Knox College - Gale Yearbook (Galesburg, IL)

Page 21 text:

ill .l...- 4.-. li But most of us did not have time to ponder nmch concerning the appearance of things for we were too busy going to parties, reunions, musical programs, speeches and gatherings of all kinds. From the time we entered Central Church for the organ recital until the last moments of the Alumni dinner there was no cessation of interesting events. If you did not like to listen to a lecture or to an address, you could stroll out on the campus and watch the Coburn Players. Or you could go into Central Clmrch and listen to wonderful music, or you could attend a banquet and hear witty toasts. Certainly the man who found nothing of interest in the whole affair was on the outside,- he was not a member of the Knox family. It was a happy thought that the glad festivities began with an event which perfectly symbolized the spirit of the whole anniversary Week. That event was the dedication of the Triumvirate lNIemorial Organ in Central Church at eight o'clock on Saturday. The new organ, the beautiful gift of a host of loyal friends, pupils, and rela- tives of the three grand old men of Knox, Albert H. Hurd, Milton L. Comstock, and George Churchill, recalled the fine spirit of present day progress. Its real meaning, the meaning of the thought which placed it there and the music, recalled the present generation's debt to the three great men and the splendid ll3.l'lllOIly of their purposeful lives.

Page 20 text:

The ccntcr ol' interest for the alunmi and friends ol' the college was thc George Davis Science llall. lt reprcscntcd the spirit ol' progress and cllicicncy which has grown in strength during the last l'ew years and it showed that results had actually been accomplished. The building was thronged by eager visitors each day. Alumni rc- mcmbcrcd the grimy room on the third Hoor ol' Old Main with smiles at the contrast between the splendid new chemistry equipment and the crowded desks ol' old. Ardent biological students thought of' their quarters in Old Main and physics lovers remembered their former room now graced with the tables and rugs ot' the Y. M. C. A. Every Knox person was proud ol' thc splendid building. Undergraduates and town people were particularly interested in the Stl'2tllg'61'S who thronged the campus and in the academic pro- cessions. The seventy-iifth anniversary marked the occurrence of the first genuine academic procession ever seen in Galesburg. The sight ot' seniors in caps and gowns had never been too familiar around town, but a long line ot' professors. college presidents and other prominent people in stately robes with their signiiicant colors was something to remember many days. No doubt there were some wl1o thought that the robes and the procession were absurdities ibut even such people recognized a special meaning in the college and in its work. They had a kind of reverence forthe institution.

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.fl x ,.,. f' Sunday we saw the seniors march down the aisle of the Presby- terian Church for the baccalaureate sermon. Somehow they looked different than usual. lVas it simply the caps and gowns or was it the thoughtful seriousness! People looked at them with solemn atten- tion. Relatives and friends smiled or looked a little sad to think that they would soon be going away. Many stared with the round Won- dering eyes of pure curiosity. President McClelland's address was full of helpful suggestions and of worthy thoughts which he had gleaned from the lives of the founders and with principles tested and proved by them and by the president himself in his years of work for the college. '4The spirit of The Master, he said, His the essential of successful service. Blake it the starting point of all your plans and purposes and you may rest assured, that whatever the seeming may be, there will be 110 failuref' The same thought was expressed but applied in a slightly differ- ent manner by Dr. YVilliam E. Barton of Oak Park that evening in the annual address before the Christian Associations. Dr. Barton's talk was characterized by masterful simplicity and fervid emphasis of practical truthsf' He Considered five topics-the Physical Being, the Ilome, the School, the State and the Church. Into each of these, he said, a great deal more is being put than is being realized in practi- cal returns. These institutions cost more than ever before but the re- turns are not proportionally larger. Too much emphasis is laid on material equipment,-that is, too much in proportion to the actual re- V f f I v ! 1 . 'lf it 7 M X l, l 1 X I 1 I l l PW l 1 l i 1 l 1 h WH, .. -,-.,. ..-.i..1-f lv.. -Q 7 f,'fr 1, f tl y mi 1. '44 .M gg- 'LQKEIVAA ,gin-Af' VK, , ., is., i .,. 1 iia I