Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Peddler Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

Page 26 text:

THE AFTERMATH, CLASS OF 1914 We are grateful to Hughie for his instruction and guidance, for his patience and pains with our blunders, for that bland and gentle ridicule which spurred us to better work, and for the personal interest which he has taken in every one of us. May we be worthy of all this! PROFESSOR FREDERIC BONNET, JR., Ph. D. Professor of Chemistry The name on the office door on the third floor of the Salisbury Lab reads “Fred¬ eric Bonnet, Jr.” In spite of this, as imposing as it may be, he is always just “Doc,” There are reasons, more or less tangible. In his pursuit of knowledge Doc did not en¬ tirely forget that he is just a human being associating with such, and that the acquisition of a Ph. D. and other degrees did not necessarily make of him a little tin god on wheels. We got this impression .when first we heard his lectures in Freshman Chem., albeit it was slightly overshadowed by our great wonderment at the remarkable tensile strength of his right ear, which he would stretch to enormous lengths when in the throes of an explanation of a problem particularly difficult to our infantile intellects. From his own lips we have learned that he does not possess the great blessing of infallibility. He is game enough to say he does not know when such is the case, but seldom have we seen it necessary for him to do this. For all-around versatility Doc bats for .560. Strepto-cecci, uniformity coefficients, corrosion, preservatives, astron¬ omy, geology, and all the rest roll out of Doc as readily as the screws in one of Reddy Ives’ courses. Doc’s greatest delight seems to be to pass the time away with Pa French. They get together in Prof.’s office and, with a section of sewage conduit af¬ fixed to his face and the odor of burning hoofs permeating the atmosphere, they decide how the Institute is to be run. PROFESSOR ROBERT C. SWEETSER, B. S. Assistant Professor of Analytical Chemistry You’d never think from looking at Bobbie that he had half a heart, he conceals it so well, but his sphinx-like, smileless countenance is always a bright spot in the dark¬ est hours of those who are being buffeted on a perilous sea of screws. His courses are the consolation of the goats; however, they are no soft spots where the sharks may swell their batting averages. Bobby is primarily a teacher, not a fear-inspiring slave-driver. He never racks his brain to find little questions you’re liable not to know, but always asks the big things you ought to know. ( 34 )

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Department nf (Eljemtstry Jlrofesfinrs Walter L. Jennings, Ph. D. Robert C. Sweetser, B. S. Frederic Bonnet, Jr., Ph. D. Daniel F. Calhane, Ph. D. Snfitrurtnra Thomas R. Briggs, Ph. D. Laurence L. Steele, B. S. Henry R. Power, M. S. PROFESSOR WALTER L. JENNINGS Professor of Organic Chemistry Those Roman Emperors were stern old boys and imperial ones. They were used to having their way and woe unto him who crossed them. Old Nero in particular, you remember, was the sternest and most imperious of the bunch and to find his parallel it is necessary to search all the way down through history till, at length, you come to one individual in Worcester. Then, whether you believe in regeneration or not, you’ll find him. We reverently allude to Walter L. Jennings, the chemists’ nightmare, professor, director, dictator, and doctor; familiarly styled Beiley, Beilstein, Old Sleuth, Pussy Foot, Hughie, and Doc. What we know of Hughie is just this. He was born, bred, and brought out of Bangor, Maine, to graduate from Harvard in I 889. He studied in Berlin and Heid¬ elberg, came to the Institute as Assistant Professor and now possesses an office and stenographer of his own. What we know about Hughie is too much—much too much —so we’ll only say this: He is earnest, serious, studious, some call him specious. He is a most affable, polished, and courteous man—but there are times when his manner smacks of battle, murder and sudden death. His mental processes are matter-of-fact. He revels in the smallest of details, insisting on fifth-place accuracy. He is a wonderful lecturer, a gifted scholar, and no man takes a more serious view of his responsibilities than does he. He never did an uncatalogued thing in his life and is proud of it. He is a crack tennis player, always wears a wool hat, and is given to bicycle riding. Such is Dr. Jennings.

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WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE Patience might be Bobby’s middle name, instead of Chauncey. If he has some¬ thing to explain he doesn’t mind going back to the multiplication table for a starting- point from which to lead up to the case in hand. Not that he likes long-winded talks,—in fact, words seem to pain him, especially the long ones. When Bobby is lec¬ turing, and hesitates, gulps, blinks, squirms and looks about for reinforcements, you know that some tongue-twister like “phenolphthalein” is coming. It takes a long time to get used to Bobby’s “pseeja” and “racshun,” but they get to be a part of him. His greatest fear is to put things too strongly. When he hesitates, says “that is,’’ gulps, blinks, squirms and looks around for a get-away, then he’s going to start all over again, so that there’ll be room for an argument at the end. Bobby is such a good scout doubtless because he is so much of a Tech man him¬ self. He swallowed up the Mechanical course as a sort of entree to the Chemistry course, the choicest morsels of which he is now dispensing to others. Bobby isn’t the kind that’ll get real familiar with anyone, but simply “to know him is to love him.’’ Cast no stones at Bobby with a chemist in sight. Not one but would defend him with his life. Long may he reign! PROFESSOR DANIEL F. CALHANE, Ph. D. Assistant Professor of Industrial and Electro-Chemistry. Here is a man with whom we did not come into very intimate contact until the Senior year. Then, as always, he was referred to as “Dinnie,” not in disrespect but merely because we considered him one of the boys. The first point about him that struck us was the impression that he did not feel as if he was dealing with a crowd of ten-year-olds confined in a reform school. This is somewhat different from the attitude which some professors take. “Dinnie says: I don t want to spend my time on police duty. Here is the work. When you get it done, come around and I’ll give you some more. There’s plenty of it.’’ H is lectures seldom have the hypnotic properties so often encountered. He is a disciple of the new dances and often exhibits some of the steps that made the Argen¬ tine” and “Maxixe” famous with a few from his own Calhane Tango, also. I he fact that he realizes his class, in toto, does not consist of the men who invented Electrochem and possess a priori all the knowledge to be had of the subject, makes the modus operandi of his explanations par excellence. But, for all these atrocities, we love him still. 4 ( 35 )