Article, "Porch stirs memories of UNL's early days"
Title
Article, "Porch stirs memories of UNL's early days"
Subject
Perin, Senator Willis, 1869-1930
University of Nebraska (Lincoln campus). School of Agriculture
University of Nebraska (Lincoln campus). School of Agriculture
Description
The article shares details on the dedication of the Porch to S.W. Perin on September 30, 1996. Author speaks to Edna Reeder Emerson, granddaughter of S.W. Perin.
Creator
Griess, Karen, Lincoln Journal Star
Source
Emily Levine, Special Projects Research Horticulturist, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Perin Collection
Publisher
Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries
Date
1996, Sept. 29
Rights
To inquire about usage, please contact Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries. These images are for educational use only. Not all images are available for publication.
Transcription
Porch stirs memories of UNL' early days
By KAREN GRIESS
Lincoln Journal Star 9/29/96
The replicated Perin Porch on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus provides students a shady rest area, a quiet escape and a reminder of the early days of the College of Agriculture.
But in Edna Reeder Emerson's mind, her grandfather's original porch was a circus arena where she performed flips and tumbles.
"It's where we learned to read and write and bounce balls,' Emerson said in a telephone interview from Santa Fe, N.M. "In the evenings we sat out there. We grew up enjoying the porch.'
She will be on hand Monday when the porch is dedicated in a 1:30 p.m. ceremony at 37th and Holdrege streets.
For Emerson, the porch stirs memories of the original 1875 boardinghouse of the State Agricultural Farm, which also was the home of her grandfather, S.W. "Dad" Perin, farm superintendent from 1889-1930.
"It gives students a feeling of the heritage of the porch, of the family and of the early days of the university," she said.
In those days, it was a focal point of the farm campus, until the house was razed in 1923. "My sisters and I have good memories of our grandparents and of living there," said Emerson, who lived at eh house from 1920-1923 while her father went to UNL law school.
Emerson and other descendants so S.W. Perin will have a family reunion this weekend. Her sisters, Courtney Reeder Jones of Santa Fe and Marian Reeder Prentice of Columbus, will not be able to attend.
The ag college was established in June 1872, prior to the university acquiring about two acres of saline land near the state fair grounds. When that land proved unsatisfactory, the Board of Regents purchased the 320-acre Moses M. Culver farm east of town, the present site of East Campus, for $55 an acre.
The new farm campus, as it was often called, became an experimental farm divided into 40-acre test plots. Crop and livestock experi-
More on PORCH, Page 6D
Porch/ Idea to replicate it was sparked by book
Continued from Page 1D
ments were started, and faculty began working on developing a hog cholera serum.
Ag students lived with the Perins in the white frame house built in 1875. They took classes on the main campus but gained experience at the farm, where they were required to perform 10 hours of work each week.
The house was razed in 1923 when the Perin family moved to a house on nearby Orchard Street. At that time, a note was discovered written on a block of wood in the wall above the door: "To whom it may concern: Know ye that this 15th day of December 1875 that the sun shines bright and the roads are dry and you can work out in your shirt sleeves."
The idea to replicate the porch was sparked by the book "Growing up with the College of Agriculture," written by Emerson's mother Hazel Perin.
Perin whose initials stand for Senator Willis and who was otherwise known as "Will or "Daddy Perin," died in 1930. "He was like a father to the young fellows that came," Emerson said.
By KAREN GRIESS
Lincoln Journal Star 9/29/96
The replicated Perin Porch on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus provides students a shady rest area, a quiet escape and a reminder of the early days of the College of Agriculture.
But in Edna Reeder Emerson's mind, her grandfather's original porch was a circus arena where she performed flips and tumbles.
"It's where we learned to read and write and bounce balls,' Emerson said in a telephone interview from Santa Fe, N.M. "In the evenings we sat out there. We grew up enjoying the porch.'
She will be on hand Monday when the porch is dedicated in a 1:30 p.m. ceremony at 37th and Holdrege streets.
For Emerson, the porch stirs memories of the original 1875 boardinghouse of the State Agricultural Farm, which also was the home of her grandfather, S.W. "Dad" Perin, farm superintendent from 1889-1930.
"It gives students a feeling of the heritage of the porch, of the family and of the early days of the university," she said.
In those days, it was a focal point of the farm campus, until the house was razed in 1923. "My sisters and I have good memories of our grandparents and of living there," said Emerson, who lived at eh house from 1920-1923 while her father went to UNL law school.
Emerson and other descendants so S.W. Perin will have a family reunion this weekend. Her sisters, Courtney Reeder Jones of Santa Fe and Marian Reeder Prentice of Columbus, will not be able to attend.
The ag college was established in June 1872, prior to the university acquiring about two acres of saline land near the state fair grounds. When that land proved unsatisfactory, the Board of Regents purchased the 320-acre Moses M. Culver farm east of town, the present site of East Campus, for $55 an acre.
The new farm campus, as it was often called, became an experimental farm divided into 40-acre test plots. Crop and livestock experi-
More on PORCH, Page 6D
Porch/ Idea to replicate it was sparked by book
Continued from Page 1D
ments were started, and faculty began working on developing a hog cholera serum.
Ag students lived with the Perins in the white frame house built in 1875. They took classes on the main campus but gained experience at the farm, where they were required to perform 10 hours of work each week.
The house was razed in 1923 when the Perin family moved to a house on nearby Orchard Street. At that time, a note was discovered written on a block of wood in the wall above the door: "To whom it may concern: Know ye that this 15th day of December 1875 that the sun shines bright and the roads are dry and you can work out in your shirt sleeves."
The idea to replicate the porch was sparked by the book "Growing up with the College of Agriculture," written by Emerson's mother Hazel Perin.
Perin whose initials stand for Senator Willis and who was otherwise known as "Will or "Daddy Perin," died in 1930. "He was like a father to the young fellows that came," Emerson said.
