The Joseph E. and Alice Yoder Brunk Scholarship Fund

Joseph Eshleman Brunk and his wife, Alice Mabel Yoder Brunk, were long time staunch supporters of Goshen College and its mission.  He had worked for his father until he was 21, and then came to Goshen to work and study, finishing high school and 3 years of college. He lived very frugally in the attic of a house on 8th Street.  In 1915 Joe graduated from the Goshen Academy at the age of 27 and following graduation was the business manager of the College for a couple years.  He and Alice married and they were then cooks in the dining hall for a year.

Joe was in the first Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) unit, going to Constantinople in 1920 where he helped distribute clothing to refugees coming from Russia.  During this time, Alice and their two sons stayed at home.  After moving away from Goshen for a time, they returned in 1934 to start a shirt factory in the lower level of Coffman Hall.  This factory provided GC student employment and the move back to Goshen made it easier for the Brunk children to attend the College.  In addition to their four children (Ivan, Milton, Adella and Mabel), Joe and Alice had numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and in-laws attend/graduate from Goshen College.

Joe was always interested in educating young people and was particularly interested in outdoor recreation places for church young people. He had these younger folks in mind when in 1941, he and Alice bought 80 acres of land (40 on the east side of Valley Road which they gave to the Mennonite Mission Board) for $1125.  This property in southern Michigan was donated to Goshen College some years later with the expressed desire that it was to be available and used by Goshen College groups, area Sunday School classes and church youth groups when they wanted to retreat to the woods and enjoy the wonderful setting.  The Brunk family also continued to enjoy it occasionally, especially during Thanksgiving time, after it was given to the College.

The property became known as Brunk’s Cabin and for decades, many Goshen College students used it when small groups of them wanted to get away from campus.  In addition, faculty retreats and other such meetings were regularly held at Brunk’s Cabin and so this wonderful setting in the woods was enjoyed by hundreds of folks in the GC family over many decades.  This scholarship fund recognizes and honors the significant Brunk family contributions to Goshen College.