George Washington Gale’s Legacy: A Community and It’s School

Minnie and Nellie taking a break early one morning.

One of my walking routes is to go south on Prairie St. then go around Knox College campus. The last few weeks it has been fun to see students back on the campus- students headed to classes, athletes headed to the gym, and some just sitting outside talking to each other. 

Minnie and Nellie like the walk because Knox students will ask if they can pet them. 

I like taking a lap around the campus as it brings back many good memories- my freshman dorm room, my fraternity house, Memorial Gym, Old Main. Each time it seems like more memories come back. Most memories are good, some like Calculus class not so good!

Seymour Library- Am. Studies met here.

I was an American Studies major- at the time it was a combination of history, sociology, political science, literature, and more. First term my senior year I was in a class co-taught by Professors Doug Wilson and Rod Davis. There were only 6 students, we met in a small room up in the part of the old library. It was a small room with an antique table and chairs, surrounded by shelves of books. The room had real feel of history and academia. 

Professors Wilson and Davis were scholars who were leading experts on Abraham Lincoln and that period of time. Scholars and researchers from throughout the United States would travel to confer with them, and the six of us got to spend a term with them. 

Davis and Wilson were invested and challenging. You were assigned intense research projects and were expected to present your findings to the group. I was assigned to research Joseph Smith. 

I invested more time and read more material for this project than I had ever done for any project. It was demanding but I was proud of my work. 

When I was done presenting, Professor Wilson asked if I had read the Book of Mormon. While I was obviously aware of the Book of Mormon and its relationship to Joseph Smith, I had not even considered reading the Book of Mormon. I read about Joseph Smith the man and had not considered the importance of reading his ideas. 

Today I don’t remember what I learned about Joseph Smith but I have not forgot the question, “Did you read the Book of Mormon?” I don’t know how many times since that day when I have worked on a project in teaching or coaching that I have asked myself, “Did you read the Book of Mormon?” It has remained a lesson about making sure you cover all your bases.

The next two terms it was just Dr. Davis and myself. One term it was meeting one on one to discuss assigned books. The other term was meeting weekly to discuss a research project. I had chosen Sports in America as my topic, looking at issues of race and gender in sports. 

Professors Wilson and Davis.

Davis and Wilson had a way of being demanding and holding me to a high standard, yet thru the process they actually were helping me build a sense of confidence. They were showing me how to handle tough things and making me feel I was capable of handling tough things. 

Today Knox College has a ratio of 1:11 for professors and students, and the average class size is 14. My experience at Knox was not unique. 

Knox and Galesburg Are Connected

My son went to Drake University, and now is employed at Tulsa University. Both of these schools are small, private schools. It is interesting that for marketing purposes, both schools have taken on the same theme. 

Drake refers to itself as Des Moines Hometown Team, and Tulsa refers to itself as Tulsa’s Team. In sports, Drake basketball actually had jerseys with Des Moines skyline and Des Moines written on it. In Tulsa, there is a huge billboard on the expressway headed into the downtown that says,”Tulsa’s Team.” They have the ability on the billboard to post the most recent Tulsa scores or other university news. 

TU billboard announcing win over OSU. 

Both schools have tried to get the community to recognize the connection between school and community- not just in sports but in everything. 

Anyone in Galesburg who knows history and knows economics should clearly see the connection of Knox being “Galesburg’s Hometown Team.” While this theme was used by Drake to pump up athletics, for Galesburg and Knox it should be more than athletics. 

The people who founded Knox College didn’t pick out some random town on the prairie to place a college. The people who founded Galesburg and founded Knox College were the same people at the same time. From the beginning, Knox and Galesburg were connected. The vision to build a community and to build its college were one and the same. 

Knox Is Big Business for Galesburg

One afternoon this week, I couldn’t decide whether to take a nap or go get some coffee. Those are the tough decisions of an old man. I went to Innkeepers for a coffee, mainly because they also have chocolate chip cookies. Good thing I am not a grumpy old man, because there were three young women in line in front of me and they were taking a long time to order.  

I did what old people do, I started talking to the three young women. It turned out they were Knox students and it was their first trip to Innkeepers. 

Granted this may just be three people getting a cup of coffee and a muffin, but there are over 1,100 Knox students. 

There are over 100 faculty and around 500 staff employed at Knox College. Students, staff, and faculty- that could add up to a lot of cups of coffee over a year, and hundreds of other things. 

The Knox staff and faculty are like you and I, most live in Galesburg. Think for a minute how much your family spends in Galesburg each year, then multiply that times 500 to get an idea of the economic impact Knox has on Galesburg. 

Knox Brings Impressive People to Galesburg

Professor Stuart Allison- Biology

The latest stat that I could find said that Knox College has 110 faculty members, and 96% of the faculty at Knox College has a Ph.D in their field. 

Can you imagine if we heard that Galesburg had lured a new business to come into Galesburg, and the business would have over 100 Ph.D’s working for them? 

Professor Peter Schwartzman- Mayor of Galesburg

Our mayor today, Peter Schwartzman is a Knox professor. 

It is not just the faculty, Knox brings students 43 states and 56 countries to Galesburg. 

Knox Alums Live in Galesburg

Many Knox grads have chosen to stay in Galesburg. There are 437 Knox College alums living in Galesburg and contributing to our community. 

Here are some examples of past and present Knox alumni who have impacted Galesburg…

Mayor Bob Sheehan

Chuck Bednar- GHS Athletic Director, Founder of Galesburg Little Leagues

Scott Baldwin- Co-Owner of Orange Cup

Heather Acerra- Inventor, Businesswoman, Galesburg City Council

Mike Panther- former Dist. 205 School Board

Laurie Muelder- retired teacher, Chairman of Library Board

Heather Hellenga- retired teacher

Andie Allison Leibach and Greg Leibach- teachers/coaches at GHS

Elvith Santoyo-McNaught- former Director of Habitat for Humanity, businesswoman, Gale Scholar

Dave Wood- retired businessman

Steve Cheesman- retired teacher/coach, director of Gale Scholars, Galesburg City Council

Owen Muelder- director of Underground Railroad Freedom Center

Mindy Ritchie- Assistant Superintendent of Schools in Dist. 205

Nick Young- GHS Athletic Director 

Mary Mangieri Burgland- Teacher, Coach, Businesswoman, Community Leader

Knox Celebrating Our Shared History

In retirement, I have visited some terrific museums. Knox College has their own “museums” in Old Main and in Alumni Hall. Their displays are of the quality of the best museums that I have seen. 

There is information on the building of Old Main, the Lincoln-Douglas debate, the development of the railroad, the Underground Railroad, the spirit of Knox and Galesburg, and many other things related to our intertwined history. 

In the Seymour Library, the archives has rotating displays on Knox and Galesburg history. Owen Muelder’s work on the Underground Railroad is also at Knox. 

Chair Abraham Lincoln sat in while waiting for the debate. 

Lincoln joking about finally going thru college.

Many historians feel this is what made the Knox Debate the most important of all the Lincoln-Douglas Debates.

Basic belief of founders of Galesburg. 

Impact of railroad on Galesburg and Knox College.

Knox alum- Hiram Revels, the first African-American to serve in the U.S. Senate.

Old Main built in 1857 to dominate the community and be a symbol of relationship between education and Galesburg. 

Money brought by railroads allowed for growth of Knox and Galesburg.

Underground RR and Galesburg.

The course of America was changed in Galesburg at the Debate.