PRESERVATION RACINE, INC NEWSLETTER

SUMMER 2002 A SPECIAL EDITION ON THE 150™ ANNIVERSARY OF RACINE

A HISTORY OF

by DOROTHY OSBORNE

In the 81 years of its existence, Racine College in Racine, , went from one professor and nine students to enrollments of 250 in the several educational categories: college, high school, and grammar school. It went from ten acres to ninety and back again to ten; from a rented room to ten impressive buildings; and finally closed in 1933 facing bankruptcy. From the very beginning of its life in 1852, it exerted a beneficial effect upon the cultural, educational, and religious life ofthe city of Racine and surrounding areas.

The need in the area for a school of higher learning was first broached to the Episcopal Diocese of Wisconsin about 1850 by the Rev. Dr. Joseph Nichols, Rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Racine, and the Rev. Dr. Azel Cole of Nashota House, the Episcopal seminary at Delafield. There was at that time no such school west ofthe Appalachian Mountains. They suggested a contest between Racine and to determine the site. Racine won, without question, with ten acres of land and a fijnd of $10,000.

The city of Racine had been incorporated only four years before and had a population of about five thousand; the membership of St. Luke's Church was about 150. Throughout the years both city and church were represented on the board of trustees which fimctioned as the governing body ofthe college. In March of 1852, the charter from the state incorporated the board of trustees, which immediately set the opening date for the coUege for November of that year. Since the first building was not completed until 1853, the first classes were held in a rented room downtown in the basement ofthe First Baptist Church, then located on Haymarket (Monument) Square, with one professor, the Rev. Dr. Roswell Park (who was also president), and his nine students.

When Dr. Park was invited to come to Racine to establish and to be the first president of Racine CoUege, he was qualified in many fields. He had a bachelor's degree from Union College in State, and had graduated first in his class from West Point Military Academy. He had served five years in the Army Corps of Engineers, and resigned to become professor of chemistry and natural philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania before he secured his religious training. After his ordination he became rector of an Episcopal church in Connecticut, where for seven years he served a dual role as rector and headmaster of an academy connected with the church. He arrived in Racine in early November 1852. He must have been a man of enormous energy, for it appears that in the beginning he held all ofthe offices ofthe college—president, professor, chaplain, treasurer, fijnd raiser, curriculum planner; in addition he was rector of St. Luke's Church. The college experienced a steady growth under his leadership. According to historian Dr. Thomas Reeves, Dr. Park was an "effective administrator and fiind raiser, and at the conclusion of seven years the school had assets of about $ 13 5,000, a greatly improved curriculum, and forty-three graduates." The first building was named for him; he is buried on the coUege grounds just east ofthe chapel, and later the city of Racine named a street for him.

The founders ofthe college. Dr. Nichols and Dr. Cole, feU that the "interests of religion and the political strengthening ofthe new West are so intimately interwoven with the morals of our settlers that secular education ought to be combined with Christian teaching. . .." The original charter did not specify that the college was to be an Episcopalian institution, but the board of trustees, early in 1853, amended the charter to specify that it would be an Episcopalian school. Over the years, however, provision was made for non-Episcopalian students to enroll.

Dr. Park deviated from the classical program of most ofthe religious schools ofthe time by adding a science course to the college curriculum. Over the years, the curriculum changed to suit the enrollment. In 1859 the grammar school was added, and in 1887 the collegiate department closed, but the school did attain, in the very last year of its existence, accreditation as a junior coUege.

The founders ofthe college had expectations that the preparatory course and the college course would attract some young men who wished to enter the seminary at Nashota. That did happen and in the early years those young men, with the assistance of clergy on the faculty, helped to develop several Episcopal missions which became established churches in Racine—Immanuel, St. Stephen's, Holy Innocents, and St. Michael's. The young men taught Sunday School, and helped in other ways.

The college and its successors, the Academy and the Military Academy, were always governed by a self-perpetuating board of trustees. The original board included: Bishop , the first bishop ofthe Episcopal Diocese of Wisconsin, ex officio; Dr. Park; Dr. Cole; ten clergymen from ten parishes (including Dr. Nichols of St. Luke's in Racine); and thirteen business and professional men (including from Racine, attorney MarshaU M. Strong, Elias Smith, Isaac Taylor, Gen. Philo White, Nelson Pendleton, Matthew B. Mead, Peyton R. Morgan, William H. Lathrop, and Henry Ullman). Of course, as the years passed the membership ofthe board changed as the members elected their own successors. In 1902 on the board were five bishops, seven clergymen (including two from Racine, the Revs. Arthur Piper and R.C. Hindley), and sixteen prominent professional and business leaders (among them, seven from Racine).

Seven years after the founding ofthe college, a nationwide depression caused financial worries, but it actually initiated the years of Racine College's greatest success. Dr. Park, who had been president since its beginning, asked the Rev. Dr. James DeKoven if he would consider a union ofthe college with St. John's Hall of Delafield, a grammar school which Dr. DeKoven directed. Flis agreement and the consolidation ofthe two schools in Racine began the most important epoch ofthe college.

Following Dr. Park's resignation as president in 1859 (he continued his duties as professor and as rector of St. Luke's Church for four more years). Dr. DeKoven assumed the leadership of Racine CoUege and, according to all authorities available, that twenty-year leadership brought the college its finest years. Mrs. Lincoln wrote of him as gracious and suave. Dr. Reeves applied the adjectives "saintly, brilliant, outspoken" to him and said, "DeKoven devoted almost all of his incredible energy for the next two decades to Racine College, making it the most distinguished church college west ofthe Alleghenies." He instituted a community plan in which faculty members and their families lived in the dormitories and 3 ate their meals with the students, giving a family atmosphere to the school. Dr. DeKoven's strenuous efforts to preserve the Anglo-Catholic tradition in his church cost him elections to two bishoprics, one in Wisconsin, the other a year later in Illinois.

Had he been writing a resume before coming to Racine, he would have listed that he was a graduate of Columbia University in 1851, second in the class; that he had done outreach work in lower Manhattan establishing a "ragged school" for disadvantaged boys; that he had graduated in 1854 from the General Theological Seminary in . After his graduation he accepted the Chair of Ecclesiastical History at Nashota Seminary. While continuing his duties at Nashota, he became rector of St. John Chrysostom Episcopal Church in Delafield and warden of St. John's Hall in the same village, untU the consolidation ofthe two schools in Racine in 1859. Dr. DeKoven's inspired leadership brought renewed vitality and prosperity both to the college and to the grammar school, but after his sudden and early death at age 48, the spark was lacking, even though the leadership was qualified, competent, and devoted. He is buried next to the chapel on the grounds ofthe college. In 1963, 84 years after his death, his name was placed in the Episcopal calendar ofthe Church year, noting that he "has left a permanent stamp on the learning and piety ofthe Episcopal Church."

AU ofthe buildings on the campus ofthe DeKoven Center, which now owns all ofthe remaining college property, were built during the administrations of Dr. Park and Dr. DeKoven, except for the swimming pool. The campus today is a pleasant and peacefijl scene. The buildings, all on the National Register of Historic Places and built in the Collegiate or English Gothic architectural style, are almost unaltered from the time they were built. The original ten acres were described as an oak knoll, and some ofthe old oak trees still survive, as well as many that are probably descendants ofthe old trees. Many other varieties of trees and shrubs, some of which were brought to the campus by professors retuming from their travels, have been planted. I know there was a fence, because a stile on DeKoven Avenue is mentioned several times in the College Mercury, a newspaper published by the students.

Authorities differ as to the identity ofthe architect ofthe complex. Susan E. Karr, Racine's former architectural conservationist, credits J.F. Miller of New York as the designer, and Lucas Bradley, noted Racine architect and contractor, as the builder. It may be that Bradley adapted Miller's designs to changing needs. 7he Mercury sometimes gave Miller the credit, and sometimes Bradley, when buildings were being erected. The buildings, all of Racine cream brick with some imported red brick trim, were planned to form a quadrangle with the chapel in the center according to Dr. DeKoven's wishes.

The long line of buildings facing , now called the East Building, was built in four sections over a period of twenty years. Park Hall was completed in 1853 on the north. It has a three- story center section with a short crenellated, buttressed tower over the entrance and two-story wings on the north and south. The steeply-pitched roofs ofthe wings have wooden gable dormers with Gothic detail. Various peaks ofthe roofline and chimneys originally had finials which have been removed. The building housed classrooms, dormitories, a library, and a chapel. All but one wing burned in 1864, with great loss in the chapel and the library. Park Hall was rebuih and remodeled in the same year with insurance fimds and contributions from St. Luke's Church and the community.

In 1857, four years after Park Hall was completed, a companion building was begun 240 feet to the south. It was called Kemper Hall in honor of Bishop Kemper, who had been very active in the founding ofthe college. It provided a new dining room, dormitories, and classrooms.

Between these two buildings, in 1871 the Refectory, now called the Great Hall, was attached to the north of Kemper Hall. The Assembly Hall and a central section were buih a year later connected to the Refectory on the south and Park Hall on the north, completing the long line now known as the East Building. The central section, now caUed the Cushman Bell Tower, is capped by a steeple which contains a belfiy where some students found an opportunity to carve their initials. A Gothic-arched passage leads east and west through the building. The Assembly Hall and the Refectory are both one story in height and have steeply pitched rooflines. Their elaborate brickwork and wooden Gothic dormers are less imposing than the two end buildings, but are still in the Collegiate Gothic style. They possibly show the hand of a different designer, for at present in Taylor Hall is a framed architectural rendering, unsigned and undated, which shows an entirely different concept ofthe connecting buildings. This drawing shows a large elaborate domed chapel with a spire, and cloister-like connecting links to the end buildings. Could this have been a concept for the college that was never carried out?

During the twenty years it took to put the East Building together, other major buildings were erected. In 1864 St. John's.Chapel was completed, fiinded with insurance money and contributions left over from the Park Hall fire. The Chapel is a rectangular building with a steeply pitched roof above which the impressive west facade rises. The entrance is from the south side, into a small lobby under the choir loft. The rows of pews face the center aisle; the beautifiil windows and the ahar inspire reverence—but not to all the young men attending chapel services. Many of them, including WWII aviation hero Gen. Billy Mitchell, carved their initials in the rails or seats. They also had fijn because St. Peter's window shows the saint having six toes! Former student, W. Tumor (Bill) Lewis, a prominent Racine industrialist, in his reminiscences tells of what he called a beautifijl and awesome spectacle, about which the boys made bets as to the day it would occur. Every year, on an evening in May, between five-thirty and six o'clock, during chapel service, the sun would shine through an open round window above the gallery in the west wall and gleam upon the altar's highly polished cross.

Funds for the construction of Taylor Hall were the gifts by bequest of Isaac and Emerline Taylor, who died within a year of each other in the mid 1860s. It is a massive four-story structure buih in the Collegiate Gothic style to conform with Park and Kemper Halls and St. John's Chapel. The cornerstone on the west side ofthe building, north ofthe entrance, was laid early in 1867, but the contractor had not fiiUy completed the work by December of that year, which aroused the ire ofthe editors ofthe College Mercury writing in their December 1, 1867, issue: "This non-ftilfilment has occasioned the greatest inconvenience to aU, and the contractor is deservedly to be censured."

Taylor Hall, like the other buildings on the campus, was built of Racine cream brick with limestone foundations. On the west side, it originally had a tall clock tower with cresting and a three-bell chime. The tower was removed in 1961 and the bells distributed, it is believed, one to the steeple ofthe East BuUding, and one to Holy Innocents Church; the disposition ofthe third is unknown.

Taylor Hall was designed to provide dormitory space for fifty boys, a library, five classrooms, and apartments for the warden and subwarden. The College Mercury of April 1, 1869, noted that the building was "well ventilated, well warmed, and above all things well cleaned—the floor carpeted with Brussels or some other fine material, the walls hung with beautiful pictures, and the rest ofthe fumiture to correspond." The buUding suffered two fires: the first in 1875 left only the walls standing, the second in 1943, after ownership had passed from the college, was not so serious due to increased fire protection provided by the city.

The same year that Taylor Hall bumed and was rebuih, construction ofthe Gymnasium was begun, and the following year the Gatehouse was buih for residences and the staff In 1888 the Gymnasium burned and was rebuih, and in 1910 an addition for the swimming pool was started. Such a pool was rare in the Midwest at the time, and completed the constmction on the campus. Continued on page nine. Park Hall (above) was named for Roswell Park, the founder of Racine College. The cornerstone was laid in May of 1852, but the building was not finished until September of 1853. It was the college's only completed building while Dr. Park was president. Kemper Hall (below) was named for David Jackson Kemper, the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Wisconsin and one ofthe incorporators ofthe college. He laid the cornerstone in 1857, but the building was not completed until 1859. St. John's Chapel (above) was buih in 1864 at the center of what was to become the college's quadrangle. Taylor Hall (below) was named for Isaac and Emerline Taylor, a pioneer Racine businessman and his wife. It was built in 1867 at the northwest comer of the quadrangle, providing a library, dormitory, and classrooms for the Collegiate Department, as well as a library and living quarters for the warden. Dr. DeKoven. The building was gutted by a fire in 1875, but immediately rebuilt with the financial support of Racine's citizens. The Dining Hall (above), now called the Great Hall, was extended to the north of Kemper Hall in 1871, and the Assembly Hall (below) was extended to the south from Park Hall in 1872, along with what was described as "the central structure" at that time. It was recently named the Cushman Bell Tower and Spire, in honor of the family who supported the school at DeKoven in the 1920s and 1930s. Four Cushmans were members of the faculty; two of them served as headmaster. Their mother was honored as the school's patroness and hostess. The Gymnasium (above) was built in 1875 with money left over fi-om the donations for the rebuilding of Taylor Hall. Originally the wing to the north contained a science laboratory and an art studio. The whole building burned in 1888 and was rebuilt that same year. In 1910 the wing that now houses the indoor swimming pool was begun. The Gatehouse (below) was built as a laundry and servants' quarters in 1876. 9 Many ofthe graduating classes, either at the time of their graduation or later, left to the college beautifiil windows for the Refectory and stone blocks marking the year of their graduation, which are set into the walls ofthe Chapel. Plans for one more building never came to completion. The Racine Daily Journal of June 17, 1887, mentions that the building was to be called Memorial Hall for Dr. DeKoven, and would be used for a newly established law course. No other mention of this project has been found.

Many individuals can be listed among those involved in the administration and development ofthe coUege. First, the early pioneers: Bishop Kemper, Attorney Marshall Strong, Dr. Philo Hoy, Elias Smith, the three Drs. Meachem, and in the last years of its operation, the Cushman family; but a throng of anonymous donors in the community, and St. Luke's Church (its rectors and membership) must surely be given much credh for the assistance provided for the establishment and growth ofthe school.

A constant supporter ofthe college was Isaac Taylor, who, from a poverty-stricken childhood in England, came to Racine in 1842 and built up a very profitable lumber business. He died before completing his many philanthropic projects, but his widow, Emerline, who died only a year later, left, according to his wishes, $65,000 to the college, as well as a similar sum for the founding of an orphanage to be operated by women, whom he considered more compassionate than men—who had made his childhood so painfiil.

Dr. John Goldesbrough Meachem, his son, and grandson, all ofthe same name and profession, served for many years on the board of tmstees and in many other important capacities in the community. The senior doctor was convinced that fewer bishops and rectors and more businessmen on the board would have benefited the financial administration ofthe college, since the clergy tended to make "long speeches at the board meetings, not allowing enough time for the real business ofthe meeting."

Music was an important part ofthe school. Dr. DeKoven had a trained choir of boys who participated in the religious services and who at least once walked the mile and a half from the college to St. Luke's Church to take part in the services of that church. The surpliced choir consisted of 38 boys: sixteen trebles, six altos, four tenors, and twelve basses. There was a band in the early 1900s, and in the last ten years ofthe college's existence, Mr. John Carre was Dean ofthe Conservatory of Music established in Park Hall which provided for the musical needs ofthe boys.

Among many graduates who became well known in their fields and who contributed to the well-being of the community and the nation were: Roswell Park, son ofthe first president, who established an internationally known cancer clinic in Buffalo, New York; Gen. BUly Mitchell and Gen. Mark Clark in the military field; Frank Kellogg of cereal fame; and locally, John Winslow, chief justice ofthe Wisconsin Supreme Court and son of a longtime tmstee ofthe college; Alfred Lunt, prominent businessman and uncle and namesake ofthe famous actor; Matthew Andis, president of Andis Clipper Company; Kingston Ehrlich, Racine businessman; and A. J. Horlick of Horlick Malted Milk fame.

However, it is the reminiscences of that former student, W. Tumor Lewis which give us glimpses ofthe daily life ofthe students emoUed in the school in the early 1900s. He sent them to his schoolmate. Gen. Mark Clark, and Lewis's son (also Bill) made a copy available to me.

It was deemed preferable that all students live at the school, but a few day students were allowed to attend—for a fee of $35. From the information available, h appears that the student body was composed of boys from varied backgrounds but mostly from affluent families. Bill Lewis's home was only four blocks away from the campus but he was a live-In student. The boys slept in dormitories when Mary Todd Lincoln vished the school in 1867, but later each boy had a sort of alcove in Kemper HaU. (It should be noted that, contrary to popular mmor. Tad Lincoln was never enroUed in the school.) The older boys were housed in suites in Taylor HaU. There each boy had a chamber off a common room that was shared by two or three other boys "so that the injurious practice of sleeping and studying in the same room was avoided," according to the college catalog.

Pictures in the early college catalogs show the dinner tables in the Refectory set up with white tablecloths and linen napkins folded into the tumblers. The Rev. Sidney Croft, writing in the Wisconsin Magazine of History, states that the food was served on silver platters and in large tureens. Bill Lewis complained about the unpadded backless benches on which the boys sat; however, the pictures show an armchair for the facuhy person who was host at each table for eight.

In the mid 1870s, several attempts were made to estabUsh Greek letter societies at the college, which were opposed by the authorities and disbanded when discovered, and the members were threatened with expulsion.

In the early twentieth century, the school followed a rather military regime. Even the young students had military drill, and the catalogs show that their day was divided into sixteen segments beginning with reveille at 6:30 a.m. and ending with tattoo and taps at 9:30 p.m. They had almost six hours of schooling and a two-hour study period, with a fifteen-minute recess in the moming, and a ninety-minute recreation period in the afternoon. Chapel was at 5:30, before dinner.

At nine years of age, WiUiam Tumor Lewis had always been known as Bill, so at the first roll call he didn't know his name had been called when he heard "Lewis, W." He learned, too, that if he had no demerits he could spend Saturday and Sunday afternoons at his home, but he claimed that it was almost impossible to avoid demerits. One ofthe punishments for transgressions was a talk with the warden which usually tumed out to be a rather fatherly warning. Another was to write an apology a hundred times, but the boys figured out a way to write two or three lines at a time. A third punishment was to walk "the bull ring" in front of Park Hall carrying a rifle, but not very close watch was kept over them, and Lewis would escape over the lake bank, then follow the shoreline to his home, where cookies and other delights always awaited him. A special treat was to go downtown for an ice cream soda. Lewis remembered going to the library in Taylor Hall to look at London newspapers, in particular to see what London fire engines looked like.

The biggest sins ofthe older boys were smoking, drinking, and swearing—^none of those habits fitted with the high moral tone which the school attempted to maintain. The CoUege Mercury ofthe 1860s and 70s frequently speaks of festivities attended by the fair sex, and we have one direct reference to dances held in the college gymnasium. Laura Rankin, an out of state Preservation Racine member, attended dances in the early 1930s. She remembers that the girls received formal invitations and that the boys were handsome in their uniforms, and were "well-mannered and smelled good"!

Many devoted and capable teachers served the college throughout its history. Some courses were taught on a part-time basis by well qualified local individuals. For instance, a law course was taught by Marshall Strong, a Racine attorney and financier; a science course was taught by Dr. Philo Hoy, a Racine medical doctor and noted scientist and naturalist; and at various times, history, philosophy, and literature courses were taught by rectors of St. Luke's Church.

The catalog for 1901-02 for the school expresses the philosophy ofthe management in regard to athletics as follows: "The school encourages in every way possible a wholesome athletic spirit, and avoids the undue extravagance and coarseness which have marked the subject in the past few years.... Athletic exercise is compulsory on certain days ofthe week in good wholesome games where unrestricted freedom of action and heahhflil emulation breed strength and happiness." 11 Tradition says that in the early days when the school had college ranking, the football teams played Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Northwestem, Michigan, and Wisconsin. How well they did is unknown. Cricket was also played in those years.

In the 1910s teams competed with several area high schools in football, basketball, and baseball vnth spotty success. The Mercury frequently explained, when they did not win, that the team members were not as big as their opponents, but that they played with wonderful spirit and showed good promise!

Each pupil on registration was assigned to either the Badger or the Clarkson athletic teams, and many sports were played on an intramural basis. The rivalry was strong—Bill Lewis once climbed the now demolished clock tower on Taylor Hall to take down a Clarkson banner and replace it with a Badger banner. (This was certainly a bk of derring-do.)

And what was the physical setting for all this learning, inspiration, and energy? The original ten acres was part ofthe farm of Charles and Tmman Wright and donated by them for the college. It was situated south ofthe Racine city limits on the shore of Lake Michigan. Early on, additional land to the north was purchased to provide space for a "President's House" (which was never built). In 1864 the college was able to purchase eighty acres on the west very cheaply from the estate of Marshall Strong. This area became the college farm, which produced prodigious quantities of fhiits and vegetables. By 1893, however, efforts were being made by the tmstees to lease that land. It has not been part ofthe campus for many years.

The Proceedings ofthe Racine Common Council of August 3, 1891, included a petition from Racine College asking for protection ofthe shoreline. As far as can be determined from scattered newspaper clippings, the original ten acres was set back far enough from the shoreline to provide for a road along the shore. The petition states that the school had been forced to move its fence back toward the East Building because its efforts to stem the erosion had failed and there were not sufficient funds available to continue the work. (The Evergreen Cemetery just to the south ofthe school's property had been abandoned forty years earlier because of erosion.) What action was taken is unknown, but in 1940 the DeKoven Foundation, successor owners ofthe property, presented to the city its "lakeshore property," which presumably had been lost when the fence was moved.

In the last eleven years of its functioning, the college owed much to the support ofthe Cushman family. In 1922, while operations were temporarily suspended due to financial problems, Mrs. Anne Cushman became interested in an effort to revitalize it. She and her four sons leased the management. They invested much time and money in its operation and maintenance, and the board of tmstees continued to function. Her son Robert was headmaster, except for three years when he was attending Keble College at Oxford, England, during which time his brother John was headmaster. John was later commandant of the military department and was bursar. Mrs. Cushman and at least some ofthe family lived in an apartment in Kemper Hall. The Mercury referred to her as "our patroness and hostess."

The school did continue to attract pupils from Racine and from out of state through the various stages of curriculum, organization, and several suspensions of fimction. It produced many leaders of industry, the military, the church, and professional fields. But finally the stock market crash of 1929 and the deep depression which followed placed the school in near bankmptcy. It closed its doors permanently in 1933, and h was the duty ofthe board of tmstees to dispose ofthe buildings and the land. Two years later the campus was purchased by the Episcopal Sisters of St. Mary, who established the DeKoven Foundation for Church Work. By selling the property, the school's debts could be paid off, and the purpose ofthe founding ofthe college—educational and spiritual enrichment—^was continued. The Community of St. Mary tumed the property over to the Diocese of Milwaukee in 1986, but an unfortunate mortgage foreclosure in the 1990s placed the property in the hands of developers. The developers were prevented by community action from carrying out their plans. In 1998 the DeKoven Foundation once again became the owner. It should be noted that although the dream of a high quality religious school could not be maintained, the campus under the management ofthe foundation and through its work is still the setting for the pursuit ofthe high ideals of education, culture, and religion through its work. The college motto; Vigeat Radix, "Let the Root Thrive," is still being followed.

It is useless now, almost seventy years later, to speculate about the reasons for the failure ofthe college. Most ofthe Episcopal clergy who wrote about the closing simply stated the fact that it had closed and did little analyzing. Dr. Arthur Ben Chitty, president ofthe Association of Episcopal and writing in the Historical Magazine ofthe Protestant Episcopal Church, however, after paying tribute to the distinguished achievements ofthe college, did suggest that the lack of consistent public relations and the failure to initiate a determined drive to establish an adequate endowment were probably contributing factors to its downfall. It appeared that contributions for material things like buildings were usually available, but the more ephemeral idea of an endowment was never made attractive to possible contributors. Dr. Chitty stated that next to the losses of Columbia, and William and Mary, "the closing of Racine was the most grievous blow sustained by the Episcopal Church in higher education."

/ wish to acknowledge the excellent assistance given me by the Racine Heritage Museum and the Racine Public Library for this history; and, most of all, the careful editing by the newsletter staff is greatly appreciated. D.O.

The undated watercolor above was apparently an elegant architectural concept for the expansion of Racine College sometime after Kemper Hall was constructed in 1857 but before St. John's Chapel was built in 1864. Although the plan was never carried out, the artwork has been hanging at Taylor Hall for uncounted decades. This year it was cleaned and archivally conserved by the Mathis Gallery as Preservation Racine's contribution to the celebration of Racine College's 150 anniversary