Kind reader cmadler quite sensibly asked, per the Normal Girls story below, why McKenny Hall was named for then-president Charles McKenny. She pointed out that it is unusual to name a building after oneself during one's lifetime. "Hmm, it sure is," DD thought. So I looked in my 1931 file to find out when it had been dedicated. I hoped to find a clue in the many stories that filled the paper on the day of its dedication.Here's the front page for October 24, 1931, the big dedication day (combined with Homecoming).
This edition of the paper is also filled with about a dozen congratulatory ads from local businesses--this was really a big deal. What seems to be the key story, however, is the one at left, in two sections.The first para contains what seems to be the answer. (You can click to enlarge).
". . . Dr. Charles McKenny, president of Michigan State Normal College is honored today by one of the finest tokens of appreciation a college could bestow upon its president, the naming of the beautiful Charles McKenny Hall in his honor."
The answer appears to be, on the face of it, that the college and perhaps the Alumni Association were the bodies responsible for naming the hall.
This isn't definitive proof of course. I'll be looking to see if I can nail this down more firmly sometime over the next week as time permits.
I s'pose for now we can tentatively say that it appears it was named for Charles simply to honor him.Thanks to cmadler for this observant question!
