Timeline Trips
In the 1957 picture shown in
the college history pictorial foldout ["The First Hundred Years: A
Timeline," September], the caption reads "Undergraduates throng
Huntington Avenue as they change classes." I remember that day well.
All students shown in the picture are returning to the college after attending
an assembly of the entire student body at Symphony Hall. N.U. did not have
an auditorium or suitable facility large enough to assemble the entire
student body. I suspect N.U. rented Symphony Hall. I don't remember what
the agenda of the meeting was. I was able to identify myself and a fellow
student, Ralph Neff, E'61, in the foreground.
John G. Murphy, E'61
Burlington, Massachusetts
In the foldout section of the
September issue is a photo of a student sack race. My dad, Norman E. Cheney,
E'21, is one of the students and wishes to correct the year as well as
provide names of most of the racers. The year would be 1917 or 1918 [rather
than 1910]. The students are from the School of Engineering. Left to right:
George Clements, unknown, Clarence Nickerson, Seldon Coombs, Norman E.
Cheney, and Jake Worths.
Dad worked at Boston Edison till retirement in
'65. His memories of Northeastern are vivid, especially the many methods
of transportation from Avon (home) to school, such as his bicycle-no brakes
and on mostly unpaved roads.
Norma C. Robichaud
Burlington, Massachusetts
Hundreds More
Congratulations on an absolutely fabulous centennial
issue. From Chap Tyler on the cover to Dr. Ell (we never called him anything
else) on the final page, the magazine was filled with memories that evoked
tears of joy and sadness throughout.
The introductory statement in the article "100
Who Made Their Mark" is so very accurate when it says, "Not the
only 100 by any means, for the following pages could be repeated hundreds
of times." The stories certainly began to rekindle memories of my
days as a student and as administrator at Northeastern. If I could spot
one tiny flaw in those 100 stories, it would have to be the lack of attention
paid to those men and women who helped students who could not attend N.U.
full time and who pursued their education by night. These were folks like
Albert Ellsworth Everett, dean of the old Evening School of Business-University
College to all the youngsters in the audience-and Donald J. McKenzie, dean
of Lincoln College. There are thousands of alumni who owe a great deal
to those two men and to their staffs, people like George Mallion, Clarence
"Tommy" Thompson, Gurth Abercrombie, Kay Crowley, Bill Edgett,
and so many, many others.
Each name that I read brought back thoughts of
friends and colleagues now gone, but hardly forgotten. Some of your readers
will remember Bertha Hunter and Better Brown, toiling away in the claustrophobic
switchboard room in Richards Hall. Others will think of Charlie Baird,
Ralph Troupe, and the havoc they could wreak if your engineering assignments
weren't completed on time. And Lord have mercy if you were ever "summoned"
to the office of the vice president for student affairs, Gil MacDonald,
or his good right hand, Chris Kennedy. I could ramble on forever about
the men and women who built Northeastern, but perhaps they are best represented
by one single group, the Twenty-Five Year Associates. As a unit, they are
the best of what Northeastern is.
Richard W. Bishop, BA'57, MEd'61
Westwood, Massachusetts
I thoroughly enjoyed your article "100 Who
Made Their Mark." Considering the thousands who have been involved
with N.U. over the past 100 years, it must have been a daunting task. However,
one other person should have been included. No other coach in the history
of N.U. athletics has achieved the success of Irwin Cohen. His win/loss
percentage is phenomenal, around ninety percent. He was chosen NCAA Coach
of the Year fourteen times (more than all other N.U. coaches combined).
For these achievements, he was elected to the N.U. athletics Hall of Fame.
He was selected as Northeastern's fourth athletics director, became the
first commissioner of the North Atlantic Conference (now America East),
and was one of the six founders of Hockey East. Irwin Cohen is worthy of
recognition as a member of the top 100.
Warren B. Richman, LA'60
Holliston, Massachusetts
I was very disappointed with the exclusion of
the nursing department in Northeastern University Alumni Magazine's "100
Who Made Their Mark." Nurses and nurse educators will never be wealthy
enough to endow the university with millions, but their knowledge, skill,
and compassion is far-reaching and indeed worthy of recognition. I find
it difficult to believe that with all the individuals with ties to the
College of Nursing, there were none who "left their mark." While
I realize N.U.'s roots are in engineering (predominantly male), to ignore
the college that is predominantly female smacks of sexism.
Michelle Colleran Cook, N'82
Franklin, Massachusetts
Memory Lane
Congratulations on your centennial issue. Though
a full-time job prevented me from participating in much more than academics
in the late '60s, I fondly recalled names and events I'd heard of at the
time but never really connected with personally. My own Northeastern timeline
is highlighted by the year 1966. Enrolling at your Burlington campus after
several rocky starts at higher education, I was assured by the dean (for
the life of me I can't remember his name) and my adviser ("Mr. K")
that they would personally see to it that I graduated from and was successful
at Northeastern. I did and they did. I never did get an opportunity to
thank them at the 1969 graduation ceremonies at the Boston Garden. I'm
glad they found this freshman in 1966 and gave me the self-esteem and confidence
I needed. Perhaps that is why I am in the field of education today.
Frederick H. Scott, LA'69
Jacksonville, Florida
What a wonderful lane you brought me down with
the September issue. My entire childhood was spent at N.U.-attending football
games, hockey games (I can still remember freezing at the "Whale"),
musicals and plays, and walking the wonderful tunnels. I can remember my
many visits to Dr. Ell's office-after getting permission from "Marge
Prout" to enter. I remember when the library was built-the one in
the quad! It makes me want to take out all my mother's pictures. Coming
upon the special section "100 Who Made Their Mark," I looked
for my father (as I am sure every other child of N.U. did), didn't find
him, and then began reading the short blurbs on each of the hundred. Oh,
the familiar names-Ralou Athas, Gene Blackman (what wonderful shows), Ev
Churchill, Charlie Devlin, wonderful Al Ferretti, Herb Gallagher, Ernie
Henderson, and so forth down through Putty Parsons, George Speers, Bill
White, Gene Reppucci, Roy Wooldridge, and Joe Zabilski. What a list!
Jo Kilbourn
Joppa, Maryland
Kilbourn is the daughter of Rudy Oberg, E'26,
E'34, former director of alumni activities.
Alma Matters
I was quite disturbed that you did not know more
about the Northeastern songs, in question two of your quiz ["Husky
Quiz," September]. "All Hail Northeastern" was written as
a song to be used for sports activities, rallies, etc. The "Alma Mater,"
as used in most colleges, is a more appropriate song for formal functions.
The Northeastern alma mater words were originally written by Joseph Spear,
who was a math professor and later head of the math department. The original
music used at that time was "America the Beautiful." It was decided
that N.U. should have its own music, which I then composed. It took us
about two years, with the help of Ken Ryder, to get the new song approved
by the administration. The arrangement was made by William Brohn, who was
the music director at N.U. at the time. He is now an arranger for New York
musical productions. The alma mater was accepted in 1959 and copyrighted
in 1963.
I have been to many of the centennial functions
this year and have been very disappointed that the alma mater was not played
at the more formal functions. Evidently people setting up these events
have little or no idea what music is most appropriate.
Lou Bertolami, E'60, MBA'67
Lynnfield, Massachusetts
Degree Dogma
A letter by Shelley Nachum in your September issue
expressed surprise at encountering an employer who would reevaluate, rather
than terminate, an employee discovered to have lied on a résumé
about having a degree. Though I do not approve of falsification in a job
application, I am not surprised that an employer would do such a thing,
especially one able to focus on issues more fundamental than protocol or
adherence to regulations.
In the situation described in Nachum's letter,
the employee has been successful. To me, this means the employee who lied
is not the only party at fault. The employer is also partly to blame, for
rigidly requiring applicants to have a degree to be considered for employment.
The employer has exhibited laziness by establishing a requirement that
is not really necessary.
I have known undergraduate students who were at
least as able as their professors to teach at the university level. I have
known at least one senior research engineer who had less than one year
of undergraduate training (and none at all in engineering). And I have
known at least one very high-ranking college administrator (not at Northeastern)
whose doctoral degree was from an institution that, so far as I have been
able to determine, does not seem to have a campus. What matters, however,
is competence, not certification.
Charles F. Cicciarella, LA'73,
GB'77
Ruston, Louisiana
Pet Project
I just finished reading your article about animal
cruelty [From the Field, September 1997] on the Internet. As a true animal
lover and a school psychologist, I am shocked by stories of gross acts
of abuse toward animals by the students I serve. For that reason, I have
certified my dog as a therapy dog. She works with me on a regular basis
in the schools to teach humane values, animal safety, and responsible pet
ownership (or nonownership) to the students. I feel very fortunate to have
this opportunity to really make a difference in the lives of students and
animals. Take heart-there can be a better tomorrow for the next generation,
two- and four-legged!
Peggy M. Smith
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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