FL-Student Life

Student Life in Florida
Florida - 1927-1933

- Societies
- Athletics
- Fine Arts
- Other Organizations

Extracurricular Activities

Promotional literature states that the high school “government is entirely different and separate from that of the College,” and that BJA students “have their own athletics and their own interests, although they are members of the literary societies, and enjoy many of the privileges of the college students.” It would seem that BJA student life was independent of BJC.

But other than accounts of cadet activities and one female BJA sports team, there are no records of separate high school activities in Florida. Interviews with students from that era recount participation in college groups and events. In reality, only BJC extracurriculars were available to Academy students. That, however, was a major advantage for BJA students.

Societies
All students became members of one of the four original literary societies: Bryan and Chi Delta Theta for young men, Sigma Kappa Rho and Sigma Lambda Delta for young ladies. In Florida, societies generally had between 20 and 50 members. The percentage of Academy students was near 20 percent, and often closer to 40 percent of a society’s total membership.

Prior to 1934, societies were not involved in athletics. Their primary functions appeared to be service to the school (being responsible for campus activities, often serving as staff for an event) and social. They organized their own meetings and held elaborate parties, picnics, and off-campus excursions. High school students were easily involved in such activities. Academy students were even elected to society officer positions.

1930 Society Membership
Total BJA
Sigma Kappa 22 4 (18%)
Sigma Lambda 50 20 (40%)
Chi Delta 40 7 (17%)
Bryan 25 9 (36%)

The Bryan Literary Society Annual Banquets

The Dixie Sherman Hotel (right) was 10 miles from the campus and opened the same year as BJC. It was Panama City’s tallest building (8 stories), had 102 rooms, and the city's first passenger elevator, which the students enjoyed riding. This luxury hotel was the site of all the Bryan Literary Society Banquets while BJC was in Florida. In 1970 it became the first Florida building to be imploded.

A goal of Jones, Sr. was for all students to be versed in “the essentials of culture" which included how to behave in various situations. Formal occasions, such as the Bryan Literary Society Annual Banquets, were encouraged as part of the BJC and BJA educational package. Societies also planned elaborate costume parties, picnics involving horseback riding, and boating expeditions. It appears that they were seeking to outdo each other.

Based on the number of couples in the Bryan first-banquet photo (left), the entire society attended the first banquet, which included Academy young men and their dates. One was Academy senior, Bob Jones, Jr. (left arrow) with his unidentified date. Invited faculty attended society events. J. Floyd Collins (right arrow) and his wife beside him were chaperone-guests at the banquet.

Athletics

In Florida, BJC young men participated in interscholastic football, basketball, baseball, track, and tennis; young ladies competed in tennis and basketball. They were named “Swampers” because of the Florida panhandle terrain, but they were called the “Swamp Angels” because of the testimony of the team members. The Swampers had outstanding records and several undefeated seasons.

All games were held on the BJC campus or the nearby Collins Stadium. Opponents were teams from local junior colleges and high schools. The Swampers were not in a league. With no league regulations, talented high school athletes could be on the BJC team, and existing rosters show that most teams had a few BJA students.

The 1928 Swamp Angels Football Team - Photograph probably taken in front of Collins Stadium. Jones, Sr. is standing second from right.

Each year the BJC Athletic Board of Control (composed of students and faculty) scheduled games and dealt with athletic finances. The Athletic Board also awarded college letters to outstanding athletes and inducted the honorees into “The J Club.” Each year a few high school athletes would join this group.

BJA student Sammy Jackson (insert), nicknamed Stonewall, was on the football team. Sammy earned his “J” and appeared in his cadet uniform on the J Club page of the San Andros. Note: one member of the J Club is a co-ed.

Despite an outstanding record, all was not well with athletics. Team members had to meet academic and discipline standards. But there were repeated requests from students, faculty and coaches for lowering standards or making exceptions. Being on a winning team drew students who were not interested in the spiritual emphasis of the school, creating discipline problems. The emphasis on physical abilities rather than Christlikeness troubled Jones, Sr. He also learned that people were betting on games, and that, following games, the campus was littered with trash and whiskey bottles.

Mrs. Jones, Sr. recounts that after a major football victory, her husband announced in chapel, “I’m sorry boys and girls. We’re not going to have any more football.”

“Why? We thought you loved football.”

“Well,” he said, “we love it too much. I love it too much. We can’t do our work and run around the country here playing football. That is not what God called this school down here to do.”

After discussion, a vote of the faculty was taken and all but three voted against having any interscholastic athletics. As BJC left Florida in 1933, interscholastic sports were dropped. Jones, Sr. later said, “It was a severe test, but we did what was right.”

The Swamp Angels played the Bay County High School's Crimson Tornados several times. Bay High was founded in Panama City 3 years before BJC.

The ‘J’ Club consists of all wearers of the ‘J.’ The letters represent the appreciation of the college for the faithful and cooperative efforts of certain students to provide a clean, wholesome program of physical entertainment for the glory of the college.”
- 1931 San Andros

Mrs Jones, Sr. tells about student reaction to ending football in a 1970's interview.

1930 BJC women's basketball team included several BJA students.

Fine Arts
The earliest mention of fine arts activities in Florida involves the Twilight Musicale. It was held every Sunday afternoon and featured poems, stories, brief plays, musical solos and ensembles performed by students and faculty. Attendance was required for the entire BJC and BJA family.

Campus visitors were also invited. Originally, programs were prepared by various campus groups: a society, a club, new students, senior class, etc. The name Twilight Musicale was changed to Vespers by the end of the first year. Sunday afternoon Vespers was a campus tradition for over 65 years.

Were BJA students involved? The program of the first year’s Christmas Twilight Musicale lists Bob Jones, Jr., a BJA senior, performing a dramatic reading and as a member of a vocal duet singing “Silent Night.” Cadets in the audience would have been in uniform, but it is not known if he wore his uniform for the performance.

Jones, Jr's high school senior portrait in cadet uniform.

"The Masque" in the 1000 seat Dixon-McKenzie Auditorium.

The "A Cappella Choir" with their director, seated center.

The for-credit musical performance and studio art classes of today (choir, band, drawing, ceramics, etc.) are of modern origin. In the past, to earn credit for graduation students would enroll in a general fine arts class or specific classes like music, harmony, speaking, elocution, or art appreciation. They would learn the basics of the media. Singing in a choir, being in an ensemble, participating in a play, or painting pictures were extracurricular activities.

In 1932, The Masque, a club “for the development of an appreciation for literary interpretation, character study, and general training in the art of speech and drama” had 46 members, 5 of whom were BJA students. They produced plays written by Tennyson, Pollock, Wilde, Rostand, and others. High school students participated in these productions.

During the Florida years, Academy students rounded out many of the College fine arts groups and gained experience far beyond what they would have experienced in a small high school ensemble.

The Classic Players In college, Jones, Jr. founded the Classic Players as a Shakespearian repertory company. He played Shylock (far right) in their first production, "The Merchant of Venice." A few of the Florida Classic Players productions had BJA students cast in minor roles or on production crews. They probably toured with the company as it performed in various schools and civic auditoriums.

Academy students were in both BJC's "Violin Quartette" and "Male Quartette."

Academy Student Involvement
Ask any high school teacher. Some students are involved in everything; others only attend classes. Such appears to be the case for BJA students in Florida. To give a perspective of Academy student life, the extracurricular activities of two active classmates have been profiled below.

Florida BJA Student Activity Profile - Lois Russ

The 1930 opening of the Academy section of the "San Andros" featured Lois as Academy President.

Lois appeared in the features section of the "San Andros" as the "Most Athletic Girl" on the campus her Academy senior year.

Lois Russ, and her younger sister Marjorie, entered the Academy in 1928. They were from Millville, 8 miles from the campus. The 1930 San Andros identifies Lois as “President of Academy.” There are no records of her presidential duties, and no other person is known to have held this position in Florida.

In 1930, Lois’ senior year, she was captain of the Academy girls basketball team, (right) the only BJA sports team known to exist in Florida. Who they played and their win/loss record is unknown, but the yearbook says they played “exceptionally good games."

A section of the San Andros featured the most popular, most intellectual, most handsome and the like. As a high school senior, Lois was selected as the “Most Athletic Girl.” The next year, as a college freshman, she was again featured as the “Most Athletic Girl."

Lois joined Sigma Lamba Delta, but there are no records of that society’s activities. Lois was also a member of the Student Volunteer Band. They met on Saturday afternoons and occasionally left the campus to put into practice their soul-winning skills. Lois was also a member of the Baptist Young People’s Union.

After her BJA graduation, Lois attended BJC, served as a class officer, and remained active in sports. She did not continue her BJC education when the school moved to Tennessee. She married a BJC student and remained in Lynn Haven, Florida area.

The 1930 Academy girls basketball team - Lois (center) holds the ball and wears a BJC sweater. That year BJA enrolled 18 female students. Half of them are on this team.

Florida BJA Student Activity Profile - Doak Pearce

Doak Pearce traveled over 300 miles from the small town of Alberta, Alabama, to become a BJA cadet in 1929. A personable young man, he was popular on campus. In 1930 and 1931 Doak (nicknamed Duke) played center on the Swampers basketball teams. In 1931 Doak was also the catcher on the Swampers baseball team. He earned his athletic letter and was inducted into the J Club as an Academy student in 1931.

The 1931 Swampers baseball team posed in front of the Mary Gaston Clubhouse. Of the 14 team members, 5 were BJA students. Doak is standing fourth from the left.

Doak's "San Andros" photo and description as a member of the BJC basketball team.

Doak joined the Bryan Literary Society. In 1931, it had 25 members, 10 of whom were high school students. That year, as a BJA senior, Doak was elected treasurer. Also on that year’s officer team as vice-president was a sophomore BJC student, Bob Jones, Jr.

Doak was one of the 3 BJA students in the 24-voice Choral Club of 1931. He was also a member of The Masque. He probably appeared in non-speaking roles and served on the production crews of Shakespearian productions that toured the local area.

Doak was also a member of the Baptist Young People’s Union at the same time Lois Russ was a member. Doak did not enroll in BJC.

Bryan Society officers - Doak is far right.

Doak sang in the Choral Club.

Average BJA enrollment in Florida was about 50 students. A sports team or fine arts group from a high school of that size would have been limited. Talented BJA students, however, had the opportunity to be involved in much larger groups and were involved in a significantly higher level of activities. For BJC and BJA, high school student involvement was a win-win situation.

Interestingly, the percentage of high school students participating in the choral groups in Florida is about the same as the percentage of present students enrolled in today’s choir. Based on the few Florida teams for which rosters have survived, the same appears to be true for sports.

Other Organizations
Societies encouraged social development. Teams (athletic to debate) provided participation and entertainment. Fine arts groups developed skills and advanced cultural experiences. Bible classes and chapel focused on Spiritual understanding. School activities, from opening every activity and class with prayer to offering a hand to a help up a competitor just knocked down on the football field (a practice which earned the team the nickname “Swamp Angels”) modeled putting biblical knowledge into practice. There were also extracurricular organizations that sought to guide and grow a student’s walk with Christ.

A few of the spiritual extracurricular groups (Christian Endeavor, Epworth League, BYPU) were campus chapters of national organizations. Others, like the Life Service Band, were organizations unique to BJC. Academy students could be members of their denominational organizations as well as the BJC groups.

Campus Denominational Organizations The concepts of youth pastors and church young people’s groups were virtually nonexistent toward the end of the 19th and early 20th century. However, the need for discipleship, spiritual training, and Christian fellowship for teens was apparent. The Congregationalist denomination introduced Christian Endeavor in 1881. In 1889, the Methodists created the Epworth League. The Georgia Baptist Convention laid the foundation of the Baptist Young People’s Union (BYPU) in 1893. These groups produced materials which included the study of Scripture, learning denominational history and doctrine, and fellowship. Churches, schools, and community organizations sponsored chapters of these groups. Photos of campus chapters of these organizations in BJC yearbooks and promotional materials may have helped those concerned about the school’s denominational ties.

Inter- vs Non- denominational
The citywide evangelistic campaigns and a few institutions of the late 19th and early 20th century were joint denominational efforts, thus the term “interdenominational” applied. Originally Jones, Sr. described the school as “interdenominational.” BJC, however, was not supported by any denomination and was for all Christians who believed the “essentials of the Christian faith” as set forth in the Creed. By 1928, “nondenominational” was used to describe the school.

The Student Volunteer Band was not associated with a denominational or other association. Its primary focus was witnessing and service to the community.

The BJC chapter of the BYPU probably used materials from the national association during their Saturday afternoon meetings. Lois Russ and Doak Pearson are in this 1930 photo.

Some students in this 1931 photo wear a different uniform than seen in any other photo. Is this a third BJA cadet uniform or a BYPU uniform?

The Methodist Epworth League was the largest denominational group in Florida.