West Virginia University - Monticola Yearbook (Morgantown, WV)

Page 30 text:

■who know him, but he has not prospereii in a -woi-idly way above the aver- age country doctor. They were class mates in the old W. V. U. back in 187 , and, while in school were the closest of friends. They heard from each other for a while after they graduated, but finally their correspondence ceased and they lost track of each other. Bill, after teaching school for a year or two, studied law and began practicing in one of the larger towns of the state, which he now helps to represent in Congress. Joe studied medicine ia Baltimore and on completing his course went to Wisconsin. They had not seen each other .since leaving Morgantown the day after their graduation. Joe had heard of late years though of the success his old friend was meet- ing with and knew that he was in Congress. It was while Congress was in ses.sion in February of th= present year that Joe found it necessary to go to Washington to look after some busi- ness. One of his first thoughts on finding out the occasion of his going- was, that he would have the opportunity of callins: on his old friend. Bill, and of renewing the friendship of college days; and he had not been long- in Washington before he found out the residence of the Hon. Wm. R. and went to call on him. Bill was not at home when Joe called, but he did not have to wait long- until he returned. Of coui-se Bill did not recognize him at once, but it didn ' t take him long to make himself known. The greeting was such as would have done any college man ' s heart good to witness. How quickly did those old fellows forget all about house-bills and doctor- bills and everything else but Morgantown and University days. Bill had an important engagement with a fellow congressman that night, but he telephoned him an excuse and gave orders to the servants that no callers were to be admitted during- the evening. And then they went to work. Their whole college life was reviewed from prepdom to commencement day of their senior year. Jokes, pranks, larks, and snipe-hunts were all remembered, and all their flirtations with the Morgantown girls of that day were called to mind. Joe learned from Bill that the two girls to whom they had been particularly friendly while in school were still living in Morgantown — the senior members of the Society of College Widows — making themselves useful by giving pointers to the girls just coming on. When they had talked and laughed over all their personal experiences, they discussed the other members of their class and then their Alma Mater in general. Bill remembered that he had in his library copies of The Monticola, published in ' 96 and ' 99. He fetched these and they looked over them together. Joe, somehow, had not seen a copy of either issue and he was intensely interested in looking over them. In the volume of ' 96 he found a complete list of the classes that had graduated fi-om the Univer- sity up to that time, in which were given the names of the members of each 24

Page 29 text:

f » B • RLUMNl Try Officers for 1 899- 1900. President. Seeretar;y and Treasurer. Hon. J. R. Trotter. Prof. Robt. A. Armstronsr. ' ' Come, dear old Comrade, you and I Will steal an hour from days gone by, The shining days when life was new, And all was bright with morning dew. The lusty days of long ago, When you were Bill and I was Joe. Your name may flaunt a titled trail Proud as a cockerel ' s rainbow tail, And mine as brief appendix wear. As Tam O ' Shanter ' s luckless mare; To-day, old friend, remember still That I am Joe and you are Bill. You ' ve won the great world ' s envied prize And grand you look in people ' s eyes, With Hon. and LL. D. In big brave letters fair to see, — Your fist old fellow! Off they go! — How are you, Bill! How are you, Joe ? Bill is serving his third term in Congress, where he has won a degree of distinction that makes him the pride of the state that has sent him to the national capital as one of its representatives. Joe is a physician practicing in a small town in Wisconsin, where he has gained the high esteem of all 23

Page 31 text:

■class together with their address and occupation. There was also in con- nection with this an interesting chapter on the Alumni, written by Prof. Armstrong, Secretary of the Alumni Association; and the issue of ' 99 con- tained a similar chapter. Joe read these closely, for. like every loyal Alumnus, he felt an interest in every other son of his Alma Mater. I see, ' said he, after they had looked through both volumes carefully, and had refilled their pipes from Bill ' s ample box of Yale Mixture, that up to this time three hundred and three graduates have gone out from the academic schools of the University, and two hundred and sixty-one from the law school. The number is not very large, to be sure, but that fellow, writing in the last Monticola, is about right when he says that an equal number of graduates from Harvard or Yale will not show a larger list of men who are making their mark in the world. They ai ' e scattered all over the country — lawyers, doctors, preachers, teachers, engineers; and two others of them have broken into congress, Bill, like yourself; I tell you I am proud of the oldW. V.U. I have my sheepskin framed and hanging in my room at home. I would part with all the rest of the furniture in the house sooner than I would part with it. Yes, ' said Bill, I have been keeping track of the graduates of the University as closely as I could and I know something about a good many of them; most of them are making a success of life. I have been particularly interested in noting the success that the engineering boys are meeting with. I was informed by the head of that department when I visited Mor- gantown about a year ago that every man who had taken an engineering degree was at that time holding a good position. They stand right along with the graduates of the large technical schools too. A good many changes have taken place since you and I were there, Joe. Of course the institution has grown and has kept pretty well up with the general progress along educational lines; but particularly within the last three years have numerous innovations been made. In the old days when you and I were there, co-education was not thought of; but you know the co-eds broke in about thirteen years ago, and in ' 97 they were admitted to the Preparatory department. And now it seems they are having everything about their own way. An art school and a music school have been established, and even a cooking school was started at the beginning of this year. I hope for the benefit of the boys there now, that the cooks at the forts will take advantage of the training in this department. I never shall forget the beef-steak we used to try to masticate there. But I have a warm place in my heart for the old school, Joe, in spite of the fact that everything is dif- ferent from what it was when we were there. I wish that the officers of the Alumni Association would do something to get the interest of the old boys stirred up so that regular meetings of the association could be held. I would like to attend them and get in touch with the members of all the 25