Introduction Chapter 1 chapter1 CGU owes its existence to the resolve of a visionary founder, the support of a modest but renowned philanthropist, and the dealmaking of a lawyer who shunned the spotlight but became immortalized on campus. Its history is inseparable from the City of Claremont, whose trajectory would be far different if not for a vacant hotel, ample shrubland, and a train depot. It is steeped in tenacity, gamesmanship, constant reinvention, and worldchanging success. CGUs history is unlike any other universitys, and it has never been told this way before. Claremont and what grew into The Claremont Colleges began to emerge in the 1890s when this photo was taken from Cucamonga Avenue, known today as Arrow Highway. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections Claremont Colleges the earliest name for what became CGUmust become a separate, freestanding institution, or wither and die. Malcolm Douglass, Phoenix in Academe The name and official seal have changed many times since CGUs founding as Claremont Colleges not to be confused with The Claremont Colleges consortium. The Greek lamps represented the individual colleges. For the initial proposal in 1928, Blaisdell suggested, The shield should be surmounted by one large lamp, which will represent the central organization Claremont Colleges, with the two smaller lamps representing Pomona College and the newly formed Scripps College. The symbol atop the shield evolved to a torch, the flame of which symbolizes CGU today. 1928 1928 Seal 1929 1929 Seal 1944 1944 Seal 1959 1959 Seal 1961 1961 Seal 1962 1962 Seal 1967 1967 Seal 1999 1999 Seal James A. Blaisdell envisioned a consortium of colleges with leaders working in a spirit of democratic comradeship. His optimism soon proved illfounded, however, in large part because the consortium lacked a formal, written agreement about who should do what. Claremont Colleges so named because it administered the consortiums shared services and facilities depended on faculty from Pomona and Scripps to teach its graduate courses, but there was continual friction over course assignments, priorities, and finance.Over time, Claremont Colleges hired its own graduate faculty and thrived, reinventing itself as needed. The theme of reinvention can be seen through the multiple name changes attempting to reconcile the disparate functions of centralized services and graduate education. In 2000, these functions were formally divided into two institutions, Claremont Graduate University and The Claremont Colleges Services. Though Blaisdell later drew criticism for his credulous belief that college leaders would always be guided by goodwill, his ambition and vision were never questioned. We will need educational opportunities far beyond anything we now have. Instead of one great, undifferentiated university, we might have a group of institutions divided into small colleges somewhat on the Oxford type. James A. Blaisdell in a letter to Ellen Browning Scripps in 1923 James A. Blaisdell never shied away from big ideas. Not long after he arrived in 1910 to resuscitate a financially struggling Pomona College, he recognized an unprecedented yet fleeting opportunity. Claremont, a nascent college town in an undeveloped region, could become an intellectual powerhouse, shaping the West and beyond.Just as New York served as a gateway to Europe, Blaisdell saw Los Angeles as a future bridge to Asia and Latin America. He envisioned Claremont Colleges as a University of the Pacific and dedicated his life to making Claremont a leading intellectual center where graduate work would be paramount to attracting and retaining top talent.Blaisdell found a kindred spirit and perfect partner in Ellen Browning Scripps, a businesswoman and philanthropist but more than that, a relentless seeker of knowledge and a champion of progress and empowerment. I am deeply interested in what President Blaisdell is planning, she said. It is a forwardlooking project that I think means much for education. Together, they would make history. A rare photo of James A. Blaisdell from his time at Beloit College, where he was a Professor of Biblical Literature and Ancient Oriental History, as well as library director. Blaisdells The Story of a Life an Autobiography Ellen Browning Scripps from her newspaper days in Detroit, where she wrote a popular daily column called Miss Ellens Miscellany. Ella Strong Denison Library Nowhere else in this country had such an educational development been achieved or even contemplated. James A. Blaisdell, The Story of a Life I have plunged into life, O God,As a diver into the sea,Knowing and fearing naughtSave thine old command to meTo grope, and search for the truth,Hidden wherever it be. Ellen Browning Scripps handwritten interpretation of Lily A. Longs The Diver, one of her favorite poems. J.C. Harpers Ellen Browning Scripps Robert J. Bernard arrived at the Central Pacific Railroad passenger depot in Sacramento on October 14, 1925, to file the articles of incorporation for Claremont Colleges. California State Railroad Museum Library A noble act of faith. Robert J. Bernard in Frances Bernard Drakes Two Men and an Idea It was a beautiful day, with the gold dome of the Capitol shining beneficently. Robert J. Bernard, notes from the Board of Overseers meeting in 1965 October 14 1925 Robert J. Bernard James A. Blaisdells protg and a future CGU president was on an urgent mission to Sacramento, one that required an overnight train trip to ensure he arrived on time. He strode toward the secretary of states office with documents that would officially give birth to Claremont Colleges. The Group Plan, the first of its kind in the United States, struck fire, Bernard reflected years later. But why was it so urgent that Claremont Colleges be incorporated on 1887Early Claremont and Pomona College Chapter 2 chapter2 New England idealism and the progressive spirit of the West. Robert J. Bernard, Two Men and an Idea The Pomona Land and Water Company created stable water infrastructure in 1883, critical to the development of the area. H.A. Palmer, the cofounder and president, had a personal land investment in North Pomona and convinced the Santa Fe Railway to route their westward expansion through surprise North Pomona and a rustic, unnamed townsite south of Indian Hill in which he and his family resided. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections Leaders of the Congregational Church in Southern California spent the first half of the year putting the finishing touches on their plans for a college of the New England type that would be grounded in Christian values but nonsectarian and open to both men and women. After vetting numerous locations, they chose 120 acres in North Pomona, named Piedmont Mesa, donated by H.A. Palmer.They drafted articles of incorporation for their fledgling college and took them to Sacramento, where they were approved on October 14 38 years to the day before Bernards dash to incorporate Claremont Colleges. About the same time, the Pacific Land Improvement Company, a railroad subsidiary based in Boston, was putting the finishing touches on its Claremont Hotel, hoping to cash in on newcomers looking for a place to stay while they scouted the areas land boom. October 14, 1887 The future of the southwest was beginning to reveal itself, and they foresaw a unique educational development. Robert J. Bernard, The Case for Claremont Train tracks are white noise in a modern cityscape, but in the 1800s they breathed life into the dreams of civic leaders, entrepreneurs, and land speculators. Tracks meant transportation, commerce, opportunity, and the chance for quick money. 1887 was a propitious time for Southern Californias trackadjacent communities, but as the shortlived boom turned to bust, Pomona Colleges founders struggled with fundraising to build in Piedmont Mesa. They opened their doors in September 1888 at a makeshift rented cottage in Pomona. In 1887, the Pacific Land Improvement Company purchased and subdivided 188 acres north of the tracks, and Sante Fe built a makeshift depot to attract buyers. The name Claremont came from the clear view of the mountains and honored one of the speculators who grew up near the New England community of Claremont, New Hampshire. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections A more fortunate spot for such purposes could hardly be imagined. James A. Blaisdell, Claremont An Educational Ideal The Pacific Land Improvement Company created this flier to promote Claremont the Beautiful, which was marketing speak for desert terrain and swampland covered with sage and heavy undergrowth. The Hotel Claremont and artesian wells enticed potential buyers, along with a sold declaration on numerous lots. Get yours before its too late But their plans crumbled as interest fizzled and the hotel was abandoned before serving a single guest. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections January 1889 The sudden economic downturn might have shattered plans for the college if not for the perseverance of its founders and an amazing turn of events. Just hours after the college board laid the cornerstone for the new building at Piedmont Mesaa symbolic act despite dwindling financial supportthe Pacific Land Improvement Company made an unexpected offer The college could have the Claremont Hotel and more than 250 nearby lots if it agreed to return a share of the proceeds from the future sale of lots. The board accepted, but retained the name Pomona College because they believed their permanent home was to the west. After moving to Claremont during the Christmas holidays, classes resumed in January in the newly named Claremont Hall, later renamed Sumner Hall in honor of Mary L. Sumner, wife of founding trustee Charles B. Sumner. Why Pomona College remained in Claremont Despite the boards intentions, spoiler alert Pomona College never returned to Pomona. The Claremont location simply had too much to offer, including proximity to the train station, which for many years remained integral to transportation in the region. It also had all those vacant lots, which meant lowercost opportunities for expansion. And once the college started growing, more and more members of the college community built homes nearby. After passionate debate, the Piedmont Mesa project was formally abandoned in 1892, with the land and pledges returned to donors. The Pomona Class of 1895 moved the cornerstone from the abandoned site on Piedmont Mesa to Carnegie Hall on the Claremont campus and carved a motto in Greek that translates to Not to live but to live well. Why Claremont became the perfect location While Blaisdell saw Los Angeles as the gateway to the Pacific, he recognized Claremont as an ideal location for academics. Close enough to benefit from the resources and opportunities of the growing metropolis, yet far enough to provide a serene environment for deep scholarly reflection, Claremont is now known as the City of Trees and PhDs.Blaisdell, a Wisconsinite, along with the East Coast transplants who made up much of early Claremonts population, greatly appreciated the regions Greek skies and sunshine. A promotional booklet titled Indian Hill captured this sentiment, describing Claremont as offering Adirondack summers, the New England autumn, and the Florida winter in one place. A 1908 relief map of Southern California illustrates the regions diverse geography and highlights the 158milelong figureeight of the KiteShaped Track. In addition to passenger and freight services, the route was famous for its scenic excursions through orange groves, valleys, and mountain foothills, offering picturesque views advertised under the slogan No Scene Twice Seen. New York Public Library Pomona in the foreground dwarfs Claremont and nearby citrus groves, with the San Gabriel Mountains looming over both. B.D. Jackson, who started as portrait photographer, captured many images of Southern California. Views dont talk back, he said, explaining his new focus. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections Furniture was generously donated by the local community and from as far away as the Eastern seaboard, transforming the vacant hotel into Pomona Colleges first proper building. With thirtytwo study and sleeping rooms, recitation rooms, chapel, reception room, and a library for which books were still to be obtained, it housed everything classes, offices, student rooms, and social functions before becoming exclusively a womens dorm in the early 1890s. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections In the new building ... centered the life of the College. Save for a few families who began to settle outside, the whole community life ran on under this one roof. M. E. Churchill, Pomona College An Historical Sketch E.C. Norton served as Pomona College Dean from 1893 to 1926. Among his many accomplishments, he is credited with attempting to grow the first lawn in Claremont. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections. Norton was a Renaissance man. The professor of Greek built his own house on Seventh Street when it was barely a dirt road. The property served as a playground for faculty members children, who would fill the yard and porch stairs. He admonished them to stay off his lawn. The house still stands, noticeably remodeled but with its porticos clearly visible. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections An oasis in the desert. Frank P. Brackett, Granite and Sagebrush Claremont evolved as a collegecentric town, with faculty, students, and families transforming the desert into a community. Citrus cultivation, beginning in 1888, also played a crucial role in Claremonts development. The towns growth revolved around Pomona College, establishing it as a college with a town rather than vice versa, fostering an environment conducive to intensive academic pursuits. Pomona College drives the development of regional infrastructure. James A. Blaisdell was far from the only visionary leader during Claremonts early years. Cyrus G. Baldwin, the first official president of Pomona College, was instrumental in laying the groundwork literally for development in the area. He recognized the potential power that could be harnessed by the water flowing in San Antonio Canyon to the north. Though he had no engineering background, he brought together a team of experts to build the San Antonio Light Power Company, which he hoped would not only provide electricity to the college but also generate revenue as the region grew. Long before The Claremont Colleges became an educational powerhouse, they needed an actual powerhouse. Cyrus G. Baldwin led the creation of the first longdistance transmission of hydroelectric power in the nation, the forerunner of Southern California Edison. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections This house on Fifth Street was built in 1888 near what is now Mallows Park by Colonel W.H. Holabird, a Civil War veteran turned real estate agent and land auctioneer for the Pacific Land Improvement Company. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections The Review of Reviews, a progressive magazine founded in the 1890s, highlighted the transformative potential of irrigation in the American West. It predicted small farms would foster a new civilization offering sustainable, communityoriented living that avoided both urban congestion and rural isolation. Small towns could grow around cultural institutions while retaining rural benefits. Claremont in its early years exemplified this vision of communityoriented living. Pomona College Book Store then vs now Duvalls on the northeast corner of Yale Avenue and First Street served as Pomona Colleges first bookstore and the communitys general store and pharmacy. O.H. Duvall Class of 1895 paid his way through school by selling books and stationery in a small room on campus. He later became Claremonts postmaster, a registered pharmacist, and director of the First National Bank of Claremont. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections Claremont in 1893 resembled a prairie town, but homes began springing up all around Pomona College, which created decades of anxiety for James A. Blaisdell as he sought to secure enough land for his vision of the consortium. Dean Norton Sumner Hall The original depot, built in 1887, looks quaint by todays standards, but it was a cookiecutter, clapboard copy of the stations that Santa Fe Railroad built throughout the West. The depot, where O.H. Duvall served as the first ticket agent what didnt he do, was essential to Claremonts growth. The building was replaced in 1927 by the Spanish Colonial Revival style depot that stands today. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections, circa 1906 I cant understand, sir, how an institution like yours can have reached such substantial growth in so short a time. Theodore Roosevelt to Pomona College President George Gates in 1903 This historic photo was taken from the west side of Holmes Hall, which was draped in the crimson of Harvard Roosevelts alma mater along with Pomonas blue and white. Crimson bunting, emblazoned with the spirited Rah Rah Harvard yell, completed the display. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections May 8, 1903 Based on the many breathless news stories about the event, May 8, 1903, was a momentous day for Claremont. President Theodore Roosevelt, honoring an invitation from Pomona College President George Gates, had come to the campus as part of his eightweek whistlestop tour of 25 states. Well over 6,000 locals, visitors, politicians, business icons, Civil War veterans, and Roughriders came in wagons and carriages, by horse and bicycle, and on foot to see the 26th president, who spoke passionately about education and its impact on life, politics, and humanity. It is such a pleasure to be in this college town today. you are erecting the superstructure of intellectual, moral, and spiritual wellbeing, Roosevelt said from a platform in front of Parsons Hall. It was certainly a great day, the most notable in point of importance and popular visitation in the history of Claremont to which all roads seem to lead for the time being, the Pomona Progress reported. Faculty and Student growth 18881908 188889 188990 189091 189192 189293 189394 189495 189596 189697 189798 189899 189900 190001 190102 190203 190304 190405 190506 190607 190708 6 40 79 507 Pomona was also a phenomenon in the large proportion of graduates who continued on into graduate study. This last result seemed to me one of the finest testimonies to our educational success. James A. Blaisdell, The Story of a Life. A Continuing Vision of Greatness, narrated by Ronald Reagan is a short film that highlights the growth of the consortium from its early years to the early 1960s, when it was made.There is priceless footage of life at Pomona College that aroused a good deal of interest, due to the humorous appearance of the styles of those days and the obvious development of the campus since that time. although it was taken less than ten years ago, Secretary of the Faculty William S. Ament quipped in a letter to J.C. Harper in 1927. More chapters coming soon...Blaisdell Scripps Form a Partnership Chapter 3 chapter3 Either it was the beginning of a new period orit was the end. Frank P. Brackett, Granite and Sagebrush President George A. Gates is joined by dignitaries and most of the Pomona College community as the cornerstone for Carnegie Library is laid in 1907. Key funding came from the Carnegie Foundation, which also provided a substantial gift to support faculty pensions soon after James A. Blaisdells arrival in 1910. January 1909 George A. Gates was at a breaking point. A highly respected scholar and administrator, Gates was beloved by the students at Pomona College, where he had doubled enrollment, expanded the campus, and brought the institution to national prominence in his eight years as president. Jane Addams and Theodore Roosevelt came to speak chiefly because of President Gates, and Ellen Browning Scripps, taken by his good humor and charm, visited Pomona College by his invitation in 1908. But despite these accomplishments, one weakness would be his undoing I cannot raise money.The burden of fundraising fell on Gates after Charles B. Sumner suffered a severe nervous breakdown in 1908, three months into leading a campaign to raise 250,000 to save Pomona College again from dire financial straits. Despite suffering burnout, in part from not taking a vacation in 20 years, Gates managed to reach almost half of the campaign goal before broken health and discouragement forced him to resign and take a sixmonth trip to Australia and New Zealand to quiet his troubled nerves. The same kind of stress would almost break Blaisdell 15 years later. He is the best man for Pomona College there is in America. Philanthropist D.K. Pearsons, who supported Pomona College and was instrumental in its selection of James A. Blaisdell. Natalie Joy Stromberg Ward, James A. Blaisdell Dignitaries and college presidents from across the country came to Claremont in January 1911 to attend James A. Blaisdells twoday inauguration ceremony. Blaisdell spoke about Pomona Colleges destiny to be a major contributor to the future of the region. The new president is a forceful, convincing speaker, and his inaugural address revealed the sincerity, breadth of vision and strong personality of the man, Out West Magazine observed. Summer 1909 Nobody knew Pomona College and what it needed in a president better than C.B. Sumner. After George A. Gates resigned, Sumner traveled to the Pacific Northwest, the Atlantic Seaboard, and the Midwest in search of a new breed of administrator with a higher level of financial acumen. A superior president. James A. Blaisdell emerged as the standout candidate recommended by multiple sources, including trusted ally D.K. Pearsons, a Chicago real estate mogul who played a crucial philanthropic role in the early development of both Pomona College and Beloit. Unfamiliar with Pomona College, Blaisdell offered a tepid response to Sumners initial inquiry. Undeterred, and unbeknownst to Blaisdell, Sumner made a trip to Beloit speak with Blaisdells professional and personal acquaintances. Convinced that he had found a perfect fit someone who was a highly regarded educator but had also done a heroic job of raising funds to secure books for his new library Sumner reached out again. Sensing the opportunity, Blaisdell agreed to make his firstever trip to the West Coast to visit Claremont. He did some reconnaissance of his own at the University of California, where he was told, Dont hesitate. His visit to Pomona College was a monumental success, culminating with a speech in which he electrified the audience and shifted the campus atmosphere from uncertainty to optimism. Blaisdells Beloit Years The term impostor syndrome didnt exist when James A. Blaisdell launched his academic career at Beloit in 1903, but he definitely fit the description. My teaching began under the strain of much difficulty, he recalled. I was overtimid, and one or two of the advanced classes created a serious problem for me. Other than the occasional Sunday school class, Blaisdell had no prior experience as a teacher and there were no doubt issues rooted in his childhood experiences at home and in school, where corporal punishment of classmates was so severe that he turned inward to avoid conflict. I often think my father would have done better if he paid me to get thrashed in school. I might have acquired more of the virtues of fearlessness and endurance and chivalrous defense of those who were subject to injustice.Despite his initial struggles at Beloit, he soon gained a reputation as a caring and learned teacher who challenged his students with what he called critical and scientific study instead of rote regurgitation to impart a scholars understanding of the real intention and meaning of the Bible. When Andrew Carnegie gifted money to build a library, Blaisdell embraced the opportunity. He spent two weeks touring the East inspecting libraries and steadily secured funds for more books his first successful fundraising endeavor. As new educational practices developed and fields of study rapidly advanced, he saw the library as the inspiration and central hub of the campus where resources had to scale as more emphasis was placed on individual research. He didnt realize it then, but he was building the foundation for his career out West. It was not easy being James Joshua Blaisdells son. The Beloit professor was uncompromising in his stern Calvinistic theology, forbidding little James to sing or play with other children, and threatening to punish him physically if he misbehaved at school. He also suffered from debilitating depression and spent time in sanitariums. He so terrified me that I did not try to translate myself to him, James A. Blaisdell recalled years later. But his father gave him a priceless gift full access to the books that lined the study. Plato, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, and others challenged him and fueled his imagination. It was the beginning of a rich intellectual life. Beloit College Archive Digital Collections He was basically a frontiersman like my grandfather. A chance to begin and to build was his main interest. Allen Blaisdell, Reflections family, youth and James Blaisdell James A. Blaisdell about 10 years into his presidency at Pomona College, shortly before turning his focus to the Group Plan. The Metate While Blaisdell the academic is revered, little has been written about Blaisdell the man. But his Beloit classmates and students had a lot to say about the friend they affectionately called Jimmie.All the Beloiters knew him, wrote Victor Marriott, one of many who followed Blaisdell to Pomona College. He still had the same rare humor, the same friendly greeting, and despite the heavy burden of his presidency, there is nothing that he loves more than to sit down with a friend for a chat. At a gathering of alumni in 1924, some who knew Jimmie the student told stories that seemed to those graduates of this century almost sacrilegious but were, nevertheless, keenly enjoyed. The alumni magazine did not elaborate. Blaisdell, The Story of a Life Blaisdell was adept at navigating the administrative landscape and getting results at Beloit, where he forged an excellent relationship with President Edward Dwight Eaton. Professor Theodore R. Etecus praised Blaisdells deft touch. He is a pretty good man to have around when the faculty gets into a tangle. He generally knows what he wants and doesnt hurt peoples feelings to get it. But perhaps the quality that Etecus found most endearing was, He never talks as long as some of the faculty.Blaisdell was also a gifted public speaker who could both inspire and read an audience skills he employed with great success throughout his time in Claremont. He did it by understatement and by sometimes reaching with his hands and not talking at all, recalled Caroline Bennett Fogle, a member of the first class to graduate from Scripps College and later a trustee. We always felt he was halffox and halfimagination. The Presidents house at Pomona College, built in 1900, with young Barbara Blaisdell in front. This American Foursquare style home is the oldest presidential residence still in use in California. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections The building of a college is like the building of a cathedral. Each is possible only by the faith, idealism, and sacrifice of a multitude. James A. Blaisdell quoted in Granite and Sagebrush. Mabel Shaw Bridges Hall of Music, now known as Little Bridges, opened in June 1915. Appleton and Amelia Bridges donated 100,000 about 3 million today in memory of their daughter, a gifted music student who died in 1907. Author and architect Charles Moore called the building Myron Hunts masterpiece. Bridges Auditorium, or Big Bridges, opened in 1932 courtesy of a 650,000 Bridges gift as the first official consortial building. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections Fall 1912 Blaisdell had requested that the inauguration be postponed after he and his family arrived in Claremont the previous year to allow him to focus on an urgent matter The college was 150,000 in debt nearly 5 million today. Blaisdell, who had no experience as a major fundraiser, got to work, launching a whirlwind effort that some called The Campaign of the Crisis. In three months, the debt had been erased. And he was just getting started. A year after shoring up Pomona Colleges sagging finances, James A. Blaisdell turned to a much more ambitious project, the Million Dollar Campaign. That would be 32 million today. Things moved swiftly, fueled by Blaisdells sometimes selfeffacing, sometimes eloquent ability to inspire support. In addition to the Bridges gift of 100,000, the citizens of Claremont provided nearly 100,000, alumni pledged over 40,000, Nathan V. Blanchard provided two 50,000 endowments, and George Marston pledged 50,000 to be used as the trustees may deem fit. But a smaller gift that could have been a footnote had the greatest impact. The donor Ellen Browning Scripps. Meet the Blaisdells James A. Blaisdell was 12 when he met Lena Florence Dollie Carrier at school in Beloit, Wisconsin. She quickly took possession of all my boyish fancies and affections. From that day on, I held her in the secret places of my heart. They married in 1892 and had three sons and a daughter before they arrived in Claremont. All four graduated from Claremont High School, and Paul and Allen went on to Pomona College. Blaisdell also cherished another member of the family one who followed him around campus and cheered him up during difficult times our little dog Midget, whose radiant and unfailing devotion blest us for 13 years. Her grave is still sacred ground in our yard at the Claremont home. That home is todays Blaisdell House on 10th Street, across from the DesCombes Family Quad. The Blaisdell family Florence, Barbara, Paul, Allen, James Brooks, and another important member of the family, Midget. One of the beloved is buried behind the Blaisdell House. It is for the joy of the giving that I do this, knowing that it is well done Ellen Browning Scripps in letter to James A. Blaisdell in 1914 She had the resources and the passion, but she was no pushover. J.C. Harper, Ellen Browning Scripps December 1914 In his memoir, The Story of a Life, James A. Blaisdell reflects on the countless people who helped Pomona College grow into a renowned academic institution. He mentions faculty and colleagues, as well as day laborers, gardeners, house mothers, janitors, and cooks whose contributions were often overlooked. And, of course, he thanks the benefactors whose support proved pivotal. Five of the great were rich both in spiritual and material things, he says, but curiously he adds, I shall not write their names here. There is little doubt that Ellen Browning Scripps topped the list. Blaisdell first met her inperson in 1914 at a Christmas concert at Bishop Joseph H. Johnsons school in La Jolla, where he asked her to fund a guest lectureship in Johnsons name thatwould supplement the college curriculum. She pledged 25,000 and later thanked Blaisdell for his letter, which sank deeply into my heart and will serve for my encouragement for many days. Their visit in La Jolla was one of the few times they met in person. Their relationship rested instead on their powerful correspondence. An erudite man of the people Episcopal Bishop Joseph Horsfall Johnson arrived in Southern California in1896 just as Los Angeles was beginning its ascent as a metropolis and cultural magnet. A spiritual leader, scholar, and educator, he quickly became one of the regions civic leaders someone both wellspoken and friendly who people gravitated to and listened to. The bishop had an extraordinary ability to make and keep friends, W. Bertrand Stevens said in his biography.Among those friends were Ellen Browning Scripps and James A. Blaisdell. Johnsons knowledge of global educational institutions aided Blaisdell in creating the Group Plan for the Claremont Colleges, leaving a lasting impact on generations of students. The March 1919 issue of the Pomona College Quarterly praised him as an executive of ability, a publicspirited citizen, a leader among men. Blaisdell said Johnson could always be relied upon for his presence and advice. and to his personal friendship and support I owe a profound debt. Joseph Horsfall Johnson, the first Episcopal Bishop of Los Angeles, served nearly 30 years on Pomona Colleges Board of Trustees and played a significant role in the development of Claremont Colleges as a founding member of the Board of Fellows. Pomona College Quarterly Magazine We have been able to bring to Pomona, representatives from Columbia, Yale, Harvard, and other notable institutions making for the rapid growth of the College. James A. Blaisdell in a letter to Ellen Browning Scripps in 1919 In the faces of children she saw the potential for a new world. Molly McClain, Ellen Browning Scripps New Money and American Philanthropy Ellen Browning Scripps believed in people and she invested in them. Ella Strong Denison Library Ellen Browning Scripps would have transcended any era. As Professor Molly McClain shows in her excellent biography, Scripps was accomplished, influential, unpretentious, and almost painfully modest. She was devoted to family and friends and loved children. She finished college at a time few women did, though she had to settle for a certificate because women were not granted degrees. She also had a keen sense of the newspaper business, helping her older brother launch a publishing empire in Detroit and later doing the same for her younger brother in Cleveland, which led to her introduction to J.C Harper, who would become her lawyer and close advisor.Though she left the church because it opposed female participation, she read the Bible and helped fund the building of several churches. In La Jolla, when her sister Virginia went on trips, Ellen let the maid go on vacation and took care of things herself. McClain writes, She rarely slept in her bedroom, preferring an old wirewoven cot that she placed on the west porch for the sake of the stars.Ellen Browning Scripps lived on her own terms. Glorious sunshine, beautiful views, high intellectual aspirations and inspirations Ellen Browning Scripps in a letter to Eliza Virginia Scripps, 1921 Poet, historian, and activist Edith Parker in her dorm room at Sumner Hall, circa 1903. The converted hotel survived over two decades of close calls from fires caused by kerosene lamps, wood stoves, lightbulbs, curling irons, and botched chemistry experiments. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections February 22, 1921 By 192223, women would outnumber men at Pomona College, 432 to 346. Blaisdell asked Scripps to fund a new Womans Campus to replace the constant fire peril of the woodframed Sumner Hall. She provided 110,000 anonymously, while Trustee C.E. Harwood contributed 50,000. Harwood Court, which housed 135 students, opened in 1920. Scripps, then 85, traveled from La Jolla to Claremont to attend the 10th anniversary celebration of Blaisdells presidency and dedicate Harwood Court. Blaisdell had suggested naming it Scripps Campus for Women, but J.C. Harper reminded Blaisdell that publicity is distasteful to Miss Scripps. The Luxury That Scripps Learned to Love Ellen Browning Scripps grew up when transportation meant a horse and buggy. After her horse Prince died, she relied on trains and buses, but when she turned 80, her brother E.W. Scripps bought her a chauffeurdriven PierceArrow limo, which she used to take people to the polls on election day and ferry friends to the theater.After spraining her ankle exiting the limo in 1922, her nephew and J.C. Harper converted it into an ambulance for use by a hospital and replaced it with a RollsRoyce. Scripps was furious. Mr. Harper has done many things which have grievously annoyed me but I have excused him on the ground of his lacking the sense of understanding individualities as well as being the possessor of good intentions .When the Rolls arrived in June 1923, she found it all too comfortable and too beautiful, and too luxurious but she was grateful. At age 90, she took her final trip to Yosemite with friends. Soon afterward, she suffered a heart attack. I dont mind dying, she wrote, but life is just beginning to be so interesting. Ellen Browning Scripps with her RollsRoyce limousine in Yosemite, 1927. La Jolla Historical Society Scripps anonymously helped fund Harwood Court, an unprecedented contribution to womens education in Southern California for the time. HonnoldMudd Library Special Collections Blaisdell had found a kindred spirit in Scripps through their shared dedication to advancing higher education, and he admired her unwavering commitment to fund ambitious projects. You have made me believe that whatever it costs, you prize the cognizance of large undertakings, he wrote. A few months later, Scripps would affirm their bond when Blaisdell shared his grand vision for the future. I am deeply interested in what President Blaisdell is planning. Ellen Browning Scripps in 1924 Molly McClain, Ellen Browning Scripps New Money and American Philanthropy