17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø

17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø College will celebrate 50 years on its Knollcrest campus this summer with a variety of events, the first of which is slated for mid-June as part of the Christian Reformed Church's annual Synod.

17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø's purchase of the Knollcrest campus was authorized by the 1956 CRC Synod on June 22 of that year.

A week later - on June 29, 1956 - 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø and property owner J.C. Miller signed a formal sale agreement. The $400,000 price included 166 acres of land, what then was called the Manor House (Miller's personal home), two smaller furnished homes and several out buildings.

The only provisions which Miller wrote into the agreement were that the Knollcrest name he had given to the estate be retained in some manner and that the Manor House and the surrounding area be left as it was. 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø agreed and on August 1, 1956 the college took physical possession of the property.

Now, on Monday, June 12, 2006, at 5:30 pm, 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø will celebrate with Synod 2006 when it hosts a picnic for delegates on the lawn of DeWit Manor (the name since given to Miller's house).

17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø president Dr. Gaylen Byker says Miller would have gotten a chuckle out of the picnic party for Synodical delegates, noting that the millionaire businessman was associated with some of the grandest parties in Grand Rapids during his time at the corner of Burton and the Beltline. An annual day-long event was said to have cost Miller some $30,000 each year.

"Ours will cost a lot less than that," Byker says with a smile.

After the party on the lawn the delegates will return to the 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø Fine Arts Center for an 8:45 pm 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø-sponsored presentation that will include historical pictures and brief remarks by two of 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø's three living presidents: Dr. William Spoelhof (president from 1950-1976) and Dr. Gaylen Byker (president of 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø since 1995). Former 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø president Dr. Anthony Diekema (president from 1976 to 1995) will be traveling and cannot attend the event.

Byker says that 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø, under the leadership of Dr. Spoelhof, and the Christian Reformed Church were visionary in purchasing the property from Miller a half century ago.

At the time, he says, some people thought both 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø and the CRC Synod were foolish for purchasing such a large parcel of land at such a significant price. Just 50 years later 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø has over 4,000 students, has more than doubled the acreage of its Knollcrest campus - including an Ecosystem Preserve of almost 100 acres - and the price that once seemed a princely sum pales in comparison to property values surrounding the 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø campus.

"It's hard to imagine how 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø would have grown as it has," says Byker, "without this campus. We are thankful to God and thankful to those who had a vision for 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø that we have been able to prosper on the Knollcrest campus these last 50 years. And we hope to be here for many years to come."