Bailey Thompson | News Editor
As an institution, Western Oregon University has a rich history that extends back to 1856 — three years before Oregon even became a state. Starting out as Monmouth University, the school as it is known today has experienced a great deal of growth and development since its founding with a total of seven different name changes.
On Jan. 18, Western commemorated its 163rd birthday with free cake and a visit with Wolfie for anyone who was interested in celebrating with their community.
According to Western’s website, the university as it is today has 5,382 students in total enrollment as well as 52 majors and 74 registered student organizations.
But it hasn’t always been that way.
Looking back at the earliest yearbooks in Western’s archives, there are a number of notable ways in which the dynamics and culture of the organization have evolved over time.
“A brief perusal of the roll of graduates published in the annual catalogue will disclose the fact that 780 men and women have completed the course during the past 22 years,” stated The Courier, Western’s oldest yearbook on record that was published in December of 1905. This number, when compared with even just the current enrollment of the school, briefly highlights the extent to which the university has grown over the last century.
However, even though Western has developed a great deal since its founding, it can be observed that there are activities and values that have persevered over time:
“One afternoon in early June the students were all out on the campus, the boys playing lawn tennis and the girls promenading in the shade of the magnificent grove that shadowed the school building, while peals of merry laughter rang out, mingled with the voices of the tennis players,” said the December issue of The Courier from 1906. This description, although worded more formally, does not sound unlike a typical spring afternoon in the Grove today.
So, while students from the early days of Western often participated in literary societies like “The Delphians,” “The Normals” and “The Vespertines,” students today frequently feel connected to the community through a Greek organization, an intramural team, a club or a leadership group.
Fundamentally speaking, the values and goals that the city of Monmouth has held haven’t seemed to have shifted all that much throughout the years.
“Enter heartily into the student affairs,” suggested President E. D. Ressler in 1906. “To be sure these are the incidental of your school life, but they also form the centers around which in after years cluster the fondest memories.”
The university president also went on to describe the integrity that students and faculty alike ought to work towards in the pursuit of higher education.
“Strive to attain the ideals presented both in the class room and on the play ground,” said Ressler. “The good opinion of instructors and fellow students is worthy of all honorable effort and is usually the reward of straight forward conduct and unselfish effort for the good of the school.”
Despite all of the ways that Western has evolved since 1856, there are still a number of ways that the original spirit of the university has been preserved through the people who live, work and attend school here.
If anyone is interested in learning more about Western’s history, there is a wide variety of resources available on Hamersley Library’s website in the digital commons.
Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu
Photo courtesy of omeka.wou.edu
