Alumni Memories

Theodore E. Tinkham

Animal Husbandry, B.S., 1952

Theodore E.
Tinkham

In the September of 1948 my mother loaded me up at our western Illinios farm home, drove for five hours and unloaded me in a basement at a home on north Highland Avenue, Ames, Iowa. The owners of the home had rented out their basement to four of us college students, having bunkbeds to sleep in. Thus began my four years at Iowa State College [then called]. One of my basement roommates was older, possibly a World War II vet, I don't recall. One of the courses I took my first quarter term was botany. I was struggling understanding it, but he took his time to help me grasp some things and in essence got me started on "how to study.”

The fall before, a neighbor of mine who previously had gone to Iowa State asked if I wanted to ride with him to Iowa State's 1947 Homecoming weekend. I thought since I was considering going to Iowa State this would give me a chance to see it. We didn't have dates, so the Homecoming dance was out. But that same Saturday night there was a concert being held at the college armory which my neighbor and I went to, featuring Woody Herman's band and an added concert singer [not connected to the band] Nat King Cole [then 28 years old], who then was unknown to me. Fifty-four years later when I went to my 50th Iowa State Alumni Reunion I learned that the band that played for the college Homecoming that Saturday night was the Glenn Miller Orchestra. One of my all time favorites! Seeing who performed on campus that weekend, should I have had a date or not? Such was the quality of "entertainment" students at Iowa State were exposed to.

One month after being at school, I was becoming "homesick.” I remember one night walking by the "old gymnasium" feeling homesick and singing the song "Autumn Leaves" [which was popular then]. But I shortly got over it. As it turned out, after my sophomore year, in going to my Illinois home, Iowa State had become more my "home" than Illinois had.

A lot of "hitch hiking" was done then. All you had to do was put a big "I" for Iowa State on your suitcase, set it along the highway in front of you where motorists could see it and a ride was guaranteed. From Ames to my parents home near Cameron, Illinois was a five hour drive by car. The fastest I made it "hitch-hiking" was seven hours. Pretty good time!

At the end of my freshman year I joined an ag fraternity and moved there. Following World War II there was a large influx of veterans returning and going to college on the "GI Bill". All over campus was this "mix" of older veterans and "we just out of high school.” In looking back it was "pretty neat", we younger ones living with and going to class with ones, who had had exposure to things that we younger ones had not yet had. Because of this, at times there were incidences of "rivalry.” One such "incident" involved the two biggest guys in the fraternity. One was 30 years old (who had flown on bomber missions over Europe) and the other was an 18-year-old. They had a "bet" on about something. The "bet" was that whoever was "right, or won the bet" had three swings at the other with a "barrel stave.” At that time using a "barrel stave" to settle a bet was "common practice,” and nobody thought anything about it. It was just another "part of life.” The 18-year-old won the 'bet,” much to the "delight" of "us younger ones.” It was a known fact that these two didn't have all that much "love" for each other. That being the case, pretty much the whole fraternity turned out to "witness the event.” The 30-year-old bent over, grabbed his ankles, the 18-year-old got in his three swings and they were with "ALL HIS MIGHT.” The onlookers (depending on their age bracket) were either "cheering or jeering.”

Back then, the pledges of a fraternity (before they became "actives") tried to "take off'" for a weekend without the "actives" knowing it. They might go to Des Moines or Waterloo. In doing this, an attempt was made for it to be at "the expense" of the actives. One common example was the pledges would take all the silverware from the fraternity with them, which left the actives "eating with their hands.” One fraternity’s pledges pulled a dead horse into the fraternity’s front room then took off for the weekend. That didn't set too well with the college. As a consequence the fraternity was put on "probation.”

In the winters of 1950 and 1951, Phillip Morris cigarette company had an offer at Iowa State that any fraternity, sorority, dormitory, etc., that could collect the most empty Phillip Morris cigarette wrappers within their specified time would win a console combination radio record player. Our fraternity was determined to win and they did, both years! While the contest was on, our whole fraternity was looking "DOWN" all over campus, scouring the streets for empty Phillip Morris cigarette packages. It got to the point where one could see a lot of empty cigarette packages on the street, but no Phillip Morris packages. Our fraternity would go to outlying cities, including Des Moines and Waterloo, on weekends scouring the streets. It was fun!

Another enjoyable event was the "formal dances" that each department in the college held during the school year. Big name bands came to play at these, such as Tommy Dorsey, Claude Thornhill, Frankie Carle, etc. The annual "Military Ball" was especially impressive to see. Those who were in ROTC or were veterans attended with their dates, all adorned in their uniforms and beautiful formals. One year I viewed this Ball briefly above the dance floor in the Memorial Union. Below were the uniforms of all the services dancing, mostly Army, Navy and Air Force. But there was one Marine, a veteran from my fraternity, in his dress uniform, blue dress jacket and white dress trousers with a red stripe down the leg. Boy, he stood out and besides he was a "good looking guy.” That scene still sticks in my mind. Most all I've covered of my time at Iowa State has been "social". There was a lot offered at Iowa State both academically and socially. I made a lot of good friends both in and out of class. My "summary" of my years at Iowa State would be, "it was a lot of work, but it was a lot of fun!” Thanks to God and my parents who made it possible.