 
 Philadelphian Society, 46, 49, 58, 66, 90, 
 
 135, 136, 149, 150, 151, 158, 168, 175, 
 
 181, 182, 200, 201, 202, 223, 235, 239, 
 
 261, 272, 274, 314, 316 
 Philbrook, 59 
 Philosophy Club, 190, 200 
 Philosophy of School Management, 
 
 216 
 Phoenix, F. K., 88, 115 
 Phoenix Hall, 56, 57, 65, 69, 71 
 Physical Education, 152, 198, 232 
 Pi Kappa Delta, 273 
 
Index 
 
 351 
 
 Pi Omega Pi, 273 
 
 Picket, The, 77 
 
 Pierce, Cyrus, 84, 86 
 
 Pike House, 21, 40, 80 
 
 Pike, Meshack, 3, 21, 43 
 
 Pike, Sue, 88 
 
 Pike's Peak, 123 
 
 Pillsbury, William L., 106, 107, 109, 
 
 no, 118, 169 
 Pinckney, Reverend D. }., 10 
 Pioneers, Study of, 199 
 "Pioneers", 257 
 Pipe organ, 244 
 Pittsfield, Massachusetts, 144 
 Plank walk, 88, 89 
 Platte, George D., 122 
 Platte River, 123 
 Pledge to teach, 33, 39, 152 
 Political Economy Club, 200 
 Polo, Illinois, 206 
 Pontiac, Illinois, 264 
 Poolrooms, 115 
 Pope, Henry, 76 
 Popular Science Monthly, 230 
 Porter, Leander H., 57, 61, 76, 79 
 Porter, Mary, 209, 218 
 Post, Captain J. S., 17 
 Powell, Emma, 119, 123 
 Powell, John Wesley, 118, 119, 120, 121, 
 
 122, 123, 124, 125, 127, 128, 129, 157 
 Powell, Maud, 201 
 Powell, William H., 17, 18, 37, 51, 53, 
 
 55 
 Powhatan, The, 70 
 Practical jokes, 147, 148 
 Practice Building, 212, 223 
 Practice School, 208, 212, 220, 221, 222, 
 
 223, 233; see Model School 
 Prairie Bird Engine and Hose Company, 
 
 Number I, 72 
 Prairie Farmer, 9, 10, n 
 Presbyterian Church, Normal, 116, 140, 
 
 148 
 Prevost, Henry, 71, 72 
 Pricer, John L., 269 
 Princeton, Illinois, 142 
 Princeton University, 107, 153, 193, 194 
 Print shop, 209 
 
 Professional Affairs Committee, 320 
 Professional degrees, 250, 251 
 Progress and Poverty, 230 
 Progressives, 160 
 Prohibition petition, 115 
 Provincetown, Massachusetts, 92 
 
 Prussian normals, 8, 161 
 
 Public relations, 319 
 
 Public School Journal, 172, 189, 190 
 
 Public Works Administration, 302 
 
 Quarter-centennial celebration, 168 
 Quebec, Canada, 82 
 Quincy, Illinois, no 
 
 Raab, Henry, 191 
 
 Radio Station WJBC, 301; arts class, 
 
 3i7 
 
 Racial integration, no, 132 
 
 Railroads, 109, 126, see Illinois Central; 
 Illinois Terminal; St. Louis, Chicago, 
 and Alton; Union Pacific, Wabash, 
 etc. 
 
 Raines, Lucia, 198 
 
 Rambo, Jessie E., 303 
 
 Rampart Range, 123 
 
 Rand, McNally and Company, 146 
 
 Randall, G. C, 3, 24 
 
 Ravenna, Ohio, 83 
 
 Rayburn, Calvin, 210 
 
 "Red and White," inter-mural basket- 
 ball team, 199 
 
 Red Cross, 267, 306 
 
 Reed, Irving, 209 
 
 Reeder, Rudolph, 170, 172, 189, 190,202, 
 212, 259 
 
 Reeves, Owen, Jr., 184 
 
 Rensselaer Institute, 85, 101, 133 
 
 Republican party, 162, 210 
 
 Reserve and contingencies fund, 266 
 
 Rex, Dr. George P., 18, 20, 24, 27, 37, 
 5i> 76 
 
 Rhetoricals, 235, 276 
 
 Rhode Island, 137 
 
 Ridgley, Douglas C, 263, 276 
 
 Ridlon, James, 49 
 
 Rien, Dr. William, 176 
 
 Riley, George W., 184 
 
 Robinson, Caroleen, 233 
 
 Rockford, Illinois, 206, 286 
 
 Rock Island, Illinois, 122, 286 
 
 Rocky Mountain Scientific Exploring 
 Expedition, 124; see Powell, J. W. 
 
 Roe, Dr. E. R., 36, 38, 42, 48, 71 
 
 Rose Hill, 272 
 
 Rosenkranz, Johann Karl Friedrich, 
 160, 171, 187 
 
 Rosette, Clinton, 206 
 
 Roosevelt, Theodore, 243 
 
 Root, George P., 59, 68, 74 
 
352 
 
 Index 
 
 Roots, Benaiah G., 133 
 Rounds, Samuel D., 54, 55 
 Round-up of Superintendents and 
 
 Principals, 295 
 Royal societies, 120 
 Royce's Hall, 65, 68, 72 
 Russell, Harrison, 274 
 Russell, Lillian, 201 
 Rutherford, Dr. R. C, 14 
 
 St. Louis, Chicago, and Alton Railroad, 
 
 64 
 St. Louis, Missouri, 80, 88 
 St. Louis Movement, 88 
 St. Louis Normal and High School, 80, 
 
 82, 87, 92, 103 
 Salaries, 5, 153, 154, 162, 266, 269, 287, 
 
 3°3 
 Salem, Massachusetts, 86, 87, 98, 102 
 
 Saloons, 115 
 
 San Antonio, Texas, 326 
 
 San Jose, California, 103 
 
 "Sappho," Sapphonian Society, 163, 200, 
 223, 235, 261 
 
 Saunders, William, plans for landscap- 
 ing campus, 48, 62, 114 
 
 Saybrook, Illinois, 39 
 
 Schenectady, New York, 82 
 
 Scholarships under the Enabling Act, 
 
 32 
 
 School and Home Education, 172 
 
 School Laws, Significant early, certifica- 
 tion, 1 841, 5; public schools, 1855, no 
 
 School for Veterans, 309 
 
 Schoolmasters Regiment, 74, 76, 96, 118; 
 see Civil War, Illinois Thirty-third 
 Infantry 
 
 Schroeder Hall, 325 
 
 Schroeder, Herman Henry, 263, 277, 
 279, 280, 281, 283, 291, 292, 321 
 
 Schroeder, Dr. Henry, 50, 169, 201 
 
 Schroeder's Opera House, 169 
 
 Schureman, W. H., Normal banker, 182 
 
 Schwegler, Albert, 190 
 
 Science Building, 154, 283; see Felmley 
 Hall of Science 
 
 Science Club, 268 
 
 Science of Discourse (Arnold Tomp- 
 kins), 215 
 
 Scott, Walter Dill, 294 
 
 "Scribes and Pharisees," 147, 148 
 
 Sears, Barnas, 86 
 
 Secession, 69; see Civil War 
 
 Secor, Illinois, 22 
 
 Seerley, Homer, 249 
 
 Selective admission, 303 
 
 Semi-centennial and history, 239 
 
 Seminary Block, 4, 19 
 
 Seminary and College fund, 9, 10, 16 
 
 Seminary fund, 7, 132 
 
 Semester plan, 301 
 
 Seventy-fifth Anniversary of Founding, 
 300 
 
 Sewall, Dr. Joseph Addison, 57, 79, 92, 
 107, 109, 117, 118, 120, 124, 127, 129, 
 130, 146, 148, 319 
 
 Seymour, Minor Lawrence, 157, 177 
 
 Shakespearean pageant, 262, 263, 300 
 
 Shannon, Albert, 18 
 
 Shannon, Mary, 130 
 
 Shelbyville, Illinois, 37 
 
 Sheldon, Edward Austin, 93, 94 
 
 Sheldon, Eleanor, 259 
 
 Shepardson, Francis, 266, 267, 270 
 
 Sherwood Forest, 298 
 
 Shields, James, 12 
 
 Shorthand and typing contests, 255 
 
 Shurtliff College, 30, 102 
 
 Simplified spelling, 242 
 
 Simplified Spelling Board, 243 
 
 Slade, William, 6 
 
 Sloan, Wesley, 17, 18, 24, 44 
 
 Smith, B. E., 195 
 
 Smith, Dudley C, 298 
 
 Smith, Francis Hopkinson, 201 
 
 Smith Hall, 307, 314 
 
 Smith-Hughes Act of 1917, 259, 270 
 
 Smith-Hughes, Recognition of Voca- 
 tional Agriculture under, 317, 318, 
 319, 322, 323 
 
 Smith-Lever Act of 1914, 259 
 
 Smith, Milton, 23 
 
 Smith, T. V., 302 
 
 Smithsonian Institution, n, 120, 121, 
 123, 129 
 
 Snow, D. J., 71 
 
 Social Science Club, 261 
 
 Society for the Promotion of Knowl- 
 edge, 94 
 
 Society Hall, i8r, 182, 316; see Student 
 Union 
 
 Soldiers Aid Society, 96 
 
 Soldiers and Sailors Orphans Home 
 (Illinois Soldiers and Sailors Chil- 
 dren's School), 112, 263, 293, 307; see 
 affiliated schools 
 
 Somerville, New Jersey, 228, 229 
 
 Soper and Mortimer, 3 
 
Index 
 
 353 
 
 Soper, T. H., 34, 54 
 
 South Platte River, 123 
 
 Southern Illinois Normal University, 
 Carbondale (Southern Illinois Uni- 
 versity), 79, 85, 114, 251 
 
 Spaulding, Justin L., 42, 45, 46, 71, 73 
 
 Special Education Building, 312, 325; 
 see Fairchild Hall 
 
 Special Education, Division of, 310, 316 
 
 Spencer, Edwards, 122 
 
 Spencer, Hamilton, 64, 71 
 
 Spencer, Herbert, 149 
 
 SpofTord, Caroline (Mrs. A. Gove), 172 
 
 SpofTord, Harriette Farnham, 28, 29; 
 see Mrs. C. E. Hovey 
 
 SpofTord, Lydia, 172, 174; see Mrs. John 
 W. Cook 
 
 Sports, 204, 225; see athletics, baseball, 
 basketball, football, etc. 
 
 Sportsmanship, 240 
 
 Spring Valley, Illinois, 263 
 
 Springfield, Illinois, 8, 9, 10, 14, 19, 31, 
 38, 50, 53, 64, 69, 72, 76, 96, 113, 120, 
 157, 230, 263, 277, 289, 290, 308, 313, 
 
 Springfield, Missouri, 96 
 Starne, Alexander, 13 
 Star of the West, 70 
 State Fair grounds, 72 
 State House, 157 
 
 Stetson, Albert, 92, 103, 104, 106, 107, 
 109, no, 117, 118, 124, 130, 133, 146, 
 
 152, 153 
 Stevens Point, Wisconsin, 294 
 Stevenson, Adlai, 152 
 Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 56 
 Stoddard, Dr. George W., 318 
 Stombaugh, Dr. Ray, 304 
 Stone, Lucy, 136 
 Storms, 207, 232 
 Story Telling League, 261 
 Stowe, Reverend Calvin, Report on 
 
 Elementary Instruction, 8, 28 
 Streetcars, 116, 165 
 Student Activities Board, 306 
 Student activity tickets, 297 
 Students Army Training Corps, 264 
 Student assemblies, 301; see General 
 
 Exercises 
 Student Council, 272, 315 
 Student Friendship Fund, 268 
 Students from foreign lands, 239; see 
 
 Filipino students 
 Students Handbook, 272 
 
 Student Loan Fund, 276 
 
 Student lounge, 297 
 
 Student organizations, 135, 186, 190, 
 
 230, 261, 272, 273, 274 
 Student teaching, 93; see Model School, 
 
 Practice School, Laboratory School, 
 
 affiliated schools 
 Student Union, 181, 232, 304, 315, 316, 
 
 3i9 
 
 Student welfare, 319 
 
 Stullken, Edward H., 311 
 
 Sublette, Illinois, 144 
 
 Summer school, 154, 231, 265; see insti- 
 tutes 
 
 Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
 Office of, 5, 13 
 
 Supreme Court, 167, 237 
 
 Swain, J. Ward, 326 
 
 Swarthmore College, 142, 160, 189, 197, 
 207 
 
 Swett, Leonard, 22, 24, 36, 48, 61 
 
 Tarpelo School, Waltham, Massachu- 
 setts, 85, 102 
 
 Tate, H. Clay, 325 
 
 Taylor, Bayard, 90 
 
 Taylor, Reynolds, 205 
 
 Taylorville, Illinois, 7, 81 
 
 Teachers College, Columbia University, 
 256, 290, 234 
 
 Teachers conventions, Early, 10, 13; see 
 Illinois Educational Society, Illinois 
 State Teachers Association, Illinois 
 Education Association 
 
 Teachers institute, no, 191 
 
 Teachers, Scarcity of, 5 
 
 Telephone installed 1881, 157 
 
 Templeton, Dickey, 195 
 
 Tennis, 183, 240 
 
 Terre Haute, Indiana, 153, 172, 215 
 
 Textbooks, 35, 39, 40 
 
 Theta Alpha Phi, 273 
 
 Thetford, Vermont, 28 
 
 Thirty-third Infantry, 77; see Civil War, 
 Schoolmasters Regiment 
 
 Thompson, A. H., 194 
 
 Thorp, Frank Hall, 194 
 
 Tillinghast, Nicholas, 35, 82, 84, 85, 87, 
 92, 98, 103, 104, 105, 143, 144, 145, 
 207 
 
 Titterington, Martin, 122 
 
 Tompkins, Dr. Arnold, 212, 213, 214, 
 215, 217, 218, 221, 224, 227, 228, 230, 
 236, 262; biographical, 215; Philosophy 
 
354 
 
 Index 
 
 Tompkins, Dr. Arnold — continued 
 oj Teaching, 216; relaxes tensions and 
 begins reforms, 219; would train high 
 school teachers, 220; wants training 
 in kindergarten and music, 220; com- 
 mencement address, 226; resigns, 288 
 
 Tompkins, Jennie Snyder (Mrs. Ar- 
 nold), 215, 227 
 
 Tonica, Illinois, 78 
 
 Toronto, Canada, 153 
 
 Tower Studios WJBC, 301 
 
 Training high school teachers, 220, 254 
 
 Training School, 197, 238, 254 
 
 Treatise on Pedagogy for Young Teach- 
 ers (E. C. Hewett), 159 
 
 Tremont House, Chicago, 17 
 
 Trenton, New Jersey, 81 
 
 Trenton plan, 33; see New Jersey Nor- 
 mal 
 
 Trimmers Hall, 202 
 
 Troy, New York, 85 
 
 Trumball, Lyman, 12 
 
 Tuition, 22, 132, 223, 232, 233 
 
 Turner, Edwin A., 263, 284 
 
 "Turner's Folly," 12 
 
 Turner, Jonathan, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 30, 
 328 
 
 Twain, Mark, 243 
 
 Tyndall, John, 149 
 
 Typewriter first used on campus, 1888, 
 166 
 
 Ullsvik, Dr. Bjarne, 321 
 
 Uncle Tom's Cabin, 45 
 
 Unitarian Church, Bloomington, 165 
 
 United States Bureau of Education, 161 
 
 United States Commission of Education, 
 
 243 
 United States Office of Education, 317 
 United War Work Campaign, 268 
 Universal Day of Prayer, 224 
 University and Seminary funds, 117 
 University Club, 298 
 University Council, 320, 326 
 University Hall, 191; see Normal Hall 
 University Health Center, 312 
 University farm, 305; see Bakewell 
 tract, vocational agriculture, Smith- 
 Hughes 
 University High School, 92, 93, 106, 107, 
 130, 153, 157, 160, 161, 169, 171, 178, 
 195, 208, 220, 221, 222, 248, 252, 265, 
 267, 294, 324; becomes part of prac- 
 tice school, 196, 197; see high school 
 
 University of California, 243 
 
 University of Chicago, 146, 187, 192, 209, 
 215, 216, 221 
 
 University of Heidelburg, 194 
 
 University of Illinois, 113, 117, 122, 157, 
 197, 213, 215, 216, 221, 225, 237, 238, 
 251, 252, 253, 254, 258, 261, 269, 271, 
 275, 276, 294, 318, 326 
 
 University of Michigan, 178, 197, 229, 
 247, 294 
 
 University of Ohio, 215 
 
 University of Pennsylvania, 194, 239 
 
 University Senate, 296 
 
 Union Agricultural Society, incorpo- 
 rated, 1839, 9 
 
 Union Agriculturist, 10; founded, 1839, 
 9; becomes Prairie Farmer, 1843, 9 
 
 "Union" men, 107; see Civil War 
 
 Union Pacific Railroad, 124 
 
 Urbana, Illinois, 50, 113, 121, 122, 157, 
 276 
 
 Utica, New York, 82 
 
 Valentine, Maud, 223 
 
 Valley Farmer, 11 
 
 Vandalia, Illinois, 8, 294 
 
 Van Liew, Charles C., 178, 189, 191, 209 
 
 Varsity Club, 273 
 
 Vasey, Dr. George, 124, 125, 127, 129, 
 
 157 
 
 Ventilator, 183 
 
 Vermont, 35 
 
 Veterans Administration, 309 
 
 Veterans Guidance and Counseling Cen- 
 ter, 310; see School for Veterans 
 
 Vicksburg, Mississippi, 119 
 
 Vidette, 182, 183, 211, 212, 236, 267, 268, 
 284, 297, 306 
 
 Virden, Illinois, 229 
 
 Visual aids, 276 
 
 Vocational agriculture, 317 
 
 Vocational Education, State Board of, 
 304, 317, 318 
 
 Wabash Railroad, 107 
 
 Waiting station, 260 
 
 Walker Hall, 324 
 
 Walker, Lewis, 315 
 
 Walker, Peleg R., 49, 221, 252 
 
 Walker School, 256 
 
 Wakefield, Bandusia, 106, 153, 160 
 
 Waltham, Massachusetts, 85, 102 
 
 War Department, 121, 123 
 
 Warrensburg, Missouri, 205 
 
 Washburn, Mary, 59 
 
Index 
 
 355 
 
 Washburne, Elihu, 12 
 
 Washington, District of Columbia, 12, 
 74, 75, hi, 121, 128, 129, 168, 208, 
 306, 308, 318 
 
 Washington State Normal, Cheyney, 
 Washington, 256 
 
 Washington University, 80, 233 
 
 Washington, Illinois, bids for location, 
 20; offers a building, 22; total bid 
 $20,000, 23 
 
 Watterson, Henry, 201 
 
 Waverly, Illinois, 8 
 
 Webb, Russell, 138 
 
 Welfare Department, 310 
 
 Well dug in 1880, 155 
 
 Wells, William H., 15, 17, 80, 86, 88, 
 101, 131 
 
 Western Reserve, 82 
 
 Westfield, Massachusetts, 15 
 
 Westfield Normal School, Massachu- 
 setts, 84, 87 
 
 Westhoff, Frank W., 233, 245, 267, 273 
 
 West Newton Normal School, Mas- 
 sachusetts, 84 
 
 West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 114 
 
 West Point, 84, 104 
 
 West Wrentham, Massachusetts, 103 
 
 Wharton School of Finance, University 
 of Pennsylvania, 194, 239 
 
 Wheaton College, 118 
 
 White, John W., 73; see Normal Rifles 
 
 White Room, 149, 162 
 
 "White Stockings," 199 
 
 "Wide Awakes," 107 
 
 Wilber, C. D., 61, 79, 119 
 
 Wilcox, Charlotte E., 309 
 
 Wilder, Dr. Alexander, 18 
 
 Wiley, Edmund R. } 15 
 
 Wiley, Mrs. Mary Brooks, 175; see Mary 
 Brooks 
 
 Wilkins, Daniel, 3, 13, 16, 18, 19, 20, 50 
 
 Wilkinson, John J., 176, 218 
 
 Williams, A. R., 255 
 
 Williams, Fanny, 56 
 
 Wilson, E. M., 181 
 
 Wing, Dr. Henry, 125, 136 
 
 Winona, Minnesota, 142 
 
 Wisconsin, 96 
 
 Wisconsin Teachers College, 280 
 
 Women's Glee Club, 226 
 
 Women's rights, 231 
 
 Women's Improvement League, 260 
 
 Women's League, 273 
 
 Women's Athletic Association, 273; see 
 athletics 
 
 Wood, Governor John, 57 
 
 Wooster College, 326 
 
 Woodward, Howard Spencer, 240 
 
 Worthington, Indiana, 215 
 
 Worthington, N. E., 162 
 
 World's Fair, Centennial Exposition, 
 Philadelphia, 1876, 152; Columbian 
 Exposition, Chicago, 1893, 182, 184; 
 "Century of Progress," Chicago, 1933, 
 289 
 
 World War I, 264, 267; wages and 
 salaries, 266; service flag, 268; enroll- 
 ment, 265, 269 
 
 World War II, 306, 318; War Service 
 Commission, 268; war training pro- 
 gram, 305; War Literature Board, 
 306; War Records Board, 306; War 
 Service Council, 306 
 
 Works Progress Administration, 302 
 
 Wright, John, 10; becomes editor of 
 Union Agriculturist, 9; promulgates 
 Agricultural Society, 9; establishes 
 Union Agriculturalist and Prairie 
 Farmer, 1841, 15 
 
 Wright, Simeon, 15, 51, 76, 80, 98, 169, 
 272, 328; becomes agent of State 
 Teachers Institute, 15; elected presi- 
 dent of State Teachers Institute, 16; 
 Lobbies for Normal School, 16; 
 named to Board, 18; arranges for 
 junket of sites, 20; sponsors new D 
 and E Society, 46-47; society named 
 for him, 47; endows society libraries, 
 
 47 
 
 "Wrightonia," Wrightonian Society, 47, 
 49, 58, 66, 90, 107, 135, 136, 149, 151, 
 158, 162, 168, 169, 175, 181, 182, 200, 
 201, 202, 204, 223, 224, 235, 239, 261, 
 267, 274, 314, 316 
 
 Yale University, 78, 86, 107, 153, 193 
 
 Yates, Richard, 12, 65, 67, 72 
 
 Young Men's Christian Association, 148, 
 
 149, 150, 186, 223, 224, 225, 235, 273, 
 
 274 
 Young, Mrs. Ella Flagg, 179, 208, 213, 
 
 221, 222, 241, 243 
 Ypsilanti, Michigan Normal, 135, 153, 
 
 212 
 Young Women's Christian Association, 
 
 148, 149, 186, 223, 225, 235, 268, 273, 
 
 274