Did your yearbook include a “class history”? I’ll have to go back and check mine from high school, but I don’t think we had one.

Dad wrote the class history for his college yearbook when he was a Senior. Although the work is uncredited, he mentioned it in an autobiography he wrote in 1954. The Class History is an interesting compilation of facts and figures, sports and dances, from the earliest days until graduation.

As you can see in this photo, there was no room for graphics in Dad’s accounting of 1947 through 1951 at Providence College. I’ll drop in some pictures below, as appropriate, from Harold E. Vayo’s photo archives.

Freshman Year

After the ordeal of Freshman Week, with its orientation lectures, placement examinations, assembly-line physicals, and endless booklines, we began to realize how really bewildered we were. We tried to look sophisticated, as we did when we were high-school seniors; but somehow we couldn’t convince anyone, ourselves included. We walked half-apologetically into classrooms and hugged the corridor walls whenever a white habit hove into view. Fr. Dillon, the fearful Dean of Discipline, struck terror into our hearts. Fr. McKenna, with “Emily Post” in one hand and course-cards in the other, began the preliminary polishing of one-day Providence College Gentlemen.

With the first issue of the Cowl [student newspaper] came calls from the College clubs, publications, and societies asking for new members. A few of us answered; most of us looked on in admiration . . . We marched as a class in the Holy Name Parade in Boston . . . A lot of noise was made about reviving football at the College, but that’s about as far as it went . . . The Very Reverend Robert J. Slavin, O.P., our new President, was honored at a formal reception given by the Alumni Association . . . Eighty of us turned out for the first Frosh basketball practice . . . Larry Drew was Varsity . . . We found out about the War Memorial Grotto and also about the Grotto Fund; and all of us became ticket salesmen . . . The Junior Veridames sponsored an informal and pleasantly surprised us. It was love at first sight . . . The Flying Club began to take shape . . . Stan Moore provided the music for the Friars Formal . . . Fr. D.F. Reilly, O.P., Dean of Freshmen, set up offices in Donnelly Hall . . . The Most Reverend Francis P. Keough, fourth Bishop of Providence, was appointed to the Archbishopric of Baltimore by Pope Pius XII . . . Delightfully different “Derryowen” was successfully produced by the Pyramid Players . . . The Glee Club sang Christmas Carols over station WHIM . . . Elliot Lawrence chosen as Junior Prom band . . . The Most Reverend Emmanuel Suarez, O.P., Master General of the Order of Friars Preachers, visited the College. He dedicated the magnificent War Memorial Grotto of Our Lady of the Rosary before an audience numbering upwards of ten thousand people, laid the cornerstone of the one and one-half million dollar Science Building, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at a formal academic convocation . . . George Johnson played at the Frosh Hop . . . Fathers J.V. Williams, O.P., and Francis N. Reynolds, O.P., gave most of us our first taste of a Dominican Retreat . . . Bruce Marshall, internationally known Scottish author and a convert to Catholicism, and Max Jordan, famous American foreign correspondent, lectured before class assemblies . . . Varsity basketball record: 10 and 10 . . . Harry Croates introduced at the Sophomore Smoker. He made us sit up and take notice immediately. And we’re still being amazed by the track teams he’s turning out.

Sophomore Year

By now we were beginning to feel our feet under us. We had won the battle of the books two semesters in a row and the Freshman fog had finally lifted. Extra-curricular activities became more and more important in our on- and off-campus lives. And we dove headlong into our second year with a vengeance.

The Most Reverend Russell J. McVinney, the newly consecrated fifth Bishop of Providence, celebrated the annual Mass of the Holy Ghost at the War Memorial Grotto, His Excellency spoke to the Student Body after Mass, and exhorted us to put into practice the ideals and principles of St. Thomas, upon which the College had been founded . . . It didn’t take long for us to find out more concerning these principles, for within twenty-four hours afterwards we had all had our first class in Thomistic Philosophy. Theology was also introduced into the College curriculum this year . . . Under the auspices of the Veridames, Christopher Lynch, well-known Irish tenor and protégé of John McCormack, presented a varied and interesting concert . . . Seumas MacManus, Irish poet, lecturer, and storyteller, visited the College. He captured immediately the hearts and imagination of the Student Body . . . Ferd Mandeville’s orchestra and a real-live honest-to-goodness skeleton provided the music and part of the atmosphere respectively at the Sophomore Hop . . . A successful “Forty-Niners” Dance was staged by the Senior Class, with the help of Tommy McCann and his orchestra . . . The numerical marking system gave way to modern design: “A’s” and “B’s” and “C’s” . . . The Winter Festival and Penny Sale really went big time this year, when it was held for the first time at the Rhode Island Auditorium. The place was literally thronged . . .

Stan Moore did musical honors at the Friars Formal . . . Arnold Lunn, essayist, apologist, and a convert of Monsignor Ronald Knox, spoke to us on the subject, “Is Evolution Proved?” . . . Horace Heidt did a New Year’s Eve show for the benefit of the War Memorial Fund . . . The constitution of the Student Congress was presented to and approved by the Student Body. Providence College became a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) . . . When we returned from the Christmas Holidays, a periodical room had been added to the already expanded library . . . The Rhode Island Intercollegiate Press Association held its initial meeting of the current year in the lounge at Aquinis Hall . . . Charlie Barnet and his orchestra was chosen to play at the Junior Promenade . . . The Most Reverend Russell J. McVinney formally dedicated the new Science Building . . . The Pyramid Players presented “Room Service” . . . Hendricken Field acquired an outdoor board track through the efforts of Coach Harry Coates and the Spiked Shoe Club . . . The Reverend John S. Kennedy, Assistant Editor at the Catholic Transcript, spoke on “Philosophy, Religion, and Current Fiction” . . . “Courtship and Chastity,” a lecture given by Fr. McKenna in conjunction with the annual Courtship and Marriage series, was delivered to a packed house . . . Providence College’s first outdoor track meet was an outstanding success. Attendance numbered over three thousand . . . Mr. Maurice “Moe” Timlin was appointed head of the newly created placement office . . . The Lenten Retreat was given by Fathers James L. Mitchell, O.P., Walter B. Sullivan, O.P., and Joseph E. Madden, O.P. . . . Only one year after its beginning on the Campus, Track was made a major sport . . . Providence College was accepted as a member of the National Federation of Catholic College Students (NFCCS) . . .

Junior Year

Our Junior year got underway socially with the September Frolic, an informal, chummy dance sponsored by the ubiquitous and extremely charming Junior Veridames . . . The enrollment hit the two thousand mark for the first time in the history of the College . . . The Most Reverend Russell J. McVinney, D.D., Bishop of Providence, celebrated the Mass of the Holy Ghost at the War Memorial Grotto . . . We were all pleased to hear that Father Slavin had qualified for the degree of Master of Sacred Theology . . . Mr. James (Vin) Cuddy became head basketball coach. He replaced Larry Drew, who became Director of Intramural Athletics and Physical Education . . . The Holy Name Holy Hour was held at Narragansett Park. The night was a cold one; but the forty-five thousand candles lit during the recitation of the Holy Name Pledge and Benediction spread light and warmth to our very souls . . . The “Junior Action Party” treated the campus to some real, old-fashioned, pre-war electioneering, with airplanes, motorcycles, raccoon coats, derby hats, and cigars . . . Much more talk about the new Gym. Half of Penny Sale proceeds goes to the fund . . . Jimmy O’Neil and his Collegiate Band played for the Farmers’ Festival . . . A vastly improved Glee Club began its musical season with a joint concert at Newton College of the Sacred Heart . . . The new cemetery behind St. Antoninus Hall was blessed by the President . . . Dr. Richard J. Hayes, librarian of the National Library of Dublin, addressed our class and requested us to search our cellars and attics for papers which might help to solve the mystery of the Irishmen who left their homeland for America in the nineteenth century and have not been heard of since.

The bids for the Friars Formal announced that Stan Moore would do the musical honors . . . The Flying Club became a member of the Civil Aeronautics Patrol … All night veneration of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, which was enshrined overnight in the College Chapel . . . Art Mooney played at our Junior Prom, and the Main Ballroom of the Sheraton-Biltmore Hotel was a little more than crowded . . . Lest we forget: during this year we received our formal introduction to Theology . . . The Varsity Basketball record was fourteen and eight, which includes wins over Boston College and Rhode Island State College (our first since 1941) . . . Operation Cumberland not only gave us the chance to work off some of our excess energy, but left us with that good feeling inside of a job well-done. The Fathers and Brothers at the Cistercian Monastery of Our Lady of the Valley were most profuse in their thanks to us for our salvage work after the fire . . . The spring production of the Pyramid Players was “The Milky Way” . . . Fr. Slavin was appointed to a second three-year term as president of the College . . . Providence College became head of the New England Regional Forensics Commission of the National Federation of Catholic College Students . . . On the twentieth of May, we were shocked and profoundly grieved by the untimely death of the Reverend Jeremiah T. Fitzgerald, O.P., for 19 years Vice-President of the College . . .

Senior Year

By this time our college lives were a full three-quarters spent. The title “Senior” impressed us more, now that it was ours. There was too much to be learned and done in this final year for us to be very interested in these things. It was about time that we began to take the world seriously, and we determinedly rose to meet the challenge.

September saw us rather apprehensive. Korea was developing into something more than summer maneuvers. The draft was reactivated, and rumors filled the corridors and cafeteria. Those of us who had seen service were quite confident of finishing the year; but the rest of us were rudely shocked out of our complacency. The first issue of the Cowl ran this headline on its front page: “Selective Service Clarifies Induction Issue for Students.” We were uncertain as to just what to do. The bulletin boards and the Cowl informed us immediately of all changes and new pronouncements relative to the draft. Fr. Dore told us to sit tight and not to worry about finishing this year. Gradually we became used to the situation: we never forgot it was there, but our attitude towards it became more healthy and less of a fixation.

Courses in Music Appreciation and Art Appreciation were welcome additions to the curriculum . . . We looked at the little freshmen and wondered if we were really like that once . . . School enrollment dropped off about two hundred . . . Friar Boy III, the College’s Dalmation mascot, tried unsuccessfully to disgorge a bone which was lodged in his throat and was succeeded by Friar Boy IV . . . Perry Borelli played at the Carolan Club’s Autumn Festival . . . The promulgation of the dogma of the Assumption of Pope Pius XII was celebrated with special services at the War Memorial Grotto . . . The varsity track team defeated Brown . . . The Pyramid Players presented their initial offerings of the current school year, excerpts from “Juno and the Paycock” and “Escape,” and provided an enjoyable evening for all who attended . . . The freshman cross-country team tied with Boston University for the New England Cross Country Championship . . . The same team placed third in the IC4A cross-country championships . . . A big bull and a little pig livened up the Farmers’ festival considerably . . . Providence College was presented with a check by the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund for fifteen thousand dollars to carry on further research in radioactive isotopes and their effects on cancers. Cowl headline for January 10, 1951: College Granted ROTC Unit. We were informed that a transportation unit would move in by September of this year . . . At the annual Family Hour sponsored for the married students and their wives, the latter were awarded degrees of Ph. T. (Putting husbands Through) . . . The Juniors decided on Charlie Spivak for the Prom . . .

The rest of the history of our class is still to be made. Deadlines which fall uncomfortably close allow us to chronicle no more. And yet the days which lie ahead will climax our entire college careers. The one final round of exams, Cap and Gown Day, the Commencement Ball, Class Night, Alumni Day, and Commencement actually do not have to be recorded in print; for we will never want to, nor will we ever be able to forget them.

As we write this, we dare not venture even to guess what the Mind of God holds in store for us. The only course we can follow is the course of Grace, which has been made manifest to us during our years of study under the Dominican Fathers. Life may often be unfathomable, but it need never become insurmountable. For we will never be alone.

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“Class History” ©1951  Harold E. Vayo. All rights reserved.

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