Alumni Profiles:
Working on MSUN (NMC) Campus in the
Summer of 1952
by Jim Lucas
Fall 2003

Cowan Hall under construction in 1952 with Donadlson Hall in the background

How did three Ohio State University students happen to spend the summer of 1952 on the MSUN Campus helping to build Cowan Hall? Well, summer jobs were hard to find, but an enterprising OSU student learned that a large construction project was about to start in northern Montana. He wrote to Harlem, Montana and got an encouraging letter from the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Guy Riggen, telling him that there would be plenty of jobs with lots of overtime, so bring as many friends as he could. Eight of us departed Columbus, Ohio with two cars and high enthusiasm at the prospect of making big money while having the

The day after we arrived in Harlem, Mr. Riggen got word that the construction project had been cancelled due to a steel strike back east. He offered to take two of us as ranch hands for the summer. Two of our party, including the owner of one of the cars, quickly accepted that offer and two packed up and went home. Wayne, Dale, John and I got into Wayne's car and headed west hoping to find jobs. We arrived in Havre and ate lunch at the Stockman's Bar where we learned that there was a building under construction on the MSUN campus. We immediately went to investigate and found that the McKinnon & Decker Construction Company was working on a large building, but had a full crew already. When the Construction Superintendent, Mr. Cecil Powers, said he could hire two of us at the going rate of $1.50 an hour, Dale and I quickly stepped forward. Then John mentioned that he had worked as a carpenter's helper the previous summer and he was given a job as well. Wayne soon found a job as a fireman with the Great Northern Railroad, which today is part of the Burlington Northern.

We took two rooms at the Grand Hotel but soon found this too expensive and moved into a rooming house. Someone suggested we might be able to arrange to have our meals where the students ate at Donaldson Hall. We talked to the lady in charge unfortunately I can't remember her name or her official title, but we considered her to be the Dean, so I'll refer to her as such. The Dean graciously allowed us to eat our lunches and dinners at Donaldson Hall and to even use the laundry facilities.

MSUN was quite a change for us. In 1952, the student body at OSU numbered just under 25,000. During the summer semester MSUN had 36 students one male and four females about our age and the rest were middle aged teachers pursuing continuing education credits. Of course, at that age we considered anyone over 30 to be middle aged. There was Donaldson Hall where the students lived and Pershing Hall where they had most, if not all of their classes and a very small building down over the hill that housed the administrative offices (Editors Note: This was probably East Hall). There were probably one or two other buildings that I don't remember, but the campus was very small compared to OSU.

The Dean relaxed the dress code since we were coming to lunch directly from our construction jobs, but we were required to dress more presentable for the evening meals and to wear coats and ties for Sunday dinner. The lone male, Bobby Waugh, worked in the kitchen and was so in need of male companionship that he packed us snacks, took care of our laundry when we forgot to take it out of the dryer, and generally looked out for our interest. I'm afraid we took unfair advantage of his generosity.

When we first began taking our meals at Donaldson, the three of us sat at a separate table and felt a bit self conscious, but that didn't last for long. Three of the young ladies started sitting at our table and soon became our good friends and dates for occasional movies or the Saturday night dances that were open to the public at the local Elks Club.

It was exciting to see the building taking shape, but it soon became obvious that we had been hired as a favor to us, and there was not really enough work to keep us busy. In late July, a wheat farmer from Loma offered us jobs helping with the harvest. We thanked Mr. Powers for providing us with jobs when we needed them so badly and went off to work the wheat harvest.

Between harvest jobs and when we had a weekend off, we'd return to Havre and were always welcome to eat meals at Donaldson Hall. I don't know how they were able to keep accounts straights, but we were only charged for the meals we ate there. When it came time to return to Ohio, we had to hitchhike as Wayne had already departed to try a new life in California, taking his car with him. The three young ladies made us a sign stating that we were college students heading for Ohio and that helped us get rides that might have otherwise passed us by.

We enjoyed our summer in Montana and the atmosphere at the MSUN (NMC) campus, but the most endearing memory that we took back to Ohio was the friendliness of everyone, at MSUN (NMC), in Havre, and all of Montana. Dale, John, and I kept in touch over the years and we often talked about the great times we had in Havre that summer and how we should one day write the story of our adventure. Dale passed away in 2001, but John and I are still keeping in touch. If there is anyone reading this who also remembers the summer of 1952 at MSUN, we'd like to hear from you. My e-mail address is jimandkay@gru.net.
  

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