#46: Water! (1926)
"On the last day of the vacation, a jubilant little party
of us stood around a tank on the new campus and watched the
turning on of water flowing from the mountains back of the
city by gravity to our grounds. That was a really significant
item in the development of our enterprise and represented
the culmination of long and careful efforts. During the
great war-storm, when British, French, Russian, Italian,
and Yugoslavian soldiers, as well as the Greek army, were
based on Saloniki, the question of water was provided for
in part by the construction of water courses from the slopes
of Mt. Hortiati to the city. The main supply skirted our
grounds along a height not far away. Water for the city was
rather inadequate, and it was a question whether they would
allow any to be diverted for our use. In due time, however,
careful negotiations were brought to a satisfactory issue
and the municipal authorities allowed us to tap the stream
on a height of ground and lead a reasonable amount, carefully
calculated, into our campus. It proved later that water
flowing from the mountainous background to the height above
our campus by gravity would flow again by gravity from this
height to the top floor of our highest buildings. Surely,
we had much to be thankful for.
Similarly, during many months, we were working with the
municipal authorities to prevent our Tracy Hall campus on
the lower ground from being cut into by a broad avenue,
which was included in their preliminary charts. A small and
reasonable rectification or revision of the municipal plans
carried the avenue near but not through our grounds, and
a vote of appreciation by our Trustees in Boston was quite
in place and the mutual friendliness apparently pleased
both parties. By this time, we realized that the principal
thoroughfare passing our campus was named Marathon street.
What possible name could be better for an athletic field
in Greece? So, Marathon Field came to be the accepted name
of our athletic ground, and it was regarded as the best
school athletic field in the city.
NEXT: Progress in Thessaloniki
(1927)
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