By River Mitchell
@rivermitchell27
The air was cold on a Friday evening in January of 1925. January 2nd to be exact. A student-reporter for The Springfield Student newspaper at Springfield College took a stroll through campus to enjoy a bit of the night air. As the reporter was walking past this one ice-house right near campus, he was alarmed to hear voices coming from the ground, which seemed to be coming from directly under his feet. Gathering the courage to investigate what was going on, the reporter found a group of nearly 200 different men, students and faculty members gathered in a cave, holding a meeting for the student branch of the Ku Klux Klan.
No one seemed to object to the student’s presence, so he remained to observe what was happening. After a little while, a man stood up and gave a violent speech, denouncing the college spirit and faculty member Ray Novarine, who they planned to “get” on the night of January 9th, with the reporter’s interpretation of the reasoning being that Novarine had insisted on having cheer in the chapel. In an account from the meeting located in The Springfield Student from January 9th, 1925, it mentioned how, “The air was tense but with repressed excitement,” as new members even had the opportunity to join. The account went on to specify that, “The reporter, having only $8.13 to his name, was about to withdraw in great sadness, when a boy brought in a special delivery containing the remaining 98 cents.” The group split up at around 10:10 the night, and agreed to get together again on January 9th, exactly a week from that day and the same day the paper was produced with the account on the front page.
Now, whether the group did actually meet again on the night of January 9th is unclear. But the reporters alleged disappointment in initially not having the money to join the KKK, plus the size of the meeting could leave some to believe that events like this were accepted and not seen as bad or wrong. To see the comparison between Springfield College in 1925, and Springfield College now where there’s a huge emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion and support for the Black Lives Matter movement is night and day.
While the school has used their motto of Spirit, Mind and Body since the late 1800s, to say they were a school based on inclusivity wouldn’t be entirely accurate. In fact, if we look closer at what the campus was like in 1925, some of the differences are staggering. Up to this point, the school had gone through numerous name changes, officially named the International YMCA College in 1912. However, many students and faculty referred to it at Springfield College, as the school couldn’t officially change their name until 1954 due to having a lot of the school’s money come from the YMCA.
Referred to as “one of the most beautiful American cities” in the 1924-25 course catalog, 1925 was a time of hope and optimism for the country, in between the time period of World War I and before The Great Depression. At this time, the school primarily served white, evangelical men, as no women were admitted to Springfield College. Many of the students who attended Springfield College in 1925, similar to today, were from the New England/Northeast area. While there were a few students from places such as Michigan, North Carolina and even Portugal and China, a majority of the students came from the Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania area.
One big aspect of Springfield College’s identity was that they were heavily involved in preaching religion to the students. At this time, the school, “Has arisen in response to present-day needs. It has grown out of the changed conditions in city and rural life and the new conception of Christian work.” The school taught religious courses to all students, as the institution required students to learn three essential aspects of religion. These three aspects were:
A study of a bible
A study of the development of Christian thought and history
Social, economic, moral and religious needs of our time
The school believed these courses were vital for all students graduating from Springfield College, regardless of what they did post-graduation. As a “natural result of religious education,” the school also wanted to teach social services to the students. They did this through teaching classes like economics, sociology, and even community and personal hygiene. While the school did have electives that people of many different grades could take, many courses were also segregated between each graduating class. In the course catalog, each class has a list of courses they could take, part of it depending on what you were studying.
The requirements for students to get scholarships was also much different than today. While present day scholarships are based on students grades and achievements in high school, Springfield College 100 years forced you to meet six different requirements. These requirements were:
1. Candidates should be recommended by the National Committee of the Young Men’s Christian Association of the country from which they come. In the case of candidates from missionary agencies or from government institutions, the recommendation of the supporting agency is essential and the approval of the National Committee of the Young Men’s Christian Association is expected.
2. Candidates should read and speak English readily.
3. The approval of the Committee on International Service is necessary
4. The scholarship is awarded on the understanding that the holder returns to his homeland to serve.
5. The amount of the scholarship award ranges from $50 to $270 depending upon the estimation of the Committee of selection whose standards are based upon the measure of fulfillment of the following qualifications:
A. Academic preparation
B. Experience in association work or any similar activities under acceptable auspices.
C. The nature of the recommendations from association secretaries, National Committes and others.
6. In case of a candidate for the physical course, it will be necessary to pass a satisfactory physical examination. This should be done before coming to the United States and should be reported on blanks which are available on application.
The school also reserved the right to deny people based on their religious affiliation as well, showing the direct correlation between religion and admission to the college. The school prioritized giving spots to people who came up through the churches of the YMCA, and while they did admit Jewish students, there were only a select number of spots available. The school was mainly a Protestant school, and did accept Roman Catholics but only a certain number of them. Back in 1927, a gentleman named Tibbetts H Hutchins was denied an education at Springfield College as there were not enough spots available for Roman Catholics. Hutchins received his letter of denial in the mail at his residence on Quaboag Street in Warren, Mass . The letter read:
Dear Mr. Tibbetts,
In connection with your application for admission this fall we will not be able to admit you at this time. As you probably know this is a Protestant institution and although we do grant admission to Roman Catholic young men, preference is given to those who have had a college education before coming here for technical training in physical education. We are limited in the number we can admit and must give preference to those who come through our churches and the YMCA.
You might find no difficulty in gaining entrance to the Savage School in New York City, Temple University, Philadelphia Pa, or the Newark Normal in Newark, N.J.
Yours very truly,
John D. Brock
But even though the school primarily served white, evangelical men, the school did serve students of other races and ethnicities. The school had close ties with China, as many students from China came to Springfield for their education. One of them includes John Ma, who graduated with his bachelors from Springfield in 1924 and his masters in 1926. He was essentially the father of physical education in China, as he even founded the Chinese Sports Federation. Another person who attended Springfield College, this person in the class of 1925, was a man named Raul d’Eca who came from Portugal to study.
During this time, the institution specialized in two different areas of study, as the roughly 450 students who attended Springfield College chose one of two options, both of which were exclusive to working in the YMCA. One of them was a Bachelor of Humanics, which was for people aiming to do more secretarial work. They also offered a Bachelor of Physical Education, which helped young men get jobs as a physical director or a gym teacher at the YMCA. The school has made the shift from a two-year program to a four-year program starting in the fall of 1916, and also offered Master’s degrees in both Humanics and PE.
Land area wise, the college had also grown significantly to this point since their inception 1885. The college spent much of the early 1900s purchasing new land and buildings. This included Pratt field, which was gifted by Mr. Herbert L Pratt and was considered the “best practical field in the United States,” by James E. Sullivan, the organizer of the Amateur Athletic Union. McCurdy Natatorium had been built in 1913 for $25,000, and the school paid $80,000 for Marsh Memorial Chapel, dedicated to the United States President William Howard Taft, which served as a fireproof library. The school also paid $16,000 for 11 acres near Pratt field, $40,000 for Woods Hall, and they even purchased 12 acres of land across Watershops Pond alongside three more acres for $10,000 just East of Pratt Field.
However, coming into the 1920s, the school didn’t have crazy amounts of money. When the school began construction on Weiser Hall which later turned into an infirmary for the gymnastics team, students helped build the foundation of the building which was completed in 1921. Back then, it was more of an expectation that you helped the school in some capacity.
“You were supposed to, as a student, help your community,” said Springfield College Archivist Jeff Monseau. “Students would be expected to give back to the college.”
Monseau argues that this practice could have helped play a role in the long-standing Humanics philosophy at the college, which aims to educate students about the Spirit, Mind and Body as well as service and leadership to others. But in 1925, it was seen more as a chore rather than an act of generosity.
“Good? Yes. But not the pure humanics philosophy that you would think of,” Monseau said.
Outside of Weiser and the library, which is now known as Marsh Memorial Chapel, the only other buildings on the campus were Judd Gymnasium and Administration Building. The Administration Building currently sits in-between the campus union and Alumni Hall, as this building served a variety of purposes. The first floor contained lecture halls and business offices, as floors two through four three classrooms, and sleeping quarters for 90 students. Each floor had bathrooms, and the basement included chemical laboratories and storerooms. However, the third and fourth floors were wiped off during WWII, as the United States army ordered the school to take them off due to a hazard of some sort.
Woods Hall, which was the “center of undergraduate life,” was a building that served many different purposes. Outside of the dining room which could seat up to 200 guests, the second floor contained a student store, the post office and committee offices. Students would also use this building to receive training and religious work. They also had another building referred to as the “tower”, which consisted of a fan room on the north side, and a hot room, lavatory and toilet on the south side. First floor was administration offices and the second floor was physical laboratories with tables for 34 different men, and a lecture room that could seat 75. The school even had a boathouse, which sat at the base of the Watershops Pond and helped train students in aquatics while also being home to the finest canoe carnival in New England during commencement week.
Some of the notable figures during this time period were President Laurence L Doggett, soccer coach George B. Affleck, and varsity gymnastics coach Leslie Judd. The gymnastics team was one of the premiere teams on campus, traveling to Mexico a handful of times to compete in tournaments. Many of the team photos for other sports have seen its changes over the years, as many team photos were in a suit and tie, much different compared to the team merchandise and nylon athletic-wear that athletes wear today. Many of the same sports including baseball, football and basketball were still there in 1925, as each team had a junior varsity team mainly for freshmen.
Overall, while a lot of the values, traditions, and even building have remained on this campus for the last 100 years, the overall landscape and change to the college is night and day. Many of these include women being allowed to attend, more diversity among the student body, and the wide variety of classes and areas of study that students have. While the history will always remain the same, the college has turned a new chapter to now serve the current and future body of Springfield College students.
Photo Courtesy of the Springfield College 1924-25 yearbook