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CASROLJLTON, GEORGIA 




FOURTH DISTRICT A. & M. SCHOOL 
Carrollton, Georgia 



Reminiscences 

of trie 

Fourth. District Agricultural ana 
Mechanical School 

Carrollton, Georgia 



WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE LIBRAE 
GAKROULTONa QEORQIA 



Nep S. Melson 

Hogansville, Georgia 

1941 



H 



52735 
M 
h 

AVING been shut in during the winter months, 
much of the time alone, I have wandered often 
into the Land of Yesteryears. From my win- 



*M 



dows, I discern the western horizon. There, I have 
visualized many beautiful pictures from the past, in 
opal, carmine and molten gold, splashed against the 
burnished canvas of the setting sun. Time has billow- 
ed a silver mantle over the hardships and trials that 
once harassed, for 

"Memory sifts from its past the pain 
And suffers the beauty alone to remain. " 

If reminiscing indicates advancing age, then I plead 
guilty, for my mind reverts more and more to the 
scenes and experiences of the early Fourth District A. 
& M. Days. As the past comes up in review, I see 
the bright, joyous faces of those fine girls and boys 
who attended the school during the years 1908 to 1920. 
As they trip through memory's ideal corridor, my heart 
swells with love for every one of them, and with pride 
because of the contributions they are making to the 
world's progress. 

It has occurred to my husand and me it might be of 
interest to those who were on the scene of action during 
those years  particularly to ourselves  to have a rec- 
ord of some of the contemporary happenings. With 
the advent of the radio, good roads, rapid transporta- 
tion, consolidated schools and other modern inventions 
and improvements, many of these incidents could never 



occur again in this section of the country. Also, these 
events, recalled after years of checkered experiences, 
more or less typify conditions that existed in the early 
days at all eleven District A. & M. Schools, and in a 
small degree, may help one to understand the impor- 
tant place these schools filled in the educational his- 
tory of Georgia. Hundreds of girls and boys were help- 
ed who otherwise could not have had an education. 
There were other hundreds, able to have attended 
more expensive schools, who came through preference. 

The idea of the Agricultural and Mechanical Schools 
originated with Governor Joseph M, Terrell in 1902. 
But the bill creating them was not passed by the Gen- 
eral Assembly until 1906. The citizens of Carrollton 
and Carroll County donated $39,000.00 with lights and 
water for ten years, for the establishment of the Fourth 
District School. Of this amount, $9,000.00 was paid 
for two hundred and seventy acres of land, which was 
bought from B. A. Sharp. The first two buildings, the 
boys' dormitory and the academic building, were erect- 
ed by Mandeville and Aycock, contractors, for thirty 
thousand dollars, which represented the actual cost of 
building plus one per cent. All furnishings and equip- 
ment were supplied by the state at a cost of fifteen 
hundred dollars. 

Each bedroom had a double bed, a combination 
dresser and washstand, a study table, a washstand 
set, two straight chairs, a Hot Stuff Heater, and shades. 
The classrooms, domestic science department, dining 
hall, and kitchen were adequately equipped. The 
teachers were paid by the state. The first year ten 
thousand dollars was appropriated for this purpose. 



As time passed, this amount was increased. The price 
of board the first month per pupil was seven dollars 
and thirty-five cents, which represented the actual cost 
of provisions and fuel. During these thirteen years, the 
board rarely exceeded eleven dollars. Numbers of the 
students worked their way through school, in part or 
entirely, by doing extra farm work, or other jobs about 
the school. 

On December 6, 1907, Mr. Melson and I with our 
two small children moved to the A. & M. School, prior 
to its opening in January. The day was bleak, bitter 
cold and everything was covered with sleet and ice. The 
two buildings were surrounded by frozen red mud and 
tree stumps. The only water connection was a frozen 
pipe across the road. There were no lights. The build- 
ings were unfinished. The only doors to the entire 
dormitory were those hung to the three rooms which 
were to be our living quarters for the next five or six 
years. The wind whistled and howled through the long 
halls, and at night this sound was mingled with the 
barking of stray dogs and noises of other farm animals 
of the neighborhood, who sought refuge from the cold 
in this building. After the first few nights, Mr. Melson 
improvised bars at the outside doors to keep out these 
nocturnal visitors. 

To complicate things, a few days after moving to 
these quarters, while we were in the midst of getting 
the dormitory furniture placed, Holland, the irrespres- 
sible six-year-old, broke out with measles, and from 
then until late March there was not a time when the 
house was clear of measles. 

The first caller who came to welcome us was a kind- 

4 5 > 



hearted old man, whose head was drawn to one side. 
He explained he could not straighten it, because he 
was just recovering from "yaller janders." Instinctive- 
ly I asked, "Oh, does everyone in these parts have 
yaller janders?" 

Anyone with more judgment and less enthusiasm 
would probably have turned back at this time, for 
aside from our physical discomforts, we were on an 
unknown, uncharted sea without a compass. Nothing 
like an Agricultural-Mechanical Boarding School in 
the South had been tried. But the indomitable courage 
of my husband, combined with the vision of what the 
school would mean to the country girls and boys, pre- 
vailed. 

The school was opened January 8, 1908, with only 
two buildings  a dormitory and an administration 
building, and both still unfinished. Two classrooms 
were used temporarily as kitchen and dining room. 
Burlap and quilts were hung in lieu of doors in the 
dormitory. One hundred and eight boys and forty 
girls enrolled the first day. With snow and ice every- 
where, water pipes frozen, and only one servant, the 
cook, the task was not easy. However, on the opening 
day, there was a semblance of school organization, and 
a creditable luncheon was served to the student body, 
the eleven trustees of the school, Governor Hoke Smith, 
and a number of other prominent guests from Carroll- 
ton and other parts of the district. 

Even on as busy and trying a day as this we were 
able to note many amusing things. For instance, one 
of the distinguished guests believed in such prepared- 
ness as was not uncommon in those preprohibition days. 

4$> 



To his great embarrassment as he made a sweeping 
Chesterfield bow on entering the lobby, his silver flask 
dropped to the floor from his inside overcoat pocket. 

For the most part, this first student body was com- 
posed of older girls and boys, whose opportunities had 
been limited, but whose ambition, earnestness, and 
other fine qualities recompensed for all deficiencies. 
But not all of these boys were saints by any means. If 
any of those carpenters still live who were trying to 
finish the work on the dormitory, they will recall the 
trouble they had in keeping up with their hammers and 
saws. There may be others who remember when the 
ditches were being dug for sewerage, between the boys' 
dormitory and administration building, and one of the 
Bonner slave graves was accidentally opened, how 
several boys began to dig furiously over the whole 
area to see what they might find in the graves. 
However, most of the students soon adjusted them- 
selves to the school and its routine and were really 
helpful in organizing. "We Learn to Do by Doing" 
was adopted as the motto for the school. Throughout 
the years all work except the actual cooking was done 
by the students under the supervision of the teachers. 
This work included cleaning buildings and grounds, 
serving the meals, dishwashing, farm work, shop work, 
dairying, etc. From the beginning the work was divid- 
ed fifty-fifty between academic and industrial, and 
every student was required to conform to this schedule 
throughout the thirteen years. 

It was spring before the electric lights were install- 
ed. They were turned on for the first time around 
nine o'clock at night. Earlier, one of the boys had ex- 

4 7 ] 



tinguished his kerosene lamp and retired. Sometime 
later with a sudden start he awoke from a deep dream 
of peace, and saw not the moonlight in his room, but 
the glaring electric light. He gave an unearthly whoop, 
and with one bound landed in the hall yelling that the 
world had come to an end. 

When the school opened there were only two auto- 
mobiles in Carrollton, and of course they were a novel- 
ty to everyone, particularly to the investigative A. & 
M. boys. Jim Cheney, who had charge of installing 
electricity, and W. H. Campbell, who was looking af- 
ter the plumbing of the buildings were the owners. 
These two men would have finished their jobs at the 
school much earlier but for the fact that their attention 
was divided between their work and protecting their 
cars. A dozen boys were trying to figure out the whys 
and wherefores of Mr. Campbell's car, parked back of 
the administration building, when it went rolling down 
the incline, ran into a tree and crashed the fender. 

During the first year or two automobiles caused no 
end of trouble to the farmers driving mules and horses. 
Coming from Randolph and Heard counties, numbers 
of them would hitch their stock to just any of the trees 
on the campus, and walk to town rather than have their 
teams meet one of those "ought'er-be-in-hell" things. 
To protect the trees, Mr. Melson had some hitching 
frames and posts erected in suitable places. One of 
these parties calmly announced he had put enough 
money in the school to hitch his horse where he pleas- 
ed, and that he preferred a certain tree to any of those 
posts  so to that particularly beautiful tree his horse 
was always hitched! 

-*{8}!>- 



Several girls were walking to town. A car was meet- 
ing a wagon and mules. The mules made a sudden 
plunge and ran away. For safety, all the girls scram- 
bled up a steep embankment except one, who remained 
stone still. After the excitement subsided someone 
asked Mary why she did not run. In a superior man- 
ner she answered because she was not afraid, that 
she had seen one of those things before. 

Among the student body these first months was a 
mature man who was as good and conscientious as any 
mortal could be. Mr. Melson found him crying one 
night because water thrown from the window above 
his room, had spattered and cracked his lamp chimney. 
A few years later he came to see us broken hearted 
over the loss of his wife. He said she died from "in- 
formation of the brain," and asked if I knew anything 
about this disease. I assured him it was the most dan- 
gerous of any to which the human race is subject. 

The century old, two-story building east of the presi- 
dent's home on the college campus was the Sharp resi- 
dence. Thomas Bonner who owned the A. & M. lands 
from 1835 until after the civil war, had it erected for 
his dwelling house in the early eighteen forties. Later 
this became the property of B. A. Sharp. This house 
originally stood at the extreme west side of the college 
campus and was rolled to its present location in 1913 
at a cost of seventy-five dollars. All furnishings re- 
mained in the house, and even the chimneys were not 
damaged during the process of moving. For a num- 
ber of years it was used for the girls' dormitory. 

Mr. Sharp built a new home on the Bowdon Road 
where his grandson, Dudley Holmes, now lives. Jovial, 

4 9 ft- 



genial, upright in his bearing, and in his dealings with 
his fellow man, Mr. Sharp typified the old Southern 
gentleman in appearance and manner. Being a close 
neighbor of the school, he suffered some from the 
pranks and depredations of the boys, but he always 
maintained a tolerant rather than a censorious attitude 
toward the youngsters. On one occasion a group of 
boys noticed on his premises three early peach trees, 
laden with red, luscious fruit. They asked if they 
might have some. Mr. Sharp's answer was, "Sure, boys, 
help yourselves. Get all you want." When the boys 
had gone, not a peach was left. 

The first faculty was composed of J. H. Melson, 
Principal ; G. G. Daniel, Shop and Applied Agriculture ; 
J. C. Britton, Science and Mathematics ; Mrs. J. C. Brit- 
ton, History and English; Miss Leola K. Miller, Do- 
mestic Science. 

Mr. Daniel was of great help during his three years 
stay at the school, both in theoretical and practical 
farm and shop work, and was very popular with the 
boys. 

Mr. and Mrs. Britton were from Ohio and many of 
their theories were not practicable for the southern 
rural young people, and they could not adapt them- 
selves to existing conditions. Mr. Britton suffered from 
a joke that was really intended for another. A group 
of boys decided to test Sam Hull's boasted bravery. 
Everyone knew Sam was always alert to make money. 
One night after the lights were out a boy went to him, 
and told him he could not sleep because the bed was 
hard, and that he would pay him fifty cents if he 
would go to a certain room, which was vacant because 

4 10 > 



a student had died in it, and bring him the mattress. 
As Sam began to roll it, the mattress with springs rose 
up in his face. He gave forth a blood curdling yell, 
and as he dashed toward the door, he grabbed the 
bowl and pitcher and hurled them in the direction of 
the bed. Attracted by the scream and the succession 
of crashes, Mr. Britton came paddling down the dark 
hall in his bathrobe and slippers to investigate. Just 
as he got even with this particular door, the boy who 
had been planted under the bed to raise it at the op- 
portune time, was emerging from the room on his all- 
fours. Mr. Britton's scream was louder than Sam's 
and he went tearing to his room crying "cut it out, cut 
it out" 

Miss Miller was from Pennsylvania. She was a 
sturdy, strong character, very resourceful and ener- 
getic, and left a lasting imprint for good upon the girls 
of the school. This was her first experience in the 
South, and she came with decided ideas for helping 
"the down trodden Ne-gro." She planned the meals 
for Columbus, the cook. When Mr. Melson requested 
her to carry the pantry keys, she thought it was not 
right to reflect upon Columbus' honesty in that way. 
Mr. Melson told her it was all right for her to have all 
the confidence she pleased in Columbus' honesty, but 
just continue to hold the keys. It was not long, how- 
ever, until Columbus fell from grace in her estimation. 
As he was leaving one evening, he forgot and lifted his 
hat to bid her good night, and ground coffee came 
streaming down his bewildered, ebony face. 

During these early days of the school all domestic 
science teachers had to be secured from the North, be- 

4 11 }> 



cause the idea of teaching a girl to sew, cook, and do 
other practical, instead of cultural, things had not 
permeated southern colleges. Miss Boyle of Illinois 
followed Miss Miller's three-year tenure, and like her 
predecessor, her training in the northern universities 
had been thorough and she was fine with the girls, 
but it took time for her to make adjustments. National 
publicity had been given an unfortunate Georgia lynch- 
ing a few weeks prior to her coming, and we learned 
immediately that she came expecting to find a negro 
hanging to every tree. Charlie Ball, the sensible, high- 
class negro cook, was as much amused as we were, by 
her attitudes and general idea of conditions. When 
Mr. Melson asked him in her presence if there was to 
be a lynching that night on the school campus, Charlie 
answered that there was  that the nigger was caught 
stealing chickens again the night before. Miss Boyle's 
eyes almost bulged from her head, and she immediate- 
ly wanted to take steps to save the life of the poor, 
benighted man. 

The crockery used in the dining room was the thick 
hotel variety common to that period. Miss Boyle sug- 
gested that thinner cups be used, since she feared the 
students might develop thick lips like the negroes. 

The first year of the school passed without serious 
disaster, but it was most trying. The organization was 
not perfect, though we had the advice of State and 
Federal Government and the State Agricultural Col- 
lege. No school ever had a more conscientious and a 
more loyal Board of Trustees than was this first board, 
who were: 
G. P. Munro, Chairman Marion County 

4 12 }> 



W. I. Van Horn Chattahoochee County 

G. Gumby Jordan Muscogee County 

T. H. Persons Talbot County 

T. T. Thomasson Harris County 

H. H. Lane Troup County 

T. M. Zellars Coweta County 

J. B. Sanders Heard County 

J. W. Estes Meriwether County 

J. A. Murrah Carroll County 

L. C. Mandeville, Treasurer Carroll County 

Other men who later served nobly and untiringly on 
the board were Lester Slade, Render Terrell, Sr., Joe 
Dunson, Sr., Oliver Moore, Charlie Roop, M. M. Dick- 
erson, Tom Wisdom. 

Since this was a new type of school in the South, 
the Federal Government from time to time sent ex- 
perts of various kinds to make suggestions, criticisms, 
and reports. These were highly trained, technical 
men, usually with delightful personalities, but they 
were not at all indigenous to conditions, and were en- 
tirely unable to grasp the situation in the short time 
spent at the school, or to offer any constructive sug- 
gestions. In making his report after spending sev- 
eral weeks at the school, a man sent by the U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture, stated he was surprised to 
find the school was not using a pure strain of cotton 
seed, since he noticed white and pink blooms in the 
same field. 

The first commencement was June, 1909, when three 
boys and one girl were graduated. There were indus- 
trial displays, actual dress-making and cooking on the 
stage, and papers on scientific subjects. Mr. J. A. 

4 13 )> 



Aycock, who had almost given his life for the school, 
said this was one of his happiest moments, for his 
fondest hopes for an industrial school in Carroll Coun- 
ty had been realized. 

The school during the first thirteen years had many 
difficulties, but Carrollton and Carroll County stood 
nobly by at all times. Some of the ruling spirits were 
J. J. Thomasson, editor of Carroll County Times, who 
gave money, time, and publicity; L. C. Mandeville and 
J. A. Aycock who not only erected the buildings at cost, 
plus one per cent, but were ever ready to help in 
every possible way; the entire Mandeville family  
in times of sickness among the students, Mrs. L. C. 
Mandeville would bring arms full of bed linen, deli- 
cacies, etc. ; Judge Adamson, the Fitts, Henry Lovvorn, 
J. C. Bass, Herman Reeves, Sid Holderness, Charlie 
Roop, Horace Stewart, Wylie Stewart, J. M. Johnson, 
Charlie Tanner, Tom Bradley, the Baskins, George 
Harper, W. B. McLendon, W. R. Foster, Turners, War- 
rens, Barrs, Nixons, Lowreys, Almans, Reids, Ernests, 
and scores of others. Any institution with such sup- 
port as these people gave this school during these years 
is obliged to go forward. 

Doctors Fitts, Hallum, Hambrick, Reese, Barker, 
Boatright, and Roberts looked after the health of the 
students. 

The spiritual welfare of the girls and boys was of 
paramount importance. All students were expected 
to attend Sunday School, which was conducted by the 
faculty in the auditorium. They were encouraged to 
attend services each Sabbath Day in Carrollton at the 
church of their choice, where a warm welcome was 

4i*> 



always extended them. Miss Edna Cook of the Car- 
rollton Methodist Church will have extra stars in her 
crown for her untiring interest in these students. She 
frequently said she loved every boy in the school, and 
was glad she was old enough to be able to tell him so. 

Although it is decidedly contrary to his wishes, yet 
I cannot refrain from chronicling my husband's atti- 
tude toward the work during this period. Throughout 
the years he inspired the best in the girls and boys by 
giving them his best in teaching, leading, and guiding 
them. He early taught them to believe in themselves 
and their ability to do things, and he never missed an 
opportunity to give encouragement, where it was war- 
ranted. His ambition was to make human hearts wiser, 
manlier, happier, and better prepared to cope with 
life's problems. Even in the matter of discipline the 
students were compelled to recognize his justice and 
fair dealings. On one occasion after administering 
punishment to a six-foot supposedly incorrigible, the 
boy walked up and shook hands with him, and told him 
he would be a man from then on. 

In the various tasks of the school he led the way, 
and never asked a pupil to perform any unpleasant 
work with which he was not willing to help. A train- 
ed nurse arrived one morning on the six o'clock train 
to take charge of a sick student, and she was brought 
to our home for breakfast. In answer to her question 
as to what position in the school he held, Mr. Melson 
answered that he was janitor. She seemed rather per- 
turbed and disconcerted and arose almost immediately 
from the table, saying she wished to interview the 
president of the school as soon as possible. Mr. Mel- 

4 15 & 



son assured her that the president of the school would 
be in his office in about ten minutes. When she reach- 
ed the office he was there to greet her and to give the 
desired information regarding her patient. 

The summer months were not less trying for Mr. 
Melson than the scholastic. The crops were to be fin- 
ished by the boys who remained at the school for this 
purpose. Canning was done, and work of various 
types. During the first years, he spent much time can- 
vassing the eleven counties for pupils, via the horse 
and buggy method. On those trips he spent the night 
wherever darkness overtook him. Some of these farm 
homes were delightful places at which to stop, others 
were not. At one of these places the man of the house 
offered him a toddy before supper. When he declined, 
the man explained that he had to drink for his health's 
sake, because his wife was in the last stages of tubercu- 
losis, and that he had a child sick with typhoid fever. 
For his own health's sake, at supper, Mr. Melson, after 
brushing the flies away, ate the inside crumbs of corn 
pone and drank a cup of steaming hot coffee. When 
the host showed him to his room, all windows were 
closed in spite of midsummer heat. Mr. Melson rolled 
the bed to one of the windows which he had opened, 
wrapped his extra shirt around the pillow which he 
placed on the window sill, sank down into a deep 
feather bed and slept as best he could. During the 
best, most productive years of his life, Mr. Melson un- 
stintingly poured his strength, energy, time, and talent 
into this school. 

Early in the first session of the school a book shower 
was arranged as a library nucleus. The people of Car- 

416 & 



rollton and the district responded liberally, and many 
of these books were very useful. 

With the passing of the years, other buildings were 
added, more equipment installed, a larger faculty em- 
ployed. The dining hall and kitchen with shop rooms 
beneath, and spacious barns were early acquisitions. 
A cottage for the principal was erected. In 1915 the 
legislature appropriated seventy-five hundred dollars 
for the girls' dormitory, with the understanding that 
friends of the school would donate a similar amount. 
Judge Adamson contributed fifteen hundred dollars of 
this amount, the largest single gift. In order to secure 
the remaining six thousand, Mr. Melson begged, wrote 
stacks of letters, and rode many long miles over the 
district, but in the spring of 1916 he saw his dream 
come true when the beautiful girls' dormitory was com- 
pleted. 

Space was left at one of the front corners of this 
dormitory for the placing of a very historic corner- 
stone. At the old Mcintosh Reservation on the banks 
of the Chattahoochee River, just a few yards from the 
house where William Mcintosh was killed by men of 
his own race because of his friendship to the whites, 
stood an old horse block. Mcintosh had steps chiseled 
out of a large piece of granite for the convenience of 
his white friends when mounting a horse. An Indian 
had no need of such. Mr. Melson and Mr. J. J. Thomas- 
son conceived the idea of making this horse block the 
cornerstone of the girls' dormitory. After obtaining 
permission from Preston Arkwright, President of the 
Georgia Power Company, on whose property the horse 
block stood, Mr. Melson, Mr. Thomasson, and several 

<{ 17 fa 



boys went to the reservation and moved it to the A. 
& M. This was placed in the corner of the girls' dormi- 
tory with appropriate masonic ceremonies. The horse 
block now stands near the entrance of the college cam- 
pus, to which place Dr. Ingram had it moved in later 
years. 

The number of lives enriched by this school cannot 
be estimated. Not only the students derived benefit, 
but it was very soon evident that the influence of the 
institution pervaded the far corners of the district, as 
was evidenced in the general improvement of living 
conditions. As a result of the industrial training, when 
boys returned home, they screened the doors and win- 
dows; they made attractive furniture for the home, the 
porch and the lawn. On the farms, they introduced 
improved methods by terracing the lands, planting 
leguminous crops and using only pure seed. The splen- 
did course in domestic science inspired and enabled the 
girls to beautify their homes within and without. They 
learned to plan, prepare, and serve well balanced, at- 
tractive menus, to entertain with ease. The school is 
responsible today for scores of the beautiful, modern, 
well equipped, well kept homes that dot the country 
side. 

But this industrial training in no way interfered 
with the thorough courses in English, History, Mathe- 
matics, and the Sciences. Friendly rivalry existed be- 
tween the two literary societies, which held regular 
meetings with interesting programs throughout the 
years. The social life of the students was not over- 
looked. There were frequent parties at the school, 
picnics in season at Hayes' Mill or Simonton's Mill. 



The girls and boys were often included in the church 
social life of Carrollton. They always looked forward 
to going to Mr. L. C. Mandeville's camp for supper 
in the fall. Mr. Mandeville would have them come in 
groups, and frequently the whole crowd. 

Commencements always attracted large numbers, 
and were the occasions for renewing friendships by 
gay, happy throngs from Carrollton, Carroll County 
and all sections of the district. One cannot recall these 
days of yore without thinking of Mr. and Mrs. More- 
land Zellars, T. H. Persons, Judge G. P. Munro, and 
many others, whose presence always attested their in- 
terest in the school. Being introduced to a very at- 
tractive young woman from another part of the state 
at one of these seasons, Judge Munro asked her just 
what relation she was to "old man So and So." Straight- 
ening to her full height, in a very defensive, dignified 
way she answered, "He is my husband, Sir." The 
Judge cleared his throat and said, "You are very for- 
tunate, Ma'am, very fortunate. He is a fine old man, 
a fine old man." 

The literary features and the industrial displays 
were always fine and were centers of interest to many, 
but the annual barbecue for students and commence- 
ment visitors was not less popular than these. This 
event was the highlight of the entire year for Charlie 
Ball, the cook, who was a past master in preparing 
barbecue. The meat was short one year. Mr. Melson 
announced to the crowd that one of the pigs got away 
the night before, but he did not explain that the rea- 
son three pigs got away was because the ice gave out. 
Following these feasts the crowd would scatter in con- 

4 19 ]> 



genial groups, and spend the afternoon seated in shady 
places about the campus or on the porches. I have a 
very definite mental picture of Judge Sampson W. Har- 
ris, Judge W. C. Adamson, L. C. Mandeville, L. P. Man- 
deville, Tom Persons, Oliver Moore, B. A. Sharp, Judge 
Munro, J. J. Thomasson, Sid Holderness, Charlie Roop, 
Morland Zellars, and others seated under the trees in 
front of the principal's cottage. This, of course, was 
always a festive occasion for the young people. There 
were many budding romances at this time, which later 
developed into happy marriages among the students. 

Beginning in October, 1910, district fairs were held 
at the school each fall until 1917. A race track, grand- 
stand, and large exhibit barn were built, and also the 
auditorium was used for display space. Lewis Heaton, 
John Matthews and Tom Henry were consecutive man- 
agers. All the farm products usually found at fairs 
were shown. The women's exhibits consisted of dozens 
of quilts of beautiful and intricate designs, crocheting 
and embroideries, literally thousands of jars of pre- 
serves, pickles, etc. There were the carnival attrac- 
tions speeling forth to the accompaniment of the cease- 
less grind of the merry-go-round, and every known de- 
vice to get the nickles and dimes. 

The baby show, featured during fair week, always 
attracted doting parents with their young hope- 
fuls. I usually made an entry here, and all of us 
mothers whose babies did not win first prize attributed 
the fact to the lack of intelligence of the judges. These 
judges wisely disappeared after the awards were made. 

One of the most popular attractions at these fairs 
was Miss Mahalay Lancaster's fortune telling booth. 

4 20 fa 



Miss Mahalay was about thirty years ahead of the 
present costume jewelry craze. She was always be- 
decked from head to foot with innumerable strands 
of beads, chains, with bracelets, pins, and jewelry of 
every kind. With her cup and tea leaves she extracted 
many a fifty cents from the girls and boys, as well as 
from some of the older people. 

By attending these fairs the people of the district 
learned what their neighbors were doing, and the com- 
ing together meant much in a social way. On Gov- 
ernor's Day the crowd attending sometimes reached 
six thousand. I have a very vivid recollection of Gov- 
ernor and Mrs. Joe Brown's day at the fair. They 
were to arrive at noon. Early in the morning I had 
left my living room, where the governor and party were 
to come, in perfect order, and had gone to the dining 
room to assist with the luncheon preparation. I part- 
ed company with nine year old Holland with a definite 
understanding that we would meet at eleven thirty, 
for him to clean up before the arrival of the guests. 
At the appointed time I rushed back to our quarters  
Holland could not be located. But in the living room 
I found a group of mothers feeding at least a dozen 
children, with crumbs and trash everywhere. In the 
bedroom, I surprised a woman who was examining the 
contents of my wardrobe. Her explanation was that 
her husband had put money in that school, and she 
had come there with the determination to see every- 
thing that was to be seen. I assured her that her hus- 
band had not put a single thing in my wardrobe. 

All during the luncheon I had a vague apprehension 
as to Holland's putting in his appearance. As the 

4 21 fy 



crowd was leaving the dining hall, pictures were made 
on the steps centering the governor, Mrs. Brown, Judge 
and Mrs. Adamson. Just as the photographer snap- 
ped the camera, Holland, barefooted, cap at a dis- 
reputable angle, with all the fairground dust and grime 
that could possibly stick to him, appeared, and calmly 
took his stand a few steps below the governor. This 
picture hung in the governor's office several years. 

On this same day, a woman fainted on the fair- 
grounds. She was brought, still unconscious, to our 
inadequate apartment in the boys' dormitory. Now 
there were no first aid quarters nor extra bedrooms in 
that crowded building, so in desperation I had her 
placed on the bed in the room occupied by my young 
brother, Rabun Stevens, and Jeff Hammett. In a short 
time she was sleeping quietly, so I darkened the room 
and forgot her for a while. But not for long. Jeff 
found a way to go home. He and Rabun went hurried- 
ly to their room, and as Jeff was changing his trousers, 
he happened to glance toward the bed and discovered 
the woman. He completed his toliet in the hall. I was 
terribly shocked when they brought the information 
to me, and I doubt if either ever suspected that I had 
previous knowledge of the woman's being there. 

The fourth of July was always a gala day, particu- 
larly on election years. The time that Tom Hardwick 
and Rufe Hutchens ran for U. S. Senate and Nat Har- 
ris for governor, it was arranged for Hutchens and Har- 
ris to address the voting public in the morning, and 
Hardwick in the afternoon, along with numerous other 
candidates speaking. Some civic organization was to 
sell and serve barbecue on the grounds. Before leav- 

4f 22 ]> 



ing home in the morning, Mr. Melson assured me that 
the committee on arrangements would take Mr. Hutch- 
ens and Mr. Harris to the barbecue stand at noon, and 
that he would bring barbecue home for our lunch. Mr. 
Hardwick would arrive too late for lunch. At twelve- 
thirty, Mr. Melson appeared with Mr. Hutchens and 
Mr. Harris, minus any barbecue. The speeches had 
been so prolonged that the barbecue was sold out. I 
served them string beans left from the day before, loaf 
bread, cold blackberry pie and milk. About two o'clock 
again Mr. Melson appeared, this time with Mr. Hard- 
wick, his erstwhile college mate and friend. To the rem- 
nant of the other lunch, I added blackberry jelly. Mr. 
Hardwick was gracious enough to assure me that he 
liked everything that was made from blackberries. 

The summer schools meant much to the rural teach- 
ers of the district, and the dormitories were always 
filled to capacity with student teachers. The best 
teaching talent of the state was provided by the Ex- 
tension Department of the University System, to assist 
the regular school faculty. These summer school fac- 
ulties were composed of such strong characters as Miss 
Celeste Parrish, Dr. M. L. Duggan, Dr. J. O. Martin, 
Miss Lurline Parker (Mrs. J. O. Martin), Miss Kate 
Parker, Miss Estelle Bozeman, Miss Susan Matthews, 
Dr. Peter Brown, and many others. Such lecturers as 
Dr. M. L. Brittain, Dr. Fort Land, Mrs. W. H. Felton, 
Dr. Henry Alford Porter addressed the teachers at 
night. On one occasion Dr. Porter was scheduled for 
lectures on two successive nights. He delivered one 
lecture, spent one night and left, because he was un- 
able to sleep on account of the unusual country noises. 

4 23 fr 



Atlanta's clattering traffic did not disturb him, but he 
could not stand the country quietude that was punc- 
tuated with the chirping of katydids. 

During the years, our guests were composite. The 
great, the near great and the never great came in- 
discriminately, and after we moved from the dormitory 
into the principal's home, I rarely knew for whom a 
meal was being prepared. Mr. Melson's policy always 
has been that what we can stand all the time, the 
guest can endure for a while. Also we were impressed 
that really worthwhile fundamentals are the same in 
every station of life, and the greater the person, the 
more adaptable he is. Some of the most famous pos- 
sessed the humblest and sweetest spirits. On a cold, 
blustery March day Wallace, U. S. Secretary of Agri- 
culture, the father of Henry Wallace, the present Vice- 
President of United States, appeared unannounced. He 
insisted on going right out into the farm where Mr. 
Melson was with the boys who were plowing. Mr. 
Melson retains a vivid picture of Wallace's Prince Al- 
bert coat being whipped around by the wind as he 
plowed two rows. The boys got the impression that 
he did not know how to handle the mules very well. 

One of the most delightful guests I recall was from 
the English Department of Columbia University. He 
reached the school unexpectedly to us about noon. Mr. 
Melson phoned me to add a plate for lunch. During 
the meal he and Mr. Melson were teasing Martha, age 
six, when without a word she left her chair, walked 
around and slapped her Daddy and returned to her 
seat. In his bread and butter note, this gentleman 

4 24 )> 



wrote he admired the little girl's come back, for she 
should not have been teased. 

We felt the responsibility of these young people en- 
trusted by their parents to our care very keenly, par- 
ticularly so in times of serious sickness. Through the 
intervening years it has been a source of satisfaction 
to recall that all the students felt free to come to us at 
any hour that they needed us. We were able to help 
them with their studies, to solve some of their problems 
and alleviate their minor physical ailments. The medi- 
cine cabinet was always stocked with the simpler reme- 
dies. Mr. Melson bought CC pills by the quart bottle 
 these were known to the students as soothing tablets. 
After taking one during the afternoon, Tom Rutland 
returned in a few hours suggesting that he had better 
swallow two more, since he felt worse than he did be- 
fore he took the first. 

Yes, these were thirteen busy years, years filled with 
sundry experiences. During this time we were also 
rearing our own little brood. The Lord gave us two 
of our children while at the school  little Ed and 
Frank. Little Ed remained with us only nineteen 
months, and I can never forget the thoughtfulness, 
tender sympathy and genuine grief of these girls and 
boys when the baby left us. 

Our own children seemed to have more than their 
share of contagious diseases  Martha in particular. 
Dr. Boatright, by way of consolation, told me that she 
had caught everything except itch and smallpox, and 
that I could be assured in due time she would certainly 
catch a husband. We were still in the boys' dormitory 
when she developed scarlet fever, just five days be- 

4 25 jo- 



fore school was to open in September. Something had 
to be done immediately, on account of the incoming 
students. Mr. Melson had a three-room tenant house 
in the pasture, which had been vacant for several years, 
thoroughly cleaned and white washed, and two days 
before school opened, the two small children and I 
moved to it for an eight weeks stay. I took charge of 
the sick child in one room ; Mrs. McKinney, the nurse, 
kept the three-month-old baby in another, and the 
third room was an improvised kitchen. The big job 
was to keep Martha away from the baby. This was 
a carefree period except for my constant fear of en- 
countering snakes, but even the snakes respected our 
quarantine. It was a perfect autumn, the trees glorious- 
ly beautiful, we were a mile from everybody. So dur- 
ing Martha's convalescence she was entirely unrestrain- 
ed, scattering the scarlet fever germs in her sand pile 
and under the trees with an abandon, that could not 
have been tolerated if we had been nearer civilization. 
Mr. and Mrs. Warren Meadows, Mr. and Mrs. 
Horace Stewart, Mr. and Mrs. C. K. Henderson, Mr. 
and Mrs. Wylie Creel, Mrs. Georgia Matthews, Mr. 
and Mrs. Marion Camp, the Simontons, Dr. and Mrs. 
W. L. Fitts, and many others were our cherished friends 
throughout the years. We were invited to Judge Adam- 
son's home for dinner the Christmas before his first 
wife, Mrs. Minna Reese Adamson, passed away. From 
then until we moved from the A. & M. the Judge was 
always at our home, or we were at his, for Christmas 
dinner. Charles Adamson, with his bride, came with 
his father one time, then a year or two later the Judge 

4 26 ] 



was accompanied by his own new wife, the former 
Mrs. Ellen Zellars Camp. 

Some of the outstanding teachers who, after the first 
year, contributed to the success of the school were: 
Mrs. L. J. Rozar, Messrs. R. D. Eadie, Sanders, Rast, 
T. D. Futch, L. D. Corbitt, Folk, Amos Stephens, Nor- 
man Causey, Miss Boyle, Mrs. Norris, Mrs. Katherine 
Spicer (Mrs. W. L. Fitts), Miss Margaret Joseph (Mrs. 
Charles Fitts), Gordon Robinson, Hall Carmical, Miss 
Nell Tappan, Miss Estelle Darden, Miss Annie Sue 
McKie, Miss Martha Munro (Mrs. I, S. Ingram). 

Mrs. Rozar, the embodiment of culture and refine- 
ment, wielded a wonderful influence over the student 
body. Small, delicate, dainty, she possessed an exalt- 
ed, unswerving sense of truth and right. She was 
strong in discipline, a real teacher, and she had the 
love and confidence of the entire student body. She 
was frequently shocked by the girls and boys, but 
never to such an extent but that she was ready to help 
them correct their mistakes and misdemeanors. She 
is conceded to be the mother of the District High School 
Meets. The first organization of the kind held in 
Georgia was outlined by her at Temple, where she was 
teaching, with several high schools from nearby towns 
participating. A few years later, Joe Stewart of the 
University System arranged the District High School 
Meets, which were patterned after the original one in 
Temple. 

Mr. R. D. Eadie was a natural school man. His 
greatest ambition was to instruct and lead the students 
aright. He was noted for his disciplinary methods, 

4 27> 



wise counsel and untiring efforts in and out of the 
school, that resulted in lasting good. 

Mr. L. D. Corbitt, who was with the school several 
years, was enthusiastic, strong in discipline, a splendid 
instructor and always loyal to the best interests of the 
school. He exerted a wholesome, strong moral in- 
fluence on all with whom he came in contact. 

Mr. Amos Stephens possessed a splendid personality. 
He had good ideas about practical and theoretical 
farming, and introduced many projects of worthwhile 
importance. But his concept of administering a mus- 
tard plaster was not in keeping with his knowledge of 
farming. I made a mustard plaster for Mrs. Stephens 
according to the doctor's direction. Four hours later, 
Mr. Stephens sent for me to come to their home. I 
found Lucile frantic with pain from a blistered chest, 
with Amos sitting by the bed holding the plaster on 
her by main force. 

Mrs. Katherine Spicer, who later became Mrs. W. 
L. Fitts, was the acme of efficiency in training the girls 
along the aesthetic lines as well as practical. All of 
her girls possess distinctive poise and skill acquired 
from her training. Dr. Fitts was a real friend to the 
school. He never presented a bill for service rendered 
to a worthy but needy student, and it was never too 
cold, nor too late at night for him to come when his 
services were needed. 

In 1919 Miss Martha Munro brought youth, beauty 
and brilliance to the faculty. She was at the A. & M. 
one year before Mr. Melson and I left, so she is the 
connecting link between the old and the new regime. 
In 1921 she became the bride of Dr. I. S. Ingram, who 

4*s> 



succeeded Mr. Melson as principal of the school. Her 
intellect, boundless energy and splendid executive 
ability have been of inestimable value to her dis- 
tinguished husband in developing the school into the 
outstanding college that it is today. 

More than two thousand students, representing sev- 
eral states and two foreign countries, matriculated dur- 
ing these thirteen years. Some two hundred of them 
completed the four-year course and graduated. To- 
day, many of Georgia's and America's most substantial 
citizens hold diplomas from this school. The girls and 
boys, fine, straightforward, clean, brave, are scatter- 
ed from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Canada to 
the Gulf, and some are in foreign countries, but all are 
acting well their parts. With Mr. Melson and me all 
their shortcomings lie behind in the distant years. 
Wherever they are, and whatever may be their lot or 
station in life, God's blessings upon them, for they are 
still our girls and boys. 

"You may break, you may shatter 
The vase if you will 
But the scent of the roses 
Will hang round it still." 



4 29 fr 



IV" ATE MARTIN was ill when the regular examina- 
* ^ tions were given and took hers later. She failed 
on the first one in English and asked to be given a 
second trial. After a few days she reported herself 
ready. At the end of this paper she wrote : "Dear 
Mrs. Rozar  I hope my paper will pass this time, I 
certainly have done my darndest." I was really shock- 
ed at her slang. When I asked why she had written 
such a note she replied: "Miss Miller has been reading 
'The Lady of the Decoration' to our sewing class, and 
I was only quoting from that. Surely it is all right for 
me to use the words of a missionary." 

I had not read the "Lady of the Decoration" then, 
it was just off the press, but I did read it right away. 
I could see her point. She passed. 

Boys of 14-16 years, as you know, usually do not 
enjoy history. One of my students I remember well 
but cannot recall his name now, I think his nickname 
was "Horse," did very poor work in European his- 
tory at first. Later his interest grew until he did good 
work. He went to the World War and sent me picture 
cards of interesting places. Sometimes he would write 
on them, "I remember when you told us about this 
place in our history class." An experience like this 
is always encouraging to a teacher. 

As a rule, the students came from country schools 
where they had had very poor training in English. 
They found the work at A. & M. very difficult. Some 
absolutely refused to hand in their written work. I 

4 30 }> 



told them I would give them any help they needed, or 
would ask for, but they must do their written work. 
The penalty for not doing it any one day would be 
five hours extra field work. 

They responded nobly to this. My sitting room at 
night until the first retiring bell was rung was filled 
with boys. Every seat would be occupied, and it was 
difficult to move about the room without stepping 
over the legs of boys sitting on the floor. They kept 
this up until the work became easier for them. It was 
a rare evening when I did not have a group with me. 
I did my work with many interruptions, while they 
did theirs, and we all learned to like it. 

JOSEPHINE ROZAR, 
(Mrs. L. J.) 
Milledgeville, Ga. 



SURPRISED 

At noon one day, Miss Munro carrying a dozen note 
books on her outstretched forearms was on her way 
to meet a class. As she reached the front steps of the 
Academic Building, Ardy Chambers got up from a 
buttress, walked towards her, placed his mechanical 
drawing board between her and the books, and asked 
her to look at his drawing. She admired it and started 
up the steps. 

As Chambers withdrew the board, Miss Munro saw 
a hand holding a half dozen rats by their tails ready to 
drop the squirming, squeaking, loathesome varmints 
into the large pocket in the front of her skirt. 

Her mind went blank, and the next thing she knew 

f 31 }> 



she sat quivering at her desk, trying to regain her com- 
posure before the bell rang for the next class. 

The boys and girls tiptoed into the room. In a 
deathlike stillness, the afternoon classes dragged to a 
close. 

All through the night, she tried to recall what took 
place after she saw the clawing creatures that threw 
her into a state of terror. 

Miss Munro liked the students and she thought they 
liked her. As the night dragged towards day, she de- 
cided that the deed was not intended to be a malicious 
one. Nevertheless, it had been a serious disaster for 
her. She resolved to end the issue. 

At the end of chapel the following morning, Mr. 
Melson called for announcments. Miss Munro asked 
for the boys to remain in the auditorium at the close 
of the period ; she wished to speak to them. The girls 
and teachers passed out. Mr. Melson had no knowl- 
edge of the episode, and remained out of curiosity. 

Miss Munro rose to her feet. There was not a sound 
to break the quiet. She glanced around, looked the 
boys straight in their eyes, then spoke. She told them 
she was not a coward but that she had a great aversion 
for mice and rats. In the past she had had no control 
over that feeling. Her relationship with boys had al- 
ways been amiable and frank and she expected that 
relationship to continue. She was sorry that southern 
chivalry at the Fourth District Agricultural and Me- 
chanical School was on the wane. If a boy's idea of fun 
was to see a southern woman cringe in terror at the 
sight of rats, a sad era had dawned. She told them 
that she would be constantly on guard against further 



shocks and would exert every ounce of self-control that 
she possessed to keep from affording some uncouth 
youth the pleasure of seeing her flinch. She had always 
treated them with courtesy and she would expect thern 
to give her the same consideration. Then she dismissed 
them. 

Mrs. Melson said Miss Munro was never the same 
after the experience with the mice. From that chapel 
period to the close of school, the boys were conspicu- 
ously courteous. 

In the spring of 1920, Miss Munro found nothing 
funny in this story. In the spring of 1941, she recalled 
the episode with a great deal of amusement. 

MARTHA MUNRO INGRAM, 
(Mrs. I. S.) 
Carrollton, Ga. 



One day at the opening of a Fall Term of the A. 
& M. School a tall gangling boy halted at the entrance 
steps of the Administrative Building and sent a demand 
in for the Superintendent to come to the door. The 
boy was dusty, dishevelled, and visibly weary, his pain- 
ful condition amply explained by the presence of a 
husky and plunging young steer at the end of a tether- 
rope, though the animal had certainly been a little 
"gentled" by its long trek from the farther end of the 
county. In the presence of the spectators who quickly 
assembled, the boy explained to the amused but sym- 
pathetic Superintendent, 'Tm John Doe, f'um Jake, 
come to enter this school. I hain't got money ter pay 
fer all my eddication jist now en' till I gits some, I'll 

f 33 ]- 



larn up this steer." According to the story he was 
welcomed, told to put the steer in the barn and feed 
and water it, and report to the office. 

The school really did take the steer on account, the 
boy made good, and today owns a well-conducted farm 
of his own, is head of a family and a valued citizen. 

The English class was reading "The Deserted Vil- 
lage." At the line, "The swain responsive to the milk- 
maid's song," the teacher interrupted the reading to 
ask, "And what is a 'swain/ Jerry?" And Jerry, fresh 
from farm life, confidently replied, "a cow." 

The "dig-up-a-stump" punishment. 

These stumps were leftovers in the cleared road 
which led from the country highway up to the front 
entrances of the newly built school. Any boy student 
who was guilty of a somewhat grave breach of dis- 
cipline, received the prompt sentence, "Go dig up a 
stump." Never was stern justice so dreaded or so pro- 
ductive of better behavior. Until Jason came along, 
the indulgent rule was, "Take any stump in the road." 
Jason, country-bred and accustomed to clearing up 
newground, walked up and down the road many times 
and pondered long before selecting his stump. To a 
casual onlooker passing by, his selection seemed un- 
necessarily large, particularly as two much smaller 
stumps were in the immediate neighborhood. But a 
comment calling Jason's attention to this fact brought 
the brief but expert and enlightening explanation, 
"Them's hickory stumps." 

Mr. L. C. Mandeville, of Carrollton, felt such high 
regard for the A. & M. School that his sons and daugh- 
ters constantly referred to the school as "Dad's fav- 

4 34 )* 



orite child." Mr. Mandeville had a permanent camp 
on his large home-place in town and often entertained 
groups of students at meals or evening parties. Once 
a student of grave and bookish character happened to 
be guest at supper, after which some fifty boys and 
girls were to come to a wiener-roast. As the chatter- 
ing, laughing crowd came down the hill in the moon- 
light, young Mr. Gravity at the camp fire turned to his 
host with the warning, "The Philistines be upon thee, 
Samson!" 

NELL MANDEVILLE HENDERSON, 
(Mrs. C. K.) 
Carrollton, Ga. 



Most of my experiences at the A. & M. were lu- 
dicrous. But the one important lesson I learned from 
Mr. Melson was that teachers are really human, and 
generally have the student's interest at heart. 

In launching the Carrollton A. & M. School, Mr. 
Melson enlisted ten or fifteen Carrollton boys, myself 
included, to clear the grounds. We cut trees and 
leveled hills. Then we built fences, barns, etc. We 
helped in the construction of one of the early buildings, 
and my back still aches from pushing wheelbarrow 
loads of brick. 

During my first year and a half at the school, I made 
life miserable for Mr. Melson. On one occasion I 
sneaked off to the woods to smoke a cigarette, but Mr. 
Melson's eagle eye, ever on the alert for his "public 
enemy number one" had followed me, so I was caught 

4 35 > 



red-handed. Thereby I became the first man ever to 
be expelled from the A. & M. 

My father, T. C. Bledsoe, of Carrollton, was hu- 
miliated beyond expression. That night he went out 
to see Mr. Melson and pled for my reinstatement. Mr. 
Melson took me back after a promise from my father 
of complete cooperation with him. (That cooperation 
between the two consisting primarily of old fashioned 
thrashings for me.) 

On one occasion Mr. Melson and I were standing side 
by side at the blackboard, when a piece of crayon whiz- 
zed between us. Forgetting my close proximity, Mr. 
Melson whirled around and spent two full minutes 
trying to locate Harry Bledsoe. The class roared. Her- 
man Vaughn had thrown the chalk. 

HARRY BLEDSOE, 
Atlanta, Ga. 



It is a common experience with all of us that our 
memory dims with the passing of time, but the days 
spent at the old A. & M. School are stamped indelibly 
on the memories of the students who attended this fine 
institution while Professor J. H. Melson was head of it. 

The experiences of the world may have taught other 
people other things in other ways, but they have taught 
the students and graduates of old A. & M. School what 
it is we can do well and effectively under our system 
of government. We are thankful for the privilege of 
living in one of the finest states in the country and for 
having attended the old Fourth District A. & M. 
School. 



i wonder- 
how Howard Bennett ever became a "mail" man 
when he was such a sissy in school. . . 

Why Harvey Tysinger ever became Prosecuting At- 
torney when he was always defending people at the 
A. & M. School. . . 

How J. D. Dukes could chew a whole plug of to- 
bacco at one time while in class  and get by with 
it. . . 

Why Oren Warren left Uncle Sam's employ as Post- 
master at Genola, Georgia, to go into the music busi- 
ness in Atlanta. . . 

Why William Dunn selected the A. & M. School 
when he knew nothing about farming whatsoever. . . 

Why Zeb Nutt had to visit everybody's room dur- 
ing the night to see if they were on the campus. . . 

Why Charlie Hall ever entered the cotton mill busi- 
ness when he was so crazy about farming while at 
school. . . 

If the 25 cows I milked still give the same amount 
of milk as they did when I was at the A. & M. 
School. . . 

How Henry Daniel ever got to be Superintendent of 
Schools in Heard County when he spent his vacations 
selling cook stoves. . . 

How Marshall Hughes ever got to classes in the 
morning when he would stay up and study all 
night. . . 

If Doc Mickle has that same red hair he had in 
school. . . 

If Dolly Craven is married and who the lucky fellow 
was. . . 

4 37 fa 



If Dewey Jones still runs the country store near Flat 
Rock Camp Ground. . . 

If Harvey Hallum is such a high powered drug sales- 
man because he was spanked and tossed over a six- 
foot fence after boasting he could whip any boy in 
school. . . 

If Professor Robinson ever thought of anything else 
except farming. . . 

If Professor Corbett still has the leather strap with 
which he doctored the boys. . . 

If Nellie Trammell can still cook good biscuits. . . 

If the furnace at the A. & M. School is still out of 
order during cold weather. . . 

How Professor and Mrs. Melson ever got any rest, 
inasmuch as the students were constant visitors in their 
home. . . 

Why the state ever discontinued the A. & M. Schools 
of Georgia, as in my opinion they were a real asset to 
the State. . . 

Why the citizens of Georgia have not elected an A. 
& M. boy from Georgia for Governor, instead of a 
Young Harris boy from Arkansas. . . 

FRANK R. FLING, 
Atlanta, Ga. 



Time: 1920 

Highpocket matriculated at the A. & M. at the mid- 
dle of the school term. His extreme gullibility was 
immediately discovered by the veterans in the dormi- 
tory. He was informed that the dormitory superin- 
tendent or disciplinarian, whose orders he must surely 

4 38 }> 



obey and for whom he must show the highest respect, 
was Andy Chambers, who, in reality was one of the 
older boys in his own class. The real dormitory sup- 
erintendent was a young instructor named Sanders, 
just out of Clemson College, who was actually younger 
than Chambers and two or three other boys in the 
class. Chambers enjoyed for twenty-four hours the 
complete awe and respect of the new-comer who ad- 
dressed him as "Mister" and " 'Fessor" to the full 
enjoyment of the student pranksters. Highpocket was 
cautioned about "a young upstart named Sanders" who 
would most likely pose as a teacher and try to order 
him around." 

The day after Highpocket's arrival, Professor San- 
ders took the class out to prune apple trees. As he 
gave his instructions to Highpocket, the young agrar- 
ian drew himself up to his full six feet and said: 
"Now you look-a-here ; you little sawed-off runt, who 
in the h~l do you think you are anyway? I'm on to 
you and you're not going to make a fool out of me even 
if I am a freshman. Why, I'll wear you out with one 
of these here apple trees!" 

Time: Spring, 1920. 

When Highpocket was found breaking into the din- 
ing hall and taking large quantities of food (a whole 
round of cheese was found hidden under the dormi- 
tory) he was brought before a faculty committee and 
expelled from school. As the story was related to me 
by Mr. Sanders, Highpocket plead his case with much 
eloquence. He said that his long-planned career as a 
lawyer would be sabotaged, and that his grandmother 
would be heart-broken. He cautioned Prof. Melson 

4 39 ^ 



that he might some day meet him again when he, High- 
pocket, would be the state's attorney and the profes- 
sor would be the defendant. To this Professor Melson 
observed: "Yes, you ought to make a good solicitor. 
They tell me it takes a crook to catch a crook." High- 
pocket's quick reply was, "Right! You-all shore caught 
me in a hurry!" 

J. C. BONNER, 
Carrollton, Ga. 



In September, 1908, I left my home in Luthersville, 
Georgia, for the long journey of thirty-five miles to 
enter the A. & M. School at Carrollton, Georgia. I 
was met at the depot by Haygood Robertson, who was 
dressed in overalls and one of the highest standing 
collars I have ever seen. He was freely stained with 
new-mown hay, as he had just left the hay fields. He 
was driving old "Crap" to a one-horse wagon. We 
loaded my trunk which had been bought for the sole 
purpose of getting me off to school in good style. We 
rode out to the school seated on the trunk. On reach- 
ing the campus the going was rough as we had to dodge 
the stump holes, left by boys who had paid the penalty 
of misbehavior. I soon found all the stumps had not 
been dug, as I made a right good hand for that par- 
ticular job myself. 

Mr. Melson's cordial welcome was, "Well, well, 
we're glad to have you with us," but I was already be- 
ginning to think that the old farm at home would look 
mighty good to me. In a few days I got adjusted, and 
took my place among the other students. My first 

4 40 fr 



job was to help clean up some new ground, and this 
made me feel more at home. The farm was operated 
by the boys with an agricultural teacher and Mr. Mel- 
son as head man. I shall never forget the day Mr. 
Melson and I were plowing. When the bell rang for 
dinner, Mr. Melson got on old "Crap," who evidently 
preferred for him to lead her, for she threw him, and 
it was quite a show to see his long legs and arms in the 
air. The most amusing part of the scene was when he 
hit the ground and looked at me and said, "Well, well, 
Culpepper, why do you laugh at me?" 

Evidently I made a good "pot-wrestler" since I drew 
this assignment frequently. I recall what Charlie Ball, 
the cook, said when dinner was running a little late, 
and we did not have anything but wet stovewood, 
which he had sent me out to get. He looked at it and 
said, "That wood would not burn in hell with a blow 
pipe on it." I really enjoyed serving on the kitchen 
committee for we had the run of all the good things 
to eat. I also enjoyed building fires for Miss Miller, 
the home economics teacher, and otherwise helping 
her and her girls with their work, for they always 
shared the things they cooked with me. I have always 
liked to believe I was one of Miss Miller's pets. 

I finished at the school in 1910 with six boys and 
two girls in the class. When I left I came nearer cry- 
ing than I did the day I left home, for we were just like 
one big family. Some of my happiest days were spent 
at the A. & M., and numbered among my most cherish- 
ed friends are those made while there. Whatever suc- 
cess I have made, or yet may attain, in my chosen 

^41 }> 



field, I attribute largely to the inspiration I received 
at the old Fourth District A. & M. School. 

BOOZER CULPEPPER, 

Tifton, Ga. 



Many things that occurred to me during my near two 
terms at the A. & M. School at Carrollton, Georgia, 
are pleasant memories, but we experienced hardships 
also. For instance, I milked four cows for my board, 
and two of these were the worse kickers I ever saw. 
There were always two or more calves to contend with. 
Prof. Melson thought more of the calves than he did 
of me, for he just would not get rid of them. 

The incident that stands out more vividly than any 
other was the afternoon that Prof. Melson came to the 
classroom and informed Mrs. Rozar and me that I 
would have to go to the field and run a combination 
cotton planter and fertilizer distributor  a job he had 
been trying to get Robert Fitts and John Darden to 
do. Robert Fitts was one of Carrollton's red, bushy 
headed sons, and John Darden was from Hogansville. 
Prof. Melson seemed to think I was the only boy in 
school capable of performing the above mentioned 
job satisfactorily (bragging on myself). He directed 
me to the field where these two boys and several other 
city fellows were supposed to have broken up the 
ground, and then to have bedded it for cotton rows. 
This was the worst job I ever tackled. It was an old 
field that had not been cultivated for several years, 
covered with broom sedge and ditches, and I could not 
find the rows these boys were supposed to have made. 

4 42 > 



I did the best I could at planting this ground, but have 
often wondered about that crop. 

Mrs. Rozar was more disgusted than I, because I 
had to leave the classroom. She had been putting me 
on the spot about my English. I persisted in saying 
"I have saw" and "I seen," in spite of all she could 
do or say,  and she could say plenty! Her keen black 
eyes could say more than I cared to hear. She could 
make a big boy, and I happened to be fully grown at 
that time, feel about the size of a small Georgia pea- 
nut. 

Hard knocks, such as the above, were worth more 
to me than all the books we had to study. An alibi 
never got me anywhere. I had to deliver the goods  
thanks to Prof. Melson, Mrs. Rozar, Prof. Eadie and 
the good old A. & M. way of doing things. 

SIDNEY HALLUM, 
Rockingham, N. C. 



The request of February 10th was the key which un- 
locked a chest full of memories. They were so many 
and so varied as to make it extremely difficult to select 
one. They were all unforgettable, mostly pleasant, 
and every one tinted with nostalgia. 

Perhaps the single episode which is most indelibly 
impressed on my mind was the two-way debate we held 
with the Carrollton High School in the series of district 
contests. The subject of the debate was, "Resolved, 
That Muncipalities Should Own and Operate Plants for 
the Production of Light, Water and Transportation." 
The Carrollton High School team on the negative came 

4 43 fr 



out to the A. & M. Our negative team was debating 
at the Carrollton High School at the same time. 

During my speech I used the service of the electric 
light company in Carrollton as a shining example of 
the efficiency of privately owned public utilities. I 
pointed out the low rates, the dependable service and 
the total lack of interruptions to the service which we 
enjoyed. I had worked this point up to a climax  
and I do not yet know whether it was planned by our 
ingenious opponents  but the fact is that at that point 
every light in the building went out. As long as the 
lights stayed out, people kept laughing, so that I stood 
in total darkness on the platform for quite a long time 
with the house in an uproar of mirth at my discom- 
forture. 

Finally, after what seemed years, the lights came 
on, which gave me an opportunity to point out the very 
prompt service the private utility was giving in restor- 
ing service, whereas a municipally owned plant would 
probably have required a meeting of the council. 

It is interesting to recall that we won the negative 
side of the debate at the High School that night while 
our colleagues out at the A. & M. were winning their 
debate on the affirmative side. 

MAYBERRY (Berry) ROZAR, 
Macon, Ga. 



On a Saturday morning about ten-thirty when I had 
just finished the weekly cleaning of my room in the 
old girl's dormitory (now the home of Dean Gunn) I 
heard someone calling "Bill, Bill." Just across the 

4 44 fc 



yard in the Melson kitchen window I saw the heads 
of Holland Melson and Harvey Hallum. They called 
to me to come up if I wanted some cake. (What A. 
& M. boy or girl didn't?) Now I knew Mrs. Melson 
had guests for dinner the evening before and I sup- 
posed Holland and Harvey were disposing of the rem- 
nants of the meal. So I rushed up there not knowing 
there were no remnants. 

Mrs. Melson had heard the boys call and she knew 
they were planning to play a prank. So she met me at 
the front door with her finger to her lips sh-h-h-ing me. 
Aloud she said, "Bill, I'm so glad you came. I am pre- 
paring to sample the cake I have baked for tomorrow 
(one the boys knew nothing about) and I want you to 
have a piece." Pulling one of her fine cakes out of 
the cabinet she proceeded to cut out two big hunks, 
one for herself and one for me. By this time Harvey 
and Holland had reached the dining room door. They 
looked on in surprise while we ate the cake. Seeing 
the joke was on them, they turned and retreated. I 
followed to thank them for the treat. 

LILY (Bill) WARREN DIGBY, 

(Mrs. W. M.) 

Carrollton, Ga. 



One character at the A. & M. whom I shall always 
remember was "Sugarfoot" Gaffney. I had the pleas- 
ure of playing opposite him in a performance at the 
auditorium. He was a natural comedian and dancer. 
I remember the time some lecturers on agriculture and 
insects came to talk to us. After they had lectured us 

4 45 fr 



nearly to death about the boll weevil and other pests, 
one of them jumped up and offered to wager a dollar 
that he could out dance any guy in the room. His 
wager was covered a dozen times, when the supporters 
of "Sugarfoot" rallied and put their idol on the stage. 
Now "Sugarfoot" was a bit timid, and when his chal- 
lenger told him he would have to show his wares first, 
he almost backed down, but his backers cheered him 
on. I have never seen such a bit of foot shufflings, 
body swinging and buck dancing in my life. He start- 
ed with his favorite cake walk, and ended with his 
elbows, knees and toes all dancing at the same time. 
His challenger backed completely down and congratu- 
lated him. I believe this was the beginning of "Sugar- 
foot's" career on the stage, that ended in his untimely 
death. 

I Recall 

1. The time that Homer Borders whipped the wash- 
er-woman because she called him a lie. Now Homer 
was a regular fellow, but I don't remember anyone 
who ever called him a lie and got away with it. 

2. Ralph Satterwhite slipping off to town to take 
his girl to the carnival. When he could not get by Mr. 
Eadie in the hall he scaled the wall on some plow 
lines with which he and his roommate roped their 
trunks, with the result that both hands were blistered. 

3. The time the Quillian boys had to make a run 
home when they made boasts to the A. & M. boys 
about beating their time with the A. & M. girls. 

4. When Ross McLendon's mother brought some 

4 46 * 



honey and whiskey for Ross' cold, and how many 
friends he had for a day or two. 

5. What a wonderful doctor Prof. Melson was. He 
cured many cases of serious sickness by rattling a 
bottle of nasty brown pills as he walked up and down 
the halls. 

6. How we beat Carrollton in three straight games 
of ball and never lost a game the whole season. 

7. How Mr. Sanders (the Ag man) would make the 
boys work off their fines for infringement of the rules. 
Also how two prominent students had to cut down 
the big pine tree in front of the dormitory amid the 
cheers and jeers of the other fellows. These city chaps 
had never cut a tree before, and they blistered their 
hands, but Mrs. Melson applied first aid and encourag- 
ed them. After a day or two the old tree toppled over 
with a crash and a mighty yell from the boys. 

8. How we would steal butter, sugar, and milk to 
make fudge in our rooms. 

9. When Deronda Sheppard borrowed Mrs. Melson's 
electric iron supposedly to press his trousers, and a 
bunch of boys, by inverting the iron, fried eggs upon it. 

10. When we were on the road to Bowdon for a 
ball game in a hay wagon, how we overtook a farmer 
with a guano distributor on his shoulder. When one 
of the boys asked him what the contraption on his 
shoulder was, he replied, "this is a manure strewer, 
jump in," as he placed the machine on the ground. 

I could relate such fun as this on and on, but I want 
to add it was not all fun. We did lots of work, mental 
and physical, under such instructors as Mr. Eadie, Mrs. 

4 47 fr 



Rozar, Mr. Folk, Mr. Sanders, and also received much 
good advice from Mr. Melson. 

THEODORE C. FLOYD, 

Senoia, Ga. 



So many interesting things happened to me at the 
A. & M., it is hard to place any particular one first. 

I distinctly remember milking one of the cows, and 
straining the milk through a handkerchief, in the boiler 
room before making hot chocolate with it. Thomas, 
Tolbert, McCoy, Florence were members of this gang. 

The parties over at the girls' dormitory when we 
played, "If you can't get a red, a blue bird will do," 
will always be quite vivid in my memory. 

Also I recall, when a grave caved in between the 
dormitory and the dining room, that we dug up the 
skeleton and hid the bones in our room. Thereafter, 
Uncle Bob, the cook, fought shy of that end of the 
dormitory. 

CLIFFORD Y. STEPHENS, 
Washington, D. C. 



I can boast, without fear of refutation, that no other 
A. & M. boy made as many trips to town as I did dur- 
ing my four years stay. If Prof. Melson caught me I 
would tell him Prof. Corbitt sent me ; if Prof. Corbitt 
caught me I would tell him Prof. Melson had given 
me permission to go. 

Brenner Dunn, a tenderly nurtured youth from At- 
lanta, was accompanied by his mother when he entered 

4 48 }- 



school. The boys all began to take off their belts and 
yell "Fresh meat." It frightened Brenner so that he 
started to leave school, but I took charge of him, and 
would not allow any of the boys to haze him. From 
then on, "Sweet Boy," as we called him, became the 
best friend I ever had. 

While riding with a bunch of Carrollton girls one 
Sunday afternoon, we ran over a chicken. A little 
later Mrs. Melson caught me in her kitchen frying the 
chicken. 

The teachers said my red head, freckled face and 
good nature got me out of many a tight spot. 

TOM RUTLAND, 
LaGrange, Ga. 



I think it was during the winter of 1915 when it 
rained, sleeted, froze and the thermometer dropped 
to zero. Paul Miller (wonder where he is now) and 
I were roommates. Wanting some ice cream, we de- 
cided upon the following: Paul went to the kitchen, 
bribed Uncle Bob (the colored cook) to give him sugar 
and flavoring. I took a pitcher to the dairy and robbed 
old bossy of a quart of milk. Believe me that was a 
dish fit for a king! 

Walking into the woodshop one day with a five- 
gallon can to get gas for the silage engine, I strolled 
with a lazy stride to the one-cylinder motor in the cen- 
ter of the room, shouting at the top of my voice, "I 
want some gas-O-line." I picked up the can and shook 
it violent^, and said in a loud voice, "As dry as H  
with the blower on." Just as I said this I saw Prof. 

4 49 )- 



Melson at the vise next to the door, through which 
I had just passed, making an axe handle. I fell to 
the floor just behind a ledge of cement to hide, and 
after some few minutes, sneaked out the back door on 
the other side of the shop. Prof. Melson never men- 
tioned the incident to me. This was the only whip- 
ping I received while at A. & M. 

My greatest joy while there was at the beginning of 
the fall term of 1917. J. D. Dukes and I had been 
roommates the previous year, and had made great 
plans for the next fall, but during our summer cor- 
respondence he unexpectedly informed me that he 
would be unable to attend school any more. I made 
ardent pleas for his return in every letter, and was 
bitterly disappointed upon reaching the school not to 
find him. I moped around for a whole day. Still in 
this mood, the next morning, from my upstairs window 
I watched the incoming Freshmen. To my amazement 
whom should I see but my old buddy, Dukes, suitcase in 
hand and a grin on his face. I jumped up like I had 
been shot, and fell most of the way down the stairs. 
When we met in front of the boys' dormitory, we stag- 
ed a hugging scene for the benefit of all the Freshmen. 
Today, I do not know where my diploma is, neither 
could I prove that when one straight line intersects 
another straight line, the opposite angles are equal, 
but the imprint made by those teachers, who possessed 
such sincere Christian characters, will live in my heart 
for life. 

N. HOWARD BENNETT, 

LaGrange, Ga. 

4 50 };> 



V c 



mv, 



When I think of A. & M. so many memories come 
crowding back that it is difficult to single out any one 
of them. I think the first thing that comes to mind 
are the contests we used to have, for essay writing, 
oratory, spelling, et cetera. I remember I won a gold 
medal for an essay on Silas Marner. Heaven only 
knows where it is now! Just thinking of it I can ex- 
perience again the near-suffocation of the few minutes 
before "going into my selection" in the oratorical, and 
I remember going down in the spelling bee on the 
word "shovel." 

And speaking of the contests, there were also the 
athletic events. Just shut my eyes and I see Fred Hal- 
lum soaring like a bird into the air to win for A. & M. 
in the high jump. 

In domestic science I remember we had a teacher 
from Ohio (I forget her name) but it was from her 
that I first heard of anyone eating pie for breakfast! 
Another peculiar thing she tried to teach us in the 
warm South was the intricate and tedious making of 
puff paste. At the time we tried it, the weather was 
not cold enough to keep the paste stiff, and in those 
days, you remember, we had no adequate refrigeration. 
I recall she also said "never use pink with red;" yet 
today in decoration we do it and when handled skill- 
fully the effect is excellent. These comments don't 
mean that I didn't like her, for I did, and I admired 
her practical way of looking at many household prob- 
lems. 

Now Mrs. Spicer was quite different. It was she who 
said "an hour a day is not any too long to spend on 

<{ 51 *> 

WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE LIBRAE 
GARROLLTON, GEORGIA 



your toilet." I am afraid she started me on a bad 
habit! 

Then there was Mr. Sparkman who was able to make 
physics interesting, and dear Mrs. Rozar. I often think 
of her and marvel at her ability to appear so regal in 
spite of her tiny size. I suppose it was the erectness 
of her carriage and the way she piled her hair high 
in a queenly fashion! 

Now that I am away up North I can remember with 
a queer nostalgia the early coming of Spring  the soft- 
ness that crept into the air, the indefinable odor of 
new grass and bursting buds. Spring comes to a city, 
it is true, but with a laggard gait and with so much 
stress that somehow one's spirit never gets the lift 
that accompanied the season at A. & M. 

I remember how I loved the few times I was allow- 
ed to "board." How just being in the dormitory made 
me feel like a different person from the one who lived 
at home. Tied in closely with these times is the mem- 
ory of old Charlie Ball in his huge kitchen with the 
biggest range I have ever seen; and how that call of 
"cat-heads" came as a climax to many a happy day! 

ALVA LOWREY, 
Chicago, 111. 



I recall delightfully our visits to the Carrollton A. 
& M. School. I particularly remember an occasion 
when our daughter, Emily, about seven years of age, 
was honored by the privilege of presenting the sweet 
girl graduates with flowers. When she reached the 
stage, a bit confused, she could not remember "who," 



and called in a very distressed tone of voice, "Which 
one, Mama?" 

Mr. Melson often speaks of Thomas Edward's ex- 
perience with the yellow-jacket. He was playing on 
the school campus, and held out his finger for what he 
thought was a Minnie bug, to light upon it. Instead he 
was stung by a yellow-jacket. The surprised child, in 
a manly way, pressed his lips without showing the 
slightest pain or emotion, demonstrating the same 
bravery and fortitude that characterized his later 
years. 

CLARA ZELLARS, 
(Mrs. T. M.) 
Grantville, Ga. 



THE McINTOSH MEMORIAL 

To the many people who drive into the West Georgia 
College campus, the monument-like stone protruding 
above the green carpet of grass to the right of the 
main entrance, is just another marker. Some stop to 
read the inscription. Others pass it by unnoticed. To 
Horace Shinn, Howell Robinson, and me, this old rock 
holds fond and unforgettable memories. 

Horace, Howell and I were roommates in 1916, the 
year that the girls' dormitory was finished. Accord- 
ing to instructions from Prof. Melson, we three boys 
early one morning, at four o'clock to be exact, hitched 
Old Gray and Crap to the wagon and drove toward 
the Mcintosh Reserve, three miles east of Whitesburg. 
Here we were to get a large piece of granite with hewn 

4. 53 fr 



steps, that was used long ago by the white friends of 
the Indians when mounting a horse. This was to serve 
as a cornerstone of the new dormitory. We left with- 
out breakfast, sleepy eyed and chilled, but Mr. and 
Mrs. Melson with Mr. J. J. Thomasson overtook us 
later in their Ford, bringing us food. 

We reached the reservation about noon. It was some 
job to load the stone on the wagon. We got back to 
the school about nine o'clock that night, starved and 
tired. This horse block may hold a definite spot in the 
memory of the many people who took part in the 
exercises of laying the cornerstone and dedicating the 
new dormitory in 1916; also of those who moved it 
from the corner of the dormitory to its present location 
on the college campus, but I believe Howell, Horace 
and I have a more feeling and more abiding recollec- 
tion of it than anyone else may hold. 

LEE H. BARR, 

Tyus, Ga. 



The thing I remember most about the A. & M. is 
this : One year my hay fever got so bad that Mr. Melson 
thought I should sleep in the open. He secured a nice 
large tent from some man in Carrollton. I put it up back 
of the boys' dormitory in the grove. It was floored, 
had an electric light, and equipped with a double bed. 
It was really nice, and such a fine experience for any- 
one who had never slept in a tent. The news spread, 
and all the boys wanted to share my tent one night at 
least. A boy would meet me on the campus and say, 
"How about sleeping with you tonight?" When told 

4 54 ) 



I was dated up until Friday night, he would tell me 
to hold Friday night for him. It was fun having a new 
bedfellow every night, and enabled me to make friends 
with many of the boys. 

BRADLEY HALLUM, 
Dayton, Ohio. 



The most impressive memory I hold of the old A. 
& M. School is digging up tree stumps on the campus. 
This special work was reserved for transgressors. Af- 
ter getting our assignments, the Hay boys, the Burson 
boys and I tried to see which one of us could do the 
least on the job. One afternoon when Prof. Melson 
had worked Uke Hay and me unusually hard, we seiz- 
ed the first opportunity and ran away. The next day 
Prof. Melson said nothing about it, but on the follow- 
ing Friday he informed Uke and me that we could 
work all Saturday digging up the remainder of the 
stumps. The beautiful rolling campus today is there- 
fore really the result of my handiwork, and I want to 
be given full credit for it. 

ERNIE ADAMSON, 

New York. 



Upon our return to school after Christmas holidays 
in 1916 we found the dining hall and kitchen, with 
mechanical shop and heating plant in the basement, 
had been considerably damaged by fire. Since I was 
custodian or fireman of the heating plant, I began im- 
mediately to get the old boiler in working shape. As 

4 55 fa 



a result of the fire several barrels of syrup (long sweet- 
ening) in a viscous, semi-candy mass had spread over 
the basement floor. I had been working some time 
under the boiler, and as I was crawling out the furnace 
door, smeared from head to foot with smut and syrup, 
all of a sudden appeared Prof. Melson, with Mr. L. C. 
Mandeville and several ladies, who had come to view 
the havoc of the fire. Mr. Melson said to me, "Well, 
well, Judge, get up and meet these people. " After 
scrambling around on the floor, I got to my feet, and 
he introduced me to some of the most distinguished 
people of the town, who were very good friends of 
the A. & M. My embarrassment may be imagined, as 
I was never less presentable. 

On a cold wintry Saturday night in January, 1917, 
as I was trying in vain to solve some algebra problems, 
seated in front of the boiler in the basement under the 
kitchen, I was disturbed by a knock on the door. As 
I opened it one John Sherman, better known as "Slats," 
entered with an old rusty bucket. Speaking barely 
above a whisper he said, "Whiskey, we want to make 
some hot chocolate, and need some milk. If you will 
help get it, we will divide with you." We proceeded to 
the big dairy barn, but as it was so soon after milking 
time, there was not much milk to be had. "Slats" would 
catch and hold the cows while I did the milking. Of 
course it was as dark as pitch in the barn  no flash- 
lights in those days  and "Slats" could not tell which 
cow he was catching. After trying eight, and getting 
about two cups of milk, "Slats" caught the old short 
horn bull, which promptly tossed him across the barn, 
informing him in no gentle terms that he was the wrong 

4 56 f> 



cow. When "Slats" regained consciousness, he said, 
"Whiskey, to hell with the chocolate. We will drink 
water." 

HOWELL (Whiskey) ROBINSON, 

Carrollton, Ga. 

* * * * 

I cannot think of the old A. & M. without recalling 
how Mr. Melson would pat me on the shoulder and 
say, "Well, well, darling, you're the best looking girl 
in the school, except all the rest of them. I wouldn't 
take a million dollars for you, and I wouldn't give two 
cents for another just like you." 

I especially remember being shut in for a week with 
measles. Due to the fact that my mother had never 
had measles, there were no visits from home people. 
After the usual session with hot lemonades and teas, 
I fared fine with poached eggs, toast, boiled custard, 
and other good things to eat. And I had the satisfac- 
tion of knowing my mother did not get the measles 
from me. 

ETHEL NIXON ROBINSON, 
(Mrs. Howell) 
Carrollton, Ga. 

* * * * 

Grover Turner went home one Friday and came back 
Sunday afternoon. As was the custom of all boys re- 
turning from home, he brought back food, which 
seemed better than school rations. It was a dark, 
cloudy Sunday, and he invited Earl Alman, Zeb Nutt 
and me to his room to partake of delectable viands, say- 
ing he would call us when everything was ready. When 

4 57 fr 



we entered the room, we found the shades down (to 
keep other boys from seeing us and intruding). The 
light bulb was covered with brown paper, producing 
an amber effect. The table was laden with cake, 
pies, peach preserves, buttered biscuit, etc. Places 
were arranged for all to be seated, but I noticed Grov- 
er designated a particular place for Earl. Earl was 
always extremely timid even in the presence of boys, 
and would blush furiously if a girl merely spoke to 
him. 

Grover had the biscuits with butter and preserves 
between on each plate, but Earl's biscuits had larger 
cuts of butter than the others. We all fell to eating 
ravenously with little to say. Earl had eaten two or 
three mouthfuls, when he suddenly began to spit his 
food out with a look of timidity and amazement, say- 
ing "mine tastes more like soap than butter." For- 
tunately Early was not made ill by the sliver of shav- 
ing soap which Grover had substituted for butter, but 
our hilarity attracted all the boys on the hall, and the 
invading horde disposed of our feast in short order. 

Early one spring, Prof. A. M. Stephens, the agricul- 
tural teacher, planned the most elaborate experiment 
with seed germination and plant growth, for two of 
his classes, that he had ever undertaken. The project 
called for one hundred empty cans. Mr. Stephens ap- 
pointed eight boys, H. C. Chestnut, Howell Robinson, 
Grover Turner, Harvey Tysinger, J. Z. Nutt, Harold 
Armstrong, Ogden Brown and me, to collect empty 
gallon pork and bean cans, half to be rusty, half to be 
clean. Then we were to fill these cans with various 
proportions of soil, sand, fertilizers of different kinds. 



.i 



This bunch of boys considered any experiment as folly 
that required exertion, or that was not done of their 
own will and accord. We labored several days, scrap- 
ing around in trash piles, and the more cans we col- 
lected, the madder we got. 

Finally all cans were in place, ready to be filled. 
But the thought of finding, sifting, measuring, mixing, 
recording the different ingredients for all these cans 
was revolting, so before study period on the night prev- 
ious to filling the cans, these eight boys held a caucus. 
The suggestion that the only way to stop this foolish- 
ness was for the cans to disappear, met the unanimous 
approval of all the collectors. But, how? 

Zeb Nutt and I were roommates. At that time Zeb 
inspected the boys' dormitory, making two rounds each 
night, so of course we could not be implicated. On 
this night, Zeb made first inspection immediately upon 
the ringing of study bell; his last inspection was just 
before the lights went out. In the interim, we heard 
no evil, we saw no evil. The other six boys carried 
the cans to the Little Tallapoosa River and tossed them 
in. 

The next morning Prof. Stephens and everyone else 
were amazed at the disappearance of the cans. Prof. 
Melson and Prof. Corbitt were called in, and they tried 
in vain to find the culprits. Zeb reported all boys 
were in at both inspections. There was not a clue, so 
Professors Melson, Corbitt and Stephens gave up in 
despair. Thus ended that experiment! 

HUGH J. MICKLE, 
Franklin, Ga. 

4 5$> 



Prof. Sanders, Prof. Folk, May Spence and I were 
engaged in a very exciting game of tennis. On the 
sidelines watching were Ellie McBride, Ernest Cole, 
Deronda Sheppard, Rabun Stevens and others. Mar- 
tha toddled out and joined the crowd. Walking up 
to Mr. Sanders she raised her dress and said, "I am 
a big girl now. See, I have on panties." 

There was a comet in 1910 and all the girls were 
upset by the report that it would reach the earth on 
a certain day and set it afire. The night before this 
catastrophe was due, for some cause Miss Miller and 
all the girls from the dormitory were away except 
Elizabeth Jackson, Lily Jean Brown and me. I was 
studying for final exams when the other two came 
running in my room scared to death, exclaiming, 
"Pearl, get out of this room. Don't you hear that 
awful racket, and just come and look down the road 
toward Bowden and see how the sparks are flying." 
It proved to be merely Frank Hambrick bringing his 
traction engine up the road. 

PEARL DIAL LOVVORN, 
(Mrs. T. R.) 
Bowden, Ga. 



I recall many happenings of 1912-1913, but one 
thing stands out boldly, and that was the time that 
my roommate, Captain John Smith, and I had measles 
simultaneously. We would lie in bed, and for hours, 
each would tell the other how terrible he looked. I 
probably would have died had Mrs. Melson not taken 
charge one Sunday afternoon. I was trying to slip 

4 60 )* 



out of the dormitory to go to town to fill an important 
date, when I ran into her. I was escorted back to the 
room to lie and gaze for a few days longer upon Cap- 
tain John. 

ROBERT D. BRAWNER, 
LaGrange, Ga. 



I entered the A. & M. School in 1909, and was as- 
signed a room on the second floor with Lovic Floyd 
for my roommate. As a precaution, Lovic's father 
bought a rope and a pair of gloves for us to use in 
case of fire. The fire emergency never arose, but the 
rope was handy for other purposes. 

In due time a carnival came to Carrollton. Lovic and 
I waited until the lights were out at nine-thirty, and 
everything was quiet for the night. We slid down 
the rope, took in the carnival, returned with no teach- 
er being the wiser. The next night two other boys 
joined us. The carnival lasted three weeks. Lovic 
and I attended every night with an ever increasing 
bunch of boys. Everything went well until the last 
night when thirty-five boys had gone down the rope. 
John Sanford, who roomed next to Mr. Eadie, returned 
a little earlier than the other boys, and aroused his 
roommate, Roy Pratt, to narrate the happenings of 
the evening. Mr. Eadie overhead the conversation, and 
he struck a match in the face of all the culprits as they 
tipped one at a time, barefooted, into the dormitory. 
Lovic, Ralph Satterwhite, and I waited on the outside 
for an hour hoping Mr. Eadie would return to his room. 
But he was right on the spot with his match when we 

*f 61 fc 



slipped in. The next morning he read the list of 
thirty-five boys, and imposed the penalty of twenty 
hours hard work for each. 

H. J. HOGG, 
LaGrange, Ga. 



It is a rather hard task to decide which incident to 
relate that happened while attending the Carrollton 
A. & M. I would much rather tell how I have come 
to appreciate the kindly advice given me by Mr. Mel- 
son and the other teachers, and record the many times 
they pulled me through tight situations, and set my 
wandering footsteps on the right path. 

In those days the path of righteousness was unknown 
to me, and the boys always found me willing to co- 
operate in having a little fun, even to hurling a piece 
of firewood down a long quiet hall during study period. 
When Mr. Rast caught me he could not see the funny 
side, so digging a stump was the penalty ! If the bunch 
of boys from LaGrange, led by Homer Borders and Er- 
win Lehman, had not given me help, I am sure I would 
be digging on that stump until now. 

I have always wondered where some of the La- 
Grange boys got their nicknames anyway  "Big Dum- 
my" Seay, "Last Goober" Bradfield, "Big Foot" Patillo, 
"Goat" Hudson, "Jury" Lehman, "Brub" Ware, 
"Gene" Spearman, "Speck" Rutland, "Big Boy" Hart, 
"Shorty" Mitchell, "Hot Chocolate" Traylor, "Big 
Flunk" and "Little Flunk" Borders, "Buck" Cleave- 
land. And I wonder how Ridley Whittaker, Pope 
Newton and Fisher escaped without a funny moniker. 

4 62 fc 



One of these LaGrange boys (for the life of me I can't 
recall which), John Warren and I crawled out the 
window and went to see the movie, "Ninety-Nine Years 
in Sing Sing," only to receive ninety-nine hours on the 
campus. 
I remember 

1. Helping "Shorty" Chandler raid the pantry. 

2. Helping S. D. Truitt throw rocks at a certain 
teacher because Truitt suspected him of having a date 
with his best girl. 

3. "Horse" Henderson doubled "Uncle John's" to- 
bacco bill when he discovered he used Apple Brand. 

4. That "Little Ginky" Carmical always used the 
biggest baseball bat of anybody on the team. 

5. That "Mutt" sang tenor, Gene Spearman sang 
bass, Captain John Smith sang baritone, and "Mule" 
Hardagree sang scandalous. 

6. That Lewis Biggers ate all his profit when he ran 
the farm poultry plant. 

7. That Charlie Ware was proficient in hitting the 
target with ripe tomatoes. 

8. That J. D. Bradfield could eat roasted peanuts 
all day and declare that each one was the last peanut 
to his name. 

9. That Hammond Ernest referred to his opponent 
in a district debate as the "Gentleman from Buck 
Creek." 

A. C. (Nell) WARE, JR., 
Liberty, S. C. 



One of the funniest things to me at the A. & M. was 

4 63 ) 



the occasion when the farmer came to see Mr. Melson 
and stopped at the barn. Mr. Melson was engaged 
in some work at the barn which was the duty of some- 
one else, but he was doing the work well, and was 
appropriately dressed for what he was doing. The 
farmer asked Mr. Melson to tell him where he could 
find Mr. Melson. "I am he," replied Mr. Melson. 
"Well," said the farmer, "I never would have tuck 
you fur him." 

Perhaps one of the funniest experiences I had (fun- 
ny to the other fellow) was the time our Home Eco- 
nomics class was giving a demonstration to visitors who 
had come out from Carrollton. I remember Mrs. L. C. 
Mandeville was one guest who sat in front of me, as 
I stood to demonstrate the making of cream of tomato 
soup. Just as I got the tomato mixture and the milk 
mixture combined, I tilted the boiler and most of the 
soup landed on the floor. The rest of the details I 
will leave to the imagination of the reader. 

Perhaps my pleasantest cooking experience was 
working with my class when we opened a restaurant at 
the school during the week of the county fair. Enough 
visitors took their meals with us so that we had a 
surplus at the end of the week. The profit was di- 
vided equally among the girls who had served. We 
received approximately two dollars each. That was 
the first money I had ever earned. With it I bought 
embroidery for a blouse and material for a red and 
white polka dot dress. 

One pleasant morning was a holiday when I went 
with a group of boys and girls and Mr. and Mrs. Eadie 
to gather chestnuts. It was a beautiful fall day, clear 

4 64 }> 



and crisp, and we walked about two miles to find the 
only chestnut tree in that locality. We found the tree 
dying, but it had produced enough fruit for me to 
find out how chestnuts tasted, and what a bur looked 
like. 

You see my memories seem to take on the flavor of 
food. "As the twig is bent, the tree's inclined. ,, 

NANETTE ROZAR, 

Macon, Ga. 



The most unforgettable episode that happened at 
A. & M. while I was in school, was the time when part 
of our class played "hookey" on Monday, when April 
first came on Sunday. (It was the custom for stu- 
dents to celebrate April Fool's Day by not attending 
classes on this date.) 

All members of our class were the average type of 
boys, with the exception of Amos Lipham and Estes 
Massey. Estes was the one member of the class who 
could pray in chapel on Monday mornings. But these 
two were persuaded to play "hookey" this day, and 
had to pay dearly, just as the rest of us did. The 
guilty party included "Whiskey" Robinson, "Judge" 
Dukes, "Rip" Bennett, "Let" Tolbert, "Jap" Melson, 
"Hannibal" Carter, "Slats" Sherman, "Red" Stone, 
"Punk" Howell, "Isom" Daniel, Paul Turner, Amos 
Lipham, Clair Groves, Lewis Combs, Homer Clyde 
Chestnutt, Estes Massey and myself. 

After a delightful day of roaming over the country 
side and going to a picture show in town, we returned 
to school, and much to our chagrin, were told the fac- 

4 65 fr 



ulty had met as a result of our being absent from 
school. We were given 100 hours each, and not per- 
mitted to leave the campus for six weeks. During 
these six weeks, we had to do every type of work, and 
even walk the "Bull Ring" to get off these hours, in 
order to be "free" by the end of our campus period. 

After six weeks of confinement, it is easy to visualize 
how wild and woolly this gang looked, as none of us 
had seen a barber during this period. But this did not 
dampen our spirits one bit, and to celebrate the end 
of our confinement, we each invited a girl from town, 
and a big picnic was held on the campus in front of the 
academic building. The refreshments such as ice 
cream and cakes, were donated by the drug stores and 
bakeries in Carrollton. Needless to say, the picnic 
was a huge success, and to get even with the faculty 
for playing a "dirty trick" on us, not a single member 
was invited to our party. 

HARVEY (Lobster) HALLUM, 

Washington, D. C. 



Another version of the above episode : 
The incident impressing me most, occurred the af- 
ternoon of Friday, March 31st, 1917. The boys of the 
Junior Class of which I was a member, decided to 
take time by the forelock and do their first of April 
celebrating, by cutting classes and splurging around 
Carrollton. 

After taking in the Midway of Robinson's Circus 
(we did not have the money to go in) and promenad- 
ing through the main portion of town, we had a pic- 

4 66 fc 



ture made on the steps of the First Methodist Church. 
Upon our return to the campus, it was heartbreaking 
to learn of the hours to work off and the confinement 
imposed, to me especially since I was working my way 
through school, and the whole affair had hinged upon 
whether Massey and I would go. 

I would like to say that what I am today  and I think 
I am an average business man  hearkens back to what 
I did and learned at the A. & M. My net earnings 
are not bad for, what I am proud to term, a Heard 
County, fodder pulling boy. 

AMOS LIPHAM, 
Jackson, Miss. 
* * * * 

Highlights or pictures that remain with me : 

1. Being chosen a member of the Hawthorne Lit- 
erary Society with Mrs. Rozar its sponsor. 

2. Miss Tappan praying for me because I rode 
around the race track with a boy from town. 

3. Fred Hallum's diving off Simonton's Mill bridge, 
fully clothed, to rescue Mabel Bowles and Allene Mur- 
rah when a row boat sank with them. 

4. Charlie Ball serving barbecue. 

5. Having my first date with Huff at the Fair and 
having him sing "Gee! I Wish I Had a Girl." 

6. William Otis Well's table manners in the dining 
hall, and Mr. Melson's lecture on the use of a chair's 
four legs, etc. 

7. Mrs. Melson nursing boys, girls and teachers dur- 
ing the Flu epidemic of 1918. 

4 67 }> 



8. Mr. Melson acting as plumber when the pipes 
froze. 

The time enjoyed most at A. & M. was the first 
two weeks with Prof. Amos Stephens as mathematics 
instructor. The entire class period the first week was 
taken up by "Sid" Truitt and "Hoss" Henderson at- 
tempting to prove to the Prof, that "A straight line is 
not the shortest distance between two given points." 
The second week was given over to the task of prov- 
ing "The diameter of a circle is not its longest chord." 
It could have been the Prof, testing the boys, but as 
I remember it, the boys were testing, or at least trying, 
the Prof. 

TRENA REID ERNEST, 
(Mrs. J. H.) 
Atlanta, Ga. 



As I think back to the days when I was a student 
at A. & M., an incident, which happened in Mrs. Ro- 
zar's Literature class, is brought to my mind. We were 
studying Sir Walter Scott's Lady of the Lake. Each 
student was required to keep a notebook and be pre- 
pared to read his notes when called upon. One day 
after we had almost finished the book, Mrs. Rozar call- 
ed on a certain boy to read his notes. I shall not men- 
tion his name as it might be embarrassing to him. He 
told Mrs. Rozar he had forgotten to bring his note book 
to class. She sent him to get it. He was gone some 
ten or fifteen minutes before returning to class. He was 
asked to stand and read his notes. He read the few 
words he had hurriedly written while in his room and 

<68> 



sat down. Mrs. Rozar told him to go ahead. He said 
that was all. Well, I have spent two years in the U. 
S. Navy, but I have never heard anyone receive such 
a "raking over the coals' , as that boy received. It 
made such an impression on me that I shall never for- 
get it. 

J. HAMMOND ERNEST, 

Atlanta, Ga. 



During my Junior year, as commencement drew 
near, we entertained the Seniors with a picnic at Hayes' 
Mill. The girls prepared a variety of sandwiches, po- 
tato salad, and lemonade. Uncle Bob went along to 
fry the fish. Ice cream was served upon arrival at 
the mill, followed by games and other amusements. 
After a bountiful supper we started in the general di- 
rection of school, but strolled about town considerably, 
some even considering going to the picture show be- 
fore returning. Earl Almon was my date. Some others 
I recall were Sara Johnson and Bradley Hallum, Zeb 
Nutt and Nellie Trammell, Mary Bledsoe and Harvey 
Tysinger, Lillie Warren and Holland Melson. Because 
of our wanderings Mr. Corbitt gave the boys five hours 
each, and the girls two. It was a long time before we 
heard the last of "the longest way home is the sweet- 
est." 

During my senior year, our home economics class 
entertained at several dinners, luncheons and break- 
fasts. I helped serve a dinner for Mr. and Mrs. L, C. 
Mandeville, Mr. and Mrs. Melson, and some other 
guests. I have never made as many trips around one 

4 69 fc 



table since. In the words of a colored maid, "there 
was too much switching of the dishes for the fewness 
of the food." That night as we were working away on 
our next day's lessons Miss Jordan suddenly turned 
the lights out. When asked why, she said she was 
tired and wanted everything quiet. Were we mad! 
We were tired too, but we had lessons to prepare for 
teachers to whom it was hard to explain why we failed 
to bring up our work. 

WAWENA HUGHS, 
Clarkesville, Ga. 



Some Things That Happened 25 Years Ago  Yet Seem 
to Have Occurred Only Yesterday 

1. When Prof. Melson used to say, "Well, well, Al- 
mon, you are the sorriest white boy I ever did see." 
Although I knew that deep down in his big heart he 
did not mean a word of it. 

2. When Mrs. Rozar required us to answer at her 
English class roll call with a quotation from Shake- 
speare, and I used "Frailty thy name is woman" for 
such a long time, that she finally said if I quoted that 
again she would make me leave her class. While on 
the subject of Mrs. Rozar, I wish to acknowledge my 
gratitude and sincere appreciation of her patience and 
practical help that have proved so beneficial through 
the years. She was a brilliant and practical addition 
to our English Department at the University of Geor- 
gia. 

3. When "Little Sid" Truitt used to signal, by knock- 

4 70 fc 



ing a certain number of times on the radiator, that 
Prof. Corbitt was coming around on one of his inspec- 
tion trips. How that man Corbitt did enjoy catching 
me in bed! 

4. My first day in the woodshop when "Shorty" 
Armstrong and I got into an argument and he threw 
a sharp wood knife at me, and then "sold out" at a 
speed that would have won him a medal on the track 
team. 

5. How we would walk to town to go to church and 
the "League," just to see the girls and to look them 
over. 

6. How I sold at the Fair all the lemonade one 
could drink for a nickel, and still made a profit. 

7. How we "Fourth Class" chemistry students would 
take bottles of foul smelling stuff into the new boys' 
rooms, leave them uncorked and then go outside the 
door and listen to the conversation between the be- 
wildered roommates. 

8. How I plowed for "Uncle John Ware" at ten cents 
per hour, and glad to get the work, as I needed the 
money so badly. 

9. How sleepy I was and how cold it seemed in the 
winter at 5 :00 a. m. when I had to get up and milk 
eight cows. 

10. How good the simple food we had did taste, 
and never since have I found barbecue nearly so good 
as we had at Commencement every year. 

WILLIAM BRYAN ALMON, 
Class of 1916, 
Jacksonville, Fla. 

4 71 > 



Recently my son remarked, "Prof. Melson made us 
a talk at school today." Immediately my mind flashed 
across the years to the many times this same Prof. Mel- 
son had talked to the class of which I was a member 
at the A. & M. School. After my children had finished 
their studying and had drifted off to bed, memories 
of the old school kept coming back to me. I thought 
of Robert Spearman, my beloved but lamented room- 
mate, and our many unforgettable episodes. I recalled 
many things that may be told now that were once 
dark secrets, and even now there is the vague feeling 
that Prof. Melson may call my hand about the confes- 
sions ! 

I remember the time Robert had been sick for days 
and had eaten little. During late study hour he told 
me he was hungry  (so was I!). I found his brother, 
Gene, and by fair means or foul, we obtained from the 
pantry a package of cornflakes, sugar, milk and a 
large heavy cereal bowl. After all three of us had 
eaten to satiety, and had disposed of the other evi- 
dences, we placed the bowl on the window ledge. As 
we were discussing what to do with it, Prof. Benson's 
unmistakable knock sounded on the door. There was 
no time nor place to hide the bowl, so with a sweep 
of my arm out the second floor window it went. It 
hit Prof. Rast squarely on the head as he was walking 
just under our window, probably doing detective work 
on the first floor boys. There was considerable in- 
vestigating, but Prof. Benson reported everything nor- 
mal and on the level in our room. Where the bowl 
came from probably remains today a mystery to Mr. 
Rast. 

4 72 )t> 



A good friend of mine by the name of Truitt was in 
love with Trena Reid. He was sick, a cold rain was 
falling and the next day was Trena's birthday, so he 
persuaded me to slip off to town during study hour and 
get a box of candy for him to present to Trena next 
morning. I returned soaking wet and nearly frozen. 
Just after I had changed to dry clothing and was 
thawing out, Prof. Rast came in and asked me to go 
to town for medicine for a sick student, so out in the 
rain again I went  cold, but happy in the thought that 
I had not been caught on my first trip. The next day, 
however, after inquiring about how I was feeling, 
Prof. Rast said, "Well, you are a tough guy to be able 
to make two trips to town in a downpour like that with- 
out getting sick." That ended my John Alden ex- 
perience for my friend, Truitt, for I, too, liked Trena. 

Down through the years I have loved Prof. Melson, 
but how I did resent some of his disciplinary methods. 
The most embarrassing thing I ever had to do was to 
dig stumps in front of the Girls' Dormitory, with my 
best girl looking on! 

FRANK WARE, 
LaGrange, Ga. 
* * * * 

A Search far a Thrill That Was Found 

Spring exams were just completed and the class of 
1915 was worried, disgusted and jittery. The more 
we discussed the questions the more sure we felt we 
had all flunked. The male members were congregat- 
ed in the room of Fred Hallum and "Speck" Rutland. 
Someone suggested that we do something desperate, 

4 73 fa 



something worthy of real worry, in order to relieve 
our minds of the load we were then carrying. This 
idea developed into a gang planning. We decided to 
break study period, slip to town, get chocolate ice 
cream sodas at the City Drug Store, and return on 
our own. It was mentioned that Chestnut and "Big" 
Hart, both underclassmen, had received checks from 
home that day, so we honored ( ? ) them with unmistak- 
able threats, by allowing them to accompany us and 
pay the bill for the ice cream sodas. We paid 
"Shorty" Armstrong, a junior, fifteen cents to hold 
Mr. Corbitt's attention all study hour, by appearing so 
dumb that he could not possibly understand some 
geometry problems. 

For a time everything went well. The sodas were 
even better than usual. We were having fun when 
suddenly a nudge passed down the line. We looked 
toward the door and completely lost our appetites. 
There stood Prof. Carmical grinning like the cat that 
ate the canary. "What the devil does this mean; does 
Mr. Corbitt know about it?" was his greeting. "Chest- 
nut, you and Hart are rather strutting your stuff, hob- 
nobbing with the seniors tonight, aren't you?" "Yep, 
but we were conscripted to pay for the ride," was 
Chestnut's reply. But Prof. Mike was swell. He or- 
dered another drink for everyone on him, so the ten- 
sion broke, and we all began to explain to him why it 
happened. As he left us he said, "Boys, unless some- 
body questions me about you, I haven't seen you; if 
they do, I will have to report all of you." He was not 
questioned. 

The lights were out when the bunch, now rather 

4 74 fc 



serious minded, reached the school. It was decided 
to remove the light plugs, so if Mr. Corbitt should be 
aroused, he would be unable to switch on the lights. 
His keen ear detected the sound of footsteps. When 
he found the plugs missing, a Donald Duck rhapsody 
was coherent compared to his incessant chatter. The 
confusion had made it possible for everyone to get to 
his room and get into night clothes by the time the 
plugs were found and the lights were turned on. Prof. 
Corbitt's heart action was good or he would have suf- 
fered a stroke. He announced at breakfast the follow- 
ing morning that the entire student body was confined 
to the campus until the guilty party that removed the 
plugs was apprehended. For two days we were ut- 
terly miserable, afraid for ourselves, afraid for "Prof. 
Mike" and especially for Chestnut and Hart. 

When guilt pointed to a perfectly innocent under- 
classman, we went in a body to Mr. Corbitt and told 
the whole story. "Hard" Ware was selected as spokes- 
man. He finished his speech by saying, "We just want- 
ed a thrill, and you can believe us, Sir, we got it." Mr. 
Corbitt gave each boy in the room a hard, stern look 
separately, pulled out his leather strap ; then suddenly 
his face beamed with a most wonderful smile, as he 
said, "Get out of here, all of you bums." Next morn- 
ing at breakfast he made this announcement: "A few 
days ago I announced a student confinement until the 
party responsible for a certain commotion was appre- 
hended. I am now prepared to withdraw the confine- 
ment, and we will proceed under the regular rules and 
regulations. That is all!" So ended a search for ad- 
venture, to relieve burdened and worried minds. 

4 75fe- 



It has been surprising, how after twenty-six years, 
I could recall so vividly, minute details of incidents 
that happened during my stay at Fourth District A. 
& M. A lot of water has fallen over the dam since 
those days. The World War No. 1. . . the depression, 
when "better times were just around the corner," the 
recession, and then the almost complete collapse of 
business. During all of this time, existence has been 
warranted by an unceasing struggle. I am sure that 
most of the Class of 1915 met the issues as I was forced 
to do  equipped for the battle with only the training 
and discipline we received at A. & M. 

Time has left its mark  a portion of the sand from 
the hourglass has been sifted into my hair, and it is 
hard to determine whether all that is left is dark or 
white. The slender wirey body has taken on the usual 
middle-aged spread, and it is very doubtful that I could 
stand a walk from A. & M. to Carrollton. I feel, how- 
ever, that if I could once again meet Prof. Melson, and 
hear his cheerful, "Well, well, Whitaker, you are about 
the finest fellow we have  except all the rest of them," 
I would be fortified to meet the rest of life allotted to 
me with an increased determination to succeed. There 
is one thing we did not learn at A. & M., and that was 
to give up. The discipline we obtained in "learning 
to do by doing," did something to us all, and "a job 
half done is no job at all." I will be eternally grateful 
for this training at the most crucial age. 

The collapse of the District A. & M. School system 
in Georgia has been a most disappointing event to 
me. I believe that a great economic problem could be 
solved by this type system being installed in all of our 

4 76 fc 



forty-eight states in the Union ; especially if provisions 
were made to accommodate, as a Preparatory School 
with Military training added, all children graduated 
from High School for a one- or two-year course. If 
this were done, it would elevate and improve our whole 
social structure, and the "under-privileged" curse 
would disappear forever. The military training pro- 
vided at this age would fortify our nation to the ex- 
tent that we would never again be confronted with our 
present vulnerable condition, or the necessity for the 
enormous training expense that we are now having to 
face. The cost of maintaining such a system would be 
a small fraction of the expense we are now bearing, 
and our children would be "trained to do by doing." 

The recently inaugurated Preparedness Schools, 
that the Federal Government is sponsoring throughout 
the United States, are offering the American youths 
the identical training they received in the wood and 
the mechanical shops at the old District A. & M. 
schools. 

I can look back with pride and gratitude for the op- 
portunity of having spent a too small portion of my 
life in the custody of Mrs. Rozar, Professors Melson, 
Corbett, Carmical, and Robinson, and while I have 
many times felt the need of higher education, I apol- 
ogize to no one for my discipline and training. My big 
regret is that it was not possible to offer this oppor- 
tunity to my two boys, who are now at the University 
of North Carolina and The Citadel. 

Associations at A. & M. are still remembered with 
pleasure and appreciation after all of the years that 
have elapsed. I wish it were possible to have a 100 

4 77 ]* 



per cent reunion of our class with the teachers we all 
dreaded and loved. "Time Marches On" it is true, but 
I am sure that stowed away in the hearts of all A. & 
M. students, are roseate memories of school days that 
will live forever. 

F. R. WHITAKER, 
Goldsboro, N. C. 



For personal reasons, I resigned my position as 
principal of the A. & M. School in the early spring of 
1920 to take effect July 1, 1920, so on that day we 
took our departure. Connected with our stay at the 
school, many things are unforgettable. 

Among them: 

First, we had a loyal, cooperative, unselfish Board 
of Trustees. These ten men, one from each county in 
the Fourth District, never received a penny for their 
services to the school. Their criticisms were construc- 
tive, their advice was sound and practical. I doubt if 
any institution in the state was ever blessed with finer 
officials. I shall always cherish them and their mem- 
ory. 

Second, the fine characters of these boys and girls. 
The boys' chivalry, the girls' modesty, with never a 
breath of scandal during the entire time, naturally 
would leave an everlasting imprint. 

Third, the unselfish, strong, industrious teachers 
with a high degree of professional ethics, left impres- 
sions that time cannot erase. These teachers gave to 
each pupil a part of themselves, hence they have liv- 
ing monuments scattered all over the country. 

4 78 fc 



Fourth, the cooperation, support and cordiality of 
a large and varied patronage, with only a few unpleas- 
ant incidents, cannot be forgotten. 

Fifth, the hundreds of loyal, good friends scattered 
over the Fourth District are our assets. 

To all to whom this booklet may go, it carries with 
it our sincere good wishes, with the hope that the re- 
maining years may have just enough clouds to make a 
beautiful, glorious sunset. 

J. H. MELSON, 
Hogansville, Ga. 



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