Bryan daily eagle and pilot. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1909-1918, 1914-12-19
THE ALLEN ACADEMY BANQUET

bNNNhb'l ~ ~ hiiNh sRN"N'H4f VS."
one Of the most successful and enjoy
able entertainments ever pulled oil
by the school.
1t was given by the faculty in en-
tertainment OF the student body, the
board Of directors and former gradu.
ates OF the academy In Bryan.
The boys had In hand most OF the
work OF decorating the hall. They
used holly and Southern smllax, pen
nants and banners galore. They
worked with right good will and at
o'clock the doors swung wide and
the school and their guests entered,
brilliant scene was revealed. The
table, one hundred and twenty feet
long, was arranged in an unbroken
line around three sides OF the spacious
hall. A hundred covers had been laid
and every seat was occupied A more
beautiful scheme OF decoration could
hardly have been conceived. Around
the entire frleze were bright squares
in the colors Of Yale, Harvard, Chi
cago, Princeton and our own uniyer.
stiles and colleges. Below these the
pennants OF dozens OF schools were
hung, those OF Allen Academy being
most prominent In the center OF the
hall hung an immense wheel OF holly
green, from the rim OF which swayed
q circle OF tiny red bells, while down
the central division Of the hall were
wreaths Of green with a big red bell
In each. all suspended from the wooden
beams of the ceiling. Graceful fes
toons Of Southern smilax adorned the
walls over the three entrances TO the
hall. The bright pennants, the red
bells and the green Of the holly and
smilax, all blended to form rich
picture against the dark woodwork OF
the walls.
A four-course dinner was elegantly
served and fully enjoyed.
But the real feast came in the form
Of speeches. r. o. Allen acted as
POSTMASTER. The first five numbers
Of the program consisted Of short
toasts by the school boys, Sam Peters
speaking for the seniors, Robert Arm.
strong Jr. for the juniors, Royal Miller
for the Young Mems Christian Asso
citation. J. D. Dorman for the Maverick
and Lewis McCulloch toasting "Our
Coach" To say the boys did splen
didly is but well deserved praise
They spoke with an ease and earnest
ness worthy of older heads. Lewis
Mccullough referred to the coach as q
man las clean as Y. NJ. c. A. score
tary and as full OF pep as a bottle
OF tabasco." After such a send-of, Of
course Coach Firth had to respond:
and he did so with one Of the happiest
Of speeches. He set the ideal Of school
athletics high, not hesitating to say
that athletics in school would fail and
opght to fail unless made to conform
to every principle Of honor and even
to Christian standards. His talk met
with hearty response.
There were seated at the table a
number of the former graduates of
the school, When called upon to rep.
resent these, Robert S. Webb Jr re-
sponded with a very thoughtful and
appreciative talk, dwelling on the in
nuence of the academy as evidenced
in the character and careers OF the
boys after they leave school
The senior principal, moved by the
inspiration of the occasion, here spoke
with enthusiasm of the spirit and
work of the present student body and
of the loyalty Of Allen boys wherever
found.
Major l.. l.. McInnis represented on
the program the board Of directors
lie made one of the happest speeches
ever heard on such an occasion. He
reviewed very briefly the history OF
Allen Academy and pointed out the
elements of its success.
President w. B. Biz2ell of the A. &
NJ. College, principal speaker of the
evening, was next introduced. His
address was full of the directness and
practical wisdom which characterize
the man. 1t would be impossible in
this brief report even to outline the
splendid line of thought he presented
He spoke in terms such as even the
youngest boy could understand, yet
every sentence was full of ripest
thought. There was in his message
something greater than the address
itself-a magnetic personality, domi-
nant spirit, high ideal and the man
" purpose to achieve it, which proved
contagious and inspiring,
MI An, Lo,c ,vorn rOrtunoto In