THE BATTALION
Thur sday, September 16, 1965
College Station, Texas
Page 5
LAST VISIT TO A LANDMARK
Charlie (Babe) Lopez paid the old Aggie- foundations for the building in 1925 and
land Inn a last visit this summer before worked there most of the years until 1950.
the building was razed. He helped lay the
Especially To Babe Lopez
Aggieland Inn Was Tradition
A landmark in the life of Char
lie (Babe) Lopez as well as Tex
as A&M was removed when the
old Aggieland Inn was razed this
summer. Lopez helped lay the
builidng’s foundation 40 years ago
and served as its head waiter.
The Aggieland Inn was once
the only state - owned hotel in
Texas. The inn was closed in
1950 when the Memorial Student
Center opened and was convert
ed into the Counseling and Test
ing Center. The A&M Board of
Directors approved plans to raze
the building this summer.
Charlie Lopez’ memories of
helping lay the foundation are
clear. He recalled his father al
so worked in the labor crew.
“They told us some supplies
played out and we’d have to wait
a week before doing anymore
work,” Charlie said. “I couldn’t
wait, so I went back to work at
Sbisa Hall for Mr. W. A. Dun
can.”
“When it opened I worked one
meal at the mess hall and then
two at the Aggieland Inn, or
however they needed me,” Char
lie said.
He left the campus job twice
but returned to stay in June,
1935. In 1943 he was head waiter
at the inn’s coffee shop when the
draft called him. He returned to
the inn after the war and, when
it was closed, assumed store
keeper duties in the Chemistry
Department.
“It was a very nice place to
work,” he said of the coffee shop.
“We got acquainted with prac
tically everyone on the campus.”
Charlie used “special., coffee
and the best of equipment” to
brew java which helped make the
inn a popular place.
University Archivist Ernest
Langford records: “Its reputa
tion as a place where one could
get a nice- cool room and meals
at moderate cost spread through
out the state.”
~^lttention: ^tuclents, Jf^ro^eSdors and ddxes
^ want to thanl? aidoj?you J^or making
Ole oCou what he is toda^. store was
men as uou an
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founded upon Such
endured because oj? your patronage and
your Spreading the yood word about cJLou.
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dCounot S
appreciate you, men. oL-oupi
loohiny forward to many more years
doiny business with the liheS ofiyou.
of
ddincerety,
cdCoupot
Color, Humor Mark Old A&M
School Celebrates 89th Anniversary
Texas A&M’s colorful past be
gan 89 years ago in the fall of
1876 when 40 students attended
the school’s first classes.
A&M, the state’s oldest institu
tion of higher learning, has
grown to house a studentbody of
over 8,000 and an academic struc
ture of over 50 sections and di
visions.
In July of 1862 President
Abraham Lincoln authorized the
Morrill Act permitting the Fed
eral government to offer each
state a grant of public lands
which could be used to raise
funds for establishing colleges
specializing in agriculture and
the mechanical arts.
In the first year of its exist
ence, A&M’s enrollment jumped
from 40 on Oct. 4, to 100 in
January and 331 in the spring.
In these early years, accom-
modiations were insufficient for
anything like this number. The
second and third floors of Gath-
right Hall and the second, third
and part of the fourth floor of
the Main Building were used for
barracks.
During cold winter months,
students kept these rooms warm
with fire wood. Each student had
his own axe, cut his own wood
at the common wood pile and
carried it to his room in his arms.
Wood piles were kept outside
each building with the owner’s
name above each, roughly on this
order, “This is John Jones’ wood-
pile. Keep your hands off of it!”
The first floor of Gathright
Hall was used as a dining hall
with classes held on the first
floor of the Main Building.
As for the actual campus in
these early days, one professor
said:
“The campus was such a wild
waste that it was not considered
safe for children to be out at
night. The howling of wolves
provided nightly serenades. On
one occasion a wild animal wan
dering over the campus threw
the whole community in a frenzy
of excitement. An alarm was
given and the whole battalion
of students and some professors
turned out to kill it but in the
high weeds of the campus it
easily escaped.”
The conduct of the professors
also left room for improvement
during the memorial ’76. Follow
ing complaints from throughout
the state the Board of Directors
fired the entire faculty.
A mathematics professor show
ed his contempt for being fired
by going fishing. “I can’t be
bothered,” he said.
In the late ’70’s and mid ’80’s,
Garland James succeeded Gath
right as president, four buildings
were constructed and the entire
curriculum was revised.
The school slumped badly in the
’80’s until Lawrence Sullivan
Ross was named president in
1890. Once the state legislature
even considered abondoning the
college, with the buildings to be
used as a Negro insane asylum.
Ross literally saved the school
from destruction. During his
eight-year reign, enrollment in
creased tremendously, the first
Corps trip was held in Houston
property value reached $389,-
502.64 and most of all, the college
for the first time acquired a good
name among citizens of the state.
Intercollegiate football first
served to unite the student body
in 1892 with the first clash with
Texas University in 1894. In 1902,
the Aggie were named “Cham
pions of the South” after beating
Tulane.
First football games were
played at the Bryan Fair
Grounds, with bleachers accom
modating 500. These bleachers
were later moved to the campus,
and Kyle Field came into being.
During the first years of the
century such events as a cane
rush between freshmen and soph
omores caused quite a stir.
One morning mysterious no-
tives had been tacked up at
various places forbidding any
freshmen to carry a cane past
the band stand between 4:30 and
4:45 p.m. At the blast of a bugle,
freshmen and sophomores emerg
ed from every hall, clad in old
clothes.
A freshman, attended by a
bodyguard, attempted the feat
and the struggle was on.
Reinforcements arrived and the
battle raged for two hours, but
without success on either side.
President H. H. Harrington’s
administration was rocked by a
student strike. After several days,
most of the students went home.
One student, crossing the Brazos,
was met by his father with a
shotgun. He returned. Harring
ton resigned. The same fate befell
the administration of Col. R. T.
Milner, and he resigned also.
Two tragedies enabled the cam
pus to first take on its present
appearance. In 1911 the mess hall
burned and in 1912 Old Main was
gutted by fire.
Soon afterwards Sbisa Dining
Hall and the Academic Building
sprang up. Also, not long after
ward, Guion Hall was built.
World War I gave the school
its first test. The entire 1917
senior class enlisted. More than
2000 Aggie grads served in the
war and 52 gave their lives for
democracy.
After the war the Reserve
Officers Training Corps was
established and A&M immediate
ly became a member. With the
change, the famed Aggie grey
gave way to khaki and olive drab.
20% OFF ON ALL
ENGINEERING
SUPPLIES
Rudder Becomes President
Of State-Wide System;
Other Staff Changes Made
Texas A&M President Earl Rudder assumed duties as
chief administrative officer for the state-wide A&M System
Sept. 1.
The joint position of university and system president
was created by the Board of Directors last spring. Rudder
replaced Dr. M. T. Harrington who served as chancellor
since 1959.
Harrington becomes coordinator of international pro
grams for A&M.
Rudder was appointed vice
president of A&M on Feb. 1, tired Air Force major.
1958, coming over from his post
of Texas Land Commissioner.
In other staff changes during
the summer:
— Fred W. Dollar was appoint
ed food services director. Dol
lar, ’44, waited in both dining
halls while a student here.
— Jim Lindsey, director of Uni
versity Information, was named
chief of the system’s state-wide
information program. All inform
ation programs in the system
were consolidated under Lindsey’s
direction.
— Joe Buser, director of the
“Life Line” radio program and
a former Battalion editor, re
joined the A&M staff as assist
ant director of information and
supervisor of publications.
— Rupert C. Woodward took
over the reins as acting librarian.
He will serve in that capacity
until a successor is named for
Robert A. Houze who became
librarian at Trinity University.
— William H. Little of College
Station joined the library system
as a junior cataloger, after serv
ing as an instructor in the De
partment of History and Govern
ment last year.
— Richard L. Puckett has be- j
come head of the library’s circul- !
ation department. He is a re-
FOR ALL YOUR
NEEDS
Approved By The
Engineering Dept.
Student Co-op Store
ED GARNER ’38
— Harold Gaines, a retired
Army Lt. Col., has assumed duties
as student programs advisor for
the Memorial Student Center.
— Vergil B. Clark, A&M staff
member since 1957, is now direc
tor of physical plant for the Uni
versity of West Virginia.
Welcome—
AGGIES-
To-
YOUNGBLOOD'S
GOOD FOOD AT MODERATE PRICES
FAST, EFFICIENT SERVICE
FOR YOUR COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE
Rock Building PHONE Midway Between
Hiway 6 TA 2-4557 Bryan and College
THE EXCHANGE STORE
Novelty and Stationery Department
Here you will find complete selections of Parker, Sheaffer.
and Esterbrook fountain pens, ball points and mechanical pen
cils. Here also you find many attractive designs of die stamped
college stationery from the Houses of Montag, Charles Elliott,
Carmelle and Eldridge. lust the thing for writing Mom or the
girl friend.
Every Aggie likes to have the college seal on his personal
items. We have a dazzling display ranging from belt buckles
to hitch hiking bags. Decals, pennants, stuffed animals, ash
trays and many other gift items are available. You nam^ it,
we have it!
"IN ITS S8TH YEAR...
SERVING TEXAS AGGIES''
STORE HOURS DURING REGISTRATION
Your Exchange Store will be open
until 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday,
Sept. 16 & 17 . . . and all day
Saturday, Sept. 18.