The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 56, July 1952 - April, 1953 Page: 499
641 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Sketches of Old Baylor
best drilled of any he had seen. There were also five literary
societies: two for the girls and three for the boys. In the exercises
carried on in these groups the students gained many things of
as much value in the way of a real education as was to be had
out of books under the lamp. On the spiritual side, there was
the theological department. This department was of the same
high quality as the others, as will be shown by a glance at the
men who got their training there, beginning with such names
as B. H. Carroll and coming down to J. Frank Norris. There were
other trimmings at old Baylor, such as a monthly literary journal,
a glee club, and a brass band. There were, however, no organ-
ized athletics.
There was no sign of wealth about the physical plant of the
institution. The two cupoloed buildings as they stand today,
one the schoolhouse and the other the girls' dormitory, were
the only houses on the campus. To the north the ground swept
away bare to Waco Creek, and from there on across the stream
to the limits of the property it was half-cleared creek bottom.
To the south from the girls' dormitory to Speight Street, with
the exception of a few trees on the yard, all was likewise bare.
About the only thing in the way of ornament on the place was
a high flagpole in front of the schoolhouse from which a
United States flag flew daily.
The heating system was rather primitive, consisting simply of
a coal stove in the center of each room. Sometimes the janitor
was late in starting the fires, and sometimes too he would bungle
the job so that it would be several minutes before the fires got
going well and started throwing out heat; on cold mornings the
occupants were in for a spell of shivering and teeth rattling.
The school building, as of earlier years, was lighted with gas,
but about the middle of the term one of the professors, at a meet-
ing in the chapel one night, proposed a change. He would put in
electricity. His plan was simple; he would raise the money by
subscription. He started at once calling on the crowd for dona-
tions, and the people responded readily. From here and there
over the house gifts of a dollar or five or ten dollars began coming
in. The amount needed was not large, and in a little time it
was made up. In a few days the new lights were put in, and great
was the elation at Baylor.499
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 56, July 1952 - April, 1953, periodical, 1953; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101145/m1/597/?rotate=270: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.