The History of the Mizpah Gate
Sep 26 2024 - 1:56pm
By: Ephraim Viadex
Students, faculty, alumni, and even people just passing through Keene are welcomed by the great Mizpah gate that sits at the end of College Dr, and marks the entrance to Southwestern Adventist University. Over the years the Mizpah gate has become a warm and welcoming figure for SWAU, welcoming incoming freshmen and their families at the start of each school year, and bestowing a warm farewell to graduating seniors, looking to start the next chapter of their lives. After a conversation with Dr. Tom Bunch this weekend, a SWAU emeritus faculty member, I was presented with valuable insight on the history of the Mizpah gate.
The gate was originally a gift from the graduating class of 1937 to Southwestern Junior College, and was named after the college's yearbook, The Mizpah (pictured right). The name "Mizpah" was taken from the Bible, in Genesis 31:49; "And Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent from one another.”
According to the Southwestern Union Record, after assuming the presidency of the school in 1937, Harry H. Hamilton designed and oversaw the construction of the Mizpah Gate. Students at the time claimed Hamilton’s design was based on his initials.
The gate was constructed of brick and petrified wood, transported from Somervell County and built by students under the supervision of local workmen. The structure was completed in June 1937, and was dedicated as a gift of that year’s graduating class. In 2009, the gate was officially dedicated as a national Texas monument.
“The Mizpah gate is the oldest structure currently on this campus”, said Dr. Bunch, “If those stones and mortar could talk, just imagine the stories they would tell”.
One of those stories stems from an event that took place nine years ago, when a vehicle jumped the curb and collided into the gate. According to the Cleburne Times-Review, the driver wasn’t injured, but the south tower was damaged. When talking to Dr. Bunch, he recalls an act of goodwill emerging from that tragic event.
“The south tower was destroyed”, he said, “But the gate was expertly restored by alums who lived right here in Keene.”
The alums responsible were brothers, Kevin and Dennis Kopfmen, and Ron Layland. Layland started a preservation fund to repair the gate, and the Kopfmen brothers were able to save and piece together the petrified wood, and eventually put the south tower back up.
A recurring story, that began quite a few years ago, is the introduction to campus for incoming freshmen, and the departure for graduating seniors. As freshmen, students walk through the Gate on their way from a service in the church, to be greeted by faculty and staff on their way to the gymnasium for a welcome dinner with their parents, faculty and administrators.
“It is a “welcome to our campus” event”, says Dr. Bunch, “Sometimes the slogan “Enter to learn – depart to serve” is used to describe a student’s tenure on this campus.”
In the tradition, and numerous stories that are carried within the Mizpah gate, it's evident that the gate symbolizes family. When a student walks through that gate for the first time, they become a part of a family and wherever they go after departing the campus, the verse in Genesis 31:49 endures forever; ‘the Lord watch between me and thee while we are absent one from another’.
