Knox in the News

From the Register-Mail:

The young team will graduate just three seniors and has no juniors on its roster, so there really isn’t a whole lot for Schrader to talk about, until it comes to Galesburg native Kelly Ricketts and that gets Schrader excited.

The 6-0 sophomore, who transferred to Knox after a year at the University of St. Francis, was the Prairie Fire’s brightest flame, leading the Midwest Conference with 449 kills in 103 games for a 4.36 average and putting her name among the NCAA Division III leaders.

“She made us a better team in every part of the game,” said Schrader, who admitted even she wondered how many matches Knox would have won without her. “She’s a very talented player and makes every player on the team better because of her skill, passion and energy.

It took a year-long sidetrip to an NAIA school — St. Francis in Joliet — before she returned to Galesburg, where she set nine school volleyball records for the Silver Streaks.

“I had no second thoughts.  I love it here,” said Ricketts of the transfer. “I’m so happy.”

From the Beloit Daily News:

Mary Batterman, a 2003 graduate of Beloit Memorial High School and the daughter of Mark and Gillian Batterman, decided to join the Peace Corps after attending Knox College in Galesburg, Ill. An anthropology major who graduated from college in 2007, she had studied abroad in Thailand and wanted to do overseas development work.

Batterman left in June of 2008 for Tanzania to become a health education volunteer. After briefly living with a host family and undergoing two-and-a-half months of intense Swahili training, she moved to a remote village in the southern highlands called Kilolo. There, she worked with local village officials to implement community projects.

She helped to get a health center opened in the village, organized a youth AIDS committee, started a writing club at the primary school and helped with HIV/AIDS treatment and counseling.

During her time in Kilolo, she lived in a mud brick house with a Tanzanian helper assigned to her. With no electricity or running water, she learned to cook over a coal fire and carry her own water in from more than a mile away. With most Kilolo residents growing vegetables on small plots of land, the typical diet was a corn flour porridge with vegetables or beans. Rice was available, although too expensive for the average family which lives on about 50 cents a day.

The nearest volunteer to Batterman was located in a village 8 miles away, reachable only by walking or bicycling.

Despite the rough conditions, Batterman enjoyed her time in Kilolo. When not working on her volunteer projects, she spent a lot of time walking around the village or sitting in the bread and tea shops. She said most local were eager to talk to her and learn about the United States.

From the Register-Mail:

The Knox College Music Department will present fall-term concerts by the Knox-Sandburg Community Concert Band and the Knox Wind Ensemble and three recitals by music students. All performances are free and open to the public in Kresge Recital Hall, Ford Center for the Fine Arts.

The Knox-Sandburg Community Concert Band will perform at 3 p.m. Nov. 15. Directed by Laurel Kay Filzen Etzel, associate professor in applied music, the band includes musicians from Knox College, Carl Sandburg College and the Galesburg area.

The Knox Wind Ensemble will perform at 7 p.m Nov. 16. The ensemble is a student group directed by Jill Marasa, associate professor in applied music. Individual music students will perform in recital at 4 p.m. Nov. 16.

From the Register-Mail:

Calvin Zirkle, a junior from Kankakee Bishop McNamarahas been named the Midwest Conference defensive performer of the week for his efforts in Knox College’s 12-7 win over Lake Forest College on Saturday.

It was Knox’s first win of the season.

Zirkle shut down the second-leading receiver in the MWC in Lake Forest’s Dan Carter, and recorded five pass break ups and three tackles.

Zirkle now has 38 tackles for the season, and leads the team with 11 pass break ups.

From the Associated Press:

I’m not a Scrooge, really. I embrace almost all of Christmas. Except for one time-honored tradition that brings so much stress and expense that eliminating it has made the holiday even more magical.

Join me — and others who are signing on in times of tight budgets — in the wonderful simplicity of a Christmas without presents…..

A study of 117 people published in the Journal of Happiness Studies found that those who emphasized time spent with family and spiritual activities had merrier Christmases than those who gave or received big presents. “Despite the fact that people spend relatively large portions of their income on gifts, as well as time shopping for and wrapping them, such behavior apparently contributes little to holiday joy,” wrote the researchers, Tim Kasser of Knox College and Kennon M. Sheldon of the University of Missouri-Columbia.

From the Register-Mail:

During 1937 Dr. H.R. Muelder of Knox College’s history department presented a series of lectures at Central Congregational Church about the community’s early pioneers. Muelder was later to serve as acting president of the college.

Muelder painted a vivid picture of the pioneers. He pointed out that they had problems and sought the best ways to solve them. They were forced to exchange hardships for anticipated rewards.

The wives had the most to lose and the least to gain in the pioneer adventure. They more often than not had to give up their original customs for a life of hardship. Muelder pointed out that it was common in most pioneer cemeteries that as many as three wives were buried with pioneer husbands.