Pratt Institute - Prattonia Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

Page 6 text:

The good taste of trying to be funny in a senior yearbook, especially in the year 1951 can and, no doubt, will be questioned. The questioner might even have a case—but we don’t think so. In fact, we are particu- larly vehement in our belief that humor is pleasant contrast to the sorry scheme of things which daily presents itself in headlines and on the radio, an oasis in a desert of barren politics and fruitless belliger- ence. In pursuit of this conviction we decided to trample caution, ignore the frowns of disapproving critics, and try to laugh a little. PRATTONIA 751 is a lot of things it probably shouldn’t be. It, also, isn’t a lot of things it probably should be. This being or not being, however, is a circumstance of purposeful direction and not an acci- dent. For instance, if you consult PRATTONIA ’51 in search of some fact, you may find it, but chances are you won't. If you are looking for profound literature, this is not the source you should choose. In these and many other ways this book is a miserable failure. Who cares? Facts are the ware of The World Almanac, the Kinsey Report, and the Gallup poll. Profundity we leave to The Readers’ Digest. Both have been meticulously omitted from this volume. It is our considered opinion that a successful yearbook should be fun. It should be fun the day you first lay eyes on it. It should be fun many years hence as you reminisce fondly upon your academic days. It should still be fun when, even more years hence, you sit by the fire- place, shriveled and feeble, reading it to your grandchildren. It should provoke chuckles and evoke time-dimmed memories until its very cover crumbles from too much such provoking and evoking. PRATTONIA ’51 will then have served its purpose. And if it hasn’t, we still don’t intend to apologize.

Page 5 text:

HANDCOCK

Page 7 text:

To all the members of this Class of 1951, made up of future archi- tects, art teachers, followers of the arts in many varying fields, home economists, librarians, leather tanners, and engineers, | extend my con- gratulations. I will say this to you on Commencement Day, with a deep feeling of friendship and a hand gradually swelling in size as I greet one of the Institute’s largest classes, and one of its best. Your record has been good. Your friendly cooperation is greatly appreciated by all of us who work here for the advancement of the education of present and future students. We shall miss you. May you read Prattonia one, five, ten, or more years hence with pleasant memories of friends and personal accomplishments here. It is a task in itself to graduate in these uncertain and disturbing times. “Where shall I be a year from now?” is uppermost in all minds, and it is no fun. However, let’s look to the future with courage and confidence. Charles Pratt, President