SUNY at New Paltz - Paltzonian Yearbook (New Paltz, NY)

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0190 Q3-Xa IQOS O1 '1'l'l C1 QWWZO U08 John C. Bliss ,,, ,-.K HE NEW structure on the heights was a building in l908, and nothing JV 5 more. The ceremonies which marked the beginning of its construc- tion had been impressive. Distinguished visitors attending an edu- cational conference at Lake Mohonk were invited to participate in the New Paltz dedicatory exercises. In the gathering of notables were the l-lon. David J. Brewer, justice of the Supreme Court of the United Statesg the Rev. Lyman Abbott: Elmer Brown, United States Commissioner of Education: President Charles W. Eliot of Harvard: President Nicholas Murray Butler of Columbia: and President E. D. Warfield of Lafayette. Mr. Smiley and Justice Brewer guided the plow which broke the ground. The new edifice was soon complete, but it was not yet a school. Pupils had not entered its halls, nor was there a hand to pilot it through difficult periods to follow. As nations celebrate epochal dates in their histories, so New Paltz is conscious of 1908 as a pivotal year in its fortunes, for then it was that a modern building and a new administration came into being. Dr. john C. Bliss, the principal, had been for some years in charge of the division of the Department of Education which regulated the qualifications and credentials of teachers. He commenced work with the purpose of bringing the school up to date with the most approved educational ideas of the time, and completely meeting the state requirements for the preparation of teachers. The faculty was increased, and in l909 consisted of twenty- one members. Present-day Normal students will discover a link with these far-off times in the person of our beloved A. B. B. Mr. Bennett is the only member of that former group of teachers, who is on the Normal faculty today. The school was reorganized again in l909, and three departments were formed: the normal school, the training school, and the high school. The last two were made up of the school population of the village. In the same year the requirements for entrance into the Normal were again revised, and a more thorough preparation was demanded of applicants for admission. The year l9l l marked the twenty-fifth in the life of New Paltz Normal. A brief picture of school-life in that Silver Anniversary year may be of interest to the class which is celebrat- ing the Golden one. ' The curriculum approached the modern one in offering such subjects as Psychology, .1 f ki li ' Thirty

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.J I 52332335.32-,?:32?i?3?3i3e3?fff35i3Qf593'E-5f3Se3-,l5ri31.l3F,. E.ui:3f:3F3:E-iff 135- ., - .X S55 Myron Tracy Scudder was born 2 is in i QU in India in l860 and came with- his 52 parents to this coiinirylln 31868. .lile attended thedAdep id elrzy Iam BA Brooklyn, an receive is . . BA from Rutgers College. Later he -if layif studied at the graduate School of iii! 544 , : - E as EI Philosophy at Yale. Coming to New i 3 aff Paltz in l899, he brought advanced 'Vg fx e uca iona 1 eas -an erve as W W d r 1 'a d s C1 V4 Fil T principal for nine years. l-le was gg BA A Professor of Education at Rutgers pil University from l908' to l9l2, when Zvi he left to become principal of the pil Scudder School for Girls in New York 2,25 522 Cityii a pgggion he held until his pix cleat in . 528' Li wx Elf shall be led to form the habit of thinking and of acting toward others honestly and gen- xii erously, and under all circumstances to govern himself fearlessly and wisely. HA Such was the preface to the Charter of the Normal School City, a document which set if forth in great detail the functions of departments, the duties of officers, and the rights of big Bd citizens. The charter was a tremendous improvement over a former series of Regulations for BA Student Government, which inveighed against the evils of 'ttheldrlnklng ofnlntoxicating ya pil liquors, playing pool, billiards, and cards in public places, and pitching pennies, which were 3 considered detrimental to educational interests by cultivated and refined people. ya 5,2 The school city was not the only innovation at New Paltz in which Dr. Scudder and Mr. ye? gd Gill were included. The glorious successes of the American arms in the war with Spain were gif still ringing throughout the land in l90l when The Normal Review published this editor- ya QA ial: The Cubans are coming, Hurrah! Mr. Gill writes Dr. Scudder from Cuba under date 271 of june 25th: 'I wish l could help receive the fifty young women who are going from here to Vg 3,2 you. That is a big responsibility for you. But you are equal to making them love America Vg BQ - and spread that love in Cuba. I hope your American girls will love the Cuban girls and help yd make them happyf H Vg gi The girls were sent by the Cuban government to get training in the United States in order Vg iff, to become fitted for teaching in their native land. A local hotel was leased to serve as a dormi- My 8,91 tory for the young women. Several Spanish-speaking teachers were added to the faculty. Vg if The Cuban girls were for the most part earnest and conscientious, and did well in spite of Vg 'ca s. Arran enients were made to repeat the experiment a second year but the Cuban fig Spf handi p 8 pd government was unable to provide funds and only one of the girls remained to graduate. Vg ad In the midst of this activity, during the Easter recess, 1906, the disastrous fire occurred Vg B71 which burned the school building to the ground. In two days, through the executive ability of aff Dr, Scudder, provision had been made to hold school in shops, lodge-rooms, and churches of the PM village. This piece-meal school continued for two years, until in l908 the Normal convened ga Z5 for the first time in the new building on the hill. Y BA Twcnly-nine ya W - .- .i ,o X. . .. . .. . . .. ,N -,-.-, -, eff 5YiiKKK3fifTi75?ili'?Yiff1iif?i1'35?1'fS fii f23i1Yiati'?5rIif'iii'ii1Yf'3?i?i'6'S'5'353s 1i'51'?fiii

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1923 fi? if, The QE!! john Carlton Bliss was born at Ovid, New York, April l8, l868. Comell University gave him his A.B. degree in 1889 and he received an honorary Pd.D. degree from the StateATeachers College, Albany, in l908. He taught in Fairfield, New York, and was later Superintendent of Schools. From l900 to l904 he was Inspector for the State Edu- cation Department at Albany, and from l904-l908 he was in charge of teacher examination and certifi- cation. New Paltz Normal claimed him for its principal in 1908, a position he held for fifteen years. At the end of this time he retired to his home in New Paltz, where he died in l924. Principles and History of Education, School Economy, Logic, and Methods Courses in Eng- lish, Literature, Vocal Music, Arithmetic and Algebra, American History, Drawing and Handwork, Geography, Reading, Spelling, Phonics, Nature and Elementary Science, Manual Training or Household Arts, Penmanship, and Physical Training. Then as now the importance of extra-curricular activities was recognized, and students had many opportunities for membership in school clubs. These organizations were: Arethusa Sorority, Clionian Sorority, Delphic Fraternity, Philalethean Fraternity, Knights of King Arthur, Y. W. C. A., Girls' Glee Club, Boys' C-lee Club, junior Literary Society, Athletic Association, and the Alumni Association. Life in New Paltz was peaceful then. Movies were not a distraction, and the radio was not in use as an accompaniment to the evening's homework. The motorized age was not yet upon us, and the few commuters were hardy souls who arrived by train or trolley. Board and room could be had in the village at from 34.25 to 55.00 per week. The Normal continued to grow, and in l9l3 the State Legislature voted SI00,000 to provide for enlarging the school to meet the need for more room. The governor vetoed the bill on the ground that treasury funds were too low to stand so severe a drain. Two years later the school was obliged to refuse entrance to ninety applicants for admission. Eventually the necessary funds were raised, and in 1917 work was started on the wing which includes the auditorium and the library. The thud of marching feet mingled with the sound of hammers, for America was in the war in l9l 7, and in the gym high-school boys were drilling and marching with wooden guns. Attendance dropped off, school activities slackened, and Red Cross work and patriotic endeavors were paramount in student interest. When the tranquil days of peace returned, the Normal course was again altered and a summer session of six weeks was instituted. The new course marked another advance in the requirements for New York teachers, and the class of 1923 was the first hopeful group to graduate after receiving the more advanced training. The year of l923 also marked the end of an epoch in the life of New Paltz Normal, for then it was that Dr. Bliss, whose health had begun to fail, resigned his principalship and retired to private life. Thirly-one