Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Peddler Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

Page 30 text:

Campus life. In the fraternities, as in the organizations, Seniors were retiring and Juniors were taking over. At last we realized it—gradu¬ ation was not far away. The week¬ ends, the days, the classes were numbered, and quickly passed by. The war ended in Europe, and all eyes turned toward the Pacific, the eventual destination of so many of us. Interviews for civilians . . . orders for Navy men . . . Then . . . JUNE 23, and GRADUATION. In retrospect, we see three war¬ time college years. We had a lot of fun during those years, but also there was a lot of work; and the tour was not without its misfor¬ tunes and disappointments. Some¬ how, though, when we look back, the unhappy side of the picture filters back in memory and seems to evaporate; but the good times, the little laughs, and above all, our college friendships, rise to the front. When the speaker retires, and one by one the 85 members of the Class of ’46 rise to the graduation platform, there will be in many hearts a little prayer of thanks to God for making possible the attain¬ ment of a college degree in a time when so many have been deprived of that attainment. June 1945, and the “Class of , 46“ becomes only a title on a filing shelf in Boynton. Or will it? Not quite; for behind that title will stand a group of men held together in the spirit and common heritage of a Tech Engineer.

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The class received a few more men when the first replacement transfer group appeared on 1 March 1944. Here the new men line up for instr uctions from Lieut. Brown on the afternoon of their arrival. the Class of ’46 lost 156 of its original members, and of the 53 that remained, 11 were civilians; but the Navy kept total enrollment over 100. It was difficult for a long time to realize that we were really Seniors. The Class of ’46 was now at the peak of its scholastic career. Five men were selected for Tau Beta Pi, eleven men were tapped for Skull, and seven more nomi¬ nated to Sigma Xi. Later in the year, nine more of our class were added to Tau Beta Pi, one more to Skull, and eleven more to Sigma Xi. There was plenty of snow during our last winter at Tech. The prin¬ cipal topics of discussion during those months were the basketball games, the activity tax, and the Winter Formal. The night before the Winter Formal—9 February— was a wild one as far as the weather was concerned. The next morning many feet of snow lay on the ground. All day the Navy men spent time out of class shoveling snow to clear the drive in front of Alden so that the guests could get to the dance, while civilians dug out the fraternity houses. Getting to the dance that night was a real accomplishment, for taxis were few and far between. “‘Call back in an hour, and we ll let you know if you can get one in an hour,“ was the reply to many calls. From far and near the ladies came, however, and despite the blizzard, the dance was a great success. In the Senior Class elections, Larry Stewart was elected Presi¬ dent; Bill Gagas, Vice-President; Herb Slaughter, Treasurer; and Bill Grogan, Historian. John Lan¬ ders, Jim Maloney, and Art Rosen- quest were elected to the T ech Council. Spring came the third time for the Class of ' 46 to see the members gradually withdrawing from active The first Spring Formal with the Navy aboard was a great success. Here lies a room in Stratton Hall at 0845 26 May 1944—the morning after the Formal. The Rope Pull, baseball game and Round-Robin followed later that day. Wonder what Room 34 looked like Sunday morning.

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SENIOR CLASS OFFICERS Front row (left to right): William A. Gagas, Vice-President, and John Larry Stewart, President. Rear row: William R. Grogan, Historian; Herbert H. Slaughter, Treasurer; and Mauro D. Lacedonia, Secretary.