Campus symbols capture OU hearts
By Jaclyn Lipp, Staff Writer
February 7, 2007 | 8 p.m.
Snow is slowly settling across parts of the Ohio University campus, but the wind chill factor is no reason to miss out on some of the campus’s warmest symbols and traditions.
As Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, it is a good time to know that there is a certain romantic aspect behind many of the university’s superstitions and symbols.
Galbreath Chapel
How many people dream of meeting their future spouses sometime during their college years? Well, for some OU students, not only does this dream come true, but the place responsible for bringing them together also provides an intimate location for them to get married.
Many pass Galbreath Chapel while strolling through College Green. As the story goes, former student John Galbreath donated the money to the school to build a chapel in memory of his wife in the spot where they first kissed. The Helen Mauck Galbreath Memorial Chapel was built in 1957. One of the few measures that John Galbreath requested was that all OU students could get married there for free. This agreement still holds today; however, donations are welcomed to maintain the chapel.
For one young couple, Galbreath Chapel held a special allure for its marriage ceremony. Todd and Lindsay Blackstone, who both graduated from OU this past June, chose to exchange their vows there last summer.
Lindsay, an intern for Campus Crusade for Christ, said they selected the chapel because it means so much to them. “My husband and I used to go to worship services together there every Friday, and it’s just a huge part of our faith,” she said.
Lindsay also said she elected to get married there because it represents OU and a great four years of her life.
The chapel is a very intimate atmosphere for a wedding, seating a maximum of 150 people. Lindsay said this was great because “the wedding was all about us and our relationship. Sometimes I think people can just get lost in the planning, and it’s more about the parents.”
The chapel is a great compromise for OU students who are planning to get married but whose hometowns are far away.
The Kissing Circle
Although virtually unknown now, many people used to shy away from a special area where all the walkways met towards the center of College Green. It was dubbed “The Kissing Circle.”
According to the Alden Archives, if a single guy and a single girl happened to passing over the select spot at the same time, the guy was supposed to kiss the girl. Legend has it that if the girl refused the kiss, the sky would erupt in lightning and thunder, and McGuffey Hall would soon collapse.
Today, there is only a plaque signifying the special spot, but it started out in the mid-1940s in green and white paint. A big white “X” was painted on the ground, and from then on, different groups repainted the circle with their own insignia or events after a week. It was also a message board of sorts, in which couples sometimes left loving messages for their significant other.
Emeriti Park
Even though its history is somewhat less romantic, the small park located between Clippinger Labs and the Aquatic Center makes up for it in atmosphere. Benches and a gazebo decorate the grassy banks around the pond, which is actually leftover water from the Hocking River.
The river was physically moved by the Army Corps of Engineers from its old location, passing through where the new Baker Center sits to the other side of the golf course. They were called in because each spring, the river used to flood and put most of West Green underwater, resulting in class cancellation. Now, in warmer weather, the park hosts a nice location for reading, sunbathing or part of a scenic walk around campus.
"Bacon Bridge”
On the other side of campus, West Green also provides a special spot for couples or anyone just wanting to take a walk. Lovingly referred to as the “Bacon Bridge” because, well, from a distance it looks like a strip of bacon, the small bridge is decorated with lights around Christmas time. According to the Facilities and Planning Office, it was built with funds from the Life Science Project money soon after the Life Sciences Building came to be.
There was a need to connect West Green with the Union Street area. This bridge has special meaning for senior Steven Porter and his girlfriend.
“It’s the location where Nicole and I first realized we were dating,” Porter said. “We also used to go and sit there and be mesmerized by the Christmas lights adorning the bacon. It’s a good, quiet place to talk.”
School Seal
For students who love spending their time here at OU, it is said that you can inevitably extend your time here if you step on the seal of the state of Ohio located in front of the college gate. Senior Tiffany Carson commented on the legend as she’s heard it:
"The story goes that every time you walk across the seal, it adds another year’s worth of tuition here; if you walk over it once, you’d graduate a year late.”
Whether you have someone with whom to enjoy some of these special spots around campus or not, take a moment to enjoy them the next time you walk by. You can’t deny that there is charming history behind them.
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