Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1917-10-18
CUMBERLAND VALLEY
INSTITUTE IN PENNSYLVANIA
A Visit Reviewed By Memories
School Whose Alumni Cannot
Be Excelled For Industry
And Fidelity.
Written for The Evening Capital By
DIR. Ellhu :. Riley.
PART l.

DIR. Elihu ;. Riley.
PART l.
1t was my good fortune in my early
teens 10 attend the Cumberland VAL
ley Institute, at fredericksburg. in the
fertile and beautiful Cumberland VAL
ley of Pennsylvania This summer l
had the pleasure of spending two
days in this famous section of "the
Keystone State"
The visit revived memories OF the
residence in it. This Academy that
attended has passed into the regions
Of the obsolete, but its memories. one
| professor and a few scholars now re-
main 10 love its name and associa-
tons. The teacher who is still with
US is Alexander Hamilton Eye. Alb,
of Dickinson College, and now look
ing eighty years in the face, and is as
alert in mind as when he taught us
| German and Latin in the morning
hour of school before breakfast. He
lives at Mechanicsburg, and is in, with
his vigorous pen, every civic fight for
advancement in methods and morals
prohibition issue his quill has dia-
m0nd point, and it is refreshing to
read his heric arguments in favor of.
the righteous cause and in arraign-
ment of the liquor traffic.
That Academy was very exacting
school Its scholars could not be eX-
celled for industry and fidelity to the
| ~, w Of =
A. NJ. and after reading of Scriptures
and prayers, we began with the sched-
ule of studies for the day at At
A. NJ breakfast was served, and at
school opened again Dinner at
noon, and school again at 2, until 5
p NJ. Supper was then furnished,
and after that the scholars were per-
mitted to go into the town and remain
Until p. NJ, when school began again
and continued until 8 P. NJ. Then
came evening prayers. and the rest
| period for one hour when the bell
rang for us to retire, and the Master
called down the corridors "All lights
out to awaken us at $50 A. NJ. with
the ringing of the bell and the
|
There was no tagging in the roll
call. Time was saved by emitting
first and sur-names, and giving each
scholar a numerical designation So
the morning roll-call went off as
quick as the Professor could enum-
crate There is still the picture in
my mind of that morning when my
| 4
stairs and dressing as he came, was
just getting in his coat, as he reached
| the open door of the school room and
had only time to poke his head in the
! door, with his body still in the hall.
electrified the school by calling out
as the professor said Fifteen"
"Herei"
Those mornings before breakfast
were never delightful. The fires were
low. and the lights weren't perfect,
Tut there was no lifting of the brakes
| in instruction. That had to go on,
even if the snow lay foot deep out
| side and the cold moon looked calmly
at the coming day. With me il was
impossible for my loyal American
tongue to twist itself into pronoune-
ing the "nicht" of that kissing and
gutteral language. One morning
after several vain endeavors to turn
the corners of this insinuating word
/ with my disobedient tongue the eX-
asperated professor doubled up his
| fist and made a pass at me. which
jovial thrust / quiet easily lodged,
/ - I 81, l,o5I
made, however, a signal of his in
J tense disgust at my inability to mas
! ter the pronunciation
| We marched to church in military
order and return the same way.
these were happy days at &C. V. L." as
we fondly called our school Our
teachers were our companions on our
walks. They were our congenial
friends and our playmates We all
ate at the same table and all of us
did our part in disposing of the 500
buckwheat cakes at breakfast plate
size, that it took for the less than 50
who sat at the ample board.
We played baseball Think OF
those halcyon days for novices when
Il q hASt bOutlu NOuAN put lAG UdA-
ter out, and when foul ball would
take the strikes off the batter, and he
| would begin again with clean sheet
to make a hit.
Our literary societies were open in
situations. They played fair. The
! chief business was TO have an enter
tainment every other Friday evening
ii. turn There were plays, music and
declarations, for what else could be
but eloquence and orations in liter
airy organizations that existed under
the name of the Ciceronia and
Demosthenian Societies. The town
people came up and the town boys
took part and there was an evening of
delight and enjoyment On red let
ter days in the calendar of our school
year, both societies would unite to
make the program. On one occasion
one of the societies did so well that
the pleased head of the school declar-
ed He would be satisfied if the whole
school did as well as the one society
Lad done that particular night"
That union program never took
place in its entirely The bugle
blast of war came, the rio in Balti-
more followed, the railroad was torn
up between Harrisburg. and my