Olivet Nazarene University

 

She arrived at Olivet College in Olivet, Ill., as a freshman having never stepped foot on the campus before. A native of Ohio, she had been accepted to Ohio State University and University of Cincinnati — choices that would have kept her closer to family and friends.

But Alta Everett ’42 was drawn to the small, denominational college she had heard about when an Olivet quartet visited her church. So, nervous and already more than a little homesick, Alta began her four-year journey that would span two campuses and spur relationships that would last a lifetime.

A secure place to grow

Although admittedly shy and quiet, Alta was immediately put at ease by the warmth of her new classmates. “It seemed like a secure place. It was small, but friendly,” she says, thoughtfully, of her first impressions. “I felt comfortable there.”

She came to Olivet with a desire to become an engineer. But although opportunities were opening up for women — and would do so even more as World War II began — women advancing in the sciences would be slow coming, she says.

So instead, Alta majored in math, a field also heavily favored by men. But, she says with smile, she could usually count on at least one other female joining her in math classes.

“Most of my girlfriends couldn’t understand why I wanted to major in math,” she laughs. “But there were openings in the field, especially in teaching, if one was qualified.”

She speaks warmly of her teachers and the University leaders; of trying to prove the existence of God through the theory of infinity with Dr. Herman Price; of being challenged by Dr. T.W. Willingham’s views of the Church and Christian principles.

“The most amazing thing, though,” she says, “is the fact that we had quality education when the School was so small.”

She proudly points to the number of classmates who went on to earn Ph.D’s as evidence of Olivet’s fine academics. “And I also had a classmate who taught at Harvard and several were Fulbright scholars and taught overseas,” Alta adds.

But back in 1939, the would-be Harvard professor and Fulbright scholars were all just classmates, with no knowledge of an imminent disaster.

A future up in flames?

Coming home from her junior trip, tired but antsy to get back to campus, Alta noticed a glow radiating in the distance. Not until they were closer, though, did Alta and her classmates realize the glow was their campus, engulfed in flames.

The fire had destroyed Olivet’s Administration Building, which housed the chapel, library, science labs, administration offices and classrooms. In essence, the entire academic portion of the campus was lost.

After two years as a student at the Olivet campus, Alta waited to hear the decision of the Board of Trustees. Would the College rebuild in Olivet? Would they move north to an empty campus in the unknown village of Bourbonnais?

Tensions were high and patience was limited when President A.L. Parrott announced the College would move to Bourbonnais. The decision outraged many, leading nearly half of the faculty and staff to resign and church members to petition the Board of General Superintendents to overrule the trustees.

But Alta and her friends prepared to start over in a new place. “It never occurred to me not to make the move to the Bourbonnais campus. This is where all my friends — the friends who had become family to me — were,” she says matter-of-factly.

Lasting bonds

With Alta’s future husband, James ’42, in an Olivet quartet, the familial bond between the men and between their future wives grew naturally.

Because much of Alta’s college career coincided with the tail-end of the Depression, the group of friends had to become innovators concerning their free time. “We didn’t have ‘toys’ like computers or cell phones; we didn’t have cars; we didn’t have money,” she says. “We had friends.”

So they spent their evenings standing around the piano in the dining room, singing. On weekends, they’d go for hikes or ice skate on the river. Sure, she says, people today might think their lives were quite primitive. “But we were very creative in the things that we did. We had fun together,” she contests.

Throughout the years, the group of friends remained close. They’d reconnect at Homecoming and in the middle of the year, swapping stories again and again about their time at Olivet.

“We just had so much rapport. I don’t know, maybe we were a special breed, but we developed very, very close friendships that we just couldn’t let go of,” Alta reflects. “And even though I’ve lived long enough that most of them are gone … all these many years later, the relationships I formed at Olivet have been such an important part of my life.”

This past November, Alta kept the memories of her husband and friends alive once more by attending Olivet’s Centennial Celebration, reconnecting with friends she’s made along the way and passing her stories on to the next generation of Olivetians.