January 14, 1942

Mre Raymond Nichols,
Chairman, Convocations Committee
University of Kansas.

Dear Raymond:

The publicity that came out of the pep rally of
the convocation hour which was held on Tuesday, January 6,
is typical of nearly all publicity that chronicles an event.

When I was presented to the students by Roy Ed-
wards, the head cheerleader, my opening statement was that
the present, with its unpredictable turns and changes, is
altering the whole course of our lives, the jobs we work at,
the town and the University which we live in, the clothes we
wear and the food that we eat. 1 made the statement that
vital changes are taking place in all ofrour personal lives,
our living and our jobs; that back of all the fronts-
military, industrial and administrative, is the home front,
just as important as all of the rest.

I stated that Chancellor Malott recognizes the
necessity of a "physical fitness" program for the students
of the University of Kansas as an aid to defense, and that
the Chancellor, who is a lover of sports and recreation, was
foremost in the crusade to provide a new skating rink on the
intramural field and setting things in order that we might _
have skiing if and when it snows enoughe I told them that
Messrs Jensen and Anderson, two young professors who had
their skiing in Norway and Austria, would be the faculty
skiing advisors and they would aid in stimulating this very
healthful outdoor activity. I further elaborated upon the
lights that were to be used at the skating rink and the logs
that we would have for bonfires so that the students might
enjoy this activity to the fullest extent. I said, "It is
free for the asking," and I got a big hand, showing that the
students appreciated an activity for their benefit.

Then, my number two subject was Dr. Naismith and
basketball. I told of Frederick Froebel, the poor, unhappy
German boy wandering from a broken home of unhappiness to
the Black Forest of Germany, and how out of these meanderings,
musings and wanderings we the theory of the kindergarten-
education through play. then I mentioned the orphan boy from
Altmont, Canada, raised by an old uncle, Peter Naismith.
Young James Naismith, a woodsman and an outdoor man, studied