Bridgewater State University - Alpha Yearbook (Bridgewater, MA)

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

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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

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Eriogewater 1HormaI Elssociation. i -.iii-i INCE THE last issue ofthe NORMAL OFFERING two meetings -, of the Bridgewater Normal Association have been held. The first of these, the fifty-first convention of the association, was f held in Bridgewater, Saturday, june 18, 1904. The fifty- ' -I s second convention met at Hotel Brunswick, Boston, Satur- day, April 15, 1905. - These two gatherings were 'notable ones in the history of the association, the theme in both being the completion of Mr. Boyden's fiftieth year of teaching in the school, an unusual record in any profession. At the Bridgewater meeting, Rev. Samuel M. Crowthers of Cam- bridge, the speaker of the day, took as his subject the Study of Poetry as one source of pure enjoyment. The theme of the after-dinner speeches was the Bridgewater spirit as received, intensified, and transmitted by Mr. Boyden for fifty years. Among the speakers, fittingly introduced by President john I. Rackliffe, were Secretary George H. Martin representing the state, Vice-Principal A. C. Boyden, the school, and Mrs. Ellen G. Adams, the alumni. y - But it was at theBoston meeting that the full tribute to Mr. Boyden was given-a tribute marked by a signihcant simplicity, sincerity, and warmth. ' An unusually large number of the graduates of the school and guests of the association met in the parlors of Hotel Brunswick at twelve o'clock, when an informal reception was held for an hour. The company included graduates ranging from Mr. john Kneeland of the third class to members of the one hundred thirty first class. I After the luncheon Mr. Charles P. Sinnott, in behalf 'of the school, offered the motion that the present school pin, made on the plan of the new state seal, be adopted as the pin of the association. This motion was adopted unanimously, and the pin may now be used as a class pin, a school pin, and an alumni pin-a symbol of complete 'school unity. . , gg , 7 Br sCh00l of the school perman Boyden address H, Lec tion of adapteo to halt Tl George tension others Mr. Bo lopporti him to Of ate nial in gold cc mahog Albe .S NOI'm1 .A A Boydf featur his W4 '1 . The 1