A carriage shed on the former Barnes property is moved to a new foundation near The Castle. The building — called North Hall — provides space for a chapel and classrooms on the main floor, a kitchen and dining hall in the basement, and residential rooms and faculty apartments on the upper floors.
Four young women comprise the first graduating class from Oak Grove Lutheran Ladies Seminary, completing their coursework in May.
A new boys’ residence hall is finished in November on the west side of campus, housing 60 students. The new auditorium and gymnasium are completed the following January as part of the same building. The complex is named Fossum Hall in honor of Oak Grove’s longest-serving president.
The school name changes to Oak Grove Lutheran High School.
The Classroom-Administration Building, today’s Benson Hall, is completed on the north side of campus. It is used primarily for high school courses.
Today’s Darwin Gorder Gymnasium opens for physical education classes and home athletic events, thanks to efforts from Grover Club members.
The Eid Center opens in December as the campus foodservice facility. The Jorgine Roen house, built in 1937, was sold and moved to provide space for the new building.
Oak Grove endures a historic Red River flood that changes the landscape of Fargo, Moorhead and many other communities. Jackson, Benson and Fossum Halls were impacted by high water. Several media outlets feature Oak Grove’s story, and donors support the school’s recovery effort into 1998.
Oak Grove ends 96 years of students living on campus. Fewer than 20 students were living in residential facilities the previous academic year. Today, international students live with host families in the Fargo-Moorhead area.
Grovers celebrate a successful centennial capital campaign with three phases that update the North Campus. A concourse connects Gorder Gymnasium and a remodeled Jackson Hall. Fossum Hall, the boys’ residential building and auditorium, is demolished to enable construction of the Scheels Center for the Performing Arts, the Hektner Chapel and a technology classroom. An exhibit noting the importance of Fossum Hall is featured in the atrium of the Scheels Center. Funds also provide the seeds for a wellness center adjacent to Gorder Gymnasium.
Oak Grove officially launches its Acorns to Oaks campaign, a comprehensive effort to raise $32 million for new construction, specific renovations, and endowed funds to support student and faculty engagement.