Western Michigan University - Brown and Gold Yearbook (Kalamazoo, MI)

Page 9 text:

DEDICATION This yearbook is dedicated to the Western f ello-ws who are not here — to those who fight and w ork so that they may return — and to those w ho can never return . . . We feel deeply in- debted to these men and can only hope that they may know our thoughts . . . Every time w e look at the flag flying high and free over the Hilltop, every time w e watch a blue star on their service flag turn into a gold one, every time we get letters from them or see their names in the Herald or Gazette, we can ' t help but feel that they are the true Western — that w e ' re only fight- ing a holding action here until the day they come back . . . We have tried to keep this small section of their w orld as normal as possible — tried to retain the things ve believe they w ant kept — to improve where improvements w ere needed — yet w e know that they have done the sacrificing . . . And w e know for a certainty that these fellow s, upon returning, vi ill make Western a happier Western — the w orld a better w orld. TEMPO OF THE TIMES COLLEGE ORGANIZATIONS ATHLETICS ADVERTISEMENTS

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CONTENTS Here is your 1945 Bro vn and Gold. We have tried to make it a symbol, a reflection of you and your school as you were from November, ' 44 to June, ' 45 . . . Although -we know it ' s not a complete record, w e hope that it may serve to bring back the tempo, the feeling, the particular flavor w hich set this year at Western apart from all others . . . We feel, too, that only you and the dreams, thoughts, memories, w hich come to you each time you open it will make this annual complete . . . Yes, we w orked hard on it — but alw ays w ith the know ledge that our efforts, though not perfect by any means, w ould be appreciated . . . It ' s your book — enjoy it, have your friends and profs autograph it, laugh, twenty years from now , at what we w ore and sang and said — for that ' s the fun of looking back . . . Also, perhaps w hen you look at your friends, profs, favorite campus scenes, you ' ll recapture some of the dreams, the ideals you indulged in w hile here and you ' ll know that those ideals are true and right and worthw hile. The Staff

Page 10 text:

TEMPO OF Forty-five ... a queer year at Western — normal yet not normal — signs of peace yet signs of -war . . . Remember the scintillation, the uncertainty of newspaper headlines? One day we won the w ar, the next day w e w ere pushed back . . . Remember too the return of a few vets to campus . . . rumors of more V-12 ' s . . . marines moving out of Spindler . . . gals moving back in . . . shortages of men, cigarettes, meat . . . The ' svide-eyedness of neyv freshmen . . . the big snow that fell one November night and remained ' til spring . . . w ind that sw ooped up the hill and rattled the whole Science building . . . the cellophane coating the campus wore one winter morning . . . Ski tracks on the hills . . . Miss Tamin ' s w ooUy headscarf, Mr. Garnau ' s cap w ith ear-flaps . . . The routine of classes and books in a topsy-turvy w orld . . . the comfort of pillars, hills, friends, ideas that stayed as they r MlUTARY EXPERTS SAVT [Next 3 Weeks to Decide [Length of Europe ' s War KUledin Pacific Areaj were . . . the clear notes of colors blown every day at 8 and 5 . . . the hup, dew, tre, haw of marching platoons . . . the sight of white caps bobbing along Oakland drive like double rows of marsh- mallows . . . the Navy ' s own brand of whistles — its casualness with coeds ... its turned-up peacoat collars and watch caps on snowy days . . . And remember the way we felt like laughing, shouting, crying and praying all at once when the news of liberated war prisoners came trickling through . . . Also — the sinking feeling of telegrams and long-distance ' phone calls . . . Christmas time and the Belgian bulge, Iwo Jima, Okinawa . . . digging deeper for that extra war bond . . .