Archive for February, 2009
Do Not Spit Here!
Thursday, February 26th, 2009Like many small colleges Wheaton College wasn’t much to speak of in its early decades. Small colleges didn’t attempt to offer what the big land-grant universities did and that was why so many continued to survive, despite economic ups and downs. The life of the campus wasn’t in state of the art facilities. Margaret Landon [...]
First Fruits — Adeline Eliza Collins
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009Born September 19, 1841 in a log cabin in Homer Township near the present Lockport, in Will County, Illinois, Adeline Eliza Collins was the only child of Fredrick and Nancy Mason White Collins. Addie attended Oberlin College in 1858 but transferred to Wheaton because it was nearer home and when she learned that it was [...]
Down This Road Before
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009Recently a series of emails from the president’s office have explained the budgetary struggles the College will be facing in the coming year. Though these will be trying days for staff and faculty, this is not the first occasion in which Wheaton has seen tough times. For example, the following is quoted from Getting Things [...]
Carl Sandburg
Friday, February 20th, 2009Carl Sandburg (1878-1967), Illinois poet laureate, collector of songs and Pulitzer Prize-winning Lincoln biographer, resided in Elmhurst, Illinois, from 1919-30, writing for several Windy City newspapers, notably the legendary Chicago Daily News. After three productive, happy decades living in Illinois and Michigan, he moved in 1945 with his family to North Carolina where his wife, [...]
Baby Born in Blanchard Hall!!
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009In 1895, Oliver Decker brought his new bride to live in an apartment in the west wing of the College Building, as it was known then. He operated a bicycle shop on the premises, which was advertised in The College Echo, the yearbook. While his family lived there, his wife, assisted by a female physician [...]
Senior Bench
Friday, February 13th, 2009The Senior Bench at Wheaton College is one of the oldest and most legendary rivalries in the school’s 150 year history. According to dusty archives files and whispers of oral tradition, the graduating class of 1912 is believed to have bequeathed a hefty concrete monument to solidify its place in the annals of her alma [...]
William T. Osborne — from slave to bishop
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009In 1865 the 117th Illinois Infantry Regiment fought in the final battle for Mobile. During the campaign, young William T. Osborne (born in slavery near Monroeville, Alabama, the setting for To Kill a Mockingbird) attached himself to the soldiers, who turned him over to Colonel Jonathan Merriam. Later, William took charge of Merriam’s horse, Frank. [...]
Of Buildings And Books
Friday, February 6th, 2009In January 1952, just after the opening of the Nicholas Library at Wheaton, Record report Hal Malehorn gave a short and informative history of books and the building that housed them. Below is Malehorn’s account: Reporter Tells How a Library Outgrew a Building By Hal Malehorn With the exodus of the library from Blanchard hall [...]
Constant Rediscovery
Thursday, February 5th, 2009A common experience in my work as a curator of rare books and manuscripts is that of rediscovery. Once such example of this rediscovery is this volume. It is Charlotte Bronte‘s autograph presentation copy to her future husband, Arthur Nicholls (inscribed on the fly-leaf and title page) and contains Nicholls’ marginalia written after Bronte‘s death. [...]
The Best Laid Plans
Monday, February 2nd, 2009From 1927 until 1937 Kenneth and Margaret Landon were Presbyterian missionaries in Siam, present-day Thailand. While there Margaret became interested in missionary history. After her arrival she realized that she was part of a much larger community and a continuity of ministry that went back many years. Margaret became interested in three missionary women that [...]