College life still had its various aspects, inc1u ing social activities, like the Annual Thanksgiving Banquet and the "Ozarks" party, with appropriate dress required; both were highlights of 1956. other Christian colleges because of the lack of a strong liberal arts school for Regular Baptists. He prophesied, "Barring any misfortune there is no reason why we should not have a thousand students on the campus of Cedarville College ten years from today." He urged the trustees to emphasize "the liberal arts program with a strong Bible Department and eventually drop the Bible Institute."ls Ketcham felt it would be much easier to secure support for Cedarville as a liberal arts college. Most churches, he averred, already supported a Bible School in their own area. It would be difficult to get them to support another similar institution. Ketcham also recommended that the trustees carefully and economically develop their facilities in order to build the confidence of the people in the churches before placing promotional staff in the field. He indicated, "Folks will not give until they see what you are doing with what you have."16 Ketcham further commented that he had taken several pictures while on campus. He intended to use them to encourage people throughout the country to get financially involved in Cedarville's ministry. But while promising to do all in his power to promote Cedarville College, he again stressed that his hands would be tied as long as Cedarville kept the term "Bible Institute" as part of the name. The trustees, however, did not act on his recommendation right away. Perhaps their reluctance could be attributed to the fact that 68 students were registered in the Bible 98/Chapler XII Institute division that fall, while only 37 were enrolled in the collegeP7 Shortly after the start of the school year, President Webster announced to readers of the Ohio Independent Baptist that everything had gone according to play in the opening of the institution; however, he also stressed that money was badly needed. He urged God's people "to bring this need to the throne of grace daily."IB In December Webster informed the trustees that the college had outstanding bills of $24,074.83 with only "slightly over $2,500 cash on hand." That cash would be needed to 'meet the December 15 payroll, and there was nothing left for the balance of the month.19 Webster's announcement did not please the Board. Chairman George Milner, a meticulous businessman himself, expressed the opinion that money had been spent too freely on renovating the property. Before the Board could recover from the shocking financial news, Milner read a letter from faculty member Arthur Williams in which Williams expressed his dissatisfaction with President Webster, and resigned effective with a time in the "best interest of the school." Webster defended his differences with Williams, but Milner then read another letter signed by several members of the faculty indicating they also would resign if Williams were to leave! Suddenly, the Board was faced with a crisis that threatened to turn their dream into a nightmare. It was difficult for the trustees to understand either the financial problem or the
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM4ODY=