A famous phrase seen and referenced often at Penn. You may recognize the phrase, or the phrase in its original Latin, Inveniemus viam aut faciemus. But do you remember where you have seen this written on campus?
It is on the arch of the Class of 1893 gate that straddles the walkway between Houston Hall and Williams Hall. How fitting that a Penn class that graduated 100 years before us (the original Penn ’93), is responsible for enshrining this quote on campus.
The Penn Current featured a story of the gate in April, and I knew we had to share more about this gate with our class in the countdown to our reunion year. The old photo below shows College Hall in the background. Houston Hall is to the right of the gate, and Williams Hall is the building that is now to the left.
The Class of 1893 Gate – Photo Credit University Archives and Records Center. The latin inscription across the arch translates to, “We will find a way or we shall make one.”
Marking an entrance into campus from Spruce Street, and tucked between Houston and Williams halls, sits the Class of 1893 Memorial Gate. Designed by two members of the class—Elliston P. Bissell and William C. Hays—the gate has a brick and terracotta base with arched ironwork that spells out the class motto in Latin: Inveniemus viam aut faciemus. (This translates to mean “We will find a way or we shall make one.”)
Bissell and Hays were part of the first class in Penn’s School of Architecture, and designed the gate in 1900. Hays, in fact, was already familiar with sketching ideas for campus structures: He won first place in the competition to design a student union for Penn, Houston Hall. (Milton Bennett Medary, Jr. won second place and the two designs were combined, with Medary’s design being the exterior.) In 1904, Hays took a position at the University of California and, over the years, worked as architect and consulting architect on many of that university’s buildings on the Davis, San Francisco, and Berkeley campuses. After the San Francisco fire of 1906, Hays was on the team that supervised the rebuilding of much of the destroyed city.
After graduation, Bissell worked first with the firm Cope and Stewardson, and then opened his own firm, Bissell and Sinkler, where he worked until his retirement in 1936. In his career, Bissell helped to restore buildings in Independence Square, designed residential buildings in Gloucester, N.J., and Chester, Pa., and helped to restore Elfreth’s Alley and estates in Germantown. For years, Bissell was also a member of the Committee for the Preservation of Historic Monuments and a chairman of a state survey of historic buildings.
For more information about this and other historical aspects of Penn, visit the University Archives website.
And as Paul Harvey might say, “now you know the rest of the story!”
Penn Class of 1993 25th Reunion Countdown
The weekend of August 4 – 5, 2017, marked 40 weeks until the 25th Reunion of the Penn Class of 1993 (May 11 – 14, 2018)!
Join us we count down the weeks to our reunion #93tothe25th:
Do you have old photos or mementos from our time at Penn? Photos of Spring Fling? Football at Franklin Field? Classes at DRL? We are taking a trip down memory lane and would love for you to share your memories with our class in a future post. Please email us upenn1993@gmail.com!
Classmates are invited to join our Facebook and LinkedIn groups.
Important hotel update! Overwhelming response from our great class has sold out the Downtown Marriott Class of 1993 room block for Saturday night. There are alternative hotels. We recommend booking ASAP! Please see our class website for additional details.
This summer the craft bug hit me, and with long sunny days, what better craft project to tackle than painting numbers? I was in Jo Ann Fabrics and Crafts and the large paper mache numbers were on sale! I decided to buy three different sizes of numbers and painted them different ways. A perfect project for a lazy summer day – also, painting is fun! You focus on making it perfect and forget all the other projects or tasks you *should* be doing instead.
Crafting for Penn 1993!
Small wooden numbers (note how the sides are in the contrasting blue or red?). I really like how these look.
Playing around with how to paint the large numbers – Each color area needed two coats. On the right I did blue edges, then white border and red…but you couldn’t really see the blue.
I brought the numbers to Philadelphia, and we took some photos at the Center City location for our Friday night party.
Kiera Reilly, Colleen Kelly, Hillary Hayes and Lisa Grabelle scouting locations for our Friday night reunion party with our 1993 numbers! (Intentionally obscured the view until we officially announce reunion weekend details)
The numbers also explored campus a bit, thanks to our Alumni Relations liaison Colleen Kelly.
Sweeten Alumni House
The LOVE statue in front of the Castle and Sweeten Alumni House
1993 on the steps of College Hall
The Button!
Do you have anything that says Penn 1993 on it? Share it with us upenn1993@gmail.com.
Penn Class of 1993 25th Reunion Countdown
The weekend of July 28 – 29, 2017, marked 41 weeks until the 25th Reunion of the Penn Class of 1993 (May 11 – 14, 2018)!
Join us we count down the weeks to our reunion #93tothe25th:
Do you have old photos or mementos from our time at Penn? Photos of Spring Fling? Football at Franklin Field? Classes at DRL? We are taking a trip down memory lane and would love for you to share your memories with our class in a future post. Please email us upenn1993@gmail.com!
Classmates are invited to join our Facebook and LinkedIn groups.
Important hotel update! Overwhelming response from our great class has sold out the Downtown Marriott Class of 1993 room block for Saturday night. There are alternative hotels. We recommend booking ASAP! Please see our class website for additional details.
The first Ivy Stone dated June 7, 1873. Located on College Hall.
On the University of Pennsylvania campus, it is easy to spot of the numerous slabs of marble installed on different buildings, each one inscribed with a particular year and a unique design. These pieces are known as the Ivy Stones and encompass a part of Penn’s history greater than the year they commemorate. They hold a lengthy past dating back to 1873 when the first stone was placed on College Hall in recognition of the institution settling into West Philadelphia from the original Center City location. What is now known as Ivy Day is held just a few days before commencement. It is at this annual ceremony that the Ivy Stone in honor of the graduating class is revealed.
Each Ivy Stone is able to provide insight on the graduating class from that particular year and sometimes a broader historical context. Between the years of 1926 until 1961, tradition had shifted from just one stone installed each year to two– one for the men of the graduating class and one for the women. The stones from these years were often similar in design yet a stark difference can be seen in the men’s stones of 1944 and 1945. Both years featured an image relating to war with the 1944 stone including a military aircraft and 1945 displaying a combat helmet.
Ivy Stones from 1878 and 1978
The location of an Ivy Stone on campus is informative of the values during a particular year. A graduating class has a voice in the both the design of the stone and its location. For example, many of the first stones were placed on College Hall as that was the first and central building of the campus. As the value of student life increased, stones began to be placed on Houston Hall which was the first student union in the nation. Many of the women’s stones can be found on Bennett Hall, the main facility for women in Penn’s past. An Ivy Stone can even be found at Franklin Field in recognition of Penn’s 1983 Ivy League championship.
The Ivy Day tradition is set to continue this year on May 12, 2018.
It was a terrific day all around for the environment, community, and the twenty-six Penn volunteers who came out to help preserve native vegetation with Friends of Ballona Wetlands in Marina Del Rey! Donning hats and sunscreen, we started the morning off with a quick but informative overview on the local plants, insects, and animals found in the wetlands that are crucial to maintaining a healthy ecosystem. We learned that over the last century, invasive plant species have made their way into the wetlands (some from as far as New Zealand and South Africa!), slowly encroaching upon the beneficial species and detrimentally altering the balance of the local ecosystem. With every plant we pulled, we were going to make change that had positive lasting impacts! And with that, we set out into the sunny outdoors to make way for the native plants that needed room to thrive, and for the insects and animals that depended on them.
Acres of Vegetation to Preserve
The Ballona Wetlands spans approximately 800 acres, and is one of Southern California’s precious remaining aquatic ecosystems. With only 10% of California’s original wetlands remaining today, restoration and preservation of local, beneficial species is more important than ever, as the wetlands are crucial to everything from air purification, flood protection, and fueling for the 240+ species of migrant birds that make the trek on the Pacific Flyway every year. Since 1978, Friends of Ballona Wetlands has been leading the effort to save and restore the area, working with environmental agencies, businesses, and over 95,000 volunteers to bring attention and resources toward preserving the wetlands.
Volunteers learning how to recognize invasive plants
Volunteering a family affair!
With just a pair of gloves each, Penn volunteers got right to work, pulling everything from ice plants to soft tumbleweed – adults and children alike had a great time helping the environment and getting to know one another better, while also receiving a nice morning workout! We took turns pulling, bagging, and carting off the invasive vegetation, and a few of us were lucky enough to catch sight of a hummingbird or butterfly, or two!
All smiles during a well deserved break!
Penn Serves LA board member Jane Gutman CW’73 and volunteers stacking the fruits of their labor
Towards the end of the event, we stood back and marveled at our work – a good chunk of land was cleared for beneficial plants to thrive, and for seeding to take place in the Fall. We were then rewarded with a cool breeze and a beautiful view overlooking the salt marsh, reminding us just how important it is to keep the wetlands thriving. It was a true pleasure to do our part for mother nature!
The beautiful salt marsh
Penn Serves LA’s Michal Clements, W’84, Jane Gutman, CW’73, Elizabeth Gourlis, GED’08, and Michelle Wattana C’09 (impressive line-up of Penn attire ladies!)
Jane Gutman, CW’73, helps to clear out invasive vegetation
Stay tuned for more fun, upcoming events with Penn Serves LA!
About Penn Serves LA
Penn Serves LA impacts the Los Angeles community by engaging University of Pennsylvania alumni, parents and families in meaningful community service activities.
Since our founding in 2012, we have done everything from serving meals to the homeless to restoring the environment to fixing homes. Six times annually, we find another great opportunity to learn about interesting nonprofits, lend a hand and enjoy fun experience with fellow alumni.
Join Us
We invite the Penn community in Los Angeles (alumni, parents and kids) to join us at a future event, to help spread the word and to help us plan future activities. Join us, meet new Penn people, demonstrate what service means to your kids and friends, and help fellow Quakers make a little bit of difference in our complex city!
If you have an established nonprofit that you would like us to consider for future events or announcements, please let us know. We are looking for new nonprofits to serve in meaningful ways.
Stay tuned for additional fall events which will be announced soon!
Frankly Penn 