Class of 1894

Joseph Clemens was born on December 9, 1862, in the rugged county of Cornwall in England. His family of Cornish iron miners migrated to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and then to Eichelberger, Pennsylvania. He was the only one of five brothers who did not follow the family tradition and become a miner.

In 1890, at the age of 28, Clemens entered Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania after preparation at the Williamsport Seminary. At Dickinson, he pursued the philosophical course and studied to be a missionary. While at Dickinson, he was a charter member of the Sigma Chi chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. A very hard-working student, he was the treasurer for the Union Philosophical Society and the treasurer of the Dickinson Prohibition Club. He also played in the College orchestra and sang in the College choir, at the same time serving as a member of the Missionary committee of the college Y.M.C.A. and as class poet.

After graduation in 1894, Clemens was a pastor for the Central Pennsylvania Methodist Episcopal Conference; until 1900 he served as circuit minister for such towns as Mont Alto, Rouzerville, and Blue Rock. In 1896 he married Mary Knapp Strong, whom he had met at the Williamsport Seminary. The following year he earned his master's degree in cursu from Dickinson.

Raphael Smead Hays was born on June 27, 1876 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the son of John Hays and Jane Van Ness Smead. A sixth generation Dickinsonian, his father was a Civil War veteran and a prominent lawyer who was president of the Carlisle Deposit Bank and of the Frog, Switch, and Manufacturing Company, where he was also cofounder and chairman of the board. Raphael attended Dickinson College Preparatory School before entering the College in 1890. During his college years he focused on the study of classical arts, especially in Greek and Latin. He was an avid tennis player, worked on the Microcosm, and was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. He graduated from Dickinson College in 1894 with a bachelor of arts degree.

Upon graduation, Hays acted for a time as secretary to President George Reed. Following a short stay in Philadelphia working for the E. T. Smith Company, he returned home to work for his father at Frog and Switch. Beginning in an entry-level position, he quickly rose through the ranks, eventually becoming superintendent and later vice president. He is credited with introducing the steel foundry to the company, which allowed it to modernize and produce a considerably greater profit. Upon his father's death he took over complete control of Frog and Switch.