University of Maryland College Park - Terrapin / Reveille Yearbook (College Park, MD)

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Instead of laboring with my imagination to devise a plan by which to draw aside the misty curtain which separates the Future from the present, 1 am going to ignore the great gulf of time stretching between the present and that eventful day to be, leaving it to you, dear reader, to imagine the course of events and to comprehend the pictures which I am now going to present. At last the great day came. His Excellency, Mr. Bassett, and I were riding out from Washington on a splendid Pullman electric car marked College. We must have been going at the rate of two hundred miles an hour, for it seemed scarcely a minute from the time we left the Grand Union Terminal until we had reached the ' ille. The Mile it is still called, but now it is a large and pros- perous city under the mayorship of — I won ' t say whom at present. Arriving at College avenue, we were surprised to find that instead of alighting there, as was customary in the days of our college life, we switched off and were really riding to College upon the newly laid Spur track, which had been surveyed enough times by students in previous years to have made a picket fence out of the stakes used. At the foot of College hill, to the left, stretched out, in brilliant green, the magnificent athletic field which Mayor — pardon me — Mr. Dixon had surveyed during his Senior year at College. Beyond rose in majestic grandeur the great Alumni Arch, with its graceful metal span and its imposing massive pillars of brick and stone. Upon leaving the car in rear of the Electrical Department, we beheld picturesque buildings scattered artistically among the forest trees, repre- senting the different departments of the College. Going into the great reception hall, we were greeted heartily by our classmates, most of whom had arrived. Mr. Waters and Mr. Mitchell, in accordance with their old custom, came out on the last car, that is, the last one they could take not to miss the great feast. The banquet was prepared. It was a magnificent sight to behold such a noble body of men seated around a banquet table, which was literally covered with gorgeous flowers and dainty dishes. Above, the mercury arc lamps cast a soft, white light over all. Mr. Bassett, having been our honorable Class President, and being unanimously chosen toast master, was at the head of the table, while Mr. Mayer (probably because he thought he could get more to eat) was at the foot. The words which I am about to write are those spoken by our toastmaster (with apologies to Mr. Bassett). Fellows ; perchance, in the many years which have come and gone since last we were gathered together as classmates within these walls, each of you has spent an interesting career — per-adventure. ' ould it not afford us nnich ])leasure to have each relate the happenings of his life since he trod upon the threshhold of the wide world as an alumnus of this College? But let us first drink to the health of our fellow classmates and to the honor of our .Alma Mater, which we love so dearly. I will commence on my right and go regularly annmrl the banquet table. 29

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Class ropf)ecp m T F THERE be one of my readers whose curiosity is great enough to break - - the earth from around a certain one of our class trees, which was planted on Arbor Day of this memorable year, a sealed glass tube con- taining this inscription will be revealed : We, the undersigned, members of the Class of 1906, do hereby affix our signatures with the agreement, that we, the said class, do assemble at a banquet on Vlumni night in the year of our Lord 1926, in commemoration of the happy days spent at M. A. C. (Signed) President. t ' . P ' icc-Prcs Sccrctar . Vice-President. Historian. Treasurer. e t (J ' J.r.. M cs fip: :;

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(ClIARLKS Svi.VESTER RiDGWAY.) Stubby, tell us, if you can. What you have done, my little man. Since you, your earnest life began. After a post-graduate course here, in which I took up a ' Perusal ' of vege- table pathological literature and a study of ornithology and histology from an economical standpoint, I pursued advanced studies in botany, palaeontology and ' girlography ' at the Johns Hopkins University, graduating in the Spring of 191 1. During the Summers of these years, I carried on botanical surveys throughout the neighboring sections of Prince George, Montgomery and Anne Arundel Counties (and parts of Baltimore City). Tiring of this life, I sought work in town and scarcely had I reached Baltimore when I was offered the position of manager of Archer ' s Laundry, the previous incumbent having died suddenly. In consideration of my interest in this work, even while here at College, it is needless to mention that I accepted the position without delay. Acquiring here a knowledge of laundry methods and enough money to support me, I launched into the business on my own account, erecting a magnificent up-to-date laundrv on Howard street, installing the most improved machinery, some of which were mv own patents. For convenience, I had steps placed at each machine in order that I might see that the moving parts were working properly. I am still proprietor of this establishment, which is now the largest hot-air laundry in the South. My vocation was not such as to prevent my engaging in other work, so that I became the head of the State Botanical Survey. It is hardly worth while to say that z ' c are living in a cozy cottage in Roland Park. Well spoken and of great interest, said our toastmaster, Even a laundrv- man is known by his shirts, whether they be clean or whether thcv be white. (John Li-vrciiRR Showeli,.) Shikes, my boy, jiray tell us — do — What fame ' Dad Time ' hath linnight to ou. L ' pon leaving tliis institution of learning I ])roudl - bore home ni - long- looked for and much-cherished sheep.skin. ( ' I — 1 ' might sav here that ' I — I ' ' Spose ' it would be of interest to some of you to know that I have twenty-nine of them now.) The following Fall I went to Jolms llo]ikins, completing a classical 30