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 As the University of Alberta celebrates its 100th anniversary, thousands of alumni are opening yearbooks, digging through photo albums and reminiscing about their school days. I just noticed that 2008 will be the 100th anniversary of the founding of the university, and it brought to mind the 50th anniversary, which occurred during my first year at U of A. I first met my husband the night before the official day of celebration. The 50th anniversary was celebrated on a Wednesday in October as I remember, and there was a dance in the Drill Hall, of fond memory, at which Dick and I danced together for most of the evening to the music of Tommy Banks and his orchestra. Unfortunately, I had already agreed to let another young man walk me back to Pembina Hall that night, so it wasn’t until the next evening that Dick and I had our first date. We’ve been married for 45 years next month, but when we are in Edmonton visiting his mother we often go back to the campus on our bikes and ride around looking for familiar buildings. Pembina Hall is still there but, alas, the Tuck Shop isn’t. Lynne Crossley Bowen, ’62 Dip(Nu), ’63 BScN
I was a student at the U of A in the `60s and a short-term student in `73. On later trips to Edmonton, I would usually take a drive through the campus. I was awed by the growth since my days there as a student. I remembered, with pleasure, the friends I made and the really great experiences we shared.
Jim Knopp, `67 BEd, `73 Dip(Ed) Vernon, BC Many thanks for the spring edition of New Trail [2004]. It brings back wonderful and happy memories of September 1945 through May 1950. After 49 months in the RCAF, we returned to our “home town”, some of us getting out early enough to return to the fall session of the U of A in 1945. A flood of service men and a few women suddenly descended on the University. All we had were old Quonset type huts for classrooms. Some of us had problems with “regimentation”; some of us had forgotten all we learned about math, science, physics, geology, etc. The Department of Veterans Affairs was good to us. The University was strict but comforting. The memories of the Tuck Shop are still vivid. Most of all I have great appreciation for what the U of A did for me. Morris Paulson, `48 BEd, `49 MEd I fondly remember the Tuck Shop cinnamon buns.
Ted Strang, `65 BEd, `85 MEd Ottawa, ON Dr. Tory was President when I was a freshman in 1925 and we had to attend a meeting in which he explained that the University term would be seven months, allowing us five months to earn enough money for the next term. He also said that residences were provided on campus to provide reasonably priced accommodations so that no one in the province would be denied the opportunity to attend university because they couldn’t afford it (I think room and board was $30.00 a month). Then we were all required to sign a pledge not to join a secret society while at the University; this meant no fraternities. Things changed when Dr. Wallace replaced Dr. Tory. I remember two of my classmates arriving one morning with very sore arms as they had three Greek letters branded on them. There were no parking lots. Only two students had cars. One a rich California medical student and the other a commerce student who was a hawker at county fairs during summer holidays. “Tuck Times” - - coffee and cinnamon roll ten cents, my budget for lunch. This was the only place where we could eat and meet. I visited the Arts Building a few years ago and was very upset when I saw the food machines in the “Common Room”. If we brought a lunch we had to eat it in the locker room in the basement. Now you can buy food and eat in nearly every building. But the University has grown with many thousands of students and staff. I am very grateful for those in management for saving the “South Lab” where those of us in “Civil” spent our last three years. It is not quite as nice as the new engineering buildings – but my first year tuition was $60.00 and my last year was $90.00, and there were no student loans. William L. Kent, `31 BSc(Eng) I am reminded of one of the highlights of my first year. In the spring of 1946, I participated in a show called “Club 400” that was directed by Joe Shocter to raise funds for World Student Relief. It is almost 60 years since that event, but I can vividly recall Joe’s antics as “Bubbles La Vergne” and, of course, the eight goofy guys performing “Oh You Beautiful Doll.” Dorothy (Williams) Jones, `48 Dip(Ed), `61 BEd I graduated in 1940. In that year the Tuck Shop was the social centre of the campus. For 10 or 15 cents, we could relax with friends after classes. Our barber, at the south end of the building, would charge us 35 cents for a much needed haircut. In my last year, when I had run out of funds, and depended on a couple of loans, I rented a basement room nearby and had one of my two daily meals at the Tuck Shop. For 10 cents, the waitress gave me a bowl of cereal with a generous supply of milk, an ample breakfast. In my opinion, the Tuck Shop should never have been destroyed, but should have been declared a historic site. It contributed so much to our academic, and/or social life. Gordon McLure, `40 BSc(Eng) Share your memories! E-mail memories@ualberta.net.
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