"Ted" Ramsdell.
Traveling to over 150 high schools in the state, Registrar Frederick A. "Ted"
Ramsdell '33, worked diligently to acquaint high school seniors interested in engineering with
what college was like, including details about tuition, costs of living, and extracurricular
activities. In addition to new Clarkson catalogues and bulletins, Ted also carried a portable
motion picture projector, screen, and several reels of colored film showing various shots of
hockey games and general student life; he also showed 700 feet of film depicting the annual
sports feature of the North Country: the annual Clarkson-St. Lawrence football game.
In September, he was promoted to treasurer and director of admissions when Dr. John
Ross became president.
Clarkson Barns Burned.
On April 10, the former Clarkson family stables and carriage shed
and a barn adjacent to Woodstock Lodge burned to the ground in a spectacular four-hour fire
causing damage estimated at $6,500. The oldest barn and its wing, each 100- by 36-feet, had
stabled horses that worked in the Clarkson sandstone quarries on the Raquette River near
Hannawa Falls, as well as the family's trotters. For the past two years, it had housed the rifle
range used by the ROTC Corps and the Potsdam Gun Club, and several old gasoline motors,
including an old Wright "Jenny" airplane engine which the ME department used for practical
work for its majors. A considerable amount of valuable antique furniture also was stored in the
barns.
Summoned to the fire at 5 p.m., the fire department found that the nearest hydrant for
water was on the corner of Pine Street and Clarkson Avenue, 2,500 feet away. Their efforts
were further hampered by the spring thaw which had made the drive onto the estate too soft to
support the trucks. Thus, all the fire-fighting equipment had to be carried over 1,000 feet from
the main road. Few of the more than 800 spectators who gathered to watch the blaze were
Clarkson students, for the College had closed for spring recess that morning.
The Draft.
As war clouds loomed ever closer to America, students became more and more
concerned about their role in the Burke-Wadsworth Military Service Conscription-called The
Draft. A summary of its provisions revealed that:
1. Members of the advanced ROTC course would not have to register.
2. All other male citizens and aliens between the ages of 21 and 36 had to register. This included students
taking freshman and sophomore ROTC.
3. Men who became 21 years of age on or before October 16 had to Register.
4. All registered citizens and aliens who had declared their intention of becoming citizens were liable for
training.
5. Students selected for service during the academic year could, upon request, defer service until the end
of the academic year.
Student Costs.
A lengthy survey on the costs of going to Clarkson conducted by the
Integrator
revealed that the average senior spent about $300 on tuition and fees, $40 on books and
instruments, $70 on clothes, $65 on recreation, and $250 on room and board for a total of $725
during the college year. A sophomore living at Holcroft or Woodstock, however, spent only
$145 on room and board, $40 on clothes and laundry (which he sent home!), $25 on recreation,
$35 on books and instruments, and $300 on tuition and fees for a total of $545 a year. These
figures were considered low, for some students spent as much as $1,000 per year.
Landladies noted that their electricity and fuel bills increased when they rented to
students, and many hired extra help to provide the room and board they offered. Laundry costs
