1899-1910 - Northern Magazine

The 20th century opened with some amazing scientific and technological feats: the first flight by the Wright brothers, Henry Ford's first Model-T, and Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity. It also included hardships like the Boxer Rebellion and the San Francisco Earthquake. The 1900s also saw the burgeoning of the silent movie industry and the teddy bear. 

In 1908, there was a massive and mysterious explosion in Siberia called the Tunguska event, today generally thought to have been caused by an air burst from an asteroid. 

Northern State Normal School is established on April 28, 1899 by Michigan Governor Hazen Pingree, becoming the second in the state, after Ypsilanti.

First classes are held September 19, 1899, at Marquette’s City Hall and continue there until June 1900, when South Hall is completed. As the Normal grows from a commuter school for students from Marquette and Ishpeming to an institution serving students from all over the peninsula, student housing becomes a problem. Community residents are encouraged to open their homes and provide a spare room for students.

The Heart of Northern, a 20’ x 40’ raised berm of earth resembling a heart, originally located to the east of the current Cohodas Building, is a romantic spot for first kisses, engagements, and pinnings as well as gathering for concerts and crownings.

In 1899, there are six faculty members, including the principal. Faculty grows to 30 in 1910. In 1904, the average faculty salary is $1,550. 

In 1901, room, board, books and registration for a 12 week session is $58. 

First Life Certificates (same as a modern Teaching Certificate) are awarded in June 1902. Northern receives more in private gifts than in state appropriations during its first two years. 

An experimental public school with classrooms in Longyear Hall provides real-life training for teaching students and education for K-8 students (see article on the J.D. Pierce Training School). There is a school garden cultivated by the young students and a school zoo with rabbits, pigeons and guinea pigs.

Northern’s first foreign student, Zenya Krihara, from Japan, enrolls in 1909.