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

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out not all undipped from the strenuous life of the hair-cutting season. But, on the other hand, who can doubt the weight of our influence in abolishing forever this latter barbarous custom, or our part in bringing to pass for the first time the joyous scenes of cap night. Moreover we were as yet our infancy. Not until we were SOPHOMORES did the bud of our genius begin truly to unfold. President Harris was in the chair, when he wasn ' t out looking for new fields for ' 08 to conquer, and under his energetic leadership and the supervision of Chairman Richardson the class smoker was launched. No class, of our era at least, had held one before us, but many hastened to follow in our footsteps. Cider, dough- nuts and songs flowed free, and thereafter Nichols Hall became a gath- ering place for classmen of all description. That fall we worked up a HARRIS plan of attack, with the use of bags of flour and buckets of water, which brought us out victors in the annual rush. Then we tackled the question of class hats a bold stroke. The idea was absolutely new at Michigan. A committee was appointed samples inspected. We discovered that the custom of wearing distinctive hats was not uncommon in other universities. This was obviously no field for us to enter, so the matter was dropped. With the advent of spring the problem of how to secure new appropriations for the university and still have an inter-class scrap of some sort, to take the place of haircutting deceased, confronted us. Fertile brains stood us in good stead here, and when the Student Council came to us for sugges- tions we helped them plan out the tug-of-war, rock, relay, and push-ball contests, in the main as they are known at Michigan today. We would not be faithful to strict historical truth in this connection if we did not remind ourselves of the defeat which we experienced at the hands of the freshmen in these conte sts, nor yet if we did not go on to say that circumstances were against us. Our coeducational instincts were interfering somewhat at this point. Many a doughty ' 08 in his zeal to give a fair class-mate an opportunity to attend the contests failed to enter the lists for his class. Who can say along which path his duty really lay? Before we pass on, Hurry Kane ' s mad night ride over country roads to Whitmore Lake to give us a toast at our annual stag banquet should be mentioned. But elsewhere than in merely class and inter-class activities ' 08 was making its presence known this year. Ronald Crane was already writing for the Inlander Dope Eldridge and Hank Montgomery were doing us honor on the Daily staff. Maggie Magoffin the fast little half was starring in football, Gayle Dull was winning his M in the two-mile and Chet Taft was holding down first base in such a fashion that his team mates decided he had better captain the Varsity in 1907. The year was completed with glory enough to ' 08 when, after a struggle with the ' 06 Laws we won the inter-class championship in baseball. In our JUNIOR YEAR then, we were in a way to have our calibre become fully known. Rollin Bisbee came back in the fall with the conviction that the only thing for the class to do was to choose him president for the year. This seemed to be well in accord with the general desire, nobody appeared to dispute the claim, and Bis began an administration noteworthy inmore than one way. By his efforts seconded by those of Aidee Pearce, social chairman, the class entered upon an era of good feeling. The slogan seemed to be to unify ' 08 and bring us down to the beginning of our senior year well ac- quainted. To accomplish this the boys of the class, with George Hobart dispensing tickets and looking after the cigars, held several rousing smoky smokers in Herr Nichol ' s apartments. Doughnuts never disappeared nor cider evaporated more quickly. At one of these Ben Harris, in commemoration of his administration, furnished the bunch with little souvenir pipes to smoke dull care away. Ben himself, in accordance with ' o8 ' s unique custom had been presented with a silver mounted stein. Mac McCandless, the year before, had been presented with a suitably inscribed gavel. The girls meantime were not sitting idly by, but under Vice-President Miss Swinton ' s lead- ership, set a precedent for future fair ones by organizing smokeless smokers. Rumor has it that lemonade, tea, Kruspe ' s punch and other mild and harmless beverages flowed free and fun was in great abundance. Later on in the year the girls made bold to burlesque the Union minstrels, be- sides giving the regular junior play. So much for segregated activities, good enough in them- selves, but not sufficient to meet the desires of Prexy Bisbee. Under his inspira- tion and after a successful preliminary dance in January, the big fete of the year was planned and carried to successful completion by Miss Martha Downey and Aidee Pearce. Invitations were sent out bidding youths and maidens gather in Barbour gym for a class banquet and dance, and to Barbour gym we came, about seventy-five couples of us. The repast over, Ward Bowman, toastmaster for the evening, laid aside all worries about where to spend the income of the S. L. A., and loudly sang our praises. It was the signal for forgetting any false modesty, and for recounting deeds of bravery, of adven- ture and of notable achievement in university life. In athletics, so said the toasters, our achievements were great; two Varsity captains were ours, and we but juniors, besides Gayle Dull famous two miler, and Giddings, a comer in baseball. In debate our record was remarkable. We had three men out of six, McCandless, Pearce and Eves, with Freyburger as an alter- nate, on the teams. Six of our men were on the Daily staff, Phil Stevenson, Hobart, Wambold, McCandless, Harris and Montgomery. On the Inlander BISBEE

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13DB IGtteranj IjtBtonj It is a good sign for any class when it has developed a characteristic trait, when for some reason it stands out and is unique among the common run of classes. It bodes well for the future. Much more that class is to be espe- cially admired and emulated whose versatility commands for it several qualities not possessed by others of its kind upon the campus. Now the Literary Class of 1908 as even its enemies would admit comes within the range of the first classification. It as surely to the unbiased mind stands alone in the second class. It has from the first possessed great originality, with the ability to put original ideas into action. Moreover it is notable for its devotion to the spirit as to the letter of co-educa- tion, for the large share which we, its members, have taken in campus-wide activities and the zeal we have shown FOR THE GOOD OF THE UNIVERSITY WHOLE. The marks of our genius were early observed. I ' m fessoj, Goddard spoke with prophetic insight, when, as hf called our first class meeting together he declared, It has never been my pleasure to stand before a more promising company of students. I see visions of great things to come. I shall never cease to my dying day to be thankful for the privilege which at this hour is mine. From that time to this the fame of ' o8 ' s ability and power has grown until it has become a subject of comment on the part of students and faculty alike. It all began, of course, away back in the early fall of our FRESHMAN YEAR when Al Hrandt, since become a legal light, opened his campaign for the class presidency by the use of huge hand-painted signs, done in white lime solution on a background of cement walk Hitherto no one had been bright enough to use anything but inscriptions of chalk As a result of Al ' s experiments he was invited, it is said, to confer with Prexy as to the advisability of making the use of such signs general by the classes. Even before this the class as a whole had refused to follow mere precedent and buy ' Campus Tickets. At any, rate, a few only were ordered, , and these at greatly reduced price and merely for the sake of showing a little respect for an old custom. At Granger ' s and at Harbour Gymnasium under the gallant leadership of Prexy McCandless and his social commit- ' tee our ideas and ideals as to co-education were early evident. In the large spheres of university life Paul Magoflin on the gridiron, Gayle Dull and Eddie French on the track, Chet Taft on the diamond, Aidee Pearce on the debate platform, and Dope Eldridge on the Daily staff were already demonstrating that ' 08 was in the race. To be sure, we, along with the other freshman classes, allowed the sophomores to carry off the rush, and we came McCANDi.Ess

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PREXY HOBART staff Adams, Crane and Woodruff were serving with credit. In the Comedy Club, as also in the Deutscher Verein were Fred Woodruff and Miss Haller; in the Circle Francais Bert Lyon and Bob Monroe. Don Drummond was Financial Secretary of the Athletic Association. And so the story went. Moreover, it was our J Hop year and Stan Cox was representing us as general chairman of the committee, with Phil Stevenson to lead the dazzling dancers. The ' 08 girls, meanwhile were winning honors for the class. Later in the year they brought us the basketball championship and were rewarded with suitable fobs by the class. All along the line ' 08 was in the lead, there being not time or space here to go into the list of those active in the various important clubs upon the campus, and on committees pushing Varsity affairs. The year ' s work was topped off by the election of McCandless as Business Manager of the MICHIGANENSIAN, with Fred Woodruff as Art Editor, and of Freyburger as President of the Students ' Lecture Association. We have proved our worth, and while as SENIORS there has been no chance to rest on our oars, our class life has settled into a more steady and quiet stream. George Hobart decided away last spring that the senior presidency must be his. He drew about him a strong ticket, and with it very little opposition. In fact there was no campaign organ- ized against him. A senior class election without a healthy fight is a strange thing indeed, but when at the first meeting of the year, Tom Clancey with much fire and logic placed Mr. Hobart, Miss Baker, etc., before us as the only logical men to be elected, there was no one to say him nay or to oppose his choice of candidates. At the present writing our senior year is but half gone. It has gone too quickl , but the bet- ter half of it, with our most pleasant times together, still remains. We have elected our full quota of men to the Student Council, Mag Magoffin has captained a strong Varsity football team for us, George Eves has brought us honors in debate, McCandless, Adams, Hobart, have served for us on the Daily, with Bowman and Bisbee on the Daily Board of Control. We have met together at the new Michigan Union Club House, smoked, imbibed apple juice and passed round the merry jest. We have haunted Granger ' s and tripped the light fantastic beneath Dean Jordan ' s watch- ful eye at Barbour Gym. The girls have treated us to a leap year dancing party. We have stood the fires of another examination time, and come off without being too badly singed. We have, since then, been increasing in wisdom and proper dignity. There is naught before us now but the enjoyment of happy days together, with final exams too far away to make any difference and with much to anticipate. Cass Selden hopes to trot out a winning relay team, likewise Ray Wil- liams one in baseball. Hurry Kane with his lively wit will insure us good entertainment at our annual banquet, Aidee Pearce as orator, Miss Downey as historian, and Miss Meads as poetess, will do us credit on class clay and sustain our well-earned .reputation. Our shekels will no doubt disappear, and the class treasury wax fat under the experienced hand of Frank Davis. The balmy days of Ann Arbor spring are yet to come, with the long walks in the country, the canoe trips, the little picnics up river, the shady nooks, the moonlight nights on the boulevard, ami all the rest. Out beyond there is what they call the world, but we are too much engrossed with the toil and pleasure of our university life to think a great deal about that; and when at last we do stand upon the threshold and step out into this world we hope and expect to find that our days of work together, in class-room and out, and our hours of recreation have only fitted us for more effective living in it. And this fitness we may rightfully expect to have gained dur- ing four years of comradeship together at Michigan, and it is for the gift of this that we shall ever rightfully honor and esteem her whom it is our privilege to call our Alma Mater. WALLE W. MERRITT. THE Brxrn AT THE BENCH