Lehigh University - Epitome Yearbook (Bethlehem, PA)

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Even though we had made good time, the place was filling up fast with smoke, noise, and celebrators. We knew Joe ' s would soon be packed with the game crowd so we looked for a place to sit down. Sam spied an empty booth in the corner, and we hur- ried over to take possession. I dived into the booth fearing that someone would beat me to it. Out of the dingy atmosphere that always prevails in the hidden corners and crevices of Joe ' s I heard a loud crash and a series of oaths. I looked up, and as my eyes became accustomed to the darkness, I saw the damage I had done. A perfectly palatable glass of beer was spilled over the table and on the suit of some stranger who seemed a bit perturbed over the matter, and besides, I was sitting in someone ' s lap. It was rather embarrassing to say the least, and I started to mutter my apologies. Steve, you — of a — , what a way to say hello. Chick Wal- per, I said. I ' m sorry I didn ' t mean to make such a mess. Forget it, Steve, this suit needs a christening, anyway. Come on, sit down. There ' s room for more in the booth, said Chick. Just then Chick spotted Sam and said hello in his bombastic man- ner all over again. Meanwhile, the man whose lap I had imposed upon had moved over in the booth so that I could sit down next to him. It looked like Ed Leaton, and I said, Hiya, Ed, you ' re looking great. — , w ha t a memory! Steve, take another look and maybe you ' ll remember me. I took another look and felt embarrassment discolor my ears. It was Doug Scales, my old roommate. He ' d changed quite a bit and the dingy light made it hard to recognize him, but it was good to see him again, and soon we were talking like two old women. By this time Sam and Chick had settled down in the booth with us and another pitcher of beer was ordered. The talk was about the old days and what had happened in the twenty years since we had gradu- ated. It reminded me of the long sessions of war The Glee Club partying with the Alumni • 14

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Zkose days at old lekigk Twenty years had gone by since I had been in Bethlehem, and it was good to get back. Lehigh still looked the same with perhaps a few more buildings on the campus, but I didn ' t feel lost, and I was pretty sure I could still find my way around. It was a grand fall day, perfect weather for a football game; in fact, everything was perfect. Lehigh was the heavy favorite, and it looked like Lafayette would take a beating. As I turned down Memorial Lane toward Taylor Stadium, someone shouted, Hey, Steve, how are you ? I looked and saw Sam Franklin, a little fatter and much balder than in the old days, but it was Sam all right. Hiya, Sam! 1 said and shook his hand. It ' s good to see you. What ' re you doing these days? And so it went, each of us eagerly quizzing the other about things that had happened since 1949. There was a lot to talk about, and we must have stood by the Chem Building chewing the fat for quite some time. When finally I glanced at my watch, it was 1 :25. Holy smoke, Sam, it ' s almost game time. Let ' s go or we ' ll miss the kick-off, I said. So we hurriedly stepped off down Memorial Lane, and we got inside the stadium with a little time to spare. We both happened to have reserved seats in the same section, but they were already taken. We ended up sitting on the cement stairs in the stadium which are just as cold as the cement seats. The game was terrific, it was Lehigh ' s all the way. Sam and I cheered and yelled like college kids, and by game ' s end, we were mighty hoarse. The score was 28 to 6. Boy, it was good to see Lehigh win a Lafayette game! Steve, let ' s go to ' Joe ' s, ' Sam said. Is it still there? I asked. You bet it is. Come on, this calls for a celebration. Gee, Sam, I promised my wife I ' d be home ear — and that ' s all I could say because he grabbed my arm and off we went. Maybe it was the exhilaration of the game or maybe it was the old weakness because I really wanted someone to twist my arm. Soon I was leading the way pushing a path through the crowd that poured out of the stadium. We headed down toward Fourth Street and soon we were at Joe ' s. • 13 •

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Cheerleader Lee and friend stories we used to get in when we first came back to Lehigh after the war. They were always a good excuse to keep from doing homework. Most of us were veterans who had had a semester or so at college before going into the service, and when we started school again we had a lot to talk about. Do you re- member much about school, Steve? Chick finally asked. Yes, guess I do, I said. You know, sometimes I ' ll be sitting around the house not doing much of anything, and out of a clear blue sky, I ' ll start thinking about some of the things I used to do at Lehigh. It ' s strange, but I can remember things as if they ' d taken place yesterday. Me, too, said Sam It must be old age creeping up on me or something, but I still like to think about all that happened here like, well a-a-a — houseparties. Houseparties, we all echoed together and everyone was talking at once. ' ' Sam, what ever happened to that girl you used to bring to all the houseparties? asked Doug. Well, I mar- ried her a couple years after I graduated, said Sam. But what about that Cedar Crest girl you dated one houseparty. You know the one I mean, the real, good looking girl everybody tried to make time with. I don ' t know what became of her — don ' t care much either. Some guy with a car started dating her, and I never saw her again, Doug said. The mention of houseparty turned my mind back to those week- ends and all that happened. No school Saturday, parties, dances, football games, picnics — ah, that was houseparty! I ' ll never forget the blind date I had up for the spring houseparty when I still was a junior. What a beast — no looks, no per- sonality, no nothing! She couldn ' t even dance. I pretended that I was a special fan of Claude Thornhill ' s, and we spent most of the dance by the bandstand listening to the music. I remember the hit tune was Near You because I wished I was elsewhere from my date. She was a good baseball player, and I let her wear herself out at the picnic on Saturday afternoon. I learned my lesson that houseparty — never again would I John Calvin and the hook 15