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Caption: Book - History of the University (Powell)
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First Years of Work 315 chase of plaster casts and photographs of the world's masterpieces. Dr. Gregory went abroad and expended the money wisely, selecting with the judgment of an authority. "My second great memory was a scene in the west basement of University Hall. Scores of strange-looking packing cases and bushels of fragments of plaster casts! It might have been Armageddon or the Last Judgment! Some few figures came forth from their shrouds intact and a small number were but slightly damaged, but the majority were smashed apparently beyond redemption. The 'hope of Western art* lay reduced to an ash heap. "Not a bit of it! Dr. Gregory and my father put on their overalls and devoted hours every afternoon to patching those fragments together. I was fascinated with these magnificent puzzles and soon became expert in finding 'fits.' Then Mr. Kenis, a little Belgian sculptor, was lured from Chicago and the work went merrily on. The Laocoon group, now standing in the vestibule of the Auditorium, was in a thousand pieces. If you do not believe it, let a committee scrape away the paint and you will find them! "When the collection was opened to the public it was the first thing of the kind in all the West; a wonder to countless visitors, an inspiration to generations of students. Dr. Gregory on the platform and Dr. Gregory in blue overalls had made it possible. "Every University of Illinois student of the 70s will tell you of Dr. Gregory's morning chapel talks, those earnest, kindly appieals with their almost personal challenge to each one of us. Proud as we are today of the giant institution which we claim as Alma Mater, with its army of teachers and its cityful of pupils, one must acknowledge that something very precious has been lost in the passing of these intimate chapel meetings. On the occasional Sunday afternoon addresses the attendance was always large and eager. How eloquently that rich voice used to ring in our ears! The very reading of the Scripture was impressive. Across all these forty years I recall some of the texts and the very intonation with which they were spoken: "Vanity,
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