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Stewart Manor is one of the largest and oldest houses at Graceland. According to the Graceland Book of Knowledge, "Stewart Manor is the only existing house whose name stretches back to the 1956 basic residence unit system."
Stewart Manor is one of the largest and oldest houses at Graceland. According to the Graceland Book of Knowledge, "Stewart Manor is the only existing house whose name stretches back to the 1956 basic residence unit system."
The house was originally located on the third floor of Gunsolley Hall. When "Gunsolley Annex" (now called Graybill) opened in 1965, the house moved to the third floor of the new building.
All houses locations changed frequently until the fall of 1976 when Stewart Manor was back on Gunsolley Hall, second floor.
Due to declining enrollment at Graceland, Edwards house closed in 1985 and the first floor became unused. Over the next few years several of the first floor rooms were converted into an additional lounge and head resident's apartment. With increased enrollment in the fall of 1994, Stewart Manor expanded to include the first floor which was no longer large enough to be a house of its own.
In the fall of 1997 Stewart Manor moved to its current location on the top floor of Graybill.
David Goehner tells the history of Stewart Manor's mascots:
Stewart Manor's mascot name was "the Executives" when the house began using the Playboy bunny head as its symbol in the fall of 1978. The bunny heads painted near each room door were painted over during the summer of 1988, with the expectation by the Housing Office that Stewart Manor would find a new symbol. Stewart Manor then adopted a new mascot name, the Sharks. The mascot was again changed during the 1996 fall semester to the Scotsmen.
The official colors of Stewart Manor has been a matter of confusions in some respects. Former House President Steen Munter, reports:
The school, in some places, still has us listed as navy and powder blue, but obviously we don't go with that. For all intents and purposes our colors are forest green and crimson, with black as an alternate color to either of those, but green would be our main.
We can't exactly have plaid as our official color, but if we could, it would be.
The Stewart tartans of Scotland are predominantly green and crimson and is the source of the colors. The Navy and power blue are leftover relics from our days as the Sharks.
Stewart Manor is named in honor of Rolland McLaren Stewart (born November 1878; died 12 June 1963, in Williston Park, New York)
David Goehner writes:
Rolland Stewart was appointed as Graceland's first vice president on 16 January 1905, having joined the college that school year as a professor of education. Stewart then became the third person to officially serve as Graceland College president, filling that role from June 1905 until 1908. His presidency followed the second term of Ernest Dewsnup. Stewart was known as an advocate of developing campus life.
He earned his B.A. from the University of Iowa in 1904 and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Iowa in 1912. After leaving Graceland, Stewart was on the education staff at the University of Iowa until 1918, and then joined the education faculty at Cornell University, retiring in 1947. Stewart was one of Graceland's few leaders who were not of the [Community of Christ] faith, having a membership in the Methodist church.
The biggest Stewart Manor tradition is a end of year cook-out at Slips Bluff Park or Nine Eagles. The tradition involves BBQ with lots of meat!
Another tradition is themed C-league volleyball for intramurals. In the past Stewart Manor has dressed up as pirates complete with cardboard swords, soccer players where no one can use their hands apart from the goalie, and a chain gang with chains of duct tape linking everyone on the team (except for the prison guard). For some reason Stewart Manor still manages to do quite well in the tournament.
While the name, Stewart Manor, stretches back to 1956 it was not till 1962 that the house system in place today formulated.
In October 1962 the Coucil of House Presidents would decide to continue Stewart Manor as the house name for the third floor of Gunsolley Hall. James Zimmer became the first house president of Stewart Manor.
The "Vote Brad" campaign refers to Stewart Manor's own Brad Hannah and his run for Graceland Student Government President in 1999. Although Brad did not win the election, his extravagent campaign in 1999 and again in 2000 has become something of a legend.
The inside story of the 1999 campaign documented with an exclusive article for the Stewart Manor History project.
Brad was also co-creator of Flipper Tag. The unusual game was created by Brad Hannah, Matthew Schipper, and Jared Dunsdon and used to be played by several Stewart Manor Scotsmen.
The 2000 campaign and the rules for Flipper Tag are well documented on Brad Hannah's campaign site from 2000: Reelect Brad.
Scotsman Jeff Lepa also ran for GSG President four years in a row. In keeping with tradition (set by Brad Hannah), he lost all four years (2000 to 2004). His platform generally stood as anti-whatever the administration wanted.
Labeling his campaigns as unsuccessful is not entirely accurate. As Lepa himself points out, "If vote were cumulative I would have easily defeated everyone."
There is a tradition at Graceland of houses painting the bell in front of the Ad Building. Over the past few years Aaron house earned a reputation as the "bell gastapo" repainting the bell red with the black Aaron "A" within a few hours of any other house painting it. Stewart Manor managed to keep the bell from being the Aaron red several times throughout the semester of 2002 with paint jobs that took "about 15sec and 2 cents of spraypaint."
Are you a Stewart Manor alumni,
or know about Stewart Manor history?