Leatherneck Nation

sealhall74 wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2025 9:26 am Dumb question but you know I have more than my fair share.  I cant seem to find out much about the namesakes of those old residence halls.  George Seal comes to mind for Seal Hall but I might be wrong.  What about all the others like Bennett, Hursh, Tanner, Wetzel, Henninger, ...

I assume they would have some connection to the university or Illinois government or city of Macomb.

 

NeckBone88 wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2025 11:03 am

sealhall74 wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2025 9:26 am Dumb question but you know I have more than my fair share.  I cant seem to find out much about the namesakes of those old residence halls.  George Seal comes to mind for Seal Hall but I might be wrong.  What about all the others like Bennett, Hursh, Tanner, Wetzel, Henninger, ...

I assume they would have some connection to the university or Illinois government or city of Macomb.


 

Dr. John Hallwas' book, "First Century, A Pictorial History of Western Illinois University" explains the naming of all the buildings on campus.
It states Samuel Hursh was among the faculty when WIU first opened back in 1902. Harvey Seal was hired to teach History in 1919. It's a fascinating book to browse. The University library would have reference copies available if you're ever on campus. 

 

NeckBone88 wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2025 11:03 am

sealhall74 wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2025 9:26 am Dumb question but you know I have more than my fair share.  I cant seem to find out much about the namesakes of those old residence halls.  George Seal comes to mind for Seal Hall but I might be wrong.  What about all the others like Bennett, Hursh, Tanner, Wetzel, Henninger, ...

I assume they would have some connection to the university or Illinois government or city of Macomb.




 

Dr. John Hallwas' book, "First Century, A Pictorial History of Western Illinois University" explains the naming of all the buildings on campus.
It states Samuel Hursh was among the faculty when WIU first opened back in 1902. Harvey Seal was hired to teach History in 1919. It's a fascinating book to browse. The University library would have reference copies available if you're ever on campus. 



 

sealhall74 wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2025 3:00 pm We could start up a world-class hotel management program and turn one of the residence halls into a functional "lab" environment.  A quick Google search indicates not that many of them (academic programs) available in Illinois - SIU does have one.  Iowa State has one on the other side of the river.  If I had Elon Musk kind of money, I would gladly donate to the cause.  Other benefits for visiting football teams - they would not have to commute an hour and a half to the game assuming the accomodations were good enough for them.
 

 

ST_Lawson wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2025 8:04 pm

NeckBone88 wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2025 11:03 am

sealhall74 wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2025 9:26 am Dumb question but you know I have more than my fair share.  I cant seem to find out much about the namesakes of those old residence halls.  George Seal comes to mind for Seal Hall but I might be wrong.  What about all the others like Bennett, Hursh, Tanner, Wetzel, Henninger, ...

I assume they would have some connection to the university or Illinois government or city of Macomb.





 

Dr. John Hallwas' book, "First Century, A Pictorial History of Western Illinois University" explains the naming of all the buildings on campus.
It states Samuel Hursh was among the faculty when WIU first opened back in 1902. Harvey Seal was hired to teach History in 1919. It's a fascinating book to browse. The University library would have reference copies available if you're ever on campus. 




 

I have a copy of that. I'll have to take a look.

Here are some of the relevant pages:

Seal Hall - named for Professor Harvey Seal who died in 1952 and left most of his estate (nearly $60k) to the WIU Foundation.
Hursh Hall - like NeckBone88 said, one of the original faculty members, Samuel Hursh. Was head of the English department since 1902, had also served as acting president, VP, and dean of the faculty.
Bennett Hall - Named for Mary A. Bennett, an early graduate of WIU (1908), earned a bachelors degree in 1921, then taught biology here for 33 years, heading the department from '48-'54. She also received a masters in '26 and doctorate in '40, both from the University of Chicago.
Tanner Hall - Governor John Tanner, who was the Illinois governor when the school was chartered (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Riley_Tanner)
Wetzel Hall - Wayne Wetzel, native of Good Hope, graduated from Western Academy in 1911 and the college in 1913. Started teaching "manual arts" that same year and taught for 47 years at the school.
Henninger Hall - John W. Henninger was the first president of the university.
Bayliss Hall - The state superintendent of public instruction at the time of the founding of the school. Henninger was actually his assistant before he was hired as president.