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

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all THE OLD SWIMMIN' HOLE from usual custom as to emerge from a fourth Hoor window attired in shako, sash, sword, gloves-and absolutely noth- ing else. He stood erect on a narrow ledge in full view of the entire battalion and then, from this lofty eminence, received the reports of the cadet officers. ln 1900, Benjamin Lee Wilstmn, who had been head- master for six years, left the Academy and was succeeded by Charles Sumner Havens, who held that position until 1907. liarly years of the twentieth century saw Colonel Jones continuing the progressive policy which, even then, made New York Military Academy one of the leading prepara- tory schools of the United States. Attendance increased from year to year and, as the reputation of the Academy spread, cadets were enrolled from ever-widening areas. Not only were most of the states of this country repre- sented, but Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico and other foreign lands sent their annual quotas. lixcept for the Boxer Rebellion in China, the United States spent ten peaceful and fruitful years during this first decade of the twentieth century. Paralleling the course of the nation, New York Military Academy was growing strong, sending its young men out to take their place in the world with a good body of knowledge and habits as the foundation of their characters. Back at the beginning of the century, social activities were far more simple than those of the present day, and a cadet show followed by a dance was an event to be planned for weeks in advance, and remembered for months afterward. A minstrel show in November, 1900, for in- stance, was a high spot on the fall social calendar, while a musical production called Cadet Days, followed by the Midwinter Hop, left the Academy limp and exhausted in the early part of 1901. It was at about this time that the school invested in a pool table and a new indoor sport was introduced. The cadets were immediately anxious for competition and a tournament was arranged, with twenty-two entries. The Page Serenleezl 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

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-- -- , A 1' .5 ta FIRST SET OF UNIFORMS AT THE ACADEMY- 1889-1910 Oliicers' Dress Fatigue Full Dress winner of this inaugural event was Herbert Bonnie, '01, Four graduates of the Academy met in New York in the fall of 1902 and formed an organization which was destined to have a profound influence on the future of the school-the New York Military Academy Alumni Associa- tion. The four founders were Cord A. Meyer, '98, L. Rob- erts Walton, '99, William Lloyd Brooks, '99, and Charles J. Brooks, '00, First officers were Meyer, president, Lloyd Brooks, vice-president, and Walton, secretary-treasurer. Another of N.Y.M.A.'s outstanding football teams took the field in the fall of 1903. Captained by William Wood, this squad won five out of six games by decisive margins, and captured the Hudson River championship. Addition of a business department to the curriculum in 1903 attracted more cadets than ever to the Academy. Courses previously offered had been college preparatory only. The new course not only opened the doors of the school to a different group of students but resulted in a change of studies by many of the cadets already enrolled. The Athletic Association found itself short of funds in 1904 and the corps thereupon decided to stage a dramatic production as a benefit. The result was an extravaganza called Molly, the Miller's Daughter, one of the most suc- cessful productions in the history of the Academy. A spring issue of The Quarterly of that year says that 3150 was real- ized for the athletic fund. Continued growth of fraternities at this time is noted by the fact that Alpha Chi Sigma had outgrown the room originally assigned to it and was moved to a larger room in the main building. Formal opening of the new quarters was attended by Colonel and Mrs. jones, members of the faculty, and most of the cadet corps. Random reflections of john G. Shattuck, '05, who at- tended the Academy during those years, cast some light on the quiet life at the Academy in Cornwall. Life was simpler then, Shattuck recalls, but we seemed to have a pretty good time in a quiet sort of way. We were allowed only fifty cents a week spending money and if a cadet got eight demerits in any one week, his allowance was cut to a quarter. Twelve demerits meant that he got no spending money at all, and if he went over twelve he had to walk them off, ten minutes marching for each demerit. I must have walked halfway around the world in my first year at the Academy. .. . ,- m e- I t - , , V 9 if Us he r y Page Ei ghleen