{"id":49761,"date":"2019-10-24T05:00:18","date_gmt":"2019-10-24T10:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=49761"},"modified":"2019-10-21T08:24:33","modified_gmt":"2019-10-21T13:24:33","slug":"%ef%bb%bfsome-ghosts-are-signs-of-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=49761","title":{"rendered":"\ufeffSome ghosts are signs of progress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With the approach of Halloween, I find myself thinking of a friend who wrote about the ghost buildings on her campus \u2013 buildings that once were a vibrant part of the life of the university community but are no longer there. Intrigued by the idea, I turned to FHSU librarians David Obermayer and Patty Nicholas to get these \u201cghost\u201d stories for our own campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They did not disappoint. I received a lot of great\ninformation complete with photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first ghostly building is the Old Fort Hospital Building\n(1867-1915), which became the first academic building for the Western Branch of\nthe Kansas Normal School. Beginningin\n1902, it was used as the primary academic building and housed all of the\nclassrooms, the library, and the principal\u2019s office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school and the hospital were originally on the site\npreviously occupied by the military fort. The old guardhouse was used as a gymnasium\nwhile the officer\u2019s quarters were the home of Principal Picken and his family. In\n1904, the college moved to the current site of the university when the middle\nsection of Picken Hall opened. The hospital was the only building moved onto\ncampus from the original fort site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once on campus, the hospital housed the school\u2019s first\ndining hall along with a woodworking and blacksmithing shop. Both the manual arts\ntraining program and the band were originally started in this building, which\nearned it the nickname of the \u201cincubator\u201d because so many new activities and were\nborn there. More proof that our innovative roots run deep!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first power plant (1911-1930) was located right behind\nMartin Allen Hall. Funded by a legislative appropriation, it provided the first\ncampus buildings (Picken and Martin Allen halls as well as the Old Hospital)\nwith heat, light and running water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the next few decades, the campus grew to include Rarick\nHall in 1912, Sheridan in 1917, Custer in 1921, Forsyth Library (now McCartney\nHall) in 1926, and Albertson in 1928. The Old Power Plant became dangerously\noverburdened. President Lewis requested funds to build a new power plant in the\nfall of 1930 but was denied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Months later the power plant caught fire and burned to the\nground. President Lewis requested money from the Kansas Legislature again and this\ntime received $51,200. The new and larger plant, completed in 1932, is now home\nto the Moss-Thorns Art Gallery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The art annex (1936-1967), located out by Highway 40,\noriginally served as a campus maintenance shop. By the early 1960s, the campus faced\na lack of studio and exhibit space for the fine arts and studio art programs,\nboth of which were expanding quickly. In 1963, studio arts moved into the Art\nAnnex using the space as studios, faculty offices, and classrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early morning of March 5, 1967, a fire was reported\nby a graduate student who had been working late in the studio. Despite the best\nefforts of first responders, aided by students and faculty, the building was\ndestroyed. The exact cause of the fire was unknown. Among the art lost was an\nentire collection of paintings by Professor Joel Moss. The Art Department\u2019s\nstudios were temporarily moved to one of the old barracks and then into a\ntemporary metal building. The department remained scattered across campus until\nthe construction of the new Rarick Hall in 1981 and now resides in our fabulous\nnew Center for Art and Design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rarick Hall (1912-1978) was built with appropriations from\nthe Kansas Legislature. Its identity has shifted throughout the years. Originally\nnamed the Agricultural Building, it was later the Industrial Building and now\nis home to the College of Education and the College of Arts, Humanities, and\nSocial Sciences. It was the first building on campus to be equipped with modern\nlabs and even had its own dining hall in the basement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1978 the original Rarick was razed, and a new Rarick Hall\nwas built, opening in 1981. Today\u2019s Rarick will soon undergo a major\ntransformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other ghostly academic buildings that once were vibrant\ncenters of student learning include Davis Hall (1952-2017) and Heather Hall\n(1982-2014). Originally called the Applied Arts Building, the design and\nbuilding process for Davis was slow, and inflation after the end of the Second\nWorld War meant that President Cunningham had to request additional funds from\nthe legislature in 1951 to finish the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once completed, the Applied Arts Building housed the\nIndustrial Arts Department as well as the Home Economics and Fine Arts departments.\nIn 2017, Davis was razed to make way for the new art and design building. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heather Hall (1982-2014) was built as a TV and radio station\nwith state-of-the-art studios and classrooms. The building sat between Forsyth\nLibrary and Malloy Hall. By 1983, Heather Hall also had a satellite dish and\namplifier to help with programming. These renovations allowed KFHS Channel 12\nto massively expand its reach and to begin broadcasting sports games live over\nHays Cable TV. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Student housing has also seen its share of repurposing,\ndemolishing and building in response to increasing demand. In 1943, a set of\nhorse barns near Lewis Field were repurposed as barracks (1943-1968) and a mess\nhall for the U.S. Army\u2019s aviation students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 1945, the aviation program had ended and at least part of\nthe barracks buildings became men\u2019s dormitories for civilian students. Two\nyears later, another barracks building was moved from Walker Army Air Field to Lewis\nField to serve as additional housing. By 1949, the college was again in need of\nhousing, this time for married students, and all of the barracks were converted\nand expanded into housing for students and faculty with families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, married student housing\ncontinued to be an issue. The Elm and Hackberry Trailer Courts were created for\nmarried couples who wanted to live in mobile homes, and Wooster Place was built\nfor students with families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Motel 6 is not a ghost building, but I will long remember when\nit temporarily became a men\u2019s residence hall when we were once again short on student\nhousing in 2011!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another residence hall in the ghostly category is McGrath\nHall (1942-2000). Originally, the building housed military personnel and cadets.\nAfter the Second World War, it became a residence hall for non-military male\nstudents. A south wing was added in 1952 and another section was added in 1955.\nIn 2000 the building was demolished and new student housing, Stadium Place\nApartments, was built on the site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the college grew, space was also needed for a women\u2019s\nresidence hall. Agnew Hall (1957-2010) was named after Dean Emeritus Elizabeth\nJ. Agnew, a faculty member in the Domestic Economy Department and first dean of\nwomen. The first building on campus to be named after a woman faculty member, it\nhad a dining room, three lounges, a recreation room, a laundry room, and a\nresidence with a kitchen. It was completely renovated in the early 1990s, but\nby 2010 the building itself was just too old. It was replaced by two new\nstudent residential halls with repurposed names: the new Agnew and Heather. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our last ghostly building is Wiest Hall (1961-2012\/2017). Wiest\nHall was built as a four-story men\u2019s dormitory when our growing campus was again\nin desperate need of updated student housing in 1961. In 1971, a seven-story tower\nwas added and called the Wiest Hall Annex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1972 the college started hosting the Youth Conservation\nCorps camp during the summer, drawing students from all over Western Kansas and\nhousing these students in Wiest Hall. In 1977 the Psychology Department moved\nto Wiest Hall and shortly after the Psychological Service Center, predecessor\nof the Kelly Center, was located in the annex. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These ghostly buildings are friendly reminders of our broad and deep innovative spirit, moments of tragedy and resilience, enduring growth, and the always appreciated helping hand from the Kansas Legislature. Though gone, they\u2019re an important part of our history and are strongly connected to the success we enjoy today. For some readers, perhaps, the razed buildings evoke not ghost stories but powerful memories of friendship, learning, and love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tisa Mason is president of Fort Hays State University.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"

From right, the first Rarick Hall, the first Power Plant and its smokestack, Martin Allen Hall and Picken Hall, with both wings completed. At far left is the old Fort Hays Hospital building after it had been moved to campus. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"

Picken Hall in the foreground and the old Fort Hays hospital building in its campus location. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"

The Lewis Field Barracks looking northwest toward Sheridan Hall. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"

Built in 1911, this building provided the campus with heat and light until it burned in 1930. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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