Ohio Northern University - Northern Yearbook (Ada, OH)

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Many of us probably wonder what the students a hundred years ago did to keep themselves occupied outside of class. There was little access to enter¬ tainment beyond Ada; therefore, they created their own. Activities ranged from plots to place Professor Lehr’s cow in Chapel Hall to the organization of literary societies. During the past cen¬ tury, more activities have been spon¬ sored by the school. Concerts, lectures, and dances have helped the extra hours pass enjoyably. The students, of course, still create their own amusements, pranks and midnight discussions in the dorm, touch football on a spring after¬ noon and bicycle rides. Students for a hundred years have spent their spare time in such ways. The following pages will give a brief look at the student life of the past century. 23

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To help ease the boredom, Lehr or¬ ganized the literary societies that be¬ came so important in the earlylife of the school. These societies joined the social and intellectual pursuits of the stu¬ dents. In these societies students found an outlet for oratorical and literary tal¬ ents and a chance to identify with their classmates. These clubs were also a source of fierce loyalties and intense competition. In 1871 two groups were formed, the “Franklins” and the “Philomatheans.” Lehr even divided his personal library between the societies to aid them in their start. Eventually, the societies gained a great deal of power over stu¬ dent activities. They gained all rights and privileges which the faculty did not control. This caused Lehr quite a few probelms in following years. He was constitutionally powerless to settle dis¬ putes between the societies. To add to the confusion, a third literary society, the “Adelphians,” was formed in 1880. Each organization had a lavishly deco¬ rated meeting hall and a library. Every third or fourth week, entertainment was held in the halls. A typical program in¬ cluded music, debates, and “papers” which were humorous caricatures of students and teachers. “Pay entertainments” were also held the last week of each quarter. With the admission charge the halls were fur¬ nished and the libraries expanded. These events led to bitter competition between societies. One year the groups could not reach speaking terms and re¬ fused to appear on the same commence¬ ment. In spite of Lehr’s pleas, each so¬ ciety held its own commencement day program in its own hall. Lehr admitted later that “the third society destroyed the interest in the literary contests ...” A shift in the interests of the students finally killed the literary societies, which were replaced by the Greek letter fraternities. 24