Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-06-18
GOLDEN JUBILEE.
Medical Department of Univer-
sitv of Vermont to
Celebrate.
REUNION OF ALUMNI
Planned fer Thursday Evening of Next
Week, Following the Commence
mcnt Exerciscs-COnstant Pro-
grcss of Institution During
the Half Century.
REUNION OF ALUMNI

The 5oth annual commencement of the
medical department Of the University of
Vermont will occur next week and the
faculty are planning II celebration APP
propriatc to the occasion. The festivities
viii begin on Wednesday evening. June
"a following the presidents reception at
the Billings Library, when there will be
reunions and banquets of the three med
cal societies, the Delta Mu, Fiji Chi and
Alpha Kappa. On Thursday during the
day there will be reunions of a number
of the classes. 1t will be the 10Th ami
vcrsary of the class of 1883 and DR.. RI.
G. Tinkham. the dean of the faculty, has
invited his classmates to be his guests at
a banquet at ! p. m. that day at the Van
Ness House. Tho class of 1893 will have
a 10th anniversary banquet and n reunion
of the class of 1856 has been arranged.
1t is probable that some of the older
classes will also have reunions.
The commencement exercises will be
held on Thursday evening, June -, at the
opera house. There will he an address by
the Rev =. j. Barrett of this city, the
valedictory will be spoken by Charles F.
Dalton of Springfield Mass, and the
prizes and diplomas will be awarded.
Following the exercises there will be an
alumni reunion and banquet, celebra ting
the semi-centcnnial at the Van Ness
House This banquet is rendered by the
faculty and will take the place of the GUS
tomary lunch served to the members of
the graduating class. At this banquet
an alumni association will be formed and
it is proposed hereafter to keep a record
of the graduates i'll the medical depart
mcnt and to maintain that close relation
ship between the graduates and their
alma mater which has SO long existed in
the acadcmical department. There will be
no formal address at this reunion but re-
marks Will be made by some of those
present. The oldest graduate known to
be living is DIR. -. +. Smith of Plaintield
of the class OF lN56 and il Is expected that
he will be present. Four OF the class of
1851 are known to be living. and one of
them. DR.. W. +. I.azelle, also resides in
Planheld. Another is DR.. j. II. Bailey
of Ticondcroga, n. y. another is DR.. G.
II. Allen of Centerville. Cal. while the
fourth is Dr. b. w. Carpenter of this
city.
Although the medical department of
the University of Vermont is as pros
porous now as anyone could wish, those
who have guided its fortunes from the
beginning have not always had smooth
sailing The first class Of four students
was graduated in 1S23. For a few years
there was an increase in the number of
graduates each year, but in 1888 the num-
llor hal dropped to four, y year later
another quartctte were sent forth to heal
tho sick but in 1881 there was no one to
graduate. James Miller constituted the
graduating class in 1885 and at this point
the faculty gave up the fight. About 800
the late Drs. Walter Carpenter and S. w
ThaYer with a few other physicians.
deemed tn" time ripe for resumption
of medical lectures and the department
WAS rcorganized. the first class of six
students graduating in lN-4. 1t is the an
nivorsary of that commencement which
is to be celebrated this year. There has