From the hiring of Illinois State’s first physician, Dr. Florence Ames, to the first football game at Hancock Stadium, historian Tom Emery explores this month in Illinois State University history.
September 8
On this date in 1923, the Vidette carried a report on the hiring of the first university physician in the history of Illinois State.
The job went to Dr. Florence Ames, who became a beloved figure in her time at Normal. A native of Fargo, North Dakota, Ames was just 28 years old when she accepted the job at Illinois State.
A graduate of now-defunct Fargo College, Ames earned a degree from the acclaimed Rush Medical School in Chicago in 1921, then completed an internship at Cincinnati General Hospital in Ohio. She came to Illinois State from a similar position at present day Minnesota State Moorhead, another teacher training school, where she spent one year.
The Vidette described her duties as “the general supervision of the health of the students, medical examinations, the teaching of hygiene, and private consultations with students in regard to their personal health.” For ill students, “all excuses for absence … will be presented to Dr. Ames.” Her office was located on the first floor of present-day Moulton Hall.
In addition, Ames taught seven classes in personal hygiene each week. She was also to examine “all women on admission to the school and all men on athletic teams” as well as conduct daily inspections “of the rooms of the training school.” She did not collect any fees from students for her services, and did not engage in any outside private medical practice.
Even though Illinois State was much smaller than today, with just 2,700 students, the Vidette correctly reported that “watching the physical condition” of the entire student body was “a big task.” Ames only had two student workers to assist her.
For the 1924-25 school year, the Vidette reported that Ames had “attended approximately 5,900 cases … ranging from headaches and slight colds to scarlet fever.” The peak was during the first summer term, when 979 cases were handled by her office in six weeks.
As if that wasn’t enough, Ames also presented outside programs, such as an address at the Thomas Metcalf Parent-Teacher Association on April 1, 1924. There, she discussed health issues of children, particularly malnourishment.
Though the Vidette called her “a well-known figure to practically every student” and “a competent and popular instructor,” Ames resign in September 1925, as her father had recently died back in Fargo. Her position was filled by another female doctor, Dr. Minnie Phillips of Mattoon.
Ames was in private practice in Fargo before settling in Monroe, Michigan, where she was the first female physician in the city’s history. In over four decades of practice in Monroe, she was credited with delivering over 2,600 babies.
In 1929, she was a founder of a hospital in Monroe, and played a pivotal role in the building of another new hospital facility for the city in 1962.
During her life, she amassed a fine collection of antique furniture and glassware, part of which she donated to Monroe County Community College. The school later sold her collection to provide funding for the Dr. Florence Ames Fine Arts Scholarship.
Florence Ames died in March 1985 and was buried back in Fargo. Her years at Illinois State were part of a productive, and remarkable, career that touched countless lives across the Midwest.
September 20
On this day in 1956, Gary Cole, an Illinois State University alum who has starred in such television hits as The West Wing, The Good Wife, and NCIS, numerous movies, and the New York stage, was born.
Cole is known for his remarkable number of top roles across television at any one time. In a 2017 interview, WGLT called Cole “among the busiest actors in the business.”
Born in Park Ridge, Cole was raised in Rolling Meadows and reportedly had his start in acting by playing Snoopy in a high school production of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.
Cole majored in theatre at Illinois State from 1974-77. He recalled that ISU “was a great training ground, to be able to do and execute a lot of things.”
His professional career began with the renowned Steppenwolf Theatre Company, a Chicago-based group that has a heavy Illinois State influence. His first TV role was a guest spot in 1983 on the long-running ABC daytime drama One Life to Live. Two years later, Cole was in two episodes of the televised miniseries Fatal Vision.
However, his breakout role was the lead in the NBC drama Midnight Caller from 1988-91. He was also in 22 episodes of the CBS drama American Gothic in 1995-96.
Several of Cole’s prominent roles have come in relaunches or reboots. He played Mike Brady in the 1995 big-screen flick The Brady Bunch Movie, as well as in sequels in 1996 and 2002. Cole also portrayed Bill Davis in the 2002-03 relaunch of the 1960s CBS sitcom favorite Family Affair.
But Cole is best known for his prime roles on The West Wing (2003-06), The Good Wife (2010-16), The Good Fight (2017-22), and his present role in NCIS.
Cole also appeared as Kent Davison on the HBO hit series Veep from 2013-19. In that role, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2014, and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2017.
On the big screen, Cole has been cast in To Live and Die in L.A., One Hour Photo, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and Pineapple Express.
Other appearances for Cole include television guest spots on Moonlighting, Desperate Housewives, Touched by An Angel, Frasier, 30 Rock, Monk, Chuck, and Entourage.
A skilled voice actor, Cole has also been heard on many episodes of Family Guy, Harvey Birdman — Attorney at Law, Kim Possible, The Tom and Jerry Show, and Bob’s Burgers.
In May 2017, Cole delivered the commencement speech for the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts. That same year, he was also inducted into the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts. He is one of many ISU theater alums who have remained active in the school.
September 21
On this date in 1963, the Illinois State football team played its first game in the new Hancock Stadium.
The Redbirds finished off an 89-yard scoring drive with 8:33 remaining to pull out a 12-7 win over Millikin. But the star of the day was the stadium itself, which drew rave reviews.
A crowd of 7,500—then the largest audience to ever watch an Illinois State athletic event—was joined by a “coterie of sportswriters from around the state,” in the words of the Vidette.
The new stadium left sportswriters in awe, as many felt the facility—particularly its press box—placed ISU on par with Big Ten schools and other big-money athletic programs.
The day after the game, the Pantagraph glowingly wrote that “Normal backers have real reason to be proud” of their new stadium because the “press box is far superior to Illinois or Northwestern, or any other in the state.” The paper added that the press box was “better than nine-tenths of the space provided” for reporters than anywhere else in the nation.
The first game at Hancock was played at night, which enthralled the Pantagraph. “It is a beautiful sight when they turn on the glimmers at Hancock Stadium” wrote the paper. “Nothing has been overlooked.”
In the Vidette, sportswriter Tom Costello wrote that “for the first time in four years, I was not conscious of the fact that this is small-college football. Seated high in the press box, I could see and feel, as I’m sure many others did, the great change which had accompanied the move to the new stadium” from the Redbirds’ previous home, McCormick Field. Costello added that “anyone who has ever attended a Big Ten game knows this feeling.”
Costello continued that the large crowd “generated electrical excitement,” as did “the newly-suited marching band” and the “20-odd reporters lodged in the luxurious press box,” all of which gave ISU a “tremendous increase in school spirit and prestige.”
Hancock Stadium was part of the new West Campus physical education complex, which included the Horton Physical Education Building and other playing facilities.
The new complex was dedicated during halftime of the Redbirds’ next home football game, the following week against Indiana State. Admission for adults was $1.50, while students got in for 75 cents.
Hancock Stadium is named for Dr. Howard Hancock, the Redbirds’ head football coach from 1931-44 and athletics director from 1931-63. In 1969, the stadium became the first college football playing surface in Illinois with artificial turf.
With a capacity of 15,000 and a myriad of upgrades in recent years, Hancock Stadium is widely considered a state-of-the-art facility for players and fans alike.
September 29
On this date in 1857, the cornerstone of “Old Main,” the original campus building, was laid. A century later, the contents of the cornerstone were opened as the building was in its final months of existence.
The cornerstone ceremony on September 29, 1857, was one of the highlights of early ISU history, and took place six days before the start of actual classes at the University.
There was some doubt that the ceremony would even take place. The previous day, the Pantagraph reported that the “appointed orator of the day” would not be able to attend. In addition, the paper wrote that “other distinguished men, whose presence was expected,” eventually “failed to arrive” for the ceremony.
But, the Pantagraph noted, “a very considerable number of our citizens, in twenty or thirty vehicles and on foot,” came out to attend. The exercise began at 3 p.m., and featured addresses from members of the state Board of Education, which governed ISU in its infant days, the state school superintendent, and local pastors. Among the cherished guests was Jesse Fell, who is credited as the driving force behind the school’s location in Bloomington-Normal.
The contents of the stone became a time capsule and were the centerpiece of the event. Many items were squeezed into a tin box measuring six inches in height, six inches in width, and 12 1/2 inches in length.
A century later, the Vidette wrote of the “drab color” from the “dull gray surface” of the box. The exterior also contained etchings of various names, like one of the masons on the project in 1857.
With its contents, the box weighed 20-25 pounds, and with good reason. Among the items placed in the box were a Bible, a copy of the school laws of Illinois, a list of contributors to the formation of Illinois State, and copies of the Illinois Teacher, a foremost educational journal of the time.
The Pantagraph also reported that “two lithographic views” of Old Main “as it will appear when completed” were inserted, as were copies of newspapers from the leading communities of the state, including Bloomington, Chicago, Springfield, Peoria, and Alton. The Illinois State Journal added that a letter from former Illinois Gov. Joel Matteson, which was read at the ceremony, was also inserted.
It was an inspiring moment, to be sure. One onlooker, who actually favored traditional colleges, rather than the new concept of “normal schools,” conceded that he “felt proud, that day of Illinois, proud that I had been brought up on her soil” to see “the crowning glory of her educational system.” He added that the “cornerstone of that University is the basement stone of the pillars of freedom.”
Finally, the time capsule, as the Pantagraph wrote, was “closed and thoroughly soldered up” by a local tradesman before it was placed in the stone, at the southeast corner of the building. The “cavity” in which the box lay was then filled with “dry sand” and covered with “a good bed of cement” before another large stone was laid above, sealing the cornerstone in place.
There, the capsule lay for almost exactly 100 years. In 1957, it became clear that Old Main, which had served the campus since its completion in 1860, would have to be demolished. Knowing the end of the building was near, there was plenty of interest in retrieving the time capsule.
On December 10, 1957, workers drilled into the cornerstone to remove the capsule. After several hours, the box was freed around 4:30 p.m. and, as the Vidette reported, “rushed to the faculty meeting already in progress.”
The contents were explained by Clarence Ropp, the longtime supporter of ISU and the driving force behind the accreditation of the agriculture program. Those contents were later placed in the cornerstone of the Centennial Building, a fitting place for a precious link to the past of Illinois State.
Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher who, in collaboration with Carl Kasten ’66, co-authored the 2020 book Abraham Lincoln and the Heritage of Illinois State University.
