Memphis State University - DeSoto Yearbook (Memphis, TN)

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i iMBRa) . Tobacco is a dirty weed I like it: It satisfies no normal need. I like it. It makes you thin, it makes you lean. It takes the hair right off your bean; It ' s the worst darn ' stuff I ' ve ever seen; I like it! The Roaring Twenties In addition to this expansion, [here were other notable changes between 19] 1 and 1921: enrollment jumped to more than a thousand: the number of faculty members had risen from seventeen to thirty- two; a dining hall capable of seating eight hundred had been added to the college plant; Scates Hall. a dormitory for men. had been completed in 1923; the number of books in the library had risen to more than nine thousand: the athletic department had been greatly expanded; The DeSoto. had been published yearly since 1916; a variety of student organizations and societies had sprung up on the campus, and in general, the Normal School was beginning to assume the stature of a full-fledged college. The students, too, were beginning to assume the timeless characteristics of true collegians. Hours not spent with books were enthusiastically filled with courting, debating, social work, midnight snacks, music, sports, and pranks. They cheered lustily for the football team, which in 1916 was defeated by the Jonesboro Aggies, Central High School, and Memphis University School, but tri- umphed over Somerville High School. CBC, THG (State Militia) and Brownsville. They were heard reciting not only Shakespeare, but such gems as the following: The twenties rolled in. bringing to the nation Bathtub Gin. Speakeasies, Harding and Graft, and 23 Skidoos. They brought to the Ole Normal campus many things: the return, in 1924, of President Brister . . . a new name. West Tennessee State Teachers College, to accompany the new status it received in 1925 ... an enrollment of 1,641 . . . Zack Curlin as basketball and football coach . . . Flappers who outnumbered boys more than two to one, and invaded what had previously been male organizations . . . The Charleston . . . a full summer school session of twelve weeks ... a Training School enrollment of five hundred ... an Alma Mater written by President Brister and printed in the 1929 DeSoto ... a girls ' basketball team, the Tigresses, which in 1921 became City Champs, Tri-State Champs, Mississippi Valley Conference Champs, and World Free-Throw Champs. j a. n± A.. ' ■ ■■ 1 ■3 - .-■ aw L s v Al •v bs: ' sttABfc X: V :

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Thev were then ready to pursue either the Academic- Course of study or the Normal Course. The Academic Course was designed primarily to prepare elementary school teachers, while the Normal Course was to prepare teachers for the secondary schools of the state. Upon completion of the Normal Course, the student received a diploma which was a life certificate of qualification to teach in any of Tennessee ' s public schools. The curriculum was divided into nine departments: 1. 2. Q O. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Education English I including public reading and speaking) History Mathematics Science Languages (Latin, French, German) Manual Training Agriculture 9. Training School (now Messick High School) Several organizations were quickly formed to offer the student extra-curricular activities: four literary societies, two for men, and two for women, a YWCA and a YMCA, and departmental organizations, such as the Home Eco- nomics Club, the Modern Language Club, and the Thalian Dramatic Club. The first student publication of the new school was The Columns, a monthly forerunner of the campus newspaper, The Tiger Rag. The name of The Columns, of course, was derived from the huge columns of the administration building. The name now belongs to the Memphis State Alumni newspaper. During the first school year, and at the beginning of the second, there was practically no library at the school other than the personal collections of individual instructors. Plans were made to begin a school .library, and by the beginning of the third year the school could boast of some four thou- sand volumes. The entire collection was housed in a spa- cious and well-lighted room furnished with studying facili- ties for the students. Just two days after the beginning of the school ' s second year, on September 17, 1913, the faculty and student body, were shocked by the death of President Mynders. The devo- tion and personal sacrifice with which the first president had handled his responsibilities had been costly. President Mynders was succeeded by Professor John Willard Brister, whose first tenure as head of the school lasted until 1918 when he entered in overseas war duty with the YMCA. While Professor Brister served with the Army Educational Corps in France, Andrew A. Kincannon served as president. The school which had begun as a preparatory school offering four years of secondary work and two years of collegiate work, expanded its curriculum in 1919 to include a third year of work on the college level.

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Depression Days The institution ' s rapid expansion was halted as the nation sank into the depression. During those lean years of the thirties, when school administra- tors struggled to maintain and operate existing fa- cilities, and economy was the watchword, the school ' s title was shortened to State Teachers Col- lege. During those years many well-known indi- viduals such as Flora Rawls, J. M. Smith, C. C. Humphreys, Leo Davis, R. P. Clark, and others, joined the staff. The Tiger Rag, a weekly student newspaper, was first published, and in athletics, the college was a member of the Mississippi Valley Conference. In August of 1933, the school Glee Club sang at the Chicago World ' s Fair. At the close of the Depression Decade the college lost the second of its great presidents, when John Willard Brister died in his sleep. He had occupied the president ' s chair for twenty years. Richard C. Jones succeeded President Brister and served in that position until 1943. The school, along with the nation, hopefully plunged into the ' 40 ' s, flinging off the gloom of the depression years. Even glamour had its place at State Teachers, when handsome movie star Dick Powell came to the campus and chose six Vanity Fair Queens. Along with this new face for the forties, came the new name of Memphis State College in 1941.