Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Peddler Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

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“Beckers out!” I N the northeastern corner of our campus stands the domain of Tech’s Rod Gun Club. Not to be confused with a hunting society, this organization is composed of students of Civil Engineering. The Civil Department is graced with the newest and most up-to-date building on the campus, Kaven Hall. Here, under the able hands of this department’s fine instructors, one of the best courses in Civil Engineering of¬ fered anywhere is made available to the future builders and planners of America. Ask any Senior what he thinks of Room 207, where each Senior Civil has his own private desk and drafting table open to him any hour of the day or night, and your ears will receive a verbal barrage of super¬ lative adjectives as long as the wall along Tech’s southern boundary. A new interest in Civil Engineering is being shown by the incoming classes. The excellent facilities are great drawing cards for the depart¬ ment which, up until a few years ago was crowded into the cramped quarters of an unrenovated Boynton Hall. Heading the department is Colonel A. H. Holt. The Colonel can often be seen around the campus giving helpful advice to the students of surveying. We might hear from him such Civil cliches as, “No, no, you’ve got it upside down,” or “That bubble might look better in the middle of the level, Mister . . .” And who is that little man with the Homberg and the big cigar? From our point of view it looks like . . . yes, it is Prof. A. J. Knight himself. This professor is well known to all Tech men and, with his philosophical wit, has endeared himself to all those students lucky enough to learn from the “Old Pro.” A.J. is a man who remembers when pipe was laid by hand and gtcttC

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up a list of all his pets. These students are those who receive F’s for their Fine work. This list usually comprises half of the class. He is also famous for his short, fifty-minute quizzes, which he throws out once a week for the enjoyment of the class; but once in a while he disappoints everyone by failing to give a quiz on the day the class expects it. This makes the class deliriously happy, of course. In the center ring we see “Smiley” Stauffer. Dr. Stauffer can usually be found to be smiling, but the reason for his broad grin is rather peculiar. You see, the width of his smile is inversely proportional to the grades his students receive on exams. Sometimes on passing back an exam to some particularly bright (they call him Sonny) student, Dr. Stauffer actually laughs. His exams are designed to require a thorough knowledge of the subject, and then some. In the ring over there is “Tombstone” Smith, so named by his former opponents, may they rest in peace. Dr. Smith chal¬ lenges anyone to prove him wrong in the First row, left to right: Dr. C. H. Stauffer, Dr. W. L. Ranich, Dr. E. D. Wilson, Prof. H. B. Feldman, Prof. J. M. Petrie. Second row: Grad. Asst. W. R. Byrnes, Prof. R. E. Wagner, Prof. K. D. Roettger, Grad. Asst. W. A. Seubert, Grad. Asst. E. Shivel. Third row: Grad. Asst. C. F. McDonough, Dr. M. E. Smith, Dr. F. R. Butler, Grad. Asst. R. T. Kirpatrick. Mr. Phillips makes water in the only planned explosion of the year. ions supposedly in the sample given you. The ions are there, all you have to do is find them — easier said than done. Of course, they don’t make students like they used to, and the courses are much easier now. Why, when Dr. Smith was in college they had ten hours each of “Quant” and “Qual” besides all their other courses, of course. In his day they really turned out chemists and chemical engineers that knew something. Well, folks, that’s it. You’ve seen it all. That is the entire Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, a Department of which Worcester Tech is justifiably proud. If any of you happen to be interested in the field and have enough money to pay the tuition and lab deposits, we’ll be glad to have you.

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when the engineer had to carry his transit to a job. A far cry from engineering is writing poetry, but the Civil Department has a member of its faculty who does both pro¬ ficiently. His name is Prof. Fred Sanger. Fred is originally from England and teaches Geology, Foundations, and Soil Mechanics. He also has written much of the poetry in “Civil Sidelines,” the Civil Engin¬ eering paper which is published about four times a year and which originated with Kaven Hall. Fred is always around with a helpful hand and has spent many an after¬ noon with someone who “couldn’t quite understand in class.” Over in that corner of the lab is Prof. C. F. Meyer. That cylinder in his hands is probably concrete. C.F.M. is well known for tests on well over five thousand concrete samples. Professor Meyer is also a re- knowned expert on sewage treatment. Many of the Civils will remember his admonition to bring waterwings to a sewage treatment plant if they didn’t know how to swim. Next on our tour of “the home of bridge builders” is the office of Carl Koontz. Carl is the humorist of the Civil Department. He also enjoys listening to the World Series with his classes during calculation periods. Most of us will remember Carl for his per¬ formance as M.C. during the Homecoming dance. He certainly had us holding our collective breath while he explained the intricate proceedings of judging. New to the department this year is In¬ Civil Engineering students happy in their new home structor Wahls. It is the sincere hope of the C.E.’s that Mr. Wahls has been duly initiated into the ways of Worcester Tech. We’re sure such a fine young man has had no experience with such things as exams in which the class average is a rousing 39; and we know also that he could never, without proper training, give a quiz on a subject which he passed over lightly in class saying, “This information is unneces¬ sary.” This youngest member of the Civil teaching squad is sure to be one of the most-liked. His easy manner is a credit to him as an intelligent and practical instruc¬ tor. These men will be the characters so often remembered from the sad and happy scenes that were Tech’s answer to life. To these men and their educational department we offer a farewell salute and a solid vote of thanks. Left to right: Prof. C. H. Koontz, Prof. F. J. Sanger, Col. A. H. Holt, Prof. A. J. Knight, Prof. C. F. Meyer, Mr. H. E. Wahls