University of Montana Campus History – 1945
The article below is taken from the 1945 Sentinel. The book is available online at the University of Montana website – see link below:
http://scholarworks.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1042&context=sentinel
Campus History
On February 17, 1891, the Legislature gave birth to the University as proud Montanans heaved a sigh and settled back in their chairs to watch the “kid” grow up.
Under the presidentship of Dr. O. J. Craig the school thrived. By the end of the year it could boast a three-story brick building on the southwest side of town where the Willard school now stands, consisting of the department of mathematics, languages, history, physical sciences, mechanical engineering and assaying, as well as a 1,360 volume library.
Officially opening September 10, 1895, University enrollment the first day totaled about fifty students but grew by the end of the year to some one hundred and thirty-five, two-thirds of whom were enrolled in the preparatory division to clear up high school deficiencies.
One year after the official opening, the University had outgrown its baby clothes and had to be moved to a new setting at the base of Mt. Sentinel, on land donated to the school by the Higgins estate and the Missoula Land company.
In 1897 a six-year-old institution of higher learning needed recreation. A University football team was formed to meet the demand. Minor hazards that season were the nearness of the field to the Missoula river and a shortage of team members, which necessitated the coach’s playing on the team at odd intervals.
In February of 1897 the Legislature realized that the demands of its growing child were increasing and appropriated a $100,000 allowance in a bond issue for the erection of two buildings on the campus, Main Hall and old
Science Hall, refurbished this year to house the language department.
Miss Eloise Knowles and Mrs. Ella Robb Glenny in 1898 were the first graduates of the now-prospering state school. Miss Knowles later returned to her alma mater as a teacher.
An essay and story magazine, the Kaimin, in 1899 was the outlet for the budding creative spirit of a University, now eight years old. By 1914 the magazine had metamorphosed and developed into a twice-weekly newspaper. Nineteen hundred and two found the Legislature in a benevolent mood and $40,000 in bonds was allowed for the construction of a women’s dormitory, now Craig Hall, and a gymnasium. The same year provisions were made for a football and track field duly christened Montana field.
Coach Conibear and Professors Elrod and Rowe put their heads together in the spring of 1904 to conceive a plan for a University-sponsored Interscholastic meet and declamation contest, which twenty schools entered that year. Since the war, Interscholastic has been dropped in cooperation with the Office of Defense Transportation.
Then came one of our oldest and most beautiful traditions, Singing on the Steps. Professor Sibley created this as a pep rally before athletic contests. Silent Sentinel was founded in the spring of 1904 by President Oscar J. Craig and Professor Sibley. It was a men’s honorary organization, the members being chosen for their services to the University.
In 1906 the students, feeling themselves too large a group for hit-or-miss student government banded together to organize as the Associated Students of the University of Montana and elected student body officers.
On February 17, 1906, the first Charter Day was observed.
By 1908 high school standards had been raised sufficiently to allow the discontinuation of the preparatory department and the University felt itself of age.
Stern parent, the Legislature in 1910 decided to cut the millage tax to 1 ½ mills as state assessments had reached the $300,000,000 mark, the point early agreed upon as the total at which the millage tax would be cut. Students organizing themselves into publicity groups, carried on a state-wide letter-writing campaign and the next general election saw the millage tax assessment left at 2 mills until assets of the state were valued at $600,000,000.
In the spring of 1910 graduating seniors marched up the slope of Sentinel to build a wooden M on the hill. Unable to stand up against Hellgate winds, it was later replaced by a whitewashed M of stones. The same graduating class erected the senior bench at the west end of the oval.
From 1911 to 1914 the Schools of Law, Commerce, Forestry, and Journalism were established in that order. The School of Journalism as the “school in tents” received so much publicity in newspapers of the nation, that the Legislature was forced to make provisions for its housing and walled up a bicycle shed at the northwest corner of Main Hall to quarter the department.
A general campus cleanup in May of 1915 proved so successful that students determined to institute it as an annual event, naming the day for “Daddy” Aber of the classical language department. “Daddy” Aber took particular pride in the appearance of the campus and many times saw to the planting of trees and hedges. A group of fir trees at the northwest corner of the campus was named Aber grove as a lasting memorial to him.
By 1917 students on the campus were following with interest the progress of World War I in Europe and voted in a campus election to make military drill compulsory for male students. As during this war, students turned out to help save apple and potato crops of Western Montana. When war was declared by the United States, provisions were made for students to enlist in a Students Army Training Corps and remain on the campus. They were quartered in wooden barracks, Simpkins and Cook Halls, named for the first casualties. They now house the Little Theater and the Nursery school. Aber day of 1919 was dedicated to the planting of a row of thirty-one trees in honor of University men killed in the war. In the same year, Montana field was renamed to honor Paul Logan Dornblaser.
In 1920, $600,000 was appropriated by a bond issue for a new library and heating plant. A million dollars was appropriated the next year for new buildings and repairs to old ones. The Library, Gymnasium, Heating plant, Forestry building, North Hall, and South Hall were built in that order.
Bearpaws and Tanan now Tanan-of-Spur, appeared on the campus as sophomore honoraries in 1922 and 1923.
Since 1922 the Student Union, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Forestry, Journalism buildings and New Hall have been added to the campus. The school has grown and expanded.
After endless investigating committees – Marines, Navy, Army, Air Corps, etc. – the Army Air Corps permanent party arrived on the campus the last week of February, 1943, to set up a college training program. Early in March, a thousand cadets from all over the world arrived to attend Montana State University. Until July 1, 1944, a new squadron arrived each month as one left us.
The campus, now a military post, took on a new air and we were faced with regulations and rules, foreign to our way of doing things. The Student Union was donated by the students to the exclusive use of the cadets for one hour each day. The old Central Board room was converted into a barber shop and the Silver room into a game room. The Sentinel took temporary headquarters in the journalism school so that the cadets might have this office to use as a recreational center.
Many of the University instructors gave either half-time or full time to teaching the army specialized program. Came the day of squadron shows, squadron dances, squadron graduations, Sunday parades, unique songs by marching men. The men were housed in all the dormitories so that University women, by necessity, moved into fraternity houses, closed by the war, and sororities or private homes. New publications – The Gramlin, a semi-weekly paper, and the Take-Off, cadet annual published for each graduating squadron – made their appearance on the campus.
During this time student body male enrollment dropped to a new low with sixty-three civilian men registered.
Four days after the departure of the Air Corps, a new program – the Army Specialized Training Reserve Program – hit the campus, July 4, 1944.
Despite the Army on the campus, the ordinary wartime restrictions, shortage of men, abandoned traditions, fewer sports, college life prospered when school started in the fall of 1944.
Baffled freshmen were greeted by the traditional freshman week, with its maze of meetings, examinations, physicals, speeches, deans, programs, picnics, election, and most confusing of all, the registration merry-go-round. At the end of the week the whitewashing of the M and the mixer relieved the jitters and tensions of the incoming frosh.
Temporary freshmen officers, elected the first week served for a month. A political war developed when the Corbin Hall machine arose to successfully oppose re-election of the temporary officers. Elections were called and postponed several times because of the uncertainty of cadet rights. After a confusing two weeks in which the status of cadets was clarified, it was agreed that they had regular voting rights. Civil war on the campus was averted when a co-presidency was agreed upon by the army and civilian students.
A platform of two unsuccessful office seekers promising: equitable distribution of males; bigger and better parties, more often; hay for hayrides; dancing in the dark; overstuffed chairs in all lecture classes; later hours for all dorms and houses; ceiling prices on cokes; lollypops, and telephone calls; elimination of machine politics from the campus – failed to impress the voters.
Sam Phillips, University, and James Mayes, ASTRP, were elected co-presidents. New officers were elected when Phillips left for the Navy and Mayes was removed by the Ninth Service Command.
In October excitement reigned high as cup custard commandos of the ASTRP retaliated for dorm-girl Halloween raids with a midnight march on all three women’s halls, complete with fife and drum and gooey custards.
Holding fast to old traditions, the Spurs again sponsored Sadie Hawkins, girl-chases-boy affair.
And in December the traditional Messiah preceded fall quarter finals.
January 4, 1945, the journalism school lost a valuable friend and counselor with the death of Howard Hazelbaker, Montana Press Association representative and faculty member.
The ASTRP remained with us until January 6, 1945, when the remaining seventeen-year-olders were transferred to Stanford University because of a concentration of the program.
The campus settled back to a degree of normalcy again.
Along towards the middle of January the faculty curriculum committee re-opened its session, meeting later on in the quarter with members of the special student-faculty relationship groups in order to receive student views.
Friday, January 9, 1945, Bertha strayed from the halls of the forestry building and Foresters heaped bitter accusations on the lawyers who refused to make public statement.
January 27, 1945, journalism school conspirators laughed long and loud as the much publicized J. Barkley Rhoads was unmasked as a figment of Andy Cogswell’s imagination, dreamed up to inspire an increase of school spirit in journalism.
Newman Club members put on a bang-up all-school mixer in January with their Mardi Gras.
Looking at national economics, student heard a discussion by members of their own group of the proposed Missouri Valley Authority at the February 23, 1945, convo and the echoes have not yet died.
March saw the institution of a general faculty-student get-together with Wednesday afternoon coffee hours. Profs and students met to talk over the world in general.
Friday before St. Patrick’s day, Newman Club put on another big affair with its unique Irishmen’s convo.
Dean Emeritus A. L. Stone’s death took from the journalism school one of the beloved ties with the old “shack” days.
Spring came. With it the seniors took over in a last flash of glory before walking off with diplomas. Even though facing a war-torn world, their confidence in the future is still as strong as ever.
It is hoped that by the time this book appears on the campus, Main Hall bell will have pealed in victory over the defeat of the German side of the Axis powers.