Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Peddler Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

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“E.E.’s on Inspection Trip” huge inflated rubber monsters in the first annual Christmas parade sponsored by a local store. Dr. E. D. Wilson was made head of the com¬ bined departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and took over his new duties early in March. At about the same time, all students who had any connection with the Electrical Engineering Department mourned the death of Prof. C. D. Knight, who had proved himself to be a true gentleman and friend. ’Vember Varieties, replacing the Carnival, and the Masque production, “The Torchbearers,” provided the year’s dramatic entertainment. The Junior Prom, while successful, was, of course, overshadowed by our own Soph Hop, featuring the Yale “Collegians.” At this time the sopho¬ mores were allowed to blossom forth in all their splendor in the new college jackets which re¬ placed the class jackets of previous years. Al¬ though not quite the equal of the preceding season, the athletic year was very good. High spot was the record of eleven straight wins com¬ piled by the soccer team over a two-year period. The last big event of the year was the At Home Day demonstration, which proved to be the last of its kind due to a subsequent change in the Institute policy. We considered that the fight was now half over, and with chemistry and physics completed, the majority of us could face the future with clear consciences. Upon our return to start our third year on the Hill we were given a mild taste of dictatorship as practiced by the newly-employed campus cop, commonly known as six and seven-eighths, whose assigned duty was enforcement of new parking regulations which were a result of the building program. This erudite gentleman held papers of discharge from the Army, the Navy and the Worcester Police Force. In addition, he now holds the degree of dischargee from W.P.I. Our first real indication of the gravity of the inter¬ national situation was registration for selective service by which many of us were affected. This year also saw the start of government-sponsored night classes for men in defense industries. It was deemed impractical to establish a reserve corps of any kind, but faculty members with military experience offered to serve as instructors in the voluntary military training program. We were pleased to note that the annual catalog had undergone a complete revision which proved to be a great improvement. The Tech Council passed a rule barring freshmen athletes from varsity competition, the rule to take effect in the fall of 1941. It was further decreed that since November 11 had lost its original signifi¬ cance as Armistice Day that it should be ob¬ served hereafter as Founder’s Day in honor of the fathers of the Institute. Homecoming Day was indeed a gala occasion. Alumni were witnesses of the dedication of Alden Memorial and of the ground-breaking ceremony for the Higgins Laboratories. Work was also Continued on page 130 “Distillin’ in Chem. Lab.” 27

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“You Don’t Say’’ for Tech athletics. Led by the football and soccer teams (both were unbeaten and untied) the varsity teams established a new record of forty-four wins out of seventy-two contests. Other extra-curricular activity found us decorat¬ ing the statue of General Devens at Lincoln Square in honor of Homecoming and contribu¬ ting the “sanitation lab” to the big rally bonfire. Our first Tech Carnival and “The Bishop Mis¬ behaves” by the Masque provided an official outlet for our dramatic talent, while the climax of our social year was “The Spring Shuffle,” largest informal dance of the year, sponsored by the Class of ’42. We witnessed the beginning of the destruction of several dwellings on West Street as the first step in the million-dollar building program. Work was started on Kinnicut Hall, and Doctor Smith helpfully attempted to rearrange the top floor of the existing chemistry building by a unique sodium-plus-water experi¬ ment. Result—new windows for the laboratory. All the students shared the sorrow we felt at the passing of President Earle, who, although we had known him but a short time, had come to command the love and respect of each of us. We will do well to carry with us his often- repeated motto, “Cheer up, and get busy.” As sophomores we returned to school in the fall determined to atone for the humiliations we had suffered as freshmen. Our main objective was the Goat’s Head, and after all contests were over we had won the right to have our numerals engraved thereon. For a while it was doubtful if we would succeed in this, since the Goat’s Head disappeared mysteriously from its sacred resting place in the gymnasium, but it was re¬ turned as mysteriously as it had been removed. The first change we noted on our return was that the building we now know as Alden Memorial was beginning to take shape. Alterations in the Salisbury Laboratories and in the Power House were also under way as part of the building program. Later in the year, ground was broken for the construction of the Earle Bridge, a struc¬ ture which was designed by Professor Fillion of our own Civil Engineering Department. With this event, the duties of the Building Fund Corn- Field Day in the Mountains mittee were done, and the committee moved out of its temporary office adjoining that of “Doc” Carpenter. The second change confronting us on our re¬ turn we had all heard discussed, but not until the opening assembly did we meet Admiral Cluveri- us, our new President, who pledged himself to carry on the policies of Admiral Earle. Under the heading of changes in faculty policy, Dean Howe announced that there would no longer be a classification known as third honors, and a decided shortening in the length of the honor lists resulted. Flight training under the auspices of the C.A.A. was made available to students on their own time, and flight training proved useful when Tech students were hired as pilots for 26

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Boyd Rieman Abbott, Jr. “Biz” Chemical Engineering Norristown, Pa. 2 AE Swimming 1; Swimming Manager; A.I.Ch.E. Arthur Harding Allen “Art” Electrical Engineering Hopedale, Mass. AX A Rifle Club 1; Glee Club 2, 3, 4; A.I.E.E. Robert Ernest Allen “Bob” Mechanical Engineering Glen Cove, N. Y. 24 e; Skull Football 1, 2, 3, 4; “W” 3, 4; A.S.M.E.; Class Treasurer Jonathan Brewster Allured “John” Electrical Engineering Northampton, Mass. AX A Masque 1, 2, 3, 4; Cosmopolitan Club 1, 2, 3, 4; A.I.E.E. 4 Edmund Charles Altenberger “Ed” Electrical Engineering Englewood, N. J. X AE Radio Club 1; Rifle Club 1, 2 28