 Leaders of the Academy Class of 1947 and Hesston College officials stand to the left of two new plaques installed in Hess Hall in time for Homecoming Weekend 2007. Pictured (left to right) are Delbert Erb, class president; Howard Keim, Hesston College president; Phyllis Weaver, a college development officer who worked closely with the class on the project; Bonnie (Welty) Scheid, class secretary/treasurer; and Dale Hostetler, class vice president. The plaques were informally dedicated during a gathering of 21 Academy class members and their spouses Saturday afternoon, September 22, 2007. |
October 22, 2007
Two new plaques have been added to Hess Hall in Hesston College's Kropf Center, thanks to the Academy (high school) Class of 1947. The plaques were informally dedicated during a gathering of 21 Academy class members and their spouses Saturday afternoon, September 22, during Homecoming Weekend 2007.
One plaque contains a replica of the class emblem and terrazzo floor that the class funded when construction began on the original Hess Hall in 1946, along with the names of the class officers and others involved in this class project. The terrazzo (small pieces of marble or granite set in mortar and given a high polish) floor was installed inside the east entryway and on the steps leading up to the gymnasium. The second plaque lists the names of the 70 class graduates, along with 35 non-graduating members.
Hess Hall was named after Abraham Lincoln (A.L.) Hess, the school’s major benefactor from its founding in 1909 to Hess’ death in 1920.
Bonnie (Welty) Scheid, class secretary/treasurer, said that the original emblem and the terrazzo floor were destroyed when the original Hess Hall was torn down in the summer of 1990. "They didn't realize that (the emblem and floor) were precious to us," she said. "It was the desire of our class to restore this as a symbol of our love for the school." Scheid, from Littleton, Colo., also graduated from Hesston College in 1949.
Others who collaborated in the project were Delbert Erb, class president; Dale Hostetler, class vice president; and Don Zook, a class member. Hostetler, from Gilbert, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix, donated the plaques, so the more than $12,000 raised in the past 18 months will be used by the college as a revolving scholarship fund for students.
Other class officers were Edith Hostetler, reporter, and Lois (Litwiller) Buckwalter, class sponsor. Phyllis Weaver, a development officer at the college who worked closely with the class on the project, thanked the class for their effort.
Hostetler said he saw workers jackhammering the terrazzo floor during the Hess Hall demolition. "I happened to be visiting Hesston and heard that Hess Hall was being demolished," he said. "After sweeping the (terrazzo) floor, I took a picture of the class emblem."
Zook, from Pitkin, Colo., said he's absolutely thrilled with the new plaques. "I praise God that the idea got hatched and communicated with class members," he said. "I remember seeing workers grinding and polishing the terrazzo floor, which was exceedingly hard."
According to Zook, the Academy Class of 1947 was the first academy class to graduate in Hess Hall. "It opened in the spring of 1947 to accommodate graduation in May," he said. "At the time, the kitchen had not been moved yet from Green Gables."
Zook, who graduated from Hesston College in 1949, played on the college basketball team. "The gym (in Hess Hall) was a grand place to play ball," he said. "We were also delighted to have a new dining hall."
President Howard Keim thanked the class members. "I'd like to add my word of thanks to you for your generosity and for your continuing interest in Hesston College over the years," he said. "These monies (for the scholarship fund) will be put to good use."