Category Archives: The Bryan Period 1908-1922

p. 283 – The Bryan Period, 1908-1922

Centennial celebration. Over 1,200 alumni returned for the festivities held October 9-12. Since the University was in session the problems of feeding and housing were of major proportions but accommodations were found in the village and cots set up in campus buildings and large tents erected near the Administration Building for serving meals. The program included: Dean Crawshaw’s Centennial Ode, Dr. Lawrence’s Historical Address, Harry Emerson Fosdick’s tribute to the memory of the Gold Star servicemen, an alumni dinner, an academic convocation addressed by the New York State Commissioner of Education, John H. Finley; a football game with Brown University which Colgate won; and a concluding chapel service.

The most epoch-making feature of the Centennial was the founding of the Colgate University Alumni Corporation to supersede the old Alumni Association. It was designed as an efficient, permanently-staffed organization to keep in close touch with the graduates and to give them an opportunity to take a mote active part in University affairs. Twelve directors were immediately elected and they later chose George W. Cobb, ’94, who had been one of the corporation’s chief builders, President; Raymond E. Brooks, ’06, Vice-president; Professor Alfred E. Alton, B.D., ’02, Secretary; and Professor Harold O. Whitnall, ’00, Treasurer. Soon the corporation had an office on campus with Professor Alton in charge. Within a brief period he perfected class organization among the alumni; established and edited the Colgate Alumni Maroon (Colgate Alumni News) which replaced the sporadic Alumni Quarterly; opened a large correspondence with alumni; and helped to collect over $19,000 in support of the organization and the University. Encouraged by the success of the first few months the Directors in 1920 took the lead in launching the campaign for $1,000,000 and a new gym, in which Dr. Alton played a large role.

Before the campaign had concluded Dr. Bryan resigned effective June 30, 1921, to become President of Ohio University at Athens. He had led Colgate in one of its most notable periods 6f expansion-in size, buildings, faculty, and resources. His wisdom, genial friendship and personal interest won him lasting appreciation.

Responsibility for carrying on the affairs of the University fell on Vice President Read, now made President pro tem. The confusion of the post-war years added to his burdens which he shouldered with distinction. He drew together “the threads of cooperation” and kept up the general morale in a difficult transition period.

Students Army Training Corps (p. 282)

became head coach for 1920-21. For both coaches and players no one was more helpful than Jack F. Rourke who came to Colgate in 1910 as athletic trainer and track coach. His understanding and kindly Irish wit were as important for morale as his massages, wintergreen oil, and miles of tape for injured arms and legs.

The World War I period was only an interlude in Colgate’s history and the University resumed its normal role easily and quickly at its end. Soon after the declaration of war in 1917 students were drilling on Whitnall Field and an unsuccessful attempt was initiated to have the War Department establish a training unit on the campus. As tension mounted approximately three-fourths of the student body of about 600 left by May to join the armed services or go into some form of “war , work,” especially farming, and the year closed on the 25th with no commencement. The University opened in October with an enrollment of 434 in the College, a reduction of about 20 percent from that in 1916. Under the direction of Lt. Col. James Ballentine, D.S.O., of Canada, all able-bodied students were required to take military drill. As far as possible classes and other activities went on as usual with the year ending early in May. From October to December 1918, however, Colgate was a military installation with a unit of the Students’ Army Training Corps under the command of Major L. B. Lawton, a West Point graduate who had served in the Spanish American War and in China, and a staff of eight officers. Of the 400 students in the College, 388 met the physical requirements and were inducted. In addition to two army units there was a naval section of 50 men. The dormitories became barracks, the Commons the mess hall, the Phi Kappa Psi house the naval quarters; the officers occupied the Delta Kappa Epsilon house and the gymnasium was the headquarters. Cooperation between the military staff and the faculty was cordial and Major Lawton sought to preserve some semblance of the spirit of peace time by such means as daily chapel, student “sings” and brief fraternity meetings on weekends. Athletics and most extracurricular activities were suspended.

Colgate’s war record shows that of about 3,000 living alumni 1,440 saw some form of service including S.A.T.C. Of these 363 held commissions: 283 in the Army, 55 in the Navy, 2 in the Marines, and 23 in the Chaplains Corps. Casualties among Colgate men numbered 22, the first of which was 1st Lieutenant Lloyd Ludwig, ’17, who was killed when his plane crashed on February 28, 1918.

With the war over, plans immediately went forward for Colgate’s

New team sports added (p. 281)

Student Army Training Corps, Presentation of Colors, World War I

By 1922 five sports had been added to the four-football, baseball, basketball and track-which had official team recognition; they were lacrosse, soccer, hockey, tennis and a rifle team. That they are all outdoor sports suggests the inadequacy of the gymnasium which was built when Colgate had about 300 students in the College, a figure which had more than doubled by 1922.

Football easily dominated the sports scene. Pre-eminent among the coaches was Lawrence H. Bankhart, a Dartmouth man, trained there under Frank Cavanaugh, one of the greatest football mentors. Not yet twenty-one when he came to Colgate in 1910, he quickly demonstrated his control of the players whom he taught with great skill and from whom he extracted every effort, physical and mental, of which they were capable. His period of service covered the seasons 1910, 1913-16, and 1919. It was under his coaching that the renowned teams of 1913, 1916, and 1919 achieved fame. Five of his players were chosen AII-American-Ellery C. Huntington, Jr., ’14, quarterback; Earl C. Abel, ’16, tackle; Oscar C. “Oc” Anderson, ’18, quarterback; Clarence E. “Steamer” Horning, ’17, tackle; and D. Belford “Belf” West, ’18, tackle. West was named All-American twice, in 1916 and 1919. Assisting Bankhart in his last season was Ellery C. Huntington, one of his protégés and the son of the Professor of Physical Education, who

p. 280 – The Bryan Period, 1908-1922

PHI GAMMA DELTA HOUSE, C. 1900
PHI GAMMA DELTA HOUSE, C. 1900

the Delta Upsilon, until 1912 when Delta Kappa Epsilon completed its building to be followed in 1914 by Phi Kappa Psi; both the DKE and Phi Psi houses are still in use though much enlarged. Fire destroyed the Beta Theta Pi house in 1921 and plans to rebuild were made and carried out almost before the embers were cold. To deal with common problems of rushing and pledging, the six fraternities on the campus in 1914 had organized a Pan-Hellenic Council to which they admitted the other organizations as they became chartered.

Colgate’s athletic program of the Bryan period was in the most spectacular and widely known phase of its development and the fortunes of its teams, especially football, often seemed to outweigh all other University concerns. The President came to recognize this as a dangerous situation and at the instigation of alumni leaders an Alumni Athletic Council and an Athletic Governing Board were set up in 1921 which provided representation for graduates, faculty and students and which were to insure that the athletic policies and practices were in harmony with the University’s educational interests. The immediate responsibility, of course, rested with “Doc” Huntington who was assisted by Graduate Managers, Asa King Leonard, ’07 (1911-14); Edwin W. Leary, ’14 (1914-1915); Frederick M. Jones, ’09, Assistant Professor of Romance Languages (1915-19); and William A. Reid, ’18 (1919-36).

p. 279 – The Bryan Period, 1908-1922


BETA THETA PI HOUSE, C. 1910
BETA THETA PI HOUSE, C. 1910

PHI KAPPA PSI HOUSE, C. 1900
PHI KAPPA PSI HOUSE, C. 1900

p. 278 – The Bryan Period, 1908-1922


DELTA KAPPA EPSILON HOUSE, C. 1910
DELTA KAPPA EPSILON HOUSE, C. 1910

DELTA UPSILON HOUSE, C. 1910
DELTA UPSILON HOUSE, C. 1910

p. 277 – The Bryan Period, 1908-1922

tradition, one of its most violent aspects, lasted until 1919 when the faculty abolished the institution because of increasing intensity of the conflict, the dangers involved, and the money and time squandered. After a freshman accidentally drowned in the “proc” rush in 1919 this contest was replaced the next year by a frosh-soph tug-of-war. Under-classmen faithfully observed the pre-Moving-Up Day customs such as
burying the hatchet in Taylor Lake and smoking the peace pipe. On occasion their exuberance got out of bounds as when some of them in 1915 sheared the “flowing locks” of a villager and were hailed into court, or in 1921 when they burned the Whitnall Field grandstand and in 1922 the horse sheds behind St. Mary’s Church. The behavior of a minority reflected to a degree a relaxed attitude to law and order found throughout the country following World War 1.

Campus leaders wrestled with disciplinary and other problems in the Student Association and the senior honorary societies. The latter, in imitation of those established in American colleges as early as the 1890’s, were composed of those students who were outstanding primarily for extracurricular achievements and service to the University. The first, Skull and Scroll, was organized in 1908 for “the guardianship and promotion of the fair name of the college” with Professors Hoerrner and Whitnall as honorary members. The second, a rival, was Gorgon’s Head, founded in 1912 “to encourage the growth of manly character, scholarship, and College spirit”; Professors Alton, Allen, and Brigham were its sponsors. Distinguished off-campus recognition came to a Colgate undergraduate when Whitney H. Shepardson, ’10, son of the Academy Principal, and member of Skull and Scroll, was named the University’s first Rhodes Scholar in 1909.

To the five existing Greek letter fraternities six were added to meet the needs for social life, dormitory accommodations, and eating facilities brought about by the increased size of the student body. The Iota Chapter of Theta Chi was chartered in 1912 and Alpha Zeta Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha in 1916. In 1917 three received charters-New York Delta Gamma of Alpha Tau Omega, founded as the Madison Club in 1902; Delta Upsilon of Sigma Nu, founded as Theta Delta Sigma in 1914; and Delta of Kappa Delta Rho. The last of the six, New York Zeta of Phi Delta Theta, originated in 1907 as the “Owl Club” which became Sigma Alpha in 1908 and was chartered in 1918. There had been only one house on the campus constructed for a fraternity,

Madisonensis becomes The Colgate Maroon (p. 276)

teams, and careful preparation and skillful coaching, all joined to produce outstanding achievements. Intercollegiate opponents included many of the leading Eastern institutions but Ohio Wesleyan was a perennial rival. Colgate made forensic history in 1917 by being the first men’s college to debate a team from a women’s school, the occasion being a contest with Vassar in which, by previous agreement, no decision was rendered.

Two new publications appeared on campus in the ’20’s. The first was Banter, typical of the contemporary college humor magazine with its jokes, often borrowed, drawings, and slick, bright covers. The first number with Henry N. Burke, ’21, as editor, ‘came out for the 1920 Junior Prom. The second publication, The Willow Path, was a student venture sponsored by the English Department to afford an outlet for undergraduate literary productions. It began in the spring of 1922 with a sizeable issue of 82 pages; Horace A. Woodmansee, ’22, was Managing Editor. The Madisonensis, meanwhile, had undergone various transformations in format and with the April 8, 1916, number became The Colgate Maroon.

As early as 1913 some undergraduates had built a “wireless apparatus” in Lathrop Hall and formed the “Radio Club of Colgate” to study radio communication and operate the station. Within a year, however, the group had reorganized as the Physical Society, a departmental club, and their initial interest was absorbed into a wider program.

Outdoor recreation was promoted by the Outing Club established in 1914 with the assistance of Professor Goodhue and patterned after a similar group at Dartmouth. Its emphasis was primarily on winter sports and in 1915 members represented Colgate at Dartmouth’s ski and snowshoe meet and winter carnival. Apparently their experience led the club, with fraternity cooperation, to sponsor a similar meet and a dance at Colgate a few weeks later, thus beginning the local Winter Carnival tradition. The club also promoted ski hikes and weekend trips to Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks.

By 1910 Patrons’ Day was no longer observed and the students had taken over the occasion for Junior Prom, “the” social event of the year. One of its features, introduced in 1912, was the Freshman Circus in which the first-year men exercised their ingenuity in burlesquing faculty, students, and campus happenings.

Interclass rivalry continued to give zest to student life. The Mercury

p. 275 – The Bryan Period, 1908-1922

12:00 evenings. Among the “Y’s” other activities were: a reception for freshmen which was primarily for orientation purposes, publication of the Hand Book which had expanded in size and content by 1922, and a student employment service for those who needed odd jobs.

Professor Hoerrner’s vigorous leadership gave new life to musical activities. The Glee Club flourished, an orchestra was begun, and occasionally in the fall, a band was organized, primarily to play at the football games. Informal singing of college songs continued to have a widespread appeal. New ones were written and Songs of Colgate, a 30-page compilation by Robert G. Ingraham, ’13, was published in 1912 and a revised edition came out in 1916.

Dramatics, too, was a popular activity. Members of the former Dramatic Club reorganized in 1914 as the Masque and Triangle Club with Anthony F. Blanks, Professor of Public Speaking, as their advisor and coach. The old Academy chapel in the Administration Building served as their “Little Theater” and nearly 100 tried out for their first production, She Stoops to Conquer. The organization even induced four professors to give them lectures on English, French, Latin and Greek drama. By the 1920’s Masque and Triangle was sponsoring a playwriting contest and producing some of the prize-winning entries.

Colgate debaters enjoyed a heyday during the Bryan period when interest in public speaking was especially keen. Enthusiastic student and faculty support comparable to that for athletic contests, the many able undergraduates who competed with each other to make the

p. 274 – The Bryan Period, 1908-1922

1912. To meet the competition of other preparatory schools and the improved public high schools, the Academy had needed new equipment for science instruction, a gymnasium, and dormitories-all at a cost of about $150,000, which was not available. Furthermore, Principal Shepardson reported a small falling off in enrollment but more significant was the disadvantage of being in the shadow of the College for which the Academy was no longer a significant “feeder,” nor did many of its students enter the Seminary. Changed conditions made clear the wisdom of closing, a step which James C. Colgate approved but which his sister, Miss Mary, out of loyalty to the memory of their father whose “pet” the Academy had been, could never accept.

Statistics of over-all enrollment growth show that the total number of students on campus in 1908 was 492 and that there was a rather steady rise from that number to 678 in 1922. The most significant feature is the increase for the College from 307 at the beginning of the period to 624 at its conclusion. Except for 1918, the Seminary enrollment varied from a low of 36 to a high of 51. The Academy during its last four years, 1908-1912, had from 124 to 136 students. By 1920 the geographical distribution of students had broadened and become more cosmopolitan with 24 states and six foreign countries being represented, President Bryan reported to the Trustees.

The Bryan period also shows a notable increase in expenses for students in the College. The bare minimum of about $150 in 1908 had risen to about $500 in 1922. The tuition of $60 which was among the lowest in the East in 1908 rose to $180 in 1922. Tuition in the Academy was $45. Expenses for Seminary students were much less, of course, since they paid no tuition and could live in rent-free rooms in Eaton Hall. So far as scholarships and other funds would permit, the University intended that no diligent, worthy student should leave for lack of funds. Both Dean Crawshaw and the faculty were disturbed by an increased scale of expenditures, especially since a large number of students came from homes of limited means.

Student religious life, aside from required chapel attendance and occasional participation in village church activities, centered in the YMCA which had an energetic program under Professor Alton’s guidance which included prayer meetings and Bible study. After Taylor Hall became available in 1912, the “Y” established social rooms  there and for a brief period maintained a snack bar open from 8:00 to

TAYLOR HALL, HOME OF THE ACADEMY FRATERNITIES
TAYLOR HALL, HOME OF THE ACADEMY FRATERNITIES