when dumped. As I had watched a neighbor (near my home in Springville, N.Y.) run his tractor while threshing
my father's oats and filling his silo, I had a hunch it would be a lot more fun to drive a tractor than use a pick or
shovel. When asked whether I could handle a Fordson or an International 8-16,1 fibbed and said International, and
so was given the job of driving an 8-16 loaned by a Mr. Perkins, an alumnus (Byron Perkins '15) living nearby.
When Mr. Perkins took me out to the shed to get the tractor, I asked him to remove it from the shed,
watching carefully every motion he went through. After he got it out and headed it toward the road, I climbed
aboard and carefully crept out of sight over the first hill. Then I stopped it and went through all the various gears
forward and backward so that by the time I got to the field, I was nearly an expert. The following year I was put in
charge of motive power (meaning tractors), by the third year I was "straw boss," and by the fourth, I was Student
Superintendent. By the fall of '26, all the rough grading was done and the tile drainage was installed.
Fred Talcott finished the story:
By this time (Fall 1928), Congressman [Bertrand H.] Snell donated a sum of money sufficient to hire professional
contractors to finish construction of the field and erect stands, bleachers, fences, etc. However, be it hereby noted
that it was the illustrious Class of 1927 that contributed the most man hours of hard labor, since it started the
project in 1923, and worked each of the four fall sessions up through 1927. No other class can lay claim to such a
record!
Football.
In the first game played on the completed athletic field, Clarkson beat RPI by a score
of 7-0. Later in the fall, the intense football rivalry between Clarkson and St. Lawrence was
renewed. That relationship had been seriously endangered early in 1920 when the brand new St.
Lawrence field house was painted green several nights before the big game between the two
schools.
Underclassmen were delegated to conduct an all-night vigil blocking the road, bridge,
and railroad bridge coming into Potsdam. They were told to stop all cars. Despite the steady
downpour, the vigilant sophomores and freshmen did their duty until 3 a.m. when the State
Police showed up from Malone after some irate motorist reported them.
All the students were supposed to walk home from Canton if Clarkson lost the football
game; few did after St. Lawrence won by the score of 12-6. Clarkson never beat St. Lawrence
in football during the four years of residence of the Class of 1931; St. Lawrence, however,
never beat Clarkson at hockey during those same four years. Clarkson finally broke the football
jinx in 1932 when it won 7-0.
Hockey.
Prof. Croskery, professor of thermodynamics, also was hockey coach, and whenever it
snowed eight to 10 inches, he would say to the 8:00 a.m. thermo class of electrical engineers
that snow was a "thermal subject," so the class would have to shovel off the hockey rink.
Murray Walker and Croskery took the nine-man hockey team to Princeton. Because
there was a big basketball game on that night, there was a sparse crowd. At the end of the
second period, Princeton was ahead 5-0. In the third period, Clarkson players began feeding the
puck to a young player named Freddie Dion. By the end of the game, the score was 5-8 and
Freddie had scored all eight goals.
Alumni Association.
June also saw the incorporation of the Clarkson Tech Alumni
Association, and the granting of a year's leave of absence to Dr. Brooks. Dr. Michel acted as
president in his absence.
