University Archives News

Olympic Fever

With the International Olympic Committee (IOC) being just a few days from announcing the host of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, this is not the only time that Chicago has been the scene of Olympic fever.

Though Chicago has never held an Olympics before, it has – specifically Evanston -- played host to Track and Field qualifiers for the 1912, 1932 and 1948 Olympic Games at the former Northwestern University Field and at Dyche Stadium, or as we now know it, Ryan Field. That's right; Northwestern has played its own part in Olympic history. Before a sometimes packed stadium, hundreds of hopeful, young men and women came to Evanston with their dreams of competing in the Olympic Games. One young man in particular, William Porter, was a Northwestern University student who did go on to compete in the 1948 Olympic Games. Porter ended up winning the gold medal in the 110 meter hurdles.

Now, with the IOC about to make its decision on which city will hold the 2016 Summer Olympics, Chicago makes its appearance on the international stage. And if Chicago does end up winning the bid, there has been talk that Northwestern could, once again, serve as the site for some events.

Northwestern offers city second "purple pumper"

You may have noticed in the news recently that Northwestern is purchasing a new fire truck for the City of Evanston. If you weren't aware, here's the article. Although this might seem like an odd gift, it was actually at the top of the city's list of needs for the upcoming year.

It was also at the top of their list of needs 40 years ago, according to the October 10, 1968 edition of the Evanston Review.

According to the article, the gift of this previous fire engine was "one of the conditions recommended for council approval...of the university's graduate student housing complex on Maple Ave". The building is Engelhart Hall, at 1915 Maple Avenue, which was dedicated in June, 1971.

Also of note is the price of the fire truck in 1968: $30,000. That's about $186,000 in 2009 money. The new one is considerably more expensive, but includes first responder supplies and will serve as an Advance Life-Support Unit.

If you'd like to read this article or investigate other fire truck-related events in Northwestern's history, stop by University Archives!

Influenza Changes, Stays Same

No, it's not the latest swine flu announcement. As a matter of fact, the article from which we derived this headline is actually from the October 30, 1918 issue of The Northwestern Weekly, and so is 91 years old. It refers to the Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918-1920, where an estimated one-third of the world's population was infected. Evanston was no more spared from this flu than the rest of the region. Of course, as one can see from this article, Northwestern did implement strict policies to contain the contagion. Even the previously-untouchable football season was altered to accommodate the containment policies, with several games postponed or even canceled.

So just because this article is so old doesn't mean that it's not relevant to Northwestern today! As a matter of fact, depending on how bad the swine flu (er, "H1N1 influenza") gets, this article might give us a good idea of what to expect. If the past is any guide, and the situation becomes truly dire, while classes shall mostly likely continue, student activities may come more or less to an end. Chapel services may be discontinued, and even "quiet and lady-like gatherings of co-eds in one room" might have to be postponed.

Of course, there is no doubt that, in the event of an emergency, Northwestern will enforce whatever policies it institutes with the same strictness with which it enforced them 90 years ago: "Disobedience of these orders will be punished by measures which will insure obedience."

You can read the full article below: