Georgia Institute of Technology - Blueprint Yearbook (Atlanta, GA)

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Original Plant, 1888 — Old Shop Building and Administration Building ing from the bustle of unpaved Cherry Street ' s traffic. The horses and consequently the three buggies visible seem to be making concertedly towards this frail bar- rier and the lush campus fields beyond. In a foreword entitled A History of Georgia Tech (of necessity, brief). Mr. Ray C. Werner states, It is safe to predict that the institution will continue to grow and prosper. Judging from the staggering skyline outside my win- dow, I felt that Mr. Werner had once the makings of a great banker. Continuing to wade rather than plunge, I turned to the yearbook of ' 28. Twice the size of its twenty-year- old brother, its brown embossed cover impressed me as having been designed to harmonize with th e family album and Bible. I trust it has been treated as rever- ently. Carefully avoiding the pictures of the graduating class of that year, I looked over the twenty-odd build- ings amongst which I had circulated for four years. I was the Boy Scout studiously memorizing familiar landmarks as he enters strange territory. These two yearbooks served to show with sUirtling emphasis how leisurely had been the pace ol progress Itetween 1908 and 1928 as compared to that of tlie last two decades at Tech, Although I had i)een informed that over ten million dollars had gone into the new atlditions at Tech in the past ten years. I was un[irepared for the prodigious immber and elegance of liiese stru(;tures. As I made my uncertain way towards the campus the impressive display of new facilities everywhere left me almost empty of memories. First T stojjped So marvel at a large cluster ot imposing doiinilories suirounding a liaroiiiraj liiiildiii:j, ' Aliiilt 3 vvas inidrmed was a (lining hall, Vv ' iicn last seen onK unc Hrnivri .hir niilory had been in cxi {ellce. Th(- ulii ijiii ' rtiiiur ua- aiino i over- looked bs 11)1 ' i)i ' -:in-c .)l ijie (l!s(i!)glM: li l roinpany around il. i resiiaincd nyscH imm inspecting the Hugh Saint finds time to write home. present sleeping facilities of the students as I feared that a touch of envy might somewhat our my admira- tion. I had been previously forewarned regarding the innovations at Grant Field, since I follow the fortunes of the Yellow Jackets as closely as any old grad from season to season. I found these changes even greater than I had anticipated. Here was a fit setting for the ' perennially excellent gridiron performances Tech alum- ni and fans anticipate. The gymnasium at the end of the field stands like a majestic monument to the school ' s athletic prowess. Tech has reason to be proud of these notable additions to her athletic department. On my left I found a large apartment house conmianding ray attention. This, I was told, was the Burge Apartments. From what I had already seen I was sure there was no housing shortage on the campus. Had I jjeen blindfolded until the moment I mounted the campus steps at the North Avenue and Fowler Street corner. I would have felt perfectly at home. The old Administration Building in the background, the flag- pole, Knowles Dormitory, the Library, the Mathe- matics Building, die E. E. Building, and old Swann Hall — all were just as they had been. All these old buildings which I had known so intimately in the past served to reassure me that I was back and welcome at my Alma Mater. 1 sl()[)ped next at the Knowles Dormitory as I had a hankering to see the old room I occupied during 1924. I w(ndd find it difficult to analyze the compulsion to return to a scene of so many past discomforts. I ' ll only admit that T was wallowing in sentiment at this moment and enjoying it. The room of which I speak was a dank. clii-crlcss little cell that slept three by virtue of a single and double decker. This was strictly steerage when the three of us happened to converge there at the same moment. Since it was impossible for the threesome to deckswab and bed-make at the same time, we tossed

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IS GROWiNG II was plain Atlanta had inaturc l a.-ionisliingly in me last Iwenty-rive years. It secnieil iiioreclihle that I had once considered her a minor metropolis. Housing developments, and industrial enterprises covered miles which I recall as having heen wilderness. On being informed that the fabulous horizons in the distance were those of the present campus, I found myself prettv overwhelmecl. Had the humiile academic environs from which I had sprung undergone such a metamorphosis in only twenty-five years? Or was my conception of twenty-five years somewhat distorted? I tried tossing the phrase quarter-of-a-century around a bit but found it depressing. In any case, old Rip Van W inkle had been away longer than he reckoned. On approaching the Biltmore, I was startled to note that the fraternity houses once nearby had disappeared. Their places had been usurped by various business operations. I was further disturbed to count my own fraternity house amongst the fallen. There is something .ibout the demise of a man ' s old fraternity house which a|)proaches closely to emotion. This being the case, I would jirefer to refer you to a literary man (an engi- neer if you can find one). However, you could consult a thesaurus (if you can find one). Under SORROW we have misfortune, trial, blow, grief, distress, affliction. If afso suggests ymr Sr ' adveTsirjrand pain. I would like to proceed to cover adversity and pain as I find this an effortless way of dealing with emotion; how- ever. I dare not court abridgement further. Saving my strength at this time for more wonders to come, I checked into the Biltmore. It was almost a relief to find the decor and plumbing all untouched save by Ten o clock coffee break af the Robbery. An Informal bull session between classes. the years. Here the ilrunimer- ' and Itie Class of 28 were jockeying for position, and knowing the caliber of my classmates, there was little doubt as to which group w(tuld take priority. Let it not be forgotten at this point that the Class of 28 was a class of veterans. The ink barely dry on llieir parchments, they were tossed into an economic typhoon that wrecked many a seasoned craft. That they had successfully weathered the storm and the arid years that followed was in evi- dence. These boys had sprung from austere beginnings (three beds to a room, a ration of moonshine now and then, the prospects of a twenty-dollar a week job to the swift). I want to sav now em|)hatically, if wistfully, that plenty, peace and prosperity do not make the engineer. Here at this reunion it was obvious to all. including the hotel managemenl. that the Class of 28 was long accustomed to the best. The aura of success lay over all. I retired to mv room, a gem of antiquity, the better to recover from the rigors of meeting so man old familiar faces and unfamiliar profiles. Stretching out with a tot of the Biltmore ' s best beside me, I opened a purloined yearbook of 1008. A glimpse of the past I felt to be appropriate at this time, and this book was as far back as I could go at the moment. For your edi- fication, this yearbook was the first published at Tech. It was a slim, unpretentious volume and contained a bucolic panorama of the 1908 campus. Grouped about a circle sward reminiscent of a country fair grounds were five of the central campus buildings. These and five others not visible here comprised the plant and facility. A picket fence separated this retreat of learn-

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JACKE.TS TAKING T GERS fOR R»DE. ins for the privilege. Should you hear ttial old saying about the law of average working out in the long run, forget it. Either the law of average takes longer than four years to work out, or ray roommates had a two- headed coin. I went through my first year of Tech with a broom in one hand and a book in the other. These quarters (there is no singular. I believe) were located directly above what was then known as Uncle Gus kitchen, a place where the skillet smoked by night and by day. The walls, furnishings and l)edclothes were permeated with the odor of over-worked lard. It took the leanest years of the depression for me to recall those old fumes and the ships-ballast biscuits which issued daily from that kitchen with anything but nos- talgia. Rumor has it that Johns-Manvillr Stole Uncle Gus ' biscuit formula and put it into mass production. At this I would not sneer. I found this hallowed spot had been taken over by my good friend. Dean George Griflin, for office space. It had lost none of its old charm, and I congratulated the Dean on his discrimi- nating choice of location. He i)rought mr further up- to-date on the progress all around us. With Dean Griffin as my guide we set out on a further tour of the campus, slopping first at a new ( lo me) cofTee hangout known as ' Tlic l{ol)i)cry. Here I had the pleasure of seeing a representative group of the students relaxing over the inevitable ' Coke. Some forty-odd lads and two comelv co-eds (anotlier splendid innovation) were gathered iierc and except lor iniicli shorter haircuts on die men and much longer skirts on the girls, it could have been a scene from tlic twen- ties. The exception being diat this group looked younger than any students I e er renieml)ei ' at Tech. I found a small wave of paternalism engulfing my perspeclive. I had the pleasure of exchanging pleasantries with several of the boys (men) who spoke of their work with engaging seriousnes? f ' dns may have bsen d part to the pre.sence of n y guide). .4Ifeo, ihey . ooiisjderate enough not lo seuson tluiir sentences U.h) liboratiy with sirs. ' As f strolled die old l. v-wavs tailing in iiiuovautms I everywhere, I was filled with pride and pleasure. Bui nothing in my peregrinations liad prepared me for five great buildings I was yet to see. My first view of »■ Civil Engineering, the Architecturai, the Textile build- ings, the Engineering Experiment Station and the Li- brary really floored me. I had the sensation of one who sees a mirage, so fixed in my mind wa,s t)ie old look of the campus of 28. Each was an architectural gem in itself. I was conscious of a tremendous surge of pride that my college had progressed lo these heights. It is achievements like these diat renew faith in a world bent on perfecting destruction. So long as sueii great centers of learning exist, so long will the world be able to rebuild itself no matter what disasters strike. These buildings in themselves seem to symbolize the great needs of mankind in war and in peace. To rebuild, to shelter, and to clothe mankind is the province of the engineer. I was deeply gratified that I had the opportunity of looking tlirough all five of these structural wonders with the kind and competent guidance of Dean Griffin. Here was the latest and the finest laboratory and re- search equipment, spacious, ideally lighted and venti- lated rooms, commodious lecture halls, and, above all these, an atmosphere which in itself will inspire learn- ing. It was not without a touch of envy that I roamed these halls. No classman of ' 28 ever envisioned such a consummation of academic requirements. These facili- ties were as far removed from those of the twenties as the present Ford car from the then revolutionary Model A. This simile prompts me to comment on the sharp contrast in the auto situation here between 28 and ' 5.3. Back then, those of us fortunate enough to have a Model .A at our disposal were among the solvent minor- ity. The T Model was the ear of the day at Tech as elsewhere, and the penchant for inscribing each cher- ished buggy with varied witticisms was universal. I don ' t choose to nm . . . had a ring of the times. I myself was the possessor of a ' T ' I fondly called Roaring Boring Alice. She was a faithful craft in her fashion, temperament being the prerogative of the aged. So it was with no little irony that I viewed the students parade of old and honorably retired cars that week-end. During my college days there were few so proud who would have spurned one of these flivvers now held up to such ridicule. Their present condition would have been considered a challenge to a man ' s mechanical aptitudes. The preponderance of sleek chassis now crowding the campus thoroughfares was a change to be sure. I wondered if this Avas an indication of a greater prosperity than the i)oom years of the late twen- ties or whether it signified a more benevolent generation of parents. Possibly, considering the present wage-scale, some of these cars represented the fruits of extra- curricular toil. Pensively 1 figured it would have taken the undergrailuate of twenty-five years ago three yeai- of unremitting toil (with all expenses paid) to raise the tariff on one 54 Ford. . . . But lookinii back. I do