Administration of A. Ellis

Administration of A. Ellis 2. industrial evolution of the state.

At this time the P!esidency of the College was

assumed by Dr. Alston Ellis, lately President of Ohio University located at Athens, on the Ohio River. An environmental gene.../'-/ which appears to have been reflected in certain rather

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conspicuous personality traits of the new president which

were definitely characteristic of Mason and Dixon sectionalism. Dr. Ellis bore an enviable record as an educator, particularly

in the field of teacher training. He was, first of all, a

classical scholar versed in English and American institutionalism ~nd a sturdy defender of conservative social standards. However, his convictions and imagination were sufficiently flexible to permit comprehension of the significant evolutionary trends of the New West. His positive personality, his intensive interest in economic as well as educational problems and his extraordinary skill in public speaking and debate provided · the college with a powerful leader at a time when progressive and competitive leadership was most needed. His persuasive advocacy of the expanding functions and financial needs of _I

the college before the comrr.ittees of the State Legislature were more than annoying to the competitive executives of the State University at Boulder and the State Normal School at Greeley. Moreover, whenever opportunity pe~mitted him to join debate with the respective presidents of those institutions, Dr. Baker and Dr. Sny.der, the result, to their "conspiracy to monopolize the field of free higher education within the state", was

Administration of Ellis

College ceased to be confined to the meager income from Federal land grants and United States Experiment Station a ppropriations. State educational appropriations which

previously ha d been cha,nnell ed to the University, the Normal School and the School of Mines were shared by the College.

It

is noteworthy that in the early

90's

relatively few Colorado h.ighschools had rea ched twelfth-grade maturity and adequate preparation for college. This was particul_arly

true of the newer agricultural regions of the "wes t ern slope" . / settlements. To meet this situation, t he status of t he

v

Agricultural College curriculum remained approximately that of a junior college. A condition which regrettably restricted the diversification of the curriculum and t he prestige of

the institution. Under the administration of Presiden t Ellis, _and vocally deprecated by Baker and Snyder, a sub-freshman year was instituted and by virtue of a 5-year course junior

high school students were matriculated at the college and the curriculum was enriched to favorable comparison with t hat of the State University.

This era of competition between the College and t he State University for students, prestige and funds was an interesting interval in the educational history of t he State. In the annual Campaign for students, members of t he teaching staffs of both College and University were dispatched during the vacation months of surmner to visit high school gradua tes and other potential students in every city , town and hamlet of the State vith persuasive rea s ons why t hey .should continue

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Admin. of Ellis

their education in each of the respective schools. The Normal School joined the contest and Denver University and

Colorado College at Colorado Springs felt obliged to participate in self defense. This procurement service was not always to the taste of those assigned to the task. Nevertheless, it did stimulate the growth of the collegiate population of the

State at a time 1.1vhen incentive to higher education as ,weak.

Furthermore, it probably made possible the undisputed claim ;that Colorado at that time topped all other states in per

capita expenditure for free education.

Reviewing the internal stnucture of the College under Ellis, the operational set-up was about as follows:

-There were not to exceed three hundred students in the College at any time prior to 1900.

Four courses were offered - Agriculture, Civil Engineering, 1:::echanicai Engineering and a gene_ral Liberal Arts Course for women.

The majority of male students were divided between

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the twe engineering courses. In the earlier days only a

negligible number of students -exp~essed an interest

in

Agriculture. However, a semblance of Agricultural instruction was sustained

by requiring all men to take certain agricultural subjects including Botany, Breeds of Live Stock and Feeds and Feeding. Also, all men were required to perform farm labor two hours daily i n t he Freshman year. Similarly, all vv,ere requir ed to register for shop practice and for surveying in the sophmore year. Military drill was prescribed for all men one hour daily

Adm.in. of ~lston Ellis

and additional classes in M1litary Science and Tactics for seniors. Uniforms were worn at all times and an atmosphere of military routine and discipline prevailed.

Daily chapel attendance was obligatory. Chapel exercises were conducted by the president and occasionally

other faculty members presided. Some of these chapel discourses

by Dr. Ellis probably were as indelibly impressed upon the

memories o1 graduates as were their most diligent studies. Ethics, ideals, highlights in history, grea t men, right-living and sound-thinking were his favored topics.

The faculty, in the early days of the Ellis Adminis -tration, was composed of a dozen members of professional rank including the President. Professor Quick, whose seculded researches with experime_ntal. data on f arm crops and livestock were conducted in the rooms of the then new Agricultural Hall, was chief of the agricultural department. With one research · assistant and the aid of a herdsman and t wo or three ttfarm

hands" he operated the C·ollege Farm including perhaps 160 cultivated acres and as many n11ead" of assorted livestock. Professor Quick's one loyal student apostle was fhilo Blinn, a graduate of the class of 193. Philo was a son of the Arkansas Valley, a youth of Lincolnesque physique and a true lover of the soil. Eventually he became Director of t he Agricultural Experiment Station newly established by the College at Rocky Ford. In the annals of Colorado agriculture the name of Philo

I

K. Blinn is identified v, ith the development and the prosperity of his Arkansas Valley home and the nation-wide fame of Rocky

Admin.of A. Ellis Ford melons and cantaloupes • .

6.

Professor Louis G • . Carpenter and Assistant Pro-fessor Stannard, officially constituted the Department of Civil Engineering. Robert Trimble (Clas s of '92), weather observer, was atta ched to this department.

Professor J.

w.

Lawrence together with Assistant Professor L D Crane staffed t he Department of Mechanical Engineering.

of registrar.

Professor Lawrence also perforned the functions C. P~ Gillette was Professor of Entomology, Anatomy and Physiology, also curator of the college museum. Charles C. Crandall was Professor of Botany. Dr. H.P. Headden came to head the Department of Cflemistry in 1894. He was

joined by Charles Te.st, a graduate of Purdue University and later ass i sted by Fred B. Alford (Class of ' 96) and Earl Douglass (Class of

'~9).

William J. Meyers was Professor of Mathematics. Maud Bell was Professor of History.

Grace Espey Pa tton (Class of '90) was Professor of Englis h . Miss Patoon is remembered by her .students with

affection and as one of the best teachers of her day. She was a charming little woman of Irish descent, daughter of a deputy sheriff of Larimer County. Her stature as a personage in the story of Women's political rise is noteworthy. Colorado, the · third state to grant full suffrage to women was, we believe, the first to elect a woman to cabinet rank in sta te government. Gra ce Espey Pattnn was elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction in the year 1900. She performed t he duties of

Admin. of A. Ellis

that office not · only in an exemplary manner but in such a way

as .greatly to advance the relative status of Colorado among

the more progressive states of the nation.

In 1896, the Department of Domestic Science was established and Miss Theodosia G. Ammons, sister of the then Governor of the State, was installed as Professor and head of that department. The pioneer work of Professor Ammons in this field of education has become almost legendary. The following year E. B. House replaced

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J. Meyers as Professor of Mathematics. A year later Dr. Geo. H. Glover joined the faculty as Professor of Veterinary ·Science.

There is much to be said of the sterling character and pe·rsis~tent labors of- this stalwart band of pioneer educators. Admittedly, classroom teclu1ique was not pedagogically conspicuous. However, the level of teaching was better than fair and

laboratory instruction was definitely of superior quality. Gillette, Ammons, Headden, House, Stannard and Crane, · old fashioned in method perhaps, were unusually gifted in the art of instruction.

The library in those early years was pathetic. However, libraries not being indigeneous to the frontier,

students were not conscious of the vacuu..m behind the doorplate across the hall from the -president's office. The perennial yarn about the sage remark of the conservative member of the

finance com,:-!tte.e of the State legislature might well have originated there. As the story goes, such a committee was

8. Admin. of A. Ellis

touring the educational institutions of the State with the purpose of justifying requested appropriations. It appears

that funds had been requested for the purchase of a modest

addition to the library list. The said member, making a mental calculation of the existing contents of the library shelves, observed - "It appears to me that already there are about as many books here as a student should be able to read in his spare time over a period. of four yearsn. There were just

about that many, and the selection was such as could be of interest to a diligent student only in his trspare time". The real

beginnings of the college library may be traced to the persistent labors of Joseph Daniels who came from Greely to take over the job. 11Jo" soon had every square foot of the two small reading

rooms, including the window sills, cra1~~ed with books and students.

Extra curricular activities at the College were meager. Beyond sand-lot baseball and a self-taught football team, there was virtually no athlet.ics until Edward B. House came to the College in 1897. "Ed" House had graduated from the University of Michigan where he was among Ann Arbor's out-standing athletes. He .had excelled in track, baseball and

football, and immediately displayed a participating- and paternal interest i n field sports at the College. For years he volun-tarily assumed the role of unofficial director of physical education and served as coach of baseball, f9otball and track. Professor House continued his inspirational interest in this

Administration of Ellis

work for ·many years . until his responsibilities as Dean of . Engineering forbade.- Ho·wever, iri . his declining years, he

became defini~ely antipathetic to intercollegiate ~ports and decried them as "disastrously .deleterious to scpolarship." Nevertheless it is worthy ·of memorial record that great

credit is due to Edward B. House for his meritorious work in the promotion and successful development of physical education and wholesome athletics· during the earlier years of the

College. Furthermore his interest and continuing prominence in cultural and civic affairs were such a·s to rank him among the leaders of his generation in Fort Collins and in the state.

Two literary Societies, th~ Columbian, and the Philoaesthesian, constituted -about the only approved extra-curricular ·org~nizations. The forensic talents fostered by these societies, as exemplified by annual inter-society debates and senior-junior· oratorical contests, were a substantial

contribution to the cultural achievements of the College. Student functions of a purely social nature were quite alien to the campus. The thought of a campus_ dance, smoker or bridge party would have been considered utterly execrable. However, as was inevitable, stud-en ts did learn to dance. No _doubt a real affection wili lingers in the memory of many an old Grad for spinster Josephine Fisk and her

"dancing emporiumn. The emporium comprised the 12 x 16

kitchen of the family residence on Jefferson Street. Inspira-tional music on the harmonica was rendered by small Brother

10. Admin. of Ellis

Raymond seated on the kitchen table. MissFisk's repertoire,

in addition to the then universal quadrule, included the schottische, the polka and the waltz. One hour lessons we r e avai labl e

evenings, 7 to 9, at f i fty cents. A complete and guaranteed · course of t welve lessons for Five Dollars. There is no

record of any of Miss Fisk's gradus.tes having demanded the quarantee.

Social activities among the faculty were somewhat less restrained than among students. An annual faculty _reception was staged by the President, usually at a ti.me when members

of the State Boar~·or Agriculture was visiting the College

in its official capacity. Mrs. Carpenter 's semi-annual faculty dinners were the peak events of the year • . Her cuisine was

locally famous and her di nn ers 11neve.r-to-be-forgotten".

There were instances of painful recollections of these dinners Edwar d M.

recorded, it is said, in the diary of Profes sor/Traber.

Traber had succeeded Grace Espey Pa tton as Professor E~wa~oc of

English. He soon became known as a humorist, a confirmed c achelor, a chronic dyspeptic and withal a connoisseur of good food.

"I never can get over", he often said, "Mrs. Carpenter's Faculty dinners." Also he said, "my loyalty is ever firm to my faithful diary and to my fickle stoma ch.n

Professor Theodocia G. Ammons and her "Home Economics Girls." occasionally provided an experimental n spread" for student

groups. The Home Economics kitchen was managed by l1iss Sa rah Southerland, a charming graduate of Rochester University whom Professor Ammons had induced to come to Colorado as her

The Ad.min. of Ellis

assistant. Not ' least of Miss Southerland's charms was her extraordinary skill as a cook. Under her careful training, many<:£ the college girls became almost as adept and ingenious in the preparation of good things to eat as was their ITentor. Most outstanding in this role were the popular Misses

Margaret Prendergast and Helen Headden.

The ttflome Ee . Spreads" arranged by the peerless triumvirate - Sarah, Margaret and Helen - and the chafing-dish suppers served to their personal friends in the Southerland apartment and in the Headden home are of the regal memories which do not fade . "

Until the a~vent of Barton

Q.

Aylesworth as President in 1900 (,) there was no curricular provision for physical education and the administration definitely frowned upon such spontaneous athilietic activities as from time to time a ppeared. It was thought that military drill, machine shop practise, field surveying and labor on the college fa rm afford~d such physical and recrea tional benefits as were

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essential. So strong was this feeling tha t an admission charge to athletic contests was forbidden and modest appropriation requested by President Aylesworth for leveling and fencing

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a football field was denied bv the administrative board .

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However, the field was surfaced by volunteer student labor, apd a sympathetic student (Charles Durkey} won name and fame for himself by donating $200 for the construction of a light

board fence enclosing the gridiron. For many years , even after the grounds were improved and the fence replaced, the College athletic park was knovm as Durky Field .

12; Admin. of A. Ellis

Of the graduates of early days, it is interesting to note t he l a rge proportion who a chieved success in professions apparently quite alien to the specialized training received

at the College. An exceptionally l a r ge number became tea chers. Few, if any, have been money-makers in a large way. Virtually all have a ttained a hi gh level of progressive scientifi c,

civic, or other professional usefulness. The following is a fair sampling of post gradua te occupations:

Class of Class of Class of Class of Class of Class of

Gra ce Espey Patton, Professor of English, C.A.C. Colorado Sta te Superintendent of Public Instruction .· Robert Trimble, Meter ologist.

----Samuel Boothroyd, Professor of .Astronomy, Cornell Untversity.

Philo K. Blinn, Pioneer Irriga tion Agriculturist. Charles Gilkison , Professor of Agricultur e,

University of Wyoming.

Raymond Walters, Civil Engineer, Chief Engineer·, Boulder Dam Project.

Jacob Cowan, Hor t i culturist, C.A. C.

Ha rlan Thomas, Architect, Professor of Architecture, University of Washington.

----Richa rd A Maxfield, Stockman, Legis lator.

Bert Sears, Stockman, Author.

---

_{Betram Gage, Banker, StoclL~an.}

Class of

Class of

Admin. of Ellis

A. J. Harris, Colonel U.S. Army, World War I. Ralph

H. Hess,

Economist, Professor, University of Minnesota, Colonel, Res. Corps. A.E.F. and

A.F.G.

World war

I;

Pacific Theatre, World

War II.

---Margaret Prendergast, Professor of Speech, Columbia University, Author.

Edward Titus, bntomologist, U.S. Civil Service Fred Hotchkiss, StocY..man , Legislator

---Charles R. Jones, Entomologist, Profess or, Colorado Agricultural College.

Ralph Parshall, Engineer, Dean of' Engineering, C. A.C.

The admin istra tion of President Ellis which came to an end in 1899 was also, by his own choice, the close of his educational career. Apparently, he had become convinced that banking and stock feeding in Colorado were more to be preferred than a professional career. Consequently, his departure from the College was coincident with t he formation of. successful business connections l ocally.

Viewed in perspective, the developmental project contemplated by Dr. Ellis when he accepted the presidency must have been fairly well :catured. The academic standing of the C,ollege had been definitely advanced tn cur riculum, faculty personnel and public opinion. The physical plant had been enlarged and improved. The student body, although still small had advanced proportionateily., and in quality as well as in numbers. Ellis wa.s a builder of substantial qualities _. His work ·was foundational and has endured.

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The administraz of President Ellis which came to an end in 1899-~ Awas also , by his

of his educational career . Apparently, he

e-bs-erv.a-ti-ens in Color~da that banking and stock- feedin~ were • more

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than a professional career . Consequently , his departure from the Colle ge was coincident with the forma -tion of successful business connec-tions locally .

I Viewed in perspective , the developmental project ~. contemplated by Dr. Ellis when he accepted the presidency must have been fairly well matured. The academic standing of the College had been definitely advanced in curriculum, fa culty personnel and public opinion. The physical plant had been enlarged and improved. The student body, although still small had advanced proportionately, s.nd in qu~lity as well a s .in numbers . Ellis was a builder of substantial qualities . His work was foundational and has endured.