The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-05-14
CORNER STONE OF COOKE LIBRARY
IS LAID WITH MUCH CEREMONY
Latest Addition to the
Punahou Buildings
a Worthy One.

'I pronounce the corner stone of the
Cooke Library laid level. plumb and
square" announced pretty little Doro-
thea Alice Cooke yesterday afternoon,
tapping the great block of Hawaiian
blue stone three times with the little
silver trowel handed her for the cere-
mony. Then she shyly faced the cam
eras and the jubilant knot of students
gathered near her broke into a rousing
college yell.
Thus was the conclusion of a splen-
did program, presented before several
hundred of the friends of the Oahu
College and members of the alumni
yesterday. celebrating the laying of the
corner stone of the proposed beautiful
library building for that institution,
the erection of which is made possible
through the munificence of Mr.. and
Mrs. c. NJ. Cooke. Gathered at the
ceremony were many of the leading
men and women of the Territory men
and women who had attended the COL
lege as pupils and who have never
forgotten the loyalty and love they
bore for Punahou, while the present
day students were present in body
and took a prominent part in the cor
ner stone-laying ceremony. The day
was an ideal one and the beautiful
grounds of the college never looked
more attractive than they did yester-
day in honor of the revisiting of the
sons and daughters of Punahou.
Splendid arrangements for the view
ing of the actual laying of the stone,
= On which 1908" stood boldly in re-
lief, and for the seating of the guests
during the preliminary program had
been made, chairs having been ar
ranged on the green back of the Bing-
ham Hall, which the new library
building will face, and here, in the
shade of the trees. were gathered the
guests and the pupils, a speakers
stand being erected before the semi
circle of chairs, some distance in front
of the new building. On this platform
We're those who took part in the exer-
cises and some few guests of honor,
including Charles M. Cooke, his son,
Clarence H. Cooke, and his grand
daughter Dorothea. Others on the
stand were w. r. Castle, Judge Perry.
l. A. Thurston, Walter Dillingham;, A.
r. JuQU, W. l.. WIlllHeys II ID. 1CdilioA
and President Griffiths.
The program opened with a song of
greeting from the Punahou Prepara-
tory School chorus. led by r. Rudland
Bode, splendidly sung. at the conclu-
sion of which DR.. Scudder led in
prayer.
HISTORY OF THE LIBRARY.
DIR. Alexander, Fawaiis historian,
then traced the history of the library,
from the misty beginning chronicled
in incidental mention in documents of
the fifties until the present, the speak
er stating that he was glad to have
lived To see the day when the wish
for a separate and adequate library
building expressed in a report of 1866
had at last been answered, forty-two
years later. The nucleus of the Puma
hou library were the books brought
from the old missionary homes of Ho-
nolulu. a large proportion of them be-
ing ''of solid New England theology.
Contributions of books gradually built
up the library during the years, among
those who have assisted being Rev.
AAorrin Andrews. Captain Cleaveland,
Mon. Luther Severance, Judge Austin,
Rev. c. r. Mills, Rev. DR.. Damon,