by Marshall Kean
photos by Tom Kimmell

Just before Halloween, three pivotal figures from Colorado College's earliest days emerged from the mists of time to honor four new members of the William Jackson Palmer Founders Society, which recognizes lifetime giving of $1 million or more to the college. The combined membership of 61 includes this year's additions: the Adolph Coors Foundation, the Robert and Ruby Priddy Charitable Trust, Douglas '62 and Nancy Pettit '64 Norberg (parents '88 and '91), and Philip '84 and Patricia Swan.

After a formal induction ceremony led by President Richard F. Celeste at the Earle Flagpole, local costumed impersonators reenacted an event that took place in the spring of 1901. First, "General Palmer" (Morey Bean), mounted on his locally famed horse Diablo (Baron), invited everyone present to follow him to a reception in Gates Common Room of Palmer Hall.

There, guests were greeted by two of Palmer's friends, "President Slocum" (Don Moon, portraying the third president of the college) and "Mr. Stratton" (Richard Marold, playing the local 19th-century philanthropist). "Palmer" described the situation that existed in the late 1890s when the college, experiencing a great deal of growth, needed more science classroom space. Through Slocum, the college secured several pledges for a new science building, including gifts from Palmer and Stratton.

In 1900, the design proposal for the building located it on the present site of Tutt Library. However, Stratton, owner of the local streetcar company, was at that time negotiating for rights to run a track straight down Tejon Street, which was interrupted by the campus. His negotiations with CC failing, he petitioned the city council to condemn the property for his proposed right-of-way. "Slocum" and "Stratton" reenacted their appeals of May 11, 1901, before the council, which ultimately denied the request.

"Palmer" described to guests how he and his philanthropist friend George Foster Peabody then anonymously pledged an additional $100,000 for the new science building, with the stipulation that the building be erected facing south on Tejon Street ­ effectively blockading any potential streetcar tracks through campus. That $100,000 pledge constituted the first qualifying gift of the William Jackson Palmer Founders Society and gave the college Palmer Hall, which this year celebrates its centennial.

This unique, touching, and historic display of the college's appreciation for Palmer Society members also included sculptures displaying the tiger image, presented to the inductees with the help of students and faculty members representing beneficiaries of the donors' gifts. The names of the newly inducted members were added to those already permanently engraved in the polished, reddish-brown granite base that now protects the Earle Flagpole, a campus hallmark since 1931 and a fitting place to honor the remarkable and generous benefactions of the members of the Palmer Founders Society.