ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, August 27, 1996 TAG: 9608270137
SECTION: WELCOME STUDENTS PAGE: 76 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MIKE LINDSEY
There is more to these institutes of higher learning than meets the eye.
There's this little thing called history, or better yet, the little-known history. That secret stuff that they forget to mention during summer orientation.
Ever since the first class of freshmen walked across campus at Virginia Tech in 1872 and at Radford University in 1913, each individual has added to the unique personality of each school. Today, we openly embrace these universities without even wondering how their traditions and peculiarities came about.
Even these schools' physical features have helped to add to their curious uniqueness. Radford's 177-acre campus is laid out in such a way that from the sky it looks like a flock of geese, with the student center in the middle and Founder's Hall at the head.
Tech has its own secrets that are easier to see from a bird's-eye view. The bookstore is shaped like Virginia and the largest VT on campus is formed by the sidewalks in the upper quadrangle. And, if a freshman is ever lost, he or she can look to the biggest compass on campus to show the way, McBryde Hall. Each doorway faces either north, south, east or west. Those who have come and gone across the same path or stood under the same tree years ago have left a bit of their own strong personalities with each school as well.
Harry Temple, who graduated from Tech in 1934 - back when it was still VPI - wrote a book, "The Bugle's Echo," on the early history of Tech. He recalls how, every so often, those personalities clashed.
When Tech was still a baby, the first president, Charles Minor, and commandant, James Lane, had a difference of opinion about the direction and future of the school.
Tech was the first of Virginia's two land-grant institutions. It was given its land by the government with the understanding that it would offer agriculture, mechanical arts, and military tactics in its curriculum. However, this rule was loosely written. It was left up to the school to determine how much of each subject to put into the curriculum.
Minor wanted to keep the military to a minimum; Lane wanted another school like his alma mater, VMI. This grew into a heated grudge and welled up into a feverish argument. It wasn't long until Minor swung at Lane, and a fist fight began to decide Tech's fate. Needless to say, Lane won.
Things use to be different back in Radford's early days as an all-girls school. Young women were to act like ladies, and gentlemen were privileged guests. The keeper of student discipline was Miss Moffett, the legendary dean of women. Dating a Radford girl back then was something of an Olympic challenge.
Not only did a would-be suitor have to meet Miss Moffett's approval, but a young lady had to carry a white leave-of-absence form. Under school rules (first adopted in the 1920s), the young woman also had to leave a yellow form back in the dormitory that contained all the personal information about her date. Only a privileged few were allowed to go in a car on their date, with a young man of approved good standing, of course. Written permission from parents was required to attend fraternity parties.
These strict reins led to several nights of escape by young women who tied sheets together and climbed out windows to sneak off and meet their beaus. No prowler was crazy enough to try to sneak past Miss Moffett - she was known to keep a pistol in the house. That's how Lanora Geissler Lewis-Smith, author of "Radford College Sentimental Chronicle through its First Half-Century," described the Radford of old.
This all changed by the 1970s. Radford went coed and became a bit more like the laid-back school of today.
Some things in history just seem to stick, such as a "Hokie". The word "Hokie" was just made up by student O. M. Stull, when he wrote "Old Hokie" for a contest in 1896 in which he won $5. It means about the same thing as "shish-bamm-boo." The gobbler, or Hokie Bird, became Tech's mascot because of one of the football team's biggest fans, "Old Hard-times" Floyd Mead. He and his trained gobbler traveled with the team. Whenever he cracked a little whip, the turkey would let loose a gobble, Temple says. The famous gobble can still be heard at games today.
There are some secrets of these two schools that you will just have to see for yourself. Every 10 years, Tech's Drillfield supposedly sinks 3 inches because of the two underground creeks beneath it.
These secrets and legends have grown through out the years. Perhaps you'll be the next to add to the school's personality and make your mark in history.
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: VIRGINIA TECH LIBRARIES SPECIAL COLLECTIONS. 1. Thoughby CNBthey weren't necessarily funny, Tech's first women graduates didn't
look much like the 1996 version. 2. Tech's Hokie Bird has an
interesting history.