James Kidd '48 wrote this guest column for the Daily Athenaeum after visiting campus last year:
Last week I had the opportunity to visit the WVU campus; I received my degree in 1948, 50 years ago.
What a difference!
I was impressed with the huge numbers of students. When I enrolled in WVU in 1941 the University had about 2,500 students. The years immediately after World War II brought great numbers to the campus, but it was nothing compared to now. In 1946 when I re-enrolled after fighting the Germans, there were about 6,000 students. Now you have how many? I didn't dare ask.
Things that are different:
Shorts and short shorts. On the girls. Dean of Women
Edna Arnold didn't allow her women to appear in public in shorts.
They did wear athletic shorts and swimsuits in Moore Hall. It
seems that West Virginia has discovered that their girls have
beautiful legs. Beautiful everything else, too.
In 1948 coeds wore dresses and skirts. Sweaters were the method of showing off the figure. Those were the days of the "sweater girls." A few more daring girls wore pedal pushers. You can find pictures of coeds in dresses, skirts, and sweaters in the 1948 Monticola. Look it up in the library.
Note that I refer to the coeds as women, not girls. The WWII vets saw them as girls. Women were our mothers and grandmothers. Professor Elizabeth Reed, English (wife of Dr. P.I. Reed, Journalism), insisted. University females were women. She considered the word lady to describe a streetwalker.
T-shirts. In '48 no one wore a T-shirt to class, except for phys ed. Most men wore shirts (white) and ties. Some of us still wore parts of our military uniforms, also with ties.
Beards. Nobody had a beard or a mustache.
No professors of 1948 are still around. However, I note that quite a few have their monuments in the form of buildings and other campus points of interest. Some of the staffers I recall are: Clark, Colson, Knapp, Stalnaker, Stewart, White, Core, Hawley, Dadisman, and Brooks.
"Legs" Hawley was the athletics director. Early one morning during my junior year while on my way to the local radio station, I found his effigy hanging from the lamppost on Grumbein's Island. I reported it on the news broadcast, which stirred up considerable interest. Athletics directors often were objects of strong criticism when one or more teams lost.
Two campuses. The Evansdale Campus was little more than an idea someone had back in 1948. It was a rural area with scattered houses. It perhaps had raccoons, squirrels, and rabbits, and any student who had a car may have used the area for heavy necking.
Parking. You have too many cars. In 1948 few students had cars, and parking was a minor problem. Most professors who drove to campus generally could park adjacent to their building.
Grumbein's Island. It was a problem in '48. Red lights did not help. I admire the way somebody has now tamed the motorists. They actually stop when anyone is about to step into the traffic lanes. John Grumbein at first glance seemed to be a rough old grouch. Once you got to know him you knew he loved his buildings and grounds.
Mountainlair. What a fantastic place. The original Lair was where the Business and Economics building is now located. It was being built in 1948.
Backpacks. In '48 nobody had a backpack. A few cloth
bookbags were around. An occasional briefcase served as bookbag
for some who later wore dark gray suits in business.
PRT. I tried it. How else are you going to haul everybody
from one campus to another?
Hills. The old campus still has them, though they are
definitely steeper and longer than they were in '48. I could
go from Beechurst to the top floor of Woodburn, no sweat. Last
week I huffed and puffed to the Woodburn parking lot. My 78th
birthday last month obviously did me in.
—James Kidd