Many classes have graduated from Mississippi State University.
Each one has left its mark on the college. Almost 81 years ago when
the university was still called the Mississippi A and M College,
the class of 1922 left its mark in the form of a memorial gateway
to the campus.
Originally placed as a west entrance into the campus, the
gateway cost the Class of ’22 around $2,000. The money was raised
by the graduating class, other classes and donations to the
college.
Since that time, the memorial was moved due to road construction
in 1962. One of the two brick pillars was relocated to a spot that
is now directly across from the new Hunter Henry Alumni Center. The
other brick pillar was torn down.
Plans have been created to move the gate again. In a letter to
the daughter of one of the graduating members of the 1922 class,
MSU Vice President for External Affairs Dennis Prescott announced
that he had recommended moving the gate again to the Campus
Planning Committee. The new location is positioned closer to the
gate’s original site, he said. It was also suggested that the other
column be restored.
According to Prescott, the committee’s reaction seemed positive,
but actions are delayed until the MSU physical plant department can
provide a cost estimate.
This resurgence of interest in the memorial gate has made at
least one Starkville resident very happy. James McKell, whose
father, Cecil V. McKell, was a graduating member of the Class of
’22, has made it his duty to try to help the population of MSU
understand the historical value of the gate.
McKell, also a graduate of MSU in 1950, agreed with Prescott and
his plan to relocate and restore the memorial gate. “I think it
would be terrific,” he said.
McKell later pointed out that the Class of ’22 was a stellar
year. One of the graduates of the class was Turner Catledge, a
former editor for the New York Times. Other graduates have gone on
to serve as presidents of various colleges, and one more, W.O.
Spenser competed in the track and field competition with the U.S.
Olympic Team in Germany. This class was an amazing legacy for
MSU.
Recently, a plaque honoring the class of ’22 was reattached to
the gates. The plaque’s inscription read: “To our Alma Mater in
memory of the class of 1922.”
This plaque has remained as the only recollection of another
era, the only connection between the modern world and the 173
graduating students of the class of ’22.
While the future of the memorial gateway is unsure, it is still
standing beside the road across from the Hunter Henry center. The
structure may look like a pile of bricks to some, but to others it
symbolizes the extraordinary achievement of the class of 1922.