University of Maine - Prism Yearbook (Orono, ME)

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A few days later occurred the “peanut game,” which we easily won by a score of 12 to 3. The sophomores insisted on witnessing the game from the grand stand, and as we had been taught to respect our elders we allowed them to do so, much to their satisfaction. The next affair of interest was the “ night shirt parade,” which we gave willingly. This seemed like a nice game though not particularly interesting that night. John Warren didn’t like to be out so late, and Mose wanted to be “plugging ” rhetoric, as he intended to specialize in that later so as to be under Honey’s instruction. We were so interested in other matters that we were defeated by the sophs in football 10 to 0. This was entirely owing to our lack of practice however. The winter passed quickly and we were the pride of the college. Two of our members attended the Junior Prom, for a few moments, the first time the freshman class was ever represented. As Ivy Day drew near, hostilities were redoubled and the sacred banks of the Stillwater were the scene of conflicts, many and varied. A great deal of history was made some of those nights and owing to so much practice both classes were in excellent condition for the Ivy Night soiree, though the sophs were a bit nervous. The memory of that night will never leave us. As brave as lions we met in the protecting shadows of the trees by the stand-pipe and for long hours listened to the yells of the upperclassmen who were anxious to aid (?) us in the undoing of the sophs. After a deal of discussion a few members were found who were so lacking in modesty that they would march ahead and the rest of us then followed. We met the sophs on the Kappa House lawn and a terrible struggle ensued, in which we were victorious. One of our foes had the misfortune to fracture his leg, so the fierceness of the scrap may be imagined. We tied up Freeman, the Ivy Day historian, who begged lustily to be released, which he was after a dip in the water. Another scrapper (?) was captured and told to meet his doom. “ Walk, Henry, walk,” commanded the leader, and Henry walked, in up to his neck. Then the melodious voice of George Dur- gan rose amid the croak of frogs on the midnight air. “ Scooch, Henry, scooch.” and Henry scooehed down, down, down, into the black water of Chipper’s frog pond. We made a good showing in athletics, placing six men on the 32

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Senior History N many respects the history of the class of 1002 is remarkable. This is naturally to be expected, for it is a remarkable class. From the very fust it has been free from the failings of the preceding and following aggre- gations commonly called freshmen, and scarcely had the ninety men composing it arrived on the campus before their superiority began to show itself. Every member was a star, but the magnitude of the stars differed. Quarterback Lowe scorned the captaincy of the ’varsity football team and all invitations to join the various fraternities ; Coxy Hamilton and Yeast Ilennessy “ plugged ” up their lessons two weeks in advance; Henry French and Roy Russell cut recitations to play billiards ; and each co-ed had from one to three young tutors on the string. All this, and lots more, happened the first day. That night we had our first drill and, although none of us was appointed major, we attracted much attention, especially from the sophomores. After drill they meekly suggested that we scrape the diamond, whereupon we fell into a rage and a lively scrap ensued as long as a sophomore was to be found, which was just three minutes by the clock in Wingate Hall. As our foes were arrayed in uniform, and we were not, the result to them was disastrous. One corporal, in a shiny new uniform, lost the entire bosom of his trousers when dragged in a sitting posture across the walk. 31

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’varsity baseball team and winning a close second in the class meet besides having several men on the ’varsity track team. Just before Commencement we met with a great loss. One of our best men was drowned and the affair cast a gloom over us all. A sad memory is that of a bright spring afternoon when we paid the last tribute to our dear friend and classmate. On our return the next fall our number had fallen to about seventy- five, but activities immediately began. There was no drill and so we did not oblige the freshmen to scrape the diamond, though we did them up brown in the “peanut game,” 1G to 0, in seven innings, at the end of which they “squealed.” They felt so sore and homesick about it that we let them occupy the grand stand though Blaze, the mighty scrapper, contested manfully. The night shirt parade was a grand success this year and hugely enjoyed by all. Thinking the freshmen needed a little drill to round out their education we attempted to give them a few simple exercises, and the nights that followed were far more exciting than the days. Captain Bach was more interested in tactics than in Descript, and the barbers in Orono speak of those hard times as a “close shave,” even to the present day. Freshmen employed their feeble intellects to find a means of stopping the ravages on the innocents but all in vain. They all had to come, even if the stairways came with them and the very holes in which they crouched covered by hidden trap-doors. At times the fates turned and to this day a certain senior can not handle a box of blacking with- out a shudder. He was no bill board. Affairs reached such a crisis that Prexy sent several home on a little visit and more were soon to follow. The seniors, realizing our importance, stayed the avenging arm and we were saved, but only on the condition that we sign a paper agreeing lo do no more hazing. This we did ; we were thankful for even this chance. Our activities could not be entirely suppressed as the disappearance of the tongue to the bell in Wingate Hall shows, and by the way, that same tongue is now serv- ing as paper weights on certain seniors’ desks. Having agreed to do no hazing we did not feel like encouraging a scrap Ivy Night, and so there was none, though many of our men chafed under the restraint. In athletics we again took a prominent part, winning the class championship with a big margin and putting several men on the ’varsity teams. 33