MOVING HISTORY FORWARD: A decade of growth brings new facilities

Last month, our story closed with NIJC students and faculty moving from City Hall to the new campus. It would be a month and a half before classes would actually commence since it took workers another month to complete work on Lee Hall, the Mechanical Arts Building and the gymnasium.

The school’s administration occupied the offices on the ground floor of Lee Hall as soon as the space became available. The admin team’s newest member was Bursar-Comptroller Warren T. Shepperd, who had served as the treasurer of the college’s board of trustees for more than 10 years before assuming his new job. (Note: Shepperd was the author’s grandfather). 

Shortly after the buildings were occupied, students lobbied for somewhere to go between classes. To satisfy this request, a portion of the gymnasium under the east side bleachers near the concession stand was set aside for a student union and outfitted with tables and chairs. Later, cafeteria services were added from the adjacent concession stand kitchen to provide lunch and snacks during the day. 

Continually rising enrollment led the trustees to explore adding classroom space. The board put a $314,600 levy up for a vote that would have added rooms to Lee Hall and a shop building but that January 1960 measure failed by 182 votes. The board retooled the proposal, adding classrooms, a library, a biology lab and a vocational building. The $495,000 bond vote in August of 1961 passed by 1,880 votes, and the project was completed in 1962. 

Increased enrollment by out-of-town students also drew the board’s attention. In 1957, they used a state-funded Junior College Housing Commission program to clarify the school’s needs. A board of commissioners found justification for building both a dormitory and student union, but when Federal grant money was sought, the agency they approached suggested building a free-standing student union first, as it would eventually help generate funds for the dorm. 

A 6,100-square-foot multi-use structure was authorized in the summer of 1961 and it was constructed just north of the gymnasium. That fall, the board of trustees dedicated it as the Anna R. Edminster Student Union building, honoring the longest-serving female trustee. She had held office for 22 years at that point. 

Sadly, President G.O. Kildow would not see the new buildings get much use. On May 3, 1962, he suffered a massive heart attack while working at his Silver Beach home and passed away at the age of 67. He had planned to retire after one more year as president.  

In his honor, the college library/classroom building was posthumously named in Dr. Kildow’s honor. Lee-Kildow Hall now refers to the former library turned classroom complex and the adjacent office building, formerly known as Lee Hall.  

One week after Kildow’s death, the NIJC board of directors appointed Perry A. Christianson as interim president of the college. In our next installment, we will learn of Christianson’s impact on the school as we enter NIJC’s last decade as a junior college.

    Pictured here is the exterior of the student union building that was constructed in the summer of 1961 to replace a cramped facility beneath the gymnasium bleachers. The facility was named in honor of a long-term member of the Board of Trustees, Anna Edminster.