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

Page 28 text:

PARKE DA VIS The last man came running down the plat- form at Grand Central Station and at 6:30 sharp the class was on the way to Detroit. It was a long trip and a few of us got much sleep, but there were compensations for that. Ronnie Shiff started it all with his unsurpassable capacity for telling stories. Doc Halsey, our faculty chaperon, took up where Ronnie left off. Playing back- ground music and singing heartily to the rhythm of clicking rails was Artie Getzkin and Ukelele five. Card games were scattered all over our two private cars, with Harry Levine winning the en- durance medal by playing cards fourteen straighr hours. Round about 2 A.M., the time that nor- mal people would doze off, a group of solid citi- zens sang Irene, Goodnight to our other fac- ulty chaperon, Professor M. Irene Bailey, and the festivities for the night were officially ended, except of course, for the card games. At 8 A.M. the College of Pharmacy counter -part of the 20th Century Limited pulled into Detroit with 85 bleary-eyed students. Buses whisked us over to our opulent suites at the Hotel Book-Cadillac and we supposedly were all ready to take a full days tour of the Parke Davis plant. So, picking ourselves up from the land of somnos we re- ceived our official welcome and then blearily saw all the machines and methods that Joe Kanig told us about in dispensing lecture. Weary students came back to the hotel that evening, but after a quick shower they were not too weary to go en masse to the Burlesque Show after dinner. Among the notables in the audience was our own Celeste Wolper, taking it all in. After that tour de force, a number of the more studious looked at Detroit from behind the brass rail. Morning probably came all to quickly and we were off to see Parke, Davis ' superlative re- search building. A few of us though, that is Bob Shulman, Irv Kahan and company were off in the other direction to Canada, in order ro do their own research. That evening we had the big banquet that Professor Pokorny told us about. The filet-mignon was dressed with roving musicians, speeches and miniature mortar and pestle pins. After dinner, factions jaunted all over Detroit and environs for entertainment purposes. Fred Weissman and Howard Cohen led a progressive group by rented car to the University of Michigan — for educa- tional purposes of course. At the crack of dawn, it was Frank Kavaler, Marty Winkler and Stan Kopit who got off to an early start in their rented Chevrolet to see the Ford Moror Company ' s River Rouge Plant while the rest of the class slept late — if you call 9:30 A.M. late. They finished their quickie tour just in time to make a 100 yard dash for the 11:00 A.M. train that took us all to Kalama- zoo. This milk train ride was dominated by the omnipresent card game and witty comments to the effect that this yokel local must be the west- ern branch of the HTRR. Arrival at Kalamazoo was an ignominious affair. We were snuck in through the rear R. R. yards, a method that was resented by all and a slur that Kalamazoo shall long regret . . . three of their streets are still missing. This indignity was soon rectified though, for we were promptly

Page 27 text:

This year was a busy one. I found it difficult to take the course in German. Ger- man, you ask, what ' s that for? But that was the only way I could do my original project in Organic. Herbie Wolfzahn was booked solid for translations. Organic Chemistry was its name, but what happened? I ' m a phar- macy student? I don ' t have to be intelligent. Boy, that racemic form doesn ' t know which way to turn. During our exciting lab work Bill received his degree in firemanship, Don in cork powdering and Harold in barbering, and I.S. for having an organic name. What fun it was to watch those monstrous setups collapse — a closed system, eh? Please see Mr. Nackman for special technique in mak- ing watchglasses from 500ml. flasks. How did M.S. (the antlered one) hand in prod- ucts while at Grossingers? See R.S. for seven gallon vat procedure. This year a new com- pany developed in our midst (We Dye For You, Inc. ) . Most of us found Dr. Di Som- ma ' s exams quite enlightening and took quite a long time to finish. One idea for saving time was the Benzene ring stamp (at least it took up space), might get a point for filling up the paper anyway. Professor Chavkin shocked us all when he announced that he was not going to give a final in Drug Store Management. Instead, we would have panel discussions. The idea was a great success until we found out that comments would have to be handed in at the close of each discussion — carbon paper was a distinct disadvantage (so the motor- cycle kid found out). This was the course in which we were indoctrinated with the ethics of the Pharmacy Profession. Our opin- ions did not necessarily agree with the panel of experts chosen by Professor Chavkin. Would you purchase and sell cheaper hair brushes? The second paragraph on page 202 in the USP is of particular importance — to what does it refer? All of us were well prepared for this question after sitting in on Mr. Weingold ' s lectures. I think the general feeling was that the USP reads better than it plays. Also given was a special course on How to be Isotonic or How not to be Irritating to your Professor . This year Professor Halsey substituted frogs for the cat we used in Freshman year. I don ' t think anyone had a normal frog during the semester (but the fingers could be relied on to give normal reactions — thank B.T. and R.S.) Most of us breathed a sigh of relief as final week rolled around. At last we were finished — - not literally. And our worries were over, they don ' t fail Seniors. IDIOT! MALE SUPPOSITORIES, NOT WHALE 23

Page 29 text:

UPJOHN met by the Upjohn representative, put into buses and driven directly to our two hotels to prepare for dinner and a free evening in Kalamazoo. The hotel accomodations didn ' t match the luxury of Detroit but they were the finest in Kalamazoo and no one had a complaint. That evening, after a quite elaborate buffet supper, Columbia hit Kalamazoo. Some mild man- nered people took Upjohn ' s free tickets and went to the movies, but most of the rest looked around for other excitement and in spite of the Upjohn representative ' s warning that Kalamazoo is a dull town, they found excitement — or made it. De- tails here would be too gory to print and even more embarrassing to explain, so it shall be said that a good time was had by all. The next morning, each group ate breakfast in its own hotel and boarded Upjohn ' s buses for the plant. En route we were told that one-half of Kalamazoo works at the plant and the half that doesn ' t, wants to. After touring the plant we realized that this statement was very close to the truth. The plant was beautiful, it was the paragon of industrial efficiency. Having recently been constructed, it had every modern device conceivable to make production fast and the em- ployees comfortable. It was a one story operation with raw materials coming in one side of the building and the finished products leaving from the opposite side. To expedite this, much of the equipment was on wheels. There were fork trucks scooting all over, with electric eye doors aiding 13 . i i i • i FF CF FE EE EF ' EE EE GE them to go through barriers. For the comfort of the employees there were snack bars staggered throughout the plant with accompanying employee recreation. It was really a plant of which Upjohn and the pharmaceutical industry could be proud. That evening, half the group went to a dance at Western Michigan College with six of them having dates under the auspices of Harold Eckstein. To put it mildly, the reception for Columbia was cool the good times of the previous night were already taking their toll. One by one, the dancing contingent drifted away to join their brethren in pursuit of more and greater activities. The second evening in Kalamazoo was a mere shadow of the first, this primarily due to a tired crew and a more vigilant police force. By 2 A.M. or so most sane people were in bed, and some were even asleep. The following morning we went to visit Upjohn ' s research laboratory. This laboratory was located in the heart of Kalamazoo, much removed from the outlying manufacturing plant. We again saw the complex of glassware and precision in- struments that we first met up with at Parke- Davis. Research workers from each department of the laboratory instructed us in the various phases of the operations being performed. In the afternoon we bade farewell to Kala- mazoo and left for the station. The trip home was much milder than the trip going. Apparently the boys had learned that they needed the sleep. On Saturday morning, the train dived with a roar into the two and one-half mile tunnel that bur- rows under Park Avenue and there we were at Grand Central Station, having had a very suc- cessful and happy trip.