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At Milton College, it’s dreams vs. reality

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Gazette file photo

The Milton College Main Hall is owned by the Milton College Preservation Society. The college's alumni are wondering who will take care of the historic campus when they no longer are around to do so.

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MILTON — Terry Williamson has seen this all before.

Someone comes out with a study or announces an idea to make use of the old Milton College campus. People talk excitedly for a few weeks before the idea is forgotten and the study is buried in city files.

Meanwhile, the Milton College Preservation Society continues to quietly care for the Main Hall and for college records, wondering who will do the job when it’s gone.

The latest study came from UW-Whitewater’s Wisconsin Innovation Service Center. It suggested reviving Milton College as the hub that links Milton’s two commercial districts. The buildings could house professionals offices or even serve as a satellite site for Blackhawk Technical College, the study said.

“What’s the possibility of making the college a college again?” asked Bud Gayhart of the Wisconsin Innovation Service Center as he presented the study last month to the Milton business and civic leaders. “Could that happen?”

Maybe, said Williamson, secretary of the Milton College Preservation Society. But it would take a lot of work and money, and it’s unclear who would see it through, she said.

“It’s a great idea,” she said. “The problem is the reality of it.”

The 15 buildings that once made up the Milton College campus have served various purposes in the 26 years since the college closed its doors, from city hall to law and insurance offices.

But when most people think of the campus, they think of the three buildings that are on the National Register of Historic Places—Main Hall, built in 1855; Goodrich Hall, built in 1857, and Whitford Hall, built in 1904.

Williamson owns and lives in Goodrich, which holds Goodrich Hall Antiques. Whitford is vacant, and both Goodrich and Whitford are for sale.

The preservation society owns the Main Hall, which serves as a museum and archives for the college. The society maintains the archives and the building on its $55,000 annual operating budget, plus additional money each year for some kind of major maintenance, said Judy Scheehle, administrator and curator.

It would like to do more with the building, but it’s hard to find donors or volunteers, said Jon Cruzan, society president. The building isn’t accessible to people with disabilities, and the society can only afford to heat the rooms used for the archives and museum.

College alumni are getting older with no young people to replace them, said Cruzan, who at 58 is one of the younger alumni.

“It’s a sad situation,” he said. “But if the new proposal came up with something viable, the society is certainly willing to talk to people about proposals.”

For now, the talk about a Blackhawk Tech satellite site seems to be just that—talk. Len Walker, a BTC spokesman, said the college hasn’t considered the idea and has other expansion projects on its agenda.

Meanwhile, those who love Milton College worry about what will happen to it when all the alumni are gone.

Last year, the society created the Milton College Preservation Endowment Fund as part of the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin. The board hopes people will donate enough money to the endowment to maintain the Main Hall after the alumni die.

If the endowment isn’t big enough to keep the hall, the society at least hopes it can pay another historical group to maintain the school’s records, Cruzan said.

Sometimes, Cruzan wonders if the society is “beating a dead horse” by trying to keep the memory of the college alive. But he holds out hope that it might find a major benefactor willing to restore the Main Hall to the dignity it deserves.

“The building is just absolutely full of history for us Milton College alumni,” he said.

Blackhawk Tech not coming to Milton anytime soon

Excitement about the possibility of Blackhawk Technical College coming to the Milton College campus might be premature, a BTC spokesman said.

Bud Gayhart of UW-Whitewater’s Wisconsin Innovation Service Center presented the idea last month as part of a “community innovation study” of Milton. The study recommended making Milton College the connector between Milton’s two commercial districts, possibly by opening a satellite BTC site there.

“Initial discussions regarding the possible use of former Milton College classrooms as Blackhawk Technical College satellite locations have been positive,” the study said. “Class offerings could provide training for Milton area business employees, life-long learning opportunities or other unique services.”

Len Walker, BTC spokesman, said Gayhart mentioned the idea, but college officials haven’t discussed it.

“It was mentioned in passing at the close of another meeting,” Walker said. “There has been no discussion with college officials.”

Right now, BTC’s priority is plans for a traffic safety center at the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport, Walker said. He couldn’t comment on whether the college will consider a possible Milton expansion in the future.

“It’s not on our radar,” he said.

EMINENT MILTONIAN AWARDS

Milton College alumni and the public are invited to the college’s annual meeting/luncheon Saturday, June 21, for presentation of the annual Eminent Miltonian Awards.

Here are this year’s recipients:

Frederick F. Murphy, class of 1950, grew up in Janesville and earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology from Milton College. He earned a master’s degree in human physiology at Duke University and did research for the U.S. Air Force’s “Edge of Space” program.

He then returned to Milton College for teaching classes and taught at Cudahy High School for 40 years. He coached cross country and track and field teams, led the science department and advised the National Honor Society chapter there.

Michael P. Murray, class of 1953, grew up in Milwaukee and attended Marquette University and Loyola of Los Angeles before serving in the Army. After returning from Korea, he fell in love with Milton College and enrolled there in 1952, graduating the next year with a bachelor’s degree in history. He went on for a law degree and doctorate of juridical science.

Murray has served as an attorney, judge and law professor. He was legal advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and director of the Marine Corps Law Center. He retired from the Marines after 27 years with the rank of colonel.

IF YOU GO

The luncheon begins at 1 p.m. at The Gathering Place, 715 Campus Lane, Milton. The cost is $20 and must be received by Wednesday, June 18. To register, contact the Milton College Preservation Society at (608) 868-2354.

The luncheon is part of the society’s annual alumni weekend. Call the society for more information.