Thanksgiving 1904 was a somber affair at MAC. A MAC football player died from injuries suffered during a football practice. John W. Burdette’s parents and siblings were with him when he passed on November 25.
Members of the freshman class accompanied their classmate’s remains to the Lakeshore Depot. Burdette’s roommate and fellow member of the Columbian Literary Society accompanied the body home to Kentucky.
Memorial services were held at Y.M.C.A. that Sunday. Burdette was remembered as a student who always listened to his fellow students and his fairness and sportsmanship on the athletic field. The president of the college praised Burdette for his bravery and kindness in his last hours of life.
M.A.C Record-November 29th, 1904 edition
Reposted by Max Forton, “A Somber Spartan Thanksgiving”, Campus Archaeology Blog, November 4, 2013.