Those present at Eastern Mennonite College\u2019s 60th anniversary celebration in 1977 may have forgotten the hymns, the interview event in the chapel, or the special bulletin issue.<\/p>\n
But they wouldn\u2019t have forgotten the cake.<\/p>\n
The sheet cake was a to-scale replica of campus, about four feet by six feet in size and made with fifty pounds of flour, 98 pounds of sugar, 29 pounds of shortening, 560 egg whites, 5 pounds of coconut, 16 cups of evaporated milk and three gallons of milk.<\/p>\n
Jim Bishop \u201967, then director of media relations at EMC, chaired the planning committee.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know why we decided to make a big hooplah out of the 60th anniversary, but we did,\u201d Bishop said.<\/p>\n
As Bishop explained in a recent interview, the cake was almost an afterthought yet it was just as much of a feat as other activities.<\/p>\n
The biggest undertaking was a 10-year history update provided by English professor Omar Eby, which picked up where Professor Hubert Pellman\u2019s 50-year history of the college left off.<\/p>\n
The entire Fall 1977 Bulletin (the precursor to today\u2019s alumni magazine, Crossroads) was dedicated to Eby\u2019s historic account.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Omar, he\u2019s something else. He\u2019s always a little bit edgy, but his cynicism was always right on. He called them as he saw them. He could get away with saying and writing things that most people couldn\u2019t,\u201d Bishop said. However, a few things that Eby \u201csaw and called\u201d were left out of the final draft.<\/p>\n
To go along with the 10-year history, Bishop and the planning committee organized an interview by Eby in the chapel for all students, faculty and staff to enjoy with President Myron Augsburger; George R. Brunk III, the seminary\u2019s dean; and J. David Yoder, principal of Eastern Mennonite High School.<\/p>\n
The interview occurred on Founder\u2019s Day, Oct. 17.<\/p>\n
\u201cOmar, in his own style, did a wonderful job interviewing, probing the three men, reflecting on the college, the seminary and the high school,\u201d Bishop said. The same three men later participated in an hour-long interview with the Harrisonburg radio station, WSVA.<\/p>\n
However, Bishop wasn\u2019t satisfied with all of that for the commemoration of the college\u2019s 60th birthday. The occasion called for gravity, of course, but also \u201csomething else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like it needed to be more of a celebration\u2026something a little bit lighter, just a fun thing,\u201d Bishop said. \u201cIt was my idea to make a birthday cake in the shape of the campus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Director of Food Services Glenn R. Braswell and his staff made it happen. Despite initial reservations, extensive cost and labor, the food services team managed to pull off the\u00a0baking, frosting and decorating\u00a0of a huge cake.<\/p>\n
The Weather Vane announced its creation the week prior, describing it as \u201can immense topographical anniversary cake the size of a pingpong table and available for consumption Oct. 19.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cake looms large in Bishop\u2019s memory of the anniversary: \u201cI can still see it. They put a copy of everything that went into it, the ingredients, the quantities on the wall. It was an impressive list.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the chapel service interview, the\u00a0audience went into the cafeteria.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe might\u2019ve sung the alma mater, I don\u2019t recall. There were some words from the president,\u201d Bishop said. The cake was cut by professor emeritus of history Harry Brunk, and everyone present enjoyed a piece.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"