Category Archives: Alumni

Dr. Elsie Storrs Dow

Alumni, Wheaton College Archives

The stocky lady in the long black dress, striding confidently on short legs from class to class, was Dr. Elsie Dow, authority on Shakespeare and Browning. Born in Sycamore, Illinois in 1859, she graduated from Wheaton College in 1881. After employment in high schools and academies, she returned to Wheaton in 1889 as Professor of English Language and Literature. In addition to teaching Classics, History, Mathematics and English, she also served as registrar. Dow studied at Harvard, and in 1922, because of her outstanding achievements in literature, Lawrence College conferred upon her the Doctor of Letters degree. Popular on campus, she was in demand off campus, as well, as reader and speaker.

At the 1937 Homecoming chapel Dr. Buswell presided over the unveling of a portrait of Dow done by Frederick Mizen of Chicago. Herman Fischer accepted the painting for the college. After Elsie Dow spoke, Mignon Bollman McKenzie sang a special number composed for the occasion by Marion Downey and Corinne Smith. The piece was a musical setting of Miss Dow’s poem, “Whatsoever Things are Lovely.” The service was concluded with a benediction by Darien Straw.

For the 1941 inauguration of V. Raymond Edman she wrote:

My word of greeting to our new president is a very sincere welcome from the old to the new. I have been on this campus long enough to have been under the administration of each of our four presidents, and Wheaton has been to me in turn — President Jonathan Blanchard, President Charles Blanchard, President J. Oliver Buswell, Jr. — as it is to me in days to come, President Edman…I see the picture clearly, it is the heroic type. Wheaton will not be Wheaton if it ever loses that type as its head.

Upon her retirement in 1942 Darien Straw wrote:

When Miss Dow began teaching here she was an experienced teacher. Teachers were invited for reasons. I do not know that they ever applied for the job. Schedules were thirty hours a week. Salaries were low and pro-rated, so that the College was kept out of debt by paying all bills, and what was left was apportioned among the teachers with the understanding that accounts were closed at the end of each year. I doubt whether she ever had a written contract for salary yet. She taught all around the curriculum; if a department was short, she could substitute. It is rare for a woman to take a man’s chair and hold it for more than half a century. She did it. Always poised, always sedate, a thousand abstract Christian virtues embodied in the concrete; a walking literary library, with no slang version; among her pupils admired, among her students loved, wherever known and respected; Doctor Dow is thus held in high esteem by the trustees and carries with her ever their benediction and felicitation.

In 1944 100 friends honored Dow on her 85th birthday, visiting her home at 527 Kenilworth. Two outstanding features of the decorated dining room were the large centerpieces of red roses and two two-tier cakes; the latter were brought from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Miss Julia Blanchard assisted with refreshments during the afternoon. Friends and alumni, ranging throughout her 50-year teaching career, offered congratulations. Miss Dow received cards, flowers and gifts from those who could not attend. Special verse messages by Darien Straw and Judge Frank Herrick were read.

She died on October 29, 1944.

Smile!

Alumni, Wheaton College Archives

Among its artifacts, departmental records and multitudinous holdings, Wheaton College Archives and Special Collections also maintains thousands of photographs. A name often seen on the bottom of many shots featuring school staff or local residents is “Orlin Kohli.”

Kohli began his education at Wheaton College, completing three years before transferring to the University of Colorado, where he graduated in 1924. He briefly taught school in Ft. Lewis, Colorado and Hammond, Indiana, before discovering his passion for photography. Opening his first studio in 1926 in the Smith Building, he stayed until 1936 when he relocated to 212 North Hale. Through the years his portraiture won national as well as community recognition. In 1953 the Professional Photographers of American honored him with the Master of Photography degree, recognizing excellence in photographic technique. In 1966 they again honored him with an award banquet for distinguished service to the profession, inviting him to exhibit 20 prints made throughout the years. Kohli in 1968 was honored as the official photographer by the city council and Mayor Karl F. Heimke, who stated, “Only once before has the city honored a specialist in his field in this manner and that was when another honored citizen (Frank Herrick) was named poet laureate for the city.”

Kohli was also a member of the Illinois Association of Photographers, serving as president from 1948 to 1949. When not creating portraiture in his studio, he served for 12 years on the Wheaton Public Library board, including a term as president. Kohli served two terms on the school board for District 95 and was active in YMCA work.

In addition, he was a charter member of the Geneva Road Baptist church. He died in 1972 at age 74, leaving a widow and three children.

Arthur F. Holmes (1924-2011)

Alumni, Wheaton College Archives

Arthur Frank Holmes, author and professor, died on October 8, 2011. He was born March 15, 1924 in Dover, England. His father was a school teacher and Baptist lay preacher. Holmes received his education from Wheaton College, graduating with a B.A. in 1950. He followed this with his Masters in Theology in 1952 and finally his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Northwestern University in 1957. In 1949 he married his wife, Alice, and together raised two children.

Holmes was notable for his contributions to the idea and practices of the integration of faith and learning, an idea he championed for the entirety of his career of over forty years. Starting in 1951, Holmes taught at Wheaton College in what would be a lengthy and influential career of over forty years. During this time, he was the Chair of the Philosophy Department between 1969 and 1994.

Holmes was the author of several books including All Truth is Gods Truth (1977), The Idea of a Christian College (1975), and Building the Christian Academy (2001). His works are characterized by a centralized idea of the integration of faith and learning. While Holmes is most known for his work in Christian higher-education, he also wrote about the need for a continuous education of Christians at an early age.

Throughout his writings and career, Holmes emphasized that, indeed, “all truth is God’s truth.” His desire was for Christians to not shy away from the difficult questions that may arise from whatever subject of academic study they choose. With a firm belief that any truth they find can be reconciled with their faith, Holmes challenged educators and Christians in academia to grapple with what they are interested in, noting that a strong faith can handle some turbulence while coming to a better understanding of God’s creation.

In reflection on his career, it is obvious he accomplished the goals he set forth for himself as a young teacher: he encouraged faith and learning in students, he countered the anti-intellectualism he found in the American church, and he helped prepare a great many students and Christian intellectuals for the various ranks of academia.

A previous featured Dr. Holmes reflecting on the nature of morality in today’s culture.

The Archives & Special Collections also highlighted on of Dr. Holmes’ more memorable chapel addresses, (Ists, isms, and anti-ism-ists), via its Facebook page.

The Arthur F. Holmes Papers are housed in the Wheaton College Archives & Special Collections.

It doesn’t take brains – just perseverance

Alumni, Collection-related Publications, Special Collections

Arthur Schulert, born on a farm near Gladwin, MI, was third among eight children. He accepted Christ at age nine. A lad possessing determination, he conquered his stuttering in high school while participating in the debate club. From there he enrolled at Wheaton College, studying chemistry, squeezing four years into three. He then enrolled at Ohio State for one quarter before transferring to Princeton, pursuing his graduate degree while assisting with the Manhattan Project. Briefly pausing his scientific studies, he took theological training at Grace Seminary in Winona Lake, IN, while teaching part-time at Taylor University. Schulert earned his Ph.D in biochemistry at the University of Michigan in 1951. Downplaying his abilities, he insisted that “It doesn’t take brains – just perseverance.” In addition to acquiring a degree at Michigan, he also found a wife – Ruth Darling – while attending InterVarsity Christian Fellowship meetings. After marrying the couple moved to New York City. In 1955 he joined Lamont Geochemical Laboratory, researching the effects of often-lethal radioactive fallout, specifically “Strontium 90,” a man-made variant of the metal that seeks human bone, causing in large doses bone cancer and leukemia. During the late ’50s Schulert frequently appeared on television, discussing the danger of nuclear radiation and environmental abuse. His pioneering research was covered by Newsweek, Time, Life and the New York Times.

Though Schulert labored in laboratories among the variables of powerful natural and artificial forces, he offered comfort with this thought: “The One who made the world also gave us His Word, the Bible. In the Bible we find that Jesus Christ offers His power and very life to those who will trust Him. This power transforms man’s self-destroying nature and imparts eternal life to the believer’s soul. The Christian, in the face of nuclear perils, can confidently repeat after the Apostle Paul, ‘All things work together for good to them that love God.'” He never felt that modern scientific advances discredited the Bible. If there seemed to be a contradiction, the difference may result from either misinterpretation of the scriptures or ascribing undue finality to scientific pronouncements. As evidence accumulates, he felt, science would more closely confirm the Bible.

In 1966 he joined the Vanderbilt University Medical School Biochemistry faculty, and four years later founded the Environmental Science Corporation where he served as president and CEO. Schulert and Ruth were active members of the Village Baptist Church, Gideons International and the Tennessee Organization of Professional Speakers. He delivered in 1968 an address entitled “Wheaton’s Survival Amidst Rapid Change and Rising Federalism” to the annual Wheaton College Scholastic Honor Society. Dr. Arthur Schulert died in 1993, survived by his wife, five sons and two daughters. Appropriately, his funeral, pre-arranged by Schulert himself, was “…a time of praise and thanksgiving.” Its theme: “It is well with my soul.” Schulert’s papers (SC-175), comprising correspondence and published articles, are housed at Wheaton College Special Collections.

Mending Fences

Alumni, Collection-related Publications, Researcher Publications, Special Collections, Wheaton College Archives

On October 30, 1997 Senator Dan Coats (R-IN) gave the third annual Kuyper Lecture entitled “Mending Fences: Renewing Justice Between Government and Civil Society,” sponsored by the Center for Public Justice and Wheaton College. During the economic prosperity of the late 1990s, Coats asked whether a growing economy, high employment, and low interest rates indicate that the citizens of the United States are thriving? In Coats’ published address and responses from three distinguished social activists, Coats applauded America’s economic prosperity and the more limited role of government, but was distressed by the moral crisis of the culture and the signs of a weakening “civil society.” There is a paradox inherent in the viewpoint of the American founders: In order to have political freedom, individuals must embody self-discipline and virtue. It is the responsibility of parents, church leaders, and nonprofit service providers to train each generation in democratic habits and manners: reasoned reflection, self-mastery, public spirit, and respect for the rights of others. Senator Coats addressed the need to strengthen the authority and economic well-being of those institutions that teach moral values. As author of the legislative package The Project for American Renewal, he argued that the government must use its authority to empower constructive actions in the nongovernmental sector. [ Excerpted from The Center for Public Justice ].

The annual Kuyper lecture has been held since 1995 and is named for Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920), an influential Dutch scholar-statesman. Kuyper saw that religion was a the deep, driving influence of competing religions in human society and that Jesus Christ made comprehensive and inescapable claims on the world and these two were exemplified with the strength and influence of international bonds of Christian community. Kuyper believed that the Christian life cannot be confined to church life. Accepting Christ’s claim of authority over the entire world, he sought to follow the implications of that faith into politics, journalism, education, and other human endeavors.

The Daniel R. Coats Papers are available to researchers at the Wheaton College Archives & Special Collections.

Audio icon LISTEN to Dan Coats 1997 Kuyper lecture (mp3 – 01:04:08, Coats begins at 11:10)


Vigorous in health and purpose

Alumni, Collection-related Publications, Special Collections

Arthur E. Christy, born in Lo Ting, South China, to Emma and Fritz Christopherson, missionaries for the Christian and Missionary Alliance, spoke Chinese before he spoke English, receiving his education at a Chinese village school. At 16 Christy (he later legally changed his name) departed China for the United States, pursuing his education at Wheaton College where he distinguished himself in scholarly endeavor as well as nobility of spirit. Not confined to the library, he participated in track, glee club, baseball and several other activities. A profile from the 1923 Record offers a glimpse into his campus life:

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“Kristy” hails from China were they throw the baby girls away. Whether or not the fact that he was a boy saved him, we do not know. Certain it is that they never realized in those days of his early youth the wonderful combination of ennobling elements that are manifest in his character today. They have found expression in his senior year in a variety of activities, including the office of Beltionian vice-president, senior council representative, fullback on the 1921 eleven, and editor-in-chief of The Record. “Art” expects to land in China eventually, where we predict he will again occupy an editor’s chair.

Graduating from Wheaton, he taught at St. John’s Military Academy, the University of Minnesota and New York University before enrolling at Columbia. Darien Straw, professor of Logic and Rhetoric at Wheaton College, wrote to the Dean of Columbia, advocating Christy’s academic fellowship:

Concerning Mr. Arthur E. Christopherson, who was a student of mine throughout his college course, I desire to write a word of commendation as bearing upon his worthiness to receive a fellowship. He is a sturdy character, vigorous in health and purpose…His habits are good, his ideals are Christian, his energies are superb, his self-enjoyment is ample, his record is good, so I commend him to your most favorable consideration.

Of course, he was accepted. Residing in New York, Christy published Images in Jade, translations from classical and modern Chinese poetry. His courses at Columbia led in 1932 to a doctorate in comparative literature. His dissertation, entitled The Orient in American Transcendentalism: A Study of Emerson, Thoreau and Alcott, appeared in 1932 with The Transmigration of the Seven Brahmans. From 1935-36 he was a Guggenheim Fellow; and from 1930 to 1945 he taught at Columbia University Department of English and Comparative Literature, supervising master’s theses in American literature. In 1945 he was appointed professor of American Literature at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

When his missionary mother died in 1941, Christy composed an obituary published in The Alliance Weekly: “Her heart quietly ceased its functioning and she moved unobtrusively as in all her earthly life, to her heavenly resting place.” Five years later, recently returned from a conference on the participation of higher education in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at Estes Park, Colorado, Christy’s own heart “quietly ceased” as he crossed a street on his way from the University of Illinois campus to his home. Shortly thereafter, admitted to McKinley Hospital, he was pronounced dead at age 46 from an entirely unexpected heart attack. His death was an incalculable loss to the field of letters. He left a widow, Gertrude Noetzel (B.A. University of Wisconsin, 1920 and M.A. University of Illinois, 1947), and a son, Bruce, born in 1928 (B.A. University of Illinois, 1950).

What Wheaton College Did for Me: Raymond H. Crawford

Alumni, College-related Publications, Wheaton College Archives

Raymond H. CrawfordThis installment of “What Wheaton College Did for Me” by Raymond H. Crawford ’40 appeared in the June, 1966, Wheaton Alumni magazine. He was pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Netcong, NJ, and edited a weekly newspaper.

Naturally I want to say it all; obviously I cannot. Some day I may. The long and remarkable shadow of Wheaton College on my life is delineated by an all-embracing phrase, “the constraining love of Christ.” This held me, molded me, directed and disciplined me during the formative years as well as these fabulous years of living “For Christ and His Kingdom.” It all started in Grand Central Station, New York, back in the fall of 1935. Orphaned as a small child, I was a veteran at making decisions; here I made a decision that altered the course of my life. I wanted to go to Ft. Worth but was advised to go to Wheaton. At the ticket window I was still undecided and heard myself saying, “Chicago.” The ride out was a torment of indecision. Somehow, but not triumphantly, I arrived at Wheaton.

That night I stayed with Clarence Hale’s father. And that night I discovered Christian love and concern which, for me, has always expressed the spirit of Wheaton College. My fears were dispelled and my indecision checked. Suddenly I “belonged,” and this extended to the whole Wheaton family. I wanted to be a journalist; God wanted me to be a minister. He used John Ballbach the following February to lead me to Christ. Scores of others nourished this new Christian. Among them were Dr. and Mrs. Tiffany, Mother Winsor and Alice Winsor, Dr. Darien Straw and Dr. Marion Downey. Among the students were Bob Evans, Warren Schuh, Carl F.H. Henry, Dick Seume and many more. Perhaps more than any other Dr. Edman, as pastor of the Gospel Tabernacle and later President of the College, “restored to me the years that the locust has eaten.”

As the final act of love and dedication of Wheaton’s family, Dr. Edman tied the knot with a lovely co-ed on her graduation day. He also provided my wedding suit and shoes! To the question, “How can I ever repay all these Christian tangibles and intangibles?” the answer came, “Pass it on.” I found at Wheaton a seriousness of purpose, dedicated scholarship, ethics and ideals I hardly knew existed. My teachers stimulated me and drilled me in the mental and spiritual disciplines that have followed me through the years. At Wheaton I learned to study. But I learned something more; the quality of heart that gives meaning to our message in a day of false values. After 23 years in one church, 40 miles west of Grand Central Station, we find it necessary to build a new one. In all, five of our church family have gone to Wheaton. My son is a Wheaton grad, married a Wheaton girl and is a minister in Canada. My daughter attended Wheaton and Nyack and is married to a minister serving in West Virginia. That yen for journalism has found a rich place in my ministry. For 15 years – on and off – I have edited the area weekly News-Leader, whenever one of our boys took off for new pastures. This has proved an amazing adjunct to our work. “Friend Wife” teaches in the local high school.

I didn’t know much about God’s leading in 1935, but there are no doubts in 1966. Can you wonder why I have a misty affection for that drafty sanctuary in New York where God spoke and Wheaton answered?

What Wheaton College Did for Me: M. Douglas Hursh, M.D.

Alumni, College-related Publications, Wheaton College Archives

M. Douglas HurshThis edition of “What Wheaton College Did for Me” appeared in the October, 1966, Wheaton Alumni magazine.

When I came to Wheaton College in 1929 I was surprised to find such a friendly, closely-knit group of students and faculty. We seemed like one big family to which everybody belonged. Perhaps it really wasn’t so big (only 600 students then) but nearly twice the size of my high school; and the town was twice as big (although only 8000). But I was the first from my family, or area, to go to Wheaton and it hadn’t been my choice but that of my parents who saw it advertised in a Christian periodical.

The next thing that impressed me was the dedicated lives of the faculty and most of the students. During the fall evangelistic services I realized for the first time that I wasn’t saved, but has succeeded in fooling a lot of people, including my parents.

When about to make the step I was deferred by my definitely non-Christian roommate, and for the next year and a half was influenced by him and a small group of similarly-minded students. In today’s terminology we made up the “rebels,” but there was no element of liberalism – political, economic or theological – just plain anti-“pledge.”

Toward the end of my sophomore year some of the gang who were still around began to tire of living a lie. The consistent daily testimony of real men of God on the faculty and in the administration, as well as the example set by all of our campus leaders, made a definite impact. Several of us accepted Christ, including my roommate and myself. The last two years, by contrast, were happy ones of Christian growth and development. Without them I would have been unprepared for the onslaught against God and His Son that came from every angle in a big state university. Having changed to pre-med in the middle of my junior year, there were some requirements that couldn’t be met before graduation. That meant a semester of undergrad work before medical school. In both place Darwinian evolutions was taught as a fact – and that was 33 years ago.

Evangelical Christians were in such a minority that they scarcely could be heard. There was not Christian Medical Society, but we did have a League of Evangelical Students with an average weekly attendance of 30 on campus of more than 20,000. The Communist front groups had hundreds in them and were given every liberty, while we were restricted. But Wheaton College had given me a reason for the hope that was within, and made me courageous enough to express it to fellow students. Also I was given a vision of a needy world, lost without Christ. Missionary speakers were almost a weekly occurrence in chapel, and were welcomed by those who were seeking God’s will for their lives. As a result, many of us found our places of service and witness – mine to the Moslems of West Africa through the Kano Eye Hospital.

What Wheaton College Did for Me: Walter M. Dunnett

Alumni, College-related Publications, Wheaton College Archives

Walter Dunnett reminisces in the December, 1966, Wheaton Alumni magazine.

Walter DunnettIt was the year 1946, and I was a student in the School of Commerce at Northwestern University. On occasion, seeing my fellow students who were enrolled in the School of Education, preparing for a career in the classroom, I sometimes found myself saying, “What a waste of time!” The next year I transferred to Wheaton, looking now toward a major in history, and undecided as to the future. Vividly I recall the experience – the Lord that year laid a burden upon me and called me to be, yes, a teacher! My whole perspective was changed and I could think of no other career.

I thank the Lord, too, for a number of deep spiritual experiences during my Wheaton years. There were, for example, the meetings with Dr. Harry Hager, and with Mr. Stephen Olford, held in the Chapel during 1947-48; and the impact of the 1950 revival. What wonderful days those were, and they served to cement and clarify that intimate relationship with God which is so essential to any child of His. And then there was, of course, the intellectual stimulation of the classroom. Particularly through my capable instructors in History and Bible the Word of God became clearer, more meaningful and directive. I can only say it became a “new Book” during those days, a Book characterized by unity, by historical relevancy, by authority.

Now as I look back over 13 years in Bible school teaching, particularly in the field of New Testament studies, I voice thanks to God for the privilege of spending six years as a student at Wheaton. (It wasn’t that I was so terribly slow. It just took time to pick up three degrees: the A.B. in 1949; the A.M. in 1950; and the B.D. in 1953.) And a graduate fellowship granted me was, may I add, a wonderful preparation for teaching. When one has had devoted parents, a solid Christ-centered education, and a loving wife and family, what more could he ask? Now finishing up on a Ph.D degree, and teaching this year at Wheaton (1966-67), I am grateful for all this – and more.

What Wheaton College Did for Me: Paul E. Adolph, M.D.

Alumni, Wheaton College Archives

Dr. Paul E. Adolph ’23 expresses appreciation for his alma mater, published in the July/August, 1966, Wheaton Alumni magazine.

Paul AdolphBorn in Philadelphia soon after the slaughter of many missionaries in China during the Boxer uprising at the turn of the century, my devout Christian parents unostentatiously promised me to the Lord as a future missionary to China. This promise was not revealed to me until the eve of my departure for China as a missionary many years later.

In the meantime, as a high school lad of 14 years of age, I had heard and responded with a promise on my own part to the Lord’s call to me to be a medical missionary in China. After preliminary training at a Bible institute, I went to college at a university which I discovered to my dismay was agnostic and even intellectually dishonest in its perspective. Attending summer school at a Bible institute after my second year of college work at this university, I was intrigued by one of the courses entitled “Fish University” which proved to be an exposition of the book of Jonah taught by Dr. Charles A. Blanchard, who was then president of Wheaton College. Desire to attend Wheaton was kindled.

As I prayed for guidance, the Lord opened the way for me to go to Wheaton College that fall, despite the fact that it meant relinquishing the scholarship aid which as mine at the university. Here at Wheaton College in my next two years, I found the intellectual honesty and warm Christian fellowship through which my premedical studies were successfully completed and my faith was deepened and strengthened for the ministry to which the Lord had called me. Then, after four years of medical school and subsequent hospital internship and residency, I went to China as a medical missionary under the China Inland Mission. There I was assigned to a hospital which had been closed for 17 years while awaiting a doctor to come; i.e., ever since the call be be a medical missionary had come to me as a high school lad. I sometimes shudder to think of what a blessing I would have missed if I had not been obedient to that heavenly vision. Many fruitful years of Christian service, chiefly as a surgeon (having become a fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 1944) have followed: 1) in China for 15 years 2) in the US Army medical corps in USA and Europe for four years, which included a weekly Bible class in the Epistle of the Romans for Army personnel in Verdun, France 3) in Kentucky for one year, and 4) in the medical screening of missionary candidates and medical care of furloughed missionaries in Chicago the past 15 years.

One of my joys in later years has been that of seeing my two sons prepared and equipped by Wheaton College for missionary careers. Harold ’54 (MD U of PA ’58 and certified by the American Board of Surgery in ’65) is now under appointment to go soon with his family to Ethiopia under the Sudan Interior Mission. Robert ’58 (medical technologist – ASCP ’60) is currently serving with his family in East Pakistan under the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism. I thank God for Wheaton College and what she has done for my family and me.