I Remember Those Days

During my days at CSU, 1951 to 1953 (it was Colorado A & M then), the EE department was housed in the present-day Gibbons Building. There were few electronics courses and the EE curriculum emphasized power engineering. Hence, we had an elaborate electrical machinery lab on the ground floor, with all kinds of motors and generators. Sometime during the 1951/52 school year a dam burst somewhere west of the campus (sounds familiar?). The resulting deluge hit the lowest areas of the campus pretty hard. The water backed up behind the railroad embankment and the EE building as well as the (then) Student Union were under 3 1/2 feet of muddy water, including all our dynamos and other EE gear. There is a photo in the 1952 "Silver Spruce" showing guys playing pool in the Student Union, hip-deep in the water, the water level being even with the pool table, i.e. they played pool in the pool. When the flood receded, it took a lot of hosing to flush the mud out of the many machines. Still, much equipment was lost for keeps. I still remember the sorry display laid out on tables for the insurance to inspect.

A real big event in those days was the College Days (mid-May) with its colorful parade of floats. Among other things, everybody had to wear western garb. No exceptions! The "inspectors" combed even the Administration building. A big tub of water was set up on the oval and a "court" convened nearby. Those caught not properly dressed had three choices: (a) buy a piece of yellow rag for 25 cents; (b) buy a rodeo ticket for $1.25; or (c) get thrown into the tub!

Computers were unknown in my days. All calculating was done on the slide rule. A typical engineering slide rule was 12" long and cost somewhere around $25 - not cheap! Today's engineering students, armed with powerful computers, look down on that device, but there are calculations (taking ratios, for example) that can be performed much faster on the slide rule. Furthermore, its accuracy was well within the engineering requirements. The slide rule, in its leather case, was typically worn hanging from one’s belt. Well, one day one of my EE friends was late to class. As he raced through the building and rounded a corner, the dangling slide rule got caught between the ribs of the radiator. It broke cleanly in half.