The "A Plate From The Past!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Had just found an old shiny ceramic plate in a cabinet that had the image of the original Millersville State Teacher's College on the front and a list of dates, beginning in 1850 and running until 1955 on the back of the plate.  

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I have no idea where the plate came from, but it is sure a neat reminder of where I went to college in the early 1960s.  Seems that in 1850, Mr., Mrs., or Miss L.M. Hobbs was a teacher in schools in Millersville and conceived the idea of founding an academy.  In November of 1852 the Lancaster County Educational Association met in Strasburg to form an institute for teacher training.  Then in 1853 Mr. Thomas H. Burrowes directed major support to the school.  At the same time a Mr. Jacob Shenk, a local farmer, donated a tract of five acres with a Mr. Hobbs, a popular teacher in the Manor School District collecting investments from local residents.  It wasn't until 1854 that the first meeting was held by the new Directors.  At that time the Millersville Academy began and was operated out of a building with the name of "Old Main."   On April 17, 1855, Lancaster County Normal School opened with James P. Wickersham as the Head and Thomas Burrowes as the Principal and Lewis M. Hobbs as the Vice-Principal.  It was the first Normal School in Pennsylvania.  It was accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.  The Academy specialized in a series of workshop-style teacher institutes in response to the 1834 Free School Act of Pennsylvania.  The Normal School changed its name to Millersville State Normal School in 1859 and then to Millersville State Teachers College in 1927.  In 1928 the first degree was granted.  It was later renamed Millersville State College and officially became Millersville University of Pennsylvania in 1983. When I attended and graduated from the school it was known as Millersville State Teachers College.  I still enjoy making visits from time to time, taking in a football game or just walking around the campus with friends whom I went to school there with in the past.  At first the school was just a school to train teachers, but later became a Liberal Arts College.  The school's newspaper was known as the "Snapper."  One story I read in the newspaper was about it's first female sports editor in the early 1960's.  The newspaper later was replaced by a student run magazine called Opus.  Two of the original buildings on campus are the Chapel and Old Main.  If you ever make a visit to the school, make sure you get a chance to see both of these buildings.  The school mascot was called a Marauder with school colors being black and gold.  I have many fond memories, as well as a few I'd rather forget, of Millersville State Teachers College.  Still enjoy taking a drive past the school and trying to remember what it was like over 50 years ago when I was a student at the school.  And, finding the old shiny ceramic plate brought back enough memories to allow me to type my story for today.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.