1914-04-07: ​​~TOUR STOPS~---images---audio---transcript---notes---links---site navigation
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1914-04-07: ​tour stops---images---audio---~TRANSCRIPT~---notes---links---site navigation
OBERLIN ALUMNI ORGANIZE

PRESIDENT H. C. KING SPEAKS

AT DINNER AT COOLEY'S HOTEL

Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut Association Formed.

The sons and daughters of Oberlin college at Oberlin, O., met last evening at Cooley's hotel for a reunion dinner and the organization of an alumni association for Western Massachusetts and northern Connecticut.  It was an unusual gathering for this region, not only because this western college has so many alumni hereabouts, but also because coeducational college dinners are not common in New England.  Oberlin is a conspicuous example of the college which both men and women attend, and the company gathered at Cooley's last evening, nearly 50 in number, included graduates of both sexes and a few husbands and wives who had not attended Oberlin.  The president of the college, Dr Henry Churchill King, was present to tell of the Oberlin of to-day -- its growth, its problems, its aims and its ambition to reach the highest standards -- and his informal talk gave all those present the feeling that a strong vitality exists in the college.  It is no longer the pioneer institution that formed its sturdy character in the early part of the 19th century, but a well-equipped, prosperous institution, with a new spirit and ambitious aims, not for size so much as for quality.

Ralph L. Cheney of the Young Men's Christian association college, a member of the preliminary committee that arranged for the dinner and the organization of the alumni association, acted as master of ceremonies.  After a reception between 6 and 7, in which old acquaintances were renewed and new ones formed, the company sat down to dinner with President King and some of the older alumni at the head table.  After dinner Mr Cheney called on each of those present to stand up for identification and this was the occasion of a number of humorous little speeches.  One of the most interesting was that of Dr J. H. Laird of the class of 1860, a striking personality, who told of the difficulties in his day of going to college, of the ignorance that prevailed in the rural section that he came from and of the pioneer conditions he found in the then small northern Ohio institution.  But board was only a dollar a week and a room in old Tappan hall cost him 75 cents a month.  Rev. Samuel H. Lee, once a professor at Oberlin, also told of incidents at Oberlin, and a dramatically humorous letter from Gerald Stanley Lee of Northampton was read.

Dr Laurance L. Doggett, president of the Young Men's Christian association college, was then introduced as presiding officer, and, after a little speech in which he paid a warm tribute to the fine qualities that Dr King has shown in his administration of the affairs of the college, introduced the president.  Dr King rapidly sketched for the benefit of the company present conditions at Oberlin, describing briefly the new buildings and the plans for others and the ultimate acquisition of property in extension of the college buildings around the big campus and the beautification of the campus now in progress.

Lately at Oberlin more liberty has been granted the women students than formerly, and President King spoke briefly on that point.  He also spoke of the policy of limiting the students in the college proper to 1000, now being put into practice.  This is intended to have the effect of raising the educational standard of the college and also to some extent of equalizing the numbers of men and women students.  Oberlin college has been growing rapidly, the student body having doubled in the last decade, and although there has been a considerable increase in endowment and many new buildings have been added to the equipment, there has been, because of this growth, little relief from the pressure and it is now important that the salaries of the faculty should be increased.  Dr King emphasized the need of further endowment.

This brought up a troublesome problem which Oberlin, with other endowed institutions in Ohio, faces.  The endowment of colleges is now threatened, owing to a recent decision by the state supreme court.  The case involving the decision was not a college case, but it is feared that the ruling contemplates the taxation of college endowments, in which case a serious blow would be dealt education in Ohio.  There is to be a rehearing of the case and it is hoped that the situation will be changed.  If not recourse must be had to the Legislature.

President King closed with a very broad and eloquent exposition of the ideals of Oberlin and the purposes to which college education should be devoted -- the development of thinking men and women, broadminded, able to distinguish between the important and the unimportant, able to think straight, and inspired by intellectual, esthetic and spiritual ideals.

Following the banquet a business session was held and an alumni association was formed.  Dr. L. L. Doggett was elected president.  The other officers were: Vice-president, J. A. Sheuerle of this city; secretary, Rev Arthur H. Hope of this city; treasurer, R. L. Cheney of this city, member of the executive committee, Miss A. G. Stokey of Mount Holyoke college.  The graduates of Oberlin, who were present at the banquet were: Dr J. H. Laird, '60, of Dalton; C. M. Cady, '77, of Rowe, Mrs. H. J. Southworth, /79, of Ware, Miss Mary L. Regal, '93, Francis E. Regal, '87, Mrs. Francis Regal, '89, all of West Springfield; Miss M. A. Chase, '68, of Mount Holyoke; Prof J. W. Crook, '90, of Amherst; T. J. Janes, ex-'91, of Springfield, Rev J. Van Burt, '91, of Monterey; Mrs Harry Bowen of this city, Howard K. Regal, '94, of West Springfield; Mrs Ella C. Hitchcock, '94, of New London, Ct.; Mr and Mrs R. L. Cheney, '98, of this city; Rev W. N. DeBerry, '99, of this city; W. E. Lamphear, '99, of Hartford; John A. Sheuerle, 1901, Miss E. Willard Hope, 1903, of this city; Mrs John A. Scheuerle, 1904, of this city, Rev Arthur Hope, 1904, C. V. Sawhill of this city, Miss A. G. Stokey, 1904, Miss Anna M. Starr, 1906, of Mount Holyoke college; K. B. Ullman, 1907, of Northampton, Bernice M. Weld, 1909, of Pittsfield, Frank B. Thayer, 1912, of this city; Miss Pauline Jones, 1912 of Mount Hermon school, Miss I. F. Sanborn, 1913, of Orange, Miss Southworth, 1902, of Ware.
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1914-04-07​: ​​​tour stops---images---audio---transcript---~NOTES~---links---site navigation
1.
AT DINNER AT COOLEY'S HOTEL
Cooley's Hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts no longer exists.  (Google tried to console me with Cooley's Hotel in Tasmania.)  I did find a postcard of the lobby, which looked very elegant.

2.
Ralph L. Cheney of the Young Men's Christian association college
According to Wikipedia, in 1954 this college became Springfield College.

3.
Lately at Oberlin more liberty has been granted the women students than formerly, and President King spoke briefly on that point.
I'd love to know what liberty the 1914 female students had that Alma didn't, but I don't expect to find out.

​4.
member of the executive committee, Miss A. G. Stokey of Mount Holyoke college
So Alma is the sole member of the executive committee.  What is the executive committee expected to do?  And is it a committee if there is only one member?

5.
​The graduates of Oberlin, who were present at the banquet were
The graduates are listed in order of class.  That, and the general tenor of the article, suggests to me that the writer of this article is an Oberlin graduate, and therefore one of the attendees listed.  I decided it was Frank B. Thayer, class of 1912, and I think I was right!  Here's something from an Oberlin alumni magazine in archive.org:
ONE of eight newspapermen cited by Delta Sigma Chi, journalism’s honorary fraternity, for distinguished service to journalism in 1945 was Frank B. Thayer, T2. Winners were chosen in seven classifications by a distinguished group of judges, the awards being the sixth of the series started in 1940 by the late Ralph Peters, editor of the magazine, The Quill.
and
Mr. Thayer’s first newspaper work was on his hometown paper, the Conneaut, Ohio, News-Herald. He then reported and read copy on the Springfield, Massachusetts, Republican and the Detroit News, and in 1928 he combined two Creston, Iowa, newspapers and became president of the merged.

​6.
Miss A. G. Stokey, 1904, Miss Anna M. Starr, 1906, of Mount Holyoke college
Anne Starr was Alma's good friend and colleague, and she has a Non-Family page on this website.  But only Alma got to be on the executive committee.
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