Class Note 1947
Issue
Jul - Aug 2018
This column is called memories of Sophomore Summer but I have taken the liberty of including freshmen. It was the summer of 1943; we were 17 or 18 years old and exposed, not to summer at the beach, but to the classroom, as we had started college July 1.
The Navy and Marine V-12 had taken over the College. There were about 200 to 300 civilian freshmen and sophomores, but there were about 1,200 V-12, 800 of whom were freshmen, with the balance being sophomores and juniors transferred from other colleges and the fleet. We were issued uniforms, all fraternities were closed, and we were paid $50 per month, an increase from $21 per month. Four of us shared two rooms, one with bunk beds and the other for studying. Mine was Topliff 101. After 6 a.m. reveille and calisthenics, we were marched to Thayer for chow. Because of the war, we had drawn shades so no lights were exposed to the outside. Streetlights were hooded and dorms were patrolled by Navy and Marine noncoms. All of this so German planes wouldn’t spot and bomb us! That was the scare of the time.
Gas rationing severely limited our travel, so we used the train, bus, and, though it was prohibited by naval regulations, the thumb. For the weekend we had great war movies at the Nugget Theater on Wheelock. That is until the middle of August 1943, when we were all awakened by earsplitting fire engines at 2 a.m. The Nugget had burned to the ground! It took some time, but the College started showing movies at Webster Hall next to the library. And we even had comedians such as med student Doc Fielding to remind us of what vaudeville used to be like.
That was 75 years ago—and that’s my memory as a freshman. It seems like yesterday.
We are saddened to report the following deaths recently reported to us from the College: William F. Rogers, December 19, 2013; Joseph R. Kincaid, June 1, 2017; Karl E. Becker, June 12, 2017; Marvin G. Cline, July 3, 2017; Charles E. Schofield, August 30, 2017; John L. Mansfield, September 17, 2017; Cyril E. Shea, November 10, 2017; Joseph B. Paul, November 18, 2017; Samuel C. Doyle, December 18, 2017; Richard D. Jacques, December 29, 2017; Burton Zuckernik, January 19; Roger W. Reynolds, January 21; and Harold Johnston, January 25.
—Joseph D. Hayes, P.O. Box 697, Rye Beach, NH 03871; jhayes697@yahoo.com
The Navy and Marine V-12 had taken over the College. There were about 200 to 300 civilian freshmen and sophomores, but there were about 1,200 V-12, 800 of whom were freshmen, with the balance being sophomores and juniors transferred from other colleges and the fleet. We were issued uniforms, all fraternities were closed, and we were paid $50 per month, an increase from $21 per month. Four of us shared two rooms, one with bunk beds and the other for studying. Mine was Topliff 101. After 6 a.m. reveille and calisthenics, we were marched to Thayer for chow. Because of the war, we had drawn shades so no lights were exposed to the outside. Streetlights were hooded and dorms were patrolled by Navy and Marine noncoms. All of this so German planes wouldn’t spot and bomb us! That was the scare of the time.
Gas rationing severely limited our travel, so we used the train, bus, and, though it was prohibited by naval regulations, the thumb. For the weekend we had great war movies at the Nugget Theater on Wheelock. That is until the middle of August 1943, when we were all awakened by earsplitting fire engines at 2 a.m. The Nugget had burned to the ground! It took some time, but the College started showing movies at Webster Hall next to the library. And we even had comedians such as med student Doc Fielding to remind us of what vaudeville used to be like.
That was 75 years ago—and that’s my memory as a freshman. It seems like yesterday.
We are saddened to report the following deaths recently reported to us from the College: William F. Rogers, December 19, 2013; Joseph R. Kincaid, June 1, 2017; Karl E. Becker, June 12, 2017; Marvin G. Cline, July 3, 2017; Charles E. Schofield, August 30, 2017; John L. Mansfield, September 17, 2017; Cyril E. Shea, November 10, 2017; Joseph B. Paul, November 18, 2017; Samuel C. Doyle, December 18, 2017; Richard D. Jacques, December 29, 2017; Burton Zuckernik, January 19; Roger W. Reynolds, January 21; and Harold Johnston, January 25.
—Joseph D. Hayes, P.O. Box 697, Rye Beach, NH 03871; jhayes697@yahoo.com