When Concordia College first opened its doors on October 15th, 1891, there were twelve students in attendance with three professors to teach them. Ingebrikt F. Grose acted as principal and also taught English literature and religion. Elmer D. Busby was given the subjects math, natural sciences, and religion to teach. Busby's wife filled the role of dean of women. The final teacher was Caroline Finseth and she taught piano. Although an enrollment of twelve students seems bleak today, Principal Grose was encouraged by this number. Surrounding schools commenced with fewer students than twelve. As per usual of the time and place, the weather and agricultural activity played a large role in the number of students at Concordia. By January 1892, when the fields were bare and frozen, more than 200 students deluged the school. An enrollment of 200 was unprecedented at the time. Surrounding and competing schools considered 125 students to be plentiful and some schools even lost pupils to Concordia. The first crop of students (1891-1892) received room, board (with fully equipped facilities), and tuition for the whole year for $114.75. While this may seem astonishingly low today, the expenses were difficult to meet: at the time, Moorhead was a poor, dirty, pioneer community. The Christian Academy aspect of Concordia was not taken lightly. Students were only allowed to partake and visit places of amusement approved by the faculty. Tobacco, alcohol, and saloons were absolutely out of the question. By 1901 dancing and card playing were added to the list of prohibited activities. Students were required to attend chapel and recitations unless excused. Furthermore, pupils were mandated to stay in their rooms during study hours, which started at 7:00 pm. At 10:00 pm on the dot, wooden sidewalks were retracted, doors were locked up, and the kerosene lamps were extinguished. Students who were not tucked away by curfew time might have faced expulsion or a loss of funds paid. These constraints weren't altogether disliked, as they may be today. Rather, some appreciated the regulations. An 1893 class member once said "us plow boys... learned to have better manners." Comments are closed.
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