The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-10-16
DAYS OF AULD LANG SYNE.
The "Old Seminary Boys Indulge in
the Regular Annual Reunion.
The Glories of Skinny, TOwn-Ball and
Games of Forty Years Ago-The Paper
of Necroiogist SulgroVe.

The seventh reunion of the former pupils of
the whilom Marion County Seminary was held
yesterday at the Exposition building and
grounds. The venerable seminarians-for the
school fourished from 1884 to 1853-were a little
slow in arriving, few coming to the place of
meeting before 10 o'clock, and were then SO busy
with memories of the long ago that no formal
meeting could be held. In the meantime the
wives and daughters of the old school friends,
who had come with wellflled baskets, were en-
gagged in spreading out bountiful dinner.
Shortly after IL o'clock they seated themselves
at long table in the Exposition building where,
after grace by Rev. William Sickles, dining, in
terspersed with informal talks and brief speeches,
began Oliver M. Wilson. corresponding
secretary, read letters from a number
of "Old Seminary boys" among which were let
tiers from John W. Spencer Of Paxton, Ind of
the class of "a; w. T. Brandon, of Carlisle, Pa;
Gibson c. Brandon, of ST. Mary's Pa; F. Nj.
Mothershead Of Columbus, Ind, and Frank B.
Greasy, of Detroit Mich
An extract from Mr.. Spencer's letter reads as
follows: "Your letter calls to n11nd the sacred
memory of my dear old teachers Of the Marion
County Seminary-Dumont, Hill, Gregg and
Sullivan. was boy ten years old on that play
ground the morning of the day that Mr.. e.
Dumont arrived as the first teacher in the year
1884 When l saw the Old Seminary, two
stories high, even if it was not plastered, 1
thought it was grand. I soon became acquainted
with the Fletcher boys and Elijah, Miles j. and
Calvin were my chums. and SO were John Foster,
George Maine and Trusten B. Kinder. think
the artist who made the sketch on the circular of
doe to Cal Fletcher"
Theodore A. Ross, of Baltimore, grand secre-
tary of the Sovereign Grand Lodge /. o. O. F..
writes regretting his inability to attend, ana
with touching pathos recalls the memories of his
school days and school friends of the time of Mr.
Kemper's teaching, 1885.
Of the teachers of the Old Seminary, the ven
cradle VIM. Sullivan, of this city, and Rev
James S. Kemper, now of South Charleston, o.,
were present. Squire Sullivan taught in 1886
81, while Mr.. Kemper's term being later and
longer 1S38-45. the greater number of those
present were his former pupils. Mr.. kemper
was accompanied by his wife and daughter. He
made a touching little speech during the dinner,
in which he dwelt affectionately upon the rela-
tons that had existed between him and most of
those about the table nearly half century ago,
many of whom now gray haired grand
sires. Among the OLD Seminary boys pres
ent, were Ananias P. Luse, of Chicago, Austin
b. Brown, Alex e. Jameson, Calvin Fletcher.
Ignatius Brown. Fielding Beeler, Hannibal
Taffe Samuel Morris, Thomas Warner, David
Culley, Joseph K. English Henry Coburn, B.
r. Sulgrove, George Pitts, Elisha Rowland, Ira
Williamson, Charles Rowland, Samuel Seibert,
Bishop Osborne, Samuel G.. Merrill, Napoleon B.
Taylor. Salmon p. Buell., Thaddeus Stevens, l..
II
Sloan, David Brouse, W. L. Moreland, Joseph
P. Pope, V. II. Malo,t. James R. Blake. John
w. Blake, William NJ. Blake. Gilmore Jordan,
John II. Ohr, Alex Woods, Edward Bassett,
George Hantsch Charles Morrison George Z.
Anderson. Henry G. Wilson, Oliver NJ Wilson,
James w. Brown, James G. Douglass, Robert
E. Smith, Frank Hamilton Among the
seminary girls" those who attended the
school when it was not an exclu-
sivsly for boys boy; school M who Mere Mns
Julia Moores, Mrs. Calvin Fletcher, Mrs Austin
H. Brown, Mrs. David Macy, Mrs. Fielding
Beeler, Mrs. Jane Ketcham, Mrs. Margaret
Woods, Mrs. B. r. Sulgrove, Mrs Maria Bird,
Street. of San Francisco, Cal, Mrs. Maria
Peasey Elliott, of Shelbyville, Mrs. Q. H. Hobart
Vawter, Mrs John NJ Wood, Mrs. Charles
Rowland, Mrs. Eliza r. Sharpe Eckert Mrs
Eliza Foote McCready, Mrs. G. NJ. Darrow, of
Cumberland, Mrs. Saie Taffe Huntington, of
Cumberland Mrs. Mary Graydou. Among the
other ladies present were Mrs. William Sullivan,
Mrs. Henry Coburn. Mrs E. G. Rowland, Mrs
Della Foudray, Mrs. John W. Blake, Mrs.
Theodore Wagner, MIS-. Emil Wulschner. Mrs.
Thomas Wyatt, Mrs. Charles l.. Hostein, Mrs.
Anna Morris, Mrs. Wooden, Mrs. Shindle, Miss
Ida Buler, Mrs. James Roberts. Mrs. Samuel
Seibert, Mrs. Solomon Ciaypool. Miss Emily
Fletcher the Misses Anderson, Miss Jeanette
Moores Miss Ida Haugh.
Among the pleasant speeches was one by Cal
win Fletcher. who described the Old Seminary
building it looned up in his memory two stories
high and with a cupola on top. He had seen St
Pauls. in London, and st. Peters, in Rome.
since, but they faded into insgnfcance and
seemed mere trash by comparison with the Old
Seminary as it rose in his memory. He spoke
of the method of teaching in that day, where
the scholars were allowed to retain their individ-
uality. They were as stones taken from the
quarry, with the corners shaped up little here
| and there, sometimes before and sometimes be-
| hind and not as in the methods now in use in
the public schools, where the children were pat
| entright concrete bricks-every one made just
| alike.
| To this Austin n. Brown replied that If we
had little of the Kemper and Sullivan style of
| teaching now the scholars would be the better
| for it. 1t may be the scholars did not learn so
| much in those days as now, but they learned it
| well.
Mr. sULGROvE's ADDRESS.
Berry r. Sugrove. historian of the associa.
| ton, then spoke as follows:
| The reunion of "a was lost in the political con
| fiict for no sufficient reason that l have ever
| been able to discover. But it didn't show up,
| and the record for that year would have shown
| the death OF one Old Seminary boy, James NJ.
| Buchanan, who was the of an old resident,
Thomas Buchanan, born here in 1885, and at
tended the seminary in its latter days under Mr..
| Lang. He was captain of Company A. of the
| Seventy ninth Indiana Regiment during the war,
| and was so severely wounded at Chickamauga
| that he never fully recovered. He established a
pillow and wagon works South East street,
and died at the comparatively early age of forty
six, we'll esteemed, and well maintaining the
| credit of the old school. Mr.. Lang died at Oska
| loosa Kan, last summer, but have been unable
to learn enough of his early life to attempt bio
graphical sketch, and of his career teacher
| N the Old Seminary there Is no need
to say anything to those who were part of it.
| He was an Ohoan. think, and was educated a,