Baltimore Polytechnic Institute - Cracker Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

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History of Class 1902 af E it known to all good people that the honor of writing the History of the Class of 1902 was not of my seeking but was conferred upon v. , me by 1ny classmates, whether I would or not. So, if this record of the deeds of '02 comes not up to the standard of what a history should be, direct not your criticism at the writer, but rather at the members of the class for having made so injudicious a choice. But inasmuch as it is my allotted part to chronicle the deeds of lO2 since the day of its birth, I will endeavor to deserve the honor that has been thrust upon me. Before attempting the history proper, I will say that the class of 1902 has had an unusually quiet and peaceful career. There have been no antagonisms within the class, but a hearty co-operation between its members has always been evident whenever any project was on hand, and there has always existed a friendliness and good-will pleasant to note. A On a certain September morning in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine, fifty youths from all parts of the city and a few from the country gathered to form what will go down in the annals of the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute as the Class of 1902. Raw youths they were who gathered in and about this university of learning, to be instructed in the ways of the wise. In spite of their verdancy, it is said the instructors saw great promise in some of the boys. The members of the Faculty now proceeded with their laborious task of taking the rough edges off. The success with which they met was varied, according as the material was found to be easily worked, or to resist all of their efforts. Imparting an education is like working some metals-the outer surface is the hardest to penetrate. 1 .The examinations-destroyers of fond hopes and good averages-duly came along and thinned our. ranks, leaving some to march forward and causing others to fall by the wayside. The following September saw but twenty-four of our number in their accustomed places ready to delve more deeply in the fields of knowledge. Our hearts were gladdened this year by the introduction into our midst of a recruit from that noted institution of learning, the Baltimore City College. 2I

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Heaviest man,. .. Lightest man,. .. Tallest man,. .. Shortest man,. . . . Average age, ..... Average weight, . . Average Number Number Number Temperance men,. . . Smokers . . . .... . height,. . . .. of mustaches, trying to raise of beards,. . .. Class Statistics .aw ....r56 lbs .....1o2 lbs feet ....5 feet, 1.75 inches ....19years ..........I34.41bS ....5 feet, 5.15 inches mustaches, .... ..... A ll the rest .....I2 6 20

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This youth is our well-beloved friend and classmate, Leroy M. Langrall, who brought with him considerable folly and indifference, but his ,association with the members of ,O2 has wrought a great change in him, and he has acquired the vim and energy CFJ that is characteristic of our class and of the school. 1 Examinations drew nigh, and as they came on apace our hopes of coming scathless out of the battle fell considerably. Having some compunc- tion on the subject of using a crib, we decided that, rather than use one, we would beard the lion in his den, and ask for a day or two in which to prepare for the final tests. So, accordingly, we went to him to whom all such matters are referred, and put our request in words as plain as possible, at the same time stating what we considered our very plausible reasons. Now the President, out of the kindness of his heart, might have granted us what we asked, but just at this time our beloved and esteemed Vice-President put in his appearance, and our dreams of two days' grace were Put to flight. He was of the opinion that our power of discriminating between good and bad would not enable us to cull out that portion of the work that would be most beneficial to us. We were, therefore, to be placed under his guiding hand for one day and were to be allowed but one of the days for which we had asked. As this arrangement did not suit some of us, the unsatisfied ones insurged -and paid dearly for it. How sweet is freedom when enjoyed in opposition to the commands of those over us, and how dearly we ofttimes pay for it! As autumn was only too rapidly creeping nearer we returned once more to those corridors and rooms which we had learned to love. Our class had dwindled in size until now but nineteen of us were left to face the struggles of our last year. This year we were again to have the pleasure of adding a City Collegian to our numbers in the person of Isaac Seeley Jones, a rustic youth from the wilds of that country village yclept Relay. ' One of the most pleasant incidents that happened this year was the trip our class made to Annapolis in conjunction with the Postgraduates and divers members of the Faculty. This journey, made in November, had for its object a tour of the shops connected with the department of steam engineering of the United States Naval Academy. Through the kind- ness of Dr. Geer, of this city, the yacht Sylvia was put at our disposal. On account of the early hour at which we were to start and the long distance to be traveled by most of the boys before arriving at the point of embarkation, 22