100-Year-Old Chapel Notebook Sheds Important Historical Light

 BY ERIN BURKETT ’20

 3 MIN. READ

Close your eyes and imagine yourself attending chapel at Anderson University. Perhaps you’re thinking about the red, velvet seats of Reardon Auditorium and the stained glass cross that descends from the rafters. Maybe in your mind’s ears, you’re hearing the familiar voices that have offered up hymns of praise during times of worship. Or perhaps you are listening to a wise member of the community share about what it means to follow Jesus and love those around you. 

Stella Frazier, a student of Anderson Bible Training School in its first few years of conferring degrees, also attended chapel. Her notebook with notes from chapel services during the 1920-21 school year is housed in the archives on campus and is a window through which to view the past from a former student’s observations. 

Frazier, who graduated in 1921, was one of the first students on campus. She would have spent most of her time in a building called Old Main, where Decker Hall now sits. It is likely that chapel services were held in the basement of this building at the time. Along with approximately two dozen other students, Frazier learned from the brightest minds of the Church of God (Anderson, IN) movement and prepared for a life of ministry. 

Nic-Don Stanton Roark, AU’s archivist, uses materials such as this notebook to piece together what life would have looked like for a student at the time this was in use. It is reasonable to assume that many already had some level of professional experience and a calling to some form of ministry in their lives. Meanwhile, the Church of God (Anderson, IN) was only 40 years old and still building its identity as a movement. 

Frazier’s notebook holds notes from sermons, personal reflections, and even a few doodles. Speakers include H. M. Riggle, R. L. Berry, R. R. Byrum, and E. A. Reardon, all of whom made significant contributions to the Church of God (Anderson, IN), Gospel Trumpet, and the school. 

Due to the nature of the content and purpose of the notebook, as well as the date in which it was written, the artifact is a piece of the public domain. Therefore, if you wish to read some of Frazier’s notes for yourself and imagine yourself as a student in 1921, you may do so by visiting the university archives online. 

Though many things about the school, campus, church, and society have changed, AU’s mission to educate students for lives of faith and service in the church and society has remained constant for more than 100 years and continues to shine as a guiding beacon.

Anderson University is on a mission to educate students for lives of faith and service, offering more than 60 undergraduate majors, 30 three-year degrees, 20 NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports, alongside adult and graduate programs. The private, liberal arts institution is fully accredited and recognized among top colleges for its business, computer science, cybersecurity, dance, engineering, nursing, and teacher education programs. Anderson University was established in 1917 in Anderson, Indiana, by the Church of God.