Lake LaVerne

Pictured sometime before 1951 and again in early 2017.

In the archive photo, students can be seen skating and playing hockey on the ice. The Western Terrace has not yet been constructed (read about the Western Terrace here.) There is a small shed on the banks of Lake LaVerne, and even an old automobile can be seen on the left in the background.

The Memorial Union has since undergone multiple additions, including the Western Terrace, the Northwest addition, the current ISU Bookstore and the recent Four Seasons Fountain renovation. There are modern vehicles parked along the sidewalk. Aerators were also added to the lake, which now renders the ice unsafe to walk on in the winter. These aerators cause turbulence in the water to distribute oxygen and regulate the temperature throughout the water. This causes the ice to not form as thickly.

Lake LaVerne was created in 1916. The creation of the lake was funded by LaVerne W. Noyes with a $10,000 donation with the intention of making his alma mater more beautiful. Lake LaVerne is also home to the swans, Lancelot and Elaine, who were originally added to the lake in Veishea week of 1935. Legend says that if one walks with their love, in silence, three times around the lake, then they are truly destined to be together.

Noyes was born Jan. 7, 1849, in New York, according to the Library’s Special Archives. He enrolled at the Iowa State College in 1868 and graduated with the first graduating class in 1872. He later went on to become a successful inventor and even received an honorary doctorate’s degree in engineering from Iowa State.

LaVerne made farming equipment and later worked on windmills and book holders. He also built a hall in honor of his wife after she died that is at the University of Chicago and has a memorial scholarship for World War I Veterans and their descendants. LaVerne died on July 24, 1919.

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