New York Military Academy - Shrapnel Yearbook (Cornwall on Hudson, NY)

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, A ' X u l fig W Nik THE N. Y. M. A. GOLF COURSE - 1896 This was one of the first golf courses in the United States. The winners to date of the Mother Harding Gold Medal follow: 1927-Henry Christensen, jr. 1928-Ralph Bernliardt, jr. 1929- Charles A. Bloom 1930-john Drew Devereaux 1931-Seth Amolis 1932-William R. Rekcrsdrc 1933-Hugh McIntyre 1934-Langdon jack Aronsohn 193 5- 1936- No Winner Louis Ortega l Alvan C. Hadley, jr. 1937-I Richard P. Plunkett 1938-Kenneth R. Heitman 1939-John Quentin Ruzzo liarly evidence of Colonel jones' interest in dramatics was seen when the cadets produced Medea, or the Golden Fleece, a travesty on the Greek drama, in May, 1896. A crowd which overflowed the capacity of the gymnasium voted Arthur W. Penniman, '98, who took the role of Medea, the outstanding actor of the production. Sixteen boys were graduated at the 1896 commence- ment, the largest graduating class in a number of years. john l.. Magee was valedictorian and Head Boy for that year. Wfhen school re-opened in the fall of the same year, it was discovered that golf had taken the corps by storm. Three rough holes were laid out at nrst, but by October there was a nine-hole course which was crowded almost every day. It was not a hard lay-out by present standards, being only a little more than 1,500 yards long, but the available equipment was also limited, and there were no sub-par scores. Colonel Jones proved that he was the Boss on the golf course as well as in other directions. His score of 52 for the nine holes was one of the best re- corded during the entire year, and he won the match play championship. It is interesting to note that this was probably the lirst scholastic golf course in the country. The United States Golf Association was less than two years old at that time and had only five member clubs. Henry H. Bassford, '97, recalls that Hallowe'en in those days was the occasion for all sorts of outrages against the dignity and quiet of the school and surrounding terri- tory. Dismantling such unwieldy objects as Colonel Wright's buggy and reassembling it on the fourth floor Page l:iffl.'Cll

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1 , f ..f.- T79 1 X ,-.X X l FIRST FOOTBALL TEAM - 1890 More important, perhaps, than any other single factor was Colonel jones' ability to regain the confidence of the corps of cadets. He rescinded the ban on fraternities, made every effort to give the boys a fuller social life and, al- though athletics hit an all-time low at the Academy, gave support to all of the teams. Colonel Wright resigned even his nominal position as president of the Academy in 1895 and Colonel jones, given complete control, began a sound building in all directions which produced almost immediate results in increased at- tendance and a general uptrend in the morale and prestige of the school. He was handicapped somewhat by the un- expected death of Captain Gulick during the year, but the latter's place was capably filled by Lieutenant Warren K. Dunton, U.S.A., Retired. One indication of the revival of school spirit under the new regime was the success of the football team in the fall of 1895. Although not a member of any league, the N.Y.M.A. eleven was generally credited with the cham- pionship of the Hudson River valley. The season closed in highly satisfactory fashion with a 12-8 victory over Peeks- kill Military Academy. The N.Y.M.A. Quarlerly of that time declares that when the Academy scored in this game the air was rent by the pleased cries of our backers. In 1896, Colonel jones decided that a feminine touch might be helpful at the Academy, and Mary A. Harding was brought to Cornwall to be Matron. She held that po- sition for many years and gradually came to be looked upon by the boys as a second mother. In later years her activities were changed and she became Matron of Bard Hall, where she found a place in the hearts of the juniors until 1926, when advancing age made it necessary for her to retire and she was appointed Matron Emeritus. The next year a scholarship known as the Mother Harding Gold Medal was set up, to be awarded to that cadet who, by vote of the junior School Faculty, approved by the Superintendent, is adjudged to be the most worthy boy in 'Bard Hall,' consideration being given to his aca- demic work, athletic ability, military drill, conduct and leadership in school morale. On january 9, 1932, Mother Harding died, rich in years and eternal possessor of a small portion of the heart of every N.Y.M.A. boy who had partaken of her willing kindness in a troubled, lonely moment of his youth. 1 1 Page I nl1r1r.'t'll t

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TQ of the main building was usually the high spot of such shenanigans. One year, though, we got tired of doing the usual things, Bassford recounts, and one of the brighter minds hit upon a new idea. A bunch of us sneaked down during the night and corralled some of the pigs kept by the Acad- emy at the time. Our haul included one grunter who must have weighed at least a hundred pounds, as well as a number of smaller pigs. The little fellows were then released in various parts of the main building and allowed to find their own way around. We took the large pig all the way up to the fourth floor, however, before removing the gag from her snout and turning her loose. Somewhat upset in her strange surroundings, the pig tried to make time out of there, but the hard wood floors proved her undoing and she slipped and skidded all over the place. Next morning, in chapel, Academy authorities spent their time sniffing. Every fellow who was even faintly reminiscent of pig, and there were plenty, walked off marks for a long time to come. In April, 1898, the Academy was electrified by word of War with Spain! Little else occupied the minds of the cadets for the balance of that term. The war was brought even closer when Lieutenant Stephen M. Foote, U.S.A., who had succeeded Lieutenant Dunton as Commandant, was ordered into active service. Lieutenant Foote had be- come extremely popular with the boys and it was only with great diiiiculty that the authorities were able to restrain the youthful warriors from quitting school to join in what seemed to them a glorious adventure. It was not until the Academy re-opened for the school year of 1898-99 that most of them learned that Charles Beckwith Brown, '96, had been killed in action in the bat- tle of San Juan Hill-the first graduate of New York Military Academy to give his life for his country. Brown had been one of the outstanding cadets of the corps during his time at Cornwall. He was active in extra- curricular affairs of all kinds, as well as being a fine scholar. Apparently a real rugged individualist, he re- fused a proffer of a commission in an Ohio regiment when wat with Spain broke out and enlisted instead in the 71st New York Volunteers. Among the first of the American force to reach the barbed wire at the crest of San Juan Hill, he was riddled with Spanish bullets. Fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with him when he fell was Talmadge Brereton, '96, his roommate at N.Y.M.A. War fever had subsided by September, 1898, and the Academy entered upon a golden year in all fields of sport. No varsity team tasted defeat during that school year, from the opening football game until the final battle on the baseball diamond. The records of the track team and crew equalled those of the football and baseball com- binations. Lloyd Brooks, '99, led the football squad, Edward Hurd, '99, ruled the baseball nine, and F. K. Pa Lord, '98, headed the crew. Each sport had its own particular heroes but the uni- versal choice of the Academy was William H. Smith, '99. Called upon to bat in the last inning of the final N.Y.M.A. baseball game of the season, Smith faced this situation: His team needed victory to keep the school's all-around sports record clean for the year. At the moment, however, the opposing team, Betts Academy, was leading by one run, there were two out for N.Y.M.A., and there was one man on base. Smith was able to think of only one solution to his problem and he took the easiest way out-a screaming home run blow into deep right field which broke up the ball game, drove the entire cadet corps stark mad, and earned him the nickname of Home Run Smith. It is interesting to note that Lord left a far more en- during athletic record than that of having captained a win- ning crew. An enthusiastic track man besides, Pa set two marks which stand at N.Y.M.A. to this day. He raced around the track in 22.6 seconds for the 220-yard dash and negotiated the 220-yard low hurdles in 27 seconds flat. The history of rowing at the Academy is short but sweet. Burr Griswold fBuckj Wilson arrived at the school in 1898 and immediately began to agitate for a crew. Wilson had done some rowing with the New York Ath- letic Club and he not only instilled some of his enthusiasm into a group of cadets but was instrumental in obtaining a shell for the Academy from the Club. Gil Ward, of the famous rowing family, was en- gaged as coach and he and Wilson worked hard with a squad which had never swung an oar before. Meanwhile Harry Aschoff had, on his own say-so, bluffed his way to the captaincy of the crew and a three-race series had been arranged with the Cascadilla School of Ithaca, N. Y. The hastily assembled N.Y.M.A. crew was badly beaten in the first race on the Hudson, but Lord's outfit traveled to Ithaca in 1899 and evened the count, winning by a length. The third race, on the Hudson in 1900, resulted in an- other N.Y.M.A. victory. Lee Parsons Davis, '00, now Jus- tice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, cap- tained the shell which came home a length in front to win the series. The sport was then abandoned because of the great expense for equipment and maintenance. It was in the spring of 1899 that Henry S. McComb, '99, made a successful bid for a place among Academy immortals. Appointed officer of the day, he so far departed Page Sixteen