University of Oregon - Oregana Yearbook (Eugene, OR)

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, ., . . . , W... .. .,..,.V. -- ,.,.., ,...... .. v.v..... .wvr V- . . . . ..-a,.. . --. A 4 .V . ,. ...L . and grain in great abundance. Wfe appealed to the several organized granges in the county and received liberal gfts from them. liven the school children were asked to contribute, and I believe they subscribed over 31,000.8 ln spite of the utmost efforts of these men, the enterprise would not have succeeded had not the legislature extended the time for the completion of the building to January 1, 1877. The Association submitted statements and pho- tographs showing the progress of the work and proving that it was acting in good faith, and had no trouble in obtaining the necessary concession. ln june, 1876, the building being nearly completed, and sufficient sub- scriptions having been pledged to pay all contracts, the Association invited the State Board of Land Commissioners to make the inspection provided for in the bill. Accordingly, on july 30, 1876, the board inspected and accepted the property. The first building, Deady lrlall, was named in honor of judge Matthew P. Deady, of .l3'ortland, the first President of the lloard of Regents. It is still the most striking object on the campus, Perhaps we may not admire its peculiar style of architecture. nor its appointments, but we cannot but revere it as a monument to the sturdiness of the fathers of' the University. The Regents now met to choose a Faculty and provide courses of in- struction. John VV. johnson, of l'ortland, was named as President, and Mark Bailey, of McMinnville, and Thomas Condon, of Forest Grove. as professors in the College of Liberal Arts. ln the preparatory department, Mrs. Mary E. Spiller was chosen Principal, and Miss Mary E. Stone, Assistant. Although the University was now duly established and in operation. it was by no means free from encumbrances. The Association was unable to collect about seven thousand dollars which had been subscribed. and conse- quently the contrictors still held claims against the property for this amount. The visit of Henry Villarcl, builder of Northwest railroads, solved the problem. Mr. Villarcl came to Oregon in 1877 to investigate the possibilities for further development of this country, and he was invited by judge Deady to inspect the University. Being deeply interested in higher education. he ac- ceped the invitation, and was given an enthusiastic welcome by the Facutly. students. and townspeople. inquiring into the financial condition of the insti- tution, he was informed of the seven thousand dollar debt, with the result that he cancelled it and enabled the Association to fulfill its pledge to the state. The story of the first commencement, in l878, is graphically told by Mrs. Ellen Condon McCornack. the only woman in the first graduating class of five, and still a resident of Eugene. The exercises, she says, were held in the third story of Deady Hall, Tlzi1'tcc1z

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X: , ,Y H vi, 0 V, V .,... .. ,l.., I .. ,.,,,,. V. . ,..,.V .. .'x-, ..,, , V.,. . ,Z -H...-.,. . .... .,.. . .I ,V ..F.,I,.,,,,.Y:.,.:.,:x , :I ,VI :tl .l fiw .. . which was at that time fitted up as an auditorium. They were held in the evening of june 14, 1878, and were attended by six hundred people. The pro- gram consisted of orations by the students and an address to the class by judge Dcdy. Diplomas were the awarded the following: Robert S. Bean, now President of the Board of Regents, Matthew S. VVallis, now living in Eugene, George S. VVashburne, deceased, John C. Wliitealcer, deceasedg and Mrs. McCormack. VVlhat the first Faculty lacked in numbers it made up in personality. President johnson, during his long administration of seventeen years, made himself a dominant force in the educational field. He was a man of marked mental attainments and pronounced eccentricities. His students tell many stories which demonstrate both characteristics. He could not brook stupidity in his students, and was capable of sarcasm at the expense of offenders which would have shamed the efforts of the most dreaded masters of invective on the present Faculty. He also had a hibit which is now, perhaps, more prev- alent among students than instructors,-that of chewing tobacco in the class room. President johnson at first taught Latin and Greek, but after 1882 con- fined his attention to Latin. In 1893 he retired from the presidency, but re- tained his chair in the Faculty. His final retirement in 1898 was the occasion for universal regret and tribute from the thousands of students and friends who had come in personal contact with him. Equally famous was Dr. Thomas Condon, the first Professor of Geology and Natural History. Before his appointment to the University Faculty, Dr. Condon had been for many years active in the mlinistry in this state. At the same time he had engaged extensively in geological study and research, and had gathered the valuable collection of specimens which he later presented to the University, and which is now known as the Condon collection. Dr. Condon's eminence as a writer and authority on geological matters is too well recognized to need mention here. He retired froml active service on the Faculty in 1895, retaining, however, the position of emeritus professor. To revert to our historical sketch, we again meet with the name of Henry Villard as a further and even greater benefactor of the University. Not con- tent with his original gift of seven thousand dollars toward eradicating the debt on Deady Hall, in 1882 he gave one thousand dollars toward the estab- lishment of a library. The next year he made his largest gift of fifty thousand dollars toward the endowment fund. Meanwlhile, the student body had far outgrown the capacity of Deady Hall, and the legislature voted the money necessary to erect a second build- F ourlecn