Bradley University - Anaga Yearbook (Peoria, IL)

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I I I 1 l . I 1 i 1 li il i I l 1 the principal in charge. Later he resigned such position, and at the present time Mr. A. T. Wfestlake is Dean of such department. In the summer vaca- tion of 1898, Director Sisson visited Europe with special reference to the watch schools of Switzerland, and brought with him, on his return, much information helpful in the subsequent conduct of this department of the Institute. During the summer of 1897, appropriate excercises for the opening of the school and the establishment of Founder's Day were being considered and worked out. Hon. Lyman Gage, Secretary of the Treasury, had been agreed upon as the first Founder's Day orator, if he could be secured, and the institution was to be thus favored and Peoria honored, as Mr. Gage, at much inconvenience to himself, accepted the invitation. On October 4, 1897, there assembled in Bradley Hall a full corps of instructors, and pupils to the number of 105, surprising themselves and every- one else, but with the removal of the first shovel of earth in the excavation for foundations, this gathering was announced, and while it could not be said that the buildings were fully ready for school, they were so far ready that such assembling was possible under circumstances which gave it the character of a first day, and justified the promise of the trustees. The students rapidly increased in number, nearly reaching the limit of 150, which had been fixed upon as a proper number to be cared for the first year, although the buildings would well accommodate tive hundred. The dedicatory and Founder's Day exercises had been fixed for October 8. That was a day to which Peorians interested in educational matters had been looking forwardg in fact, the magnitude of Mrs. Bradley's gift had called attention of the intellectual world to Peoria and to this school. Educators from all parts of the State were to be here, and they came in even greater numbers than anticipated. The program for the day follows: Procession. Invocation. ..... ......... ....................... R E V. A. A. STEVENS Quartette. The Dedicatory Address ..... .................. H oN. LYMAN J. GAGE Orchestra. The Presentation, MRS. LYDIA BRADLEY, the Founder of the Institute The Acceptance ............. PRES. OLIVER J. BAILEY, of the Institute Address on Behalf of the Faculty... .......................... . ..PREs. WILLIAM R. HARPER, of the University of Chicago America. Benediction ........................... REV. Lvcunous KIR'rLEv, D. D. This program was carried out fully, and, while the Institute will enjoy many recurring Founder's Days, in which the life of Mrs. Bradley and the morning of the Institute will be lived over and over again in remembrance, none can have the interest or significance of this one. The only words of Mrs. Bradley in public presence, were on this occasion in presenting the keys

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destined to mean so much to Peoria and its youth of the present and coming generations. October 4, 1897, had already been fixed upon by the Board of Trustees for the beginning of school work. Wlhat must necessarily be accom- plished in the interim between these dates, was so great an undertaking that people shook their heads in doubt, many said it was a physical impossibility, but anxiety on the part of Mrs. Bradley and her associates for this attainment was a spur to every effort and with wonderful rapidity and harmony the work went forward, not only upon the buildings, but in plans for the school work as well. Mr. Edward U. Sisson, at the time President of the South Side Academy, Chicago, had been secured as Director of the Institute to enter upon his duties, more particularly of assisting in selecting the faculty, March I, 1897. He remained such President until july 1, 1897, from which date his time in behalf of the Institute has been undivided and untiring. Although at the time of appointment to this responsible position, Mr. Sisson was under thirty years of age, he has shown himself possessed of the qualities of heart, mind and education, essential to the best success, and Bradley Polytechnic Institute will ever profit by the efficiency of his work in establishing the foundations of the school in these first years of its history. For all departments of the school it was the ambition to secure persons thoroughly fitted to the work, both by nature and education, and who would consecrate themselves to the undertaking as a duty and a privilege, and it has been a source of congratulation that the wisdom exercised in choosing from the many applicants presenting themselves for consideration, was so unerring as to seem providential, and it would be a pleasure to name here each one selected and having part in the early days of this school life. The departments of manual training and domestic economy, were to be and ever remain, special features of this school, though not more thorough and important would be their instruction than in every department, for the intention was to furnish so far as it might be carried, the best instruction in all that should tend to a complete education. lVIr. Charles Alpheus Bennett was secured for the manual training department, and it would be well for the Institute if it could have assurance of retaining him for many years to come. Mrs. Nellie Sawyer Kedzie, given charge of the Domestic Iiconomy Depart- ment, has won golden laurels in her work, placing such department in high favor and giving new character and dignity to this branch of education. For some years prior to the establishment of Bradley Polytechnic Insti- tute, Mrs. Bradley had been interested in Parsons' Horological Institute, cou- ducted in a building owned by her and located near the Polytechnic grounds. By co-operation of all parties interested, it was arranged that this horological school should become a department of Bradley Polytechnic Institute, and its conduct was undertaken accordingly. Mr. R. Parsons remaining for a time

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of the buildings, and in charging the trustees with their responsibilities. The audience crowding every available space of the auditorium, listened with almost breathless silence, in deepest reverence and gratitude, and then, as never before, the importance of this life work culminating in her life-time, impressed itself upon all having to do with it. The next great event in the history of the school would naturally be its first Convocation Day, though in the meantime much was to occur of interest not only to the school, but to the public. On the evening of March 11th, the Institute tendered to the public a reception to all parts of its buildings, and this was a very happy occasion and a revelation to many of the five thousand people or more availing themselves of this privilege. Shops, laboratories, the domestic economy department and other places were making careful demon- strations of the practical work of the school. The public had been told much about such work through the press, and now this opportunity of seeing it was looked forward to and enjoyed. The buildings were accepted from the contractors january 17, 1898. At the dedicatory exercises the members of the faculty appeared in their academ- ical caps and gowns, and wore them before their classes, for the first time, at chapel exercises October 11, 1897. V The first issue of the College paper, THR TECH, appeared in February, 1898. Its editor-in-chief was Miss Lucie B. Clark, and the business manager, Mr. George R. MacClyment, assisted by an able corps. The production was a bright, creditable affair, containing a picture of' Mrs. Bradley and a brief his- tory of her life, and also containing other matter important for future reference. The first lecture in Bradley Hall, open to the public, was by Dr. Harper, on the subject, Art Among the Hebrews. V In planning the courses of study, it was decided to add to the usual four years high school course, two years to be known as the College Course, and to divide the entire six years into the Lower Academy, Higher Academy and College, two years each, carrying forward into the College course special work with large freedom, and allowing a fair proportion of purely elective work, thus giving to the College Course advantages of a home training equal to the first two years in the great colleges and universities. On june 724, 1898, occurred the first convocation or graduating exers cises, closing a successful year, during which the Institute had gained a high rank among the educational institutions. The only graduate on this occasion was Miss Corinne I . Unland, who will ever enjoy the distinction of being the first graduate of Bradley Polytechnic Institute. She received her diploma from President Bailey, speaking for the Board of Trustees. The exercises occurred in the morning and the address was by Hon. Christian C. Kohlsaat of Chicago, on the subject, The Genesis and Genius of Western Life. As Mrs. Bradley appeared in the procession the large audience of invited guests