Time Marches Back
Somehow it seems symbolic of something that in February 1913 at the end of 1916's first semester in Hanover, the College replaced the granite watering-trough which had for years served the dual purpose of "refreshing horses and horseing freshmen;" the poor, old thing was chipped and cracked beyond repair. That this condition of the trough was actually caused by some expansive power, some subtle effluvium of the aura of 1916, the present writer is not prepared to prove, but judicious selection from the following data might support such a case—note, for example, the specific fact that it was the class of 1916 which, at the end of its second semester, in June, 1913, established for all time the appealing custom of burning freshman caps at wet-down. Such instances of the new and vital energy which then actuated 1916 might easily be multiplied, and should be multiplied, but our present theme is the general history of the class between these two great, symbolic landmarks in February and June, respectively, of the year 1913.
For the first semester the officers of the class had been: Telfer, president; Perkins, vice president; Soutar, Secretary; York, treasurer; Parkhurst, representative of the committee of the College Club. But near the beginning of our second semester these executives were replaced by the following slate: Pudrith, president; Soutar, vice president; English, Secretary; York, treasurer. At the meeting which elected these officers a tax of two dollars per man was voted for 1916 athletics. From this fund or from some other the class bought as its share of the decoration of the trophyroom in the gym, a cast of Myron's discobolus which the Dartmouth referred to as "a life size statue of Discoboles." (I used to wonder who they thought Mr. Discoboles was, but have since concluded that it probably doesn't matter.)
At all events, under the spur of this subsidy the athletic teams of 1916 continued their victories. The basketball team defeated Tufts frosh and Cushing (Eskeline, Murchie, Soutar, Williams, Pelletier, DeVoe, Campbell, Murphy, Anderson). Track called forth the best efforts of many of our class—all the following were winners in the course of interclass, novice, or other meets, in the events indicated: 50 yd. dash, Coakley, Burlen, Gluek, Moxon, Wentworth; 300 yd., Stillman, Harris; 60 yd. hurdles, Lyman, Brown, Brady, Pratt; high jump, Richardson, Porter; shot put, McAuliffe. Soccer continued to attract an increasing number (Doyle, Gould, Jones, Parker, Stamatiades, Tripolitis). The snowshoe team distinguished itself by the work of Bingham, Conley, and Gile. The 1916 tennis team enlisted the support of Osborn, Larmon, Barr, Nordell, Smith, Doyle, Steinert, and Zint. The ambition of 1916 to play baseball was almost universal; fifty candidates reported to coaches Wood and Nolan, divided as follows: 15 pitchers (Ayer, Barr, Bartlett, Blaney, Bundy, Burghardt, Clunia, Craver, Doyle, Geran, Greeley, Holmes, Johnson, Linihan, Tuttle), 6 catchers (Keddie, Lincoln, Norwood, Paine, Rogers, Smith), 8 first-base men (Belnap, Garcia, Mendall, Mensel, Monahan, Porter, Pudrith, Story), 3 second-base men (Geran, Morse, Perkins), 6 third-base men (Burghardt, DeVoe, Garrison, Murchie, Pease, Williams), 3 shortstops (Eskeline, Goldthwaite, Kreider), and 9 fielders (Ayer, Barbour, Dinsmoor, Doyle, Gioiosa, McAuliffe, Ward, Tucker, York).
In dramatics our talent, which was always conspicuous, was never more so than when Bundy and Goodwin won the prize of one hundred dollars for the best operetta for the Prom. The result was a memorable production of The Golden Isl.e with the help of the following members of 1916 in leading roles (Tucker, Costello, Goodwin, Albrecht) and the following in the chorus (Cheney, Morrison, Cole, Friedman, Cutler, Dean, Greenwood, Miles, Pfinstag, Strong, Bates, Behnke, Green, Little). In the presentation of that perennial classic, She Stoops to Conquer, 1916 was represented by Costello, Doeneke, Strong, and Mackie. In debate 1916's stars included: Coffin, Phillips, Winchell, Emery, Brown, Cremer, Bell, Davidson, Little, Morey, Spelke, Bernkopf, Magill, Evans, Harvey, Merryman, Jordan, Gumbart.
Through all this Ed Kiley was quietly gathering data for the Greenbook (a fact for which I am at long last grateful), while Durgin, Reeder, Sherer, Brown, and Dinsmoor were controlling the destinies of the D.C.A., and, really, this is but the beginning. Several possible explanations of this phenomenal activity suggest themselves, but perhaps the most satisfactory is the composition of the class itself, for we entered from 295 schools and numbered among us 15 captains of school teams (185 members of teams), s8 class presidents, 35 editors of school publications, and well over 100 who had been leaders in other activities. Yes, there were giants in those days (Genesis vi.4), but you owe it to yourself to see the present College, because it is a thrilling experience to try to discover at first hand how it has changed and why. For instance, how do you interpret the fact that the circulation at the college library was given out as 7,674 for the first semester of 1913, but that for a comparable period last year the figure was about 167,000? On the other hand, if your enthusiasm for such data is as easy to restrain as that of the present writer, you may come to the twenty-fifth in June with every assurance that not a solitary statistic will be thrust upon you against your will.
