The Gavelyte, July 1915

16 THE CAVELYTE . Continued from pag~ 1-i. mg purpose and' of being a powe.r:ful force for t he upbuikiin ·; of ouY beloved Alma Mater. "Eccentri~ities," was the eccentl'ic suh.icct to which Mr. \Vilson respond_ed. No words more encou1:agi.)1g could be spoken to the struKglrng- youth from the l'anks of human life. th') ~1·arluate of a small college, than tho_se forcefully uttrrf!d by John Wilson when he declared _th.at t~e question ot the size and J.)restill;e of rnan'G colle·.•e is never ~·a1sed'. e1th1;r as a }undra~cc or an asset, by the real people. who ,~111 weigh h11; v_alue to s?cmt:y, nut the sj.mple quc~ticn, ' 'Can he deh vcr the goodR" 1s one of hrst 1mportanC'e. . ' !),·. McKinney's _subject " Then, and Now," sugge:-:ts t,he trend of h.is ~-emarks. ~tandmg a t the end of a term of twenty-one years of serv ice a.s prc~1dent of the college his mind and hcm·t were full of the events that were woven into .the struggle of those vears a stru~gl~ to plant and nourish and build up a Chnstian Bdu:rntio~al Jnst-1tution t.hat woul<l be· a monumE>nt to the FnthcIB of the church, a Power house in the Kingdom and a sourr:e of blesiain•~ in all tho r.arth whcresover its influence mlirht go, These events and the spirits w~o an~ma:ed them \vere made to pass rapidly an<l ,•ividly bee fore our. unagmat1on. , Dr. McChesney, the newly elected president; was given the word "Excalibur" as su~_U'eR'ive of what he mi12:ht ·wish to 'sav on the oc- casion, "Excalibur ," the mystic sword gi\'en to t he legendary Kinir Arthur as t he one -cho~cn above :i.11 to wield it in t he \n•c1·es•~ of hu- manity. He spoke with an eloquence ond feeling that thrilled his heai-ers. The music for the evenin;::, ,rnitP in kecpin~ with 'the pro'•ress of the times, wai, furniiihed by a -:-Jew EdiRon Dia1'l'lo~d Disc Ta!kin·~ machine, thmug·h the kindness of ?-,fosRrs. Sawhill n-ncl DolheeT, dea 1- crs in musical instruments, Fairbanks bui.ldin··- Swin--fleld, O".io. Everyone wai; simply delighted with the enter~ai nmen~ furnished by this rema.rkab!e_ instrument. The evening 1-,~ ~. b~·<:1ir,:~1.t F' '."' / r-p- propriatelv to a close win1 the rendition of "'rlie Pe>-ff'ct. D~"" hv T' " Edison, This ·is su.l!lcicnt to describe al'. evening of mo::-e than usual interest and pleasure but docs n<>t iu3lif y our claim that this was :m historic, a memorable event. That daim is justifiE·d, however. hy the combination of unusual circumstam:es and hv tl1e un,1sual spirit folt by aJI, to be present. Among the interesti ng cir cumstanees ma:; be mentioned that fact that the ,R"entleman wh o aet.cd as toRstmrn,~er \~as a member of the Clas~ of 1897, 1he first P' radua,.t in->: class of the in- st.itution. No. not old and qun,·erintr and t.oothless. but voun" ,1n,l vigorous, and, as an obituary we read not long aq-o had it, "Full cif vitality and kind deeds!' And yet. mind yo\1, sp'.mn:irw: . the wI:ole life of the Association-from the year one-now numbcnng ~66 m('rn- bers. This mP.ans that the entire body of the Alumni of Cedarville have but bar E>ly entered tbe great field of ad,ivc serviCP.. We arc "Going Some." 'Tr.ere was prr.sent, also, a new meml-er of ~he Fn<:ul- ty r cpres,enting a new department (?f ,.,ork opened by the college during the past. year, Mr. S. C. Wright-, Head of the ~formal _De• partment and also Financial SecTetar.v. Tl~e preseJ1ce of ~ii:. Wn•~ht recalled the addition of abont $8,ll00 durm~ tJ, e :vear 1_11s;t closed, to the Endowment Fund, and was .~uggeHtive of the rap!dly b1·oad- enin~ field of education that Cedarville C',01lege is occupym~. Pres- ent also, with his_ wif.e, was the newly eler.ted Sec:re:a'"~' of t he Board of Tru~tecs of the college and Denn of the Facultv of the 'l'hf!c, 1 0~- lcal Seminary, Dr. J. L. Chesnut, pastor of llw, Refo;me<! Presby- terian church, who snr-cl>arQ'eS eve1·:v r.o_mpl'n_,, _with friendhness and optimism. Last, and perhaps the most mtc1·estmg of all, there were ·•:•·