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| Janus, God of Doorways |
The General Conference of 1912 made it the duty of the Board of Sunday Schools to determine the curriculum for Methodist Sunday schools. In harmony with that action the Board created a "Standing Committee on Lesson Courses." The publishing agents, representatives of the Editorial Office, the chairman of the Lesson Course Committee and the corresponding secretary of the Board met on November 20, 1913, to consider lesson courses. They passed the following resolution:
In view of the fact that the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church has made it the duty of the Board of Sunday Schools to determine the lesson courses for our denomination, and since that Board is engaged in the preparation of such courses, it is the sense of the representatives that at the conclusion of the preparation of the present cycle of uniform lessons (1912-1917) the Methodist Church should assume full responsibility for the preparation of lesson courses to be used in its Sunday Schools.
Concerning the future policy of our denomination, we express the desire and purpose to cooperate, so far as practicable, with all evangelical denominational agencies engaged in the preparation of lesson courses to the end that a curriculum may be created that will fully meet the demand for lessons in harmony with the progress being made in the field of religious education, especially as illustrated in the spirit of interdenominational cooperation expressed in the organization of the Sunday School Council of Evangelical Denominations, the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, and other representative movements.These passages were taken from a website called Forgotten Books. The book is The History of the Sunday School Movement in the Methodist Episcopal Church, by Addie Grace Wardle, published in 1918. But such educational oversight continues today, as you can see at the official website for the Methodist Church's General Board of Discipleship.
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| Bluebird of Happiness Postcard from 1919 - for sale on Etsy last year |
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| 11 Spruce Street, Schenectady |
Brief Synopsis
The men in the 308th Regiment's 77th Division, have been drafted from diverse ethnic, economic, and social groups in New York. Two men are fighting Chinatown tongs, one is a burglar, another is a wealthy merchant's son in love with his father's stenographer, who dreams of becoming the greatest movie actress, another is a private in love with the merchant's ward, and finally there is "the Kicker," who finds fault with everything. After training in Yaphank and in France, the 463 men advance under the command of Lt. Col. Charles W. Whittlesey into the "Pocket" of the Argonne Forest, to help break down the supposedly impregnable German defense. Cut off from Allied troops and supplies, and surrounded by the enemy, the Division, nicknamed "The Lost Battalion," withstands six days without food or water. When the German commander asks for their surrender, Whittlesey replies, "Tell them to go to hell!" The Chinese rivals fight bravely side-by-side, while the burglar dies heroically. After their rescue, the survivors are given a parade in New York, and are reunited with their families and sweethearts.
The Mountebanks performed in Hanna Hall for a number of years, and students took play production classes through the English Department. When Washburn Hall was slated for demolition in the early 1960s to make room for expansion of Schaffer Library, the theater moved to the now-vacated Nott Memorial, and a new era of theater began at Union.
So first let's dispense with the background. Taberski, who was born on March 15, 1889, exhibited very early in his life a seriousness of purpose beyond that of most other boys. He began shooting pool at age 13 in his hometown of Amsterdam, New York, and by age 16 was already the Central New York champion. Taberski also drove a milk cart during these early years, and then built upon that 3 a.m. -to-noon job to create his own grocery business. At age 22 Taberski sold his business for $10,000, a princely sum, and invested in poolrooms. By 1916 he owned three of them.
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| Frank Taberski at work |
Apparently, one of the pool halls Frank built was in Schenectady. According to the Schenectady Historical Society's Grems-Doolittle Library Collection blog,As Mr. Dyer states,
From September of 1916 until January of 1918 [Taberski] was unbeatable. Taberski won the national championship during his first year as a professional - an unprecedented feat - and then emerged victorious in nine successive challenge matches. But he was undone by his own slowness. Fed up with Taberski's style of play, tournament promoters in 1918 began enforcing time limits. By speeding up the game, they slowed Taberski's rush to greatness - and ushered in the era of Greenleaf.
In the late 1920s, he opened his own bowling alley and pool hall at the intersection of Broadway and State Street in Schenectady. The building stood for forty years before burning down in the 1960s. Frank married a woman from Poland named Loretta, and together they had three sons. Taberski died on October 23, 1941 at the age of fifty-two.In 1920, Frank Taberski lived at 25 Bridge Street and is listed in the 1920 census as being a Merchant at a Pool Place. He was married by then to Loretta; they had two sons, Frank Jr. and Harold.
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| Merlin Finch's Neighborhood |
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| 411 (left) and 413 Mumford Street |
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| Washington Irving School |
Published on Nov 10, 2012
This is usually the biggest game for each team each year. They've been at it for 110 years. This one was a barn burner. RPI was down by 8 with less than a minute to go...you can watch the video to see what happens. Shot with a Sony HX5V. Played on November 10, 2012Here is a link to the video if you're interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmagIZajY-o
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In 1793 the missionary presented his proposal to President George Washington in Philadelphia, who "expressed approbation," and to Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who consented to be a trustee of the new school, to which he also lent his name. The Hamilton-Oneida Academy was chartered soon thereafter. On July 1, 1794, in colorful ceremonies attended by a delegation of Oneida Indians, the cornerstone was laid by Baron von Steuben, inspector general of the Continental Army and "drillmaster" of Washington's troops during the War for Independence.The school celebrated its bicentennial last year, having been opened as a institute of higher education in 1812.
Hamilton's hockey coach, Albert I. Prettyman, had charge of the ice hockey team that represented the United States in the 1936 Winter Olympics held in Germany. When the regular goalie for the team fell ill, Fran Baker, the Continentals' first-string goalie, was invited at the last minute to join the squad as a reserve player. He accompanied Coach Prettyman (who had become a kind of father-figure to him) to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and, as luck would have it, the United States drew the host country as its first-round opponent. Before the game was played, however, Germany's leader, Adolf Hitler, asked to speak with a member of the U.S. team, and Fran, who had studied German at Hamilton, was asked to do the translating. When the Nazi dictator boastfully assured the two Americans that their team would lose to Germany, Fran summoned up his courage and best German to forcefully assert that there would be no such outcome. On the contrary, "The United States will always defeat Germany."Little did Stanford know he would be witnessing a future Olympic coach at work when he attended the game! More on the trip is forthcoming in the November 15th post.
The game, played in a blinding snowstorm, was close, but the result was a 1-0 victory for the U.S.A. The American team went on to reach the medal round, in which Great Britain captured the gold, Canada the silver, and the United States the bronze. Ironically, Fran Baker never took to the ice because the regular goalie had recovered from his illness and was able to play after all. However as a member of the squad, Fran was awarded the bronze medal along with his teammates, becoming the only Hamiltonian ever to have taken home an Olympic medal.
The word "Mountebank" literally means "mount-on-bench" and dates back to sixteenth-century Italy. It describes a traveler who, from a bench or platform, entertains his audience with stories, tricks, and songs in hopes that they might purchase pills, balsams, charms, and quick medicines. Traditionally, a Mountebank wanders, and Union's Mountebanks have often traveled from space to space, performing wherever they might find a spot, whether it was in the lunchroom or Jackson's Garden.
Founded in 1912, the Mountebanks claim to be the oldest continually-operating student theater organization in the country. Student theater actually began at Union in 1801 when a group of students petitioned the Board of Trustees for "permission to present a tragedy or comedy in College Hall," located at the corner of Erie Boulevard and Union Street. There is no record if the play was ever produced.One of the spots the Mountebanks found to perform, apparently, was the college gym. I wonder if the acoustics were any good?
Smokers were social events that became popular in American universities at the beginning of the 20th Century, specifically among male students. One of the first smokers recorded at the University of Michigan was organized by the Senior Class of 1901. Soon other students from other classes and from the various schools and colleges at the university would hold their own Smokers. Throughout the year a number of these events would take place; the Sophomore Smoker, the Senior Football Smoker, the Architectural Smoker, the Senior Pharmic Class Smoker, and the Michigan Union Smoker, among others.
The 1915 Michiganensian included this description of the Union Smoker: "Each year, immediately after the close of the football season, members of the Union hold a mammoth smoker in the combined gymnasiums, in honor of the football team. This function has become a well-grounded institution in University life, and its popularity is made evident from the number that must be refused admission every year, because of the limit placed by the Board of Regents on the number allowed in Waterman Gymnasium. The annual smoker held last fall was attended by a full capacity of fifteen hundred men. It was undeniably the 'peppiest' smoker of all."
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| George R. Lunn, D. Div, 1873-1948 |
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| Bill Burns |
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| Alpha Delta Phi, circa 1913 |
Daylight Saving Time was observed for seven months in 1918 and 1919. After the War ended, the law proved so unpopular (mostly because people rose earlier and went to bed earlier than people do today) that it was repealed in 1919 with a Congressional override of President Wilson's veto. Daylight Saving Time became a local option, and was continued in a few states, such as Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and in some cities, such as New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago.
