Bucknell University - L Agenda Yearbook (Lewisburg, PA)

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L ' A O E N O A : CONTENTS Dedication College Classes Organizations Athletics Features

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M ' his ook is jfectionately dedicated hji the Qlass of 1934 to the (Memory of OLD MAIM ' Hcrc we meet as kin and comrticie; ' crc sweet friendships intertuine; ere U ' e girded for Life ' s hanle; Ima cMater, eMater oMine. A LTHOUGIi fire has swept Old Main from our campus, still she is with ,r s in the history of how she came to be, what she was, and wh.it she did. JL To us of the Class of ' 34, it is an exceptional privilege here to recall the will and the spiwt of sacrifice that led the fatiiers of Ikicknell to erect, for her future sons and daughters, one of the stateliest of American college buildings. Gratefully we praise those pioneer fathers for their magnificent achievement. Foremost among the builders of Old Main was Steplien W. Taylor. His conscientious purpose and indomitable will to build here a uni ersit ' , made every- thing he did subserve this end; lie came to Lewisburg late in 1845; secured the University charter, in 1-ebruary, 1846; founded the Academy in October, 1S46; organized college classes in 1847; and graduated the first class in 185 1. He is credited with being the creator of Bucknell University. To secure architectural beauty and finish. Dr. Taylor placed his preliminary plans for Old Main in the hands of Thomas U. Walter, the architect who designed the dome and the wings of the United States capitol, Girard College, and other notable buildings. In the winter of 1849, Dr. Ta lor and architect Walter together climbed our vacant campus Hill and, tramping through the snow that then covered it, selected the site and drove the stakes to mark the corners of Old Main. The erection of Old Main, .i building three hundred and thirty feet long, called for real money. Dr. William Shadrach was appointed financial agent and given the difficult task of raising the necessary money to erect the buildings planned. On fcot or horse back, by buggy, stage coach, or canal boat. Dr. Shadrach traveled through the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He visited nearly every Baptist church within their boundaries. He secured contributions and pledges from four thousand persons and, on July 17th, 1849, reported that he had received money values sufficient to cover fully Dr. Taylor ' s estimate of the amount needed to build all the proposed College buildings. Old Main was completed in I8S9, under the presidency of Dr. Justin R. Loomis. Since that day, not a few students, destined in after years to be called great men, here began their climb to honors and fanu and glory. General Tasker Howard Bliss of the Class of ' 73 made his way, during the World War, to the highest eminence in military service and rank. Our ex-president, David Jayne Hill, of the Class of ' 74, became world famous as a scholar, a diplo- mat, and an authority on international law. Christopher Mathewson, of the Class of ' 02, is acclaimed as the unexcelled baseball pitcher of all times. Where is there a brighter galaxv of college stars thin these? In every field of ende.ivor, Bucknell ' s sky glows with brilliant stars. What college can boast of a truer spirit of loyalty and sacrifice on the part of her pioneer builders, her student body, her alumni, her faculty, her trustees, and her friends, than the college that grew up fostered by Old Main.