University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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History of the Class of 1904 I5Y THOMAS B. ROBERTS. The class of 1904! When did these words, now so filled with memories, first come to have a meaning for us ? We were a class long before our first class meet- ing and election. Indeed, the first suggestion in our verdant minds of such a thing as a class was when, simply as single individuals, we stood in the secretary ' s office, with fluttering hearts, and, hesitating hefore the word class on the enrollment blank, timidly wrote 1904, and went away wondering if we had given the right year. We first became self-conscious as a class the memorable night of our first Fresh- Soph rush, following that last athletic mass meeting held in the gym on October 8, 1901. Faint hearted at first but emboldened by the presence of upper class leaders, we soon became assertive, and made the rafters of the old gym tremble to the rever- berations of our improvised yell: F-R-E-S-H ! and how true and appropriate it was ! The facts of that rush stand out vividly in all our memories. The wild confu- sion the incoherent shouts rising above the turmoil the dark compact mass ad- vancing ominously toward us the shock the aching chest and pinioned feet the waver and break, as we triumphantly swept our opponents from the field can we ever forget these ? Then the victorious procession and the huge bonfire ! Truly, it was a beginning worthy of a glorious class. It was on this same night that Naughty Four became dissatisfied with the local methods of operation of the D. Y. A. A. and J. Railway Co., and undertook to carry into execution its own ideas on the subject. As is usual, a few innocent spectators were forcibly requested, by the efficient local authorities, to pay for the car ' s missing ornamentation and for the numerous fares which had been rung up on the register but they were not ' o4 ' s. On November 17, 1900, ' 04 held its first election, and so became a class indeed. At this time we chose Howard Blakeslee to be our president. John R. Brumm be- came our first defeated candidate.. Our reputation as an extraordinary class must have been well established even at this earlv period in our career, for we find in the class records frequent mention of a Cain Committee. The Fresh-Soph meet continued the work of rush and politics in bringing us to- gether and making us better acquainted. On this occasion we raised our voices in a new yell : Who ! Yah ! Hee ! Room-a-lack-a-Roar ! Michigan, Michigan, Naughty- Four ! At this meet, which we lost by a very small margin, ' 04 gave several stars to the University. Thev were Hahn, originally a ' 04, Perry, Hall and Kelloge. Many sre the honors which these men have since won for Michigan. Neddie Kellogg has for three successive years carried off the two-mile run in the Conference meet, each f ; ' ne setting a lower mark. His defeat of Franchot in the Philadelphia relays last ' far, brought him recognition as one of the greatest distance runners in the country. His work was iustly recognized bv his election to the track captaincy this year. Our main freshman accomplishment was in the tonsorial line. The record of this long hair cutting war reflects great credit on ' 04. We were the first freshman class Hiat ever started the hostilities in this field, and our forcible intrusion into a ' 03 smoker at that time created a decided sensation. Varied statements have been fiven ?s to the final score of scalns taken before the affair was brought to a rather abrunt close. The true figure, however, is 28 to 24 in our favor. Beyond the matter of num- 14

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bers, we succeeded in cutting the Sophomore President and other prominent members of their class, while our president and our toastmaster, Emory Thomason, both escaped. Tommie Thomason has continued in its fullest measure a college career thus well begun. He was the mainstay of our football teams, has always been prominent in matters of class leadership, and his intellectual attainments have been recognized by his appointment to the managing editorship of the Michigan Daily, and his election to the Quadrangle. Toward the end of this first year occurred the episode which resulted in the loss of our president. The failure of a freshman president to graduate with his class is traditional, and ' 04 has always been foremost in fostering tradition at Michigan. We felt the deepest concern over the misfortune of our classmate, but at the same time we were proud and exultant over the fact that for a few short hours the banner of 1904 floated triumphantly from the top of the flag-staff. Our Sophomore year may well be called our athletic year. It was inaugurated by the election to the class presidency of Kellogg, who was well known to all of us by this time. Leroy Childs headed the opposing ticket. In class football we defeated ' 05 and gave ' 02, who became class champions that year, their hardest game, a long run in the last half of the game giving them the winning score. At this game our second yell was brought forth : Fol, de! Rol, de! Batty, Bat! Lick ' em Towser, Tommy Cat ! Hickety! Yickety ! Rickety! Roar! Michigan, Michigan, Naughty-Four! Many are the times that these two yells have heralded the presence of loyal, en- thusiastic ' 045. We won the Fresh-Soph meet this year by a wide margin. In football, Graver and Redner won honors for the University under the colors of ' 04, as did Perry in track and Weber in baseball. All these men have since left us, two by leaving college, and two by the separation of the Literary - Engineering classes. This last was an epoch making event, and occurred at the beginning of our Jun- ior year. At first blush the step appeared disastrous, but both classes have since jus- tified the move, for both have become strong classes. There has naturally been some rivalry between us and we lits have the distinction of winning the last victory, by defeating the Engineers in the class relay races this year. We cannot pass the matter of class relays without mentioning the names of Kellogg, Coe and Brinkerhoff, who for several years have represented ' 04 in this field of athletics. Because of the division of the two classes, we have the distinction of being the first Lit class to graduate from the University. This separation was a heavy blow to our class teams, but athletic honors for ' ' ' 04 were to come from another quarter our fair sisters. In our Junior year, the girls of the class of 1904, under the effi- cient leadership of Miss Yerkes, won the basketball championship of the L T niversity, defeating ' 05 in a close and exciting game after one tie game had been played. The other star members of the team were Miss Whitmore, who has played with us for four years. Miss Putnam, Miss Stratton and Miss Envart. It is with pride, and gratitude to those who achieved it, that we boast of this victory. But, after all, what should be more appropriate than that the women of 1904 should win the only class champion- ship we have ever won? They are indeed most loyal supporters of the class. Among their numbers several names stand out conspicuously. Miss Bailey in elocutionary accomplishment and participation in varied class activities, Miss Savage and Miss Whitmore in matters of class politics, Miss Palmer in intellectual fields, and Miss Van Volkenburgh in histrionic work, have all attained prominence and popularity. Of the relay team which brought honor and renown to Michigan in April of this 15