Housing for students in Malone was a problem, too, so the College enlisted the help of
the Malone townspeople to house and feed the students. And they came through magnificently
for Clarkson, providing all the needed rooms in private homes.
On October 28, 1946, this Malone Branch of Clarkson College of Technology opened
its doors to 250 students. They were joined in March 1947 by 300 more. In the fall of 1947,
Clarkson's entire freshman class began at Malone and was joined by the sophomore electrical
engineering majors. In time its enrollment numbered over 620 students, (although less than 200
lived in the campus dorms). By 1948, it had 429 freshmen and 126 sophomore electrical
engineers in the spring, and 587 freshmen in the fall (262 vets and 325 nonvets). Enrollment
tapered off as veterans completed their work so that in the spring of 1951, the Malone Branch
was discontinued.
Associate Prof. Chester Buxton, who had taught physics at Clarkson for nine years, was
appointed its first director. Other memorable Clarkson faculty members included Bill Reed, Bill
Conroy, Gerry Bradshaw, Carl Diltz, Lawrence Stewart, William Stirrat, "Old Sarge" Tom
Burton, and others. Gordon Lindsey succeeded Buxton to directorship of the entire Malone
operation from June 1948 until it was closed when the freshmen returned to Potsdam in 1951.
Clarkson students at Malone had many student activities just as Clarkson students on the
Potsdam Campus. It had such clubs as a Management Club, a Flying Club, the Radio Club, the
Photo Club, AIChE, and AIEE; and it had baseball, basketball, and hockey teams, and the
Numerals Club to serve as the sports letterman's club on the Malone campus. Chet Buxton often
remarked about the fine community service performed by the men's choir, particularly. Another
old timer, Tom Burton, better remembered as "Old Sarge," commented on the quality of
students attracted to Clarkson, and how he worked to get them involved. He felt that they were
excellent students because they were older and more eager to obtain an education - a pre-war
dream that had become a reality, thanks to the G.I. Bill.
All the big Holiday Weekend balls were held in the Malone Armory. The one on May
21, 1948, combining the forces of the ROTC and the freshmen and sophomore classes under the
clever leadership of Len Carlson and Peter Radicci, turned out to be quite a show. First, the
ROTC paraded through town at noon on Friday and then the Cadet Ball was held from 9 p.m.
until 1 a.m. in the armory, dancing to the music of Potsdam's own dance band, the Pastels.
Saturday's events included an open house on campus, a baseball game against Le Moyne, a
concert by the Clarkson Men's Choir followed by a sports dance in the Armory, and then, after
church on Sunday, a second baseball game against Le Moyne rounded out the memorable
weekend.
One event that the residents of Malone remembered fondly was the work contributed by
Clarkson students toward the recreation park being built jointly by Rotary and the village of
Malone in August 1947. This really was a team effort. The entire Malone campus student body
was summoned by Prof. Bill Conroy to Ransom Hall at seven o'clock on a warm summer night,
August 16, 1947, and was told to bring as many shovels and pick axes as they could find. Over
the next several evenings, more than 200 fully equipped Clarkson men cleared the beaches in
the new park. The people of Malone deeply appreciated those efforts.
Other random memories:
Richard Arcoleo'54, remembered the students jumping out the window row by row from
Prof. Halteman's physics class in the spring of 1951 as he was writing on the
blackboard. And the class setting an alarm clock in Prof. Vondra's chemistry class to
