ongoing for over a decade. Land had been purchased, money raised, and by 1920, plans for the building were drawn, revised, and submitted to the First Presidency of the Mormon Church and to Willard Young, church architect. After considering possible building sites, the location on the north side of 25th Street between Adams and Jefferson Avenues was chosen. In March of 1920, students and faculty began to clean the grounds of trees and fences in preparation for excavation. As earliest discussions concerning a gymnasium had begun the suggested costs were 50,000, and by 1920, the estimated costs were 300,000. The agreement for payment which had been reached was that the Mormon Church would furnish half of the funds for the building while the local College Board and community were responsible for the other half, and that construction was to proceed only as fast as funds were collected and available. As construction began on the building during the spring of 1920, male students, under the supervision of the architects, helped dig trenches for the foundation. Insurance was obtained to cover possible accidents to the workers, and an arrangement was made with the labor unions which allowed non-union members to work on the project. This agreement was made by the unions with the College Trustees because the source of construction funds came largely through private gifts. Work and fund raising proceeded slowly. On Sunday, September 19, 1920, a meeting was held in the Ogden Tabernacle with 241 local priesthood leaders in attendance. Speakers included Church Superintendent of Schools, Adam S. Bennion, Bryant S. Hinckley representing the Deseret Gymnasium, and Apostle David O. McKay. The speakers pointed to the value of a gymnasium in the lives of young people and the community. Bennion noted that a large number of our young people were going on the wrong road because no proper provision had been made for their moral uplift at the end of the days work. They were set adrift to seek their own amusement, and were often found in the cellars of destruction. Hinckley suggested that the Deseret Gymnasium in Salt Lake City had proved to be beneficial and that boys and girls who attend the gymnasium there have their physical defects corrected and they are taught to keep themselves physically fit and morally clean. The speakers pointed out that costs for the building had now risen and urged those in attendance to renew their efforts throughout the area to raise the needed funds for the building. Special appeals for gymnasium funds were made in each local Mormon church service on September 26, 1920. Through 1921 and into 1922, funds for the building continued to be collected with some difficulty. The College Board of Trustees met often with the building architects and church architects to make revisions in the plans. Finally, during the August 16,1922 meeting of the College Board of Trustees contracts for work on the building were awarded to a number of Ogden firms including: E. J. Isaacson, concrete work; George H. Greenewell & Sons, brickwork; Wm. Tresder, carpentry; Newman & Steuart Co., galvanized iron; H. A. Shupe, plastering; Carl Redfield, electrical; T. E. Thomas & Co., plumbing and heating; and I. Sander, painting. It was the desire of the Trustees that the best Ogden red brick be used in construction. Many Ogden residents and community organizations became involved in raising funds for the gymnasium. Organizations such as the Ogden Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club, the Kiwanis Club, and the Progressive Business Mens Club made pledges and collected funds in the gymnasium drive. Others including W. Karl Hopkins, superintendent of Ogden City Schools, and E. S. Hinckley, superintendent of the State Industrial School, indicated a willingness to participate in the Weber gymnasium project. A businessmens committee to gather funds for the project was organized including as members Orval Adams, James Douglas, and Warren L. Wattis. By February of 1924, the businessmens committee collected 28,448 for the gymnasium. This was less than the 50,000 which had been set as a goal for community efforts while 100,000 was to be raised from the wards of the Weber College area. The formal opening of the new Weber Gymnasium took place on January 9, 1925. The facility would be used to house physical education classes from the college, college athletic events, and it would also serve as a community gymnasium. Although courses in physical education had been taught at Weber as early as 1897-1898, it was not until 1918-1919 that physical education became an integral part of the institution. During the latter year, Malcolm Watson was the director of Physical Education for boys, and Blanche K. McKey, the director of Physical Education for girls. Watson also served as athletic coach from 1913 to 1921, and later as a swimming instructor. As well as teaching physical education, Mrs. McKey taught elocution and dramatic arts and directedthe school plays. Basketball had been part of the curriculum for both boys and girls beginning in 1901. Following the completion of the new gymnasium in 1925, elementary gymnastics, swimming, and elective games were included as classes. Folk dancing and interpretive dancing were added to the curriculum in 1926. The basketball floor in the new gymnasium occasionally served as a ballroom for college dances. It was the decision of Church Board of Education that the Weber gymnasium (later to become the Deseret Gymnasium of Ogden) was to function separately from the college although still under the authority of the Church Board of Education. On August 6, 1924, a separate board for the gymnasium was approved. The initial members included four stake presidents: Robert I. Burton, chair (Mt. Ogden Stake); Thomas E. McKay (Ogden Stake); George E. Browning (Weber Stake); John V. Bluth (North Weber Stake); four recreational representatives: Lon Romney (Mt. Ogden Stake); Joseph E. Wright (Weber Stake); Bertha Eccles Wright (Ogden Stake); Elsie Powell (North Weber Stake); James E. Douglas as the business mens representative, Maude Dee Porter as the womens representative, and Aaron W. Tracy as president of Weber State College. E. L. Roberts was appointed the first director of the gymnasium, and in June of 1925 when Roberts resigned, F. C. Van Buren was appointed in his place. During the 1920-1921 school year, Weber employed 31 faculty members with a salary budget of 46,950. Faculty disagreements were sometimes taken to the Board of Trustees as in 1920 when Joseph Ballan-tyne and William Manning both claimed to have been appointed head of the music