Off to Amherst, 1938

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Thought some CC parents might appreciate this story. I work at a senior center where one of our most energetic volunteers is an 85-y/o retired pediatrician. He’s an Amherst alum (class of 1942) and this week he reminisced a bit. Classes were delayed his freshman year because of the 1938 New England hurricane, but students remained on campus instead of returning home because they were the labor force for clean-up and repairs (Bill was on the roofing crew for the chapel).</p>

<p>Someone asked if Amherst was co-ed in those days. “Oh, no!” Bill answered. “Fortunately, there were two girls’ schools in walking distance.” Of course he meant Smith (8 miles away) and Mount Holyoke (10 miles). Since Bill still skis cross-country every winter morning, and hikes the rest of the year, he probably made those walks fairly regularly. Someone asked if he ever hitchhiked instead. “Of course! That’s how I got from Binghamton to Amherst every semester.” (That’s a distance of 240 miles via highway today - no idea how long it took on back-country roads 60 years ago.)</p>

<p>Thinking about my over-packer who’s going back to school in two weeks, I said, “But Bill - what about all your stuff?”</p>

<p>“Oh, I had a suitcase,” he admitted. “But it was a small one.”</p>

2

<p>What a great story! Of course, those were the days when universities supplied linens and laundry services… as well as cleaning services.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the story. I loved it.<br>
The hitchhiking story reminded me of the French nursery song we used to sing on field trips (it’s the equivalent of 99 bottles on the wall): “un kilomètre à pied, ca use, ca use, un kilomètre à pied, ca use les souliers”: one kilometer on foot, it uses up shoe leather I need to learn how to do the cedilla). I wonder how much shoe leather was used up between Binghamton and Amherst and Amherst and Northampton or South Hadley?</p>

4

<p>

Also the days of less conspicuous consumption. </p>

<p>There’s an optional laundry service at Vanderbilt (expensive!). I wonder who uses it?</p>

5

<p>There’s also laundry service at H, but students have to bring their laundry and pick it up at a central point. Might as well do it yourself.</p>

6

<p>Ah the good old days. </p>

<p>Even in the early 70’s we hitchhiked every so often, and not just around the corner.</p>

<p>I recall hitchhiking once, with a friend, from Bethlehem PA to Amherst (and back) the dead of winter with about $5 between us…my kids thought that was cool. Nearly froze to death. We went to see a friend—unfortunately he’d dropped out of school the week before and had headed to Florida.</p>

7

<p>That is a really interesting story. It makes me want to try to imagine how the “off to college” experience will look in about 50 years.</p>

8

<p>That story seems so wonderfully simple. After having just read the “helicopter parents” thread I will admit that there seems to be a lot more parental involvement in leaving for college now. Furthermore, I’d venture they didn’t have half as much red tape- health and insurance forms, packing lists, advisory meetings, registration prerequisites, key deposits, etc. These things tend to go in cycles- will it become even more complicated or will the next generation rebel against this generation’s micromanagement, I wonder?</p>

9

<p>I hitched several times from Madison WI to NJ. Had some very interesting times too.</p>

10

<p>My aunt was a freshman at UMASS (it had a different name then) and I was told her class was given an IQ test right before the storm came and as a group they scored unusually high - it was attributed to the oncoming storm. </p>

<p>My aunt grew up on a small farm in Massachusetts. It was such a big deal that she went to college that the local paper printed the news - along with my grandparent’s annual income - to encourage others.</p>