Class of 1902

Born in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, Sumner Drayer studied at the Dickinson Preparatory School. He married Agnes Pettigrew on March 17, 1906. Among numerous business ventures, Drayer served as the president of the Voneiff-Drayer company, which operated the chain of Miss America Candy Stores.

As a prominent businessman, he joined the Board of Trustees of Dickinson College in 1933. Over the years, he and his wife donated generously of their time and money to the college. Most notably, they contributed a large portion of the costs for the construction of the first women's dormitory built expressly for that purpose by the College. This building, Drayer Hall, bears their name in recognition of their substantial gift.

Though he never enrolled in the College, Sumner Drayer was awarded a degree by appointment as a member of the Class of 1902 for his service to the school. Agnes Pettigrew-Drayer died on January 31, 1954 and Sumner Drayer died on February 3, 1967 at the age of 95.

James Gordon Steese was born on January 21, 1882 in Mount Holly Springs, Pennsylvania, the son of James and Anna Shaeffer Steese. He was a 1902 graduate of nearby Carlisle's Dickinson College, although he had entered with the class of 1903. As a student, he was very active as a member of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity and the Union Philosophical Society, as well as a number of dramatic and musical organizations. He also served as class historian for the class of 1903 and on the Microcosm board of editors until he was promoted to a higher class year. His three younger brothers John --- who later died in the service during the First World War --- Charles, and George also attended Dickinson but did not graduate.

After graduation, he attended the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. Graduating with honors in 1907, he was commissioned in the Army Corps of Engineers.

Steese was stationed in Panama working on the Isthmian Railroad and the Panama Canal Project between 1907 and 1912. Afterwards, he was assigned to various engineering projects in the United States with the Corps of Engineers. Just prior to World War I he was promoted to the rank of colonel. In 1919 he served as Assistant Chief of Engineers and Chief of a General Staff Section during a trip to post-World War I Europe. His service in Europe also gained him several foreign decorations.