Of Postage Stamps, Old Porters And the Wrong Anniversary

350 Harvard.

For thousands of alumni, it's an excuse for four days of frolicking in the playground of their youth. But for five Cambridge residents, 350 Harvard is home.

350 Harvard Street, that is.

That four-unit red brick building just blocks from the Yard has been home to Nancy A. Siddens for three-and-a-half years. "When I first moved here I thought, living on Harvard Street, everyone would associate it with the University," she says.

But Siddens never drew the connection between her address and Harvard's birthday bash this week.

Neither did Jerome K. Saunders. And he works for Harvard. He even graduated from the School of Education.

Saunders, who is assistant director for executive education at the Business School, has lived at 350 Harvard Street for eight years. The proximity to the Square and the festivities, rather than his street number, prompts Saunders to say, "I feel like I'm living in the celebration."

A Cantabrigian for 60 years, Catherine E. Gillespie has called 350 Harvard Steet home for 15 years. "I suppose I should be honored," she says of her address.

But Gillespie won't be attending any of the festivities. "I'm watching it on television as much as I can, especially Prince Charles," she says.

Who's Telling Time?

Hate to spoil all the fun, Mr. Bok, but to tell the truth, this is not really the occasion of your school's 350th year of existence.

Actually, that comes next year.

While Harvard was in fact founded 350 years ago, the college closed for an entire year and has only been operating for, well, 349.

You see, back in 1639, the college's first headmaster made the mistake of beating an assistant so viciously with a walnut-tree cudgel that he resigned, and the fledgling college had to fold.

Because of that scandal, no undergraduate paid tuition in the 1639-1640 school year. No one went to classes, and Harvard College was deserted for an entire academic year.

We Got It

After former Postmaster General Albert V. Casey '43 dedicated the new 56-cent John Harvard stamp yesterday, he had some goodies, in the form of souvenir albums, to distribute to distinguished guests. According to tradition, the first such prize goes to the President of the United States. "Mr. Reagan's shall be delivered to the White House," Casey quipped.

Nobody laughed. (Reagan, you will remember, kindly declined Harvard's invitation to attend the 350th festivities.)

Jung At Heart

Sidney M. Weinstein '39 had his luggage carried by an Adams House student porter yesterday, but at the College's 300th anniversary he was the one working as a porter--and impromptu translator--for renowned psychologist Carl Jung.

"It was exactly 50 years ago, when the University was giving 60 or 70 honorary degrees to the world's top scholars," recalls Weinstein, who was then entering his sophomore year. "I had to translate a telegram from English to German for Jung's wife, who spoke only German. And I had had only one year of German A!"

He Can Conduct, Too

Walking through the Yard with Vice Presidents Daniel Steiner '54 and Robert Scott, President Bok stepped in as guest conductor of The Collegium, which was practicing in Tercentenary Theater.

Bok led the choral group in a rendition of "Dominum Salvum Fac," which is the traditional presidential song because it includes the phrase nostrum presidentae, "our president." The laughter this generated attracted a wandering television crew, which unfortunately missed outon the chance to catch Bok with his baton up. Bokand his assistant maestros had already returned toMassachusetts Hall.

Trilateral Table

All of the attention was on Prince Charles atlast night's dinner in his honor at Memorial Hall.But the real excitement may very well have been attable 17-C, where Sheik and Mrs. Ahmed Yamani,Gov. and Mrs. Michael S. Dukakis, Dr. and Mrs.Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. '38 and Mr. and Mrs.David Rockefeller '36 were conducting theirversion of a power dinner.

Long Time Between Gigs

In 1936, James F. Conlan Jr. was a localmusician of enough repute for the Harvard Band toask him to join it during the 300th birthdaycelebration. Fifty years later, still a musicianof repute, though now living in the the Lone StarState, Conlan will once again toot his horn whileHarvard toots its own.

Conlan's brother wrote Band manager AlexandraHouck '87 earlier this year to see if the Bandwould mind if Big Jim gave them some lip onceagain. Houck said sure, and Conlan made the treknorth. "This is fun," Conlan said after a week ofrehearsals with the band as its visitingtrumpetist.

Song of the South

Harvard says its 350th birthday marks theanniversary of "350 years of higher education inAmerica," but apparently someone thinks there is aneed to celebrate the few years of highereducatin' that went on in the land of JeffersonDavis. Among the 50 flags flying high inTercentenary Theater is that of the Confederacy.

Flower Child

If you get a chance to stop and smell the rosesthis week, be sure to think a kind thought for PegMcAdams. She's been hired to water the 6000flowers now gracing Harvard Yard.

Advice and Dissent

A man claiming to be a Harvard graduate handedout leaflets around campus yesterday, but alsofound time to entertain four porters outsideQuincy House with a 25-minute monologue on allthat ails the University.

At around 1 p.m., the man approached the QuincyHouse gate on Plympton Street and launched hisnon-stop verbal barrage. The discourse touchedupon such diverse topics as "How to Cheat Your Wayto a Harvard Degree"--borrow a thesis fromWidener, steal its catalogue card, borrow(heavily)1