New-York tribune., 1907-10-06
RAIN BROWNS SPEA-ERS.

One serious interruption to which the exercises
in the tabernacle formerly subject has been
corrected by a change of dates This trouble was
rain The great barn makes perfect sounding
board, AID the downpours which are common IN
Kentucky late in June often made it Impossible to
hear anv speaker. On one occasion well known
New York woman philanthropst was visiting the
school for the first time and every effort was oe-
ing made to make her stay pleasant. But the rain
came, and showers all day draggled, without
diminishing, the crowd, and water began 10 drip
through the roof. which the college could not aord
to have mended. Soon the audience blossomed
with umbrellas and all the while the orator fought
vainly against cataractlike roar that filled the
place. He succumbed, and speaker whose deep
voice had gained strength at camp meetings ana IN
mountain campaigns called on only TO ran
also At this point living pipe organ in the
audience came to the by starting a hymn,
and for fifteen minutes the audience with rain
dripping from the leaky roof to their umbrellas,
and from these down each others necks' sang
Showers of Blessings"
The next year the date of the commencement was
moved forward three weeks, out of the rainy sea-
son and a man who had given 10 the college OF his
business ability but never OF the wealth IL had
brought him surprised both his friends and the
school by a contribution which made a tight roof
the big barn possible.
The graduation exercises differ from the usual
ones in that the students. far possible, show
what they have learned. The class in carpentry
puts together Howe bridge truss on the platform;
the nurses caps and aprons read papers on diff
fe-ent phases of the Of the sick the domestic
science girls tell how to cook, keep house or make
dresses.
hogs and corn that play so large part in the
mountain economy, and on. while only the coll
lege graduates and few from the large class from
the normal department present the usual papers.
The commencement exercises do not take place
in the Tabernacle" however. All the college de-
partments, as well as the model schools OF the
normal department, open, and many noun
tain housewife or farmer gathers from them points
which will be used in log cabin homes Then. too
the industrial departments have been extended
from the school to the home the farmers wives in
particular having been encouraged to continue and
improve upon the homespun industries of their
mothers. How successfully this has been done can
be from the show rooms, where home grown,
spun, dyed and woven linen, cotton and Woollen
cloths and home woven rugs be seen. Prizes
are offered for the best OF these. and wonderful
''kivers," or bedspreads some of them woven from
patterns which have been preserved since the
Revolution. shown. These sold, often
through the agency of the college, and the pro-
ceeds, going back TO the makers. usually come
again to the schools Golfers in return for educa~
ton.
All the machinery OF the various departments at
tracts crowds all day. The linotype machine in the
college printing office Is continually surrounded by
awed crowd, and the operator spends most Of
the day setting UP the of the visitors, giving
to each the little chunk OF metal a souvenir.
The churns in the dairy kept in constant
empty whirl for the benefit OF the farmers wives
who used only TO the old up-and-down kind
The farm machinery is explained and
again. together with the advantages OF the silo
and the feeding Of ensilage, and so on.
Meanwhile, over the campus is tremendous pic
mic. Thousands eat the grass at noon, and all
day long children play among the legs OF the
horses, pursued by anxious mothers. The candy
and peanut stands are besieged all day long They
deal largely in the big sticks OF peppermint al
ready mentioned: in such unusual fruits oranges
and aprtcots in cocOanuts, and, of course In pink
lemonade. Milk shake was once tried, but failed
TO please. One speoulator brought in quantities OF
grape Juice. which long in selling because It
was in bottles which suggested spurious liquors
fitting commentary on the Hbellous stories OF
Kentucky habits.