The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-02-17
Strong School
 Graduates Renew
 Days Of Long Ago
Forty-six Students of Old
 Commercial and Military
 Institute Attended Dinner at Lehmann's Last Night
Interesting Photographs of Old Cadet Company Shown and Permanent Organization Formed.

| Renewing their school day friend
 ships of fifty years ago, 46 graduates of the Emory F. Strong Commercial
 anu Military Institute gathered at ! Lehmann's shore house, last evening,
 and after a good dinner formed a per
 manent organization. Some had not
 met for years and as the gray headed
 men slapped each other on the back
 and exchanged greetings there was a note of sadness in the gayety.
 There's two fellows who sat near
 me" What years did you attend ] the schOoI?'' Say. but it's great to I get together and talk over the old l days in this way These and like ex- ] classmates shook hands. For about
 an hour before the dinner was served | those who attended stood about in | little groups ta king over old times. ] Some interesting photographs of the
 cadet companies of the old school were | shown. One of them was taken by l George Lovejoy in 1863 when R. T.. | Whiting was captain. The company 1 is grouped on the steps of the city hall | on the State street side. Many of 1 those at the dinner last night are in | the photograph. The cadets present | a smart military appearance even though in some instances the guns are ] taller than the boys who carry them S. c. Patterson was the first captain | | Hawley was third. The exhibition of 1 this photograph brought tears to the ] eyes of some who, as it were, were | brought suddenly face to face wi h
 their dead selves The interval of nearly half a century was lifted and i they were permitted a glance Rack
 ward into the long, long ago of their | boyhood.
 An oil painting of MT. Strong was displayed on an easel surrounded with flags This painting was presented to the association by Mrs Strong. It was voted to purchase the god trim
 med silver cup presented to MT. Strong l in 1858. The cup was on exhibition last night and 1t bears this inscrip- tion:
 Presented to Emory F. Strong by
 the pupils of the State street public school, Bridgeport, Conn, July 2S,
 1858"
 With the exception of the newspa- permen Rev. E. J. Craft, rector of
 Christ P. E. Church, was the only
 person present who had not attended the school. The talk of the speakers
 was mostly "reminiscences of the'r old school days. MT. Strong's book in
 which he kept the names of his pupils
 and their fathers names was present.
 ed to the association by Mrs. Strong.
 It was decided to form a perma-
 nent organization and the following
 officers were elected: President, R. q. Buckingham; second vice president,
 John w. Hawley; secretary, F. J. Naramore; treasurer, Henry w. Lyon:
 historian, George M. Baldwin; board George M. Baldwin, Henry Veit, James Beach and James H. O'ROurke; chap lain, Rev. E. J. Craft of Christ church. The nominating committee consisted
 of Charles Buckingham, Charles Cal houn, Wat Wilmot, Garry Sanger
 and Clinton Hawley.
 Letters of regret were read from
 the following: George W. Lee and
 George Morford of Jacksonville, Fla;
 Frank W. Hurd, George w. Cornell,
 F. R. Burnham, New York; William
 Thomas C. Lee. Mt. Vernon; George
 D. Lord, Chicago, and Rev. Charles
 J. McElroy, pastor of St. Augustine's
 church.
 ter. The festivities opened with a
 toast to Emory F. Strong by F. J.
 Naramore, and this was followed by
 the singing of "Auld Lang Syne."
 Those present last evening were: H.
 c. Plumb, T. H. Paine, J. N Standtsh,
 O. H. Brothwen, F. O. Rhodes, F. w.
 Parrott. T. NJ. Palmer, E. H. Dewhirst,
 R. T. Whiting, W. B. Palmer, F. J.
 Naramore, F. J. Banks, H. D. Booth,
 J. M. Hawley, c. W. Wilson, J. H. O'Rourke, E. s. Fairchild, J. E. Beach,
 W. H. Hart. F. A. Burnham, w F.
 Plumb, H. W. Lyon, William Russell,
 H. A. Wales, w. F. Hurd, l.. D.
 Plumb, c. M. Gerdenier, H. $. Wilmot, EI- D. ESChr O d. EoCS lIlOCIB n" V SllB
 G. M. Baldwin, H. W. Smith. W. A.
 Brothwell, A. F. Warner, G. H. Zink,
 Jr., F. L. Hanson, G. c. Sanger, M.
 C. Hitchcock, T. F. Walse, C. B. Buck
 F. s. Hawley and G. W. Benedict of Naugatuck.
 The Commercial and Military Insti- tute of which Emory F. Strong was
 the principal, was opened in 1862 and continued until 1877. MT. Strong came here from New Hampshire to succeed
 MT sherman, who was known to the pupils as Lobby Sherman, owing to the fact that he was in the habit of telling the pupils to close the lobby door. Two years later the handsome goblet was presented to MT. Strong by his pupils and it was made by J. c. Blackman, a jeweler, whose store was located where the Davis & Haw- ley store now stands. The public school of which MT. Strong was prin- cipal at that time was in State street and 1t became so crowded that it was l decided to erect building in Prospect ! street. MT. Strong took an active in terest in the work of building the new schoolhouse, and one evening, a speak CT said last evening, some boys broke into the sehoo house and defaced the
 bIackboards. The fathers of some of the boys took exception to Mir Strong's discipline towards the boys at the time and the following year he was It was then that the idea of the Commercial and Military school was conceived and it was located in the Sturdevant building where the law offices of Beers & Foster are at the present time. After giving up his school life, MT. Strong was elected a selectman of this city and the last time that he appeared before the vot- CTS or the city was when he ran for Mayor on the Republican ticket against Frank E. Clark and was de- feated.
 It vas nearly midnight before 'ast nights gathering broke up, and before the diners dispersed it was voted to make the dinner an annual affair LIZ RARTI8 M