Siena College - Saga Yearbook (Loudonville, NY)

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THE VERY REVEREND Mark Kennedy, O.F.M., inspects the R.O.T.C. unit in 1950. then President of Siena, as he addressed the 1948 graduates. The students and faculty did not forget the debt of courageous sacrifice. On May 29, 1947, the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes was dedicated to the memory of the Siena war dead. This shrine is a lasting tribute to their deeds of supreme valor. The American people and their government learned a cardinal lesson from the military demands of the Second World War. Military preparation became a constant matter; the 11 THE SIENA COLLEGE Field Artillery R.O.T.C. Chose Saint Barbara as patroness. preserving of our way of life might again te- quite military force. To help answer the need for qualified officers the United States Army established a Field Artillery Reserve Training Corps at Siena in 1950. The course offers, upon successful completion, a commission of Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve. This program has offered a service to the individual student desirous of a commission in the Army and t0 the nation desirous of able military personnel.

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9 4L THE EXPANSION of the postwar years necessitated the erection of a temporary chapel. When the soldiers returned to the homes which they had defended, the colleges through- out the naton welcomed the students in ever- increasing numbers. In 1947, Siena became the largest college of general studies between New York City and Syracuse, with an enrollment of 2,752 students. Seventy per cent of the regis- trants were veterans. In order to provide class- room space prefabricated buildings were con- structed on the land adjacent to the gymnasium. When even these attempts failed, a hall in the 10 nearby town of Latham had to be rented. Though our halls here at Siena College were never closed all through the course of the war, thanks be to God, still our own present student body contains not only the natural growth from our High Schools, but a large percentage of veterans who were dreaming of Siena College and its halls while they were in the various battlefronts of our country in Europe, in Asia, and in the Middle East. These were the words of Rev. Mark Kennedy,

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When the green and gold clad Mohawks of Siena College took the court against a for- midible Albany Business College, an important aspect of the Colleges extracurricular life com- menced. Under the mentorship of Jack Carrol the Siena basketball team won their first inter- collegiate contest in the winter of 1938. The men who have participated in this sport throughout the twenty-five years of Siena Col- lege have played a unique part in the incredible story of the prodigious expansion of the school. Skilled coaching, energetic playing, and ardent cheering have characterized the place of this sport in the fame of the College. The ascent of the Siena Indians, as the team was later called, to basketball glory was one of singular swiftness. On December 12, 1941, this tiny institution stunned collegiate basket-- ball with an upset victory over Villonava. This was the first season that Siena, under the di- rection of Henry Bunoski, could play their home games at Gibbons. Hall. Led by its high scorer, Howie Tucker, the Siena team had arrived. The Capitol District sports enthusi- asts became keenly aware of the athletic en- deavors of the Siena quintet. In 1941, Daniel Cunha, a Notre Dame gradu- ate, was named as coach of the team. Through- out the war years the extracurricular activities were extremely limited. The basketball seasons were often forced to be concluded before the completion of the schedule. Mr. Cunha in- structed the Navy and Army personnel in physical fitness programs as a preparation for the demands of warfare before he himself was called to active duty. TIM HILL, Siena's great scorer, drives for two points. BILLY HARRELL scores against Manhattan in Albany Armory. A CANISIUS PLAYER finds the long arm of Tom Pottenburgh an obstacle. 12