Cale L. Allen

              Eric Walz History 300 Collection
CALE L. ALLEN – Ricks College
By Cale L. Allen
Winter 2004
Box 5 Folder 1
Transcript copied by Victor Ukorebi June 2005
Brigham Young University – Idaho
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Ricks College: Perseverance amid Trials
What was the biggest contributing factor that kept Ricks College from
Permanent closure during the Administrations of 1895 and 1936?
“ The history of Ricks College … Has been varied and unusual. In some periods it
has been smooth and progressive but uneventful; and in other years it has been rough and
rugged, and full of serious and dangerous policies and events.” 1 Over the years the
school has seen many changes, some good and some bad. The biggest factor of the
changes was usually the attitudes of the patrons of the school. Being a school established
by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, the school changed due to the growth
of the church in the region, as well as the division of countries in the Upper Snake River
Valley where the school resides. On two separate occasions, the school was almost
entirely closed down. The first time this occurred was in 1895 under the Administration
of Principal George Cole, and the second time was under the Administration of President
Hyrum Manwaring. The biggest question is not the reason the school was almost closed,
that reason is self- evident. As was the case in the years mentioned above, the financial
situation dictated life. The biggest question is what was the biggest contributing factor
that kept Ricks College from permanent closure during the administrations of 1895 and
1936?
Shortly before his death in 1877, the Mormon leader Brigham Young was
inspired to institute a system of church- run schools for the Latter- day Saints in different
regions of Utah, Idaho, and Arizona. These schools were not only to instruct children in
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secular knowledge, art, philosophy, history, mathematics, English, etc. They were to
train them in spiritual and moral learning as well. Under President Young’s program,
four schools were set up between the years 1875- 1887, three in Utah ( Provo- 1875;
Logan- 1877; Salt Lake City- 1886), and one in Idaho ( Paris- 1887). At the height of the
church’s education push there were 22 schools. “ However, by 1926 fourteen had been
discontinued and slowly others of those remaining were closed… Or, excepting a few,
turned over to the states.” 2
History of Ricks
For the most part, the Upper Snake River Valley of Idaho was populated by
Latter- day Saints sent north by Brigham Young to colonize the frontier. As could be
expected however, other settlers soon started to move into the region. While this was
occurring all over the valley, Rexburg’s situation was the worst. For a time, the anti-
Mormon settlers succeeded in changing the post office in Rexburg to Kanetuck. The
settlers also established government- run schools and tried to force the Mormon children
to attend. Some did, but the majority would not. As a result most of the Mormon
children had no education opportunities at all. Two Latter- day Saints, Sarah A. Barnes
and Thomas E. Bassett, started schools for the younger children, but the situation for the
older ones just continued to get worse. From this situation came the proposal that a
church school should be started in the valley. Karl G. Maeser, a Swiss- born convert to
the church, was at the time serving as the superintendent of the church’s General Board
of Education. He gave his personal blessing for a church- run school to be established in
the Bannock Stake of southern Idaho. A local Board of Education was established with
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Thomas E. Ricks, the president of the Bannock State, as the chairman of the Board. An
existing building was renovated to be used for the school, and Jacob Spori was selected to
be the first principal. At the opening exercises for the school, Brother Maeser attended,
and spoke. “ He praised the Board of Education, Brother Spori and his companion
teachers, and the beginning students; and promised them that their new school should one
day be a great educational institution, and bless the people of Idaho thru the coming
years.” 3 The school was officially opened for classes on November 12th, 1888. Three of
the main points for the school were: “ This school should be a place where religion could
be taught as well as the academic subjects. It should be a school where the Bible, The
Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants could be used as texts. The Church
would help, but the local people should be responsible for the funds to run their church
school.” 4 The school opened with three departments: primary, preparatory, and
intermediate. Total enrollment for the first term was 90 students, and three teachers:
Jacob Spori, Axel Neilson, and Sarah A. Barnes. 5
Jacob Spori masterfully guided the school through its first three years. When he
announced his resignation on July 23rd, 1891, in order to fulfill other church assignments,
the people of the Upper Snake River Valley felt a great asset of their school, and
community, had been lost. “ He had successfully conducted the school thru the storm and
stress of its first three years. He has always been highly honored as… the first great
educator of the Upper Snake River Valley.” 6
Principal C. N. Watkins ran the school for the next three years. He was a
dedicated educator, although not entirely as well qualified as Jacob Spori had been.
Despite Principal Watkins and his faculty’s best efforts, and the many improvements
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made to the school, the next three years were marked by small attendance, and at the end
of the 1894 school year a deficit of $ 886.89 was reported. Principal Watkins resigned,
and George Cole was called to fill his place. However, for a time, it seemed that
Principal Cole would never get the chance to preside over the academy, as “ things looked
very gloomy for the institution, and there was a question as to whether the academy
should continue. This was one of the serious and dangerous periods for the academy.
The enrollment was low, and the deficit increasing; and many thought the project should
be discontinued.” 7
The First Trial
After many debates by the Board of Education, the motion was carried to continue
the school. The first obstacle was the deficit of $ 886.89, which, consequently, turned out
to not be such a huge a problem after all. Through the generous donations of faithful
members of the wards in the Stake the entire deficit was gone by the reopening of the
school on October 14, 1894. That school year went by flawless, and the next started out
where the previous one had ended. However, due once again to hard financial times, a
motion was carried by the Board to close the school at Christmas time. The closure of
the school was something that George Cole, and the rest of his dedicated faculty, was
willing to do anything to prevent. The entire faculty offered to run the school whether
they received any pay or not. The Board of Education, seeing so much dedication and
caring for the students, could not refuse the offer. In fact, they decided to pay the
teachers one- third of their salary in cash, and two- thirds in various kinds of produce. In
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this way the school remained opened, and it helped relived some of the financial stress on
the stake.
Although for a short time the school was officially closed in 1895, what were the
reasons behind the faculty’s determination to make sure the closure wasn’t permanent?
Why where they willing to sacrifice so much, up to and including their pay to keep the
school open? At this time, it seems the leaders of the church in Salt Lake left it up to the
stakes to decide the fate of the schools. Once the Board of Education in Bannock Stake
had decided to close the school, one would think the decision was final. However, the
faculty of the school under Principal Cole was committed to their students that they were
willing to do anything to keep the school operating. One reason for this was that the
faculty of the school consisted of obviously great educators. Sarah A. Barnes was one
the first Latter- day Saints in the Upper Snake River Valley to open a school. Education
was certainly something she cared about very deeply. Another reason for the faculty’s
desire to keep the school running was most likely the memory they had of the days before
a church school was running in the stake. They understood the value of having a church-operated
school to educate their young people. It is the author’s opinion that the faculty
at this time single- handedly saved the school from being closed and fading into memory.
“ Principal Cole later expressed his gratitude that the school was not closed, as it may
never have been opened again.” 8
Bright Future Ahead
Once the immediate danger of the school’s closure had passed, things ran rather
well for Principal Cole and his administration. One significant thing that Brother Cole
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did during this time was to totally revamp the budget of the academy. Every year,
Principal Cole saw to it that a little extra cash was had at the end of the school year. This
money was then used to pay off any outstanding debts the school may have had, or for
improvements to the grounds or buildings the following year. Due to the efforts of
George Cole the school always came in under budget, and therefore the extra money was
used to beautify and improve the campus. The program instituted by Brother Cole was
used into the Great Depression of the 1930’ s and eliminated the danger of the school’s
closure due to the lack of funds. Principal Cole was released as Principal of the academy
( by then known as Fremont Stake Academy due to the division of the Bannock Stake)
after the 1898 school year. Thomas E. Ricks said to him, “ Brother Cole has always
enjoyed the spirit of the living God from the moment he entered the school until the time
of his release.” 9 Following that statement, Karl G. Maeser said, “ Brother Cole, no greater
thing could be said of any living man. You should be happy,” 10 He was.
The release of George Cole following the 1898 school year not only saw the end
of a school term, nor the end of the Cole administration. It marked the end of an era.
The school had now stood in the valley for one full decade, had survived a major threat to
its existence, and was well on its way to total permanence. The main reason for these
accomplishments is said by some to be directly attributed to the character of men called
to lead the school in its early years. Although the school was established in a small,
sparsely- settled corner of Idaho, it undoubtedly had some of the educators in the western
United States to lead it through its infancy.
Over the next 32 years, the little school in the Upper Snake River Valley was run
by appropriations from the LDS Church, funds from the local wards and stakes, and
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sweat, tears, and prayers. The school went through four principals/ presidents during that
time: D. M. Todd ( 1898- 1901), Ezra C. Dalby ( 1901- 1914), A. B. Christenson ( 1914-
1917), and George S. Romney ( 1917- 1930). All grade- school work was eliminated at the
school and it was made a complete high school. Not many years passed, however, before
the curriculum was changed again and college course was introduced. By 1930, the
school was offering two- year associate degrees. It was the only school in the valley to
offer higher education. The school was no longer a small under- staffed stake academy,
but a full- fledged two year college. To be exact, Ricks College.
Despite the school’s improvements and advancement, its future was not secure.
The school faced and overcame many struggles for survival. The challenges perhaps
prepared the school to fight its greatest battle to avoid being closed. This battle began in
1930, when Hyrum Manwaring was selected President of Ricks College. President
Manwaring took over the school in 1930 under unusual circumstances. He was not the
official president. He had been Dean of Students for 13 years and was chosen as the best
replacement possible while President Romney was given a leave of absence to pursue
independent studies. However, since President Romney never returned as president of
the school, Hyrum Manwaring’s administration is generally agreed on as beginning in
1930. Because of these circumstances, President Manwaring did not feel comfortable
making changes to the system, and so he didn’t. He did, however, take over amid hard
times for the school. “ For various reasons the school had lost much of its popularity, and
the attendance was very small. The determination on the part of the General Board, and
Commissioner of Education, to close all church schools, or turn them over to the various
states was very strong.” 11 This was consistent church- wide, as many church schools in
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Idaho, Utah, and Arizona were closed due to financial or other reasons. Many were
simply turned over to state control. One reason for this sudden change in church policy
may have been due to the fact that 1930 was the beginning of hard economic times for
the nation as a whole. The church may have thought to get out of the educational
business altogether in order to save the small amount of funds they did have for other
projects. While it may have been easier to turn other church schools over to the states,
Ricks College was a different matter altogether.
The whole problem of closing Ricks College, or turning it over to the state
of Idaho was fully discussed by the Board. President John W. Hart was
delegated to Salt Lake City, and confer with Commissioner, and the
General Board concerning the matter. He came back with the report that
the school must definitely be turned over to State of Idaho… or be
closed.” 12
It was decided, however, to run the school as normal until the next meeting of the Idaho
State Legislature. During this time, the faculty and other members of the community
were charged with doing everything in their power to convince the people of the Upper
Snake River Valley that the school was needed. Different events were sponsored by the
school in order to build a relationship between the school and the State Board of
Education and State Legislature. This did a lot to build public support for the school.
Many people wanted it to stay open at all cost, even if it meant turning it over to the state.
They began to see its true value. That year at Ricks was remarkable, as even the students
caught the vision to do anything to keep the school open.
In 1931, President Manwaring was made official president of the school. One of
the major changes he made in his first year as president was to eliminate all high school
curriculum. Ricks was now strictly a two year college. Other changes were made to the
faculty and graduation requirements. However, despite all of the changes and the spirit
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abounding on and around campus, there was still a cloud of fear that the school would
simply become just another state institution, or close all together, as “ the church stood
ready to give the state the entire plant, and a donation to help run it for the year.” 13
“ Regardless of the negative talk about the future of the school, the enrollment
increased…, the spirit of the patrons, and the people of Rexburg was very excellent, and
all were ready to fight for the future of the school.” 14 Despite the efforts and success of
making the state recognize the value of the school, the Idaho State Legislature defeated
the bill purposing to make Ricks College a state institution in 1932. To some it is unclear
exactly why the legislature denied the bill. Some believe, and it seems to be the general
conception, that they feel the State of Idaho did not need another two- year junior college
at this time.
After the defeat of the bill, the Church Board of Education agreed, due to the
pleadings of President John W. Hart, to allow the people of Idaho [ to] run the school for
two years until the legislature met again. The agreement to let the locals of Idaho run the
school did not keep Idaho’s other institutions of higher learning from smelling death on
the school. Almost immediately after the legislature’s decision, they started bidding on
Ricks’ teachers, its library, and its equipment. As far as the church was concerned, all
that remained was to lock the doors, as no more money was being given to support the
school.
For the next two years the school ran on next to nothing. It was sometimes barely
enough just to keep the doors open and the fires lit. This was President Manwaring’s
finest hour, as he, in some instances, worked single- handedly to keep the school open.
During this time the school seemed to belong to nobody. Nobody, that is, except the
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students who attended there, as a “ my school” concept developed. Once again, however,
in 1934, the state defeated the bill to make Ricks College a state institution. Desperate
times called for desperate measures. After the legislature’s decision to not accept the
school, the entire local Board of Education made a plea to the First Presidency of the
Church to allow the school to remain open under the previous conditions, for yet another
two years. It was reluctantly agreed that that is what should happen, although it was
understood by all that this third chance would be the last. It is a testament to the
leadership of the men involved that they were able to operate the school even with a lack
of funds. The most significant thing to occur during these two years was that the school
received full accreditation by the North West Association of Higher Schools, the Idaho
State Board of Education, and all the nearby universities. Regardless of these
accomplishments, in 1936, the legislature defeated the Ricks College bill for the third
time. Three strikes and you’re out, time, it seemed, had run out of the school. Franklin
L. West, Commissioner of Education for the church stated that “ Ricks College was
definitely closed. In his opinion it was just a matter of finishing this school year.” 15
However, unbeknown to Brother West, things had changed with church officials
in regards to the school. Some felt that the school should be maintained. So it was
decided that for the time being the church would keep the school open. Finally, after four
years, Ricks College was once again officially a church school.
What caused this change of feeling at church headquarters? One theory is that,
after watching the members in Idaho struggle so long to keep their school open, the
leading brethren in Salt Lake decided that any school that engendered so much loyalty
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was special and should be kept open. One significant thing about the church being back
in control was that the school had the financial support to meet all its needs.
The next years continued in like manner as before. Improvements to the campus
and curriculum were made, changes in faculty occurred, and graduation requirements
were raised to keep with state standards. The attitude on campus was optimistic and
happy. However, there was always the fear in the back of everyone’s mind that Ricks
College was not out of danger. Even though the church was supporting the school, the
idea was, and had always been, to eventually turn the school over to state control. That is
until the April General Conference of the church in 1940. Ricks College furnished the
music for the Saturday morning session. After the singing, President David O. McKay of
the First Presidency arose and said, “ President Manwaring, let us never offer Ricks
College to anyone ever again. Let us keep it, and run it ourselves. You go home and
build a good church school.” 16 The future of Ricks College was secure, and with its rich
history has remained today to bless LDS and Non- LDS youth alike. Going back to the
original question: What saved Ricks College from closure in 1895 and 1936? The answer
is a tough one, and one that some people of the scientific world might not be able to
accept. It wasn’t some great academic program, or some wealthy private investor, nor
was it just dumb luck as some would say. It was dedication, determination, the attitude
of never give up, never give in, there is always an option, and whatever must be done,
whatever must be sacrificed to keep this school open, that is what will happen. Ricks
College, and now Brigham Young University- Idaho, owes its very existence to the men
of the local Board of Education, and the men and women of the early faculty of this great
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institution. In his 1888 prophecy that this school should become a “ great educational
institution and bless the people of Idaho.” 17 Karl G. Maeser was more than correct.
ENDNOTES
1Hyrum Manwaring, “ Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Years, 1888- 1944,”
Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay Library Special Collections,
Rexburg, ID, p. 1.
2Hyrum Manwaring, “ Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Year, 1888- 1944,”
Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay Library Special Collections,
Rexburg, ID, p. 2.
3Hyrum Manwaring, “ Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Years, 1888- 1944,”
Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay Library Special Collections,
Rexburg, ID, p. 4.
4Hyrum Manwaring, “ Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Years, 1888- 1944,”
Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay Library Special Collections,
Rexburg, ID, p. 4- 5.
5Hyrum Manwaring, “ Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Years, 1888- 1944,”
Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay Library Special Collections,
Rexburg, ID, p. 10.
6Hyrum Manwaring, “ Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Years, 1888- 1944,”
Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay Library Special Collections,
Rexburg, ID, p. 14.
14
7Hyrum Manwaring, “ Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Years, 1888- 1944,”
Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay Library Special Collections,
Rexburg, ID, p. 15
8Hyrum Manwaring, “ Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Years, 1888- 1944,”
Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay Library Special Collections,
Rexburg, ID, p. 17
9Hyrum Manwaring, “ Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Years, 1888- 1944,”
Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay Library Special Collections,
Rexburg, ID, p. 18
10Hyrum Manwaring, “ Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Years, 1888- 1944,”
Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay Library Special Collections,
Rexburg, ID, p. 18
11Hyrum Manwaring, “ Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Years, 1888- 1944,
Manwaring Administration,” Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay
Library Special Collections, Rexburg, ID, p. 3
12Hyrum Manwaring, “ Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Years, 1888- 1944,
Manwaring Administration,” Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay
Library Special Collections, Rexburg, ID, p. 4
13Hyrum Manwaring, “ Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Years, 1888- 1944,
Manwaring Administration,” Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay
Library Special Collections, Rexburg, ID, p. 14
15
14Hyrum Manwaring, “ Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Years, 1888- 1944,
Manwaring Administration,” Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay
Library Special Collections, Rexburg, ID, p. 15
15Hyrum Manwaring, “ Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Years, 1888- 1944,
Manwaring Administration,” Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay
Library Special Collections, Rexburg, ID, p. 50
16David O. McKay, April General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter- day Saints, Salt Lake City, UT, 5th of April, 1940.
17Hyrum Manwaring, “ Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Years, 1888- 1944,”
Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay Library Special Collections,
Rexburg, ID, p. 4.
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BIBLOGRAPHY
Manwaring Hyrum, Ricks College: A History of Fifty- Six Years, 1888- 1944.”
Brigham Young University- Idaho, David O. McKay Library, Special Collections,
Rexburg, ID.
Crowder, David L., “ The Spirit of Ricks: A History of Ricks College.” Rexburg, ID,
Ricks College, 1997.
Roundy, Jerry C. “ Ricks College: A Struggle for Survival.” Provo, UT,
Brigham Young University, 1975.
Cole, George, “ Minutes of the Board of Education in the Bannock Stake.”
Rexburg, ID, 1888.