Beginning in 1958, Cadets often found the Memorial Library to provide them with the necessary resources as well as comfortable surroundings for their studies. Over the fireplace in the Reference Room hung a large mural, 11 feet in height and 7 feet in width that after four years of study became almost invisible.

Hung in the library in 1959, the mural is a montage of life at PMC. The focal point of the picture is the likeness of Major General Edward E. MacMorland, then the president of the college, surrounded by cadets. These cadets were enrolled at PMC at the time and posed for the painting. An art student is also visible painting a picture of Frank K. Hyatt, who passed away shortly before the mural was started. Besides academics and the activities of the Corps, three football players are depicted, with the number 56 clearly visible on one player. Football fans will recall that this is the number of Herm Sweeney, one of PMC’s greatest players.

The mural was the work of Carl Lindborg, a prominent local artist and art instructor at Pennsylvania Military Preparatory School and later the Evening Division at the college. Born in Philadelphia, Lindborg began his studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He continued his studies in Paris at the Academie Julian and with Andre Lhote, a renowned modernist painter. He began to exhibit extensively at the Salons of America, the Corcoran Gallery Biennials, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Philadelphia Art Alliance, the Philadelphia Art Club and the Butler Institute of American Art in Ohio.

The mural is more than just a painting of the activities at PMC. In many ways it illustrates the legacy of PMC: individual education, character building and military training.

By 1948, PMC realized it needed to gain accreditation from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, the organization which evaluates degree-granting colleges and universities in the Middle States and certifies the quality of education in those institutions. To accomplish this, a new and adequate library was needed. In February 1948 the Trustees announced that the PMC Memorial Library was to be constructed.

Ralph P. Minich, a noted Philadelphia architect, designed the building, a Georgian Colonial brick structure with two wings and a center court. It was to be located at a point near the west gate and followed the curve of the campus drive almost to the Annex Building. The central court of the new library was to be a memorial to Lt. William J. Wolfram of the Class of 1943. Colonel Frank K. Hyatt stated that the library “symbolizes the spirit of the new PMC” and represents the first step in providing students the “modern facilities” they required. The cornerstone of Memorial Library was laid in November 1948. Placed in the cornerstone were a letter of tribute to Colonel Theodore Hyatt, a letter from Mr Frank Wolfgram describing the spirit of PMC, a scroll with the names of the Library Fund subscribers, a list of the Library and Building Committees, a list of graduates and a Bible.

Originally to cost $80,000 it soon became clear that this estimate was low. Unfortunately the additional funds required were not available and in early 1949 construction was suspended. A campaign conducted by Colonel Hyatt was begun to raise the additional $50,000 needed to complete the structure. This was not completed until 1951. The Library Committee then began a drive to raise money to furnish the building. By the summer of 1952, the final step in completing the Library was ready to be taken.

In August 1952 a group of sixty summer session students along with members of the library staff, Dean of Faculty James Graham and Professor of Biology Dr. Joseph Storlazzi began to move 20,000 books and periodicals. At the end of a very long and hot day, most of the books had been moved and placed on the shelves in their proper order. This achievement was accomplished by using special book-carrying cases, which had been loaned to PMC by Bucknell University, that had been built especially for this purpose.

Since the beginning of PMC, athletics was an important part in the development of leadership. PMC athletic teams often attracted a national audience. Attendance at football games swelled to thousands of spectators, while at some of the outdoor polo games the attendance was even larger. In addition, the Corps continued to use the fields as a parade ground and commencement exercises often attracted many thousands. It quickly became apparent that the grass stands were not sufficient.

In the spring of 1926, the Athletic Council of PMC announced plans to build a concrete stadium along with new athletic fields. The stadium was to be 300 feet long and will have a seating capacity of 4,000 persons. A glass-enclosed press box, which contained a telegraph and telephone, accommodated reporters. Underneath there were locker rooms, various storerooms for military equipment and a rifle range.

The new athletic fields were to have two levels. The upper level was approximately 700 feet in length and 400 feet in width. After a drop of about ten feet, the lower fields were to contain practice fields and a baseball diamond.

The Stadium Campaign Committee, led by Frank G. Sweney ’76, son of Dr. John R. Sweney the music director at PMC, immediately set out to raise the $100,000 needed for the stadium. The Committee reached out to graduates, ex-cadets, students, friends of the school and the citizens of Chester and Philadelphia interested in athletics. Each person was asked to purchase a $200 lifetime membership in the PMC Athletic Association. This membership offered free admission to all Athletic Association events at the stadium. In addition, each year twenty-five percent of the gross receipts of the Athletic Association would be distributed equally among the members until the $200 fee was paid back.

Work began on June 18, 1926, and progressed quickly until the middle of the summer. For some time a rainy spell greatly slowed the work and the fields turned into “seas of mud.” Work continued and the first football game played at the new stadium was against Washington College. To commemorate the first game, Secretary of War Dwight L. Davis arranged for a football to be dropped on the gridiron from a Navy plane just before the kickoff. The final score was PMC 12 Washington College 3.

The stadium was dedicated on November 13. General Hyatt said: “I have been waiting sixty years for this development-a development that will mean much to the young men of this institution. This fine new stadium offers all of the modern facilities for the carrying on of clean sports.”

The character of the games played by PMC was portrayed by the motto engraved at the entrance of the stands – Dedicated to Youth.

The school moved to Chester in 1865 and occupied the facilities of the Crozer Normal School. In 1867, Colonel Hyatt sought a more permanent location for the school. After a thorough search an area of approximately 20 acres, with an unobstructed view of the Delaware River, was chosen.

John Crump, a well-known Philadelphia architect, was selected to design the building. His work, including the Union League, is often considered to be a prime example of the Philadelphia style during the later portion of the 19th century. The Chester Evening News described the building as being “of brick and granite, and in size about on hundred and fifty feet by sixty-seven feet, and five stories in height. It was not only built in the most substantial manner but it … was elaborate and an ornament to the city.” The dedication of the building occurred at the Commencement ceremony, June 24, 1868.

Shortly after 5:00 p.m. on February 1882, a fire in the fifth floor science lab was discovered. Despite the best efforts of everyone, the fire consumed the building. Cadets were sent home, but returned a few weeks later and resumed their studies at the Ridley Park Hotel.

Plans to rebuild were made immediately. John Crump was again engaged to design and rebuild the new building. In the 1882 Course Catalogue the new building was described:

It has been enlarged, greatly improved in architectural appearance, and has received the full benefit of many internal changes suggested by an experience of upwards of thirty years in school work. The ample stairways, that gave such security to the old structure, have been supplemented by suitable fire escapes, and heavy firewalls introduced, rendering it almost absolutely safe from disastrous conflagration. The Laboratory, situated at a safe and convenient distance from the main building, will contain a superior equipment of modern appliances for experiment and research in the departments of applied chemistry.

Seven months after the fire, cadets took up residence in the new building. The main entrance soon became known as the “Main Building.” It was not until the 1900’s that it became affectionately known as Old Main.

A team of Philadelphia architects spent 2 months examining Old Main in 1978. They took paint scrapings, tested the condition of the roof and ornamental trim, studied the stability of the dome and front balustrade and investigated the strength of the stone foundation. After this careful review of the findings, the National Park Service announced that Old Main and the Chemistry Building had been added to the National Register of History Places.

Since 1868, Old Main has been a witness to the distinguished history of PMC. Today, Old Main continues its silent watch.

In 1948, a group of six cadets organized a special drill team. At the time, its purpose was to develop a drill unit to perform on special 0ccasions at PMC. Under the leadership of Bert Mazzeo, a member of a world famous trick drill team in Europe after World War II, the unit was reorganized and taught the cadets a trick drill routine.

The cadets were granted a charter as Company Q, 5th Regiment in the National Society of Pershing Rifles on November 25, 1952. This organization was founded in 1894 by General John J. Pershing at the University of Nebraska, and promotes competition among units throughout the country. In 1967, PMC became the 15th Regimental Headquarters and was known as Company Q-15.

This was the beginning of a long, successful and admired history within its regiment and the nation. Each year Company Q-5 would travel and compete in Basic Drill, Trick Drill, Advanced Drill and Individual competitions. In an eight-year span beginning in 1955, Q-5 competed in more than twenty-three major tournaments and was awarded some forty-eight trophies, including the title National Champions. In 1969, Company Q-15 won the Pershing Rifles trophy for the 7th time. The trophy was then retired to PMC’s trophy case.

After the 1873 Commencement Exercises, the 24 graduates met and expressed their desire to form an association so that “the friendships of former years might be preserved, the more agreeable memories cherished and a spirit of union and good fellowship fostered.” Captain R. Kelso Carter, ’67, became president and Colonel Charles E. Hyatt, ’72, secretary.

According to the constitution of the Association, every graduate automatically became a member. Any person, who had been a student of the College for one year, having left in good standing, may upon written application, endorsed by two graduates, become an associate member. In addition, individuals who have given of their time and lent their best efforts to the success of the Association were welcomed as associate members.

In April 1891, the Pennsylvania Military Academy Alumni Association was incorporated. In 1892, the name was changed to Pennsylvania Military College Alumni Association. In 1961, the purpose of the Association was restated as “to further acquaintance and good fellowship among PMC Alumni and students, and to otherwise promote the best interests of the College.

Later that year, the Association adopted its own seal, a globe with a diploma imprinted upon it. Upon the diploma is inscribed the words “Fidelitas, Fratenitas, et Humanities.”

Each September thousands of students enter colleges and universities throughout the United States. They are all eager and enthusiastic to acquire the knowledge and experience necessary to be successful. A few of these students undertake a much more difficult task. They are the ones who are willing to sacrifice an undisciplined life-style in order to prepare themselves for success and become a part of a highly selective group, The Corps of Cadets of PMC, which had continued to live since 1821.

The fourth-classmen, officially known as “Rooks,” arrived at PMC with little or no understanding of what they were starting. Their training began almost immediately. At first bugle calls were meaningless, “Rook” drills seemed endless and orders were shouted but barely understandable. Each morning there were personal inspections. On weekends, the training continued with inspections, guard duty and parades. For most of the fall “Rooks” walked around the campus in a daze, as did all those “Rooks” before them.

The most important day in the life of a “Rook” was when the “Old Men” of the Corps recognized the Cadet as a member. This occurred when the “Rook” understood the honor of wearing the uniform and the traditions of the school. More importantly the training they received instilled in each Cadet the principles of cooperation, gentlemanly honor, how to take orders before they could lead and give orders and moral obligation.

In 1965, Cadet Bill Symolon, Noel Koch and Pat Brennan organized a charity drive to care for Vietnam orphans in the province of Binh Dinh. At a time when there was national disagreement about Vietnam, these students saw their efforts as “An opportunity to provide substantive evidence to the Vietnamese people that we are’ concerned with their welfare … that we see them as something more than pawns in an international chess game. ”

The original goal was to raise $5,000 through a variety of campus fund-raisers. The support for Operation Tender Tigers grew quickly. Besides organizing an auction featuring many PMC’s notables, buttons were sold; a folk festival and dances were organized and community groups also stepped forward. Garnet Valley High School in Glen Mills sent 75 dollars. The effort was also recognized and commended by Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton. Soon support for Operation Tender Tiger was on the campuses of Delaware, West Chester and Villanova.

Operation Tender Tiger came to a successful end in May 1966. The student organizing committee presented a check for $5,500 to the Catholic Relief Services. Vu Vn Thai, ambassador of Vietnam, was the guest of honor at the presentation. The money raised was intended for the construction of an orphanage in the city of Qui Nhon. Plans called for the Orphanage of The Tender Tiger to accommodate 450 war orphans in two dormitories. In addition, there was to be a five-classroom school, a dining hall and two administrative buildings.

A long-standing tradition at PMC was the ceremony of burying textbooks before cadets left the college. Many of these “tombstones” were located at the rear the Hyatt Observatory while others were scattered throughout the campus. The graduating class would build a coffin and gather textbooks, old uniforms, underclass records and a yearbook. Then an interment ceremony was conducted and marked by a tombstone, engraved with the graduation year of the class. Although it is not known which class originated the ceremony, the Class of 1949 revived the tradition of administrating the “last rites” to their years at PMC.

In 1939, members of the class eagerly buried their books and marked it with a memorial stone. Pictured are William Boettiger wielding the spade while John Rhodes lays ’em to rest. Graduating veterans also contributed to this tradition by interring empty beer bottles

Today, many of these “tombstones” surround the Alumni Auditorium building and a few are on display in the PMC Museum. To mark the disbandment of the Corps, the Class of 1972 placed a stone that stated “The Last Class.”