Bridgewater State University - Alpha Yearbook (Bridgewater, MA)

Page 32 text:

Elma flbaterf' HERE HAD been a need long felt in our school for a song -' that would express our loyalty. There were a few songs, H ' more expressive of fun than of deep feeling, which were ' ' sung to old familiar tunes, but nothing that really belonged to us. . Last june, just before the Biennial Reunion, sheets of music bearing the name Alma Mater were distributed throughout the school. We had a song which was all ournown. The words and the music were written solely for the Bridgewater State Normal School, and were dedicated to our Principal, Mr. Albert G. Boyden. The matter had been kept secret, so the issue of the music came as a surprise to most of us. The words of Alma Mater were written by Miss Zelma Lucas, 1904, then a member of our school and now a teacher at Plymouth. The music was composed by Mr. William Lester Bates, a graduate from our school in 1892, and now sub-master in the George Putnam school in Boston. The song has proved worthy of our enthusiasm. Its theme is loyal- ty,-not merely the zest of school spirit which enlivens social life and athletics, but the deep, intense love which time has no power to change. It is the strong tie that makes the graduates of the school turn back and remember forever the, precepts learned there. It is the spirit that makes Biennial Day so bright, the wonder of the younger members of the school, when old faces grow young again, and all cares are forgotten inlthe joy of being back once more amid the loved surroundings. Alma Mater is a song of praise and love to the fostering mother who has given and still gives so much to her children. Much of the meaning is expressed by the way in which the song is sung. Faces grow earnest when the first chords are struck, and one by one we gather around the piano and sing with all our hearts, as we can sing only something that we love. No gathering is complete without the singing of Alma Mater, and we are sure that the years will not make us 26 forget wvfds Worthy 6

Page 31 text:

natural effflrts Value the in. IGP char. Hraeter, her, and 'S Gnd is Sports to. ld be led uning by to prove r in both r growth, evidence the com- alm equi- 't toward erve and advance .cal Edu' rivilegCS if attain' JRDON. Mature Stubv. St. Louis Exposition as last year'.s edition of the QFF15iiRINGi exhibit illustrated the course in Nature Study as arranged' by? V K Mr. A. C. Boyden and pursued in this school. it vvas planned with considerable care so as to show, educators and teachers generally the fundamental principles governing the-work and its distribu- tionein. different grades. . . - -, i -Q . One of the educational journals commenting on the Nature 'Study Exhibit said5 The exhibit from' the Model School at Bridgewater is pre- eminently the fullest and richest and the mostcarefully- prepared nature work in the whole educational exhibit. It was arranged under the person- al supervision of Mr. Arthur C. Boyden,'who.for twenty-tive years has been an enthusiast in nature Work and is -today the leading exponent of Nature Study in -Massachusetts. it it it it Mr. Boyden has brought to his work not only the requisite scientiiic knowledge but a fine appreciation of' the principles underlyingzthe grtowth of the child mind, and of the limita- tions and capacities of children. S - 4 .r . ' Itfis understood-that a gold niedal and adiploma are to be forth. coming to Mr. Boyden and the school respectively as tokens of the success of the work as planned and executed, BRENELLE HUNT. 25 HE .MGDEL Schoolexhibit which was being forwarded thef was going to press took the first prize in that subject. Thei

Page 33 text:

I1 song songs, were .onged earing V e had written rted to secret, Lucas, . The Jm our rool in s loyal- ife and zhange. n b3.Cli it that Qf the , inltlli Mater ,gn and Song is one bY wg can out the nake HS , forget either the song or the feelings it arouses We are grateful for words and music so worthy of our school, and we hope that other songs as ' worthy may be added, written from the love of our hearts, and st1mulat ing the loyalty of all who hear them. v J ALMA MATER. O loved Alma Mater, we greet thee Thy daughters and sons from afar, As often we pause in our toiling To hail thee, whose children we are REFRAIN. Hail to Normal! hail to Normal! Safe for aye in mem'ry's shrine, Hail to Normal ! Dear old Normal l Praise and love be ever thine. With strong steady hand dost thou lead us Thy powerful arm is our stay, Thy light is our beacon in darkness Which ever will lend us its ray. REFRAIN. Oh may thy fair name live forever, Be deeply impressed on each heart That we in our trials and triumphs May ne'er from thy guidance depart REFRAIN. 27