USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > New London > A centennial history, 1837-1937, Colby Academy, Colby Junior College > Part 13
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Just as surely classes were passing one by one outside the jurisdiction of the faculty of the school, and becom- ing eligible to join the Association of the alumni. Com- mencement season lacked something of the country fair characteristics of forty years earlier. There were no brass bands or peanut vendors with their raucous music. But faculty and students marched to church on Sunday for the baccalaureate sermon and again on Wednesday afternoon for the graduation exercises. In between were examinations, the address before the literary societies, the annual matinee by the music department, and the President's reception, not to speak of the concert on Wednesday evening, when once a year the townspeople could enjoy the musical talent of the cities and academy boys and girls could attend in couples.
The hearts of the Commencement speakers palpitated nervously as they mounted the platform steps of the meeting-house, but they were sustained with the knowl-
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edge that their friends were proud of them and would be generous with their applause. But more hearts went sick with apprehension on Monday and Tuesday when public examinations were held. All examinations were of course a bogey for all pupils who were not abnormally smart. They came as inescapably as baked beans in the boarding-house on Saturday night, and vacations were half spoiled with anxiety over their results. It was a simple statement that appeared in the catalogue that "a report of the scholarship and deportment of the student is sent to the parent or guardian at the close of each term," but when its significance was borne in upon the inner consciousness of students shivers of apprehension ran down the spine and memories of the woodshed at home became acute. But it was even worse to be called up publicly for an oral examination when the examining committee was present and any visitor was permitted to fire a battery of questions. Failure then was broadcast and even the woodshed memories paled in comparison.
The following is a sample of the examination pro- gramme in 1889.
9 A.M. Sallust, Miss Smiley; Geology, Mr. Whitford
10 A.M. Physiology, Mr. Dixon; Senior Vergil, Miss Smiley; Alge- bra, Mr. Whitford
11 A.M. Anabasis, 2nd, Mr. Dixon; English Grammar, Miss Burpee
2 P.M. Anabasis, 1st, Mr. Dixon; Physics, Mr. Whitford
3 P.M. German, Mr. Whitford; English Literature, Miss Learn- ard
4 P.M. Caesar, Miss Learnard; Elementary Algebra, Miss Burpee
Such were the rigors of the "good old days."
The decade came to an end with the withdrawal of Mr. Dixon in 1890. With reference to that event the Colby Voice made this comment: "When Professor Dixon retired from the presidency of Colby he brought to an end the longest administration of the institution.
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He was at the head of the school ten years. Mr. Dixon has very few superiors among instructors of preparatory schools in scholarly attainments. He is a Greek scholar of exceptional ability. No one ever came under his class- room drill without being impressed with the character of his work, which possessed the highest quality of scholarship, - the power to grasp thought and to con- vey it to minds less mature." The trustees accepted the resignation, and commended his scholarship and his devotion to the school in a time of difficulty.
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VIII PLAIN LIVING AND HIGH THINKING. 1890-1899
T HE decade of the 'nineties was to test the skill of administrators and the faith of all the friends of the academy. The period began with the selection of Albert L. Blair of New York to the place left vacant by Mr. Dixon. The new principal had been instructor in Latin and English in a military institute at White Plains, New York, and Mrs. Blair was at one time precep- tress of Lowville Academy in the same state. Mr. Blair had been engaged in newspaper work, but the confine- ment and nervous strain had affected his health and his friends believed that educational activities would benefit him. The trustees were satisfied with his recommenda- tions and accepted his leadership. Mr. Blair proved him- self to be a man of pleasing qualities and his relations with students and teachers were friendly and co-opera- tive, but before the year was over the trustees relieved him of his position on the ground of ill health and he returned to journalism.
The committee on instruction was told "to look for a man of suitable qualifications in every particular to fill the position of President of the academy at a salary not to exceed two thousand dollars a year." It was a heavy assignment to find perfection for two thousand a year, but the committee felt warranted in reporting favorably to the trustees regarding Samuel C. Johnston, who was willing to assume the responsibilities for fifteen hundred dollars and house, and to teach Latin and
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Greek. It was decided that he should have the title of principal rather than president, and the election was provisional for a single year.
Such an election was a handicap from the start. To give a man a minimum wage and put him on trial for a year, yet expect him to manage the institution and to teach both Greek and Latin, was a severe test. Nor did the strict regulations that he introduced after the rather easy-going methods of his predecessor recommend him to the students. It seemed reasonable enough to the boys to have to plow through the snowdrifts to recitations at the brick building on the hill, but when they were ensconced comfortably in the recitation room they grumbled to be told that they must wrap up and go around three sides of the building to get to the Latin room when they might use the girls' corridor without such inconvenience. It was difficult to make them under- stand that corridors in a ladies' building were "no thor- oughfare" for men.
At the end of the year Mr. Johnston was re-elected, and Mr. Peaslee returned from Fall River to resume his department of science and to teach psychology. Herbert L. Morse came from his senior year at Colby College as instructor in mathematics. Miss Learnard was once more teaching Latin, and Miss Burpee had returned from Radcliffe and was teaching German and history. Mrs. Mary H. Morgan, who was living in New London with her husband, Reverend Dura P. Morgan, in the hope that he would recover his failing health, had been teach- ing French and mathematics for a year and she took over the English courses with the French the second year. Mrs. Keil continued as musical instructor, and Anna E. Littlefield had pupils in drawing and painting until she left her home in New London to study medicine in Philadelphia. Faculty and students joined in requesting the Trustees to invite Dr. Gardner to teach biblical lit-
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erature and Christian evidences now that he was living in New London.
The school year had its special anniversaries. Thanks- giving was a time of celebration. One year it received special recognition. A week before Thanksgiving the school was divided into three divisions, the red, the white, and the blue. Members of each division wore their colors. When the holiday came dinner was delayed until 1.30 P.M. so that no one would fail of an appetite. Post-prandial speeches followed the meal. Professor Morse acted as toastmaster and introduced Mr. Johnston, who spoke on "Thanksgiving Day and its Origin." Al- van T. Kempton, who next year was to have the unique distinction of being the only graduate in the classical department, answered to a toast on "The Turkey." George D. Graves responded for the student body. Her- man N. Baker paid his compliments to the gymnasium. Following these exercises a social time was enjoyed in the hall of the academy until the merrymakers were able to eat again, when they were served with ice cream and cake. Beginning at seven o'clock the three divisions of red, white, and blue in turn presented an hour's enter- tainment of tableaux, charades, music, and miscellaneous fun.
During one of the Christmas vacations two of the boys made a tour lecturing with the stereopticon on the Yellowstone National Park. Others went as far as Boston and enjoyed the unaccustomed sights of the city. It was something to get near enough to the railroad to hear the whistle blow. Those who remained at the academy en- tertained one another with a party of games and cha- rades with light refreshments at the Heidelberg, and at Colby Hall among the boys, where there were declama- tions, solos and stunts, with improvised refreshments. While they were enjoying these departures from the routine, the Young Men's Christian Association was be-
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ing transformed into apartments for students and the buildings were put in order for the winter term, and new wall paper and whitening helped to brighten dingy rooms and relieve the homesickness that was always prevalent after Christmas.
Winter brought many pleasant diversions. One year it began with a nutting party down the hill towards Pleasant Lake. Classes came to an end for the occasion at three o'clock. One evening Miss Burpee staged a party for the students in her classes. Somewhat later Miss Littlefield gave a maple sugar party. The members of the junior class held a supper, with Mr. Means as caterer, listened to toasts, and performed parts of Eigensinn and Einer muss heiraten. The Philalethian Literary Associa- tion staged a mock trial at a public meeting. Christopher and Deming were charged with having entered the store of Charles Sargent, and they were tried before a judge and jury of townsmen, certain of the students act- ing as lawyers in the case. A public meeting of the Ladies' Literary Society at the town hall presented "The Chance Meeting of Noted People." Mrs. Partington was repre- sented by Mabel McAskie, the Girl of the Period by Grace Spaulding, Mary Queen of Scots by Martha An- thony, a Scotch lassie by Mabel Prescott, a Quaker widow by Jeanette Durgin, and Zenobia by Anna Hale. Maud A. Powell gave the honorary address to the seniors. On one occasion a spelling match was held between the Philalethian Association and the Ladies' Literary So- ciety. Each side wrestled manfully with English orthog- raphy in the hope of bringing honor to the society rep- resented. Somewhat later another spelling match was staged in the gymnasium for the individual champion- ship of the whole school. The presiding officer was flanked on either side by a member of the faculty seated before an unabridged dictionary and acting as referees in the case of a doubtful spelling. Interest waxed warmer
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and warmer as doughty spellers fell before the attack, until Emma Stanley stood alone and carried away the palm of victory.
Another opportunity for a good exhibition was when the Music Department presented the cantata of Esther. The character of Queen Esther was taken by Mabel George, Ahasuerus by Bernard Christopher, and Haman by George Bohonan. Clara Skiff was Zeresh and Mabel Prescott represented the Prophetess. J. A. Buswell per- sonified Mordecai. They could sing, every one of them, and with the Orpheus Club to sustain them at the climaxes, they gave an entertainment of which Mrs. Keil had a right to feel proud.
Perhaps the Valentine party gave the most fun of the season. Everyone who came was expected to bring an original valentine, and prizes were offered for the best two and the funniest two. Holmes's poem, "The Gay Young Oysterman," was acted in shadow, and McGinty, of whom everyone sang in those days, provided hilarious entertainment with his gymnastics.
The Colby Voice recorded all these happenings and other voices were making themselves heard. The moun- tains were not always standing in silent majesty. They too had voices. "There was one," said a student, "a voice from the true north - a straight slant from the top of Mount Cardigan. We threw a great stick on the fire. The crackling of the pine knots and the voices of the night encouraged a spirit of reverie. It's an ill wind - it blows nobody any good. The fire snapped and the windows rattled in vigorous dissent! Yet there is some- thing of the temper of steel in these north winds. Can we live among them and not breathe their spirit too?"
Mount Kearsarge called wooingly in April when the snows began to melt and the streams began to move and the earth stirred in response to the warming sun. Then the school closed its books and its classrooms and took
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Slade Photo
MOUNT KEARSARGE
PLAIN LIVING AND HIGH THINKING. 1890-1899
holiday. Piling into barges provided at Shepard's livery stable, boys and girls cast care aside and rode off to en- joy Mountain Day. They drove to the halfway house on the mountain side, where they parked everything but lunch and the holiday spirit, and started for the summit of the mountain. Certain of them fell by the way, but most of them made the climb up where they could see lake and mountain and peep over the rim of the horizon. They came home more appreciative of the verses of Martha A. Pillsbury:
MOUNT KEARSARGE "King of mountains, fair and large, On our east horizon lies; Dark with woodland, Old Kearsarge, Towering grandly to the skies.
Bald its head with rocky ledge; Broad its base with skirting plain; Tempests gathering 'round its edge Spend their thunderings in vain.
Sweet the lesson of repose That I learn when 'round my soul Clouds of threatening darkness close, Sounds of gathering trouble roll.
King of mountains, fair and large, Standing since the youth of time; Dark with woodland, Old Kearsarge, Still shall rear its form sublime."
It was about this time that New London became recognized as a desirable summer resort. One enthusi- astic admirer broke into halting rhapsody thus:
"Away from the dust and heat of the city, Beyond its confusion and care, Encircled by mountains, by valley and lakelet, New London stands out grand and fair. The strangers admire her gorgeous sunsets, At her skies with rapture they gaze.
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The lake and the mountain delighted they visit, These beautiful, sweet summer days.
The guests from our cities now seek this fair Eden, To hotel and farmhouse repair,
And under the elms or the maples find respite From business and worry and care."
The question of renting the Heidelberg for summer occupancy came up again. The trustees were disposed to rent it for one dollar a year if the lessee would put it in such order that it could be utilized during the school year for boys who boarded in their own club. In 1886 a lease was signed for ten years by which the property was rented to Burpee and Shepard for the nominal sum of one dollar per year. They must put it in good repair and keep it so, must keep it insured for one thousand dollars, and must not sell intoxicants. If the academy should need the building, it might recover occupancy on sixty days' notice. Four years later the summer business was so profitable that the lessees asked for a five years' lease of Colby Hall also during July and August as an annex to the building which they had christened the Heidel- berg. This request was granted.
Dr. John D. Quackenbos of Columbia University, who developed Soo-nipi-side Park, on the New London shore of Lake Sunapee, Reverend George W. Gile of Fall River, who was active on the Academy Board of Trus- tees, and Reverend George W. Gardner, D.D., organized the Summer Rest Company of New London, obtained permission from the Trustees to put up a building be- tween the Heidelberg and Colby Hall as headquarters, and in the summer season issued Summer Rest as an oc- casional publication. Dr. Gardner was editor and Mr. Gile was business manager. Summer Rest played up the advantages of New London as a health resort, a scenic wonder, and a point of departure to Sunapee Lake, Mount Kearsarge and other resorts. It told how high the
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street was above all other streets but Bethlehem. It urged booking passage on the tally-ho which Amos Whipple guided to and from Potter Place, handling the ribbons over five horses, and on the Armenia White, which steamed across Sunapee Lake twice a day from Lakeside to Newbury. It pointed out the garnets which could be had for the plucking in Springfield woods; one would almost think they were blueberries. "Very fine and rose smoky quartz" was the reward for climbing Mount Kearsarge. On the road from the cemetery to Hominy Pot one might see glacial scratches on the ledges; on the stage road from Scytheville to Wilmot one might stop off to obtain fine specimens of quartz, feldspar and mica.
Visitors were told how to get the best views. They could climb the hundred foot tower of the academy building on the summit of the hill if Kearsarge required too much effort, or they could look off from Crockett's Corner or back of the old red house and view Kearsarge and Ragged Mountains unobstructed across the plain. Drives to King Hill and Keyser Lake, and walks to Little Sunapee and down to Pleasant Pond, were agreeable diversions. At Big Sunapee was the state hatchery, which in time would turn four or five hundred thousand trout and salmon into the lake every year for future fishermen. All this was told in Summer Rest with illustrations. Even a summer institute on the hill was planned. The whole enterprise deserved better success, but the Summer Rest Company presently went out of existence. Perhaps the attractions of the region were exhausted, or descriptive adjectives had failed.
One of the annual expeditions of the young people was a mayflower excursion to the woods in North Sutton where the flowers grew abundantly. On the afternoon of the twenty-fifth of April, 1892, a jolly party left the hill to be gone until supper time. They were returning in
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fine fettle when as they came up the road to Crockett's Corner they saw a cloud of smoke billowing up over the hill. Ira Littlefield was clamorously ringing the bell. Hurrying as fast as horse power could take them they reached the academy in time to see flames pouring from the third story windows of the boarding-house. With a rush they charged upon the building, grabbed their be- longings from the rooms on the lower floors, carried out most of the books from the library, and saved three pianos and some of the other furniture. There was no fire apparatus in town, and nothing could be done but watch the building burn. The fire had been smouldering for hours and when it burst through the roof of the tower the building was doomed. In two hours nothing but smoking ruins remained of the building which twenty years before had been dedicated with so much congratu- lation and satisfaction.
Night fell and fifty girls were without shelter. The church bell was rung and brought together students and townspeople, and places were found for the night and a few days following. A few of the students had to go home for clothing, since those who had roomed on the third floor had lost everything, but they all returned. Those in authority speedily made arrangements for the continuation of school activities after only one day's suspension. Classes were held in the vestry and the town house, in Colby Hall and private quarters, while the church supplied a place of assembly for the whole school. The cordial relations between school and church and town eased the friction that might have been serious. The Trustees held a special meeting on May 19th.
On the second Sunday after the fire Dr. Gardner preached in the church on the text: "What! shall we receive good from the hand of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10). Of the sermon the Voice reporter wrote: "As one who had been identified with
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the school from the beginning, as Principal, as member, and for a time President of The Board of Trustees, and as a close friend and co-operator in all its interests for nearly forty years, Dr. Gardner spoke with great assur- ance of the purpose of God in the founding of the school, and in most tender and trusting words, predicted the resurrection of the academy, Phoenix-like, from its ashes."
It seemed truly as if the years of the locust had come. The fire was the climax of financial difficulty and per- plexity about the buildings owned by the school. In spite of apparent prosperity the academy was sinking deeper into debt. The cost of maintaining the building on the hill was a continual drain, especially the expense of heating through the long cold winters in its exposed situation. Colby Hall was out of repair and sanitation needed immediate attention there and elsewhere. It was a question whether to remove the gymnastic ap- purtenances from the old Academy building and to sell the structure. The academy owned a dilapidated build- ing across the street from the upper campus, which went by the name of the Retreat. The Trustees considered moving to that place the animals owned by the academy.
The year before the fire a committee of the trustees, which had been investigating these matters, brought in a condemnatory report regarding the sanitary condition of the buildings, the failure to make needed repairs, defective plumbing, degeneration of the heating plant, and a tendency to cheapen everything. It appeared as if the trustees had neglected these things for the sake of avoiding an increased deficit. Aware of the financial difficulties Mr. James B. Colgate came again to the as- sistance of the school, expressing himself as willing to meet the mortgage debt of twenty thousand dollars and the floating debt of twelve thousand and to contribute his dollar for every dollar raised otherwise up to thirty
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thousand dollars. About the same time Nahum T. Greenwood with the co-operation of Mrs. Colgate turned over to the school his New London residence, which came to be known as the President's House, soon to be occupied by Professor Griffin.
The trustees had undertaken to co-operate. Com- mittees were appointed to attend to repairs, particularly at Colby Hall, and to make provision for a boys' boarding club there, to compare the relative cost of wood and coal as fuel, and to see that unsanitary conditions were remedied. Another committee was instructed to revise the academy charges for tuition, bringing them into line with the heavier charges of similar institutions. A cam- paign was planned to raise money to meet the Colgate conditions. A thousand dollar gift was accepted on an annuity basis from a resident of Lebanon. The trustees undertook to meet their personal obligations to the new fund. For several months the campaign was in process. Then came the fire.
The problem was simplified in that the old buildings must be repaired at once for use if the school should remain in New London. The question of location came to the front immediately. Should the school move else- where, should it rebuild on the old site, or should the old buildings be repaired and made to serve indefinitely? Citizens of New London rallied, petitioned against re- moval, and contributed six thousand dollars to insure the retention of the school, but many of the friends of Colby were strongly of the opinion that it was best to remove it to a more accessible location. Earlier con- ditions had changed. People were no longer content to live in the country, and they wanted their children to have the advantages of the city while they were in school. The argument that the moral surroundings were better in the country was less plausible than before. New London was off the railroad, the town lacked modern
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conveniences. Now was the strategic time to make a new start amid more favorable surroundings.
There were cogent arguments on the other side. The people of the town had helped the school with buildings before, and they had supplied many student needs. Many boys and girls of New London had attended the academy and other alumni had a sentimental attach- ment for the place. The trustees were reminded of the dependence of the school on the family that had done so much for its upbuilding. The Colgates had given a total of one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars to the academy and their interest was in connection with the town where the ancestral Colby mansion stood. Then there were legal difficulties since all monies had been given for the academy in the town of New London.
When the trustees had threshed the matter out thor- oughly they resisted the pressure to remove to Concord or elsewhere, and decided definitely in favor of New London. It was voted to refit the old buildings for fall occupancy and to rebuild on the site of the ruins as soon as conditions would permit. The insurance on the burned building would be sufficient to meet all arrear- ages, except that the money received for the loss of books would be used for the library. So confident were they that construction might begin within a year that archi- tect's drawings were made and accepted, a building com- mittee went to work, and lumber was even drawn to the spot to be ready for use.
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