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Virtual Historical Tour 8. Dow Recreation and Wellness Center  This facility actually contains many separate components and is surrounded by all of Albion's outdoor athletic fields. The large sculpture, Faith of Odysseus, which you see between the A-field gate and the Dow buildings, was crafted by Terry Karpowicz, a well known Chicago artist who graduated from Albion in 1970. It is well worthwhile to take a moment to read the plaque on the base of the sculpture, as it captures the essence of Albion College. The Lomas Field House, completed in 1988, is named for former president Bernard T. Lomas, who is only one of two Albion College alumni to serve as president, the other being President Peter T. Mitchell. We are fortunate to have a separate gymnasium on the quad for our intramural basketball and volleyball teams, so that the field house is seldom "off-line" to our students and staff for general recreational use. It contains flexible space for basketball, volleyball and badminton, as well as a 1/9 mile track. The facility also contains 2 racquetball courts, training and rehabilitation areas, a classroom, locker rooms, and the Department of Physical Education offices. Click on thumbnails for larger view
The center part of the building, adjoining the Herrick Center and the stadium is the Dean Aquatic Center, which is home to the T-shaped swimming pool, bleacher space and locker rooms; and is used for general recreation as well as competitive swimming and diving. It was dedicated in 1978 and is named for Dr. Clark Dean '21, a long-time trustee and friend to Albion College. (Fennimore, p.689) Click on thumbnails for larger view
The glass pyramid is the lobby, which houses the 1994 National Championship NCAA Division III football trophy. Built two years previous to the Aquatic Center was Sprankel-Sprandel Stadium, named after two highly esteemed coaches of former years, Dale Sprankle and Walter Sprandel. The stadium provides permanent seating for up to 2000 spectators, a pressbox, locker rooms, training rooms and a concession stand. (Fennimore, p.689) Prior to the Homecoming game against Ohio Wesleyan University in 2002, the stadium field was renamed in honor of legendary Briton football coach Morley Fraser. In his 15 seasons as head football coach, the Britons won five MIAA titles.
Click on thumbnails for larger view
On the west end is the Herrick Center for Speech Communication and Theater, containing classrooms, dressing rooms, a scene shop, and 2 small theaters, one traditional and one called the Black Box, which is for more experimental and improvisational productions. It is named for donors, Ray and Hazel (Forney) Herrick. Ray Herrick was born in Muskegon on July 21, 1890, to parents Benjamin Gilbert and Catherine Elizabeth Herrick. Upon graduation from the eighth grade in 1906, Ray had to decided whether to learn a trade or go on to high school. He considered becoming a cartoonist, but decided work in science or mathematics would be more practical, becoming an apprentice toolmaker at the Western Machine and Tool Company in Holland, Michigan. After completing his apprenticeship, Ray took a job as a machinist with the Welsh Motor Car Company in Pontiac. Shortly thereafter, he went to work for the Packard Motor Company as a toolmaker. After a brief time, he was laid off from Packard due to a decline in car sales and went to Ford Motor Company in Detroit, where he became a foreman and remained so for the next 6 years. Herrick was not allowed to enlist in the Army Air Service during Would War I because Henry Ford appeared in the recruiting office, having followed Ray, and demanded that he stay out, his service to Ford was too important. After leaving Ford, exhausted by the demands of the war years, he worked in several different places before settling down again: Har-Park Tractor Company, the Earl Motor Company, a Dodge car dealership in Mason, the Bristoe Motor Company, the Jackson Motor Shaft Company, the Bakelite Division of the Reynolds Spring Company, and the Alamo Engine Company. When Alamo Engine was sold in a few years later, Herrick founded his own company with William Sage of Hillsdale, naming it the Hillsdale Machine and Tool Company. Moving later due to financial difficulties and new arrangements with Henry Ford for relocation expenses and a line of credit at a local bank, the company was renamed Tecumseh Products. Tecumseh Products and Herrick's business savvy blossomed during World War II, producing 40mm anti-air craft projectile casings. In 1955 this genius was recognized by Fortune Magazine, who noted "Herrick apparently capable of using an extremely small amount of plant to produce an astonishing amount of product." Over the years, he acquired a number of other companies in order to diversify: Acklin Stamping Company of Toledo, Ohio; the Lauson Engine Company of New Holstein, Wisconsin; Taylor Sales Engineering Company of Elkhart, Indiana; Power Products Company of Grafton, Wisconsin; Peerless Gear Company of Dunkirk, Ohio; and the Diecast Division of Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. Along with his business ventures, Herrick was always sure to share his wealth with those around him who needed it; having donated funds to Tecumseh towards the purchases of a fire truck, the building of a hospital, a new high school facility, the construction of a city hall, of a public library, a city owned swimming pool, and a community recreational center. Adrian College, as well as Albion, was a beneficiary of Herrick's philanthropy, including a college dormitory and dining-student center, the chapel, an auditorium, and the Herrick Carillon Tower. The various athletic fields that ring the Dow Center are used for softball, soccer, baseball, football, lacrosse and track and field.
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Albion College ◦ Albion, Michigan ◦ 517/629-10000
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