In 2012 we will be celebrating the Sesquicentennial of Lakeland College. To us, there is no better time than now to put the spotlight on 150 years of the achievements and memories of our graduates. The way we see it, your story is the celebration. If you would like to read the stories of others, click on the names below.
Shared Stories, 1950s:
What I remember most about living on campus in Bossard Hall (women's dorm) was the closeness of everyone. Very often following our evening meal we would return to the dorm, gather around the piano and sing. We knew if someone was hurting for some reason and we helped that person through their...
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Although my four years at Lakeland (nee Mission House College) were some of the happiest in my life, three separate campus experiences are the most memorable for me, and perhaps, to some degree, the most life-changing. In 1952, when I set foot on the college campus as a new freshman, I felt...
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I have many great memories of Lakeland. My favorite is meeting, dating and marrying my wife, Kathy (George) Allen '62. I loved playing football & (usually) winning. I also loved acting. I won Best Supporting Actor in Joan of Lorraine. (Kathy accepted the award for me as I was teaching in...
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Al, the Actor The late Al Barz '50, friend of many of us, was an outstanding actor who appeared in many campus player roles. One of those was the lead in The Little Minister, a role perfect for diminutive Al. He was playing opposite Phyllis (Schruers) Meier. They had two similar scenes in...
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I attended Milwaukee School of Engineering from March 1948 to March 1950. At that time I was engaged to Patricia Schnaith, who had attended Lakeland and wished to qualify in elementary education, which Lakeland did not offer at that time. Therefore, she transferred to Milwaukee State Teachers...
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I was discharged from the US Army on July 3, 1946. It was an early Independence Day! Mother had earlier checked with the Mission House Office about any openings in Jubilee Men's Dorm, found that a few were available and I was lucky enough to get one. I enrolled in classes the first week of...
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Thank you for the opportunity to make some comments about my years at Lakeland College. I was a student from 1953 to 1957. As I reminisce, I could not begin to list the different reasons why those were some of the very best years of my life. I do have one experience which has had,...
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Working on the college maintenance crew (along with Lew Schmidt '58, John Krueger '60, Dan Vander Ploeg '59 and others) during the five summers bracketed by '54-'58, meant working on several construction projects. A major project one of those years was a new roof on Founder's Gym. I remember it...
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When I read all of the crazy things some of you old timers did at Mission House/Lakeland, I'm glad my generation was better behaved (1949-56). Of course, we did have alarm clocks go off in chapel and Prof. Hilgeman's little Crosley car found its way to the second floor of Old Main. I felt bad...
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LAST TWO STANDING Dave and Ed Grosshuesch, graduates of Mission House College, class of 1952, are first cousins with a close connection to the college. Dave's father, Paul, was a former president, and Ed's father, Calvin, was a graduate of the college and seminary. Dave's and Ed's...
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Campus Life of a Campus Minister I was called by Lakeland to serve as Campus Minister, Dean of Students and Foreign Student Advisor. In my fourth and last year at Lakeland, Loren Tiede became the Dean of Students, and I became Director of the Student Centers, which had just been built. In...
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Three memories come to mind. The first two are of the tours with the college band and the tours with the choir. In my days, these were week-long trips. Great fun, great PR for the school. The third great memory was my being named Winter Carnival King. Profs. W. Henry Ellerbusch and E.P....
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I have only one favorite campus memory: meeting my husband-to-be, Warren ("Skip") at college. My first semester, January 1950, was his final semester. We always credited Mission House, and the grace of God, with our paths crossing. Most of my inspiration as a student came from the...
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Part One Indeed, there were many pranks that took place, some of them nearly disastrous. For example, putting a pail of water half full on the inside of a dorm room in Jubilee on the transom and attaching a string from it to the door knob, supposedly to give the person entering the room a...
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After graduating from Mission House/Lakeland College in 1952, I went to Eden Seminary in St. Louis. I was never near any of my Mission House/Lakeland classmates; however, more than 50 years after graduation, I continue to stay in touch with several of them through Christmas cards, emails, phone...
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I had several interesting experiences while at Mission House/Lakeland. Here are a few of them: Track: In my sophomore year (1949-1950), Mission House College had two students from Africa, Alex Ababio and Bill Agble. Alex ran track and on a hot day he was outstanding. On a road trip our...
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The following are some memories of my days at Mission House... A lot of time in the biology lab with Prof. Bill Welti and his lab assistant, Earl Reinholz. Frances Thundercloud trying so hard to get enough blood from her finger to prepare a good slide. Helene Schulz (now...
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The impact Lakeland has had on my life is difficult to put down in writing. Speaking to you would capture my enthusiasm. There were marvelous professors. Professor Ellerbusch, for one, gave me a gift in his class when he instilled in me an awakening to classical music. It was a music...
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Running the farm five miles west of Plymouth, there was no thought of continuing my education upon high school graduation. But a happenstance meeting with the Mission House College Registrar’s secretary found me a student there in the fall while continuing the farm operation. As that...
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I had lived on a farm five miles west of Plymouth all my life, but was unaware of Mission House College and Seminary until I came for enrollment in the summer of 1955. I was a Lutheran at the time. Continuing to run the family farm, I pledged a fraternity. One night of hazing involved being...
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It was a chilly and beautiful fall day. There was excitement in the air, but not as much as when the varsity team played. It was the day the Zeta and Sigma Intramural teams were going to play a football game. I there as a fan of the Zeta Chi team. Time for the game arrived and somehow, despite...
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I am sure I do not have all the historic detail in perfect place, but I was privileged to be part of the successor to the Troubadors, the A Capella Choir. Formerly all men, it was now SATB. We sang in area churches and, in the spring from 1956-59, we did a 16-day tour each year in a different...
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A most memorable activity for me was being a member of the A Cappella Choir. It meant many joyful hours of rehearsal for the anthems to be sung in concert at area churches. A highlight was the two-week Spring Concert Tour, which took us to churches in neighboring states. The bus got stuck in...
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I came to Mission House in 1946, the year that returning WWII veterans enrolled in the school. It made a BIG difference! A group of us girls were watching football practice and some of the players came to talk to us. There was one nice looking young man who gave me his ring to hold. I told...
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Valuable Indian Heritage My wife Bonnie, besides being a student for one year at Mission House before we were married, has another Mission House connection. Many years ago, one of the Mission House professors took about a 17-mile hike to lead a church in worship. On his way back, he got...
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Recruiting "Mulberry" In my senior year, our football squad had difficulty getting enough people for a scrimmage. If you check with the '56 annual, there are only 25 players on the roster. I was student body president that year and student officers were responsible for setting up...
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There are many memories about Mission House/Lakeland that I remember. One person I respected so much was Elmer "Chic" Wetting, who lived on the same block while growing up in Kiel. I am not sure what year Elmer graduated from Mission House, but he was a great person. He was one...
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Lakeland Runs Deep When I accepted what I understood to be God's call to the Christian Ministry, I inquired of a neighboring pastor about seminaries to attend. Rev. Robert Klaudt, a graduate of the class of 1918 at Mission House Seminary, recommended Mission House to me (which later become...
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This will be a very small part of the Lakeland story, but it recalls one of the most significant and memorable events of my life. Beginning at age 12, when the War started, I worked in the dairy industry doing a number of tasks and then gained experience in truck driving and retail sales. In...
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Lifting Up Professors We learned much about human relations & other stuff that we could never have learned at a state university. Our education at Mission House/Lakeland College was priceless, thanks to such dedicated and wonderful professors. One such professor was Prof. Ellerbusch. ...
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