Berea College: an Illustrated History

University of Kentucky UKnowledge

Higher Education Education

3-3-2006

Berea College: An Illustrated History

Shannon H. Wilson

Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y

Thanks to the University of Kentucky Libraries and the University Press of Kentucky, this book is freely available to current faculty, students, and staff at the University of Kentucky. Find other University of Kentucky Books at uknowledge.uky.edu/upk. For more information, please contact UKnowledge at [email protected].

Recommended Citation Wilson, Shannon H., "Berea College: An Illustrated History" (2006). Higher Education. 15. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_higher_education/15

Wilson FM•i-xii 11/21/05 7:54 PM Page i

Berea College Wilson FM•i-xii 11/21/05 7:54 PM Page ii Wilson FM•i-xii 11/21/05 7:54 PM Page iii

BEREA COLLEGE an illustrated history

Shannon H. Wilson

The University Press of Kentucky Wilson FM•i-xii 11/21/05 7:54 PM Page iv

Publication of this volume was made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University. All rights reserved.

Editorial and Sales Ofﬁces: The University Press of Kentucky 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508–4008 www.kentuckypress.com

10 09 08 07 06 5 4 3 2 1

All photographs, unless otherwise noted, are from the Berea College Archives. Design by Gary Gore Book Design

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wilson, Shannon H. Berea College : an illustrated history / Shannon H. Wilson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8131-2379-0 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8131-2379-8 (alk. paper) 1. Berea College—History. 2. Berea College—Pictorial works. 1. Title. LD393.W55 2006 378.769'53—dc22 2005030641

This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

Member of the Association of American University Presses Wilson FM•i-xii 11/21/05 7:54 PM Page v

For Janey Post Nubila Phoebus Wilson FM•i-xii 11/21/05 7:54 PM Page vi

Contents

Preface ix Introduction 1

1. The Witness to Impartial Love 9

2. 3. Forecasting Working for the Millennium God and Humanity 33 57

4. The Telescope and the Spade 75

5. Bristling with History 103 Wilson FM•i-xii 11/21/05 7:54 PM Page vii

6. More Than an Ordinary College 129

7. A College of History and Destiny 161

8. New Magic in a Dusty World 179

9. Continuing to Be and to Appendix One: Become The Great Commitments 201 of Berea College 221

Appendix Two: Constitution, Charter, and Bylaws of Berea College 222

Notes 225 Select Bibliography 237 Index 241 Wilson FM•i-xii 11/21/05 7:54 PM Page viii Wilson FM•i-xii 11/21/05 7:54 PM Page ix

Preface

For over twenty years, the history of Berea College has been my history. First as a student, and now as the college archivist, I have become intimately acquainted with the remarkable people and events that make up Berea’s story. Early in my career, an alumna introduced me to her husband with the best compliment I have ever received. “This young man,” she said, “knows the old days as if he had been there himself.” If I know anything at all about Berea, it has less to do with my own memory and more to do with the incredible record left behind by the college’s students, faculty, and staff. The legacy of letters, diaries, photographs, buildings, ofﬁcial records, and other materials is so vast that no single volume can easily contem- plate all their implications. This book is perhaps best thought of as a prologue to a much larger historical project. The history of Berea College has been related in different ways throughout the years, from publicity literature to narrative histories, from scholarly essays to historical pageants. “To some,” President William G. Frost wrote of Berea, “its story sounds like a chapter from the Old Testament, to others like a dime novel.” Elisabeth Peck’s Berea’s First Century, published for the college centennial in 1955 and subsequently revised by Emily Ann Smith for the school’s 125th anniversary in 1980, is the only full-length narrative of the college’s history. Following a thematic approach, Peck’s work is very useful for establishing the passage of presidential administrations and institutional programs. Nevertheless, Peck’s history is cele- bratory rather than critical. “I wanted Mrs. Peck to write a nice history of the college for the centennial,” President Francis Hutchins remarked, “and she did.” In recent years, however, several scholars inside and outside Berea have examined the school’s history in a more probing manner. Important work has emerged that explores in depth not only the college’s founding and interracial commitment, but the role of women at Berea and the institution’s role in the Appalachian region. With the approach of the college’s sesquicentennial, the time seems right for a “new” history of Berea. The intent of this history is to build on recent scholarly interpretations of the college and to point the way to future research. The basic questions examined in this book are “What kind of institution are ix Wilson FM•i-xii 11/21/05 7:54 PM Page x

x preface

we called to be? What has it been like to live and work at Berea College? What difference has this independent and, at times, radical institution made in the lives of the people of the South, the Appalachian region, and the nation?” The answers to these and other questions are found not only in the accomplishments of presidents and the raising of buildings, but in the stories of students and teachers, of literary societies and sports teams, of famous donors and ordinary people who have borne witness to the college motto, “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth.” My primary charge in writing this book was to “tell the story” of Berea College, a story that is truly distinctive. Many colleges and universities claim their own distinctive stories, so I looked for ways to distinguish among these heroic sagas. I was particularly attracted to the sociologist Burton Clark, who has offered in his book The Distinctive College a classic definition of institutional saga. Such a story “tells what the organization has been and what it is today,” Clark writes, “and hence by extension what it will be tomorrow. In the saga we look to the history and presence of the willed creation. The institutional saga is a historically based, somewhat embellished understanding of a unique organizational development” (235). The principal bearers of the saga at Berea have been the presidents of the college. There have been only eight presidents in Berea’s history; consequently, I have organized this study according to the varying spans of their administrations. Each chapter examines two or three salient events in each administration that confirm, enhance, or deny the core values of the college. The experiences of students, faculty, and staff are also used to examine the impact and understanding of the saga throughout the college’s history. In Berea College: An Illustrated History, the remarkable saga of the school is described in both words and photographs. I have tried to let the past speak for itself, because the voices of students, teachers, and administrators themselves offer ample evidence for the compelling story of Berea College. Although I do not pretend that this book is either comprehensive or definitive, I hope that all of us who are heirs to the vision of John G. Fee will find new inspiration in our work to build for the rest of Berea’s second century.

I wish to express my gratitude to Berea president Larry D. Shinn for the invitation to write this book and for his constant support during the writing process; to President Shinn and members of the Administrative Committee, who granted extended leave and ﬁnancial support in order for me to research and prepare the manuscript; to Dr. David Potts for his wise and patient counsel in his reading of the early chapters; to Joanna Juzwik McDonald, who ﬁrst copyedited my initial chapters and improved my writing; to Dr. Janice Blythe for Wilson FM•i-xii 11/21/05 7:54 PM Page xi

preface xi

reminding me that hours of thinking without actually writing anything is still a good day’s work; to Gerald Roberts, David Nelson, Eddie Broadhead, Tom Chase, and Johnnie Ross, whose active interest in the book was a great source of encouragement; to the Reverends Scott and Lois Howard for their interest and prayerful support; to the members of the Sat- urday Morning “Old Boys Club,” who acted as a sounding board for my work. My gratitude also to Julie Sowell, Linda Reynolds, Bridget Carroll, and Tim Jordan in Public Relations for ﬁnding photographs and for their interest in the project; to Anne Chase and the staff of Berea’s Hutchins Library, who have put up with me for the last three years; and to Brunner Studio for their reproduction of the photographs in this book. Thanks especially to Steve Gowler, Harry Rice, Grace Sears, Laura Heller, and the students of Special Collections and Archives, who have encouraged me, processed collections that supported my research, and taken up the slack during my long absences. No words can adequately express my gratitude to my mother, Bobbie Lee Wilson, who always believed in me; to Jim Dickinson, Tim Combs, and John and Carrie Rankin for their faithful support; to my children, Erik and his wife, Ann; Case; and Graff, who have all cheerfully endured their father’s mood swings during the writing process; and to Janey, whose love for me is life’s greatest blessing. Wilson FM•i-xii 11/21/05 7:54 PM Page xii Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 1

Introduction

All organizations have a social role, but only some have seized their role in a purposive way that we can call a mission. Then among those that have been strongly purposive, only some are able to sustain and develop the mission over time to the point of success and acclaim. The mission is then transformed into an embracing saga. We are able to speak then of colleges...that become legendary, even heroic ﬁgures on the national stage.

burton clark, The Distinctive College

HERE are many who believe that well. He envisioned a school that would ed- Berea College is one of America’s ucate “not merely in the ordinary branches Tmost distinctive colleges because of of learning but in love as first in religion its remarkable history and ideals. Since 1855 and justice as first in government.” Berea many supporters and members of the Berea was thus designed as a breeding ground for College community have experienced the reformers. The college “would be to Ken- heroic and legendary claims made for and tucky what Oberlin is to Ohio,” Fee ob- by the institution. This history of Berea served in 1855, “antislavery, anti-caste, College is an attempt to provide readers anti-rum, anti-sin.” with a broad examination of the founding The college’s constitution and bylaws of ideas that have continued to inform the de- 1859 gave substance to Fee’s ideas. The velopment of the institution. Consequently, opening words of the constitution, “In this book is not intended as a “comprehen- order to promote the cause of Christ,” artic- sive” or “definitive” study; it is instead an ulated the foundational aim of the school. exploration of the personalities, events, and The practical application of this aim was “to other elements that have affirmed, en- furnish the facilities for a thorough educa- hanced, or—at times—denied the basic tion to all persons of good moral character.” principles of the college. In this view, excluding students on the basis Berea College was founded by John G. of color or gender was not possible, since Fee, a Kentucky slaveholder’s son. He be- Fee and his colleagues believed that God came convinced that slavery was a tremen- alone was the creator of “all peoples of the dous moral and spiritual evil. Fee preached a earth.” Since character was the chief “gospel of impartial love” that defined not qualification for admission, then education only the early programs and policies of the would be placed within reach of all who de- college but the emerging village of Berea as sired its benefits. Consequently, schooling at 1 Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 2

2 berea college

Berea could be had “at the least possible ex- observed, adding that Berea assumed that pense, and all inducements and facilities for African Americans were to have the same manual labor which can reasonably be sup- civil and political rights as whites. He boldly plied by the Board of Trustees shall be of- claimed, “Freedom and education do not fered.” The college deliberately welcomed tend to evil.” Berea was a school for the the poor who sought learning and provided poor, and Fairchild encouraged anyone who work opportunities to help disadvantaged was willing to work for an education to students realize their dreams. “come on.” The college would be “intensely The second bylaw established another religious” and have no purpose “but the ad- characteristic of Berea by asserting, “This vancement of the Redeemer’s kingdom.” college shall be under an influence strictly Fairchild’s administration witnessed the de- Christian, and as such, opposed to Sectari- velopment of a curriculum (based largely on anism, Slaveholding, Caste, and every other that of Oberlin), the beginnings of signi- wrong institution or practice.” The term ficant fund-raising and endowment, as well “Christian” was not specifically defined in as construction of the first substantial terms of baptism or other “theological buildings, such as the College Chapel, tenets on which Christians differ”; but it Howard Hall, and Ladies’ Hall, which were was assumed that Christians would be symbols of Berea’s strength and purpose in marked by “a righteous practice and Chris- themselves. During Fairchild’s era Berea was tian experience.” For Fee and his abolitionist a thoroughly coeducational and integrated supporters, slavery, sectarianism, and exclu- community with bright prospects. sion on the basis of social and economic dif- After Fairchild’s death in 1889, William ferences were examples of “wrong” B. Stewart became Berea’s second president institutions and practices that promoted in 1890. A Baptist minister from Toronto, schism and disobedience to God. These Canada, Stewart was the principal of an sins, left unamended, would prevent Berea academy in Winchester, Kentucky, and had from being a place of acceptance, welcome, served as a trustee at Berea College. Stew- and love. art’s views reflected Fee’s perspective in that The administration of Berea’s first presi- Berea offered a Christian education. Berea’s dent, Edward Henry Fairchild (1869–89), work was “to impart liberal culture; but that gave institutional form to Fee’s dream of an culture must be Christian. By the study of interracial, coeducational school. The first languages and literature, of mathematics collegiate class (of five members) was ad- and sciences, of history and philosophy, it mitted in Fairchild’s inaugural year, joining aims to develop intellectual power; and by students in the Primary, Intermediate, teaching its students of Christ and training Preparatory, Normal, and Ladies’ Depart- them for Christ, it aims to produce noble ments. Fairchild asserted that Berea was a character.” The Bible Department was school for both sexes, citing advantages that added to the other curricular offerings, and enhanced women’s learning and social cul- students continued to be accepted without ture in general. Berea would welcome “all distinction by class or color. But Stewart’s races of men, without distinction,” Fairchild administration was racked with dissension Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 3

introduction 3

within the faculty and among donors as Berea’s interracial work in publicity litera- well. Fueling this discontent was E. P. ture, and admissions policies eroded the Fairchild, the treasurer and Henry number of blacks attending the school. John Fairchild’s son, who encouraged rumors that G. Fee, before his death in 1901, wondered Fee and Stewart intended to promote reli- aloud if Berea was “degenerating” into “a gious tests affirming immersion as the only mere white school.” In 1904, when Ken- proper form of Christian baptism. Fee con- tucky outlawed interracial education and demned the American Missionary Associa- forced Berea to segregate, Frost and the tion (AMA), one of the college’s principal trustees agreed to make Berea a school serv- supporters, as an agent of sectarianism. ing Appalachia and supported the transfer Fairchild believed that Fee’s views threat- of African American students to other in- ened the future financial security of the col- stitutions. His curricular reforms empha- lege. Stewart resigned in protest of trustees sized “short courses” to “gather the being added to Berea’s board, which would multitudes who will otherwise be untaught, have tipped the balance of power away from hold them for a longer or a shorter time ac- Fee and into the hands of Fairchild’s sup- cording to their capacity, and give to each porters. This waning of Fee’s influence in youth a bent in the upward direction.” The the college’s affairs would have significant result left the College Department as one of consequences in the years that marked the the smallest on campus and unaccredited by administration of Stewart’s successor, outside agencies. Yet when Frost retired in William Goodell Frost. 1920, he could justifiably claim that Berea Frost inherited an institution riddled had “placed Appalachia on the world map,” with financial woes and internal dissension. and he had achieved a level of financial se- Fully committed to Berea’s interracial mis- curity for the college that few could have sion, Frost nevertheless found that financial imagined in the school’s early days. Never- support for interracial education was in de- theless, the institution’s enforced segrega- cline. Still, he affirmed the words of the tion changed forever the character of Berea. charter—“to promote the cause of Christ”— William J. Hutchins served Berea from as the supreme aim of the school, “that 1920 to 1939. He had studied Greek under character and moral worth shall be the sole Frost while a student at Oberlin and suc- criterion of merit” for admitting students. ceeded his old teacher at Berea. Hutchins “Berea College,” he argued, “stands as an recognized the remarkable changes in Ap- object lesson to the world—a demonstra- palachia and the United States in the wake tion that what is right is also practicable.” of World War I, noting, “We who work in Frost influenced every aspect of campus life, Berea today inhabit a world and minister to from building design to curricular reforms a world radically different from that in to student rules and regulations. He which our predecessors lived, even a score plunged immediately into fund-raising ef- of years ago. Adaptation, which has been the forts, promoting the needs of a recently very watchword of Berea, will force upon us “discovered” region he termed “Appalachian changes of emphasis and possible changes of America.” By 1895 there was no mention of method.” This change in emphasis would be Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 4

4 berea college

demonstrated in the abandonment of and students in the last two years of high Frost’s program of education in “small pack- school and first two years of college consti- ages” and the consolidation of the Voca- tuted the “Lower Division.” Complaints tional and Normal programs into the about the workability of this system re- College Department. For most of his career, mained unresolved until after World War Hutchins would be harassed by Frost’s run- II, which brought about its own set of ning commentary on each new program changes. The most obvious difference was that Hutchins introduced. Despite this un- the presence of the Navy V-12 program, friendly oversight, Hutchins resolved that which, besides bringing about significant Berea’s essential task of educating mountain changes in the social rules, introduced reli- youth was “changeless.” He declared that gious diversity on campus. The college also the college would help overcome the “intel- welcomed Japanese American students, lectual hurdles before which the majority of which caused no little hostility in the town American boys and girls must be halted for- of Berea. Throughout all the stresses and ever,” and he encouraged students to chal- strains brought about by the war, the college lenge themselves and “reveal . . . the far-off continued to ponder curricular and admin- flying goal of a liberal education.” The liber- istrative reforms. These considerations real arts became the foundation and outlook sulted in a new curriculum in 1947, along of a Berea education, allied to the labor pro- with the dissolution of both Upper and gram in which students would altruistically Lower Divisions. Thus the college was sepa- find “their highest, their true selves.” Stu- rated from the Foundation School. In 1950 dents at Berea were educated for the pur- the Day Law, which had forced Berea to pose of “Christian American citizenship,” segregate in 1904, was amended and Berea which embraces a vision of God “who hates became the first undergraduate institution sham and mere words and formalism and to reintegrate, beginning a long process of sectarianism, a God of impartial love.” reclaiming the original intent of Berea’s William J. Hutchins in many ways is the ar- mission. Hutchins increased the number of chitect of Berea as a college, rather than a col- college faculty from 69 to 136 and enroll- lection of “allied schools” that included the ment from 860 to 1,460. When Francis College Department. The mission of Berea Hutchins retired in 1967, Berea embodied to balance academic excellence and labor as his vision of meeting the needs of Ap- well as to provide an education to those palachian communities. “The core of our who have had the least educational oppor- curriculum,” he noted, “must always be tunity made Berea faculty and staff nothing those cultural subjects which will enable us less than “co-workers with God.” to think, and understand the world in which Francis Hutchins succeeded his father in we live.” 1939. Berea now consisted of the college The world in which Willis Weatherford and the Foundation School, which was di- would lead Berea in 1967 was inherently vided into a high school and a junior high. complex. Issues surrounding the war in Students in the last two years of college Vietnam and the Civil Rights movement af- were organized into the “Upper Division,” fected Berea as they did other colleges and Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 5

introduction 5

universities throughout the United States, ford in 1984. A noted Appalachian scholar, yet Berea College and its students respond- Stephenson created a number of programs ed in ways that seemed uniquely Berean. In emblematic of his interests, such as the an era of remarkable social change, Willis Brushy Fork Institute for leadership devel- Weatherford put forward the Great Com- opment; the Black Mountain Youth Devel- mitments as a guide for curriculum, student opment Program for serving African life, fund-raising, faculty development, and American youth in Appalachia; and the other aspects of campus life. “No single per- New Opportunity School for Women. The son,” Weatherford observed, “can chart the creation of these and other programs that future of a great institution; this is a corpo- reported directly to the president caused rate task for faculty, staff and trustees, being concern among some faculty, which led to a mindful of student opinion. Furthermore, tempestuous and at times polarizing rela- Berea is such a distinctive institution that tionship between the president and the fac- the direction of educational policy can be ulty. The faculty governance structure itself developed only with a complete under- was changed, and the curriculum was also standing of its unique combination of pur- revised in an attempt to provide a more in- poses.” Weatherford reaffirmed Berea’s tegrated and comprehensive learning expe- commitment to an education that served a rience that was rooted firmly in the values changing Appalachian region, with particu- of the Christian faith. The Great Commit- lar attention to black student recruitment, ments were reaffirmed, with the addition of “to prepare all our students for leadership in a commitment to “a democratic community a democratic society where true equality will dedicated to education and equality for become increasingly a political necessity as women and men”; one result was the cre- well as a moral obligation.” Echoing ation of an Office for Women’s Studies. A William Hutchins’s concept of Christian spiritually sensitive person, an elder in the American citizenship, Weatherford asserted Presbyterian Church, Stephenson was that Berea would provide education for deeply concerned about how the college ar- leadership, an education that was informed ticulated its Christian commitment. His by the breadth of the liberal arts and moti- wide interest in international issues led to vation for service. This educational experi- significant support of foreign travel for stu- ence would foster moral and spiritual dents and a cooperative agreement with the growth, and Berea would create “an atmos- Dalai Lama for educating Tibetan students phere within which students may develop in living in India and Nepal. Stephenson’s spiritual sensitivity as well as in intellectual legacy at the end of his administration in acumen.” Weatherford’s administration 1994 was his commitment to the Ap- affirmed innovative service to the Ap- palachian region and the college’s innovative palachian region, increased faculty roles on efforts to remain true to its mission. campus, enhanced commitment to the labor In July 1994 Larry D. Shinn became program, and focused sensitivity to the col- Berea’s eighth president. He inherited a college’s Christian history. lege with a strong sense of mission and a John B. Stephenson succeeded Weather- healthy endowment, but also a faculty at Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 6

6 berea college

odds with administrative leaders and poten- development of the Sustainability and Envi- tial probation from the Southern Associa- ronmental Studies (SENS) program and tion of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Shinn the Center for Excellence in Learning activated the Strategic Planning Committee, Through Service (CELTS) as examples of a component of the earlier revision of cam- innovation that was faithful to Berea tradi- pus governance, in part as a response to the tions. Studies of campus governance and the SACS findings, but also as a means to adapt college’s Christian commitment also reflect the college’s mission on the eve of a new Shinn’s concern that the whole institution, century. Shinn’s concern was that faculty, faculty, staff, and students, take responsibili- staff, and students take ownership of Berea’s ty for the mission of Berea as it evolves in whole mission, not just aspects of it. He cited the college’s second century. Dean Louis Smith’s observation that Berea This book is arranged by presidential ad- must “both be and become,” that is, remain ministrations in large part because the pres- faithful to its distinctive claims and her- idents are the principal bearers of Berea’s itage, yet adapt to a rapidly changing world. story. Nevertheless, Berea’s enterprise is the Strategic planning took into account not result of the work of many people: students, only the issues and tensions present on faculty, staff, administrators, trustees, and campus, but also the issues present in the donors. Through photographs, personal larger society that might affect the institu- memoirs, and official records, the past tion, such as the impact of technology on speaks to the present day. The saga of Berea teaching and taking responsibility for cop- College, the mission of work, academic ex- ing with environmental problems. Empha- cellence, and selfless service, is the majestic sizing the Berea traditions of labor, cause that inspired the founders and those learning, and service, Shinn supported the of us who claim to be their descendants. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 7

Berea College Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 8

An early daguerreotype of John G. Fee. His conversion to the abolitionist cause set him on a collision course with his family, his native state of Kentucky, and the South. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 9

The Witness to Impartial Love John G. Fee and the Founding of Berea College

[Berea] was founded by zealous missionaries before the war, to meet the wants of the region. Notwithstanding its earnest advocacy of liberty, and opposition to caste, it grew rapidly in reputation and efﬁciency. It became so great a power, that leading men in this section of the State said that it was endangering slavery and must be suppressed. Accordingly the Teachers and leading Trustees were driven from the State. In due time they returned.

First Catalogue of Berea College

MERICA in 1855 was a nation bodied in the school’s constitution bore awash in excitement. Reformers witness to the tremendous commitment A denounced the evils of liquor and and sacrifice of Berea’s founding gen- secret societies. Women’s rights advocates eration. such as Lucy Stone, Abbie Kelly Foster, and Antoinette Brown Blackwell gained a na- Roots tional hearing. For many reformers, however, slavery was the dominant issue. Amid The founding of Berea College border skirmishes between proslavery and was characterized by several “Free Soil” militias, the abolitionist John influences manifested in various Brown joined his sons and became the reform efforts in nineteenth- leader of an abolitionist group in “Bleeding century America. The first of these Kansas.” Addressing an antislavery society influences was personified in Charles gathering in New York City, Ralph Waldo Grandison Finney (1792–1875). Be- Emerson estimated that $200 million was ginning his career as a lawyer, Finney ex- needed to purchase the freedom of every perienced an intense conversion while Charles Grandison Finney. slave in the South. Frederick Douglass pub- studying the Mosaic law. He embraced the My Bondage, My Freedom. His revivals not only lished In that year New School Theology wing of Presbyteri- converted individual souls John G. Fee, his wife, Matilda, and others anism, which was less strict in interpreting but also motivated social opened a school in Kentucky that attracted Calvinist doctrines such as election and pre- reform. local attention for good teaching, lively destination. His preaching emphasized the preaching, and abolitionism. The values em- mutual cooperation between the work of 9 Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 10

10 berea college

the Holy Spirit and the human spirit in America to admit African Americans. conversion. His revival meetings were elec- Under Beecher’s leadership the school es- trifying, featuring converts falling to their poused a moderate view of the slavery ques- knees in tearful surrender, public prayers by tion, encouraging gradual abolition and women, and an anxious bench in front of colonization, a movement that argued for the assembly for those under conviction of the voluntary resettlement of African sin. These meetings connected conversion Americans in Africa.3 and revival to a sense of social reform and Lane’s moderate position on slavery was concern for others. Finney’s linkage be- directly challenged by one of Finney’s more tween the commonality of sin and the uni- radical disciples, Theodore Weld. Already versality of grace demonstrated itself in a an advocate for temperance, manual labor, type of Christian egalitarianism.1 John G. and education for women, Weld entered Fee was converted to abolitionism while at- Lane as a recent convert to the abolitionist tending Lane Seminary in 1842. Two class- cause. In the spring of 1834 Weld organized mates, John Milton Campbell and James C. an eighteen-day debate that changed the White, were instrumental in Fee’s reconsid- students’ stance from gradual to immediate eration of slavery. They impressed two abolition. Students promoted pro-abolition Scriptures with particular impact on Fee: views and began ministries among African “You shall love the Lord your God with all Americans in Cincinnati. Fearing mob vio- your heart, . . . and your neighbor as your- lence because of their proximity to proslav- self” and “Do unto others what you would ery sympathizers, the seminary trustees have them do unto you.” Fee was convinced voted to restrain the students from any ac- that these principles were critical to his tivity not approved by the faculty. The stu- obedience to God. “Lord, if needs be,” Fee dents rebelled and by 1835, 95 of the 103 prayed, “make me an abolitionist.” Fee’s students had left the school. Along with conversion was total. “The surrender was Professor John Morgan, who had also been complete,” Fee recalled. “I arose from my expelled, some 75 of these students pro- knees with the consciousness that I had claimed themselves “Lane rebels.”4 died to the world and accepted Christ in all The rebels found refuge at Oberlin, the fullness of his character as I then under- which had been founded in 1831 by John Jay stood Him.”2 Shipherd. The school’s ideals followed the Lane Seminary, founded near Cincinnati ministerial example of the missionary John in 1829, formed a second influence in the Frederick Oberlin (1740–1826). Working founding of Berea. Students performed among the poor of the Vosges Mountains in manual labor in addition to their studies. France, Reverend Oberlin preached a New and Old School Presbyterians fought gospel that featured a combination of fer- for control of the seminary, but New School vent German Lutheran pietism and the so- views rose under the influence of the radical cial and educational theories of the French New York philanthropist Arthur Tappan Enlightenment. John Oberlin was the first and Lyman Beecher, the seminary’s presi- to train and employ women as teachers, and dent. Lane was one of the first schools in his campaign of social uplift led many Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 11

the witness to impartial love 11

Oberlin College campus, 1860. Many of Berea’s founders and early teachers were associated with Oberlin. All but three of Berea’s presidents have been students or teachers at Oberlin.

mountain people out of ignorance and meet educational costs. In 1858 the school poverty. For his own part, Shipherd imag- was formally designated as Oberlin College. ined clearing the Ohio wilderness for a Central to all Oberlin’s early innovations communal settlement and manual labor in- was Finney’s perfectionist theology of the stitute. A women’s department and semi- conversion of sinners and Christian sancti- nary would be added as the school fication.6 developed.5 The American Missionary Association The arrival of the Lane rebels trans- also profoundly influenced Berea’s begin- formed the emerging Oberlin school and nings. Formed in 1846 from four separate colony. Shipherd visited the displaced Lane missionary societies, the AMA concentrated seminarians and, aided by donations from on home missions, work among Native Arthur and Lewis Tappan, invited the exiles Americans, missionary activities among to Oberlin. Asa Mahan, a Cincinnati pastor blacks in the West Indies, and African mis- who had supported the rebels, was named sions. The Tappans were the principal phi- the school’s first president. Finney was lanthropists behind the AMA, and the called as professor of theology, and Profes- association’s first president was Joseph H. sor Morgan also joined the faculty. At Payne, a Lane rebel and Oberlinite. George Oberlin free speech was unconditionally Whipple, principal and professor at Ober- guaranteed on all reform issues, and African lin, was perhaps the association’s most American students were soon admitted. influential member, serving as both corre- Oberlin was also the first coeducational col- sponding secretary and editor of its publica- lege in the United States. The manual labor tion, the American Missionary. The AMA was program helped students and the institute distinctly abolitionist in character. Mission- Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 12

12 berea college

aries committed to their antislavery work Bracken County, Kentucky, Fee attended were exhorted to “talk it, preach it, Lane Seminary to prepare for the ministry pray it, vote it.”7 and returned home convinced of the evil of Until 1860 more than nine- slavery. He parted with the Presbyterian tenths of all missionaries sent out Church, in which he had been ordained, be- by the association were Oberlin cause that denomination was not sufficient- graduates. Three of Berea’s earli- ly opposed to slavery. Unable to convince est teachers (Otis Waters, George his family of his views, Fee was eventually Candee, and William E. Lincoln) disowned and disinherited by his slavehold- were Oberlin graduates and funded ing father for his abolitionist stance.9 by the AMA. Berea College’s Lacking support from a denomination or founders, John G. Fee and J. A. R. his family, Fee nevertheless enjoyed the de- Rogers, were supported in their rural votion of his wife, Matilda Hamilton Fee. pastorates by the AMA. The AMA would Zealous in support of Fee’s cause, she was Otis Waters. Along with also hold funds in trust for the college as it described by the abolitionist William George Candee and 8 William E. Lincoln, reemerged after the Civil War. Goodell as being as thoroughly abolitionist Waters was an Oberlin Berea’s founders and ideals were rooted as her husband.10 In 1844 Fee founded an graduate. He taught in the work of Finney, Lane Seminary, antislavery church in the mountains of schools in Berea and in Oberlin College, and the American Mis- Lewis County and received financial sup- neighboring Rockcastle County. His innovative sionary Association. Fee and Rogers em- port from the American Missionary Associa- methods let him use the braced Oberlin’s values of interracial tion. In addition, he pastored a number of short school terms to full coeducation, free speech, manual labor, and “free” churches in rural Ohio River coun- advantage. Christian perfectionism. All these grand ties. He attended and participated in anti- ideas had found success in the relative safety slavery meetings in northern cities, where of the North. Fee’s great adventure now was he was a popular speaker. Fee gained some to put these values into practice in the reputation in the North as the author of midst of slavery in his home state of abolitionist pamphlets and of a notable Kentucky. book, An Anti-Slavery Manual, published in 1848. Fee also found a key source of support in A Southern Abolitionist the South. Cassius Clay, a prominent Madi- Located in the middle of a sparsely inhabit- son County landholder, politician, and anti- ed wilderness, the fledgling school opened slavery advocate, found in Fee an ally for in 1855 in a one-room clapboard building, free speech and a potential means of ex- the old district schoolhouse. Berea enjoyed panding his own influence in the mountains a good reputation, even among local slave- of eastern Kentucky, “where there were but holders. This view continued despite the few slaves and the people courageous.” Clay antislavery views held by Waters, Lincoln, had been converted to the antislavery cause and other northern men who taught in the in 1832 when, as a student at Yale Universi- school. Many people in Madison County ty, he was deeply impressed by a sermon were less sure of the school’s founder, John given by William Lloyd Garrison. Returning G. Fee, however. Born September 9, 1816, in to Kentucky, Clay established an antislavery Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 13

the witness to impartial love 13

newspaper, the True American, in 1845. Sever- al of Fee’s antislavery articles were published in the pages of Clay’s newspaper. Clay had freed his own slaves by 1844, and his open opposition to the “peculiar institution” aroused bitter hostility and violence. Whereas Fee went about his circuit un- armed, Clay was physically prepared to de- fend his ideas, having a pistol and a bowie knife close at hand.11 Clay requested a boxful of Fee’s Manual in 1853 for distribution in Madison County and later that year invited Fee to hold a series of religious meetings in an area of bot- tomland called the Glade, north of the Berea ridge. At the end of these meetings thirteen people formed themselves into a free and nondenominational church, inviting Fee in 1854 to become their pastor. Clay promised a ten-acre homestead, money to- John G. and Matilda Fee. “This I found in her,” Fee wrote of Matilda, “that ward a house, and additional land for a affection, frugality and endurance, which few could have combined, and which greatly sustained me in the dark and trying hours that attended most of our pathway.”

church and a school. With the approval of the AMA, Fee moved his small family and their belongings to Madison County in the fall of 1854. He named the place Berea after a town mentioned in Acts 17:11, a community in Thessalonica where Paul and Silas preached. These apostles found people who “were noble . . . and received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”12

Imagining a School

Not long after his arrival in the fall of 1854, Fee and George Candee, an Oberlin stu- Cassius M. Clay. His early support of Fee would, in later years, cause Clay to claim that he was the true dent who was assisting Fee’s preaching ef- founder of Berea College. forts, were chopping wood near the new Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 14

14 berea college

Ruin of the Glade Church. From this place, John G. Fee preached his gospel of impartial love. This gospel built not only a religious community, but a school that threatened to turn society upside down.

homestead. As they worked, the two men began to settle in the area in response to the “talked up the idea of a more extended growth of the Glade church, however, the school—a college.”13 This school would “ed- school Fee opened in 1855 became increas- ucate not merely in a knowledge of the sci- ingly popular. In spite of increasing violence ences, so called, but also in the principles of against Fee, who was repeatedly pulled from love in religion, and liberty and justice in his pulpit and threatened with lynching, the government.”14 Learning, informed by the founders remained undeterred in their pur- gospel, would make the nascent Berea Col- pose. Fee later observed that the middle- lege a school for reform. aged and the old would not willingly Fee recognized the link between preach- receive his impartial gospel. He believed ing and teaching, but he saw his primary instead that his message would ﬁnd a hear- mission in building churches rather than ing in the hearts and minds of young peo- schools. “The Church of Christ, Union” was ple whose “sensibilities had not been another preaching point for Fee on the long hardened by long-continued crime,” the ridge that rose above the Glade, and it was crime of slavery.16 here that people gathered to hear Fee’s abo- As early as 1855 Clay and Fee had agreed litionist gospel. “There was no purpose,” that the school might be enlarged into a Fee recalled of his church planting, “but in college. That fall Fee started to cultivate the midst of many privations and persecu- northern support. He declared in the Ameri- tions to preach and apply a gospel of impartial can Missionary the need for an institution that love, to preach Christ Jesus our Lord as a “would be to Kentucky what Oberlin was to Saviour from all sin.”15 As new families Ohio, antislavery, anti-caste, anti-rum, anti- Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 15

the witness to impartial love 15

sin.”17 Writing to Gerrit Smith in 1856, Fee the inﬂuence of J. A. R. and Elizabeth reported that he and others had “for Rogers, the school grew in popularity. Par- months been talking about starting an ents were invited to performances by the academy, and eventually look to a college— students each Friday afternoon, and in June giving an education to all colors, classes, 1858 the school gave a closing exhibition cheap and thorough.”18 Talk moved closer to consisting of recitations, orations, dialogues, action in the spring of 1858, when John Al- and songs. The little school was not yet a manza Rowley Rogers and his wife, Eliza- college, but the elements of one were begin- beth, arrived. J. A. R. Rogers left a ning to appear.19 comfortable pastorate in Illinois to come to Steps toward creating an organizational Kentucky with the idea of founding what he framework were taken that fall. Fee invited described as a “higher school.” Rogers was some of his colleagues and neighbors to his extensively educated, a graduate of Oberlin study. There were nine men in all: Fee, College and Oberlin Seminary, and he had Rogers, and Fee’s cousin John Hanson, who enjoyed success as both a teacher and a ran a busy sawmill; three ministers—George minister in Illinois, New York, Ohio, and Candee, Jacob Emerick, and J. S. Davis; and Kentucky before coming to Berea. Under three local farmers—William Stapp, John

An early gallery of founders and presidents. From the beginning, Berea presidents such as Henry Fairchild and William G. Frost sought to identify themselves with the vision of Fee and Rogers. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 16

16 berea college

Smith, and T. J. Renfro. Starting in Septem- an administration, and hiring a faculty is ber 1858, these men met regularly to discuss, somewhat typical of other schools of the debate, and draft the first constitution of era. The characteristics that made Berea the college. According to Rogers, the princi- such a radical idea, however, are found in pal author, the committee considered three the preamble and in the bylaws. It is in topics: Is there a demand for a college in these lines from Berea’s first constitution this region? Are we the men called by God that we find the opening text of Berea’s John G. Fee’s study as to carry it forward? Is it to be wholly for saga.20 sketched in 1878. The God, and not for our own glory? Their final The charter begins, “In order to promote debates that resulted in draft, adopted after a three-day meeting in the cause of Christ.” Fee and the other Berea’s first constitution were held here. The July 1859, articulated the fundamental char- founders of Berea College were thoroughly books on the shelves re- acteristics of the school Berea should be. biblical and evangelical. In contrast to most flected Fee’s particular in- The constitution’s summary of such practi- prevailing interpretations, the founding terests in abolitionism, cal matters as electing trustees, organizing generation of Berea viewed the cause of the Bible, and Christian baptism. Christ as an egalitarianism informed by such biblical references as Luke 10:25–37, “You shall love the Lord your God”; Acts 10:34, “God is no respector of persons”; and what became the college motto, “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth” (Acts 17:17). The founders’ evangelicalism ardently emphasized conversion by the Holy Spirit, receiving God’s power to become holy, even as God is holy. This conversion would give a “new heart” to the believer, a heart motivated not by self-interest but by joyful service to God. Fee and Rogers argued that the believer should seek holiness, a sanctification of life that resulted in a perfect, sinless life. Given humanity’s fallible nature, this quest might seem doomed, yet the founders saw the goal of holy perfection as a work of God’s enabling grace.21 Trust in God was the dominating feature of the school, according to J. A. R. Rogers. This trust, he noted, “was far from being perfect” but “it was genuine.”22 For Berea’s founders, the “cause of Christ” was nothing less than the conversion of every person touched by Berea, and this conversion would lay the foundation for an ideal Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 17

the witness to impartial love 17

society made up of Christians living togeth- “who send out strong minds and strong pur- er in love. poses in weak bodies.” He urged a program One institution for serving the cause was that balanced “good physical development” the college, which, in the words of the ﬁrst with “good mental development.”24 J. A. R. bylaw, would “furnish the facilities for a Rogers recalled that students and teachers thorough education to all persons of good alike joyfully entered into improvised sports moral character, and at the least possible ex- under the sheltering trees.25 pense to the same. To promote this end all Study and play were balanced with work. the facilities and inducements for manual During respites between studies students labor . . . shall be offered to its students.” were employed clearing away the brush This thorough education included Latin from around the school for creation of a and Greek, physics, chemistry, astronomy, playground and walking paths. “Those who geography, history, literature, and rhetoric. had not yet begun to dig among Greek As was true at Oberlin, music was an early roots,” Rogers observed, “dug away at those feature of the curriculum. Elizabeth Rogers of the oak stumps.”26 Given that many stu- taught the students to sing. “Those songs,” dents or their families could not afford even she wrote, “set the countryside aﬁre.”23 Be- a modest subscription for the support of the yond the academics, there was also time for school or its teachers, manual labor provid- play. John Hanson sternly advocated physi- ed a means to that end. Labor was not cal education and lamented the colleges merely a way to earn an education, however.

The first schoolhouse, built in 1855. Berea’s early teachers delivered a thorough education, and Elizabeth Rogers taught the children to sing. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 18

18 berea college

The founders saw work as healthful and as to equality in education. The “Ladies’ promoting values of independence, industry, Course” was available only to women stu- and innovation. Work also blurred distinc- dents; it provided three years of the classical tions of class. Study, work, and leisure edu- curriculum but excluded Greek and pre- cated the whole person. Berea was designed pared women to be wives, mothers, teach- to “discipline minds,” Fee noted, “not mere- ers, and interesting companions for future ly to make students acquainted with science spouses. These educated women would, as but also to educate their hearts and develop the first teachers of their children, ultimate- their consciences.”27 ly elevate humanity. “The tendency of The type of student Fee, Rogers, and the Christianity,” Fee wrote in 1869, “the true others desired was also distinctive. The lan- civilization, is to elevate [woman], to make guage of the constitution was deliberate; all her man’s intellectual, social and moral persons meant that anyone, regardless of equal—as God designed her.”30 In the years color or gender, was welcome. Charac- following the Civil War, Fee and Berea’s ter was the measure for admission to first president, E. Henry Fairchild, would the college. Although many aboli- articulate powerful reasons why women tionists were uncomfortable with should be educated on an equal basis with the idea of social equality between men, but the millennial day of equal roles in whites and African Americans, or society envisaged by many reformers out- even separated the issue of slavery side Berea would have to wait. Nevertheless, from the issue of racism, Fee’s the fact that Berea would cheerfully wel- commitment to a doctrine of im- come students regardless of race or gender partial love demanded an egalitari- was remarkable indeed, and as the founders anism that placed blacks and whites saw it, “right.” on equal terms.28 “This course was The thorough, egalitarian education taken,” J. A. R. Rogers noted, “although Berea offered was designed to take place in it was known that it would be contrary to a particular environment. The constitution’s Matilda Hamilton Fee’s the prejudices of many, because it was second bylaw made clear that Berea “shall commitment to abolition- right.” Welcoming all persons, according to be under an influence strictly Christian, and ism was equal to her hus- Rogers, followed Christ’s holy example of as such, opposed to Sectarianism, Slave- band’s. She personally associating with outcasts. Berea was “estab- holding, Caste, and every other wrong insti- saved John Fee from would-be lynch mobs, lished especially to help the needy,” Rogers tution or practice.” The Christianity the and took in African wrote, and to exclude anyone who was founders advanced was based on the two American boarders when modest and faithful was simply wrong.29 Great Commandments, the Golden Rule the school reopened in The founders’ commitment to an educa- and Acts 10:34, “God is no respector of per- 1866. Her life was characterized by prayer and tional egalitarianism was not limited to race. sons.” Fee and the others were already clear service to others. Matilda Heirs of Oberlin’s legacy as the first coedu- in their opposition to slavery, but by oppos- Fee also served as head of cational college, the founders were clear in ing caste the founders showed their com- the Ladies’ Board of Care, their commitment to provide education for mitment to interracial education. It was not which supervised the lives of women students. women. Their reasoning that Christianity enough, Fee maintained, only to oppose elevated everyone did not lead immediately slavery or to extend liberty to African Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 19

the witness to impartial love 19

Americans. The equality of all persons, he cial education, was the principal threat the argued, “is the great incentive to noble and founders saw to Christian union. In this re- virtuous conduct.”31 The sins of slavery and gard Fee and the others meant not a single caste not only denied the will of God, but church organization, but a visible unity of impeded the natural and inalienable rights purpose among Christians in advancing the granted by God to all humanity. This asser- mission of the church. Fee argued that tion of equality was for Fee rooted in both “wrong” institutions and practices existed the Declaration of Independence and the because members of different religious Constitution of the United States. “The in- groups did not speak out against these sins First Fee home. The Fee corporation of the principle of impartial for fear of disturbing their own denomina- home not only housed conduct to all, in institutions for the public tions. “With the semblance of piety they John G. and Matilda Fee good,” Fee declared, “was to the founders of would say, ‘Peace is best,’” Fee complained, and their children, but it also served as a meeting Berea College, the only course at once “and thus smother the truth.”33 The place for trustees and 32 Christian, patriotic, and philanthropic.” founders made clear that no sectarian test faculty. Angus Burleigh Sectarianism, not coeducation or interra- would be applied to trustees, presidents, and other African Amer- ican students boarded here, too. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 20

20 berea college

Exile and Return

The proposed college constitution was duly adopted in July 1859. Lacking the ten members required by Kentucky law, however, the college was not yet legally incorporated. Nevertheless, the Prudential Committee, consisting of Fee, Rogers, John Hanson, and T. J. Renfro, was appointed to assume the personal responsibility of raising money, purchasing land, and financing buildings for the fledgling college. Fee went to Worcester, Massachusetts, to attend an AMA meeting and in November 1859 was invited to speak in Henry Ward Beecher’s church in Brook- lyn, New York. John Brown’s raid on the Harper’s Ferry arsenal in October had created an atmosphere of “intense excitement” that exacerbated every slaveholder’s nightmare of an armed slave rebellion. In addressing the members of Beecher’s Plymouth Church, Fee declared, “We want more John Browns; not in manner of action, but in spirit of consecration; not to go with carnal weapons, but with spiritual; men who, with Bibles in their hands, and tears in their eyes, will beseech men to be reconciled to God. Give us such men, and we may yet save the South.”35 Though this speech was This list of Berea exiles New York Tribune, has been attributed to accurately reported in the Louisville Courier Cassius Clay. The Fees, professors, or teachers, only that candidates the account said only, “John Rogerses, and Hansons be competent to fulfill their responsibilities G. Fee is in Beecher’s church, calling for are at the head of the list. and have Christian experience and practice. more John Browns.”36 Alarmed slaveholders Many of the exiles settled in southern Ohio. To be antisectarian was to “oppose every- in Richmond, Kentucky, the county seat of thing that causes schism in the body of Madison County, assembled a vigilance Christ, or among those who are committee of sixty-five men who called on Christians.”34 The college, under this strict the homes of J. A. R. Rogers and others in but egalitarian Christian influence, would the Berea village, demanding that they leave strive to be a model of Christian education within ten days. When appeals to Governor that embraced impartial love as its watch- Beriah Magoffin failed, many of the Berea word. supporters and their families left the state. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 21

the witness to impartial love 21

Hurrying from New York, Fee met his own proved bitterly disappointing for Fee. In- family, the Rogerses, and others in Cincin- creasingly isolated at Camp Nelson, he nati. As the United States moved to the turned his hopes to the Berea school, which brink of civil war, Fee, Rogers, and their reopened in the fall of 1865. For Fee the families settled temporarily in Ohio.37 legacy of Camp Nelson was twofold. First, Despite tremendous personal peril, Fee ever the visionary, he resented the conserva- and Rogers visited Berea on several occa- tive ways of the camp’s administration, not- sions early in the war. By the spring of 1864 ing with sadness the willingness of powerful Fee had returned to his home on the Berea whites to keep the newly freed blacks in an ridge. He spent much of his time during the attitude of servitude. More hopefully, how- war working about thirty-five miles away in ever, he saw the eagerness and determina- Jessamine County at Camp Nelson, teach- tion of African Americans to learn and to ing and preaching among the African work for an equal place in American life in American soldiers stationed there. The mil- the present moment, not at some distant itary base had also become a refugee center future date. As the Civil War came to an for escaped slaves and their families fleeing end, Fee returned to the Berea ridge, deter- from the war. These people lived in desper- mined to demonstrate the practicality of the ately miserable conditions, without ade- founding ideal.41 quate food or shelter. Some four thousand ex-slaves were at Camp Nelson and their Defenders of the Truth potential excited Fee. “If there be a class of men in this nation which promises great In January 1866 the school opened as the good to this nation,” he wrote, “in that class Berea Literary Institute. New trustees were will be found these Kentucky colored sol- elected and the college was officially char- diers.”38 Fee secured teachers for the sol- tered with the filing of the constitutional diers, and enlisted aid for their families articles in Richmond on April 5, 1866.42 amid bureaucratic difficulties and hateful This allowed the Prudential Committee, on prejudice. He tested his own ideas of social behalf of the board, to acquire a large tract equality by inviting Belle Mitchell, an of land owned by John G. Woolwine and to African American teacher, to sit with him at begin adding buildings to accommodate the dinner. Fee observed that the presence of expanding school. J. A. R. and Elizabeth the young lady at one of the tables in the Rogers resumed their teaching duties, as- common dining hall produced a sisted by W. W. Wheeler and his wife, Ellen, “sensation.”39 White officers and white mis- who had worked with Fee at Camp Nelson. sionaries from the AMA either protested or The school was divided into two depart- left the hall. Asked to remove Mitchell from ments: the Primary Department, providing the building, Fee replied, “The young elementary education for children, and the woman is fitted for her position; she is Academic Department, offering secondary modest and discreet; she is a Christian, and education to young people and adults. The as such, Christ’s representative. What I do most remarkable event took place in March, to her, I do to him.”40 But the experience when the first African American students Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 22

22 berea college

American Missionary Association teachers with black students at Camp Nelson. Despite sincere efforts to educate African Americans, Fee was keenly disappointed at the lingering racial prejudice among his white co- workers.

were admitted to the school. On March 5, eral black soldiers recently mustered out 1866, J. A. R. Rogers addressed the school, from the Union army. Among them was the announcing that “from this hour the school remarkable Angus Burleigh, whom Fee had was open to all.”43 According to Rogers, recruited at Camp Nelson. Born aboard there was no little excitement when four ship on the Atlantic Ocean, Burleigh was black students entered the school the fol- the son of an English sea captain and a lowing day. “From the front window [of the slave. He learned to read and, escaping from boarding hall],” remembered Ellen Wheeler, slavery, joined the Union army at the age of “Mrs. Rogers and I watched the little black sixteen and enlisted at Camp Nelson. children enter on that memorable day, and Burleigh recalled Fee’s commitment to in- watched until we saw the ﬂight of the white terracial education in his memoirs. Re- boys and girls.”44 W. W. Wheeler noted in sponding to Fee’s inquiry as to his plans his annual report that attendance for the after the war, Burleigh replied that he might term had been low “on account of absence of seek an education in Massachusetts. 27 members who unceremoniously and in a Burleigh vividly remembered Fee’s persua- disgraceful manner left the school at the end sive declaration. “That is what I am here of two months on account of the presence of for,” Fee said, “seeking young men and colored children who had been admitted to women to go to Berea and get an education. equal privileges with others.”45 Also we are making arrangements so that Nevertheless, the school continued into every one will have an opportunity to work its next term (April 1866) and enrolled sev- his way. You can be useful here in Ken- Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 23

the witness to impartial love 23

well. By 1870 some forty to fifty African American families had bought land in and around the village of Berea, their lots and parcels interspersed with those of whites. This remarkable policy of land purchase and ownership created nothing less than a fully interracial community.47 “We shall form a society,” Fee declared, “radically different from the proud cast[e] feeling, sectarian society so general in the south.”48 In Fee’s mind, Berea was a union of church, school, and community built upon the “practical recognition of the brotherhood of man.” Such communities, Fee argued, would be a regen- erating force in every country made up of true men and women.49 The school prospered under Rogers’s principalship from 1866 to 1869. In 1866–67, the first full school year, 187 students attended: 91 were white, 96 were African Ameri- Angus Burleigh. When this photograph was taken in can. This nearly equal racial ratio would 1931, Burleigh was Berea’s oldest living graduate. Burleigh was among a group of soldiers recruited by continue well into the 1880s. As the students Fee at Camp Nelson to attend Berea at the end of increased in number, so did the buildings, the Civil War. Graduating in 1875, Burleigh was a most of them constructed from lumber pro- minister and lifelong witness to Berea’s interracial duced by John Hanson’s sawmill. If the early mission. classroom buildings were plain and simple in appearance, the complexities of academic and tucky.”46 Though welcomed by Fee and the social life contained within their wooden other teachers, Burleigh’s presence caused walls amazed outsiders.50 Through all the another exodus of white students. difficulties of this early period Rogers noted Still, the experiment was taking hold, not with satisfaction that “the delights of accom- only in the school but in the emerging vil- plishment and increased knowledge filled all lage as well. Fee, many of the resident with enthusiasm and hope.”51 trustees, and other local white supporters sold land to black settlers who were arriving Linking Together Many in significant numbers. These new settlers, Devoted Lives mostly from Camp Nelson, hoped to obtain schooling for their children. It followed in When the college was officially chartered in the minds of the founders that if black and April 1866, new trustees had to be elected white students could study side by side in to fill vacancies that had occurred during the classroom, then their parents and ex- the war. Only four of the original constitu- tended families could live side by side as tional signers remained—Fee, who served as Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 24

24 berea college

A view of Berea’s early classroom buildings. As the number of students president of the board, Rogers, John Han- had been Fee’s friend and coworker at and courses grew, so did son, and Elisha Harrison. To these were Camp Nelson. Though Henderson and Pres- the number of these “box” structures erected with added Morgan Burdette, A. J. Henderson, ton served only briefly, the makeup of the lumber from John Han- W. W. Wheeler, William N. Embree, A. J. board was significant because the trustees son’s sawmill. Hanson, and John Preston. Two of Fee’s included northern and southern reformers, Camp Nelson associates, the Reverend mountaineers, and African Americans, thus Abisha Scofield and the Reverend Gabriel representing the reforming roots of the col- Burdette, also joined the new board. lege and the principal constituencies who Gabriel Burdette was Berea’s first black needed Berea.52 Nearly all the trustees trustee and served Berea until 1868. Mor- resided in Berea, a tangible indication of gan Burdette, Henderson, Preston, and their commitment to the cause of the Harrison were from the Appalachian region school. and local men. A. J. Hanson was John Han- The obvious source for teachers was son’s brother, and both men were Fee’s Oberlin, and that school provided a number cousins. William Embree was Elizabeth of instructors over the years to Berea. Of Rogers’s brother and Fee’s son-in-law, Em- the fifteen early teachers Rogers names in bree having married Laura Fee. Wheeler his memoirs, at least ten were Oberlin- Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 25

the witness to impartial love 25

The first chapel. Rogers lamented the chapel’s undistinguished architec- ture, but this building bore witness to the spiritual center of the college’s early work.

educated. Nine of the ﬁfteen teachers were demonstrate a proper Christian example to women, and at least ﬁve of these had at- their students. tended Oberlin. Henry Clark, who came to The presence of Union Church invigor- Berea in 1868, was made professor of Latin, ated Berea’s Christian commitment. The while Rogers was named professor of congregation met in the college chapel, and Greek.53 The obvious connection between members, students, and faculty alike regard- Berea’s and Oberlin’s theological and edu- ed Fee as their pastor. Students and com- cational foundations made Berea an under- munity residents were enrolled in Sunday standable outlet for the reformist thinking School classes taught by teachers and pro- produced at Oberlin, and thus a natural fessors. In addition to his pastoral duties, choice for advancing early teaching and Fee taught Christian Evidences at the col- preaching careers. Furthermore, the pres- lege. Like the college and the town, Union ence of Rogers, Fee, Hanson, and others Church was integrated. In these early days among the faculty ensured that the original school, church, and community were all one. intentions of the school would be advanced Students in all academic departments at- by the teachers. Besides qualifying in their tended religious exercises each morning in ability to teach, Berea teachers had to addition to weekly religious lectures and Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 26

26 berea college

Bible study. From time to time revival meet- means of earning money for their own stud- ings were also held on campus. “If there is ies; they spent years in and out of school any place,” Henry Fairchild later observed, and in some cases never completed their de- “where a life of energy, purity, meekness, grees. The need for teachers was so great love, faith and patience will redound to the that they did what they could with what glory of God, it is here.”54 they had gained from Berea. “Not the least The curriculum at Berea reflected a close of the blessings of the school,” Rogers relationship between the school’s commit- noted, “have been the result of the work of ments and the perceived needs of the col- the students while at Berea and when they lege’s constituencies. By 1869 there were went to their homes and elsewhere to teach five academic departments: the Primary and and impart that knowledge and culture Intermediate Departments for the basics in which they themselves had obtained.”57 reading, writing, and arithmetic; the Obtaining financial support for providing Preparatory Department for advanced these services to the region required consid- work, including Greek, Latin, mathematics, erable effort. Fee and Rogers wrote letters and science as well as courses in philosophy, to individuals, produced items for newspa- history, and English; the Normal Depart- pers, and occasionally, “when driven . . . by ment for preparing teachers; and the Ladies’ necessity, went to such persons as they be- Department, which included courses in lieved would be glad to help in this work.”58 English, Latin, French, algebra, logic, and Much of the funding and promotional sup- philosophy. All departments were described port came through the American Mission- as “thorough,” but it was also clear that the ary Association, which paid the salaries of academic emphasis was upon elementary several Berea workers and published the let- education. This curriculum, however, was ters and reports of Fee, Rogers, and others not that found in a seminary but was de- in the pages of the American Missionary. Aboli- signed to meet the very real need for basic tionist and antislavery luminaries such as literacy among both African Americans and the Union general Oliver Otis Howard, white mountaineers whose education had Horace Bushnell, George Candee, and been either neglected or denied altogether.55 Henry Ward Beecher also lent their names The varied curriculum had immediate to the Berea enterprise. Of some 366 en- applications. The founders quickly recog- dowment subscribers listed before 1869, 354 nized the immense need for teachers among were from New England and the northern the freed blacks and mountaineers. Funding Midwest.59 Support from Kentuckians and for public schools for blacks was minuscule. other southerners was slight; Fairchild re- Mountain schools were notoriously episodic called that one South Carolina newspaper in their schedules and were frequently un- editor visited the campus and gave a flatter- derstaffed. Fee sought AMA support for the ing assessment of the school but dismissed hiring and funding of black teachers in the the work of interracial education as “the belief that the example of African American work of Northern spite.”60 In defiance of teachers would dispel the spirit of caste.56 such disdain and occasional predictions of Many Berea students taught school as a disaster, Berea’s experiment was working Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 27

the witness to impartial love 27

Graduation arbor. Com- mencement audiences sheltered here to listen to student speeches and recitations as well as prominent speakers.

successfully. On a daily basis black and asked Rogers if he kept a bookstore. When white students sat on the same school Rogers said that all the books were his, the benches, studied the same textbooks, and visitor observed, “I reckon it’s a mighty lot ate meals together. “We have been meditat- of trouble to have to read all them books.” ing over that question year after year, how This remark convinced Rogers that wealth that thing was to be done,” noted one and comfort were in the eye of the behold- northern minister, “and these men [at er.62 For years to come Berea, its teachers, Berea] have gone and done it.”61 and its students would have to rely on the The funding that was available was used investment and goodwill of northern reli- to acquire land and to erect buildings, but gious and radical reformers. Berea’s experi- Berea’s teachers made numerous sacrifices ment was attracting wide attention in in pursuing their work. The modest tuition northern philanthropic circles, but whether charged in these early days was just as often that attention would provide sustaining paid in goods as in currency: a cow, baskets financial support for the long term was an- of eggs, weavings and needlework. Fee, other matter. Rogers, their families, and those of the Attendance at the college slowly in- other teachers were nevertheless undaunted creased, as did the organizing structures. In by their financial condition and made the 1867–68 the student body grew to 307, a most of their situation. Rogers rejoiced in third of whom were white. Naturally, out- his personal library and in his numerous siders wondered with some alarm as to how comforts. A local man visiting his home such a “mixed” school would function. The Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 28

28 berea college

and to promote the students’ best interests. Profanity, vulgar language, drinking, card playing, and other activities “calculated to injure the morals of the students” were strongly prohibited.64 Social relations between men and women were strictly regu- lated, with prescribed calling hours and closely monitored activities. Students were expected to provide their own books, lights, fuel, furniture, and bedding when housed in campus buildings. Many students boarded with families in town.65 The small campus population combined with the isolation of the town created a remarkable sense of shared community, with free interactions between students and teachers at picnics and at social gatherings in the homes of teachers and staff. It is difficult to find student reactions to these rules and regulations, or more general commentary on campus life, from before 1869. There are some clues, however, in social organizations and gatherings on campus. The Men’s Literary Society (which also included women among its nondebating membership) was integrated, and debate teams were evenly organized to include black and white members working together. Reform interests naturally informed the topics, which ranged from temperance to social equality. It was not unusual to see African Americans elected to positions of Berea Commencement leadership by their white fellows or estab- announcement. These ex- first school catalogue (1867) promised that ercises were a testimony lish lifelong friendships across racial bound- 66 to the school’s commit- the institution would “be a nursery for aries. Melissa Ballard, an African ment to a thorough edu- Christ” and required students to bring rec- American student who attended Berea in cation as well as tangible ommendations with them certifying their the late 1860s and early 1870s, recalled that proof that the Berea good moral character.63 The Laws and Regula- experiment was viable. both blacks and whites attended the county tions of Berea College asserted that the rules fair and commencement and all seemed to had not been “hastily or arbitrarily made” enjoy themselves.67 Colonel Benjamin P. but were adopted on the basis of experience Runkle, an assistant commissioner for the Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 29

the witness to impartial love 29

John Hanson’s sawmill provided lumber for Berea’s early classroom buildings and employment for students. An earlier sawmill was burned by a mob shortly after Hanson was exiled with the other founders in the winter of 1859.

Freedmen’s Bureau in Kentucky, observed a dents were taking Fee’s vision as their own, chapel service that he described as “one of and that their learning surpassed anything the most singular sights I ever witnessed . . . written in books. “Our school is a success— all shades and colors and conditions and all This is what many, North & South, did not intent on one object, to escape from the expect,” Fee wrote in the American Missionary bonds of ignorance.” The students generally in December 1866. “Many colored people were poor, lived upon very little, and worked have been afraid to come lest they too would to meet their expenses. In the dining hall be overwhelmed in the threatened ruin—so Runkle noticed two white boys who were with many white families. When these shall waiting tables containing both black and see that other white children can be educat- white students. “And this they did cheerfully ed along with colored children and yet be for six cents an hour to get money to pay intelligent, refined & efficient, then they will their board.”68 These observations by Bal- bring in their children.”69 Respectability in lard and Runkle seem to affirm that stu- the South, according to Fee, would no Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 30

30 berea college

The boarding hall. From here, Ellen Wheeler and Elizabeth Rogers watched longer result from owning land and slaves, Berea’s sense of its history before the the flight of the white but from character and learning. Civil War reinforced the commitments em- students from the school- Fund-raising by Fee and the other bodied in the school’s constitution. Here house when Berea was integrated in March 1866. founders promoted the college’s mission of was an institution of God’s planting with interracial education above all else. Publicity local origins, standing for liberty for all per- literature declared that the school was great- sons, determined to be “emphatically” ly needed for blacks who were “studying the Christian in character, a transforming sciences, ﬁtting themselves for teaching, the power in the South and the nation. “The work of the ministry, and other posts of use- untold amount of money and blood that has fulness.”70 Neglected by the wealthy planta- been expended for the preservation of the tion class, white mountaineers were notable Union,” the college proclaimed, “will not be for their devotion to the Union during the allowed to be almost in vain, for the want of Civil War. “Having periled their lives for the those Christian schools at the South neces- Union, the least their grateful countrymen sary to cement the Union and make us all can do, is to give them those Christian Semi- one homogeneous, happy people.”72 naries necessary to the full development of John and Matilda Fee, J. A. R. and Eliza- their manhood.”71 beth Rogers, John Hanson, and others from Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 31

the witness to impartial love 31

the earliest days were still a forceful pres- to slaveholding, caste, and sectarianism; ence on the Berea campus in 1869. Having and to employ teachers and administra- endured persecution and sacrifice for the tors who were agreeable to the col- sake of their gospel of impartial love, the lege’s fundamental principles. founders and their families in many respects This coherent view of Christian formed the first cadre of teachers and ad- education was based upon the ministrators, besides supplying a number of founders’ commitment to glorify students from among their own children. God and serve the world. As the Despite local resistance, the founders were theologian Dale Brown observed, successful in converting and encouraging “For the founders, however, alle- nearby individuals and families to join in a giance to a higher law meant that Christian, evangelical, and egalitarian com- the best way to serve the world may munity. The college’s constitution embodied be to sometimes oppose the world.”73 the commitment of the founders to wel- Berea College from the start was income all persons to the school on the basis tended to be different, at times radically of good moral character; to provide a thor- so, from other colleges and to champion the John G. Fee. Undaunted ough education balanced by work; to main- cause of the poor, the disenfranchised, and by mobs in his opposition tain a strictly Christian influence opposed the outsider. to slavery before the Civil War, Fee remained determined to establish civil and social equality for all now that Berea’s experiment had begun. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 32

Edward Henry Fairchild. The distinguished Ober- lin graduate knew first- hand many of the obstacles to interracial education. His own abolitionist views made him the logical candidate to be Berea’s first president. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 33

Forecasting the Millennium Edward Henry Fairchild, 1869–1889

’Tis well, for a people, not only to retrospect the past, but having faith in the rectitude & stability of their institutions, lay plans also for the future.

john g. fee, July 4, 1876

HE administration of Berea’s first Abolitionized president, Edward Henry Fairchild, E. H. Fairchild, called Henry by his gave institutional form to Fee’s contemporaries, was elected to Tdream of an interracial, coeducational Berea’s presidency in 1868 from school. He proclaimed that Berea would Oberlin College, where for six- welcome all persons, regardless of race, who teen years he had been principal sought the advantages of education. of the Preparatory Department, Fairchild stoutly asserted that educating and where his brother James was women and men together enhanced learn- president. Henry and James had ing and culture. Established in the fall of formed Oberlin’s first collegiate 1869, Fairchild’s administration inaugurated class in 1835, so Henry knew some- the development of a curriculum, the begin- thing about new beginnings. Born No- nings of significant fund-raising and en- vember 29, 1815, in Stockbridge, dowment, the shaping of an interracial Massachusetts, Fairchild grew up in north- Fairchild at Oberlin, community, and the first substantial build- eastern Ohio, where his father owned a 1860. He served as prin- ings that were symbolic of the college’s sta- small farm. By his own account, Fairchild cipal of Oberlin’s bility and commitment. The first collegiate became “deeply interested” in the antislav- Preparatory Department for sixteen years, and was class, consisting of four men and one 2 ery question at the age of sixteen. He was a a noted and effective woman, was organized. The term “college” twenty-one-year-old freshman when the speaker. itself was something of a misnomer, how- Lane Seminary “rebels” entered Oberlin’s ever. Indeed, the most prominent campus seminary in 1835. Theodore Weld, the feature was not the buildings, but the large leader of the rebels, visited Oberlin and de- groves of trees that hid them from view. livered twenty lectures on slavery. Weld’s Berea in these early days was, as Elizabeth sermons had a profound influence on James Rogers wrote, “all in the brush, full of poss- and Henry Fairchild, among many others. ibilities.”1 “To listen to such an exhibition of the 33 Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 34

34 berea college

system of slavery,” James Fairchild wrote, Men and Women of “was an experience to be remembered for a Blessed Experience lifetime. . . . From first to last, through the evenings of three full weeks, the whole body In his inaugural address Henry Fairchild of citizens and students hung upon his lips. forcefully defined the type of instructors . . . Oberlin was abolitionized in every needed to serve Berea College. Students thought and feeling and purpose.”3 Henry would find opportunities for free discussion Fairchild was commissioned among the on important subjects, but they would also “Seventy,” a group of students who traveled find teachers who advanced their own con- as abolitionist lecturers throughout the victions with courage and integrity. Fairchild Midwest representing the American Anti- had no use for teachers who did not bravely Slavery Society. During his three months of maintain their commitments. Students service he was threatened by mobs and ig- would be spoiled, Fairchild argued, by those nored by preachers. “After speaking an hour teachers who were “neutral, noncommittal, amid a din of horns, tin pans, swearing, soulless, non-principled.” Berea, he asserted, screeching, singing, and flying missiles,” in needed “earnest, positive, whole-souled men Columbus, Pennsylvania, Fairchild “was and women, who will live and act for a pur- driven from the house by burning brim- pose infinitely higher than self-promotion stone.”4 or popular favor.”7 Fee, in his introductory Henry Fairchild’s experiences left him address at Fairchild’s inaugural, echoed the uniquely prepared to become Berea’s first college’s charter in affirming “that the president. Like Fee and the other founders, teachers must be men and women who Fairchild had been abused for his beliefs. He know Jesus Christ by blessed experience, had taught black youth in a large “colored and . . . as such lead their pupils to the Sav- school” in Cincinnati, and he was present ior from sin.”8 Many colleges in the mid- when Oberlin was integrated. Fairchild had nineteenth century selected their professors been a teacher and an administrator at and teachers more for their embodiment of Oberlin, and during his last two years at the Christian ideals than for their academic cre- school he had raised more than eighty thou- dentials. Colleges with denominational ties, sand dollars while serving as a fund-raiser. or institutions such as Berea and Oberlin He declared in his inaugural address that that held to broader Christian perspectives, the presidency of Berea College required frequently hired professors who were or- “sound discretion, equanimity of temper, dained clergy or had some theological train- patient endurance, manly courage, living ening. Of the nineteen members of the Berea ergy, scholarly attainments, divine illumina- faculty who served between 1869 and 1889, tion, moral power.”5 His whole life prior to eight were ministers.9 Fairchild saw devout Berea had been spent living out his convic- men and women as the primary instruments tion that, regardless of color, gender, or so- for educating students both spiritually and cial status, a Christian education should be academically. Fee himself cautioned that a within reach of any who desired it.6 spiritually informed education was crucial, Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 35

forecasting the millennium 35

Berea’s faculty, c. 1885. The presence of James Hathaway (top row, left) showed that Berea was serious about breaking social barriers between the races at all levels, not just among students.

lest knowledge alone become “an increased principal,” reported, “Altho [sic] there have power with which to do evil.”10 been very few conversions during the year I Members of the college faculty took their am glad to report the evident progress and moral and religious roles seriously. Writing growth in the Christian life which many to the trustees in 1879, Professor LeVant have experienced.”13 Dodge rejoiced in the religious awakening In addition to their comments on teach- of students, concluding that this “one work ing and curricular development, teachers’ . . . far transcends that of all others.”11 Bruce reports included disciplinary decisions. Hunting, principal of the Preparatory De- Problems of violence, possession of guns partment, reported that the teachers in his and knives, lying, intoxication, and im- department were earnest Christians who morality were handled swiftly and decisively. were not only competent teachers but a Treasurer P. D. Dodge believed that such powerful moral inﬂuence. “I believe actions would promote the growth of through the inﬂuence of these lady teach- morality and faithfulness within the student ers,” Hunting observed, “in the conversion body. The trustees William Hart and to Christ of some of our most promising Charles Lester commended the faculty for young people.”12 Lucia Darling, the “lady its efforts to reform rather than merely Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 36

36 berea college

punish offending students.14 This for- ing at temperance meetings and conducting bearance by faculty did not go unno- prison services, so they limited his speaking ticed by William E. Barton, an 1885 engagements to one per month.17 The facul- Berea graduate who eventually be- ty also excused some of Barton’s academic came a Congregationalist minis- deficiencies by allowing him to take special ter, a Berea College trustee, and a instruction or to substitute some classes for notable Lincoln scholar. Barton other requirements.18 described Bruce Hunting as “he The college’s essential values also shaped who excuses failures and pardons the composition of the faculty. The college breaches of the rules. He is the faculty was made up of men with advanced right man for that place; having degrees, primarily master’s degrees. The not yet forgotten that he himself teachers in the other departments were al- was once a boy, he is quite ready to most all women, and this group held their overlook all reasonable offenses.”15 own meetings. From time to time, this Concern for a student’s moral and Board of Teachers and the college faculty spiritual welfare did not lessen the faculty’s would hold joint sessions. In 1883 President commitment to academic work. Because of Fairchild reported that the “whole number” the small number of college students, the of teachers who had served Berea College William E. Barton. The faculty could give personal oversight to an was forty-nine, thirty women and nineteen 1885 Berea graduate was representative of a num- individual student’s progress. Angus men. Twenty-seven of these professors and ber of northern students Burleigh was regarded as having significant teachers had been educated at Oberlin.19 It who attended the College potential, but his progress slowed with his is also significant that two African Ameri- Department. He was entry into the classical course. Like many cans, Julia Britton and James Hathaway, devoted to Berea’s service throughout his lifetime. other Berea students in these early days, both served as faculty members during Burleigh left school from time to time to Fairchild’s presidency. Born in Frankfort, earn money for expenses. In 1873 the facul- Kentucky, Britton was Berea’s first black ty designed a program to help Burleigh teacher, serving as an instructor in instru- graduate, but in 1875, some eight and a half mental music from 1870 to 1872. Julia Brit- years after entering Berea, Burleigh still ton’s talent was remarkable; she was also a needed to complete courses in political student in the College Department from economy, botany, Christian Evidences, mod- 1870 until 1874. Her parents died suddenly ern history, English literature, natural phi- within months of each other in 1874, and losophy, pneumatics, German, and one term Julia and her younger brothers and sisters each of Latin and Greek. Having left school left Berea as the family scattered. Eventually in 1875 for financial reasons, Burleigh was settling in Memphis, Tennessee, she married allowed to work independently and was Charles Hooks and founded the Hooks granted his B.A. degree in 1878.16 William E. Cottage School, the Hooks School of Music Barton’s own academic success did not (where one of her pupils was the famous elude faculty scrutiny either. In his case the W. C. Handy), and the Orphans and Old faculty became concerned about his numer- Folks Home.20 James Hathaway, born in ous extracurricular activities, such as speak- slavery in 1854 in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 37

forecasting the millennium 37

graduated in 1884 with honors from Berea’s Berea’s “holy war with ignorance and sin.” classical course. Fairchild immediately em- Fairchild further encouraged students ployed him as a tutor in Latin and mathe- to “study thoroughly, and wait pa- matics, and Hathaway served Berea for nine tiently until you are fully equipped, years. In these remarkable days of Fairchild’s and with Jesus as your leader, you administration, Berea proved that black will triumph.”23 Fearful that some teachers were as welcome as black students.21 Christian colleges had lost sight of their reforming zeal, J. A. R. Rogers cautioned Berea’s faculty A School Embracing All Grades and trustees against dividing Berea saw education as a preparation for a learning from the college’s Chris- life of Christian service. Henry Fairchild tian foundation. “I feel more & ﬂatly declared that Berea College has “no more,” he wrote, “that while a college other aim but the advancement of the Re- simply as training the mind may not be deemer’s kingdom.”22 Through a faculty of any very great moment, a Christian col-

made up of devoted men and women, learn- lege is of priceless value.” To avoid becom- Julia Britton. Her out- ing would reveal the wonders of God and ﬁt ing merely a “seat of learning,” Rogers standing piano skills students for selﬂess service to all humanity. challenged the faculty and trustees to be made her Berea’s first Fairchild urged students to bring their “ever learning more of Christ, & taking in African American instructor. friends from home back to school, to join more of His Spirit.”24 By maintaining a

Berea students, c. 1887. With varying levels of skill and preparation, Berea students were full of exciting possibilities. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 38

38 berea college

Christian context for education, Fee hoped that began its work in the fall of 1869 con- to convince outside observers of the validity sisted of L. Wayne Cole, John G. Fee’s son of his cause. “Berea College must succeed,” Burritt H. Fee, George L. Pigg, John D. Fee wrote, “because it is based on love.”25 In Roberts, and Belle A. Pratt—5 students of the end, Fee maintained that friends, the 307 enrolled. When Cole, Fee, and Pigg donors, teachers, and administrators alike graduated in 1873, there were 18 students in could rejoice in the gathering of young peo- the college of 247 enrolled throughout the ple whose minds were being opened to school. Between 1869 and 1892, when wider knowledge and Christian culture.26 William G. Frost became president, the Fairchild believed that a school for both number of college students was never high- sexes gave young women a more profound er than 42.29 and thorough education. They could benefit Teacher training was essential to advanc- in their advanced studies, Fairchild suggesting the cause of universal education. “A ed, only when their teachers were college chief aim,” Fairchild observed, “will be to professors and their classmates were regular provide and thoroughly equip a large num- college students. Fairchild further denied ber of teachers for this and adjoining the claim that “ladies reciting in the same states.”30 Initially, a normal course had been classes with young men must operate as a arranged in 1867 within the Preparatory drag upon them.” Experience, Fairchild as- Department. In 1870 the curriculum re- serted, “would dissipate such notions.” Co- quired four classes in Latin, four classes in education also added the benefits of good mathematics, seven science classes (includ- order, decorum, and propriety.“Rowdyism,” ing physiology, botany, astronomy, and Fairchild assured his listeners, “the natural chemistry), as well as classes in English and result of separating young men from the so- philosophy and lectures on teaching.31 In ciety of ladies, is almost unknown and im- 1883 the college promised an adequate nor- possible in a school of both sexes.” Berea, mal course that consisted of a variety of like Oberlin, chose “civilization rather than courses, including geography, arithmetic, barbarism,” viewing women as equal part- grammar, U.S. history, bookkeeping, compo- ners in the learning enterprise.27 sition, and rhetoric. Students completing Fairchild clearly defined Berea’s academic the course could apply for a certificate that mission as one supporting universal educa- recommended them to potential tion, that is, educational opportunity for all employers.32 “The mass of our students are persons, regardless of color, gender, or social now engaged in teaching during a portion of status. “Our aim is universal education. Our the year,” noted the 1884 catalogue. “The wishes,” Fairchild declared, “will not be ac- calls upon us for teachers increase in fre- complished till the advantages of a common quency and urgency.”33 school education are as free as air to all the Many students worked as teachers to children and youth of the state.”28 The over- earn money for schooling and to improve whelming number of students enrolled at their communities. College catalogues re- Berea in this early period were in the ele- ported that African American students mentary grades. The college freshman class were “studying the sciences, fitting them- Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 39

forecasting the millennium 39

selves for teaching, for the work of the ministry, and other posts of usefulness.” The “loyal white people” of the mountains also applied eagerly to Berea, since their own educational needs had suffered from years of neglect and indifference.34 Between 1873, the year of the college’s first graduates, and 1889, at the end of Fairchild’s presidency, there were fifty-six graduates from the college, ladies’, and normal courses. Of these, two were graduates of the Normal School. In all, twenty-two graduates became teachers, four became school principals or administrators, and two became professors.35 Fourteen of these graduates were African A log-cabin school. The Americans. Notable among these was John before I could adjust myself entirely to this episodic nature of public education made Berea’s Bate, who built the school system for black change but the personal kindness and commitment to teacher unselfish devotion of the faculty members to children and youth in Danville, Kentucky. training all the more sig- the students, and especially to me, soon won A member of the class of 1881, Bate was nificant. my heart and started me cheerfully in my de- born in slavery in Jefferson County, Ken- termination to secure a College education if tucky, in 1854. Emancipated in 1863, Bate it were possible. It was plainly evident that moved with his mother, two brothers, and a the men and women of Berea College at sister to Louisville, enduring poverty and that time were making strenuous ef- homelessness when smallpox killed his forts and noble sacrifices in order to brothers and disabled his mother so badly bring a Christian education to the young people living in a neglected that she could no longer work. Bate was section of the state.37 caught stealing by a white missionary, given a bath, and then enrolled in school. Among Bate’s career in Danville began his favorite teachers was Kate Gilbert, who with a one-room log cabin and six eventually came to Berea as an instructor in students. His salary for the five- the Preparatory Department.36 Frustrated at month school term was sixty dollars. Gilbert’s departure but determined to con- Urged by the proprietors of a black, tinue his education, Bate worked in a tobac- private Baptist school to give up his co factory in 1870–71 and enrolled in Berea “common school” and return to Berea, in 1872. He recalled in later years: Bate devised a clever response. Observing in later years that he “always liked to fight in a John Bate. The personal kind- The change from a tobacco factory in which ness and unselfish devotion men and women, boys and girls of German, nice way,” Bate hired the daughter of “the colored Baptist minister to be my primary Bate experienced at Berea Irish and Negro extraction were employed, characterized his own service and where sin in all its forms was dominant, teacher.” This woman brought ten children in bringing educational oppor- to that of a Christian Institution was indeed from the same congregation with her, and tunities to African Americans radical, to say the least. It was some weeks within two years the Baptist school passed in Danville, Kentucky. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 40

40 berea college

out of existence. “Don’t you see,” Bate students. . . . A movement to secure more noted with satisfaction, “you must always students of natural abilities seems a demand use diplomacy.”38 of the hour.”42 Whatever the solution to ex- When John Bate retired fifty-nine years panding the College Department, however, later, in 1941, at the age of eighty-five, his the college faculty were certain that weak- log schoolhouse had matured into a sub- ening advanced work would cause Berea to stantial building of twenty rooms with a sink to the level of an academy. By pushing faculty of fifteen teachers and six hundred the work of the College Department, the students. Bate attributed his success to the faculty reasoned, the number of students “band of Christian workers” at Berea would increase and Berea’s influence in the “whose examples and teachings were exem- state and the nation would also expand.43 plified in the lives and work of ministers, For Dodge, Wright, and other members of doctors, and teachers who are proud even to the College Faculty, expanded facilities sup- this glad hour to call Old Berea their Alma porting a “higher” curriculum would attract Mater.”39 Bate’s “seven years of Latin, four academically prepared students and possibly years of Greek, and seven years of math- increase the overall size of the College De- ematics” had produced a remarkable partment. educational leader. Although the college curriculum followed Though President Fairchild and the hitherto traditional emphasis upon the college faculty wanted to send Latin, Greek, and mathematics, Berea also more graduates like John Bate made substantial provision for the teaching into the region’s schools, it was of natural science. Faculty members rejoiced difficult to enroll students at the in the availability of exhibits of fossils, college level. Fairchild reported rocks, and seashells, as well as the improve- only 31 college students of 273 in ment of laboratory facilities and equipment. 1878, citing poverty and the low Charles G. Fairchild, professor of natural state of common school education as sciences and a son of Henry Fairchild, ob- the chief obstacles to increasing the served: “This department is one not only of student population.40 W. E. C. Wright ob- thrilling and healthful interest but pro- served in 1888 that the “smallness of the ad- foundly affects the material and moral pros- LeVant Dodge. This Union army veteran vanced classes continues to be a matter of perity of our [human] race. It is God’s joined Berea’s faculty in anxiety” and suggested that expanding labo- marvelous textbook but partially opened to 1874. An active member ratories and other facilities would encourage us in these latter days: And it behooves our of the Grand Army of the “the lower students to continue in school Christian institutions not to allow their at- Republic, a Union veterans’ organization, he for the sake of reaching the higher grades, tachment to the hereditary claims of lin- eventually rose to Ken- and also attract a more advanced class of guistic and mathematical study so to absorb tucky department com- students to come to Berea.”41 LeVant them that they too largely give over the mander and regarded the Dodge, professor of Greek and acting pro- study of physical science to materialistic integration of the Berea 44 post as one of the great fessor of mathematics, declared, “Our classi- atheists.” Clearly, at least to Fee and successes of his life. cal department is small, and must remain so, Charles Fairchild, science was yet another until we can get hold of a different class of way to understand the mighty acts of God, Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 41

forecasting the millennium 41

An early science class. Fairchild regarded the presence of women in college classes as benefi- cial not only to learning but also to good social relationships.

and this attitude was consistent with the and held other property with an estimated views of numerous evangelicals throughout value of $40,000. These assets contrasted the United States.45 The acquisition and ex- with debts amounting to $3,500.47 Fee had hibition of plants, rocks, and seashells, com- secured the endowment from the executors bined with laboratory experiments, revealed of the estate of Charles Avery, a Methodist a commitment to “higher” branches of minister. The executors proposed that they learning, an educational effort the faculty invest the fund and the proceeds be used by believed would “make Berea College, as we Berea College to promote “the education hope to see it, become the leading school of and elevation of the colored people of the the region.”46 United States and Canada.”48 Other donors provided gifts that endowed funding for student aid. These supporters included the Fund-raising for a Radical Freedmen’s Bureau, which provided tuition Experiment scholarships for the newly emancipated “The pecuniary condition of the college is African American students. In addition, the not altogether satisfactory,” Henry Fairchild antislavery advocates C. F. Dike and his observed in his inaugural address, “yet it is uncle, C. F. Hammond, deposited large gifts not discouraging.” He further noted that with the American Missionary Association the college owned four hundred acres of in behalf of Berea College, which resulted in land, possessed an endowment of $10,000, a contribution of $30,000.49 Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 42

42 berea college

Campus view, Fairchild administration. This cam- The generosity of Avery, Dike, and Ham- tucky was not substantial, barely $2,500 in pus scene shows Ladies’ mond formed a large portion of what was 1875, and virtually no donations came from Hall (left); the chapel called the “Old Endowment.” Between the wider South.52 Nevertheless, President (center); and Lincoln December 1880 and April 1881, largely Fairchild remained cautiously optimistic. Hall (right). The calm and genteel atmosphere through the efforts of Charles G. Fairchild, “While there is much reason for encourage- conveyed in this image who acted as the college’s financial agent ment,” Fairchild reminded the college’s testified to the outside when not teaching natural science, the col- trustees, “there is much occasion for prayer, world that Berea’s radical lege raised funds for what became the economy, and earnest work.”53 experiment was working. “New Endowment.” Mrs. Valeria Stone, of The raising of the New Endowment pro- Malden, Massachusetts, gave $10,000 to the vided critical support for the college’s mis- AMA to be held in trust for Berea until the sion, but by the mid-1880s many of Berea’s college could raise an additional $40,000.50 best friends, such generous donors as Gerrit The Stone Fund, which formed the basis of Smith, Lewis Tappan, and C. F. Dike, were the New Endowment, reflected Berea’s es- dead. The only significant donor between tablished, largely northern donor base. In 1881 and 1893 was Roswell Smith, president July 1878 President Fairchild recommended of the Century Company and founder of that “strenuous efforts” be made to raise the Century Magazine. His gift of Lincoln Hall, endowment to $150,000, noting that the which housed classrooms, laboratories, the financial situation of the college was dis- library, and a museum, met the college’s couraging because many donors could not need for academic spaces, but his generous give large gifts, churches were paying off example was exceptional.54 The loss of these debts, and the country was still recovering “fellow workers in this labor of love” and from the Panic of 1873.51 Support from Ken- Fairchild’s failing health imperiled Berea’s Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 43

forecasting the millennium 43

fund-raising efforts and raised doubts about the founding of the school and its ideals. the institution’s future.55 The localized and at times contentious na- The makeup of Berea’s Board of Trustees ture of the board caused George Whipple changed little during Fairchild’s administra- of the AMA to urge the election of E. M. tion. The African American presence Cravath, already an AMA trustee, as a among the trustees continued through the trustee for Berea. Whipple suggested that membership of Jordan C. Jackson, whose Cravath’s appointment would provide “an son, John H. Jackson, was Berea’s first black increased confidence and support from the college graduate. Exhaustion and ill health North.” Cravath’s trusteeship, which began caused J. A. R. and Elizabeth Rogers to in 1868, also revealed the “deep interest” move to Shawano, Wisconsin, and Jackson and influence of the AMA on Berea’s af- lived in Lexington, Kentucky, but the rest fairs, particularly in promoting the college.57 of the trustees lived in and around Berea. Berea’s trustees had to cope not only The town’s “business cen- Some trustees also served the college in with a rapidly growing institution, but also ter.” This photograph, other capacities. Fairchild and Fee were with an emerging town. While the board on taken in 1894, shows the teachers; William Hart served as the college the one hand hired workers and erected emergence of the town steward.56 Fee continued in his capacity as buildings on campus, they also acted as a of Berea. Just as the college was integrated, so president of the board, a tangible witness to town council, laying out streets and pricing were the town and its businesses. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 44

44 berea college

land.58 The trustees, for the most part, were tions and attendance. “This record, carefully not men of wealth or social prominence, continued from year to year,” the faculty and they were not in a position to broaden concluded, “will furnish a pretty full history Berea’s geographical base of support. De- of a student’s course, and more or less cer- spite its connections with northern philan- tain index to his character for energy and thropy, Berea remained a provincial promptness.”62 Class rank was also deter- enterprise, with the AMA as its primary mined “by work actually completed.” This ex- advocate. plains Burleigh’s extended progress toward graduation and Barton’s having to take special instruction to meet his requirements. “A Discipline of Mind and Manner proper regard for the rule,” reported Henry Berea student culture was distinctive. The F. Clark, clerk of the faculty, “may do much campus was made up of men and women, to promote thoroughness in all the higher black and white, set in an isolated, rural departments of the school.” Such a rule area—on the face of it, not a promising plan could “hardly fail,” Clark continued, “to fos- for success. Supported by the efforts of ter a spirit of energetic, persistent study as Fairchild, the trustees, and northern donors, classes never attain who gain the idea that students worked within a vast array of rules destiny will carry them surely through . . . , in and regulations. Fairchild observed that the spite of occasional neglect.”63 Berea’s careful college’s discipline would be kind and oversight of student academic and social life parental in nature. “Young people, in the was motivated by the desire to prove that main, intend to do right,” Fairchild declared the college’s ideals were practical and realis- in 1869. “We wish them to feel that they are tic, rather than naive and utopian. Yet, even controlled by their own good judgment in this early period of the college’s history, rather than by force of rigid rules. . . . But students would resist the paternalistic ef- such rules as we have must be obeyed.”59 forts of the institution. Character was an important factor in ad- The students themselves built a world all mission to the college, and Berea’s regula- their own, reﬂecting the values of the col- tions were intended to foster that character. lege. Fraternities and sororities, for exam- According to Fairchild, students who exer- ple, were banned because they were cised discipline and self-control would secretive and promoted caste by admitting make the most of Berea’s opportunities.60 some and excluding others. Instead, there Despite the fears of Berea’s critics, the stu- were literary societies, such as the Phi Delta dents produced a social life that was, as the Literary Society, founded for men in 1866, historian Marion Lucas observed, “remark- and the Women’s Literary Society. Orga- ably active, open, equal, and integrated.”61 nized by the students under faculty supervi- The faculty tightened their supervision sion, the societies promoted intellectual of student academic progress in 1874 by development, and an African American stu- asking the clerk of the faculty to maintain dent was just as likely to be elected presi- “full & complete” records on each student, dent of the society as a white student. noting grades in recitations and examina- While class work consisted primarily of Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 45

forecasting the millennium 45

Class at Berea College, 1889. Jesse Seal Shimmin (back row, left) was only one of the many women teachers at Berea. This Model School class shows a wide range of ages among the students.

recitations, literary society meetings en- Ladies’ Board of Care (also referred to as gaged in vigorous debate regarding the the Ladies’ Board of Control). Composed moral, spiritual, and political issues of the of the lady principal (who was the highest day.64 Open meetings allowed men and ranking female administrator) and the wives women to gather socially. Berea students of faculty and staff members, the board reg- were poor financially, and they hoped that ulated the everyday lives of women students the college would improve them morally on campus. There were very few gender- and spiritually, as well as provide a means to specific rules among the host of other “laws achievement at home or in the larger world. and regulations” that applied to all students, Writing to his friend Coole Barbee in 1871, regardless of gender or color. Women were Burritt Fee argued that “educated persons required to be in their rooms at 7:30 P.M. hold our public affairs, lead off in business during fall and winter terms, and 8 P.M.in life and really rule the country.” Fee urged the spring term. Male students were to be Barbee to come to Berea and encouraged in their rooms by 10 P.M. throughout the him to bring friends and acquaintances to year and after 9 P.M. were requested “to re- enjoy the college’s advantages.65 frain from singing or anything that may dis- Fairchild recognized that coeducation turb the repose of others.” Women were was novel and doubtful to many parents, allowed to go out with men to social gather- who might hesitate to entrust their daugh- ings (such as lectures or society meetings), ters to Berea’s care. Yet Fairchild was on walks, or riding only with permission confident that “a few years of observation . . . and only at designated times. Finally, will dissipate such doubts.”66 The primary women could not receive gentlemen callers instrument for allaying parental fears and except “at such hours, and under such re- supervising young women and girls was the strictions, as the Ladies’ Board of Control Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 46

46 berea college

William E. Barton and his friend Charles Norton undermined the restriction by “flip- ping a cent” to decide which women they would each call upon. Barton’s principal ac- tivity his first year was having “a good time with the girls,” and he later admitted that he “kissed [women] upon slight provocation and dealt out caresses with prodigal liberali- ty,” ending his “promiscuous affections” only when he met his future wife, Esther Bush- nell.69 On one occasion Barton, Sallie Mc- Collum, and several other couples stayed out well past curfew in hopes of observing a lunar eclipse. “We watched and saw the moon did a good job of it,” he wrote, but “it occurred to me that some of the rules of the Ladies’ Board of Care have been just a little cracked.”70 Barton’s attitude about “cracking” the rules seems fairly casual, but the faculty could be relentless in dealing with serious or repeated offenses. In 1874, for example, Emma Peace was expelled for “improper correspondence” with a man from Louisville. George W. Clare was dismissed for “sending disgracefully amorous letters” “Lady teachers at Berea,” c. 1883. Besides academic to Julia Grandison, who was also expelled responsibilities, women may designate, and only in the public parlor for leaving the campus with Clare in a instructors also served as where they board.”67 Additional rules for “clandestine and improper way.”71 Some- models of social grace and women developed in later years, but it is times discipline cases were dealt with pri- decorum. noteworthy that these few regulations were vately; on other occasions the faculty held deemed sufficient to maintain good order full hearings, taking depositions and calling and decorum. In 1869 the lady principal was students to appear and explain their actions. given supervision of female students in all Incidents of “rowdyism” usually involved vi- matters of general conduct, study, and visi- olence with guns or knives, and guilty stu- tation.68 dents were quickly expelled. “In reference If the actual rules that applied only to to this readiness to shed blood on any trivial women were few, the opportunities for offense or injury,” the faculty observed, “it is evading them were numerous. “Calls of doubtless in large part a relic of that bar- gents upon ladies,” for example, were limit- barism fostered by slavery and should be re- ed to two visits per person each week. pudiated by all lovers of law and order.” Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 47

forecasting the millennium 47

Faculty and students alike were urged to encourage public sentiment in favor of Chris- tian forbearance and obeying the law.72 Berea’s Christian forbearance was severely tested on the issue of “social equality.” Despite the oft-reported harmony that existed on campus, John G. Fee worried that many of the faculty were opposed to interracial dating.73 His fears were borne out in 1872, when the acting lady principal, Rhoda J. Lyon, refused to allow a white man to call on an African American woman solely on the issue of color. This challenge to Berea’s anticaste principle caused the faculty to devote “several hours” to the question of social Saloon, outside Berea. relations. In June and July 1872 the Board Local rowdies periodically of Trustees developed a policy that permit- a few professors resigned in the wake of the rode through the streets ted interracial dating and marriage under trustees’ actions.75 Some Berea alumni were of Berea, firing pistols certain conditions. There were nine provi- deeply offended by the cautious nature of and shouting, “Hurrah for Jeff Davis.” When the the rules. “Our bright summer was cloud- sions in all, five dealing with interracial dat- town was incorporated in ing, four with intermarriage. A difference in ed,” John T. Robinson wrote to John G. Fee 1890, one of the first or- “complexion” was not sufficient grounds to in 1877, and he continued: dinances passed was prevent students from attending one another against “promiscuous It seemed to me . . . that which men had long shooting.” at social functions or even from becoming prayed and worked for came upon them in a engaged. In the face of rising criticism of rush when they were not prepared to receive Berea’s practices, however, the faculty and it. The students were getting along too well— trustees revealed their own ambivalence by fast growing out of former prejudices and seemed to forget that there ever had been suggesting that it was not “desirable in gen- such a state of society as existed a few miles eral for those of either race to cultivate the below Berea—but the harmony seemed too most intimate social relations with those of real for those over them, and as you well re- the other sex and a different race, especially member, the first seed of discord was sown by when the difference in race is quite the Professors when we were really too young marked.”74 to comprehend the outrage done us.76 The social relations rules reveal the un- Robinson’s anger was reflected in an alumni easiness that surrounded Berea’s experi- petition to the trustees circulated by John ment. Asserting on the one hand that H. Jackson in 1889 that affirmed “our devo- difference in “complexion” was not an ob- tion to the great principle of the equality of stacle to social equality, the rules resisted re- man.” The petition asked the trustees to lationships “when the difference is quite “rescind the objectionable features of the marked.” Trustees John Hanson and Gabriel rules and regulations . . . purporting to regu- Burdette voted against the regulations, and late the social relations of the two races.”77 Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 48

48 berea college

“Group at Robe’s Moun- tain.” The first Mountain Day excursion was held in Writing to a friend in 1907, William Barton for a chat over old times, I would ﬁnd a ma- 1875, and led by President observed that Berea’s experiment prevailed jority of them colored.”79 Fairchild. “Wagon parties” even though “there was always friction [be- If not a total acceptance of social equali- to the nearby hills were a popular means for stu- tween the races], and of a most perplexing ty, Berea’s social relations policy was, as the dents to socialize, albeit kind.”78 Ernest Dodge, LeVant Dodge’s historian James McPherson wrote, “a re- under the watchful eye of nephew, wrote to William G. Frost many markably liberal policy for that time and faculty chaperones. years later, noting wistfully, “Were I to make place.”80 The discord associated with the a list of former students whom I would policy showed just how difﬁcult Berea’s genuinely enjoy meeting again, to sit down choices were. Despite the concerns of the Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 49

forecasting the millennium 49

Students with Elizabeth and J. A. R. Rogers. The presence of the Rogers, the Fees, and other founders gave students a living reminder of Berea’s core values.

trustees and faculty, black men and white townspeople. Burritt Fee reminded Coole men accompanied female students of the Barbee that the college would provide a opposite race to literary society meetings, great deal of work in the fall and winter chapel services, and other social gatherings. terms for industrious young men, while Some African American students argued women students could find employment in that social equality existed because of their Ladies’ Hall. Local citizens would also pro- own efforts to preserve it. President vide work opportunities for students to Fairchild noted ironically that “the evils meet expenses.82 Angus Burleigh remem- which wise ones knew would result from bered wheeling mud to the brick molds for this union have never appeared.” He ac- the building of Ladies’ Hall in 1872, and the knowledged that “many good people have Berea Evangelist reported in 1886 that many their honest fears”; but he boldly asserted, young men were employed in excavating the as Fee had, “We know it cannot be danger- foundation for Lincoln Hall.83 Indeed, the ous to love our neighbors as ourselves.”81 first industry on campus may have been the Labor was another means of ending class small print shop that published the Evangelist, distinctions, and work, or at times the lack a variety of college pamphlets, and later the of it, was also a part of every student’s expe- Berea College Reporter.84 Despite these enter- rience at Berea. Many of the jobs on campus prises, however, work at Berea was episodic involved unskilled labor—sawing wood, and not fully organized or integrated into building fires in the halls, and doing odd the college’s program, as it would be in later jobs around the homes of the professors and years. In fact, it was the very lack of consis- Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 50

50 berea college

Berea students and faculty in front of Ladies’ Hall. This view captures the tent manual labor opportunities that pre- manifest favor of God.”87 Even at this early fully integrated character of the campus community. vented some students from coming to stage of the institution’s development, Fee, Berea.85 Nevertheless, it was in working for Fairchild, and others appealed to the col- their education that Berea students literally lege’s history as evidence of the worthiness built up the college as well as themselves. and legitimacy of the school’s mission. Fee reminded anyone who would listen that though there had been no “primal design” An Interesting History for a college when he ﬁrst came to the Berea “Our last, and ﬁrst, and our greatest want,” ridge, the college had grown “out of a mani- wrote Henry Fairchild, “is the blessing of fest want, and is for the maintenance and God. If He had not been on our side in development of a great truth of the gospel, many dangers and straits, we should have impartial love.”88 College catalogues, public- failed. If he go not with us still, we shall still ity literature, and other publications recited fail.”86 Henry Fairchild proclaimed at the the heroic experiences of the founders in end of his inaugural address that “the chief their drive to establish a church, a school, wealth of the college is in its remarkable and a community built upon a practical ap- history, its numerous friends, . . . and the plication of this loving gospel message. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 51

forecasting the millennium 51

These early publications also sought to co-education in the South is regarded by convey a sense of institutional stability and the management as the most important ed- acceptance. In 1875 Henry Fairchild, with ucational problem of the present, and to- the approval of the Prudential Committee, ward its complete solution they ask the aid wrote Berea College: An Interesting History. This of all Christian men, and lovers of true na- work, subsequently revised in 1883, recount- tional prosperity.”90 ed the heroism of the founders, described Berea’s work, while fundamentally inter- the school’s ongoing commitment to interracial, also began to define the public’s un- racial coeducation, and emphasized the derstanding of Appalachian mountain Union veterans of “harmony” maintained at Berea despite people. Mountaineers were defined by the the Eighth Kentucky local “rowdies,” racist critics, and internal college in terms of their love for the Union Volunteer Infantry. This photograph, taken on 89 dissent. Publicity literature reminded po- and its causes, and a respect—if not outright Decoration Day, 1895, de- tential donors of the special bond between support—for Berea. In fact, Berea took picts some of the “hardy Appalachian whites and African Americans: credit for galvanizing loyalist sentiment and loyal” mountain men “Located where it can to the best advantage among the mountain people at the outbreak who defended the Union cause. Captain John Wil- invite the colored man from the ‘Blue-grass’ of the American Civil War. “It is not too son holds the regimental region and the loyal whites from the moun- much to say,” claimed one Berea pamphlet, flag. To Wilson’s right is tains, the number of students has always “that under God, as a result in great part, of Frank Hays, who would been greater than its limited facilities could the heroic work, and patient and self- lead Berea president William G. Frost into the well accommodate. . . . This experiment of sacrificing spirit of [John G. Fee and] these nearby mountains to “meet the folks.” Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 52

52 berea college

Howard Hall. Students of both races got along well enough that faculty mem- missionaries, a large majority of the men in educational support because of their loyalty bers were frequently dis- Madison, and four or five adjoining hilly to the Union and their openness to north- patched to quiet the overly cheerful and noisy counties were found to be unconditional ern ideals and institutions. Furthermore, residents. Union men when the war commenced.”91 mountain people had resisted slavery (albeit Addressing his colleagues at the American without becoming abolitionists), and at Missionary Association in 1883, Charles G. Berea College had freely entered into the Fairchild reminded his audience that they coeducation of the races, recognizing the should remember “that the men who made mutual bond of suffering inflicted upon an antislavery church and school in a slavery themselves and their black associates by state years before the war were these moun- the planter classes. Some northern donors tain whites. The Association nursed its were doubtless heartened by the fact that firstborn on these mountain slopes. As pa- mountaineers were both numerous and triots, some of whose sons sleep on that Republican. As A. D. Mayo, a prominent southern soil, you should remember that Unitarian minister and reformer, declared, this whole section was loyal in the battle for “Some of the [mountain] counties [were] a united country unstained by slavery.”92 turning out more soldiers than the entire Mountain people were thus worthy of number of voters; and today they are almost Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 53

forecasting the millennium 53

Ladies’ Hall under construction. Acknowledged locally as “Fairchild’s Folly,” Ladies’ Hall was the only brick building for miles around. The building was a testimony to the staying power of Berea’s mission.

as decided in their adhesion to Republican tent on building a New South, and it lent an politics.”93 air of stability to a fledgling institution. Fur- thermore, the dormitory was inhabited and used by both black men and white men, a Constructing an Ideal College tangible symbol of Berea’s ideal.94 Buildings also symbolized the emerging col- Ladies’ Hall, costing fifty thousand dol- lege’s ideals. Many of the college’s first lars, followed in 1870–71. Noting that ac- buildings were small, wooden box buildings commodations for women were “too strait,” that often served multiple purposes. The Henry Fairchild obtained the trustees’ ap- first substantial building at Berea, erected at proval for a new women’s hall modeled after a cost of eighteen thousand dollars, was an identical structure at Oberlin—“its ex- Howard Hall. Named for Union general cellencies . . . improved, and its defects Oliver Otis Howard, the new building was remedied.” The first brick building on the presented to the college in 1869 by the campus, it was elegant, “three stories high, Freedmen’s Bureau. Howard Hall, described containing well-lighted and well-ventilated by Fairchild as commodious and noble, rooms for ninety-six young ladies, besides served as a men’s residence hall and includ- parlors, assembly room, library, reading ed a reading room and two rooms for meet- room, dining room, kitchen, laundry rooms, ings and social occasions. Howard Hall’s etc. . . . An equal number of gentlemen significance lay in its affirmation of Berea’s students can be accommodated with table cause; it was a gift from an organization in- board at the Hall.”95 Many of the first occu- Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 54

54 berea college

The “Gothic” Chapel. This lovely building pre- sumably met Rogers’s pants of Ladies’ Hall, like those of Howard For all this progress, however, there re- architectural expectations, Hall, were African Americans, and Fee saw mained a need for a chapel and a classroom and served as the focal the new building as a demonstration of building. The first chapel was “rough and point of the college’s Christian foundation. Berea’s impartial admissions policy. “I wish barn-like,” according to J. A. R. Rogers, who some of you,” Fee wrote to Gerrit Smith in regarded the fire that destroyed it on New 1873, “who toiled early in this struggle for Year’s Eve in 1878 as providential.98 The national regeneration could come and see. new chapel, costing nine thousand dollars, The demonstration is as harmonious & seated five hundred people and was built in complete as you could possibly expect or a wooden Gothic style, with a prominent desire.”96 As the historian Helen Horowitz bell tower, double lancet windows, a fur- has demonstrated, buildings designed nace, and gaslights. This building also specifically for women not only legitimated housed the congregation of Union Church. the presence of women on campus, but es- Like Howard Hall and Ladies’ Hall and, in tablished an environment where women de- 1886, Lincoln Hall, the chapel conveyed sta- veloped their own communities.97 bility and permanence. Lincoln Hall, Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 55

forecasting the millennium 55

financed almost entirely by the efforts of Fairchild’s efforts in developing a curricu- the publisher Roswell Smith, gave tangible lum, raising an endowment, organizing evidence to Berea’s mission as the work of an interracial community, and build- southern emancipation inspired by Ken- ing a campus environment gave tucky’s own Abraham Lincoln, the Great practical form to Fee’s visionary Emancipator. Howard Hall, Ladies’ Hall, ideal. Lincoln Hall, and the new chapel were Fairchild’s sterling example of prominently featured in publicity literature leadership would be difficult to to attract new students and donors. replace. His health in decline, The campus and grounds now began to Fairchild resigned in 1886, but his look like a college, and the alumni, like resignation was accepted provi- many other friends of Berea, could rightly sionally. The faculty asked Fairchild “hail with joy the development and progress to “continue his services until such of our Alma Mater, in those features that go time as the Providence of God may in- to make up a first rate institution of learn- dicate a permanent change.”100 At the time ing.”99 These features included interracial of his death in October 1889, no replace- Henry Fairchild. The education, a flexible curriculum, and an in- ment had been found. Berea’s rise as a “first strain of constant preach- tense Christian atmosphere, all flourishing rate institution of learning” still needed the ing, fund-raising, and ad- on a spacious and well-built campus. Berea’s singular gifts of energy, courage, and insight ministration is revealed in teachers and trustees modeled the college’s that Fairchild had wonderfully possessed. Fairchild’s features. Per- sistent illness at the end salient ideals. Some of these persons had of his career contributed seen Berea through its dark early days. to a loss of institutional momentum as Berea made the transition from a visionary dream to a distinguished college. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 56

William B. Stewart. No photograph of Stewart survives in Berea’s collections. The accompanying paucity of personal records from this period make a true characteriza- tion of both the man and his time problematic at best. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 57

Working for God and Humanity William B. Stewart, 1890–1892

So shall this noble institution, our pride and our hope, unique in its constituency and Christ-like in its aims, gleaming with the sacred jewels of learning and illumined by the holy light of truth, shine in the coming years even more brightly than to-day, and dispense, till Christ shall come, unnumbered blessings to the land we love.

william b. stewart, “The Work and Claims of the Christian College”

EREA COLLEGE faced several advance Berea’s cause. Also disquieting was challenges with the arrival of the dissension within the faculty itself. De- BWilliam Boyd Stewart as its second clining enrollments, overwork, and disputes president. There were curricular concerns about social equality deepened divisions about just how the school would best serve within the college community. From this its students. Another issue was the continu- crisis emerged a power struggle that in- ation of Berea’s interracial mission. Public volved founders, trustees, faculty members, schools in Kentucky were segregated by law, and students who sought to determine what but private schools such as Berea had been kind of institution Berea would be. All left alone. A separate-coach bill that pre- these challenges resulted in Berea’s shortest vented blacks and whites from riding on presidential term. trains together was passed in the state in 1892, but the more restrictive poll tax and The Sound Scotch Preacher registration laws that characterized the Deep South were not yet present in Ken- William B. Stewart was born in 1834 in the tucky. Berea’s financial doldrums further village of Ecclefechan, on the southern bor- challenged Stewart’s leadership. These der of Scotland, and received his prepara- difficulties were, in part, the result of Henry tory education at Annan Academy. He fur- Fairchild’s declining health and inability to thered his education at the University of engage actively in fund-raising. The AMA Glasgow, and in 1856 he emigrated to Cana- had continued its financial support of the da. In 1859 Stewart was ordained a Baptist college, but there were few donors of con- minister at Beamsville, Ontario, and later siderable wealth and influence who could built a distinguished career as a pastor, 57 Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 58

58 berea college

Dining room in Ladies’ Hall. Meals were served family style and students teacher, and editor. He taught Greek, Latin, ministry in Tennessee and Kentucky. From worked as waiters. Board and Hebrew at the Canadian Literary Insti- 1882 to 1884 he led the college, a black was relatively inexpensive, tute in Woodstock, Ontario, and ministered school sponsored by the American Baptist but luxuries such as coffee in churches in Brantford and Hamilton, Home Missions Society. In 1884 Stewart and sugar were considered expensive “extras.” Ontario. In 1871 he joined with the Rev- left Nashville to become principal of the erend William Muir and became joint pro- Collegiate Academy in Winchester, Ken- prietor and editor of the Canadian Baptist, tucky, another Baptist school.2 His ﬁrst con- frequently contributing articles and editori- nection with Berea came in 1887, when he als for the next eleven years.1 was invited to give a lecture on Berea’s cam- In the fall of 1882 Stewart accepted a call pus. In June 1889 Stewart was elected to the to the presidency of Roger Williams Col- college’s Board of Trustees. That fall he was lege in Nashville, Tennessee, beginning a invited to give an address at the college’s nine-year career of educational work and Thanksgiving Day services.3 His discourse Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 59

working for god and humanity 59

apparently made a good impression on trustees proposing the formation of a Bible those who heard him. Zaccheus Spratt, re- Department. The board approved Stewart’s calling his days as a “barefoot boy” in Berea, idea and made him the “chair of instruc- described Stewart as “tall, straight as a West tion” in the new department.8 In his inau- Point cadet, [with] square shoulders, neatly gural address, Stewart argued that a Bible dressed. A touch of gray to an abundance of Department was much needed for those hair. Thoughtful, affable, courteous and ca- serving pastors who were “poorly qualified pable.”4 Stewart’s “mental and moral worth” for the great work,” as well as those African engendered confidence in the observant American students who had been denied young student. For Spratt, President Stew- admittance to the “ably-manned and richly- art was “more my ideal of a man than any of endowed theological seminaries of the the many hundreds I saw during my decade South . . . simply because their skin was a at Berea.”5 darker shade!”9 Students who desired to en- Stewart’s election as president was prob- gage in the ministry of the gospel were lematic from the start. In June 1889, at the granted free tuition and took such courses same meeting that elected Stewart to the as Sacred History, Pastoral Duties, and Ge- Board of Trustees, Professor William G. ography and Archaeology of the Scripture.10 Frost of Oberlin was unanimously elected There were nineteen students enrolled in president.6 But Frost declined. Henry the first year of the department’s work. Fairchild died in October 1889, leaving a “Who can estimate,” Stewart remarked in vacuum in the college’s leadership. LeVant 1892, “the blessing that may be expected to Dodge, chair of the faculty, served as acting attend the labors of these young brethren?”11 president, and the school carried on. The The Bible Department complemented faculty waited until June 1890 to make a the college’s early recognition of the need recommendation about Fairchild’s successor. for teachers and preachers among blacks Their “earnest and prayerful individual at- and mountaineers. The college newspaper, tention” to the various candidates was cau- the Berea College Reporter, noted that more tious indeed. “With so many chances for than three-fourths of the students attend- mistakes,” the faculty observed, “we do not ing Berea worked as teachers and that the feel like urging any particular selection.” true teacher’s work was “indispensable to Nevertheless, the faculty managed to en- the progress and well-being of society, and dorse Stewart unanimously, “as being fitted, to the stability, happiness and liberty of the by reason of scholarship, educational experi- nation.”12 Berea also promoted special in- ence, ability as a speaker, christian [sic] char- struction in the normal course through ex- acter and interest in our work.”7 amples of “correct and thorough instruction” and the “management of daily classes.” Spring term offered an extended Cultivated Minds and Righteous course of lectures on the theory and practice Sentiments of teaching.13 Principal Hunting reported Shortly after his election in June 1890 as that the work of Berea students serving as president, Stewart read a paper to the teachers was acknowledged as superior Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 60

60 berea college

throughout the region. To maintain this haps rhetorically, “If there is any school in reputation, Hunting urged the trustees to the south that furnishes colored people an “select teachers of [Berea’s] schools with opportunity for a commercial course and a carefulness, and, if necessary, increase thorough business training, I have never salaries so that it may be emphasized that heard of it. Is this not a good time for Berea no better preparation for teaching can be College to organize a Commercial Dept.?”15 secured in the state than here.”14 Regular instruction was already offered in

“Press Room, East End.” Besides promoting work in teacher edu- bookkeeping and penmanship, and oppor- One of the oldest of cation, the faculty also responded to the tunities for advanced work could be Berea’s labor depart- trustees’ desire for enlarged instruction in arranged.16 President Stewart noted in the ments, the Berea College the Industrial and Commercial Depart- Reporter that industrial education had made Press published catalogs, publicity brochures, and ments. Professor P. D. Dodge observed, per- a good beginning with the intention to form the Berea College Reporter. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 61

working for god and humanity 61

Early carpentry class. “Practical” education was very much a part of student learning in Berea’s formative period. Stu- dents often applied their learning in various building projects on campus.

classes in carpentry, blacksmithing, pattern For Stewart, reaching young people ulti- making, gardening, and other “useful arts,” mately meant providing Christian instruc- as well as the enlargement of the printing tion. The imparting of liberal culture, office, where a larger number of students according to Stewart, would serve this pri- could learn typesetting.17 The fact that the mary aim of the Christian college. “By the Reporter was being produced almost entirely study of languages and literature,” Stewart by student labor caused P. D. Dodge to ask observed, “of mathematics and sciences, of if it might be wise to expand opportunities history and philosophy, [such a college] aims for vocational training.18 The lady principal to develop intellectual power; and by teach- also engaged women students in the making ing its students of Christ and training them and mending of garments and other for Christ, it aims to produce noble charac- branches of household economy.19 With the ter.”21 The college offered many opportuni- emergence of the Industrial Department ties for expanding a student’s intellectual was the beginning of Berea’s Vocational and moral power. During President Stew- School, which would form an integral part art’s administration, the college enlarged its of Berea’s curriculum in years to come and offerings to include a Bachelor of Philoso- would place Berea “fairly in line with the phy degree in addition to the college’s sci- needs of the young people we may reach.”20 entific and classical courses. In the scientific Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 62

62 berea college

Howard Hall. This residence hall was the first course, which led to a B.S. degree, students Arts (B.A.).22 During Stewart’s time stu- noteworthy collegiate building, symbolizing did not have to take classes in Greek, but dents enrolled in the scientific course out- Berea’s educational aspi- there were no electives in a curriculum that numbered classical students by more than rations. included thirteen courses in the sciences, six two to one.23 From the trustees’ point of courses in mathematics, three courses in view, this expansion of the curriculum rep- rhetoric and English literature, and three resented the “normal condition of a Chris- courses in either French or German. tian College, . . . and growth means breadth Students in the philosophical and classi- and depth as well as length.” While ac- cal courses could choose among numerous knowledging that such increases had to be electives, though the philosophical degree made “slowly and in accordance with funda- (Ph.B.) required all the work of the scien- mental aims of the institution and finances,” tific course plus six terms of Greek. The the trustees observed that “every growing classical course retained its emphasis upon college must reach out at certain times be- Greek and Latin and led to a Bachelor of yond the means at hand.”24 Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 63

working for god and humanity 63

were 375 students; of these 210 were Bonds of Friendship African American and 165 were white. The During William B. Stewart’s presidency, Reporter proclaimed the year 1890–91 as one Berea College continued to promote its of the most successful years in the college’s particular educational work among African history and optimistically observed, “Berea Americans and mountaineers. A publicity College has entered on its second quarter of circular published in 1891 proclaimed the a century of work for God and humanity college as the only “institution of higher with good heart and high hopes. Its princi- grade in Kentucky” open to blacks and as ples are right and must prevail.”28 the only institution of “higher grade reach- Social activities among students centered ing the white people of the mountains, who on literary societies, public lectures, and were loyal to the Union and have been al- other supervised gatherings. The Reporter most destitute of educational advantages.” noted “a new departure on the part of the Berea’s work was described as “peculiar” in college authorities, in entering upon plans the South, “and until of late years obnox- to secure distinguished persons from abroad ious, because it has not made class distinc- to present lectures and other entertain- tions, but has opened its doors to all ments for the public.”29 Among these no- persons of good moral character.” The col- table personages was Laura Clay, the lege’s practice of putting black and white remarkable daughter of Cassius M. Clay. students together in classrooms continued Laura Clay’s own distinction was built on to be effective. “In reciting together and her role in founding the Kentucky Equal working over the same problems it does not Rights Association and her advocacy of require much time for students to learn to women’s causes. During the 1890s Laura respect each other, regardless of color or Clay became probably the best-known condition.”25 southern suffragist. She was invited to speak The success of Berea’s commitment to at the college by the faculty at Fee’s request. interracial education was now well estab- Although the faculty did not endorse all of lished. “Our school,” Fee asserted in July Clay’s ideas, they found it desirable that stu- 1890, “is no longer to be regarded as an ex- dents “hear the live issues of the day dis- periment but a demonstration—a demon- cussed.” The Reporter viewed Laura Clay’s stration of the possibility and practicability remarks as both forceful and telling as she of co-education—[it] is possible and practi- reviewed the changing roles of women, cable for colored and white to live in peace- though she “maintained that discrimination ful, happy relations.”26 Stewart reminded his against women in law and customs can best listeners in his inaugural address that Berea be remedied by placing the ballot in her College “welcomed to the privileges of this hands.”30 place all who could be trained for the serv- The social equality sought by Fee and ice of their fellow-men, without distinction others continued to manifest itself in cam- of class or color or creed.”27 The integrated pus life. In 1889 the trustees had rescinded nature of Berea’s enrollment conﬁrmed the resolutions concerning social relations Stewart’s assertion. Enrolled in 1890–91 passed in 1872. The trustees’ action was Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 64

64 berea college

Carpentry students. Industrial education during the Stewart administration laid the foundation for the Vocational School that was organized during President Frost’s time. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 65

working for god and humanity 65

prompted in part by an alumni petition au- the nation as a commonwealth, and the thored by John H. Jackson, an African world as a neighborhood.”32 Recalling his American graduate. He successfully per- experiences in the Phi Delta Literary Soci- suaded the trustees that the resolutions ety, James Bond, an African American stu- were objectionable and contrary to Berea’s dent from Knox County in eastern advancement of the principle of equal Kentucky, noted, “I numbered among my rights.31 The Berea College Reporter also con- staunchest friends a goodly number of white demned opponents of social equality. The boys.” He rejoiced in the conquest of preju- spirit of caste was “contrary to the purpose dice through his friendships with “white of God, and alien to the spirit of Christ,” boys and girls, some of whom at the begin- claimed the Reporter. “This is the gospel ning refused to sit in the same seat with me which is needed at the present day,” the in the class room and demurred against eat- newspaper continued. “It announces the ing at the same table with me.” Bond later great fact that ‘God hath made of one blood remembered that “these [white students] all nations of men.’ . . . [This gospel] regards overcame their prejudice and became loyal and staunch friends.” Bond credited his contacts with white students at Berea in helping him to “understand and get along with white people throughout my career.”33 Bond also counted his white teachers among his best friends while he was a student, and he remarked that he would have washed out of school after his first year had it not been for the intervention of Jennie Lester Hill, his first teacher. Hill’s interest and Bond’s conversion during a revival led by John G. Fee “had much to do with my course and my career in life.”34 The Berea College Reporter’s “Students Column” asserted that one of the special features of the college was the relation between teacher and student. The article pointed out that teachers took a special interest in the welfare of students. The sympathy and aid of Chris- tian teachers eased the burdens of school life. This encouragement enabled a student to walk “into the temptation of the world with a firmer and manlier tread for he is James Bond. The 1892 Berea graduate enjoyed a re- strengthened and sustained by the prayers markable career as a minister, professor, and civil rights 35 advocate. Bond was elected to Berea’s Board of of Godly men and women.” Trustees in 1896. Bond’s friendships sometimes pushed Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 66

66 berea college

“Howard Hall boys, Win- ter 1891.” Even though white and African Ameri- can students did not room together, the fact that they lived in the same building, attended classes and chapel together, and joined the same literary societies promoted strong friendships.

against the accepted social boundaries of young woman’s family and members of the the time. During his student days he formed faculty, permission was denied. Although an acquaintance with “Miss F,” a white fe- Bond’s friendship with “Miss F” continued male student, the daughter of a college to be pleasant, the incident confirmed his official. The relationship was characterized resolution to be loyal to the needs of by meeting in the library or walking “from African American people and “to make my building to building together discussing our life count for the most in their uplift.”36 In favorite books and authors”; their friendship spite of this disappointment, Bond affirmed “was most helpful and stimulating as well as that the Berea experiment was “an un- platonic in character.” However, when Bond qualified success and contrary to the expec- asked if he could accompany her to a public tations and prophecies of the enemies of lecture, a “frank and honest” discussion en- the system, none of the disastrous things sued. She said she “would feel honored by prophesied ever happened.”37 my company but that because of conditions we both knew quite well,” she felt com- Donors and Controversy pelled to take the matter up with her family. Bond continued to pursue the matter, but Berea continued to suffer from indebtedness after numerous discussions involving the and the lack of large donors. Stewart ap- Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 67

working for god and humanity 67

Eugene Fairchild and Berea teachers. Fairchild pealed to “philanthropic Christians” for sup- or erecting buildings. In 1891 expenditures (seated right) had served port of the institution’s aims. “Berea Col- were $18,008.79, whereas receipts totaled as the college’s financial agent but grew increas- lege,” Stewart declared in his inaugural $16,274.91, a shortfall of $1,733.88. Dona- ingly dissatisfied with address, “has special claims for large and tions of $6,466.57 and endowment interest Berea’s direction under liberal benefactions, because of its peculiar of $5,233.20 made up the bulk of the budget the leadership of Fee and principles and sphere.”38 During his presi- for the year. The trustees urged the recogni- Stewart. To Fairchild’s right is Kate Gilbert, who dency Stewart wrote letters and visited tion by “our executive officers, President, inspired John Bate’s at- potential donors, sometimes “without ac- Treasurer and Prudential Committee [of] tendance at Berea. complishing any immediate result,” but nev- the need of devising ways and means of ex- ertheless he remained hopeful of receiving tinguishing all indebtedness of the past and important financial help.39 E. P. Fairchild, of keeping future expenditures within the Henry Fairchild’s son, served as a financial income.”40 P. D. Dodge observed to the agent and reported in 1891 that he had per- trustees, “It must be borne in mind that our sonally raised some $92,669 (including patrons are rapidly growing old and passing pledges for buildings) over an eight-year ca- away, and rarely does this mantel [sic] of giv- reer. Fee and P. D. Dodge also went out into ing fall on waiting shoulders.”41 the field, but donations barely met expenses Fee’s influence on campus was consider- and did not allow for expanding programs able. As founder and president of the Board Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 68

68 berea college

of Trustees, Fee directly participated in the alarmed some of the college’s supporters. In governance of the college. His continuing November 1891 Oliver Otis Howard, Lu- role as pastor of Union Church and instruc- cien Warner, William Kincaid, and others tor in Christian Evidences gave him a wide circulated a paper entitled “To the Friends platform for advancing his beliefs. Slavery of Berea College.” The document declared having been abolished, Fee took up another that the future of Berea was “full of peril” subject, Christian baptism. Fee, just as he and criticized Fee’s stance on baptism and had when writing against slavery during his Congregationalism. The signers urged con- abolitionist days, published his views on ditional contributions be made to a fund baptism in a series of pamphlets, beginning held in trust by the AMA that would be re- as early as 1879. His main contention was leased when two additional trustees nomi- that immersion was the only baptismal form nated by the AMA were added to Berea’s sanctioned by Scripture. He further argued Board of Trustees.46 “To the Friends of that disagreement on the mode of baptism Berea College” claimed that the school was was the result of sectarianism.42 drifting toward a narrow sectarianism led by Fee advanced his views on baptism and Fee’s offensive views. Donors were also sectarianism in his autobiography, published asked to pressure the college’s trustees to in 1891. He reminded his readers that he maintain the college’s nonsectarian stance.47 had left the AMA in 1883 so that Berea “Unless the College is to remain as hereto- would not be seen as an element of Congre- fore unsectarian which is Congregational,” gational efforts in the South. Fee charged warned one donor, F. C. Sessions, “I must that the American Missionary Association change my will in which I proposed to you had become a denominational “corps” of the ten thousand dollars and give it to some Congregationalists.43 He roundly dismissed other Southern College.”48 those who argued that to be Congregational Reaction to the charges was swift. The was to be nonsectarian. “It proves nothing,” Prudential Committee issued a circular in Fee argued, “to say that Congregationalists December 1891 entitled “Berea College, are less sectarian than others. It is not the Kentucky, A Statement and an Appeal.” amount of evil, but the fact that an evil This document responded to Fee’s detrac- principle is supported. We have long since tors. The Prudential Committee distanced known that it was the moderate slavehold- itself from Fee’s statements when it assert- ers that made slavery respectable.”44 Fee as- ed, “Berea College is not to be held respon- serted that Congregationalism was a sible for the utterance of any man’s denomination, and that the division of sentiments.”49 The committee also pointed Christian people into sects and denomina- out that neither sectarian tests nor agree- tions was “contrary to the letter and spirit ment on certain theological points was used of the Gospel, a hindrance to reforms, and in the employment of the president, profes- to the greatest progress of Christ’s kingdom. sors, or trustees. The Prudential Committee As such, I may not bid it Godspeed.”45 denied that the college was drifting toward Fee’s stubborn adherence to principle any sectarian inﬂuence and resisted the ad- complicated Berea’s fund-raising efforts and dition of trustees by the AMA or any other Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 69

working for god and humanity 69

because he had been Fee’s choice for president. Stewart’s Baptist background and apparent agreement with Fee’s theological views caused some college supporters to believe that Berea was on the road to sectarianism. E. P. Fairchild circulated rumors that Stewart’s departure from Roger Williams College had been caused by Stewart’s improper relationship with a female student. Fairchild further claimed that the people of Winchester, Kentucky, were surprised to learn of Stewart’s favorable stance on the coeducation of the races. In these stories, Fairchild implied that President Stewart had been dishonest in his credentials for leading the college.51 Fairchild vigorously pursued his campaign to depose Stewart. Having resigned as ﬁnan- cial agent in June 1891, Fairchild now busied himself tying donations to a trust fund ad- ministered by the AMA and urging William G. Frost to accept a call to Berea’s presidency. “There seems to be no doubt,” Fairchild wrote to A. L. Barber, “that Berea will be saved to its friends and supporters though John G. Fee. “I used to stop and look at you,” J. T. Mr. Fee is determined to oppose the move- Robinson once wrote, “and think how you must have ment as far as he can.” Fairchild further sug- enjoyed witnessing that which you had prayed and worked for so long, namely, a living demonstration of gested that “money subscribed should be the brotherhood of mankind.” sent to one place ready to meet the expenses of the year as soon as the trustees make their decision.”52 Writing to Frost, Fairchild outside agencies. The Reporter maintained claimed that Stewart had been “almost a fail- that the college remained true to its purpos- ure from the beginning” and that Stewart es, reminding readers that every new trustee was elected almost entirely through Fee’s “is required to sign the Constitution, and so inﬂuence. Fairchild declared that, with the comes under a solemn pledge to maintain exception of Fee, the faculty and the majori- this un-sectarian principle. . . . It will be ty of the trustees wanted Stewart to resign. seen that the College has never been eccle- Fairchild assured Frost that Berea’s alumni siastically with any denomination, and con- and friends were fully committed to saving stitutionally it never can be.”50 the college. If Frost accepted the presidency, Stewart himself now came under attack Fairchild suggested that “the chances are Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 70

70 berea college

resigned, objecting to the election of the new trustees as the mere result of recent conﬂict.55 His resignation was accepted, the trustees noting in a unanimous resolution, “As an instructor he has shown great ability, bringing to his work, high scholarship and culture; and . . . we hope that his abilities will still be given to the cause of Christian education.”56 Fairchild’s machinations seemed to herald a new day. “While some divergence of views, as to certain lines of policy, was found to exist,” the Reporter dryly observed, “the meeting closed with harmonious feeling and unanimous action, all hopeful that the great principles of equality and Christian unity, for which Berea stands, are to receive a new impetus.”57 But the very principles that the William G. Frost in his Reporter classroom at Oberlin. so hopefully recorded seemed to be “The view in my room,” good for several thousand dollars toward en- missing during the whole sorry affair. Frost wrote, “is more in- dowment of the President’s chair between Whatever the motives of E. P. Fairchild and spiring when you turn the now [February 1892] and June next, and I his supporters, it was clear that Fee’s other way and face the 53 class!” should work to that end.” inﬂuence on Berea College, for good or ill, The situation continued to deteriorate. was at an end. The Berea that Fee had envi- Fee, Samuel Hanson, Josiah Burdette, and sioned and that Henry Fairchild had led was P. D. Dodge circulated a resolution that changing, but its future shape and character cleared Stewart of the charges lodged were, as yet, unclear. against him at Roger Williams College and William B. Stewart’s presidency lasted dismissed the same as a “wicked story.”54 barely two years, though he continued as a The Prudential Committee also requested trustee until his term expired in 1895. The that all agitations cease until the regular end of his formal connection to Berea meeting of the trustees in June 1892. But it passed without recorded comment. After was too late. The trustees’ meeting in Berea his resignation from Berea’s presidency, after commencement lasted for three days. Stewart returned to Toronto, Canada. He When the donors’ petition was discussed, lived out the remainder of his career in George Leavitt of Cleveland, Ohio, and Christian education at the Toronto Bible A. P. Foster of Roxbury, Massachusetts— Training School. He died on March 5, 1912, the AMA nominees—were heard by the amid great sadness in Toronto, but this larger board and subsequently elected, along event, too, went unnoticed in Berea. To a with J. P. Stoddard of Boston and T. M. large extent Stewart’s administration was McWhinney of Franklin, Ohio. Stewart deliberately forgotten by his successors. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 71

working for god and humanity 71

Lincoln Hall. Known Log Rolling originally as “Recitation 59 often too busy teaching to raise money. Hall,” this building The controversy of the turbulent spring of Whatever his own faults may have been, housed administrative of- 1892 and E. P. Fairchild’s financial maneu- Stewart was also clearly a victim of the deep fices, classrooms, and literary society rooms. vers are central to examining William B. divisions among the faculty and trustees Students were just as like- Stewart’s presidency and its effects on over the future direction and control of the ly to encounter President Berea’s story. A fund-raising trip conducted college. These same divisions changed Stewart on their way to by Fee and Stewart in 1892 “succeeded in Berea’s sense of its mission and its history. class as any other of their instructors. removing some wrong impressions that had J. A. R. Rogers had warned his fellow been made” but, as Stewart himself admit- trustees against the dangers of factions and ted, “the pressing demands of my classes mean-spiritedness. “The greatest pains prevented me from giving longer time to should be taken to keep the school from this work.”58 This statement, compounded being partisan, sectarian, and under the by the very real financial distress of the col- influence of a clique,” Rogers wrote in 1891. lege during his administration, has led some “Anything like wire-pulling, log-rolling, se- observers to conclude that Stewart was cret, under-handed working for personal Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 72

72 berea college

ends, or to bring the College under the con- Partisanship would also change Berea’s trol of a party, will surely bring blight upon memory. Frost’s “Historical Sketch” men- the Institution, and of course in the end tioned Stewart only once as “that sound upon those doing such things.”60 The very Scotch preacher” preceding Frost’s own no- things Rogers warned his brother trustees table administration at Berea.62 In his auto- against characterized the work of E. P. biography, For the Mountains, Frost vaguely Fairchild and his allies in their efforts to characterized Stewart as “unequal to the “save” the college. For all their talk, this al- great task.” Frost lauded E. P. Fairchild’s ef- liance of administrators and new trustees forts to organize donors who used their did not reveal a long commitment to see good inﬂuence to secure Stewart’s resigna- Berea into a more perfect future. Foster and tion and bring Frost to Berea.63 In this view Leavitt, the two trustees supported by the Stewart’s work was only a historical hiccup AMA, each served only one term. E. P. before Frost’s life of leadership and destiny Fairchild left Berea in 1897 to work at Lin- at Berea. The history written by J. A. R. coln Memorial University in Harrogate, Rogers in 1902 does not mention Stewart at Tennessee, having fallen afoul of the man he all, though one of Stewart’s contemporaries, had sought as Berea’s next president, Professor W. E. C. Wright, had his own rec- William G. Frost. The inﬂuence of the ollections. “The contrast of Berea’s hold AMA itself also passed from the scene, as today on public attention,” Wright wrote to new trustees and donors took up Berea’s Frost in 1905, “with its low estate as left by cause.61 Pres. Stewart is like a fairy tale.”64 Elisabeth

A faculty riding party. Tensions within the faculty regarding interracial education and Berea’s slow progress in becoming a full-fledged college further undermined Stewart’s leadership. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 73

working for god and humanity 73

“Heading home after commencement.” This family turns east toward their mountain home. Dozens of wagons and teams of horses or mules were tethered among the trees on campus during commencement time.

Peck makes only three brief references to only the words of some of his opponents. Stewart in her centennial history written in The records of the Prudential Committee, 1955.65 Stewart received little positive recog- of which Stewart was chair, are missing, as nition until his presidency was reassessed by are the testimonials to his character and Bill Best in the 1970s and Jerome Hughes fitness considered by the faculty in 1890.67 in the 1980s.66 There is no formal reflection by Stewart From the beginning of the college, Berea upon his own career except at the end of his and its leaders relied upon the school’s his- final report when he wrote, “To all these I tory to inform its policies, to raise funds, may safely claim that I have given my best and to advance the cause of the institution. energies of head and heart and hand. The The facts related to William B. Stewart’s ca- result is with God.”68 For many years to reer are scarce, and apart from his two pres- come, however, Stewart’s energies were all idential reports, a couple of letters written but forgotten. to him, and his inaugural address, we have Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 74

William Goodell Frost. A graduate of Oberlin and the son of abolitionist parents, Frost brought new power and energy to Berea’s cause. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 75

The Telescope and the Spade William Goodell Frost, 1892–1920

It is the old story of the New England college as a civilizer, and a church and state builder, only it is in a more interesting, and in many respects a more important, region. It is nothing less than the hand of the Lord which has made this opening. Think of the son of the owner of two hundred slaves sitting in the same class with a colored student! Think of a young man speaking at a temperance meeting when his brother is in the penitentiary for “moonshining.” The Western frontier has ﬂed away, and this is our last great piece of educational pioneering. william goodell frost, 1895

NEW world opened for Berea These same characteristics also proved to be College with the second, unani- extremely durable in the turbulent times Amous election of William Goodell that were still to come. Frost to the presidency. Frost’s opportunity Any examination of William G. Frost’s came out of the controversies that had administration at Berea must include two shredded William B. Stewart’s unhappy ad- remarkable events that cast long shadows ministration, yet many believed that over the smaller tumults of faculty gover- brighter prospects were in store for the col- nance, curriculum revisions, student life, lege under Frost’s leadership. Fully commit- and even fund-raising. The first is Frost’s ted to Berea’s interracial mission, Frost “discovery” of Appalachia, a topic that dom- found that financial support for interracial inated college publicity literature after 1895 education was in decline. Still, he affirmed and significantly informed the college’s re- that serving the “cause of Christ” in this un- sponse to the racist backlash in Kentucky common way was the supreme aim of the against interracial education. Under Frost’s school. Berea College, Frost forcefully ar- leadership, Berea developed separate aca- gued, was a demonstration that what was demic departments to meet a vast array of right was also practical. During his twenty- student educational needs. The college took eight-year presidency, Frost influenced its educational mission to mountain people every aspect of campus life from building through extension programs, though Frost’s design to curricular reforms to student rules reforms did little to expand the College De- and regulations. His charismatic and force- partment. ful personality were important assets in The second event is the segregationist Frost’s exhaustive fund-raising efforts. Day Law, passed in 1904, which forced 75 Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 76

76 berea college

The Crusader

William G. Frost was born to the Reverend Lewis P. Frost and his wife, Maria Goodell Frost, on July 2, 1854, in Leroy, New York. William Frost’s parents were abolitionists, and their home served as a way station on the Underground Railroad. Frost’s grandfather was William Goodell, the notable New York abolitionist and journalist. His parents had both been influenced as students by Finney at Oberlin. Lewis Frost pastored a strong antislavery church, and both he and Maria were temperance advocates. Maria Frost wrote a tract, “Ten Reasons Why Women Should Vote,” and her sister, Lavinia Goodell, was the first woman to practice law before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. This reformist lineage and the exciting days of his youth profoundly influenced William Frost, who in later years regarded Lewis and Maria Frost. As 1 abolitionists and as tem- himself as a crusader and discoverer. perance advocates, Frost’s Berea to separate the races and to make Frost was educated at Oberlin, where he parents strongly influ- painful choices in salvaging the college’s graduated in 1876. At Oberlin he was enced the reforming zeal fundamental mission. Frost’s response to influenced by literary society meetings, the of their son, William. the Day Law and his perceived lack of com- lectures and addresses of prominent speak- mitment to Berea’s interracial work led to ers, and the young people’s prayer meeting. severe criticism from Fee and others. The In 1877, after his entrance into Oberlin’s Day Law and northern philanthropy’s inter- School of Theology, Frost was invited to est in supporting education for southern teach Greek. Daunted at the prospect, Frost mountaineers were symptomatic of larger studied at Harvard under the guidance of forces in American life: the rising tide of President Charles William Eliot, Professor racism and Jim Crow legislation in the Charles Eliot Norton, and others. He spent South on the one hand, and the distrust of some time at Andover Seminary and in “foreign” immigration to the United States Boston, gaining inspiration “from the forms on the other. In concentrating Berea’s edu- and faces of great men.” Frost returned to cational efforts on Appalachia, President his teaching duties at Oberlin, completed Frost chose to present and remember the his seminary studies in 1879, and built a dis- college’s mission and history in ways that tinguished career as a professor of Greek were significantly different from those of language and literature, publishing several Fee and Fairchild. books and articles.2 Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 77

the telescope and the spade 77

Family life also influenced Frost’s out- teacher. He had studied the educational look. In 1876 he married Louise Raney, systems of England and Germany. He whom he had met while teaching in Ray- had a knowledge of politics, having mond, Wisconsin. Together they had three run for lieutenant governor of Ohio children, Stanley, Wesley, and Norman. She on the Prohibition ticket as an ad- supported his teaching and reform efforts vocate for civil service reform. but died of a baffling illness in 1890. In his Frost was an ordained Congrega- sorrow, Frost “did not find all the triumph a tional minister, inspired by Christian should in this soul-quelling be- Charles Grandison Finney, Wen- reavement.” Yet in 1891 a “fresh springtime” dell Phillips, and other great evan- appeared in the person of Eleanor Marsh, gelists of his time. He regarded an Oberlin graduate and an admired friend Horace Mann and General Samuel of Frost and his children. They were mar- C. Armstrong of Hampton Institute ried after Oberlin’s commencement and in as significant educational role models. time, two more children, Edith and Cleve- William Frost himself was described by land, were born.3 the Berea College Reporter as a scholar, re- Eleanor Marsh Frost. William and Eleanor Frost were traveling former, orator, evangelist, politician, enthu- Deeply religious, Eleanor in Europe when Frost received his second siast, and aggressive leader.6 He energetically organized women in both call to Berea in 1892 (the first having been brought all these gifts to bear on Berea’s the college and the town when he was elected president in 1889). mission. to assist her in “neighboring,” helping the poor, the Eleanor summarized her husband’s choice as sick, and the hungry in having to decide between becoming “a stir- For the Mountains the community and near- ring evangelistic pioneer worker” and being by countryside. “the cultured Christian scholar.” For Eleanor, For many Americans, the southern Ap- the call from Berea seemed “like the cry of a palachian region was a strange and peculiar drowning man.” Was William Goodell Frost place. Popular knowledge of this mythic the right man to save Berea College? “Is it breeding ground of ballads and bandits was worth saving,” Eleanor wrote, “as compared most often based on the stories of local- to the influences which you will save to color writers such as Mary Murfree and Oberlin as long as you stay there.”4 Frost ac- John Fox Jr. The writings of Murfree, Fox, cepted the college’s invitation, convinced of and many others were serialized in the the trustees’ support for “all races alike, low emerging popular literary and missionary expenses, student earnings, and ‘courses for magazines of the latter 1890s. Mountain varied wants.’” Whatever her own reserva- people were often depicted as the lost de- tions, Eleanor Frost’s work on behalf of scendents of aristocratic forebears, a retard- Berea in later years as a teacher, fund-raiser, ed population bypassed by the march of and extension worker gave her a significant American progress. The everyday life of reputation all her own.5 Appalachian people was characterized by By the time William G. Frost arrived at isolation and the preservation of pioneer Berea he already possessed remarkable cre- ways dating back to revolutionary times. dentials. He was an established scholar and Local-color stories portrayed a dialect Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 78

78 berea college

Mountain woman in In his initial plans for Berea, William homespun. For William G. Goodell Frost took no notice of Appalachia. Frost, the bonnet and mittens represented an He did suggest that the presence of more aristocratic history that northern white students would “give a good revealed the good “stock” tone to the school” and that their presence to be found in mountain would encourage white southern students to people. attend the college as well. College stationery bore the slogan “Northern Advantages in a Southern Climate.” Frost also argued that northern colleges and universities had set the standard for excellence that Berea should emulate. While Frost’s suggestion of more northern students reflected his own northern abolitionist background, he was not alone in his views. Many northerners believed that a migration of northern individuals and families into the South would “civilize” the region, ensuring its loyalty and patriotism within the Union. In achieving the standards set by northern schools and by securing northern approval, Frost also believed that Berea would attract national attention. Frost ultimately concluded that the mountaineer would be the leading element in building a New England in the South.8 Frost first encountered Appalachia during his teaching days at Oberlin. Traveling littered with survivals of Elizabethan words with three companions, he wandered the and idioms. Narratives from the Civil War West Virginia hills, visiting several small era noted the fierce patriotism of moun- communities. Frost shared dinner with “a taineer Unionists and their hatred of the woman who sold whiskey,” and his early im- Confederacy. Missionaries, ignoring the pressions of the region were largely roman- presence of indigenous Appalachian tic.9 Frost’s next foray into the mountains churches, described mountain people as took place in 1893, under the guidance of unchurched—that is, their religion was un- Frank Hays, a Union veteran. Frost now recognizable to mainline Christianity. Ironi- “discovered” a population in the eastern cally, only a few teachers, writers, and Kentucky mountains that had much in com- missionaries were familiar with Appalachia; mon with early New Englanders. Mountain the region was not yet of national interest people had preserved colonial handicrafts, or concern.7 music, and other folkways. They were the Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 79

the telescope and the spade 79

descendants of Revolutionary War veterans and their patriotism was revealed in their loyalty to the Union during the Civil War. Frost’s feeling toward these newfound Americans was “not superiority, but fellowship.”10 Mountain students, in Frost’s view, provided the answer to Berea’s nagging enrollment problems. For Frost, integrated education would work only if white students attended in greater numbers and from a wider area beyond Berea’s environs. Frost now defined Berea’s mission in terms of “ef- facing sectional lines.” By this he meant breaking down traditional social and cultural barriers, thus cultivating “a true national spirit.” He defined the “Southern Problem” as the result of “the divergence and es- trangement of the two halves of our country—it is the impact of two sets of dominant ideas.” Education and “uplift” of African Americans were only a partial solution; complete victory could be obtained only by working with the white people of the South. Frost asserted that the South could not be intellectually subjugated. In- stead, Berea College would become the A mountain farm. Moun- tain people, as Frost saw leader in developing a liberal southern Frost’s idea of public-spiritedness was it, were isolated from the movement that would demonstrate the grounded in his understanding of mountain best that American soci- practicability of Berea’s ideals. Because people and their character. He believed that ety offered, yet moun- Kentucky had been a border state during educational work in Appalachia would taineers held the promise of correcting the darker the Civil War, Frost argued that Berea was equip mountain people for the role they flaws in the American ideally suited to draw students from both would play in the great national epic. “Their character. the North and the South. With the pres- territory,” Frost wrote in 1895, “will be a ence of mountain students, Frost believed fountain of national vigor and patriotism. that “the best ideals are sure to prevail at . . . Under proper guidance this mountain last. Moreover, the young people attending folk will off set some of our undesirable for- a college of moral ideas, engaged in practical eign populations, and overflow the South Christian work, acquire a peculiar moral with a new element.”12 Mountain people tone—they drink in a certain public spirit were ideal because they were uncontaminat- along with the mountain air!”11 ed by slavery and were neither “foreigners, Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 80

80 berea college

nor Catholics, nor aliens, nor inﬁdels.”13 supporters that black students were present According to Frost, Berea’s work was at Berea because of the “gracious favor” and one of “national concern.” Residing “forbearance of the whites.” He reminded in Appalachia were millions of real Frost and others that coeducation of the Americans, just waiting for the op- races had been contemplated at the start portunity to join the march of and to think otherwise was “a serious mis- American progress. take.”16 This debate was further exacerbated The mountaineers’ need for by Frost’s refusal to promote James Hath- education was borne out not only away to professor. Hathaway, Berea’s only in their patriotic sensibilities, but African American teacher, resigned in 1893. also in their cultural characteris- The ensuing controversy put Frost on the tics. Besides being Americans of defensive, and Hathaway claimed that Frost many generations, Frost observed, was changing Berea’s image from being a Appalachian people were “religious, “mere colored school” to one that was pre- truthful, hospitable, and much addicted to killing one another. They are leading a life Daisy Nickum. This Ohio student was one of many of survivals, spinning cloth in the manner of northern students who centuries ago, and preserving many ﬁne Frost believed would im- Shakespearean phrases and pronunciations; prove the quality of the they may be called our contemporary ances- college. “I know I shall be 14 better and more ladylike,” tors!” Appalachian people then were nei- Daisy wrote to her par- ther black freedmen to be patronized nor ents, “if I ever live to get immigrants to be scorned. The mountaineer out of here.” was as familiar as the grandfather who had fought in the American Revolution. The region inhabited by mountain people was ex- otic and far-off, “the mountainous backyards of nine states.” Appalachia, in Frost’s view, was symbolic of arrested development in the midst of progress. Frost called the southern mountain region “Ap- palachian America,” a peculiar place where pioneer people and their ways were preserved intact.15 The new drive for white mountain students did not impress everyone, however. African American alumni feared that Frost’s efforts to build up white enrollments would diminish the college’s commitment to inter- “Men Proud of Being Dangerous.” Feuds and violence racial education. John T. Robinson criti- were seen as significant barriers to educational cized the impression among Berea staff and progress in Appalachia. Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 81

the telescope and the spade 81

African American students, c. 1901. Fee and other supporters of Berea’s interracial mission feared that Frost’s apparent obsession with Ap- palachia would isolate African Americans from desperately needed educational opportunities.

dominately white, though still integrated. ments, and give the South what it has al- Frost dismissed these criticisms, claiming ways lacked, a sturdy middle class.”18 that Berea remained open to all in keeping Many northerners welcomed Frost and with the founders’ vision.17 Berea’s “discovery” of mountain people be- Wider trends in American society only cause Appalachians represented the right conﬁrmed the concerns of many of Berea’s sort of racial and cultural characteristics. At African American alumni. The cult of the same moment, African Americans were Anglo-Saxonism emerging nationally in the cast aside by social reformers in much re- 1890s claimed a pure racial ancestry and gional and national literature as foreign and heritage that stood in stark contrast to the savage, unworthy of inclusion in the Anglo- numerous immigrants crowding American Saxon nation.19 Frost’s commitment to serv- ports. Northern philanthropists were deeply ing Appalachian youth was perceived by impressed with the patriotism, loyalty, and many Berea supporters, black and white, as Scotch-Irish ancestry of mountain folk and a retreat from the college’s historic founding donated heavily to Berea’s educational ideals. cause. Mountaineers would prove “a glori- ous national asset,” Frost wrote. “They are Hostile Legislation the unspoiled and vigorous reserve forces. They will offset the undesirable foreign ele- William Frost’s enthusiasm for mountaineer Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 82

82 berea college

Ladies’ Hall, Memorial Day, 1898. While this education was tempered by increasing udice and hatred that was advancing steadily view shows a heavily integrated student body, by national opposition to Berea’s coeducation across the South would soon arrive in Berea. 1895 the college’s publici- of the races. When Frost took the presiden- Separate-school laws were one manifes- ty literature said nothing tial mantle in 1892, he expressed deep com- tation of this rising prejudice against about Berea’s interracial mitment to Berea’s interracial purposes. African Americans. In 1891 the AMA character. “The peculiar work for years to come,” Frost founded an integrated industrial school in wrote to the trustees in 1892, “is for the col- Florida and legislation had been introduced ored race.” He also emphasized the college’s to force the school to segregate. In 1901 the efforts in “teaching the races to live and “Maryville Law” ended interracial education work together, and to afford an object lesson in Tennessee. A similar bill had been dis- to the whole country.” In asserting Berea’s cussed in Kentucky that same year, but no work in interracial education, Frost main- action had been taken. Frost began writing tained one of Berea’s fundamental aims.20 letters, preaching, and speaking out against Nevertheless, the deepening shadow of prej- such hostile legislation. He urged Berea’s Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 83

the telescope and the spade 83

friends and supporters to be prepared in the who had been attracted to Berea’s educa- event that a separate-school law be pro- tional advantages were not sympathetic to posed affecting private schools. In 1904 the the college’s interracial mission or the com- nightmare became a reality.21 munity’s integrated origins.24 On January 12, 1904, Representative The college’s tactics in resisting the bill Carl Day, a Democrat from Breathitt Coun- were also ambivalent. While asserting the ty, Kentucky, introduced House Bill 25. This unjust intent of the Day bill, Frost and the bill declared it “unlawful for any person, college strongly opposed mixed public corporation, or association of persons to schools and interracial marriage. In an ad- maintain or operate any college, school, or dress to the Senate Committee on Educa- institution where persons of the white and tion, Frost further addressed the fear of race Negro races are both received as pupils for mixing. “The Berea way of preventing the instruction.” The bill also proposed sub- mingling of the races is not by repressing stantial financial penalties for any defiance: the Negro and calling him by humiliating $50 upon each teacher, $50 upon each stu- names, but we put such character and self- dent (white or black), and $1,000 upon the respect into the Negro that he keeps himself institution for each day’s violation of the in order.” Frost also noted the minority sta- law. Finally, no private school could main- tus of black students at Berea, and he point- Berea student enrollment, tain an integrated branch within a twenty- ed out that the races maintained their own 1866–1904. African 22 five-mile radius of the parent institution. social lives, though some of his critics be- American students either The debate surrounding the bill focused lieved he had advocated race separation on equaled or outnumbered on race rather than politics. Both Demo- campus. Indeed, the interracial character of their white peers throughout Berea’s history until crats and Republicans supported the legisla- enrollment had changed. As recently as after 1893, when white tion. Some legislators and critics of the 1893, only five of the sixty-four women liv- enrollments far surpassed college circulated vicious rumors about ing in Ladies’ Hall were white. By 1898 the those of blacks (from Philanthropists and Berea’s campus life, inflaming fears of mis- majority of students living in Ladies’ Hall Burnside, Politicians). cegenation among the white populace. A petition in support of the bill, signed by 1000 950 eight hundred Madison County residents, 900 BEREA STUDENT ENROLLMENT 1866–1904 complained that Berea College had acted 850 800 “in open defiance of the organic law of this 750 • No catalogues Commonwealth, as it then existed, and has 700 ------White students 650 ––––– Black students been maintained in opposition to the cus- 600 toms, views, and most cherished convictions 550 Source: Berea College catalogue 1886–88 and 1901–04 500 23 of the good people of this county.” A re- 450 monstrance sent by Berea’s faculty in June 400 350 1904 declared that there had been no scan- 300 dal at the college, and a number of towns- 250 200 people also petitioned against the bill. 150 There was ambivalence about the bill with- 100 50 • • • • • in the town itself, however. Many whites 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 84

84 berea college

and Howard Hall were white.25 right of due process. The Kentucky Court Frost’s view was hardly the strident egali- of Appeals (in Berea College v. Commonwealth, tarianism of Fee and Henry Fairchild. He 1906) found the law to be a reasonable pro- instead chose to portray Berea as a moder- tection of the public welfare. In their opin- ate institution that simply demonstrated the ion the Kentucky justices asserted that possibility of the races studying and work- racial separation was “deeper and more im- ing together. He emphasized the college’s portant than the matter of choice.”27 commitment to industrial education (in line The college’s appeal to the Supreme with Booker T. Washington’s model at Court of the United States brought no re- Tuskegee) and glossed over Berea’s historic lief, either. The Court avoided the civil commitment to social equality. Frost’s views rights question altogether, ruling that the of the races and of the college’s essential State of Kentucky, in incorporating Berea mission were quite different from those of College, had also retained the right to alter his predecessors. “The work of Berea for the or repeal the college’s charter. The Court Negro,” he wrote in 1894, “is not to be further ruled that the Day Law did not halt measured by the numbers of its colored stu- Berea’s ability to furnish education to all dents. . . . Our great work is to reconcile the persons but merely required the two races two races, and to make friends for the col- to be educated at different times or at dif- ored people among the southern whites.” ferent places at least twenty-ﬁve miles apart For Frost, “keeping the two races in sub- (Berea College v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, stantial equality . . . had never been an es- 1908). Finally, the Court ruled that the sential part of Berea’s program.”26 The crisis state must be able to use its police powers now demanded, in Frost’s view, the survival to protect what the Commonwealth regard- of the institution, whatever the cost. ed as the public good. Justice John Marshall House Bill 25 was passed overwhelmingly Harlan, a Kentuckian, argued that the Day in both houses of the Kentucky legislature Law trampled the constitutional liberties of and took effect in July 1904. The college individuals to impart knowledge to others then made a friendly arrangement with and to meet for innocent purposes. “Have local authorities to violate the law in the fall we become so inoculated with prejudice of term, thus creating an opportunity to test race,” Harlan wrote in his dissenting opin- the law’s constitutionality. On October 8, ion, “that an American government profess- 1904, a Madison County grand jury indict- edly based on the principles of freedom . . . ed the college for violating the Day Law, can make distinctions between such citizens and so began a series of court cases that . . . simply because of their respective lasted until 1908. races?”28 In the state courts (Commonwealth v. Berea As the case progressed through the College), the college challenged the law as an courts, Frost and the college faced an unen- abridgment of the liberty of contract and as viable choice in responding to the Day Law impeding the freedom to engage in a lawful if it were upheld. Should Berea become a calling. These were both, in the college’s white school or a black school? Should the view, violations of the federal constitutional college move to another state, or close alto- Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 85

the telescope and the spade 85

Phi Delta Literary Soci- ety, 1903–4. Founded in 1866, Phi Delta was the oldest student organization at Berea. The Day Law forced the college to segregate and shattered hard-won friendships.

gether? Moving the school northward taken place by reason of your present poli- would diminish Berea’s interracial witness cy.”29 J. R. Rogers, a Berea trustee and a son in the South, and closure was unacceptable. of J. A. R. Rogers, urged Frost to “ﬁght this If the college was forced to segregate, then thing to the bitter end alone if need be,” and to institutional survival would require choos- hold fast to Berea’s principles until all legal ing which students would stay and which recourse was exhausted. “If Berea does not students would have to go. Trustees, donors, do this,” J. R. Rogers continued, “you will supporters, and alumni alike were split on personally be accused of desiring the pas- the subject. sage of this law and to quietly acquiesce will On the one hand, defending Berea as an conﬁrm the opinion . . . that in the bottom integrated school seemed to be the only of your heart you would be glad to be rid of chance of maintaining the college’s original the Negro problem in Berea. I have always intent. “I advise as strongly as I can,” Book- denied this and do not believe it.”30 Frost er T. Washington wrote to Frost, “and that himself had written in 1901 that at Berea is every effort should be made to convince “we simply assume the brotherhood of man the members of the legislature that your as all the great schools of America and the present organization of the college ought world do. . . . The position thus calmly held not to be disturbed, and that no harm has must be maintained at all hazards.” Frost Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 86

86 berea college

from Boston, suggested that black education would suffer until “the white ‘third estate’ that now is in complete control can be educated into American christian [sic] ideas of their obligation and opportunity with respect thereto.” Berea, Mayo added, was probably not the only way to uplift African Americans. The college’s singular integrated atmosphere was only short-lived, and students of both races faced significant obstacles when leaving the school. Departing black students would “find nothing like the Berea intercourse with the White race possible,” Mayo wrote, while white students, “certainly outside their own community if not within, [would] face the odium that almost universally attaches to the Berea practices.”32 Both Frost and Mayo recognized the increasing lack of philanthropic interest in interracial education, as well as the wider society’s increasing hostility toward social equality between the races. Mayo suggested that blacks had opportunities for technical, collegiate, and professional schooling in the North, but that Kentucky did not have a “Homespun, Spring 1900.” A group of moun- Hampton or a Tuskegee. If separation was tain students gather noted many victories in Berea’s integrated required, he observed, then Berea could around a spinning wheel. experiment. Blacks, he observed, were duly maintain the founder’s vision by erecting These young people were represented in clubs, literary societies, and such a school for its displaced African part of Frost’s efforts to sports teams. These social connections, build a “New England in American students. Berea’s faculty also en- the South.” along with reciting in classes together, pro- dorsed the idea of a separate school that moted good understanding and eroded would meet the particular needs of black prejudice. “It is simply impossible,” Frost students. The peculiarities to be met in the argued, “for Berea College to change its proposed industrial and normal schools platform. The record of Berea’s forty years were not specified. William E. Barton, now abundantly vindicates its position.”31 a prominent Congregational minister and a On the other hand, if Berea had to Berea trustee, concluded that Appalachian choose between its African American stu- people needed the same educational oppor- dents and its white mountain students, who tunities offered to African Americans. would stay? A. D. Mayo, a prominent Uni- “[The] Colored race,” Barton argued, “has tarian minister and educational reformer its Fisk, its Tuskegee, its Atlanta, and its Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 87

the telescope and the spade 87

African American students, c. 1900. Even before the passage of the Day Law, many African American students and alumni wondered if Berea was being taken away from them.

scores of other colleges, but the sons of Law, the trustees devised a plan to establish these loyal mountaineers, equally worthy a new black school or department. Modeled and equally needy, have no such array of col- after the programs available at Tuskegee and leges for their uplifting.”33 Hampton, the school would emphasize in- It was Barton’s view that prevailed. To dustrial education and teacher training, and ease the plight of the displaced black stu- promising students could attend Berea to dents, the trustees authorized the payment further their education in the event the Day of tuition and fees at other schools such as Law was overturned. Frost believed that Fisk, Tuskegee, and Hampton. The trustees Kentucky blacks would now have their own voted to help black students continue their version of these distinguished schools.35 education until a final decision was ren- Frost and the trustees then turned their dered by the highest court. Fifty-two stu- attention to financing the new school. In dents accepted the trustees’ offer in the first reviewing the college’s financial assets, they year. African Americans who had attended devised a formula on the basis of African Berea prior to 1904 and a few special stu- American enrollment at Berea. Though dents received aid until 1911. These stu- specific gifts for black education at Berea dents were listed in Berea’s catalogue as were small, Frost and others insisted that “Berea College Students at Other Institu- African Americans had a moral claim to tions.”34 some portion of all of Berea’s assets. Since Financial support alone could not meet black enrollment before 1892 was about half the needs of Berea’s African American stu- African American, it was agreed that half of dents, however. In 1906, when the Ken- the funds raised by Fee and Rogers in the tucky Court of Appeals upheld the Day early days should be committed to the new Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 88

88 berea college

Berea students at Knoxville College, c. 1905. Financial aid was distributed from Berea on behalf of these students and others attending such institutions as Hampton Institute, Tuskegee, and Wilberforce.

school. This amounted to $100,000. The African American alumni, James Bond and trustees then allowed another $100,000 Kirke Smith, personally raised approximate- from the funds raised during Frost’s tenure, ly $19,000 among Kentucky blacks, and on the basis of the enrollment in the last in- other friends of Berea made up the rest. By tegrated year at Berea (157 black students of July 1909 the $400,000 needed for the Ad- 961, or one-sixth). Frost argued that an adjustment Fund had been subscribed.37 ditional $200,000 was needed to give the The new school’s location presented the new school a ﬁghting start, and he took next quandary. The appeals court decision upon himself the burden of fund-raising. had struck down the Day Law’s provision This new campaign was called the Adjust- that set a twenty-ﬁve-mile minimum be- ment Fund.36 tween an institution and its opposite-race The fund drive got off to a spectacular department. In theory, at least, Berea could start when Andrew Carnegie gave have built the new school right next to the $200,000 to meet the portion of Berea’s existing campus. The trustees, however, endowment set aside for the new school. concluded that the largest concentration of Other donors from the Northeast gave al- African Americans in Kentucky resided most $100,000, and a Cincinnati donor near Louisville, so a site near this popula- gave $50,000 with the provision that the tion was sought. Complicating matters was same amount be raised in Kentucky. Two the passage of the Holland Law, which for- Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 89

the telescope and the spade 89

Architectural rendering of Lincoln Institute. Only bade the establishment of a school on a site coln Institute developed its own history and the tower section and one larger than 75 acres without the consent of tradition separate from Berea’s.39 side of Berea Hall (cen- the district’s voters. Declared unconstitu- Frost described the whole ordeal of the ter) were completed, a symbol, perhaps, of only tional in June 1910, the Holland Law never- Day Law and the establishment of Lincoln partially realized hopes theless caused considerable anxiety in the Institute as “a fight for the freedman.” It and dreams. search for a site. Finally, the college pur- had been a costly struggle. Many donors and chased some 450 acres east of Louisville, alumni saw Berea’s choice to become a near the community of Simpsonville in white school as a betrayal of the founding Shelby County.38 dream. To his critics, the fact that Berea Lincoln Institute, as the new school was began planning a separate school for blacks called, was incorporated in January 1910. before the legal fight had ended provided The campus buildings and landscaping were further evidence of Frost’s accommodation- designed by the African American architec- ist stance. Furthermore, the lack of a colle- tural firm of Tandy and Foster. The main giate department at Lincoln Institute meant administration building, Berea Hall, was that African American students had to completed in 1911. The school had its own search elsewhere for the education that trustees, donors, and funds. The institute’s Berea had provided. Some critics even went first principal was the Reverend A. E. so far as to accuse Frost of aiding or even Thomson, formerly the pastor of Berea’s authoring the Day Law, but there is ab- Union Church. Like many of the first teach- solutely no evidence to support this con- ers at Lincoln, Thomson was white. The tention. It is clear, however, that like many presence of James Bond, Kirke Smith, and white progressives of his era, William others gave the institute grounding in Goodell Frost retreated from the college’s Berea’s ideals. After its incorporation, Lin- radical assertion of social equality. His fasci- Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 90

90 berea college

Lincoln Institute faculty, 1914. In the front row, the Rev. James Bond stands to the right of the Rev. A. E. Thomson (center), Lincoln’s first principal.

nation with the education of white moun- both to learn something of the dignity of taineers, combined with the backlash of Jim manual toil.” Liberal learning must, in Crow laws throughout the South, severely Frost’s view, be balanced by practical skill. diminished Frost’s image as a “friend of the “Berea College,” he wrote, “stands with a Negro.” Though Berea’s interracial mission spade and a spelling book in one hand, and had been halted, Frost continued his work a telescope and a Greek Testament in the for white Appalachia.40 other.”41 With reforming zeal, Frost proclaimed Berea’s mission as supremely Christian. The Something Good for Every Comer college’s public role was to provide an ex- Frost moved energetically to develop an ed- ample of right living and higher thinking. ucational program to serve the mountains. “It is the mission of a Christian school,” he He affirmed that while the College, Nor- argued, “to elevate, to create public senti- mal, Academic, and Elementary Depart- ment.”42 In September 1892 the faculty and ments carried on their own separate trustees adopted several resolutions that programs, there was also an educational affirmed Berea’s mission of placing educa- benefit when these departments worked to- tion within the reach of all persons. Berea gether. “It is an advantage,” Frost observed was committed, on the basis of the “ideals in his inaugural address, “for the normal of Christianity, as well as of true democra- student to breathe a little college air, for the cy,” to admitting students according to their college student to keep in touch with prac- attainments and character.43 Furthermore, tical life and with missionary work, and for no student would be excluded from Berea Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 91

the telescope and the spade 91

Vocational School students. Future nurses, farmers, carpenters, and home economists prepare to change their home counties, one community at a time.

for lack of means. “We have no diviner call,” tained the high-school-level courses of the Frost declared, “than to gather the multi- old Preparatory Department. The Model tudes who will otherwise be untaught, hold School offered elementary education and them for a longer or a shorter time accord- evolved finally into the Foundation School. ing to their capacity, and give to each youth Frost believed that this diversity of schools a bent in the upward direction.”44 would provide education for “both the In 1893 Frost began a series of reforms scholar and the man with the hoe.” By 1913 that adapted courses for varied wants. five distinct departments had been firmly These reforms resulted in the emergence of established—College, Normal, Academy, a number of schools under the aegis of Vocational, and Foundation.45 Berea College, expanding the work of what Extension work offered another method had previously been mere departments. In for providing educational opportunities in 1902 Frost proposed that each school ulti- the region. During the Fairchild administra- mately have its own dean, faculty, and build- tion, LeVant Dodge had been released to ings. This academic segregation prevented conduct teachers’ institutes in the moun- students from taking courses outside the tains and to search for promising students, school in which they were enrolled. The but these efforts were limited in scope. In Normal School focused on preparing teach- 1893 the faculty’s Committee on Outside ers for public school work. The Vocational Representation commissioned two maps, School offered short courses in carpentry, one showing the location and name of every bricklaying, agriculture, nursing, printing, family within one mile of Ladies’ Hall and and home science. The Academy main- another showing every school and church Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 92

92 berea college

Chautauqua on wheels. Charles S. Knight stands within six miles of the campus.46 Armed ments in the remoter counties to serve as on the back of the Berea with this information, teachers visited Extension Wagon. Knight outposts of Berea’s influence. “We have only and his fellow workers nearby families and outlying school dis- touched in a few places one side of our went out into the nearby tricts, “preparing the way for Berea field,” Raymond observed, “while the great hills to spread the good influence.”47 This early effort prefigured undiscovered country of Appalachian news of Jesus Christ, even larger plans for Berea’s outreach into 50 Berea College, and Amer- America stretches out before us.” Frost’s ican democracy, though the mountains. advocacy of short courses to meet the im- not necessarily in that University extension lecturing was to be mediate needs of mountain people also in- order. recognized as a regular department of the formed his view of extension work. “The college’s work, Frost observed in 1897.48 The starting of these people toward greater Extension Department’s work developed light,” he noted in 1902, “is so urgent a mat- many facets: lectures, Sunday schools, insti- ter that we cannot wait for them to come to tutes, and libraries. Professors traveled in Berea. Indirectly our extension work will the mountains, offering lectures on selected bring many students, but the immediate ob- topics such as mountain agriculture, tem- ject is to benefit those who may never perance, health and sanitation, rural schools, come.”51 and forestry. The Extension Department’s Eleanor Frost was one of the many no- equipment consisted of horses and mules, table extension workers who advanced buggies and carriages, two baby organs, two Berea’s cause. She had traveled with her stereopticons, and other necessary uten- husband on previous extension tours, but sils.49 C. Rexford Raymond suggested the her most remarkable effort occurred in establishment of social or college settle- 1914. Seeking fresh information on moun- Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 93

the telescope and the spade 93

tain life to assist William Frost’s fund- Eleanor Frost. Her jour- raising efforts, Eleanor, her son Cleveland, ney through numerous Appalachian counties and Olive Sinclair set out on horseback on provided a first-hand ac- July 5, 1914. Her diary and letters document count of mountain condi- her impressions of mountain schools, tions, the success of Berea church services, and the condition of moun- alumni, and the continuing need to adapt Berea’s 52 tain families, particularly women. work. Beginning in Owsley County, Kentucky, and then moving south into Virginia, Ten- nessee, and North Carolina, Eleanor Frost turned her progressive eye toward the needs of mountain people. She lamented the un- sanitary conditions of some mountain homes and decried the poor nutrition presented at mountain tables. In one home that she visited, she experienced “ﬁlth unspeak- able, greasy oilcloth, dishes, smells, . . . bed- bugs. Impossible to eat.”53 Her dismay extended to other homes where cleanliness and hygiene were clearly neglected. She was repulsed by tobacco use in general and scorned women who “smoked and spat.”54 Eleanor Frost was also quick to praise what she regarded as glimpses of progress. De- scribing a Berea supporter’s home in Owsley County, Frost found the “kitchen immacu- late, utensils over table, stove, dishtable, cup- board in row. [S]creen doors, no ﬂies, swept Frost visited schools and churches in the yard, plants.”55 She also spoke admiringly of mountains. She carefully noted that poor fa- mountain women who earned extra income cilities and ill-trained instructors in some through sewing, gardening, raising livestock, mountain schools frustrated genuine learn- and handicrafts. These contrasting observa- ing. Although new, graded schools were be- tions of mountain life moved Frost to rec- ginning to appear in the mountains, Frost ommend the expansion of Berea’s home believed that the one-room school would economics curriculum, particularly in the still be the most common experience for College Department. She also advocated the most mountain children. She remained conversion of some former homesteads in hopeful of Berea’s contribution, however. “I Berea into model houses where young left those shut-in valleys with a fresh grati- women could learn how to manage their tude for the public school system,” Frost own rural homes and families.56 wrote in 1914. “With all its imperfections, Like other extension workers, Eleanor what a power if we can only put a real Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 94

94 berea college

Six mountain preachers. Eleanor Frost valued the important role of religion in mountain life. The ministers portrayed here were gathered at New Prospect Church in Clay County, Kentucky.

teacher into each schoolhouse.”57 Observing of other programs did not lead to an expan- mountain churches, Frost found many sion of the College Department, however. preachers who were largely uneducated and Berea could not “measure her usefulness made their living from farming or storekeep- solely by the number of her classical gradu- ing. She was deeply moved by their preach- ates,” Frost wrote to the trustees in 1892. ing style, however. “The rhapsodic style of “We will urge no student to take a college preaching has in it an element of great course who has not the capacity for it. We value,” she wrote. “I would like to see our will take pleasure and pride in the student men let themselves go, say with fervor the who leaves school forever at the end of a things they believe, and let the grammar single year with a few moral ideas and the come as it will.”58 She did not want Berea germs of religion and civilization in his students to reject their home churches pre- heart.”60 Frost believed that the success of cipitously, but to fall in with local congrega- the college was rooted in the expansion of tional custom. For Eleanor Frost, organizing the other Berea schools. College graduates, Berea’s program to inﬂuence the home, the in Frost’s view, could not be produced fast church, and the school was the key to re- enough to spread the good news of Berea’s forming mountain life. “The planning of our opportunity. Nevertheless, he argued, the Berea courses to ﬁt,” she wrote to her hus- numerous graduates of the Normal and band, “is our absolutely greatest problem.”59 Vocational Schools were the most effectual Curriculum reforms and the enlargement advocates in identifying young talent and Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 95

the telescope and the spade 95

pointing it toward Berea. Frost further believed that if all these short-course graduates acted as good Christians, then Berea’s influence would be extended throughout Appalachia. This influence, Frost reasoned, would bring the best students to Berea. In a generation or so, Appalachian youth would be ready for collegiate courses.61 College courses changed very little in Frost’s time. The 1892 resolutions noted that the school would not “provide the elective courses which are desirable to many specialists” but would offer courses “ample for ordinary educational purposes and carried out with adequate apparatus and according to the most approved methods.”62 During Frost’s twenty-eight-year administration, the catalogues described the classi- Collegiate graduates, cal course as the standard curriculum found lems of Appalachia. Frost claimed that the 1901. The small size of in other American colleges and universities. needs of the mountains were so immediate the College Department Besides the B.A., the college offered other that a long, drawn-out education was not yielded tiny graduating classes, but powerful re- four-year degrees, but these programs, in- the demand of the hour. By 1890 the Ap- sults. The careers of these cluding the pedagogical course (B.Ped.) and palachian region and its massive natural re- graduates included a ste- the philosophical course (Ph.B.), required sources in coal and timber were being nographer, a missionary, a only two years of college work supplement- integrated into the larger national economy. dentist, a surgeon, a su- perintendent of schools, ed by two years in the Preparatory or Nor- Railroads, industry, and tourism were pow- and the founder of an mal Department. Though the College erful emblems of America’s discovery of the industrial college. Department increased from 25 students in region. Berea’s success was measured in- 1893 to 215 in 1920, the proportion of colle- stead by its commitment to meeting Ap- giate students relative to total enrollment in palachian problems in a practical way. “Your all the departments was no higher than it age, your tastes,” Frost confidently observed, was before Frost came to Berea.63 “the family condition at home, the need for Even at the end of his active career, your active work are such that you ought William Goodell Frost was convinced that not to try to stay four years more. So we will he had acted correctly in serving Ap- give you the best possible selection for a palachia’s educational needs. He derided the two-year course. If you finish that, we will “custodians of education” who handed out recognize you as a scholar.”64 In assessing his learning in “car-load lots.” Berea’s two-year own administration, William G. Frost courses in teaching, agriculture, home eco- pointed to a variety of accomplishments. He nomics, carpentry, and other areas equipped strongly believed that the Vocational and mountaineers to meet the pressing prob- Foundation Schools were better suited to Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 96

96 berea college

A mountain school. William Frost’s emphasis mountain needs, and that his short courses formist legacy, commitment to labor, and on building up the Nor- prepared students to meet the pressing educational service to Appalachia embodied mal Department was mo- problems of the region. In Frost’s view, stu- Frost’s interpretation of the college’s mis- tivated in large part by dents seeking four-year collegiate degrees sion. the need for qualified 65 teachers in the numerous were lost to the mountains. He urged the Service to the Appalachian region had one- and two-room expansion of extension work and noted that become the dominant feature of Berea’s schools that dotted World War I had caused a general “awaken- mission, and the college’s constitution was mountain hillsides. ing” in the mountains that offered a changed in 1911 to designate Appalachia as Teacher institutes conducted through the ex- significant educational opportunity. Frost the school’s special field of endeavor. In de- tension service provided pointed to the stability of the different aca- veloping various schools and curricula continuing education ex- demic departments and Berea’s increasing adapted to mountain needs, Frost and his periences for rural teach- sphere of influence through the “annexa- colleagues believed that they had laid the ers and helped locate promising students for at- tion” of mountain counties in Alabama, foundation for bringing the region into har- tendance at Berea. Georgia, and South Carolina. Finally, he mony with the wider national experience. pointed out the utility of student labor in Furthermore, Frost believed that his “dis- teaching “the principle that every educated covery” of Appalachian mountain people person should know the value of a dollar as had bolstered the national character while measured in perspiration and responsible, offsetting the “foreignness” of blacks and cooperative, productive effort.”66 Berea’s re- immigrants. “Our Mountaineers, no longer Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 97

the telescope and the spade 97

Boys working with ox team and sled. Frost described mountain people as living the life of pioneer days. The original caption of this image claimed that Berea’s work could help decide “whether this boy becomes an Abraham Lin- coln or a Jesse James.”

called ‘mountain whites,’” Frost wrote in inheritance from John G. Fee was “to be 1920, “have come to be recognized as redis- forever a militant institution”; and J. A. R. covered kinsmen—the largest and most Rogers’s bequest was that Berea was “an ex- proliﬁc body of Protestant Americans. ‘Ap- ponent of real altruism.” Berea’s unselﬁsh palachian America’ has a permanent place aims brought education to otherwise de- on the world map.”67 In his zealous work for prived communities and a sociological mis- the southern mountain region, William G. sion to a particular region. This was Berea’s Frost left a permanent mark on the history legacy as Frost received and interpreted it and mission of Berea College. after twenty-eight years of service.68 “During the term,” the extension worker Stumbling in These Dark Hills C. Rexford Raymond wrote in 1896, “I have used the President’s camera in securing In welcoming his successor, William J. photographs of the mountain scenery and Hutchins, to the presidency of Berea, views in and around Berea. It is hoped that William G. Frost noted some of Berea’s the college will be able to use some of these particular characteristics. He claimed that pictures in advertising next year.”69 By the college had been founded to breed re- 1895–96, eight years before the passage of formers and that Berea students were given the Day Law, Berea’s publicity literature “the disposition and ability to be tinkering neglected to mention that the college was on the improvement of the world.” Berea’s an interracial school. Instead, the college Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 98

98 berea college

“In Lincoln’s State—for Lincoln’s People.” Berea made bold claims for the worthiness of mountain people. One of the more interesting was the college’s assertion that Abraham Lincoln was “sociologically, if not geo- graphically, a mountain man.”

promoted its mountain work almost exclu- worthiness of mountain people. Daniel sively. African American enrollment was al- Boone, the archetypal pioneer, was noted as ready in decline and Frost’s fund-raising a “mountain type,” and Abraham Lincoln trips in the Northeast emphasized Berea’s embodied both pioneer simplicity and anti- resolve to solve the “Southern Problem.” slavery views. In Lincoln, and in southern The picture that Berea presented to donors mountain people, Frost found “the purest and friends was far different from that in the Americans,” a people who would change the days of John G. Fee and Henry Fairchild.70 South.72 After all, he asserted, Lincoln had William G. Frost nevertheless appealed hallowed the log cabin. Recalling his travels to Berea’s own history in supporting his in the mountains, Frost observed, “I can commitment to the mountains. Pho- never pass one of those humble cabins in tographs from Frost’s administration picture the mountains without thinking of the pos- him with either Fee or J. A. R. Rogers. As sible Lincoln that it holds, and renewing my tensions increased between Fee and Frost resolution . . . to shed the light of education regarding the direction of the college’s ef- into every mountain home.”73 The World forts, Frost increasingly emphasized the War I hero Sergeant Alvin York offered an- contributions of Cassius Clay and J. A. R. other mountaineer example whose experi- Rogers. Clay was lauded for his recognition ences made him “the Berea kind.” York’s of mountain people as courageous and sym- own humble mountain beginnings repre- pathetic to Fee’s egalitarian views. Rogers sented the very kind of student Berea was was held up as the “discoverer” of Ap- trying to help. Sergeant York was described palachia because of his letters describing in Berea literature as a “typical mountain mountain people and conditions written to man” whose residence in Pall Mall, Fentress the Independent, a missionary newspaper, in County, Tennessee, represented his British the 1850s.71 These powerful icons gave cred- stock. His early marriage to a ﬁfteen-year- ibility to Berea’s efforts in serving the re- old bride was acknowledged as a survival of gion and presented images of historic colonial custom. “There are above three stability to donors. million of these simple, robust, Protestant Other icons were used to bolster the Americans in the mountain region,” the col- Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 99

the telescope and the spade 99

Funeral procession of John G. Fee. Mourners proceed toward the chapel amid the trees on the Berea campus. In the 1880s, Fee used the building (in the center of the photograph) for his printing press.

lege intoned, “to which Berea is adapting its eroded the college’s earlier ideals into a methods.”74 more accommodationist stance. In short, Forces larger than Frost’s pronounce- both the college and the surrounding comments about Appalachia also contributed to munity now resembled the larger society. the collapse of the original interracial Berea Berea’s commitments to social equality and saga. Berea’s donors during Frost’s day were interracial community, regarded by many as not the relatively small number of old aboli- extraordinary if not extreme, had become tionists and supporters of interracial educa- an obstacle to the objectives of institutional tion, but a wider array of industrialists, survival and service to Appalachian whites.75 politicians, and educational reformers. John G. Fee died on January 11, 1901. These new donors, along with a diverse Shortly before his death, he reminded his Board of Trustees, differentiated between comrades of their duty. “You ask how shall the educational and social needs of African we make a ﬁnancial success. I answer,” he Americans and mountain whites. Changes wrote, “by a speedy return to the original in the student body and the faculty further purpose and early practice of Berea Col- Wilson Intro-Ch 4•1-101 11/21/05 7:58 PM Page 100

100 berea college

A mountain father lifts his child at commencement time. “The hope of the mountains,” reads the original caption. “Now little feller, climb higher than your daddy.”

lege.” Fee complained of the strong efforts a tendency, Fee observed, to turn Berea into to recruit white mountain students without an ordinary white school. “Berea College making similar efforts among African will then be no more than thousands of Americans. Only a fully integrated college, other schools in the South,” Fee wearily Fee declared, could demonstrate “an exem- lamented. “The glory is departed.”76 pliﬁcation of true christianity [sic] and cor- By 1906 J. A. R. Rogers was gone. In his rect civil government.” Frost’s plans created history, written in 1902, Rogers lauded the Wilson Intro-FCXCh 4•1-101 12/19/05 9:57 AM Page 101

the telescope and the spade 101

“great progress” of Frost’s administration. criticism. Consequently, despite his numer- Rogers expressed deep satisfaction in the ous accomplishments on behalf of Berea advancement of manual labor and industrial College, President Frost remains an uncom- education at Berea, the product of Frost’s fortable subject. commitment to vocational education. These complex impressions combine into Rogers believed that the spirit of the pio- generally mixed assessments of Frost’s presi- neers was being passed to the increasing dency and his contribution to Berea’s saga. throngs of mountain students. He regarded The historian Elisabeth Peck interpreted Appalachia as one of the most interesting Frost as a defender of interracial education and hopeful regions of the South. Rogers’s and continuing Berea’s commitment to enduring hope was that Berea would remain African Americans in the building of the dedicated to Christian education and that Lincoln Institute. The sociologist Jacqueline the college’s efforts would prove an example Burnside argued that Frost was primarily in- “of far greater things in the days to come.”77 terested in institutional survival, and he will- Frost’s decision to emphasize work with ingly changed the college’s course to preserve mountaineers at the expense of Berea’s it. The historians Malcolm Warford and foundational interracial mission has opened Paul David Nelson, as well as Professor him to charges of racism and opportunism. Richard Sears, have criticized Frost for In Appalachian Studies circles, Frost’s de- abandoning the founders’ ideals and for not scriptions of mountain people as quaint resisting the prevailing racism of many edu- “contemporary ancestors” make him one of cational and social reformers. Another histo- the leading villains in the stereotyping of rian, Henry Shapiro, has argued that Frost Appalachian men and women. Frost’s edu- was not an opportunist but was instead se- cational background and sensibilities often verely limited in his choices for saving the present the appearance of elitist paternalism college. Frost’s legacy is perhaps a combina- contrasted with a region and people noted tion of all these things; certainly his long ad- for their independent resourcefulness. Even ministration resists the easy evaluation. That now, as he was in his own day, Frost is seen he and those who agreed with him changed as having retreated from Berea’s radical ori- Berea’s mission is beyond dispute; and so gins, and his apparent lack of commitment Frost, albeit unwittingly, becomes the author to interracial education arouses passionate of a new version of the Berea saga.78 Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 102

William J. Hutchins. His integrity, scholarship, and deep religious faith would prove a remarkable combination in leading Berea. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 103

Bristling with History William J. Hutchins, 1920–1938

Perhaps you and we may help to bring the day when our mountain men may prove their chivalry by giving their women the good time, which comes with culture and with leisure to read and laugh, to sing glad rather than “lonesome” tunes, and to dream dreams which need not wait for heaven for realization. william j. hutchins

HEN William J. Hutchins palachian problems, and he quickly devised became Berea’s fourth presi- his own solutions for meeting these chal- W dent in July 1920, he stepped lenges. into a history that reflected significant For Hutchins the answer to Appalachia’s changes in the understanding of Berea’s situation was not a collection of schools story. Under the leadership of William G. with a college department, but a true col- Frost, Berea had focused on the “uplift” of lege. This college, Hutchins believed, would southern mountain people, and in 1911 the prepare young mountain people to teach in trustees had voted to amend the college’s newly emerging high schools, to serve rural constitution and designate Appalachia as populations as extension agents and Berea’s sole field of service. The institution- qualified nurses, and to beautify homes and al story presented at Hutchins’s inaugural communities. Frost’s romantic view of Ap- showed a college whose founding was at palachia promoted the mountains as the once radical, altruistic, and dedicated to birthplace of such luminaries as Daniel serving poor students, white and black, Boone, Abraham Lincoln, and Alvin York. through education. Frost had added to this The prospect of finding similar heroic types mission a focus on a specific region, Ap- in the mountains had been Frost’s encour- palachia. In 1920 Berea’s five academic de- agement to Berea’s supporters that the col- partments promised to meet the vast and lege was worthy of their donations. For immediate social, economic, and education- Hutchins, however, the real heroes at Berea al needs of a region that had been largely ig- were the students themselves. He reasoned nored in America’s march to progress. that these young people had overcome the Hutchins recognized the seriousness of Ap- tremendous obstacles of poverty, ignorance, 103 Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 104

104 berea college

adapted to serve a higher purpose—Christ- ian American citizenship. The administration of William J. Hutchins is notable for its achievement in articulating the needs of young mountaineers and laying the foundation for Berea as a college rather than a collection of allied schools.

“Billy Hutch”

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in July 1871, William James Hutchins was the oldest son of the Reverend Robert Grosvenor Hutchins and Harriet P. (James) Hutchins. Educated at Oberlin College from 1888 to 1890, while his father served Oberlin’s Sec- ond Congregational Church, William finished his undergraduate education at Yale in 1892. Upon completion of his studies at Union Theological Seminary in 1896, Hutchins was ordained a Presbyterian minister. He then accepted the pastorate of Bedford Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, Anna Murch Hutchins poses with her sons, where he served from 1896 until 1907. After Robert (standing), and neglect just to achieve an education. a distinguished tenure at Bedford, Hutchins William (seated, right), Moreover, these same graduates were will- returned to Oberlin in 1907 as professor of and Francis (center). ing to sacrifice their new status by returning homiletics in Oberlin’s School of Theology.1 William J. Hutchins addressed her affectionately to the mountains to improve the lives of “Billy Hutch,” as he was called by his fel- as “my dear little girl.” their home communities. Berea, in low theologues, enjoyed a singular populari- Though not a public Hutchins’s view, would not be known for its ty at Oberlin. In addition to teaching in the figure, Anna was known famous graduates, but for the dozens of ap- theological school, Hutchins taught a re- for her quiet devotion and numerous acts of parently ordinary young men and women quired undergraduate course, Freshman kindness. quietly doing extraordinary things in service Bible. “Whole generations of Oberlin stu- to others. To achieve this end, Hutchins re- dents,” observed his son Robert Maynard organized Berea’s administration and cur- Hutchins years later, “had their college riculum in such a way that Frost was courses wrecked because at the very outset convinced that his successor had abandoned they studied under Professor Hutchins. . . . the student in the “coves and hollers.” His popularity and effectiveness were such Hutchins was equally convinced that moun- as almost to amount to unfair competi- tain students were now ready for a college, tion.”2 Taking leave from Oberlin, William an institution of higher learning specifically Hutchins served in the YMCA National Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 105

bristling with history 105

The Hutchins family in Oberlin, c. 1910. Robert, William J., Anna, and William relax with Kim, the family dog, at 195 South Professor Street. When William J. Hutchins came to Berea ten years later, he thought Berea held much of the spirit he had experienced at Oberlin in his youth.

War Work Council from August 1917 to become strained, and Hutchins perceived January 1918. He was assigned to Camp that the great influences that made Oberlin Sheridan, Alabama, as a camp director de- special in his time were fading. Approached veloping methods for improving the moral for the presidency of Berea by J. R. Rogers tone of army camp life. After his stint as a and William E. Barton, Hutchins was in- camp director, Hutchins traveled with the trigued by the possibility of leading the col- YMCA’s secretary Sherwood Eddy to lege. William J. Hutchins brought a China, India, and Europe on a survey of powerful combination of pastoral, adminis- YMCA mission work. Hutchins attracted trative, and scholarly experience when he national attention in 1918 with his composi- was called to the presidency of Berea Col- tion of “A Code of Morals for Boys and lege in 1920. He had studied Greek under Girls,” for which he won a five-thousand- Frost at Oberlin, yet the former professor dollar prize from the National Institute of had doubts about the pupil’s qualifications Moral Instruction. Hutchins’s “Code” was to lead Berea. “I voted for having the posi- distributed nationally by the institute and tion offered to another,” Frost wrote to was used by Oberlin as well.3 Hutchins in March 1920, “because he was In the midst of these successes, however, younger and already acquainted with the Hutchins became concerned about his con- Mountains in the South, as well as more ex- tinuing work at Oberlin. The relationship perienced in executive service.” Neverthe- between the seminary and the college had less, Frost promised to support Hutchins. “I Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 106

106 berea college

Commencement, June 1920. Trustees and faculty welcome William J. have the greatest conﬁdence in your suc- Presidency,” Hutchins wrote to William E. Hutchins to Berea Col- cess,” Frost observed. “I pledge you my ab- Barton, “am I to be President in the full lege. The shadow of the solute affection, sympathy and support.”4 sense of the word?” If so, then Hutchins founders is present in the aging Elizabeth Rogers Hutchins had his own reservations about wanted it “irrevocably understood” that (in wheelchair, left), at- leaving a comfortable professorship at Frost would not be a member of the Board tended by her son and Oberlin for the uncertainties of collegiate of Trustees, the Prudential Committee, or Berea trustee, J. R. administration. “I am not anxious to go,” he the faculty. Furthermore, all employees were Rogers. Frost and Hutchins stand together wrote to his father. “I am happy here. I am to be responsible to the president and not in front. The bearded liked here. Every president I know is re- under “special arrangement” with the gentleman standing be- moved further and still further from the trustees.6 Having received the assurance of tween Frost and Hutchins student body. He becomes an unpaid public Barton, J. R. Rogers, and others that Frost is the formidable LeVant Dodge, professor since servant, is hauled and harried about the would not interfere with his successor, 1874. Anna Hutchins, in country.”5 Hutchins accepted the call to Berea. “I am the dark broad hat, stands Hutchins also wondered if he would be deeply sensible of the honor you do me,” on the Ladies’ Hall porch able to lead Berea under the critical gaze of Hutchins wrote to Barton, “and would add (right). his predecessor. “If I should accept the that I should dare to receive the honor only Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 107

bristling with history 107

because of my conviction that the Trustees meet the need for water on campus and in are one in their generous devotion to the community? “If it were not for the Berea.”7 roosters waking me at 4 A.M.,” Hutchins ob- Hutchins remained concerned about served in closing, “I should be rather enjoy- Frost’s continued presence in Berea, but he ing the experience.”11 had great encouragement about the college’s The institution William J. Hutchins in- cause. “That [Berea’s presidency] is a posi- herited in 1920 was well known, complex in tion of transcendent importance, there can structure, with 2,779 students and 125 be no doubt,” R. G. Hutchins wrote to his workers, and carrying $225,000 in debt. son. “If I cared more for your ease than for “Possibly Berea was more nearly the Berea the Kingdom of Christ I should advise you we pray for,” Frost wrote in a summary re- to stay in Oberlin. The possibilities for use- port, “in 1916 than in 1920.”12 Berea’s five fulness here are illimitable.”8 Reassuring allied schools had won the attention of such Hutchins of his support, Frost wrote, “I prominent donors as D. K. Pearsons and wish you to know assuredly that my heart Andrew Carnegie, making Berea’s service to and judgement settle upon you as the right Appalachia a work of national interest. man to be the next president of Berea. . . . It Berea’s varied curriculum offered something is a Divine call to a divine work. Do not for each prospective student, and each of hesitate.”9 For his part, William Hutchins the five schools had its own campus, build- believed in Berea’s historic mission of pro- ings, and faculty. The sprawling physical viding education to those in need. Berea, he plant needed to accommodate this grand proclaimed in his induction address, “has an program had also caused a tremendous in- almost unrivalled opportunity of furthering debtedness. The maintenance of this plant the cause of an educated Christian democ- had depended entirely on the extraordinary racy.”10 William J. Hutchins now took upon talents of President Frost. “A man coming himself the task of furthering Berea’s mis- in after him,” Hutchins wrote to his sons, sion to the mountains. “must tighten up, refuse expansion, new equipment, needed improvements, practi- cally everything until in some way the in- What’s to Be Done? come begins to correspond with the Nine days into his administration, Hutchins equipment.” Hutchins remained undaunted wrote in July 1920 to his son Francis. What but saw years of heavy work ahead.13 was to be done with a farm manager who The heavy work did not wait for had lost twenty thousand dollars of the col- Hutchins to ease into his new duties. In lege’s funds? How would the college attract August he signed for a $7,000 loan to pay good teachers when they could earn twice salaries for faculty and staff, declaring that the salary elsewhere? What should the col- “I should rather go barefoot” than hold up lege do with boys who had behaved badly on the salaries of the teachers in his first campus? How was the college to manage month of administration. Hutchins also two competing weaving enterprises on cam- gave back $1,000 of his first year’s salary pus? Where should a new dam be built to of $6,000 to help make ends meet.14 He Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 108

108 berea college

“View from the Presi- dent’s House.” From his home, Hutchins could see immediately below the college gardens, which provided many of the vegetables used by the dining hall. The hills roll away to the south and east, a constant reminder of Berea’s field of service.

marveled at Frost’s audacious vision and ter to a world radically different from that splendid accomplishments, yet Hutchins in which our predecessors lived, even a bemoaned the complexities of his new score of years ago.”17 Hutchins suggested work. “It is in the more intimate personal that the changing economic and social con- matters, and in conservative administra- ditions of the Appalachian region might tion,” Hutchins wrote, “that he [Frost] has cause changes in the college’s curriculum left a good deal for little Willie to do.”15 He and methods. The desolate coal towns re- seemed constantly beset by problems, from quired not only welfare secretaries, hiring new teachers to approving the copy Hutchins asserted, but free servants of the in the latest catalogue. “There is no sub- common good who were willing to devote ject,” Hutchins observed in surveying his their lives to providing social sanitation, situation, “which does not bristle with his- health conservation, and community build- tory and with accumulated difﬁculties.”16 ing. Increasing use of water power, changes These pervasive problems were doubtless in environmental conditions because of ex- heavy in Hutchins’s mind when he was in- tractive industries, and road building might augurated in October 1920, four months force improvement in the college’s scientiﬁc after his arrival on campus. “We who work equipment and the expansion of courses in in Berea today,” Hutchins asserted in his in- horticulture, market gardening, and electri- augural address, “inhabit a world and minis- cal engineering. “Adaptation, which has Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 109

bristling with history 109

A mountain farm. This pastoral view belied the unenlightened “progress” that Hutchins believed threatened mountain life.

been the very watchword of Berea,” practical for Appalachia’s needs. His moun- Hutchins argued, “will force upon us tain school offered everything from basic changes of emphasis and possible changes literacy to improving homes and farming of method.”18 methods to teacher training, leaving Greek and Latin to the study of a very few. Frost firmly believed that mountain people would Consolidation and Controversy be swept away unless an army of Christian Throughout his tenure, Frost had segregat- young people prepared themselves to live in ed Berea’s Vocational, Academy, Normal, the mountains. Berea College would fail in Foundation, and College Departments with its great task if the college graduated only the ultimate goal of each academic area’s students who would pursue money rather having its own campus, curriculum, and fac- than service.20 Moreover, Frost did not seem ulty. “The conventional institutions,” Frost convinced that mountain students were noted in 1920, “have claimed monopoly of prepared for college work. He believed that education and would serve it out in car-load it would take the work of some two or three lots. Berea and the state universities deal it generations to build up a sufficient number out in small packages.”19 In Frost’s view, the of mountain students who could achieve a short courses taught in the Foundation, Vo- level of proficiency to make college study cational, and Normal Schools were more worthwhile. From Frost’s perspective, Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 110

110 berea college

One-room school, Perry County, Kentucky. Many Berea students experi- however, the task was monumental. “To 500 people.22 High schools not only in- enced their first schooling build up a collegiate department from this creased the possibility of higher education in buildings such as this one. “Evidently a good mountain material,” he declared, “was like for more students, but also presented wider school,” read the original raising grapes in Labrador!”21 Hutchins curricular offerings. College and university caption. strongly disagreed. entrance requirements had also moved be- High schools promised to be one means yond the usual proﬁciency in Latin, Greek, of building up a potential collegiate con- and mathematics to include modern lan- stituency. In Kentucky a 1914 law required guages, physical geography, and American every county to provide at least one high history.23 Despite these promising develop- school. Funding problems, particularly in ments, John C. Campbell, an educator and poorer counties, frustrated this initiative. In missionary, noted the rising number of pub- 1910 there were 171 public high schools, 158 lic secondary schools in Appalachia with of which could be classed as small and rural. some concern. In a survey written for the By 1920, however, there were 407 rural Russell Sage Foundation in 1917, Campbell high schools, and 72 percent of these feared that mountain colleges would adopt schools served populations of fewer than conventional methods and curriculum while Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 111

bristling with history 111

neglecting the needs of mountain students. William G. Frost and “It is to be hoped,” Campbell wrote, “that William J. Hutchins. Frost never really left some [colleges] will resist the temptation to Berea, and continued to develop along traditional lines and be will- offer Hutchins advice on ing to evolve . . . into higher institutions es- all sorts of issues. pecially emphasizing a training that will meet regional needs.”24 Campbell’s observations identified an important historical tension in Berea’s institutional development. For years teachers and professors had advocated a greater emphasis on the college curriculum, but Frost had dismissed these arguments. He maintained that the needs of the mountains were too vast and immediate to wait for students to complete a college course. Frost believed strongly that the short courses provided sufficient scholarly preparation for mountain students. It was enough, in Frost’s view, that Berea offered many forms of education only appropriate degree Berea College that taught mountaineers “how to get a liv- should award. This decision effectively dis- ing and how to live.”25 solved the hybrid degrees of the Literary Not everyone was convinced that Frost’s Course (B.L.) and B.Ph., which assumed short courses provided just what the moun- only two years of college-level work. So that tains needed, however. Hutchins discovered graduates could meet requirements for shortly after his arrival in Berea, for exam- teaching agriculture, the B.S. was offered in ple, that many nursing graduates from the 1926. With a steady resolve, Hutchins refut- Vocational School were not accepted for ed Frost’s academic segregation by offering war work by the Red Cross or for govern- vocational courses to any student who ment service. Normal School graduates wished to take them.27 These decisions were having difficulties meeting placed Hutchins on a direct collision course certification requirements. Whatever their with his old teacher. capabilities, Berea graduates were finding “When you have been here two or three that more academic preparation was needed years,” Frost had written to Hutchins in for careers in agriculture, teaching, nursing, 1920, “I shall feel certain that you are much and business, and for admission to profes- wiser in Berea’s affairs than I, but just now sional programs in graduate schools. From I have some knowledge and wisdom, gotten Hutchins’s perspective, the solution to these by expensive experience, which I should be difficulties was to build up the credibility of glad to make useful.”28 Hutchins almost im- the college program.26 mediately experienced the interference in The process began quietly in 1921 with his administration that he had been prom- the faculty agreeing that the B.A. was the ised would not happen. From his home on Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 112

112 berea college

campus Frost regularly bombarded the new ly supported Hutchins’s endeavors. These president with a steady stream of letters, of- men, described by Frost as “humiliated by fering advice on all manner of subjects. Berea’s non-collegiate work,” were highly Hutchins tried to accept the letters gracefully, instrumental in Berea’s transition to a col- but Frost was insistent that his successor fol- lege. Both Rogers and Barton urged Frost low the program he had advocated for so to cease his undermining of the college’s af- long. It was now painfully clear that Hutchins fairs. Eleanor Frost observed that meetings would have to make his own way under his between Frost and Rogers were not unlike predecessor’s direct and critical gaze. boxing matches between Tunney and Hutchins’s closing of the Vocational Dempsey. “I told [Frost] that in order to get School in 1924 was emblematic of his strug- aid from the large educational boards,” gle with Frost. Hutchins found that more Rogers reported, “we must have a real col- and more vocations required additional cre- lege, one which stood for a college educa- dentials. Frost contended that college grad- tion.” While recognizing the need for uates would be lured away from the offering vocational courses, Rogers agreed mountains by their new, elite status. with Hutchins that these courses needed Hutchins argued that mountain students improvement. “Vocational graduates may be were as deserving of a college education as just as worthy as those who graduate from anyone else. For Hutchins it was critical to college, but we cannot wisely consider them bring mountaineers to Berea for a full col- in the same relative position.”30 lege course. If young people from the Hutchins remained resolute in his com- mountains could not ﬁnd their college ex- mitment to developing a stronger college. perience at Berea, Hutchins reasoned, then He denied Frost’s claims that closing the these bright and promising students would vocational school meant that ordinary go to college somewhere else. New gradu- mountain students were somehow being de- ates from schools outside the region, he nied a future. “I found that many vocational feared, would indeed be lost to the moun- students,” Hutchins reported to the col- tains. Berea’s program, however, would pre- lege’s trustees in 1924, “were going out with pare students for lives of service in the certiﬁcates from Berea as having completed region. “Every course in the college curricu- a vocational course when they could not lum,” Hutchins observed, “seeks to enable pass a reputable examination for the second our students to think at once in terms of year of high school.” Hutchins also demon- the world and the mountains.”29 strated that the changing situation in the Frost bitterly resisted the consolidation mountains meant further education beyond of the Vocational Department into the col- high school was needed. Any other course, lege. He charged Hutchins with closing he argued, would be a type of educational Berea’s doors to the “poor boy in the malpractice.31 holler.” Frost also wrote secretly to donors, State and federal requirements added trustees, and other supporters in an attempt more pressure for Berea to adapt. In 1921 to frustrate Hutchins’s plans. Two trustees, the shorter course for nurses was dissolved J. R. Rogers and William E. Barton, strong- in favor of a three-year course that offered Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 113

bristling with history 113

Inaugural Procession, 1920. Frost, Hutchins, and trustees pause near a Berea Vocational School banner. Frost saw Hutchins’s closure of the Vocational School as a retreat from Berea’s service to Appalachia.

nine months of clinical experience in the throughout the institution, Hutchins reject- Louisville City Hospital, preparing students ed the rigid academic segregation envisioned to become registered nurses. In 1922 the by Frost, thus improving educational oppor- Kentucky legislature required that normal tunities for students throughout the institu- school certiﬁcation include two years of ed- tion. For example, the consolidation of the ucation beyond high school. Working with Normal School with the college not only im- the resourceful Normal School dean, Cloyd proved the credentials of Berea graduates, McAllister, Hutchins adapted the Normal but met the changing educational situation curriculum to meet varying state and federal emerging in the mountains. For William J. demands. By 1931, however, the Normal Hutchins, these changes in Berea’s emphasis School was closed and consolidated into the created a new and innovative opportunity college.32 for educational service. Contrary to Frost’s charges, Hutchins genuinely believed that Berea was now in a Agonizing over Organization better position to provide for the needs of mountain youth. Furthermore, Hutchins With the closing of the Normal School in recognized the danger of becoming just a 1931, Hutchins, the trustees, and the faculty standard college that failed to respond to re- continued their expansion of the College gional needs. By offering vocational courses Department. This reorganization bore a Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 114

114 berea college

independently, consulting from time to time regarding their successes and failures. At Chicago, Robert Hutchins proposed a return to the classical curriculum, the “single minded pursuit of the intellectual virtues” as embodied in general education. This curriculum grounded the student in the clas- sics, grammar, rhetoric, logic, and mathematics. Aristotelian metaphysics provided the overall guiding inﬂuence. Struc- turally, students at Chicago spent their last two years of high school and the ﬁrst two years of college within this program, then enrolled in the University College to complete four-year baccalaureate degrees. Stu- dents with vocational interests also took Vocational graduates. Hutchins feared that strong resemblance—with substantial dif- courses at the nearby Lewis Institute. Berea students were leav- ferences—to the work of his son Robert M. Robert Hutchins’s greatest ideal, however, ing ill-prepared to meet Hutchins, president of the University of was not a vocational preparation for life, but the changing needs of the Chicago. Though these events were taking the promotion of liberal learning as the Appalachian region. place at about the same time, Robert focus of the university’s work.33 Hutchins and William J. Hutchins worked For William J. Hutchins, the Chicago

Labor Day celebration. Note the mixture of academic departments and industries represented. “The work of the classroom joins with the work of the labor system,” Hutchins wrote, “in encouraging us to think as we labor.” Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 115

bristling with history 115

Academy literary societies. Though dress codes for women were strict, only Academy girls were required to wear uni- forms.

plan had its attractions, but Berea’s situa- offer college-level work, which would, in tion required its own solutions. “The Com- turn, advance educational leadership in Ap- mittee of Five,” appointed by President palachia. Enrollments in the Foundation Hutchins in October 1930, was charged School’s Junior High program and the with examining how Berea was to adapt to Academy (high school) had been in steady the loss of students caused by the closure of decline. It was not Berea’s purpose, he ob- the Vocational and Normal Schools. Under served, to draw promising mountain stu- the leadership of a trustee, Willis Weather- dents away from their communities and ford Sr., however, the committee largely ig- into the Foundation School before they had nored the changes in the Foundation finished their high school degrees. However, School. The first two years of college would the Foundation School and Academy would explore various disciplines, with the result continue in their mission to provide oppor- that students might then be guided appro- tunities for those in need of elementary or priately to further academic study (that is, a remedial education.35 major) or into vocational work.34 In 1933 Hutchins offered five possible The resulting decline of students en- plans that would guide Berea’s educational rolling in the Foundation School and the mission. The first of these proposals sug- Academy now offered the possibility of ex- gested increasing the College Department panding the student body within the Col- by 225 students, from 650 to 875, without lege Department. Hutchins argued that the any real alteration of program or curricu- improving conditions of mountain high lum. The reservation here was that a larger schools indicated that the college should college would sacrifice individual attention Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 116

116 berea college

and sense of community. A second proposal Harper, the founding president of the Uni- advanced the notion of separate campuses versity of Chicago, was one of the primary organized by field of study, similar to the advocates of splitting the collegiate experi- Yale Quadrangle System, which would en- ence at the end of the sophomore year. In courage common social and academic expe- Harper’s organization, the first two years of riences. The physical layout of the campus college were closely linked with secondary prevented strong consideration of this idea. education, which he termed the “junior col- Likewise, a third proposal of a separate lege.” The environment of the junior college freshman campus was viewed as impractical was largely preparatory, whereas the latter because it artificially separated first-year stu- two years, or the “senior college,” allowed dents from the wider campus community.36 for advanced study and scholarship. Harp- Proposal number four presented the idea er’s designations influenced the numerous of what Hutchins called an “Experimental experiments taking place throughout higher Junior College.” He was at pains to explain education in the United States.38 to the trustees that he was not proposing a Despite the successful examples at Wis- program similar to one at the University of consin, Minnesota, and elsewhere, the Wisconsin, where the emphasis was on stu- trustees remained suspicious of the junior dent initiative in experiencing a modified college model for Berea. Some trustees ar- liberal arts curriculum. Hutchins’s idea gued that the innovations applied to the jun- was closer to the University of Min- ior college could be made throughout the nesota’s General College, a program entire college program. Furthermore, there designed for students who were not was great uncertainty about just how to de- likely to complete a four-year termine which students should attend col- course. Minnesota’s two-year pro- lege and which should not. A modification gram combined preparation for of Hutchins’s fourth proposal suggested a life with an appreciation for the type of trade institute for those studying arts and culture. Berea’s junior agriculture or engineering, but this idea was college would offer a general edu- quickly rejected as contrary to Berea’s phi- cation program combining voca- losophy. It simply would not do to have fac- tional and liberal arts courses. At the ulty and students within the college looking end of two years, school officials would down upon their colleagues because of some counsel students either into further study perceived inferiority of the trades and the at Berea or another school or into the junior college experience. While rejecting Willis D. Weatherford Sr. working world.37 the junior college as a separate unit of the Weatherford was Frost’s candidate for the Berea The junior college movement, which had college, the trustees supported the notion of presidency, but Weather- been growing since the end of World War I, the first two years of college work focusing ford declined in favor of offered a less expensive alternative to those on general education.39 remaining as a Berea who desired education beyond high school. Hutchins’s fifth proposal won over the trustee and continuing his YMCA work in the Some junior colleges functioned independ- trustees. This plan placed the tenth grade in South. ently, while others operated within larger the Academy in the Foundation–Junior colleges and universities. William Rainey High School and combined the eleventh Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 117

bristling with history 117

Opportunity School. A wagon bearing Berea professors makes its way to Carr Creek in 1927. The Opportunity Schools offered educational experiences for adults who could attend school for only a few weeks a year. The sessions were held on campus and in communities that requested the service.

and twelfth grades with the freshman and Division courses focused on work within sophomore years of the college. This four- the major for those with preprofessional, year educational unit was eventually termed professional, or further scholastic interests. the Lower Division, and leadership was Nevertheless, Hutchins wanted suitable provided by Dean Charles N. Shutt and recognition for those who completed the William Jesse Baird. The junior and senior work of the Lower Division. Students who years of the college, now styled the College did not progress beyond the sophomore of Arts and Sciences, formed the Upper Di- year in college, he reasoned, left with a vision, under the leadership of T. A. Hen- sense of failure. Instead, Hutchins believed dricks. The innovations formed in the that students who completed a course of Lower Division could now spread through- study that included history, English, political out the entire four years of the college. For science, elementary philosophy of religion, example, a student otherwise ready for col- and vocational studies should be awarded a lege work but with deficiencies in language certificate that testified to their accomplish- or mathematics could nevertheless enter the ments. “The new organization,” Hutchins freshman year while making up the neces- observed, “would make possible an effective sary course work. In previous years the stu- and unified program of educational guid- dent would have been held back in the ance, and education in terms of individual Academy with no chance for enrolling in interests and abilities.”41 the college.40 The implementation of Hutchins’s plan The curriculum of the Lower Division was painfully slow. In addition to curricu- combined general educational courses with lum revisions and daunting logistical con- both cultural and vocational content. Upper cerns for staffing and buildings, the chosen Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 118

118 berea college

Faculty at Commence- ment, 1931. Though Hutchins enjoyed the ad- miration and respect of most of the faculty, they remained unconvinced of his plans for reorganization.

plan was minutely examined by the South- ed before the freshman year, and standards ern Association for Colleges and Secondary for admission not only to the college but to Schools (SACS). Passed by the trustees on the Upper Division. The Upper Division October 15, 1935, the Berea reorganization faculty also believed they should control the was repeatedly held up by SACS because of membership of the Curriculum, Scholar- the plan’s experimental nature. The Lower ship, and Entrance Committees. Finally, the Division’s organization did not match the faculty resisted the idea of expanding ad- usual curriculum patterns found in public mission to the college from the Academy in elementary and secondary schools. As late view of the increasing number of applicants as 1937 lingering questions regarding fresh- from regional high schools. “Only by the men taking upper-division classes and the careful diligence in these matters,” observed awarding of degrees to students who had a faculty petition, “will we be able to main- completed only one year of college-level tain or approximate the proper standards of work frustrated the college’s efforts to gain scholarship for Berea College.”43 SACS approval.42 Hutchins carefully reassured the Upper Upper Division faculty also questioned Division faculty that his ultimate goal was Hutchins’s reorganization. So much of the the same as theirs, to make Berea College reorganizational effort had focused on the the best institution of higher learning it work of the Lower Division that Upper Di- could be. He advocated a parallel system of vision faculty wondered about the role and governance that allowed the two divisions status of the senior college. The professors to address speciﬁc needs within their own were concerned about scholarship complet- spheres. This structure also provided an Al- Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 119

bristling with history 119

liance Administrative Committee with nities than any program developed at equal representation from the divisions to Berea.”45 Hutchins’s relentless efforts con- discuss common concerns, particularly in vinced both the faculty and the trustees that the realms of admissions, scholarship, and Berea should move from being a collection curriculum. For Hutchins, the new organiza- of departments to a uniﬁed college commit- tion offered “an opportunity for leadership, ted to Appalachia’s particular needs. of cooperative and creative thinking, beyond the dreams of the most adventurous.” Remembering the Founders Hutchins made it clear that he would be zealous in his support of the Upper Divi- In Frost’s era mountain students had been sion and the quality of Berea’s degree pro- described variously as loyal Unionists and grams. “I am convinced that it is to this “contemporary ancestors” who would efface Upper Division,” he observed to the faculty sectional lines and act as a moral reserve to in 1937, “that we must look for the men and the nation. During the administration of women who will make the greatest contri- William J. Hutchins, a newer and perhaps bution, Berea’s greatest contribution to the subtler theme emerged. Mountain people Mountains.”44 were depicted as virtuous Christian patriots, In his efforts to reorganize Berea into a model Americans in a country in need of distinctive college, Hutchins did not lose Americans. Mountain students were lauded sight of the institution’s primary goal of for their character and potential, for over- serving the southern mountains. His vision coming tremendous obstacles of poverty, took into account the changing nature of isolation, and ignorance. For Hutchins, educational needs in the Appalachian re- Berea’s work was a ministry to the needy gion, something Frost’s plans did not recog- that chained him and his colleagues like nize. Furthermore, Hutchins and the mighty cables. “We are trying to help them,” trustees were clearly committed to advanc- Hutchins wrote to donors in 1921, “and they ing the quality and scope of Berea’s colle- are trying to help the tired fathers and pa- giate program. Hutchins was convinced that tient mothers of the mountains who are mountain youth were worthy of a quality worn with work and children; and you are college education and desired that Berea helping us, that the circle of blessing may offer a strong program. In keeping with re- become complete.”46 gional needs, the curriculum offered both For Hutchins, the Presbyterian minister, academic and vocational tracks of equal the needs and conditions of mountain peo- value and signiﬁcance, preparing students to ple became the text for a sermon on Christ- return to Appalachia as community shapers ian patriotism, a homily on redemption. He and builders. “If Berea’s program of adapta- dauntlessly believed that Berea College held tion is projected into these [mountain] high the best solution to the so-called mountain schools,” Miles Marsh, the former dean of problem. By taking students out of an envi- labor, wrote to Hutchins, “that program will ronment of moonshine and violence, Berea be adapted many times and will be better introduced young mountain men and adapted to the needs of the various commu- women to people from different regions Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 120

120 berea college

minds.” Hutchins bristled at the thought. “Some of the completely illiterate people of the mountains,” he retorted, “have a wisdom born of meditation and experience quite surpassing the wisdom of the average educated man.”48 Berea’s mission was one of re- lating education to life and sending the vast majority of graduates back to the mountains to improve their homes and communities. Mountaineers also had to be prepared to resist the invasion of the outside world bent on exploiting coal, timber, hydroelectric power, and tourism in the region. Ap- palachia would be brought into mainstream American life because of these changes, Hutchins observed, for better or for worse. “For worse,” he wrote, “unless enlighten- Mountain Day, 1935. 49 College students gather ment accompanies ‘progress.’” to take in the sights. The and nations. Teachers and visitors provided Berea’s donors were constantly reminded relaxed nature of this inspiring examples of learning and morality, of these images of noble but needy moun- photo might indicate the preparing students for Christian American taineers. For Hutchins the work of Berea absence of the usual chaperone. citizenship. Furthermore, educated moun- College was one of national, if not cosmic, taineers would prove an asset to the nation, significance. Instead of Daniel Boone and sending “streams of life down through the Abraham Lincoln, the heroes of Berea’s mountain ‘coves and hollers,’ down into the cause were now the students, young men deserts of our great cities.” In Hutchins’s and women who struggled for an education view, mountain people had to be educated and built bridges to the stars. For Hutchins so as not to become a national liability. Ap- a Berea graduate was the promise for a bet- palachia’s overflowing and undereducated ter day in the mountains. These remarkable population had already begun to spread into students would head off the exploitive and industrial centers in Ohio, and it would disintegrating changes that came from out- likely move into other northern states. side the region and find the solutions to the Berea’s work in educating mountain people poverty and ignorance that pervaded moun- was now no longer a regional issue, but a tain life. “Blue overalls are a badge of honor national one.47 with us,” Hutchins wrote in 1924, “and The college’s mission remained focused ‘honorable patches’ at a premium. Eighty- on the improvement of Appalachia, but the five percent of all our students are sure- means had changed. Hutchins admired enough mountaineers, where ‘larnin’ ebbs mountain people and resisted patronizing low, and where only the privileged few ever descriptions of their character. One author see ‘t’other side of the range.’”50 wrote to Hutchins describing mountaineers In 1930 Berea College celebrated its as “grown men and women with child seventy-fifth anniversary. Among other Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 121

bristling with history 121

A Berea graduate poses with her class in a rural school. Many graduates returned to their home counties to serve their communities.

activities, a pageant entitled “Vincit Qui first as hesitant and faltering but, under the Patitur” (literally, “he who suffers, con- influence of Hutchins and his colleagues, quers”) honored the accomplishments of were transformed into men and women of the school. Divided into five episodes, the courage and faith.51 pageant recited the sweep of Berea’s story African Americans were a prominent through song, speech, and tableaux. The feature of the pageant’s early episodes de- first episode celebrated the heroic commit- picting slavery and the eventual education ment of John G. Fee, and episode two hon- of black students in the eras of Rogers and ored the principalship of J. A. R. Rogers. Fairchild. Several of the slave parts were Episode three described the scholarly attrib- portrayed by former students who had at- utes of E. H. Fairchild and his leadership of tended Berea before the Day Law. The an integrated school and college. Episode presence of these former students was a four proclaimed Frost as the charismatic tantalizing reminder of how truly visionary champion of the mountain people and Berea had been in former days. Perhaps un- knowledge as the key to contentment and wittingly, the black characters in the play prosperity. Finally, episode five depicted were shown as interrupting important William J. Hutchins as the scholarly and vi- events, such as the completion of the con- sionary leader sending forth trustees, facul- stitutional proceedings and a railroad sur- ty, staff, and alumni to a consecrated work vey. The passing presence of these African of keeping “clear the path from the cabin to American characters seems to represent the college.” Would-be students appeared at a culture of forgetfulness, in that their Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 122

122 berea college

“In the mountains near Berea.” The outside world’s discovery of Ap- palachia, in Hutchins’s view, could pose a considerable threat unless mountain people were prepared to meet it (photo by Paul Bird).

contributions to the grand Berea experi- established in 1927 for local African Ameri- ment were not as signiﬁcant as one might can students, also advanced interracial rela- have believed in an earlier era.52 tions at the college. The Julius Rosenwald Nevertheless, Berea made efforts to re- Fund assisted in the building of the school- main faithful to the college’s earlier mission. house, which was erected on college land, During Hutchins’s administration, African and the college’s electric and water lines American intellectuals and artists were in- were extended to the building. Under the vited to present their views and talents to leadership of its principal, Robert Blythe, Berea students. Dr. George Washington the school provided numerous interracial Carver, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Professor experiences for the college’s white students. Alain Locke, Dean Howard Jones, and the College classes in social casework inter- poet James Weldon Johnson were among viewed black children and families, and the the more notable guests at Berea. In 1932 YMCA and the YWCA sponsored recre- Wallace Battle, a 1901 Berea College gradu- ational programs at the school. These ef- ate and founder of Okolona Industrial Col- forts at Middletown, continuing contacts lege in Mississippi, was honored as a “leader with the board and administration at Lin- of his people from servitude to service.” In coln Institute, and attention to African addition, regional YMCA and YWCA con- American culture and history maintained at ferences, which were integrated, used the least a symbolic connection to Berea’s hero- campus for meetings.53 ic past.54 The Middletown Consolidated School, Throughout the 1930s, in the midst of Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 123

bristling with history 123

the country’s Great Depression, Berea reminded donors of the needs of Appalachian youth. Hutchins pointed out to hard- pressed donors that their contributions were not for new buildings or raising professors’ salaries, but for basic expenses. Berea graduates, in his view, would prove a safeguard to American ideals amid national hysteria and the specter of communist revolution. “Our educated mountain men and women will not ‘go Bolshevik,’” Hutchins wrote in 1932, “[but] will help to save to us the values which make America a land worth loving.” These same graduates needed preparation to maintain their hopes and dreams in the face of new and great tempta- tions that accompanied new roads and industry. For Hutchins the courage and adaptability of Berea students were the best answer to America’s crisis. “I am grateful that you think Berea worth giving to,” he wrote one donor in 1934, “as I think it worth living for.”55

Bearing the Destiny of Souls

Frost remained a brooding presence throughout Hutchins’s administration. In 1937 he published his autobiography, For the Mountains. The product of many years’ work, Frost’s book described in dramatic detail the world in which he was born, the region he Wallace Battle. A 1901 had discovered, and an assessment of his hanced by the discovery of three million graduate of Berea work for Berea. Predictably, he stoutly de- vigorous but hitherto forgotten people. College, Battle founded Okolona Industrial fended his organization of the institution “Such experiences,” he concluded, “push College in Okolona, and his emphasis on vocational education. into forgetfulness all pains and hardships, Mississippi. Berea’s methods had worked, he claimed, and even grief at Berea’s changes in recent and had transformed the nation. This trans- years.”56 formation had been realized by ﬁlling in the Although convinced that he would die in map of the United States with a new region, 1920, Frost lived on for eighteen more the Appalachian South. The nation was en- years. When his eyes closed for the last time Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 124

124 berea college

Students weaving. The Fireside Industries were promoted by President Frost in 1898. Handi- crafts helped to meet student expenses while preserving mountain folk arts.

on September 11, 1938, he remained con- think often of the inspiring Oberlin vinced of the rightness of his cause. Even in teacher.” She praised Hutchins as “a sincere death, Frost seemed to judge his collegiately Christian who gave heart and soul to the inclined successor. Presiding at his funeral, mountain people.”58 James Watt Raine, professor of English, Whatever his predecessor’s claims, the quoted extensively from Frost’s inaugural very campus reﬂected Hutchins’s commit- address, and the Berea Citizen reprinted his ment to Berea’s vision for Appalachia. Many farewell report, which outlined Frost’s im- of the college’s classroom buildings that peratives for Berea. Hutchins remained gra- served the various schools were deteriorat- cious. He praised Frost for spreading a feast ing and aging. Of the numerous facilities of work and learning for the men and erected during his administration, the women of the mountains. “To us who today Draper classroom building, costing four seek to spread and serve the table of Berea,” hundred thousand dollars, was the most Hutchins wrote to a donor, “Dr. Frost has tangible symbol of the college’s new organi- left a task exacting, and almost appalling.”57 zation. Modeled after Philadelphia’s Inde- Ever the reconciling agent, Eleanor Frost pendence Hall, Draper housed numerous gently reminded Hutchins of her husband’s classrooms, a spacious seminar room, and a better nature. “I hope you can, in a measure, small movie theater. As the headquarters of forget the burden of disapproval which has the Lower Division, Draper facilitated been grievous to bear,” she wrote, “and Berea’s program of general education.59 Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 125

bristling with history 125

Coal mining town, Har- lan County, Ky. While vis- Danforth Chapel was perhaps the most tion of the chapel within an academic build- iting in Harlan County significant structure built during Hutchins’s ing gave form to Hutchins’s belief that during a coal strike in time. A gift of the trustee William H. Dan- Christian character was the ultimate goal of 1932, Hutchins noted the complexities of under- forth, the chapel was deliberately located at a Berea education.60 standing mountain life. the center of the Draper Building, in the William J. Hutchins retired in the sum- “There is no such thing as heart of the main campus. Danforth Chapel mer of 1939. His leadership had trans- truth about the moun- became the focus for Christian student or- formed Berea from a collection of allied tains,” he wrote. “What is true of one group or sec- ganizations and provided offices for visiting schools into an accredited college. His cur- tion is untrue of another ministers and religious scholars. Reflecting riculum reforms had continued Berea’s tra- situation.” Danforth’s Episcopal background, the dition of general, practical education while chapel was built in a simple though elegant advancing the liberal arts. When he first be- English Gothic style. In consideration of came president, the College Department Berea’s nondenominational history, there contained 215 students, about 9 percent of were no overt Christian symbols apart from the student body. Upon his retirement, the a cross above the altar. Stones from around four-year college comprised 841 students, the world were embedded in the chapel’s about 40 percent of the total enrollment.61 outer walls. These stones represented the Hutchins’s belief in what he termed “Chris- worldwide mission of the Christian Gospel tian American citizenship” was the focal and marked the locations of notable events point for preparing mountain youth to meet and courageous persons. The central loca- the darker forces of progress. In addition, Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 126

126 berea college

Draper Building. This imposing structure symbolized Hutchins’s Hutchins saw seemingly ordinary students saw Berea graduates bettering the world one reorganization of the as heroic and courageous ﬁgures who dedi- home, one community at a time, rippling college. cated their lives to the betterment of their outward into the wider world. “With homes and communities. Speaking at his fa- undimmed eyes, with undiscouraged will,” ther’s retirement celebrations, Robert he urged the graduates of 1939, “in an un- Hutchins declared that the elder Hutchins broken and eternal fellowship, we go for- had “looked far ahead and laid the founda- ward to obey life’s mandate, to greet the tions on which all his successors must coming day.”63 build.”62 For his part, William J. Hutchins Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 127

Danforth Chapel. The physical location of the chapel in the midst of a classroom building was an important symbol of Berea’s linkage between faith and learning.

Hutchins addressing students. Many alumni of Hutchins’s era recall the power and inspiration of his speeches and addresses. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 128

Francis S. Hutchins. “It seems to me,” Robert Maynard Hutchins once wrote, “that Francis is as solemn as an owl.” Francis Hutchins’s outward calm served him equally well amid Japanese air raids in China and faculty meetings at Berea College. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 129

More Than an Ordinary College Francis S. Hutchins, 1939–1967

The genius of Berea has been that it has coupled with a purpose to maintain academic standards of genuine merit a concern with signiﬁcant problems of contemporary society. francis s. hutchins, 1963

EREA COLLEGE in 1939 ther in the summer of 1939, he brought to emerged from the Great Depression Berea’s presidency a remarkable combina- Bconsisting of two schools. The first tion of skills and experience. Since 1925 was the Foundation School, which served Francis Hutchins had led Yale-in-China’s students in junior high and the first two education mission in Changsha, China. Re- years of high school. The second was the luctant to answer Berea’s call to the presi- college, divided into Lower Division dency, Hutchins vigorously led the college (eleventh and twelfth grades in high school, through the stresses and strains of the Sec- freshman and sophomore years of college) ond World War. The presence of a Navy and Upper Division (the last two years of V-12 training unit led to significant social college). William J. Hutchins’s long-studied changes on campus. The college also wel- reorganization of Berea had finally been im- comed Japanese American students to its plemented in 1938. Many faculty members programs, though these students were not were doubtful about the workability of this entirely welcome in the town of Berea. Un- arrangement, and reluctant approval by the daunted by the demands of the war, Southern Association of Colleges and Hutchins and his colleagues continued to Schools had slowed the implementation of ponder curricular and administrative re- the new plan. Berea College had also forms; their reappraisal resulted in the dis- changed its primary emphasis to college solution of the Upper and Lower Divisions. work and had modified its curriculum upon In 1950 the Day Law was amended and a liberal arts foundation. With his retire- Berea became the first undergraduate insti- ment in 1939, William J. Hutchins left be- tution in Kentucky to reintegrate, thus behind a legacy of Christian idealism and ginning a long process of reclaiming the service to the Appalachian region. college’s original mission. Throughout When Francis Hutchins succeeded his fa- Francis Hutchins’s career, Berea embodied 129 Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 130

130 berea college

the Yale-in-China Association. At Oberlin, Hutchins also made the acquaintance of Palmer Bevis, the executive director of Yale- in-China. Hutchins wanted to serve an extended tour in China, but Oberlin was not in a position to support a continuing mission. Furthermore, Hutchins was not a Yale graduate. Nevertheless, his ability had made sufficient impression on Hume and Bevis that in 1925 Hutchins was invited to join the Yale-in-China staff at Changsha, in Hunan province.2 The Yale-in-China mission at Changsha was considerably larger than Oberlin’s at Shansi. It consisted of a boys’ school and a small college (Hua Chung). The two-year premedical course offered at Hua Chung Christmas, 1914. Robert, Francis, and William (left led to the Hunan–Yale Medical College. to right) pose for a his vision of meeting the needs of Ap- There were in addition a nursing school and Christmas card at home palachian communities with well-rounded, a hospital. Located outside the city walls, in Oberlin. The three clear-thinking, and unselfish graduates. the mission comprised twenty-five Ameri- brothers followed their father into distinguished can staff members and their families; twenty- careers of educational A Call to Service five Chinese staff members who were leadership. graduates of Yale or other institutions in the Born August 17, 1902, in Northfield, Massa- United States and their families; and local chusetts, Francis Hutchins was the third people who had graduated from Hua Chung and youngest son of William J. and Anna and other Chinese colleges and medical Hutchins. Educated in the Academy De- schools. Spending his first year mastering partment at Oberlin while his father taught Chinese, Hutchins taught English to stu- homiletics in the seminary, Francis contin- dents in the nursing school.3 ued his studies at Oberlin College. In 1922 Hutchins’s first administrative experience he won a teaching assignment to the Shansi was to take charge of the property in the Memorial School in north China. This summer of 1926 while other staff members boarding school served an area where some took vacations. He supervised construction thirty Oberlin missionaries had been killed projects, building repairs, and rental collec- during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. For tions. As he attended to these seemingly in- two years Hutchins taught English and nocuous duties, Nationalist Chinese forces learned Chinese. In 1924 he returned to passed through the province. Rising ten- Oberlin to complete his degree.1 sions caused an early closure of the schools During his service at Shansi, Hutchins and the subsequent departure of most of met Dr. Edward Hume, then president of the personnel, so that by the spring of 1927 Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 131

more than an ordinary college 131

Shantung Christian University, 1927. Hutchins Hutchins and two colleagues were the only observed regarding the ongoing hostilities (second row, third from Americans left on the property. No serious throughout China, “every day that we are right) with faculty and harm came to the school in the end, and able to keep going is a day gained.”5 He tire- premedical students in China. Hutchins was commended for his service. “I lessly prepared budgets, hired staff, and know the experience must be a very inter- worked with Chinese ofﬁcials. Hutchins be- esting and unusual one,” Bevis wrote to came more and more convinced that he Hutchins, “but at the same time taxing and would devote his life to serving the people hard on the nerves.” Bevis commended of China. Hutchins and his associates for their splen- During his work at Changsha, Hutchins did spirit and service.4 met Louise Gilman. Born in China in 1911, In 1928 Hutchins returned to Changsha Louise was the daughter of Episcopal mis- as the representative of the Yale-in-China sionaries, Gertrude Carter Gilman and Association trustees. This new role involved Bishop Alfred Alonzo Gilman. She had meeting the varied administrative needs of been educated at Wellesley College and the college, the school, the medical school, Cornell University. In 1934 Francis and the hospital, and so on. “I feel very strongly Louise were married. She completed her ed- that in spite of this uncertainty,” Hutchins ucation at Yale University Medical College Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 132

132 berea college

Louise Gilman, Wellesley, Yale-in-China’s resources to relief work. 1932. Born in China, the Hutchins served as secretary and treasurer daughter of Episcopal missionaries, Dr. Louise of the Changsha International Relief Com- Gilman Hutchins devoted mittee. Refugee camps were organized, her entire medical career food was distributed, and health care was to the care of women and provided.7 children. The situation in Changsha continued to deteriorate. Two separate Japanese offen- sives toward Changsha were turned away, but air raids were constant. Louise and Francis were separated after one Japanese advance stranded Louise, the Hutchinses’ first child, and other Americans and Euro- peans on top of Mount Lu Shan. Francis attempted to retrieve Louise, but his efforts failed. Government negotiations among Japanese, Chinese, U.S., and British representatives resulted in the evacuation of some forty-two persons from Mount Lu Shan to Shanghai. “I’m very sorry that they have to accept the hospitality of the Japan- ese,” Francis wrote to his parents, “and I am very glad that they will soon be in Shang- hai.” After her arrival in Shanghai, Louise worked in a refugee maternity and health in 1936, while Francis continued his duties care center. Now that his wife and child in China. Louise rejoined her husband after were safe, Francis considered his own fu- her graduation and completed her intern- ture. “My plans will depend on the develop- ship in pediatrics at the Hunan hospital in ment of the war,” he wrote, “and I cannot Changsha. She devoted her practice to the see much of any definite ideas of what will care of women and children.6 happen.”8 In 1937 Imperial Japan invaded China. Uncertainty about the future prevailed in Retreating before the Japanese advance, Berea as well. In 1937 William J. Hutchins Nationalist Chinese forces burned the city had announced his intention to retire, of Changsha to deprive the enemy of the though his reorganization of the institution city’s resources. Two-thirds of a city of four was still in its early stages, and many faculty hundred thousand people was destroyed in remained unconvinced of his plan’s effec- this scorched-earth policy. When the Japan- tiveness. The college’s trustees now engaged ese failed to appear, Changsha’s people in the arduous process of finding a succes- began to return to their devastated city. sor. Their search was a reluctant one, and Francis Hutchins and other workers turned one trustee, William Dean Embree, circu- Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 133

more than an ordinary college 133

lated a letter among his brother trustees in an attempt to persuade William J. Hutchins to delay his retirement until 1941. Hutchins would brook no delay, however, and the trustees continued reviewing candidates. Francis himself wrote to his father suggesting some colleagues whom he had known in China who might prove worthy of Berea’s presidency. The college’s trustees continued their search. In February 1939 Albert Coe, a trustee and a Congregationalist minister in Chicago, wrote to William J. Hutchins that Francis Hutchins might be a possible successor. “While I keenly appreciate the suggestion,” President Hutchins wrote, “I feel perfectly certain that the suggestion is not what William James would call a ‘living option.’” What happened next was a complete surprise.9 Anchored in the river next to Changsha was the British gunboat HMS Sandpiper. Because of the war, normal lines of communication had been severely disrupted. Using his connections in the U.S. State Depart- ment, Seth Low Pierrepont, a Berea trustee, cabled this message to Francis Hutchins courtesy of the Royal Navy: “After careful Dr. Francis Wei and thought special committee Berea trustees Francis Hutchins, 1933. vote unanimously to recommend you to ofﬁce boy who had a nice house to live in. Hutchins’s work in China board as president of Berea College. Family “Occasionally I may keep something from earned him the lifelong had nothing to do with suggestion but ap- going to pieces,” he wrote, “or help pick up friendship of many Chi- nese teachers, administra- prove. Committee and faculty urge accept- the pieces after they have been scattered, tors, and students. Dr. ance. Please cable whether would accept if but that does not constitute educational Wei was president of elected. Pierrepont, Danbury, Connecti- leadership.” Yet he could not abandon his Central China College. cut.”10 work as long as the hospital and other agen- Francis refused. Urged in a second cies remained in Changsha. “I think at the telegram to reconsider, he again declined. same time that this is the place that I He felt that he had been away from the should be,” Francis observed, “and no mat- United States for too long, and he remained ter how frightened I may get, which is con- eager to continue his work in China. siderably, I see no help for it now.” He had Hutchins modestly described himself as an further reservations. “You are without any Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 134

134 berea college

need not take ofﬁce before January.”12 Hav- ing reestablished contact with Louise, Fran- cis assessed his situation in Changsha. Despite bombing raids, the Japanese had not moved to occupy the city. The medical school, the nursing school, and other educational efforts had moved out of Changsha altogether, leaving only the hospital and the property to administer. Relief efforts were well in hand, and all emergencies had been met. Francis could now choose between waiting on the war’s further developments or actively serving Berea’s cause. He considered his father’s initial advice. “Do not decline consideration,” William J. Hutchins had written, “China crisis passes, Berea offers chance of [a] lifetime.” On April 24, 1939, Francis Hutchins made his decision. “Will humbly accept if elected,” he wrote simply.13 Berea’s trustees quickly acted to elect Francis Hutchins on May 5, 1939. William J. Hutchins observed to one donor the remarkable events that were bringing Francis to Berea. “The appointment of my son as my successor,” he wrote, “came as a culmina- tion of a series of dramatic incidents which, to my own thinking, were providential.”14 Before recusing himself from the trustees’ meeting that considered Francis Hutchins’s William J. and Francis Hutchins. Francis visits candidacy, William Hutchins noted that his with his father during a question a religious as well as an educational son might make a disappointing ﬁrst im- furlough. William J. leader, besides being a scholar,” he wrote to pression. “His appearance is good but not Hutchins affectionately his father. “I believe that such a person impressive,” William Hutchins cautioned dubbed his son, “our China boy, Frank.” should also be your successor, and I am not the trustees. “He is a good speaker, but not a such.”11 great speaker. He is a good student, but not Pierrepont and the trustees persisted in a great scholar. He has raised some money, their hopes to persuade Francis. “Commit- but he is not a great money raiser.” These tee unwilling accept declination,” read an qualities were overshadowed by greater as- April 20, 1939, telegram. “Will wait until sets in Francis’s character. He was youthful April twenty seventh for reconsideration and mature, William Hutchins suggested. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 135

more than an ordinary college 135

Francis had deep experiences of life itself, and he had shown both physical and moral courage. His habits of self-denial gave him a “rare love for people just because they are people.” Finally, William Hutchins concluded, “Men will learn to trust him.”15 Having committed to Berea, Francis wondered how he might take up his new work. He had no illusions about being a good president, but the support of Louise and his father bolstered his confidence. He also recognized that being in China for so long might handicap his understanding of educational problems in the United States. Francis knew that he would need time to adjust not only to his new responsibilities at Berea, but to a country that was less familiar as well. “I shall have to be pardoned if I lead Chapel in Chinese,” he observed; “it’s the only language I’ve used for that purpose for a long time.”16 Hutchins expected to begin his new duties in January 1940, but travel arrangements and a prompt release from his duties in Changsha resulted in his arrival on campus in September 1939. He met with unfa- Transferring the college miliar sights and situations. Hutchins had seal. With trustees gath- not seen the Draper Building or the new In his inaugural address Francis Hutchins ering in the background, Danforth Chapel. He had not previously affirmed Berea’s accomplishments and con- William J. Hutchins known about the Upper and Lower Divi- sidered the future. Berea’s primary mission hands the college seal to Francis. sions, but he quickly learned of the contro- was to serve students from the Appalachian versy surrounding their arrangement. He region. This service was intended to provide did know about Berea’s interracial founding the finest education possible to those stu- and the institution’s ongoing commitment dents regardless of economic or geographic to the Appalachian region. In learning handicaps. Labor, both economic and edu- about Berea students, Francis found, as his cational, was an effective ally of academic father had, that they had everything but learning. Hutchins believed that serving re- money. He had hoped to take a few months gional needs ultimately benefited the na- to review his surroundings but found the tion. “I would not lose sight of the fact that college’s situation so complex that he the essential need in the community,” he plunged immediately to work.17 declared, “is for rounded personalities, men Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 136

136 berea college

Scrap metal drive, 1942. Discarded metal bed- frames are gathered as part of a twenty-ton scrap metal drive on Berea’s campus. Students form a “V” for victory.

War’s Demands and women who think clearly and act unselfishly.” Hutchins recognized that after Francis Hutchins had hoped to gain his years of study, Berea students would never- bearings gradually in his new position as theless have to earn a living. This necessity president of Berea College, but the urgency only affirmed Berea’s strong support of of the administrative reorganization and courses in agriculture, teaching, home eco- curriculum reform drew him immediately nomics, and nursing. Other fields might de- into active service. The much-debated velop after further evaluation of the Upper and Lower Divisions were already college’s curriculum. Whatever form this being questioned, barely two years after curriculum took, however, Hutchins be- their implementation. The need for appro- lieved that its primary goal was to prepare priate courses and the faculty to teach them students to make a distinct contribution to also posed problems. Yet the importance of society. “Berea should continue,” Hutchins these issues was suddenly diminished by the asserted, “to intertwine and interweave the onset of World War II. Nevertheless, life of the campus with the life of the peo- Hutchins and his colleagues remained com- ple who live in the regions about us.”18 mitted to providing a high-quality education in spite of the war. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 137

more than an ordinary college 137

Navy V-12 on parade. The presence of the navy Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl be rendered tomorrow and next year,” unit calmed some com- Harbor, Francis Hutchins addressed the Hutchins remarked. “I believe each of us munity fears that Berea campus. He recognized that there were will be better prepared when and if the time College was “too liberal” to support the national many difﬁcult questions and few easy an- comes, if we have kept on with our work.” war effort. swers. He reminded his audience that war The greatest contribution to the future, need not lessen a person’s intelligence or Hutchins believed, depended on how each ﬁner qualities. The present emergency re- Berean met the crisis of war.19 quired that everyone—students, instructors, Hutchins and his colleagues went dili- and administrators—do their jobs even bet- gently about their duties. Working with the ter than before. If Berea’s work was consid- Curriculum Committee, Hutchins and the ered essential in times of peace, Hutchins faculty devised a three-term academic year observed, it was no less so in time of war. that allowed for the completion of a four- He urged students to complete their cours- year degree in two years and eight months. es, since thorough preparation would be Students were given course credit in pro- more valuable than rushing off and leaving portion to the time they spent on campus tasks incomplete. “There will be services to before entering military service. As Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 138

138 berea college

Anchors aweigh! Students visit on a sunny day. “The Navy,” Hutchins wryly observed, “brought Berea College kicking and screaming into the twentieth century.” Many of the more stringent social rules were relaxed.

Hutchins had suggested, this arrangement came to take their place. “This morning,” encouraged students to stay in school until Francis wrote to his parents in April 1943, they were called and then to complete their “I received a letter from the Navy that they courses when they returned from military approve of us and that they will be glad to service. Hutchins also advocated offering a negotiate for 300 men for their V-12 pro- variety of extracurricular courses so that gram.”21 The V-12 Naval College Training students entering military service would Program did not lead immediately to a have as many skills as possible. All these ac- commission; it was designed to prepare tivities took place, of course, as students and young men to become specialists and faculty departed the campus for the war. ofﬁcers in the U.S. Navy. The curriculum Education, unlike other activities, could not included courses in mathematics, physics, be suspended during wartime. “We are chemistry and engineering materials, navi- ﬁghting for peace,” Hutchins declared, gation and nautical astronomy, and naval “whether or not we get the peace will de- history and elementary strategy. The length pend a great deal on how we strive and how of actual instruction ranged from a mini- we plan, and how we think.”20 mum of 240 days to 700 days; V-12s were As Berea students left the campus for the certainly no “90-day wonders.” Successful various branches of the armed forces, others completion of the V-12 curriculum led to Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 139

more than an ordinary college 139

merly the president of Findlay College, a Church of God institution in Findlay, Ohio. The executive officer was John Kessler, an insurance agent from Edmond, Oklahoma. Assisted by capable chief petty officers, Dunathan and Kessler set the tone for the unit. The college’s dean, Lawrence Baker, was Berea’s first liaison with the V-12, and he was instrumental in making the initial arrangements with the navy. When Baker himself was called up, he was replaced by Louis Smith, who was the dean of Upper Division.23 A typical V-12 day began at 6 A.M., followed by physical training at 6:15. Classes began at 8:30 and continued throughout the day, with time set aside for a chapel service and twenty minutes for lunch. A compulsory study period was scheduled from 7:30 to 9 P.M.; lights out was at 10 P.M. As time allowed, the trainees participated in a variety of extracurricular activities, including ath- Three gold stars. By fall term 1942, the college’s service flag showed 326 Bereans had joined the colors. letics, and basketball enjoyed particular Three had given their lives for their country. local popularity. Cooperation between the navy and the college was the watchword, though the cooperation was not always due opportunities in the Naval Reserve Officer to cheerful volunteerism. When sailors Training Course (NROTC), or midship- balked at participating in a Mountain Day men’s, supply, or marine officer candidate excursion, Kessler reminded them who was schools. The program took an accelerated in charge. “You are going to be part of that,” approach to meeting leadership needs for he growled, “or I’ll put you in Blue Ridge or the specialized missions of the navy, Howard Hall, and you’ll stay there until marines, and coast guard.22 they get back off the thing.” So the sailors The first group of nearly three hundred picked up their sack lunches, climbed the trainees arrived on Berea’s campus in July mountain, and had a good time generally.24 1943. Many of the men in this class were Between July 1943 and October 1945, from the Midwest with visions of training at three classes totaling 782 students passed Columbia, Yale, or Princeton University. In- through Berea’s V-12 program. The pres- stead, they wound up at Berea, far from the ence of the unit brought interesting changes fascinations of big city life. The commander to an already disciplined campus. Smoking, of the unit was Homer A. Dunathan, for- a habit long regarded as a reason for Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 140

140 berea college

expulsion in previous years, was allowed in calm any doubts about the college’s patriot- designated areas at scheduled times. Social ism. “I do not like war, I do not like what or ballroom dancing, which had given way accompanies it,” Hutchins observed, “but to country dancing for years, was allowed on we have the first and might as well do the campus. The Captain’s Navy Party featured best that we can with the second.”27 the latest tunes and dance steps, and As in other parts of the United States, Wednesday and Saturday evenings were the possible relocation of Japanese Ameri- given over to dance socials. Naval parlance cans from their home communities caused changed bathrooms to “heads,” doors to consternation within Berea’s local commu- “hatches,” and windows to “portals.” Meals nity. The town’s Civilian Defense Council in the dining hall that had been eaten family passed a resolution against the relocation of style at assigned tables were now served to Japanese Americans in Berea, believing long lines of hungry sailors and students on such persons to be a threat to national se- shiny metal trays. Many V-12s developed a curity. The resolution further condemned genuine affection for their experiences at anyone who favored relocation as being Berea. “We didn’t like Berea when we first more concerned with “Japanese-Americans arrived,” one trainee wrote to Louis Smith, and German prisoners than the welfare of “but we did grow to really like it. Compared American fighting men.”28 These fearful to [midshipmen’s school], you treated us expressions met with mixed reactions. like kings.”25 Some townspeople wondered if segregating World War II brought other visitors to Japanese citizens was not the right course, Berea’s campus. Stranded in Oxford, Ohio, while others believed that Japanese Ameri- by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, cans had already proven their loyalty by Thomas Okuma and Richard Wong, natives joining the armed forces of the United of Honolulu, Hawaii, made their way to States. “I would just as soon have the help Berea and enrolled in the college. Okuma of a loyal citizen of Japanese descent in my was the first of several Nisei students who victory garden,” one woman wrote, “as to attended the college during the war years. have him fight in the same outfit with my Working with the War Relocation Authori- husband or brother.”29 ty, Berea received students who had been The college’s YWCA chapter favored re- dislocated from colleges and universities by locating Japanese American students at the war. These students participated in all Berea. While acknowledging the risk of dis- aspects of Berea’s campus life.26 From loyalty, Louise Young, president of the Hutchins’s perspective, admitting these stu- YWCA, spoke for many students when she dents was simply the right thing to do. He promised to aid those whose educations had even contemplated hiring a Japanese Amer- been completely disrupted solely on the ican nurse to work in the hospital. “We basis of race. The student newspaper, the need the nurse,” Hutchins wrote to his fa- Wallpaper, praised the Nisei students on ther, “and I think our present treatment of campus for their tact and diplomacy in such individuals is indecent and stupid.” He meeting their situation. “It is no time to hoped the presence of the naval unit would avoid dealing with injustice at home,” the Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 141

more than an ordinary college 141

Commencement 1940. World War II would in- terrupt the lives of many graduates, yet even in the midst of war the college continued to examine the organization of the college and the curriculum.

Wallpaper declared, “especially when that in- V-12 sailors had their financial or residen- justice will have results which will so direct- tial restrictions waived in order to complete ly condition the post-war world.”30 The their degrees at Berea. In all, 1,386 Bereans crisis passed. served in World War II, and of these at In meeting the demands of war, Berea least 53 were lost. In maintaining its mis- College again remained true to its mission. sion, Berea contributed its best to the na- As it welcomed navy trainees and Japanese tional effort. American students, Berea affirmed its tradition of taking risks. Despite local criticism Fine and Valid Objectives: of the college for having conscientious ob- Reorganization and Curriculum jectors on its staff in wartime, Hutchins and his colleagues steered a course that empha- Even in the midst of World War II, sized consensus and minimized hostile dis- Hutchins and his fellow administrators agreement. It was with great joy that men worked with the faculty in reexamining the and women returning from the service were organization of the college. William received into the college again. Thirty-five Hutchins’s plan, adopted in 1938, had called Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 142

142 berea college

for a reevaluation of the Upper and Lower SACS had already shown reluctance in ap- Divisions’ organization and curricula after proving plans that did not reflect standard five years. Francis Hutchins learned shortly practice. Faculties in both the Upper and after his arrival on campus of the dissatis- Lower Divisions organized committees to faction with the arrangement. The per- examine the effects of “reorganizing the received barrier between the Upper Division organization.”32 and the freshman and sophomore years, The numerous reports and studies gener- housed in Lower Division, aroused com- ated by these committees examined all as- plaints of lack of integration as well as of pects of the academic program. In addition hampered social and academic relations. to the variable nature of freshman prepara- Where William J. and Francis Hutchins had tion, the reports identified other disadvan- seen flexibility in programs and personnel, tages. Among the problems were faculty and others saw divisional rigidity and artificial students being divided into small, artificial organization. For many faculty, the Lower academic units, as well as overlapping ad- Division was not a four-year unit at all, but ministrative functions. Advantages to a collection of students who missed out on Berea’s six-year plan included a flexible cur- their high school graduation or were dis- riculum to meet student needs and the eco- connected from their college classmates. nomical use of instructors teaching their Faculty members themselves were further specialties at various levels. Berea’s plan also discontented by their status (or lack of it) provided a break between general education within the system.31 and the specialization of the major. What- For Francis Hutchins the key problem ever the perspective, there was agreement was in the immediate transition from high that Berea needed to provide both second- school to college-level work. Despite the ary and collegiate educational programs, many improvements in high schools though the secondary student population throughout the Appalachian region, stu- was declining.33 dents entering the college varied, at times Hutchins, for his part, saw nothing widely, in their preparation. Berea was ad- wrong with Berea’s divisional arrangement. mitting not only the good students from the Yet from the outset of his administration, good high schools, but the best students even before the difficulties resulting from from the poorest high schools. “If we had the war arose, he was besieged by com- it,” Francis observed to his parents in 1943, plaints regarding the college’s organizational “we would immediately revive the high structure. He agreed with Lower Division school postgraduate arrangement or invent dean Charles N. Shutt that enthusiastic a sub-freshman class.” This plan would support could make the system work, but allow entering students to make up Hutchins had encountered such bitter op- deficiencies while taking other courses for position that he doubted such support was which they were qualified. Hutchins also forthcoming. “Whatever plan is now pro- recognized that though Berea’s plan was posed to the Trustees,” Hutchins confided serviceable, it did not fit the common pat- to his parents, “I’m going to demand and tern of other colleges and high schools. The get the enthusiastic support of the sour- Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 143

more than an ordinary college 143

President and Mrs. Hutchins gather with fac- pusses who do so much groaning.” He even a new organizational and curricular structure. ulty. Hutchins sought wondered if the college’s trustees could The eleventh and twelfth grades were re- consensus in his reorgani- bring a resolution to the debate. “My turned to a now-separate Foundation zation of the college and promoting excellence in proposition has been that if the faculty can- School. The freshman and sophomore years teaching. not pull up its socks and make a decent rec- were reunited with the junior and senior ommendation,” Hutchins observed wearily, years of the college. The curriculum includ- “that the Trustees will take action and re- ed a Basic Year to assist students with quire cooperation on their own basis.”34 deﬁciencies in reading, writing, mathemat- The trustees did not have to act. Hutchins ics, American history, and world geography. and the faculty reached consensus, and in the Students enrolled in these courses were fall term of 1947 Berea began working within treated as college freshmen and were al- Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 144

144 berea college

Classroom scene. Just as in his father’s time, Fran- cis Hutchins believed that education prepared a person for a life of service to others.

lowed to enroll in freshmen-level courses physical sciences, New Testament, and hu- for which they were qualified. Students manities. The humanities course vigorously could waive the Basic Year courses through engaged students in the study of the graphic a series of tests in skills and subject matter.35 arts, music, and literature. Before gradua- The curriculum of the freshman and tion, students had to take a philosophy sophomore years established a liberal arts course and develop proficiency in a foreign foundation, a common learning experience. language. With this liberal arts background, In the two semesters of the first year, every students could choose a major from over student took courses in composition, West- twenty academic departments. Teacher ern civilization, physical education, psychol- training, as in previous years, remained an ogy, Old Testament, and either biology or important goal within the curriculum. In an introduction to the social sciences. In the addition, the college offered three B.S. de- sophomore year students had two semesters grees, in Agriculture, Business Administra- to complete their work in social science, tion, and Home Economics.36 physical education, speech, biological or Like his father, Francis Hutchins believed Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 145

more than an ordinary college 145

Student dairymen. The college dairy offered milk, strongly in education for service. A Berea dards of taste and discrimination. These cream, cheese, and other education was not merely ornamental, pro- values enabled the Berea student to move, products for the college viding entrée into an elite society. Nor was a Hutchins observed, “with sureness through dining hall as well as the surrounding community. Berea education merely practical, either. a world of shoddy, shallow, conﬂicting, un- Hutchins was unapologetic for the apparent worthy and unjust claims upon his atten- tension between practical and liberal learn- tion, his participation and his loyalties.”37 ing. It was more important, he reasoned, to offer students the programs that were help- Reintegration ful to them, and by extension, the region. The central idea of the new curriculum was Before the amendment to and eventual re- to build intelligent citizens to serve Ap- peal of the Day Law, Berea found ways to palachia, the United States, and the wider remain loyal to the college’s interracial com- world. Berea’s curriculum aided students mitment. Berea had provided a place for in developing a sound pattern of personal integrated meetings of the YMCA and values and ethics framed within good stan- YWCA for several years. The visits to Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 146

146 berea college

Six Berea boys at Yale, c. 1904. William Dean Em- bree (seated, right) was a prominent attorney and Berea College trustee. He authored the language for Berea’s readmission of African American students. “If we don’t do this,” Hutchins recalled Embree as saying, “then we might as well not have a centennial celebration.”

Berea’s campus of such African American act with more of its “original courage.” Am- intellectuals and leaders as George Wash- biguous responses among faculty and ington Carver, James Weldon Johnson, trustees, however, left Hutchins and Dean Langston Hughes, and Benjamin Mays had Louis Smith unconvinced that such a hire illuminated Berea audiences. The library was the right course in promoting positive continued to purchase works by and about race relations on campus. “That is not a very black authors and artists. Berea faculty and strong position to take maybe,” Hutchins students had worked with pupils at the wrote to his parents, “but I do not like to be nearby Middletown School and in African crowded by people who would cheerfully American neighborhoods. Alumni and jeopardize many gains.”38 friends of the college urged the hiring of an In 1949 the segregated status of higher African American professor as the ﬁrst step education began to change in Kentucky. A in reclaiming Berea’s heritage. Edwin Em- federal district judge ordered the integra- bree, president of the Rosenwald Founda- tion of the University of Kentucky graduate tion and a direct descendant of John G. Fee, schools on the ground that separate was not lost patience with what he regarded as equal. Continuing education for African Berea’s hesitation in challenging racism. He American nurses and physicians allowed for argued that public thinking had changed integrated classrooms and laboratories at sufﬁciently in the South for the college to the University of Louisville medical school. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 147

more than an ordinary college 147

In the winter of 1950 the Kentucky legisla- Jessie Reasor Zander. ture amended the Day Law to allow inte- Berea’s first African American graduate since grated education at public and private the Day Law, Zander institutions above the high school level. The went on to become a amendment gave colleges and universities prominent teacher, edu- the option to integrate if their governing cational administrator, and poet. She and her fel- bodies elected to do so and if no equal, low African American complete, and accredited course was being students of the 1950s offered at Kentucky State College for Ne- were the pioneers who groes in Frankfort. Consulting with an edu- helped Berea reclaim its interracial history. cational leader in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Louisville, Hutchins asked what the response of Roman Catholic colleges would be. Citing the religious foundation of these schools, the official replied, “There is no such thing as an equal and equivalent course. The whole basis of state education as offered in Kentucky State is secular. Therefore there cannot be any equal, equivalent course.”39 At their April 1950 meeting the trustees took up the question of reintegrating Berea. In 1949 they had approved in principle the reintegration of the college’s nursing program, since no equivalent was available at Kentucky State. The state attorney general and his assistant believed that the law would not permit the college to act on this apparent loophole, but they advised clared, “a challenge greater than we can Hutchins that the legislature was open to hope to discharge in any foreseeable length changes in the Day Law. When the law was of time.”40 amended in the 1950 session, Berea’s Berea College was the first undergradu- trustees acted quickly. Using language pro- ate college in Kentucky to admit black stu- posed by William Dean Embree, the board dents. Three students enrolled for Berea’s empowered the college to admit qualified fall term in 1950, pioneering Berea’s return African American students from the Ap- to its foundational commitment to interra- palachian region. The board also reaffirmed cial education. The first African American the college’s mission to mountain students student to graduate from Berea was Jessie in general, noting that this had been Berea’s Reasor Zander from Appalachia, Virginia. focus for nearly a century. “We continue to A transfer student from Swift Memorial see in these young people,” the board de- Junior College, Zander and her sister were Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 148

Lecture hall. Integration took hold, albeit more slowly than some students and faculty desired. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 149

more than an ordinary college 149

the first members of their family to go to Foundation School. Elsie and Doris Robin- college. Her attendance at Berea was Zan- son, Ralph Smith, Doretha Pride, Frances der’s first experience of education in an inte- Hayes, and Anna Marie Paige traveled hun- grated setting. “I denied myself a lot of dreds of miles to pursue their educations. opportunities,” Zander recalled sadly, “be- Berea was their first educational experience cause I wasn’t secure and self-confident in an integrated setting, as it had been Jessie enough to try.” The small number of African Zander’s. The Robinson sisters and Smith American students on campus at the time all graduated from the Foundation School. made her even more self-conscious. Al- Two other Prince Edward students, Alfred though she did not experience overt racism L. Cobbs and Catherine Scott, came to from fellow students, Zander still felt isolat- Berea and graduated from the college. The ed. “I don’t think I got to know many people AFSC helped some sixty-seven students to very well,” she remembered, “as most were attend schools in ten communities in eight busy just making sure they didn’t offend states. Prince Edward County finally re- me.” Her perseverance and graduation in opened its public schools in 1964.42 1954 bore testimony to a powerful determi- Berea’s reaffirmation of interracial edu- nation and personal spirit. Zander went on cation went beyond the enrollment of to a successful career as a teacher, school ad- African American students. As interest in ministrator, and poet. African American stu- the Civil Rights movement grew on cam- dent enrollment at Berea increased, but very pus, so did the pressure to make institution- slowly.41 al statements about the college’s role in the The Supreme Court’s 1954 decision to movement. The National Council of invalidate “separate but equal” in Brown v. Churches (NCC) asked permission to gath- Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas ended the er some six hundred persons at the college legal power of the infamous Day Law in in the summer of 1964 under the council’s Kentucky. The Brown decision also brought Commission on Race and Religion, and new students to Berea. Rather than inte- Hutchins agreed. Reluctance set in as re- grate its educational system, Prince Edward ports of violence in Mississippi reached County, Virginia, elected to close all its Hutchins and the trustees. Berea alumni in public schools in 1959. A private school sys- Mississippi persuaded Hutchins that many tem for white students soon emerged, but white Mississippians saw the civil rights nearly seventeen hundred black students workers as invaders who would do more were left without any educational opportu- harm than good to the cause of blacks. After nities at all. The American Friends Service consulting with the trustees, Hutchins with- Committee (AFSC) offered one of the drew his permission for the NCC to hold solutions to this crisis by funding the educa- its summer session at Berea. Responding to tion of Prince Edward County’s black stu- protests regarding Berea’s withdrawal, dents in other states. Through the efforts of Hutchins claimed that the college was still Jean Fairfax, the AFSC’s national represen- interested in effective support of the Civil tative for southern programs, six Prince Rights cause. “I believe that Berea should Edward students were placed in Berea’s do all that it can do to aid in the total strug- Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 150

150 berea college

gle,” Hutchins wrote. “Because of my belief participation in the march did not officially that the program contemplated in Missis- excuse them from class.44 sippi was more likely to worsen than to Inspired by the Frankfort march and de- promote the civil rights situation,” he con- siring to restore Berea’s public reputation in tinued, “I decided against receiving the the wake of the canceled civil rights training group here. This decision was approved by the previous summer, the would-be the Executive Committee of the Board of marchers remained undaunted. On March Trustees.” Hutchins denied that Berea had 15, 1965, led by a committee of six that con- in any way changed its commitment to insisted of Student Association president terracial education by not hosting the train- Danny Daniel, the Pinnacle’s editor, Roy Bir- ing program. “I believe it should be clear to chard, John Fleming, N. J. R. Allan, Ron all that the well-being of the Negro is a Matson, and Mike Clark, a group of about basic interest of Berea College,” Hutchins one hundred students and faculty marched observed. “This interest has been evident in on Francis Hutchins’s home to express their the College’s work from the very beginning. concern about the college’s apparent inac- It is a basic commitment of Berea College tion. “There can be no question about today and must remain so as long as the Berea College’s continuing commitment to College exists.”43 the cause of human rights and human digni- Nevertheless, Bereans did find ways to ty,” Hutchins told the protesters. “Some may protest the condition of blacks in the South. differ as to methods and tactics, but the In March 1964 Martin Luther King Jr. led a common goal remains.” He then offered his civil rights march on the state capitol in own car to assist in transporting the stu- Frankfort, Kentucky, a demonstration in dents who chose to go to Montgomery.45 which several Berea faculty and students Fifty-eight Bereans traveled to Mont- participated. A year later, when King an- gomery to hear Martin Luther King’s call nounced his plans for a march on Mont- for voting rights in Alabama. As they joined gomery, Alabama, many Berea faculty and with thousands of others demonstrators, the students wanted to join the effort. Again, as Berea marchers walked the four-mile route news regarding the violent reaction to the amid cheers and jeers alike. Confederate marches filtered back to Berea, Francis battle flags appeared, reminding Berea’s his- Hutchins and other administrators were re- tory professor Richard Drake that he and luctant to sanction participation. The Stu- others were participating in a second recon- dent Government Association did not struction of the South, a reconstruction in endorse the march, and Dean Kenneth which African Americans, rather than liber- Thompson suggested that students write to al whites, were the principal actors.46 After their congressional representatives to ex- the march was over, Bob Barrier, the assis- press their views. Thompson also reminded tant editor of the Pinnacle, wrote that Berea the students that the college would not pro- was not obligated to be a marching college, vide vehicles for travel to Alabama, and stu- where solid academics gave place to ac- dents were left to make their own tivism, no matter how desirable the goal. arrangements with their professors, since The paper’s editor, Roy Birchard, however, Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 151

more than an ordinary college 151

Berea students and faculty in Montgomery, Alaba- was convinced that education confined to reintegrate; after all, the college had been ma. Students marching the campus or the classroom was shallow at exclusively white for more than forty years. with Martin Luther King best. “Let us take the whole world,” Bir- Nevertheless, by continuing to welcome Jr. now linked themselves to the cause of the chard wrote, “for our classroom.”47 black intellectuals and artists to campus, by founders. The mixed responses to the Montgomery being the first undergraduate institution in march reflected Berea’s dilemma in re- Kentucky to admit African American stu- sponding to reintegration. Some of the col- dents, by providing a haven for displaced lege’s supporters found Berea tardy and students from Prince Edward County, by uncertain in acting on its historic commit- marching individually and collectively in ment to interracial education. Others be- support of civil rights, Berea College began lieved Berea could only gradually the process of reclaiming its greatest legacy. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 152

152 berea college

demic standards a concern with significant problems of contemporary society.”48 The college’s work in Appalachia was seen as a natural progression in the institution’s history of service to people on the margins. Publicity literature supported this view. In Fee and Fairchild’s time, the newly freed slaves and their families were in dire need of educational support, so Berea focused on this issue. When slavery passed from the national scene, the college increasingly concentrated on the needs of mountain people. Reintegration was an affirmation of Berea’s creed that no one would be excluded from an education, but Appalachia was still the college’s primary focus. As they had been in previous years, students were seen as the primary answer to Dr. Louise Hutchins. During her husband’s the problems of Appalachia and, through 49 presidency, Dr. Hutchins The Berea Idea Appalachia, the nation and the world. served as the college pedi- Berea continued to interpret the Ap- atrician. She also served Throughout the administration of Francis palachian region itself, and it was the birth- as the physician for the Mountain Maternal Hutchins, Berea College emphasized the place of a remarkable scholarship. In 1953 Health League, an organi- college’s primary mission to southern Ap- Roscoe Giffin, a professor of sociology, con- zation that advanced bet- palachia. Curricular and administrative ducted the Pine Mountain Study, a socio- ter healthcare for changes, continued expansion of the college economic survey of the area around Pine mountain mothers and children through family itself, extension programs, and fund-raising Mountain Settlement School, which had planning (Louisville Courier- efforts alike were all aimed at enhancing closed in 1949. Giffin’s study analyzed the Journal photo). Berea’s educational service to the region. A effects of family size, income, mobility, so- Berea education, however, was not bound to cial values, and educational attainment. In the four walls of a classroom. “We have 1958 Berea’s trustee Willis D. Weatherford never been a college limited to a campus; if Sr. spearheaded the Southern Appalachian it had been so limited,” Hutchins observed, Studies project, supported by a grant from “it would not be the Berea we know.” Like the Ford Foundation. A galaxy of notable his father, Francis Hutchins was convinced scholars examined the impact of positive that education alone was not enough to and negative changes in the region since the make a difference in the world. Education previous survey conducted by the USDA in also had to count for something. “The ge- 1935. The survey also examined problem nius of Berea,” he declared, “has been that it areas in health care, education, economic has coupled with a purpose to maintain aca- status, and religion. The survey further ex- Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 153

more than an ordinary college 153

plored possible solutions that would bring each other in learning and developing ca- the Appalachian region in line with national reer goals. A high-quality education, socioeconomic standards. Weatherford Hutchins argued, needed consistent im- hoped that the survey would convince the provement, not in abstract terms, but with nation that the United States needed the practical applications in the classroom, the independence, individualism, and strong campus, and the home. The foundation for character of mountain people. These ideal the entire program was Berea’s Christian characteristics of mountain people had al- heritage, which reflected the earnest and ready been memorialized by previous gener- sincere motivation of the founders.51 ations of Bereans. The information Berea celebrated its historic legacy in the presented by Weatherford and his col- centennial year of 1955. Lectures, symposia, leagues was well beyond the scope of Berea’s and exhibitions reminded audiences large efforts, however, and had a tremendous and small of Berea’s values and their appli- influence in the work of such federal agen- cation to the present. The implications of cies as the Appalachian Regional Commis- atomic energy, foreign affairs, and liberal sion, the Office of Economic Opportunity, learning were explored by notable scholars and the Economic Development Adminis- and lecturers. Robert M. Hutchins gave the tration, among others.50 centennial commencement address, noting Berea’s high ideals were summarized in that Berea had shown that it was possible in what Hutchins and others termed “the an age of public relations and mass produc- Berea idea.” Bereans believed that these tion to have character. He suggested that if ideals set the college apart from most other a college was to amount to anything, it had colleges in the nation. There was no apology to stand for something. For Robert for the apparent tension between the liberal Hutchins, Berea stood for conscientious arts and professional preparation found in nonconformity, molding young minds that the degree programs of Business, Agricul- might change the world. He commended ture, Nursing, Home Economics, and In- the graduates for developing their character dustrial Arts. Berea’s no-tuition policy, as well as their intellectual capacity. “As you which applied to all students, honored men take your stand for justice, freedom, and and women, black and white, who had aca- peace, you will do honor to your Alma demic ability but little or no chance of a Mater, and, who knows,” he concluded, “you college education. Students paid for room, may yet transform the world.”52 board, and books, in addition to incidental Wilderness Road: A Symphonic Outdoor Drama fees, in effect receiving a tuition scholarship by Paul Green debuted in Berea’s centennial from the college. The labor program offered year. The play commemorated Berea’s the chief means of financial support for stu- founding ideals through the fictional story dents. Consequently, costs were kept low of John Freeman, a Kentucky mountain and simplicity emphasized so that everyone schoolteacher who speaks out against the could participate in campus life with mini- evils of slavery. Amid hymns, fiddle tunes, mal discomfort. Labor and study reinforced and mountain dances, Freeman exhorts his Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:02 PM Page 154

Baptizing in Rockcastle County, Kentucky. Appalachian mountain religion was the centerpiece of several regional studies, especially the Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 155

1962 Appalachian Regional Survey. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 156

Freeman’s choice. In a scene from Wilderness Road, John Freeman chooses between his biblical convictions and the prospect of joining the Union army. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 157

more than an ordinary college 157

Young women gather for study in Dixie House. neighbors to build a school open to all, African American characters were largely In the college country founded on principles of freedom and incidental in the play and were passive par- homes, women students justice. Proslavery night riders attack Free- ticipants in their cause for freedom. The learned about meal preparation, interior man and destroy the schoolhouse. Free- story of Wilderness Road instead revolved design, and household man’s death in the battle of Perryville and around the experience of white moun- budgets. the ultimate Union victory in the Civil War taineers during the secession crisis and the eventually reconcile most of the community, Civil War. The dramatic presentation told who rebuild his school. John G. Fee makes only part of the Berea story, and even that an appearance presiding at Freeman’s funer- part was incomplete.53 al. Wilderness Road honored Berea’s founders, Wilderness Road dramatically celebrated who had lived a democratic and religious Berea’s core values. Elisabeth Peck traced faith. Their wilderness road did not pass the historic origins of the college’s ideals through “woods and craggy mountains of and how these had been acted upon in earth” but through “misunderstandings, Berea’s First Century, published in 1955. Peck passions and persecutions of misguided herself had come to Berea in 1912 and men, their neighbors even.” As was true of taught history for forty-one years. When the seventy-ﬁfth anniversary pageant, she retired from her teaching duties, Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 158

158 berea college

Hutchins named Peck as the college’s honored Berea’s founding vision. Finally, official historian. She compared Berea’s serving Appalachian youth who had both history to the college’s nearby forest reserve high ability and economic need through ed- in midwinter, noting that even in difficult ucation and outreach rounded out the times deep roots enabled the trees to sur- essence of the college’s program.55 Hutchins vive. Her study’s initial chapters described believed that Bereans had particular charac- the founders’ vision for Berea. Later chap- teristics. He declared that an intellectual so- ters were topically arranged and discussed cial alertness drove a Berean out of the curriculum developments, interracial educa- classroom, the office, or the home to find tion, labor, fund-raising efforts, outreach, places where the danger spots were, and to and service to Appalachia. The primary pur- find thoughtful ways to solve problems. pose of Peck’s book was to remind her read- Hutchins saw Bereans as devoted to a cause, ers of the imperishable elements that a cause that was selflessly advanced with joy sustained the college. Though it was largely and satisfaction. Christian faith, according a sympathetic history, Peck did not dismiss to Hutchins, enlivened a Berean’s intellec- the difficulties Berea had experienced. Her tual alertness and sense of service to others. straightforward discussion of integration, Berea’s educational mission was successful if segregation, and reintegration at Berea Berea graduates were marked by these char- caused one historian to suggest that acteristics. “The value of this College is the southern segregationists take notice. worth and quality of your lives.”56 “No riots took place [at Berea],” In October 1965 Hutchins announced to wrote Henry F. Pringle. “We re- the trustees that he and his wife had agreed spectfully refer this historical truth that it would be wise for him to retire at age to the attorneys general of Vir- sixty-five. When Francis Hutchins retired in ginia and other southern states 1967, he could look back over his adminis- should they propose to file addi- tration with satisfaction. He was awarded tional alarmist briefs with the an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Supreme Court of the United Letters, and the new library, named origi- States.”54 For Elisabeth Peck, Berea’s nally for William J. Hutchins, became core values made Berea distinctive in known as the William J. and Francis S. a gentle and quiet way, providing a firm Hutchins Library. Francis Hutchins had foundation for the next century. served for twenty-eight years and tangibly Berea’s greatness, in Francis Hutchins’s advanced the college’s program. The en- Elisabeth Sinclair Peck. Peck joined the college view, lay in Berea’s commitment to a high- dowment increased from ten million dollars faculty in 1912 and taught quality education in reach of those for in 1939 to over fifty million at the time of history until her retire- whom it was Berea or nothing. A Berea Hutchins’s retirement. The college had ment in 1953. She was education had a liberal arts foundation and been reorganized and an innovative curricu- subsequently appointed college historian and outlook for all aspects of the academic lum adopted. The general education pro- served in this role until program. A Christian ethic undergirding gram was one of high quality, as was the her death in 1968. service, equality, and democracy with a par- faculty that taught it. The College Faculty ticular emphasis on interracial education itself had been increased from 69 in 1939 to Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 159

more than an ordinary college 159

Francis and Louise Hutchins. Remembering the trials his father had endured with a former president in residence, Francis and Louise Hutchins returned to China for three years to allow successor Willis D. Weatherford to settle into his new work.

136 by 1967. College enrollment had interracial heritage. These successes testiﬁed creased from 860 to 1,460 during his to the promise he had made to his father administration, and 75 percent of students years earlier. “I think that you have really holding degrees from Berea had enrolled made Berea a great institution,” Francis during Hutchins’s time. Berea had remained wrote William J. Hutchins, “and after I committed to serving the Appalachian re- know what it is, I will try to do what I can gion, and the college had reclaimed its in- to have it continue a great institution.”57 Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 160

Willis D. Weatherford Jr. Weatherford’s career before Berea had been a model of education for service. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 161

A College of History and Destiny Willis D. Weatherford Jr., 1967–1984

I have heard some say, “Let’s join the mainstream of American higher education.” If this means dropping our commitment to a region and its special problems, dropping our service to students in special need and dropping our emphasis on moral and spiritual growth of students, then let us stay out of the mainstream. But if joining the mainstream implies adapting our educational means to better achieve our special purposes in the midst of changing conditions, then let’s swim in the middle of the swiftest current.

willis d. weatherford jr., Inaugural Address

T the end of Francis Hutchins’s ministrations of William J. and Francis administration in 1967, Berea Col- Hutchins as an amazing era. The College A lege had endured World War II, Department under the Hutchinses’ leader- pushed through curricular and administra- ship became the primary educational effort, tive reorganizations, and reclaimed the his- with a liberal arts outlook and the support toric ideal of integrated education. of a stable endowment. The collective lega- Conscious of his father’s discomforting ex- cy of the founders and other leaders of perience with a former president lurking in Berea was, in Weatherford’s view, quality the background, Francis Hutchins left Berea education for Appalachian youth, interracial only a month after his successor took office. education, the dignity of labor, and the The new president was Willis D. Weather- moral and spiritual growth of youth for ford Jr., the son of the powerful and distin- Christian service.1 guished college trustee W. D. Weatherford Weatherford’s vision for Berea was Sr. The new president saw Berea’s legacy as reflected in an education adapted to the one of social concern and racial equality, in- needs of a changing region. The general ed- augurated by Fee and supported by J. A. R. ucation program of Berea College would Rogers and Henry Fairchild. Weatherford move from a distribution model to a series credited Fairchild with recognizing Ap- of required interdisciplinary courses reflect- palachia as an area of need, and both ing the institution’s historic commitments. William and Eleanor Frost for continuing This education, Weatherford reasoned, this focus. Weatherford regarded the ad- would build leadership in advancing Berea’s 161 Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 162

162 berea college

causes of interracial education and service for improving race relations in the South to Appalachia. These twin commitments long before the Civil Rights movement.3 He experienced some strain as the population served Berea as a trustee for nearly five of African American students on campus decades, winning a great reputation as a reached critical mass, holding the college ac- friend of Appalachian education and as an countable to its founding principles. effective fund-raiser. His ideas for helping Amid the frustrations and progress of others were always large. “A project of only Weatherford’s administration, the fifty thousand dollars invested in it can go college’s mission was codified into a out of existence any time and be forgotten statement called the Great Com- overnight,” Weatherford once observed. mitments. This statement sum- “No wonder people don’t want to put their marized Berea’s historic mission money into something like that. If an un- as a guide for responding to the dertaking is worth ten times that amount, it troubling present and for devising will be permanent. And people will be glad plans for the future. For Weather- to take part in it.”4 ford personally, moral development Willis Weatherford Jr. earned his B.A. at and spiritual growth were key com- Vanderbilt in 1937, and then he achieved his ponents of education, leadership, and B.D. from Yale in 1940. At Harvard, service. “Berea has traditionally done Weatherford earned his M.A. in 1943 and this, I hope we can continue to do so effec- his Ph.D. in Economics in 1952. He was a tively,” he observed. “In doing this, we must teaching fellow at Harvard and at the Uni- Willis Weatherford Sr. The longtime trustee who respect freedom of thought and expression, versity of North Carolina. For seventeen had declined years before abhor paternalism, but be unashamed to years (1948–64) he taught economics at to become president of stand for the cause of Christ.”2 Swarthmore, and then he became a dean at Berea College, now saw Carleton College (1965–67) in Minnesota. his son rise to lead the Weatherford was an active scholar, having institution. Scholarly Abilities and published two books and numerous articles Human Qualities on economics, as well as studies of college Born at Biltmore, in the mountains of west- students and goals in higher education. His ern North Carolina, on June 24, 1916, Phi Beta Kappa status did not confine Willis D. Weatherford Jr. was raised in an Weatherford to purely academic study, how- environment of faithful devotion and serv- ever. During World War II he served as a ice to others. His mother, Julia McRory, had relief worker with the American Friends served as YWCA secretary at Winthrop Service Committee in Europe and Africa. College, in South Carolina, before her mar- Weatherford then spent a year in India riage to Willis Weatherford Sr. His father (1950–51), again with AFSC, planning and had been international YMCA student sec- implementing rural development projects retary for seventeen years and led the build- for some forty villages in Orissa. He re- ing of the YMCA conference center at Blue turned to India in 1954–55 with a Ford Ridge Assembly in North Carolina. The Foundation grant to research land tenure. elder Weatherford was a powerful advocate Weatherford also worked as a United Na- Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 163

a college of history and destiny 163

tions advisor on rural development in Malaya (1959–60).5 Weatherford’s intellectual background, service, and experience were well suited to leading Berea. He had long imagined serving in the South since his undergraduate days at Vanderbilt. Yet he was only one of over 150 candidates. Donald Danforth, vice chairman of the trustees and chairman of the presidential search committee, recalled the enormous challenge of finding a successor to Francis Hutchins. The board was impressed with the search committee’s list of qualifications for a new president. “Heaven help you,” one trustee told Danforth, “you are seeking God.” Danforth visited Weather- ford at the family home in Black Mountain, North Carolina, describing in detail Berea’s work and importance. Weatherford reviewed the Great Commitments as they had been listed in a report to the Ford Founda- tion, Profile of Berea College (1962), and found them persuasive. Of the many candidates interviewed, the committee invited only one to be Berea’s next president, Weatherford. “He meets all of our requirements,” Dan- forth observed, “an able scholar, a proven administrator, a man who has the unique ability to lead—to lead faculty and to lead students quietly, but challenging them in bringing out their very best.”6 Confident in his own abilities, Willis Anne and Willis Weatherford did not take them for granted. Weatherford Jr. Married He recognized that Berea’s history and ford argued that small liberal arts institu- in 1954, the Weatherfords ideals would continue to be challenged. tions had to be clear about their goals and raised five children together, all of whom grad- Many wondered why Berea continued to re- objectives. This clarity would serve both uated from Berea College. sist becoming like other liberal arts institu- students and society, he asserted, and would Anne Weatherford made tions, as if serving one of the nation’s establish distinctive patterns that would her own career in public poorest socioeconomic regions kept the col- serve as an example to larger, multipurpose service as a teacher and church volunteer, follow- lege from being among the elite educational institutions. Weatherford saw institutional ing particular interests in institutions in the United States. Weather- success as a cooperative enterprise among Christian formation and learning. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 164

164 berea college

Dean William Jones and students. Dean Jones was successful in building collegial relationships across disciplinary lines in advancing the new curriculum of 1970.

faculty, staff, trustees, and students. “Obvi- Curriculum Committee and other study ously, no single person can chart the future groups brainstormed about just what the of a great institution,” Weatherford ob- curriculum should accomplish. The faculty served. “Berea is such a distinctive institu- recognized the tension between liberal and tion that the direction of educational policy practical learning. One goal of the new cur- can be developed only with a complete un- riculum, adopted in 1970, was to maintain derstanding of its unique combination of the connections between the general educa- purposes.”7 Willis Weatherford dedicated tion and the specialization found in the stu- himself entirely to this end. dent’s chosen major. The liberal arts outlook of the new curriculum encouraged students to look beyond themselves to un- Education for Leadership derstand and serve others.8 The merger of the Foundation School with The curriculum was organized so that the town’s independent school district in students spent about one-third of their 1968 left Berea with one academic unit, the time in core courses, one-third in their college. Early in Weatherford’s administra- major course work, and one-third in ex- tion, the college undertook a reexamination ploratory electives. The core courses of its curriculum. Under the active leader- afﬁrmed Berea’s commitments to interracial ship of Dean William Jones, the faculty’s education, service to Appalachia, the dignity Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 165

a college of history and destiny 165

of labor, and nonsectarian Christianity. Sev- Berea students manipu- eral of the new courses were also interdisci- late shadow puppets in this 1979 short-term plinary. Man and the Arts invited students class. These January term into short contemplations of art, music, and courses gave both stu- literature. Issues and Values explored social dents and faculty the issues of the day in the context of different singular opportunity to explore distinctive topics value structures. Both courses had to be or courses not normally completed in the ﬁrst year. Sophomore stu- available during the regu- dents then navigated through Western in- lar fall and spring terms. tellectual, philosophical, and religious traditions in a course called Religious and Historical Perspectives (RHP), which included both ancient and modern sources. A senior course, Christian Faith in the Mod- ern World, engaged contemporary problems in the light of Christian values. Issues and Values, RHP, and the senior requirement also afﬁrmed the college’s Christian commitment within the curriculum itself.9 The new curriculum was inspired by other commitments as well. Cultural area requirements met by courses in foreign languages, Appalachian studies, or black studies offered students the opportunity to advance their awareness of cultural heritage, their The 1970 curriculum embodied many of own and others’. Laboratory science and so- the aspirations of earlier presidents and cial science classes introduced students to teachers. By giving academic importance to the methods of these disciplines. Health and Berea’s commitments, the college placed its physical education classes rounded out the mission at the heart of the student experi- requirements of the 1970 academic program. ence, the curriculum. The core courses were Through the general education program, not only interdisciplinary in content, but Berea students gained a working knowledge taught by tenured faculty from across the of civilization, science, culture, and religion college who brought their own viewpoints as well as an understanding of ideas and per- to the course material. Ideally, this approach spectives not necessarily their own. Such an to teaching modeled the value of liberal education, Weatherford observed, “should learning. A larger number of electives and help students to develop adequate criteria of more choices within required courses also the good and sharpen their analytical ability gave more responsibility to individual stu- to apply these criteria to particular situations dents for their own education. In this way of everyday life which require value deci- the general education curriculum provided a sions, moral judgments.”10 liberal foundation for all students that Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 166

166 berea college

Black Student Union Ex- ecutive Council, 1972. The BSU provided a significant mechanism for holding the college accountable to its ideals.

would go beyond their college years regard- ature, and sociology. Weatherford believed less of their major field of study. that an integrated learning environment was imperative. “Either group is but a frag- ment of God’s children,” he asserted; “each Leadership in a Democratic Society group needs the other for wholeness, each In his inaugural address Weatherford group needs the other to understand the reaffirmed Berea’s commitment to interra- tensions and problems of modern society.” cial education. “True equality will become By 1972 the percentage of black students increasingly a political necessity,” Weather- had increased to 14.11 ford declared, “as well as a moral obliga- In September 1968 the violence attend- tion.” In 1967, 4.5 percent of the students at ing the Civil Rights movement in the Deep Berea College were African American. The South found its way to Berea. The Lexing- Black Student Union was organized that ton, Kentucky, chapter of the National year, and the Black Ensemble singing group States Rights Party (NSRP), a white su- formed in 1969. A black studies course was premacist group, organized a series of rallies included in the new curriculum, and elective just outside the town of Berea. The NSRP courses emerged in art, history, music, liter- circulated leaflets, sent sample issues of Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 167

a college of history and destiny 167

Speaking from the heart. An African American student addresses a student meeting. Berea students used conversation to sort out differences, rather than violence. Neither the speaking nor the listening was easy work.

publications, and used loudspeakers to pro- NSRP members were convicted under the mote their hatred of Jews and African state’s antiriot laws. Ironically, the two vic- Americans. At the end of one of these tims in the shootings were buried within meetings, on Sunday, September 1, 1968, a some seventy-five yards of each other in the group of local blacks drove close to the Berea cemetery.13 NSRP’s meeting site. Words were ex- Racial tensions on campus challenged the changed, then gunfire. Elza Rucker, a Berea college community itself. Despite the seem- native and member of the NSRP, and John ing progress of improving enrollment and Boggs, a local black man, were killed. This supportive organizations, many black stu- tragedy, almost unbelievable in Berea, drew dents felt isolated and unwelcome. In March national attention.12 1970 black students marched on City Hall But the town did not give in to violence. and then occupied the president’s office to Mayor C. C. Hensley called an emergency protest the arrest of three black students in city council meeting, which condemned the the town. Characteristically, Weatherford violence. An interracial group, made up of met with the students and discussed their people from both the college and the town, concerns. The sit-in was peaceful and broke organized itself into the Concerned Citizens up when legal counsel was arranged for the Committee. The committee raised funds to arrested students. The charges were later hire legal counsel for the black defendants in dismissed, but the unease lingered.14 the case and urged the city council to take The situation was further exacerbated in steps to improve interracial relations in the December 1971, when the college declined community. Six Berea-area blacks and five to renew the contract of Melvin Marshall, a Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 168

Students from all over. Labor, curriculum, and student life activities offered numerous encounters for meeting different people and building good relationships. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 169

a college of history and destiny 169

popular black counselor on the college staff. education because of its history. The BSU Black students again occupied Lincoln Hall, “cannot rest until the College has imple- and the threat of violence loomed amid ru- mented the commitments of John G. Fee,” mors of weapons being smuggled onto the Massey declared. “We know it takes time, campus. Weatherford closed the college but not another one hundred years.”16 three days in advance of the usual Christ- Reason, rather than violence and hate, mas vacation and postponed first-term ruled the day. The Black Ensemble and the exams. Classes resumed after the holiday, Black Student Union gave African Ameri- and efforts such as Operation Zebra were cans meaningful community and an effec- made to assist interracial communication on tive voice on Berea’s campus. Courses in the campus. Operation Zebra, organized by the curriculum were tangible reminders of the student personnel deans, Bob Claytor and importance of African American art, litera- Ruth Butwell, promoted informal interac- ture, history, and culture to learning. Cleo- tions between faculty and students as a first phus Charles, a history professor and a step toward improved dialogue. Weather- longtime supporter of black students and ford reminded the college and the larger groups, was named coordinator of Afro- community that interracial education was American Studies in 1979. Henry Parker, an not without its problems. “We have had African American Episcopal priest, joined racial tension here precisely because we have Randy Osborne on the staff of the Campus tried to establish brotherhood on campus,” Christian Center. In 1983 Berea opened its Weatherford argued, “and because we have Black Cultural Center, with an African taken greater risks in the admission of more American Berea graduate, Andrew Baskin, black students than many other institutions as its first director. Black History Week, today. We did it because we feel it is right.”15 founded by the Berea graduate Carter G. Both students and administrators re- Woodson, offered numerous opportunities ferred to the Great Commitments in deal- for students, faculty, and staff to learn about ing with the troubles on campus. Whether African American contributions to Ameri- it was difficulties in the town, a lack of black can history and culture, as well as to Berea studies courses, or the absence of African College. All these were marks of steady American professors, Berea’s history framed progress, but Weatherford was saddened at the debate on these important issues. the time of his retirement that black stu- Weatherford and others affirmed that inter- dent enrollment was holding steady at only racial education was simply the right thing 9 percent of the total, and that a goal of hir- to do—Christianity and Berea’s traditions ing additional African American faculty and would allow nothing less. Many black stu- staff had met with only marginal success. dents complained that the college was too He was determined that Berea remain slow in hiring black faculty and in designing faithful to these efforts to advance interra- courses discussing African American history cial learning and living. “The Berea experi- and culture. Edsel Massey, president of the ence marks most of our alumni with a Black Student Union (BSU), observed that strong concern for equality and justice,” Berea needed to do more for interracial Weatherford reported; “to have a college Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 170

170 berea college

Territory expansion. Carl Thomas marks the home of another Berea student prospect. The expansion of Berea’s territory opened new doors to students with academic promise and financial need.

intentionally form such a lifelong outlook is palachian territory. Neither of the first two a marvelous contribution to society.”17 options was seen as being consistent with Berea’s commitments, but territorial expansion seemed a practical response. The com- Serving Appalachia mittee recommended, beginning with the Intensifying efforts to recruit black students 1979 fall term, adding all of Kentucky and and faculty mirrored similar concerns for nineteen mountain counties in southern the admission of students from the moun- Ohio to Berea’s recruiting territory. The re- tains. Recognizing the decrease in the high sult was that the application pool increased school age population in the region, the col- by 30 percent, with no negative effect on lege redefined its territory to include an ad- the longtime policy that 80 percent of all ditional twenty-one counties in West first-year students come from the Ap- Virginia as well as fifteen Kentucky coun- palachian region.18 ties. In 1978–79 the “Whom Shall We Another suggestion for increasing stu- Serve?” Committee was organized to review dent applications was to accept the children the college’s admissions policies. The com- of middle-income Berea alumni families. mittee identified three possibilities for in- The college’s trustees initially accepted the creasing the pool of student applications: idea but reconsidered at their October 1979 (1) lower the academic standards for admis- meeting. The discomfort expressed by the sion; (2) accept students of higher income faculty and the trustees focused on Berea’s and lesser need; and (3) expand the Ap- commitment to low-income students. The Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 171

a college of history and destiny 171

college’s distinctive mission had been to culture. Among the museum’s remarkable serve those people who lived on the fringes artifacts were items from the collection of of society. The expansion of the school’s Edna Lynn Simms, who for many years op- territory to include all of Kentucky might erated the Mountaineer Museum in Gatlin- be seen as a compromise of the college’s re- burg, Tennessee. The Appalachian Museum gional commitment. Easing income restric- offered visitors from outside the region a tions would certainly be seen as a rejection useful orientation to mountain life while of a vital part of Berea’s history. “Even that providing teaching resources for a wide compromise,” Weatherford argued, “puts in array of classes on campus. The Special Col- jeopardy the special calling of Berea College lections Department of Hutchins Library to serve the underserved.” By April 1981 the held signiﬁcant primary resources in both trustees agreed that only low-income stu- print and manuscript form for the study of dents would be admitted to Berea’s degree Appalachia. The library had been collecting programs. “We are the only college in the books on mountain topics since 1914. In country,” Weatherford asserted, “which re- 1964 Willis Weatherford Sr. and his friend serves virtually all of its places for needy William A. Hammond of Xenia, Ohio, students. The whole resources of the Col- raised funds to endow what became the lege go toward this cause—it is a great pur- Weatherford-Hammond Mountain Collec- pose this Board has inherited, it is a great tion. Thousands of volumes presented both challenge for the future.”19 the scholarly and popular views of the re- The thorough education of its students gion, and the endowment provided the represented Berea’s primary service to the funding to aggressively seek out not only the Appalachian region. The new curriculum in- latest scholarship on Appalachia but materi- cluded two courses, Appalachian Culture als long out of print. The Southern Ap- and Appalachian Problems and Institutions. palachian Archives provided remarkable Other departments established courses with primary source materials documenting the Appalachian topics, as well as independent work of the Council of the Southern Moun- studies and even a few independent majors. tains and the Appalachian Volunteers, along Within a liberal arts context, the college with the records of the 1962 Regional Sur- continued to offer majors in Agriculture, vey, among many others. With the newly Nursing, Industrial Arts and Technology, established Appalachian Center, the Special Business, and Home Economics. These B.S. Collections Department sponsored the degrees, originating in the Vocational School W. D. Weatherford Award, which honors of earlier years, represented Berea’s balanced the year’s best published work on Ap- view of liberal and practical learning. palachia. This research-level archives and Two agencies within the college support- the Special Collections gave undergraduates ed these classroom endeavors. The Ap- signiﬁcant opportunities for original schol- palachian Museum, opened in 1971, offered arship and research.20 a permanent exhibit on mountain life as Berea’s educational service went beyond well as visiting exhibitions documenting the classroom as well. Working with the various aspects of Appalachian history and Council of the Southern Mountains (CSM) Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 172

172 berea college

Visitors observe a quilting demonstration at the Appalachian Mu- and the Ofﬁce of Economic Opportunity Care (PWC), established in 1969 and sup- seum. Handicraft demon- (OEO), Berea launched Students for ported through the Campus Christian Cen- strations, singing, and Appalachia (SFA) in 1968. SFA tutored ter, provided outreach opportunities with exhibits offer insight into children and adults in basic literacy, organ- local mental health organizations. Though mountain life and culture. ized local people in various community- permanent college staff members coordi- improvement programs, and connected nated these programs, students made them people in need with aid agencies. In 1970, work, linking these service experiences with again with the assistance of CSM, the col- the classroom through research papers and lege organized an adult literacy program, presentations. The Summer Puppetry Cara- Student Taught Basic Literacy Efforts van, led by art professor Neil Di Teresa, fash- (STABLE), which taught both basic and ioned remarkable handmade puppets to advanced literacy skills to local adults. Both interpret Appalachian folktales and stories. these programs afﬁrmed the abilities that Traveling throughout the Appalachian region, Berea students brought with them to relate the Caravan delighted audiences of all ages to and serve others in need. People Who with colorful retellings of old-time tales.21 Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 173

a college of history and destiny 173

personnel with Berea’s mission to the region. The center established the Appalachian Sound Archive to collect traditional music, folklore, and oral history. In 1974 the Tradi- tional Music Festival premiered, featuring nationally known performers such as Jean Ritchie, Bradley Kincaid, Buell Kazee, Asa Martin, and John Lair. An Appalachian Studies workshop took place each summer, bringing the region’s foremost scholars and interpreters together to discuss mountain music, literature, and history. In 1977 Loyal Jones and history professor Richard Drake joined with thirty scholars from seven Ap- palachian states to organize an annual Ap- palachian studies conference. Berea hosted the ﬁrst meeting of this organization in 1978, which continues today as the Ap- palachian Studies Association.22 Berea’s service to Appalachia during Weatherford’s administration was rich and varied. The Appalachian Museum, Special Students for Appalachia. An SFA volunteer visits with local children. Whether tutoring or just being a friend, Collections, individual professors, students, student volunteers gave time and talent to help people and courses gave scholarly relevance to a re- in need. gion too often abandoned to negative stereotypes. The Traditional Music Festival, the Country Dancers, who performed tradi- Berea’s Appalachian Center, organized in tional dances from the mountains, and the 1970, was possibly the most important sym- handicrafts created in the college’s student bol of the college’s commitment to Ap- industries actively preserved signiﬁcant palachia. Led by a Berea graduate, Loyal artistic forms from the region. The activi- Jones, the former executive director of the ties of SFA, People Who Care, Upward Council of the Southern Mountains, the Bound, and other organizations were the Appalachian Center powerfully integrated rightful heirs of the extension work con- classroom instruction, cultural preservation, ducted in earlier years. This combination of and service. Jones originated two courses learning and service made Berea’s commit- taught in support of general education, and ment to Appalachia genuine and meaning- he acted as a consultant to students and ful. “Our job is not to be simply another staff conducting research or incorporating good college,” Weatherford declared, “but Appalachian topics into their courses. The we are called to provide a special kind of center also organized and led an orientation education for a particularly deserving and tour of eastern Kentucky to acquaint new important group of Appalachian youth.”23 Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 174

174 berea college

through the lens of the Great Commit- ments. Formulated by the former academic dean Louis Smith in 1962, the Commit- ments originally appeared as part of a grant application to the Ford Foundation entitled Proﬁle of Berea College, 1952–1972. The purpose of the Commitments was not to introduce anything new but to act as a concise statement of the historic aims and purposes of the college. In 1968 Weatherford used the Commitments as the organizing structure of his ﬁrst presidential report. Against the background of campus unrest on university campuses, Berea College tout- ed its small size and core values as the anti- dote to violence. Citing its founding as an interracial school, Berea believed it was obligated to make positive contributions to race relations. The labor program contributed to the serious approaches of students who believed in hard work. Students served on college committees, had an important voice in regulating and organizing student life activities, and performed social services that answered their concerns about regional and interracial problems. Berea’s commitments gave the school a sense of direction that blunted the anger and violence seen on other campuses. Some students Summer puppetry caravan. Puppets of all sizes viewed the college’s mission with practical were used to tell tradi- The Firm Anchor humor. “Berea students are probably more tional Appalachian sto- conservative than elsewhere,” one student ries. Neil Di Teresa helps “Berea College plans with hope and expec- observed. “Aside from that, if you work hard three students manage tation for the future,” Willis Weatherford a “giant.” at your job and keep up your scholastic observed, “but it also relies on the past for standing, there isn’t time for rioting.”25 strength and direction. The aspirations and Weatherford reminded the faculty of the goals of Berea College are the product of its importance of the college’s commitments in history, a guide for present policy and the an April 1969 General Faculty meeting. background for further planning.”24 Berea’s special aims, he argued, kept the Throughout the Weatherford administra- college unique and could prevent the insti- tion, Berea College interpreted itself tution from drifting into a common medi- Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 175

a college of history and destiny 175

ocrity with other colleges who lacked similar purposes. In September 1969 the Gen- eral Faculty ratified a revised form of the Great Commitments and this was adopted by the trustees later the same year. For Weatherford, the various commitments were not in tension but held an essential unity. Berea’s Appalachian and interracial commitments represented service to groups with special needs. Interracial education grew out of the college’s historic commitment to Christianity. The liberal arts foundation combined with labor to educate the whole person. “Liberal learning affirms the importance of values for noble living,” Weatherford noted, “and Christian education gives direction to the search for values but, as practiced at Berea, leaves freedom for rational inquiry.”26 Weatherford’s personal commitment to spiritual growth was central to his administration of Berea College. It was his view that Berea’s mission to promising students with financial need, black and white, from Ap- palachia and around the world, was firmly anchored in the college’s Christian heritage. In 1970 Weatherford secured a million- dollar grant from the Eli Lilly Foundation to establish the Campus Christian Center. This

grant also provided for the Eli Lilly Visiting Bradley Kincaid. Berea Professor of Religion, an annual appoint- alumnus Bradley Kincaid ment, and staffed the new center with two tablishing instead a weekly convocation re- takes the stage at the Cel- full-time campus ministers. The presence of quirement that supported the general educa- ebration of Traditional Music. The ballads, songs, tion curriculum. These convocations often the CCC had several effects. First, the ap- hymns, and tunes per- pointment of full-time campus ministers re- had religious content among the numerous formed by Kincaid and lieved the pastor and staff of Union Church offerings given each semester, but students others preserved musical in their spiritual oversight of students. Stu- could choose the events they wished to at- forms not normally found in commercial venues. dents, as had been true since Francis tend. Third, a large number of Christian fel- Hutchins’s time, could attend the church of lowship groups, formal and informal, their choice. Second, the faculty in 1972 emerged to offer a variety of study, service, voted to discontinue compulsory chapel, es- and fellowship opportunities. Weatherford Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 176

176 berea college

Earning and learning. A student mops the floor while other students study in the Special Col- lections section (Brunner Studio).

Campus ministers at was convinced that Berea’s Christian com- work. Rev. J. Randolph Osborne and Rev. Henry mitment should be manifested in the ma- Parker review plans for jority of the faculty, and he was deeply a worship service. Their committed to the links between faith and active participation in learning. While it was not the college’s mis- campus life gave tangible witness to the college’s sion to evangelize, Weatherford strongly Christian commitment believed in transforming the lives of stu- and made a positive dif- dents in the ideals of racial justice, civic reference in the lives of sponsibility, and Christian service. “We many students. must,” he asserted, “help students establish, at the heart of campus life, a strong religious belief, ecumenical in character, en- lightened by reason, which will inﬂuence their intellectual lives and daily activities.”27 When Willis Weatherford announced his intention to retire in 1984, he could look back on a college that had been faithful to Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 177

a college of history and destiny 177

its inheritance. In devising a new curriculum, Berea had balanced liberal learning with practical education. Providing more choices and wider experience for student learning, the curriculum also directly honored Berea’s commitment to interracial education and preserving Appalachian culture. A vast array of service organizations offered many opportunities for outreach, and the labor program reﬂected these changes as well. Berea weathered the upheavals of the Civil Rights era with relative calm and patience, avoiding the tragic violence experienced on other campuses. Black student and faculty recruitment had mixed success, and Weatherford shared the frustrations of many at the lack of greater progress. Berea’s continuing commitment to Appalachia was manifested in the work of the Appalachian Center, within the curriculum and various service groups, and in the college’s admissions policies. Overarching all these activities were the Great Commitments, which summarized Berea’s powerful story and served as an organizing element to the work of the college. In assessing his own career, Weatherford invoked Fee’s vision for Berea. Willis Weatherford Jr. He interpreted Fee as the inspired founder President Weatherford of a college dedicated to Christian ideals. derstanding that good education resulted enjoys a student orienta- These ideals would transform students, who not only in knowledge, but also in right action event. His sense of in turn would transform society. “We are re- tion. Berea has retained that understanding justice, civic responsibility, and Christian service minded,” Weatherford wrote, “that John better than most educational institutions, was an inspiration to Fee had the good company of Plato in un- but we too need to reafﬁrm Fee’s vision.”28 many. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 178

John B. Stephenson. His personal and scholarly devotion to Appalachia made him a powerful advocate for the region both on and off campus. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 179

New Magic in a Dusty World John B. Stephenson, 1984–1994

Berea is a college which has kept its vision. It is still a great, transcendent idea, an idea larger than the physical manifestation of the campus, larger than the region and the people it serves, an idea which enlarges the souls of all who learn of it.

john b. stephenson, Inaugural Address

EREA COLLEGE in 1984 now the wise administration will resist such defined its mission in terms of the pressures, knowing that the best college BGreat Commitments. The Christian cannot be all things to all people.”1 motivations of service, interracial education, John B. Stephenson stepped into this his- liberal learning, and service to Appalachia tory as Berea’s seventh president. A noted were salient features of Willis Weather- Appalachian scholar, he created a number of ford’s administration. This standardization programs that reflected his interests. Exam- of the college’s story was not a rigid or legal- ples of these programs include the Brushy istic code of conduct; rather, it served to Fork Institute for regional leadership devel- guide the development of current and fu- opment, the Black Mountain Youth Devel- ture programs and services. The Great opment Program for serving the region’s Commitments defined Berea’s tradition and African American youth, and, under the independence against efforts to become like leadership of his wife, Jane Stephenson, the other colleges and universities. During New Opportunity School for Women, Weatherford’s time, the college’s commit- which assisted mountain women in explor- ments were consciously integrated into the ing their educational and career aspirations. curriculum, in the labor program, and in These extracurricular efforts paralleled cur- Berea’s service, outreach, and fund-raising riculum revisions that attempted to provide efforts. In an era of widely varied and ex- an integrated and comprehensive learning panding programs, Berea chose to focus its experience firmly rooted in Berea’s commit- attention on providing a liberal education ments. The revised curriculum featured ex- to students of special need. “The pressure to panded opportunities for international proliferate programs is always present,” ob- study and a remarkable connection with the served an alumnus, L. Badgett Dillard, “but Dalai Lama in bringing Tibetan students to 179 Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 180

180 berea college

John and Jane Stephen- son. President Stephenson introduces his wife, Jane Stephenson, to an alumnus. Jane Stephenson followed her predecessors in making her own significant contributions to the work of the college.

Berea. Another aspect of the new curricu- September 26, 1937. Educated at William lum was a wider development of women’s and Mary College, John Stephenson took studies, which was a realization of Berea’s his B.A. in Sociology in 1959, studying historic commitment to the education of under Dr. Wayne Kernodle, whom women on an equal basis with men. Like his Stephenson credited with kindling his love predecessor, Stephenson led the campus in for Appalachia and encouraging him to con- reexamining and reafﬁrming the college’s tinue with graduate study. At the University mission, which resulted in thoughtful addi- of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Stephen- tions to Berea’s commitments to educating son completed his M.A. in Sociology with a Appalachians, black and white, and women. thesis exploring the topic “On the Role of The revision and reinterpretation of Berea’s the Counselor in the Guidance of Negro Great Commitments continued as the lens Youth,” under the tutelage of Dr. Ernest through which Berea interpreted itself to Campbell. While at UNC Stephenson ac- the campus and to the larger world. cepted his ﬁrst teaching position, and he joined the faculty of Lees-McCrae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina, in 1961. De- An Appalachian Humanist spite feelings of remote isolation, Stephen- John Bell Stephenson was born in Staunton, son became increasingly devoted to Virginia, to Louis and Edna Stephenson on Appalachia and its people in his three years Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 181

new magic in a dusty world 181

at Banner Elk. He fell in love with moun- (1968) and, with David Walls, Appalachia in tain people, and he felt a completeness that the Sixties: A Decade of Reawakening (1972). As he had not felt elsewhere. “There is a sense an administrator at the University of Ken- of doing something that needs doing,” tucky, Stephenson became increasingly con- Stephenson wrote, “and it needs to be done cerned with the improvement of by people who want to change things with- undergraduate education and the promo- out changing them. . . . Part of a way of life tion of learning within a liberal arts needs to be preserved and not sacrificed on context.4 the altar of progress.”2 Stephenson was selected from 171 candi- At Lees-McCrae Stephenson also fell in dates for the presidency of Berea College. love with Jane Ellen Baucom. Jane Baucom At his introduction to the campus commu- grew up in Banner Elk, and her father nity, Stephenson noted Berea’s commitment worked as a business manager at the nearby to liberal and practical learning. “Berea pro- college. Earning a B.S. in secretarial admin- duces a kind of balance between profession- istration/education from UNC-Greensboro al training and breadth in the liberal arts in 1959, she taught in Asheville public that’s ideal,” he observed, “and that’s what schools before returning to Lees-McCrae to I’d like to see Berea build on, because it’s a work and teach. Jane and John met at John’s strength that not many other liberal arts first faculty meeting at Lees-McCrae, and colleges can claim.”5 His combination of after he joined the choir at the local Presby- scholarship, teaching, administrative experi- terian church, Jane gave him a tour of the ence, and commitment to the Appalachian surrounding countryside. By March 1963 region made him an ideal candidate. they were married. The Stephensons left Reflecting on his varied experiences, Lees-McCrae in 1964, when John Stephen- Stephenson saw his new role as a calling. “I son began his Ph.D. work at Chapel Hill. don’t want to sound too deterministic or Jane Stephenson completed her M.A. in too Presbyterian about this,” he remarked, business education at Appalachian State “but it does seem to me that all of these University, rejoined her husband at Chapel roads have led to this point and to Berea Hill, and cared for their daughter as John College.”6 completed his studies.3 In 1966 the Stephensons moved to the “Despatches from Appalachia” University of Kentucky. John Stephenson joined the Sociology Department and was John Stephenson took great pains not to let named dean of undergraduate studies in his administrative duties as president sepa- 1970, a post he held until 1979, when he rate him from the region he had studied and became director of the university’s Appala- served. From time to time Stephenson chian Center. He was a participant in the would travel with his campus colleagues to discussions at Berea that led to the Ap- different parts of Appalachia to observe palachian Studies Conference, and his local communities, listen to elected officials, scholarship made important contributions teachers, students, and community leaders, to the field. Two of his more important and ponder the implications for Berea’s works were Shiloh: A Mountain Community service to the mountains. Not surprisingly, Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 182

182 berea college

Three presidents. John Stephenson poses with Willis D. Weatherford and Francis S. Hutchins.

his encounters revealed a mixture of hope second master’s degree in higher education and optimism in one area, shattered dreams administration, Jane Stephenson became and despair nearby. He enjoyed finding keenly aware of the needs of nontraditional- Berea graduates hard at work in the moun- age students, particularly women. At the tains and promoted the college to potential University of Kentucky she had served as students and supporters. Among the many coordinator of student services and later as themes found in his reports, which director of academic support services, with Stephenson called “Despatches from Ap- particular attention to assisting nontradi- palachia,” two seemed to strike home in tional students. As she made the transition particular. One was the need for leadership into her new role as Berea’s “First Lady,” development and planning in mountain Jane Stephenson determined to make her communities, and the other was finding own contribution to the college’s mission. support for African Americans in Ap- She was interested in adult women who palachia, a seemingly invisible though needed assistance with career and educa- significant minority.7 tional decisions. With a grant from the Ed- One of the more imaginative projects to ucational Foundation of America, emerge was the New Opportunity School Stephenson developed a three-week pro- for Women (NOS). While completing her gram that led fourteen women through Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 183

new magic in a dusty world 183

New Opportunity School for Women, 1987. An NOS student works in the college greenhouse. Many NOS students took brief labor assignments on campus to get a taste of college life.

workshops in career exploration, résumé number of women at Berea College. One writing and job interview skills, and self- woman spoke for many when she observed, esteem. The college’s labor program and “The last three weeks opened up so many local organizations provided work experi- new ideas for me. Just to walk in the door ences. Field trips to museums, musical pro- was an accomplishment.”8 grams, and lectures and studies in writing The establishment of the Brushy Fork and Appalachian literature offered cultural Institute was one answer John Stephenson enrichment. Many of the women enrolled and Berea had for developing community in NOS were divorced or widowed, some leadership. The institute was created were single parents, and most had been out through a planning grant from the Ap- of the job market for years. Candidates palachian Regional Commission (ARC); its were selected for their ﬁnancial need and purpose was to promote education and in- for the least amount of postsecondary edu- novative strategies to advance socioeconom- cation and job skills. The experience for ic growth in the central Appalachian states many was life-changing. By 1992, 65 of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West percent of NOS graduates were gainfully Virginia. Brushy Fork proposed to accom- employed and 25 percent were enrolled in plish its mission by strengthening individual postsecondary institutions, including a leaders and building leadership networks Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 184

184 berea college

Mountain view. Like President Frost before him, John Stephenson around regional and community groups as program was the affirmation that positive took personal tours of the the basis of indigenous and constructive change in Appalachia did not necessarily region to gauge Berea’s change. Seminars and workshops brought have to come from outside “do-gooders” but work and interpret the mountains to faculty and local groups to campus to consider the could come from within the region itself. staff at the college. problems and aspirations of their specific “Citizens recognize that the changes they areas and engage in strategic planning, want to see have to come from leadership thereby empowering these groups to action. within the mountains,” observed Brushy Leadership teams committed to specific Fork’s director, Carol Lamm, “rather than projects such as improving enrichment pro- from the outside. People are finding a great grams at local schools, marketing handi- deal of common ground as they share their crafts, or resisting out-of-state garbage visions and work together.”9 landfills. The key element of the institute’s Since Berea’s reintegration in 1950, the Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 185

new magic in a dusty world 185

A biology major assists Science Focus students in handling a laboratory snake. This program and others helped African American high school students prepare for study in college-level science courses (courtesy Berea College Public Relations).

college had initially concentrated on re- growth. Mathematics, science, and cultural cruiting African American students from history were the centerpiece of the academ- Appalachia. When Berea expanded its ad- ic program, which was staffed by Berea Col- missions territory in 1979, the college lege faculty and students. Field trips to hoped to enlarge the pool of black students Highlander Center in Tennessee and the for enrollment in the college. Some Bereans Martin Luther King Jr. Library in Atlanta saw the college’s commitment to interracial added to the students’ experience.10 education and to mountain youth as com- The BMYLP also worked with organiza- peting commitments. Others believed that tions in local communities. One of these blacks in Appalachia were being overlooked was the Black Mountain Improvement As- or ignored. The Black Mountain Youth sociation (BMIA). BMIA itself was the re- Leadership Program (BMYLP) answered sult of community forums sponsored by this apparent conﬂict through a variety of Brushy Fork that served blacks in Bar- programs. The BMYLP broadened cultural bourville, Pineville, Middlesboro, and other literacy, encouraged school achievement, eastern Kentucky communities. “A lot of and promoted ideals of community service. people don’t even know there are black peo- The Carter Woodson Summer Institute, ple in Appalachia,” BMIA director Mary sponsored through the BMYLP, was a four- Louise Pursiful acknowledged. Efforts such week program of academic and cultural en- as BMYLP and BMIA could ﬁll the void richment, health education, and personal that left African American mountaineers Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 186

186 berea college

away from its primary mission of undergraduate teaching or as diminishing support for academic programs.12 Nevertheless, Stephen- son stood by these important service programs. He believed strongly that such service represented Berea’s historic combination of academic excellence and service to others. These were key tools in preserving the best of Appalachian life and culture. “The need for leadership and vision and the ability to think ahead is real,” Stephenson wrote from western North Carolina. “Where there is no vision the people may not perish as individuals, but they may well perish as a people.”13 In spite of the numerous programs organized in support of Berea’s service to Ap- John Stephenson and palachia, not all Berea graduates were Denise Giardina. Giardina, winner of the Weather- isolated. “Black communities themselves convinced of Berea’s claims in reforming the ford Award for Storming must face these challenges,” Pursiful assert- region. Bill Horton, in reviewing Berea’s First Heaven The Unquiet and ed. “By putting our shoulders to the grind- 125 Years, noted that Berea’s interpretation of Earth, talks with President stone, we will help improve the quality of Appalachia avoided the complexities of class Stephenson at the award 11 luncheon. Scholarship and life for the total region.” structures in the region by focusing entirely activism mark the central The Brushy Fork Institute, the Black on income, rather than control of resources, character of Appalachian Mountain Youth Leadership Project, and social status, and community inﬂuence, Studies honored by the the New Opportunity School for Women among other factors. In Horton’s view, stu- Weatherford Award (courtesy Berea College represented imaginative approaches to serv- dents were “class-conscious” only in the Public Relations). ing Appalachia. The advancement of local sense that they saw themselves and their leadership for positive change within com- classmates as poor. Furthermore, Horton ar- munities was deeply rooted in Berea’s mis- gued, the labor program and the limits on sion of improving mountain life. Taking its privileges (such as having a car or belonging lead from the Opportunity Schools of pre- to academic honor societies) on campus had vious years, the New Opportunity School more to do with preparing students to par- for Women powerfully enriched the lives of ticipate in the American mainstream than women in Appalachia, identifying a group with teaching them to critique or even op- with special needs and potential. The pose it, as the founders had.14 BMYLP was another witness to Berea’s Other observers questioned the college’s commitment to interracial education; it of- sustained commitment to the region. fered yet another meaningful service to Richard B. Drake, a history professor and mountain students and communities that Appalachian scholar, retired in 1992; Loyal were frequently overlooked. Some faculty Jones retired as director of the Appalachian criticized these programs as drawing Berea Center in September 1993; and Stephenson Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 187

new magic in a dusty world 187

himself was leaving in the spring of 1994. Professor Barbara Wade. “If we cannot be sure about the commit- Professor Wade talks with a student in the Office of ment to the region of Berea College,” wrote Women’s Studies. The the president of the Appalachian Studies college’s commitment to Association, Alice Brown, “on whom can we quality higher education depend?” Stephenson replied that even after for women is lived out through the courses and retirement, he, Drake, and Jones would still programs offered through support the cause of Appalachian studies. the Office of Women’s He pointed out such programs as Brushy Studies and other aca- Fork, SFA, the Appalachian Center, and demic departments, as well as within the general others as evidence of Berea’s continuing studies program (courtesy work. “I don’t think we should depend on Berea College Public any one person or institution to carry the Relations). load of offering quality higher education, Appalachian studies, outreach, development community organizing, or whatever,” Stephenson observed. “But you certainly can depend on Berea, among others.”15

Liberal Learning and the World

In 1992 the faculty began its formal review of the 1970/1982 curriculum. For the most The development of a women’s studies part the revisions affirmed the goals of the program preceded the college’s considera- earlier programs, at the same time adding tion of general studies. In October 1990 the features to prepare Berea graduates for an college’s Task Force on Gender Issues put increasingly complex and global society. The forward a curriculum for a minor in size of the program reflected increased con- women’s studies. The initial program intent in such areas as international studies, cluded an introduction to women’s studies wellness, and communication skills. The course, followed by a selection of courses in challenging size and content of the curricu- family relations; gender and sex roles; lum honored not only Berea’s commitment women and literature; and women and the to high-quality liberal arts education, the world’s religions. A capstone seminar, cen- curriculum committee argued, but also the tered on a specific topic in women’s studies, bright and resourceful qualities of Berea integrated the knowledge gained in previous students. The curriculum was approved in courses. The Task Force referred to Berea’s January 1993; the faculty supported the idea history as providing a rationale for devising that the liberal arts, as realized in a general a women’s studies curriculum. “Berea Col- education, was the program in which the lege, from its founding, has been committed college’s commitments were given academic to providing a high quality education for expression. women and men,” the Task Force declared. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 188

188 berea college

International students. was one of the concerns of the Task Force Students from Ethiopia on International Education. The Task Force demonstrate a ceremonial dance at a banquet. report appealed to Berea’s motto, “One blood, all nations,” and the college’s commitments to service and the liberal arts as the basis for advancing international studies. The report also recognized the low percentage of undergraduates studying abroad and the emerging internationalization of the Appalachian region. The general education program and its core courses would be the central means for offering international perspectives across the curriculum. The Task Force recommended, among other things, that Berea students experience a general education program that developed habits of analyzing international problems with a “global, historical, and culturally sensitive foundation.” Students would also develop global knowledge of culture, history, politics, and geography, paying particular attention to the post–World War II era. A junior/senior-level course, Seminar in World Issues since 1945, was added to the college’s new general education program. This course, combined with convocations, “We would enhance our education pro- foreign language study, and other experi- grams and better realize our institutional ences, proposed to encourage graduates to- values if we provide a means for under- ward a “life-long effort directed at standing the differences between women thoughtful participation in an interdepend- and men, as well as what we share.”16 In ent global system.”18 1992 the Office of Women’s Studies This renewed sense of participation in opened; it provided opportunities for study- international education was dramatically ing in inclusive ways the issues, problems, honored by the visit of Tenzin Gyatso, the and contributions of women in history and 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, in 1994. In 1988 contemporary society. The adoption of the the Dalai Lama’s niece, Khando Chazot- Women’s Studies minor in November 1990 sang, visited the college, admiring its values had signaled that issues and texts concern- and sense of community. In 1990 President ing gender and multicultural perspectives Stephenson and other college officials visit- would be significantly included in the col- ed the Tibetan community-in-exile in lege’s general education program.17 Dharamsala, India. The Dalai Lama ap- Increasing knowledge of other cultures proved the idea of a scholarship for Tibetan Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 189

new magic in a dusty world 189

students to attend Berea. At the time of the pointed out that transitions in administra- Dalai Lama’s visit, nine Tibetan students tion were useful opportunities for studying were enrolled at the college, the largest con- the past, assessing the present, and planning tingent outside Tibet or India. Some ques- for the future. The college had just com- tioned the wisdom of a Buddhist religious pleted a self-study process for the Southern leader visiting a Christian campus. Stephen- Association of Colleges and Schools, and son recalled Fee’s compassion for those who Stephenson believed that the campus was were oppressed and in need. “I think [Fee] now ready to begin a process of strategic would recognize the emerging global com- planning. This process must be inclusive, he munity,” Stephenson observed, “and, seeing argued, bringing participants from across the desperate situation that Tibetans are in, the college to examine Berea’s meanings would welcome their leader here to speak and intentions. Renewed understanding of on their behalf.” In his address, “Peace and Berea’s mission would inform the manage- the Kinship of All People,” His Holiness ment of resources and personnel. Finally, affirmed salient features of Berea’s mission. such a process would help Berea determine “We must build closer relationships of mu- future direction and organization to achieve tual trust,” the Dalai Lama declared, “un- the college’s goals. Affirming the guidance derstanding, respect, and help, irrespective of the Great Commitments, Stephenson be- of differences in culture, philosophy, reli- lieved that Berea was uniquely placed to region or faith.”19 spond to the public criticism of higher Liberal learning offered great opportuni- education that emerged in the 1960s and ties for building close relationships among 1970s. Berea’s history, commitment to true diverse peoples and cultures. The 1993 cur- excellence, sense of community, and inspir- riculum had no choice but to be rooted in ing story were all assets in an era of low fac- Berea’s commitments. If the college be- ulty morale, increasing competition for lieved that the curriculum was to be the students, financial problems, and dimin- central student experience, then opportuni- ished public support. “It is through the will- ties to reflect on Berea’s mission were es- ingness of your spirits,” Stephenson sential. Liberal learning connected the encouraged the faculty, “the courage of your student to the knowledge of the past and hearts, and the openness of your imagina- the possibilities of the future. “Central to tions that this wonderful inheritance called the aims of liberal education,” the faculty Berea College will be increased and be- affirmed, “is the liberation of the individual queathed to other generations.”21 in a life-long pursuit of truth.”20 As was true Revisions in the curriculum intersected in Fee’s day, such an education made free- with questions explored in the long-range dom tangible for all who participated in it. planning process. Initiated shortly after Stephenson’s arrival on campus, the Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) exam- The Wonderful Inheritance ined various areas of campus life, with par- On September 2, 1984, John Stephenson ticular attention to the Christian, made his first convocation address to Berea interracial, and Appalachian commitments. faculty and staff. In his speech Stephenson Assuming a wide degree of consensus, the Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 190

190 berea college

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. The visit of the Dalai Lama gave spectacular recognition to Berea’s international studies efforts.

LRPC was intent on forming recommenda- programs and services. The committee ex- tions for the college’s future growth and di- amined the aspirations for guiding the col- rection. The LRPC involved sixty people lege’s interracial mission and its from across the campus; they examined sev- implications for stafﬁng, services, and cur- eral strategic questions, such as ways to en- riculum. Changes in student demographics, sure adequate resources for maintaining and economic status, educational patterns, and enhancing existing programs and facilities. regional needs were reviewed. The LRPC The LRPC discussed evaluation procedures looked at ways to maintain and enhance that would inform the establishment, faculty morale and effectiveness. Procedures strengthening, and discontinuing of campus for evaluating new building projects and Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 191

new magic in a dusty world 191

renovations to support faculty, students, and that Kentucky admissions be limited to no staff at Berea were another concern of the more than 45 percent of the entering fresh- committee. During the LRPC’s delibera- man class.24 tions, a new question regarding the college’s Concern about African American admis- aspirations for expressing its Christian com- sions further animated the question of mitment emerged. The LRPC completed Berea’s service. Citing the college’s history its report in 1987, and the committee’s con- of integration, the Interracial Commitment clusions regarding service to Appalachia, in- Subcommittee argued that Berea students terracial education, and Christian outlook were not receiving the type of education held important significance for understand- promised in the Great Commitments. The ing Berea’s story.22 subcommittee complained that the racial- In considering Berea’s ongoing mission cultural mix was so thin that many moun- to Appalachia, the LRPC revisited the tain students could pass through Berea question “Whom Shall We Serve?” During without significant curricular or personal the Weatherford administration the admis- contacts with people who were ethnically or sions territory had been expanded to in- culturally different. “This denies them an clude all of Kentucky and several counties in interracial education,” the report declared, southern Ohio. The trustees and the faculty “and puts an undue burden on many of our had reaffirmed the college’s commitment to Black students when they are forced into persons of low income and high academic the position of being representative of their promise and stoutly resisted efforts to heritage to an overwhelming majority.”25 change these qualifications. The LRPC The LRPC’s final report urged the college affirmed these values and stressed the need to develop plans that would increase for Berea constantly to study the students African American enrollment to 15–25 and region served by the college. “General percent of the total student population by concern emerged,” the report advised, “that the year 2000. Recognizing the need for we not drift too far from our historic tradi- larger multicultural experiences, the LRPC tion of embracing those generally ignored advocated further efforts to diversify Berea’s by other institutions.”23 The LRPC noted student body, suggesting a goal that interna- that student admissions from Kentucky had tional students represent 9–10 percent of dramatically increased in the years 1984–87, total enrollment by 1994.26 By 1992 the ad- while admissions from North Carolina and missions director, John Cook, reported that Virginia, traditionally strong areas for Berea’s African American enrollment had Berea, had fallen by 60 percent and 30 per- increased from 6.4 to 10 percent, and inter- cent, respectively. Increased competition national students made up 5 percent of the caused by inexpensive community colleges student body.27 and state grant funding kept many students For many Bereans interracial education closer to home. To avoid the appearance and service to the Appalachian region were that Berea served only Kentucky, the LRPC deeply informed by the college’s Christian recommended that Appalachian regional heritage. In examining Berea’s Christian admissions constitute 60–75 percent, and commitment, the LRPC observed that Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 192

Students on campus. Berea publications consis- tently referenced the diverse character of Berea’s student body. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 193

new magic in a dusty world 193

institutions might not have a Christian commitment in the same way that individuals do. The LRPC further suggested that it would be accurate to say that the college reflected or represented Christian commitment because of the religious motivations of the founders and Berea’s mission to those identified in Scripture as important to God—the poor and the oppressed, women, children, and other powerless groups. His- torically, Berea’s faithful work had been manifested through the education of African Americans, mountaineers, and women. This education was not to conform to the values of a society that denied God’s sovereignty, but to reform society in keeping with God’s love for the whole creation. Consequently, the LRPC recommended that Berea engage in the difficult task of clarifying just what the college meant by having a Christian commitment. “It should be clear,” the committee observed, “that Berea’s Christian commitment does not reflect a fundamentalist leaning but is characterized by pluralism and openness to different ideas and different expressions of faith.”28 Openness was a theme related to campus New students arrive. governance as well. For years, two faculties Students line up on the had existed on campus. The College Faculty tasks. Each group reported directly to either stairs of old Seabury Gym deliberated on issues related to teaching, the General or College Faculty. The LRPC for residence hall assign- curriculum, and the wider academic pro- in its deliberations identified several prob- ments. Cheerful chaos welcomes new students lems that plagued the governance system. gram. The General Faculty discussed ad- and their families to the ministrative matters such as student life, the The committee structure was viewed as beginning of college life labor program, and other nonacademic inefficient and unwieldy. Some committees at Berea. areas of the college. A plethora of commit- had too much work, others too little, and tees, some elected, others appointed, carried membership on committees appeared un- on the work assigned to them. The commit- balanced and burdensome. Some committees focused on various issues, from reli- tees seemed to perform similar tasks, and gious life to academic majors, and a number communication between committees was of ad hoc committees performed special regarded as inefficient and fragmented. The Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 194

194 berea college

nication and coordinate activities. A common faculty meeting consisting of the combined College and General faculties reviewed the recommendations of the councils and committees. The new plan was approved in December 1988. In a review of the governance system in March 1995, many of the same difficulties of the previous arrangement remained. Significantly, instead of strengthening the joint work of the faculties, much of the substance of the combined meeting revolved around College Faculty issues. This had the effect of silencing the General Faculty. Rather than building collegial governance, the new system reflected instead a widening gap between the teaching faculty and the administration.30 The planning process initiated through the LRPC and later continued by the Hori- zon Committee offered important perspectives on Berea’s sense of mission and story. The college affirmed its mission to African Americans, setting ambitious enrollment goals to move Berea beyond mere tokenism. The understanding of interracial education Classroom study. Berea’s long-range plan set ambi- was further expanded to include interna- tious goals for increasing LRPC suggested further that the role of the tional students as well as curricular experi- African American enroll- General Faculty be more sharply defined ences to enhance multicultural learning. ments (courtesy Berea and that its relationship to the College Fac- Berea’s Christian commitment also received College Public Relations). ulty be clarified.29 a level of scrutiny not experienced in some The Task Group on Committee Reorga- time, but the dialogue called for by the nization, chaired by Michael Berheide, LRPC was slow in coming. Campus gover- began its work in the fall term of 1987. Five nance was reorganized with an eye toward councils—General Affairs, Student Life, broader participation in decisions affecting Faculty Affairs, Labor Program, and Acade- college life and learning. Overall, long-range mic Program—and their subordinate com- planning did achieve the inclusive process mittees considered policy issues within their Stephenson desired. Faculty, staff, and stu- respective areas and made recommenda- dents were involved in serious and meaning- tions to the appropriate faculty. Elected ful examination of Berea’s mission, but this council members also held membership on conversation was difficult to sustain. associated committees to facilitate commu- Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 195

new magic in a dusty world 195

Meet the President. Presi- dent George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush congratulate David Sawyer of Students for Appalachia on receiving a “Point of Light” award for SFA’s innovative service and outreach (official White House photo).

Commitments and Saga students —twenty-one people in all—made up the Committee to Review the Commit- The review of the general education cur- ments (CRC). The CRC held public fo- riculum in 1991–92 prompted a review of rums, conducted surveys, and reviewed Berea’s Great Commitments. The Ap- historical documents to identify questions palachian, interracial, and Christian com- and issues concerning the college’s articula- mitments had been reviewed during the tion of its mission.31 long-range planning process. Other individ- The ﬁnal report contained a discussion ual commitments had been discussed and of the various individual commitments in a summarized through self-studies as well. question-and-response format. Topics such The 1983–84 SACS self-study included a as gender equality, Christianity, the liberal survey of alumni, faculty, staff, students, and arts, labor, Appalachia, and plain living were trustees to evaluate the college’s effective- examined in light of the college’s continuing ness in acting on its commitments. In Sep- work at the end of the twentieth century. tember 1992 a systematic review of Berea’s Recognizing that phrases such as “dignity of commitments began, not to identify imple- labor,” “plain living,” and “kinship of all mentation issues, but to understand the people” were ambiguous, the CRC retained focus of the college’s mission statement. these phrases to maintain a focused discus- David Swanson, chairman of the Board of sion of these historic ideals. Furthermore, Trustees, President Stephenson, and mem- the committee pointed out, it was crucial bers of the General Faculty, staff, and that a clear majority of the community Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 196

A student clerk arranges Berea College brooms for display at the Log House Sales Room. Berea handicrafts are still an important part of the College’s labor program and preservation of Appalachian culture. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 197

new magic in a dusty world 197

agree that the mission was important, even if there was disagreement regarding effective implementation. While acknowledging that constant discussion of mission statements could be wearisome, the CRC argued that avoiding such conversations would result in missed opportunities for correcting problems and developing improvements.32 Two significant changes in the text of the Great Commitments reflected the flexible nature of the mission statement and the issues raised in the long-range planning process. The CRC explored the broader implications of interracial education, acknowledging the needs of Native Ameri- cans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans. Nevertheless, Berea’s history and location mandated continued emphasis on promoting understanding between black and white students. In revising the text of the interracial commitment, the committee affirmed the “kinship of all peoples” and the importance of providing an interracial education Springtime study. A stu- “with a particular emphasis on understand- dent relaxes under a tree ing and equality among blacks and whites.” provide an educational opportunity for stu- in the college quadrangle. In their explanation the CRC declared, “We dents from Appalachia, black and white, who The 1993 review of the believe that whatever we can do to improve have great promise and limited economic Great Commitments reaffirmed the need for 34 relationships between any groups of people resources.” Berea to remain focused will encourage greater respect for and ap- In addition, the committee was con- on its service to African preciation of all peoples and cultures.”33 cerned that the college’s long history of ed- Americans. Furthermore, the committee disputed the ucating women had remained hidden. The perceived tensions between serving minori- college’s long-held ideals of equality and ties and serving Appalachia. The college was democracy had been manifested by its edu- committed to seeking out qualified minority cating women on an equal basis with men. students from within the Appalachian re- Earlier versions of Berea’s Great Commit- gion. The committee acknowledged the ments did not directly affirm this history, unity of its mission by changing its first however. Coeducation and gender equality commitment: “To provide an educational had certainly been part of Fee’s vision of opportunity primarily for students from human dignity and criticism of social struc- Appalachia, who have great promise and tures that promoted caste. Toward that end, limited economic resources” became “To the CRC used inclusive language to replace Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 198

198 berea college

month. The new text included a preamble that acknowledged Berea’s radical history as the foundation for the college’s curriculum and programs. The college’s Christian values were seen as liberating, freeing students and staff to be both active members of an academic community and citizens of the world. Most important, perhaps, the Great Commitments were once again afﬁrmed as the summary of Berea’s remarkable story. “The Berea experience nurtures intellectual, physical, aesthetic, emotional, and spiritual potentials,” read the preamble, “and with those the power to make meaningful commitments and translate them into action.”36 The administration of John B. Stephen-

Women students. In son ended with his retirement in July 1994. adding a commitment to Racked by pain from chronic lymphocytic “create a democratic com- such terms as “brotherhood” and “mankind” leukemia, Stephenson struggled to balance munity dedicated to edu- with “kinship of all people” and “others.” his illness with the numerous duties of his cation and equality for women and men,” Berea The CRC also suggested that the college office. The years 1992–94 were particularly also officially recognized motto, “God has made of one blood all na- difficult, as he participated in the curricu- its history of educating tions of men,” might be better rendered as lum review as much as he could and chaired women on an equal basis “God has made of one blood all peoples of the work of the CRC. Upon his retirement, with men. the earth.” The CRC proposed a bold ad- Stephenson traveled with his family to Scot- dendum to the original set of commitments land, the scene of many fine memories. Re- that read, “To create a democratic commu- turning to the United States, John and Jane nity dedicated to education and equality for Stephenson moved to Boston, where he was women and men.” This additional text scheduled to teach a course on presidential reaffirmed Berea’s commitment to equality roles in higher education at Harvard Uni- for all persons, regardless of race or gender. versity’s Graduate School of Education. “Education for and about women is consis- While in Boston, Stephenson was stricken tent with Berea’s values,” the CRC ob- with a rare virus that attacked his brain. served; “to confront and challenge gender The Stephensons returned to Berea, where stereotypes requires a commitment that fo- John Stephenson died on December 6, cuses on inclusion and understanding of 1994. His hopes for research and time with women.”35 his beloved family were suddenly and cruel- In March 1993 the General Faculty unan- ly cut off.37 imously approved the CRC’s revision of the John Stephenson’s era saw important and Great Commitments, and the trustees for- innovative efforts in extending Berea’s serv- mally adopted the revisions the following ice to the Appalachian region. The work of Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 199

new magic in a dusty world 199

Tribute and memory. At the request of the Dalai Lama, two Tibetans light 1,000 butter lamps in memory of John Stephenson.

Brushy Fork Institute, the New Opportuni- distinctly recognized the college’s historic ty School for Women, and the Black Moun- commitment to the education of women. tain Youth Leadership Program reflected Stephenson’s quiet, scholarly leadership Stephenson’s personal and scholarly interest modeled much of what Berea claimed to be. in the mountains. Curriculum revisions ex- Always he believed in Berea, its particular tended the college’s efforts to reflect insti- history and mission. “The destiny of Berea tutional commitments in the classroom. College,” he observed to the faculty in 1992, The work of the LRPC laid the foundation “is to be its own peculiar self, living up to its for important initiatives in interracial and own history and redefining the future in its international education. The review and re- own idiosyncratic way. This is the Berea I vision of Berea’s commitments reaffirmed believe in.”38 the essential unity of Berea’s mission and Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 200

Larry D. Shinn. Berea’s eighth president brought new energy and ideas for leading Berea into a dynamic new century (courtesy Berea College Public Relations). FPO Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 201

Continuing to Be and to Become Larry D. Shinn, 1994–

Throughout its long history, Berea College has been one persistent experiment in education and service based upon principles of social justice that are embedded in a Christian faith that is inclusive, not exclusive. At Berea, we have always tried to structure our community and programs to promote not only intellectual growth and achievement, but also an understanding of the dignity of physical and mental labor, and a commitment to serving those in need. However, Berea College has never been a place that ignores its failings nor rests on its past accomplishments. Though faithful to its venerable traditions, Berea has always been open to the future and its requirements.

larry d. shinn, Inaugural Address

EREA COLLEGE in the 1980s mission. Despite the good work begun by had achieved national recognition as the long-range planning process in 1987, the Bone of the finest colleges in the 1989 governance expectation for a new South. Under the leadership of John B. Strategic Planning Committee had not been Stephenson, the college developed innova- met. The Southern Association of Colleges tive programs for serving Appalachia and and Schools (SACS) visiting team in 1995 advanced a new curriculum. Opportunities made no fewer than forty-nine recommen- for international education were expanded, dations in response to the college’s self- and the Great Commitments reaffirmed. study report, and nearly half of these dealt This reaffirmation gave tangible recognition with the lack of strategic planning and as- to Berea’s history of coeducation, with sessment. promising curricular and administrative re- Larry D. Shinn, as Berea’s eighth presi- sults. The work of the Long Range Planning dent, inherited a college with a strong sense Committee also introduced important ini- of mission, an international reputation, a tiatives into ongoing campus life and gover- healthy endowment, and the prospect of nance. Stephenson’s protracted illness at the probation from SACS. Shinn activated the end of his tenure in the early 1990s con- Strategic Planning Committee as a means to tributed to a loss of momentum and splin- adapt the college’s historic mission on the tered understandings of the college’s overall eve of a new century. His experience with 201 Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 202

202 berea college

strategic planning at Bucknell showed his Baldwin-Wallace in 1964. The Shinns trav- capacity and experience for such work. In eled to Ramallah, Jordan, in 1964–65 to surveying Berea’s history, Shinn was partic- teach in Quaker mission schools that were ularly attracted to former dean Louis part of Baldwin-Wallace’s Jordan Mission Smith’s observation that “Berea must both Project. Fifteen months later, the Shinns re- be and become.” For Shinn, Berea needed turned to the United States, and he enrolled to remain faithful to its distinctive claims at Drew Theological Seminary, graduating and heritage while adapting to a rapidly summa cum laude in 1968. In 1972 Shinn changing and complex world. Echoing Fee’s completed his Ph.D. in the History of Reli- gospel of impartial love, Shinn advocated gion with a focus on Hinduism and Bud- that the whole campus—students, faculty, dhism at Princeton University, having begun and staff—must be integrated to take own- his teaching career at Oberlin College in ership of the whole of Berea’s mission. Em- 1970. Rising through the academic ranks at phasizing Berea’s traditions of labor, Oberlin, Shinn was named the William H. learning, and service, Shinn supported such Danforth Professor of Religion early in initiatives as the Sustainability and Environ- 1984. mental Studies (SENS) program and the In 1984 the Shinns moved to Bucknell Center for Excellence in Learning Through University, where he became dean of the Service (CELTS) as examples of innova- College of Arts and Sciences. He initiated a tion; he felt as well that significant outreach major affirmative action and minority hiring programs such as recruiting single parents plan for Bucknell that increased the number and Entrepreneurship for the Public Good of African American faculty at the universi- (EPG) remained in keeping with Berea’s ty from one to twelve. In 1989 Shinn was heritage of service to Appalachia. As Berea named vice president for academic affairs. celebrates its sesquicentennial in 2005, He led a strategic planning process called there is much in the college’s current work Foundations for the Future, which resulted that boldly reflects its remarkable story. in developing a new general studies program and an integrated fund-raising plan for the university. Other accomplishments The Housepainter’s Son during his tenure at Bucknell included insti- Larry Shinn was born into a farming family tuting a plan to increase minority enroll- seven miles west of Alliance, Ohio. Working ment from the Philadelphia area and alongside his father, Shinn grew to appreciate initiating curriculum reforms.1 the values and discipline of hard work. En- Shinn brought numerous scholarly and joying both athletic and academic success in administrative assets to his new role as pres- high school, he received numerous offers of ident of Berea College. Like many Berea football scholarships, but he chose an aca- students, Larry Shinn was the first member demic scholarship to Baldwin-Wallace Col- of his immediate family to attend college. lege in Berea, Ohio. Shinn married his high His success as a classroom instructor, schol- school sweetheart, Nancy Lee Albright, in ar, and administrator made for interesting 1963 and graduated magna cum laude from similarities with his predecessors. As was Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 203

continuing to be and to become 203

the case with Henry Fairchild, William G. Frost, and William J. Hutchins, Shinn had been a distinguished professor at Oberlin. Like Fairchild, William B. Stewart, Frost, and Hutchins, Shinn was an ordained minister. As an ordained United Methodist elder, Shinn served several churches on a part-time basis during his Oberlin years. A recognized teacher and scholar of world religions, Shinn published or edited five books and numerous articles on the religions of India and approaches to the study of religion. Remembering the long hours of work on the family farm, Shinn did not take his past accomplishments or his new role for granted. “Such work has given me some hu- mility and perspective with respect to my own teaching profession,” he observed, “and the experience of working with my father has given me an ability to work long hours joyfully.”2 Berea’s long history of Christian service held particular attractions for Larry Shinn. The challenge that Berea met often, in his view, was in finding ways to build community amid very diverse groups. In doing so, the college reached out to those who historically were on the fringes of society—the poor, African Americans, and women. Berea was possible because of its own, perhaps peculiar, Christian idealism. “An inclusive Chris- Inauguration, 1995. tianity gives birth to the kind of life that Larry and Nancy Shinn serves others,” Shinn asserted, “regardless of ferent from themselves.” This sense of com- examine the President’s their particular creed or persuasion. Berea munity and service was at the core of Medallion. Nancy Shinn has done that, and should continue to do Berea’s commitments.3 is an effective partner in the president’s work and that.” In a society plagued by divisions based In his April 1995 inaugural address, carries a full schedule of on race, religion, or ethnic origins, Shinn Shinn articulated his vision for Berea. For her own. saw education as means of finding common Shinn the college’s mission was rooted in a ground. “You do this,” he observed, “by es- Christian faith that was inclusive rather tablishing a dialogue and teaching students than exclusive. Throughout its history the how they may learn from people quite dif- college had, in the words of the former dean Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 204

204 berea college

Labor Day, 1995. Presi- dent Shinn and Facilities Management workers plant a tree on Labor Day. In this year, Labor Day and Inauguration Day were combined into a “Celebration that Works.” Labor and academic departments sponsored service and outreach activities on campus and in the community to celebrate the new administration.

Louis Smith, to both “be and become.”4 In a service, for healing, and for celebrating both world of rapid and complex change, Shinn diversity and commonality.5 cited Berea’s core values as the anchor for equipping students to meet new challenges. Being and Becoming Amid profound societal changes remained the persistent human problems of intoler- Strategic planning has been one of the most ance, racism, and religious extremism that significant guiding forces in Shinn’s admin- led, in Shinn’s view, to a loss of soul. “I be- istration. Shortly after his taking up his du- lieve we can educate the ideal student by ties, he activated and then expanded the contemporary academic and intellectual college’s Strategic Planning Committee. standards,” he observed, “and fail complete- The SPC had been identified in the 1989 ly in providing the personal habits of reflec- revision of campus governance but had tion and ‘inner work’ our students need to never been constituted. The revised com- do to orient their lives in our chaotic age.” mittee contained broad membership (some Liberal education offered the foundation elected, some appointed) and commenced for civility and tolerance, the ability to wel- its work in the spring of 1995, in part to re- come the stranger and learn from others spond to the recommendations of the who were “different.” Berea’s commitments SACS visiting committee. Strategic thinking invited what Shinn termed “deep learning.” on campus engaged a broad range of issues Such learning prepared hearts and hands for beyond the need for SACS’s self-study Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 205

continuing to be and to become 205

Mountain Day. Students still gather on the mountains to celebrate Moun- tain Day. A new approach in guided learning gives students wider responsibility in managing residence hall life through the Collegium, a consor- tium of students and college staff.

follow-up, particularly the integration of edge of the Appalachian region. External educational, physical, and ﬁnancial develop- forces that challenged the college’s mission ment and the relationship of outreach pro- included strong public criticism of higher grams to the larger work of the college. education, criticism that sought to hold col- Approved in 1996, the strategic plan, en- leges and universities accountable for stu- titled Being and Becoming: Berea College in the 21st dent learning; a national decline in student Century, had three primary characteristics. preference for private liberal arts colleges; First, in view of the 1993 revised Commit- important changes in the roles of students ments, the plan identiﬁed an external and an and faculty in the 1990s; and the implica- internal “landscape” to provide context for tions of an increasing emphasis on institu- Berea’s planning process and the accom- tional effectiveness and assessment. Further plishment of its mission. Internally, the col- concerns included the rapidly changing and lege was guided by a strong sense of history expanding role of technology in learning and and mission; a blending of liberal arts and the increasing gap between rich and poor in preprofessional programs; dedicated faculty, their access to these advances. Given Berea’s staff, alumni, and friends; a strong labor pro- commitment to interracial education, the gram; commitment to a residential campus; strategic plan also recognized the continuing and a healthy endowment. In contrast to need to address issues of diversity, with par- these internal strengths were an aging physi- ticular attention to relations between cal plant and Berea’s rural location on the African Americans and whites. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 206

206 berea college

college’s educational service to Appalachia, the labor program, and its residential community, all Bereans are part of a campus- wide learning environment. Faculty, staff, and students are invited to engage in continuous learning in order to meet their individual and collective responsibilities. Consequently, the second characteristic of the plan involved four pairs of learning goals inclusive of all aspects of the Berea College community, in terms of both program and personnel.6 These learning goals reminded the campus of the myriad complexities in the learning process. The plan recognized that some goals might be achieved informally through the residence life or labor programs, whereas others were best addressed in the classroom. Educational efforts regarding issues of race and gender, for example, could occur in the curriculum, in the dormitories, on the athletic field, or through labor and service. Furthermore, the learning goals addressed the concern of Shinn and others that the Berea College community embrace all aspects of Berea’s mission. Because all members of the campus community were invited to participate in meeting these learning goals, they all had the potential to con- tribute significantly to accomplishing Berea’s mission.7 Third, the plan asked five strategic questions that would guide the college’s thinking; these were subject to occasional Berea’s Common Learn- modification as part of a regular review and ing Goals. The Common Being and Becoming declared that “Berea assessment process. The first question ad- Learning Goals are one College [in] the 21st century can best be dressed Berea’s service to Appalachia in the means by which the entire conceived as an integrated and continuous college community partic- 1990s and into the twenty-first century. ipates in advancing residential learning environment that is in- The strategic plan called for integration of Berea’s educational mis- clusive of all of its workers, offices, pro- the college’s Appalachian focus throughout sion. grams, and physical spaces.” Through the the various curricular, cocurricular, labor, Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 207

continuing to be and to become 207

service, and residential offerings. One means of achieving this goal was to develop a new type of Appalachian Center that would provide an integrated administrative structure for all of Berea’s numerous Ap- palachian programs, old and new. The second strategic question concerned admissions; it clarified which students Berea should serve and addressed declining admissions among African American and Ap- palachian students. It included a definition of the college’s territory and identified single parents as a population of special need. Other admissions efforts would intensify recruiting in traditional Appalachian counties, add the children of Appalachian mi- grants in such areas as Cincinnati to the pool of potential applicants, and increase minority as well as international enrollment. The third strategic question asked what it meant when Berea described itself as a Christian college; it called for a campus- wide discussion to determine how “to serve the cause of Christ” in a new century. How to build up the college as a living, working, and learning community formed the plan’s fourth question. The primary concern here was to increase opportunities for realizing Physics instruction. Pro- the intention of the Great Commitments, Approved by the faculty and trustees in Being and Becoming fessor Smith T. Powell particularly with regard to issues of race, the spring of 1996, contin- guides a physics class gender, and cultural diversity. The fifth and ues to guide the college’s strategic planning through an equation. final strategic question explored ways to process. The flexible nature of the docu- Berea is committed to providing a high-quality link budget and staff development processes ment is reflected in regular revisions that education grounded in more closely to the college’s aims and pro- consider changes in the external and inter- the liberal arts that main- grams. Recognizing the decline in govern- nal landscape, recent accomplishments, and tains high academic stan- mental support for higher education and ongoing campus concerns. The broad mem- dards. the increasing competition for private gifts, bership of the SPC allows for wide repre- the planning document directed that em- sentation across the campus community. phasis be placed on employee development, “This vision of Berea College as an integrat- building renovations, and learning tech- ed and continuous learning community,” the nologies.8 SPC declared, “understands Berea as a Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 208

208 berea college

student-centered, residential learning envi- Shinn hoped that even in times of stress, ronment in which all students, teachers, and new opportunities would emerge to recon- workers are committed to creating a lively, sider the ways in which Bereans worked to- friendly, and complex environment of learn- gether and to collaborate in deliberate ing, labor, and service.”9 The strategic plan decision making. He observed that part of builds on the foundation of the Great the difficulty lay in finding where faculty Commitments, making the mission tangible authority ended and administrative or and effective in a new century and in con- trustee authority began. Furthermore, many temporary Appalachia. faculty members assumed that their deci- While strategic planning invited involve- sions or recommendations would be treated ment from across the campus, the gover- as final and not changed or abridged by ad- nance system itself faced particular ministrators. Yet other constituencies on challenges. Ad hoc committees were numer- campus insisted on being included in the ous, as had been true in the earlier system, decision-making process; tensions were in- and now the SPC was forming study groups evitable as differing interests or agendas to examine the various strategic questions. were expressed. Campus governance also Although more than half the faculty partici- assumed a diversity of views: gender, race, pated on one or more SPC committees, the academic discipline, and tenure status work of the SPC was viewed by some facul- would all come into play. Consequently, ty as usurping the standing governance sys- some committees became too large or too tem; they felt that a small group or the politicized to function. For Shinn, effective president alone was making decisions that governance had to be built on what he had a significant impact on the campus. termed a “covenant of trust.” A basic level Some faculty and administrators also be- of trust in and respect for the structures, lieved that governance suffered from a lack processes, and personnel involved in deci- of wider campus participation, which result- sion making, he argued, was essential for ed in burdensome committee workloads. campus governance to work. “I am excited Lingering tensions from previous decades by the prospect of a campus conversation between the faculty and the administration that can create deliberative decision-making created a culture of suspicion rather than processes,” Shinn observed, “that would collegial trust. External influences such as allow faculty more time to teach and do renew state and federal laws governing finan- search, would allow all of us Bereans to cial aid, admissions concerns, and the in- spend less time or more effective time in creasingly active role of trustees in campus committee and team work, and yet would governance added to the frustrations of still keep us deeply involved in shaping the both faculty and administrators in carrying ‘big picture’ that represents Berea’s future.”11 on the college’s work. Despite the recogni- While the conversations continue, many of tion of these difficulties, there was consid- the past difficulties remain. erable reluctance to engage in the daunting The new directions and innovations de- task of reforming the overall system of cam- veloped through the strategic planning pus governance.10 process needed more than conversation, Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 209

continuing to be and to become 209

however. Real financial support through the intimate. Since the 1940s Berea College has college’s endowment, not just grants, would intentionally enrolled significant numbers be needed to maintain the initiatives of international students. John Stephenson’s emerging from Being and Becoming. In Sep- administration saw the enrollment of Ti- tember 2003 Berea launched its ambitious betan students and the expansion of study “Extending Berea’s Legacy” campaign with a abroad programs so that larger numbers of financial target of $150 million. The princi- Berea students could study overseas. Larry pal goal of the campaign was to completely Shinn’s own professional experiences in fund such initiatives as the Student Com- India and Jordan led him to continue ex- puter Project, housing construction for the pansion of Berea’s international program. Ecovillage, and the Entrepreneurship for In 1997 he secured a one-million-dollar the Public Good program. Another goal was endowed grant that helped the college’s In- to raise $29 million to support the interna- ternational Center advance international tionalization of education, including the programming and student study abroad and study abroad program, International Semes- support the needs of international students ter Focus, and international student schol- on campus. In the 1995–96 academic year arships. Endowed faculty chairs, for both only 30 students had experienced a term new programs and existing faculty mem- abroad, but between 2000 and 2004 an av- bers, were another priority of the campaign. erage of 175 students studied in other coun- Two new chairs, one for ecological design tries during short or summer term, and an and one for entrepreneurship, were funded. additional 38 students remained abroad for The obvious connections between strategic a full year of study, an annual average total planning and significant financial support of 213. Of the class of 2004, 41 percent had ensure that these programs will continue to studied abroad. During this same period be available to students for years to come.12 students from other countries rose from 5 The campaign goal of $150 million was to 8 percent of the total enrollment and raised in time for the 2005–6 sesquicen- represented more than sixty nations.13 tennial celebration. In the fall of 1998 Shinn’s convocation address asked the question “What if the mountains could speak?” He argued that the Becoming Better World Citizens mountains would urge humanity to recog- Over the years changing socioeconomic nize their dependence upon and interde- conditions, migration, and war have brought pendence with the local and regional large numbers of mountaineers into contact environment. Furthermore, Shinn suggested with a wider world. Berea College, in re- that the mountains testified to the fact that sponse to these events, had adjusted its edu- humans could either choose to limit—or cational program to help make sense of even reduce—the use of natural resources to changed circumstances. Now, at the begin- a sustainable level or have these reductions ning of the twenty-first century, new trans- severely imposed later. In 1998–99 the portation and communication technologies SPC’s Subcommittee on Sustainability seem to make the world smaller and more (SOS) was charged with educating itself Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 210

210 berea college

Cultural show. Costumes of many flags and nations are on display at the annual International Cul- tural Show. Native foods, costumes, and performances add beauty and color to campus experiences (courtesy Berea College Public Relations).

and the campus community on sustainabil- and sustainable agriculture in the Ap- ity and environmental issues. The subcom- palachian region. Recent building renova- mittee placed Berea’s response to these tions, including Lincoln Hall and the issues in the context of the Great Commit- Draper Building, have utilized ecologically ments, Being and Becoming’s learning goals, friendly construction approaches. The most and the Appalachian region. In their ﬁnal tangible result of the new SENS program is report, the SOS proposed a Sustainability the Ecovillage, which includes thirty-two and Environmental Studies Program, with new student-family apartments, a Com- both curricular and extracurricular applica- mons House for community activities, a tions. The SENS program has its own di- SENS educational building, and a Child rector and offers an academic minor, which Development Lab. The Ecological Machine requires students to complete an internship serves as a natural wastewater and sewage that puts their learning into practice. A pro- treatment facility that uses biological fessorship in ecological design, funded by processes. One of the Ecovillage’s goals is a the Compton Foundation, advances ideas to 75 percent reduction of energy and water reduce the environmental impact of build- use by residents of the village. This commit- ing structures and offers internship oppor- ment to sustainability is being studied for tunities on campus and in nearby additional applications throughout the cam- communities. The agriculture curriculum pus.14 Though sustainability initiatives are has renewed emphasis on small family farms grounded in the college’s service to Ap- Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 211

continuing to be and to become 211

palachia, they have the potential to reach far beyond the region. Historically, Berea’s educational efforts have equipped its graduates for service. Es- tablished in 1999, Berea’s remarkable Cen- ter for Excellence in Learning Through Service offers innovative opportunities for integrating learning and service. Recogniz- ing the importance of experiential learning, CELTS provides a common administrative structure for several service organizations operated primarily by students. The CELTS program actively promotes linkages among the labor program, the curriculum, and service organizations to assist students to learn through serving others. Organizations such as Students for Appalachia, People Who Care, Partners in Education, and the Bonner Scholars are engaged in a wide array of literacy, visitation, and tutoring programs in partnership with area educational and health care facilities.15

New Ideas of Community

The strategic planning process also informed college programs that responded to Berea’s mission of interracial education. Particular attention was given to admission and retention of African American students. A black admissions counselor was added to the Admissions Ofﬁce, and the Straw bale workshop. cities of Birmingham, Cincinnati, Knoxville, SENS students and com- Lexington, and Louisville were identiﬁed as ties related to Martin Luther King Day, munity members learn cities for increased black recruitment. The Black History Month, and Kwanzaa, among how to build structures result has been a marked increase in black many others, are coordinated through the from straw bales. Experi- ences such as these offer students on campus, from 8 percent of total center. The Black Studies Program has been students the opportunity enrollment in 1996 to 18 percent in 2004. created to offer a curriculum for obtaining to apply ideas learned in The Black Cultural Center, located in a a minor or an independent major. Strong the classroom (courtesy newly expanded space, advances interracial efforts continue to be made to ensure a vital Berea College Public Relations). understanding throughout the year. Activi- African American presence among the Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 212

212 berea college

School for activism. A CELTS-sponsored short- term class featured the Appalachian scholar- activist Helen Lewis. CELTS actively assists instructors in designing appropriate service-learning opportunities in support of classroom learning (courtesy Berea College Public Relations).

Increasing African Amer- ican student enrollment combined with the activities of the Black Cultural Center and the Black Studies Program affirms the importance of the college’s interracial mission (courtesy Berea College Public Relations). college’s trustees and to recruit African American faculty and staff. These programs are part of the college’s continuing effort to support the increasing number of African American students on campus and to remain faithful to the college’s history.16 Changes in the Appalachian region con- tinually challenge Berea’s service to the mountains. Through the years the college had developed a wide array of academic, cultural, and outreach programs. There was, however, no formal coordination of these important activities. For example, the Ap- palachian Center offered courses, coordinated an orientation tour of the region for faculty and staff, sponsored the Weather- ford Award, and organized the Celebration of Traditional Music. The Recreation Ex- tension sponsored the Berea College Coun- try Dancers, and Students For Appalachia Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 213

continuing to be and to become 213

The Berea College Blue- grass Band takes the stage coordinated literacy programs, after-school as well as increase collaboration across the in a performance at the tutoring, and mentoring for at-risk youth. various programs.17 Celebration of Tradition- Brushy Fork Institute offered community The reorganization of the Appalachian al Music. Students were successful in convincing leadership development, and Hutchins Center reawakened earlier forebodings the college that offering Ap- Library housed the editorial ofﬁces of about Berea’s commitment to the Ap- lessons in traditional Ap- palachian Heritage, a regional literary maga- palachian region. Brushy Fork and SFA re- palachian musical forms zine. The Appalachian Museum preserved ported directly to the Appalachian Center was just the right thing to do (courtesy Berea artifacts and mounted exhibitions inter- director, but the Black Mountain Youth College Public Relations). preting mountain life. In 1995–96 an SPC Leadership Project was discontinued for subcommittee conducted studies and discus- lack of funding, and the New Opportunity sions on campus to explore the possibilities School for Women left the college to join of connecting these ongoing efforts. The with the Mountain Association for Com- result was a new, expanded Appalachian munity Economic Development Center that effectively created a central ad- (MACED). In 1998 the Berea College Ap- ministrative ofﬁce for the Appalachian tour, palachian Museum was closed, a move that Appalachian Heritage, Brushy Fork, and other met with much controversy. These actions programs. The SPC strongly believed that gave some observers the impression that the such integration would further establish the college’s strategic planning process was di- presence of Appalachian studies on campus, luting Berea’s regional commitment. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 214

214 berea college

staff and collections moved to the new Ap- palachian Center, housed in the newly renovated Bruce-Trades building, and reopened in a new exhibit gallery in the fall of 2000. Under the leadership of Christopher Miller, director of the newly created Artifacts Pro- gram, exhibits and displays are set up not only in the Appalachian Center, but in venues all over campus. Student interns research exhibit topics and take part in organizing the exhibitions. The curricular possibilities grow more and more each year. “Our Appalachian artifacts are an invaluable resource,” declared Miller, “for teaching about the region, its people, and its history.” The integration of the Appalachian collections in support of the curriculum, com-

Amy Bowman’s children bined with public displays on campus, help with homework. testifies to the successful transition of the Berea’s assistance to sin- Opened in 1971, the Appalachian Muse- Artifacts Program.18 gle parents and their um had created exhibits, hosted touring dis- During Shinn’s administration other ini- children is very much in keeping with the college’s plays, and oriented numerous visitors to tiatives emerged that enhance Berea’s serv- service to populations of Appalachian life and culture. Threatened ice to the mountain region. In keeping with special need (courtesy with closure in 1991, the museum took on its mission to serve people on the fringes of Berea College Public Re- the college’s history as part of its interpre- society, Berea in 1999 intentionally began to lations). tive mission in an effort to achieve addi- recruit single parents with both financial tional usefulness. But a poor location off need and academic promise. The college campus and an inadequate building limited reached its goal of enrolling forty single the museum’s program. The dual responsi- parents accompanied by their children in bility of interpreting both the region and 2001. Since earning power increases with a the college strained the efforts of museum college degree, single parents increase their staff and resources. In addition, most of the chances of providing for their children; they museum’s resources were spent on public are supported with child care, housing, and displays, which hampered the museum’s other services offered by the college. Many support of the curriculum. Some students single parents are residents of the Eco- and townspeople were convinced that clos- village, and thus two important Appalachian ing the museum meant a significant loss of programs are linked. A second initiative is the college’s identity in preserving Ap- Entrepreneurship for the Public Good. palachian culture as well as the sacrifice of Given the mixed results of promoting the an important educational asset. Neverthe- region to large corporations and the effects less, the museum closed in May 1998. The of massive out-migration in the mountains, Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 215

Students from the mountains. Chosen for their academic ability and financial need, many Berea students are the first in their immediate families to graduate from college (courtesy Berea College Public Relations). Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 216

216 berea college

EPG seeks new approaches to improving insist on an adversarial relationship between economic development. Two endowed pro- “liberal” and “practical” learning. Decades of fessorships, one in leadership and another successful service to the Appalachian region in entrepreneurship, offer a specialized cur- might belie continuing efforts in the moun- riculum. These courses are combined with tains, yet southern Appalachia remains an one summer of study and travel in the re- area in need. The college’s independent tra- gion and a second summer working as an dition often defies the desire of some sup- intern in a small business or nonprofit or- porters that Berea strive to be like other ganization in Appalachia. This structure fine liberal arts colleges rather than main- prepares students to apply entrepreneurial tain its own character. principles to the needs of Appalachian com- Throughout his administration Larry munities. Service to others, rather than Shinn has emphasized commitment to the profit margins, is the primary emphasis. An- whole of Berea’s mission. For Shinn learn- other initiative, the EDGE (Empowering a ing, labor, and service are the core of the Dynamic Generation through Education) college’s work in Appalachia and through- program, represents the college’s commit- out the world. The preservation of Berea’s ment to universal access as it places laptop legacy is a collective act that teaches, en- computers in the hands of all Berea stu- courages, and lives out the college’s commit- dents. Recognizing the essential connec- ments. Despite differences across racial, tions between technology and learning in religious, social, and political lines, Berea’s today’s educational environment, the legacy invites collaboration as a community EDGE program helps to bridge the digital in acting upon Berea’s mission. The col- gap experienced by some Berea students.19 lege’s legacy also requires integrity; that is, The continuing legacy of service to persons Berea must act upon its claims. “We cannot and communities in need remains at the say one thing and do another,” Shinn de- heart of Berea’s interracial and regional clared. “We cannot pick and choose among programs. Berea’s commitments and still be stewards of the whole.”20 The strategic planning process provides an important mechanism The Berea Legacy for examining college-wide issues. Though At the beginning of the twenty-first century, led by the president, strategic planning in- Berea’s story has much in common with its cludes broad involvement by faculty, staff, beginnings on the eve of the Civil War. students, and administrators in a wider view Building a truly interracial community still of institutional concerns that would over- challenges the sensibilities of modern soci- whelm any one constituency in campus gov- ety, a society seemingly bent on emphasizing ernance. This capacity for strategic planning difference at the expense of commonality. offers significant opportunities for the Despite hard-won gains, many women con- wider campus community to participate in tinue to struggle against roles and expecta- the regular examination and application of tions that circumscribe their dreams. Berea’s commitments. Tensions remain in educational models that In May 2004, after three years of study Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 217

continuing to be and to become 217

and discussion led by the General Educa- tion Review Committee (GERC), the Col- lege Faculty approved a new general education curriculum. Using the Common Learning Goals from Being and Becoming, the Great Commitments, and other resources, GERC proposed a curriculum requiring ﬁve core courses. Writing Seminar I: Critical Thinking in the Liberal Arts is intended to develop a core set of students’ skills while allowing instructors to teach within their disciplines and interests. Writing Seminar II: Identity and Diversity in the United States examines themes of race, gender, and class in national life as well as Berea’s commitment to the Appalachian region. Under- standings of Christianity explores historical, social, and theological understandings of Christianity in a global context. Natural

Science is designed to provide students a Student labor. A library general understanding of scientific facts and student worker assists a principles, as well as scientific ways of inves- ed a “revisioning” of the labor program. patron in locating re- tigating natural phenomena. Seminar in This vision understood “labor as student sources. Many students and learning centered; as service to the col- choose labor assignments Contemporary Global Issues is a capstone compatible with their course designed to prepare students for re- lege and broader community, and as provid- major areas of study. sponsible citizenship in a global community. ing necessary work (i.e. work that needs to The course invites students to make mean- be done) being done well.” Conversations ingful connections between their college ed- with over three hundred students and labor ucation and significant issues facing the supervisors provided feedback and general contemporary world. Seven “perspective” support for the vision offered in the LRT area courses (artistic, historical, literary, report. Grounded in Being and Becoming’s view among others) as well as courses in cogni- of Berea as an integrated, continuous learn- tive and quantitative reasoning round out ing community, the proposal “aims to bring the total program.21 effective community leadership to a pro- Labor has long held an important role in gram that is vital to the college, pervasive in student learning as well. In 2000 the SPC its impact on all workers, and an important appointed a Labor Review Team (LRT) to experience for students whose labor both examine the college’s labor program in light addresses the needs of the college and occa- of Being and Becoming and its associated Com- sions valuable learning for its students.” In mon Learning Goals. The team studied December 2003 the faculty approved this labor as a learning process and recommend- initiative in support of the labor program. Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 218

218 berea college

September 11 memorial. reexamination of much of the college’s mis- Jason Mendez, a United sion to meet the emerging new century. In- States Army reservist, lights a candle in memory deed, by “welcoming the stranger,” Berea of the victims of the opened itself to diverse viewpoints that of- September 11 attacks. fered new opportunities to rethink its work. Students and staff of nu- Openness to new ideas, in Shinn’s view, cre- merous backgrounds led the campus community in ates a culture of real learning as opposed to prayerful reflection and a culture of suspicion. “Berea must be a healing (courtesy Berea place where the very heart of our educa- College Public Relations). tional task is to open each other’s eyes,” Shinn declared, “to new knowledge, new perspectives, and new experiences even as we afﬁrm the traditional truths and values upon which we are founded.”23 In the ongoing process of strategic planning and reexamining the college’s work, it became clear that Berea had to explain its claim as a “Christian college.” Earlier self- study and strategic planning discussions in previous administrations had generated at times intense debate on the subject. The work of the Committee to Review the Commitments, for example, had recognized that Christianity at Berea was not mono- lithic but diverse. The commitment “To stimulate understanding of the Christian Since learning and labor are central to the faith” now read, “To stimulate understand- Berea experience, good solutions for imple- ing of the Christian faith and its many expres- menting these new ways of working and sions.” From 1996 to 2002, SPC–led learning require collaboration across aca- discussions engaged the entire campus in an demic disciplines and workplace bound- examination of Berea’s Christian heritage in aries.22 both historical and contemporary terms. In Finally, Fee’s inclusive gospel, from the the spring of 2002 the faculty and trustees perspective of Shinn and others, offered an adopted the new “Statement on Berea’s important framework for working across Christian Identity.”24 lines of race, religion, and socioeconomic The statement offered nine guiding status. It was Berea’s commitment to diver- points to assist in deﬁning Berea’s identity sity from the beginning that served as an as a Christian college. From its beginnings imperative for learning from others who are Berea was independent, nondenomination- different. Even strategic planning required al, and nonsectarian. Berea College was al- Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 219

continuing to be and to become 219

ways a college, not a church. Fee’s gospel of be a Christian college. Fee’s inclusive gospel impartial love meant that Berea was a place makes Berea a place of welcome to all per- of welcome, love, and acceptance to all persons. This reclaiming of Berea’s core values sons. Berea’s commitment to liberal learn- affects all aspects of the college’s program.27 ing in a Christian context meant a keen On the eve of Berea’s sesquicentennial sense of social justice for all men and celebrations, though much has been accom- women, especially African Americans and plished, more work lies ahead. The new Appalachians. Berea’s historic commitment general education curriculum now must to “the cause of Christ” welcomes all those take shape in terms of course design, faculty who embrace the college’s core values, what- development, staffing, and the inevitable re- ever their backgrounds and traditions. “We visions as the program is implemented. will not ignore our differences,” the state- Much debate has centered on “what stu- ment affirmed, “but rather seek to under- dents should know,” and the success of the stand each other honestly and respectfully, new curriculum depends on whether the and together create a climate where anyone program is broadly supported or splintered can openly discuss what they believe with- by narrower viewpoints. out fear of sanction.”25 It is because of Further study of the college’s educational Berea’s inclusive gospel that persons of all programs, policies, and culture is an impor- faiths, or no faith at all, are welcomed as tant part of enhancing student motivation students and employees.26 and achievement. The new vision for the In his twelfth year of service and as labor program has been accepted, but the Berea’s sesquicentennial celebrations begin, very difficult work of developing labor su- Larry Shinn and Berea College can look pervisors, revising policies, and acting across back on significant progress in the institu- workplace boundaries is only beginning. tion’s mission. Strategic planning laid the Collaborative governance—listening care- foundation for a flexible adaptation of the fully to Berea’s many constituencies and college’s mission in a new century. Faculty, acting for the best interests of the college— staff, students, administrators, and trustees still remains a continuing challenge. Berea’s found ways to work together on issues of financial stability, a concern since the days mutual interest despite real and at times of Fee and Fairchild, is a problem for difficult differences. Some of these chal- Berea’s trustees as they consider the col- lenges included student retention, inter- lege’s investments, spending formulas, preting Berea’s interracial and Appalachian building renovations, and debt manage- commitments, facilities renovations, and ment. All these issues have implications that faculty and staff review processes. Initiatives stretch far into Berea’s future.28 in internationalization, technology, and sus- “Berea must both be and become,” Louis tainability as well labor and service program Smith once observed. “If we hold only to reviews strained both the governance sys- what has been, we achieve a high degree of tem and routine responsibilities. Berea also obsolescence and produce in all likelihood reclaimed its own sense of what it means to ill-prepared mediocrities.”29 Berea College’s Wilson Ch 5-9•102-220 11/21/05 8:03 PM Page 220

220 berea college

Frost Building. The newly mission is just as meaningful now as it was religious or political or sexual ideas,” Shinn renovated Frost Building when the words of the founders were first declared. “To teach toward peace . . . ulti- was the first to employ geothermal heating and expressed all those years ago in the first mately requires an affirmation of our com- cooling technology as part school building. “From this moment,” mon humanity—and individual fallibility.”30 of Berea’s efforts to build J. A. R. Rogers declared in March 1866, Adaptation has been and continues to be a “green” campus. “this school will be open to all.” In a world the college’s watchword. The past is ever in fractured by division and hate, Berea choos- the present at Berea College. It is for each es to be a community of love. In a world generation of faculty, staff, and students to that emphasizes difference, Berea is a place wrestle with Berea’s commitments, to own of welcome. “Our teaching and learning for themselves the majestic cause that is [are] deeper than our disagreements in Berea’s story. Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 221

Appendix One The Great Commitments of Berea College

Great Commitments (1967) reformers, continues today as an educational institution To provide an educational program of high quality still ﬁrmly rooted in its historic purpose “to promote the To emphasize in our program, although as a non-sectarian cause of Christ.” Adherence to the College’s scriptural college, the Christian ethic and the motive of service to foundation, “God has made of one blood all peoples of mankind the earth,” shapes the College’s culture and programs so To have a liberal arts foundation and outlook in all aspects that students and staff alike can work toward both per- of the college program sonal goals and a vision of a world shaped by Christian To serve primarily the Southern Appalachian region by pro- values, such as the power of love over hate, human digni- viding an educational opportunity for students who have ty and equality, and peace with justice. This environment high ability and limited economic resources, and through frees persons to be active learners, workers, and servers appropriate direct and indirect educational services as members of the academic community and as citizens To maintain on our campus and to encourage in our stu- of the world. The Berea experience nurtures intellectual, dents a way of life characterized by plain living, econo- physical, aesthetic, emotional, and spiritual potentials my, simplicity, pride in labor well done, zest for learning, and with those the power to make meaningful commit- concern for the welfare of others, good taste, and high ments and translate them into action. personal standards To achieve this purpose, Berea College commits itself To promote the ideas of brotherhood, equality, and democracy, with particular emphasis on interracial education To provide an educational opportunity primarily for students from Appalachia, black and white, who have great Great Commitments (1972) promise and limited economic resources To provide an educational opportunity primarily for stu- To provide an education of high quality with a liberal arts dents from Appalachia who have high ability but limited foundation and outlook economic resources To stimulate understanding of the Christian faith and its To provide an education of high quality with a liberal arts many expressions and to emphasize the Christian ethic foundation and outlook and the motive of service to others To stimulate understanding of the Christian faith and to To provide for all students through the labor program ex- emphasize the Christian ethic and motive of service to periences for learning and serving in community, and to mankind demonstrate that labor, mental and manual, has dignity To demonstrate through the student labor program that as well as utility labor, mental and manual, has dignity as well as utility To assert the kinship of all people and to provide interracial To promote the ideals of brotherhood, equality, and democ- education with a particular emphasis on understanding racy, with particular emphasis on interracial education and equality among blacks and whites To maintain on our campus and to encourage in our stu- To create a democratic community dedicated to education dents a way of life characterized by plain living, pride in and equality for women and men labor well done, zest for learning, high personal stan- To maintain a residential campus and to encourage in all dards, and concern for the welfare of others members of the community a way of life characterized To serve the Appalachian region primarily through educa- by plain living, pride in labor well done, zest for learning, tion but also by other appropriate services high personal standards, and concern for the welfare of others Great Commitments (1993) To serve the Appalachian region primarily through educa- Berea College, founded by ardent abolitionists and radical tion but also by other appropriate services

221 Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 222

Appendix Two Constitution, Charter, and Bylaws of Berea College

(Adopted July 15–18, 1859) Clerk, Richmond, Ky., April 5th, 1866. These are as follows: In order to promote the cause of Christ, we, Jno. G. Fee, Article VII.—In case of the dissolution of this Institution, Jno. Smith, Thos. J. Renfro, Wm. Stapp, Geo. Candee, all its funds, real estate and property shall be given to the Jas. S. Davis, Jno. A. R. Rogers, Jno. G. Hanson, do vol- American Missionary Association of New York City, to untarily unite ourselves together to establish and main- be applied under the direction of the Executive Com- tain an Institution of Learning, under the following mittee of that Association, to its charitable uses and pur- articles of agreement: poses. Article VIII.—This Constitution may be amended by a Article I.—This Institution shall be called Berea College. vote of three-fourths of the Trustees at any annual Article II.—This College shall be under the care of a Board meeting, providing a written notice of amendment shall of Trustees, who shall receive and hold in trust, all lands, have been sent to each trustee as much as three months legacies, moneys, and other property committed to them previous to said meeting. for said Institution, and exercise their trust in the use and disposal of the same in such manner, as shall, in BYLAWS their judgment, promote the highest interests of said College. 1.—The object of this College shall be to furnish the facili- Article III.—The Board of Trustees shall elect a President, ties for a thorough education to all persons of good Vice-President, and Secretary, of said Board, from their moral character, and at the least possible expense to the own number. same. To promote this end all the facilities and induce- Article IV.—It shall be the duty of the Board of Trustees to ments for manual labor, which can reasonably be sup- appoint the President and Teachers of the College, also, plied by the Board, shall be offered to its students. a Secretary and Treasurer of the same, fix their salaries, 2.—This College shall be under an influence strictly Chris- prescribe the course of study, confer degrees, receive and tian, and as such, opposed to Sectarianism, Slaveholding, disburse moneys, make contracts, and enforce the same, Caste, and every other wrong institution or practice. audit accounts, appoint examiners, and transact all other Definition:—To be anti-sectarian is to oppose everything that business for the interests of the Institution. causes schism in the body of Christ, or among those who Article V.—The Board of Trustees may make such By-Laws are Christians,—those who have a righteous practice and as it may deem necessary to promote the interests of the Christian experience. Institution. 3.—In the election of future members of the Board, of a Article VI.—The persons named in the Preamble of these President and Professors, or the employment of Teachers, Articles of Agreement, shall constitute its original Board no sectarian test shall be applied; but it shall be required of Trustees, and new members may be added to said only that the candidate be competent to fill the office, Board, or vacancies therein filled by the addition of such and have Christian experience with a righteous practice. persons as shall be elected members thereof by the Definition:—By prohibiting the application of sectarian Board and sign these articles of agreement. tests, we mean to say that in the selection of the members and officers named, we will give no weight in our To these six Articles, two others were added, when the decision, nor select in view of the fact, that the candidate Constitution was recorded in the office of the County is in favor of sprinkling or immersion; or demand that 222 Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 223

appendix two 223

he agree or disagree with us, in regard to other theologi- meeting, and hold their offices for one year, or until new cal tenets on which Christians differ. ones are elected. 4.—Any Trustee who shall be guilty of a gross immorality, 8.—A special meeting of the Board of Trustees may be may be expelled from the Board by a vote of a majority called by a majority of the officers of the same, due of the Trustees. notice being previously given to each member thereof. 5.—The Board of Trustees may appoint a Prudential Com- 9.—Any By-Law may be amended, or a new one added, at mittee of five or more persons, who shall transact all any annual meeting, by a vote of two-thirds of the business committed to them by the Trustees. Trustees, provided a written notice of the proposed 6.—The Trustees shall hold an annual meeting at such time amendment or addition shall have been sent to each and place as they may designate. Trustee, as much as three months previous to said meeting. 7.—The officers of the Board shall be elected at the annual 10.—A majority of the Trustees shall constitute a quorum. Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 224 Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 225

Notes

1. The Witness to Impartial Love 21. Brown, Spiritual and Intellectual Roots, 28–29. 1. Dale Brown, Berea College: Spiritual and Intellectual Roots (Berea, 22. Rogers, Birth of Berea College, 109. Ky.: Berea College Press, 1982), 7–8. 23. Ibid., 54. 2. John G. Fee, Autobiography of John G. Fee (Chicago: National 24. John G. Hanson, “On Physical Culture: The Gymnasticon Christian Association, 1891), 13–14. or Gymnasium,” John G. Hanson Papers, RG 1, Founders and 3. Brown, Spiritual and Intellectual Roots, 10–11. Founding, BCA. See also Drake, One Apostle, 46–47. 4. Ibid., 10. 25. Rogers, Birth of Berea College, 57. 5. Ibid., 10–11. 26. Ibid. 6. Ibid., 11–12. 27. Quoted in Brown, Spiritual and Intellectual Roots, 23. 7. Robert Samuel Fletcher, A History of Oberlin College (Oberlin, 28. Brown, Spiritual and Intellectual Roots, 27–29. Ohio: Oberlin College Press, 1943), 1: 261. 29. Rogers, Birth of Berea College, 63. 8. Brown, Spiritual and Intellectual Roots, 12, 14–15. 30. Fee, “To the People of Lexington, Kentucky,” October 16, 9. Elisabeth S. Peck, Berea’s First Century (Lexington: University 1869, Fee Papers. See also Brown, Spiritual and Intellectual Roots, Press of Kentucky, 1955), 3. See also William Goodell’s description 29–30, and Richard D. Sears, A Utopian Experiment in Kentucky: Integra- of Fee in William Goodell to “Dear Father,” September 14, 1850, tion and Social Equality in Berea, 1866–1904 (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood in John G. Fee Papers, Record Group (hereafter RG) 1, Founders Press, 1996), 61–62. and Founding, Berea College Archives (hereafter BCA), Berea, 31. Fee, Autobiography, 138. Ky. (hereafter Fee Papers). 32. Ibid., 139. Brown, Spiritual and Intellectual Roots, 28–29. See also 10. William Goodell to “Dear Father,” September 14, 1850. John G. Fee, Sinfulness of Slaveholding (New York: John A. Gray, 1851), 11. Peck, First Century, 4–5. 6–28. 12. Ibid.; Richard B. Drake, One Apostle Was a Lumberman: John G. 33. Fee, Autobiography, 139. See also Brown, Spiritual and Intellectual Hanson and Berea’s Founding Generation (Berea, Ky.: Berea College Press, Roots, 29. 1975), 10–14; Jerome W. Hughes, Six Berea College Presidents: Tradition 34. Fee, Autobiography, 140–41. and Progress (Berea, Ky.: Berea College Press, 1984), 5–6; Fee, Autobi- 35. Ibid., 146–47. ography, 32–45, 88–93. 36. Ibid., 147. 13. Fee, Autobiography, 95. 37. Ibid., 148–49; Peck, First Century, 14–20. 14. Ibid. 38. Quoted in Richard D. Sears, “A Practical Recognition of the Brother- 15. John G. Fee, “Introductory Address,” in Inauguration of Rev. hood of Man”: John G. Fee and the Camp Nelson Experience (Berea, Ky.: Berea E. H. Fairchild, President of Berea College, Kentucky (Cincinnati: Elm Street College Press, 1986), 28. See also Sears, Utopian Experiment, 4–16. Printing, 1870), 3, in Edward Henry Fairchild Papers, BCA (here- 39. Fee, Autobiography, 181. after EHF Papers). See also Richard B. Drake, One in Spirit: The Lib- 40. Ibid., 182. eral Evangelical Witness of Union Church, Berea, Kentucky, 1853–2003 (Berea, 41. Sears, “Practical Recognition,” 31–38; Sears, Utopian Experiment, Ky.: Church of Christ, Union, 2003), 10–11. Union Church is 29–34. often referred to as the “mother” of Berea College. 42. The constitutional articles and bylaws were recorded at the 16. Fee, “Introductory Address,” 3. county seat in Richmond, Kentucky, in Deed Book 15, p. 204. See 17. John G. Fee, letter to the American Missionary, November 9, also Constitution, RG 1, Founders and Founding, BCA. 1855, typescript in Fee Papers. See also Peck, First Century, 8–9. 43. J. A. R. Rogers, diary, March 5, 1866, J. A. R. Rogers Pa- 18. John G. Fee to Gerrit Smith, January 4, 1856, Fee Papers. pers, RG 1, Founders and Founding, BCA. Also Sears, Utopian Ex- 19. John A. R. Rogers, Birth of Berea College: A Story of Providence periment, 40–41. (Philadelphia: Henry T. Coates, 1902), 47–53, 58–59; Fee, Autobi- 44. Ellen Wheeler to William G. Frost, March 26, 1912, ography, 132–33. William Goodell Frost Papers, RG 3.03, BCA (hereafter Frost Pa- 20. Fee, Autobiography, 136–42; Rogers, Birth of Berea College, pers). 60–66. 45. Report of W. W. Wheeler, March 31, 1866, Trustees 225 Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 226

226 notes to pages 23–36

Records, RG 2, BCA (hereafter TR). Ellen Wheeler’s role as the 72. Ibid., 23. first teacher of African American students at Berea is noted in 73. Brown, Intellectual and Spiritual Roots, 33. Rogers, Birth of Berea College, 87–88, and Sears, Utopian Experiment, 35. 2. Forecasting the Millennium 46. Angus A. Burleigh, John G. Fee, Angus A. Burleigh Papers, RG 8, BCA, pp. 9–12; Sears, Utopian Experiment, 47–49; Peck, First 1. Elizabeth Rogers to William G. Frost, April 23, 1901, Frost Century, 41. Papers. 47. Sears, “Practical Recognition,” 47–49; Sears, Utopian Experiment, 2. E. H. Fairchild, Berea College, 47. 67–76, 80–82. 3. J. H. Fairchild, Oberlin: The Colony and the College, 1833–1883 48. Quoted in Sears, Utopian Experiment, 70. (Oberlin, Ohio: E. J. Goodrich, 1883), 75. See also Peck, First Centu- 49. John G. Fee, “Berea, Ky.,” American Missionary 18 (August ry, 29–30, and Brown, Spiritual and Intellectual Roots, 12. 1874): 178. 4. E. H. Fairchild, Berea College, 47. 50. First Catalogue of Officers and Students of Berea College for 1866–1867 5. E. H. Fairchild, “Inaugural Address,” in Inauguration of Rev. E. (Cincinnati: Gazette Steam Printing, 1867), 2; Rogers, Birth of Berea H. Fairchild, 8. College, 93–100; Sears, Utopian Experiment, 51–57. 6. Peck, First Century, 30. Hughes, Six Berea College Presidents, 11. 51. Rogers, Birth of Berea College, 93. 7. E. H. Fairchild, “Inaugural Address,” 14. 52. Sears, Utopian Experiment, 46; Peck, First Century, 24–25. 8. Fee, “Introductory Address,” 4. 53. Rogers, Birth of Berea College, 94; E. H. Fairchild, Berea College: An 9. See Frederick Rudolph, The American College and University: A His- Interesting History, 2d ed. (Cincinnati: Elm Street Printing, 1883), tory (New York: Vintage Books, 1962), 158–61; Historical Register of the 55–56. Richard Sears, Berea Connections (n.p., 1996), an alphabetical Officers and Students of Berea College (Berea, Ky.: Berea College Press, listing of faculty, staff, and students from 1854 to 1900, contains a 1916). The Historical Register documents the attendance and homes of wealth of useful information related to ethnic, genealogical, and Berea students in the college and allied schools, as well as the facul- educational backgrounds of people connected to Berea College. ty, staff, and administrators at Berea. The later editions of the Regis- The teachers listed by Rogers were compared and identified in ter (1915 and 1916) do not include African American students who Sears’s work. attended Berea but did not graduate, but the 1904 Register does. 54. Church Minute Book, 1865–74, Union Church Records, 10. Fee, “Introductory Address,” 4. Historical Collections, Berea College; Brown, Spiritual and Intellectual 11. Report of L. V. Dodge, 1879, TR. Roots, 17. See also Drake, One in Spirit, 18–19, and Mace Crandall, 12. Report of B. S. Hunting, June 25, 1879, TR. Chosen Jeopardy: A Survey of Issues in the History of Union Church, Berea, Ken- 13. Report of Lucia Darling, June 21, 1879, TR. tucky (n.p., 1978), 16–17. 14. P. D. Dodge, Clerk of the Faculty, June 16, 1880, TR. See 55. Peck, First Century, 82–87. also W[illiam] Hart and C[harles] Lester, “Report of Committee 56. Quoted in Sears, Utopian Experiment, 90. on the doings and report of the Faculty,” June 24, 1885, TR. 57. Rogers, Birth of Berea College, 120. 15. William E. Barton, diary, vol. 1, February 9, 1881 (2 vols.), 58. Ibid., 101. William E. Barton Papers, RG 9, Faculty and Staff (hereafter 59. Shannon H. Wilson, “Window on the Mountains: Berea’s F&S), BCA. Appalachia, 1870–1930,” Filson Club History Quarterly 64 (July 1990): 16. Marion Lucas, “Berea College in the 1870s and 1880s: Stu- 386. dent Life at a Racially Integrated Kentucky College,” Register of the 60. Fairchild, Berea College, 83–84. Kentucky Historical Society 98 (2000): 3. See also Faculty Record, vol. 61. Quoted in Rogers, Birth of Berea College, 107. 1, September 28, 1874; January 14 and June 23, 1875; February 23, 62. Rogers, Birth of Berea College, 117. See also Sears, Utopian Experi- 1876; and May 29, 1878; College Faculty Records, RG 6.01, BCA ment, 55, and Peck, First Century, 26–29. (hereafter CFR). 63. First Catalogue, 17. 17. Lucas, “Berea College,” 4. Barton, diary, vol. 1, February 12, 64. Laws and Regulations of Berea College (1867), 8, Student Manuals, 1882; vol. 2, February 4, 1883; Faculty Record, vol. 1, April 26, RG 12.15, BCA. 1882, CFR. 65. Ibid., 7–8; First Catalogue, 18. 18. Lucas, “Berea College,” 4. Faculty Record, vol. 2, June 6, 66. Sears, Utopian Experiment, 84–85. 1883; December 10 and 31, 1884; February 11 and 18, 1885; and 67. Quoted ibid., 88. April 14, 1885, CFR. 68. Col. Benjamin P. Runkle, “Berea College, Ky.,” American Mis- 19. Peck, First Century, 26; E. H. Fairchild, Berea College, 54–55. sionary 13 (August 1869): 172. 20. Jacqueline Burnside, “Berea’s First Generation of Black 69. Quoted in Sears, Utopian Experiment, 68–69. Women, 1866–1904,” in Women in Berea’s History: A Symposium for 70. First Catalogue, 21. Women’s History Week (n.p., 1985), 16. See also Richard Sears, “Berea’s 71. Ibid. First Black Teacher,” in Julia Britton Hooks file, RG 9, F&S. Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 227

notes to pages 37–47 227

21. Sears, Utopian Experiment, 96. 51. Report of the President, July 1, 1878. 22. E. H. Fairchild, “Inaugural Address,” 13. 52. Sears, Utopian Experiment, 115. 23. E. H. Fairchild, “Baccalaureate Sermon,” June 12, 1881, 14, 53. Report of the President, July 1, 1878. EHF Papers. 54. Peck, First Century, 34, 142. 24. J. A. R. Rogers to Trustees, June 18, 1882, TR. 55. Ibid., 143; Brown, Spiritual and Intellectual Roots, 14–15; Sears, 25. Fee, “Introductory Address,” 7. Utopian Experiment, 139–40. 26. Ibid. 56. E. H. Fairchild, Berea College, 55–56; Historical Register (1916), 27. E. H. Fairchild, “Inaugural Address,” 10–11. Fairchild’s 23–26. thoughts echoed those of an anonymous male student at Oberlin. 57. George Whipple to Fee, May 11, 1868, Fee Papers; Sears, “Brothers in the monastic Colleges we pity you,” the student Utopian Experiment, 109–10. wrote in the University Quarterly in 1860. “Women are to be educat- 58. Sears, Utopian Experiment, 99–100. ed because we choose civilization rather than barbarism. . . . It is 59. E. H. Fairchild, “Inaugural Address,” 15. our happy experience [at Oberlin], of a quarter of a century’s 60. Ibid. growth, that it is better for both sexes to travel together along the 61. Lucas, “Berea College,” 8. paths of science. . . . Separate from each other, the sexes cannot be 62. Henry F. Clark, Report of the Faculty, June 30, 1874, TR; educated in the best and highest sense.” Quoted in Fletcher, Histo- Faculty Record, vol. 1, February 12 and April 24, 1874, CFR. ry of Oberlin College, 1: 383–84. 63. Clark, Report of the Faculty. 28. Fairchild, “Inaugural Address,” 9. 64. Rudolph, American College, 137–44. At many colleges and 29. Peck, First Century, 83; Catalogue of Berea College, 1872, 14. emerging universities in the late nineteenth century, there was a 30. E. H. Fairchild, “Inaugural Address,” 9. preponderance of “college men,” who measured their success 31. Peck, First Century, 85; Catalogue of Berea College, 1870, 20–21. through extracurricular activities, sports, and deﬁance of authority. 32. Catalogue of Berea College, 1880–1881, 22; Peck, First Century, 85 (she This culture contrasted with that of the “outsiders” or “pious notes a later date); Faculty Record, vol. 1, November 10 and De- ones.” These students saw college as a means of spiritual and in- cember 1, 1880, CFR. tellectual betterment. This drive for academic or vocational suc- 33. Catalogue of Berea College, 1883–84, 26. cess meant seeking approval and support from professors and 34. First Catalogue, 25. administrators. See Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz, Campus Life: Under- 35. Historical Register (1916), 53–58, 79. Other professions repre- graduate Culture from the End of the Eighteenth Century to the Present (Chicago: sented among graduates included three lawyers, two journalists, University of Chicago Press, 1987), 13–15. six ministers, two farmers, two civil engineers, one salesman, one 65. Burritt Fee to Coole Barbee, September 12, 1871, Fee Papers. railroad agent, and one inventor. 66. E. H. Fairchild, “Inaugural Address,” 10–11. 36. “Danville Has Its Own Booker T. Washington,” Louisville 67. Laws and Regulations of Berea College, 1868, 8, Student Manuals, RG Courier-Journal, August 10, 1941, clipping in John Bate ﬁle, Deceased 12.15, BCA. See also Regina Abrams and David Nelson, “President Alumni Files, RG 5.03, Alumni Association Records, BCA (here- Fairchild and Berea College’s Commitment to Women’s Educa- after DAF/AAR). tion,” in Women in Berea’s History, 11. 37. John Bate to Wilson Evans, January 16, 1941, DAF/AAR. 68. Faculty Record, vol. 1, October 10, 1869, CFR. See also 38. “Danville Has Its Own Booker T. Washington.” Laws and Regulations (1873), 9, Student Manuals, BCA. 39. Ibid.; Bate to Evans, January 16, 1941. 69. Quoted in Lucas, “Berea College,” 13–14. 40. Report of the President, July 1, 1878, TR. 70. Lucas, “Berea College,” 15. 41. W. E. C. Wright, Report of the Clerk of the Faculty, June 71. Clark, Report of the Faculty. 24, 1888, TR. 72. Faculty Record, vol. 1, May 31, 1878, CFR. 42. Report of L. V. Dodge, June 30, 1889, TR. 73. Lucas, “Berea College,” 8–9. 43. Wright, Report. 74. Faculty Record, vol. 1, April 20 and 23, 1872, CFR; Trustees 44. Fee, “Introductory Address,” 4. Fee made it abundantly Minutes, July 1, July 2, and July 3, 1872, TR. See Sears, Utopian Ex- clear that at Berea College all types of learning should be available periment, 133, and Lucas, “Berea College,” 9. to “men of every clime under heaven.” 75. Sears, Utopian Experiment, 134–35, 140–41. 45. Report of C. G. Fairchild, June 29, 1878, TR. 76. J[ohn] T. Robinson to John G. Fee, October 29, 1877, Fee 46. Rudolph, American College, 225–27. Papers. 47. Faculty to Board of Trustees, Petition of June 19, 1884, TR. 77. John H. Jackson, President of the Alumni Association [to 48. E. H. Fairchild, “Inaugural Address,” 15. the Trustees], June 20, 1889, TR. 49. Peck, First Century, 141. 78. Quoted in Lucas, “Berea College,” 9–10. 50. Ibid., 142. 79. Ernest Dodge to William G. Frost, April 11, 1925, Frost Pa- Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 228

228 notes to pages 48–63

pers. See also Sears, Utopian Experiment, 134–35; Lucas, “Berea Col- 6. Faculty Record, vol. 2, May 13, 1889, CFR; Trustees lege,” 8–11; and Peck, First Century, 45–47. Record, vol. 1, June 21, 1889. 80. James M. McPherson, The Abolitionist Legacy: From Reconstruction 7. Faculty Record, vol. 3, June 6, 1890, CFR; Trustees Min- to the NAACP (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1975), 245. utes, June 19–20, 1890, TR. The minutes do not enumerate the 81. Lucas, “Berea College,” 9–12; E. H. Fairchild, Berea College, voting for or against Stewart. 38, 40. 8. Trustees Record, vol. 1, June 19, 1890, TR. 82. Burritt Fee to Barbee, September 12, 1871. 9. William B. Stewart, “The Work and Claims of the Christ- 83. Peck, First Century, 113. ian College: The Inaugural Discourse of President William B. 84. Ibid. Stewart, D.D.,” 7, William B. Stewart Papers, RG 3.02, BCA. 85. E. H. Fairchild, Berea College, 69–70. 10. Catalogue of Berea College, 1890–91, 27. 86. Ibid., 86. 11. William B. Stewart, President’s Report of 1890–91, TR; 87. E. H. Fairchild, “Inaugural Address,” 16. William B. Stewart, President’s Report of 1891–92, in Trustees 88. Fee, “Introductory Address,” 3–4. Record, vol. 1, September 8, 1892, TR. 89. Sears, Utopian Experiment, 134–36. 12. Berea College Reporter, February 1891, 3. The Berea College Reporter 90. “Berea College” (circa 1869), Office of Information began publication in 1885. Owned and printed by the college, the Records, RG 5.23, BCA (hereafter OIR). Reporter described college events, personalities, social and academic 91. Ibid. functions, as well as alumni news. 92. Charles G. Fairchild, “Address of C. G. Fairchild,” American 13. Catalogue of Berea College, 1890–91, 31. Missionary 37 (December 1883): 393. 14. Report of B. S. Hunting, Preparatory Department, June 19, 93. A. D. Mayo, “The Other Folk of Kentucky,” in “Berea Col- 1891, TR. lege: A Brief History of Its Origin and Progress” (1882), OIR. See 15. Faculty Record, vol. 3, October 1, 1890, CFR; P. D. Dodge, also Shannon H. Wilson, “Lincoln’s Sons and Daughters: Berea Treasurer’s Report, 1890, TR. Hampton Institute in Virginia and College, Lincoln Memorial University, and the Myth of Unionist Tuskegee in Alabama emphasized “handwork,” such as agriculture, Appalachia, 1866–1910,” in The Civil War in Appalachia: Collected Essays, woodworking, and sewing, for most of their students. See ed. Kenneth W. Noe and Shannon H. Wilson (Knoxville: Univer- Christopher J. Lucas, American Higher Education: A History (New York: sity of Tennessee Press, 1997), 242–64. St. Martin’s Press, 1994), 161, 163–64, and Frederick Rudolph, 94. Sears, Utopian Experiment, 61, 63. See also Peck, First Century, Curriculum: A History of the American Undergraduate Course of Study since 1636 31–32. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1978), 149, 168. 95. E. H. Fairchild, Berea College, 49–50; Catalogue of Berea College, 16. Catalogue of Berea College, 1890–91, 31. 1873–1874, 25. 17. “Industrial Education,” BC Reporter, December 1890, 3. 96. John G. Fee to Gerrit Smith, November 18, 1873, type- 18. P. D. Dodge, Treasurer’s Report, 1890. script in Fee Papers. See also Sears, Utopian Experiment, 63–64. 19. “Industrial Education.” 97. Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz, Alma Mater: Design and Experience in 20. P. D. Dodge, Treasurer’s Report, 1891, TR. the Women’s Colleges from Their Nineteenth-Century Beginnings to the 1930s (New 21. Stewart, “Work and Claims,” 6. York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984), 168–70. 22. Catalogue of Berea College, 1890–91, 21–26. 98. Rogers, Birth of Berea College, 97. 23. Ibid., 19; Catalogue of Berea College 1891–92, 18. There were 99. John H. Jackson [to the Trustees], June 20, 1889, TR; twenty-two students enrolled in the scientific course against nine Peck, First Century, 33–34. in the classical in 1890–91; in 1891–92 twenty-three students 100. Trustees Record, vol. 1, June 25, 1886, TR. enrolled in the scientific course, only eight in the classical course. No students are listed in the Ph.B. degree program during Stew- 3. Working for God and Humanity art’s administration. 1. Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 21–22. See also Berea College Re- 24. Trustees Record, vol. 1, June 26, 1891, TR. porter, October 1890. 25. “Berea College, Kentucky, 1858–1891,” OIR. Only two 2. Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 22–23. publicity circulars survive from Stewart’s administration. 3. Faculty Record, vol. 2, November 21, 1887, and vol. 3, Oc- 26. John G. Fee, “To the Friends of Berea College,” BC Reporter, tober 7, 1889, CFR; Trustees Record, vol. 1, June 21, 1889, TR. July 1890, 4. 4. Zack Spratt to Louis Smith, July 30, 1975, Zack Spratt Pa- 27. Stewart, “Work and Claims,” 13. pers, RG 8, BCA (hereafter Spratt Papers). 28. “The Work of the Year,” BC Reporter, June 1891, 4; Stewart, 5. Ibid.; see also Spratt to Louis Smith, November 8, 1976, President’s Report of 1890–91. Spratt Papers. Spratt attended Berea from 1892 to 1902, finishing 29. “Public Lectures and Entertainments,” BC Reporter, February in the Academy. Spratt was about ninety-two years old when he 1891, 3. recorded his memories of Berea. Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 229

notes to pages 63–78 229

30. “Lectures and Entertainments,” BC Reporter, June 1891, 3; 60. J. A. R. Rogers to the Board of Trustees of Berea College, Faculty Record, vol. 3, April 20, 1891, CFR. June 20, 1891, TR. 31. Trustees Record, vol. 1, June 21, 1889; Petition of June 20, 61. Wilson, “Lincoln’s Sons and Daughters,” 258–59. Frost de- 1889, TR. nounced E. P. Fairchild for diverting funds and alienating donors 32. “The Spirit of Caste,” BC Reporter, February 1892, 2. from Berea, “causing more harm to us [Berea] than good to you 33. James Bond, “Autobiography,” in The Horace Mann Bond Papers [Lincoln Memorial University].” Frost to O. O. Howard, May 5, (microﬁlm), ed. John H. Bracey Jr., Black Studies Research 1900, Frost Papers. Sources (Bethesda, Md.: University Publications of America, 62. “Historical Sketch,” in Historical Register (1916), 17. 1989), reel 3, frame 495–96. 63. William G. Frost, For the Mountains: An Autobiography (New 34. James Bond, “Autobiography,” reel 3, frame 476. York: Fleming H. Revell, 1937), 67. In a letter to E. P. Fairchild, 35. “Students Column,” BC Reporter, April 1892, 3. Lucien Warner congratulated Fairchild “for the successful termi- 36. Bond, “Autobiography,” reel 3, frame 498. nation of this trouble, and with my personal thanks to you for the 37. Ibid. laborious and self-denying part you have taken in the matter.” Lu- 38. Stewart, “Work and Claims,” 11. cien Warner to E. P. Fairchild, July 8, 1892, Stewart Papers. 39. Stewart, President’s Report of 1890–91. 64. W. E. C. Wright to William G. Frost, June 20, 1905, Frost 40. Trustees Record, vol. 1, June 26, 1891. Papers. 41. P. D. Dodge, Treasurer’s Report, 1890. 65. Peck, First Century, 47, 143, 195. 42. See Fee’s pamphlet “Why I Cannot Sprinkle” (1879). 66. Best, “Immersed President,” and Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, Other writings include “Christian Baptism: Action and Subject” 20–27. (n.d.); “Subjects of Baptism” (n.d.); “What Is Christian Baptism?” 67. Prudential Committee minutes have been kept since 1858, (1891); “Baptism and Church Membership” (1895); and “Condi- but the minutes for 1886–1908 have vanished. William Barton tions of Membership in the Church of Christ” (1899); all in Fee reminded Frost of how he was elected during the stormy June Papers. trustees’ meeting, noting that several pages were missing from the 43. Fee, Autobiography, 185. Trustees Minute Book. Barton to Frost, June 7, 1919, Frost Papers. 44. Ibid., 188. 68. Stewart, President’s Report of 1891–92; Trustees Record, 45. Ibid., 189. vol. 1, September 8, 1892, TR. 46. “To the Friends of Berea College,” November 14, 1891, Stewart Papers. 4. The Telescope and the Spade 47. Peck, First Century, 143. 1. Frost, For the Mountains, 21, 24–28, 31–37; Maria G. Frost, 48. F. C. Sessions to Stewart, November 30, 1891, Stewart Pa- “Ten Reasons Why Women Should Vote,” William Goodell Pa- pers. pers, Historical Collections, Berea College. Biographical informa- 49. “Berea College, Kentucky, A Statement and an Appeal,” tion, diaries, and some correspondence regarding Lavinia Goodell Stewart Papers. also reside in the William Goodell Papers. 50. “Berea College Unsectarian,” BC Reporter, December 1891, 2. 2. Frost, For the Mountains, 39–40, 43–44. Frost’s Greek Lessons 51. E. P. Fairchild, “Private,” n.d., Stewart Papers. was adopted for use by Berea’s faculty in 1892. College Faculty 52. E. P. Fairchild to A. L. Barber, February 16, 1892, Stewart Minutes, May 2, 1892, CFR. Papers. 3. Frost, For the Mountains, 40, 49–50. 53. E. P. Fairchild to William G. Frost, February 16, 1892, 4. Eleanor Marsh Frost to William G. Frost, March 3, 1892, copied into Eleanor Frost’s letter to William G. Frost, March 3, Frost Papers. 1892, Frost Papers. Eleanor Frost referred to Fairchild’s letter and 5. Frost, For the Mountains, 50–52, 87, 119, 128, 285. Berea’s situation as “the cry of a drowning man.” Eleanor Marsh 6. Ibid., 44–52; Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 29; BC Reporter, No- Frost was the second wife of William G. Frost, whose ﬁrst wife, vember 1892, 2. Louise, died in 1890. 7. Several important works discuss the changing (and some- 54. “Resolution of February 3, 1892,” Stewart Papers. times unchanging) perceptions of southern mountaineers; these 55. Trustees Record, vol. 1, June 25 and June 27, 1892, TR. include Dwight B. Billings, Gurney Norman, and Katherine Led- 56. Trustees Record, vol. 1, June 27, 1892. ford, eds., Confronting Appalachian Stereotypes: Back Talk from an American Re- 57. “The Trustee Meeting,” BC Reporter, June 1892, 4–5. gion (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1999); Allen 58. Stewart, President’s Report of 1891–92; Trustees Record, Batteau, The Invention of Appalachia (Tucson: University of Arizona vol. 1, September 8, 1892, TR. Press, 1990); Rodger Cunningham, Apples on the Flood: The Southern 59. Peck, First Century, 47. See, however, Bill Best, “Berea’s Im- Mountain Experience (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1987); mersed President,” which seeks to portray Stewart as a capable Henry Shapiro, Appalachia on Our Mind: The Southern Mountains and Moun- leader betrayed by others, in Stewart Papers. taineers in the American Consciousness, 1870–1920 (Chapel Hill: University Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 230

230 notes to pages 78–91

of North Carolina Press, 1978); and Cratis Williams, “The South- 25. William G. Frost, “To the Educational Committee of the ern Mountaineer in Fact and Fiction” (Ph.D. diss., New York Uni- Kentucky Senate,” 4, Day Law files, Frost Papers. See also Burn- versity, 1961). Among many helpful articles are James C. Klotter, side, “Philanthropists and Politicians,” 142–70. “The Black South and White Appalachia,” Journal of American History 26. William G. Frost, President’s Report, 1894, 7, Frost Papers; 66 (1980): 832–49; Henry Shapiro, “Appalachia and the Idea of Krehbiel, “Race to Region,” 124–25. America: The Problem of the Persisting Frontier,” in An Appalachian 27. Berea College v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, Supreme Court of the United Symposium: Essays Written in Honor of Cratis Williams (Boone, N.C.: Ap- States, Brief for the Commonwealth of Kentucky (1906), 56–57; Peck, First palachian State University Press, 1977), 43–55; Laurence S. Century, 52–53; Burnside, “Philanthropists and Politicians,” 251–55. Thompson, “Fiction and the Popular Image of Appalachia,” Ap- See also Richard Allen Heckman and Betty Jean Hall, “Berea Col- palachian Notes 4 (1976): 33–37; and Wilson, “Window on the lege and the Day Law,” Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 66 Mountains,” 384–400. (1968): 46–48. 8. Frost to “Dear Brethren,” July 16, 1892, Frost Papers; Wil- 28. Berea v. Kentucky, Justice Harlan dissenting, 7–8; Berea v. Ken- son, “Window on the Mountains,” 387–89. tucky, Justice Brewer’s opinion, 4–5. 9. William G. Frost, “West Virginia in 1884,” Frost diary, 13, 29. Quoted in Marion Lucas and George C. Wright, A History of Frost Papers. Blacks in Kentucky: In Pursuit of Equality, 1890–1980 (Frankfort: Kentucky 10. Frost, For the Mountains, 84. Historical Society, 1992), 2: 145. 11. William G. Frost, “Berea College,” Berea Quarterly 1 (May 30. J. R. Rogers to W. G. Frost, March 2, 1904, Frost Papers. 1895): 22–23. 31. William G. Frost to William E. Barton, September 23, 12. Ibid., 25. 1901; William G. Frost to Newell Dwight Hollis, October 12, 13. W. G. Frost, “New England in Kentucky,” Advance, June 6, 1901, Frost Papers. 1895, 1285. For further discussion of the Anglo-Saxon myth and 32. A. D. Mayo to W. G. Frost, March 7, 1904, Frost Papers; its influence at Berea, see Lee Krehbiel, “From Race to Region: A. D. Mayo, “Report on Educational Quality: Notes on the Situa- Shifting Priorities at Berea College under President William tion at Berea,” RG 13.07, Blacks, BCA; Krehbiel, “Race to Re- Goodell Frost, 1892–1912” (Ph.D. diss., Indiana University, 1997), gion,” 127–28. Mayo often visited Berea as a guest lecturer in the 279–92. Normal School. 14. Frost, “Berea College,” 24. 33. William E. Barton to W. G. Frost, June 18, 1904, Frost Pa- 15. William G. Frost, “University Extension in the Southern pers; Krehbiel, “Race to Region,” 128–29. Mountains,” Outlook, September 28, 1898; reprint in Frost Papers. 34. Quoted in Peck, First Century, 53–54; Trustees Minutes, Oc- 16. Quoted in Jacqueline G. Burnside, “Suspicion versus Faith: tober 21, 1904, and June 7, 1905, TR. Negro Criticisms of Berea College in the Nineteenth Century,” 35. Peck, First Century, 54–55; Burnside, “Philanthropists and Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 83 (1985): 247–48. Politicians,” 255–56; Krehbiel, “Race to Region,” 147–48. 17. Ibid., 251–54. Robinson took particular exception to Frost’s 36. Krehbiel, “Race to Region,” 147–48; Burnside, “Philan- proposal of matching Berea’s enrollment to Kentucky’s population thropists and Politicians,” 256; Peck, First Century, 55–56. ratio of six whites to one black. 37. George C. Wright, “The Founding of Lincoln Institute,” Fil- 18. W. G. Frost, “Our Southern Highlanders,” Independent 72 son Club History Quarterly 49 (1975): 60–61; Burnside, “Philan- (April 4, 1912): 714. thropists and Politicians,” 257–61; Frost, For the Mountains, 182–83. 19. Nina Silber, The Romance of Reunion: Northerners and the South, 38. Wright, “Lincoln Institute,” 62–64; Peck, First Century, 1865–1900 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1993), 56–57; Frost, For the Mountains, 183–84; Krehbiel, “Race to Region,” 143–44. 153–54; “Holland Bill Annulled,” Berea Quarterly 14 (1910): 7–8. 20. Frost to “Dear Brethren,” July 16, 1892. 39. Wright, “Lincoln Institute,” 68–69; Krehbiel, “Race to Re- 21. Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 31–32; Peck, First Century, 49–51. gion,” 153–54; Peck, First Century, 56–57. 22. Journal of the Kentucky House of Representatives (hereafter JKHR), 40. Frost, For the Mountains, 173–85; Krehbiel, “Race to Region,” February 18, 1904, 523–25. See also “Hostile Legislation,” Berea 156–60. Quarterly 8 (1904): 12–29; “Berea and the Negro,” Berea Quarterly 9 41. William G. Frost, “Inaugural Address,” BC Reporter, June (1904): 16–25; and “Separate Provision for Colored Students,” 1893, Frost Papers. Berea Quarterly 10 (1906): 26–27. 42. Ibid. 23. JKHR, February 18, 1904, 525. 43. “Joint Resolutions of Trustees and Faculty on the Accession 24. “A Remonstrance,” January 30, 1904, Day Law files, Frost of W. G. Frost to the Presidency,” Trustees Minutes, September 7, Papers; Jacqueline G. Burnside, “Philanthropists and Politicians: A 1892, TR. Sociological Profile of Berea College, 1855–1908” (Ph.D. diss., 44. Frost, “Inaugural Address.” Yale University, 1988), 205–6. 45. Peck, First Century, 87–95; Krehbiel, “Race to Region,” Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 231

notes to pages 91–109 231

344–45. The Foundation School was divided into two sections, 74. “Sergeant York Is the Berea Kind” (1919), OIR. one with courses for students over age fifteen and the Training 75. Krehbiel, “Race to Region,” 364–65. School for students under fifteen. 76. John G. Fee, “A Word to the Convocation,” n.d., Fee Papers. 46. Faculty Record, vol. 3, October 9, 1893, CFR; Peck, First 77. Rogers, Birth of Berea College, 136–37. Century, 168. 78. Peck, First Century, 56; Burnside, “Philanthropists and Politi- 47. Faculty Record, vol. 3, October 9, 1893. cians,” 268–69; Malcolm Warford, “Piety, Politics, and Pedagogy: 48. William G. Frost, President’s Report, 1897, Frost Papers. An Evangelical Protestant Tradition in Higher Education at Lane, 49. Extension Report, 1905, Frost Papers. Oberlin, and Berea, 1834–1904” (Ed.D. diss., Columbia Universi- 50. C. Rexford Raymond, Annual Report, 1900–1901, Frost ty, 1973), 209; Paul David Nelson, “Experiment in Interracial Ed- Papers. ucation at Berea College, 1858–1908,” Journal of Negro History 59 51. William G. Frost, President’s Report, 1902, Frost Papers. (1974): 25–27; Sears, Utopian Experiment, 147–49; Shapiro, Appalachia 52. Peck, First Century, 75–79; Frost, For the Mountains, 285; Debo- on Our Mind, 123–26; Blackwell, “Eleanor Frost,” 233. rah L. Blackwell, “Eleanor Marsh Frost and the Gender Dimen- sions of Appalachian Reform Efforts,” Register of the Kentucky Historical 5. Bristling with History Society 94 (1996): 230, 239. 1. “Biographical Sketch,” William J. Hutchins Papers, RG 53. Eleanor Frost, diary, July 17, 1914, Frost Papers. 3.04, BCA (hereafter WJH Papers). 54. Ibid., July 25, 1914; Blackwell, “Eleanor Frost,” 241–42. 2. Robert Maynard Hutchins, “Your Guest of Honor” in 55. Eleanor Frost, diary, July 7, 1914. Significant Addresses Delivered in Connection with Retirement of William J. 56. Blackwell, “Eleanor Frost,” 242–43; Peck, First Century, Hutchins as President of Berea College (Berea, Ky.: Berea College Press, 78–79. 1939), 22. 57. Eleanor Frost, “Report of Mountain Trip, 1914,” 12–13, 3. “Biographical Sketch”; Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 42. Frost Papers; Blackwell, “Eleanor Frost,” 244–45. 4. William G. Frost to William J. Hutchins, March 9, 1920, 58. Eleanor Frost, “Religion in the Mountains,” 1914, Frost Pa- WJH Papers. pers. 5. William J. Hutchins to R. G. Hutchins, March 12, 1920, 59. Eleanor Frost to William G. Frost, July 31, 1914, Frost Pa- WJH Papers. pers. 6. William J. Hutchins to William E. Barton, March 27, 1920, 60. W. G. Frost to “Dear Brethren,” July 6, 1892, Frost Papers. WJH Papers. 61. Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 34; Frost, For the Mountains, 253–57. 7. William J. Hutchins to William E. Barton, April 13, 1920, 62. “Resolutions of Sept. 1892,” TR. WJH Papers. 63. Peck, First Century, 88–89. 8. R. G. Hutchins to William J. Hutchins, March 9, 1920, 64. William G. Frost, “Farewell Report on Berea College, WJH Papers. 1892–1920,” 30–32, Frost Papers. See Richard B. Drake, A History 9. W. G. Frost to William J. Hutchins, April 6, 1920, WJH of Appalachia (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2001), Papers. 131–38. 10. William J. Hutchins, “Induction Address,” June 9, 1920, 65. William G. Frost, President’s Report, June 1920, 5, Frost WJH Papers. Papers. 11. William J. Hutchins to Francis Hutchins, July 4, 1920, 66. Ibid., 4. See also William G. Frost, President’s Report, Francis S. Hutchins Papers, RG 3.05, BCA (hereafter FSH Pa- March 1920; William G. Frost, “Welcome and God-Speed,” in pers). “Addresses of William Goodell Frost and William J. Hutchins,” 12. Registrar’s Report, June 6, 1920, 4, Frost Papers, BCA. William J. Hutchins Inaugural, 8, Frost Papers. 13. William J. Hutchins to “My Dear Boys,” July 22, 1920, FSH 67. William G. Frost, “Twenty-eight Years at Berea” (1920), Papers. OIR. 14. William J. Hutchins to “My Dear Boys,” August 8, 1920, 68. Frost, “Welcome and God-Speed,” 6–7. FSH Papers. 69. C. Rexford Raymond, Annual Report, 1896, Frost Papers. 15. Ibid. 70. Wilson, “Window on the Mountains,” 389–90; Burnside, 16. William J. Hutchins to “My Dear Boys,” October 3, 1920, “Philanthropists and Politicians,” 121–22. FSH Papers. 71. “Crossing the Lines of War,” Berea Quarterly 1 (February 17. William J. Hutchins, “The Changeless Task in Times of 1896): 20. Change,” Inaugural Address, 20, WJH Papers. 72. “Lincoln’s Kin and Ours,” Berea Quarterly 19 (April 1916): 18. Ibid. back cover. 19. Rudolph, American College and University, 334–35; Frost, “Wel- 73. “Address of President Frost,” Berea Quarterly 15 (April 1911): 20. come and God-Speed,” 8. Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 232

232 notes to pages 109–134

20. Frost, “Preliminary Report, June 1911,” Frost Papers. 30–33, 35–36, Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Pageant, RG 11, Pro- 21. Registrar’s Report, June 6, 1920, 5, Frost Papers. grams, Conferences, Awards, BCA. 22. Peck, First Century, 98; Gerald E. Wood, “Organizational and 52. Ibid., 18, 25, 26, 28, 38. Cultural Leadership at Berea College: An Historical Inquiry into 53. Peck, First Century, 58–59. Saga Development and Underlying Cultural Assumptions” (Ph.D. 54. Ibid., 59–60. diss., West Virginia University, 1998), 123–24. 55. Form letters, December 30, 1933; April 9, 1932; January 12, 23. Rudolph, American College and University, 283–85. 1934; WJH Papers. 24. John C. Campbell, The Future of the Church and Independent Schools 56. Frost, For the Mountains, 337. in Our Southern Highlands (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1917), 57. William J. Hutchins to Mrs. Hills, October 31, 1938, WJH 7; Peck, First Century, 99. Papers. 25. Frost, Annual Report, 1893, Frost Papers. 58. Eleanor Frost to William J. Hutchins, September 30[?], 26. Peck, First Century, 95–96. 1938, WJH Papers. 27. Ibid., 96–97; Wood, “Organizational Culture,” 135–36. 59. “The Draper Memorial,” RG 5.39, Buildings & Grounds 28. W. G. Frost to William J. Hutchins, May 20, 1920, WJH Records, BCA (hereafter B&G). Papers. 60. “Danforth Chapel,” B&G. 29. William J. Hutchins, Annual Report, June 1925, WJH Pa- 61. Peck, First Century, 98. pers. 62. R. M. Hutchins, “Your Guest of Honor,” 24. 30. J. R. Rogers to William J. Hutchins, October 23, 1927, 63. William J. Hutchins, “Handling Life,” in “I Never Lose Heart”: WJH Papers. See also Wood, “Organizational Culture,” 116–17, Baccalaureate Addresses, 1921–1939 (Berea, Ky.: Berea College Press, and Frost, For the Mountains, 253–54. 1956), 57. 31. William J. Hutchins, Trustees Report, c. 1924, WJH Pa- pers. 6. More Than an Ordinary College 32. Peck, First Century, 96–98. 1. Francis S. Hutchins, oral history interview, June 9, 1981, 33. Rudolph, American College and University, 480. 10–12, FSH Papers; Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 51. 34. Wood, “Organizational Culture,” 141–42. 2. Hutchins interview, 14. 35. Ibid., 142; William J. Hutchins, “Foundation/Junior High 3. Ibid., 15–17. Reorganization,” 7–8, Charles N. Shutt Papers, RG 4, Deans & 4. Ibid., 19–20; Palmer Bevis to Robert Hutchins, March 11, Vice-Presidents, BCA. 1927, FSH Papers. 36. Hutchins, “Foundation/Junior High,” 10–12. 5. Quoted in Reuben Holden, Yale-in-China: The Mainland, 37. Ibid., 12–14. 1901–1951 (New Haven, Conn.: Yale-in-China Association, 1964), 38. Wood, “Organizational Culture,” 144; Rudolph, American Col- 163. lege and University, 351. 6. “Louise Frances (Gilman) Hutchins,” in The Kentucky Encyclo- 39. Hutchins, “Foundation/Junior High,” 16–18; Wood, “Orga- pedia, ed. John E. Kleber (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, nizational Culture,” 145. 1992), 448–49. 40. Hutchins, “Foundation/Junior High,” 22–23. 7. Hutchins interview, 21–22; Holden, Yale-in-China, 234–37. 41. Ibid., 19–20; “Statement of William J. Hutchins, 1935,” 8. Francis Hutchins to Father and Mother, December 10, Shutt Papers. 1938; Francis Hutchins to Father and Mother, January 21, 1939, 42. Wood, “Organizational Culture,” 152–53. FSH Papers. See also Holden, Yale-in-China, 239–40, and Hutchins 43. Letter, Heads of Departments to William J. Hutchins, interview, 22–23,. April 29, 1937, Shutt Papers. 9. Trustees Minutes, March 18, 1938, TR; Albert Buckner 44. William J. Hutchins, “Possible Address to Teachers Gath- Coe to William J. Hutchins, February 16, 1939, and William J. ered at the President’s House,” May 13, 1937, Shutt Papers. Hutchins to Seth Low Pierrepont, February 21, 1939, FSH Papers. 45. Miles Marsh to William J. Hutchins, March 1937, Shutt Pa- 10. Seth Low Pierrepont to Francis Hutchins, April 9, 1939, pers. FSH Papers. 46. Form letters, 1921, WJH Papers. 11. Francis Hutchins to William J. Hutchins, April 12[?], 1939, 47. Ibid. See also Wilson, “Window on the Mountains,” 397. FSH Papers. 48. Quoted in Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 43. 12. Seth Low Pierrepont to Francis Hutchins, April 20, 1939, 49. “From Cabin to College and Back Home Again” (1929), FSH Papers. OIR. 13. William J. Hutchins to Francis Hutchins, April 3, 1939, and 50. Form letters, October 1924, WJH Papers. Francis Hutchins to Seth Low Pierrepont, April 25, 1939, FSH Pa- 51. “Vincit Qui Patitur, 1855–1930,” 20–22, 24–26, 27–29, pers. See also Hutchins interview, 23–24. Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 233

notes to pages 135–153 233

14. William J. Hutchins to Miss Pratt, June 28, 1939, FSH Papers. University Press of Kentucky, 1982), 101–2; 197–98. 15. “Summary of Statement Made by W. J. Hutchins to the 36. General Catalog, 1947–48, 30–36; Peck and Smith, 125 Years, Called Meeting of the Trustees,” May 5, 1939, FSH Papers. 199–200. In 1956 Berea established a four-year B.S. degree in 16. Francis Hutchins to Father and Mother, April 24, 1939, Nursing, and in 1958 a B.S. degree in Industrial Arts. FSH Papers. 37. Francis Hutchins, Berea College: The Telescope and the Spade (New 17. Francis S. Hutchins, interview, June 10, 1981, 27–30, FSH York: Newcomen Society in North America, 1963), 15; Hutchins Papers. interview, June 10, 1981, 36–40. 18. Francis S. Hutchins, “Inaugural Address,” 5–6, 7–8, FSH 38. Francis S. Hutchins, interview, June 12, 1981, 84–85, FSH Papers. Papers; Peck and Smith, 125 Years, 59–60; Edwin Embree to Francis 19. Francis S. Hutchins, “War’s Demands,” December 12, 1941, Hutchins, July 19, 1946, FSH Papers; Francis Hutchins to Father 5–8, FSH Papers. and Mother, March 21, 1949, FSH Papers. See also “Citizen’s 20. Ibid., 8; Francis Hutchins to William J. Hutchins, January Committee Issues Policy Statement,” Wallpaper, May 7, 1949; Irvine 18, 1942, FSH Papers; Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 53. Dungan to Department Chairs, March 2, 1948, and Louis Smith 21. Francis Hutchins to Father and Mother, April 5, 1943, FSH to Dungan, March 5, 1948, Citizen Committee (Race Relations), Papers. RG 7, Student Organizations, BCA. 22. James G. Schneider, The Navy V-12 Program: Leadership for a Life- 39. Quoted in Hutchins interview, June 12, 1981, 86; Peck and time (Boston: Houghton Mifﬂin, 1987), xi–xii, 2–6, 58–59. Smith, 125 Years, 60. 23. Francis S. Hutchins, interview, June 11, 1981, 54–56, FSH 40. Trustees Minutes, April 14, 1950, 14; Peck and Smith, 125 Papers; Francis S. Hutchins and John Kessler, oral history inter- Years, 60–61; Francis Hutchins to W. Owen Keller, March 31, view, June 1986, 3–4, RG 9, Faculty/Staff Oral History Collection, 1950, FSH Papers. BCA. 41. Ed Ford, “A Long Look Back: Jessie Zander Helped Berea 24. Hutchins interview, June 11, 1981, 56–58; Hutchins-Kessler Resume Interracial Education in 1950s,” Berea Alumnus 55 (1984): interview, 6–7. 6–8; Peck and Smith, 125 Years, 61, 194–95; Louis Smith, “Berea 25. “Red” Clements to Louis Smith, November 1944, RG 11, College Will Enroll Negro Students from the Southern Mountain Navy V-12 Records, BCA. See also Schneider, Navy V-12, 481; Region,” Mountain Life and Work 26 (1950): 23. Hutchins interview, June 11, 1981, 56–58; Hutchins-Kessler inter- 42. Ann Mary Quarandillo, “They Closed Our Schools,” Berea view, 6–7. V-12 reunions are a regular and enthusiastically awaited College Magazine 74 (2004): 13–17. See also Bob Smith, They Closed campus event. Their Schools: Prince Edward County, Virginia, 1951–1964 (Chapel Hill: Uni- 26. “Two Hawaiians Enroll at Berea,” Berea Citizen, January 8, versity of North Carolina Press, 1965), 253–54, and John Egerton, 1942, 1; Hutchins interview, June 11, 1981, 60. “A Gentlemen’s Fight in Prince Edward County, Virginia,” in Shades 27. Francis Hutchins to Mother and Father, April 5, 1943, FSH of Gray: Dispatches from the Modern South, ed. John Egerton (Baton Papers. Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1991), 105–30. 28. “A Resolution,” Berea Citizen, November 18, 1943, 5. 43. Francis Hutchins to Kyoko Ando, August 11, 1964, FSH 29. “Would Segregation Solve the Problem?” and “Believes Papers. This letter is typical of Hutchins’s responses to inquiries There Are Loyal Japanese,” Berea Citizen, November 25, 1943, 4. and protests regarding Berea’s decision. See also Trustees Minutes, 30. “The ‘YW’ Believers in Tolerance,” Berea Citizen, December April 24, 1964, TR. 2, 1943, 4; “Japanese-American Students Relate Experiences in 44. Kenneth H. Thompson to Danny Daniel, March 12, 1965, Relocation Centers,” Wallpaper, November 22, 1943; “Tide of Feel- Committee for the March on Montgomery, RG 10, Committees, ing against Jap-Americans Sows Seeds for Trouble,” Wallpaper, Jan- Projects, Reports, BCA. See also “Student Senate Votes against uary 3, 1944, BCA. Endorsement of March,” Pinnacle, March 20, 1965, 1, 4. 31. Peck, First Century, 101–2; Hutchins interview, June 10, 1981, 45. “100 Bereans March on Hutchins Home,” Pinnacle, March 34–38; Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 53–54. 20, 1965, 1, 4. 32. Francis Hutchins to Father and Mother, April 3, 1943; Peck, 46. Richard B. Drake, “Berea and the Second Reconstruction,” First Century, 101. Berea Alumnus 35 (1967): 9. 33. Peck, First Century, 100–101; Francis Hutchins to William J. 47. Bob Barrier and Roy Birchard, “Is Berea Really Obligated Hutchins, May 2, 1944, FSH Papers; “Present Plan: to Be a Marching College?” Pinnacle, April 3, 1965, 3, and April 10, Advantages/Disadvantages,” Reorganization ﬁles, FSH Papers. 1965, 2. 34. Francis Hutchins to Father and Mother, April 5, 1945, FSH 48. Hutchins, Telescope and the Spade, 17–18, 21. Papers. 49. “Berea College, Berea, Kentucky” (c. 1945); “Fair Samples” 35. General Catalog, Berea College, 1947–48, 25–26; Elisabeth S. Peck (1946); and “Berea College: A Program for the Future” (1962), and Emily Ann Smith, Berea’s First 125 Years, 1855–1980 (Lexington: OIR. Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 234

234 notes to pages 153–177

50. Loyal Jones, “The Surveys of the Appalachian Region,” Ap- 4, 1968; clippings in National States Rights Party (NSRP) file, palachian Heritage 4 (1976): 36–42. See Thomas R. Ford, The Southern City Vertical File (CVF), Berea College. Appalachian Region: A Survey (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 13. “Citizens Fight Racism,” Mountain Life and Work 44 (1968): 20; 1962), and Earl D. C. Brewer and Willis D. Weatherford, Life and “Berea Council, Citizens Seeking to Allay Unrest,” Louisville Courier- Religion in Southern Appalachia (New York: Friendship Press, 1962). Journal, September 3, 1968; “Victim of Berea Gun Battle Buried,” 51. “Invest in Young Men and Women” (1962), OIR. Berea’s Louisville Courier-Journal, September 4, 1968; “Negro Gunfight Victim no-tuition policy continues today for all students; it is based on Is Buried under Guard,” Louisville Courier-Journal, September 5, 1968; academic ability and financial need. all in NSRP file, CVF. 52. Francis Hutchins, President’s Report for 1954–1957, 3, RG 14. “Berea President’s Office Is Occupied,” Louisville Courier- 12.20, President’s Annual Reports; Robert M. Hutchins, “Com- Journal, March 3, 1970; “Grand Jury Clears Berea Student,” Louisville mencement Address, June 6, 1955,” typescript in Centennial Com- Courier-Journal, March 7, 1970; “Statement to Berea Students and mencement, RG 11, Programs, Conferences, Awards, BCA. Faculty,” March 3, 1970; clippings in Blacks at Berea College file, 53. Paul Green, Wilderness Road: An Outdoor Symphonic Drama (New RG 13.07, Berea College Vertical File (BCVF), BCA. York: Samuel French, 1956), 6. 15. “Berea College: Troubled Monument to Equality,” Knoxville 54. Peck, First Century, xv–xvi. News-Sentinel, February 13, 1972, 8:1; Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 55. Hutchins, Telescope and the Spade, 15. 67–68; Peck and Smith, 125 Years, 195–96; “Operation Zebra: Le- 56. Francis Hutchins, “What Is a Berean?” Baccalaureate Ad- gitimate Concern,” Pinnacle, January 22, 1972, 1; “Racial Tensions dress, June 1, 1947, FSH Papers. on the Campus,” January 19, 1972, Blacks at Berea College, RG 57. Trustees Minutes, October 22, 1965, TR; Hughes, Six Berea 13.07, BCVF. Presidents, 60; Francis Hutchins, “1939–1967: Years of Growth at 16. Edsel Massey, “The Black Student Union at Berea—Pur- Berea College,” FSH Papers; Francis Hutchins to Father and pose,” Berea Alumnus 41 (1970): 8. Mother, April 24, 1939, FSH Papers. 17. “Berea College: The Weatherford Years, 1967–1984,” 17, OIR; Peck and Smith, 125 Years, 196; Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 68. 7. A College of History and Destiny 18. “Weatherford Years,” 11; Trustees Minutes, January 23, 1. Willis D. Weatherford Jr., “Inaugural Address,” Berea Alumnus 1976, 4, and April 28, 1979, 3, TR. 8 (1967): 14. 19. Trustees Minutes, October 27, 1979, 5–6; January 26, 1980, 2. Ibid., 15. 1–2; April 25, 1981, 2–3; Report of the President, January 1980, 4, 3. Wilma Dykeman, Prophet of Plenty: The First Ninety Years of W. D. TR. In 1980, for example, Berea applicants had to finish in the Weatherford (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1966), top half of their graduating classes and maintain a minimum C av- 59–61, 83–92. See also John Egerton, Speak Now against the Day: The erage in all subjects. Financial qualifications ranged from an annu- Generation before the Civil Rights Movement in the South (New York: Alfred al income of no more than $18,500 for a family of three to A. Knopf, 1994), 44–48, 74, 77, 122–23, 130, 159, 175, 426. $31,000 for a family of ten. Admissions preference was designed 4. Quoted in Dykeman, Prophet of Plenty, 60. to aid families who could not afford a college education for their 5. Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 64; Peck and Smith, 125 Years, children without assistance. 229–30. 20. “Weatherford Years,” 22–24. 6. Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 64; Peck and Smith, 125 Years, 21. Ibid., 21–23. 229–30; Donald Danforth, “Welcome to Delegates and Guests,” 22. “The Sound of Old-Time Music,” Appalachian Center Newsletter Berea Alumnus 8 (1967): 8. 3 (1974): 1, 3; “Appalachian Studies,” Appalachian Center Newsletter 7 7. Weatherford, “Inaugural Address,” 14. (1978): 1–2; “Weatherford Years,” 23–24. 8. Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 66; Peck and Smith, 125 Years, 202. 23. “Berea College Great Commitments Program, 1970–1975,” 9. Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 66; Peck and Smith, 125 Years, 4, OIR. 202–3. 24. Louis Smith, “The Great Commitments of Berea College,” 10. Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 66. 1, OIR. 11. Willis D. Weatherford Jr., “The Meaning of Berea’s Goals 25. Clayton R. Sutton, “Back in the Hills,” National Observer, May for Today’s Students,” September 15, 1967, 1–2, Willis D. Weather- 4, 1970, 10; “Berea College and Its Students,” OIR. ford Papers, RG 3.07, BCA; Hughes, Six Berea Presidents, 67–68; Peck 26. General Faculty Minutes, April 21, 1969, and September 8, and Smith, 125 Years, 195. 1969, General Faculty Records (GFR), RG 5.01, BCA. See also 12. “Two Men Killed Sunday during Interracial Gunfight,” Berea Berea College Self-Study Report, 1983–1984 (Berea, Ky.: Berea College Citizen, September 5, 1968, 1; “Berea Gunfire Shatters Century of Press, 1984), 15. Racial Quiet,” Louisville Courier-Journal, September 3, 1968; “Berea 27. “Weatherford Years,” 4, 14–16; “Helping Those in Need,” Learns It Could Happen There,” Louisville Courier-Journal, September OIR. See also Drake, One in Spirit, 89–92. In 2003 Union Church Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 235

notes to pages 177–208 235

celebrated its own sesquicentennial (1853–2003), with descen- 19. “The Dalai Lama Stresses Kinship,” Berea Alumnus 65 (1994): dants of the Fee family in attendance. Union Church and Berea 6–8. College still act cooperatively in maintaining Berea’s Christian 20. General Education Curriculum, 4. commitment. 21. John B. Stephenson, “Speech for Opening Convocation,” 28. “Weatherford Years,” 4–5. September 2, 1984, 5–6, 10, JBS Papers. 22. “A Report on the Future of Berea College, 1987–2010,” 8. New Magic in a Dusty World 2–3, Long Range Planning Committee Records, RG 10, BCA 1. “Homecoming Marks Continuation,” Berea Alumnus 55 (hereafter LRPCR). (1985): 18. 23. Ibid., 17. 2. Quoted in Thomas R. Ford, ed., John B. Stephenson: Appalachian 24. Ibid., 18, 24. Humanist (Ashland, Ky.: Jesse Stuart Foundation, 2001), 22. 25. “Report of the Long Range Planning Subcommittee III on 3. Ibid. See also “First Lady Is Her Own Person,” Berea Alumnus Berea’s Interracial Commitment,” October 30, 1986, 6, LRPCR. 55 (1985): 10. 26. “Future of Berea College,” 22–25. 4. “It’s President Stephenson,” Berea Alumnus 54 (1984): 3–4. 27. “Berea Students of the Future,” President’s Council Meet- 5. Ibid. ing, January 16–17, 1992, CFR. 6. Ibid., 4. 28. “Future of Berea College,” 33–37. 7. Stephenson’s “Despatches from Appalachia” included 29. “Recommendations from the General Faculty and Report “Monday in Grundy” (September 27, 1987); “The Invasion of the of the Committee to Review the Commitments to the Board of Leafpeepers” (November 1987); “Where Virginia Begins” (Febru- Trustees, March 1993,” 2, Committee to Review the Commit- ary 1988); “In West Virginia: From Country Roads to Interstates” ments, RG 10, BCA (hereafter CRC Report). (March 1988); “If You Can’t Run with the Big Dogs, Go Lie on 30. “Report of the Task Group on Committee Reorganiza- the Porch” (July 1988); “What to Do When the World (of Coal) tion,” April 11, 1988, 1–3, CFR. Ends: Looking Ahead to the Possible in Martin County, Kentucky” 31. General and College Faculty Minutes, March 9, 1995, CFR. (February 21–22, 1989); all in John B. Stephenson Papers, RG 32. CRC Report, 2–3. 3.07, BCA (hereafter JBS Papers). 33. Ibid., 9. 8. “First Lady,” 10–11; “Jane Stephenson and the New Oppor- 34. Ibid., 12–14. tunity School for Women,” Madison Today 2 (1992): 8–10; New Op- 35. Ibid., 9–10. portunity School for Women Annual Report, 1993, New 36. Ibid., 15. Opportunity School Records, RG 10, BCA. 37. Ford, Appalachian Humanist, 40–45. 9. “A Season of Growth for Brushy Fork Institute,” Mountain 38. John B. Stephenson, “Faculty Convocation Address,” Au- Promise 1 (1990): 1, Brushy Fork Institute files, RG 11, BCA. gust 30, 1992, 10, JBS Papers. 10. “Carter G. Woodson Summer Institute,” Black Mountain Youth Leadership Program files, RG 11, BCA. 9. Continuing to Be and to Become 11. Michael P. VanBuren, “Community Can-Do,” International 1. “Meet Berea’s Next President,” Berea Alumnus 64 (1994): Journal of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation 2 (1991): 14, 17. 13–16. 12. For examples, see College Faculty Minutes, September 11, 2. Ibid., 13, 15. 1991, and November 14, 1991, CFR. 3. Ibid., 15–16. 13. John Stephenson, “Invasion of the Leafpeepers,” 6. 4. Louis Smith, “Interview Notes with Berea College Faculty 14. Bill Horton, “Images of Classlessness and Berea College,” and Staff Regarding the Future of the College” (1983), xxxviii, in Appalachian Journal 11 (1983–84): 58–66. Emily Ann Smith Papers, RG 9, F&S. 15. Alice Brown, “President’s Message: More Observations on 5. Larry D. Shinn, “The Challenge of Deep Learning,” Berea the Organization,” Appalink 17 (1993): 1, and “Letter to ASA from Alumnus 66 (1995): 12–16. Berea President John Stephenson,” Appalink 17 (1994): 1, Records 6. Being and Becoming: Berea College in the 21st Century (July 1996), of the Appalachian Studies Association, Southern Appalachian i–iii, Strategic Planning Committee Records, RG 10, Projects, Archives, Berea College. Committees, Reports, BCA (hereafter SPCR). 16. Proposal for a Minor in Women’s Studies, College Faculty 7. Ibid., ii, 30–34. Minutes, October 15, 1990, 1–2, CFR. 8. Ibid., iii, 35–46. 17. Ibid. 9. Being and Becoming: College-Wide Implementation and Assessment Plan, 18. “International Education at Berea College,” February 4, 1998–2002 (May 1998), 1, SPCR. 1992, 2–4; Task Force on International Education and General 10. General and College Faculty Minutes, March 9, 1995; Larry Education Curriculum, January 20, 1993, 9, CFR. D. Shinn, “Berea’s Governance Crisis—Initial Reflections,” April Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 236

236 notes to pages 208–220

27, 2000; General and College Faculty Minutes, April 9, 1998, Register, May 13, 1998; “College Closes Museum,” Berea Citizen, CFR. March 5, 1998; “Museum That Shelters Regional Heritage Will Be 11. Larry D. Shinn, “A Covenant of Trust: Governance and De- Lost,” Lexington Herald-Leader, April 12, 1998; “Appalachian Museum cision Making in a New Era,” December 1, 1998, CFR. See also Closure Ends Era, Begins Another,” Richmond Register, May 18, 1998; Larry D. Shinn, “A Conﬂict of Cultures: Governance at Liberal clippings in BCVF, RG 5.47, BCA. Arts Colleges,” Change 36 (January–February 2004): 18–26. 19. “Being and Becoming: Summary”; Shinn, “Remembering 12. Larry D. Shinn, “Berea College: The 2003–2004 Presi- the Past,” 4, 9. dent’s Report,” 4, and “Extending Berea’s Legacy: Summary Re- 20. Larry D. Shinn, “The Berea Legacy,” in “Berea College: view,” April 29, 2002, 1–3, CFR. The 1999–2000 President’s Report,” 7. 13. Larry D. Shinn, “Remembering the Past, Imagining the Fu- 21. General Education Review Proposal, May 4, 2004, 1–8, ture,” 5, Larry D. Shinn Papers, RG 3.08, BCA (hereafter LDS and General and College Faculty Minutes, May 13, 2004, CFR. Papers). See also “Being and Becoming, Berea College in the 21st 22. “Labor Program Revision and Revitalization,” December 2, Century: A Strategic Plan Summary,” OIR. 2003, 1–5; General and College Faculty Minutes, September 18, 14. Shinn, “Remembering the Past,” 6–7; “Being and Becom- 2003, and December 11, 2003, CFR; Shinn, “Remembering the ing: Summary”; and Shinn, “What If the Mountains Could Past,” 24–25. Speak?” August 30, 1998, 2, 4, LDS Papers. 23. Larry D. Shinn, “Welcoming the Stranger,” in “Berea Col- 15. Shinn, “Remembering the Past,” 9–10; “Being and Becom- lege: The 1994–95 President’s Report,” 7. ing: Summary.” 24. Shinn, “Remembering the Past,” 24. 16. Shinn, “Remembering the Past, 15–16; “Being and Becom- 25. “The Christian Identity of Berea College” (Fall 2001), 55, ing: Summary.” SPCR. 17. College-Wide Implementation and Assessment Plan, 24; Shinn, “Re- 26. Shinn, “Remembering the Past,” 24–25. membering the Past,” 8–9. 27. Ibid., 22–23. 18. “Memorandum Regarding the Appalachian Museum,” 28. Ibid., 25. March 2, 1998, Appalachian Museum Records, RG 5.47, BCA; 29. Quoted in Peck and Smith, 125 Years, 193. Sally Wilkerson, “A Plea for Clemency for the Museum,” Richmond 30. Larry D. Shinn, “Berea’s World House,” August 31, 2003, 3–4, LDS Papers. Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 237

Select Bibliography

The reader can find works cited in individual chapters in the end- Crandall, Mace. Chosen Jeopardy: A Survey of Issues in the History of Union notes to each chapter. Though by no means exhaustive, the fol- Church, Berea, Kentucky. N.p., 1978. lowing bibliography provides an outline for further research. All Drake, Richard B. A History of Appalachia. Lexington: University Press records and manuscript materials are in the Berea College of Kentucky, 2001. Archives unless otherwise noted. ———. One in Spirit: The Liberal Evangelical Witness of Union Church, Berea, Kentucky, 1853–2003. Berea, Ky.: Church of Christ, Union, 2003. GENERAL Durham, James G. “A History of Berea College.” Master’s thesis, University of Kentucky, 1942. Primary Sources Fairchild, J. H. Oberlin: The Colony and the College, 1833–1883. Oberlin, Printed Materials Ohio: E. J. Goodrich, 1883. Berea College Catalogue, 1867– . Fletcher, Robert Samuel. A History of Oberlin College. Oberlin, Ohio: Berea Evangelist, 1884–87. Oberlin College Press, 1943. Berea College Reporter, 1885–99. Harrison, Lowell. “Berea: An Experiment in Education.” American President’s Annual Reports, 1892– . History Illustrated 15 (1981): 8–17. Berea Quarterly, 1895–1916. Horton, Bill. “Images of Classlessness and Berea College.” Ap- Berea Citizen, 1899– . palachian Journal 11 (1983–84): 58–66. Historical Register of the Officers and Students of Berea College, 1904, 1916. Hughes, Jerome W. Six Berea College Presidents: Tradition and Progress. Pinnacle (student newspaper), 1922–38; 1954– . Berea, Ky.: Berea College Press, 1984. Historical Documents: Constitution and By-Laws, 1855–1929. Lucas, Christopher J. American Higher Education: A History. New York: Berea Alumnus (now Berea College Magazine), 1931– . St. Martin’s Press, 1994. Wallpaper (student newspaper), 1940–54. Lucas, Marion, and George C. Wright. A History of Blacks in Kentucky. 2 vols. Frankfort: Kentucky Historical Society, 1992. Records McPherson, James M. The Abolitionist Legacy: From Reconstruction to the Constitution and By-Laws of Berea College, 1859. NAACP. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1975. Foundations, 1900 (includes constitutional changes to 1899). Peck, Elisabeth S. Berea’s First Century, 1855–1955. Lexington: University Constitution and Statutes (as revised and amended), 1911. Press of Kentucky, 1955. Constitution and Statutes, 1855–1917. Peck, Elisabeth S., and Emily Ann Smith. Berea’s First 125 Years, Board of Trustees Records, 1858–59; 1865– , Record Group 1855–1980. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1982. (hereafter RG) 2. Rudolph, Frederick. The American College and University: A History. New Office of Information (Development) Records, especially publica- York: Vintage Books, 1962. tions about Berea College, 1870– , RG 5.23. ———. Curriculum: A History of the American Undergraduate Course of Study College Faculty Records, 1866– , RG 6.01. since 1636. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1978. General Faculty Records, 1911– , RG 5.01. Sears, Richard. Berea Connections. N.p., 1996. Student Manuals, 1867–1936, RG 12.15. Women in Berea’s History: A Symposium for Women’s History Week. N.p.: n.p., 1985. Secondary Sources Abramson, Rudy. “Berea College: A Rock in the Stream.” Smithson- JOHN G. FEE AND THE FOUNDING OF ian 24 (1993): 92–104. BEREA COLLEGE (1855–69) Baskin, Andrew. “Berea College: A Commitment to Interracial Education within a Christian Context.” In Ethnic Minorities and Primary Sources Evangelical Christian Colleges, ed. D. John Lee. Lanham, Md.: Uni- Founders and Founding Collection, RG 1.01. versity Press of America, 1991. John G. Fee Papers, RG 1.02. Brown, Dale. Berea College: Spiritual and Intellectual Roots. Berea, Ky.: J. A. R. and Elizabeth Rogers Papers, RG 1.03. Berea College Press, 1982. Other Founders, including George Candee, John Hanson, 237 Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 238

238 select bibliography

William E. Lincoln, Otis Waters, RG 1.04–1.13. John Bate ﬁle, RG 8, Students. Angus A. Burleigh Papers, RG 8, Students. William E. Barton Papers, RG 9, Faculty and Staff. Union Church Records, Accession 1, Historical Collections, Berea College. Secondary Sources Fee, John G. Autobiography of John G. Fee. Chicago: National Christian Lucas, Marion. “Berea College in the 1870s and 1880s: Student Association, 1891. Life at a Racially Integrated Kentucky College.” Register of the ———. Sinfulness of Slaveholding. New York: John A. Gray, 1851. Kentucky Historical Society 98 (2000): 1–22. Rogers, John A. R. Birth of Berea College: A Story of Providence. Philadel- Sears, Richard D. “Berea’s First Black Teacher,” in Julia Britton phia: Henry T. Coates & Co., 1902. Hooks ﬁle, RG 9, Faculty and Staff.

Secondary Sources WILLIAM B. STEWART (1890–92) Arthur, James Milton. “The Berean Way: Interracial Education in Kentucky, 1855–1904.” Master’s thesis, University of South Primary Sources Carolina, 1990. William B. Stewart Papers, RG 3.02. Drake, Richard B. One Apostle Was a Lumberman: John G. Hanson and Berea’s Zack Spratt Papers, RG 8, Students. Founding Generation. Berea, Ky.: Berea College Press, 1975. Bond, James. “Autobiography.” In The Horace Mann Bond Papers English, Philip W. “John G. Fee: Kentucky Spokesman for Aboli- (microﬁlm), ed. John H. Bracey Jr. Black Studies Research tion and Educational Reform.” Ph.D. dissertation, Indiana Sources. Bethesda, Md.: University Publications of America, University, 1973. 1989. Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz. Campus Life: Undergraduate Culture from the End of the Eighteenth Century to the Present. Chicago: University of Secondary Sources Chicago Press, 1987. Best, Bill. “Berea’s Immersed President.” Unpublished manuscript, Howard, Victor B. The Evangelical War against Slavery and Caste: The Life and n.d., in Stewart Papers. Times of John G. Fee. Selinsgrove, Pa.: Susquehanna University Press, 1996. WILLIAM G. FROST (1892–1920) Loesch, Robert K. “Kentucky Abolitionist: John Gregg Fee.” Hartford Theological Seminary, 1969. Primary Sources Reynolds, Todd A. “The American Missionary Association’s Anti- William Goodell Frost Papers, RG 3.03. Included in this collec- slavery Campaign in Kentucky, 1848–1860.” Ph.D. dissertation are the papers of Eleanor Frost. tion, Ohio State University, 1979. Frost, William Goodell. For the Mountains: An Autobiography. New York: Runkle, Col. Benjamin P. “Berea College, Ky.” American Missionary 13 Fleming H. Revell, 1937. (August 1869). Day Law Appeals, RG 13, Associated Items. Sears, Richard D. “The Day of Small Things”: Abolitionism in the Midst of Slav- ery, Berea, Kentucky, 1854–1864. Lanham, Md.: University Press of Secondary Sources America, 1986. Alvic, Philis. Weavers of the Southern Highlands: Berea. Murray, Ky.: n.p., ———. The Kentucky Abolitionists in the Midst of Slavery, 1854–1864: Exiles for 1993. Freedom. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press, 1993. Baskin, Andrew. “Berea College and the Founding of Lincoln In- ———. “A Practical Recognition of the Brotherhood of Man”: John G. Fee and the stitute.” In History of Education in Southern Appalachia, ed. John L. Camp Nelson Experience. Berea, Ky.: Berea College Press, 1986. Bell. Cullowhee, N.C.: Western Carolina University Press, ———. A Utopian Experiment in Kentucky: Integration and Social Equality at 1990. Berea, 1866–1904. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1996. Blackwell, Deborah L. “Eleanor Marsh Frost and the Gender Di- Warford, Malcolm. “Piety, Politics, and Pedagogy: An Evangelical mensions of Appalachian Reform Efforts.” Register of the Kentucky Protestant Tradition in Higher Education at Lane, Oberlin, Historical Society 94 (1996): 225–46. and Berea, 1834–1904.” Ed.D. dissertation, Columbia Univer- Blakeman, Scott. “Night Comes to Berea College: The Day Law sity, 1973. and the African-American Reaction.” Filson Club History Quarterly 70 (1996): 3–26. EDWARD HENRY FAIRCHILD (1869–89) Bolin, John S. “William Morris and the Appalachian Craft Revival at Berea College.” Unpublished manuscript, 1996. Primary Sources Burnside, Jacqueline G. “Philanthropists and Politicians: A Socio- Edward Henry Fairchild Papers, RG 3.01. logical Proﬁle of Berea College, 1855–1908.” Ph.D. disserta- Fairchild, E. H. Berea College: An Interesting History. 2d ed. Cincinnati: tion, Yale University, 1988. Elm Street Publishing, 1883. ———. “Suspicion versus Faith: Negro Criticisms of Berea Col- Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 239

select bibliography 239

lege in the Nineteenth Century.” Register of the Kentucky Historical Wilson, Shannon H. “A Little Journey to Harlan County: William Society 83 (1985): 237–66. J. Hutchins and the Harlan County Troubles, 1932.” Appalachian Campbell, John C. The Future of the Church and Independent Schools in Our Heritage 26 (1998): 6–12. Southern Highlands. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1917. Wood, Gerald E. “Organizational Culture and Leadership at Heckman, Richard Allen, and Betty Jean Hall. “Berea College and Berea College: An Historical Inquiry into Saga Development the Day Law.” Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 66 (1968): and Underlying Cultural Assumptions.” Ph.D. dissertation, 35–52. West Virginia University, 1998. Klotter, James C. “The Black South and White Appalachia.” Journal of American History 66 (1980): 832–49. FRANCIS S. HUTCHINS (1939–67) Krehbiel, Lee E. “From Race to Region: Shifting Priorities at Berea College under President William Goodell Frost, Primary Sources 1892–1912.” Ph.D. dissertation, Indiana University, 1997. Francis S. Hutchins Papers, RG 3.05. Nelson, Paul David. “Experiment in Interracial Education at Berea Hutchins, Francis S. Berea College: The Telescope and the Spade. New York: College, 1858–1908.” Journal of Negro History 59 (1974): 13–27. Newcomen Society in North America, 1963. Shapiro, Henry. Appalachia on Our Mind: The Southern Mountains and Moun- Green, Paul. Wilderness Road: An Outdoor Symphonic Drama. New York: taineers in the American Consciousness, 1870–1920. Chapel Hill: Universi- Samuel French, 1956. ty of North Carolina Press, 1978. Silber, Nina. The Romance of Reunion: Northerners and the South, 1865–1900. Secondary Sources Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1993. Brewer, Earl D. C., and Willis D. Weatherford. Life and Religion in Wilson, Shannon H. “Lincoln’s Sons and Daughters: Berea Col- Southern Appalachia. New York: Friendship Press, 1962. lege, Lincoln Memorial University, and the Myth of Unionist Egerton, John. “A Gentlemen’s Fight in Prince Edward County, Appalachia, 1866–1910.” In Civil War in Appalachia: Collected Essays, Virginia.” In Shades of Gray: Dispatches from the Modern South, ed. John ed. Kenneth W. Noe and Shannon H. Wilson. Knoxville: Uni- Egerton. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1991. versity of Tennessee Press, 1997. Ford, Thomas R. The Southern Appalachian Region: A Survey. Lexington: ———. “Sergeant York Is the Berea Kind: The Great War and University Press of Kentucky, 1962. Berea College, 1917–1918.” Appalachian Heritage 27 (1999): 6–17. Holden, Reuben. Yale-in-China: The Mainland, 1901–1951. New Haven, ———. “Window on the Mountains: Berea’s Appalachia, Conn.: Yale-in-China Association, 1964. 1870–1930.” Filson Club History Quarterly 64 (1990): 384–400. Jones, Loyal. “The Surveys of the Appalachian Region.” Appalachian Wright, George C. “The Founding of Lincoln Institute.” Filson Club Heritage 4 (1976): 36–42. History Quarterly 49 (1975): 57–70. Quarandillo, Ann Mary. “They Closed Our Schools.” Berea College Magazine 74 (2004): 13–17. WILLIAM J. HUTCHINS (1920–39) Schneider, James G. The Navy V-12 Program: Leadership for a Lifetime. Boston: Houghton Mifﬂin, 1987. Primary Sources Smith, Bob. They Closed Their Schools: Prince Edward County, Virginia, William J. Hutchins Papers, RG 3.04. 1951–1964. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1965. Hutchins, William J. “I Never Lose Heart”: Baccalaureate Addresses, Smith, Louis. “Berea College Will Enroll Negro Students from the 1921–1939. Berea, Ky.: Berea College Press, 1956. Southern Mountain Region.” Mountain Life and Work 26 (1950).

Secondary Sources WILLIS D. WEATHERFORD (1967–84) Bashaw, Carolyn Terry. “‘She Made a Tradition’: Katherine S. Bowersox and Women at Berea College, 1907–1937.” Register of Primary Sources the Kentucky Historical Society 89 (1991): 61–84. Willis D. Weatherford Papers, RG 3.06 ———. “Stalwart Women”: A Historical Analysis of Deans of Women in the “Berea College: The Weatherford Years, 1967–1984.” Ofﬁce of South. New York: Teachers College Press, 1999. Information Records. Hayolette, Sandra Diane. “‘Not at the Top, But Climbing’: Teach- Smith, Louis. “The Great Commitments of Berea College.” ing and Learning about Applachia and Identity at Berea Col- lege, 1920–1940.” Ph.D. dissertation, University of North Secondary Sources Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2002. Dykeman, Wilma. Prophet of Plenty: The First Ninety Years of W. D. Weather- Signiﬁcant Addresses Delivered in Connection with the Retirement of William J. ford. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1966. Hutchins as President of Berea College. Berea, Ky.: Berea College Press, Egerton, John. Speak Now against the Day: The Generation before the Civil 1939. Rights Movement in the South. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994. Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 240

240 select bibliography

JOHN B. STEPHENSON (1984–94) LARRY D. SHINN (1994– ) Primary Sources Primary Sources Larry D. Shinn Papers, RG 3.08 John B. Stephenson Papers, RG 3.07. Being and Becoming: Berea College in the 21st Century (includes reports of Records of the Committee to Review the Commitments, RG 10, subcommittees). Committees, Projects, Reports. Records of the Long Range Planning Committee, RG 10, Com- Secondary Sources mittees, Projects, Reports. Raps, Beth. “An Ecology of Knowledge: How the Academic Com- munity Relates to Epistemic Difference.” Ph.D. dissertation, Secondary Sources Florida State University, 2001. Ford, Thomas R., ed. John B. Stephenson: Appalachian Humanist. Ashland, Ky.: Jesse Stuart Foundation, 2001. Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 241

Index

The page numbers in bold type refer to illustrations. ences, 36, 44, 46, 48 Basic Year, 143–44 academy, 103, 109, 115–18 Bate, John, 39–40 Adjustment Fund, 88 Battle, Wallace, 134, 135 admissions, 119, 207, 234n; and African Americans, 3, 169, 185, 191, Beecher, Henry Ward, 20, 26 211; and Appalachia, 170, 177; expansion, 177, 191; impartial nature, Beecher, Lyman, 10 1, 18, 44, 54; Upper Division, 118 Being and Becoming (strategic planning document), 205–7, 209–10, 217. African Americans: admission of, 3, 10, 83, 191, 194; in Appalachia, See also Strategic Planning 182, 185, 221; commitment to, 191, 197, 221; diminished interest in, Berea (town): and Appalachian Museum, 214; and Berea College, 43, 3, 81; education of, 26, 28, 30, 59, 63, 87, 193; Montgomery march, 47, 49; and interracial character, 83; and Japanese Americans, 4, 129, 150–51; reintegration 145–51; and social equality 2, 18, 86; as teach- 140; race relations, 83, 166–67, 169; town name, 13 ers, 36; as trustees, 24. See also Bate, John; Black Ensemble; Black Berea College: constitution, 1, 9, 16–20, 23, 30, 31, 96, 103, 222–23; Student Union; Bond, James; Britton, Julia; Committee for the Day Law crisis, 81–87; early college, 33–55; founding period, 14–31; March on Montgomery; Hathaway, James reintegration, 145–51; reorganization, 104, 111–19, 141–44; saga of, agriculture, 91, 92, 95, 111, 116, 136, 144, 153, 171, 210 6, 16, 99, 101, 195; strategic planning, 6, 201, 204, 208, 219. See also Allan, N. J. R., 150 admissions; African Americans; Appalachia; curriculum; depart- American Anti-Slavery Society, 34 ments; Great Commitments; labor; mountain people; student life; American Friends Service Committee (AFSC): and Prince Edward teacher training; women County students, 149; and Willis D. Weatherford Jr., 162 Berea College: An Interesting History (Fairchild), 51 American Missionary, 11, 14, 26, 29 Berea College Reporter, 49, 59, 60–61, 63, 65, 69–70, 77 American Missionary Association (AMA), 3, 11–12, 26, 41, 52, 68, 234 Berea College v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, 84 Andover Seminary, 76 Berea Evangelist, 49 Anglo-Saxonism, 81, 230n Berea Literary Institute, 21 anticaste principle: at Berea, 47 Berea’s First Century (Peck), 157 Anti-slavery Manual (Fee), 12 Berea’s First 125 Years (Peck and Smith), 186 Appalachia: and African Americans, 3, 5, 182, 184–86, 197; Berea’s de- Berheide, Dr. Michael, 194 piction of, 78, 79, 80, 98, 101, 103, 120; commitment to, 221; service Best, Bill, 73 to, 3, 4, 5, 79, 90, 95, 96, 115, 119, 120, 152, 170–74, 177, 181–87, 191, Bevis, Palmer, 130–31 197, 202, 206, 207, 212–16. See also mountain people Bible Department, 2, 59 Appalachian Center, 171, 173, 177, 187, 207, 212–14 Black Cultural Center, 169, 211–12 Appalachian Heritage, 213 Black Ensemble, 166, 169 Appalachian Museum, 171, 172–73, 213–14. See also Artifacts Program Black Mountain Improvement Association, 185 Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), 153, 183 Black Mountain Youth Development Project, 5, 179, 185, 186, 199, 213 Appalachian Sound Archive, 173 Black Student Union (BSU), 166, 169 Appalachian Studies Association, 173, 199 black studies, 165, 166, 169, 211, 212 Appalachian Studies Conference, 173, 181 Blackwell, Antoinette Brown, 9 Armstrong, Gen. Samuel C., 77 Blue Ridge Assembly, 162 Artifacts Program, 214. See also Appalachian Museum Blythe, Robert, 122 Autobiography (Fee), 68 boarding hall, 22, 30 Avery, Charles, 41, 42 Boggs, John, 167 Bond, James: and Lincoln Institute, 88–89, 90; student experiences, Baird, William Jesse, 117 65–66 Baker, Lawrence, 139 Bonner Scholars, 211 Ballard, Melissa, 28, 29 Boone, Daniel, 98, 103, 120 Barbee, Coole, 45, 49 Britton, Julia (Hooks): at Berea College, 36, 37; in Memphis, 36 Barber, A. L., 69 Brown, Alice, 199 Barrier, Bob, 150 Brown, Dale, 31 Barton, William E.: as trustee, 86, 87, 105, 106, 112; student experi- Brown, John, 9, 20 241 Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 242

242 index

Brown v. Board of Education, 161 Cook, John, 191 Brushy Fork Institute, 5, 179, 183–87, 199 Council of the Southern Mountains (CSM), 171, 172, 173 Burdette, Gabriel, 24, 47 country dancers, 173, 212 Burdette, Josiah, 70 country homes, 157 Burdette, Morgan, 24 Cravath, E. M., 43 Burleigh, Angus A., 19, 22, 23, 36, 44, 49 curriculum, 2, 4, 5, 17–18, 26, 33, 38, 40, 55, 61–62, 94–95, 104, 107, Burnside, Jacqueline G., 101 108, 109, 114–19, 125, 129, 136, 177, 179, 195; and agriculture, 210; Bush, President George H. W., and Barbara Bush, 195 and Appalachian studies, 171; and black studies, 166, 169; and expe- Bushnell, Esther, 46 riential learning, 211, 216; and Navy V-12, 138; revised (1947), Bushnell, Horace, 38 142–45; revised (1970), 164–66; revised (1993), 180, 187–89 Butwell, Ruth, 169 Danforth Chapel, 125, 127, 135 Camp Nelson, 21, 22, 23, 24 Danforth, Donald, 163 Campbell, Dr. Ernest, 180 Danforth, William H., 125 Campbell, John C., 110, 111 Daniel, Danny, 150 Campbell, John Milton, 10 Darling, Lucia, 35 Campus Christian Center, 169, 172, 175 Davis, James S., 15, 222 campus governance, 6, 193, 194, 204, 208, 216 Day, Carl, 83 Candee, George, 12, 13, 15, 26, 222 Day Law, 4, 75, 76, 84–89, 97, 121, 129, 145, 147, 149 Carnegie, Andrew, 88, 107 degrees, 61–62, 95, 111, 114–15, 137, 144, 153, 228n, 233n Carter Woodson Summer Institute, 185 departments (schools). See Academy, Bible, College, Commercial, Carver, George Washington, 122, 146 Foundation, Industrial, Ladies’, Model School, Normal, Preparatory, Centennial Anniversary (1955), 153 Primary, and Vocational Departments. See also Lower Division; Center for Excellence in Learning Through Service (CELTS), 6, 202, Upper Division 211 Dike, Charles F., 41, 42 Century Company, 42 Dillard, L. Badgett, 179 Century Magazine, 42 Di Teresa, Neil, 172, 174 Changsha, China, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135 Dodge, Ernest, 48 chapel: first, 2, 25, 29; second, 42, 54, 55. See also Danforth Chapel Dodge, LeVant, 35, 40, 59, 91, 106 Charles, Cleophus, 169 Dodge, P. D., 35, 60, 61, 67, 70 Chazotsang, Khando, 188 Douglass, Frederick, 9 Christianity at Berea College: commitment to, 5, 6, 191, 193, 194, 207, Drake, Richard B., 150, 173, 186, 187 218–19, 221; inclusive nature of, 2, 10, 19, 20, 31, 38, 176, 203; and Draper Building, 124, 125, 126, 135, 210 service, 37, 61, 104, 107, 109, 119, 120, 158, 161, 176, 198, 203 Dunathan, Homer, 139 Citizen (Berea), 124 Civil Rights movement, 149, 150, 151, 166, 177 Economic Development Administration (EDA), 153 Clare, George W., 46 Ecovillage, 209, 210, 214 Clark, Burton, 1 Eddy, Sherwood, 105 Clark, Henry F., 25, 44 Eighth Kentucky Volunteer Infantry (Union), 51 Clark, Mike, 150 Eli Lilly Foundation, 175 Clay, Cassius M., 12, 13, 14, 63, 98 Eli Lilly Visiting Professor of Religion, 175 Clay, Laura, 63 Eliot, Charles William, 76 Claytor, Bob, 169 Embree, Edwin, 146 Cobbs, Alfred L., 149 Embree, William Dean (trustee), 132, 146, 147 Coe, Albert, 133 Embree, William N. (early trustee), 24 Cole, L. Wayne, 38 Emerick, Jacob, 15 College Department, 3, 4, 36, 40, 75, 93–95, 103, 110, 113, 115, 125, 161. Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 9 See also Lower Division; Upper Division Empowering a Dynamic Generation through Education (EDGE), 216 college faculty, 4, 35, 36, 40, 158, 185, 193, 194, 217 endowment, 2, 5, 26, 33, 41, 42, 55, 67, 158, 161, 201, 209; and Lincoln Commercial Department, 60 Institute, 88. See also fund-raising; New Endowment; Old Endow- Committee to Review the Commitments (CRC), 195, 197, 198, 218 ment Common Learning Goals, 206, 217 Entrepreneurship for the Public Good (EPG), 202, 209, 214, 216 Commonwealth v. Berea College, 84 exile, 20–21 Concerned Citizens Committee, 167 extension work, 75, 91, 92, 93, 96, 103, 152, 173 constitution (1859), 1, 9, 16–20, 23, 30, 31, 222–23 constitution (1911), 96, 103 faculty. See college faculty; general faculty Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 243

index 243

Fairchild, Charles G., 40, 42, 52 Gilman, Gertrude Carter, 131 Fairchild, E. P., 3, 67, 69, 70, 72 Glade district, 13, 14 Fairchild, Edward Henry, 2, 32, 33, 35, 55, 59, 70, 76, 84, 91, 98, 121, Goodell, Lavinia, 76 161, 203, 219; and buildings, 53–55; and Christian character, 37; Goodell, William, 76 College Department, 40; educational mission, 38; endowment, 3, Grandison, Julia, 46 41, 42; and faculty, 34, 36, 37; institutional saga, 50, 51; at Oberlin, Great Commitments, 5, 162, 163, 169, 174, 175, 177, 179, 180, 189, 191, 33; and race, 2, 26, 33, 34; student life, 44; and women, 2, 18, 33, 38, 201, 207, 208, 210, 217, 221; revised, 195, 197–98 41, 45 Green, Paul, 153 Fairchild, James, 34 Gyatzo, Tenzin (the 14th Dalai Lama), 188, 190 Fee, Burritt H., 38, 45, 49 Fee, John G., 1, 2, 3, 9, 12, 31, 34, 69, 76, 84, 121, 161, 169, 177, 189, 219, Hammond, Charles F., 41 222; and abolitionism, 10, 12; and AMA, 3, 12, 13, 26, 68; back- Hammond, William A., 171 ground, 12; and baptism, 3, 68; at Camp Nelson, 21; and Cassius Hampton Institute, 77, 86, 87 Clay, 12–13; and district school, 14; education, 10, 12; exile, 20–21; Handy, W. C., 36 and Frost, 76, 98–100; and founding of Berea community, 13, 14, Hanson, A. J., 24 23; impartial gospel, 1, 10, 14, 19, 50; and institutional ideals, 1, 2, 14, Hanson, John G., 15, 17, 20, 24, 25, 29, 30, 47, 222 15, 16, 18, 19, 34, 38, 47, 54, 63, 97; and slavery, 1, 18, 19; and Stewart, Hanson, Samuel, 70 3, 69, 70, 71; writings, 12 Harlan, John Marshall, 84 Fee, Matilda Hamilton, 9, 12, 13, 18, 30 Harper, William Rainey, 116 Finney, Charles Grandison, 9, 11, 12, 76, 77 Harrison, Elisha, 24 Fireside Industries, 124 Hart, William, 35, 43 Fisk Jubilee Singers, 122 Hathaway, James S., 35, 36–37, 80 Fisk University, 86, 87 Hayes, Frances, 149 Fleming, John, 150 Hays, Frank, 51, 78 For the Mountains (Frost), 72, 123 Henderson, A. J., 24 Ford Foundation, 152, 162, 163, 174 Hendricks, T. A., 117 Foster, A. P., 70, 72 Hensley, C. C., 167 Foster, Abbie Kelly, 9 Hill, Jennie Lester, 65 Foundation School, 4, 91, 115, 129, 143, 149, 164, 231n45 Holland Law, 88–89 Fox, John, Jr., 77 Hooks, Charles, 36 Freedmen’s Bureau, 53 Horizon Committee, 194 Frost, Cleveland, 77 Horowitz, Helen, 54 Frost, Edith, 77 Horton, Bill, 186 Frost, Eleanor Marsh, 77, 92–94, 112, 124, 161, 229n53 Howard, Oliver Otis, 26, 53, 68 Frost, Lewis P., 76 Howard Hall, 2, 52, 53–55, 62, 66, 83, 139 Frost, Louise Raney, 77, 229n Hua Chung College, 130 Frost, Maria Goodell, 76 Hughes, Jerome, 73 Frost, Norman, 77 Hughes, Langston, 146 Frost, Stanley, 77 Hume, Edward, 130 Frost, Wesley, 77 Hunan-Yale Medical College, 130 Frost, William G., 3, 38, 48, 59, 69, 70, 72, 74, 103, 111, 113, 161, 184, Hunting, Bruce S., 35, 36, 59, 60 203; and African Americans, 3, 75, 80, 82; and Appalachia, 3, 75, Hutchins, Anna Murch, 104, 105, 106 78–81, 90–92, 94–101, 109–11, 121; Day Law, 81–84, 89, 90; early Hutchins, Francis S., 4, 104, 129, 130, 131, 133, 134, 135, 159, 161, 163, life and influences, 76; and extension work, 92–94; and Fee, 182; and Appalachia, 135, 136, 152, 153; background, 130; and college 99–100; and William J. Hutchins, 104–8, 111–13, 123–24; and Lin- expansion, 4, 158; and curriculum, 143–45; and Japanese-Americans, coln Institute, 84–88; at Oberlin, 76; and Vocational School, 91, 140–41; and Navy V-12, 138–140; and reintegration, 145–51; and 112; writings, 76, 123 reorganization, 141–44; and Berea saga, 153, 158; and Yale-in-China, fund-raising, 2, 3, 5, 30, 33, 43, 57, 68, 69, 75, 88, 92, 98, 152, 179, 202. 129, 130–34 See also endowment Hutchins, Harriet P. James, 104 Hutchins, Dr. Louise Gilman, 131, 132, 152, 159 Garrison, William Lloyd, 12 Hutchins, Rev. R. G., 104, 107 General Education Review Committee (GERC), 217, 219 Hutchins, Robert M., 104, 105, 114, 126, 130, 153 general faculty, 175, 193, 194, 195, 198 Hutchins, William G., 104, 105, 130 Giffin, Roscoe, 152 Hutchins, William J., 3, 97, 102, 105, 106, 111, 113, 114, 129, 132, 133, 134, Gilbert, Kate, 39, 67 135, 161, 203; and African Americans, 121–23; and Appalachia, 3, Gilman, Rt. Rev. Bishop Alfred Alonzo, 131 103, 104, 108, 112, 119–20; background, 104–05; and Frost, 4, Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 244

244 index

104–8, 111–13, 123–24; and Oberlin, 104–6; and reorganization, Louisville Courier, 20 104, 111–19; and Berea saga, 119, 120 Lower Division, 4, 117, 118, 124, 129, 135, 136, 142 Hutchins Library, 158, 171, 213 Lucas, Marion, 44 Lyon, Rhoda J., 47 Industrial Department, 60, 61 industries, student, 124, 173 McAllister, Cloyd, 113 International Center, 209 McCollum, Sallie, 46 international students, 188, 191, 194, 209 McPherson, James, 48 Interracial Commitment Subcommittee, 191 McWhinney, T. M., 70 Magoffin, Gov. Beriah, 20 Jackson, John H., 43, 47, 65 Mahan, Asa, 11 Jackson, Jordan C., 43 Mann, Horace, 77 Japanese American students, 4, 129, 140, 141 manual labor: and Berea College, 2, 12, 17, 50, 90, 101, 222 Johnson, James Weldon, 122, 146 Marsh, Miles, 119 Jones, Howard, 122 Marshall, Melvin, 169 Jones, Loyal, 173, 186, 187 Martin, Asa, 173 Jones, William, 164 Maryville Law, 82 Massey, Edsel, 169 Kazee, Buell, 173 Matson, Ron, 150 Kentucky Equal Rights Association, 63 Mayo, Rev. A. D., 52, 86 Kentucky State University, 147 Mays, Benjamin, 146 Kernodle, Wayne, 180 Men’s Literary Society, 28 Kessler, John, 139 Middletown School, 122, 146 Kincaid, Bradley, 173, 175 Miller, Christopher, 214 Kincaid, William, 68 Mitchell, Belle, 21 King, Martin Luther, Jr., 150 Model Schools, 45, 91 Knight, Charles S., 92 Montgomery, march on, 150, 151 Morgan, John, 10, 11 labor, 96, 101, 114, 135, 153, 161, 165, 174, 175, 177, 179, 186, 193, 194, Mountain Association for Community Economic Development 195, 196, 202, 205, 206, 208, 211, 216, 217, 218, 219, 221, 222 (MACED), 213 Labor Day (celebration), 114, 204 Mountain Day, 120, 139, 205 Labor Review Team (LRT), 217 mountain people: Berea’s depiction of, 51, 52, 77, 78, 79, 81, 96, 97, 98, Ladies’ Board of Care, 18, 45, 46 101, 119, 120, 153; education of, 75, 92, 93, 103, 109, 152 Ladies’ Course, 18, 39 Muir, Rev. William, 58 Ladies’ Department, 2, 26 Murfree, Mary, 77 Ladies’ Hall, 2, 42, 49, 50, 53, 54, 55, 58, 82, 83, 91, 106 lady principal, 35, 45, 46, 47, 61 National Council of Churches, 149 Lair, John, 173 National States Rights Party, 166, 167 Lamm, Carol, 184 National War Work Council (YMCA), 105 Lane “Rebels,” 10, 11, 33 Naval Reserve Officer Training Course (NROTC), 139 Lane Seminary, 10, 12 Navy V-12, 4, 129, 137, 138, 139, 140 Laws and Regulations of Berea College, 28 Nelson, Paul David, 101 Leavitt, George, 70, 72 Nepal, 5 Lester, Charles, 35 New Endowment, 42 Lewis Institute, 114 New Opportunity School for Women (NOS), 5, 179, 182, 183, 186, library, 42, 43, 146 199, 213 liberal arts: and educational program, 189, 195, 204, 205, 216, 219, 221; New York Tribune, 20 outlook, 158, 161, 164, 165, 171, 175, 177, 179, 181, 187, 188 Nickum, Bertha Daisy, 80 Lincoln, Abraham, 55, 97, 98, 103, 120 Normal School, 26, 95, 96 Lincoln, William E., 12 Norton, Charles Eliot, 76 Lincoln Hall, 42, 49, 54, 71, 169, 210 nursing, 91, 111, 136, 147, 153, 171, 233n36 Lincoln Institute, 89, 90, 101, 122 Lincoln Memorial University, 72 Oberlin, John Frederick, 10 literary societies, 28, 44, 45, 49, 63, 65, 85, 86, 115 Oberlin College, 11, 76, 77, 78, 105, 106, 107, 130, 203; curriculum, 2; Locke, Alain, 122 founding, 10–11; influence on Berea College, 1, 12, 14, 17, 34; and Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC), 189, 194, 195, 197, 201 integration, 34; and Lane Seminary, 4, 11; presidents from, 33, 59, Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 245

index 245

104, 130, 202; teachers from, 12, 15, 24, 25, 36; and women, 11, 38 Runkle, Col. Benjamin P., 28, 29 Oberlin School of Theology, 76, 104 Russell Sage Foundation, 110 Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), 172 Office of Women’s Studies, 5, 188 Sandpiper (Royal Navy vessel), 133 Okolana Industrial College, 122 saga of Berea College, 6, 16, 99, 101, 195; defined, 1 Okuma, Thomas, 140 Scofield, Abisha, 24 Old Endowment, 42 Scott, Catherine, 149 Operation Zebra, 169 Sears, Richard D., 101 Opportunity School, 117 sectarianism: Berea’s opposition to, 2, 3, 4, 18, 19, 31, 68, 69, 222 Osborne, J. Randolph (Randy), 169, 176 September 11 memorial, 218 Sessions, F. C., 68 Paige, Anna Marie, 149 Seventy-fifth Anniversary, 120–21 Parker, Rev. Henry, 169, 176 Shansi Memorial School, 130 Pearsons, Dr. D. K., 107 Shapiro, Henry, 101 Payne, Joseph H., 11 Shinn, Larry D., 5, 200, 201, 203, 204; and Appalachia, 202, 216; back- Peace, Emma, 46 ground, 202–3; and Being and Becoming, 206; and Berea traditions, People Who Care (PWC), 172 203–4, 206, 218, 220; and Fee’s inclusive gospel, 202, 203, 218; and Phi Delta Literary Society, 44, 65, 85 governance, 208; and strategic planning, 6, 201, 208, 219 Phillips, Wendell, 77 Shinn, Nancy Lee Albright, 202, 203 physical education, 17, 144, 165 Shipherd, John Jay, 10, 11 Pierrepont, Seth Low, 133, 134 Shutt, Charles N., 117 Pigg, George L., 38 Sinclair, Olive, 93 Pine Mountain Settlement School, 152 Smith, Gerrit, 15, 42, 54 Pine Mountain Study, 152 Smith, John, 15–16 Pinnacle (student newspaper), 150 Smith, Kirke, 88, 89 Powell, Smith T., 207 Smith, Louis, 139, 140, 146, 174, 204, 219 Pratt, Belle A., 38 Smith, Ralph, 149 Preparatory Department, 26, 35, 38, 39, 91 Smith, Roswell, 42, 55 Preston, John, 24 Southern Appalachian Studies (1962 Regional Survey), 152 Pride, Dorothea, 149 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), 6, 118, 129, Primary Department, 21 189, 201 Prince Edward County, Va., 149, 151 Special Collections Department, 171 Pringle, Henry F., 158 Spratt, Zaccheus, 59, 228n5 Printing Department, 60, 61, 91 Stapp, William, 15, 222 Profile of Berea College, 1952–1972, 163, 174 Stephenson, Edna, 180 Prudential Committee, 20, 21, 51, 67, 68, 70, 73, 106, 223 Stephenson, Jane Baucom, 179, 180, 181, 182. See also New Opportunity Pursiful, Mary Louise, 185, 186 School (NOS) Stephenson, John B., 5, 178, 180, 182, 186; and African Americans, 185; Raine, James Watt, 124 Appalachia, 5, 181, 182, 183, 184, 186, 187, 201; background, 180; and Raymond, C. Rexford, 92, 97 Dalai Lama, 188–89; and Great Commitments, 5, 180, 181, 189, Recreation Extension, 212 195, 196–98; and long range planning, 189, 194, 201; writings of, Renfro, Thomas J., 16, 20, 222 181 Ritchie, Jean, 173 Stephenson, Louis, 180 Roberts, John D., 38 Stewart, William B.: and African Americans, 59, 63; background, Robinson, Doris, 149 57–58; career after Berea, 70–73; conflict with E. P. Fairchild, Robinson, Elsie, 149 69–70; and curriculum, 2, 59, 60, 61; and fund-raising, 3, 66–67, Robinson, John T., 47, 69, 80, 230n17 71; as trustee, 58, 59, 70 Roger Williams College, 58, 69, 70 Stoddard, J. P., 70 Rogers, Elizabeth, 15, 17, 22, 33, 43, 49, 106 Stone Fund, 42 Rogers, J. A. R., 49, 54, 87, 121, 161, 220, 222; and AMA, 12, 26; and Stone, Lucy, 9 Appalachia, 98; and constitution, 16, 18; early school, 15, 17, 18, 21, Stone, Valeria, 42 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31; exile and return, 20–21; as trustee, 24, 37, Strategic Planning Committee (SPC), 6, 201, 204 71, 72; writings, 72, 100–101 Student Association, 150 Rogers, J. R., 85, 105, 106, 112; and Day Law, 85 student life, 23, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 63, 66, 83, 138, 140, 174. See also Rosenwald Foundation, 122, 146 admissions; labor; literary societies Rucker, Elza, 167 Student Taught Basic Literacy Efforts (STABLE), 172 Backmatter 2••p. 221-246 11/21/05 8:09 PM Page 246

246 index

Students for Appalachia (SFA), 172, 173, 187, 213 Warner, Lucien, 68, 229n63 Subcommittee on Sustainability (SOS), 209, 210 Washington, Booker T., 85 Summer Puppetry Caravan, 172, 174 Waters, Otis, 12 Sustainability and Environmental Studies Program (SENS), 6, 202, Weatherford, Anne Cobbs, 163 210, 211 Weatherford, Julia McCrory, 162 Swanson, David, 195 Weatherford, Willis D., Jr. (president), 4, 160, 163, 177; and admissions, 170, 171; and Appalachia, 5, 170–74; background, 162–63; and Tandy and Foster, 89 curriculum, 161, 165; and Great Commitments, 5, 161–63, 174, 175, Tappan, Arthur, 10 177; and interracial education, 166, 169, 170, 177 Tappan, Lewis, 11, 42 Weatherford, Willis D., Sr. (trustee), 116, 161, 162; and fund-raising, Task Force on Gender Issues, 187–88 162, 171; and reorganization, 115; and Southern Appalachian Stud- Task Force on International Education, 188 ies, 152, 153 Task Group on Committee Reorganization, 194 Weatherford-Hammond Mountain Collection, 171 teacher training, 33, 87, 109, 144 Wei, Dr. Francis, 133 territory, 170–71, 185, 191, 207 Weld, Theodore, 10, 33 Thompson, Kenneth, 150 Wheeler, Ellen P. T., 21, 22 Thomson, A. E., 89, 90 Wheeler, W. W., 21, 22, 24 Tibet, students from, 188, 189 Whipple, George, 11, 43 Traditional Music Festival, 173, 212, 213 White, James C., 10 Training School, 231n45 “Whom Shall We Serve” Committee, 170, 191 True American (Cassius Clay), 13 Wilderness Road, 153, 156, 157 trustees, 2, 3, 5, 6, 16, 19, 21, 23, 24, 37, 43, 44, 47, 53, 55, 57, 60, 62, 63, Wilson, Capt. John, 51 65, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72, 77, 87, 88, 90, 99, 106, 112, 113, 116, 118, 119, women at Berea College: and buildings, 53, 54; commitment to, 132, 133, 134, 143, 146, 147, 150, 163, 170, 171, 175, 191, 195, 198, 207, 197–98, 221; education of, 18, 38, 93, 157, 187, 193, 197, 198, 216; 212, 218, 219, 222–23 rules concerning, 28, 34, 45, 46, 115; as teachers, 25, 34, 36, 46. See also tuition, 27, 41, 59, 153, 234n51 Office of Women’s Studies; Task Force on Gender Issues; women’s Tuskegee Industrial Institute, 84, 86, 87, 228n15 studies women’s studies, 187, 188 Union Church (Church of Christ, Union), 25, 54, 68, 89, 175, 225n15, Wong, Richard, 140 234n27 Woodson, Carter G., 169 United States Navy, 138, 139, 141 Woolwine Purchase, 21 University of Chicago, 114, 116 World War I, 3, 96, 98, 116 University of Minnesota, 116 World War II, 4, 129, 136, 140, 141, 161 University of Wisconsin, 116 Wright, W. E. C., 40, 72 Upper Division, 4, 117, 118, 119, 129, 142 Upward Bound, 173 YMCA, 104, 105, 122, 145, 162 YWCA, 122, 146, 162, 140 Vocational School (Department), 112 Yale-in-China, 129, 130, 131, 132 Yale University Medical College, 131 Wade, Barbara, 187 York, Sgt. Alvin, 98, 103 Wallpaper (student newspaper), 140, 141 Young, Louise, 140 Walls, David, 181 War Relocation Authority, 140 Zander, Jessie Reasor, 147, 149 Warford, Malcolm, 101