August 25, 2010
Augustana hosts Hometown Celebration to mark 150 years in Quad Cities
The Quad-Cities community is invited to celebrate Augustana's 150th Anniversary Hometown Celebration on Wednesday, September 1, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Schwiebert Riverfront Park (1st Avenue and 20th Street) in Rock Island, recently dedicated in honor of alumnus Mark Schwiebert. The day marks the historic start of Augustana's first day of academic classes in 1860. The event is free and open to the public.
The Hometown Celebration will feature the Augustana Choir and Augustana Symphonic Band, local dignitaries, poetry reading, ice cream social featuring Whitey's Augustana Viking Pride, and fireworks at dusk. Musical selections will include the classic Seventy-six Trombones, Aaron Copland's The Promise of Living and Augustana's school song, By the Mighty Mississippi. The community and Augustana alumni, students, staff and faculty can show their Viking pride by wearing the school colors of blue and gold for the event.
"We are thrilled to be able to celebrate in Rock Island's Schwiebert Riverfront Park-one of our community's crown jewels," said President Steve Bahls. "We seek to celebrate the many ties that connect us to Rock Island and the broader Quad-Cities community, and also to introduce our students and employees to this wonderful new park."
Augustana was founded under the auspices of the Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in the summer of 1860. That fall, the school's first president and only professor, the Rev. Lars Paul Esbjörn, began teaching 21 young men in a church schoolhouse in Chicago. During the next 15 years, the college moved to Paxton, Illinois, and then settled in Rock Island near the Mississippi River. The 1875 dedication of the First Building, which held classrooms, a chapel, library and residences for faculty and students, began the growth of Augustana College and Theological Seminary. Today, Augustana College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and enrolls 2,500 students from diverse geographic, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds. Augustana offers more than 70 majors and related areas of study, and continues to do what it has always done: challenge and prepare students for lives of leadership and service in our complex, changing world.
"Augustana has been a vital part of Rock Island for 135 of the College's 150 year history," said Mark Schwiebert, master of ceremonies for the celebration and former mayor of Rock Island. "The relationship of College and Community has never been stronger; and promises to grow even more dynamic in the days ahead as students, faculty, and staff from Augie contribute through a widening range of activities to enhancement of the civic life of Rock Island and the Quad Cities region.
"Since moving to Rock Island, Augustana has been richly blessed by the community it proudly calls its hometown," added Bahls. "The interaction of our students, faculty and staff with this community has produced tremendous benefits for all concerned."
Augustana Viking Pride ice cream will be served on a first-come, first-served basis to the first 1,000 guests. Fireworks are expected to begin approximately at 7:30 p.m. Guests are also invited to bring own seating. In the event of inclement weather, the celebration will be moved to Centennial Hall (3703 7th Avenue) at Augustana College.
Keri Rursch
Director of Public Relations
(309) 794-7721
kerirursch@augustana.edu
