Wittenberg University - Witt Yearbook (Springfield, OH)

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Isaac Sprecher, principal of the Academy, and Mr. George Sprecher who gave Doctor Prince his first lessons in Latin, made up the number. The college grounds extended south to the cliffs of what is now Cliff Park. There were only a few houses north of the creek and the campus was fenced in because the townspeople pastured their cattle along the creek and they were always alert to the possibility of one of the gates being open. Gone are the days when I teas young and gay. Gone arc the friends who arc now so far away. Gone arc the landmarks of my college day. hear the newer voices calling. Pay your bills. The Girls’ Gab Room of the Nineties is a thing of the past. The giggling and gabbling that issued from behind the first door to one’s left upon entering Recitation Hall is silenced forever. The click of the typewriter has taken its place. In the days before the regime of Proxy Tulloss this room was the femi- nine stronghold and whatever feminist movements arose at Wittenberg were hatched most likely here within what is now The College Office. An old grad would be lost and I doubt not would hesitate to enter for the first time what in his college days was forbidden ground. The inscriptions adorning the walls have likewise vanished under some coats of nice clean paint. And where is the carpet that was always in tatters? To be sure, there might be seen a whole carpet in all its splendor each year when college opened, but a week two weeks and every girl in college learned to step lightly and warily on those spots which were the pathway to the cloakroom, for to the knowledge of those who trod over that carpet, there never was a carpet which could stand the wear and tear of that room’s use. Dancing? Well, it was forbidden and it is not for those who now have sons and daughters under the rules of this Wittenberg College to tell how we outwitted Prcxy Ort, or if we ce. The carpet wore out. so that's that. The old if underneath the click-clack of the typewriter, t a murmur of the fun of the days that arc gone; with the murmur, there arises above it once in a the lilt of See-Saw” and Come to Me. Sweet e.” Well, perhaps that is just because those were best sellers in the popular music line in those days, nd the old Girls’ Gab Room served for many years as the place where Euterpia held forth in debate, essay and recitation and here it was that the grandmother of “The Witt” held spellbound those who attended Euterpia. The Budget’ was a great little paper and scintillated with all the spice and wit then abroad at Witten- berg. The writer can well remember the

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One man had trouble removing his. so he whispered to another who was standing near, to hold him while he removed them. The other complied in silence and the next morning it was discovered that Doctor Ort had held the student while he removed his boots. A little accident occurred late in the career of Doctor Ort which was quite characteristic of his style of humor. He was called out of his seminary class for a long-distance call. One member of the class whom we shall call Mr. Johnson, by way of relieving a probable long wait of tedium, went to the front of the room and imitating Doctor Ort’s peculiarly heavy speech, notified the class that they would now have some gymnastic exercises. He opened all the win- dows and going back to the Professor’s place, started the exercises by standing on his head on the desk. Doctor Ort came back sooner than was anticipated and found Mr. Johnson in this inverted position. Doctor Ort. folding his arms and regarding Mr. Johnson for a moment in silence, remarked. Well. Mr. Johnson, are you getting top heavy? All persons in the early days were assessed a poll tax of two dollars road repair, or were required to assist in the work on the highways. Wittenberg Avenue was then a private drive leading to the creek and the supervisor gra- ciously granted to the students permission to cancel their obligation by repair- ing the roadway. In the early history of the college, the campus extended south to the present Cliff Park. The physical side of college activities in the early days occupied a different position and performed a widely different function from the present day ath- letics. One could scarcely call their student recreation as athletics. In the morning before classes a walk was taken until the hour for the first recitation at nine. After classes at four in the afternoon, the entire school was privileged to participate in football. There were no co-eds in school at that time. During the C ivil War the students, who numbered one hundred and sixty at that time, responded so valiantly and served so satisfactorily as to win the commendation of the Government. Some answered Lincoln’s first call for men for three months of service, while others served from one to three years. Five men made up the Faculty during the period of the War. Doctor Sprecher was President; Doctor Geiger was in charge of mathematics and sciences; Professor Diehl taught the ancient languages: Professor

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measley Budget issued at a time when measles were rampant among the Ferncliff Hall tribe and with cover most luridly representing the epidemic. Where now Prexy Tulloss reigns supreme and where Dean Martin guides the wayward toward their duty was once the recitation room of Prexy Ort where Juniors and Seniors assembled to recite perhaps, and to listen to Doctor Ort always, for the Doctor’s eloquence and oratory were irresistible, and whether the undergrad understood the substance of the philosophy expounded by the Doctor or not. he was always held spellbound by the doctor’s exposition of the lesson. Now the room is divided in two and the powers that be. decide the destiny of a student and the policy and good of the college there. Even though the old grad has the advantage in years over both Prexy I ulloss and Dean Martin, still I can fancy that there might be a slight weakness in his knees when first he returns and visits the room where he was on the carpet for some misdemeanor in days gone by. The first Wittenberg Glee Club was organized by Professor Hiller. He also originated the college, colors, cardinal and cream. The Alma Mater song is of his composition. In the extreme northwest corner of the campus, that corner bounded by Plum and Cecil Streets, was once a cemetery. There several people of the im- mediate community were buried, but the bodies were afterward removed to other burial places. Fifty years ago, a student on entering college was rushed as earnestly and as fervently for the literary societies as today the student is rushed by the fra- ternities. It was about that time that the men students had two boarding clubs, namely the Saints and Sinners. These clubs were conducted by the students who took turns in acting as steward. C ooks were hired from the outside. The fare was simple but nourishing. Meat was served once a day, butter not at all (at least not by the Saints). Board for the Sinners sometimes cost two dollars and fifty cents a week. I he Saints paid from one dollar and seventy-five cents to two dollars, varying with the food and management. Sam Keller, Professor of Mathematics, always looked at his thermometer as he entered the class- room. If the mercury hung low, he dismissed his class without parley. The thermometer was sufficient authority. One morning as he came into class he consulted the thermometer and found it hovering near the freezing point. The weather was mild outside but classrooms