“For the heart grows rich in giving; all its wealth is living grain. Seeds, which mildew in the garner, scattered, fill with gold the plain.”
REV. JOSEPH E. ROY, D.D., FIELD SUPERINTENDENT, ATLANTA, GA.
Anniversary day at Hampton was cool and comfortable. The steamers from New York and Boston for several days previous had been bringing the friends of the institution from the North, and the morning of Thursday, May 25, found a good number assembled to witness the anniversary exercises.
At 8.30 A.M. the battalion was drawn up in front of Academic Hall and the regular morning inspection was held by the U.S.A. officer who has charge of the military drill of the school.
The students and visitors then passed to the large assembly room of the New Academic, where morning prayers were held and the news of the day was read. The rest of the morning was spent in visiting the classes and looking at the various industries. The Indian classes claimed their full share of attention, and showed an improvement in the advancement and general character of the pupils over last year. The kitchen garden, the cooking class for girls and the class in the new “tonic sol fa” system were filled with visitors. The training class, where the seniors had a chance to show their skill in teaching a row of ten urchins brought up from the primary school, was one of the features of the day.
The new stone building erected for the industries of the school with the money given by Mrs. Stone showed this department to the best advantage. The shoe shops, the printing establishment, the tailoring and knitting department have gained a new impulse, now that they have gotten into their large new rooms. The saw mill, the harness-making shop, the tin, carpenter and wheelwright shops were all in full blast.
After a pleasant lunch in the “Stone building,” the procession, headed by the trustees and re-inforced by a large party from Norfolk, made its way toward Virginia Hall, where the graduating exercises were to be held. In a few moments the large hall was crowded. A few words from Gen. Armstrong explained the change in the graduating exercises inaugurated the previous year, by which the speakers of the day were for the most part members of classes that had graduated in previous years, and had come back to tell of work done and experience gained. Only two speakers, the valedictorian and salutatorian, were from the class of ’82. This change of plan has been found to work well, and has made the exercises of the last two years especially interesting.