Tuesday , July 5 , 2016 V V V THE GAZETTE , EMPORIA , KANSAS V V V

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posters touted , “ Your daughter will be safe at C . of E .”

Quality over quantity

The administration also placed considerable emphasis on its science program . When city water lines reached the campus in 1894 , C . of E . opened a laboratory .

The little Presbyterian college and Kansas University were the only two schools in the state that had X-ray equipment , the article stated .


By that time , interest in athletics also was blooming on campus . Emporia banker Major Calvin Hood helped furnish a gymnasium for the students in the basement of Stuart Hall .

War , as often happens , interrupted studies for young men of that era . In 1898 , three men were granted degrees in absentia because they already had left to serve in the Spanish-American War .

The town ’ s population and the college ’ s reputation grew in spite of the war . By 1905 , students had petitioned the city to install street lights as far as the campus , but it wasn ’ t until 1911 that Kansas Power and Light Company ran its street cars to C . of E ., the history series said . That year , Harry Tang of Canton , China , became the college ’ s first foreign graduate , according to the C . of E . alumni website .

First Carnegie in the west

C . of E . not only held the first Carnegie Library built west of the Mississippi , it was the first Carnegie Library built on a college campus . C . of E . also was closely affiliated with John Anderson , Andrew Carnegie ’ s former boss for whom the Anderson Memorial Library was named .


According to the Miller- Edwards series , Carnegie as a young man had worked for Col . John Anderson , a division superintendent for a Pennsylvania railroad . Anderson had allowed Carnegie access to his private library , where the young man learned to love books and libraries , the Miller-Edwards history series stated .

Anderson later moved to Kansas and became a trustee for the College of Emporia .

Carnegie , in the meantime , had become extraordinarily successful , both as a leader in the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and as a philanthropist .

“ After ( Anderson ’ s ) death , Carnegie wrote Mrs . Anderson with an offer to build a library in Anderson ’ s memory ,” the Miller-Edwards series stated . “ His widow suggested that the library be placed at C . of E .”

Carnegie donated approximately $ 30,000 for the library , with the stipulation that the college must eliminate its $ 18,000 debt .

The Kansas Synod donated $ 13,000 and Emporians contributed the remaining $ 5,000 to satisfy the requirement . The native-hewn limestone Anderson Memorial Library was completed , then dedicated at the 1902 commencement ceremony .


Trial by fire

The college continued to flourish and grow during those early years , despite a destructive fire , brouhahas over organization memberships and a controversy involving then-President Henry Coe Culbertson , who served with “ missionary fervor ” from 1907 to 1917 .

Fraternities and sororities traditionally had been banned on-campus , so a bit of an uproar resulted when in 1908 six football players were accused of belonging to a fraternity .

Three of them were expelled , three were suspended , and “ such organizations came to an end ,” according to the Miller-Edwards history series . Literary societies , however , were allowed to continue because they provided both entertainment and opportunities to practice public speaking .

On Dec . 2 , 1915 , disaster struck when a fire consumed Stuart Hall .


President Culbertson and Dean Daniel Schaffner had entered the building in an attempt to save at least some of the records being destroyed in the flames .

“ The two just missed being struck when the college bell , donated by Major Hood , crashed to the ground ,” the Miller-Edwards report stated .

A grand piano , the pipe organ , and a Stradivarius violin owned by a new music teacher , Adolph Kramer , all were lost in the blaze .

“ The next morning , after the authorities had placed barbed wire around the smoking ruins , a sign appeared there with the school ’ s rallying cry : ‘ C . of E . ( still ) Fights ,’ “ the report said .

Only $ 32,000 of the $ 100,000 loss was covered by insurance , so Gazette editor / publisher and college trustee William Allen White — a former C . of E . student — headed a rebuilding committee . C . of E . students pledged more than $ 2,000 ; the Normal School ( now Emporia State University ) faculty gave $ 1,000 .

‘ Unchristian behavior ’

“ The campaign would have been successful ,” Miller and Edwards wrote , “ if it had not become bogged down by the problems of President Culbertson .”

Culbertson had been perceived as a “ human dynamo ,” often refusing to drive his carriage to work because he could walk faster . Despite his accomplishments at C . of E ., there were those who were dissatisfied with his performance .

Several trustees accused him of mismanaging college funds and of “ unchristian behavior .”

“ He refused to resign until he was exonerated by the board of trustees , which was done on June 1 , 1916 ,” the report stated .

The trustees ’ vote failed to satisfy some local Presbyterians , however , and after a trial held in church , Culbertson was sent a letter of admonition .

A White golden parachute

W . A . White , who considered the situation “ quite silly ,” already had arranged for Culbertson ’ s next career before the trial began .

Through his friendship with President Herbert Hoover , White had secured a job for Culbertson as secretary of the U . S . Food Administration . Culbertson later became president of Ripon College in Wisconsin and ultimately served as minister for two churches — both of them Congregational , not Presbyterian , the report emphasized .

White ’ s funeral in 1944 , the article noted , was held in Kenyon Hall on campus .

“ Not only was Kenyon Hall an appropriate place for the funeral of a man who had done so much for the college , it had an auditorium capable of seating over a thousand people ,” the article said . “ Many distinguished guests as well as numerous Emporians attended to honor the town ’ s leading citizen .”

Beginning of the ‘ Glory Days ’

The Culbertson episode had no long-term effect on the college . In fact , it ushered in “ The Glory Days of C . of E .” with President Frederick W . Lewis at the helm from 1917 until 1928 .

Enrollment had climbed to almost 500 students ; graduates were completing master ’ s degrees quickly at “ such universities as Kansas University and Columbia University in New York ,” the report stated .

The campaign to rebuild Stuart Hall was moving along well , with the basement and chapel of the main building completed by Commencement 1919 . Dean Hirschler had designed a $ 30,000 organ for the chapel , and another fundraising campaign , the “ Million Movement ,” was approved by the trustees in 1921 .

Achieving the $ 1 million goal would allow completion of the administration building , elimination of the debt and the creation of an endowment fund .

The Carnegie Foundation donated $ 50,000 to the cause ; John D . Rockefeller ’ s General Education Fund added $ 100,00 , and so did the C . of E . Board of Trustees . By June of 1924 , all of the money had been donated or pledged .

National honors

In 1951 , C . of E . was included in “ Scientific American ” magazine ’ s article titled “ Origins of United States Scientists .”


The magazine listed 50 colleges and universities , and ranked them according to the number of prominent scientists who had graduated from those schools . The University of Chicago ranked No . 16 , the Miller-Edwards article reported . Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore was No . 19 .

The College of Emporia ranked No . 20 on the 50-school list .

In 1926 , John Brewster and Orlo Choguill won the national Pi Kappa Delta debate championship , competing against students from more than 60 larger colleges and universities .

In 1927 , Reggie Carter and Louise Lawrence placed first in the Men ’ s and Women ’ s State Oratorical contests .

Those types of academic successes continued throughout C . of E .’ s existence and extended into athletics as well . The college became known for its small but solid programs that attracted students from other parts of the country and occasionally the world .

The college had recovered from a dip in status when , during the Great Depression , it had lost its accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools . The accreditation never lapsed again .

Student numbers continued to grow steadily and reached their pinnacle during the 1960s , when an influx of students primarily from the East Coast found their way to the C . of E . campus because they were unable to attend institutions in their home regions . The high numbers of college-age “ baby boomers ” were crowding onto higher education classrooms across the country .

Within a decade , the phenomenon had passed . Student numbers at C . of E . plunged in the 1970s and , coupled with a heavy debt load , creditors forced the closing and the sale of the campus .

Details of the collapse will be a series topic later this week .

Cross-town rivalry

As often happens , students come to college to earn academic degrees , but it is athletics that often unites the student body into one voice . C . of E . and its Fighting Presbies were no exception .

A rivalry between the College of Emporia and the Normal School surfaced not long after the new college was established . Records show football games between the College of Emporia and the Normal School had been played as far back as the 1890s .

In 1901 , C . of E . for the second time won the Mit-Way Silver and Gold Cup , affiliated with the Mit-Way Hotel in downtown Emporia , and consequently claimed permanent ownership of the cup .

It was the Thanksgiving game , however , that became a town event beginning in 1915 . Dinners were planned around the 2 p . m . kickoff time , with game sites alternating between the Normal School and C . of E . stadiums .

Football Coach Gwinn Henry had opened the door to what became known as the “ great days ” of C . of E . football . His successor , Harold Grant , built on the program and continued the successes that included multiple conference championships and an enviable win-loss record , despite a tragedy that struck in 1930 .

— Wednesday , Part 2 of the C . of E . series will focus on sports .

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