ary 4, 1895, a Monday afternoon, students boarded sleighs at 2:00 p.m. and the grand procession led by Principal Moench departed for Huntsville. The two hour journey under jingling and tinkling bells included such activities as songs, jokes, and merry laughter echoing off the walls of Ogden Canyon. Bishop David McKay welcomed the visitors to the Huntsville Church where picnic baskets were opened and music filled the large hall. The students traveled down the canyon following this joyous occasion and a roll call by the principal indicated there had been no mishap. Two months later, April 18, 1895, a debate took place Resolved that the United States is the strongest nation in the world. Three students advocated the affirmative and three the negative. The judges decided unanimously in favor of the negative. On January 6, 1896, Utah officially became the 45th state, and a special assembly was arranged at the Academy beginning at 9:00 a.m. Principal Moench delivered an address in eloquent language calling Utah The Queen of the West. George Seaman spoke of Utah fifty years earlier and the progress that had been made. Additional speeches were given by William Z. Terry, John Wintle, Cora Wilson, Chariton Ferrin, Meda McQuarrie, George Ritchie, Amasa Belnap, and Ernest Brown. Following the assembly school was dismissed for the day in honor of the occasion. On May 20, 1896, a special meeting was called to decide upon school colors and a school flower. The colors selected were old gold, blue, and white and the flower selected was the white carnation. At the close of the school year three students had completed the three year Normal course. George Ritchie, John Wintle, and David R. Wheelwright were the first three to graduate from an official high school class. The debate society became by 1902 the Olympian Society and on an annual basis exposed audiences to skilled debates and topics of current interest including: Ambition has caused more evil and suffering than has intemperance; It would be in the best interests of the United States to annex Cuba; Resolved that it is the duty of the United States to pension every person who fought under her flag; Who did the most for the government, John Marshall or George Washington; and Resolved that old bachelors (over twenty six years of age) should be made to pay a special tax. In the last listed debate (in February of 1902) the affirmative won. In 1902 Principal Moench retired from the Weber Stake Academy. Moench had presided at the birth of the Academy and in many ways had supervised its growth as a fledgling institution. By 1902, the Academy was concentrating almost totally on high school courses. Moench was released as Academy principal by the Board of Education of the Mormon Church on April 30,1902. Since the inception of the Academy in 1889, the studentbody, the curriculum, the faculty, and the Academy buildings had all grown. The Academy had survived hard economic times and had contributed to the education of Ogdens citizens. The students had become involved in a variety of activities. By April of 1902, the girls basketball team was involved in playing teams from L.D.S. University and Brigham Young College. As the new century grew older, the Academy would grow in stature. On June 11, 1902, Commencement Exercises for the Academy were held in the Ogden Tabernacle, and the ten graduates were presented their diplomas by Dr. Joseph M. Tanner, Church Commissioner of Education. The commencement address was given by the Honorable William H. King, a member of the United States House of Representatives representing the state of Utah. The first phase of Webers history had been a struggle for survival, but by the time Professor Moench retired in 1902, the school was past the stage of survival at birth and well into the struggles of an infant educational institution.