Amid the school year's hustle and bustle, there was one thing Eisenhower-era Huskies didn't need to keep track of: their outerwear.

That's because Mrs. Hedrick and Mrs. Raftus (above), and other dedicated attendants at the Ell Student Center checkroom were happy to chaperone your coat and tchotchkes while you soaked up the chalk talk.

The service was a symbol of a more gracious era—and a handy alternative to schlepping your letterman's jacket to class. In fact, a stop at this storage shed was ?Äúa vital part of each student's daily routine,?Äù according to an October 2, 1959, Northeastern News article.

What happened if you lost the brass token you'd been given in exchange for your chesterfield? It set you back a quarter. (A good deal, considering the token was actually worth forty cents.)

Of course, even the most perfect safeguard system couldn't save all absent-minded students from themselves. The Lost and Found office in Richards Hall routinely held as many as a dozen pairs of rubber boots.

Working at the checkroom had its excitements. The most exotic items that came in? The luxurious furs worn during frat initiations and football games. And—not surprisingly, given the daily contact—students would often confide their problems to the attendants, and ask for advice.

Sometimes, Mrs. Hedrick and Mrs. Raftus must have learned, keeping a secret under your hat is just as important as storing one.

— Magdalena Hernandez, MBA'02