Happy Holidays from the Clarke!

Clarke Historical Library Christmas Exhibit

By Gillian Macdonald

As exam week fades into the distance and most head home for the holidays, we are approached by the holiday season. The weather is threatening to snow, Christmas is around the corner, and decorations are flying up around town and the university campus. While CMU might not be able to compete with the impressive light displays around the Mount Pleasant community, the holiday season has always been special on campus. Past presidents have mounted beautiful displays, the university has thrown Christmas balls, the Clarke Historical Library displayed an impressive collection of Christmas books, students and faculty have carroled and dorms and departments alike have donned decorations for the season.

These traditions have spanned CMU’s lifetime. Let’s take a look back at some of the older traditions on campus:

Dorm Window Decorations

Dorm decorations have certainly not been relegated to the past. Students in 2021 have donned their domitories with sparkling lights, Christmas trees, wreaths, and much more. In the 1950s, creative students created Christmas scenes across the windows of their dorms. The scene depicted here shows reindeer pulling a sleigh full of presents. 

Dorm Window Decorations

In another dormitory window, students recreated a winter scene framed by Victorian street lamps from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The scene depicts a gentlement and lady beside a horse-drawn carriage on a snowy day in London. 

Over the years, students often vied for the best door and window displays. Prizes were awarded for the best decorations and displays. Beddow Hall was featured in the CMU yearbook in 1966 for becoming a "fairyland" at Christmas. In the yearbook, CMU Life crowned Beddow the most beautiful Christmas decorated dormitory. 

Departments also took part in decorating for the holiday season. In 1954, the Art Department displayed a Christmas exhibit in Wightman Hall. CM Life reported the highlight of the display to be Gerald Trcka's "Nativity" which used an intricate system of lines over India ink. In 1956, CM life reported that the Art Department under the guidance of Mrs. Millar (Department Head) art classes 101 and 102 displayed a colorful Christmas tree, posters, cards, and a mobile of various wintery scenes inviting all those on campus to visit. 

Clarke Historical Library Christmas Exhibit

In December 1984, CMU press releases reported that the Clarke Historical Library would hold a special Christmas exhibit through December 21 entitled "Tales of Christmas Past." Among the items displayed were several versions of The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore, A Christmas when the West was Young by Cyrus Townsend Brady, The Evolution of Santa Claus an illustrated history of how the figure has changed over the years, and many other classic books, keepsakes, cards, and posters. In 1987, the Clarke donned another Christmas Exhibit titled "A Michigan Christmas" from December 14th through January 16th. 

Christmas festivals and parties have been a staple tradition at CMU. The 1995 CMU yearbook recalled the sixth annual Holiday Festival held at the Bovee University Center. President Plachta opened the festivities by lighting the Christmas tree and the Mayor of Mount Pleasant, Robert Trullinger said a few words. Christmas parties were held around campus to celebrate the season. Presidents--including Warriner and Anspach--often held parties with singers and speeches to celebrate the season.

Here’s hoping for a white Christmas, Happy Holidays everyone!

Hope May to Speak March 31: "Peace, Patriotism, and Public Education"

On Thursday, March 31, The Clarke welcomes Central Michigan University professor of philosophy and religion, Hope Elizabeth May. Drawing on select items held by the Clarke Historical Library, including the work of former CMU President E.C. Warriner (1866-1945) and U.S. Suffragist May Wright Sewall (1844-1920), Professor May will discuss how both individuals - and the organizations which they represented - conceptualized peace, patriotism, and public education.

Sewall was an educator, co-founder of the Girls' Classical School of Indiana, writer, lecturer, reformer, and pacifist. She was president of the National Council of Women of the United States, 1897-1899, president of the International Council of Women, 1899-1904, Chair of the Committee for Peace and Arbitration, 1904, Chair of the Executive Committee of the Women's Suffrage Association, 1882-1890, and co-founder of the Indianapolis Equal Suffrage Society, 1878.



In 1892, Warriner became the principal of Battle Creek High School. In 1895, he moved to Saginaw as the principal of East Saginaw High School. Just four years later, Warriner became the superintendent of the Saginaw school system, a position he held for 18 years, while also playing an important role in the state’s Peace Movement and efforts to integrate peace education into the K-12 curriculum. In 1918, he became CMU's president. During his tenure, CMU grew from fewer than five hundred to nearly a thousand students. The school offered its first bachelor of arts degree and graduate courses during his tenure, and built the first women's dormitory on a normal school campus in Michigan. President Warriner retired in 1939.

This presentation begins at 7:00 pm in the Park Library Auditorium. A reception will be held in the Clarke following the lecture. If you would like more information about this event or need accommodations, please contact the Clarke via e-mail or by calling 989-774-3352.

President George Ross and His Academic Journey to Central

The Clarke Historical Library works to be the source for information about the history of Central Michigan University. In addition to the basic information of who was president during World War II (Charles Anspach) or when did the football team win the National Championship (1974), we have found several wonderful stories from canine mascots of military training programs to the source of the wonderful tunes that play across campus.

Recently, we came upon a news story reporting on President Ross's comments to an audience at the weekly luncheon of the Flint Golf Club. Among the anecdotes President Ross reportedly told was the story of how he came close to quitting high school during his Junior year save for the intervention of one memorable teacher. The path to the CMU Presidency, with stops along the way at Alcorn State University, the University of Alabama, and Michigan State University among others, had an important turning point in Ms. Miriam Schaefer's math class.

We tend to think that the history of Central can be found in dusty old yearbooks or long-forgotten records of individuals from decades past. But the people who are currently at CMU are making history and their stories and backgrounds are important to understanding how we are shaping the University today and for generations to come.