Gamaliel Painter, one of Middlebury College's founding Fathers, was honored with a song/poem by the Class of 1898 at their commencement. Though the words were not the same, they were similar to the version that appears on this site. The song in its current form was first performed at the 1912 Commencement. E. Pruda Wiley, class of 1912 adapted Charles B. Wright's words to create a song that has been perfrmed at countless rallies and football games over the years, and has appeared in every one of the Middlebury College song books to date.