University of Vermont - Ariel Yearbook (Burlington, VT)

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UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT,I909 31 Sfieninra U Age, too, shines out, and garrulous recounts the feats of youth. Ghgqyggeg EARLY four years of congenial life together have passed only too swiftly, and but a few busy, happy months have yet to elapse before the H Old Rf E Mill,', that welcomed the class of 1908, and the classic paths that have led it to learning, will know it no longer as an undergraduate body. N Weak in numbers, our class has shown recuperative 'ability and construc- tive strength that prove it to be indeed mighty in spirit. The passing years have done more for us than merely to decimate our numbers. They have taught us love for Alma Mrater, and respect for all who aid her in her work. They have opened to us wider fields of endeavor, and have given us courage to take our places therein. Best of all, the dead years have taught us the true spirit of life, the spirit that makes a man come from a defeat, unconquerecl, unafraid, and preparing for another encounter. The years surely cannot be called wasted that have taught a man, or a body of men, this invaluable lesson. ln retrospect, it is easy to see that our class has not acquitted itself along some lines as perhaps it might have done. Qui' athletic contests were, with but one shining exception, a series of crushing and disheartening defeats. Football, Baseball, Basketball, and Track all told the same story of defeat,-defeat due partly to a lack of suitable material, but mostly to internal dissensions, and to a blase spirit of N Don't caref, On the other hand, although the class as a whole has done little or nothing in athletics, there are some members who have worthily upheld its honor on field' and track. Ferrin and Frank have been able representatives on the gridiron for three years, while Ward, l-lanna, Cassidy and Wilson did good work until Fate and the Faculty took them from us.4 On the track, we have been well represented by Master, while Collison was one of the stars on the baseball 'teams the two years he was with us. Other departments of college activity owe much to the willing hearts and able hands of l908 men. In literary work the class has been very active. Smith, Brownell and Somerville have worked faithfully on the Cynic Board for four 'years and the present excellent character of the publication is due largely to their influence. Music, too, has attracted many of the class, as may easily be seen by consulting the roll of the Musical Clubs, while for three years the leader of the Mandolin Club has owed allegiance to l908. Moreover, the establishment of the College Band is, due, almost solely, to the efforts of Barton and' Salford. In the clubs and in all -the other diverse interests of a busy college life, there may be found 1908 men doing their Work in a quiet way and putting into it all the energies of their minds and bodies.

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SENIOR CLASS

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32 THE.AR1EL,voL.xx11 Our greatest success, however, has been in the work of fostering the growth of College Spirit. Initiated into the true meaning of College Life by the incomparable class of l906, we have ever done our best 'to perpetuate the ancient customs of our college, and have never feared to inaugurate new ones whenever the need of them has been felt. Our Class Suppers from the outset were ideal occasions of the kind. We have suffered neither from a lack of forceful orators to voice our sentiments, nor from a scarcity of jolly good fellows to cheer them to the echo. This being the case, the popularity of these celebrations is as easily understood as the reason for the feeble attempts at imitation. Other customs have taken on a new meaning in our hands. The free fight which formerly characterized Proc Night has become the skillfully organized campaign of to-day. We are responsible for the monthly College Smokers, for the joint class suppers and for the increased stringency of the Freshman rules. We are proud to say that no class has ever accomplished more along these lines than we have done. It is not hard to prophesy what will become the most pleasant memory of our course. Some of us will remember the long walks, and the quiet sails, with the lovely lake and the wonderful mountains luring us on to fresh adventures. Some will think fondly of cheering bleachers, and a green field with men in white playing their noblest for Old Vermont. Some will recall the tender triumphs of the ball-room, and some, the laurels culled on the stony sidehills of learning. But all of us, saints and sinnersg flunkers and grinds, will think most and best of the efforts we have made to better our class and our college. ln every undertaking we have done our best, and no man could have done better. We have tried many things and have failed in many things, but we have not failed to learn that our future rests entirely in our own hands, to be molded as we will. The happy days of jolly dormitory life are fast slipping by, and the enigma of after life will soon be presented before our unwilling eyes. We have learned much at this little old college on the hill,-less, perhaps, from our books than we intended, but more from association with the good fellows we have known and loved during the pa-st four years. We owe a great debt to our Alma Mater,-a debt we can never hope to repay. Ambition, Courage and Loyalty are the qualities she has given us. Ambition to do something more than our best for her glory, Courage to face the battles of life for her sake, and Loyalty to her and to our country. And when we have received the final stamp of approval, and are about to go the way of all good Vermont men, we shall go out into the world with only best love for our Alma Mater, and with our hopes for the future best expressed by one of the poets in an immortal ode of friendship and love- 55 '55 55 W'hatever sky's above us l-lere's a heart for every fate.