University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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OCTOBER, 1935 Uncle Jimmy Green the prince of sports A Tribute to the Memory of a Beloved Adviser and Popular Friend of Thousands of K. U. Grads by BILL BLECHA IN MEMORY OF JAMES WOOD GREEN 1842-1919 FORTY YEARS DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF LAW 1879-1919 THE STUDENTS ' COUNSELLOR AND FRIEND ERECTED BY THOSE WHO LOVED HIM CARVED into the base of the monu- ment which bears his likeness is this simple story of the life of Uncle Jimmy Green, the man who lived and died for Kansas University. But to the newcomer upon Mount Oread this brief inscription tells little of the man himself, the valued advisor of hundreds of young lawyers of this section, the central figure at all ath- letic rallies of the University, the beloved friend of every student who came to know him. Uncle Jimmy was not a native Kan- san but was bom at Cambridge, New York, April 4, 1842. He matriculated at Williams College, receiving his A. B. degree in 1866 and his A. M. degree in 1890. He was admitted to the bar in 1869 and began the practice of law at Olathe, Kansas, immediately afterwards. In his practice as in his life as a teacher and dean, he was clean and fine, and sincere. To him justice was as much desired as a victory at law, and these vir- tues soon brought him a good practice a practice so good, in fact, that many of his friends marveled that he gave it up to establish a school of law for the hand- ful of pupils such as first entered his classes. In 1897 James Wood Green founded and became dean of the law school at the University of Kansas. It was not his work as a teacher that endeared him to all. The university had other teachers equal to and even superior to Uncle Jimmy as an instructor. It was because he was such a man of the heart, because he was so genuinely interested in every student who came under his guidance, that made him the most beloved man on the Hill at K. U. He had no children of his own, but his heart went out to his students and they were all his boys. And so for forty years graduates and students went out from the University of Kansas carrying with them the pleasant memory of a man, who, although their dean and superior, had been one of them. To each new generation of students of the entire university, not of the law school alone, he was the spirit of this age, the man who understood them, who cham- pioned their cause. His official name was Dean James Wood Green, but he went under the more affectionate title of Uncle Jimmy by right of complete conquest of the student body ' s heart. The story is told that so great was the affection of every law graduate for Uncle Jimmy that no one set up his office without displaying the picture of this idol somewhere. Supporting the athletics of the school was a hobby with Uncle Jimmy. He was the kindling spirit and source of all the pep at athletic rallies of the univer- sity and was always called upon to prophesy the results of the big grudge battles with Nebraska and Missouri. His interest in the football teams dates from the start of the game at the University in 1871. Uncle Jimmy and his wife rep- resented the leading set in Lawrence and when they introduced the custom of an annual athletics dinner at their home, it soon was fashionable for the leaders of the town ' s social life to give parties and dinners for the team after the big games. These yearly banquets at the Green home continued until Mrs. Green ' s poor health made them impossible. In the early years of football at the University, Uncle Jimmy was elected to the Board of Athletics. In the nomi- nating speech made for him, he was referred to as the Prince of Sports and went under that title at the institution for many years. During the early days of football here the team was poorly equipped and dressed. They had no scientific protection from bruising contacts and injuries were frequent. Uncle Jimmy was always around to look after his boys, and for several years he was trainer and physician for the squad. Small wonder that the men of those years fought their hearts out for such a gentleman. Uncle Jimmy was proud and happy to know the students on the Hill regarded him so highly, but the one tribute that brought tears to his eyes occurred in 1905 at the dedication of the present Law building. As the date of the banquet to celebrate the completion of the new school fell near the birthday anniversary of the dean of the school, the event was made an annual one, and for over twenty- five years the Uncle Jimmy banquets were annual home-coming events for scores of Kansas lawyers. Never before or since has one man been so revered by both faculty and student body as was Dean Green. But for all his youthful enthusiasm and vitality, Uncle Jimmy was often physically ill and in 1918 and 1919 was stricken with heart attacks that finally, after frequent repetition, resulted in his death on November 4, 1919- Loved as he was, the death of Dean Green was a severe blow to the life of the University. Former students and friends all over the country mourned the death of this friend and adviser and recalled with each other this tribute that told Uncle Jimmy ' s life story best of all: For though be walked u ' itb sages. He kept the common touch ; Our dear old Uncle Jimmy Who loved us all so much.

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r,4 THE JAYHAWKER Sam Elliott takes a hard earned rest A Familiar Campus Figure, Retired After Forty-five Years of Faithful Service, Takes Time Off to Reminisce by PEGGY CLAYTON , I was telling the chancellor the other day that I would like to be assistant chancellor, assistant traffic cop, and head of general misinformation on Mt. Oread and then he would be hap- piest, for he was happiest plying his daily mail route among the students and faculty of our own, and his own dearest of alma maters. At the age of sixty- five and at forty-five years of service as a SAM ELLIOTT mail-carrier, he wants to come back and serve it and us again as he did for so long before. To describe him to you who probably know him so well already seems super- fluous, certainly, but to all freshmen and new students he must be introduced. The next time you see a man with a powerful physique, with kindly blue eyes, and whose words are philosophically inclined, you may be reasonably certain that he is Sam Elliott. What will strike you most about him, though, is that thing most difficult to define, bat most easily recog- nized the man ' s personality. You will see then why such people as S. J. Hunter, J. A. Keeler, Prof. E. F. Engel, A. D. Weaver, Prof. H. P. Cady, as well as many others, call him by his first name. He will tell you that the secret of success is in keeping busy at something that is worthwhile, and you will know that the secret of his success was found in himself which nothing external could touch. No, Sam can ' t fool us. It ' s because he ' s just himself that we like him. He says that the best years in life are between sixty and sixty-five, but we have enjoyed and bene- fited by all of his sixty-five years and hope to for many more. Talk to Sam any time, and ask him about Teddy Roosevelt, Harrison, McKinley, Taft. He knows about them first hand. Ask him anything about the history of this city or about how Has- kell looked when it wasn ' t Haskell at all, but only a cow pasture; he can tell you. He ' ll make you wish you had lived here when ! Ask him if he would like to go back to work sixty-five means retirement in the postoffice department you know What will he say? Well, it isn ' t what you ' d say after forty-five years of it. He ' d say, Yes ! And you ' d believe it. You see, Sam misses the people, new and old friends and would he like to go back! But he ' s doing a good job while vacationing. He seems to be living up to the proverbial mailman ' s holiday, managing to help an old friend get rid of too many cats under the back porch, to help build a house, to move museum relics, to see his old friends often, and to keep his home and grounds looking perfect, and enjoying it all the while, for to him that constitutes life. His daughter is one of our most popu- lar professors. Her name is as you pos- sibly have guessed, Maude Elliott. Be- sides this daughter, he has five other children, four of whom graduated from K. U. and among his proud posses- sions are several grandchildren. Although he never attended K. U. as a student, it was his greatest desire to do so, and he was thirty-three before he gave up the idea. Nevertheless, Sam feels that he owns at least a part interest in the place, and of the 4,000 students he says, I feel they ' re all mine. The funny part of it is, they who know him feel they are all his. To get happiness out of life, find something you admire and like about everybody. For one who had to go to work before he had a chance to attain the higher education which he craved ; who kept at that job faithfully and tire- lessly for so many years and enjoyed it! That philosophy should make us all blush ! And when he says it we can ' t help but realize its truth. What has he contributed to our Uni- versity and to our individual welfare? Let us mention these only a few of the many. Among them are a professor, known to us all; an ideal; a purpose; a hope ; a tradition ; and the contribution yet of a vivid and pervasive personality. Yes, to Sam Elliott we have many things for which we should be grate- ful. He says he never met a man he didn ' t like. Well, Sam, we ' re willing to bet that those words work both ways; a man never met you who didn ' t like you. FEMININE FASHIONS (Continued from page 63) for the colla r. It ' s sporty looking just the thing for a fashionable girl. As a last word, let us remind you to notice the individual bracelet worn by Betty Ann Jones, pledge of Kappa. It ' s called a Conversation Bracelet, having its origin in Europe. It consists of a small gold-linked chain, from which dangle many little gold and wooden objects shoes, cups, animals, even a thermometer. The craze can be expected to spread like fire over this continent soon. Fashion plays as important a role in college as the coed herself does. Styles have marked changes throughout the school year, and, obviously enough, the Kansas University lassies keep right up with Dame Fashion sometimes they ' re even ahead of her. Those men- tioned here are just a few of the many well-dressed girls on the Hill. Keep your eyes open, and you ' ll see for yourselves! IDEALIST dream: And the broken glass On the trash heap Is a carpet of glittering diamond s ; That tin can gleaming in the ditch Becomes a shining silver cup; The desert changes to a velvet rug; And my Love into a god! Cornelia Ann Miller TRANSMIGRATORY SPAN have lived a thousand lives And loved but once. Thru all the sickening heartbreak of years I have been true to my only love. Long eternities I have loved you alone. You are Life and I love you, For I am Death. Cornelia Ann Miller

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(3(5 THE JAYHAWKER New opportunities for youth Chancellor Lindley a Sponsor of the Nation ' s Plan to Provide an Education for Our Underprivileged Youth by DEAN MOORHEAD THE question, what can I do when I get out of school? is one which has become increasingly harder to answer during these past few years, both by high school and by college graduates. A few years ago the answer to such a question was easy. Youths graduating from high schools could reasonably depend either upon being able to attend college or upon obtaining satisfactory positions, while the college graduate found himself in demand and confronted only with the question of deciding which position to choose. Unfortunately, however, the past few years have radically changed such a set- up. Of the twenty-three million American youths between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five, according to the latest census, only eleven million were employed, and only five million were in school. Seven million, or nearly one-third of the youth of the United States, could not be accounted for. You and I have seen part of this group tired, spiritless youths walking the streets or loafing in public places. Scorned by their more successful friends and berated by their misinformed relatives, these youths, denied either employment or future education, are in grave danger of being forced to abandon their youthful enthusiams and aspirations and of being driven into environments and habits which are definitely harmful to them and to society. A small, progressive group of educa- tors, our own Chancellor a leader among them, was first to awaken to the serious consequences which might be occasioned should such a situation be allowed to con- tinue. Reasoning that the extensive gov- ernment public welfare plans could not overlook such a major social problem as this, these educators sought for and obtained the government student aid plan, popularly known as the C. S. E. P. Embodying, as it does, the employment of thousands of college students on worthwhile projects, this plan is making possible college educations for many who otherwise could never have obtained them. But such a plan is limited it offers nothing for those who do not care to go to college; its usefulness is limited to those of college age; and it makes no provision for the future of those whom it trains. A more extensive program for youth has been needed. By executive order in June of this year, President Roosevelt made pos- sible such a program. Under the WPA a new department known as the National Youth Administration, was created. This new department, directed by a national committee of thirty-four prominent Amer- icans, Chancellor Lindley and Glenn Cunningham among them, has launched a four-point program which seems to point to a new deal for modern youth. The first two points of this program provide for those who do not plan to go to college. A limited number will be placed upon regular WPA projects, while another group will be employed to con- duct a nation-wide unemployment census. The data gathered from this census will be used by both the WPA and the NYA as a supplement to existing figures con- cerning employment. More interesting is the second part of the plan which con- templates the placing of youths in their chosen fields of business. Plans are being formulated to work out a cooperative sys- tem with employers so that unemployed youths, aided by national funds, will be placed in businesses as apprentices, there to spend definite lengths of time in learn- ing and applying actual business prin- ciples and practices. This project, if actually put into practice, will indeed be an example of the way in which coopera- tion between the government and between business can help in solving national problems. Unfortunately, however, the plans for this project are at present being hindered due to the possibility of a con- flict between their views and those of organized labor. It is also planned to use a large number of unemployed youths as youth workers. Available figures reveal an amazing shortage of youth workers athletic instructors, play ground super- visors, and Boy and Girl Scout leaders. The NYA plans to provide training for persons interested in such work and to set them at work in taking care of a por- tion of the recreational side of its program. The last two phases of this program, dealing with present and prospective college students, are of more interest to us. Of primary interest to college students is the continuance of student aid. The C. S. E. P. is to be continued upon approximately its present basis. Its scope, however, is being broadened to include similar aid for high school students who come from families on relief. Another new feature makes provision for extra aid to graduate students who wish to carry on studies in specific subjects. One of the most interesting features of the plan as it is to be worked put in Kansas is the creation of a series of freshman colleges. These colleges, sponsored by the various state schools, will be established in high schools where sufficient interest is shown to insure medium attendance and the provision of light, heat, and space. Classes in subjects selected by the prospective students will be held both at day and at night. Such classes will be taught by unemployed graduate students, this, a part of the graduate C. S. E. P. plan mentioned above, by qualified high school teachers, and by competent local persons who vol- unteer for the work. The classes will be open to all, and their credits will be ac- cepted by state schools, providing that the student upon first coming to college from a freshman college satisfactorily completes his first semester ' s work. Vocational and non-credit classes will be conducted in these schools, primarily for those who do not intend to go to college. Training for public service will be stressed in these schools, while place- ment boards and committees will advise students concerning their future work and will assist them in finding positions. Such, briefly, is the program of the N. Y. A. a combination of work relief, job training, education, and stu- dent aid. The obstacles confronting the plan are many its funds, fifty million dollars from the WPA allotment, are insufficient; the N. Y. A. itself is a temporary organization ; and the pro- gram must feel its way along without guide or previous example. However, important as are the difficulties of the plan, it is more important and significant that at last youth ' s predicament has been recog- nized and that attempts are being made to better it. Experiment though it is, the development of the N. Y. A. program should be watched with interest by the whole of American youth.