Keuka College - Kiondaga Yearbook (Keuka Park, NY)

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12 THE COLLEGE RECORD. Prof. R. M. Barrus. It is the more interesting because it comes from the pen of the daughter of the late Dr. George H. Ball. A FOUNDER'S IDEAL, BY MISS JULIA A. BALL. In considering the facts that led to the founding of Keuka College, my point of view must necessarily be personal, as a daughter of the founder and a co-worker with him from the beginning. As far as this college is the expression of the mind and heart of the founder, it is in harmony with the spirit of his life, taken as a whole. The two purposes uppermost with him were — to make good men and women, as he often ex- pressed it, and to bring about a union of the Christian denominations to this end. The church in Buffalo founded by him when a young man, and of which he was pastor over thirty years, was an expression of the one consuming desire to make men better, and the establishing and editing of The Baptist Union in New York City was the outgrowth of his desire for co-operation among Christian churches. His hope was to make Keuka College an embodiment of these two ideals, and for twenty-three }rears this foundation has stood for the conviction that character should be the ultimate end of education and, furthermore, that it is the duty of the church to co-operate in keeping this truth well before the people. Nor, he believed, is the church justified in with- drawing from the educational field or even relaxing its hold on educational work so long as character building is but a secondary matter in our national system of schools, or, per- haps, entirely ignored. Then, too, there were contributory causes making this foundation possible in the personal and intimate relations of the founder's life. What availed his ideals, his power of initiative, his indomitable will, high moral courage, patience and perserverance in the midst of discouragements, if his wife had not been equally indifferent to the material side of life in her enthusiastic abandonment to good works and devo- tion to things of the spirit ! The relation, too, of his noble

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THE COLLEGE RECORD. 1 1 only to sophistry. It is the spirit whicli is Leading lis to understand better and better the resources of our own dwell- ing place, this beneficent planet. FOUNDERS' DAY. HPHE twenty-second anniversary of the founding of Keuka College was celebrated Tuesday evening, December 10th. Members of the Board of Trustees and their families, ami, also, members of the Faculty aud their families took dinner with the students and regular boarders in the college dining room. It was an excellent manner to meet informally and to be prepared for the program which followed. The exercises of the evening were held in the chapel and were open to the public. Professor Mozealous presided at the organ, opening with a voluntary. Rev. Charles S. Emer- son, pastor of the Branchport Church, offered the invoca- tion. The address of the evening was delivered by Professor Charles D. Bean, of Geneva, who has recently been appoint- ed Professor of Law by Keuka, and his first appearance be- fore the student body was greeted by hearty enthusiasm. The trite subject, College Life, was handled in an original and interesting manner. It dealt , of course, with the experi- ences and incidents of undergraduate life, so familiar to every college graduate, but made clear that these are but secondary to the real purpose of an academic education. The deep purpose of every institution of higher learning was defined in the kind of a place its graduates fill in life. Pro- fessor Bean paid a fine tribute to the memory of Henry VI., who, founding Eaton College, endowed it with such a sum as to make its life secure so long as Windsor Castle stands. This noble school has contributed to the life of English students who have graced every walk of public se rvice. And it is but a type of the newer schools of this country, which, in their own time and way, will do no less for the Nation. After the address Professor Mozealous, accompanied by Miss Helen Space, sang. The historical paper for the occasion was written by Miss Ella J. Ball, and, on account of her absence, was read by

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THE COLLEGE RECORD. L8 nephews to their Uncle M was something singularly beauti- ful and unique. A friend to them in their early struggles there was apparently no limit to their sympathetic support of his endeavors, as the trustees well realize, their generous donations to the niaintainanco of the collego being stead- fastly contributed in his memory since his death. The idea of a rallying point for social and educational ends was enthusiastically entertained by the Central Associ- ation of Baptists, of which Dr. Ball was President. A dele- gate was sent to spy out the land, and behold ! a school and assembly was planted in a perfect paradise of natural beauty. The constituency was State wide and included many in Pennsylvania as well. Little parties made enthusi- astic pilgrimages to the promised land to explore and invest. With the leader, the man of vision, was closely associated a small but picturesque group of men devoted to the same noble ideal. There was Mr. Lang worthy, of Utica, N. Y., — a tall, tine looking man, of grave and elegant demeanor, white haired, though comparatively young, a stalwart, with- al, wise in council, a faithful ally. Quite as distinctive, though in a different way, was the Eeverend William Tay- lor, an ardent spirit, gifted in imagination and speech, off hand, ready and hearty in his methods and at the same time full of kindly sympathy and unusual insight into human nature. The sj mpathy of the much respected and substantial citi- zens of the township surrounding, was much appreciated in the first years of the school, and was a valuable asset in ac- complishing the work it set out to perform. Farmer Wil- liams, so typical of the best class of American farmer in in- telligence and refined character, gave expression to his inter- est by donating the beautiful strip of woodland to the north of the or iginal property bordering on Bay brook. Mr. and Mrs. Merritt are remembered for their warm hos- pitality. The school is a 'center of light', was their fre- quent expression. In their death good friends were lost. But best of all, the good citizens all over Yates County showed their confidence and appreciation by sending their sons and daughters here to be trained. The noble lives of