J
Rutherford Recorder
VOL. 1
RUTHERFORD COLLEGE, JANUARY 25, 1927
NO. 4
WEAVER HALL BURNS DOWN; CLOTHES DESTROYED
Flames Destroy Possessions- of take his place by the side of such he-
r,. j i roes as Menelaus, who crossed the
Many Students.
12 MEN LOSE EVERYTHING
Mr. Rodney Stover Principal
Hero.
Saturday, January 18th: Weaver
Hall, a dormitory built for the men
of Rutherford, burned to the ground.
As was customary on Saturday af
ternoon, the majority of the seventy-
odd boys who roomed in Weaver
were spending the afternoon away
from the campus; some in Hickory,
while others were in Morganton.
sea to regain his lost Helen, and An
tony who visited his Cleopatra while
-,he fortunes of Rome were at stake.
Limerick, who was somewhere in the
general neighborhood of the college
(a thing most unusual in itself),
made tracks for the dormitory, and
of all the many things in the room to
be saved, he very nobly picked up the
picture of his roommate’s sweetheart.
When M arvin Griffin rushed in
Dreathlessly an hour or two later
(having but lately sat in a show in
lickory) his delighted eyes fell upon
iis beloved’s picture dangling in an
uncomfortable position from the hand
Such heroism
REVIVAL SERVICES TO BE
HELD AUSPICES COLLEGE
Dr. Forrest J. Prettyman, Gas
tonia, to Speak; Noted Minis
ter Comes With Fine Record
There was nothing in the quiet calm
of the afternoon to indicate the ap- of the noble Limerick,
proach of the catastrophe. is worthy of at least tw‘o Camg^e
Fire Discovered At 3:30. tnedals.
At three-thirty o’clock Mr. Rodney
Stover, an alumnus of Rutherford, no-
liced faint signs of smoke issuing
from the attic window. t.He was
about to pass on, thinking it to be
the usual steam coming from a brok-
There was another student, howev-
r, who, if possible, tbse " "to eveS
yeater heights. It is said that Jefe;
C-aven was caught in the i act
slaving when the fire broke out. A;
tie stentorian voice of the burly Sto
en pipe, when suddenly a puff oflyjr boy rang through the corridor;,
black vapor burst from the window Craven’s first thought, too, was *f
followed by a flaming tongue of fire, “the only one.” Casting one wild look
It- was enough. Breaking into a dead around the room, he grasped h^ girl's
Tjin, ^^he soon spread the alarm jg^jjre with a soapy, hand and dashed
tK^Ujghqut i^e. huilding, which -cToor. Stopping some dis-
jLi-e^C,o;m i n g uncomfortably hot . ,- ";aTii;e i;-way from the building, he no-
ihe*’*third floor. Evidently some of ticed t>at the whole face of the fair
The annual revival held each year
undsf the auspices of the college is
to begin on Monday, January 31,
Ihis year. Dr. Forrest J. Prettyman,
pastor of the Main Street Meithodist
Church of Gastonia, N. C., will be the
preacher for the occasion. Dr. Pret-
tymai comes with a long record of
fine, aihievements behind him, and it
is hoped that much good will come
out of the servcies. Before going to
Gastonii, Dr. Prettyman at one time
held the pulpit in the First Methodist
chvrch it Washington, D. C.; was
Chaplini of the United States Senate
diring Wilson’s administration; and
:as hell important posts in both the
altimoie and Tennessee conferences,
^is last post before coming to North
Carolina was' in Memphis, Tenn.
Those who have heard him say
that D'. Prettyman is by no means
the sensational kind of preacher, but
that his sermons are' the type to ap'
the students had not left .the village,
for soon large numbers were gather
ing from all points of the compas,
each one feverishly throwing thirds
from the windows. In spite of he
frantic efforts of the boys, there 'vere
few of those rooming on the seond
and third floors who did not lose
some part of their belon,ings.
Trunks, suit-cases, love-letters, pic
tures, and every conceivable article
of clothing to be found in ; boys’
•dormitory, were littering the ground
in ever growing piles. As i'ast as
possible, those on the outsde were
braving the downpour of pissessions
to drag them away from tie burning
building.
Within a few minutes from the
time the alarm was sounced, the heat
and smoke had become fo intolerable
that the workers were farced to aban-
• don their labors and wa;ch their erst-
'while ihome succomb to the flames.
The seasoned floors wnich had been
■well oiled during the Christmas holi
days, burned like so much paper, and
within a half hour after the alarm,
the dormitory was a mass of red,
licking flames. Those who were for
tunate enough to room on the first
floor were able to save practically th'
whole of their possessions.
Many Elements of Comedy In 11®
Tragedy.
In spite of the fact that the a-S'ir
proved a near-tragedy for manystu-
dents, there were many funny ii^ci-
dents.
It is only in times of cri® '^^at
the human animal rises to t>_® deeds
of heroism, and Hugh Lin^^ck will
Speculation Rife
Concerning Plans
For Rebuilding
Possibility Removal To Morgan
ton; Probable New Structure
Be Built To Replace Old.
Since the burning of Weaver Hall,
Dams Rumor has been busy spread
ing reports as to th^ plans of the
trustees with regard to the future
disposal of the college. Some think
hat there is a possibility of Ruther-
iorc’s removal to Morganton or Char
lotte, and indeed Morganton is known
to have made an offer of a free site
(35 acres) and fifty thousand dollars.
It is evident even to the most enthu
siastic ,however, that this offer is
wholly inadequate as a motive for
removal. It is thought in some quar
ters, however, that Morganton could
put in a stTOng bid for the college
were she to make a suitable offer. The
exponents of this , plan seem agreed
thit removal would mean added
ffif'wth and standing to the institu-
peal both to the intellect and heart. ltio*> bringing’ up eases of oiiier col-”
one was covered with a fine coat of
lather, '-magine his dismay when
some cruda -ruffian asked if it were
the first tinjB the lady’s face had been
washed. ,
Rumor has H that Guy Lewis’ hat,
lost for two y«ars, made its appear
ance after the tre.
Morale of Studeat Body Holds Good
In Crisis.
In spite of the fact that seventy
students were made homeless for the
time being, all with more or less per
sonal bss, the morale of the whole
school ii holding good to a remark
able deg-ee. Many feared that since
the priricpal dormitory of the college
had burnej-, there being one other (a
wooden st-ucture), the majority of
the studens would think of going
home. This-svas not true at all, how
ever, and Prsident Starnes expressed
himself as bing more than pleased
at ths spirit (f helpfulness displayed
by every one. So far as we are able
to learn, not a >ord of ill feeling has
ben spoken, ana classes were resum-
(d next day with a minimum of con-
:usion, considering the loss of text
books.
At the present/Vriting, the new
term is in full swing vith nothing to
mar its perfection.
One of the most graifying things
to the college officials Wis the way in
which the townspeople lame to 'the
rescue iri time of need. Before the
dormitory had burned lompletely,
one hundred and twenty-fiv; citizens
had offered their homes to Mr.
(Continued on fourth pare)
His :{nanner of conversion is both
straight-forward and simple. Dtie t)
tie evident changes that have been
taking place in the student body 'Of
Ritherford during the last few years,'
it is believed that Dr. Prettyman will
be enthusiastically received hy the
colege.
fervices, until further notice, will
be ield each morning during the
chaiel period, and every evening be-
ginnng at seven o’clock.
WOIK ON GYMNASIUM
?R0GRESSING RAPIDLY
Bask^baU Practice To Be Held
'Text Week Possibly. ^
Wor! on the gymnasium which has
been dicontinued for some time due
to inclenent weather was resumed s
few da;s ago, and the contractors
state tht a week’s work will suffice
to finis! up the roof. An examina
tion of the floors shows that ii is
possible to practice in the gym as
soon as the roof is finished. Pres
ent reports have it that there is a
strong possibility that the new
floors wH be finished to accommodate
the Catavba College game which is
to be hel some time in the near fu
ture.
The nevs that the end is in sight
for the rpairing of the “cow barn,”
as it is imiliarly called, was greet
ed with inthusiasm by the student
body. Farces, melodramas, sob sto
ries and joetry have been written
about the repaired gym that is to be,
some of ',hem sarcastic enough to
get under the hides even of contract-
ors_ (seemhgly) but to no avail. It
seems cerfeiin now, however, tiiat a
suitable jlace for winter indoor
-ecas whose removal to cities proved
their salvation. On the other hand,
the oppohents of the plan say that
the removal to a citjr with its attend
ant higher cost, of education would
not b> in line with the plans of the
originil founders, and that it would
mean -.hat many students who other
wise W)uld be able to come to Ruth
erford vould be forced, to seek else
where t>r their education.
Still thers have it that there is
nothing else to do but rebuild on a
better ijid larger scale than ever be
fore. Iiis plan, on the whole, seems
to have gained more favor than any
of the chers. With a new building
replacing the old, Rutherford would
certainly 36 able to carry on in a far
more eftient way, they think.
Whatevr is to be done, and all
Rutherfori is agog to know, every
one is agr^d that things are looking
better thn every before. It is
thought tht the majority of the stu
dent body ould rather see the school
remain on i ts present site provided
new buildii's are put up, but what
ever IS dontevtry man will stand by
in the newj-a that'is
coming.
sports will sixi be at the disposal of
the students. .
In place of e free-story (which
gave the illisionof a dairy barn for
merly )ther wil be a plain honest-
to-goodnessroof -ith no fi ills. It is
said also tat tht inch-wide cracks,
which havg)rocveciso trying to bare
legs and -'ms as tjg -wimer winds
howled th-ugh,, are o be closed for
ever. Frn now on intherford will
have a pee for exeuise in which
every stent can play safely and
without ar.