Extant programs and other ephemera for the 1913 ECTTS commencement ceremonies provide little insight into this enigmatic photograph of the student procession bearing the Class of 1913 banner. The photo gives no real clue as to where the students are going, or what, exactly, the occasion was. The first volume of the Training School Quarterly does provide, however, an account of the 1914 commencement, the fifth in ECTTS history, details of which might offer insights into what had occurred the year before.
The Training School Quarterly notes that the 1914 ceremonies began with “Class Day exercises” on Saturday afternoon, June 6. “A temporary platform erected on the west slope of the hill, as one approaches the campus, made the spot an ideal one for out-of-door exercises.” The Training School Quarterly adds that “the long line of students dressed in white, wearing their class colors and carrying their class banners was an impressive sight, as it wound its way from the Administration Building to Fifth Street and up the slope of the hill to the spot where the audience was assembled.”
The 1913 event, apparently similar to the 1914 commencement, clearly included an outdoor procession, featuring white-clad students proceeding down a dirt path, perhaps symbolic of their imminent departure from the school and entry into the community as teachers. Invitations to the 1913 commencement ceremonies establish that they occurred June 7-10, with the Class Day exercises on June 9. The 1913 picture apparently captured the Class Day exercises, the day before graduation. The photograph presumably shows the class of 1913 proceeding from the Fifth Street platform bordering downtown Greenville back toward the main campus. Indicative of transportation in that day, horse-drawn carriages appear in the photograph, lining the far side of the dirt road, Fifth Street, as it apparently existed circa 1913. The tall man in the procession was likely the school’s president, Robert H. Wright.
The 1913 Class Day exercises included the presentation of a student loan fund check to President Wright, and his formal acceptance of it on behalf of the school. The 1913 exercises also included various presentations by members the class of 1913. Later the same day, the board of trustees met. An alumnae banquet was held that evening. The final day of the ceremonies was graduation day. The featured speaker was the Honorable Henry A. Page of Aberdeen, N.C. Most certainly, Page’s address offered inspiring promise for future graduating classes and the admiring community. Reverend J. H. Shore delivered the opening prayer as well as the closing benediction.
Sources
- “Commencement, 1914.” The Training School Quarterly, vol. 1, no. 2. July, August, September 1914. Raleigh, N.C.: Edwards & Broughton Printing Co.
- “Commencement Program Card 1913.” University Archives # 50.06.1913.02. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N.C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/22259.
- “East Carolina Teachers Training School: Senior Class Given Reception by President and Mrs. Wright – Brilliant Recital Given.” News and Observer, May 3, 1914. P. 20
- “Invitation to Commencement Exercises.” University Archives # 50.06.1913.03. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N.C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/22260.
- “Program of the Fourth Annual Commencement of the East Carolina Teachers Training School.” University Archives # 50.06.1913.01. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N.C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/22258.
- “Senior Class Day Exercises at East Carolina Teachers Training School.” University Archives # 50.06.1913.04. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N.C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/22261.
Citation Information
Title: Commencement Procession
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 5/31/2018