FRIDAY, MAROH 18, 1927

THE MICHTGAN DAILY

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UNION GROWS FROM STUDENT IDEAS

AND

A CTIVITIES


SMALL UHOUP BEGINS
PLANS, FOR STUDENT

ORGANIZATION IN

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904

PARKER, '06L, IS LEADER Il
MOVEMENT; NAMED FIRST
PRESIDENT
MICHIGAMUA ASSISTS
Professors Bates, 'Allen, Scott, An:
Wenley Lend Active Support
To Campaig)

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By NELSON J. SMITH JR.
On a night in the spring of 1904 a!
group of serious-faced young men
sat around a table in Joe Parker's,
talking, as all men will, ideas of
shop-talking of the campus, the needs
of the campus and the conditions'
which they as thinking men must help
to change. Many were the faults
that they had to find and many the
ideas that were promulgated for the!
betterment of conditions. And it was
in the early morning of the next day
that the idea of the Union was born-
the idea that the campus must have a

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place where the community spirit
could come out and wherethe campus
could meet together with no cliques
or groups but as members of the
University of Michigan. This mem-
bership in the University was to be
the only requirement for membership.
Once born, the idea began to take
root and to impress its originators
more and more with its feasibility
and its necessity. Soon after this
the idea was presented to Michigamua
and a lengthy discussion followed with
the result that Michigamua, resolved
to lend its support and see the idea
through.
Then came two years of hard work,
two years in which men on committees
were working night and day with the
idea of getting a building for the Union
so that the Union might have some
standing. As yet, of course, the Union
as such had no recognition from the
faculty, its backers were simply, a
group of men working with the idea of
setting up a campus institution. Some
professors gave their endorsement and
worked with the committees, and am-
ong these men were Professors Bates,
Allen, Scott and Wenley. In these two
years entertainments of all kinds were
given, fairs, shows, raffles of every
kind, all of them with the idea of rais-
ing money.
Idea Discussed at Banquet
Then came the crowning of the
achievement-the anonceement to
the campus of the intentions of these
men and a request for support and
criticism. Little had been said about
the Union and ideas had not been
crystalized on one side or the other,
but the committee went on under the
leadership of Edward F. Parker, '06L,
and they arranged a banquet to be
given in Waterman gymnasium. Up to
the hour of the banquet there was no
excitement and the committee had
little idea whether or not the idea was
going across or if it was to be al-
lowed to die for lack of support. But
the hour of the banquet came and the
walks and the diagonal were crowded
with men, talking of the same thing
and going to the same place. And at
the tables arranged in the gymnasium
that night 1100 men sat down to dis-
cuss the pla and to end by giving it
the support-that made the idea a real-
ity-the Union was launched and suc-
cess looked not so far away!
Papers of incorporation were drawn
up and Bob Parker was elected presi-
dent ofthe body. Plans were begun
for the building that was to house the
organization and to take its place as a
campus center, and at the suggestion
of Professor Bates, now Dean Bates
of the Law school, the fund was set
at a million dollars.
In 1906 the old Cooley home on the
land where the present Union now
stands was purchased by the new cor-
poration and remodeled to serve to
suit club requirements. Two dining
rooms, lounge rooms and reading
rooms marked the main features. The
Union then became the center of
campus activities and became one of
the moving powers of the campus. It
was the executive board of the Union
that suggested to the Board of Regents
that a student council be installed and,
not long after this, it was the sugges-
tions and the efforts of the same
group that led to the formation of the
University Health service.
Heath Named Manager
For nine years the Union flourished
in its quarters, fulfilling the functions
of an all-inclusive student club and
taking the lead in all matters of form-
ing and leading student opinion and
desire in a well-organized and effec-
tive manner. Under Homer Heath,'07,
who assumed the managership and
held that position for 18 years, the
Union grew in popularity until the
size of the school made it impossible
for the Union to take its full posi-
tion as a meeting place-there was


Cooley Home Purchased For Union Work lew Union Building
ANNVAL MIMES OPEPig
In 1906 On Site of Present Structure esult Of Donations
... /UC I WN GIVES STUDENTS
,s~ ~ "TRAI'NING IN A( TINA ANI)
/ MANAVGEMENT
- ~~Mimes Lead Cmu nPeetto f
- -Legitimate Ireductions
-~ - By NELSON J. SMITH Jr.
The annual opera put on by mem-
- bhers of Mimes, an organization affihi I
.~~ ated with the Union, is one of th'e m
most distinctive activities of the Un
in. .In campus dramatics most of the
productions of this nature general~y..-.....
fall into the hands of the department
.in 1906, the old Cooley home, which purchased by the Union corporation of public speaking, and the bodIy soon
is shown above on the site where the and remodeled as a student commun- becomes a routine part of the currieu-
present Union building stands, was ity center. lum. But the Mimes have made the
opera and their other activities pe- Opened in the fall semester of 1919
the present Union building shown
ity and were taking this way of pass- that were pledged, left $16,148 to be culiarly their own, and have madle the abov a aepsil ytege
ing omegoodto hosewhower to btaned n te sringof 925. . podutid noftramaicson ldrammpatov wa mae posibecbythegre
ing omegoo tothoe wh wee t obaind inthesprng f 125.a part of the student life, with a stn-
follow them. Then the Alumni association step- dent organization, student actors, and IRouge," and "Fool's Paradise." In
Pond and Pond of Chicago, members ped into the ring with an offer that student managers. i1918 the production of "Let's Go" was
of he lases f '9 ad '0, rewfor every $5 raised by the members First Opera Giveni in 1)07
of te 'lases f 79and80 rewof the Union towards the $16,000, they The first opera was in 1907 witli only made possible by the admission
the plans and construction of the would raise $10. By this means, the the title "Michigenda" and the book<o oe note at ic tws
building was begun. But the war amount was raised and on March 28, by Donald Hamilton Haines, '08, and during wartime. This was the first
came and there was a consequent 1925 thie Union pool was opened to the Roy Welch, '09. The officers of the and the last break in the old tradi-
boom in the prices of building mater- public. Union were a little dubious as to the tion that the Opera was to be a
191s.9 raie an adtionaly $20,00to l'iinish Penidelton Library outcome of the experiment because strictly masculine affair, and in the
191 rasedan ddiionl $00,00 o yit nvoved an expendhiture of more ifollowing year the Opera returned
hopedrat is wold cvernse n irew saidt hi parents asthe stood onv than $10,000, and there was little to Ionce more to the male requirement
hopd tatthi woldcovr he ntie aidto isparnt asthe soodonindicate which side of: the ledger Each show that came after this
cost. the third floor of the Union and lookred wo ar h al fisscesvied with the preceding one in pro-
New nio Opnedin 119 hrogh he lcov widow istheor failure. But after the run had tentiousness and effect. "George Did
The new Union building was opened library of the Union." And the parents, finished there was little doubt in the It," "Top o' the Morning," "Make It
at the beginning of the fall semester upOn looking down, would have found mid of'emngr ta h pr fo 'To" "n an out' "Cottn
of 119.Theexpnse ha ovr- nly tepladers cavas bromsandwould be a regular insititution he- Stockings," "Ticklcd to Death," "Tam-
reached every estimate and there was all of the other things that are krept canse i[ had made money, it had bourinc" and "Front Page Stuff" are
yet a mortgage of $200,000 on the in a store-room, for that is the pur- proved a great advertisement, andl the all titles that have become history,.
building. Besides this the swimming pose to which the library was beint; field for that sort of thing looked and the excellence of the shows and
pdol was not completed and the room put. Sometimes the litter was cleared er rmsn.the amount of entertainmcint t hat
tha-t was designed as- a library was away, chairs were put into the hall anid very prising. i h sc he for satetd yte xe-
bare of books and furnishings, it was used as an assembly room for' ceeding -years by "Culture," "Koanga- sion of tile trip to the larger cittes
Until December, 1920, the pool stood smokers and as a meeting room for or- lail," "The Crimson Chest," and "Tim (if Ameri('a enthusiastic plaudlits of the
unused because there were no funds ganizatiens. But all in all it was a Awkein Eameses," all OF whi(ch press of the nation.
to complete it. A short time later, lot on the building, it was a bare, wr ihyscesu n eta Cmu rmtc rmtd
the Union started a drive and raised dirty spot in an otherwise almost iper- little further along the path of mnak- But it is not ins this field alone
over $11,000, leaving $36,000 yet to be ftbudm.ngthe opera a dietiuctive Michigan that. Mimes have payda ar.Per-
raised before the pool couldi be comn- There was not enough money in the institution. In 1 913 Mimes was o.rgan- Iaps even more significant than the
pleted. In 1921 no attempt was made treasury to even attempt to start ized and the Part of this organiza- Opera is their contribution 'tO, and
to raise funds for the pool, but a drive decorating the room and it was deemed tion in the dramatics of the campus their promotion of, campus dramatics
in i922 yielded $4,700. The following wiser to leave the room bare until was assured. For the' first opera pro- on the campus during the year. In
year nothing was done, but in 1924 funds appeared than to decorate the duced under the leadership of Mimes, their 4layhouse, with complete equip-
the Union inaugurated the plan of room in a manner out of keeping with "Contrarie Mary" was taken on an mont that marks it as one of the out-
giving entertainments to raise the the general effect of the building. ambitious tour Of the st ate. Tphe standing college theatres in the coun-
amounts necessary. By these affairs The first move to raise funds was operas iin the next four years under try, they are producing continually
they raised about $4,000 and this, with made by the Veterans of Foreign Wars the new leadership were "A Model the best bits from the contemporary
the previous amount and the amounts (Continued on Page 14) Daughter," "All That Glitters," "Tres stage and are setting the pace for

,number of moderate contributions
from Michigan alumni in all parts ofE
t the world.

Opened In 1919 AsI
From Many Alumni
,. UN JIVERSITY'S DESTINY


branches of the University were dis-
qther activities of a similar nature on continued, leaving it merely a literary
the campus. Such plays as Verhaer- school. The funds available were the
amounts reaihzed on the sale of state
en's "The Cloister," "The Thirteenth lands and due to the powerful influ-
Chair," and "Release," stand forth as .ence of the land speculators in the
some of the earlier things produced. legislature there is considerable room
In later years such pieces as Gil- for doubt as to whether the University
bert's "Engaged," Holberg's "Beggar- actually received all of the meager
man," translated by Prof. O. J. Camp- suin that it should have had.
bell, and Eugene O'Neill's triology of As far as the students yere con-
sea, plays, "S. S. Glencairn," have cerned this must have been the golden
been so well presented and have so age financially, however, for $21 a
captured the audiences that their suc- year was adequate to cover all ex-
cesses have far exceeded all expecta- penses of the University itself. There
tions. The recent presentation of "R. was no blanket tax and no campaigns
U. R." Karel Capek's highly fantastic for women's league buildings, so the
play, the announcement of Hatcher peace and contentment of the student
H-ughes' "Hell Bent Fer Heaven" and body generally could scarcely have
the much heralded "State Street Fol- been more ideal.
lies" mark the continuation of a longI For diversion from time to time the
Vie of successes, chapel was filled with hay, anpl one
Mimes stands almost alone in its of the abundant calves. might be put
achievement. It is, as an organiza- into a class room. The 8:40 rush was
tion, a part of the Michigan Union, unknown, and town girls, carefully
and its successes carry the name of extracted from the residences of the
tihe Union wherever the Opera is townspeople. which were close to the
spoken of. river in what is n'ow lower town, fur-
nished feminine companionship. Beer
OHIO STATE.-President Rightmire and wine parties with the German
advocates a carless campus. residents of the town were not fre-
quent, as far as is known, and. not
PENN STATE.-Two hundred can- serious if frequent.
didates tried out for the Thespians. ! From time to time the chapel bell,
which called the students to the open-
PENN STATE.- A committee has ing of glasses every morning was
been formed to enforce freshman cus- turned upside down and filled with
toms. - water on cold nights. Then the water
YALKE.-Forty-six juniors and sen- would freeze and the chapel hell
fors were elected to Phi Beta Kappa. 1 (Continued on Page 15)

(ontinuedI from Page 11)
were responsible to a board of visi-
tors, consisting of five people appoint-
ed annually by the Superintendent of
Public Instruction and to whom the
expenditures, textbooks, and a budget
for the ensuing year were all revealed.
In 1839 the railroad connecting An
Arbor with Detroit was completed' and
one train a lay was run between De-
troit and the western outpost of
civilization-Dexter.
University Opens in 1,841
Four houses had been erected for
the faculty on the campus, and in the
fall of 1841 the University of Michigan
opened its doors to a class of six stu-
dents. One of the original profes-
sors' houses still stands as the presi-
dent's residence on South University
avenue.
Then things began to happen rapid-
ly. The next year another professor
was added to the faculty, Abram Sager,
who took the chair of botany and
zcology, and in this year also the leg-
islative appropriations for the

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Twenty

Year.s o

bervice

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The University of Michigan

is today oh-

serving the ninetieth anniversary of its found-
ing. During twenty of those ninety years, the
Varsity Laundry has had the pleasure of
serving the students and faculty. The Varsity
has grown to its present size by a policy of
untiring and relentless usefulness and consid-

eration for our customers.

There is only one

kind of Varsity service and it is well known.
Phone.4219

THE

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