known band leaders, Felix Ferdinando and his orchestra, and accompanied by the vocal artistry
of Irene Janis. This group was famous for featuring an instrumental novelty of 10 violins
playing a dreamy waltz.
Rifle Match by Mail.
On January 7 and 8, Clarkson's recently organized rifle team engaged in
its first intercollegiate competition. Clarkson's team consisted of Robert Drury, William Drake,
Lambert Chapin, Edward Davis, Kay Duee, John C. McQueen, Luther Sanford, Rolf Siebert,
William Sedr, Fred C. Piper, Charles Wheelock, and Merwin Jones, the last five named being
enrolled in ROTC. In that match, Mississippi State College outshot Clarkson by the score
of 3,485 to 2,954.
Both teams fired on the same day, and compared the results by mail. Four positions:
prone, sitting, kneeling, and standing, were fired with =.22 caliber rifles in indoor galleries
using targets of the National Rifle Association. Two weeks later, on January 20 and 21, the
team lost its second match to Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1,549 to 1,503.
As a firing range for the team, Clarkson authorized the conversion of the wagon shed on
the Estate into a regulation 50-foot small bore gallery capable of accommodating eight men on
the firing line. This room was heated by a coal furnace, lighted by electricity, and constructed in
such a way that all exterior light was excluded. The backstop was made of timber sheathing
reinforced with one-quarter inch boiler iron.
Freshmen were not allowed to compete for places on either rifle team because of the
shortage of rifles. Only three rifles were available for use, one of which was borrowed from a
student. The manufacturing arsenal was behind in its orders, and could not fill the back orders
until after the new year.
Lab Explosion.
Dave Bill, ChE senior, was injured on February 16 when a beaker of ether
exploded in his hands in the Organic Chemistry Laboratory. As he was synthesizing a
compound using ether as a reagent, the ether exploded from the flame of a nearby Bunsen
burner. As it exploded, Dave threw the beaker from him, and the burning ether set fire to a
distillation apparatus used by a fellow student. This apparatus also exploded, and set the whole
corner of the lab ablaze.
Dr. Hecker rushed in with a fire extinguisher and put out the fire before it could cause
much damage. Dave was rushed to the Potsdam Hospital for treatment of his burns, but they
were not serious, and he was back on campus the next day.
Clarkson Guard Formed.
Twenty-three students from the ROTC on February 10, 1937,
formed an honorary military fraternity to be known as the Clarkson Guard. In addition to its
military responsibilities, the Guard organized a rifle team and a bowling team. Its petition to the
national headquarters of the Pershing Rifles at the University of Nebraska, seeking admission
into that national military association, was accepted.
Charter members were Albright, Benoit, Bretschneider, Cooper, Durfree, Delaney,
Dywan, Elliott, Fairchild, Farmer, Forbes, Hutton, Hart, Kipp, Mahaney, Maher, Nanry, Sedr,
Seibert, Stubbings, Sweet, Welch, and Wheelock.
Who's Who.
Five Clarkson students were chosen among the 2,300 students in the leading 394
colleges and universities in the country to be included in
Who's Who Among Students in
