UT of Yesteryear

By Ralphine Major

ralphine3@yahoo.com

It was my brother’s idea, but I liked it:  spend an afternoon on the University of Tennessee (UT) campus taking pictures of the place where we had spent so much time during our college days.  While students at UT, my brother and I had spent time picking up class schedules and standing in line to pay fees in the Stokely Athletic Center, now an online process; commuting to and from classes; studying for mid-terms and final exams; working long hours and nights on group projects; and squeezing in work hours between classes and study time.  There were some days when it seemed our time there would never come to an end.  But it did.

Way back in the archives I found a photo of us standing on the steps of the John C. Hodges Undergraduate Library along Volunteer Boulevard.  The spot where we stood provided a clear vision of Neyland Stadium, the site of UT’s long-awaited win over rival Alabama this year!  Across the street from the library was the old Glocker Business Administration Building, now the updated James A. Haslam II Business Building.  Many of our classes took place in Glocker—economics, accounting, statistics, marketing, and so many more.  In the basement was a computer room with huge, noisy machinery that read computer cards when inserted.  The computer system then was a far cry from the quiet, compact computer equipment of today.  These days, I can barely recognize the UT campus.  Older buildings have been demolished, and new structures have taken their place.  It is an ever-changing environment—the college campus, a fun and exciting place!

Words of Faith: “The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.” Proverbs 18:4 (KJV).