By Rachel King, Staff
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor was founded in 1845 in Independence, Texas. In 1886 the university found its new home here, in Belton, Texas. Since then UMHB has accumulated a great deal of history and legend. Many of today’s students know very little about their university’s history and the many wonders that exist on campus.
OLYMPIC TORCH
To start off closer to home with a story that UMHB was given a mere six years ago, on April 22 of 2018. Gene Deutscher, a Temple resident, was one of 52 people who carried the Olympic flame on an 8-day, 1000 mile journey to the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York. After almost four decades of having the Olympic Torch in his possession, Deutscher decided to donate it to UMHB. The torch is on display in the Sue and Frank Mayborn Campus Center.
“I know they’re going to be good shepherds of it,” Deutscher said in an interview with The Temple Daily Telegram following the torch’s installation. “It’s a nice feeling to know that it’s in the public view at a Christian centered institution in the Temple-Belton community.”
UMHB is very honored to house the Olympic torch. Its presence here serves as a reminder to students of the importance of strengthening their minds, bodies, and spirits. So next time you’re headed to the gym take a moment to stop and admire this important piece of Olympic history.
JUDGE BAYLOR
A much deeper dive into UMHB’s history will give us the story of Judge Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor and how he and a few other men founded both UMHB and Baylor University in Waco. When Judge Baylor died in 1873 he was buried on the original UMHB campus in Independence, Texas. A few decades later, in 1917, it was decided that Baylor’s remains should be moved to the current UMHB campus.
He was reinterred near the Alma Reeves Chapel and after Luther Hall burned down in 1929 some of the remaining stones were used to create a memorial area for Judge Baylor’s gravesite. In 1964 Alma Reeves Chapel fell victim to the same fate as Luther Hall and burned to the ground just as tragically. Two years later, in 1966, it was decided that Baylor’s bones should be moved once again to a better spot on campus. He now rests in Historic Plaza in the center of campus and is surrounded by other historic markers highlighting education in Texas.
Each year on Charter Day UMHB students honor Judge Baylor and his contributions to education, religion and criminal justice in Texas by placing a wreath on the granite covering his gravesite. This tradition was begun by early senior classes and is an important way that we remember who Judge Baylor was and his leadership in the Baptist education space.
SOUTH ENTRANCE
You may be wondering what happened to the stones that marked Judge Baylor’s second gravesite, outside of Alma Reeves Chapel. Well don’t worry, they survived the fire and are still part of the UMHB campus landscape today. When you enter campus from the south across the intersection from Davidson you will notice a stone sign bearing the words The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. That sign was created using the very same stones that were taken from Luther Hall’s remains and used as a memorial at Judge Baylor’s gravesite. These pieces of limestone survived not one, but two fires. They have been on campus since 1886, when UMHB moved from Independence to Belton.
Luther Hall was the first building built on this campus and was considered to be one of the best academic buildings in the state of Texas until it burned down in 1929. Luther Memorial is also built using stones taken from Luther Hall and there are several other places on campus where you can see these same stones displayed. What makes the sign at the south entrance so unique is the stories that those stones tell. There is something very special about seeing such a simple sign and knowing there is so much history held within it.
ALLEN PLAZA
Another important part of UMHB’s history that you have likely passed without noticing is the Allen Plaza in Millenium Oaks Park. In 1988 UMHB became sister schools with Allen International College in Kuji, Japan. About 50 students from Allen attended UMHB each year to study in the Intensive English Program. This partnership has since ended, but it is still a part of UMHB’s history that is worth remembering.
The Allen Plaza was built in 1995 in honor of UMHB’s 150th anniversary and Allen College’s 25th Anniversary. The plaza’s dedication was attended by Allen College representatives, Dr. Tadashi Onizawa and Dr. Kozo Yahaba. UMHB students walk around and through Allen Plaza every day, but very few of them know its significance. So if you happen to take a stroll through Millenium Oaks Park anytime soon, check out those concrete monuments in the corner, you might see something interesting.
BOB
The Baugh Center for the Visual Arts is a building that much of the UMHB population can probably say they have never entered. This is a rather sad truth, as the art building has numerous beautiful and intriguing pieces on display. One of these pieces has become quite infamous among UMHB art students. His name is Bob.
In 1965 Dr. Robert R. Rynearson established the psychiatry department at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple. Dr. Rynearson worked with thousands of patients during his time as a psychiatrist. Aside from his medical talents he was also an incredible artist. After retiring in 1997 Dr. Rynearson spent his last 25 years sculpting huge pieces of Italian marble into beautiful and haunting artworks. These pieces dealt mostly with his work in psychiatry and the troubled minds of his patients.
When Dr. Rynearson passed away in 2016 his sons donated many of his sculptures to the Scott & White Memorial Hospital in a sort of sculpture walk that they have there. The rest of his work was given to the UMHB art department. The sculpture garden behind the Baugh Center for the Visual Arts now houses those sculptures. When entering the garden through the art building one is immediately confronted by the biggest and most iconic of Dr. Rynearson’s sculptures. In recent years this sculpture has been dubbed Bob by UMHB art students and he has become a sort of mascot for the art department as a whole.
SIDEWALK SIGNATURES
In 1906 the senior class gave the UMHB its first sidewalks. Prior to these sidewalks being laid students walked to and from class on dirt and gravel paths. It was decided that the sidewalks would be placed directly on top of the paths that students had already worn into the ground. Because of this the sidewalks were placed in a manner that was most convenient for getting from place to place on campus and for the most part that is still entirely true. Students still walk on the exact same paths as they did in the 1800s.
There is one sidewalk on campus that some might consider slightly more special than the others for a few reasons. It lies diagonally between Hardy Hall and Burt Hall. It was put there in 1995 after students cut across the courtyard so much that they created a dirt path there. While the concrete was being poured to create the sidewalk, students passing by were told that if they shelled out a few bucks they could write their names in the wet cement. Those signatures are still there memorializing who those students were.
These signatures bear special importance to a few of UMHB’s current students, myself included, because our parent’s names can be found there. For me this sidewalk serves as a reminder that I am quite literally walking in my mother’s footsteps and everytime I pass her name I feel an immense sense of pride that I get to attend UMHB and carry on her legacy.
ALUMNI CENTER AND MUSEUM
The Musick Alumni Center and Museum at Parker House is a staple part of the UMHB campus. Originally named after former UMHB president Dr. Bobby E. Parker and Marietta Parker, his wife. Dr. Parker lived in the house during his presidency and was preceded by Dr. Jerry Bawcom who was the last university president to live in the Parker House. After Dr. Bawcom and his family moved off campus when he became Chancellor in 2009, the Parker House was remodeled and became what it is today, the Musick Alumni Center and Museum. The alumni center is exactly what it sounds like, the center for alumni. That is not all that the building holds though.
There is also a museum on the second floor where one can read all about UMHB and its history. Also on the second floor is the office of the lovely Mrs. Beth Norvell. Mrs. Norvell can tell you almost everything there is to know about the university and is happy to answer student’s questions. She was very helpful in providing information and sources to bring this very news story to life. The alumni center is a great place to visit if you are interested in learning more about UMHB.
These 7 wonders of UMHB are only a small fraction of the history that this campus holds. This university has been around for almost 180 years and is still going strong. Every building, sidewalk, and stone on these grounds has a story to tell and they are all worth listening to. So students, next time you walk past an old placard or participate in a UMHB tradition remember that you are carrying on a legacy that has lasted generations and will continue long after you are graduated and gone.
