Virginia Polytechnic Institute - Bugle Yearbook (Blacksburg, VA)

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campus-First and Sec' ond Academic buildings - were completed in 1877. Political interference and feeble support from the state checked the prof gress of the young col' lege. Captain Thomas N. Conrad replaced Presif dent Buchanan as head of the school in 1886. Smooth plans were again L interrupted when, four years later, a new political party in power reorganized the faculty and named General L. L. Lomax as president. Military training has been an integral part of the campus life since the founding of the school. Confederate officers were placed in charge of all military training for the first decade. In 1884, realizing the value of having military instructors who were in constant contact with new developments in military training, the college secured the CADET BATTALION IN l895. Note the helmets, the mounted colonel, and the clear sweep south. The colonel's horse bolted at graduation and carried him three miles before he gained control. Bosco doesn't ride horses. l895-V. P. l. 6, V. M. l. 4. This is the first team to beat the boys from Lexington. After identifying every player Bosco remarked: Rough looking aren't they! said he of the wooden steps llater replacedlz l've walked them a billion times. Professor Rasche was a mighty power behind the catch- er's mask in those days. assistance of Army officers from the War Department. Number one barracks, which was completed in 1888, offered the first livf ing facilities on the campus for the cadets. The annual sham battles, which were now becoming a tradition, attracted to the campus large crowds from all over the state. The Board of Visitors in making Dr. John McBryde president in 1891, gave him freedom in selecting his faculty and in formulating the policies of the col' l lege. This final removal of political interference made way for future progress. Dr. McBryde fostered military training and instigated broad im' provements in the corps. Composed of one hundred thirtyffive cadets, it was made a permanent organization in 1891. The two Civil War can'

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V. P. I. CAMPUS IN 1887 as seen from the present site of the University Club. Note the Academic Buildings in the background land the outhouse in the foregraundl. The buildings on the right were those of the Preston and Olin Institute and were removed after serving for several years as administrative office buildings. Bosco didn't remember this scene. I've been around here for a long time-but not a century. H . P I lstor o V . . . With comments in the captions by Professor William H. Bosco Rasche. N 1872, the Virginia Legislature, with the assistance of the Congressional Land Grant College Endowment, passed an act making possible the Virginia Agricultural and Me' chanical College. An offer by Montgomery County of 320,000 and the grounds and buildings of Pres' ton and Olin Institute was largely responsible for the location of the college in Blacksburg. The Legislaf ture, being unfamiliar with the pref vailing climate of this mountain resort, immediately approved the site. Dr. C. L. C. Minor was ap' pointed the first president of V. A. M. C. A bitter disagreement brought about his removal in 1897, however, and he was succeeded by Dr. J. L. Buchanan in 1880. The first two buildings of the present FIRST CADET BAND, 1893-even before Jim Shaeffer's time. Jim took over as bandmaster in l9I6. Note the gaatee in upper row right.

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nons which have long flanked the entrance to the upper quadrangle were purchased in 1893 with prize money won in competitive drill in Norfolk. The first Cadet Band, organized in 1892, was composed of sixteen members, with Cadet Clifford Anderson as leader. The school offered a concession to the members and appropriated funds for music and a place to practice. In this same year the first intercollegiate football game was played with Saint Albans in Blacksburg. Score: the same time. Cctober, 1896, saw the school colors changed from gray and black to orange and maroon. The Spanish American War in 1898 inf stigated the mobilization of the army that defeated Spain and established the United States as a world power. Governor Tyler declined for Virginia the service of the corps offered for national defense, but many cadets answered the call to arms. The Band entered the service as a unit and did training duty in Florida. FACULTY ROW IN l90l. Note the Military Building-formerly the Y. M. C. A. Building-under construction and the pretty grounds. Many of these houses have been moved several times to allow for expansion of the physical plant. V. A. M. C., 14, Saint Albans, 10. In 1894 the V. A. M. C. eleven lost the first game against V. M. I. by the score of 10 to 6. The following year, by an act of legislaf ture, the name of the college was changed to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. The school motto, Ut Prosim, That we may serve, was adopted by Dr. McBryde at Having established a high technical standing in the South for the school, Dr. McBryde considered his task completed. He resigned in the Spring of 1906, ending a sixteen year term as one of V. P. I.'s most successful presidents. Dr. Paul B. Barringer, who succeeded Dr. 'McBryde as head of the institution, asf