Wrestling Team '22- '23; Football '21-'22
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a © as OKLAHOMA ASM COLLEGE Lmm^sl&ST^^^ $@s&mm8mG&s&m .xM - 1 .. .« x • • ' la if to stay they may become Engineers, CiSMjZARxKe/f&^i*^^ •^n^csLS MHHBH caM or the Auditorium the men of speech. is home for men as is the Woman's Building for women. The stately beauty of Morrill Hall lives in men as they pass on, to live again tit i ' miiiii,imi'iiiM'iim:'iiinii,in:i.!ii,i' ',.".,' T.II > "ii.; T,' :•• History of Founding the Qollege HEN the first annual commencement period was observed at Oklahoma WAgricultural and Mechanical College in the spring of 1892, the newly established "college" consisted of 200 acres of raw prairie land: rooms for class work were borrowed in the roughly-hewn frontier churches of Stillwater; both semesters, that year, had attracted a total enrollment of 70 students. Today the College is represented by 1,000 acres of state-owned farm scien tifically tilled in demonstration fields, an array of twenty-five departmental buildings whose aggregate value, with equipment, live stock and farm, is estimated at $2,004,733 and a student body whose total enrollment this year reached an aggregate of more than 4,000 men and women representing all but one of Oklahoma's seventy-seven counties, twenty-one other states and six foreign countries. Such, in brief outline, is the progress made by the College during the thirty- one years of its existence. And yet, resident enrollment, comparatively, is but a small part of the scope of the school's real influence. Through extension division, experiment station and the newly established school of correspondence study, information of an educational nature this year is being carried to more than 750,000 persons in Oklahoma. It was a peculiar twist of pioneer politics that brought the A. and M. College to Stillwater—a manipulation of plum distribution in which a minority district walked off with its own first choice in prizes. Stillwater might have had the territorial capital. It preferred, and got, the A. and M. College. Here is how it happened: The first territorial legislature consisted of a council of thirteen members and a house of twenty-six members. When the first election was held in August of 1890, it resulted in a complete deadlock of political forces. Membership in the council included six democrats, six republicans and one populist; in the house were twelve democrats, eleven republicans and three populists. The one populist in the council and two of the three in the house all were from Payne county; and these four populists held the balance of power in both houses. George \Y. Gardenhire, the lone populist councilor, made use of the balance to have himself elected president, with full power to appoint committees. Another populist, Arthur N. Daniels of Canadian county, was chosen speaker of the house. The executive, at the time, was republican but, as long as republicans and democrats were unable to agree, the populist minority was in the legislative saddle. As soon as the assembly was organized, Gardenhire hurried home and called a meeting of Stillwater citizens. Page 2a "I've got things sewed up," he told that meeting. "I can block every appropriation they propose, if I want to; I've got more power than the governor. What do you people want? We're going to locate the capital, the university, the A. and M. College—all territorial institutions. You can have your choice." The territorial capital, first choice of the meeting, was abandoned because Stillwater was thirty miles from a railroad; a later vote of the people, it was feared, might withdraw the plum. The A. and M. College finally was settled upon because $31,000 a year in federal money was available immediately for its maintenance; and Gardenhire, with the aid of his populist friends in the house, filled the order. Financial obstacles, however, threatened to turn the victory into defeat. The bill for the location of the college called for a cash or bond bonus of $10,000. Payne county refused to vote the bonds; a proposal for township bonds also failed, and the town of Stillwater, with a population then of only 400, didn't have enough taxable wealth to carry the load. By unanimous agreement of property owners, a horizontal raise in values was made sufficient to meet the requirements of the federal statute and the bonds were voted. But they brought only 83 cents on the market. To raise the last $350, after citizens had subscribed to their limit to make up the deficit, members of the town council gave their notes to a local bank, with three saloon licenses attached as security. Anomaly of anomalies—that a political party even then on its deathbed should bring forth a college, that the open saloon, now only a nightmare of past ages, should prevent the young thing from croaking and that this foundling —this later-to-be great educational institution—should be the state's first Christmas gift! The bill for the location of the College became effective December 25, 1890— the Christmas day on which the first territorial legislature adjourned; Governor Steele appointed the locating commission June 1, 1891, and the site was settled by the filing of the commission's report July 11. The board of regents met at Guthrie, the territorial capital, June 25, 1891, and selected R. J. Barker, president of the board, as the school's first president, but it was December 14, that year, before the half dozen faculty positions were filled and arrangements completed for the opening of the first college session. During the first three years class work was conducted in Stillwater churches, for it was commencement time in 1894 before Old Central, the first administra tion building, was completed. Although one class of six members was graduated within four years after the school was established, the greater part of the work offered in those days was of common school or high school grade; college courses were most crudely constructed. Now, with a faculty of 125 members, 322 different subjects are offered, 267 of them in college courses, 55 in the secondary vocational school. Page ZZ The President JAMES BURXETTE ESKRIDGE A. M. University of Chicago, 1903; Ph. D. ibid, 1912 James Burnette Eskridge was born near Nashville, Tenn., receiving his earlier education from Burnett College, Spencer, Tenn., and Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tenn. His higher degrees were received from Chicago University. The educational career of Dr. Eskridge begins at East Side Academy, Nashville, Tenn., and since then being connected with a number of schools, which brought a series of promotions. From Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas, as a Professor of Classical Languages, he went to the Okla homa College for Women, Chickasha, as its President, where he served a number of years. Later he was elected head of the Southwestern Teachers' College, Weatherford, remaining there until elected head of Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College. He assumed control of A. & M, during the summer of '21, being formally inaugurated November 1, 1921. Page 23 D eatts CLARENCE HAMILTON MCELROY, D. V. M., St. Joseph Veteri MAI.COM ALFRED BEESON, D. nary College, 1919. Dean Si.. Meridian College, 1910. (acting) of Science and Liter Dean of Agriculture, 1915. ature, 1909. HERBERT PATTERSON, Ph. D., Yale University, 1913. Dean RICHARD GAINES TYLER, S. B. of Education and Director of in C. E. Massachusetts In Summer School, 1919. stitute of Technology. 1910. Dean of Engineering, 1921. ELLA NORA MILLER, M. S., Iowa State College, 1921. Dean of Home Economics, 1921. HENRY FULLER HOI.TZCI.AW, Ph. D., John Hopkins University, 1917. Dean of Commerce and Marketing, 1921. (No Photo) EDWARD ANDREW MILLER, M. S., Alabama Polytechnic In .MARY CATHERINE BODGEN, M. stitute, 1903. Director of Ex A., Peabody College, 1921. tension, 1923. Dean of Women, 1921. CARL THOMAS DOWELL, Ph. I).. JAMES ROBERT CAMPBELL, M. University of California, 1915. A., University of Oklahoma, Director of Experiment Sta 1916. Dean of School of tion, 1921. Correspondence-Study, 1922. ''••</,• >.', Top row—Pratt, Brown, Makovosky, Hand, Rolfs Second rcnv—Hiatt, Embleton, Talbot, Gallagher, Shelton Third row—Kezer, Davis, Hunt, Parks Fourth row—Carlson, Reed, DuBois, Clark, Maulbetsch Fifth row—Arnold, Tolman, Miller, Gunderson, Cloud Bottom row—Bentley, Baer, Wilson, Blizzard. Powell Pc.gr Top'row—-Caldwell, Posey, Hutchins, Daane Second row—Burch, Pritchett, Baird, Jackson Third row—Lawrence, Story, Stern, Whittenton Bottom row—McCarrell, Hoffman, Davis, Wood Page 26 Top row—Micksell, Rude, Lockwood Second row—Wallace, Sloss Third row—Beanblossom, Soderstrom, Stratton Bottom rmo—Goodwin, McCool, Guberlet Page Official 'Directory BOARD OF REGENTS The Oklahoma State Board of Agriculture JOHN A. WHITEHURST, President. Oklahoma City J. J. SAVAGE Mollis J. N. ROACH Atoka A. T. WHITWORTH Carmen WILLIAM H. CRUME Okmulgee COLLEGE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF. JAMES BURNETT ESKRIDGE, A. M., PH . D. President HERBERT PATTERSON, A. M., PH. D. Director of Summer School CHARLES EVANS. A. M., LL. D. Director of Educational Extension CHARLES A. POFFENBERGER . Registrar and Sec. to the Faculty WILLIAM B. HAMLIN . Financial Secretary EDGAR ELI BREWER .... Purchasing Agent CHARLES DUDLEY SIMMONS. M. D. College Physician MARY C. BROGDON, B. A., M. A. Dean of Women EARLE C. ALBRIGHT . ... Secretary to the President ELSIE HAND Librarian WALLACE PERRY, B. A. Editor of Publication ODOM F. SULLIVAN, B. S. E. Sec. of Y. M. C. A. COLLEGE TEACHING STAFF JAMES BIRNETTE ESKRIDGE, A. M. PH. D. University of Chicago, President DEANS. HERBERT PATTERSON, A. M., Ph. D., Prof, of Education, Dean of Education, Director of Summer School. MALCOMB A. BEESON, B. S., D. SC; Dean of School of Agriculture.