Rocky Mountain College - Yellowstone / Poly Yearbook (Billings, MT)

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THE POLY A DAY AT THE POLYTECHNIC It is a day filled to the brim with the many details that go to the making of the American boy into the citizen of tomorrow. It is for him to carry the torch we pass on and if he is to give a good accounting of himself, he must be trained as only methods such as ours can accomplish. He must be initiated into the regularity and punc- tuality of military efficiency, he must be taught along the same practical and every-day lines as he will meet in the problems of life, he must live in a patriotic atmosphere, he must grow in grace amid Christian surroundings. Such is the life of every student at the Polytechnic-not at stated intervals, nor appointed times, but every day and every hour. The student's day begins at 6:30 in the morning when, thru the silent barrack halls, the shrill, clear tones of Reveille call the sleepy boy from his dreams, out of bed he scrambles, has- tily Jumping into his trousers, blouse and shoes and within ten minutes an- swers to his name at the first roll call of the day. He is then put thru the setting-up exercises, the best form of gymnastics known. In the average public school or non-military academy a few men, who happen to possess strength or promise, are developed into athletes, every effort of the institution is brought to bear upon these favored few to turn out a great athletic team and as a result some very nearly perfect specimens of physical man are incidentally made. But what of the average lad, who possesses no such promise or who has no desire to go out for the team? He is left to shift for himself, neglected! In a military school, it is quite different. Every cadet can and must take the setting-up exercises. There is no partiality, no exception, each receives his share and instead of the favored few, we have a battalion of cadets rugged in health and surprising in strength. Moreover, the exercises being the same as those used at West Point, are especially adapted for developing a military bearing. They throw the shoulders back where they belong, straighten the spine, and our cadet, wh en he moves-walks like a man. After fifteen minutes of hard drill, the companies are dismissed and each cadet hastens to his room, makes his bed, sweeps his room, washes himself and otherwise makes his morning toilet, and then, just before breakfast the captain of his company inspects his room to see that all is clean and in order for the day. That captain is usually a very particular

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THE POLY Mrs. Mary Johnson-Eaton, B. O. Highland Park College, Columbia 'School of Expression. English and Reading. Miss Emma N. Johnson, Highland Park Teachers' College, University of Chicago School of Education. Director Normal and Teacher Training Department. Clyde A. Prusman, B. S. Highland Park College. Professor of Electrical Engineering and Physics. Miss Arminda Jacqueline Mowre, Graduate Cumnock School of Orotary, University of Northwesterng Post-Graduate Columbia College of Expression, Chicago. Expression, Dramatics, Oratory, Debate, and Physical Training for Women. Mrs. M. A. Maclntyre, Queen's College, Kingston, Canadag Dean of Moose Jaw College. Special Training Y. VV. C. A. Dean of Ladies' Residence. E. C. McDonald, Good Will High School, also Connected with the Boy Scouts' General Office, New York City. Superintendent Buildings and Groundsg School Purchasing Agent. Miss Evelyn Gross, Gregg School, Chicago, Illinois. Gregg Shorthand, Typewriting and Other Training. Wm. H. rSchlagenhauf, Jones' College. St. Louis, Manual Training School of Washington Universityg Bradley Institute. H. E. Hagerman, LLB., St. John's Military Academy and Northwestern University. Commandant of Cadets. Jesse C. Thompson, B. Mu. Pupil of George W. Hey, Graduate Syracuse University, Pupil of Carl Schultz and Conrad Becker of New York. Violin, Band and Orchestra Instruments. Miss Emma Ludwig, Graduate Normal Department Chicago Art Institute. Classic Art, Commercial Art, Normal Art, China Painting, Ceramic Art. R. B. Howard, Graduate Factory Methods and Engineering Practice. Head of Highland Park College Courses in Auto and Tractor, Government Expert Summer, 1918. Auto Engineering, Tractor Engineering, Expert Gas Engineering Courses. Charles Orpen Woodworth, University of Denver. lSpecial Medical Training. Physical Director, U. S. Army Officer. Miss Sylvia Wallace, B. S., Simmons' College. Assistant Dean of Women, Director of Home Economics Department, Dietitian. Miss Marcia Bailey, University of Cambridge, Englandg Sonderhausen Conservatory, Germany, Pupil of William Bachaus. Teacher Piano Department. Mrs. A. H. Davies, Montana State Normal College, University of Montana Post-Graduate, Northern Normal School, Aberdeen, S. Dak. Miss Iva Jane Thomas, New England Conservatory of Music. Voice. Mrs. Myrtle Henderson, Trained Nurse. Mrs. Julia Constant, Boys' House Mother. Miss L. M. Beebe, Office Secretary.

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THE POLY person with the pride of his company near his heart so it is well if our cadet has learned that to be a good soldier one must be cleanly in person and in quarters. No sooner is inspection complete than breakfast call is ,sounded and the cadet hurries to take his place with the mess to which he has been assigned. Returning from breakfast, he has but a few minutes to himself before school call is blown and from 8:00 to 12:00 his time is well filled with recitations and classes. Many different courses are offered at the institution and though we might enjoy to linger here visiting, in turn, each department but as that which is offered may be read elsewhere in this book, it will suffice to say that the subjects taught are the practical every day problems with which men and women living in this Matter-of-Fact age will have to wrestle. The classes themselves are small, insuring to each student special and individual attention. At 11:20, the cadet again falls into ranks and is marched to the chapel by the sergeant of his detail. This chapel, he finds different from many that he may have seen or what he had expected to find. The exercise is a pleasant one to the average boy, a few songs are sung and among them he is bound to find his favorites, a word of prayer is offered, important announcements made and then, as is often the case, the opportunity is presented to hear some great man of whom he has often read. Billings is visited frequently by distinguished men and women, and our president never fails to extend to such an invitation to meet with us. Since the ideals and purposes of the Polytechnic have reached far, the hearts of great men are always open to us and our needs, and the invitation to speak a word to our boys and girls nearly always accepted. Following chapel, the companies form under their respective captains or if later in the year under the commandant of cadets for an hour's drill. Up to this time, each cadet has been pretty much himself, but with the last notes of Assembly, he surrenders his individuality, he is no longer himself, he is one element in a complex unit, the perfect working of every one of which is necessary to the perfection of the wholeg he must obey orders, he must learn to respect his officers and himself, he must sacrifice his own personal feelings for the more important good of the many, he must train his muscles to obey his will, and his every movement must be as systematic and well-timed as a part of a complex but perfect piece of machinery. On Saturdays, he is often taken on a forced march or extended order drill and it is then with his blanket and a day's rations in his pack, he learns the many lessons of a soldier in the field, an experience he thoroughly enjoys. At 12 :30, the not unpleasant notes of Soupy strike his ear and it is