West Virginia University - Monticola Yearbook (Morgantown, WV)

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Episcopal Hall, first women ' s dormitory, Willey and Spruce Streets. Agricultural Experiment Station, built 1884; was near Oglebay Hall. The second Mechanical Hall, built in 1902 and destroyed by fire in 1956. The new Mountain- lair parking levels stand in its place.

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I i The hick house, located where the old Moun- tainlair now is, Falling Run Road. The supposedly haunted hick house at left, where cadavers were kept, was the modest beginning of a medical department founded in 1878 which now sprawls on its own campus into four schools and a hospital worth at least $40 million. A law department also began that year. Other things ended, though, as a 1901 Monticola cartoon featured a graveyard with tombs labeled college spirit, summer quarter, the regents, and the committee on student affairs. The 1907 yearbook showed another graveyard with stones for a medical school, athletic field, and a new gymnasium. The state capital was affectionately referred to as the Amalgamated Order of the Pruning Knife. Whatever the doubts about the summer quarter, since 1900 the quarter system was in effect with 12-week periods beginning July 1, October 1, January 1 and April 1. However, in 1912 the semester system was adopted. In 1916 extension courses were set up across the state in such towns as Bluefield, Moundsville, and Welch. Other academic changes came in 1914 when President Hodges authorized the registrar to deduct 1 % from the final grade for each unexcused absence. That year also saw the abolishment of Latin as an entrance requirement for all students except those in law or medicine. Summer school sessions opened in 1910 with Waitman Barbe as the director. He had been field agent for WVU since 1 895 and had written a book entitled Going to College. Due to rising expenses, the summer school fee was raised to $20 in 1929 from the previous $5. In 1925, seniors with an 88% grade were allowed optional attendance as long as they maintained that average. That year the sororities attained a higher overall than the all-women ' s (83% to 80%) but the fraternities fell below the all-men ' s average of 78% by one point. Smoking was becoming a big problem at WVU and in 1922 the Athenaeum reported that Woodburn Hall had to be cleaned of cigarette stubs six times a day and that smokers were causing congestion at the doorways. Dean Simpson of the School of Medicine stated that if girls were caught smoking they should be spanked but not banished from the college. Woodburn Hall, the 1910 Monticola noted, is a large summer pavilion built in many styles of architecture and of all known materials. Repairs . . . always begin when (there is) teaching. Its neighbor. University Hall (now Martin Hall) was called a model of architectural beauty carrying out noble designs. A clock was added in the Woodburn Hall bell tower which rang out the 9 p.m. curfew while a cannon took care of the 6 a.m. rise-and- shine. The clock was the brunt of many pranks including a target for several rifle holes, while several determined students once graced the tower with a cow. Administration Building, built in 1902, formerly used as a library.

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The Armor), built in 1871, razed in 1966 The Armory pictured above was the center for military and athletic events in its earlier days. WVU, being a state school, has always trained cadets through its ROTC programs. Cadets for many years were waived from tuition fees. If it rained, the cadets moved off the field and marched in the corridors of Woodburn Hall. In 1897 cadets were given uniforms and became part of the state national guard. 1901 brought a cadet band and pretty coed sponsors soon followed. In 1890 the Athletic Association was formed to solicit funds to equip football and baseball teams, both named the Snakes. Until Mountaineer Stadium was built in 1925, the teams used the Armory field. A typical gymnastic exhibition inside the Armory in 1909 featured a calisthenic march, games, horse and buck, and Swedish folk dances. The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer deplored the introduction of football at our state University. The next thing in order will be for legislature to establish a hospital in Morgantown, screamed the editorial. That took place 34 years later. In 1912 the College of Medicine was changed to School and was rated Class A by the American Medical Association five ye rs later. The old School of Medicine building replaced in 1952 by the Physics Building.