University of Virginia Library

I trust that you will allow me to
use the columns of your paper to
thank, first, the many students who
volunteered their services Monday
afternoon to clean the top floors of
Cabell Hall after our near disastrous
fire. They came willingly and served
efficiently; had it not been for what
they did, the water damage would
have been far greater.

The classes that were scheduled
for Cabell Hall, so important for
the beginning of our academic year,
might not have been held on
Tuesday had they not worked so
well on Monday.

I wish I could thank each of
them personally, but I assure each
that I remember with gratitude and
affection such spontaneous and
strenuous help as they gave the
University.

Let me also express my
gratitude to the Charlottesville Fire
Department: they confined the fire
to a small part of the attic, and
they responded quickly and in
force to the danger that the fire
posed.

Fighting a fire on ground level is
not easy, but when one must fight
it-six stories above ground, hack a
way through a state roof, and pull
hoses that high, it is a true
challenge of their efficiency. They
met that challenge superbly.

Some students and some faculty
members will be sorely
inconvenienced by the fire. But
they would be much more
inconvenienced if it had not been
for the students who helped, for
the firemen, for our custodial staff,
and for the personnel of Buildings
and Grounds who had restored
electrical service to the building
within a short time, and who gave
so well of their services, the whole
University community is, with me,
sincerely grateful.