history - The McKendree Review

6Dec

By Megan MeloneNo Comments

Profiles

Student Spotlight: Austin Herrera

Written by Megan Melone Photography submitted by Austin Herrera Austin Herrera is a junior majoring in secondary history education. Austin manages McKendree’s archives, the collection of the university’s historical documents, photographs and artifacts. I interviewed Austin on his work in the archives and his experience as a McKendree student: Where are you from? HERRERA: I’m from Belleville, Illinois. You are a history ed. major. Why’d you choose that? HERRERA: I was getting my associate in arts at SWIC (Southwestern Illinois College), and I had a history professor named Raymond Webb, and I was just engrossed in his teaching style. He told history like a story, which was impactful because usually people do not have much interest in history, but in his classroom everybody...

11Nov

By Madison RohnNo Comments

Academics

Lifelong Learning Exploration Day

By Madison Rohn, Lead Editor Photography by Madison Bonner, Elana Melzer and Madison Rohn On election day, McKendree hosted its first Lifelong Learning Exploration Day to academically empower students. Instead of classes, students were encouraged to attend various sessions with faculty, staff and other students to grow their knowledge. President Dobbins inspired the event, which was based on his belief in the importance of impactful education. Students learn about affordable ways to study abroad. Photo by Madison Bonner. Students were given a passport for their learning journey, which they got stamped at the end of each session they attended. Sessions covered a variety of topics, ranging from career skills, to mindfulness and authenticity, to AI and even backpacking! Direc...

11Oct

By Dr. Brian FrederkingNo Comments

Academics

Abraham Lincoln and McKendree

By Dr. Brian Frederking, Class of 1990 Title photo of Abraham Lincoln from Common American Journal McKendree University will be 200 years old in 2028. One amazing part of its illustrious and resilient history is the many interactions between early McKendree figures and the great Abraham Lincoln. The cause of abolitionism symbiotically forged the trajectories of the young Methodist college and the future United States president. In ways large and small, McKendreans were part of Lincoln’s life – as religious inspirations, political opponents, biographers, wartime emissaries, coworkers, bodyguards and confidantes to the American hero. The relationship between McKendree and Lincoln began in 1832 when Lincoln was a 23-year-old store clerk and rail splitter who ran for the state legisl...

Celebrate Women’s History Month with Women Authors

27Mar

By Megan MeloneNo Comments

Academics

Celebrate Women’s History Month with Women Authors

Depiction and Quote from “Lady Lazarus” by Sylvia Plath By Megan Melone, Writer Photography via Pinterest and Wikipedia Literature is still very male-dominated, with women authors and women’s writings often being overlooked for more established and revered male authors and male-written works. To celebrate Women's History Month and bring more awareness to women writers, I compiled a list of classic feminist works. There are numerous impactful women writers and works to read, and I encourage you to expand your literary circle. The works below are a good starting point for the reader who wants to delve into feminist writings. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston was born in Alabama but grew up in Eatonville, Florida. Her writing cele...

We Were Shining: McKendree Theatre Tells Story of Women Who Sued Radium Dial

28Feb

By Madison RohnNo Comments

Arts, Campus Events, Campus News, Community Events, Entertainment

We Were Shining: McKendree Theatre Tells Story of Women Who Sued Radium Dial

By Madison Rohn, Lead Editor Photography by Michelle Magnussen “This isn’t a fairy tale, though it starts like one. It’s not a tragedy, though it ends like one.” This line begins the play These Shining Lives, which McKendree Theatre will perform from February 29th to March 3rd. The play, written by Melanie Marnich, tells the compelling true story of Catherine Wolfe Donohue, one of the thousands of women hired by the Radium Dial Company in Ottawa, Illinois, during the 1920s to paint watch faces with radium. As told in the play, Radium Dial ensured their watch painters that radium was safe, even though the company knew otherwise. After Catherine and her co-workers contracted radium poisoning, they sued the company. Catherine’s eventual legal victory changed worker safety laws in Am...

Tricks, Treats, and Tours: Halloween at McKendree

6Nov

By Madison BonnerNo Comments

Campus Events, Photos

Tricks, Treats, and Tours: Halloween at McKendree

By Madison Bonner, Writer Photography by Madison Bonner On Monday, October 30th, McKendree celebrated Halloween with two events: a Haunted Campus Tour and Trick-or-Treat! Despite the freezing weather, they had great turnouts. Students braved the cold to dress up - and dress warm - for both events. The first event, McKendree’s Haunted Campus Tour, was hosted by McKendree’s History Club. This year marks its second annual occurrence. On this tour, students learned about McKendree’s past and its suspected hauntings. As the oldest college in Illinois, there is an abundance of spooky stories and fun facts to explore! Isabella and Alexandria led the haunted tour. President Isabella (Bella) Barbaglia led the tour with Alexandria (Alex) Terveer and history professor Dr. Shelly Lemo...

McKendree Theatre Shines Starlight on Untold History

20Mar

By Madison RohnNo Comments

Arts, Campus Events, Campus News, Community Events

McKendree Theatre Shines Starlight on Untold History

McKendree theatre’s spring play, Silent Sky, tells the story of real-life astronomer Henrietta Leavitt. The play, written by Lauren Gunderson, focuses on Henrietta’s time working at Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s as one of their female “computers” – a person who did the math for (mostly male) astronomers – and her efforts to balance her relationships with her quest to understand the universe. Picture of Henrietta Leavitt retrieved from aavso.org. As the play highlights, in real life, Henrietta discovered over 2,000 Cepheid variable stars, which are stars that go through periods of brightness and dimness. Her biggest achievement was the discovery of how to calculate Cepheid stars’ distance based on their brightness cycles.1 This discovery made it possible to determine how far...

2Feb

By Kristina FerryNo Comments

Entertainment

The History of McKendree University

By: Kristina Ferry & Jasmine Gage Images retrieved from the McKendree University website McKendree University is one of the oldest universities in the nation and the oldest university in Illinois as it was founded in 1828. McKendree also holds the title of being the oldest university in the nation to have ties with the Methodist Church. However, this would not come as a big surprise to anyone who knows the past of this historic university. To those who are unaware, the university was founded by Methodist pioneers and was originally called Lebanon Seminary. This seminary trained priests and ministers in the Methodist faith for a couple of years under Edward Raymond Ames, a Methodist bishop and the namesake of the dining hall on campus. Later, a bishop by the name of William M...

7Nov

By Kristina FerryNo Comments

Campus Events

The Haunted Tour Returns!

By: Kristina Ferry & Jasmine Gage Photography by Kristina Ferry, Jasmine Gage & Grace Gross The day before Halloween, the History Club hosted the return of McKendree’s Haunted Tours! The tours used to be held each year, but they had fallen into obscurity. This year the History Club decided they would bring back this tradition, and it was a hit! With the turnout this year, they hope to host this event in the upcoming years! The tour consisted of multiple stops around campus where anyone with a curious taste for paranormal activity could tag along and learn the history of McKendree’s “hauntings." The first stop of the night was the cemetery. We stood near the New Residence Halls as Jacob, president of the History Club and tour guide, told us about the history of College Hil...

10Oct

By The McKendree ReviewNo Comments

Podcasts

McK Spooky History – Part 1

Image from https://www.illinoishauntedhouses.com/real-haunt/mckendree-university.html