Northeastern University - Cauldron Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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Class History SOME 800 Freshmen swarmed the Northeastern campus September 13, 1948, but the group could hardly have been called wide-eyed yearlings. For despite the fact that the veteran enrollment had dropped noticeably from the previous year, the Class of 1953 was 38 percent veterans. The ranks of the newcomers were swelled over the 800 mark and the University ' s Day College enroll- ment to 4,000 when some 80 November freshmen were added to the student body. Then the frosh celebrated the first day of winter with a class elec- tion. The ballots gave the class presidency to Ed Bigham, later an N.U. Law School student. No sooner had the class cabinet been elected than plans for the Freshman Winter Prom were -drawn up. The dance was held February 5, 1949 at the Hotel Continental in Cambridge. A summer went by and the promising freshmen became sophomores. Back with their first taste of co-operative work behind them, the Division A branch of the Class of ' 53 wasted no time in re- electing Ed Bigham as class president. Physical improvements in the University plant also were on the minds of the sophs. The Library Building Fund Campaign was barely underway when the Administration announced the purchase of the Tufts property at Forsyth Street. Masque Highlights The Silver Masque produced Listen My Children in December, 1949, and a young man with a British accent named Larry Goulding got his first major role in an N.U. play. Division B held its class elections that month, and the result was a new president, the fabulous Russ Lowe. Then, not to be outdone by the Division B Masque, the A thespians produced the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta H.M.S. Pinafore, marking the first time an N.U. dramatic group had ever tackled a full-length musical comedy. More than 300 couples jammed themselves into the Louis XIV Ballroom of the Hotel Somerset in March 1950, and to the music of the maestro Hal Reeves, the Sophomore Prom went into the Class of ' 53 scrap-book. The coming of June brought another Division B election. An engineer named Tony Effgen emerged as the winning presidential candidate, and never was dethroned. His predecessor, Russ Lowe, waged a successful campaign for a vacant Student Council berth and later was elected president. Meanwhile, construction of the University ' s million-and-a-half dollar library got underway ahead of schedule due to the Korean crisis. First Class of ' 53 highlight in the middler year was the Silver Masque ' s presentation of the Madwoman of Chaillot. Marie Harmon held down the leading role in the production. Then with a bang, the R.O.T.C. hit the campus. Out came the News with an extra edition announcing the arrival of Engineer- ing and Signal Corps units of the R.O.T.C. Un- fortunately, ' 53ers were ineligible to join. More good news came in the announcement that the University had acquired an additional 50,000 square feet of land by purchasing a tract from the New Haven Railroad. Meanwhile, the rollickin ' redhead, Don Johnson, made an acquisition of his own when he latched onto the Division A class presi- dency which he has never relinquished. Don and Tony Effgen then went to work planning the Middler Prom. The dance was held the Satur- day after May Day in the Georgian Room of the Hotel Statler featuring Joey Masters and his band. Another First In early June the first original musical comedv produced by a Northeastern dramatic group in more than 25 years was staged. Up ' n Atom, a takeoff on college life at Northeastern, featured a rocket ship ship take-off on stage. Dave Blume wrote the musi- cal score and ' 52ers McLean and Cerulli contributed the lyrics and book. Larry Goulding ' s name came to the fore again when N.U. ' s Mr. Drama sparked the Silver Masque to a professional production of The Man Who Came to Dinner. As winter came along the terrible three, Blume, McLean and Cerurlli, came up with another original musical comedy for the Masque to produce. This time it was The Fourth Estate, a satire on the news- paper business. Most startling, however, was the morning of February 25th when a violent snow- storm forced cancellation of the day ' s classes for the first time in more than 12 years. Then Dave Blume was named Editor-in-Chief of the News for 1952 and Bob LeDonne, Pat Murphy and Rudy Gerstner latched onto other News top spots. Shortly thereafter LeDonne was nearly drowned in his station wagon one rainy day when the car became half submerged in the North Parking Lot. 1 16}

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We Salute ± lie Korean conflict burst out as we entered our Middler year at Northeastern and many of our elassmates were called into the service. Below are the names of thirty- six students wlio ordinarily miglit have been wearing caps and gowns along with us. Norman E. Adler, Alan D. Bailey Bowden Brucei Douglas Buchanan Donald E. Cullivan John J. Daley Paul Devivo Kenneth L. Doane Donald K. Ellsworth Bichard S. Elz Bobert Ereolini Harry Farnsworth Norman P. Fisher Frank W. Garner Baymond Goulet Edward B. Himme Bobert L. Jennings Bobert Knapp Edward Kristel James B. Magee Bobert E. Marcus David J. Miller Michael Z. Musiker Howard E. Nason George B. O ' Neill Bobert F. Otis Attilio Pedrali Bobert W. Powers Gordon T. Bogers Evigene P. Sheehan Almon Steeves John O. Stinson Bobert E. Stone, Jr. Bobert S. Sullivan Arthur D. Wagner Albert Williams 115}

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Physical Improvements Trees and bushes and even campus lamps ap- peared as the Library was finished. The students moved into the new structure in mid-May, and al- though there ' s no way to prove it, school spirit was said to have taken a sizable boost with the plot of grass that made an appearance. Russ Lowe found himself re-elected as Division B Council president. His Division A counterpart, of course, was big Bill Lynch. A vacant council post was notched by Bob Skelly, for years the workhorse of the ' 53 Class Cabinet. With the brass of the class now established by the voters, the ' 53ers heartily supported their fabulous Junior Prom at the Sheraton Plaza with Jack Ed- wards ' orchestra. Work began last fall on the proposed N.U. Physi- cal Center, which was to consist of an Administration building, four gymnasia and an enormous glass cage. The Silver Masque came through for the soon-to- depart seniors by installing in their memories a pair of excellent dramatic productions: The Night of January 16th and the musical, Finian s Rainbow. In the Dough More good news was in store for the future alumni. Dr. Ell announced that the University ' s financial assets had jumped to twelve million dollars, and shortly after, that a College of Education, with New Hampshire ' s Prof. Lester S. VanderWerf as dean, would be established at N.U. in the fall. January found the News publishing its largest paper in history a 16-page job — and Cauldron Editor Abbott Lighter smiled ever so slightly and said, Wait until June, Dave. Cindy Lord brightened up N.U. ' s winter scene by appearing at the University ' s first Military Ball. The best Northeastern Red Cross blood drive was held in February and the senior class held up its share of the load. Then to top it all off, Senior Week arrived with its Country Club Frolic and customary moonlight sail, beach party and Senior Prom, the last at the Sheraton Plaza. And, of course, commencement. The history of the Class of 1953, at least as far as its undergraduate days were concerned, was over. Its casualty list reads as follows: married — 185; engaged — 66, number of children — 109 . . . and that ' s out of a graduating class of some 700. The oldest graduate is Frank J. Rogus, 36, a mechanical engineer. The youngest is Jane W. Hicks, 20, an LA Sociology major. And get this! The Most Children Award goes to civil engineer Cesaro Perez, 32, who boasts eight kids — five boys and three girls. What a class! What a class! Professor Wearer Behind The Scene . . . r T HE man behind the scene was our class adviser, JL Professor Robert J. Weafer. But he was only behind the scene to those students who never had the pleasure of working with him. He has been as active — if not more so — than any ten members of the Class of ' 53 in planning class functions and guiding class business. Weaf , who now lives in Quincy with his wife, Kathleen, and three children, received his early schooling at Boston Latin School. He attended N.U. from 1935 to 1937, returning to graduate from the Evening School in 1941. Mr. Weafer became an instructor in Accounting here in September, 1947, with the added qualification of being a Certified Public Accountant. He served three years in the South Pacific during World War II. At present he is working for a Master of Arts degree at B.U. in the field of Finance. Sports — bowling in particular — are high on the Prof ' s like list. His Saturdays during the fall are spent at Northeastern ' s Athletic Field, where he takes charge of the Huskies ' football statistics. He also is a member of the Faculty Student Activities Commission. How many students will forget the old Awrl right with which he invariably greeted his students when he entered a noisv classroom? U7 }