Elmira Free Academy - Torch / Sagoyawatha Yearbook (Elmira, NY)

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1867 1867 1869 1869 1870 1871 1871 The first class graduated under Prin. Steele was in 1867. This was also the first class to use the terms Valedictorian and Salutatorian for Commencement honors. Chas P. Thurston was the first valedictorian and Henry R. Redfield salutatorian. These terms have been used ever since. In a large part of Prof. Monks's administration, however, instead of being, as originally and now, applied to the students ranking first and second in scholarship, regardless of sex, the valedictory was given to the one ranking highest among the young men and the salutatory to the one ranking highest among the young women, though the latter's standing might be much higher than the former's. On the 30th of October, 1867, a preliminary meeting was held to plan a literary society open to both sexes. As a result, on Nov. 15, 1867, the Lyceum was established. Its purpose was cultivation of literary taste by composition, declamation, and reading choice literature. There were thirty-eight charter members, among them Dr. Steele, Prof. Norton, J. Sloat Fassett, H. S. Brooks, Clement Bainbridge, Jacob Schwartz, Adele Gleason and Emily A. Nel- son, names well known to most Elmirans. The motto chosen was Stratum supra stratum. For twenty years the principal of the Academy was president of the society, and several mem- bers of the faculty were usually in the membership. Prin. Steele continued president until Jan.25, 1872,when,going on a leave of absence, he resignedfrom the presidency. Prof. Monks was elected Jan. 30, 72 and continued until he left the Academy, June 1887. Officers were elected three times a year, serving one school term. The meetings were held Monday evenings in the northwest room of the basement, which the society fitted up as a cosy club room. Prof. Monks took great interest in the society and the Lyceum continued in a flourishing condition, doing excellent work, as long as he remained at its head. When Mr. Lovell became principal, the control of the Lyceum passed entirely into the hands of the students. Arthur booth was the first student president, elected in September, 1887, As the students were unaccustomed to the management of such a society, it gradually ran down. The last minutes were recorded April 19, 1889. Thus passed the first literary society of E. F. A. In 1869, the Adelphic Debating Club was organized. John R. Joslyn and C. Carroll Fitzhugh had moved to Elmira from Mt. Morris, N. Y., where in 1868 they had been charter members of an Adelphic Debating Club. They organized one here with the same name and for a second time became Adelphic charter members. There were nine others. It is interest- ing to note that J. Sloat Fassett and Jacob Schwartz were charter members of the Adelphics as well as of Lyceum. George W. Knox was its first president. Many of the famous business and professional men of Elmira have been members of the Adelphic in former years. Con- spicuous among them are such men as John B. Stanchfield, Edgar Denton, Judge Walter Lloyd Smith, Boyd McDowell, Casper Decker, Alex. Eustace. David M. Pratt, Harry Bogart, and Thomas F . Fennell. The list might be indefinitely extended. As a society open to all the young men, it drew the best talent of the school into its membership. It is to be regretted that in December, 1895, the constitution was revised, making it a secret society and thus narrowing it into a clique and defeating the purpose for which the Adelphic was organized. There is no occasion for secrets in a debating society. There should be no reason why any fellow of the school, whether a fraternity man or not, might not be privileged to belong to the historic old debating club. Until 1902, the meetings were held in E. F. A. Now the club rooms are at 206 East Water Street. The Class of 1869 was the first to hang a class picture upon the walls of E. F. A. They set a style that lasted until classes became very large in the late nineties. Jacob Schwartz was valedictorian of '69 and Will Ayres salutatorian. Our honored townsman, J. Sloat Fassett, was the brilliant valedictorian of the Class of 1870, and Clement D. Bainbridge, later an actor of repute, now living in Elmira, was salutato- nan. Soon after the beginning of the fall term of 1870, James R. Monks, A. M., a graduate of the first E. F. A. class, later of Union College, was added to the faculty to take exclusive charge of the college preparatory students. The next fall, five students entered various colleges well-prepared and admitted without condition. In September, 1871, there were thirteen students in this class. This was the beginning of Prof. Monks's long and valuable service to E. F. A. In Prin. Steele's report to the Board of Education for the year ending June 28, 1871, he mentions the custom of impromptu compositions. Whether it was established that year is not clear. This custom was continued until the inadequate accommodations of old No. 6, in 1891,whenthe second buildingwas being erected, rendered it impossible. It was not revived later. One period a week, in rotation, was devoted by all students to the writing of a composi- tion on one of several themes announced at that time. Subject matter must be drawn from one's own knowledge or experience, there was no opportunity for investigation. At least two pages must be written within the alloted period. These impromptus were divided among the faculty for marking until 1888, when the English department was separated from the history. After that, all these weekly impromptus fell to the lot of the English teacher. The system was an excellent one for the students, but a heavy burden upon one teacher. In 1870-'71 a girls' debating society called the Philorhetorian was in existence. The date of its origin is uncertain, as is also the date of its disbanding. The society met Thursday afternoons after school, in the same room as the Adelphics, whose meetings at that time were 'Thursday evenings. Later the Adelphics met Fridays. Six or seven years after this, another

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I I 4 CHAPTER V. PRIN. STEELE'S ADMINISTRATION, 1866-1872. Prin. Steele began his difficult task March 1, 1866, with a policy of extreme severity, as he deemed the case demanded. Gradually he relaxed, and after a time revived self-govern- 1 ment developing it into a system that became famous far and near, and attracted many visitors to the school. His methods, being in' advance of the times, were much discussed by educators. The following are some features of his govern- ment. Students attaining a creditabie scholar- ship had their names placed upon an Honor Roll, in order of rank, as First Head Scholars or Second Head Scholars --tho' that was not a very scholarly use of terms. To these students were given certain duties and certain privileges. No teacher remained in charge of the study room 3 thus one teacher's full time was saved. Monitors ' had served in the place of teachers, under Mr. Wellington's rule, but all supervision was now dispensed with. To summon classes from recita- l tion rooms, large bells in each second-floor hall were rung vigorously by Head Scholar boys at the proper times. Classes were dismissed to recitation rooms by Head Scholars, who went forward in front of chapel desk and tapped the desk bell for Seniors, juniors, and Sophomores in succession. The Seniors of highest rank performed this service, ifin chapel 5 if not, the next lower. If no Senior of honor rank were in the room, the duty fell to the highest junior, and so on. If a teacher happened to be at the desk for an reason, the teacher sent the classes, but the service was usually performed by the honzr student. With these duties went privileges. Senior honor students had their choice between studying in chapel or in the office on the second floor, the boys using the principal's office, the girls, the lady teachers'. Studying in the princi- pal's office to-day is not exactly a reward of merit, but conditions were different in those days, when the principal's time was spent almost entirely in the class-room. Junior honor students used the offices just above these, on the third floor. Sophomores---the entering class- some- times had tables and chairs in the front end of the third floor halls, sometimes they used the basement. Of course, abuse of these privileges usually resulted in lowered standings the next month, loss of honor rank involving loss of privileges. The system worked, in the main, exceptionally well. It was maintained during Prin. Steele's administration and that of his successor, Prin. Monks, aggregating about twenty years. ' During Prin. Steele's term, the faculty was increased to four. One of the teachers, Miss Hattie Marshall, assisted Dr. Steele in the preparation, especially the illustration, of many of his text-books, most of which were written while he was at the head of E. F.A. Prof. Steele made fame and fortune by his fourteen weeks' courses in Chemistry, Physics, Geology, and other sciences, also by his Barnes's U. S. History, so-called because written for the A. S. Barnes and Co. publishing house. All these books are well known to students attending E. F. A. during the seventies and eighties. Miss Mary Harriet Norris, another teacher during Steele's administration, is now Dean of the Northwestern University, and celebrated as an author. One of her books has Grover Cleveland as hero, another has its setting in the Chemung Valley. Shortly after assuming control of the school, Prin. Steele introduced Calisthenics with dumbbell drills. This proved too tame for the fellows, filled with the spirit of the late war, and an Athletic association resulted. This died out later and new associations have been or- ganized several times in the subsequent history of-the school. The original association secured a barn already standing at the rear of the Academy, and remodelled it for a gymnasium. Prof. A. Wellington Norton, an assistant teacher, later principal of No. 4 School, deserves the credit for this undertaking. With the sanction of Prin. Steele, the work was done by the young men of the school, under Prof. Norton's direction, the material being purchased with money sub- scribed by students. The building had a floor of saw-dust and was well equipped for a gym- nasium in those days. Outside was a trapeze and rings, which were in constant use at recesses and before school. The gymnasium stood until the building of the second Academy 1891 Owing to the waste of time during the first six months of 1865 --'66, no class was ready for graduation in june 1866. 1866 1866

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short lived debating society was started by the girls, but both its name and its history are wrap- ped in obscurity. At the time of the Commencement in '71, there were several rizes given by public spirited citizens. These continued for three years, until, some dissatisfjaction with the award- ing having arisen, the donors thought best to withdraw them. The Arnot prize in mathematics, given by john Arnot, jr., consisted of two gold medals for the best results in an algebra examination given by the teacher. H. W. Foster and Loula Fassett won these medals in '71. The Hall spelling prize was a Webster's Unabridged Dictionary contributed by Chas. Hall for the best speller. Emma H. Beers and Mary Turner tied for first rank and a dictionary was given to each. ' The Diven composition and elocution prize was established by George M. Diven. He donated 70 dollars for books as prizes each year. These were awarded on the results of two prize exhibitions. The first awards were as follows: Oratory, 1st prize, Fred Dundas, 2nd prize, Henry Flood, Composition, 1st Senior prize, Ella Beecher, 2nd Senior prize, Mary Turner, 1st Junior prize, Josie Bullard, 2nd Junior prize, William P. McKnight. Junior and Sophomore Recitation and Declamation prizes: Declamation, 1st prize, William P. McKnight, 2nd prize, Alex. C. Eustace. Recitation, 1st prize, Hattie Hart, 2nd prize, Lizzie Thurston. In '72-'73 an English Literature prize was added to the foregoing list. 15 dollars in was given to the student attaining highest rank in a written examination in English Literature set by the teacher of literature. No record was found of the donor or o the winner. In all cases, these prizes were awarded at Commencement, though the successful competitors were sometimes announced at the close of the exhibitions. On January 13th, 1872, Prin. Steele was given a leave of absence for four months because of the pressure of his literary duties. January 29th, Prof. Monks was appointed Acting-Principal during Prin. Stee1e's absence. On June 25th, of the same year, the Board of Education declined to accept Prin. Steele's resignation, granting him six months further leave and requesting him to withdraw his resignation. He never returned to E. F. A. aslprin- cipal, however, although the Board waited until July 14, 1873, before appointing Acting- rin- cipal Monks actual Principal. A Principal Steele's administration had done great things for the progress and reputation of the Academy. That fact, coupled with his literary fame, made the Board very reluctant to release him. As has been shown, he brought order out of chaos, made the Academy an illus- trious example of self government, and established many worthy customs. Moreover, he was an exceptionally able teacher, commanding the respect and admiration of his students, and was a great organizer. For many years the school bore the impress of his strong personality. CHAPTER VI. PRIN. MONKS'S ADMINISTRATION, 1872-1887. Prin. James R. Monks kept the Academy up to the standard established by his predecessor. W In his '73 report to the Board, he emphasized the fact that no teacher in his school was called an a assistant , each in her department was supreme authority, a preceptress of a special department, thus adding dignity to the position. Their com- pensation was also better than it is to-day, though the requirements now are much higher than then. There were five departments in '73, history and literature being combined in one. In February 1873, Prof. Steele's collection of geological specimens was purchased for 450 dollars. This is an unusually line collection for a High School to own. It has been added to some- what by later instructors, Miss Herrick contributing a collection made one summer in Ithaca. Un- fortunately, under the present regent's regulations in science the collection can be little used. In September, 1874, the course of study was changed from a three to a four years' course for x all students. Previous to that, the general course N had been three years. College preparatory students 1 had been graduated at the close of the third year, I on the general course, returning for a fourth year and a second diploma. . books 2' U 1871 1872 1872-' 73 1873 1874