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The Bridge - Mystery of Wittenberg doors finally solved

‘Twitter of the 1960s’ makes sudden return to campus

The post office recently delivered a piece of Messiah folklore to campus. The Wittenberg Door—one of three in existence and long thought to be stolen as a prank in 1986—had returned as suddenly as it had vanished all those years ago. So, what’s a Wittenberg Door?

“It was the Twitter of the 1960s,” explained Glen Pierce, director of the Brethren in Christ Historical Library and Archives and Archives of Messiah College.

The first door, installed in 1964 in Old Main, served as a bulletin board where students could post their thoughts. The idea was a nod to theologian Martin Luther, who posted the pages of his 95 theses on the church door at Wittenberg University in Germany Oct. 31, 1517.

As a prank, the door was stolen in the 1980s (and returned in 2003, where it is now housed in the Archives).

So, a second door was installed—first in Old Main and then moved to Eisenhower Campus Center (ECC). On Jan. 26, 1986, a student manager making his security rounds passed by the door at midnight. When he returned 30 minutes later, the door was gone.

A third was installed but also mysteriously disappeared in 1989.

Decades later, Student Body President Jamie-Claire Chau ’18 unwrapped the long-lost door #2, and received an email from Jeff Kramer ’89. He stated his roommate J.T. Long ’89 had stolen the door as an act of civil disobedience, because the postings on the door had become “insipid” and “banal.”

In an email to Chau, Kramer wrote, “I never knew [Long] had it until recently. It was apparently in his garage all this time. We thought returning it on the 500th anniversary of Luther’s theses would be appropriate.”

Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Jay McClymont said of the recent delivery, “I am not sure what is more impressive: that a college prank lasted 25 plus years or that this alum is so confident the statute of limitations has run out. He has no idea we have sent the Department of Safety to his house to issue him a fine.”

But, the story wasn’t over. Soon, the third door returned to campus. Tim Fenchel ’96 emailed McClymont to admit he and a classmate took door #3 to “put an end to the anonymous insults and negative environment this was causing. I would be more than happy to ... drop off the door if you would have interest in receiving it.”

Not only did McClymont have an interest, he scheduled an “unveiling” of the two reclaimed doors at the alumni office Oct. 31, 2017, the quincentennial of Luther’s theses posting.

“I want to encourage everyone here to use social media channels to help share a sort of homecoming,” said McClymont during the unveiling, “a reunion of two inanimate objects back to Messiah College.”

—Jake Miaczynski ’20 and Anna Seip