A Day In the Life of Albion College
Thank you for taking the time to check out Special Collections' section of "Thinking Albion!" I'm really excited to be able to share with you some of the photographs, correspondence, scrapbooks, ephemera, newspaper clippings, and institutional records from the College Archives that make this job more enjoyable every day! For each issue, I will offer some newly digitized materials from our collections for you to enjoy that will be related to events that occurred on that specific date in the history of the college.

Often, when I am asked what I do for a living, and I respond enthusiastically, "I'm an archivist!" I receive a blank look that I know means, "You're a what?" Recently a national archives organization held a competition to determine the best answer to this question. The winning response was that “Archivists bring the past to the present. [We’re] records collectors and protectors, keepers of memory. [We] organize unique, historical materials, making them available for current and future research.” This is a fairly academic definition of what we do. In a more informal way, what we do here is connect people with their great-great grandmothers through our alumni and pastor files, help individuals recreate lost memories through film, sound recordings, and photographs, and assist the institution with defining its mission for the future by providing information into understanding our past.

For the October 31st issue of "A Day in the Life," I've provided some information on the rededication of the Central Building, now known as Robinson Hall, and the founding of the college's Beta Iota Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Please click on the links provided to go to other sections of the Special Collections' website to view additional images and information on these events that have helped to define our institution as it exists today!

 

1906 The Central Building is Rededicated as Robinson Hall	1930 The Beta Iota Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is Founded
The Central Building was the first official building on Albion's campus, the cornerstone being laid in June of 1841. On October 31, 1906, the building was renamed Robinson Hall, after the Honorable George O. Robinson of Detroit, who incurred the expense of remodeling and expanding the building to provide for the modernity and classroom size needed for the larger groups then coming into the college. Read More...	In 1929, a group of students and music faculty petitioned the National Council of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia to create a local Albion chapter. On October 31, 1930 the Beta Iota Chapter was installed. For more information and newly digitized images from our collections docu Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, check out Special Collections' A History in Letters: Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Beta Iota Chapter or the Beta Iota Chapter homepage.
Do you recognize these people? If so, let us know!