Bridgewater State University - Alpha Yearbook (Bridgewater, MA)

Page 22 text:

Class History By Olivio A. Lopes IN 1943 Bridgewater as well as America was singing Pistol Packing Mama and that great opus, Mairzy Doats. Ex- cept for one or two exceptions, the men were already in the armed services in the deep south, in Britain, in the south Pacific and in Panama. At Bridgewater, the frosh girls were preoccupied with unorthodox fashions for initiation week: yellow gym suit tops, contrasting skirts, large um- brellas, bathing caps and no make-up. Election results made Lenore Kelly, president; Joan Hummel, vice-president; Phyllis Lawday, secretary; and Priscilla Randall, treasurer. Although the social calendar was dismal, dances at Standish and Edwards filled in the gaps. The Freshman War Bond Drive, headed by Lenore Kelly, Lee Rowell, Helen Killory, Beverly Morey and Priscilla Randall, was held in December, featuring such slogans as Buy war stamps instead of candy and keep your weight down. It was the frosh ' s first Christmas at Bridgewater, and Elsie Packer sang in the Woodward Sextet at the Christmas Carol Concert. Mardi Gras took place on January 7, 1944, but no king was crowned due to the scarcity of men. Its theme was interna- tional peace with flags and pictures of F.D.R., Churchill, and Stalin as decora- tions. It was also the year the freshmen produced This is College for the benefit of the Red Cross. Books like Paris Underground were being reviewed by the Library Club, and in the March issue of Campus Comment one read that Dick Dorey was at Shaw Field, S. C. Also in 1943, Alpha Psi Omega, national honorary dramatic fraternity, established Iota Ep- silon chapter at Bridgewater. In April the Bond Drive Variety Show was held in which the freshman class act was judged best, thanks to Betsy Mc- Cosh and Harriet Parsons for writing words to well-known songs telling about campus life. The noted poet and novelist, Robert P. Tristam Coffin spoke on the art of writ- ing, and in the May 26th issue of Campus Comment the college read of Mr. Brenelle Hunt ' s retirement after having been with Bridgewater since 1899. With the sophomore year came White Cliffs of Dover and a host of new words such as G.I., snafu, dimout, beach- head, and Eisenhower. Psychiatry began to color movie plots. Ruth Anderson be- came president; Muriel Lee Rowell, vice- president; Eileen Finnegan, secretary; and Betty Roper, treasurer. In September the Hyannis students and Miss Bessie Goff, Miss Mary J. Moriarty, Mr. Robert W. Rucker and Mr. Charles W. Foth joined Bridgewater, and the sophomore class was the largest in the college. Bob Clemence was then stationed in Asheville, N. C. Initiation — Hyannis version OS}

Page 21 text:

s E N have trod the upward and the downward slope, I have endured and done in days before; I have lo ngedfor all and bid farewell to hope; And I have lived and loved and closed the door. — Robert Louis Stevenson o R S

Page 23 text:

Jungaree Jive in November fea- tured pig-tailed girls and mock men. In the initiation committee were Dot Mackin, Jeanne Peck and Alice O ' Malley; Lenore Kelly became assistant treasurer of W.A.A. with Gloria Olson and Peg Thiesing as activity directors. Dick Dorey was now a lieutenant, stationed at Mabry, Fla.; Leo Beaumont was finding civilian life too boring, ac- cording to an interview in Campus Comment, having just been discharged from the service; Bernard LaCouture was at Ft. Myers, Fla., and Varma Sundelin was shipping overseas to Britain. The March Red Cross Drive trans- formed Horace Mann auditorium into a South Pacific USO with Rita Custeau, Patty Bigelow, Dorinda Lovell, Virginia Perkins, Helen Kasanovicz and Jean Schlos- stein as tap dancers. In April the comedy Johnny-on-the-Spot starred Margaret Thiesing, Eldon I awson, Gloria Olson and Leo Beaumont. Virginia Perkins represented the class as an All-American girl at the Gym- Jam where the sophomore class danced the never-to-be forgotten Rufty-Tufty and Gathering Peascod. In an April issue of Campus Comment, this writer dis- -Ah- Graduation covered he was visiting Oxford and Edin- burgh and drinking tea! In May, Lenore Kelly was elected second vice-president of S.C.A.; Jack Herman became assistant treasurer. The junior year began with Helen Kasanovicz as president; Helen Killory, vice-president; Eileen Finnegan, secretary; and Virginia Olson, treasurer. This was also the year when F.D.R. died, when V-E and V-J became realities, when atomic bombs, energy and control became world- wide issues, when demobilization of troops began in earnest, and when nylons could be bought if you stayed in line long enough. The girls became big sisters, and training school loomed ahead. In November Mr. Durgin and Mr. Meier returned to the faculty. Where the Heart Is, based on the gospel according to St. Matthew, was the Christmas play for 1945, featuring Leo Beaumont as Balthasar. During Decem- ber, Miss Irene E. Henderson retired as housemother of Woodward Hall after having locked Wood ' s door at ten-fifteen since 1927. It was Mardi Gras ' year again; this time it was Au Clair de la Lune sur la Riviera. Lee Rowell was crowned queen 419}