A Light in the Wilderness

Washington College Academy was established in 1780 by Dr. Samuel Doak, a Presbyterian minister, educator and abolitionist. At the time of its founding "in the wilderness" (basically anywhere west of the Appalachians) Tennessee was not yet a state (that wouldn't occur until 1796), so the school's initial charter was granted by the state of North Carolina. Called Martin Academy at the time, it was the first institution of higher education west of the Appalachians. In 1795, the name was changed in honor of our first President, becoming the first educational institution in the US to bear his name. Known for its 'classical education', Washington College boasts a number of notable graduates including three governors, numerous legislators, and many college presidents, ministers, teachers, judges and lawyers. In 1923, the college curriculum was dropped and the institution became a college preparatory school. In recent years, the Academy has fallen on hard times and no longer operates as a college preparatory boarding school. It does, however, continue to offer a number of continuing adult education and GED classes. The 120 acre campus, located 7 miles southwest of Jonesborough, TN, is beautiful and loaded with history. Directions here. For more information, click here and here.

Pictured above: Harris Hall, one of the women's dorms.

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.
--Henry Brooks Adams (1838-1918) American author and historian

College Graduation

Education has for its object the formation of character.
--Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903)

A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in the students.
--John Ciardi (1916 - 1986)

Congratulations to all those graduating from Milligan College today! What a milestone in your lives, such a great accomplishment for you and your families. We're proud of you!

Lately there's been a trend in higher education for colleges to rename themselves 'universities' -- I guess the thought is that the name change will somehow make the institution seem more significant. I'm proud to say we're still a Christian Liberal Arts College. The greatest part about being a professor at Milligan is that I have the opportunity to know my students and enter into their lives -- the privilege to help shape them not only academically and professionally, but spiritually and personally. I loved my university experience as a student, but I knew very few of my professors -- the educational experience was limited to the classroom. In many classes you not only felt like a number, you were a number! At Milligan, we know our students by name. They often stop by our offices, worship with us, hike with us, eat dinner at our homes and call us at all hours. It's a wonderful learning community -- and I'm reminded today how thankful I am to be a part of it.

Above: Seeger Chapel at Sunrise.

Hallelujah!

Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.
--Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)

Happy Easter! Click here to see a fun rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus.

Above: Seeger Chapel on the campus of Milligan College.

Our early Easter... (here's some interesting trivia)
* This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now).
* The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!)
* The next time it will be a day earlier (March 22) will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

Revealing Character

Sports do not build character. They reveal it.
--Heywood Broun (1888-1939) American Journalist

From the emails and comments I receive, I know that most tune in to see nature photos - and that's usually what I have to offer. But I hope you'll indulge my sharing some more shots from the NAIA National Track and Field Championships at ETSU. It really is a wonderful thing that athletes from all over the country come to Johnson City for this event. I spent all afternoon out there taking photos -- and in the slideshow above are some that I think reveal the competition, the contestants and their character.

[click any photo above to see larger images]

ETSU Sherrod Library

Above is a photo of the soaring entrance to the ETSU library. The building, completed nine years ago, is absolutely beautiful, both inside and out. Besides the obvious contents, the building also contains a replica of longtime east Tennessee Congressman Jimmy Quillen's Washington D.C. office as well as the 'Archives of Appalachia.' Both are located on the fourth floor. Click here to learn more about the building. For a map to the library, click here.

Appalachian State University

This statue of Daniel Boone is located on the campus of Appalachian State University in the city that bears his name. With an enrollment as big as the town (both are around 15,000), it is safe to say Boone, NC has the look and feel of a college town. ASU's academic and athletic programs are certainly well-regarded -- but talk to students who go to ASU and many will say it was the setting that really attracted them to Boone -- nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains with ski slopes, hiking trails, the Parkway, and all the scenic beauty and recreational activities offered in the High Country. It's indeed a beautiful setting -- and Appy State and the city of Boone have a personality all their own.

Where's Ann Arbor?

Boone, NC is the place to be after last week's thrilling victory over Michigan. People from all over the region headed to the high country this week to take part in the excitement. A record crowd filled Kidd Brewer Stadium yesterday to watch the Mountaineers cruise to an easy victory over Lenoir-Rhyne. It seemed everyone in the city, including 'Touchdown Yosef' was decked out in black and gold. Boone has always been a great place to visit -- now more than ever.

My favorite T-shirt slogan... "Where's Ann Arbor?"

Score One for Appalachia!

Congrats to the Appalachian State Mountaineers on their monumental upset over the #5 Michigan Wolverines. It's being called the greatest upset in college football history. Go on over to the Blue Ridge Blog to see scenes of the wild celebration in Boone, NC, including an awesome photo of the mob carrying a goal post down the street. More photos here. What a great victory for Appy State! Woo Hoo!!!

It's been fun hearing the commentators stumble over the word "Appalachian." For those unfamiliar, we in the Southern Appalachian mountains pronounce it "Apple-at-chin." And when referring to the region of Appalachia, we pronounce it "Apple-at-cha." I love when people, not from this area, correct my pronunciation of it..."Don't you mean Apple-aye-shin?" But I try to have compassion on my Yankee brethren. For I, too, once dwelled in the land of the Yankee. After I had lived here for a couple of years, I asked one of the older gentlemen at church, "At what point do I become a Southerner?" He jokingly replied, "You don't, but the good news for you is that after ten years, we'll refer to you as 'Yankee' instead of 'damn Yankee.'"

The Old Soldiers' Home

In the heart of Johnson City, TN is "Mountain Home," a place that was once described as a "city within a city." The Old Soldiers' Home, as it was originally known, was unique in that it served Civil War veterans of both the North and the South. This sprawling institution occupied 475 acres and was originally composed of 37 buildings, complete with theatre, chapels (one for Protestant services and one for Catholic mass), Carnegie library, mess hall (above), barracks for 2,500 veterans, dairy farm, power plant, morgue, hospital, ice house, hotel, jail...the list goes on. Construction began in 1901 using an intricate French renaissance style, with the first veteran being admitted in 1903. Construction was ultimately completed in 1910. Veterans still come to Mountain Home, but today they have a new state-of-the-art facility at the VA Hospital. The clock tower building, and many of the other buildings of the Old Soldiers' Home have been restored and are occupied by the Quillen College of Medicine and the ETSU College of Pharmacy. Click here for a map of the area.

Awaiting Learners

The central task of education is to implant a will and a facility for learning; it should produce not learned but learning people. The truly human society is a learning society, where grandparents, parents, and children are students together. In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.
--Eric Hoffer (1898-1983), author.

[On the campus of Milligan College.]

Milligan College

As a Christian liberal arts college, the mission of Milligan College is "to honor God by educating men and women to be servant-leaders." And they have been doing just that since 1866. The above scene along Buffalo Creek welcomes visitors to the beautiful 181 acre campus located outside of Johnson City, TN.

Chapel View

I was given the opportunity this week to climb up the ladders within the steeple of Seeger Chapel at Milligan College to take pictures of the campus. I'm not a big fan of ladders or of heights, but it was all worth it to get a different perspective of Milligan and the surrounding area. According to Google Earth, the towers atop Buffalo Mountain are only 3.3 miles away. [click photo to enlarge]

Twilight

Twilight: A time of pause when nature changes her guard.
--Howard Thurman

Although I missed the sunset by a twenty minutes, I waited around Derthick Hall on the Milligan College campus to see what the sky would do. I often have read the advice not pack up too quickly after sunset (see here). There's a short period of time after the sun passes beneath earth's horizon when its light continues to be refracted by the atmosphere. And while sunsets are hard to beat, this twilight period is a brief time when colors become vibrant against a neon blue sky. Besides cropping, the above photo hasn't been retouched or photoshopped. This effect doesn't happen every night, but next time it does, grab your camera!

ETSU Mini-Dome

Tonight I went to ETSU to take pictures at the NAIA Track and Field National Championship. I left feeling very old and out of shape. Nationals continues for the next two days at ETSU. The Mini-Dome is a versatile and unique venue that brings in hundreds of athletes from all over the country for competitions such as this. This particular event gives the local economy a $3.75 million economic boost.

For the past 30 years, the ETSU Mini-Dome (officially called the Memorial Center) has been one of the most recognizable landmarks of Johnson City. Home of the Buccaneers, ETSU uses the facility for a variety of sporting activities: basketball, track and field, and tennis (to name a few). I'm not sure why they call it "mini" -- this thing is enormous. And that might be part of the problem. For all its versatility, the Dome has plenty of detractors who argue that it is not a fan friendly stadium for any sport. Many believe the unpopular Dome caused the end of the ETSU football program in 2003. While occasionally there is talk of revitalizing football at ETSU, you can be sure that if football ever does return, they won't be playing in the Mini-Dome!