Bernhard "Benny" Bargen, b. 10 December 1901, d. 14 November 1972, was the son of German Mennonite parents who immigrated to the United States from the Russian Ukraine. A polio attack at age one left him handicapped for life. Crutches were no hindrance to him. His handicap fueled a brilliant and innovative mind, and a lifelong love for education was the result. He studied at Bethel College, Friends University (BA) and the University of Kansas (MA). Bargen married Esther Kliewer on 12 June 1924; their three children are Ralph, Eldon, and Joyce.

He was a teacher throughout his life, beginning as a high school instructor in the Kansas towns of Oxford and Buhler. He came to Bethel College as an instructor in business courses in 1935. He remained there as a professor until 1965, except for three years which he spent as a visitor and member of the Woodcrest Bruderhof community at Rifton, NY (1955-1957). He was alumni secretary at Bethel College from 1965 to 1970 when he retired. A return to the Hutterian Society of Brothers at New Meadow Run Bruderhof, Farmington, PA, in 1972 closed out the last four months of his life.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 58. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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