The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-01-11
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

| Have you ever been to Marion? If not and you want to visit it, it makes no dit- ference which route you take If you start from Birmingham, you will wish that you l had taken the other; but, after you ar
 rive you forget all your travel weariness
 in the proverbial hospitality of the peo- pie.
 I I know we southerners are bit prone | to boast of our hospitality, and when accused of it by outsiders we readily no- init it. I happened to be in the lobby i of the Exchange hotel recently, and
 handsome soldier boy came and sat by
 me on the big lounge, and as is my habit 1 when any one gets in Conversational
 range I get busy, for have never been in love with the silent life. sn ,sg Like Brooks Lawrence, the mai who at present is troubling the old line poll ticians he was from Ohio" but his sEel- come by Grandma" was quite diffetent from the one she gave to the gentlemani from Ohio, who got the habit of going. over the state making prohibition talks and always winding up with the usual collection" You can give one Ohioan the cold shoulder, but it is out of the question to "snub" whole regiments of them who instead of passing the plate are good spenders.
 But back to Marion and her hospitality, for she is past mistress in the art of en- tertaining the strangers within her gates, and because she has been at it for more than fourscore years, she has within her doors a great institution which is a mon- 1 ument daily witnessing to the fact that it pays to pay little social courtesies to sojourners. The great Judson college's foundation was built on hospitality and | it would be untrue to the spirit of its founders if it failed to dispense cheer to those who visit it.
 It is an old story to some of us, but umn, so I will tell 1t for their sakes Gen. Edwin D. King, a trustee of the state university, was attending meet ing of the trustees in 1888, when he met a gentleman from the north (not Ohio) who, with his wife, was travelling in his own conveyance through the south, seek ing & good location for establishing girls school. Having learned his pur- pose and being assured of his fitness for it, General King invited Mir. Jewett and his wife to visit Marion.
 pr. Basil Manly, the president of the State university, also gave him letter , of introduction to Mrs. Julia Barron, a lady of wealth and prominence in Marion. The Jewetts decided to visit Marion and present their letter of introduction, with the result that they were invited to din- ner. then to spend the night, then urged to spend the weekend, until finally they were permitted to bring their visit to an end after stay of six months, but not before arrangements had been made to found school for young women. 
 Six months is some record for hospi- tality. I personally know of only one in- stance in which it was beaten. At the close of the war young man whose par ents were dead and whose home was broken up was invited by his roommate | to spend the Christmas holidays with | him. He made such a hit with the old folks that they told their son to invite ] him to spend his vacation with them. He did SO and the invitation was &C., cepted. To make a long story short, he | just became member of the family and | only terminated his visit when he mar ried and set up home for himself. Now, 1 if had made up this tale would have I said that he and his wife remained
 under the hospitable roof
 1 Knowing about the hospitality of Ma rion and how the tradition of it's foun- 1 dation is preserved at the Judson, do you blame me for accepting an invitation to 1 deliver the Founders Day Address which is an annual feature? I literally l jumped at the chance and glad am l that I did, for I knew I was headed for l the presidents spacious home, where | would meet his charming wife, his lovely daughter, his splendid young son, and l his lovely grandchildren. The only thing ! to keep it from being complete was the l knowledge that he would be at Selma in | a hospital recovering from an opera | ton.
 1 The Judson was founded nearly four score years ago. On Monday evening l when I went on the platform I turned and saw the lie size portraits of the
 founders artistically decorated and i grouped on the stage Mrs Barron,
 looking like an old-time queen of the | ante- bellum days had the center, and on
 either side were the two men. General King, representing the highest type of
 southern chivalry, and Dr. Jewett, the best traditions of the north before the
 l war had cast its clouds over the land. l It was an inspiration to speak to several 1 hundred lovely girls and bunch of soi'
 dier boys from the Marion Military in
 stitute.
 After the talk a beautiful tableau
 1 under the skillful direction of Miss Kirt-
 ley was presented. The curtain was low
 cred and when 1t was raised again, we
 saw Mother Judson (Mrs. Hugh Wallace,
 seated in huge arm chair, and ther
 filed in nine beautiful girls dressed in
 the styles of the decades they repre-
 lsented. Eighteen thirty was portrayed
 by Louise Blake; 1840 by Ayeault Chap
 man; 1850 by Ola Davis; 1860 by Dorothy
 Ryan; 1870 by Minnie Tate 1880 by
 Esther Cole; 1890 by Martha Ashcraft;
 1900 by vyra Fisher, and 1920 by Mary
 Stewart. The Founders Day song was