Weekly Messenger - 1921 July 15

              Devoted to the Interests of the Student Body, Washington State Normal School
VOL. XX BELLINGTAM, WASHINGTON, FRIDAY, JULY 15, 1921 NO. 36
TRIP T O M OCEAN J. J.
As the Indianapolis left the dock Sat-j
urday morning the anticipations of the
various passengers were many and
varied. Some were looking forward to
a quiet companionable time with their
chosen friends; some were determined
that not one bit of choice scenery would
they miss; others, on pleasure bent, were
decided that they would cause and enjoy
as much merriment among everyone as
- possible. And everyone was asking him­self
the question, "shall I be seasick?"
The weather was perfect and as the
boat left Bellingham. Bay the majestic
shape of Mt. Baker was the principal
scenic attraction. Later, the gigantic
Olympics loomed big to the south while
on the north the rugged Canadian moun­tains
were sharply outlined against the
clear sky. In the east, peaks of the
Cascade range could be seen. Mt. Rai­nier
hovered like a cloud on the horizon
far to the southeast and even the tip­top
of Mt. Adams was glimpsed by a
few of the most alert watchers.
The course of the Indianapolis lay
south of the San Juan Islands and from
there followed closely the Canadian
shore toward the Pacific. In a surpris­ingly
short time the boat was opposite
the site of Victoria, a typically English
town nestling among the hills. The ob­servatory
and wireless station on the hill­side
was one of the most noticeable spots
seen from the boat.
The next point of interest was Race
Rocks, a small group of large rocks on
which there is a lighthouse. After this
place was passed the motion of the boat
as it rode the swells became more
marked. Many believed that they were
very near the ocean, but the purser
calmly informed them that it would be
three hours yet before the actual ocean
would be reached.
An exhilirating experience was felt by
a large number of people who found
places as near the bow of the boat as
possible. To watch the boat cut the
water, to see the swells before they could
be felt, to dip with the nose of the boat
into the very bottom of a wave and
to ride with it to the very top were
sensations which alone were well worth
the whole trip.
As the boat drew near the ocean prop­er
the center of interest shifted from
the scenery to the increasing motion of
the boat, which rose and fell with much
more pronounced steadiness and inten­sity*
But there is no pleasure trip so
pleasurable that it has no drawbacks.
As the motion of the boat increased, so
was the curiosity of those who had won­dered
whether or not they would be sea­sick,
satisfied. In fact, the question was
so emphatically answered in the affirm­ative
to so many people that Mr. Bond,
in his kindly sympathy for the many,
disappointed the few by ordering that
the course of the boat be reversed be­fore
it had proceeded as far as the ad^
vertised " out of sight of land" limit.
As soon as the turn was made and the
boat was headed with the swells instead
of against them, the extreme rocking
Stopped and the boat rode as smoothly
as a rivet steamer. This caused the im­mediate
recovery of most of the seasick
ones.
"Thfe course on the return trip was
E
Mr. J. J. Donovan, a prominent lum­berman
of this city, gave a spirited and
interesting talk to the student body on
Monday. He divided his time into three
phases of reconstruction, material, spir-:
itual and moral. He spoke of the ma­terial
reconstruction from the point of
view of a business man, and expressed
the hope that the sanity and good will
of the people will help solve the prob­lems
of unemployment, etc., which beset
the nation today. He advised student's
to take; time for religious affiliations,
and to re-read the Constitution of the
United States and realize the freedom
and liberty that exists in our country.
— B.S. N.S.-—-
MEN'S BANQUET
The Pheasant Tea Room was the scene
of a most enjoyable banquet given by
the men's organization of the Normal
School last Tuesday evening. Covers
were laid for fifty and at 5:30 all took
their places at the tables in the artisti­cally
decorated dining room. The occa­sion
was in the form of a get-together of
the men and it afforded an opportunity
for them to become better acquainted
and to discuss problems of mutual in­terest
to faculty and students.
The dinner was served in three courses
and music was furnished by an orchestra
provided expressly for the occasion,
which added to the spirit of the meeting.
Mr. Coughlin led in the singing of sev­eral
songs in which all most heartily
joined. Between courses, Mr. Paul
Thompson sang " The Rose of Picardy "
which was well received and which led
to the encore.
Hobart Wiseman, president of the
Men's Club, then called on each student
to tell who he was and where he was
from. This resulted in many witticisms
and afforded much merriment.
Mr. Miller acted as toastmaster and
called upon Arthur Bowsher who ex­tended
greetings and stressed the making
of the Normal a school for boys as well
as girls. The value of friends and get­ting
off your dignity and being more
commonplace was Mr. Caskey's theme.
The applause he received displayed the
fact that' he struck a responsive chord.
Mr. Harvey Leach made his debut as
an after dinner speaker and he gave a
few grams of wise counsel and good ad­vice
urging that men associate more with
men, to ward off any chances of be­coming
effeminate. He even suggested
a boycott of the girls. He will always
be _on the reserve list of speakers for
any school function.
Mr. Bever in a very neat toast be­spoke
a more mutual understanding be­tween
faculty and students. The splen­did
spirit manifested between faculty
and students should work much good
in the school.
Growth and Development of
Bellingham Normal School
IN TWENTY-TWO YEARS NORMAL HAS
GROWN FROM A SMALL COACHING
SCHOOL TO LARGE INSTITUTION
practically the same as the outgoing one.
As the boat drew up at the dock, more
than an hour ah'sad of time, the sensa­tions
of the passengers as they dispersed
•were as many and varied as they had
been at the start, but all were sure that
the trip had been worth while, and each
one. had answered for himself the ques­tion,
"ShaU I be seasick?"
By MARGARET CLARK
Twenty-two years ago, when this fair
city Was not, and the little frontier
towns of New Whatcom and Fairhaveri
were struggling for supremacy, our State
Legislature, realizing that higher educa­tion
for teachers was necessary, appro­priated
money for the erection and main­tenance
of the New Whatcom State Nor­mal
School.
Former Governor Rogers dedicated
the building, and in September, 1899,
the Normal opened its doors to the
teachers and future teachers of the
state. The faculty consisted of ten
members; the student body two hun­dred.
At that, time, our • beautiful campus
was a virgin forest. The great tree,
whose ivy-grown stump remains with
us, towered far above its fellows and fed
numerous squirrels with its yearly cone
crop. Wild animals roamed over the
Sehome hills, and we read that one of
the Normal faculty shot a deer on the
slopes of Chuckanut mountain. In other
words, our Normal was a pioneer, who
witnessed, not only the passing of the
"bloomer girl" and the "square-toed
:ans," but the retreat of the wild, and
;he final uniting of the rival towns on
Bellingham Bay, into the city of Bell-ngham.
Although Bellingham is the youngest
)f Washington's three Normal Schools,
t is the largest, and may we not say,
jy its students, at least, the best loved
school in the state? Its growth has been
steady and sure, and though the build­ing
is now three times as large as it
was in the beginning, it is too small to
accommodate the ever increasing seek-srs
of Normal training.
Perhaps the reason for this growth
may be traced to the fact that Belling­ham
citizens are proud of the school and
make the students feel at home in their
town; the instructors are loyal; the
presidents have been men of the highest
type, and the students have interest in
their work and school.
Dr. Mathes, the first president, served
for fifteen years. His interest Was tin-failing,
and upon his work, rests the
foundation of the school. Upon his re­tirement
the state certainly chose the
right man —Dr. Nash, our present pres­ident,
counselor and friend, who has
been the head of the institution since
1914, and has ever proved his ability,
vision and true worth.
Of the teachers who composed the
original faculty, one still remains — Miss
Catherine Montgomery. Miss Ida Baker,
one of the beloved old teachers, passed
away last year.
The first summer term was held in
1900. It was a tuition affair, held for
the purpose of coaching teachers for
state examinations. It is interesting,
also, to note that assembly has always
been held at 10 o'clock; that blue and
White were the original colors, and that
the school song, "White and Blue," was
composed by Miss Hogel, a former mem­ber
of the faculty.
Every member of the school in the
early years was compelled to take some
form of spelling. This was one of the
customs, which should never have been
dropped. In those early years, board
and room averaged $3.50 per week, which
is about half the present rate. The li­brary
opened with one thousand volumes,
and the seating capacity was eighty stu­dents.
The statement was noted that a
faculty member in passing through this
library at 5 P. M. saw twenty-five stu­dents
hard.at work! Mention is made of
the fact that four hundred books were
taken from the circulation library month­ly.
Today the library contains over 22,-
000 volumes, about 150 current maga­zines
and newspapers, and one of the
finest juvenile libraries in the West.
There are more than 400 books taken
from the reserved section alone each
day. It may well be said that this li­brary
is run on the basis of service and
honor, and that a fine of any sort has
never been imposed upon a student using
the library since the arrival of Miss Wil­son,
the present efficient librarian. The
juvenile Hbrary contains a complete li­brary
for each grade below high school,
and is managed by students of the in­stitution,
who work here for practice
and credit. If a member of the faculty
should care to walk through the library
today, a 5 P. M. he should probably find
every one of the three hundred seats
occupied by energetic students.
The graduating class of 1901 presented
the school with a statue, " The Winged
Goddess of Victory." This statue stands
in the main library; look at it, and
get some inspiration for. the coming
week. Twenty-four students graduated
from elementary courses the first year
at the school; this past June 197 teach­ers
received their diplomas.
The present year has been the largest
in the history o fthe institution. Thirty
classrooms are in constant use; fifty-six
teachers on the regular staff, and an at­tendance
of nearly twelve hundred.
The first " Messenger " was published
in December, 1899. It was a quarterly,
and sold for forty cents per year. The
first editor was Bessie Griggs. In an
editorial of that paper we find that the
Messenger had two purposes for being:
" To establish a means of communica­tion
between the school and those in­terested,
and to put into permanent form
the best work, and thought of the school."
Let us hope that these two purposes
are still- being.:followed.; ' ,-.~