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Arrival in Greenville
1947-53 |
- Building in Greenville
- Arriving in Greenville - BJA on the Greenville Campus |
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At the start of the last semester in Cleveland, Jones, Jr. announced that when BJC arrived in Greenville, it would be reorganized into a university. BJU would have six schools:
It was also announced that in Greenville, Jones, Jr. (36 years old) would become the president and Jones, Sr. (64 years old) would remain on the board. Eventually, he became known as “the Founder.” As BJC came to Greenville, its leadership changed hands as it divided into schools, but they retained their singular identity as parts of BJU. At the same time, BJA was taking steps toward having its own identity but remained securely under the BJU umbrella. |
Business manager, R.K. Johnson, (standing center, above) inspects laying foundation of a woman’s dorm. Women’s dorms near completion (below).
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Greenville Finances – Estimated construction cost for the Greenville campus was $3,030,000. The Cleveland campus was sold to the Church of God for $1.5 million and a $1.9 million dollar loan was secured. Money was on hand to build the new campus.
The Greenville Chamber of Commerce began raising the $175,000 needed to purchase the land they had promised to BJU on May 17, 1946. On the first day $30,000 was collected. By June 28, they had options on all the land and $90,000 worth had been purchased. To encourage additional donations, the Chamber announced that realtors and other businesses felt an economic surge as BJU’s move to Greenville was announced, and the Chamber expected BJU to annually add $4 million to the Greenville economy. They expected to purchase the remaining land in short order.
However, various groups began to question the wisdom of BJU coming to Greenville. Furman, then a Southern Baptist college with a somewhat dilapidated downtown campus (since demolished) voiced concerns. Some in the community were concerned that BJU’s conservative Christianity could “develop a fanatical following of religious radicals.” Donations stopped. The Chamber had raised only $97,000. Before the options expired, BJU spent over $50,000 to purchase the land it was about to build on. Some of the land originally promised, however, was not purchased at that time. The school’s resources were needed for construction.
Once the options expired, owners could negotiate higher prices. In 1969, BJU estimated that it had spent half a million dollars to purchase land that would have cost less than $78,000 in 1947.
The Greenville Chamber of Commerce began raising the $175,000 needed to purchase the land they had promised to BJU on May 17, 1946. On the first day $30,000 was collected. By June 28, they had options on all the land and $90,000 worth had been purchased. To encourage additional donations, the Chamber announced that realtors and other businesses felt an economic surge as BJU’s move to Greenville was announced, and the Chamber expected BJU to annually add $4 million to the Greenville economy. They expected to purchase the remaining land in short order.
However, various groups began to question the wisdom of BJU coming to Greenville. Furman, then a Southern Baptist college with a somewhat dilapidated downtown campus (since demolished) voiced concerns. Some in the community were concerned that BJU’s conservative Christianity could “develop a fanatical following of religious radicals.” Donations stopped. The Chamber had raised only $97,000. Before the options expired, BJU spent over $50,000 to purchase the land it was about to build on. Some of the land originally promised, however, was not purchased at that time. The school’s resources were needed for construction.
Once the options expired, owners could negotiate higher prices. In 1969, BJU estimated that it had spent half a million dollars to purchase land that would have cost less than $78,000 in 1947.
Building in Greenville
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As the last academic year in Cleveland began, groundbreaking for the Greenville campus took place. BJU and BJA were to open in Greenville on October 1, 1947 (a month later than usual) to give more time for construction. Some doubted that thirteen months, would be enough time, in part because the country was transitioning from producing war supplies to domestic goods. Following World War II, many building materials were in short supply, and some were just not available. Stories of God’s intervention to supply needed materials for the new campus repeatedly inspired the BJ family.
During the last year in Cleveland, students and faculty would make the 200+ mile trip to see what was happening on the Greenville campus. For the first few months there was not much to see: a few houses and a barn near the Pleasantburg Drive/East North Street corner and a dilapidated mansion near the Wade Hampton Boulevard/White Oak Drive corner. The rest of the 180 acres was virtually empty. Bulldozing reshaped the land and buried utility pipes and cables. Laying foundations seemed to take forever. It was March before steel beams sprouted and cream-colored brick walls emerged from the red clay. Only 6 months left. Even the optimistic admitted October 1 would be cutting it close. |
The 3000-seat Rodeheaver Auditorium was allocated 25% of the campus construction budget. It was still being built as school opened in 1947.
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Arial view of campus in spring of 1948 -
Note the lone front-campus tree near library, and buildings in the Quadrangle area.
Arriving in Greenville
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The Cleveland campus closed on Friday, September 26. The faculty and staff arrived in Greenville on Saturday, and the school offices opened in new facilities on Monday. The 2209 University and 219 Academy students arrived for registration on Wednesday. Despite enlarged facilities, lack of space forced over 3000 students to be turned away in 1947.
Main roads on the campus were paved; others were gravel. There were few paved sidewalks. Wood plank walkways attached buildings. Rain that had held off during construction sought to catch up in the fall. The campus became red mud, which stained everything it touched. One student recalled that when it rained there was the “awful aroma of wet woolen sweaters during chapel,” which was held in the gymnasium before the auditorium was completed. Rodeheaver Auditorium was not scheduled for completion until November. The 1947, the opening evangelistic service was to happen simultaneously in the War Memorial Chapel and gymnasium, but last-minute electrical problems forced it to be held in the Dining Common. The formal campus dedication was in Rodeheaver Auditorium on Thanksgiving Day and featured a 100-voice choir singing the Halleluiah Chorus. Jones, Sr. spoke: “This institution has put Jesus Christ first in everything. The school already belongs to God. . . . This is simply our recognition of the fact that this school is God’s.” Jones, Jr. prayed the dedicatory prayer imploring that “no youth here shall ever lose his faith,” and that the school should “never be a spot where wisdom boasts of its own power. Thine it is, . . . we pray Thee that it shall ever be Thine.” |
A Student's First Impression Charles Smith, a BJA junior in 1947, wrote of his first view of the campus: “The spectacle that greeted my eyes was indeed amazing. A vast array (in comparison to Cleveland!) of yellow brick buildings floating on a sea of red clay. There was not a blade of grass on campus, not a shrub, not a tree, except for one oak tree near the library. Nearly every picture for that year’s Vintage was shot under, in, around, through, or near that tree!” |
BJA on the Greenville Campus
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Upon arrival in Greenville, BJA was about 10% of the campus enrollment, which made it larger than some of the University’s schools. The Bob Jones College Academy title officially gave way to Bob Jones Academy. In 1947, BJA published its own Bulletin of Announcements. It was 8 pages long, listed 9 faculty, requirements for graduation, and detailed the grading system. It also addressed expenses (matriculation, room, board, and tuition: $322.50 per semester, same as the University).
There was no Quadrangle when BJA arrived in Greenville. Three Quadrangle buildings were constructed during the first semester of the 1947-48 school year. Academy Hall (the future Academy Main) was not one of them. Until it was built in 1951, BJA shared all the main campus buildings with the University. • Administration Building held offices of the executives and deans, as well as the business office and the records office. The Academy Principal, Lillian Lee, and the Academy Secretary’s offices were in the Administration building. Representations of the Administration Building became the visual symbol of BJU. This iconic building was demolished in 2016. • Alumni Building, the main classroom building, was built with funds donated by the alumni. Until 1951, the western half of its first floor held Academy classes. University registration took a week, and its classes began Tuesday, October 7. Academy registration was finished on Friday. On Monday morning, October 6, BJA held the first classes to meet in the Alumni Building. |
Originally the Administration Building tower was red.
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Students leave the Alumni Building to go to Chapel. c 1947
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Front of the Alumni Building - 1947
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• Mack Library was the original location of the Academy’s evening study halls. The men and ladies met in different areas of the second floor.
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BJA students posed under the tree by the Mack Library for the BJA opening page of the 1951 Vintage.
• Dormitories J. Y. Smith and Bib Graves (now Harry Ironside) were for young men, and Margaret Mack and Nell Sunday were for young ladies. Approximately 90% of Academy students lived in the dorms. Originally, high school-aged Academy students were housed in the same area of their respective dorms with select University students scattered among them. There was a “dorm dad” or “dorm mom” (often a graduate assistant) to oversee matters. Older high school students (generally war veterans) were housed with University students.
• University Student Center was the hub of student life. The east end was the gymnasium (currently Stratton Hall; today’s lobby doors were the second-story gym windows). War Memorial Chapel was on the west end. In between was the campus post office, snack shop, bookstore, barbershop, the Vintage office, and a formal tearoom. A large social parlor and conference rooms were on the second floor. |
Young ladies evening study hall in the Mack Library.
Dormitories - 1948
Student Center - 1947
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The Snack Shop was part of the Student Center. 1947
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The 1947 Student Center Gym became the Concert Center and today is Stratton Hall.
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• Dixon-McKinsey Dining Common seated 1500 at a time for three family-style meals a day. Two shifts were needed to feed everyone. Most of the faculty and staff lived on campus and meals in the dining common were part of their salary. Faculty and staff families had individual tables so that meals could be a “family time.” Single faculty and staff, however, were assigned to tables filled with students. So that all high school classes could start at the same time, Academy students ate the same meal shift and were scattered among the University students. Along with faculty children, Academy students were served a glass of milk at each meal.
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Dining Common - 1950
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A Meal in the Dining Common
A few minutes before the meal, students would congregate in the octagonal Dining Common lobby and the sidewalks outside. Faculty/staff and their families were permitted to enter and go to their tables early as waiters and waitresses finished setting the tables.
At precisely four minutes before the meal, the organ would begin to play, and students entered the dining room as waiters and waitresses scurried to the kitchen area. Students were assigned eight to a table. All remained standing during the singing of a hymn and prayer led from the balcony near the lobby. After prayer the young men seated the young ladies and then themselves as trays of food were brought to the tables. The host and hostess at each table took attendance (all meals were required) and reported as late anyone who was not at the table as the singing began. They would also start the bowls and platters of food going around the table and ask for refills as needed.
A few minutes before the meal, students would congregate in the octagonal Dining Common lobby and the sidewalks outside. Faculty/staff and their families were permitted to enter and go to their tables early as waiters and waitresses finished setting the tables.
At precisely four minutes before the meal, the organ would begin to play, and students entered the dining room as waiters and waitresses scurried to the kitchen area. Students were assigned eight to a table. All remained standing during the singing of a hymn and prayer led from the balcony near the lobby. After prayer the young men seated the young ladies and then themselves as trays of food were brought to the tables. The host and hostess at each table took attendance (all meals were required) and reported as late anyone who was not at the table as the singing began. They would also start the bowls and platters of food going around the table and ask for refills as needed.
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Dietitians planned balanced meals, and everyone was served the same menu. (Special menus were provided for those with dietary restrictions.) If you did not happen to like an item on the menu, you could fill up on other items, plan on a trip to the Snack Shop, or visit the vending machines in the dormitory. Of course, meals were not “just like mother used to make,” so, of necessity, many students expanded their culinary horizons. By popular request, the Dining Common issued cookbooks of their recipes (scaled to home-sized portions, of course).
Everyone was to exercise proper table manners, and instruction in what was and was not appropriate was part of campus orientation. When one was finished eating, cutlery was properly placed on the plate indicating to a waiter that it could be removed. Every three weeks new table assignments would be issued. Meals were times to make new friends. Many a marriage could trace its roots to tables in the Dixon-McKinsey Dining Common. |
Twenty minutes after the meal began a bell would chime and announcements would be made from the balcony. The meal over, everyone would exit as the organ played. (If you were not finished, you could remain. Few needed extra time.) It took less than two stanzas of a lively hymn to clear the building.
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For information about Bob Jones College/University see:
· Fortress of Faith: The Story of Bob Jones University. Melton Wright · Standing Without Apology: The History of Bob Jones University. Daniel L. Turner · Bob Jones University—50 Years Under God. Margaret Beall Tice · Reflecting God's Light—Facets of a Miracle. Daniel L. Turner · The Campus History Series: Bob Jones University. Bob A. Nestor |
