The Archives and Special Collections Center has received some important editions to the collections from the Family of Franklin Matthew Rogers ’41!
Franklin Matthew Rogers, known as Buck, attended Seton Hall Prep before Seton Hall College. He graduated in 1941 in Business and received the following snippet in the 1941 yearbook:
“Dr. King’s right arm in government class. His remarks were in as good taste as his clothes”.
We are particularly excited about:
Setonians
Because of the Great Depression (1929-1939) and World War II (US: 1941-1945), copies of the Setonian are scarce in the Archives. We are now able to add not only additional copies to the years we already have but include copies we have not had before such as 1939 April 21; 1939 May 5; 1940 May 3; 1941 February 14; 1941 April 25; and 1941 May 16! Stay tuned as we continue to digitize our Setonian collection.
Seton Hall Alumni Servicemen’s News (Alumni Bulletin)
This was a monthly bulletin that was sent out to Seton Hall alumni in military service. It contained information about alumni as they went off to train and to different bases around the world. Included are excerpts of letters written to the editors which mention snippets of their lives in the military.
“12” Club
Organized in 1937, this organization would invite about ten percent of the graduating class to join. Members were accepted because of their active participation in things concerned with Seton Hall, specifically the Athletic Association and the Knights of Setonia.
These items among the program for the Junior Class play titled “Forty-One on the Run”, programs for the Junior Promenade for the Class of ’41, and athletic programs, add invaluable documentation to collection that record student life at Seton Hall.
Seton Hall College School Bell 1856
Meneely Bell Foundry
bronze
Gift of the Seton Hall University Alumni Association
2019.14.0001
Walsh Gallery at Seton Hall University
WELCOME BACK FOR THE SPRING SEMESTER!
This mid-19th century bronze bell was originally located at the Seton Hall College campus in Madison, New Jersey. In the late 1960s, Dr. Louis de Crenascol, Chair of the Department of Art and Music, saw it for sale in an antique shop in nearby Summit. The bell was purchased through an arrangement between Dr. de Crenascol, Norbert Kubilus – President of the Society for the Preservation of Setonia—and John L. Botti – Executive Secretary of the Alumni Association—and brought to Seton Hall University where it hung in the McLaughlin Library until the building was razed in the 1990s to make way for Jubilee Hall. The bell then moved to the current Walsh Library and is presently on view in the Reading Room of the Department of Archives and Special Collections.[1] The bell was manufactured by Meneely’s of Troy, New York, a foundry which was known for making school bells of 100 pounds or more.[2]
Bronze bells such as this one were commonly used in America from the 19th century until the mid-20th century and were rung to mark important times for students and teachers, such as to signal the beginning or end of the school day, classes or lunch breaks. They were intended to carry sound over a wide area in a world largely without clocks, wrist watches or cell phones to keep track of time. For this reason, bronze, with its resonant qualities, was the metal of choice.[3] Today, the old bronze school bell has largely been displaced by electric buzzers, public address (P.A.) systems or music.[4] You can hear what the Seton Hall College bell might sound like by listening to this sound sample of a similar Meneely Bell of the period below.[5]
School house bells were often sold ready for installation, bundled with a frame, wheel and wood sills. If you look closely at the image of Seton Hall
College’s bell above, you will see horizontal arms that would have been attached to the frame to support the bell. Bells would be placed in the upper part of a belfry, or belltower, with a rope hung from the wheel. School bells were typically between 20 and 28 inches across to produce a slightly higher pitch than church bells which, would have been larger to peal with a deeper sound. This detail regarding size and tone was important. The public had to be able to distinguish between school, civic and church bells to avoid confusion.[6]
Church, clock and tower bells are also used to communicate with the public to commemorate important events such as the swearing in of an official or state leader, or religious rites including marriage and death. Bells are frequently associated with the concepts of peace and freedom, but they can also mark specific times on a clock or serve as a percussive musical
Image of mid-19th century schoolhouse with belfry in Maysville, Colorado. Courtesy of Jeffrey Beal, Colorado, USA. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maysville_School_(6287064191).jpg
instrument. The earliest archaeological evidence of bells dates from the 3rd millennium B.C.E. in the Yang Shao culture of Neolithic China.[7] Bells figure prominently in the public imagination, especially literary works. The Guardian has compiled a list of the 10 Best Bells in Literature. The list includes stories such as Macbeth by William Shakespeare, The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis, The Bells by Edgar Allan Poe and Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo. Check out the full list to see how many you have read.
The Walsh Gallery has a considerable collection of fine art, artifacts and archeological specimens for use by faculty, students and researchers. For access to this or other objects in our collections, contact us at 973-275-2033 or walshgallery@shu.edu to make a research appointment.
[1] Interview with Alan Delozier by Meghan Brady, 10/08/2020.
