Bethany at Hastings Street

Bethany Bible School opened its doors in a large house on Hastings Street in Chicago in October 1905. "We were a group of country people who had never seen Chicago and were going into that city alone." Nettie Senger was speaking for mose of the 160 students who came to Bethany Bible School during its adventurous years on Hastings Street (1905-09).

Sixty years later a number of them, in response to a letter from Ernestine Hoff Emrick, recalled their experiences.

• We had to keep the front door locked but did not have eight keys. So we decided on a password.
• We had a bathroom, cold as Greenland, with running water - ice water in winter.
• Classrooms were small, a bit on the dingy side.
• Sacrifices were the order of the day. The teachers set the pattern.
• I worked ... in the Loop one day a week and got $1.25 a day ... I walked 2.5 miles to save carfare.
• Bethany's being in the city didn't bother us; we were closer to our practical work. I was asked to take a class of street boys ... They knew all the tricks of the trade.

Source: The Brethren Encylopedia