Bates College - Mirror Yearbook (Lewiston, ME)

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'il' The girls in Rand awoke one morning to this! Donald Swett, '18, strikes Centur I9l4-- I 939 In 1920 Clifton Daggett Gray became the third president of Bates. This was the Harding-Coolidge era of easy pros- perity. It was inevitable that there should be a financial campaign, and in the early 1920's came The Blillion Dollar Fund. Its complete success added fS600,000 to the endow- ment, and provided a physical education plant consisting of four units: the Gray Athletic Building, the Alumni Gymna- sium, Men's Locker Building, and XVomen's Locker Build- ing. Several residences for women and a YVomen's Union were added to the physical resources. Students drum up downtown trade for The Dover Road. classic pose. This prosperity could not last, however, and the Great Depression dominated the thirties. Bates suffered. Students already attending found their financial resources near de- pletion. and prospective students postponed their college plans. National Youth Administration Grants aided someg but facultv and students alike hoped for more prosperous days. Bates did not stiffer any crippling annual deficits dur- ing the Depression, and emerged from it a growing and successful college. Eager Freshmen board wagons for Stanton Ride. kill .. l

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Third Quarter Flames and the old Gymnasium. Flying was an extra-curricular activity in the late thirties. Then came the 1Var, and Bates College had its own Army and Navy. They could be seen at almost any hour of the day drilling on Gareelon Field, until the time came for de- parture to a regular training camp. The thrill of a lifetime Came in 1918, when midvear exams were omitted. One of the outstanding events of the era was the burning of the old wooden gymnasium. This was easily the most unpopular building on Campus when it suddenly burst into flame on the night of June 2, 1925, threatening the safety of Parker, Hathorn, and a large quantity of coal stored nearby. Although the oflieial Cause of the blaze still remains The butler and the maid engage in a unknown, it is believed that extensive questioning of certain members of the class of '28 might clear up the mystery. At any rate, the pajama-clad Parkerites who danced about the fire were not very helpful in putting it out. Always a leader in inter-collegiate debating, a Bates team represented America June 16, 1921, in the Oxford Union, against some of Britain's finest. Again asserting its leader- ship in the Held of debating, the college sent a three man team around the world in 1928. The debaters, on a trip lasting from Mavf to November, traveled 35,000 miles and participated in 23 debates. little hanky-panky. This bull session' between two Freshmen and their big brothers seems serious. uf 5,1!v fr t eff 39 'sf' 1 ill 5 ' 'Q .

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IU 1 f 1 -'---'11-In-ur -.,, 'Q i Pri'-sirlf-ut flrav siuressfiilly pullwtl Bates through the Depres- sion only to bf- fart-d hy thr- biggest crisis which the country had vf-t l,'llffillIl1V'I 'll, 1N'hen the lfnited States went to the defense of Europe in YYorlcl YN'ar ll. the tollr-ge was granted a unit of the V12 Naval Training Program. Bates not only participated per- s- nally in the 'war hut was involved in one of the best govern- n.r-ut training programs. Thf- curriculum --- solid mathe- niatiia. stir-me-, and pre-engiuf-r-ring courses. together with languages and liberal arts - - was acceptable for the regular college tlvgrec. During this period one intf-rt-sting event in which Bates has personal iutf-rest and pridr- -.vas the christening of the S.S. Bat:-s Yictoryu in luis .Xngelv-s llarl-or on Kfay 2. 1915. This lltilllii ton. -133 foot vittoiv ship named for Bates College was lauruhf-tl at the stroke of inichiiuht and used as a standard '.-.artiuie and ptstn-.ar cargo marriv-r. Prr-sitlv-nt firav I '11l'l'fl in 1911. to ltr- succeeded by our iurrvnt iir -iclent, Cihiulv-s liiguil-.lin Phillips. f1v- was inaugu- rated on Novi-iuhf-r 11 of that vi-ar. P1-4-sul.-or Phillips. a li--iriivi' Cloluate L'nivr-rsitv professor and an artivv- partir ipaut in L'1X1'l'11I1if'I1I service during XY--rld XX'4ir ll. has pil-xv-ri that a iizfiu with a purpose and a will to atliivxf' it ian ltr- an out-tgiiitliug as-r-t to society at large as wr-ll as to our siixill Bath- iouniuuitv. The atcoiuplisluncnts during his IJf'l'i fl ht-ie att'-st to his I--acl'-rsliip ability. Fourth Quarter Century I 939- I 964 Freshmen can't even talk to girls! Sophomore John Shea, '-14. reminds John Kneeland during his interlude with Crete Thompson. ln twenty years. college resources have expanded greatly. The three-part Pine Arts Center. Page Hall. the Rfaintenance Center. and the newly completed Lane Administration Build- ing represent new additions to the campus. Many of the older buildings have been remodeled and enlarged. The world of television has also entered Bates. First. during the year 1961-1962. college and community alike joined in celebrating Bates' victory on the General Electric College Bowl. and within a few months' time. Bates. joining with Bowdoin and Colby. founded Haines first educational tele- vision station. Early in President Phillips' administration, the faculty un- dertook a far-reaching study of the curriculum, in which it measured every aspect of the program against the need to provide young men and women with effective preparation for living in this modern world. The Bates Plan of Education, as living evidence of this study, has provided the college with a modernized curriculum which gives emphasis to the liberal arts tradition. This Bates Plan of Education is a distin- guishing feature of Bates College today. President Phillips has also concentrated his efforts on in- creasing faculty salaries so that Bates occupies a satisfactory standing among colleges. Thus it is possible to have a staff equal to the improved physical resources of the college. Schol- arship and loan funds have multiplied. Frank H. Bowles. Director of the educational program for the Ford Foundation. closed his address to the Centennial Convocation audience by saying. 'ifBatesl can hold to war- ranted pride in the accomplishment which it ha.s built into its fabric. and enter into its second century with a new assurance of strength and purpose. It has built this on a rare combination of qualities - on simplicity. steadfastness, and integrity, While it holds these in its hand and heart, the future can never fail it. The S.S. Bates Vic- tory sails out of Los Angeles Harbor.