e address being given by President George E.
Vincent. His father was present and that afternoon, as Chancellor, gave
the diplomas to the graduates, but none of us knew that it was for the
last time, and that his face would not be seen again at Chautauqua,
although he lived nearly three years longer.

In 1917, President E. B. Bryan of Colgate University accepted the
position as Director of the Summer Schools. But to one who through the
rest of the year has a college full of students to keep in order, and
also a faculty to maintain in harmony--which one college president told
me he found the harder task,--the burden at Chautauqua of a hundred and
twenty-five teachers, two hundred courses of study, and forty-five
hundred students during nearly all his summer vacation, proved too heavy
even for Dr. Bryan's shoulders, and after three years, in 1919, he was
compelled to relinquish it into the hands of President Bestor.

This summer, also, the new traction station of the Chautauqua Lake
Railway was opened at the highway entrance to the grounds; a handsome
pillared structure with more room than Chautauqua had ever before
possessed for waiting room, ticket office, baggage, freight, and
express, a convenience appreciated by every visitor. Also, by the shore
a new bathhouse and the Jacob Bolin Gymnasium were built and opened, as
well as the Fenton Memorial Home for Methodist Deaconesses on the
Overlook addition.

In 1918, we were in the grip of the war, with our young men in camp by
the million, overseas and on their way by the hundred thousand, and
every woman "doing her bit" in the Red Cross work. Outwardly, Chautauqua
seemed as flourishing as in other years, the hotels and cottages
appeared to be full, the Amphitheater was crowded at the concerts and
popular lectures, and the main streets before and after lectures were a
continuous procession. But the gate receipts showed that the
Institution, in common with every college in the land, was lessened in
its attendance and its financial returns. Nevertheless, the program was
not allowed to decline in its extent and its interest. Indeed, one added
feature attracted attention. In the field of the Overlook a National
Service School was held in cooperation with the Woman's Naval Service. A
tented camp was maintained under the strict discipline of Mrs. George E.
Vincent, with regular guards, and training for more than two hundred
khaki-clad young women in agriculture, telegraphy, bask