Schuylkill College merges with Albright College, 1929: Home

Two College United In Brilliant Ceremony.

A LANDMARK in Evangelical educational history occurred on June 1, 1929, when the student bodies of the two branches of Albright College were merged. It was called Alumni Day bringing hundreds of old students of the Reading and Myerstown, Pa., colleges to the Reading campus. At 11:00  o'clock in the morning a grand reunion and farewell luncheon took place on the Myerstown campus. At 1;30 P.M. a colorful parade to the Reading College's stadium was staged. The procession with the bands of the Reading, Myerstown, and Lebanon Valley Colleges playing, and the new Albright colors, red and white, prominently displayed, filed for blocks through the city of Reading.

Amidst the bands' strains of "America" the Stars and Stripes were raised at the stadium entrance. President Vincent Grant, of the senior class of the Reading College, and the president of the senior class at Myerstown raised the Orange and Black and the Red and White banners beneath the colors for the last time. The entire stadium was spectacularly decorated with intermingling the Orange and Black and Red and White.

At 2;30 P.M. the students from both schools participated in the merging ceremonies of the two colleges. With the aid of bands the students drilled upon the stadium field, carrying in their line a chain which was welded together, symbolizing the uniting of the student bodies. Representatives of the state and of neighboring colleges spoke on this occasion. For the impressive welding ceremony the Myerstown musicians, in red and white, appeared simultaneously with the Schuylkill Band in orange and black, from the left and right of the stadium, respectively. By carefully prepared marching the Myerstown group formed a large A on the left of the field and the Schuylkill Band a large S on the right of the field. The drum majors of the bands formed the periods.

Parade Over Gridiron

With another flourish the bands led the procession which culminated i the actual welding of the student bodies. They marched to the center of the gridiron, and facing the stadium marched to the cinder path, where they halted to play a march, while the 15 boys of each college formed their court of honor, through which the girls could bear the chains. The Albright boys were dressed in white trousers, red sweaters and black bow ties. Each group of girls bearing two hundred feet of chain almost entirely around the athletic field, so that the leading girl of one group eventually met the leading girl of the other, and together they carried their ends of chains to the anvil for the uniting process. All the girls were all dressed in white. At the anvil and forge, President W. F. Teel struck the red-hot link they were no longer two chains but one. 

Amidst tremendous applause the girls face and bore the now united chain, symbolic of the united student body, to the rear of the field, and by clever marching formed the sides of a letter A. The boys in he guard of honor shifted so as to form the cross bar of the A. During this marching the two bands shifted their positions so that there were no longer two bands, but one fused organization. Just then, at the signal from the chairman, hundreds of balloons were released and floated in the breeze. The ceremonies of the afternoon were concluded by the singing of the alma mater. Hundreds of red and white balloons were then released.

The baseball game was played at four o'clock when Albright (Myerstown), for the last time, competed with Albright (Reading).

President Teel sponsored a reception at 6:00 P. M. attended by one thousand guests. The alumni business meeting was held at 7:00 P. M. At 8:30 a combined band concert was rendered, and at 10:00 P. M. different groups banqueted. 

Source: The Evangelical Crusader, June 22, 1929