This week Wabash College celebrates its 175th anniversary. Around campus, various events have commemorated this milestone in the College’s history.
Founders’ Week officially kicked off Tuesday evening in Salter Hall with the presentation “A Campus Tour through Time” by Archivist Beth Swift. The presentation featured many photos from the long history of the College, dating back to the construction of the College on the very land where it currently stands.
“In Wabash's history there has been a long tradition of celebrating Founders’ Day with speeches, convocations, receptions and other events,” Swift said. “For our 175th anniversary, we began our celebration in January with President Patrick White’s inauguration. In April there was a birthday party for Center Hall, which has witnessed 150 of those years. Now as we come to the time of the founding, we will spend a week focusing on the rich history of Wabash.”
After Ms. Swift’s presentation, a short film shot in the early 1970s by Ted Steeg ’52 was shown. “Wabash: A Way of Life” focused on the uniqueness of Wabash and the experience it offers to students. One student in the film from Africa turned down Harvard to attend Wabash, because he felt Wabash could not only equip him with a great education, but offer a great and distinctive environment conducive to learning.
The film focused on shots of students interacting with their professors one-on-one, showing just how little the College has changed in 30 years - let alone 175. Another quality of the College the film captured was the brotherhood and comradery still thriving on campus today – students gathered together on the mall to sing and hang out, and other shots showed the stands at a home football game filled to the brim with screaming students cheering on their Little Giants.
The celebration will continue on Thursday when Professor Bill Placher ’70 will speak at the Sphinx Club’s weekly Chapel talk. He will reflect on the state of the College 100 years ago in his lecture, “Wabash, 1907.” Twenty five years ago, Dr. Placher gave the kickoff address to commence the College’s 150th anniversary.
“The year 1907 was the year Ezra Pound was here on faculty, the year of some of Wabash's greatest athletic achievements, and, in a number of other ways, a quite remarkable year,” Placher said. “So I thought it would be a good focus as we reflect on the College’s history.”
When asked of his feelings on being asked to speak again at such a monumental time in Wabash’s history, Dr. Placher laughed.
“I gave the opening address in Wabash’s 150th anniversary celebration, and now I’m speaking on the 175th anniversary,” Placher said. “The actuarial odds would seem to be against my making it to the 200th anniversary, so this might be my last shot at celebrating the College’s history.”
Immediately following Dr. Placher’s Chapel Talk, senior history major Justin Gardiner will give a lunch talk entitled “Conduct of War: Hidden Treasures from the Archives” in Center 216. Mr. Gardiner will discuss his research on Wabash’s history in wars. Jim Amidon, Director of Public Affairs and Marketing, has called his research “substantive, if not ground-breaking.”
Mr. Amidon hopes that students will take advantage of the unique experiences on campus this week.
“It's such a busy time on campus, that I understand many students won't be able to take part in the Founders' Week activities,” Amidon said. “You'll also get to see legends like Bob Harvey, Vic Powell, Joe O'Rourke, Eric Dean, and a much younger Coach Rob Johnson.”
One interesting fact about Founders’ Week is that Wednesday, November 21 marks the exact date 175 years ago when the founders gathered and crafted an idea that became Wabash College.
The College was founded on November 21, 1832. According to early records, the next day a group of men chosen as trustees of the College knelt down in the snow and commenced a dedication service. The founders started the College with the idea “that the institution be at first a classical and English high school, rising into a college as soon as the wants of the country demand.” The first classes started on December 3, 1933.
Caleb Mills, the first faculty member of Wabash, was a graduate of Dartmouth College and Andover Seminary. He arrived in 1833 and immediately established the character of the school. Mills is credited with creating the early atmosphere and attitude at the College. Caleb Mills’ bell is used to “ring in” the freshman class each fall and in the spring to “ring out” that year’s senior class.
“When you wake Thursday morning, take a moment to remember our founders kneeling in the snow as they imagined a college with unlimited possibilities,” Amidon said. “I certainly hope that all of us will give thanks for Wabash on Thanksgiving Day.”
A special Tuesday Chapel Talk by President White on December 4 will honor the first “ring in” ceremony and first day of classes at Wabash on December 3, 1833. This took place almost a year after the actual founding of the College.
“The fact that the calendar lines up perfectly, 175 years later, is both uncanny and worthy of note,” Amidon said. “And I think it's safe to say that all of us who love Wabash owe immense gratitude to those brave and visionary founders.”