(cover) NEMOSCOPE SUMMER FALL 1950 (page 2) PAGE 2 NEMOSCOPE SUMMER-FALL, 1950 ALUMNI NOTES Carl Thiele, Jr., 1941, is at present farming near Bucklin, Missouri. He majored in agriculture while attending college. Mrs. Maurine Woodruff Wiss, 1923, is serving as County Welfare Director of Harrison County. Mrs. Wiss is living at Bethany, Missouri. Ethel Perry, 1931, is living at 1002 Elm, Chillicothe, Missouri, where she is vocational home economics instructor in the Chillicothe High School. LaVerne Cable, 1939, is music instructor in the West Junior High School in Kansas City. His present address is 2726 East 36th, Kansas City, Missouri. Ruth Siegrist, 1945, commerce major from Meadville, Missouri, is teaching in a high school at Maywood. Her present address is 711 South Third, Maywood, Illinois. Leonard M. Skinner, 1935, is teaching social studies in the Hine Junior High School. His present address is 2801 Pennsylvania Avenue, S. E., Washington 20, D. C. Paul Thayer, 1938, formerly of Quincy, Illinois, is teaching commerce in the Junior College and High School at Washington. His address is: 409 E. Jefferson, Washington, Iowa. James D. Spencer, 1949, of Hunnewell, Missouri, is teaching Physical Education and science in the Agassiz Grade School. Mr. Spencer's address is 3383 S. Moore, Ottumwa, Iowa. Frederick D. Trussell, 1939, a social science major from Clarence, Missouri, is teaching American History in the Santa Fe High School. His address is 636 East Palace, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Chester Lee Sutton, 1948, of Macon, Missouri, is teaching mathematics and industrial arts in the seventh grade at Hardin Junior High School at Mexico. His present mailing address is Route 2, Mexico, Missouri. Robert L. Whisler, 1940, business education major from Ridgeway, Missouri, is Band Director of the Newport Schools. He has held this capacity for the past four years. Mr. Whisler resides at 408 N. E. Spruce Street, Newport, Oregon. Cover Picture - - - One of the fine trains of the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad. This railroad played an important part in the development of the Midwest. LoVina Taylor Tompkins, 1944, is teaching English in the high school at Hurdland, Missouri. John Maxwell Timmons, 1938, is Superintendent of Schools at Wardell, Missouri. Mr. Timmons was a social science major. Dayton W. See, 1937, whose home town is Rutledge, Missouri, is acting principal and science teacher at the high school in Dexter, Iowa. Mabel M. Taylor, 1942, formerly of Palmyra, Missouri, is now in Civil Service work. Her address is 5406 Delmar, St. Louis 12, Missouri. Elbert J. Wills, 1941, whose home town is La Plata, Missouri, is teaching Industrial Arts and Driver Education in the Center High School. He lives at 75 West 97th, Kansas City, Missouri. Clara Underwood, 1939, formerly of Kirksville, Missouri, is now located with the Missouri Agricultural Extension Service. Miss Underwood's address is: Box 341, Farmington, Missouri. Velma May Yowell, 1934, of Kirksville, Missouri, has the position as Research Analyst for the Illinois Commission for Handicapped Children. She resides at 5326 Winthrop, Chicago, Illinois. Jesse A. Slover, 1946, formerly of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, is now serving as a minister in Clarence, Missouri. Burke Workman, 1939, is living at 2637 Roseland Terrace, Maplewood, Missouri, where he is a Certified Public Accountant. Leona Bess Teter, 1936, of Prior, Missouri, is now Dean of Girls at Alton High School. Her address is: 2640 Grandview, Alton, Illinois. Vernal Wells, 1948, elementary education major from Unionville, is employed as fourth grade teacher in the Central School at Marceline, Missouri. Mrs. Mildred Slinn Redfield, 1943, of Fulton, Missouri, is teaching mathematics in the Ritenour Junior High School. She is living at 5536 Pershing, St. Louis 12, Missouri. Lowell E. Creed, 1936, formerly from Cairo, Missouri, is in business for himself as a contractor and builder at Bell, California. He has been located there since 1939. Helen Thompson, 1948, formerly of Kalispell, Montana, is teaching the first grade at Lawton School in Seattle, Washington. She is living at 2014 Fourth Avenue in that city. Mrs. Roberta Nash Jaeckel, 1941, of Kirksville, Missouri, is now employed by the Veterans Administration as a Medical Secretary. Her address is: P. O. Box 870, Martinsburg, West Virginia. NEMOSCOPE NORTHEAST MISSOURI STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE KIRKSVILLE, MISSOURI WALTER H. RYLE, PRESIDENT EDITOR ROBERT L. MCKINNEY EDITORIAL BOARD WRAY M. RIEGER PAULINE D. KNOBBS BERENICE B. BEGGS C. H. ALLEN VOLUME V SUMMER-FALL, 1950 NUMBER 1 (page 3) SUMMER-FALL, 1950 NEMOSCOPE PAGE 3 THE ALTON ROUTE OF THE GULF, MOBILE AND OHIO RAILROAD by Norman Little Social Science Instructor North Kansas City High School and Everett W. Meng Commerical Agent, G. M. and O. Mexico, Missouri Editor's Note: This article is the outgrowth of a Master's Thesis being written by Norman Little on the Alton railroad. Messrs. Meng, Lapp and Sheridan of the G. M. and O. service have been most helpful in supplying materials. Driving along the highways of the heartland of the state of Missouri one notes railroad trestles bearing a relatively unfamiliar name, "The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio." When, it may be asked, did this system come into the state of Missouri from "south of the Mason Dixon Line?" The saga of this railroad is picturesque in the union of the deep south with the border state of Missouri. The steel bands of the G. M. and O. stretch across the state from Louisiana on the Mississippi River to Kansas City on the Missouri River. Through ten of the richest agricultural and industrial counties of the state known as the "heartland area" this road follows a famous western trail to the "Gateway" of the west--Kansas City, Missouri. Crossing the Mississippi River at Louisiana, Missouri, on one of the earliest wrought iron railroad bridges to the trans-Mississippi west, the famed "Rebel Route" of the South enters the "Little Dixie" section of Missouri. Proceeding across Pike, Ralls, Audrain, Callaway, Boone, Randolph, Howard, Saline, Lafayette and Jackson counties, this line serves an area of the state of rich development. Until 1947 the Chicago and Alton road owned this line and after the merger with the G. M. and O., the entire system became known as the "Alton Route" to commemorate this long-established and well-known road. The history of the Chicago and Alton Railroad in Missouri dates back to 1859 when the Louisiana and Missouri River Railroad was incorporated under the laws of Missouri. Due to the coming of the Civil War construction of the L. & M. R. was delayed. It was reincorporated under the new constitution of Missouri in 1868. An enlarged charter was granted the L. & M. R. in 1870 by the General Assembly of Missouri. This line was to connect Louisiana with Fulton by way of Mexico, Missouri, the latter town being a point on the North Missouri Railroad now known as the Wabash Railroad. The Chicago and Alton was an Illinois road which had its beginning in 1847 when the Alton and Sangamon Railroad Company was incorporated by the General Assembly of Illinois. Following the Civil War the Chicago and Alton became interested in acquiring a Missouri branch to connect its Illinois line with Kansas City. The eye of interested parties fell upon the Louisiana and Missouri River Railroad then under construction. On August 1, 1870, this road was leased for one thousand years to the Chicago and Alton Company. The next problem was the crossing of the Mississippi River from a point on the east bank to Louisiana, Missouri, on the west bank. Yungmeyer writing in the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society in March, 1945 says: "The crossing of the Mississippi was accomplished by means of a ferryboat, which had a capacity of one entire passenger train or twelve freight cars, at one time . . . "During the months of January, February and December, 1872, the ferry on the Mississippi was rendered inoperative by reason of the ice blockade. . . the board of directors of the Alton reported to the stockholders that if the ultimate value of the line was to be realized it was absolutely necessary that a bridge be constructed over the river." Accordingly in 1873 construction of a bridge was begun and it was finished on December 24, 1873. Shoemaker in Volume I of his book, Missouri and Missourians comments: ". . . It had been under construction less than six months and cost $685,000. The wrought iron structure [photo caption] The success of the Pullman car was assured after it was a part of the Chicago and Alton (now GM&O) train which transported the body of President Abraham Lincoln from Chicago to its last resting place at Springfield, Illinois. Mrs. Lincoln requested the car, known as the Pioneer, for use by the family. (page 4) PAGE 4 NEMOSCOPE SUMMER-FALL, 1950 2,042 feet long and with approaches totaling 5,000 feet, had at the time it was? constructed the largest draw section in the world. Later a board floor was laid to permit wagon and foot passengers to cross." On May 25, 1870, the Alton entered into a contract with the North Missouri Railroad to furnish connections with Kansas City until such a time when it could complete its line from Mexico, Missouri, to Kansas City. In order to hasten the construction of such connections, a group of interested citizens met at the Southern Hotel in St. Louis in 1877 to provide for the organization of a company to construct a railroad from Mexico, Missouri, to Kansas City, Missouri, a distance of about 160 miles. The Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago Railroad Company was promptly organized and incorporated. John J. Mitchell of St. Louis was elected president. Financing was arranged and the prospective railroad was leased in perpetuity to the Chicago and Alton Railroad Company. This agency agreed to construct the railroad track, which was to be laid with steel rail, to construct the bridges, which were to be built of iron, and to provide the depots, water stations, switching yards, etc., to unite the prospective road with the Alton at Mexico, Missouri, and thus form a continuous line of railroad to Kansas City, Missouri. The lease provided that until an iron bridge could be constructed at Glasgow, a suitable ferry should be operated over the Missouri River. The boats, J. C. McMullin and W. H. Christy, were to be used. Each boat could handle six or seven cars and a locomotive. When it was decided that the railroad should be built from Mexico to Kansas City, Mr. T. B. Blackstone, President of the Chicago and Alton Railroad from 1864-1899 employed General William Sooy Smith as chief engineer. He was to design and supervise the construction of the bridge across the Missouri River. Work on the foundations and piers of the new bridge was started in May, 1878, and was completed in March, 1879. The American Bridge Company was awarded the contract to fabricate and erect the five main spans but was unable to fulfill its contract. This company leased its plant at Chicago and its equipment at Glasgow to the Chicago and Alton to complete the construction of this bridge. An accident had set back its efforts and caused a question to arise with regard to the properties of steel as a material for bridge construction. Yungmeyer describes this accident as follows: "Just six hours before one of the main spans would have been self-supported, loose ice in the river piled up against the false work beneath it, causing the span to fall into the water, a distance of a little more than seventy feet. . .of the 160 tons of metal, which fell, 50 tons were undamaged, 60 tons had to be completely renewed and the remainder required repairs of varying degrees. . .the approach and viaduct being constructed of wrought iron, but the five main spans, each 314 feet in length, constituted the first large use of steel in bridge construction. . .In 1899 it was forced to give way to another structure designed for heavier loadings." The completion of this bridge was accomplished on June 7, 1879, and marked the placing of the first steel bridge in service. The Alton Railroad is noted for three innovations in that it was the first railroad to use a Pullman car, a dining car, and the first road to use a reclining chair car. The story of its use of the Pullman car dates back to President Abraham Lincoln's death. On May 2, 1865, aboard a special Alton funeral train, the body of Abraham Lincoln was brought to Springfield, Illinois. As early as 1858, George Pullman had constructed in the Alton shops three of these sleeping cars. Mrs. Lincoln had seen one of these on a [photo caption] TWO OF THE ALTON ROUTE'S MODERN TRAINS (page 5) SUMMER-FALL, 1950 NEMOSCOPE PAGE 5 previous trip to Illinois. When worn and weary, she arrived in Chicago on the last lap of her sad journey from Washington, she requested its use. This car was too wide for much of the track space and it is a fact that it was necessary for the Alton Road to hurriedly narrow station platforms and widen the sides of bridges so that the funeral train could pass through unobstructed. Two of the Alton's best trains were known as the Abraham Lincoln and the Ann Rutledge in honor of the Sangamon area which it served in Illinois. The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio had its beginnings in Mississippi as a result of the work of Colonel William C. Falkner, who had served in the Confederate Army. When he organized the Rebel Route of the south, he was able to combine by 1872 many short line southern roads and to construct a new line. In 1912 Burton Tigrett became temporary president of what is now the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio, and improved the equipment and service of the road immensely. Stewart H. Halbrook in his story of American railroads says: ". . . In 1935 (Tigrett) gave the South its first streamliner, the Rebel, and the world its first train hostess, Miss Katherine Sullivan." On September 1, 1940, the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was officially incorporated with a system of 2,004 miles of track to serve St. Louis on the north, and the two Gulf ports of Mobile and New Orleans on the south. Memphis is the western terminus and Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama, are the eastern termini. Early in 1945 certain parties interested in the Alton Railroad, then in receivership of the United States District Court at Chicago, approached President Tigrett with the idea of mergence with the G. M. & O. Traffic studies began, and as a result, the G. M. & O's purchase of the Alton was filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission in Washington on May 14, 1945. The two systems were merged in June, 1947. The Alton operated 958.89 miles of track and together with the G. M. & O. a new three thousand mile trunk line system was formed from the Great Lakes to the Gulf with entrances into incorporated transportation centers of the North, such as Peoria, Chicago and Kansas City, Missouri. Halbrook pays a striking tribute to the entrance of the G. M. & O. into Illinois and Missouri when he says: ". . . The Alton Route has been painted on the Rebel streamliners that operate between St. Louis and points south. ". . . It looks like a task, this harmonizing traditions of the North and the South, but those who know President Ike Tigrett believe he is wholly capable of accomplishing the feat. He has long been an admirer of Lincoln and even went so far as to make the G. M. & O. slogan 'The Alton Route,' rather than 'The Rebel Route,' which had been used for many years." The Gulf, Mobile & Ohio operates 254.68 miles of track in Missouri. To facilitate communications in the Missouri area a new dispatcher telephone circuit has been installed. Also included in these improvements are a new physical message circuit, a new carrier telephone system, and a teletype line for the faster reporting of cars enroute. The roadbed has been improved by the replacement of old rail with new 115 pound rail over fifty miles of the route. Additional improvements within the next three years are to include the replacement of rail over one hundred miles of track and the complete renovation of two large grain elevators owned by the railroad in Kansas City, Mo. The system employs 1212 people in the Missouri service. This is the saga of the entrance of the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad into the Missouri River country where it extends like a belt across the ample waistline of the Missouri River Valley section of the "Show Me" state. [photo caption] CAPT. ROBERT N. HOWELL Killed in action in Korea on August 5, 1950, Captain Howell is the first known K.S.T.C. casualty of the Korean war. Howell was a student in the Teachers College from the fall of 1937 through the spring of 1940. * * * The following article is reprinted from the Kirksville Daily Express of Sunday, August 13, 1950. Capt. Robert N. Howell, 30, Kirksville man who gave his life in his country's service, was shot down by anti-aircraft fire in Korea, according to word received by Mrs. Howell, who arrived in Kirksville last week. Mrs. Howell has received a letter from the Defense Department confirming the first telegram, which was forwarded from Kirksville to her just after she reached Los Angeles from the Philippines. This letter refers to the message stating that Capt. Howell was killed in action Aug. 5 in Korea and contains the additional information that "Capt. Howell was pilot of an aircraft which was presumably hit by anti-aircraft fire and exploded." A letter from the chaplain of the Air Force group is to follow, the Defense Department letter states, and give further details. It was known here that Capt. Howell was serving as squadron leader for F-80 jet fighter planes, known as "Shooting Stars," but it is not known how long he had been in action in Korea. Under the rotation plan, Capt. Howell was due back in the States this summer and he had been assigned to Langley Field. He and Mrs. Howell were packed up to leave in July, but he received orders to remain. Mrs. Howell and daughter then took a later ship. Capt. Howell served in North Africa, Sicily and Italy during World War II, with eighty combat missions to his credit, and had received several decorations. Mrs. Hazel Louise Wells, 1941, an elementary education major, is employed as first and second grade teacher at Lewistown, Missouri. Dr. Ruth Struby Taylor, 1938, formerly of Kirksville, Missouri, has just completed her internship at St. Joseph Hospital in Omaha. She has located at Spalding, Nebraska, to be an associate of Dr. M. M. Sullivan and will specialize in obstetrics and women's and children's diseases. (page 6) PAGE 6 NEMOSCOPE SUMMER-FALL, 1950 HARRIS COLLEGE, HARRIS, MISSOURI by Mrs. Gird McCullough Harris, Missouri and Pauline Dingle Knobbs Associate Professor of Social Science Education, Northeast Missouri State Teachers College EDITOR'S NOTE: The materials and pictures for this article were collected by Mrs. Gird McCullough of Harris, Missouri. Mrs. McCullough is a granddaughter of the founder of the College, A. W. Harris. James Hendrex, principal of the High School at Newtown, Missouri, assisted with the article. In the fertile farming section of Northwestern Sullivan County was founded the town of Harris, Missouri, in the spring of 1887. The enterprising spirit of this community was Judge A. W. Harris, for whom the town was named. The History of Sullivan County, published in 1888, characterized Mr. Harris as a "public spirited gentleman, always interested in all public enterprises." A. W. Harris was born in Boone County, Missouri, November 5, 1822. At the age of twenty he came to Sullivan County and settled in Clay Township. Here he began acquiring vast holdings of land. Starting with 160 acres of land, he soon acquired four thousand acres, which he cultivated and improved. In 1887 he laid out a town on a very desirable portion of his farm near his residence, and this town became Harris, Missouri. In the town, Mr. Harris built the first store building in 1887. The History of Sullivan County records that "this town became a great rival of Newtown in the western part of the county." After aiding the establishment of a Methodist Church, Mr. Harris turned his attention to the establishment of Harris College. This institution was organized, financed, and constructed through the activities of A. W. Harris, his son, Overton Harris, and his three sons-in-law, J. F. Johnson, T. N. Wood, and J. H. Hangman. These men formed the Board of Trustees of Harris College and prepared a building to house their enterprise. For the time of its construction the building was a most ambitious one. On the first floor were two large classrooms, each with a rostrum for the teacher's desk. From this platform, programs of all types were given. Each of these main rooms had an adjoining, smaller classroom. The hallways were large, and there were two stairways leading to the second floor. One of these stairways was for the boys, and the other stairway was for the use of the girls. Cloakrooms were located underneath these stairways, one for the boys and one for the girls. It is noted that the sexes were to be separated in all of the school activities. The second floor of this building contained two classrooms, a fully equipped science laboratory and a large auditorium. This room ran the full length of the building and contained a stage at the north end, which ran the full width of the building. At the west end of the stage was the dressing room. When not in use as an auditorium, this large room could be [photo caption] O. A. PROCTOR SERVED AS THE SECOND PRESIDENT (page 7) SUMMER-FALL, 1950 NEMOSCOPE PAGE 7 divided into two smaller classrooms by means of folding doors. The college site was located in the northwestern corner of the Village of Harris, Missouri on a five acre tract of land. This campus of the college also contained a football field. The college opened its doors in September of 1889 and closed in May, 1892. There were no graduates. In that year the Harris College building was taken over by the public school system, and the college building was used to house the Harris High School. It continued in operation as the Harris High School until 1907 at which time the building was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. This college was organized in the usual pattern of its day, as an academy. It accepted students on all of the levels from the first grade through four years of college work. Instruction was given in Greek, Latin, Science, History, Government, "Elocution and Delsarte", Commerce, Penmanship, Mathematics and vocal as well as instrumental music, including band instruction. Thirteen teachers were employed on the faculty of this school. Their contracts stated that the school would open in September of 1891 for a nine months term. They must have preparation to teach academic, preparatory, and collegiate courses such as were offered in four year colleges. The faculty list and their assignments include the following: Charles C. Swafford--Languages and President of the College Lydia A. Swafford (his wife)--Voice Lessons Orla A. Proctor--Science A. N. Cook--Commerce John Swanger--History, Government, Public Speaking Luther Evans--Mathematics Cora Webster Brown--Piano Abagail Signour--Elocution and Delsarte F. C. Conway--Band Henry K. Noel--Commerce and Penmanship The teachers' contracts also stated that they would be privileged to have two vacations of two weeks each, on condition that they teach a full nine months. The "teacherage" provided for the president was no doubt one of the earliest of its kind in the area. The President, Charles C. Swafford, was from New York State. Two people, who were members of the faculty, later became well known in educational circles; namely, John E. [photo caption] SWAFFORD RESIDENCE (page 8) PAGE 8 NEMOSCOPE SUMMER-FALL, 1950 [photo caption] ANDERSON WOODS HARRIS Died Dec. 21, 1899 Age 77 years Swanger of Milan, Missouri and Henry K. Noel now of Tarkio, Missouri. In 1889 while the college was being organized and the building was being constructed, Arbor Day was observed by the community. Each family in the village planted pine trees on the college campus. The trustees of the college built a pretentious eight room residence for the President and his family. This building was located across the street from the College. It is reported that Professor Charles C. Swafford was dismissed at the close of the first year of Harris College because of his extravagance and financial entanglements. Professors Orla A. Proctor, teacher of science, and A. N. Cook, teacher of commerce, then took charge of the school. The institution was financed through the sale of scholarships priced at $100 each and lasting for three school years or twenty-seven months time. The scholarships read as follows: No.------ This scholarship entitles its holder to tuition in Harris College of Harris, Missouri, for the term of twenty-seven months, is transferable and will be good if presented for tuition within five years from date. T. N. Wood BOARD OF TRUSTEES Pres. Countersigned, O. Harris CHARLES C. SWAFFORD Sec. President of the College Apparently the sale of these scholarships was insufficient to maintain the institution for it operated only three years before closing its doors. The peak of the enrollment was estimated in a range of 125 to 150 people, largely from Sullivan and nearby adjoining counties. The picture shows the complete school, as of 1890. Among the prominent faculty members of Harris College, was Henry K. Noel of Tarkio, Missouri. Mr. Noel finished in September of 1949, forty-one years of service with Tarkio (Missouri) College. For thirteen years he was a member of the faculty of Tarkio College and then served asbusiness manager of the same institution for twenty-eight years, retiring in September of 1949, at the age of ninety years. On July 18, 1949 he wrote, "The name 'Harris College' sounds to me like an echo of the past and the echo brings some pleasing memories of Harris College sixty years ago. . . .I remember only three of the faculty, Prof. Swafford, Pres., John E. Swanger of Milan, Mo., and I had charge of the Business Department. I was with the college one year only, 1889-1890. The next year I believe the college closed." Although this private institution did not last a long enough time to produce a graduating class, it stands as an oasis of learning in a desert area. It bowed before the on-coming public school system, which was developing with the greater settlement of the section. It stands as a monument to the farsighted intelligence of the founder of the community of Harris, Missouri. He recognized, that on the rural American frontier, culture and [photo caption] O. HARRIS (page 9) SUMMER-FALL, 1950 NEMOSCOPE PAGE 9 learning were the right of the settlers. Through his efforts these privileges were to be possible, until the community was in a position to take over the enterprise and make it a part of the American way of life for the inhabitants of the area. Harris College died, but this "beacon light on the hill" in western Sullivan County shed its light afar. This rural community is still recognized as one of the most cultured rural areas of north Missouri. Such a reputation can in part be attributed to the influence of this early institution. A look at the curriculum offerings reflects the classical emphasis of the training offered, so typical of the old academies. Those students, who drank deeply of these "Elsian Springs" did not forget. Harris, Missouri and its surrounding environs have continued its interest in the better way of life and in the promotion of educational activities, even to the present day. AURORA, OREGON, A MISSOURI COMMUNITY by Esther Kopfer High School Social Science Teacher Mt. Pleasant, Iowa Editor's Note: This is the third and last of a series of articles on religious communistic experiments connected with Northeast Missouri and under the leadership of Dr. Wilhelm Keil. Two previous articles on Bethel and Nineveh, Missouri, have appeared in previous issues. Esther Kopfer received her M. A. degree at the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College in August 1950. Her thesis title was Missourians in the Oregon Settlement. This article is condensed from Chapter IV and in the original is carefully documented. Aurora, in Marion County, Oregon, was typical of the many little villages in Oregon. Since but little of its early history has been preserved, few people are aware of what transpired there. The founder of Aurora was Wilhelm Keil, "tailor, doctor, preacher, pioneer, dictator, mystic and fanatic." Keil's Missouri enterprises were remarkable successes. The Bethel colony grew steadily, and by 1855 there were seven hundred inhabitants. But Keil was not satisfied; the Oregon fever had conquered him. So a scouting party made up of Adam Schuele, Christian Giesy and wife, Joseph Knight, John Stauffer, Sr., John Stauffer, Jr., Michael Schaefer and George Genger, was sent to find a suitable place for a communistic colony in the far Northwest. A report finally came to Bethel from the "spies" of an ideal place in the valley of the Willapa on Shoalwater Bay in the Washington Territory. Active preparations for the journey were begun. According to Koch, Keil livened up the work by directing the most effective curses in his vocabulary at old Missouri. The chief reason for his bitterness was that his oldest son, William, who had recently returned from college, had died of malaria. Nothing could keep Keil in Bethel now; he had to get out of the place. Keil had promised his now deceased son that he would take him along to the West. The father, wishing to keep his promise to the boy, sent to St. Louis for a lead coffin. The body was placed in this coffin, the coffin was filled with alcohol and sealed, and then placed in an especially designed plains hearse, constructed in the Bethel wagon shop. This unique wagon was placed at the head of the wagon train. On the morning of the departure, Wednesday, May 23, 1855, the train of twenty-four wagons left the little Bethel colony amid the strains of a funeral song composed by Dr. Keil in honor of his deceased son. There were two-hundred and fifty men, women, and children in this first Bethel wagon train to the Far West. The wagons, harness, saddles, and supplies needed on the journey, almost to the last item, had been grown, made, milled, fashioned, and prepared on the land and in the shops at Bethel. All articles except the guns and ammunition needed to provide the emigrants with wild game while enroute to the promised land were the products of Missouri. The caravan moved westward over the Missouri roads and reached St. Joseph without unusual incident. No one was happier than Keil when the boundary of Missouri had been left behind. But, at the same time, he had left civilization behind and his bragging at times gave way to expressions of fear. After braving storms, mud, the tortures of dust, mosquitoes, the lack of fuel, the dearth of grass and water, and all of the other hardships common to traveling on the plains, the little caravan finally reached the Willapa Valley in safety about six months after their wagons left Bethel. Keil's company was warmly welcomed by the "spies," who had built homes and cleared land for crops in preparation for his caravan, which had arrived as scheduled. Willapa did not prove to be a desirable location for the new colony, and Dr. Keil was determined to look elsewhere. Willapa, Keil thought, was too much isolated and communication by wagon roads with the rest of the world would be impossible. The neighbors were more worldly here than at Bethel, for Bruceport with its ex-seamen and Indian-squaw population was certainly not a model place in respect to morals. Prices for commodities at Bruceport were outrageous in comparison to the prices of the same goods in Oregon. For instance, a barrel of flour sold for from fifteen to twenty dollars at Bruceport, compared to three dollars and fifty cents in Oregon. It was decided by Dr. Keil and the members of his colony that the property on the Willapa should be given to Christian Giesy and Michael Schaefer. The greater part of the company was to remain in Willapa during the winter, while Keil and about fourteen or fifteen young men journeyed to Portland in search of work. On November 26, 1855, occurred the burial of Wilhelm Keil, Jr. on the property of Christian Giesy. Dr. Keil practiced medicine during the winter of 1855-1856. All the while he remained in touch with the work of his people in Willapa and also with the Bethel colony in Missouri, which had been left in charge of Andrew Giesy, Jr. In the meantime, Dr. Keil and his young men found a suitable site for a settlement in the Willamette Valley. The place was given the name of Aurora, in honor of Dr. Keil's favorite daughter. Aurora, located between Salem and Portland, was on the main road east of Willamette. For the sum of $1,000, a tract of two quarter sections was obtained and a part of the purchase price was paid in cash. On one quarter section of land there had been located a small saw mill and a grist mill at the time of the purchase. On one quarter section there was also a primitive log cabin. Here the little group of twenty-five workmen lived as one family during the spring of 1856 while they were constructing residence buildings, shops, and improving the mills. (page 10) PAGE 10 NEMOSCOPE SUMMER-FALL, 1950 Meanwhile Keil continued his practice in Portland. He made frequent trips to Aurora to help plan and direct the work of building, clearing the land, starting of farming and of gardening, and the planting of orchards and vineyards. Dr. Keil now sent a summons out to the former Bethelites to rejoin him here. Many who were able to do so responded to the call, but some refused and began to shift for themselves. Rapid progress was made at Aurora. In the spring of 1857 the house of Dr. Keil and his family was finished. It was referred to as "the big house." During the first years accommodations were afforded and meals were served to overland stage passengers in "the big house" before the Aurora hotel and restaurant were completed. Part of the single men and women lived in "the big house" and a number of the detached men lived in "the hall" nearby, where later guests were accommodated. The hall was used for dancing, entertainments, and public functions of all kinds. During these early days there was very little privacy for Dr. Keil--"preacher, counselor, confidant, friend, dictator, judge and jury." Aurora had not been established long before shops and small factories of all kinds had been built. There was a tannery, saw mill, grist mill, carding machinery, and several old looms. There were shops for cabinet makers, blacksmiths, wagon makers, tin workers, and carpenters. There were also tailors and shoemakers. These industries were not carried on extensively, but rather, they were for the purpose of supplying the community with what it needed. The main industry in Aurora, as in Bethel, was farming. This netted the colony its principal income. Besides raising the ordinary produce, extensive orchards were kept. Nordhoff testified that they were the largest in the state, and that both large and small fruit grew exceedingly well. Near the orchard was a large building where the fruit was stored and some of it pared for drying. The apples were much in demand at San Francisco. Aurora apple butter gained quite a reputation in all parts of Oregon. The cider also became well known. The community had a large vegetable garden for those who were unable to have one of their own. Most of the families had their own poultry, however. A colony store supplied the colonists with their needs without money and without price. A general merchandise store was established for trade with the surrounding country. Goods, wares and implements were sold to the people outside of the colony. The profit went to the common treasury. A post office centered in the "general store" was run by a member of the colony as it served also as the express office, which handled great sums of money. The neighbors brought in their money, too, and the big safe in the general store constantly contained thousands of dollars. After the hotel and restaurant were established, they quickly became known to every traveler for their ample accommodations were excellent and the restaurant food was unsurpassed. People from Portland came to Aurora to spend their vacations at the hotel and to enjoy the concessions of the community. For many years the people of Aurora conducted a restaurant on the fair grounds at Salem. This helped also to advertise the culinary art of Aurora. Although most of the Aurora settlers were farmers, the trades and professions were taken care of by people, who were most suited for them. No one was confined to a single task. Usually the individual's preference was taken into consideration. Each shop had its foreman by natural selection, and there was a general supervisor over all farm work. The work was so arranged that there would always be sufficient seasonal help on the land. There was no forced labor in the Aurora community. Every Saturday afternoon was considered a half holiday. The men usually celebrated by going on a hunt. For this occasion they formed large parties, took their provisions with them and camped out. Nearly always they came home with plenty of game. The deer meat was cooked and preserved in various ways, but the venison hams were smoked as only the Aurora colonists knew how. Due to the Civil War in Missouri the second large wagon train came from Bethel and arrived in Aurora in the fall of 1863. This train was captained by Christoff Wolff, a teacher of "Old World" training and ability in music and languages. An artisan, Jacob Miller, a cabinet maker and turner, was numbered among those, who came to Aurora in this second migration. A third wagon train captained by a John Vogt with some eighty persons from Bethel arrived in Aurora in 1805. The fourth migration in 1808 brought to Aurora about sixty colonists including the Becke family from Xineveh. In addition to the covered wagon train passengers, about one hundred colonists came from time to time by way of the Isthmus of Panama from Missouri to Aurora. By 1870 probably more than one thousand people belonged to the Aurora community and owned a total of 23,500 acres of good land. The Aurora members paid taxes along with the rest of their neighbors. Nordhoff reported that the Aurorans added no burden in the way of court costs, for no man in Aurora was ever charged with crime or arrested. No lawsuit ever started. There was never a divorce or a separation. There were few, if any, cripples and the aged and the sick were tenderly cared for. Keil's will was supreme; and those who did not bow under it left the colony. Politics and religion were closely allied at Aurora, and Keil made use of the pulpit to whip the unruly members into line. As for the educational opportunities in Aurora, one can say that the average child of the community received as good an education as the average child did outside Aurora, if not better. The public schools of early Oregon had only a few months of school annually; whereas, the Aurora school was open throughout the entire year. Aurora had the services of Karl Ruge, a university trained man. The ambitious and musically inclined pupils were privileged to take lessons from Henry Conrad Finck, an old master musician. Lessons in almost any subject could be taken from Professor Wolff, graduate of Goettingen. The advantages of music in Aurora was especially great. Aurora might be called a musical oasis in an area devoid of musical culture. The Aurora people loved to sing and frequently spent the evenings in this enjoyable and profitable pastime. In the early history of Aurora, there was a ladies' chorus which the "old timers" declared was a credit to the community. The most famous of the Aurora musical organizations was the Aurora band. On the whole there was no extensive intellectual life at Aurora. Keil was devoid of it; and most of his people thought it enough to be able to read, write and cipher. The young people were encouraged to learn as long as it would be of material advantage to the colony; but to send somebody to college to study the languages had no bearing on the general welfare of the (page 11) SUMMER-FALL, 1950 NEMOSCOPE PAGE 11 community. There were few books at Aurora besides the Bible. Amusements, too, were rather limited. In the winter the Aurora people visited one another, and in the summer there were picnics, band concerts and community singing. The adult Aurorans heard a sermon every other Sunday, that was usually delivered by Keil. These services would often be two and one-half hours in length and amounted to oratory without substance. The young folk of Aurora spent many an hour catching salmon and trout in the Pudding River nearby. There were crawfish parties, too, and the girls were invited. Berry picking was quite popular, for there were a dozen varieties of wild berries. Hunting was another favorite sport that particularly interested the young men. The German colonists at Aurora had the first coal oil lamps in that part of the state. They also had the first cookstoves or ranges as well as the first sewing machines. All these were curiosities for the Oregon people living nearby to see. The colony church was one of the outstanding edifices of Oregon during that day. It was similar to the church at Bethel. The steeple was one hundred-fourteen feet from the ground. Musical chimes, made in Germany, were installed. The church was adorned with Rose windows which further enhanced its beauty. Two balconies were built around the steeple for observation and to accommodate two bands. After Professor Finck had organized and perfected two bands and an orchestra or two, he saw the need for a place to accommodate the people, so that they might enjoy the music and participate in the community singing. Through his influence a twelve acre tract of land was purchased for a park, which was located west of the church. An amphitheater and a grand stand were built. Also, a commodious kitchen and a large bakery were built for the preparation of meals on public occasions. In this spacious park, celebrations such as that of the Fourth of July were held as well as many state-wide meetings, all during the 1860's and 1870's. In the 1870's a reaction set in at Aurora. The colonists were becoming disillusioned in many things. The religious fervor was wearing off, and the people now saw Keil as just another human being. Then, too, the younger generation was alienated from Keil because of his tyrannical suppression of marriage. The young people of the colony began to long for individualism as a result of the expansion of frontier ideals into the Oregon Country, and became convinced that it was the ideal mode of life. With Keil's unexpected death, December 30, 1877, came the triumph of individualism. However, dissolution did not take place at once, but plans for the division of the property were being arranged at the very time of his death. This was not the first time he had been opposed. In 1866, an agreement had been signed by Keil which transferred to seven trustees "his real and personal estates." This agreement did not loosen the bonds of the individual member, for Keil was still absolute ruler. During the year 1872 or perhaps a little later, Keil began to divide a portion of the property. To some members he gave deeds to their home or to certain property; to others he gave a cash sum of $1,000; and to the young men twenty-one years of age and the young women eighteen, two hundred dollars. After the death of Keil, the dissolution and final division of property was sure and certain. The task of dividing was a difficult one. "The fact that $5,000 was spent by the Oregon trustees for paying a lawyer to help them keep back the 'best of the property' does not show great charity." Harkness cites several instances which indicate that the treatment of some members was little short of robbery. This was the ending of the Aurora colony as well as the Bethel and Nineveh colonies founded by Wilhelm Keil who was a natural born leader and the possessor of a magnetic personality. "LOST ALUMNI" Listed below are a number of alumni of the Teachers College, who have become "lost" so far as the Alumni Office is concerned. Mail addressed to these persons at their last known address has been returned marked "undeliverable." If you have information concerning any of these alumni will you please communicate with the Alumni Office. Numerals indicate year graduated. --EDITOR. Ferna Dail, 1925 Carrie Damron (Mrs. Bert Harry), 1904 Adala Ann Daniels, 1925 Laura Olive Davidson, 1921 Anna Davis, 1925 Fanny Davis (Mrs. Allee), 1910 India Davis, 1916 Laura Olive Davisson, 1921 Carmelita Barnes Denneler, 1922 Christine Denny, 1922 John A. DeTienne, 1902 Foster A. Dill, 1925 Grace Margaret Dillard, 1944 Samuel Rodgers Dillman, 1895 Will Clifton Dod, 1924 Jeanie Dodson (Mrs. Foster), 1896 Lillian Isabel Doll, 1912 Joseph C. Doughtery, 1900 Alva E. Dowell, 1895 Mildred Murrell Dowell (Mrs.), 1925 Alice Elzira Downing, 1894 Miley E. Downs, 1921 Enoch Marvin Drinkard, 1895 Berenice Dry, 1947 Catharine O. Dry, 1925 Elizabeth Dunlap, 1936 Grace J. Dunlap, 1927 Odetta Rea Dunn, 1924 Mattie Dutton, 1913 Jean Eames, 1899 Anna Margaret Earhart, 1901 Elizabeth Geraldine Edwards, 1925 Samuel Biggerstaff Edwards, 1917 Hallie Eisiminger (Mrs. George P. Linden), 1904 Hazel Elsea (Mrs.), 1948 Sadie M. Elwood, 1902 Leota Eubanks, 1914 Aida Evans (Mrs. Buckmaster), 1897 Ella Evans, 1900 Ethel Harriett Evans, 1943 Earl LeRoy Farmer, 1924 Matthias Callway Ferguson, 1907 Jennie Fields, 1916 Mary Marguerite Fisher, 1894 Julia M. Foght (Mrs. Charles T. Osborne), 1912 [photo caption] THE BULLDOGS ARE TOUGH THIS YEAR (page 12)