Lipscomb University - Backlog Yearbook (Nashville, TN)

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usage, extemporaneous speaking, and debating. Al- At the commencement exercises which followed the though the societies served well their day, their sun has reunion, nine persons received degrees — the largest set never to rise again. up to that time. The graduates were: Ethel Blackman, At the close of the fourteenth session, which marked Henry Leo Boles, Mary Elizabeth Bourne, Lyde Dallas the end of the Anderson administration, there was only Bowers, James Edward Boyd, Samuel Henry Hall, John one graduate—Elizabeth Kittrell of Maury County, who Thomas Lewis, David Willomine Shepherd, and Jessie received the B. L. degree. At this time the school was Lander Wells. conferring the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of THE WARD ADMINISTRATION Literature, and Bachelor of Science. At commencement it was annuonced that E. A. Elam, THE ELAM ADMINISTRATION a member of the Board of Trustees, one of the editors Anderson was making preparation to move his family of the Gospel Advocate, and a preacher of the highest to Nashville in order to devote himself more assiduously rank, had been elected superintendent. to the work of the school. About a month of the vaca- The Elam adminstration covered seven sessions, ex- tion had passed when teachers, students, and friends of tending from the sixteenth through the twenty-second. the school were shocked to hear that he had died sud- denly from a heart attack. This was the first death within the faculty. Class of 1907. Left to right: Lester Morrow, Maude Newsome, Aura Burcham, Byron Cook, Laura Pepper, There was no available man in sight to succeed him. Florence Birdwell, and Jessie Wells. While on the look-out for a successor, the president of . the Board requested Dr. J. S. Ward to take the over- : , bi ee oh sight of the school. Dr. Ward and wife had had ex- perience in supervising the girls’ dormitory before the school left Spruce Street. With the assistance of Mrs. Blackman they continued in this capacity at the new lo- cation. In addition to his work here, Dr. Ward was on the faculty of the medical and dental departments of the University of Tennessee. During this year of transition the school flourished. There were 181 students enrolled, the largest enrollment thus far. Brother Lipscomb in the Gospel Advocate commented favorably upon the success of the Ward ad- ministration. The Ward administration marks the beginning of th- traditional alumni reunions. Several weeks before com- mencement a call was made for all former teachers an“ students to assemble May 23, 1906, the day before the final exercises. Much enthusiasm was manifested. About one thousand attended the reunion. Among the principal speakers was James A. Harding. A group banquet in April, 1906. Left to right: Mary Bourne, Jessie Baxter, Aura Burcham, Laura Pepper, Byron Cook, Ethel Blackman, Edward Boyd, John T. Lewis, Jessie Wells, . ce | Effie. Anderson, John T. Gleen. Seat- rr ' a: ed: D. W. Shepherd, Lyde Bowers. : ; is SHVILLE BIBLE SCHOOL = iA

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Dormitory feasts in girl's rooms were just as much fun in 1906 as in 1941. Jessie Wells, Mary Bourne, Frankie Dunlop, and Ethel Blackman either received a box from home or found the dining room menu slim. At any rate here they are feasting in old Avalon Home. A feature of one of the Saturday night entertainments in 1905 was a manless wedding complete with bride, groom, preacher, flowers, best man, and all. This picture was made in old Avalon Home. One of the strongest forces shaping student life at Lipscomb was the literary society. Jamie Shields, in the drawing reproduced kere, gives her interpretation of Sigma Rho loyalty in the pre-war era. The Sigma Rho society was dis- solved in the session 1913-14 in favor of two new societies, the Kappa Nu and Sapphoneans. Paralee Cowan and Eulalia Hol- land were the first heads of the two new societies. Esmond was found written crudely upon the walls of the building, and if this did not suggest the stately name “Esmond Hall,’’ its origin is lost in obscurity. Few changes occurred in the personnel of the faculty. The board of trustees, consisting of David Lipscomb, president, C. A. Moore, secretary and treasurer, J. R. Ward, W. H. Dodd, W. R. Chambers, J. C. McQuiddy, and E. A. Elam, remained the same. The fourteenth session, the fourth of the Anderson administration, opened September 21, 1904 with a sub- stantial increase in attendance. The girls’ building was overflowing. An ‘‘annex’’ across the street provided for the overflow. SOCIETIES ORGANIZED One outstanding feature of this session was the or- ganization of literary societies, which played suc h an important part in the life of the students for the next 25 years. Volumes could be written on the activities of these societies. They became the center, not only of forensic and oratorical activities, but of the athletic and social life of the students. Every girl boarder whether academic or collegiate had to belong to the Sigma Rho society. Every boy had to be either a Calliopean or Caesarion (soon changed to Lipscomb) . Many a royal battle was fought between these two societies. There were rival debates, rival quartets, rival entertainments, rival ball teams, and even rival spelling matches. Each society claimed superiority. Sometimes One society forged ahead in numbers and strength and sometimes another. Teachers were accused of taking sides with this society or that. The rivalry was so in- tense that at baseball games sober-minded young men yelled themselves hoarse supporting their respective teams. At times there was bitterness and recrimina- tions, attacks, and counter-attacks which often were difficult for the faculty to control. The reason for the sharp rivalry is very apparent. There was no other outlet for the school spirit, since contests with other schools were not permitted; thus en- thusiasm was intensified and narrowed to society loyalty. With many, the society held first place in their hearts and the school second place. The girls’ society continued for several years, but the time came for abolishing the Sigma Rho and the or- ganizing of two other societies. Two girls stood up as if choosing for a spelling match and chose their favor- ites. Paralee Cowan chose for the Kappa Nu’s and Eulalia Holland chose for the Sapphoneans. Although, so far as | know, there was no actual hair pulling, the rivalry between the sister societies was as keen as that between the two brother societies. They had their rival entertainments, plays, and tennis games. At the opening of each session there was a great scramble for recruits. Letters were written to prospective students by members of the societies in the endeavor to procure new members. Sometimes prospective men students, mistaken for girls by their names, received scented mis- sives inviting them to become SAPPHO or K-Nu. By no means were these societies to be condemned in toto. It would be difficult to estimate their cultural value. Students gained experience in parliamentary

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DAVID LIPSCOMB. JHYUSS - PHoro, “NO MAN’‘S LAND” The Old Campus with its great trees and lush blue- grass has always been a charming picture in the mem- ory of every student since the school moved to its pres- ent site in 1903. For many years it was reserved for the girls except on special occasions. Elam was a man of striking appearance, rather large, with blue eyes, and a prominent nose and forehead. He was a graduate of Burritt College and had taught school in early life. He had developed into one of the best preachers in the brotherhood. He had done ‘‘located”’ work at Lebanon, Franklin, and Gallatin, and had trav- eled extensively as an evangelist. At this time Brother Elam lived on his farm near Lebanon. He was a pract- ical man with a high sense of honor. At chapel services he often warned the students against extravagance and dishonesty. He believed in thrift, economy, and fair dealing. He had been called upon time and again to intervene in the settlement of church troubles. He was successful in making peace. No man could have been more fair in his dealings with others. From the time Elam was selected to head the school, he showed great enthusiasm and wrote constantly in behalf of its progress. In 1907 hardly an issue of the Gospel Advocate was published that did not contain upon its front pages a plea for the school. His articles were headed ‘’Help the Nashville Bible School.’’ Some got the impression from the constant appeal that the school was in dire financial distress and that it was about to close its doors. This was entirely false. Lips- comb published a statement of the school’s financial condition in which he said that the ‘’school is not in a financial strait, it has never had a debt mature that it was not able to meet.’’ He explained that Elam’s appeals were for the school’s expansion. More buildings were needed. A number of people sent small gifts, but few who were able to give large sums responded. As a con- sequence no new buildings were in sight and the en- largement of the old ones had to be postponed with the exception of an addition of six rooms to the girls’ dormitory. Less than $1,000 was raised by Elam’s ap- peals and this was used in making minor improvements and in purchasing badly needed equipment. The lack of enthusiasm upon the part of the brother- hood was due to a lack of understanding of the nature and aims of the school. Elam said that more people