Men to Boys: Making Movies and Memorials

It was a slow conversion. A semester after Secretary of State George C. Marshall presented his historic European Recovery Plan in Tercentenary Theater, Harvard had only begun to acclimate to the post-war era.

A Crimson headline in September heralded a "311-Year Peak" in enrollment as veterans continued to flow into Cambridge from overseas occupation.

Women were affected by the changes as well, as The Radcliffe News told the tale of Mrs. Daniel Cheever, a typical "Radcliffe wife," who balanced motherhood and economics homework--having married a Harvard soldier-turned-professor of government her sophomore year.

"When asked if she has difficulty studying at home Mrs. Cheever replied that she spent most of her time at the library because at home two small problems can prove disconcerting," the article reads. "She remarked that it was unfortunate she isn't a government major for then she could take advantage of a little private instruction with breakfast and dinner."

The war jolted traditional college life, as housing shortages--caused by an influx of students returning from Europe--forced about 200 to take temporary shelter in the Indoor Athletic Building.

Yet while the class remained marked by the War--it was not only the largest but the oldest in history--seniors in the class of 1948 could give up their war-torn fatigues and opt for what author Sloan Wilson would later call "the gray flannel suit" (on sale at the Coop for $45 to $60 by April 1948).

The Mutual Life Insurance Company, for instance, tried to lure Harvard graduates with the prospect of "$4,000 to $9,000 a year, and more!" in advertisements in campus publications.

And according to a Harvard Album poll, seniors predicted they would "be making quite a bit more by the time [their] Twenty-fifth Reunion rolled around--$12,751.32, in fact."

By February and the spring semester, The Crimson declared that "the post-war bulge is flattening" when 5,200 students--down 200 from the fall--enrolled, and no one was forced to commute to school.

For many students, with the worries of the War behind them, campus life and extracurricular endeavors consumed their energies.

Facing a shift from supplying a war to demanding consumer goods and services, the College reaffirmed its commitment to normalcy.

But at the same time, the War--in which 87 percent of the graduating class had served--had profoundly shaped those who would soon be walking through Johnston Gate for the last time.

A Piece of War

While Harvard Yard was no longer filled with thousands of soldiers engaged in military exercises, the constant influx of veterans funded by the G.I. Bill--some married with children--ruffled the old-school naivete that had colored the College in years past.

"[We] did not have the orderly pattern of first-years in Harvard Yard," says Richard M. Hays '49. "People in their '20s and '30s were coming back. It was a time of colorful, absorbing disorganization."

Many students returning from the War say they felt a responsibility to abate the suffering they had witnessed.

So while many participated in the emerging student activities on campus, others looked outward. One group started the Harvard Relief Fund to raise money for students overseas who were in dire straits after the destruction of the past six years.

Radcliffe students pitched in, sponsoring a clothing drive and blood bank to "increase [the College's] awareness of the local and world communities which surround it by actively participating in them," says Georgette Haigh '49.

By the same token, the University stopped serving meat on Tuesday and poultry and eggs on Thursday while rationing for the Marshall Plan.

President James B. Conant '14 reflected the humanitarian attitudes of the time in his commitment to international relations, nuclear research and freedom.

Conant saw his role as redefining Harvard as apractical research institution, broadening itsscope as it emerged from an intense focus on theWar effort.

Harvard was "about in the middle of thetransitional period, a transition from war topeace," Conant said in an address to the studentbody.

Responding to America's fear of communism inthe late '40s and the emerging threat of nuclearwar with the Soviet Union, the University equippedits nuclear laboratory with a new cyclotron and"atom smasher."

Conant strongly opposed the highlycontroversial Barnes Bill, which excluded allcommunists from Massachusetts secondary schoolsand universities.

Students became involved in the struggle overthe bill as well, lobbying officials andprotesting on campus. (Please see story, pageB-7.)

And although several undergraduates formed theunofficial Apathy League in 1948--"passivelyopposing everything, including passiveresistance"--the campus became embroiled inintense discussions on the way to honor theUniversity's students killed in battle.

In November 1947, the Alumni War MemorialCommittee advocated using funds to coordinate atribute within Memorial Church and a studentscholarship fund.

Others hoped the money could subsidize amedical facility or a student activities centercommemorating the deceased.

Beyond Serious

Students argued that a student center wasnecessary to house the burgeoning socialactivities on campus.

Dedicating both funds and fervor toinvigorating student life, undergraduates plungedback into College life in 1947.

Characterizing Harvard hospitality as borderingon rudeness, Dean of the College Wilbur J. Bender'27 enthusiastically endorsed the proposed CrimsonKey Society in February 1948. The Society wasformed to greet and host athletes and dignitaries.

"We are 30 years behind other Eastern collegesin our good neighbor policy," said co-founderPatrick D. Dailey '50 at the time.

The group was officially organized two monthslater, when Gerald Y. Genn '48 was elected theSociety's first president. (Please see story,page B-7.)

Meanwhile, hoping to jolt a nearly decade-long"morass of inactivity," several Dunster Houseresidents organized the "Extra-Curricular AffairsCommittee."

House-based activities had remained dormantduring the spartan war years, and theextra-curricular affairs committee became devotedto creating a basis for clubs interested inanything from "rhumba to chess."

Harvard had a long tradition of strong studentactivities by mid-century, a fact which studentsnoted with pride in 1948.

Cambridge's only breakfast-table dailycelebrated its 75th year of publication, while theHasty Pudding Theatricals commemorated itscentennial with a six-city tour of theirproduction, Here's the Pitch. The HarvardDramatic Club turned 40 in '48, and the Orchestrafeted its 140th birthday.

The brainchild of William L. Alden '50, VeritasFilms got off the ground with its firstfeature-length production, Touch of theTimes.

About 50 students participated in the filmingof the 90-minute silent film, whose plot revolvedaround a love-sick factory worker who turned tokite-flying for solace.

Members of the Boston Symphony provided theaccompaniment for the movie, Alden says, andVeritas Films staffers were forced to "turn awaymobs" at the premiere in Harvard Square.

The student group eventually broke evenfinancially, thanks to a shrewd business managerwho had sold members' textbooks to fund theventure, according to Alden.

Harvard men could be fun-loving students, notsoldiers, in 1948, and the class of 1951 hostedhumorists Al Capp and Victor Borge at a jampacked"class smoker" in Memorial Hall--the first suchcelebration in seven years.

Meanwhile, administrators revived HarvardSummer School, a tradition skirted for six yearsbecause of lack of interest during and after theWar, and the 77-year-old program enrolled nearly2,300 students for the eight-week session.

The University also continued construction ofthe undergraduate-focused Lamont Library, thanksto several seven-figure gifts from Thomas W.Lamont, class of 1892 and former president of TheCrimson, who was named "the most generous son inHarvard's history" by the Harvard Alumni Bulletin.

The University was not so generous in providingaccess to the library, however--or other venuesfor that matter.

Status Quo

While co-education began in 1943 at Harvard, itwas an accommodation to the Faculty--not a gestureof equality.

With many students abroad, Harvard profes-B-71948Photo courtesy of Harvard YearbookPublicationsThe University continues construction ofLamont Library, sponsored by Thomas Lamont, classof 1892.

Conant saw his role as redefining Harvard as apractical research institution, broadening itsscope as it emerged from an intense focus on theWar effort.

Harvard was "about in the middle of thetransitional period, a transition from war topeace," Conant said in an address to the studentbody.

Responding to America's fear of communism inthe late '40s and the emerging threat of nuclearwar with the Soviet Union, the University equippedits nuclear laboratory with a new cyclotron and"atom smasher."

Conant strongly opposed the highlycontroversial Barnes Bill, which excluded allcommunists from Massachusetts secondary schoolsand universities.

Students became involved in the struggle overthe bill as well, lobbying officials andprotesting on campus. (Please see story, pageB-7.)

And although several undergraduates formed theunofficial Apathy League in 1948--"passivelyopposing everything, including passiveresistance"--the campus became embroiled inintense discussions on the way to honor theUniversity's students killed in battle.

In November 1947, the Alumni War MemorialCommittee advocated using funds to coordinate atribute within Memorial Church and a studentscholarship fund.

Others hoped the money could subsidize amedical facility or a student activities centercommemorating the deceased.

Beyond Serious

Students argued that a student center wasnecessary to house the burgeoning socialactivities on campus.

Dedicating both funds and fervor toinvigorating student life, undergraduates plungedback into College life in 1947.

Characterizing Harvard hospitality as borderingon rudeness, Dean of the College Wilbur J. Bender'27 enthusiastically endorsed the proposed CrimsonKey Society in February 1948. The Society wasformed to greet and host athletes and dignitaries.

"We are 30 years behind other Eastern collegesin our good neighbor policy," said co-founderPatrick D. Dailey '50 at the time.

The group was officially organized two monthslater, when Gerald Y. Genn '48 was elected theSociety's first president. (Please see story,page B-7.)

Meanwhile, hoping to jolt a nearly decade-long"morass of inactivity," several Dunster Houseresidents organized the "Extra-Curricular AffairsCommittee."

House-based activities had remained dormantduring the spartan war years, and theextra-curricular affairs committee became devotedto creating a basis for clubs interested inanything from "rhumba to chess."

Harvard had a long tradition of strong studentactivities by mid-century, a fact which studentsnoted with pride in 1948.

Cambridge's only breakfast-table dailycelebrated its 75th year of publication, while theHasty Pudding Theatricals commemorated itscentennial with a six-city tour of theirproduction, Here's the Pitch. The HarvardDramatic Club turned 40 in '48, and the Orchestrafeted its 140th birthday.

The brainchild of William L. Alden '50, VeritasFilms got off the ground with its firstfeature-length production, Touch of theTimes.

About 50 students participated in the filmingof the 90-minute silent film, whose plot revolvedaround a love-sick factory worker who turned tokite-flying for solace.

Members of the Boston Symphony provided theaccompaniment for the movie, Alden says, andVeritas Films staffers were forced to "turn awaymobs" at the premiere in Harvard Square.

The student group eventually broke evenfinancially, thanks to a shrewd business managerwho had sold members' textbooks to fund theventure, according to Alden.

Harvard men could be fun-loving students, notsoldiers, in 1948, and the class of 1951 hostedhumorists Al Capp and Victor Borge at a jampacked"class smoker" in Memorial Hall--the first suchcelebration in seven years.

Meanwhile, administrators revived HarvardSummer School, a tradition skirted for six yearsbecause of lack of interest during and after theWar, and the 77-year-old program enrolled nearly2,300 students for the eight-week session.

The University also continued construction ofthe undergraduate-focused Lamont Library, thanksto several seven-figure gifts from Thomas W.Lamont, class of 1892 and former president of TheCrimson, who was named "the most generous son inHarvard's history" by the Harvard Alumni Bulletin.

The University was not so generous in providingaccess to the library, however--or other venuesfor that matter.

Status Quo

While co-education began in 1943 at Harvard, itwas an accommodation to the Faculty--not a gestureof equality.

With many students abroad, Harvard profes-B-71948Photo courtesy of Harvard YearbookPublicationsThe University continues construction ofLamont Library, sponsored by Thomas Lamont, classof 1892.