University of Vermont - Ariel Yearbook (Burlington, VT)

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T . T zz.. . . T T T T t educational offices was tfien made a drill room. T je space ovet f ?e cfiapel lyas used by tfie engineering department as it is today. The administration offices were on either side of the central projection off the main hall, probably about where the Dean ' s office and Y. V. Q- t - rooms are now located. The chemical laboratory occupied the space now taken by I SK orth, and the rooms over it were dormitories. The rest of the present iJ orth College and the correspond- ing parts of South, that is, the portions occupied by rooms 3, 23, and 33 at either end, contained lecture rooms and storerooms. The portion correspond- ing to rooms I and 4 and those above in South College as well as the entire fourth story with the exception of the engineering department over the chapel were also dormitories. The cornerstone of the reconstructed building was re- laid with iMasonic ceremonies conducted by T r. L. C- ' Butler of £,ssex, as part of the commencement program on June 26. 1883. In the early part of the summer of 1918 the south wing was badly dam- aged by fire, and extensive repairs were made on the building. The dormer, windows which used to light the fourth story were removed. cAt this time also the stoves were discarded and replaced with a steam heating system. In order that visitors to the city might take advantage of the view from the tower the stairs leading to it were repaired, enclosed and wired for electric lights. Hardwood floors, new plaster, and interior finish of oak, gave us our present South Coll 9 ' with the exception of room 4 which was then the Tro- phy %oom. In the summer of 1919 when a general cleaning up took place following the occupation of University property by various military units, the north end was renovated. TiN looking over the written records of the University of Vermont, we are hard put to find any mention of some traditions to which we cling with monotonous regularity. If it offend your sense of taste to have such well- known matters put in print, just think what a Qodsend it will be to some member of the ARIEL board in the year 3035 cA. T). hunting frantically for a feature in the precious archives hidden deep in the crumbling remains of ' killings Library. f}t ?3apti£(mar ' Jfount ( VER beyond the Ira nAllen statue is a fountain which under the dark foliage of surrounding shrubs, has been for most of the masculine element of this class a grim and forbidding place. It is here that the grimy frosh is purified, before beginning his four-year race through these mad sanctums, and not always do the dutiful frosh who conduct the ceremonies come off with matches dry enough to light their cigarettes. In former years it was not uncommon to see the frosh firmly bound, marched down C ?urc 3 Street and into the C ' y Hall fountain or sometimes into the deeper horse trough by the jail. cAt other times the newborn college man has fearfully listened to the waters of Lake C am- plain and struggled frantically on the uery edge of liattery T ' ark. S ow the Key and Serpents have become fight promoters and their ancient enemies of the year before find it increasingly difficult to rope the greenlings in by ones and twos for they are organized in larger groups by said society. On the first or second evening of the college year Ira sees suspicious figures lurking about in the Twenty-one ■ ' - - ' It 4 A A I

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Cfje Ctjolution of tfje IbjiWiU ' Tt ' HE Old College building, better known for several generations as the Old S ill, has passed through many transformations since the original edifice was raised in 1801. Following the War of 1812 the University received $5,600 from the United States government for rental and damage on the prop- erty during its occupation as barracks. This sum sufficed to make extensive repairs on the Old S lill and several other buildings then owned by the college. In 1824, following one of the critical periods in the history of the Uni- versity, the college building was destroyed by fire. cA student was burning shavings in his stove on the ground floor, and sparks from his chimney fell on the roof, causing the blaze. It was due to ' Pro- fessor ' Porter, a young chemistry teacher, and a number of youthful graduates, that the necessary funds were raised for the erection of new build- ings. In the summer of 1825 when a new Pres- ident, Willard T ' reston, came to take charge, the only evidences of the institution were a few baskets of books and a few bits of philosophical apparatus in the corner room of a deserted store- house, and the newly started foundation of the north college, according to the account of l ro- fessor Benedict. Three buildings were even- tually raised on the spots now known as north, south and middle. There was an interval of seven or eight feet between each, governor Van S ess laid the cornerstone of orth College in the spring of 1825. oA month or two later, on Sune 29 , Qeneral Lafayette laid the cornerstone of the south building. The middle structure was not completed until 1829. The north and south structures were built for dormitories and each was built in two divisions. The buildings were three stories high, and seventy-five feet long by thirty-six feet wide, c few recitation rooms were finally placed on the first floor of the South College. The middle college was eighty-six feet long with a projection front and rear. It contained the chapel, museum, library, lecture rooms, and two rooms assigned to Thi Sigma S u and University Institute, rival debating societies. It was surmounted by a gilded dome, the working plans for which were executed by Trofessor Benedict, and which was a promi- nent landmark during the fifty years that it remained standing. In about 1848 a few small rooms were added to the buildings by walling up the space between them. There were, however, no corridors running lengthwise of the structure, making it necessary to go out of doors in passing from one division or from one building to another. The tin roof was changed for Welsh slate about this time. Shortly after 1860 the north and south college buildings were both thor- oughly repaired and convenient suites of rooms for students provided. The chapel was also enlarged. In 1882, the reconstruction of the Old S Iill in its present form, according to plans drawn by J. 5- Randall of Jutland, was made possible by John T. Howard, who contributed about $50,000. The different stories were raised, and the chapel and other rooms enlarged by adding projections at the ends and center. The space now occupied by the University Store, coffee corner, and Twenty ' 2i m : ' r ,rtrsr»rirrr ' ' .

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72: TT SZZT ' shadows, and then hears a shout from a running company of huskies just off the farm. There is a rumble of feet, a heavy shock as frosh meets lurking soph, ' periodical splashes, and flashing lights as men in green hats bear away brokers heads from the fountain ' s brink. ' Damp and sick, frosh and soph alike crawl sheepishly home to bed, and Ira oAllen resumes his eternal vigil. ' But there are other scenes which the fountain could tell of if speaking, were one of its virtues. One moonlight morning in une, 1899, the seniors having finished gowning Lafayette ' s statue, decided to clean up Converse Hall. cAbout 2 a. m. they gave the freshmen and sophomores a ride to its brink and tossed them in. Only one captive is reported to have escaped in slippers and gown to a safe hiding place. It is also an unwritten rule that the most popular senior shall pay for this distinction with a bath at Qo ' T ' T sncement time in ohn Howard ' s tub. i ortt) ibe of College Street ' TITHE north side of College Street still seems like hallowed ground to us, even though we be upperclassmen. It is said that the very sidewalk trembles with rage when a green cap dares to tread upon its immortal surface unaccom- panied by his betters. cA shudder of revulsion runs through every true Ver- mont man when a freshman desecrates this promenade with his lowly steps. Swift punishment befalls him who violates the long-standing rule forbidding this unsacred procedure. Why such a custom should have originated we are allowed to guess. Our forebears may have feared that the absent-minded frosh Twenty-two ' ' ' ' ' '