Wait a minute, wasn't I at . . .

Your article on commencement’s history [“Elephants, Bermuda Shorts, Beach Balls, and Pols,” May] ignored an important piece of the sequence.

My 1947 class graduated from Symphony Hall. Admiral [Richard E.] Byrd was our speaker. And I conducted the NU band at three or four more Symphony Hall graduations after that. At one rehearsal, Sid Cashton, one of my trombone players, poked me with his slide, right as Arthur Fiedler was crossing the hall. I said to the maestro, “We’re all amateurs, you know!” He just shook his head, looking disgusted.

Bob Angus, E’47
Bedford, Massachusetts

Editor’s note: Although the article mentioned the YMCA, Jordan Hall, the Boston Opera House, Boston Arena, Boston Garden, and the FleetCenter as Northeastern commencement venues, it did leave several others out, including Symphony Hall. Here, for the record, is the full list:

YMCA, Boylston Street, 1902–1909

Ford Hall, 1910–1912

Jordan Hall, 1913, 1917–1921, 1933, 1944–1945

YMCA, Huntington Avenue, 1914–1916

Boston Opera House, 1922–1932

Boston Arena, 1934–1942, 1951–1952

Symphony Hall, 1943, 1947–1950

New England Mutual Hall, 1946

Boston Garden, 1953–1995

FleetCenter, 1996–present

---

We welcome your letters and reserve the right to edit them for space and clarity. Send them to:

Letters to the Editor
Northeastern University Alumni Magazine
360 Huntington Avenue, 598CP
Boston, MA 02115.

Fax: 617.373.5430.

World Wide Web: www.numag.neu.edu/magletters.html.

E-mail: s.piland@neu.edu.