For our 30th edition of Archive Dive, we trace the history of the University of Wisconsin-Superior campus and learn about an “astro-nut” who helped raise money for a Superior hospital. The community's determination to bring a normal school to Superior was rewarded when the school opened in 1895. Built in the latest design, it featured adjustable desks and a system that sucked away chalk dust from the blackboards. Destroyed by a fire in 1914, the building was rebuilt and has continued to anchor the campus. In 1962, one of the students at the college spent nearly 100 hours in a space capsule on top of a 40-foot pole to raise money for the memorial hospital fund, dressed in a spacesuit and connected to the Earth by a telephone. This “astro-nut” spent his days eating food delivered by A&W and Chefs, as well as taking calls from local school children. Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek, both UWS graduates, as they explore the history and stories of what was originally called Superior Normal School. Superior being too far up north and perceived to not have enough "culture" were initial concerns. “People in the rest of Wisconsin didn't know if we really deserved a normal school here in Superior,” said Meronek. “My favorite story about it is that there was competition with Ashland because they also wanted a normal school. There were several other communities and apparently they just dolled these normal schools out, they had rigorous regulations about who could get it and who couldn't. But Ashland said that Superior was not deserving of a normal school because we just did not have enough culture here.” Superior would ultimately get the normal school. “They had to do a lot of campaigning and they had to make those people believe that we were worthy of a school up here and so the regents, the board that really directs the university system in Wisconsin, all the regents came up here by boat and they got tours of the city and they were convinced by people that yes, this is a place, you need a school.” Built on property donated by the Land and River Improvement Company, the original school was designed by Henry Wild Jones, who also designed many sites in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. “To think that he designed that school and it was almost like a Victorian wedding cake,” said Meronek. “If you see pictures of the old school, it was just a wonderful place. It had about 30 or 40 rooms. It had a gymnasium because what people don't understand is when the school was first built, that was it one building and what they were doing was they were educating people to teach mostly in rural schools.” Among many highlights, the school taught teachers how to teach kindergarten. They were the first place in Wisconsin that did that and the program was nationally recognized. “Caroline Barber was the woman who headed this program and it was a coup for Superior that they were doing so well in this,” said Meronek. In 1914, a fire destroyed the campus, but the regents were determined to rebuild. Classes weren’t missed because of the fire, but instead, held at different places in town, including Central High School. A new academic building was built in a year, which we now know as “Old Main.” The college would go through a few name changes, including Superior State Teachers College, Wisconsin State College-Superior and Wisconsin State University-Superior before becoming the University of Wisconsin-Superior in 1971. A unique story involving students happened in May 1962, when Bartley Grant Mauch became the “Astro-Nut.” Mauch was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon and Superiorites were in the midst of a fundraising drive to build what would become Superior Memorial Hospital, which was to be constructed without state and federal aid, so every dollar raised would bring the project closer to reality. The college fraternity wanted to help and they came up with an idea based on current events of the time. “It was the Space Race,” said Meronek. “In 1962 John Glenn had just been the first man to circle the earth in a spaceship. Tau Kappa Epsilon decided to place one of their members in a space capsule atop a 40-foot pole located at the corner of Belknap Street and Tower Avenue, with a goal of raising $1,000 for the future hospital. Mauch wore a space suit and stayed up in "space" until the funds were secured. Equipped with a telephone, Mauch spent his time up above speaking with school children. “The kids from the schools would call him and ask him questions, like, was he really an astronaut?” laughed Meronek. Mauch also dealt with winds blowing between 25 and 30 mph and even a threat from someone in Duluth that they would “come over and blow that tower down.” After spending 98 1/2 hours in “space” and raising $1,675, the "Astro-Nut" was back on Earth. Also in this episode, Maria and Teddie discuss UWS students such as Gordon...
