The Gavelyte, July 1915

THE GAVE.LYTE rmti11ued from pag C' l L inp; purposC' and of' hcing a powerf11l for<'<' f,n· tlw upbuild:n of c•it· h lov d lma Mater. "EcC'e ntricities," was the eccentric suhject to which Mr. Wilson re pond.ed. o word· more encou"ap;ing could be spokon to the strug-glm~ yon th from the ranks of humnn life. tl1P "rarlua' e of :J small college, than those forcefully uttPrf'd by John Wilson when he declared .that t~e question of the size and presti c:e of man's colle e if; never ~·aised: e1t-h~r as a hindra~c<' or an asset, by the real people, who will weigh lus value to SO<'I tv, hut the ;-;implc qnrstion "Can he deliver the goods" is one of first importance. ' ' ~ . !)r. McKinney's .subject "Then, and Now," suggests the trend of his ~·emarks. ~tandmg at the end of_ a t~rm of twenty-one years of serVIce as president of the college lus mmd and heart were full of the ,events that were woven into the struggle of those vears a struggle to plant and nourish and build 1.1p a Christian Edt1catio~al Institution that _would Qe. a monument to the Fathers of the church, a Power house m the Kmgdom and a source of blessing in all the earth wheresover its influence might g·o. These events and the spirits who animated them were made to pass rapidly and vividly be– fore our imagination. Dr. McChesney, the newly elected president, was given the word "Excalibur" as sug·g-cstive of what he might wish to sav on the oc– casion. "Excalibur," the mystic sword given to the legendary Kina– Arthur as the one choc:::en above all to wield it in the in'-cres'-s of hu': manity. He spoke with an eloquence and feeling that thrilled his hearers. The music for the evening, qnite in kecpin ::>; ·with the pro""ress of the times, was furnished by a New Edison Di~mond Disc Ta!kin-o; machine, through the kindness of Messrs. Sawhill and Dolhcer, deal– ers in musical instruments, Fairbanks builclin"'. Sprin -field, 0'1io. Everyone was simply delighted with the enter cainmen ': furnished by this remarkable instrument. Tlie eveninz w:->s brC'ua:::t vr-·,., ny,– propriatelv to a close "'i ·h the ren<lition o:!' "The Pe,.-f-pr,t D8"" bv T' ,, Edison. This is sufficient to describe an evening of more than usual interest and pleasure but does not iustify our claim that this was an historic, a memorable event. That claim is justified, however. by the combination of ·unusual circumstances an<l bv the un11Sual spirit felt by all, to be present. Among the interesting- circumstances may be mentioned that fact that the g:entleman who acted a::; toastmas'-er W[l.S a member of the Class of 1897, the first fl'raduatin'"(' class of the in– stitution. No, not old ·and CJUa'--erinP' and toothless. but vou"' "' ~nrl vigorous, and, as an obituary we read not lorn.\' a~o had it, "Full of vitality and kind deeds." And yet. mind you, spanning the whole life of the Association-from the year one-now numbering 166 m0111- bers. This means that the entire body of the Alumni of CcdarviEe have but barely entered the great field of active service. We arc "Going Some." There was present, also, a new memrer of the F'lct.l– ty representing a new departn;ent ~f ,vork opened by the college during the past year, Mr. S. C. Wright.. Head of the Normal De– partment and also Financial Secretarv. Tl1e presence of Mr. Wrirrht recalled the addition of about $8,000 durin<; tre vear foc;t closed, to the Endowment Fund, and was suggestive of the rapidly broad– ening field of education that Cedarville College is occupying;. Pres– ent also, ,vith his wife. was the newly elected Sec:retarv of the Board of Trustees of the college and Dean of the Facultv of the 'T'l,0olono– ical Seminary, Dr. J. L. Chesnut, pastor of the. Refo_rme~ Presby– terian church. who sur-charges everv companv with friendliness and optimism. Last, and perhaps the most interesting of all, there were