JANUARY 29, 1987
Collegian
PAGE 6
Behrend continues
a tradition of giving
by Craig Altmire
Collegian Staff Writer
Sept. 10, 1813. It was a sunny
Friday and the breeze was only
three miles an hour, making Lake
Erie unusually calm.
In late morning the American
naval fleet on Lake Erie was eating
dinner. The British fleet was dining
also, just out of firing range.
The American fleet, under
Master Commander Oliver Hazard
Perry, was about to take on the
British in one of the most impor
tant battles of the War of 1812.
One hundred and seventy years
later, we can relive the American
victory when we walk through the
southeastern quarter of Penn State-
Behrend's 525 acre campus.
The residence area, situated on a
hill overlooking Lake Erie, is home
for 925 students, not quite half of
Behrend's student population.
Wintergreen Cafe
& Convenience Store
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CONGRATULATIONS
PENN STATE #1
Spring Hours:
Mon.-Thurs
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
The residence halls, apartments
and dining hall are all named after
prominent people and ships involv
ed in the Battle of Lake Erie.
The sister ships Lawrence and
Niagara, each weighing 260 tons
and boasting 20 cannons, led the
American fleet which was built by
Captain Daniel Dobbins.
The seven other American
vessels, which included the 85-ton
Caledonia, under the command of
Captain Turner, the 63-ton Scor
pion, with Captain Stephen
Champlin and the Ariel, another
63-ton ship, under Captain
Packett, supported the Lawrence
and Niagara and fought th smaller
British ships.
The fleets moved into range at
noon and the guns began their
pounding, filling the air with the
smell of spent gunpowder and leav
ing the area engulfed in a suspend-
The shell of Erie Hall as it was in 1952 during construction.
TROUBLED?
NEED TO TALK?
WE CAN HELP...WE
- .ARE ABOUT YOU!
IN STATE-BEHREND
, AMPUS MINISTRY
ant Affairs Reed Building
898-6245
F CAMPUS WORSHIP
OPPORTUNITIES
RANSPORTATION AVAILABLE FOR
1100 am SERVICES
BUS LEAVES REED
10.15 a m SUNDAYS
ON CAMPUS WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
wtth The Rev Ron Toven• (Fr Ron)
tr 0 4
4 * 4
4
7 a.m.-11 p.m.
7 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Noon-4 p.m.
7 p.m.-11 p.m.
A La Board' and Diners Club Welcome
(also good for Convenience Store)
*not valid from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (Mon.-Fri.)
ROMAN CATHOLIC MASS
SATURDAYS, 5 30 p m in
THE REED LECTURE HALL
PE NN STATE-BE HRE ND
CAMPUS MINISTRY
• ""
0
ed cloud of smoke
The Niagara stayed out of range
during the first part of the battle
for unknown reasons. At this time
the Lawrence was receiving fire
from four of the six British ships at
once.
The battle continued until 2 p.
m., with the Americans taking a
pounding. The Lawrence was prac
tically helpless; when Commander
Perry lowered his battle flag,
"Don't Give Up The Ship," and
took a small boat over to the
Niagara.
Perry boarded the Niagara just
as the American flag was lowered
on the Lawrence and a white flag
was waved signalling its surrender.
Perry ordered the Niagara to
charge the British line.
The Niagara poured its fire into
the three biggest British ships and
the Caledonia moved in on the next
biggest.
Within 15 minutes the British
fleet surrendered. ~..
As the news of this• major
American victory spread through
the country, citizens went wild with
enthusiasm. Master Commander
Oliver Hazard Perry became a na
tional hero and Erie enjoyed a
period in the U. S. history
limelight.
If we bring ourselves back to the
present, we may want to walk
north, down the hill to the center of
the campus. Here we can begin to
trace the footsteps of another im
portant part of history. Perhaps
the significance of the building
names down here aren't of national
importance, but they certainly are
to the Penn State University and
the people of Erie.
Eighty four years after the Battle
Sorry,
Due to a lack of
Demand, Delivery
Service Has Been
Discontinued!
The Glennhill Farmhouse, which houses the administrative offices today, was the home of the Behrend family in
1940.
of Lake Erie, two men were sent to
the United States by their father in
Prussia, to find a sight on which to
build a paper mill. Their father,
Herr Moritz Behrend, owned a
company in Prussia named Var
ziner Papierfabrik. Varziner con
sisted of three ground wood mills,
one sulphite mill and two paper
mills. The largest of these was call
ed Hammermuehle.
Mr. Ernst Richard Behrend and
his brother Dr. Otto Frederick
Behrend, after looking at several
sites across the east, picked Erie
because of its facilities for rail and
water transport and its nearness CO
Canada's supply of wood. This was
the beginning of one of Erie's key
industries, the Hammermill Paper
Company.
In 1947 a group of individuals
gathered to explore the idea of
opening a nonsectarian college.
Gannon, Villa Maria and Mer
cyhurst were all Roman-Catholic
schools and Edinboro was still
Perry, Niagara and Lawrence enabled students to live on campus for the first time.
primarily a teacher's college. n hill Farmhouse, where the initiators of Penn State-Behrend.
The committee, consisting of Behrends resided, was built as a Behrend's newest additions are
several outstanding Erie citizens, copy of a Dutch colonial home the Hammer mill and Zurn
such as Ed Nick and Elmer Reed, Mary behrend had seen on the out- Buildings. These were built with
needed to gain accreditation and a skirts.of Philadelphia. funds donated by the Hammermill
site on which to build. Turnbull Hall was a stable in Paper Company and Zurn In-
The search began immediately which the Behrends kept their dustries as well as those from much
horses. They often enjoyed of the Erie community.
horseback riding through the Penn State-Behrend, which
Wintergreen Gorge. opened in 1948 with an enrollment
The Theatre was used by Mary of 70 students has - grown to over
Behrend as a studio in which she 2,300 students in 1987.
pursued her hobby of painting. The Although Behrend is only 38
family also used the building for years old, a stroll through its ove
entrtaining. At that time the 500 acres can whisk us through
Behrend's garden waslocated just almost 175 years of history.
to the west of the studio and they After Tuner Hall was named,
would open the doors and windows further research confirnied that the
toward the gazebo and garden dur- Captain's name was actually
ing the summer months. Turner, and the building will be
The Carriage House, as well as renamed in the near future. ed.
the East and South Cottages, were
used as garages for the Behrend
Pizza Shop
Opens at
2:30 p.m.
after World War 11. This period of
time was important for two
MIMI
First, the G. I. Bill, coupled with
the many returning veterans of the
war, provided a huge demand for
colleges.
Also, Ernst Behrend died in
1947, leaving his widow, Mary,
with the 42-acre estate and unsure
of her future plans.
Eventually, Reed and Nick ap
proached Mary Behrend, with
whom they had been acquainted
through the Hammermill Paper
company. They explained their
plans to form a nonsectarian col
lege and offered to buy her estate,
Glennhill Farm. She replied that
she would think about it and con
tact them later.
The next day, Mary Behrend
contacted them and said she would
not sell them the estate--she would
donate it.
At that time the campus con
sisted of seven buildings. The Glen-
THE CLONE STORE"'
MODEMS REG. $129 NOW $99
AT SYSTEMS STARTING AT $1295
XT SYSTEMS REG. $1295 NOW $995
RETAIL HOURS: NOON• 6 P.M.5AT.10.2.
CERTIFIED IBM TECHNICIAN
2127 W. Bth 452-6716
CONGRATULATIONS!
To The Newly Inducted
Z 0 X
Sisters!
Christy Basler Laura Henry
Kimber Best Patty Neufer
Missy Bible Dawn Porco
Dana Fletcher Sue Ruddy
Bobby Gebhart Jovy Villanos
With Love,
From Your Sisters of
SIGMA THETA CHI:
Shelly, Deanna, Sharon, Angie, Crisi, Shannon,
Raegan, Kerrie, Karen, Renee, Rosanne, Shari,
Susie, Colleen, Debbie, and Della.
eatures
automobiles and maintenance
equipment. The North Cottage was
used as a dog kennel.
The Wilson Picnic Grove had an
open grill surrounded by an apple
orchard.
As we walk across the Behrend
College campus in 1987, we see
several additions to the original
Behrend estate.
Erie Hall, built in 1952, was con
structed entirely with funds
donated by the citizens of Erie.
This was the first building in the
University system built solely with
private donations.
The Otto Behrend Building was
named in honor of Dr. Otto
Behrend, who, upon his death, left
his estate to the Behrend communi
ty. His estate, worth over $2
million, was the largest donation at
that time to the University by one
person.
The Reed and Nick Buildings
were named in honor of Elmer
Reed and Ed Nick, two of the key
Information for this article has
been gathered from Erie...A
History, by Herbert Reynolds
Spencer, 1962. Thanks also to Dr.
Benjamin Lane, without whom the
history of the Behrend College
would be extremely difficult to
piece together.