Page 88 - 1901 Pinakidia

Our Friends.

NE of the fir,.,t thing, a hoy geb acquainted with wht:n he comes to the State College is a tree or a
good large trunk strap, and the next thing i, the ~Je,;,., llall.
It is a time honort:d custom among the boys to make complaints again,l the food of the
~less JJ.Ill, and to kiek against it on guteral principles, but nen:rthclcss we htl\·e nen:r heard of a
student who IHh starn:d to death <~n :\le" I !all diet, although sometimes we might think that the
authorities \\ere afraid that we were getting too fat, and that the,· were stri,·ing- to bring us down to the proper form.
It is an impossibility to think of the Mess II all without thinking of th<he two persons most closely conneded
with it- :\lr Finley and :\Irs. Harris.
:\lr. Finley has hl>t:tl with the colleg-e for a number of years, and he is so closely in touch with the boys that
it is only a matter of a few hours, or da,·s at the mo,.,t, before the a\·erage new cadd come, to reg-ard him as an
old friend,
!lis genial smile and hearty handshake" ill do more to drh·e away the blues and honu:sickness of a new hoy
than anv atnount of the attentions U 1 be,towed on him hy hi" new-found friends among the old boys.
The old quotation, •· \Vhat is home without a nwther, " may he well changed to" \\'hat would the ~less II all
he without :\Irs Harris,.
It is to her careful supen·ision of the work in the culinary department that we are indebted for the compara-
ti,·ely excellent quality of food placed before th.
In her kindne,;s of heart :\Irs. Harri" is far more than merely :\latron of the :\less Hall-she is an ad,·iser, a
friend and a mother to e\·ery hoy who boards in the barracks. ln tinK>s of sicknl"'" and indisposition she i" alway"
present with her comforting assistance, and we can confidently say that should 'he feel disinclined to take the same
position again next yeat the Board will ne,·er find another woman who will so endear herself to the cadets as
:\Irs. Harris.