Citation: "B. U. Medley," in Baldwin University Alumni Songs, n.d.
(Tune-Glory, Hallelujah.)
O, Baldwin University, the college loved so well,
To sing thy praise and triumphs one and all the chorus swell;
The students and alumni do not hesitate to tell
Their love for old B. U.
Cho: Cheer for Baldwin University,
Cheer for loved and honored faculty,
Cheer for alumni with alacrity,
They honor old B. U.
(Marching thro' Georgia)
Sing we now of students who are not afraid to work;
The sciences and languages, say who would wish to shirk?
In students' minds, perhaps sometimes, non-studious thoughts may lurk,
While for degrees we are striving.
Cho: Hurrah, hurrah, they'll be conferred some day,
Hurrah, hurrah, our studies hard will pay;
When we have reached the coveted goal, me-thinks we then will say
That, it was worth all the struggle.
(Battle Cry of Freedom)
In the social life, of course, the students take supreme delight,
For they must have, you know, diversity;
Since variety's the spice of life-to avoid would not seem right,
While you are at the University.
Cho: Hurrah for the Societies of dear B U.
The Clios, Philos, Aletheans, and Phreno.s too;
The fellowship and happy .hours we never will forget
Nor ever will find their equality.
(Auld Lang Syne)
The years to come we'll gladly meet,
Life's problems bravely cope,
Realizing that the life to live
Is love and faith and hope.
Cho: Wherever we are called to go,
Whatever called to do,
"With soul and might, for truth and right,"
God help us to be true.
Citation: Harold A. Speckmann, ed., Grindstone (Berea, OH: Baldwin-Wallace College, 1914), p. 137.
B.-W. C. B.-W. C.
Thy loyal sons and daughters, we will be,
Way up here in the Buckeye State,
In O-HI-0.
We, who are here, are glad to relate:
This is the best place in all the State.
Ever faithful we will be
To our dear B.-W. C.
Citation: “Look Forward to The Bach Festival,” The Exponent (Berea, OH), May 13, 1933, p. 2.
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All music lovers will be delighted to hear that The Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory is sponsoring and presenting n Bach Festival early in June. Professor Albert Riemenschneider, who has collected one of the largest Bach libraries in the world, is directing the production which will include afternoon and evening concerts.
The day will in all respects be an artistic success, and it already bids fair to become a tradition of the college. Interest is widespread, and the fame of Bach is now spreading throughout the western world, bringing popularity and demand for the works of the great composer who is considered the father of modern music.
Citation: Noreen Bonk Garman, ed., Grindstone (Berea, OH: Baldwin-Wallace College, 1955), p. 39.
In beautiful spring quarter strains of Bach ore heard on campus as the Bach Chorus culminates its activity for Bach festival. Students, faculty and college friends who are interested in the works of this composer, present an outstanding performance. Guests from all over the country visit these concerts.
Citation: Elinour Barber, "A Brief History of The Baldwin-Wallace Bach Festival" (unpublished article, in the author’s possession, prior to 1998), 1.
Initially formed by Professor Albert Riemenschneider and his wife Selma in the Fall of 1932, the Baldwin-Wallace Festival Choir and Orchestra presented their first Bach Festival in June of 1933. Since that time, Bach Festivals have been annual events at Baldwin-Wallace. In 1950, a year that saw both the bicentennial anniversary of J.S. Bach's death and the death of Bach Festival founder, Albert Riemenschneider, Baldwin-Wallace presented two Bach Festivals: one in June and one in November. In 1936, Doctor Riemenschneider initiated the policy of programming one of Bach's largest choral works (i.e., the B-Minor Mass, the St. Matthew Passion, the Christmas Oratorio, or the St. John Passion) at each festival and of rotating these presentations on a four-year cycle.
During its 65 years of Bach performance, the Baldwin-Wallace Festival has programmed (in many cases, multiple times) the four large choral works, more than 80 cantatas, the Magnificat, the Motets, the Brandenburg Concertos, the Orchestral Suites, 14 "solo" concertos, the Art of the Fugue, the Musical Offering, and approximately 45 organ works and 50 Clavier pieces, as well as compositions from the oeuvres of more than 30 other eighteenth-century composers.
The Baldwin-Wallace Festival has presented many renowned vocal soloists, including such artists as Bruce Abel, Arleen Auger, Ara Berberian, Christine Brandes, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Lillian Chookasian, Gregory Cross, Ingeborg Danz, Kevin Deas, Jan DeGaetani, Kurt Equiluz, David Gordon, Loma Haywood, Jon Humphrey, Douglas Lawrence, Daniel Lichti, Shirley Love, Judith Malafronte, Karl Markus, Lois Marshall, Seth McCoy, Kevin McMillan, Jan Oaplach, William Parker, Thomas Paul, Emilia Petrescu, Curtis Rayam, Derek Lee Ragin, Catherine Robbin, Henriette Schellenberg, Marietta Simpson, Janice Taylor, Fredrick Urrey, Ruud van der Meer, and Richard Zeller.
Guest instrumental soloists have included Suzanne Bloch, Frans Brueggen, Anner Bylsma, Catharine Crozier, Elizabeth Field, John Gibbons, John Hsu, Peter Hurford, Joseph Knitzer, Ton Koopman, Marilyn McDonald, Catharina Meints, Roberto Micconi, Robert Noehren, Doris Ornstein, Stanley Ritchie, Ernst-Erich Stender, Charles Treger, Rosalyn Tureck, and Alan Vogel.
Music directors of the Baldwin-Wallace Bach Festival, in addition to its founder and initial director, Albert Riemenschneider, have included Harold Baiz, Cecil Munk, George Poinar, and the present director, Dwight Oltman. Guest conductors have included Helmuth Rilling, Ton Koopman, and Robert Scholtz.
The Festival has presented lectures by such eminent Bach scholars and critics as Hans David, Alfred Durr, Karl Geiringer, Julius Herford, Gerhard Herz, Paul Hume, Paul Henry Lang, Alfred Mann, Robert Marshall, Arthur Mendel, Helmuth Rilling, Hans-Joachim Schulze, and Christoph Wolff.
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Since 1975, all works performed on Bach Festival programs have been sung in the languages of their origin with English-translation libretti provided for the audiences. Beginning in that same year, the sizes of performing forces that Bach seems to have employed for his own presentations have been taken into consideration in forming Bach Festival choirs and orchestras.
During the 1930s Doctor Riemenschneider began to build a Bach library that would serve as a resource center for Bach Festival conductors, program annotators, and performers, as well as a research facility for all scholars, performers, and students involved in Bach studies. This library, since 1969 a part of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute, has grown to include approximately 15,000 items. Among its holdings are upwards of 600 rare, vault-housed items, including more than 200 manuscripts and early prints of works by I S. Bach.
Citation: Jacqueline Luzar, “Bach Fest: A Brief History,” The Exponent, April 19, 2000, p. 11.
Baldwin-Wallace's Bach Festival is the oldest collegiate Bach Festival in America, celebrating its 68th year. Its beginnings are rooted in Dr. Albert Riemenschneider's passion for Bach, which was kindled when he was a boy learning to play the organ. The young organist soon became deeply impressed with the pieces of Bach and learned as much as possible. By the age of 19, he began to collect a library of Bach's works, even though it was difficult on his family's budget. Dr. Riemenschneider was a main factor in the organization and direction of the Conservatory of . Music at its very beginning in 1898. As a professor.in the Conservatory, he attempted to instill his passion for Bach into each of his students. This love of Bach caused Dr. Riemenschneider to travel to areas with particular affiliations with Bach, ranging from Leipzig to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where a Bach Festival was being held annually. On the way home to Berea from Bethlehem in the spring of 1932, Dr. Reimenschneider expressed his feelings to his wife Selma Marling Riemenschneider. The community of Cleveland was at a loss for not having its own festival. It was at this moment that the Riemenschneiders decided to take the organization of a Bach Festival at Baldwin-Wallace into their own hands. That autumn, preparations began for the first festival to be held in the spring of 1933, with Dr. Albert Riemenschneider handling the artistic aspects of the festival and his wife handling the monetary, portions. Scores used for the planned performances were ordered from Europe and meticulously hand bound by Dr. Reimenschneider—this method continued for many years to come. The first Bach Festival proved to be successful, with the performance of two concerts and the attendance of individuals from across the United States and even Europe!
Dr. Riemenschneider wanted the Bach Festival to reach all classes in order that all might enjoy the magnificence of Bach. Donors, who were given first choice of seating, produced the first source of funding for the festival. Once the donors had been seated, the general public was allowed in free of charge. Only once was the festival slightly over its budget, occurring at the time of World War II. Otherwise, the Bach Festival has always been self-reliant with the assistance of donors.
Since the first festival the Saturday concerts have taken place at 4 and 8 p.m., a tradition that continues to this very day. The works that are usually played on the festival's final day rotate among the Mass in B minor, the Christmas Oratorio, the St. John Passion, and the St. Matthew Passion. An additional benefit comes from the rotation of these works in that students may have the opportunity to delve heavily in each one while studying at Baldwin-Wallace over the standard four-year period it takes to achieve a bachelor's degree.
Perhaps the most cherished Bach Festival tradition is the playing of the Brass Choir in the tower of Marting Hall, once known as Memorial Hall. The idea was borrowed from the Bach Festival that the Riemenschneiders visited in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In fact, the notion of the brass choir in the tower was not a new idea in Pennsylvania, but was a feature once used in Europe to precede Sunday services even before the time of Bach. Since the very first Bach Festival, the brass instrumentalists would climb to the top of the tower and people would gather on the lawns below to witness them, before they went to see the larger works performed. One tradition that seems to have faded is that when works of a nonsecular nature are performed, the audience would not applaud.
Bach Fest remains one of this college's greatest traditions. In the first program that was given to audience members. Dr. Albert Riemenschneider placed in it several quotes he hoped would encourage listeners. The words in this first program will surely be carried on for years to come. The final quote of that first program came from Albert Schweitzer: "And truly, when this music rings out, we lose sight of the world with all its unrest, its care and sorrow. We are alone with Bach, who soothes our soul with the wonderful peace of his own heart, and lifts us above all that is, was, or shall be. When the tones have died away, we feel that we must sit still with folded hands, and thank the Master for his legacy to mankind."
Citation: Jacqueline Luzar, “Bach Fest: A Brief History,” The Exponent (Berea, OH), April 19, 2000, p. 11.
Baldwin-Wallace's Bach Festival is the oldest collegiate Bach Festival in America, celebrating its 68th year. Its beginnings are rooted in Dr. Albert Riemenschneider's passion for Bach, which was kindled when he was a boy learning to play the organ. The young organist soon became deeply impressed with the pieces of Bach and learned as much as possible. By the age of 19, he began to collect a library of Bach's works, even though it was difficult on his family's budget. Dr. Riemenschneider was a main factor in the organization and direction of the Conservatory of Music at its very beginning in 1898. As a professor.in the Conservatory, he attempted to instill his passion for Bach into each of his students. This love of Bach caused Dr. Riemenschneider to travel to areas with particular affiliations with Bach, ranging from Leipzig to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where a Bach Festival was being held annually. On the way home to Berea from Bethlehem in the spring of 1932, Dr. Reimenschneider expressed his feelings to his wife Selma Marling Riemenschneider. The community of Cleveland was at a loss for not having its own festival. It was at this moment that the Riemenschneiders decided to take the organization of a Bach Festival at Baldwin-Wallace into their own hands. That autumn, preparations began for the first festival to be held in the spring of 1933, with Dr. Albert Riemenschneider handling the artistic aspects of the festival and his wife handling the monetary, portions. Scores used for the planned performances were ordered from Europe and meticulously hand bound by Dr. Reimenschneider—this method continued for many years to come. The first Bach Festival proved to be successful, with the performance of two concerts and the attendance of individuals from across the United States and even Europe!
Dr. Riemenschneider wanted the Bach Festival to reach all classes in order that all might enjoy the magnificence of Bach. Donors, who were given first choice of seating, produced the first source of funding for the festival. Once the donors had been seated, the general public was allowed in free of charge. Only once was the festival slightly over its budget, occurring at the time of World War II. Otherwise, the Bach Festival has always been self-reliant with the assistance of donors.
Since the first festival the Saturday concerts have taken place at 4 and 8 p.m., a tradition that continues to this very day. The works that are usually played on the festival's final day rotate among the Mass in B minor, the Christmas Oratorio, the St. John Passion, and the St. Matthew Passion. An additional benefit comes from the rotation of these works in that students may have the opportunity to delve heavily in each one while studying at Baldwin-Wallace over the standard four-year period it takes to achieve a bachelor's degree.
Perhaps the most cherished Bach Festival tradition is the playing of the Brass Choir in the tower of Marting Hall, once known as Memorial Hall. The idea was borrowed from the Bach Festival that the Riemenschneiders visited in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In fact, the notion of the brass choir in the tower was not a new idea in Pennsylvania, but was a feature once used in Europe to precede Sunday services even before the time of Bach. Since the very first Bach Festival, the brass instrumentalists would climb to the top of the tower and people would gather on the lawns below to witness them, before they went to see the larger works performed. One tradition that seems to have faded is that when works of a nonsecular nature are performed, the audience would not applaud.
Bach Fest remains one of this college's greatest traditions. In the first program that was given to audience members. Dr. Albert Riemenschneider placed in it several quotes he hoped would encourage listeners. The words in this first program will surely be carried on for years to come. The final quote of that first program came from Albert Schweitzer: "And truly, when this music rings out, we lose sight of the world with all its unrest, its care and sorrow. We are alone with Bach, who soothes our soul with the wonderful peace of his own heart, and lifts us above all that is, was, or shall be. When the tones have died away, we feel that we must sit still with folded hands, and thank the Master for his legacy to mankind."
Citation: "Bach Festival History 2007 Brochure," n.d.
A casual remark set off the fortunate chain of events that led Bald win-Wallace College to establish an annual Bach Festival. It also turned small-town Berea, Ohio into a destination for devotees of J. S. Bach.
Albert and Selma Riemenschneider were driving back from the Bethlehem Bach Festival in 1931 and Al remarked, "Why don't we have our own festival in Berea?" For the rest of that momentous trip, remembers Paul Riemenschneider (who, along with siblings Ed and Wilma, listened from the back seat), the Riemenschneiders dreamed up strategies to tum that idea into reality.
Two years later the first Baldwin-Wallace College Bach Festival was held; a seventy-five-year-old tradition was born.
Selma told Al, "You take care of the music; I'll take care of the money." Albert, head of the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music, did just that. Selma got to work too. For that first festival she collected $300 (totaling about $4,000 in today's money) contributed equally by Mr. and Mrs. William Gelvin of Batesville, Indiana; Dr. and Mrs. J.C. Marting of Berea, Ohio, and Mr. C. F. Strecker of Marietta, Ohio.
In subsequent years guarantors paid at least $50 each in exchange for series tickets. Patrons, anyone who bought series tickets, were also listed in the program as a testimony to a wide base of community support. Springtime became Bach Festival time in Berea and everybody "thought Bach." Concerts and parties flourished. Bach Festival banners flapped on every light pole downtown (as they still do).
Festival founders insisted on a professional event with the highest standards. Modeled on the Bethlehem Bach Festival, as developed by Albert's friend, Dr. Frederick Wolle, the 8-W Bach Festival invited internationally acclaimed soloists. It furnished B-W students education and inspiration as they worked alongside guest artists. Generations of students now look back with pride at their role in the B-W Bach Festival.
A rotating cycle, presenting one of Bach's best-loved works for choir and orchestra each year, ensures that students have participated in presenting four major Bach works--the B-minor Mass, the St. John Passion, the St. Matthew Passion, and the Christmas Oratorio. Today the B-W Conservatory of Music boasts thousands of alumni who, as career musicians, look back to the B-W Bach Festival as their first contact with the professional music world.
A world-wide array of great artists have appeared at the Berea festival, including (from Austria) Kurt Equiluz; (from Canada) Benjamin Butterfield, Lois Marshall, Catherine Robbin, Henriette Schellenberg; (from England) Peter Hurford, Monica Huggett, Elizabeth Wallfish; (from Germany) Helmuth Rilling, Ingeborg Danz, Karl Markus, Ullrich Bo'hme; (from Italy) Roberto Micconi; (from the Netherlands) Anner Bylsma, Frans Brueggen, Ton Koopman, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Marion Verbruggen, Ruud van der Meer; (from Rumania) Emilia Petrescu.
Others include (from the United States) Bruce Abel, Arlene Auger, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Jan DeGaetani, John Gibbons, Jon Humphrey, Sergiu Luca, Seth McCoy, Thomas Paul, Paula Robison, Stanford Sylvan, Jeannette Sorrell, and the New York Baroque Dance Company. Visiting Bach scholars or commentators of international renown have included Hans David, Alfred Diirr, Karl Geiringer, Julius Herford, Gerhard Herz, Paul Hume, Paul Henry Lang, Alfred Mann, Robert Marshall, Arthur Mendel, Hans-Joachim Schulze, and Christoph Wolff.
Music directors, in addition to its founder and initial director, Albert Riemenschneider, have included Harold Baiz, Cecil Munk, George Poinar, and the present director, Dwight Oltman.
For generations the Bach Festival has kept a great music tradition alive and offered a musical gift to the greater community as well as Baldwin-Wallace College students.
Events will come full cycle in 2007 when the Bethlehem Bach Festival choir (now celebrating its I 00th year) joins the Baldwin-Wallace College Bach Festival in a combined concert performance of Bach's B-minor Mass. A month after the Bach Festival, the Baldwin-Wallace chorus will travel to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to sing with the Bethlehem Bach Festival chorus.
Citation: A. R. Webber, Life of John Baldwin, Sr. of Berea, Ohio (The Caxton Press, 1925), 103-104.
When John Baldwin entered this Territory the combat was still on, but drawing to its close. He saw that by the logic of events there would be a great work needed in reconstruction in building for the future. In this enterprise he was determined to have a hand.
He chose for his field of operations a spot in Douglas County near the northeastern part of the Territory on the "Sante Fe Trail." There he platted a town and gave it his own name, "Baldwin City," now a beautiful college village. He also built a steam saw mill and grist mill, and erected in his village the first college building that had ever gone up in the Territory. The Methodist Episcopal Conference that then took in that Territory accepted the building and its campus for college purposes from John Baldwin, in which it started a university for Christian education, to which the Conference gave the name of "Baker University," naming it after the bishop who was then presiding over that organization.
The erection of the university structure was commenced the same year and finished the following summer of 1859; its doors were opened for students in September of that year.
A real estate company, called the "Palmyra Land Company," was organized immediately by others, after the building was erected, and a town laid out by it some little distance therefrom with the view of selling real estate, which the promotors expected would be boomed by reason of the university, but contrary to their expectations, John Baldwin's town alone grew up around the building.
Within two years from the time John Baldwin entered this Territory, he had laid out a town, built a grist mill, erected a saw mill, put up a university building, and turned it over to the Methodist Conference, then assisted in its founding and expenses and saw the students coming and going.
To-day, Baker University is the finest Christian institution of learning in the State of Kansas. It has many splendid monumental buildings, fine equipment, and every facility for carrying on higher education.
Citation: "Baldwin," in Baldwin University Alumni Songs, n.d.
Tune -Sweet Afton
Oh, Baldwin, dear Baldwin, great temple of fame,
Let no one dishonor thy glorious name;
We love thee, we love thee, Alma Mater so dear.
All honor we'll give thee, and for thee ever cheer.
We've come from the north, from the south, east and west;
Of great halls of wisdom 'tis thee we love best.
From far distant homes here united we are:
May each in thy crown prove a glorious star.
Here young hearts are hankering and longing for truth;
Knowledge pursuing with ardor of youth,
And wise heads .are guiding and blazing the way,
From darkness to dawning and glorious day.
The bright day of liberty, justice to all;
Grand workers are needed, Oh list to the call.
Oh, students of Baldwin, high, noble thy aim,
The good of mankind and not personal fame.
Then Baldwin for progress, for justice and peace,
Her influence causing all discords to cease;
With love and with wisdom all hearts may she sway ;
Grow nobler and purer her subjects each day.
Oh, Baldwin, dear Baldwin, we sometime must leave,
But oh! on that day how our sad hearts will grieve!
Forget not a daughter, forget not a son,
Firmly enshrined thou in the hearts of each one.
Citation: "Baldwin, Dear Baldwin," in Baldwin University Alumni Songs, n.d.
Tune-Sweet Afton.
Oh Baldwin, Dear Baldwin, so grand in thy way;
Oh Baldwin we'll sing now a song in your praise.
Your fame is growing as year follows year
And you to your students your name has endeared.
Your colors the Golden and Brown we all love
And long may they wave to the bright stars above.
Your students will love thee forever and aye
So all cheer for Baldwin, for Baldwin will stay.
Oh Baldwin, Dear Baldwin, Oh time in its way
Has made you a college deserving of praise
Where daily we gather and struggle for fame
Each here with its lofty and virtuous aim
Salute not the banner, the Gold and the Brown,
The colors of Baldwin far famed with renown
The days that are spent here long remembered will be.
So all cheer for Baldwin, the Baldwin we see.
Oh Baldwin, Dear Baldwin for fully fifty years
Students all sing your praises and a 'so your cheers
The way that they love thee is shown every year
By the way that they gather for Alumni so dear.
In golden light now our. banner does glow
And our hearts will guard it where-ever we go
How pleasant the ties are that bind us all here
So now cheer for Baldwin, old l5aldwin so dear.
Citation: A. R. Webber, Life of John Baldwin, Sr. of Berea, Ohio (The Caxton Press, 1925), 167-168.
The last schools founded by John Baldwin were in far-away India. He was then eighty years of age. At that time there were large numbers of sons and daughters of European residents in India who were without school privileges, only as they were taught, if at all, by private teachers in a hit-and-miss way. India, with her idols, superstitions, and strange language, and without public schools, caused a crying need for the benefit of this neglected class of young English-speaking people.
John Baldwin, learning of the situation, at once came to the rescue. Times were hard and money scarce, but this great soul, then an octogenarian, talked it over with his good wife, and the result of the conference was a gift in money of sufficient magnitude to found what are known to-clay an<l called, one, "The Baldwin High School for Boys," and the other, "The Baldwin High School for Girls." In the prospectus of one of the catalogues I find under the head of "Associations and Traditions" a statement that "The Honorable John Baldwin, a wealthy gentleman of America, hearing of the need of an institution to impart sound education to the English-speaking people of India, gave the means for the founding of the same." Then follows the language: "It is an object lesson in the truth of the principle that the little one does has often great effects. Our property is now worth about sixteen times the original gift."
Citation: A. R. Webber, Life of John Baldwin, Sr. of Berea, Ohio (The Caxton Press, 1925), 169=170.
"BALDWIN HIGH SCHOOLS, BANGALORE,
AND
"CONTRIBUTION OF JOHN BALDWIN TO THESE SCHOOLS
"There are two Baldwin High Schools in Bangalore -one for boys and the other for girls. In the early days, the schools were under one principal, being established in 1880. In those years the statistics of the schools were reported in one. H. C. Stuntz, principal in 1887, wrote at that time (Annual Report): 'This institution comprises two separate schools one for each sex. In the seven years of its history it has acquired real estate valued at twenty thousand rupees.' (A rupee is approximately one-third of a dollar.)
"In ‘Missions and Missionary Society, of the Methodist Episcopal Church,' by Reid-Gracey, Vol. III, page 122, reference is made to 'The Baldwin High School,' at Bangalore, the buildings of which had been purchased by the generous donation of three thousand dollars from 'Father Baldwin,' of Berea, Ohio.
"In a recent booklet on the 'Baldwin's Boys' High School, Bangalore,' in a section describing the various buildings now owned by the school, is the statement: 'We have first of all the Baldwin school building. It is a lesson in generosity and philanthropy. The Honorable John Baldwin, a wealthy gentleman of America, hearing the need of an institution to impart sound education to the English-speaking people of this land, gave nine thousand rupees toward the cost of founding such an institution
"'These two schools are for English-speaking boys and girls. They draw their pupils from a territory nearly eight hundred miles long and two hundred miles across the central and southern India. Methodism is primarily responsible for eleven thousand children of school age, from the Anglo-Indian population (mainly middle class) in this section.
"'Approximately 6,500 boys and girls have gone through these schools since their foundation in 1880. The enrollment at present is: boys' school, 130; girls' school, 95.'"
Who can measure the influence for the uplift of mankind in the founding of these schools in India, when we consider that approximately 6,500 boys and girls have gone through since their foundations were laid in 1880?
Mr. Baldwin departed this life within five years from the time he founded these institutions, but in them his great soul goes marching on.
The buildings, grounds, and surroundings are beautiful, as evidenced by the pictorial catalogs issued. They are manned by English-speaking teachers of marked ability and possessed of fine educations and unshaken faith who are giving their lives to these schools. Till his death Mr. Baldwin contributed toward the support of these schools.
Citation: Year Book (Berea: Baldwin University, 1910), 6.
The University now at Berea was first located at Norwalk, 0., under the patronage of the North Ohio Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1845 Mr.· Baldwin offered, on condition that the school be moved to Berea, to give to the institution a large tract of land including most of the grindstone quarries which have since made Berea famous.
The institution, chartered in 1845 and known as Baldwin Institute, was opened in 1846 with Rev. H. Dwight, A. M., as Principal, and with an enrollment of about one hundred students. After ten years the name was changed to Baldwin University, and Rev. John Wheeler, D. D., was elected the first President_
In 1858 a German Department was formed under the management of Otto Henning, Ph. D., which having proved remarkably successful, was in 1863 incorporated as the German Wallace College, with the Rev. William Nast, D. D., as its first President. This institution has been the literary center of the German Methodist Episcopal Church, and the place where the majority of its ministers have been trained.
In 1887 Baldwin University was obliged to seek a new location because of the encroachment upon its campus of the stone quarries. The old campus was sold to the Cleveland Stone Co., and a new· location purchased on the north side of the town where the magnificent stone buildings are now situated. This new campus contains twenty acres of land and is near the railroad stations and business center of town. Being located so near to the buildings of the German Wallace College makes possible the co-operation of the two institutions.
Citation: "Council Column," Exponent (Berea, OH), June 2, 1948, p. 2.
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Next year's freshmen should be easy to spot, if present Council plans go through. Chuck Thomas is heading a committee to get hats for all the freshmen at cost. Wearing the brown and gold beanies will be compulsory, with a penalty for violating the rule.
Citation: "Frosh Fears," Exponent (Berea, OH), October 8, 1965, p. 4.
You never know what Fear is till you become a Freshman in college. Then your safe and secure world of parental supervision is taken from you and you are hurled into a new environment of college life. There, among those experienced upperclassmen (insofar as they have completed one or more years of the struggle for grades) you sit a lowly freshman. The first days of the campus life are spent in disorder and chaos registering for classes and taking tests.
Now, to the people of the outside world, the freshmans life is one of ease. Orientation dances and the Union with its many facilities paint a pretty picture for those friends back home. But college has its Idiosyncrasies, no alcoholic beverages, hours for women residents on campus, and rules for dress present problems for the incoming student.
More than twenty years ago the tradition of the Dink (a Brown and Gold beanie) was started on the Baldwin-Wallace College Campus. It evolved out of the rules set up by the upperclassmen for the new students. A stunt night was held with a gala bonfire glowing brightly in the darkness. Hazings took place in all forms. Articles of clothing were missing, pieces of furniture were removed from the dorm rooms and it wasn't unusual fora freshman to find himself stranded out in the middle of nowhere after having accepted a ride with his upperclassmen friends.
There is always one upperclassman out to get all freshmen. Someone must have been unkind to him when he was a freshman. Jn my own experience there was one sophomore who sat out in front of my dorm just waiting for the frosh to leave for classes. "Dink Frosh" became the feared words of the day. If one dared to disobey the ORDER, up rose the mighty upperclassman and he or she, as the case may be, proceeded to advance on the quivering freshman. Needless to say the frosh enacted a quick dink and set out to break the record for the quarter mile.
I must say It Is getting easier for the freshmen as the years go by. Just Imagine having to dink when you just SAW an upperclassman. Now the frosh just waits for that order to fall upon his ears and with a smile on his face and revenge in his heart, the new college frosh does a quick dink.
The most frequent comment made about the dink is "It makes me look so stupid" or "A Beanie! Who ever heard of that in college." Several frosh unwittingly refuse to wear their beanies and when the day arrives for the Kangaroo Court, when the King and Queen sic in state, and the judges get their revenge by pronouncing sentence on the rebellious group. There will be those who will be thankful they wore their beanies and then there will be those who will have to pay the consequences.
Citation: Exponent (Berea, OH), August 10, 1970 p. 6.
Alas, poor Beanie, I knew him well. I bore him on my head a thousand times. The day of the freshman beanie has come to an end, at least at B-W. The source of this nefarious action was traced to student body vice-president Charlie McGinnis. When confronted with the evidence he commented, "It's the first action I took during our Summer Task Force session." Why? "Because they're a fascist plot. Uh...but don't print that."
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Because of the valiant crusade of Chuck McGinnis, Student Senate Veep, the Freshman beanie is now defunct. Once an established tradition at B-W, it now takes its place beside the Edsel, the Hoola Hoop, and the Ventures. May they rest in peace.
Charlie McGinnis (Junior): I really think it is quite good that the beanies were eliminated this year. True, there were some good things about it; yes, it did help some students to meet upperclassmen, but for many other Freshmen it had a very deliterious effect. One of the places where I think it hurt was the fact that it greatly separated the Freshmen community from the rest of the college. One of the things the Summer Task Force found we lacked at the school, and had to work for, was a sense of community. It also had a damaging effect on those students who were shy as beanies caused them to feel more self-conscious and that they were an object of ridicule. For these and other reasons I feel that it was good that we eliminated beanies.
Sue Croy (Senior): Politically, I don't think I'm in the position to opinionate, because it was my Vice- President who abolished it.
Bruce Ingrahm (Senior): It seems to me if the aboritionists keep continuing at the rate they have been in the past few years, undoubtedly within the next two decades there will be many vizations that will cause concurring tendencies like this to happen over and over again. Therefore, I think that the best course in the long run will be complete absolution of the undermining factor which is involved in this case.
Ray Kay (Senior): I think beanies weren't bad eggs in the long run; of course who likes long runny eggs.
Chip Dennerlein (Junior): They should take all the beanies and store them in the vaults that arc still available for the Cosla Collection.
Ken Wessler (Senior): I've long held the belief that beanies were a plot from an interplanitary system with a life form much more intelligent than ours, and once these beanies were planted on our heads they would rob ourselves of certain bodily functions. I think its just about time they got rid of them before we're running around underneath the control of this terribly fantastic life source.
Matthew Corchnoy (Soph): I think it was kind of an old tradition, but it did have its good points. At least you knew who all the Freshmen were and it distinguished them. Last year, everybody stopped wearing them, so the tradition was not enforced. So it is good that it was dropped.
Doug Gogcr (Soph): It was most definitely fair to abolish it. The only person it was unfair to was the person who makes the beanies because he lost out on a couple of dollars.
Sue Bohr (Soph): I kind of regret it because I think Freshmen should have gone through it so we could get even with them.
Gary Uanus: I thought it was a nice custom because it was a good way to meet girls and get a feel for the campus.
Dave Mulnick (Soph): I think its a darn bad idea. When I was a Freshman, I had to wear one. While the upperclassmen dink the Freshmen, they could also show, them the campus. I think it was to their advantage.
Tim Sims (Soph): There are a lot of kids who don't feel like bowing down to other people just because its a custom. I for one would not wear one. It's just a lot of hassel. My idea of education is that you come to study, to learn something. The beanie has nothing to do with that.
Ginald Harrcll (Soph): I think it's outasitc. I don't really feel its necessary to have a determining factor, putting a class on someone stating that they are a freshman by the wearing of some material or identification. Therefore they are prone to extra hassle, which is not necessary because Freshmen have it hard enough adjusting and making the transition so rapidly between being at home and being at college. This is a very unbiased opinion by a person who did not wear a beanie when he was a Freshman. I feel it's heavy for the Freshmen not to have to do it. Can you dig it? Outasite.
Pat Meighan (Senior): Too many people take it too seriously. I t should be taken lightly so everyone can get to know one another.
Bill Croom (Senior): I think the beanie was humilating. I think Charlie was wise in getting rid of it, and I'm glad it's gone. I don't think anyone will really miss it unless they're really strange.
Bill Felinski (Freshman): I don't care one way or another. It's sort of a nice old tradition. I can do without it.
Dan George (Senior): It should have been done twenty years ago.
Bill Feiss (Senior): I think it's a little degrading; I never liked it myself, but it.is a good way for the Freshmen to meet the upperclassmen. I think some of the upperclassmen over used it to make the Freshmen feel lower.
Lydia Ushinski (Freshman): I think I'm missing out on something because I've heard what other kids went through and it seems like it would be fun.
Russ Chick (Freshman): I think wearing beanies is a good idea because this way you know who your classmates are. Orientation this year did not have many things to get the Freshmen together. Beanies would further class pride they're a mark of distinction.
Ken Karoma (Junior): I think the Freshmen should wear them because they're fun and make the upperclassmen feel superior.
Marshall Miller: It's nice to know that Freshmen have finally been recognized as people.
Judy Miller: It doesn't really help the Freshmen, as someone said. It was kind of a stigma attached to the Freshmen.' They should sell them though for those who want one.
Virginia Smith (Soph): I think it's good that Freshmen don't have to wear them because when I was a Freshman, I hated to wear that thing. I think it's unnecessary because when they come in, you can tell the Freshmen from the upperclassmen by the way they act and don't know where their classes are, so I think it really was ridiculous.
Citation: “Director Allman Names Summe Theater Staff,” The Exponent (Berea, OH), June 6, 1958, p. 4.
William Allman, managing director of the Berea Summer Theater, announced his complete staff for his summer's production of three Samuel Taylor plays.
James Mayer was named technical director. Guest director will William McCleery. Both have extensive backgrounds in the theater.
Other posts will be filled by Charles Irwin, head of the speech department, business manager; Joe Augustine, B-W student, lighting; Elaine Hinton, Northwestern student from Rocky River, costumes and props; Penny Gray, active in drama at Berea High School and in Berea Little Theater, publicity and advertising; Al Robejsek, B-W six dent, box office, and Gordo Graves, Case Tech student, sound and photography.
Mayer, a teacher at Parma Senior High School, is a graduate of Edinboro College in Pennsylvania, where he had lead roles in college productions and did directing stints in one-act plays and a original musical comedy.
He received his master's degree in dramatic art from the University of Illinois after serving in the U. S. Army at Fort Knox, Kentucky, where he spent his spare hours with the Knox Little Theater.
McCleery is a Berea High School and Baldwin-Wallace graduate. He teaches at Berea High. He was director and production manager of the highly successful and ambitious production of The King And I, which was presented to record smashing audiences last fall.
After completing his graduate work at Michigan State University, McCleery served as head of the speech and drama department of East Detroit High School for six years.
He will direct the second play in the Taylor series, Sabrina Pair, which will be presented July 22 through July 20.
Allman will direct The Happy Time, scheduled for July 8 through 9. Taylor and his wife will be in Berea for a production of I Know My Love. The play is being presented for the first time by "straw hatters."
Berea Summer Theater, originated by Allman last year, is sponsored by Baldwin-Wallace. The Plays will be presented in the Rec Hall.
Citation: “Berea Summer Theatre Announces New Director,” The Exponent (Berea, OH), September 13, 2000, p. 11.
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John Nolan of Cleveland has been named executive director for Berea Summer Theatre at Baldwin-Wallace College.
"We are excited about the rebirth of Berea Summer Theatre for 2001 and pleased that John will lead our efforts in reviving the longstanding tradition of fine theatre that has characterized Berea Summer Theatre in the past," said Mark Collier, B-W president.
Nolan, a 1981 graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College, has been a familiar face in the theatre program and on the BST stage since his first appearance in a production of Mame in 1979. He also has directed, choreographed and performed in other area community theatres.
Nolan brings a wealth of managerial experience to BST. A graduate of Case-Western Reserve School of Law, he practiced law with Jonas, Day, Reavis & Pogue as well as Baker & Hosteller. He served as the director of Alumni Services for CWRU School of Law and the director of development for the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland. He currently serves on the City of Cleveland's Fair Housing Review Board and is a founding board member of the Ohio Human Rights Bar Association.
"It's a privilege to follow in the footsteps of Bill Allman who created this summer theatre 44 years ago," Nolan said. "I look forward to working with the College administration and the community to build on the great reputation of Berea Summer Theatre. We are dedicated, not just to its survival in the future, but to its great success as a producer of high quality summer theatre entertainment."
Berea Summer Theatre was established in 1957 in the old Baldwin-Wallace College "Rec Hall." In 1972 it moved into the Kleist Center for Art & Drama with the 550-seat John Patrick Theatre and 250-seat William A. Allman Theatre. Throughout its history, BST provided a creative outlet for B-W students and community actors and, occasionally, for new playwrights as well. Nine world premieres were among the more than 200 plays and musicals produced at BST.
A sudden and silent storm has erupted on Baldwin-Wallace Campus. After four and a half decades of active involvement in the Berea area, Berea Summer Theatre (BST) may be closed down for good.
Baldwin-Wallace College, which has supported and funded BST since its inception in 1957, announced this week that it would halt finances to BST and close down the program.
The college officially stated that its subsidary to BST was near $10,000 yearly for many years. But, according to Vice-President Dick Fletcher, by the mid nineties the program began costing the college up lo and around $50,000 per summer. By 1999, B-W made the decision to go dark for a season, wherein the administration, in the words of Fletcher, "did a lot of soul searching" about the future of the program. According to him, President Mark Collier pushed for a second attempt at sponsoring the program with a new director. John Nolan, and hopefully a financial plan as well. Associate Director of College Relations, Helen Rathburn called this a "trial period."
Unfortunately, the projected budget was not realized, and since 2000, BST has run up a deficit of 183,000. Fletcher thinks the biggest reason for this miscalculation was an optimistic estimate of ticket sales. According to Fletcher, 3,000 more seats needed to be filled to keep BST running. This summer BST only filled to half of its seating capacity. Fletcher called the decision to cut the program "heart wrenching," but admitted its necessity. "I can't fault anybody," says Fletcher, "I feel everyone put forth their best effort."
Psychology Professor Mike Dwyer, along with some faculty, students and community members, disagree. "While I believe that our college leaders made their decision out of deep concern for the long term financial health of B-W," Dwyer claims, "1 believe they have been misguided and have failed to sec alternatives." Dwyer suggested that the college should have looked to outside means such as "corporate philanthropy, private philanthropy, city and state funds for the arts, foundation grants [and] the National Endowment [for the Arts]," before shutting down the program altogether. Among the disappointed is Theatre professor Jack Winget: "I think [it's sad] when a financial choice dictates the loss of a rich tradition." According to Winget much will be lost with BST.
Berea Summer Theatre was the first community theatre in the nearby area. It predated the B-W theatre and much acclaimed musical theatre departments. In 1957, the costs were minimal and the community support massive; Rathburn herself recalls how in 1964 she designed costumes for BST on a $300 budget. Today, she believes rarified community taste and more entertainment opportunities are partly to blame for the loss of BST ticket sales. As she puts it, "You can't do something shlocky in that theatre." Now, to the disappointment of many Bereans you can't do anything at all.
