So, we decided to let students write a "Good-bye" note to the building itself. So, after the pictures of the "Hall of Fame of Faith" were taken down and properly stored until the renovation is complete, we allowed our students to write parting sentiments on the walls in the lobby. Below you will see what they said to each other, to the division as a whole, and to the memories which have been crafted within the walls. So, you ask the question,
"If only the walls of Noggle could talk?" Just listen (or click and read the pictures that capture the life-changes Noggle has made in IWU students.
3 comments:
What a quick little quarter-century has passed! My memories of the Noggle date from before it bore that noble name. My few years at Marion College (for that is what it was and remains to me) saw the opening and the dedication of this sparkling new facility.
Along with the gratitude of the ministry students, we other arts majors (Psych, Soc, Poli Sci) so enjoyed the fresh new carpet smell, the pristine brickwork, the clean expanses of wallpaper bearing witness to the Hall of Faith portraits. The carillon was of unusual interest to me, but I never did get to explore that control panel.
I do remember that the showroom-new structure seemed anachronistic plopped betwixt McConn auditorium, the Science building, the old Student Center and the Goodman library. Alas, all things age, as do all people. I am proud to have been a student in the Noggle Building, and am prouder still to have had the privilege denied to future users of the facility...to have known and loved Howard and Marie themselves. God Bless IWU!
Darrin Gowan
PolSci/Psych
1984-88
Being an IWU alum is a bitter sweet experience. My friends who have been a part of schools that have changed little over the years can go back and visit their old haunts. I recently walked through a nearby campus with someone who graduated 10 years prior. My friend was pointing out his old dorm, and the places he pulled pranks.
I can't do that. It has only been seven years since I graduated. In that time Williams Hall, my old dorm, was cleared to make way for the new library (which is beautiful and awesome). Noggle, where I spent an inordinate amount of time, is now gone. My understanding is that my apartment building where I spent my upper class years is slated for demolition too. The campus bears very little physical resemblance to what I knew.
But I thank God that the leaders at IWU are not slaves to the past, but are visionaries for the future. Is there a part of me that is sad that I can't go back? Of course. I asked my wife out on our first date in what was the McConn coffee house. I think that was gone before we even graduated.(I'm not even sure what is on that location now)
But I am much more excited about the future. I am glad that the leadership at IWU look at what is and think: "But what could be?" It is awesome to see what God is doing.
Andy Merritt
Christian Min/Bib Lit
1996-2000
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