Ursinus College - Ruby Yearbook (Collegeville, PA)

Page 19 text:

CLASS Officers Jack Popowich Presidents Edward Sella Ed Sella, upon receiving greetings Irom Uncle Sam, regretfully relinquished his position as President of the Senior Class for Pfc. in the U. S. Army Jack Popowich. formerly Vice President of the class become president and capably filled the vacancy Vice President Secretary Treasurer Robert Hartman Joan Higgins Paul Shillingford

Page 18 text:

SENIOR DAVID M. RUCCIUS In MemDriam Bom: May 13, 1932 Died: May 17, 1952 In recording the events and friendships of four years at Ursinus, the memory of our classmate, Dave Ruccius, means much to all of us. In our humble way we wish to preserve the fond memory of one who was with us but a short while. Those of us who knew Dave personally shall never forget him Those students who never knew him were deprived of a wonderful friendship. Dave was bom in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, on May 13, 1932. He then moved to Norristown, Pennsylvania, along with his parents and his older brother Dave went to the public schools in Norristown and was graduated from Norristown Senior High School At the high school he was the school store manager, a member of the governing congress, the prom committees, the senior play committee, the school paper, the choir, the press club, and the Key Club honor fraternity Dave's great desire in life was to enter the ministry of the Lutheran Church. In his local church he v as a choir member and a teacher in the intermediate department. Dave kept his faith throughout his illness In the middle of his sophomore year he was stricken with a blood disease. The disease claimed his life on May 17, 1952, a few days after his twentieth birthday. We, The Senior Class of 1954, hold his memory most deeply in our hearts.

Page 20 text:

Senior Class History September 24, 1950 brought to tho gates of Ursinus a group of excited, devilish Freshmen. As tho Old Timer so often says, those wore tho days As we donnod our dinks and name tags. S-12 shook with the strain of Wo are tho Froshmon of this hero college. Jolly Jo-Jo ruled the co-eds with determination, and the boys went through tho fun and tortures of step shows Wo all struggled bravely to bo collogiato undor the guidance of our new president. Jeff Clark 724. a new dorm in 19S0—filled with “our boys —won tho first Homecoming award presented by U.C.'s Spirit Committee. Aftor this success we strove for higher goals Exams came, and we were soon cognizant of the serious side of college life But we had our fun too, and shared it with the rest of the campus at The Big Top. our Freshman Dance, when we crowned Helon Dawson as Queen of our class . . . Next it was our term to roign as serious sophs, and how well wo filled the bill. Sad Pan Nan and Ben took charge of Freshmen Customs, and what a good feeling it was for us all to be on the other side of tho fence. With Ed Sella as president we settled down to college life after spending summers in such places as Ocean City, the Poconos. and of all places, summer school. We managed to uphold our reputation as socialites of the campus by presenting the Soph Hop, Dancing Tambourine. with a real gypsy to intrigue everyone to the T.G. gym And as sophomores our class made another contribution to Ursinus with the appearance of a male and a female quartet, thus reviving an old and dear campus tradition . . . It was now time for us to lake a giant step into our Junior year and to assume our role as upperclassmen We helped share some campus responsibilities at last, led onco more by Ed This year was to be full of successes and sovoroignity for tho class of '54. The co-eds became Big Sistors to the pale-faced Freshman gals, and tho boys also took a new role as defenders of those poor critters on the step3 of Freeland. We showed the Freshmen that at last someone was for them, and we also gave the Sophs a lew worrisome moments. Lorelei season arrived and we realized that wo had some royal blood in our class, when Miko was crowned Kinq of tho evoning. Then came the frantic planning for our Junior Weekend. Aftor many bamboo and flower problems, we surprised the campus with our decorative talents as we transformed Sunnybrook into a Grecian garden for our Junior Prom, Proludo. Our nobility again shone forth with Joanne as Queen of tho dance. Then our class made its first attempt at dramatics with our original ' High Class Stuff musical, and we slyly said. Never underestimate the Class of 54 . . . Seniority and responsibility took us by the hand and led us round the bend into our last year at Ursinus Our minds were preoccupied at timos with practice teacher woes, graduate school hopes, and wedding bell plans We realized that graduation would soon be upon us. and there was still a lot of work for us to accomplish What a spirit invaded the campus this year! It came with the Freshmen and infected even us Seniors. Jam sessions were held on Freeland s steps and Dixieland resounded from the halls of Bomborgor. 54's Frank Kolp captained our football team to a great winning season, ably assisted by six of our Seniors Our finale as dance managers was staged at tho Senior Prom on December 11. Wo suddenly became Picassos and perplexed our classmates with a modern theme, Shados of Indigo. Wo lured them to Sunnybrook and proved once more that as artists we were unsurpassed Jen and Milo were crowned Ixidy and Lord of tho prom, signifying their spirit and loyalty for the class of '54. Christmas at Ursinus will bo among our fondest college memories. This year the Christmas activities seemed to present a special fostivc gift to tho Seniors We took top honors at tho Christmas banquet, and that was one prosont wo had waited for since 1950. Alter the holidays we found finals once again, but we were minus the bewilderment of our Freshman year. Four more months 'til graduation, wo sighed. But was this a sigh of contentment or concern? Wo often found ourselves agreeing with the envious Old Timer, but on the other hand. May 31. 1954, encircled in red on tho calendar, seemed rather enticing. Spring came and we regretfully participated in our final May Day pageant, went to our last dinnor dances, and thankfully took our last exams We closed our books, took ono last look at our campus, and said good-bye to our dear friends. Our years were well spent at college; we learned to be collegiate, and we learned to love Ursinus The history of the Class of '54 has ended; it can never be repeated, except in our romombranco of tho Red, Old Gold, and Black.