Hollins College

“ This biographical sketch of Charles L. Cocke has been written with fine appreciation and sympathy. It brings before us an exceptionally strong man, who after years of struggle against discouragements realized, in large measure, the ideals of his early years. It is a story of heroic achievement that can not be read without emotion.
Hollins College stands today as a fitting and permanent memorial of its founder's indomitable will and noble aims. ”

“ What young Institution ever threaded its way through a wilderness so gloomy or by pits and precipices so dangerous? Hollins will go on, walking by faith, and its doors shall not be closed, even for the part of a session. That is the mind of the President. He and his [60] faculty, though exhausted in means, will face the destitution and never give up the ship. The session of 1865-6 ran on with forty-five students. Rates had to be increased, and even with that, the college would have been compelled to close but for a timely loan from Colonel Tayloe to buy food. ”

“ He served in Mahone's Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia, during the entire war, and in 1866 accepted the chair of English and Modern Languages at Hollins Institute, which position he held to the time of his death, May 5th, 1878. Hollins has had many able and popular teachers, but it is simple truth to say that none ever stirred more enthusiastic admiration and devotion than he. ”

“ That was a high day, in the summer of 1855, when Hollins Institute flung its banner to the breeze. A munificent gift, a new régime and a new name put fresh enthusiasm into the Institution, and the gladness of hope into the hearts of all its friends. You have noticed how these joyous effects always flow from new deals and revisions of plans. A better day has dawned, bright visions float in the brain of Mr. Cocke, and the blue mountains seem to hail him with congratulation. The human heart would famish but for these fountains that break out in the midst of weary, toiling years. ”

“ That is the top of culture. Did he show any disposition to remain satisfied with the standards already erected? Not by any means. This is a growing world where nothing is stationary but a cemetery. The developing impulse in the mind of the Founder would never subside while the perfect was unattained. Even in this good summertime of 1920, nineteen years after his going, the mighty momentum he gave to the College operates with undiminished force. One does not expect spectacular variety in the life of an educator, particularly in one whose labors for fifty years were focalized on one spot. ”

“ The building of Hollins Institute was not the achievement of one man. It was the outcome of associated work. There was a leader, gifted with vision, judgment and iron will, but without abundant and able co-operation, there would have been no realization of his scheme. No man would be more prompt than Mr. Cocke in acknowledgment of this fact. He was accurate in measurements of the qualities of men and women, and not often in his selection of teachers was his judgment at fault. It was a compliment to be invited into his Faculty, and its members always found Hollins one big family. ”

“ E. C. Dargan of Charleston, S. C., a former pastor of Enon and college chaplain, made an affectionate address. Among the appropriate remarks is the following quotation: "This great school, the love and labor of your life, speaks for itself, both in glad presence and widely extended absence. From over all the land, and indeed from far distant lands, the pupils of Hollins send their love and congratulations. Through the willing service of one who has labored long at your side, [1] they present to you this book, containing the signatures of hundreds, who came to learn of you. ”

“ Cocke himself could have held the helm in these two adventures, the story would have been different. The storms beat and the floods came, but Hollins Institute stands. Her standards are stirring thought currents and stimulating like enterprises in Virginia and the nation. For our pioneer in the Southwest, this is compensation and a crown of glory. Without one thrill of jealousy does he see the spread of his views and the certainty of large competition. To stand in his own place and make good, is the one guiding and all-controlling purpose of his life. ”

“ The perpetual, unsatisfied longings of the Founder of Hollins projected plans and schemes whose completion had to be left to other hands. In his wise view, an Institution completed was an Institution already on the downward grade. The large, expansive life of the age requires continuous modifications and enlargements to meet the ever-springing exigencies of society. ”

“ Through the early decades of the nineteenth century this fascination continued, population increased, centers of culture were formed, and men of enterprise began to think of a railroad from Lynchburg, Virginia, to East Tennessee. Christian evangelism was active, but education lagged. There were fine brains in the Southwest, but the means of culture were deficient. The land called for the school teacher. Slowly the providential workings were preparing a place for a young professor in Richmond College, who as yet had no dream of it. ”

“ His ideal is a flying goal, and he will never see his loved college free from growing pains. The happiest decade of work that he has yet known is before him. He stands on its threshold with hope assured, and his face is lit with thanksgiving as he beholds the clouds receding, and the sunshine flooding all the sky. It is a time to grasp his hand and shower him with congratulations. He has now completed twenty-four years of toilsome labor beside the little sulphur spring. Into the holy enterprise he has grandly flung himself, his property and his family. ”

“ For nearly the entire period of fifty years, he has held the Presidency of the Board of Trustees, and seldom has he been absent. When at any time during the history of the school, money had to be raised for any emergency, he was the first to subscribe and prompt to pay. His influence has contributed largely to its successful career."
The Institution never had a more loyal friend, or a more generous and intelligent Trustee. Hollins and its community ought to wipe the opprobrious name of "Tinker" off the beautiful mountain, and replace it with the honorable and cherished name of "Tayloe." ”

“ Likewise in the meetings of the Southern Baptist Convention, he was greeted with the honor due to one who had advanced the credit of the denomination. He knew that fact himself, but no man could have been more innocent of self-important airs. While the higher education of young women was the goal of his daily thought and labor, the Kingdom of God was central to all his aims.
Religious controversy never interested him. [130] Through the years ministers of the various churches were invited to Hollins to lead its services and receive its hospitalities. ”

“ The girls knew, and the boys knew. The boys had gone before and hidden behind the rocks and brush. Then the mountain scenery lost its charm, and a romantic search for flowers began.
The halls of the Seminary filled to their capacity and the Principal pleaded for more room. Alas, the Trustees had no money, and the school's revenue was a sacrifice to the benevolent principle of minimum rates. The Institution he wanted could come only through increased equipment and accommodations. There the young Principal was, the sport of harsh conditions. ”

“ Destiny put him benignantly into a life-long association with the young, and he could not grow old. To thousands of us still, no figure on the Hollins quadrangle ever stands out so statuesque as his large form, becomingly clad in a Prince Albert suit, and surmounted with a favorite tall beaver hat. ”

“ I will devote my energies to putting the Institution on a permanent, broad basis, with facilities of all kinds to meet the advancing demands for such schools; for education of every kind throughout the South is on rising grade, and Virginia, like New England, may yet have a reputation for school facilities with scholarly men and women equal to those of any section of this broad and progressive land. ”

“ The management was changed, attendance was large, and the only cloud on the enterprise was the unpaid notes. The affairs of Mr. Johnston's estate must be wound up. The young Seminary in its third year was in the breakers, and looked disaster in the face. It was now in the spring of 1845. Deliverance must come speedily, or another dead school would pass into the abyss. In this critical hour, two or three students just returned from Richmond College said to members of the society: "We know a man who can handle your Seminary and make it go." ”

“ Here was a compliment from a wise educator which, though it tended to no inflation of conceit, put a glowing stimulus in a young man's soul. No true man or woman ever fails to give gratitude and honor to those who quickened and encouraged aspiration in the days of youth. Impressed deeply by the kindly offer, and stirred by leaping ambition, Charles Lewis Cocke left the College and returned to his home. ”

“ It is responsible to no religious body and its success depends solely on its merits. It looks to permanent existence and to the good of the whole commonwealth. Its successes have exceeded the most sanguine expectations of its friends. It was first to adopt a high standard of classical education for young women in Virginia; first to place the English Department under a regular professor ”

“ The President is a man of ability and of the highest personal character, and no Institution in this State has a higher claim on the public confidence." Dr. John A. Broaddus, of the Baptist Theological Seminary, Greenville, South Carolina, wrote his estimate: "I know of no better female school in the whole country, and very few, that for a moment, can be compared with Hollins. The instruction takes an ample range, and is able, skillful and honest." The Rev. Dr. J. L. Burrows, pastor of the First Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia, stated his view: "In beauty and healthfulness of location ”

“ Unrealized aims add somber hues to every earnest life.
"All I aspired to be
And was not, comforts me."
The equipment of growing Hollins is far from complete; much remains to be done. The spirit of advance gives him no rest. He has a vision, and "forward" is ever his imperious challenge to things as they are. Absolutely sure is he that [70] his beloved College, with its reasonably low rates, and its high standards, is on the sure road to greatness in human service.
MRS. CHARLES L. COCKE
All through this decade his brain had been active with schemes of improvements. ”

“ Before the Commencement in 1841, Charles L. Cocke was recognized as a distinct contribution to the life of the Institution. Here is a young professor who does not propose to rest content with inadequate facilities and outworn methods. His whole nature cries for improvement and for better ways of doing things. What a boon to many a school and college would such a man be. Good Doctor Ryland's face wore a smile which plainly said, "I told you so." ”

“ No head of an Institution ever practiced a more rigid economy in projecting improvements. Not even a fancy catalogue was ever sent out from Hollins. His severe frugality, and the constantly demanded investment of his personal means in improvements, actually limited the reasonable privileges and gratifications of his family. Never did a family bear restrictions more cheerfully and uncomplainingly. ”

“ The school from its beginning has maintained and made prominent one feature so culpably neglected, and even opposed by most schools for girls. It has maintained a broad and elevated course of study and fixed high standards of graduation. This has been done with special reference to the demands of that class of girls who propose to make teaching their profession or business in life. And most abundantly has it been rewarded in this effort. Its graduates are in great demand and many of them hold elevated positions as teachers. ”

“ My life has been one of unceasing work and energy, of constant cares and anxieties, and of a deep sense of responsibility. I have only laid a foundation on which the next generation may build. Will Virginia, the most desirable State in the Union for institutions of learning of every grade and class, seize the opportunity and again advance, through educational channels, to the leadership of States, and inaugurate an era of greater glory and higher destinies for this great American people? ”

“ Hollins did go on, and complimentary testimonials from leading scholars in the State began to be written and spoken. Mr. Cocke was cheered at the generous recognition and said: "We must lift our standards a little higher than ever before. Our school should be second to none in the State and we must reach out for more distant patrons." The tide begins [62] to rise, and on the horizon there are gleaming hints of a better day. In 1868, Mr. Cocke secured a loan of $10,000, and by the end of 1869, that nightmare of the Main Building was transformed into a handsome and completed edifice. ”

“ Oh, that she may be wise to discern the ominous signs of these times and seek through great schools for young men and young ladies, a power and progress which shall far eclipse her pristine glories!
"And now, at the close of fifty years' connection [112] with this school, I can, without reservation or modification, say I have done all I could to conduct and perpetuate an Institution which might prove a blessing to the people without distinction of sect or class, and an honor to my native State. ”