Apollo and His Mandolin
“He has made a reputation over the state as the famous Glee Club man” — from a 1909 Wabash Magazine article about Paul T. Hurt, Class of 1909
The early 1900s were the Golden Age of the mandolin in the United States and golden days for Paul T. Hurt.
Hurt was among thousands who took up the instrument as orchestras were formed across the country and around the world comprising the entire mandolin family of instruments.
Hurt played his mandolin with the Mandolin Club and the Wabash Glee Club beginning in 1908, when the latter group’s accompaniment also included flutes, clarinet, and guitar.
According to Wabash Magazine, Hurt was both popular and humble:
“He is an exceedingly musical fellow… and on trips the girls were enraptured by his beautiful countenance and Apollo-like form. Still he has maintained a quiet dignity through it all.”
“Doc,” as classmates called him, studied medicine at the Indiana Medical College, interned at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis, and traveled to New York for post-grad work.
In 1917, he volunteered for and was commissioned a captain in the Army Medical Corps and served at the front lines in France during World War I. When he returned to Indianapolis he became a general practitioner.
In 1950, Hurt’s family established the Dr. Paul T. Hurt Award to be given to a deserving freshman in recognition of all-around achievement in his first year. His mandolin remained in the family until Hurt’s daughter, Nancy Diener, donated it to Wabash in 1994.
—Beth Swift, Archivist