Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Peddler Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

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ORIE WILLIAM LONG Professor of Modern Languages A. B., Centre College, 1903; A. M., Harvard, 1911, and Ph. D., 1913; Professor of Modern Languages, Add-Ran College, 1906- 10; Instructor in German, M. I. T., 1912-13; Professor of Modern Languages, W. P. I., 1913- We came to know “Doc” as sophomores, when he arrived at the Institute as head of the Modern Languages Department and started to take the kinks out of the Lrench and German courses. That first semester showed us that our new member of the faculty was indeed a man of action, and it required hours of extra plugging to even “hang on,” as we sometimes expressed a bare 60 per cent. In these three years, however, we have become acquainted with “Doc” as well, if not better, than most of the members of the faculty, and we predict that his in¬ fluence at Tech, not only with the undergraduates, but also with the alumni, will see our Alma Mater ranking high in college athletics in a very few years. ALTON LINCOLN SMITH Professor of Drawing and Machine Design B. S., W. P. I., 1890, and M. S., 1899; Assistant in Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, W. P. I., 1890-91 ; Instructor in Mechanical Drawing, 1891-1900; Assistant Professor of Draw¬ ing and Machine Design, 1900-06; Professor, 1906- Some of us made the acquaintance of “Ding” in our Lreshman year when we were summoned to his office on “errands of mercy,” and we found that beneath that mask of severity lay a sympathetic heart, one that could understand all the trials and tribulations of a Tech man, since he had been through the mill himself. His “Technical Sketching” helped us over the sharp places in Mechanical and Lreehand Drawing, and later his lucid descriptions of the most intricate of double-back, triple-action mechanisms, elliptical gears and quick-return motions made a really interesting course out of Kine¬ matics. His ability as a designer of machinery is known far and wide, but the best expression of it was given by a Senior Mechanic: “If you describe a mechanism to ‘Ding’ and he hasn’t ever heard of it, it’s a cinch there ain’t no such thing.” 20

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B. S., W. P. I. 1887; Instructor in Mechanical Engineering, W. P. I., 1887-91 ; Assistant Professor of Steam Engineering, 1894- 96; Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Washburn Shops, 1903- When the summer vacation arrives the most of us are thinking of the good times and the healthy coat of tan we will put on. Not so with the Mechanics’ friend, “Piggy” Bird. He knew well that a coat of tan would not help out his looks, so he put forth his b est efforts and raised a really commendable (we don’t know the correct name for it, but anyway it’s on his chin). Even though the presence of this thing gives him a more stately appearance, the man himself has not changed. He still brings that well-worn note book to Dynamics with him; he still springs a few good jokes, and the classes still appreciate his attempts to take the monotony out of recitations. ARTHUR WILLARD FRENCH Professor of Civil Engineering C. E., Dartmouth, 1892; Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Dartmouth, 1895-98; Professor, W. P. I., 1899- . The Idol of all Civils, but the “jinx” of the Sanitary Civils! “Pa” holds sway over Boynton Hall as no king of old ever dared to, and no one disputes him or even asks why. “Before you come to Tech you hear of Pa, but doubt him; while you are here at Tech you know him and ‘cuss’ him; and after you leave Tech you think of him and admire him.” This is the description which a Civil gives as best fitting the man who moulded out the course at the Institute, which makes or breaks students in their mad rush to become engineers in the short course of four years. “Pa” is an all-around engineer and his common sense and judgment have had their influence in directing engin¬ eering projects from the Arctics to the Equator. rczr: 19

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A F, PI M tX , ARTHUR DEXTER BUTTERFIELD Professor of Mathematics and Geodesy B. S„ W. P. I., 1893, and M. S., 1898; A. M„ Columbia, 1904; Assistant in Civil Engineering, W. P. I., 1894-98; Instructor in Mathematics, University of Vermont, 1898-1900; Assistant Professor, 1900-04; Professor of Mechanics and Mathematics, 1904-08; Assistant Professor of Mathematics, W. P. I., 1908- JO; Professor, 1910-14; Professor of Mathematics and Geodesy, 1914- . Some Tech men complete their four years without meeting certain members of the faculty in any way. This should never apply to the subject of this sketch. In our “Fresh” year there were rumors afloat on the air that we were to have a gym and that Butterfield was going to get it for us. Because a gym had for years been only a dream we were skeptical, and immediately made it a point to see the man in question. We did, and found that here was a man after our own heart, a Tech grad, an athlete of much renown, a man who could and did and was glad to meet the students on their own level. ARTHUR WOOLSEY EWELL Professor of Physics A. B., Yale, 1897, and Ph. D., 1899; Assistant in Physics, Yale, 1897-99; Instructor, W. P. I., 1900-04; Assistant Professor, 1904-10; Professor, 1910- In our Sophomore year Dr. Duff decided that he needed a rest from his arduous duties in the Physics De¬ partment, and went abroad. His absence gave all of us an opportunity to make the acquaintance of “Punk,” since it was he who now had to bear the burden of de¬ livering the Physics Lectures, a task which required almost superhuman skill to perform successfully, owing to the eccentricities of the apparatus, as well as those of his as¬ sistant. But what cared we if all the experiments were not very illuminating in the results obtained; it certainly was not due to “Punk’s” energies. We always accepted his statement that he was sorry, “but it worked all right be¬ fore the lecture,” as a necessary part of the game. VV.v 21