In 1915, an opportunity for higher education for St. Joseph citizens became available when the predecessor to 含羞草社区, St. Joseph Junior College, opened its doors.
That same year, St. Joseph, Missouri could boast of having two hospitals, St. Joseph鈥檚 Hospital on 10th Street, and Noyes Hospital, which had just opened at 24th and Frederick Ave. The city, with a population of approximately 77,000, was also home to State Lunatic Asylum No. 2, which was called 鈥渢he most important public charity in Buchanan County and one of the most important in the entire west.鈥� The Home for Little Wanderers (later the Noyes Home) was 21 years old in 1915, and the Social Welfare Board free clinic was just two years old. There were seven parks, a YMCA, a YWCA, Lyceum and Orpheum theaters and the Tootle Opera House.
Dr. Frances Flanagan 鈥�35, professor emerita of English, researched circumstances behind the founding of the Junior College for her book, 鈥淢issouri Western State College: A History 1915-1983.鈥�
She noted that the idea for a Junior College may have been around for a while, but didn鈥檛 gain serious traction until an Aug. 6, 1915 joint meeting between the school board and the Commerce Club in St. Joseph, now the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce. At that meeting, the Commerce Club brought up the idea of a two-year junior college which would be an extension of the high school.
The school board agreed that it would be a good idea and something that they would look into in the future, but impossible at the time with the funds that were currently available.
However, by the Aug. 23 school board meeting, the minutes read, 鈥淏y unanimous vote a committee was ordered appointed to confer with the Commerce Club and others to see if some method can be found to finance the junior college plan for the coming year and report back to the board.鈥�
鈥淎ll the business had to take place in a coffee shop or on a street corner,鈥� Dr. Flanagan said with a laugh. 鈥淭his was August and it opened in mid-September. No bond drive, no hunt for teachers (they all came from Central High School), no worry, no bother, there it was.鈥�
At its Sept. 4 meeting, the school board voted that the 鈥淛unior College Course outlined by the special committee be established in Central High School, and the arrangement of details be left to the committee, subject to approval of proper authorities of the State University (University of Missouri-Columbia) and that requirements for entrance to the course be the same as those for the State University.鈥� Tuition was set at $40 per year for St. Joseph residents and $60 for non-residents.
By Sept. 9, a committee had come up with plans for the curriculum, with courses including English literature, composition and rhetoric, Cicero鈥檚 Essays on Friendship and Old Age, European history, French, inorganic chemistry, trigonometry, college algebra, and education courses and electives.
Classes began on Sept. 20 with 35 students. The city鈥檚 new Junior College was just the second junior college in the state (Kansas City had one at the time) and the eighth in the nation.
Interestingly, the Junior College came about with no guidance or approval from the state. It wasn鈥檛 until 12 years later, in 1927, that a state law was passed permitting the startup of a junior college in a public school district with a fully accredited high school 鈥渙n the approval of and subject to the supervision of the state superintendent of schools.鈥�
The first top administrator of the Junior College was Frank C. Touton, who was the principal of Central High School at the time.
Dr. Flanagan said it is important to remember that the Junior College was started because of the interest and encouragement from the community, and the institution has continued to respond to the needs of the community throughout its entire history.
Excerpts and information for this article are from 鈥淢issouri Western State College: A History 1915-1983,鈥� by Dr. Frances Flanagan.
听Fun Fact:
The president of the Commerce Club at the time of the Junior College founding was William E. Spratt, who had served as St. Joseph鈥檚 mayor. He is the father of Missouri Western benefactors Elliott C. Spratt and Leah Spratt.
School Board members 1915-1916
Orestes Mitchell, President
Samuel Motter
John E. Dolman
Dr. F. P. Cronkite (Walter Cronkite鈥檚 grandfather)
W. P. Fulkerson
Frank E. Vancil
The St. Joseph Junior College opened its doors on Sept. 20, 1915. What was life like 100 years ago?
President 鈥� Woodrow Wilson
Vice President 鈥� Thomas R. Marshall
Speaker of the House 鈥� Champ Clark from Missouri
Average price of a new home鈥� $5,651
Average cost of a new car 鈥� $490
Average annual earnings for workers (excluding farm labor) 鈥� $687
Unemployment 鈥� 8.5%
World Series 鈥� Boston Red Sox defeated Philadelphia Phillies 4-1
听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 1915听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 2015
Population of U.S. 听听听听听听听听100 million +听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 300 million+
Avg. Household size 听听听听听听听听听4.5听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 2.54
Number of people
in U.S. 65 years or older听 听4.5 million听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 听听听听听听听听听 43.1 million
Life expectancy at birth 听听听听听54.5 years 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 听听听听听听听听听听78.11 years
Percentage of population,
age 25 and older, which had at least
a high school diploma 听听听听13.5%听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 90%
Most popular baby names John and Mary 听听听听 听听听听听听听听听听听 听听Noah and Sophia (2014)
Number of motor vehicle
registrations 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 2.5 million听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 听听 听246 million
New in 1915
Aspirin in tablet form
Gas masks
Long distance phone line from New York to San Francisco
Mechanical pencil
Milk carton
Neon tube advertising sign
Processed cheese
Pyrex glass
Raggedy Ann
The round Quaker Oats package
Skeet shooting
U. S. Coast Guard
1915 Notable Events
January 鈥� While working as a cook at New York鈥檚 Sloan Hospital under an assumed name, 鈥淭yphoid Mary鈥� infects 25 people, and is placed in quarantine for life.
Jan. 12 鈥� The U.S. House of Representatives rejects a proposal to give women the right to vote.
Jan. 26 鈥� Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado established.
Feb. 12 鈥� Cornerstone laid for Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Feb. 18 鈥� Germany begins a blockade of Britain.
March 19 鈥� Pluto photographed for the first time (although unknown at the time).
May 7 鈥� SS Lusitania sunk by German submarine; 1,198 lives lost.
June 10 鈥� The Girl Scouts Organization is founded.
Aug. 5-Aug. 23 鈥� Hurricane Two of the 1915 Atlantic hurricane season over Galveston and New Orleans leaves 275 dead.
Sept. 20 鈥� St. Joseph Junior College opens.
Oct. 12 鈥� Ford Motor Company under Henry Ford manufactures its one millionth Model T automobile.
Dec. 16 鈥� Albert Einstein publishes 鈥淕eneral Theory of Relativity.鈥�
Dec. 25 鈥� WWI: British and German forces declare an unofficial Christmas truce, get out of the trenches and have a free-for-all kick-around football game in no-man鈥檚 land.