Category: Documents

At the college’s Baccalaureate service last Saturday, Wofford chaplain Dr. Ron Robinson ’78 spoke about mentors and the important role they play in all of our lives.  Mentors, Dr. Robinson noted, aren’t necessarily older than those they influence, and he cited one example from Wofford’s student body in 1957.  In an era when many older South Carolinians were unwilling or unable to speak out on the great political-moral issue of the day – civil rights – Wofford student Charles Brockwell ’59 spoke boldly.  Dr. Robinson referenced a column that Brockwell wrote in the Old Gold and Black on October 26, 1957 in which Brockwell discussed the Student Christian Association’s attempt to bring a group of students from Claflin College, one of Wofford’s sister Methodist colleges in Orangeburg, SC, to Wofford to share in a joint worship service.  Because Claflin was a college for African-American students, the Wofford administration rebuffed the Student Christian Association’s plan.

Here’s the full column.  Click on the image for a larger, readable version.

After graduation, Dr. Charles Brockwell went on to become a Methodist minister in South Carolina and Kentucky.

If you’re looking for Dr. Robinson’s sermon, it’s available on the Wofford website.

Today, Wofford and other colleges rely on glossy admissions viewbooks, and now, attractive websites to show prospective students how their campus looks.  Before the days of full-color brochures, the college had to rely on the printed word.  Wofford’s annually-published catalogue, in addition to describing the courses offered, admissions rules, and requirements for graduation, the catalogue also described the campus its atmosphere.  These words come from the 1906 catalogue, but they were the same in several other editions of the era. The photos are from Wofford College Illustrated, 1898, an early pictorial yearbook of the college. 

Some Advantages of Wofford

Situation– Climate and surroundings have much to do with the kind of studying a student does.  No better climate can be found anywhere for intellectual work than that of the high piedmont region of upper Carolina.  It is salubrious and bracing, and stimulates mind and body to do their best.

Health– No healthier place can be found in the South than Spartanburg.  The Wofford College campus, upon which the students live, is a high, well-drained hill, removed from the dust and smoke and noise of the city.  Students thus have within reach all the conveniences of the city, together with the healthful benefits of the country.  Besides these natural surroundings, so conducive to health, oversight is taken, as far as possible, of the exercise and sports of students.  A large, thoroughly equipped Gymnasium, under the care of a competent director, has been found of inestimable value, not only in preserving health, but in aiding the growing bodies of young men to a state of vigorous natural development.

Social and Intellectual Surroundings— Spartanburg furnishes an unexcelled social and intellectual atmosphere.  The best entertainments – entertainments that make for the highest refinement – are constantly within reach of the student.  Music by famous musicians, lectures by men of world-wide reputation,  readings by authors who are making the literature of the day, are all means of general culture that help to educate in the very best sense the students of Wofford.

The first image is a view of the campus from the city standpipe – on the highest point in the city – you can see Main Building to the left and Alumni Hall (mentioned last week in the blog) in the middle of the picture, North Church Street in the foreground and the city in the background.  The second image is of student cottages on the outskirts of campus – not so different an idea as the Village of today. 

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.

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.

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.

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