Columbia University College of Pharmacy - Apothekan Yearbook (New York, NY)

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PL armac t Curl P. Wimmer, Ph.G Phar.D.. A.M., Ph.M. Chairman Moses with one touch of his wand made water issue forth from a rock. Prof. Wimmer with the turn of a page of his notebook (which was as ancient as the subject) spewed forth the subject of Pharmacy Orientation. It was a fitting introduction to a time-honored profession. We were carried back some few thousand years on the magic carpet of history. We were the sorcerer ' s appren- tices being made conscious of the vast tradition behind us. Yes, we dreamed of the Pyramids and the Rosetta Stone and even pictured ourselves discovering the secret of turning base metals into gold, only to be rudely awakened the following hour by Prof. Amsterdam. Sir Boss taught Pharmaceutical Arithmetic. It was his joy to point out that we were all potential murderers for placing the decimal point in the wrong place when calculating the dose of strychnine or some equally potent medicine. We had hour quizzes, wherein we were given ten problems (which were masterpieces of phraseology) and told to solve them by the Amsterdam method. All right, wise guys, see if you can figure these problems out. We were to see more of Prof. Amsterdam. That tall dark gentleman, who wore clothes with neat dispatch and hair a la Kreml, was Prof. Carter, our instructor in Pharmacy. He finally managed to teach us how to make Emplastrum Plumbi Oleatis. but we learned for ourselves how to make triple quantity preparations. After enlightening us on the ways of making U.S. P. and N.F. formulas, it was Prof. C. P. Wimmer Dr. L. N. Brown Mr. I. P. Miale if y w ' i ' i l -■ Stotfirt ' '

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Mr. ll ' v e Beginning with the alkancs and finishing with the Heterocyclic compounds. Dr. and Mrs. DiSomma, with the application of patience, re-exams and main extra stud) sessions, managed to teach us that benzene had other uses than remov- ing yesterday ' s soup from your vest. In the lab we were taught the synthesis ol many known compounds. But we were Juniors and inspiration burned deep within us (hadn ' t the Chinese invented Chow Mein?) — so we would not rest until we had found the synthesis of the Ersatz Bagle. It was during one of these feverish experiments that Joe Leibenhaut found Horace ' s labcoat in his distilling flask. Things were progressing in an acceptable fashion up until the final exam, when Sol Libb defined Polv Saccharide as a swell date from the Bronx and Mike Friedland. not to be outdone, wrote that Mother Liquor was a hostess in a Harlem hotspot. Dr. DiSomma would have no more of us. In going on to Pharmaceutical Analysis, Prof. Taub, who had watched our antics with bated breath for the past three years, applied the old axiom that discretion was the better part of valor. He imme- diately sent us on to Abe Silbergleit. Burning with ambition (and die summer heat) Mr. Silbergleit declared a new regime. You no longer could run your analysis by the old and tried formula Normality Gaystu ( mean) t x- X Fupstoo, extreme = (Krutt) : Prof. S. Libcrman, Prof. A. Taub. Mr. A. Silbergleit So we dusted off our calibrated weights (0.00000OUCHO) and got to work. Determination after determination was handed us, and as fast as they came we ran them off. Finally when Abe was tired of marking papers, and had finished all his salt tablets, he sent out a hurried S.O.S. to Prof. Taub. He must have been leading Oliver Twist for the next day we found little paper bags filled with Quaker Oats on our desks. It was our job to see if they came up to the standard of the grocer ' s U.S. P. (the Good House- keeping Seal of Approval) . This was a fitting end to our studv in Practical Chemistry. Much has been said in jest and much has been said in earn- est; but to you of the Chemistry Dept. who have instructed us these many years we say, thanks for your excellent training. We honestly can find no other fault except that the labs were built on the sixth floor. Abraham Taub. Pb.G.. Pb.Cb.. B.S.. M.A. Associate Professor

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not surprising that the Professor would be called upon to give a repeat performance in Manufacturing Pharmacy. Prof. Amsterdam was his Man Friday for both courses. To what avail is the foregoing if we lacked the knowledge presented by Prof. Fred D. Lascoff (D for Drugtopics) ? Economics was a course in building funneled shape entrances to your store, a safari to the Van Camps Truss and Support works to meet Miss Brown and the oppor- tunity to take inventory at the Museum. The usual remuneration for the latter was five bucks, a transfer to the crosstown bus, a ham sandwich and perhaps an A in the course. An easier way of making a dollar was to attend the De Vilbiss lecture. We ' ll just go over these preparations briefly: 90 minutes Iter we were still listening to Dr. Brown explain how powder papers should be folded, European Method. This was Dispensing Pharmacy. What good is all this preparation if we couldn ' t read an Rx in Latin? Enter Smilin ' Joe Miale. His smile was a lot easier to take than the conjugation of spiritus. Aside from being routed from a good ping pong game to attend his classes, we had no objections to spending 50 minutes with him. Baxter, will you read Rx Xo. 5001 and tell us how you would make it. Right, this was Dispensing Pharmacy IE a repetition of Dispensing Pharmacy I, sans Mr. Miale. You ' ve got to be able to shake them right out of your sleeve. ' ' said Prof. Wimmer in his Survey course. Here is where we learned that a pill must be elegant besides being round and a pain in the neck to make. We got to know Prof. Wimmer well in our last year for he also taught us Jurisprudence, Theoretical Pharmacy and Miscellaneous. The latter group included the odds and ends all good Pharmacists should know plus more for good measure. Dr. ' Wimmer was patient and understand- ing. If only he were making up the State Board exams. Prof. H. J. Amsterdam Prul. F. D. Lascoff Prof. H. M. Carlo