The Lesser-Known Leaders

As SPU turns 125, we honor those who have shaped this place in ways large and small

By SPU President Daniel J. Martin

On June 20, 1891, the Education Committee of the Oregon and Washington Territorial Conference of the Free Methodist Church proposed our institutional beginning by presenting the following resolution at a Conference meeting:

“Resolved, that it is the sense of this committee that we take action at this time toward securing a proper location and raising necessary funds and that the work of building begin as soon as the location and means are secure.”

The resolution was enthusiastically approved, but our Seattle location was not easily settled upon. You would have thought otherwise when Nils Peterson announced he would give either $500 or five acres of his Queen Anne garden plot as a location for this new institution. Hiram Pease voiced his support for the Seattle location, announcing to the Conference gathering that the gift of land was easily worth $8,000. He then stated he would give an additional $2,500 to the effort.

But later in the meeting, John Glen of Dayton, Oregon, suggested they sell Peterson’s gift of land, combine it with the $2,500 from Pease, and purchase a 500-acre farm near Dayton.

Pease countered this suggestion and made an impassioned plea that the students of Seattle needed the type of education he envisioned SPU offering. Our centennial history written by professor emeritus Don McNichols states that Pease believed that the “hygienic training of young people in Seattle was an imperative.” Hiram and Mercie Pease were very health conscious and had a goal to live to be 100 years old. He wouldn’t eat pork products or drink coffee — therefore, given his influence and financial generosity, Seattle Seminary served neither. He valued the outdoors, even sleeping all year in a tent in their backyard! With his influence, there is little wonder that our health-related programs such as Nursing were embraced early on.

B.T. and Ellen Roberts, Nils and Karen Peterson, Hiram and Mercie Pease, Alexander and Adelaide Beers — these are people easily identified as key contributors to the formation of our University.

But have you also heard about John Norton? You probably have not. But, he was also one of our primary founders. In fact, he was the chair of the Education Committee of the Free Methodist Church that launched our beginning.

Norton was born in 1846 in Maine, moved to Minnesota as a child, and grew up to be a teacher and a farmer. In his 20s, he became a Christian under the influence of a Free Methodist minister and pursued a call into ministry. Eventually, his ministry brought him to the state of Washington, and he was a primary leader for the work of the Free Methodist Church in the Pacific Northwest.

Upon the founding of Seattle Seminary, Norton was elected chair of the initial Board of Trustees. However, he fell in love with Minerva Widger, they married, and they moved near the newly relocated University of Washington. Norton founded University Bank — a striking building that is still in use as a Wells Fargo branch at the corner of University Way and NE 45th Street. As their life began to revolve around their community on the other side of town, Norton eventually relinquished his seat on the board in 1903.

Unlike Peterson and Pease who lived next to the campus, Norton’s life was on the other side of town. Although he was a vital and influential leader in our early days, his name is not as prominent as some of our other early leaders.

I would venture to say, though, without the effort and influence of John Norton, SPU would look very different today. For instance, imagine if John Glen’s proposal had been accepted: We might even be DPU — Dayton Pacific University!

The story of John Norton struck me recently when on June 24, we held a small campus event to mark our “Founding Day,” recognizing SPU’s inaugural Board meeting 125 years earlier. I had the privilege of sharing a bit of our history as it related to our founding. As I stood in front of the 150 people gathered, I saw gifted faculty, dedicated staff, proud alumni, faithful donors and prayer partners, and honored retired faculty and staff.

As I looked into their eyes, I was overwhelmed, for it dawned on me that everyone there, like Norton, had contributed in meaningful ways to fulfill our mission and advance our vision. And without their influence, SPU would look different today. But because of their efforts and the thousands of others who stand in the line of our “founders,” we are a better place, a stronger place, a special community.

We are a place that is large but small, broad but deep, diverse yet whole, independent but collaborative, close but not cloistered, faithful but not dogmatic, demanding yet graceful, strong while hospitable, progressive yet grounded, and a place of thoughtful convictions though earnestly open. We are a place where Christian identity is foundational and formative, where the life of the mind and a life of faith are not mutually exclusive, and where academic excellence and rigor exists.

If you are reading this article right now, there is a strong likelihood that you have also contributed to and supported this mission. I want to say thank you. As we celebrate the occasion of our 125th anniversary, imagining and envisioning what our next 125 years will be like, we are the place we are because of each and every contribution, large or small, given by those who have a passion for SPU.

Dan Martin is SPU’s 10th president. Learn more about him at spu.edu/president.