The_Rambler_1956-06-01

              THE RAMBLER
S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y O F N E W Y O RK
L O N G I S L A N D A G R I C U L T U R A L A N D T E C H l ' ^ I C A L I N S T I T U T E . ^ i ^ Op*']
F A R M I N G D A L E , L. I.. N . Y. w S S S ^ A I s'
Vol. XXVI, No. 9 June 1, 1956% s ^^
THIS IS YOUR LIFE DR. KNAPP
The story of Halsey Bowles' ber came to Farmingdale on No- j
Knapp is a story full of love for | vember 23, 1923.
1956 Testimonial Dinner at Knapp Hall.
TRIBUTE TO DIRECTOR KNAPP GIVEN
Amid the faces—so many faces—of color and various phas-es
of life—so much life—Director Halsey Knapp accepted with
much deep appreciation, a tribute to his decades of devoted service.
The twentieth of May, a beautiful Sunday afternoon,
brought together over three hun-
(Jred friends and relatives of Direc-tor
Knapp, to see and speak to the
man and \vom.an of whom they
think so highly. From three o'clock
until the sun left the evening to
coolness, these people all shared
many occasions for acquaintance
with one another and had ample
opportunity to speak with the Di-rector
,and his wife.
After a brief reception, the
guests enjoyed a delicious Smorgas-bord
dinner, and remained to fur-ther
enjoy the program to follow.
Mr. Franke, a very able Master of
Ceremonies, and so called "Cap-tain"
of the Crew introduced an
entertaining group of otherwise
formal and business-like men in-structors
to sing to the listening
audience. To the tune of Gilbert
and Sullivan, with lyrics written by
the members of the Crew, selec-tions
were rendered with much
feeling. During the course of the
program, also, an original set of
lyrics by one of the faculty who
sung to the tune of Davy Crock-ett.
The beginnings of Knapp's ca-reer
at the Institute, were brought
to the eager listening ears of all,
firstly, by Mr. D. R. McDougall,
who cited incidents with all the
gusto of a full-fledged pioneer.
Mr. McDougall was with the Di-rector
from the primary steps of
keeping LIATI on the map, and
recalled with vivid memory, many
of the first lectures given, and the
condition of the campus when they
were given. Our very own Mr.
Hallalian highlighted some current-event-
type instances in the way of
what he might call Freudian slips.
He publically listed, for the comic
pleasure of the audience, some of
the gifts the Director would not
receive, due to the inopportune sit-uation
they might present.
H. B. KNAPP
In High School
make the whole affair complete, a
number of noted people presented
the Knapps with some outstanding
and charming gifts. Among those
giving awards were Assistant Di-rector
Allee, Mrs. Allee, Mr. Rich-ter,
representing the Alumni Asso-ciation,
Mr. Merritt, Mr. Horton,
and others, to offer remembrances
for the entire group of people.
As a finale, following another
selection from the Crew, the Direc-tor
was presented with his degree,
having at last completed enough
credits to graduate thus the Com-
To mencemeut.
the country and fulfillment of life,
^our story begins on Howlands
Island, Port Byron, New York, on
September 1, 1888. You were the
oldest son of Halsey and Anna
Knapp ,and as a boy you developed
an early love for farm life.
Attending grade school was a
chore that you did not look for-ward
to; as a matter of fact your
older sisters had to .almost push you
to school. Looking back on your
daily horse and buggy ride to
school, we see you sometimes hav-ing
to drive through the overflood-ed
F.rie Canal. "The country boy
from the end of the road" soon
began to show his scholastic abil-ity
in school. Due to financial
circumstances you had to stay out
of high school for one year, delay-ing
your graduation date to 1904
at the age of sixteen.
After graduation, college plans
were pushed aside for three years
because of help needed on the fam-ily
farm. Upon entering Cornell
in 1908, we see you working your
way through school by delivering
milk cans and working on a farm
located quite a few miles outside
of Ithaca, New York. Three miles
you walked both morning and
night, to and from classes. The
Halsey B. Knapp alarm clock rang
every morning at four o'clock so
the work could be done before
classes. This experience along
with your last name, led to your
nickname of "Sleepy" Knapp.
During your years at Cornell
University your interests and skills
on the debating teams gained the
school many honors. You soon
proved to be a top student and were
exempt from all exams during your
last year at school. Thru this ex-perience
your speaking ability
greatly improved and gained you
such honors as winner of the East-man
Gaines Speaking Contest. At
graduation time you received high-est
honors in your class and a B. S.
Degree.
After graduation, you married
your childhood sweetheart, Sarah
Gertrude Newkirk, on April 5,
1913. From 1912 to 1916 you work-ed
as an instructor and assistant
professor at Cornell University. It
was during this time that you re-ceived
a M. S. Degree at Cornell.
In 1914, while living in Ithaca,
your first child was born, Merrill
Newkirk Knapp, later followed by
Dorothy Halsey, Laura Sherman
and Hanet Elizabeth Knapp.
In 1916 a call came from Coble-skill,
N. Y., stating that in 1911
there had been established by an act
of legislature a new agricultural
school at Cobleskill. A group of
men were made responsible for
choosing a director to run this new
school. On April 1, 1916, "The
boy from the end of the road" was
appointed to his first important
duty. Upon your shoulders was
the huge task of creating prestige
and putting the school in shape to
receive students. Your first stu-dent
body consisted of twelve stu-dents
and four faculty members.
On November 1923 you were no-tified
that the agricultural school
at Farmingdale, Long Island need-ed
help and you were to remedy
this situation, they hoped, with just
as much skill as you handled the
school at Cobleskill. The draft
meant quite a challenge. It also
meant leaving a school, the largest
in the state of New York at that
time, although it only started out
with twelve students. This meant
finding new friends and starting
anew. However, a draft is a draft.
So the Knapp family, six in num-
Times were stormy on the first
days of Long Island. Bills were
introduced in the legislature to dis-continue
Farmingdale as a school
,and convert the building and cam-pus
to Mental Hospital Division.
There were approximately sixty-six
students and over one hundred
on the teaching and administration
staff. The institute was looked
down upon by citizens of the
surrounding towns. The Ku Klux
Klan was operating on campus and
you were threatened many times
when you tried, and finally suc-ceeded
in wiping out this disgrace.
Again you proved that you could
do the job. The respect for the
small agricultural school grew as
the enrollment grew. Long Island
Agricultural and Technical Insti-tute
has grown from a small school
of sixty-six students to one of the
largest two year degree granting
technical institutes in the East, of-fering
27 different technical cur-'
riculums to 1400 full-time students,
and 8,000 evening school students.
Most of us know of you as the
director of our school but not many
realize the great service to the State
of New York, the Nation, and to
all mankind that you have done.
Among your services are important
positions and active participation
in the Rotary International, Boy
Scouts of America, New York State
Association for Crippled Children,
and the Near East Foundation.
In 1951, you married your pres-ent
wife, Grace Van Nostrand.
Along with your wife in 1953, you
traveled to France to study the
agricultural standards of Europe
When you arrived back home, you
continued to give speeches and re
ported on agriculture in Europe.
We know from a very close
source to you, that you are quite
handy with a fish pole as well as a
frying pan. You often go on trips
to the Stonykill Farms, where you
H. B. KNAPP, Top left at six
years.
may be found out in a row boat
trying to catch that last big fish.
At home every Sunday morning,
you take over the job of cook for
the Sunday breakfast.
In your Cornell Yearbook, we
find the words that would suit this
occasion as we bid farewell to
you. It states, "Not from the na-ture
or the beast, but as he is bet-ter
known among fellows coming
to us as green as the sod which
nourished him. He brought with
him a heart which is true and spirit
of determination, which has won
him highest honors, confidence and
admiration of students and facul-ty."
It is with thanks that the students
and faculty of Long Island Agri-cultural
and Technical Institute bid
farewell to you, a man who is re-sponsible
for the very existence, as
well as the huge success of this
Institute. As we look into your
future, we wish you continued suc-cess
with what ever you. are plan-ning
to do.
by Alice Allsopp
and Marion Shields
Trip to Europe in 1953.