ESTHER M. WRIGHT, LINFIELD CLASS OF 1925, WROTE LINFIELD ALMA MATER MUSIC, LYRICS
(Also known as Esther Margaret Wright and Esther Margaret
Erickson.)
Born
1901 in Madison, South Dakota.
Died
1942 in North Bend, Washington.
== Oregonian
June 18, 1921: Esther Margaret Wright graduated from Lincoln High School,
Portland, Oregon
==
When she wrote the Linfield College Alma Mater music and lyrics she was attending McMinnville College. It became Linfield College in January 1922, during the
1921-1922 academic year. That was her freshman year at the college. Perhaps it
happened soon after the college name change?
==Sunday
Oregonian, July 22, 1924, story includes info about Miss Esther Margaret
Wright offering two vocal numbers at an event. “Miss Wright is a senior in the
Linfield college of music, and is regarded as one of the most promising students,
artistically, of that institution. Her voice is fresh and clear, and she has
never failed to make a profound impression.”
==Sunday
Oregonian, March 8, 1925, reports on Esther Margaret Wright of Portland
giving her senior vocal recital at the music hall of Linfield. “Miss Wright is
active in student activities, being a member of the women’s glee club and the
college octet, also a member of the Kappa Alpha Phi sorority. She will receive
a bachelor of music degree with the graduating class in June, having been a
vocal student of Anna Lavinia Beebe, instructor of voice, during the past four
years.”
==Sunday
Oregonian,March 29, 1925, photo of Linfield Octet with cutline showing
Esther Wright, an alto singer, in the octet. Cutline says the octet made of
tour of eastern and western Washington with stops in Yakima, Kennewick,
Sunnyside, Puyallup and Olympia.
==Sunday
Oregonian, June 17, 1928, wedding story includes that the Rev. Harris David
Erickson’s hometown is Mount Vernon, Wash. The wedding was held in First Baptist
church, presumably in Portland. After August 1, the Rev. and Mrs. Erickson will
be at home at Sunnyvale, California, where Rev. Erickson is pastor of the
Baptist church.
==Oregonian, Aug.
5, 1931, said Esther lives in Los Angeles where her husband is pastor of the
Atherton Baptist church.
==Seattle
Times, May 21, 1942, includes obituary headlined, “Mrs. Erickson’s Funeral
Will Be Tomorrow.” Funeral services for Mrs. Ether Wright Erickson, wife of the
Rev. Harris David Erickson, professor of philosophy at Seattle Pacific College,
will be held at 3 o’clock tomorrow in Queen Anne Baptist Church. She died in
North Bend Sunday. Since coming to Seattle five years ago, Mrs. Erickson has
been an active member of the University Baptist Church, the Philomel Singers,
Seattle Pacific College Faculty Wives Club, the Seattle and the college’s Red
Cross chapter. She also was a member of Mu Phi Epsilon, honorary music society.
She composed many sacred solos for contralto voice, her chorus “Heritage” being
presented by the Philomel Singers at their 1941 winter concert. She also wrote
the Alma Mater song for Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon. Before her
marriage, she was music supervisor for public schools in Heppner, Oregon. She
lived at 3210 Fourth Ave. W. Surviving besides her husband are twin sons,
Claiborne Reed Erickson and James Wright Erickson, 13 years old; a brother, C.
C. Wright, Burlingame, Calif., and her father, D. C. Wright, Portland, Or., who
for 21 years was executive secretary of Oregon Baptist State Convention.
==Eugene
(Oregon) Guard, May 24, 1942, headline “Mrs. Esther Wright Erickson
Dies.” Text: Mrs. Harris Erickson (Esther Wright) of Seattle, daughter of Dr.
O.C. Wright, former pastor of the Eugene Baptist church died Sunday, May 17, at
North Bend, Wash., while assisting her husband, Rev. Harris Erickson, with
church services. She died from a heart attack. Mrs. Erickson was born in
Madison, S. D., lived in Eugene as a child, graduated from Linfield College in
1925 and the University of Oregon in 1926 with the B.A. degree in music. She
was supervisor of music in the Heppner schools for two and a half years and
married Mr. Erickson in 1928. Besides her husband she leaves twin sons James
Wright Erickson and Claiborne Reed Erickson, age 13. Services were held May 22
in Seattle from Queen Anne Baptist church with the president of Seattle Pacific
College in charge, Mr. Erickson being a teacher at that institution.
==Info
elsewhere: Esther Margaret Wright was born October 9 1901, in Madison, Lake
County, South Dakota. She died May 17, 1942 in North Bend, Wash. Thus, she was
40 years old. She and Harris David Erickson, also a member of Linfield Class of
1925, married in 1928. He died at age 93 in 1996.
:::::::
Linfield's Alma Mater
"We’ll Be Loyal"
We’ll
be loyal to old Linfield
With
her backing never yield
Each
day will bring some vict’ry
One
more honor for her shield.
The
Old Oak gives us courage
Keeps
us steadfast in our way
For
her we’ll fight will all our might
Alma
Mater, we’re loyal to you!
You
may search all Linfield’s hist’ry
For
one more of disloyalty
Each
student upholds her spirit
With
her loyal faculty
Linfield’s
friendships are the truest
They’ll
back you in each test
For
her we’ll fight will all our might
Alma
Mater, we’re loyal to you!
::::::
Based
on an Aug. 24, 2018, posting at Wildcatville:
Linfield
Alma Mater lyrics include “The Old Oak gives us courage…”
The
Old Oak fell on Jan. 8, 2008. A newspaper story at the time said the Old Oak,
an 80-foot tall white oak, “stood majestic when Linfield was founded 150 years
ago.” It was estimated to be 200-250 years old when disease caused its death.
Debbie
Harmon Ferry of Linfield College said the Linfield Alma Mater “still references
the Old Oak, but we now tend to use ‘the old oaks give us courage’ – referring
to the oaks in the Oak Grove, not the Old Oak itself.”
