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

Page 31 text:

CHAPTER IX. PRIN. CONANT'S ADMINISTRATION, 1900'f- 1906. Mr. Howard Conant came from the Penn Yan Academy to succeed Mr. Evans. During the vacation the Clubroom had been dismantled and seated as an annex to lower chapel to accommodate the over-flow of 1 first and second year students. Mr. Conant placed Miss Koehler in charge of the room and changed its name to I Room K in her honor. The loss of the Clubroom put an end for some time to social functions in the school. November 7, 1900, Commissioner H. C. Mande- ville of the Board offered prizes of 15 and 10 dollars to Seniors and juniors respectively, 7for thelbest articles written on The Commercial Future of the United States. The award was to be made at the 1901 Commencement. This was the first prize offered by a public-spirited citizen since the early seventies, when several E. F. A. prizes had been established. This was for the one year only. The Class of 1901 established the custom of choosing a Patron Saint from the faculty Wa custom popular in college. Miss M. Louise Godfrey had the honor of being the nrst Patron Saint in Academy history. The example of the Naughty Ones, as they called themselves, has been followed by all succeeding els sses except '02 and '08. Their choices were as follows: soq . .ff Miss Minna B. Phelps, '04.- -'Prin. Howard Conant, '05.fNMiss Grace Foster, '06.4 Miss M. Louise Godfrey, '07.-Miss Lillian B. Herrick, Miss M Louise Godfrey '09.ff . . In May of 1901, the first demonstration of wireless telegraphy in Elmira was made by Miss Lillian B. Herrick of the science department of E. F. A., assisted by Leon Bogardus, a student. Communication was established between two rooms and the experiment was entirely successful. It called outside attention very strongly to E. F. A. Miss Herrick was a partic- ularly able and progressive teacher and such up-to-date experiments were common things while she headed the physics department. Wednesday afternoon of Commencement week in the Academy chapel, the Seniors repeated their class play, A Letter of Introduction, given first in Park Church, February 19th. The repetition was for the benefit of the Athletic Association. The 1901 Commencement was unusually interesting. Mr. Francis E. Neagle, the val- edictorian, broke the state record by securing a 127 count regent's Academic diploma in his four years' course. The nearest approximation had been made by Prin. Charles Kent of the Elmira Heights School, but he made the record in mature years, after he became a principal, and even then fell several counts short of 127. Mr. Neagle later made an enviable record in Harvard, doing seven years' work in six in the arts and law departments and lecturing regularly in Radcliffe during the last years. He is now practicing law in New York City, the Harvard Club there having given him first choice of all openings in law offices because of his exceptionally able work at Harvard. Another brilliant student of 1901, Miss Rena Rockwell, after completing the course in Elmira College, did post-graduate work at Radcliffe. The salutatorian, Miss Florence Blades, secured the 15 dollar prize offered by Commis- sioner Mandeville for the best article on The Commercial Future of the United States, Miss Clara Louise Comfort receiving honorable mention. The 10 dollar prize went to Miss Helen Jeannette Allen of the junior Class. This would look as if the commercial future of the United States were in the hands of its women. The decisions were made by three prominent Elmira gentlemen. During the summer of 1901, the Academy library was catalogued by the Dewey decimal system. The librarian, Miss Godfrey, though she had never taken the two years library course, had already roughly classified the books under the groupings of that system. The state in- spector of libraries, seeing this and knowing her familiarity with books from her English work pronounced her capable of doing the cataloguing, usually done by an expert from the library schools. Conseuuently, studying out for herself the complicated system of red tape, she undertook to learn to do by doing, consulting Mrs. Andrew of the Steele Memorial Library when necessary. In six weeks, by working early and late, Miss Godfrey classified the 3269 books then in the library. She was assisted in the handprinting of the more than 10,000 cards by Mrs. Ida M. Sherwood and two young ladies of the school. One young girl's time was en- tirely taken with labelling books with the classification number, and rearranging on the shelves. In the report of Miss Emily Nelson, an early librarian, the library was said to contain 744 books 1900 1900 1901 1901 1901 1901 1901

Page 30 text:

1899 1899 1899 1899 1900 1900 1900 thusiasm over this team led to the organization again of an Athletic Association, with forty- seven members. Later this dwindled until the year 1901 '02, when the membership increased to one hundred twelve. A Mandolin Club was organized in E. F. A. February 24,-1899, under the leadership of Edward Briggs. This Club, consisting of two violins, two banjos, one guitar, and six man- dolins added greatly to the attractiveness of the rhetorical programs and other school entertain- ments. Later it was under the direction of Abraham Lande, who had been a member of the club from its inception, and who was graduated from Roosa's violin school the Saturdag before his graduation from the Academy in 901. The club disbanded when Mr. Lande left . F. A. When school opened September 13, '99, recitation rooms 22 and 23, the latter occupied by the teachers' training class, were given up to the Seniors, who sat there instead of in chapel. 'Ihe training class was moved to No. 2 school. The Seniors were put upon their honor, being without supervision. It became necessary to convert the library and the museum into recita- tion rooms. The geological collection was therefore moved into the former chemistry lab- oratory- now Room 30 and 26 was seated for classes. The bank railing in the library had been removed and glass doors fitted to the cases. Benches were placed diagonally across the libraryr- Room 25---the teacher's desk being in the northeast corner. The reading-table was placed in the front of chapel on the boy's side and used for reference books: the magazines were given up The encyclfapaedia case was moved to the space between the doors of 25 and 26, and a row o seats was adde close to the wall between the doors of 24 and 25. Aisles were narrowed to what one stout fellow called a fat man's misery. For the sake of some students that wished a wider knowledge of Shakespeare's plays than the English course provided for, Miss Godfrey organized a Shakespeare Club November 23, 1899. The plays were read in character, discussions and questions following each act. The club brought out some excellent elocutionary ability, Rees Pugh's and Earle Hart's work being conspicuous. The club was continued for two years, its membership numbering twenty-four the first year and forty-two the second. There have been several short lived school papers in the history of the Academy, but the Vindex, has evidently come to stay. In the fall of '99, a prominent local paper contained some anonymous slurs upon the student body. At an indignation mass-meeting of students, Prin. Evans suggested that the school have its own paper to defend its rights, and name it the Vindex, the Latin for defender. The suggestion was acted upon. Prin. Evans selected, from each class, a few students whose English work indicated their fitness for newspaper work. From the nominations thus made, each class voted for its proper number of representatives on the Vindex board. Election entitled the successful candidate to a position on the beard until his graduation. This scheme provided for experienced editors and managers. Cecil J. Swan, 1900, was the first editor-in-chief and William T. Rathbun, '01, the first business manager. The initial number was published in December, 1899. The paper is therefor in its ninth year of successful publication, and the training received by its editors has prepared several of them for editorial work on College papers. Lewis Henry, editor-in-chief in 1904, was conspicuously successful in editorial work at Cornell, and Neil Cranmer of '06 is now making good at Syracuse. The Class of 1901, as juniors, gave a reception to the faculty, post-graduates, and seniors, February 14, 1900. The Club room was elaborately decorated with hearts for the occasion, one corner being devoted to a Post-office for original Valentines. The Juniors were royal entertainers. In connection with the graduation in june 1900, one student's record is worthy of special mention. John C. Robertshaw finished the fours years' classical course in three years, with an average of 97 per cent for the entire course. After graduation from Cornell he was for four years a member ot the Academy faculty, and is now holding twice as good a position, financially, as teacher of classics in the Jersery City High School. At the close of the school year '99-1900, Prim vans resigned to accept a more lucrative position as principal of the High School in East Orange, N. J., where he still is. The reg- istration had doubled in the tive years of his principalship. In many other ways the school's growth had been equally noticeable. Mr. Evans's departure caused sincere regret, tempered only by the fact that our loss was his gain. Yet, though the change was promotion for him, the Elmira school holds a warm place in his memory, and East Orange students have often heard of this best school of the Southern Tier.

Page 32 text:

W? ,, p ,, we I ' Sie -1' I I 5' l 3 W ...aims-T., . .Wy t. HQ 1901 1902 1902 1902 1902 1902 1902 1902 1902 1903 1903 pw. H., f in 1872. Up to 1909 it has accessioned 3987. Little in the way of fiction has been added in several years, the purpose being to keep it a reference library. As such, it is good. The registration in the fall of 1901 was 734 for a building comfortably accommodating 450 at most. An annex was a crying need, though the building was but nine years old. In November, Miss Norman, whose health was seriously undermined, was granteda leave of absence. The school began then to realize how much she meant to the institution. The Boys' Protective Union was formed in February, 1902, to look after the protec- tion of school property, to repair in case of damage by carelessness of students, and to encourage school spirit. The suggestion was Prin. Conant's. A constitution was drawn up, providing for a governing board consisting of two members from each of the four classes, and the prin- cipal ofthe Academy. The first officers elected were President, Earle Hart 3 Treasurer, Wick- ham Smith: Secretary, Beal Banks. This organization lasted into the second year. In March, 1902, the Athletic Association, now augmented to 112 members, held a banquet at the Frasier House, with elaborate menu, toasts, and much enthusiasm. About one hundred were present. J. R. Rubin of Syracuse presented the cause of the new Inter- scholastic League ormed by Syracuse University, similar to the Cornell League of which E. F. A. was already a member. Mr. Conant was in his element as toastmaster. Interesting toasts and speeches were given by Pres. Fred H. Wise, james B. Pratt of the faculty, Messrs. Tripp, Fennell, and Murtaugh from the city and Messrs. Doane, Hart, and Capt. Shea from the school. The junior Class charmingly entertained the faculty and Seniors at Industrial Hall the evening of April 22nd. It was the first social function since the closing of the clubroom and was greatly appreciated. There was a program and dancing with refreshments of ices and cakes. In May, E. F. A. for the first time sent a representative to the Hamilton College prize- speaking contest. Since then, frequently the school has been represented at Hamilton College and at Syracuse University. In 1907, our representative at Syracuse, Loring Pratt, took second prize. This year, 1909, Henry Williman took third prize at Sfyracuse and John Conroy won first prize at Alfred. Both these young men are members o the class of 1909. May 31, 1902 brought almost universal grief to the city of Elmira as well as to E. F. A. in the death of Miss Sarah Cornelia Norman. From the age of sixteen, for forty-five years Miss Norman had devoted her life to educational work in this city. Twenty-six of them had been given to the Academy, where she had been the balance wheel through all changes of administration. She had taught most of the leading men and women of the city and had in full measure, the respect, admiration, and love of all her students. Miss Norman approached the ideal of impartial justice: Her sympathy was equal to her justice, and no one sought her help and counsel in vain. On all questions of public interest she was remarkably well informed, and her sound judgment and original expression made her a delightful talker. Her greatness as a teacher received one unique compliment: she was the only woman ever invited to teach in the Elmira Reformatory. For many months regularly, certain evenings of the week, she lectured to intensely interested inmates. When the strain of the extra work necessitated her giving it up, the Reformatory authorities were very reluctant to release her. What she vwm, even more than what she .mai or did, shaped the lives of her students 5 and her best epitaph is written in the character development of those whose standards are higher for having come under the influence of her personality. The year 1902-'03 was the most uncomfortable one in the school's history as far as congested conditions are concerned. As Mr. Conant said, it was impossible to take a step without danger of crushing some undersized Freshman. Two students to a seat was the rule in more than half the seats, as the registration was almost twice the seating capacity. The Beta Chapter of the Kappa Sigma Sorority was established October 18, 1902, with the initiation of eight Charter members at Ithaca where the Alpha Chapter is located. The aims of the sorority are literary, social, and charitable. It has a present membership of twenty- four. Several of the teachers are honorary members, and Miss Wixon of the faculty is Patron Saint of the club. After 1902, all graduates were required to have a regents' Academic diploma as the minimum requirement for graduation, one year more of English being required by the school than by the state. No locals would be accepted in lieu of the State diploma. Owing to the increase in the numbers of the faculty, Mr. Conant felt that such banquets as had been connected with Class Day for several years were becoming too great an expense to Senior Classes and advised 1903 to adopt a simpler style. The Class of '03 therefore changed Class Day to a day-time observance in Academy chapel, serving light refreshments to class and faculty in Room K. Later classes have followed the same custom, except that they have served the refreshments to all their guests, thereby making the expense quite equal to that of a banquet. 1903, through its president, Isaac Laude, presented to the school, busts of Washing- ton and Lincoln, and reliefs of Thorwaldsen's Night and Morning in medallion form, for the decoration of upper chapel. During the year 1902-'03, the Alma Mater song of E. F. A. was composed by Miss Florence Vollbrecht, now Mrs. Frank -I. Allen, of Sharon, Pa. The words were set to the Thuringer Volkslied music. Miss Vollhrecht was obliged to leave school on account cfillness, but in the song so often sung has left a memorial that should keep her frequently in mind.