In the fall of 1886, E.J. Coburn of Sugar Grove, Pa., organized Jamestown Business College - offering classes in penmanship and bookkeeping for students looking to better themselves in the world of business.
Over the course of the past 125 years, Jamestown Business College has grown to serve thousands of students and advance their careers in numerous fields - even expanding in its most recent years to become the first school in the history of Jamestown to grant bachelor degrees to students.
Three longtime, now-retired faculty members of Jamestown Business College were recently brought together along with past president Tyler Swanson and current president David Conklin to share their memories of the school. And while they talked about how things have changed over the decades, much of what they said applied to the school in its present-day state as well. Though people, locations and technology differ drastically throughout the years, those with longtime affiliation with the college agreed that its main goals have remained the same.
''Speaking of the college's staff and the faculty members, there's always been a tremendous example set for the students - it's always been all about the students,'' said Rosanne Johanson, the college's dean of student affairs. ''In my opinion, that's the real crux of the success of the institution. We've never lost the focus of what was really important.''
EARLY YEARS
After Coburn first organized the college in 1886 - the same year the city of Jamestown was incorporated - he soon added commercial arithmetic and spelling courses to the curriculum.
Within two years, the college was reorganized with the introduction of a thorough course in English and the establishment of business offices that aimed to demonstrate the methods used in wholesale and retail businesses, shipping, and dealing in foreign and domestic exchange.
Jamestown Business College's first shorthand and typewriting class - longtime staples of education at the school - began in 1888 with two students under the tutelage of instructor Charles Brown, a local court reporter. The first typewriters at the school were double-keyboard Caligraph and single-keyboard Remington machines, and the students are reported to have taken to them quickly.
In the college's infancy, the school was located on the third floor of the first business block on the north side of East Third Street. By 1889 the school had already reached 125 students, however, and it was beginning to outgrow its space. The college was eventually moved to the fourth floor of the Gokey Building on West Third Street in May 1892.
1892 was also the year during which H.E.V. Porter was elected president and principal of the college, and he remained involved with the college for more than 50 years.
The college thrived within the Gokey Building until March 14, 1910, when a tragic fire struck the building - burning for three days, decimating several business blocks and claiming the lives of two firemen. Jamestown Business College found its new home - which it touted as ''fireproof'' - at 315-317 Cherry St., maintaining residence there until 1936. The building later became Lockwood Department Store, before being demolished in 1974.
The former Viking Temple building on Washington Street was the college's next home. Jeanette Nord, who began teaching at the college in 1944, called it ''quite an interesting place'' without very many rooms.
Ms. Nord said she was originally brought to the college to teach medical terminology, instructing students in how to write the terms in shorthand and transcribe them. She taught at the college for several decades, and she said she continues to meet former students wherever she goes.
''They seem to know who I am, and I'm quite surprised, because I'm going to have my 90th birthday in just a few weeks,'' she said. ''But they still know who I am, and they tell me I was strict, but I really taught them something.''
David Spencer, who was hired as an instructor at the college in 1958 by then-president J.W. Stayman, said that high-quality instruction and professionalism has always been expected from every member of the JBC faculty and staff.
''Everyone was good at their job, and if they weren't, they weren't here very long,'' he said. ''I think that has something to do with the success of the college - the fact that everyone, from the maintenance people to the president, had the students at heart.''
RECENT CHANGES
Stayman had succeeded Robert McKechnie as the college's president in 1946, and maintained the title until his death in 1962. He was replaced by Ernest Roblee, a man about whom all of the faculty members involved in the meeting had fond memories.
Ms. Nord said she recalls having left the college at one time to teach at Falconer Central School. Roblee visited her one afternoon, she said, and persuaded her to return.
''He said, 'I want you back up at the business college, and it doesn't matter what you want,''' said Ms. Nord, who retired from teaching at the age of 67. ''I liked it up here, I really enjoyed it, so I came back and I was here 'forever.'''
Swanson took over the presidency in 1982, and Ms. Nord said that he was an excellent man to work under - both on a personal level and for the college as a whole.
''He had been a teacher at the same time I was, and he was excellent to me - I can't say enough good things about him. He treated me perfectly,'' she said. ''He made this place much, much better than it was before that. He really put it on the map.''
Swanson first joined the college as a teacher in 1968, and he recalled that it was primarily a secretarial college at that time. He said to think of how far the college has come in just those past four decades is quite impressive.
''To think that now it is a regionally accredited, bachelor-degree granting institution is just staggering,'' he said. ''It's a real tribute to everybody who has worked there. I was always fortunate to work with wonderful people.''
One of those people was Joan Oste, who said that she began working at Jamestown Business College in 1963 she was approached about taking a temporary position to fill in for an ailing teacher. She ended up working at the college until 1997.
Ms. Oste said she started teaching shorthand and typing at the college, but took over medical terminology after Ms. Nord retired. Just as Ms. Nord said, she often sees faces of former students in the field.
''Everybody you see down at the hospital, I've had them as a student at one time of another,'' Ms. Oste said. ''I'm not afraid to say, 'I recognize your face,' and then right away we'll go into a conversation.''
The changes in technology in the classroom over the years have been staggering, she added, as her lifespan at the college saw the overturn from manual typewriters to computers. The faculty members gathered for the meeting recalled, in fact, the first computer training the college's faculty received, traveling to Erie in the mid-1980s to learn about a Tandy computer.
''What training?'' Ms. Oste laughed. ''We learned how the backside of the computer worked. How do you operate the thing? Oh, I was very upset about that.''
But the college was of course eventually computerized with all faculty properly trained in the utilization of the machines. It was all part of adapting to a changing world.
''The college has always been very adaptive to the employment community and the needs of the area,'' Mrs. Johanson said. ''It's just interesting how things change over the years.''
SOMETHING SPECIAL
In some ways, however, the college has been surprisingly the same throughout the years.
One of JBC's main focuses in the modern day is on educating students in the ''soft skills'' to complement their education. Through the EDGE program for associate degree students and the LEAD program for bachelor degree students, important issues such as proper attire for the workplace and appropriate etiquette in business situations are emphasized.
While the EDGE and LEAD programs are relatively new initiatives at the college, these core concepts of preparedness for the work force have been focused upon at the school for decades.
The faculty members gathered for the meeting recalled a course entitled ''Charm'' taught by instructor Joan Luciano, in which young women were taught the basics of proper makeup application, clothing and etiquette for a job environment.
Spencer said that proper dress was always taught by example from the faculty.
''Men always wore a necktie, at least up until 1994,'' he said. ''Jackets were not required, but the tie was.''
A faculty manual also reported that women in the faculty were to wear skirts or dresses, with slacks being permitted on occasion, only as part of a coordinated outfit.
Ms. Oste said that she herself taught courses in how to properly write and submit application letters. Mrs. Johanson also recalled that from the time she began at the college in 1978, a placement seminar was held once a year during which students were walked through proper interview preparation and techniques.
''There has always been a focus on making sure students had all the skills that they need, walking out the door,'' Mrs. Johanson said.
Conklin, who has worked at the college since 1983 and took over as president when Swanson retired in 2008, said that it has always been apparent to him that students come first at JBC.
''There's this drive to excel and to really care about the students and make sure that we train them, that we give them what they need both personally and professionally,'' he said. ''When I interviewed with Mr. Swanson, he told me that if I took this job, I'd never regret it. ... I think about that every day, because something special goes on every day of my life.''
A countless number of students who have attended Jamestown Business College in the past 125 years have likely expressed a similar thought.
