{"id":790,"date":"2024-04-26T20:11:53","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T20:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/?p=790"},"modified":"2026-04-15T15:43:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T15:43:49","slug":"semicentennial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/semicentennial\/","title":{"rendered":"The Semicentennial Celebration of 1907"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
President Roosevelt gives the Commencement address, May 31, 1907. In the background are houses of Faculty Row<\/a>. Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Its early difficulties<\/a> far behind it, by the turn of the twentieth century the Michigan Agricultural College had reached a position of prominence and high regard among the nation\u2019s agricultural and mechanical colleges. Many M.A.C. graduates had gone on to become deans, directors, and professors at other colleges, spreading the influence of the pioneer land-grant institution far and wide<\/a>. Wanting to celebrate this success, and to \u201cmark the fiftieth milestone in the progress of the type of education which this college so fittingly represents,\u201d the College invited all its alumni to return to campus for a massive Semicentennial celebration in 1907.†<\/a><\/sup> 1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Map of campus by Beal used during his presentation on \u201cThe College in 1870.\u201d Although its title seems to imply that it is a map from 1870, it was actually drawn thirty-seven years later and depicts how Beal recalled the campus to have appeared when he first arrived. For numerous reasons, this map is suspect: it is missing several important farm buildings<\/a>, its roads are oversimplified and incomplete, and the area surrounding the west entrance (ironically, today named for the man himself) is inexplicably depicted as unimproved. In this author\u2019s opinion it should not be used as a historical reference except as an accompaniment for the lecture Beal gave on Wednesday afternoon, May 29, 1907. Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The week-long event began on Sunday afternoon, May 26, with Baccalaureate exercises held in the Armory<\/a> featuring a sermon by Dr. Matthew Henry Buckham, President of the University of Vermont (that state\u2019s land-grant institution). Two solid days of addresses and presentations followed on Wednesday and Thursday, May 29 and 30, most of them in a large assembly tent erected on the campus. These included speeches from Governor Fred Warner and various state education luminaries, an open session of the American Association of Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations, and a multi-lecture retrospective of the school\u2019s early days including \u201cThe College in 1870\u201d presented by Professor Beal<\/a>.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, some twelve hundred M.A.C. alumni and guests gathered for a luncheon in the large tent. \u201cThe crowd was grouped by classes, and each endeavored to prove that his class was still very much alive.\u201d That evening, along with a ceremonial illumination of the campus buildings, a procession of students singing college songs, and a bonfire in front of the brand-new\u00a0Wells Hall<\/a>, a new \u201cAlma Mater\u201d written especially for the occasion was performed for the first time. With lyrics by Board Secretary Addison Makepeace Brown, \u201cClose beside the Winding Cedar\u201d used a familiar melody \u201cthat was the college song for over a dozen colleges all over the nation,\u201d reputedly first as \u201cFar above Cayuga\u2019s Waters\u201d by M.A.C.\u2019s land-grant sibling Cornell University. (This song was officially replaced in 1949 by \u201cThe Shadows,\u201d written in 1927 by Bernard Traynor, which remains M.S.U.\u2019s alma mater song today.)3<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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President Roosevelt (rear seat at left) rides to campus in a REO Touring Car with Ransom E. Olds at the wheel. Also aboard are M.A.C. President J. L. Snyder (beside Roosevelt) and William Loeb, Roosevelt\u2019s secretary (beside Olds). Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The highlight of the week came on Friday, May 31, with Commencement, its address delivered by President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt. The President arrived in Lansing by train early Friday morning and was paraded down Michigan Avenue to the campus in a brand-new two-cylinder REO Touring Car\u2014driven by Ransom Eli Olds<\/a> himself, having won a coin toss against Oldsmobile president Samuel Smith.††<\/a><\/sup> After a brief respite from his travels, Roosevelt attended a private luncheon at the home of M.A.C. President J. L. Snyder, \u2116 1 Faculty Row<\/a>.4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday afternoon, following his participation in a ceremonial tree planting between Faculty Row \u2116s 1 and 2, Roosevelt took the stage that had been erected on the drill field (now Walter Adams<\/a> Field). He delivered a stirring address on the importance of scientific agriculture education, his un-amplified voice booming out over the crowd, whose estimated size ranged from 20,000 to 40,000 spectators. Roosevelt\u2019s comments on the federal responsibilities of farmers and the land-grant colleges were very warmly received, and prompted the later formation of the Extension Service, the annual Farmers\u2019 Week, and other programs.5<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The \u201cHuntington Elm\u201d planted by President Roosevelt in 1907 grew to become a prominent campus landmark. In this undated photo a student kneels to read a commemorative plaque placed by the M.S.C. Forestry Club in 1937. The tree was moved 200 feet south from its position along West Circle Drive in 1945 to accommodate the construction of Gilchrist Hall, but it \u201cdid not thrive in its new location.\u201d It was cut down in autumn 1947. Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span> (blog post<\/a><\/span>), which has a cross-section of the tree in its artifacts collection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Along with numerous congressmen and senators, a great many distinguished delegates attended the ceremonies, including several from universities and colleges of Europe and Canada. Among American schools, Cornell University was perhaps best represented, with seven delegates including alumni Liberty Hyde Bailey<\/a> (M.A.C. \u201982, M.S. ’86, Dean of Horticulture) and Rolla Clinton Carpenter<\/a> (M.A.C. \u201973, M.S. ’76, Professor of Mechanical Engineering). Carpenter was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws for his \u201cvaluable service\u2026 as a member of [the M.A.C.] faculty,\u201d \u201cengineering skill,\u201d and \u201cability as a designer of great construction render[ing him] worthy of special recognition.\u201d6<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also in attendance was Myrtle Craig (1883\u20131974, M.A.C. \u201907), who became on that day the first African-American woman to graduate from the College. She and her fellow 1907 graduates were handed their degrees by President Roosevelt himself.7<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n

  1. MAC Record<\/a>, 11(38), 12\u00a0Jun\u00a01906, p.\u00a01. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  2. Blaisdell<\/a>, pp.\u00a03\u201312. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  3. MAC Record<\/a>, 12(37), 4\u00a0Jun\u00a01907, pp.\u00a01, 7. M.S.U. Archives,\u00a029\u00a0Mar\u00a02011<\/a>.\u00a0The Helmet<\/em>\u00a0student handbook (1948), p.\u00a0114; (1949), p.\u00a0100. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  4. Kestenbaum<\/a>, p.\u00a0127. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  5. Kestenbaum<\/a>, pp.\u00a068, 128. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  6. Blaisdell<\/a>, pp.\u00a0260, 365\u2013371. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  7. MAC Record<\/a>, 12(37), 4\u00a0Jun\u00a01907, p.\u00a04. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><\/ol>
    1. † For most of its first century, the school\u2019s inception date was considered to have been the first day of classes: May 13, 1857. By the time of the Centennial, the date had shifted to that of the school\u2019s founding: February 12, 1855. As a result the Centennial took place only forty-eight years after the Semicentennial.\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/span><\/li>
    2. †† Winning this coin toss was a minor vindication for Olds. It was Smith who, having bought the Olds Motor Works from Olds in 1899, put his son in charge; the son, Frederic Smith, frequently clashed with Olds until Olds left the company in 1904. Smith threatened to sue Olds if he used his own name in any further ventures, which is why Olds\u2019 next car company was named REO Motors (his initials, but not an abbreviation as regards the company name). But in 1907 it was Ransom Olds driving a REO, and not Smith driving an Oldsmobile, that brought Roosevelt to campus.\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/span><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Its early difficulties far behind it, by the turn of the twentieth century the Michigan Agricultural College had reached a position of prominence and high regard among the nation\u2019s agricultural and mechanical colleges. Many M.A.C. graduates had gone on to become deans, directors, and professors at other colleges, spreading the influence of the pioneer land-grant institution far […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"[{\"content\":\"MAC Record<\/a>, 11(38), 12\u00a0Jun\u00a01906, p.\u00a01.\",\"id\":\"5dafd698-021e-40a0-8191-b7115bd87085\"},{\"content\":\"Blaisdell<\/a>, pp.\u00a03\u201312.\",\"id\":\"d9fd4471-d8d4-455b-bc96-16a3c5d434ae\"},{\"content\":\"MAC Record<\/a>, 12(37), 4\u00a0Jun\u00a01907, pp.\u00a01, 7. M.S.U. Archives,\u00a029\u00a0Mar\u00a02011<\/a>.\u00a0The Helmet<\/em>\u00a0student handbook (1948), p.\u00a0114; (1949), p.\u00a0100.\",\"id\":\"eeadfaf2-2bd4-4300-b7c2-d46aab234372\"},{\"content\":\"Kestenbaum<\/a>, p.\u00a0127.\",\"id\":\"6ba6878e-8fe3-4403-b443-ca60b3120663\"},{\"content\":\"Kestenbaum<\/a>, pp.\u00a068, 128.\",\"id\":\"9459b6c7-ed43-4c92-b807-618ae70f6515\"},{\"content\":\"Blaisdell<\/a>, pp.\u00a0260, 365\u2013371.\",\"id\":\"607f2d1b-0a66-4eae-b065-1d95b0878bdb\"},{\"content\":\"MAC Record<\/a>, 12(37), 4\u00a0Jun\u00a01907, p.\u00a04.\",\"id\":\"8cffa457-bc6c-4409-acc0-aed8677b7fce\"}]"},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-m-a-c-events"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=790"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5736,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790\/revisions\/5736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}