Show WOODEN SPOON A correspondent wishes to know in what year the wooden spoon celebration of yale college ceased the last wooden spoon which was originally intended for presentation to the most popular member of a class was conferred u upon n a member r of the class of 1871 the 1 e first was given to a 52 man the presentation was elaborately gotten up and was followed by a promenade dance which was attended by the parents and friends of the celebrating class clam each class strove to outdo the one PM preceding beding it the event grew more and more elaborate in design and more and mora more expensive in in time the college societies took a class interest in the elections and presented their favorites as candidates this naturally led to wire pulling and the adoption of electioneering electioneer ing methods which are familiar to those who today take a hand in the conduct of political campaigns bad blood was engendered and not infrequently the harmony of the class was seriously disturbed and in at least one instance has never been healed things were in this condition when the feature was eliminated from the social life of the college we are not sure but we are of the opinion that the faculty took the matter in hand and made itself responsible for its overthrow out of the wooden spoon celebration grew the present magnificent junior promenade for several years the significance of the wooden spoon was supposed to attach itself to the student who was elected chairman of the junior promenade committee he retained the copper plate from which the handsome invitations were printed since the memory of the wooden spoon affair has been entirely obliterated we believe no such significance is attached to the honor though tho h it still remains the highest social honor conferred by each successive class clam and the strife for it is hotly though thus far in every ease case generously contested |