College of Wooster - Index Yearbook (Wooster, OH)

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and the productions rendered by the girls' literary societies, the paraphernalia of the histrionic art was left quietly to re- pose in the green room. it used to be a custom, however, and is yet, for all I know, to have, every other year or so, what was called a minstrel show, at which students actually rubbed cork on their faces and did stunts. This came oli' in 1906 with great success. fllclubs, societies, associations, leagues, fraternities, sororities, which in those good old days were as numerous, almost, as the blades of grass on the campus, Hourished that year as always. But the organization that made the most progress of all was the Y. M. C. A. Early in the year it broke camp in its narrow, cramped a a e quarters in the Chapel basement 5 1:,, Z M J, ,U s and marched triumphantly to its Jiw ,.-' , fi - - sumptuously furnished rooms in , '-fggifj , A V , ,,,- ' QP . J Scovel Hall, where all year it '- 'Y?rZf:T3Z.Sg , . . . . ,wi did valiant service along lines il which, but for it, would have F 33 2 'ie i aggw j. li -,1lf7fi2i,g2' , been sadly neglected. flLAnd what shall I say more? For ,,,. J. K the time would fail me to tell e e e t of the socials and the recep- tions, the walks and the drives, the political intrigues and the scraps, the songs, the yells, and all the stunts that go to make up a college year. And there are so many other things which the students of Wooster University did and said in 1905-6, the which, ii they should be written every one, I suppose that even the University Library itself could not contain the books that should be written. flli.lVloreover, as the year drew towards its close, the sorrow of depart- ing from my Alma Mater, the pleasure I took in the final examinations, and the excitement of Commencement have blotted out of my memory even the more important events, and consequently I can give no clear account of the last Page fourteen

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.. - fvt' pt3lQlji.f'i ?ff2Q1iei.l:agp. lllliifgl q Uv., .i,..v ,,. it - wi' ,Rf :-1.. , .A .,,. mill.-.r.f.f...l1,f,:1 year the best we had yet sent out. It defeated Kenyon, Oberlin, Denison, Delaware, and other colleges. But, as in foot ball, along towards the close of the season, there came the inevitable disappointment. By losing the game with 0. S. U., our team lost the State championship. In both of these cases, the success of our teams was perhaps left thus incomplete in order that some better thing might be reserved for the next year. flllln debate we were hardly as successful as in athletics. The since famous Tri- State Debating League had just been organized between the Western University of Pennsylvania, West Virginia University and Wooster. This was a great thing, since back in 1906, Wooster was a comparatively small school. Our initial debates in the league were by no means prophetic of the record we have since maintained. We won the contest here, but lost at Morgantown. Uur only consolation was that the other universities fared no better. mln oratory, our success was much more brilliant. Two years ,before we had taken third place in the state contest. One year before we managed to get second place. But in 1906 we took another forward step and Edwin B. Townsend captured for us iirst place. flf.The literary societies plodded on with their regular work, though in those days the halls were bare, unfur- nished, and cheerless. A pleas- ant feature of the year's work li. cm. i , was the custom, then started, and since, I believe, kept up, of one society giving a special program for the benefit of the others. fll1,Dramatic efforts appeared to be on the wane, and, with the exception of the Class Day performance Page thirteen

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few sad weeks. l know that some great base ball games were played, I know that Wooster was ably represented in the interstate oratorical contest, lknow that we had debates with Muskingum and Kenyon and track meets with Denison and ,- Hiram, but if you ask me how these things came out, I can only answer with a shake of my head, for the llight of years has swept away the -memory of it all. flLHowever, I have not forgotten that 1905 was the date oi the composition of that great song A -A which, in the long years since, has so often aroused the Wooster spirit on the athletic held, The Wooster Athletes' Song, and I am prone to believe that now, as then, its sentiment, Altogether with a will, with head and heart, Altogether every man to do his part, is not confined to the Held of battle, but pervades the entire student body in all that they do or say. flll.And I am also inclined to think that, however dim and indistinct the details of our college life may become, we shall still retain the greater and deeper things. ln the words of another song, written in 1906, by Ralph Plumer, The Wooster Love Song, we shall go on forever, ever remembering, never forgetting H Qld Wooster and its spirit and the truths that it has taught. Page fifteen