Albany Years (1947 - 1951)
New York State College for Teachers
I enrolled at the New York State College for Teachers at Albany in September 1947. I majored in mathematics and minored in chemistry and physics. The campus in 1947 was on Western Avenue in "downtown" Albany with about 2500 students. A new campus was built in the 1960's further west on Western. The downtown campus is now dedicated to political science, information science, and criminal justice. The school, now SUNY - Albany, has more than 30,000 students.
Above right is a drawing of me by my German professor, Herr Meyer.
The Barracks
I first lived at the barracks in St. Mary's Park along with a hundred or so other Albany male students.
I enrolled at the New York State College for Teachers at Albany in September 1947. I majored in mathematics and minored in chemistry and physics. The campus in 1947 was on Western Avenue in "downtown" Albany with about 2500 students. A new campus was built in the 1960's further west on Western. The downtown campus is now dedicated to political science, information science, and criminal justice. The school, now SUNY - Albany, has more than 30,000 students.
The above is a Bing Maps Bird's Eye View of the Albany State campus .
2005 photos of Draper Hall with Dave Wetherby on left and sign in front of Draper on right.
In
the left 2005 photo, Page Hall, the building in the center, contained the
auditorium on the first floor and the gym in the basement. Milne
is to the left and Richardson to the right. The 2005 photo to the
right is the lower eve of one of the passages between buildings. All six of the
buildings on campus were connected as shown in the recent map below left.
The Barracks
I first lived at the barracks in St. Mary's Park along with a hundred or so other Albany male students.
Paul
at the barracks on the left. Dave Wetherby and Howie
Rosman in the middle. On the right, Dave Wetherby and others
sunbathing in
the barracks area.
Albany Home for Children
I moved to the Albany Home for Children in December of 1947 to become an assistant activities director. I received my room and board in exchange for working 15 hours per week. My work consisted of leading a study time in my cottage and helping with the children's activities, many of them in the gym.
The
above is a Bing Maps Bird's Eye View of the Albany Home for Children.
The buildings that existed in 1951 are within the green lines.
Photos of the administration building at the Albany Home for Children and the Van Alstyne gym both taken in May 2005
I
was assigned a room in the men's staff building and ate my meals in
Fuller boys cottage. I also had a study period after dinner in
the Fuller cottage.
The 2005 photo on the left is the men's
staff building; the rooms were on the second floor and the carpentry
shop was on the first. The photo on the right is Fuller
cottage in 2005
Photos taken while living at the home.
Fuller
and Rathbone cottages from mens' staff building and Albany home tumblers practicing with Bob Kittredge with the gym in
the background. Bob was also an activities director.
Above
left is Paul and Mr. Hough, house father at
Fuller. He is wearing my graduation cap and gown and I'm wearing
his British army uniform. Above center is my family, in town for
my graduation in 1951, gathered by Men's staff. Left to right:
Pete holding Barbara, me, Mom, Gwen, Phil and Ruth. Homer's
hat can be seen over my shoulder. Right is Mom and me at the
graduation.
On the left above is a photo of activities
director Coach Huddeston supervising the lawn work detail on his sulky.
Coach was my boss and friend and an all round straight
shooter. On the right is the cover of the book "Faded Pictures
from
My Backyard" by Sue Carswell. Carswell is the daughter of the
director of the home from the 1960's until the 1990's. She writes
about her family's experiences at the home and also writes about the life of Bob Wygant; Bob was a child
at the home for many years. He excelled at sports at Albany High
School and in 1948 received a sports scholarship at Rutgers.
Later he
was a teacher and school administrator in schools around Albany and now
is an honorary life director of Parson's Child and Family Center, the
organization that succeeded the home. Reading this book led to the
creation of this page that I might share my faded pictures of Albany.
Soccer
I played junior varsity basketball my freshman year and varsity soccer my junior and senior years.
I played junior varsity basketball my freshman year and varsity soccer my junior and senior years.
Above is a newspaper photo of the 1950 varsity soccer team. Dave
Wetherby and I were co-captains. In the team photo, Dave is the third
from the right kneeling and I am second from the right kneeling. Coach Joe Garcia is far right standing.
Above left is a collage of Dave and I at a get-together in
Pittsburgh in 2002 with a photo of the 1949 team in the background.
The background is positioned so that our 2002 heads are next to
our 1949 heads. Above right is my soccer certificate and block S letter.
Edward Eldred Potter Club and Kappa Phi Kappa
I was a member of the Potter Club fraternity. I didn't live at the fraternity house but I attended activities there. The fraternity is no longer in existence. The 2005 photo on the left is the former Potter house on State Street. I was also a member of Kappa Phi Kappa professional education fraternity.
I was a member of the Potter Club fraternity. I didn't live at the fraternity house but I attended activities there. The fraternity is no longer in existence. The 2005 photo on the left is the former Potter house on State Street. I was also a member of Kappa Phi Kappa professional education fraternity.
Graduation
I graduated in June 1951 with the ceremonies at the dormitory quad.
I graduated in June 1951 with the ceremonies at the dormitory quad.
PDB
November 2007
November 2007