The Jaysee Echo (Rochester, Minnesota), Volume 9, Number 7

              The Jaysee Echo
VOLUME IX
ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY  15,   1941
Prop Wash
. . by Don Franke
A cheery note, during these days
of the annual "January slump" that
precedes the annual "January flunk,"
comes from Bob Cronin, a last year's
student. Bob is really enjoying himself out there on the sunny shores of
the Pacific. He is working at me
Douglas Aircraft plant in Santa Monica, California. At present, he is one
of the crew working on the new A-
20-A bombers for the U. S. Air
Corps. Bob says, "My job consists of
working on the wings. I work on a
machine that does work to one-thousandth of an inch. I put the trim
line on the wings, and that in plain
language allows one-thirty-secondth
of an inch between the sections of the
wings. My work is very exciting and
interesting. "Incidentally, Bob goes
swimming one day, skiing the next,
belongs to a pistol club, and right
now is learning surf-boarding.
This past vacation your columnist
talked to twenty-five year old Dudley Hanford of Houston, Texas, who
is an aeronautical engineer in the
army air corps af Hickman Field,
Hawaii. Hanford told me that the
new barracks at Hickman Field complete one of the world's largest military units. They have many new hangars, sleeping quarters for several
thousand men, recreation rooms, and
all that any good sized town might
have to add to the comforts and
fine life of any man.
While in Texas, we passed by the
high board fences that surround the
nearly completed Ellington Field, thirty miles north of the coast at Galveston. This is to be a plane base and
includes barracks, but, as tourists are
not permitted, we were unable to
obtain additional information. We
also took a hurried squint at Love
Field in Dallas, Texas, where three
of our advanced C.A.A. students,
Linus Ney, Malcom Ernest and Orin
Hove   recently  went.
Miss Flora McGhee
Publishes    Know
Rochester Better*
Semester Exams
Begin Next Week
With more than one audible groan
of despair, and with fingers crossed,
R. J. C. students are patiently awaiting semester exams. This rendezvous
with fate will take place during the
week of January 20. What is known
among the faculty as the gentle art
of cramming, but what we "scholars"
more conservatively label concentration, or just plain digging in and
getting busy, is going on in earnest.
"A city is not builded  in  a day.
A little town cannot complete her
soul,
Till  many generations  pass away."
—By  Vachel   Lindsay  in   "The
Building of Springfield."
This idea forms the central theme
in "Know Rochester Better," a book
of human interest stories edited by
Miss Flora McGhee, instructor in
speech and English in the Rochester
Junior College.
Miss McGhee's volume of local history traces the city's development
from the days when Rochester was a
mere half dozen log cabins on the
banks of the Zumbro to the present
time. The chapter "The Lexington of
the North-west" deals with the racing days of Rochester, when the town
was well known in Europe for its fine
horses exported to foreign buyers.
Other chapters pay tribute to famous citizens, including Sir Henry Wellcome, Frank B. Kellogg, Hugh Cooper, the Mayo family, and Sister Mary
Joseph. In addition to these short
biographies of numerous distinguished citizens, there are articles on
the history of schools, churches, and
other institutions. The closing chapters deal with the high lights of
entertainment, both by amateurs and
professionals, during past decades,
and also anecdotes of former days.
The cover design and etchings are
the work of two former Junior College students; the former is by Rosa-
lee Goddard who is now a student
at the Chicago Art Institute, and the
latter by Wilcke Lou Hicks, now
majoring in art and journalism at the
University of Minnesota. The eight
pages of illustrations include the photographs of many distinguished
Rochester people.
Miss McGhee's work has gained
much attention not only from students and residents of this city, but
also from many transients who find
much  of interest to  carry home.
Our Town" Selected
as Annual College Play
"Our Town" by Thornton Wilder
has been chosen as the all-college
play to be presented on March 21,
in the New Central School Auditorium.
The Wilder play won the Pulitzer
prize in 1938 and the fourth place
among 1940 screen productions according to the Film Reviewers' rating. It has enjoyed outstanding success both with professional and amateur players. Leading dramatic playbills show that it is produced by
many high schools as well as colleges.
Recent Minnesota productions include
those of Worthington Junior College
and Owatonna  high school.
"Our Town" is a nostalgic backward look into village life in the
decade immediately preceding the
first World War. Scenes from family
life, school days, marriage, and death
are annotated by the stage manager
before they are enacted on the stage.
Against the simplest of settings the
elemental things of everyday living are portrayed in dignified
yet often humorous tone. The
result is a drama whose appeal is as
universal as that of Gray's "Elegy"
or Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address."
A tentative cast has already begun the study of the play which requires seven leading players and
twenty others in shorter roles, as well
as a sizable production crew.
Miss McGhee, instructor in speech,
is in charge of production.
Instructors Spend
Midwinter Vacations
at Conventions
During the Christmas holidays,
some of our teachers were spending
their time attending conventions. A
midwinter convention of delegates
from various colleges was held in
Chicago. Dean Goddard, Miss Larsen, and Mr. Shaw of our Junior
College faculty attended.
Dean Goddard spent his time with
the American Association of Political
Science at the Palmer House. He reported that there were delegates
from all over the United States, and
a few from England and Canada.
Meetings were held on different sections of political science. Mr. Goddard was most concerned with the
session on Propaganda. While he was
attending this particular part of the
convention, Miss Larsen was attending the American Library Association
at the   Drake   Hotel.  She  sat  in  on
(continued on page four, column four)
NUMBER 7
Gamma Rho Party
Enjoyed by Everyone
On Tuesday, December 17, of the
old year—second year Gamma Rho
members sponsored the annual Christmas party for the new candidates to
the society. Shortly after everyone
had arrived, the initiates were given
news assignemnts to cover in as
short a time as possible. When they
returned they wrote a news story on
their adventures. Everyone of these
stories, read by the individuals who
wrote them, was very humorous —
and very interestingly written.
Candidates and their assignments
were:
Ray Thompson—read 3 epitaphs on
gravestones. He says he did it by
the braille system, since there was
no moon.
Don Sanders reported on the latest
fire recorded by the Rochester Fire
Department.
Dora Tenti found out who had
bowled the highest score at Dunlap's
that even and what the score was.
La Veta Sargeant counted Christmas lights on Broadway—we won't
dispute her total of  l036l/2 lights.
Gloria Hillmond interviewed a floor
walker in the Clinic.
Doris Papendick found that the
guests at the Kahler Hotel who were
the farthest from Rochester were
Senor Calzada and Senor Quijana
from Matehuala, Mexico.
Charles Murrell — without much
trouble — obtained the names and
telephone numbers of all the waitresses at Thurbers—see him if interested.
Jerry Farrington — after chopping
through the ice under the Center
Street bridge found it to be eight
inches thick.
Art  Swan—'a   cut-up   correspondent'—had   a   little   talk   with   Mayor
Grassle before getting his autograph.
Virginia  Schanke  interviewed  four
alumni of R. J. C.
Dorothy Johnson found the usher
at the Empress Theatre extremely
Ummmm!!!
Rosella Henunm rode up 12 floors
on the Clinic elevator to interview
the Clinic librarian.
Esther Saabye was informed that
the tower on the Franklin Heating
Plant was  196 feet in height.
Ruth Puterbaugh counted 65 street
lights on second street S.W. from 2nd
Avenue to  Nth Avenue S.W.
Mary Flachsenhar counted shoes
in Baker's window to the astonishment of people on Broadway. She
found there were 177 shoes. Wonder
what happened to the other one—
must be for a one-legged man.
(continued on page four, cohimn three)