Old Main Stories

My fiancé, Matt Schmidt, and I watched the sun rise over the hill from the bench in front of Old Main on our last day at MLC. We had had shared classes, premarital counseling with Prof. Paustian, and nightly devotions in the hallways of Old Main while we were dating. It seemed fitting but bittersweet to say goodbye to one phase and hello to the next from a place that has seen so many come, grow, and be sent out into the mission field.
Sarah Schlicht MLC ’07

The class of 1957 received their calls into the teaching ministry while waiting on the steps of Old Main. On a quiet evening in May of ’57, we waited on the steps for President Schweppe to call in the assignments to Professor (Doc) Hoenecke. He then walked over from the boy’s dorm and began reading the list. We had received a duplicated sheet on which the class names were written. We weren’t concerned about receiving a call. We knew there were 80+ calls for the 24 in our class. After the reading of the assignments, we headed to the dorm to wait in line for the one phone to make the call home. We didn’t receive the actual call until graduation. By today’s standards this would seem rather crude, but we felt the same excitement, anxiety, and emotions that a graduate of today would feel. We were ready to begin the service, “The Calling,” to serve the Lord for which we had been preparing for many years.
Richard Schlavensky DMLC ’57

I remember my return from Christmas vacation in 1967, when I had to arrive on campus a day early, and all the buildings were still locked. I got special permission to enter Old Main (someone opened its front door for me) and sleep on a bench (I think it was at least a little padded) in the second-floor hallway outside of the nurse’s office Mrs. Kaiser, I believe. It was the spookiest night of my life. That creaky old building emitted a continuous cacophony of scary sounds throughout the night. I was the only human being on campus . . . But I was still glad then for the special permission given to me, and now in retrospect, I’m glad for this neat memory.
Jon Rupprecht DMLC ’68, NWC ’74

I remember early on graduation morning in 1971-74, playing hymns on my trumpet with other members of the band from the rooftop of Old Main. It was so awesome giving praise to our heavenly Father at the start of the day, the day many of us received Divine Calls to serve the Lord in the public ministry.
Susan (Rauch) Musgrave DMLC ’74

My first year at DMLC I lived on the third floor of Old Main with two third-year students. It was one of the dorms for women. Our room was next to the bell, which was rung for meals (loud)! We washed our clothes in the laundry in the basement and hung them out the back door. Care had to be taken as to where we hung our unmentionables, since the men walked by the lines on the way to classes. Getting to meals, especially breakfast and supper, was easy since we only had to walk down two flights to the cafeteria. The nurse and some profs’ offices were located on the second floor.
Alice Schmidt DMLC ’68