8. This was to precede formal initiation which itself was followed by a "vic" party held at the
Civic Center in the evening.
Fourteen pledges participated in the flour fight in two groups. Each contestant was
given a paper sack filled with flour. Two boards were placed at opposite ends of the field, and
the object was to capture the opponent's board. The combatants were allowed to belt each other
about the head and body with the bags of flour. After three minutes, all 14 were covered with
flour, and it was impossible to tell which side had "won."
Glee Club Reorganized.
With the help of Mr. Bowman from the Crane Department at
Potsdam Normal, men interested in forming a Glee Club again tried their voices. In a room off
the convocation room in Old Main, Bowman had each man sing a chorus of "Home on the
Range" to demonstrate his musical abilities, and so the group was formed.
Student Service Station.
To put themselves through Clarkson, four enterprising young men
lived in and operated a Richfield gasoline service station on outer Maple Street across from
Snell Field. Bryce Kaspar '40, George Raymer '39, Clinton "Baldy" Eastment '39, and Fran
Goodness '38 lived in a room behind the office of the station. Containing four bunks,
bookshelves, and a couple of tables to serve as desks, this room had the homey touch of
pictures and awards decorating the racks holding complicated textbooks.
Called the "Gas House Gang," these four maintained a tight schedule. Arranging their
classes so that one of the four always was on duty at the station, these young men arose at 7:00
to eat and get to class by 8:00. Attending classes from 8 to 12, pausing for dinner prepared in
the small kitchen by the first one of the four to arrive back at the station (or the one
on duty there just before lunch) they drew cards to see who would do the dishes. Goodness
usually lost. Classes again from 1 to 5, and supper between 5 and 6, with the cards cut for
dishwasher. Goodness usually lost there, too. At 7:00 p.m. the radio was turned off, and quiet
hours were imposed until 11:00 for study with lights out by midnight.
Five Debate.
At the invitation of Union College and the New York State Conference of Debate
Coaches, a New York State Model Constitutional Convention was held April 29 and 30, 1938,
at Union College. Five students represented Clarkson: Merrill Austin '40, Philip E. Baker '40,
Walter Deuel '40, William Gleason '38, and John Quentin '40. Twenty-five New York colleges
and universities participated. Lambda Chi Alpha at Union provided sleeping arrangements for
the Clarkson team.
President's Speaking Tour.
In addition to being president of Clarkson, Dr. Thomas also was
president of the Chrysler Institute. In both capacities, he travelled extensively to speak.
Described as the "Great Educator" in the South, Thomas, on April 11, 1938, for example, spoke
to a joint session of the Southern Hardware Jobber Association and the American Hardware
Manufacturing Association in Memphis, Tennessee. Three days later, he spoke in Chicago to
the National Purchasing Agent's Association. The next day, he was guest speaker for the
Annual Convention of the Tractor Division of the American Society of Automotive Engineers.
Saturday, April 16, found him in Indiana talking to the New Castle Foreman
Association. Four days later at the Astor Hotel, he addressed the Greater New York City Safety
Council, presided over by Lowell Thomas, the famous news commentator. From there, he went
to Windsor, Ontario, to address the Canadian Accident Prevention Association on the 21st, and
