The Chapel

1957 - Present

In the spring of 1950, the South Dakota P.E.O. held its annual state chapter convention. This was where Joseph W. Messer first proposed that the BILs (P.E.O. husbands) build a chapel on Cottey campus.² There had previously been a chapel in Main Hall, where the students had participated in Sunday school, vespers, et cetera, but it was quite old and small. In 1951, Cottey's Board of Trustees reviewed Mr. Messer's suggestion and established a Chapel Advisory Committee, which included Messer and Cottey President Blanche Dow. In every state with a BIL chapter, one member was selected as a Chapel Chairman to help raise the estimated $250,000. The BILs were successful and the new Cottey Chapel was dedicated in the spring of 1957. The inscription on the front of the building, "In All Thy Ways Acknowledge Him," is said to be a description of Mr. Messer's life work.

Today the Chapel stands between Reeves Hall and Robertson Hall, and is used for spiritual activities and traditions, including Hanging of the Greens and Commencement.

Photos

Chapel, c. 1960.²	Chapel, c. 1962.	Students and faculty during Commencement, 1965.¹
The Chapel basement was used as barracks during the P.E.O. convention of 1964.¹	Graduates and faculty exit the Chapel after Baccalaureate, 1968.³	Chapel winter scene, 1973.⁴
The Cottey Chorus sings Christmas hymns in the Chapel, c. 1976.⁵	Reeves Hall and the Chapel, c. 1976.⁶	View from the west, 2005.

Works Cited:

Sphinx, The. Yearbook. Nevada, MO: Cottey College, 1965. Print.
Stockard, Orpha. Cottey College: The First 75 Years. Joplin, MO: Joplin Printing Co., 1961. Print.
Berry, Dorothy. "Commencement." The P.E.O. Record. Aug. 1968: 2. Print.
Day, Forster. Image. The P.E.O. Record. Jan. 1974: Cover. Print.
"Christmas at Cottey." The P.E.O. Record. Dec. 1976: 12-14. Print.
"Cottey-P.E.O. Partnership ... Story of Campus Expansion." The P.E.O. Record. Mar. 1976: 2-5. Print.

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