This is truly cool!
I was bored at work tonight and so decided to do some nostalgic websurfing. I am always fascinated by my personal history, ie the history of place near and dear to me. On this evening, I decided I wanted to see pictures of the history of OSU and more specifically, the history of Mirror Lake, my favorite spot on campus.
All of which lead me here: http://users.frii.com/~nmetro/osu/media/history/ml.htm . A report, with pictures, of the history of Mirror Lake up until 1984. That, in and of itself is pretty nifty but here's the best part.
3. The Hollow
The ravine in which Mirror Lake lies has generally been called the “Hollow” or “Mirror Lake Hollow” since 1909. In 1895-96, I have seen one reference to the “ravine” and two to the “valley”. The 1905 Olmsted Brothers letter cited above used the name “Spring Lake Valley”. From 1909 to the present time, I have seen approximately 230 references to this ravine. About 220 of them spoke of the “Mirror Lake Hollow” or the “Hollow.” On four occasions in 1911 and 1912, the Lantern spoke of “Mirror Lake Dale,” and in 1927 it referred once to “Mirror Lake Valley.” In 1978, the Lantern introduced the name “South Oval” in connection with the Renaissance Festival, and has repeated the name at least five times since. However, the name “Mirror Lake Hollow” reappeared in at least two issues in 1982.
Faire is the reason we have a South Oval..or at least the appellation "South Oval"! So take that all you people you think Faire never had a impact on campus. Ha!
EDIT: In looking over the fascinating chronology at the end of this report, there are several other interesting faire facts. One, 1977 seems to be the first year that the faire was on the South Oval. Two, it calls the 1978 faire the 4th annual, meaning the faire started in 1975, not 1974 as some have supposed. Three, the 1980 faire attracted a crowd of 15,000!. Also, there is an ancestor of faire called the "May Fete", which may not have been always Ren themed but, the 1916 fete was entitled "An Elizabethan May Frolic", making it the earliest reference to a faire-like creature I have ever seen.
All of which lead me here: http://users.frii.com/~nmetro/osu/media/history/ml.htm . A report, with pictures, of the history of Mirror Lake up until 1984. That, in and of itself is pretty nifty but here's the best part.
3. The Hollow
The ravine in which Mirror Lake lies has generally been called the “Hollow” or “Mirror Lake Hollow” since 1909. In 1895-96, I have seen one reference to the “ravine” and two to the “valley”. The 1905 Olmsted Brothers letter cited above used the name “Spring Lake Valley”. From 1909 to the present time, I have seen approximately 230 references to this ravine. About 220 of them spoke of the “Mirror Lake Hollow” or the “Hollow.” On four occasions in 1911 and 1912, the Lantern spoke of “Mirror Lake Dale,” and in 1927 it referred once to “Mirror Lake Valley.” In 1978, the Lantern introduced the name “South Oval” in connection with the Renaissance Festival, and has repeated the name at least five times since. However, the name “Mirror Lake Hollow” reappeared in at least two issues in 1982.
Faire is the reason we have a South Oval..or at least the appellation "South Oval"! So take that all you people you think Faire never had a impact on campus. Ha!
EDIT: In looking over the fascinating chronology at the end of this report, there are several other interesting faire facts. One, 1977 seems to be the first year that the faire was on the South Oval. Two, it calls the 1978 faire the 4th annual, meaning the faire started in 1975, not 1974 as some have supposed. Three, the 1980 faire attracted a crowd of 15,000!. Also, there is an ancestor of faire called the "May Fete", which may not have been always Ren themed but, the 1916 fete was entitled "An Elizabethan May Frolic", making it the earliest reference to a faire-like creature I have ever seen.