Seventy Years Of The Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Page 318

There were three new scholarships and one addition to loan funds recorded during this period. From the estate of Lincoln N. Kinnicutt came $1,000 for the loan fund named in honor of his brother. Arthur W. Woods, '72, who died January 8, 19", bequeathed $5,000 for a scholarship. Mrs. Mary Gill Ropes gave $12,173 for a scholarship in memory of her father, George W. Gill, early Worcester manufacturer. Mrs. Ellen F. Kennedy bequeathed a similar scholarship of $10,000 in memory of her father, Thomas M. Rogers, whose wealth was accumulated by investments in Worcester real estate. Consistent contributors to maintenance funds were George 1. Alden, Moses B. Kaven, and George F. Fuller.

Numerous improvements and repairs to buildings, as well as acquisitions of equipment, were seriously needed, but the Trustees felt that none of the hard-won funds could be used for these purposes. A reserve account built out of extra dividends, Washburn Shop profits and from other sources, was sacredly guarded against a rainy day. In February, 1924, however, the Trustees listened to a detailed report from their committee on shops and laboratories, and decided to act.

This report disclosed that the commercial business of the shops was at a low stage, though the foundry was active. Salisbury Laboratories needed repairs and maintenance; the Electrical Laboratories and the Alden Hydraulic Laboratory new equipment. The Mechanical Engineering department should have a new laboratory building, plans for which already had been drawn. If such a building could be acquired, the Mechanical Laboratories of 1894 could be converted into quarters for Civil Engineering.

The Trustees learned that the Power Laboratory was more unsatisfactory than any of the other buildings. The old vertical engine was inadequate for the power demands of the campus, and should be replaced immediately by a new turbo-generator. To carry out this recommendation the Board authorized the expenditure of $10,000 from reserve funds. Among other improvements made at about the same time were the

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Last Modified: Fri Jul 30 11:15:25 EDT 1999