Lehigh University - Epitome Yearbook (Bethlehem, PA)

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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

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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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Lehigh reacts to the referee ' s decision get a blind date. I began scouting around for my fall houseparty date in May. I found one, all right. She was really beautiful, a little short on brains, and she could dance, too. I was a big senior by this time and felt like quite an oper- ator. We went down to the big Fall Houseparty Ball in Grace Hall where my old friend, Claude Thornhill, was playing again. I had a swell time being pushed around on the dance floor, and then it happened. No sooner had I returned to the house to party a little when I realized my mistake. My date was so desirable, she at- Bernadine and Pete Welanetz talk over placement opportunities tracted all the men like a magnet. What a miser- able houseparty from then on! I couldn ' t even get her over to a dark corner to say nice things to her without one or two stags coming along to help me. We went down to the football game on Saturday afternoon and watched N.Y.U. sort of beat us by one point. I kept my eyes on the game knowing that the nine guys who sat in the same row had their eyes on my date. She certainly wasn ' t going to make a getaway unnoticed. Saturday night we went house-hopping and scored a big hit wherever we went. I never knew how many buddies I had be- fore, and strange to say, they were all without dates. It was then and there that I swore nev er to take a beautiful girl to houseparty again. That was my senior year, and I had one more houseparty to go. With determination I combed the country- side and found just the girl. She was plain look- ing, did a passable job on the dance floor, and had a wonderful personality. That was the best houseparty I ever went to. None of the stags bothered us. The fact is, I don ' t even remember the name of the big name bands that played at the Friday night dance. We had such a good time that evening that we stayed up all night and ended up playing tennis at five in the morning on the city courts. 16