USA > New York > Niagara County > History of the Seminary of Our Lady of Angels : Niagara University, Niagara County, N.Y., 1856-1906 > Part 29
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put together and the different acts were so totally disconnected as to render it insipid and devoid of all interest. The plot was poor, and in the last act, where it should have been entirely unraveled, we were left completely in the dark."
We may remark in extenuation that the author was only about sixteen years of age, and that he survived this rather bilious attack to become one of the most cultured, experienced physicians in this country. His powers of declamation were unsurpassed by anyone then in the study hall.
Father Grace sent home a marked copy of the Index to his people in Brooklyn to let them see what prominence he had attained " on the highest point of Mont Eagle Ridge" as a conductor of college plays. He never dreamed that any "Eagle" eye in his house- hold would scan the Index criticism and scorch him as though he were guilty of being the author. But scorched he was until the nails in his shoes grew hot. One of his relatives asked him, with that famili- arity which propinquity begets, "Is that the best you can do after eleven years in college?" The ex-censor of the P. D. A.'s grew desperate - and wrote a play in vindication! Father Kavanagh had something to do with encouraging this mode of revenge, but that is now a tender reminiscence too sacred for our present jocose nar- rative.
To secure a favorable hearing, the Rev. amateur playwright laid the first and last scene in Ireland; to win applause for his actors (and himself), he sprinkled the lines with Orange epithets followed with Irish shillalahs; to spring a novelty, as he thought, he obtained per- mission to introduce " Mrs. McGinn," the hero's mother, endeavoring to sketch her as a sweet-faced old lady such as our own mothers might have been. The playwright enlarged upon this extraordinary priv- ilege to introduce at the end of the last act, surreptitiously but suc- cessfully, a bevy of colleens made up of students for the "Saint Pat- rick's night dance at the home of the returned hero, Barney." They were habited in toggery borrowed from the nymphs of Laundry Hall, and danced like Comanches to the tune of a rasping fiddle until the curtain fell. It was on the evening of May 31, 1881, that " Barney's Promise " was first produced. Again we let the Index critic speak his mind :
"Never have we witnessed a better performance by amateurs than the acting last night of 'Barney's Promise; or, the Triumphs of a Dutiful Son.' When a person expects a great deal from an enter- tainment, it is hard for the performers to come up to his preconceived
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idea of what they should do. But we anticipated wonders from the evening's entertainment last night when we seated ourselves in the Junior's Hall, and we confess that even our most fastidious notions were surpassed. The playing of each and every one of the corps of actors was superb. The play itself is a fine production and is espec- ially adapted for college life and college histrionics."
The Index critic, whose liver, if not his judgment, had become normal by this time, said many other nice things about the play and the players, all of which helped to encourage further productions. The practice thus resumed of writing original dramas, comedies, farces for our boys, was kept up without interruption for the greater part of twenty years, during which time Father Grace produced nearly as many plays of his own before our college audiences.
On October 22, 1887, a Shakespearian society called the P. V. K., in honor of Father Patrick Vincent Kavanagh, then President, was organized by members of the two rhetoric classes. Its main object was the study and public rendition of Shakespearian plays, although, as a successor to the P. D. A., the society made ample provision for lighter exhibitions between times. The charter officers were:
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Censor, Rev. L. A. Grace, C. M .; president, Lawrence O. Mur- ray ; vice-president, John V. Gallagher ; treasurer, William P. Brad- ley; recording secretary, James E. Daly; corresponding secretary, James P. O'Brien ; librarians, James M. Murphy, John V. Byrne; business committee, John J. Cannan, Edward D. Whitehead, Thomas J. Burke; scenic artist, John C. Brown.
In the second term J. V. Gallagher was president, Thomas F. Moran, vice-president; Matt J. Dwyer, treasurer; Robert B. Con- don, recording secretary ; J. M. Murphy, corresponding secretary. The rhetoric classes were large enough, as a rule, to enable the censor to select from them the cast for the numerous plays which the society produced during the ten or twelve years that it remained in existence.
With the introduction of that milder policy in discipline, which allowed the actors to play before a "mixed assemblage," came an inevitable boom in dramatics. During all the time that Father Grace had been grinding out plays for his thespians he never had any but a " stag party " before the footlights, or behind them, except in the solitary instance mentioned. "Faymales," even the most pious and retiring, such as our laundry girls, were excluded from our audi- ences by orders which brooked no interference. It was hard work, at times, to recruit a cast of actors from the study hall just to play to their own kind, but as soon as the gates were let down it was difficult
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to select, say, a dozen characters from over one hundred applicants. Gradually the lines distinguishing the dramatic from the purely literary society were obliterated, new organizations sprang up, inde- pendent casts were selected for special purposes, until a distinctively dramatic association like the P. V. K.'s found itself purely super- numerary.
J. J. V. T. C. C.
The newest organization to enter the dramatic field, but only as a side issue, is the one whose alphabetical title when expanded is found to mean the "John Joseph Vincent Talley Crescent Club." It is named after the popular and lamented Prefect, who died here so suddenly March 27, 1898, and whose short term as head of the boys' department impressed itself most favorably on the occupants of the study hall of that year.
The existence of this six-lettered concern is to many an exponent of the radical departure which has been made in college discipline at Niagara within the past twelve years. The members as such haven't a book in their library, and no library for any books, except those " according to Hoyle." They have a piano, but no study desks ; pens and pencils gave way to cues and "pointers"; reading tables to bil- liards, pool, and shuffle tables. The air within is redolent, not of honey from the hive of study, but of Chonchas, Perfectos, Puritanos, Clays (of both species), more or less genuine and soothing.
Let us copy the orotund announcement printed in our latest cata- logue anent this society. "The senior students of the Collegiate Department are alone eligible to membership in this society. Its object is to promote the social intercourse of its members and furnish congenial recreation. Games, such as chess, billiards, and checkers, are allowed, and for those who have the requisite permission, moderate indulgence in the smoking habit is legitimatized. The Prefect of Discipline has direct supervision of the affairs of this organization."
The chief end, then, of the club is the amusement of its members. Games such as are found in social gatherings throughout our various parishes are permitted to those who belong to the organization, while smoking may be indulged in by those who are of age or have the requisite permission from parents or guardians. It is this latter con- cession which may appear radical and questionable to some of our " old timers," whether professors or students, leading them to doubt, if not condemn, the wisdom of this new departure. But let us put our heads together and try to reason it out.
Most of us can recall how Prefects worried themselves into insom-
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nia because the use of tobacco, though prohibited, could not be eliminated by any process then or since known to the guardians of the study hall. It will not shock propriety or the unities of com- position if we digress here a bit to study one phase of " cussedness " common to boys whether they be " day-dodgers " living in the bosom of Abraham at home, or quartered at an institution like our own. Stealing a smoke was one of the most hazardous, and yet one of the most frequent, experiences that the average study hall boy of " auld lang syne " can now recall. During our sojourn at -Niagara some of us have seen three presidents and about twenty prefects banded together (as brethren dwelling in unity ought to be) for the main- tenance of college discipline, and have known them to triumph in every instance except that of suppressing the use of tobacco. Every student under Father " P. V.," whether as Prefect or President, will remember how intolerant he was of any violation of the rule which excluded the seductive weed from the inmates of the study hall. And yet what student of those days can forget how "twinkling stars " would shine out here and there through the apertures of those long, white "boat houses" bordering the college lake as soon as supper or night prayers were over and the "dusky shades of even " served as a protection to the lad who was bold enough to " light up " ?
Sometimes the "houses were raided," and culprits were haled before the dreaded Faculty, but the temptation to steal a smoke seemed to increase with the danger attending the practice. Even when permission to go to town was denied to the boys, and a " tobacco famine " threatened the entire colony from consequent lack of supplies, boyish ingenuity would plan something hazardous and succeed in forcing the blockade. A surreptitious feast was sure to follow; the " boat houses " would again be haunted by " fireflies "; "Mahoney's Hall," under " Brigham's " tailor shop, would be fumi- gated (and it needed it) ; "Cheeser's Alley " would be redolent of "Durham "; the play hall would have a suspicious odor of burnt paper; the thumbs and forefingers of those in the writing class would be yellowed (but not with age), and so, although the Prefect's " Black Litany " grew larger than the Litany of the Saints, the "pernicious habit " was not suppressed.
It is manifest by this time to our readers that a further detail of societies having much the same aim as those preceding will prove a wearisome repetition. Most of those omitted in our enumeration were only short-lived, although while they lasted they proved very serviceable to those for whose benefit they were primarily instituted.
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Large as our book is, our space is limited, and many subjects of gen- eral interest remain to be treated before we can say Amen to our work.
N. C. A.
One organization which has existed for nearly forty years at Niagara, and which has furnished most abundant entertainment in that time, is the Niagara Cecilian Association, founded November 24, 1867. This date, however, does not mark the time when brass band and orchestra were first introduced among our students, for a musical association had existed here almost from the beginning. In- deed, on the date just given, it was only the assumption of a new title, that of " The Niagara Cecilian Association," and not really the founding of a new society which took place. To quote from the house records: "This evening Rev. J. Anen formally resigned his office as president of the Musical Association. Rev. J. Landry was duly chosen to replace him. Rev. J. Brennan was elected vice- president ; and Mr. Daly, secretary. The band, by motion of J. V. Brennan, assumed the title of 'The Niagara Cecilian Association.'"
Band and orchestra figure in the programme for the famous Saint Patrick's Day Celebration of 1867, when the great Professor Kypta was musical director. The records for November, 1866, tell us that on the evening of All Saints' Day there was a " shindig" after supper in the refectory, when the seminary orchestra, under Prof. Kypta, gave its first public entertainment.
That our younger generations may know what love our boys of the olden time had for music, and what opportunities they possessed for excelling in that bewitching art, we quote from the obituary notice on Prof. Kypta, published in the Index, April 1, 1899:
" His old, well-remembered, well-filled, black-covered band-books were sacredly and jealously preserved for years after his departure, and the music rendered by the 'Jobbers' Band'-the title that Mr. Kypta's former pupils bestowed upon themselves - oft awoke the old-time echoes, and was a frequent and welcome feature of entertainments at the college. Among the selections that ever found favor and demand, wheresoever or whensoever rendered, there may be mentioned, in passing, the 'Humming Bird Quickstep, or, Old '84,' as it was called, the 'Lucia Polka,' 'Cataract Mazourka,' ' Corona- tion March,' 'At the Foot of Vesuvius,' 'Grand Duchess,' 'Goat Island,' 'Picnic March,' and one especially loved by all the students, viz., 'Father Rice's Birthday March,' which, when played on that recorded anniversary before the official door of the revered Presi-
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dent's room - still in the same old place, and played, too, before the tintinnabulations of the morning call for classes had time to get in their melodious (?) reverberations, always meant the end of that day's studies before they began.
" Could one of those glossy old band-books be found, its every page would note the achievements of Mr. Kypta and every strain would speak an eulogium more forcibly than cold-typed imprint of sympathy and reverence, sincere and heartfelt withal. His orches- tral ventures were no less successful and enduring than the per- formance of his band. It will be remembered with what enthusiasm the celebrated ' Anvil Chorus '- then in the hey-day of its popularity and novelty - with its blacksmithian retinue, was received, while the unique and uproarious ' Railroad Quickstep,' with its grand finale - the tumultuous smash-up, and the fiery aux Enfers were repre- sentative specimens of Mr. Kypta's talent and powers of the descrip- tive. His orchestrations of selections from well-known operas such as 'Martha,' ' Faust,' ' The Caliph of Bagdad,' the 'Bohemian Girl,' 'Norma,' ' Robert Le Diable,' and many others, give evidence of the far-reaching scope of the harmonies of thought in 'that soul of music fled.' The musical burletta of 'The Rival Bands '- his own extravaganza - may here be mentioned as one of the particular ex- hibitions of his love for exciting, amusing, and unexpected situations, that never failed to draw the house; nor was any entertainment com- plete that did not bring Mr. Kypta himself out conspicuously in encored violin-varieties."
In our earliest catalogue extant, that of 1868-1869, we find this announcement :
"This association was organized with the approbation of the President. Its two-fold aim is, firstly, to acquire a thorough knowl- edge of music ; secondly, to grace and enliven by its performances every public exhibition connected with the institution.
BRASS BAND - President, Rev. J. T. Landry, C. M. ; first cornets, Thomas H. Hughes, James J. Ryan ; first soprano, James J. Durkin ; Joseph O'Niell; second soprano, William Brown; third soprano, M. E. Newman ; first alto, Rev. J. T. Landry, Matthew A. Taylor; second alto, Michael Tiernan; third alto, James Lee; first tenor, Augustus Hennessey; second tenor, William Murphy; baritone, F. B. Hannigan ; first bass, George Dunbar, Ed. J. Wall; second bass, Michael Malone; tenor drum, John J. Hanlon; bass drum, T. Smith ; cymbals, Thomas Ryan.
ORCHESTRA - First violin, James J. Ryan, F. B. Hannigan ;
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second violin, M. Taylor, James Lee, Thomas Moran ; third violin, William Brown, Thomas Ryan, M. Tiernan ; double bass, Ed. J. Wall; flute, Rev. J. T. Landry, William Murphy; first cornet, Thomas Hughes; second cornet, James J. Durkin; third cornet, J. O'Neill; trombone, Michael Malone; director, Prof. A. Kypta.
The following year C. J. Eckles, now Father Eckles of our Fac- ulty, played first cornet in the band, and second cornet in the orches- tra. In 1870, Richard Walters, now Father Walters of our Faculty, was first soprano in the band and second cornet in the orchestra. Later on, Father Walters became leader of band and orchestra.
The N. C. A. of to-day is made up of the following musicians, with J. Ernst Rieger, Mus. Doc., as their director :
BAND - First E flat cornets, Prof. J. Ernst Rieger, Harry Keegan ; first B flat cornets, William O'Brien, Ernst Rieger, George Kelly, Leo O'Gorman, George Verrill; second B flat cornets, Frank Rehil, Joseph Ventri ; B flat contraltos, Frank Murray, Alex. Gabriels, John Condon ; solo E flat alto, Clarence Conway ; second E flat alto, Luke Gallagher; baritone, William Quinlan, Herbert Altenberg; B flat tenor, Eugene Regan, Thomas Mccarthy ; first B flat bass, Matthew Quinn ; E flat bass, Thomas Corcoran; slide trombone, Henry Grady ; double B flat bass, John McCreary; bass drum, Ber- nard Sullivan ; snare drum, John Martin ; cymbals, Edward Stanton.
ORCHESTRA - First violins, Ernst Rieger, John Martin, Herbert Altenberg, George Verrill, John Murphy; second violins, William Kelleher, James McDermott; mandolin, George Kelly; viola, Leo O'Gorman ; bass viol, Louis Sheehan ; flute, Rev. Mr. Flynn; clar- ionette, Prof. J. Ernst Rieger; first cornet, Francis Dehlinger; second cornet, William O'Brien ; trombone, William Quinlan ; drums, triangle, and traps, Thomas Keenan; piano, Harry Keegan.
The Niagara Harmonists, organized in 1860, whose object was " to enliven the social gatherings of the students with choice selections of vocal music, and promote in the Seminary a taste for music of the higher standard," really date from the beginning of our institution. We learn in a "Student's Recollections " that " Connolly, Chase, Tally, and Dunn formed a glee club, and used to render that pathetic song, ' The Three Black Crows,' with wondrous feeling and effect." The first society formed at the old Seminary for the entertainment of the students was a glee club. It bore a title, which has ever since been an honored one here, " The Niagara Harmonists." In the catalogue for 1868-1869 the members given are: F. B. Hannigan, soprano and director; Wm. K. Brown, alto; F. DeSales O'Connor, first
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tenor; James Connolly, second tenor; John P. McIncrow, sec- ond basso. Kindred societies, such as the Palestrina and the Niagara Musical Associations with the Philharmonic Glee Club, appeared later on, all having for their general object the purpose maintained so long by the Harmonists.
The latest organizations for the promotion of singing are those of the Junior Glee Club, formed early in the first session of this year, and the Seminarians' Glee Club, established only a few months ago. The members of the former society were a most pleasant surprise to the household when they made their first appearance on our local stage. Their songs, the quality of their voices, and their evolutions in a novel species of drill, won them instant favor, which has abided through all their subsequent performances. Besides rendering vocal music, they have among themselves an orchestra, which embraces some of the best musicians in the lower house. Their officers and members are:
GLEE CLUB - Censor, Rev. J. J. Maher, C. M .; honorary censor, Rev. J. J. Corcoran, C. M .; president, William P. Fitzgerald; vice- president, William D. O'Brien; recording secretary, William B. Quinlan ; treasurer, Michael O'Neil; property man, Leo O'Gorman ; assistant property man, Ernst J. Rieger, Jr .; business committee, Bernard Sullivan, Edward Stanton; first tenors, Michael O'Neil, Thomas Phelan, Leo Liddane, Edward Stanton; second tenors, Ber- nard Sullivan, William A. O'Rourke, Emil Fix, John Martin; first bass, William D. O'Brien, Louis Sheehan, William B. Quinlan, Cyrol Emory; second bass, Thomas Corcoran, George Kelly, Herbert Altenberg; mandolinists, Leo O'Gorman, William D. O'Brien, George Kelly ; violinists, H. Altenberg, J. Martin, J. E. Rieger, Jr .; pian- ists, William B. Quinlan, Harry Keegan, Louis Sheehan ; recitation- ist and reader, Leo B. Liddane, William A. O'Rourke.
ORCHESTRA - Director, Rev. J. J. Corcoran, C. M. ; William D. O'Brien, first cornet; William B. Quinlan, trombone; John Martin, first violin ; E. J. Rieger, first violin ; H. Altenberg, second violin ; G. Kelly, mandolin ; Leo O'Gorman, viola; Louis Sheehan, bass violin ; H. Keegan, pianist.
The Seminarians' Glee Club, attention to which has already been called in our notice on Father Walsh of the present Faculty, is the successor of the " Niagara Harmonists," for it is as a senior organ- ization that these sweet singers appear for the last time in our cata- logue.
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Censor, Rev. E. J. Walsh, C. M .; president and director, Mr. H. J. Gerlach; vice-president, Mr. S. A. Greeley; secretary and treasurer, Mr. F. D. Dehlinger ; pianist, Mr. M. L. Nelis ; first tenor, Messrs. J. J. McGrath, T. B. Brady, H. J. Gerlach, William Rooney ; second tenor, Rev. E. J. Walsh, C. M .; Messrs. T. H. Harrigan, W. P. Cunningham, F. Coughlan, F. J. Hunt, G. V. Callahan, E. T. Reilly, E. B. McNally, C. Kimmons ; first bass, Messrs. T. P. Burns, J. J. Keane, J. W. Peel, M. J. Tobin, J. J. Cashman ; second bass, Messrs. S. A. Greeley, F. D. Dehlinger, L. B. Martin, M. L. Nelis.
ATHLETICS
To the funny man who writes jokes for a living, college sports are a sort of a windfall, since they help him to earn his wages when other subjects fail. And often, too, the "college sport " has given ample justification for the witticisms launched against him as one who appears under false pretenses, abiding at an institution of learning, but scorning books for more agreeable pastimes. No college deserving the name will put brawn ahead of brain, or foster book learning to the disregard of physical development. Educators are not as mossbacked as they are painted by the funny man, neither are students, as a class, as foolish in wasting their study time as the witty paragrapher makes them out to be.
Niagara, like all other colleges, feeling that the taxed brain must be rested, that the physical man must be developed unless her students are to shrivel into intellectual coffins, has always provided them with abundant amusements, more or less athletic, throughout the scholastic year. Nor has this been as easy as might at first sight appear, since different classes of students had to be considered in arranging the different series of amusements. We have had fellows whose strength of body reminded one of draught horses, and fellows whose physical weakness caused them to cough between commas while reciting an Ave Maria. Each of these classes had to have its suitable recreation, with ample provision for that middle class whose members may be strong enough, but who are not hazardous enough, to indulge in brisk encounter. Football, baseball, handball, lacrosse, lawn tennis, croquet, basket ball, bowling, quoits, "shinny," hockey, have been popular among our students more or less since the foundation of our institution. Billiards, chess, pool, parlor whist, and corner grocery checkers have always had their devotees among such of our students as are inclined to quiet amusements of an intellectual nature.
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Athletics, however, in the sterner sense, as the art of training the physical man, seems to spurn all but vigorous efforts such as are made on the "gridiron," the " diamond," the track, or among the equip- ments of a gymnasium. Depletion of surplus flesh, hardening of muscles, suppleness of body, clearness of eye, cool and quick discern- ment, are among the results which experienced athletes assure us will certainly follow a systematic course of training in this school of physical culture. Such a school Niagara has possessed quite from the first days of her existence, although the furnishings may not have been of rosewood or mahogany. As a preliminary, how- ever, to healthy development she has a monopoly of the finest climate in the Empire State. Possessing an elevation of 650 feet above sea level, her air is clear and vigorous without any of that humid ad- mixture which exhausts in warm weather while it breeds catarrhal conditions in the winter months.
Strangers erroneously suppose that our proximity to the Cataract causes a dampness in our locality, but the truth is that we are not so proximate, for the Cataract is four miles above us on the Niagara River. Our situation on the banks of the headlong stream just mentioned is a peculiar advantage and protection from undue humidity, because the gorge, from its great depth and narrowness, serves as a funnel, sucking fogs and, not infrequently, threatening rain storms outward to Lake Ontario. The hygienic conditions, therefore, surrounding us render indulgence in athletic sports unusually pleasant for the participants as well as for those who assemble as spectators. The winter months especially are characterized by that bracing quality of air which makes out- door sports most health-giving, so that it is no wonder if football, for instance, has its eager followers as soon as the first sign of Niagara crispness is noticed in our atmosphere.
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