Oops, major mistake —
Sometime in the 1920s, a typographical error
caused a mix-up in The Battalion’s volume
numbers and it has never been successfully
corrected. Today the volume number reads
93, when it actually is volume 101. mmtm
1930
mi
ne Battalion is provided with its own office.
The A&M Student Publications Board was created to
handle administrative details of all student publications.
For the first time The Battalion is printed by the A&M
Press on campus.
1939-
The Battalion is named the official
publication for A&M and College Station
Page 4
1893 • The Battalion • 1993
Thursday, September 30,
1940
Thursday, S
1898 — Death of Lawrence Sullivan Ross
The man has gone, but the character
has not left us, mourner says of ‘Sully’
By Michele Brinkmann
The Battalion
About 6:00 p.m. he suddenly roused up
and looked around. He recognized
everyone in the room. Dr. Fountain
asked. Governor, how do you feel? “
He closed his eyes and said. “ Well, 1 feel
like a new man, andJguess lam one. ’
Those were the last words he ever uttered.
From the article “The Last Moments”
in the January 1898 Battalion, by Dr.
Frank Ross, after the death of his father,
Lawrence Sullivan Ross, who died Jan. 3,
1898 in his home near Bryan.
Lawrence Sullivan Ross, the late gov
ernor of Texas and Texas A&M College
president, was the inspiration for some
of the oldest traditions on camjpus.
Ross, also known as “Sully or “Sul”
Ross, served as governor of Texas from
1886-1891 and as the third president of
the College from 1891-1898.
He is remembered as the father of
A&M’s “Golden Age” and is credited
with turning a struggling'ill-favored
school into a well-respected college.
The first issue of The Battalion was
published during his term, and for many
years The Battalion dedicated its editori
al page to Ross.
After his death in January 1898, The
Battalion published a special memorial
issue in his honor.
“He was not only a friend to the new
student, but the first greeting was always
as such that ever afterward we felt that if
anything should happen, and we were in
need of a friend, that we could always
find in yonder office a trusty adviser,” said
agriculture major Glenn L. Sneed, Class
or 1898. in the memorial issue.
Lawrence Sullivati Ross Clarke, grand
son of Sul Ross, spoke of his experiences
in a Jan. 4, 1963 Battalion article while he
attended the University.
While he w\s a freshman, he said, he
was required to keep an umbrella in his
room. If it rained, he had to get up,
grab the umbrella, and hold it over the
Statue of Ross until it stopped raining.
“ Before that year was over, I got pret
ty damned tired of grandpa,” he said.
Ross was born Sept. 27, 1 838 in Ben
ton’s Post, Iowa. His parents moved to
Waco before his first birthday. Ross
grew up around a Comanche Indian
tribe. He attended Baylor University.
Despite growing up with Indians, he later
became a well-known Indian fighter.
Sam Houston wrote to Sul Ross after
a fight with Indian Chief Peta Nocona,
“Your name will ever illumine, with an
Lawrence Sullivan Ross
effulgence of glory, the historic pages of
the Lone Star State. Continue to repel
and punish every body of Indians com
ing into the state.”
When Ross died in 1898, the A&M
community showed its respect.
Silver Taps began in 1898 in honor
of Ross. The solemn ceremony, held on
the first Tuesday of most months, pays
tribute to those students who have died
within the previous month.
In addition, the Ross Volunteers,
A&M’s military honor drill team and
Texas’ oldest student organization, was
named for Ross.
On May 4, 1919, a bronze statue of
Sul Ross was unveiled. The statue, locat
ed in front of the Academic Building, is
still the best known campus landmark.
The inscription under the statue reads,
“Soldier, Statesman, Knighdy Gentleman,
Brigadier General C.S.A., Governor of
Texas, President of the A&M College.”
Almost 100 years after his death, Tex
ans still write about Sully. In the May 7,
1983 Houston Chronicle columnist
Lynn Ashby wrote about the days when
Sul Ross was governor of Texas.
“Sul Ross was the only governor of
Texas to call a special session of the leg
islature to deal with a unique problem:
the state had too much money,” Ashby
wrote. “Ah, those were the days.”
The January 1898 Battalion printed
comments from Ross’s memorial service
describing the impact he had on Texas
A&M and the state of Texas.
An unidentified mourner said, “The
man has gone, but the character, well-
rounded, unselfish, conservative, com
plete, has not left us, and it will be many
a day before we forget the refining
lessons of his life.”
1912 — Burning of Old Main
Fire destroys campus’ first building
By Cheryl Heller
The Battalion
O ld Main, Texas A&M
College’s first building,
housed all activities and
records of the College until it
was destroyed by fire on the
morning of May 27, 1912.
According to the May 31,
1912 issue of The Battalion, the
fire was discovered at 2 a.m. by
senior cadets G.W Ashford and
W.G. Church, who were study
ing in a nearby dormitory. The
fire, which began on the fourth
floor, “had eaten its way over
half the fourth floor and nearly
down to the third floor by the
time hose and ladder companies
appeared on the scene,” the
newspaper reported.
Bryan firefighters and cadets
fought the flames until they de
termined the building could not
be saved, and then began rescu
ing official records from the
burning building.
Old Main construction was
completed in 1875, a full year
before the opening of the Agri
cultural and Mechanical College
on Oct. 4, 1876. It was the first
building constructed on campus'
and served as a dormitory and
classroom for every cadet until
Pfeuffer Hall was built in 1887,
when it was converted to an ad
ministration building.
The fire that destroyed Old
Main took a toll on Texas A&M
morale nearly equal to the loss
of the building itself. According
to “We Are the Aggies,” a book
P ublished by the Association of
ormer Stuaents in 1988, “near
ly all aspects of student life out
side of dorm rooms and the
mess hall, which had already
burned, were gone.”
The Battalion stated in its
May 31, 1912 issue that “today
the Main Building is a collection
of blackened walls, heaps of
brick and fallen plaster. It is hard
for the cadet corps to realize that
it is no more. Only the passing
by of it on the way to classes and
meal formations, which occur
in front of the ruins, bring home
with shocking force the fact that
it is a thing of the past.”
Although Old Main's life
span was less than 40 years,
many well-known A&M teach
ers, such as Dr. Mark Francis,
Dean Charles Puryear, and
Dean D. W. Spence began their
careers within its walls.
Various goods from the ex
change store, athletic equipment,
and part of the college records
from the president’s office were
salvaged. The fire took a tremen
dous toll on property:
In addition to the Office of
the Commandant, Old Main
housed the fiscal and athletic
departments, the college post
office, the student publications
office — including Tne Battalion
M J 1 1 t
mi
The cause of the Old Main fire has never been determined.
office — the publicity depart
ment, numerous classrooms and
the armory. Records of former
students and the entire contents
of the library were lost in the
blaze. Total damages amounted
to over $75,000.
According to “We Are the
Aggies,’ J there might have been
no record of student enroll
ment before 1912 if it weren’t
for Edward B. Cushinjg and
Alva Mitchell. They haclcom-
piled a list of all former stu
dents for the association.
“It will prove to be a valuable
record of names of those who
were here, but will not have
their academic records,” The
Bryan Daily Eagle commented
that year.
Although the fire destroyed all
departmental offices, the presi
dent’s office and many class
rooms, Texas A&M recognized
no interruption in its schedule.
In the May 28, 1912 issueof
the Houston Daily Post, A&M
President R.T. Milner an
nounced that there would be no
interruption in the work of the
college because of the fire. Tem
porary arrangements were made
for all departments of the col
lege, and the session was to be
completed according to the reg
ular schedule.
A comminee, formed after the
incident, conducted research to
determine the cause of the fire,
questioning faculty and students
aoout the night of the blaze.
The Battalion featured a story
about the blaze in the Jan. 29,
1976 issue. According to the arti
cle, the committee ruled out
faulty wiring as the cause of the
fire. The committee did not in
elude in its report a statement bv
Head Yell Leader J.E.L. “Lindy
Millender, who told committee
members his friend had seen two
drunk men leave the Old Main
building about 1:30 a.m.
According to The Battalion, a
gasoline can found in the rubble
caused no great concern to the
committee and was also not
mentioned in the report. Even
though an instructor, whose
classroom was on the fourth floor
where the fire began, admitted
smoking in an area where the
floor was covered with oiled saw
dust, the committee ruled out a
smoldering cigarette butt as the
cause. The committee never de
termined how the blaze started.
Today, the Academic Building
stands on the site of Old Main.
1917 — Aggies march into World War I
WWT turns campus into military training ground, puts cadets on the battlefield
By Jacqueline Mason
The Battalion
Between 1916 and 1918, Texas
A&M University sacrificed acade
mics for what would perhaps be
more valuable instruction for its
cadets — success on the battlefield.
The Texas Agricultural and Me
chanical College did not try to re
main unchanged by World War I.
It encouraged the United States
government to look to its cadets and
its campus as a great provider to the
war. At the time, A&M was the
largest military college in the United
States with 1,250 men in uniform.
The government called on
many senior cadets for service.
And, the campus was transformed
into a military training ground for
other Aggies.
The effects of wartime condi
tions left a permanent mark on the
student body and the campus.
“The Texas A&M College of
1920 stood in marked contrast to
the Texas A&M of 1915,” said
Henry C. Dethloff in his collection
“A Centennial History of Texas
A&M University, 1876-1976.”
“Texas A&M emerged from
World War I much more of a pro
fessional military institution than
when it entered the war,” he wrote.
Daily reports about the war
from newspapers provide insight as
to how the war matured.
On June 28, 1914, Austria-
Hungary felt itself provoked to go
to war after Archduke Franz Ferdi
nand (heir to the Austria-Hungary
thrown) was killed by a Serbian stu
dent in Sarajevo.
A few days later, Austria-Hun
gary declared war on Russia, a pro
tector of Serbia. Other European
countries soon chose sides: Ger
many and Austria-Hungary com
prised the Central Powers while
France, Great Britain and Russia
comprised the Allies.
It was not until April 6, 1917
that the United States stepped
into World War I on the side of
the Allies to ‘make the world safe
for democracy.’
Anticipating a great need for sol
diers, Texas A&M administrators
allowed most seniors to withdraw
from classes to train for service.
Almost half of the senior class en
tered officer-training school at Camp
Fenton, in Leon Springs, Texas. The
1917 senior class held graduation
ceremonies while at this camp.
The Brvan Daily Eagle reported:
“For the first time in the history of
the Agricultural and Mechanical col
lege, no graduation exercises were
held at College Station this year.”
Texas A&M President W.B.
Bizzell passed out Honor War Cer
tificates in place of diplomas to stu
dents in good standing, even'those
who did not get the opportunity to
complete classwork.
Stewart D. Hervey, one of the
seniors who graduated at Leon
Springs, was commissioned by Au
gust 1917. “Practically all of the
class came into the service, either
the Army or Navy,” he said.
But not all cadets were sent
oversees to fight.
Hervey was sent to train troops
on the Mexican border. When, the
Armistice was signed in November
1918, silencing the war, all prospects
for his overseas trip were canceled.
“That meant that our division
was dismantled, and we ended up in
different places,” he said.
For.the Aggies who did fight in
Europe, military training proved
zficial.
benef
Joe Fenton, curator for the
Corps Center, said Andrew David
Bruce, Class of‘16, was probably
the youngest lieutenant colonel in
the U.S. Army.
“At 24 years of age, he was lieu
tenant colonel, Fenton said. “He
moved very rapidly with battlefield
promotions.”
Bruce was awarded the Purple
Heart for valor.
Fenton said it was an honor for
a man to become an officer in the
military.
“That was the beginning of his
political career, his business career
wa;s to be a successful, decorated
officer,” he said. “That is why it
was very popular to come to Texas
A&M.
He added that A&M had a rash
of people coming to the college to
get an education and military train
ing at the same rime.
Congratulations to The Battalion on your 100th Anniversary
DURANGO
COUNTRY
DANCING
C&W DANCE LESSONS
Beginning:
Time:
- Time:
7:15-8:45 p.m.
7:30-9:00 p.m.
Advanced:
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Dates: Oct. 11, 18, 25 & Nov. 1
Dates: Oct. 12, 19, 26 & Nov. 2
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Learn the Whip, Donna, Pretzel, Lariat & More
Dates: Oct. 11, 18, 25 & Nov. 1 - Time: 8:45-10:15 p.m.
Dates: Oct. 13, 20, 27 & Nov. 3 - Time: 7:30-9:00 p.m.
Where: Jazzercise Cost: $20/Student $22/Non-Student
***** 846-7023
* * * *
Congratulations on 100
years of excellence!
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The Department of Electrical
Engineering offered a course in
telegraphy, also called “buzzer prac
tice,” for people wanting to volun
teer in the Signal Corps.
For students wishing to become
radio mechanics for the Air Service,
a course in radio communication
was offered.
The campus itself was also
changing.
The addition of Bizzell Hall in
I 91 8 helped ease the problem of
finding housing for new students.
And, mere were a lot of them to
house.
The April 24, 1918 issue of The
Battalion reported the 1917-1918
class of freshmen was the largest in
the hLtory of the college.
Between the years 1915 and
1920, the A&M student population
more than doubled and the faculty
and staff nearly tripled in size.
In 1918, the first female profes
sor, Wanda M. Farr, joined the fac
ulty as a botany instructor because
of the scarcity of male professors.
Students did whatever they could
to keep Aggie spirit alive on the main
campus during World War I.
An editorial in the Feb. 6, 1918,
issue of The Battalion states: “We
realized that under existing condi
tions ; t is impossible to snow the
old-time pep of the old days (which
means much that the ‘22 man can
not understand); still, it is desirable
to have the students united by
some common interests.”
After the war, the Aggies who
contributed to war efforts were hon
ored by the college in various ways.
“At one time, amazingly enough,
the stadium was called Memorial
Stadium,” Fenton said. The stadium
was later renamed Kyle Field when
the University of Texas adopted the
same name for its stadium.
Around Kyle Field, 55 American
flags fly to honor the Aggies who
died in World War I.
Likewise, 53 oak trees were
planted around Simpson Drill Field
in 1920 to pay tribute to the Aggies
who died in World War I.
1941 -
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