Wofford College - From The Archives

The Woodrow Wilson League

From The Wofford College Journal, December 1911. 

The steps taken by the students of the University of South Carolina and the University of Virginia in forming what is known as “The Woodrow Wilson League of College Men,” is to be commended by all supporters of Governor Wilson. Its object is to promote the candidacy of Woodrow Wilson for President in 1912. It has met with the approval of many of Wilson’s friends, and they believe it a wise step for the college men to take who want Wilson for President.

We believe that this movement should be considered and promoted in every college where it is practicable. Truly, Wilson is the college man’s candidate, and such a step taken by the students of the country in their characteristic enthusiasm will aid materially in bringing about the object of the movement.  

His entrance into public life is hoped to be a beginning of a new era in the political world, namely, “the re-entrance into political life of the better elements of society.” This is bound to arouse greater interest among the people concerning our public affairs, and should not only make Wilson the college man’s candidate, but also the candidate of every true and all-round citizen.

The main significance that the league will have will be to arouse among the student bodies of the land a greater degree of interest in public things, and to cause them to bend their energies in the effort to influence the public through the press, the platform, and even the stump. 

Whatever its outcome, the students of the above-named institutions are, as we have already said, to be commended for starting such a movement, and we believe we are safe in saying that Wofford joins in to help advance the adopted slogan: “We Want Wilson.”

As President of Princeton, Woodrow Wilson had spoken at Wofford as part of the College’s Lyceum, an early 20^th century lecture series. Wilson, who was born in Virginia, grew up in South Carolina and Georgia, remains the only president of the United States to have earned a Ph.D. He served as president of Princeton before being elected governor of New Jersey in 1910. Wilson proved popular with Democrats in the South, but his strong college roots no doubt made him popular with college students and alumni. Wilson’s candidacy was probably not the first that Wofford students rallied behind, and it certainly wasn’t the last.

Wofford Traditions, 1939

From the 1939 Terrier Guide, the college’s student handbook

Wofford has certain traditions which the students take pride in observing. Learn them and observe them; and distinguish yourself from students of other institutions.

1. Wofford students are noted for their gentlemanly habits and all students speak to each other whenever they meet, as Wofford is a friendly place. The students come from the most cultured Christian homes of the country. They are considerate of the rights and privileges of others. They dress neatly and are gentlemen while in town and on week-end trips.

2. Wofford students cherish their honor tradition, and act honorably in all relations of student life. They are above lying, cheating, stealing, and breaking one’s word of honor.

3. Wofford men attend all athletic contests and they sit in a body at the games and yell. They learn their yells and school songs. Freshmen learn them before first game.  

4. All Wofford freshmen buy a freshman rat cap and wear it for the first three months of school to distinguish them from other students.

5. Always stand at attention with bared heads whenever you hear or sing the Wofford Alma Mater.  

6. A quiet library has always been a distinctive characteristic at Wofford. Walk quietly and avoid all unnecessary conversation. This is a place where silence and work prevail.

7. Our faculty stands ready to strengthen by kindly counsel the student’s ambition for higher and better things. Tip your hat and speak to every professor you pass. Students are polite to the ladies of the campus also.  

8. Students stand as a matter of respect to honor our faculty as they leave the chapel…

9. Wofford students are good sports. They are courteous to opposing teams and win without getting cocky, and lose without making excuses.  

10. The beauty of the campus is marred when students, taking shortcuts across the campus, make unsightly paths. Students follow the walks and don’t make new ones.

11. Wofford students enter to learn and go forth to serve.

Some things change, some things stay the same. 

Coeducation - the Documents

Throughout the early 1970s, the topic of full residential coeducation remained unsettled.  The trustees had decided that they would not consider residential coeducation until 1975.  However, that did not stop faculty members, alumni, and students (especially the women day students) from talking about it.

The trustees created a task force in May 1975 to study coeducation and make recommendations to the October board meeting.  In the intervening months, the trustee members of the task force and college administrators studied the issue, making trips to other colleges who were at different stages of going coeducational.

In September, the task force issued a report, and today, we'll look at a few pages from the document.  These pages examine some of the legal questions as well as the views of faculty, alumni, and students on full coeducation.

How do I get into Wofford, the 1854 version

These images come from the college's first published catalogue, printed in 1856.  At one of their early board meetings, the college trustees gave the faculty the authority to develop and control the curriculum and enact certain rules and regulations, and these are generally contained in the catalogue. 

Among the more interesting portions of the catalogue is the course of study and the requirements for admission.  I'm going to quote the admission requirements, but you can look at the course of study by clicking on each thumbnail to see a larger image. 

For admission to the Freshman class

A candidate is required to have studied carefully the English, Latin, and Greek grammars, including Prosody.
Ancient and Modern Geography
Arithemtic
Algebra, through equations of Second Degree
Caesar's Commentaries, four books
Virgil's Aeneid, six books
All of Sallust
Four of Cicero's Orations
All of Jacobs' Greek Reader
Xenophon's Anabasis, six books
Candidates for a more advanced class will be examined on all the studies already pursued by the class they wish to join. 

In other words, you could enter in the sophomore class if you could pass an exam on all of the freshman class's work.  It was not unusual, in the college's early years, for students to be admitted into the sophomore class. 

I like to read this list of admissions requirements to students - and alumni when I have the chance - today.  I always end with the question, would you get in today?  Most of us - myself included - have to shake our heads and say no.  

Will the real Benjamin Wofford please stand up?

I've been trying to add more history content to the college archives website, and I have felt for some time that we needed a new biography of Benjamin Wofford. 

Our founder has been the subject of quite a few talks over the years, and many speakers have tried to figure out what inspired Benjamin Wofford to make such a substantial gift to found a college.  Authors of articles have tried to tease out meaning from various anecdotes.  And there's a good reason for this. 

Ben didn't leave much of a paper trail.  There's no diary, no letters, no essays, no voluminous correspondence.  All we have are reminiscences.  The only reason have been able to document as much about him as we have is because of his wealth.  So, writers and speakers have taken what we know and added in a few anecdotes about Ben that have come down through stories told by other speakers.  There's a lot of folklore about Ben Wofford, but are those stories true?   

I decided that I wanted to write a new biographical sketch about our founder, and I have tried to go back to the sources that exist and to try to stick as much as possible to the facts that we can document.  If you're interested, you can follow the link below to the article on the college website. 

http://www.wofford.edu/library/archives/benjamin-wofford.aspx

Support for Desegregation

Lest I leave you with the belief that the college's alumni, Methodist friends, and others opposed the college's decision to desegregate, today I'm sharing a few letters from supporters of the decision. 

J. Claude Evans, a 1937 Wofford graduate, was serving as chaplain of Southern Methodist University in 1964.  He had taken his seminary degree at Duke and had received an honorary degree from Wofford in 1957. He had entered the ministry in South Carolina in 1940, serving churches in Columbia, Walhalla, McCormick, and Clemson before becoming editor of the South Carolina Methodist Advocate in 1953.  In 1958, he left the state to become chaplain at SMU. 

I especially note his wording - his son had called long-distance, a rarity in those days - to share the news. Evans sympathized with the difficult decision Marsh and the trustees had to make.  "But it places Wofford squarely behind the tenable educational theory that capacity to learn, and not race, should be the standard for admission."

Wallace Fridy also wrote to support the decision. Fridy was a minister serving the St. John's Methodist Church in Anderson.  He was a Clemson graduate who had earned his seminary degree at Yale before entering the ministry in South Carolina. He had served several large churches in the state, and had represented the state at General and Jurisdictional Conferences.  "You have certainly acted wisely and well in making this declaration of purpose.  So, 'mid the communications you will perhaps receive of the negative nature, I would like to add my positive word of appreciation.  You have taken the wise and right course," Fridy wrote. 

The third letter comes from The Rev. T. Carlisle Cannon, who was older than the other two men.  He was a Citadel graduate who entered the ministry in 1923 after graduating from Emory.  He had served all over the state, from Pickens to Newberry to Columbia to Edgefield, and had been Sumter District Superintendent in the 1950s.  His is perhaps the most emphatic letter in support of the college. Perhaps that's because he was also a member of Wofford's board of trustees. 

"If there was ever a time when our Christian leaders in Church and State should speak out clearly and boldly about the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man, it is now.  Our Christian colleges and universities cannot afford to lag behind in this all-important manner."

Desegregation at Wofford - Part 2

Last Tuesday’s blog post talked about the early administrative and trustee deliberations about desegregation at the college.  Today’s post talks about the final decision to desegregate, the announcement, and the reaction. 

Throughout the spring of 1964, Wofford trustees considered the desegregation issue.  The special study committee of the Board of Trustees, chaired by the Rev. Dr. Francis T. Cunningham, reported to the February and May meetings of the board with its recommendation that “no qualified student be barred from Wofford College on account of race.”  The board discussed the matter at both meetings, though the minutes do not indicate anything of the substance of the discussion.  At the May 12, 1964 meeting, the board voted to endorse the college’s statement of admissions as it was printed in the catalogue, with the assurance “that said statement of admissions policy is applicable to all students who may apply, regardless of race or creed.” 

The board left it to President Marsh’s discretion as to when and how to make the announcement of this decision.  He waited a week before notifying the faculty, staff, and students.  No official press release was made, but within a day of the announcement to the campus, the local news media were on the story. 

Marsh wrote to the trustees on June 3 to update them on the reaction to the announcement and to talk about plans for implementing the decision.  He told the trustees that his office “has received both favorable and unfavorable comments on the action of the Board.  The twenty-five favorable communications have come from a variety of sources—alumni and non-alumni, lay and ministerial—and have been most heartening.  Four have included financial contributions.  In addition to the two communications from churches withdrawing financial support, we have received eighteen other unfavorable communications.  Six have been anonymous and of a scurrilous nature.  Four have been sincere letters expressing sorrow and withholding fairly regular financial support.  We have had no unfavorable comment from students or faculty members and no student withdrawals which appear to be related to our recent action.  Our Alumni and Commencement exercises were well attended and happy occasions with no untoward incidents.”

Marsh continued to receive mail from various college constituents throughout the summer.  The archives has several folders of letters from all over the state and from other parts of the country expressing support for the decision, opposition to the decision, or outright disgust with Marsh and the college.  Some of the letters are quite harsh in their criticism. 

Marsh and the trustees anticipated the controversy would boil over at the meeting of the South Carolina Methodist Annual Conference in June.  Marsh pre-empted an attack from churches and lay members who objected to desegregation by taking the floor before the appointed time and making a strong statement explaining how and why the college chose to act as it had.  Though there was a debate, supporters of the college prevailed in a floor vote.  All that remained was for the college to weather the criticism and to successfully admit and enroll the first African-American student. 

We’ll save that for next time.

Click on the images to see a larger version. 

Wofford's Bell

For over 150 years, the Main Building’s voice has rested in the top of its west tower in the form of a 700-pound bell.

Wofford’s bell was cast by the Meneely Bell Foundry in West Troy, New York.  Andrew Meneely started the foundry in 1826, after an apprenticeship with Julius Hanks, who was one of the earliest bell founders in America.  (Hanks was a relative of Nancy Hanks Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s mother.)  A split between Meneely’s three sons led to the formation of a second Meneely Foundry in 1870, across the river in Troy, NY.

Together, the two Meneely companies produced an estimated 65,000 bells, many of which hang in churches and colleges throughout the United States.  Bell experts regard Meneely products as being among the finest cast in America.  Both companies went out of business in the early 1950s, due partly to increasing metal prices and partly to the increasing popularity of electronic bells and chimes.  Because of the Meneely family’s position as being among the earliest and foremost bell founders, a Meneely bell today can be a valuable artifact.

The Wofford bell, inscribed “From Meneely’s, West Troy, NY, 1854,” weighs approximately 700 pounds.  The bell is 33 inches in diameter and is supposedly pitched at “B.”  It is held in place by heavy oak timbers about 20 feet below the apex of the west tower roof. 

James H. Carlisle, Jr., a member of the class of 1885 and son of the College’s third president, wrote in his Memories of Wofford College manuscript, held in the college archives and available online, that the original faculty members and their wives all went to see the bell before it was placed in the tower.  “This bell,” Carlisle wrote, “has always been noted for the purity and clearness of its tone.  Farmers living four miles from the city tell the time of day by the ringing of the bell.”

When he was the editor of the Old Gold and Black in 1937, Dr. Lewis P. Jones ’38 climbed into the bell tower to survey the campus and examine the bell.  “One rarely notices the bell,” he wrote, “yet it is the main regulator of life at Wofford.”  Counting the number of rings each time the bell signaled a class change, Dr. Jones found that the clapper struck the bell some 1,300 times each week.  Generations of Wofford students made bell-ringing into a part time job, earning scholarships by signaling class changes each day.

Throughout the years, the bell has been the object of student pranks.  The rope has occasionally been cut and the bell’s clapper has been removed on occasion, perhaps by students hoping to postpone a test.  The clapper, the device that actually makes the bell ring when the rope is pulled, was also occasionally stolen by students from other colleges as an intercollegiate prank.

In 2001, the college undertook to restore the bell.  The Verdin Company, a nationally known clock and bell firm headquartered in Cincinnati, installed a new clapper and related hardware along with a new striking mechanism that will allow the bell to be rung by a digital bell controller.  The days of a student receiving a scholarship to ring the bell each hour have long since passed into history.  Today, the bell rings each hour and tolls as students march to baccalaureate and to commencement. 

If I Were In College Now

President Henry Nelson Snyder’s advice to college students, presented in the 1938 College Handbook.

If college students read half of what is written about them, the kind of education they are getting, and the sort of world that is waiting for them, they would deserve our deepest sympathy.  They themselves do not know what they are doing and don’t seem to care; the education they are offered is all wrong and doesn’t fit them for anything; and the world they are facing is confused, disturbed, troubled, and heavy with colossal problems beyond the possibility of a solution—or so it is said. 

If I were one of them now, I should try to get from my college course the things that could count in any sort of world, and the first thing would be the habit of hard, patient, persistent, intelligent work at the common tasks that college offers.  The habit of work has ever been the way of success. 

In the second place, I should accept the mere routine of college as a blessed thing, holding me steady to the duties at hand, creating a controlling sense of obligation in meeting classes, the chapel hour, and any other daily responsibilities.  Any kind of life tomorrow is sure to have much of routine to it.  Then I should do my level best to make myself a well-informed man or woman.  I should be very busy getting acquainted with the fundamental sciences that are so intimately related to satisfactory living, and with what certain great peoples have contributed to that complex called modern civilization and culture – Jewish, Greek, Roman, Italian, German, French, Spanish, English.  To these I would add Sociology, Economics, and Political Science.  All this but hints that I should not like to go into whatever kind of world that may happen to be, ignorant of the forces that control it.  Surely there will be no place in it for the misinformed and the unenlightened!

Again, I should become interested in the arts that add beauty and grace, and dignity in human personality, - music, sculpture, painting, architecture, literature.  The world that will receive me when we are through with this college business will be a world of human beings, and therefore will always find joy and satisfaction in what are called the fine arts.

But the greatest of all the arts is the art of noble living.  I should for this reason do what I could in the process of my education to keep an unshaken faith in the enduring values of the ancient moralities – truth, honesty, honor, justice, kindness, and... gentleness of spirit. 

What I have been trying to say is that I should not be bothered about what the critics seem to worry over, their lack of approval of the kind of education I am exposed to, their excitement over what the world is going to do to me and I to it,- if I were now a student in college.  Rather, I should lay hold with all my soul on these simple, essential, fundamental things, and gallantly face whatever the future may have in store for me.

Pictures: Snyder, the front gates, as drawn by student William Gladden.

The disappearing cornerstone

Anyone who has been around Wofford for any length of time knows that Main Building is the heart of the college.  For nearly half a century, it was, quite simply, the college.  No other public buildings existed on the campus.  Though it has been modified a number of times and completely renovated on two occasions, Main Building has always existed in one form or another. 

It has existed in its most elemental form ever since the fourth day of July in 1851, when Benjamin Wofford's hand-picked trustees, joined by friends from South Carolina's Methodist Conference, and hundreds of citizens of Spartanburg, gathered to lay its cornerstone.  Some four thousand strong, they met on the courthouse square and marched in a procession to a plot of land on the city's northern border, a plot selected by the trustees and described by the Carolina Spartan as a “most lovely elevation, embracing lawn and woodland, about one half to three-fourths of a mile north of the Court-House.”

The trustees had a plan, prepared by Charleston architect Edward C. Jones, for an Italianate, three story building with twin towers.  Following Trustee chairman and future president William M. Wightman's fifty-minute address, and with rites led by Spartanburg's Masonic lodge, the trustees laid the cornerstone.  The cornerstone itself, “a fine specimen of granite” from a nearby quarry, was presented by Major H. J. Dean. It contained a lead box, into which the participants placed a Bible, a copy of Benjamin Wofford’s will, a lock of his hair and of Maria Wofford’s hair, a copy of the Southern Christian Advocate and the Spartan, and a police report with some statistical information about Spartanburg. In addition, various civic groups, including the Sons of Temperance, the Odd Fellows and the Masons placed materials about their organizations into the cornerstone, and the building committee placed a silver medal engraved with the name of the founder, the date, and the amount of the bequest. Members of the audience placed a few other items in the box, and it was sealed.

Almost a year passed before the building committee signed a contract to build the Main Building, and three years passed before the college opened its doors on August 1, 1854. Meanwhile, in what perhaps is the first example of what we now call "the Wofford way," the cornerstone’s location was forgotten. The Spartan wrote that it was in the southeast corner of the building, though Masonic custom would have placed it in the northeast corner. Some speculated that the building might have been built such that the cornerstone was beneath an internal wall.

By the early 1950s, with the college’s centennial looming, officials began to search for the cornerstone in earnest. While he was reading an old issue of the Advocate in November 1953, freshman George Duffie discovered that the cornerstone was in the northeast corner of the building. On March 2, 1954, the lead box was removed from the cornerstone, but a leak in the box had caused most of the contents to be ruined. After a few months of display in the library, the contents were replaced in the cornerstone in a ceremony on Founder’s Day 1954. A plaque above the cornerstone will keep members of the community from forgetting where the cornerstone rests in 2054.

Pictured: a daguerreotype of Main Building, the oldest photograph of the campus, and a portrait of William Wightman, the college's first president.