1959 Ed Talley

Subject: Re: Baker House
From: Edward Talley
Date: Sun, 03 May 2009

Hi All,

I don't know if I'll join you for Baker House at 60 reunion; I'll be there a month earlier for Class of '59, of which I am a member, 50th reunion.

I do want to tell you of memories during my stay at Baker from Sept.1955 to June 1959.

I began life at Baker in Room 311, which was a triple with a single bed and one bunk bed. I have some pictures, which I will send separately in case your ISP resists large folders.

Baker provided limited linen service. Once a week a member of the dormitory staff (not a student) changed the bed linens. This service ended in either February or June 1956. I was told that in previous years linen service was more often, and soap was provided. This quasi-hotel service was provided so students would not be detracted from studying.

There was no security at the time. One could leave Baker at night from the side door, walk to Burton and re-enter without a key. There were no campus police.

No women were housed at Baker. In fact the number of women in the class of 1959 was about 9 out of 930 or so students. Women could visit every day but had to leave the dorms by 10PM on weekdays and 1AM on Fridays and Saturdays. The chime system would sound a sequence of seven chimes twice, at the appropriate time as a reminder. The only exceptions were: Women were allowed until 3AM the night of the spring military dance, and 4AM on the night of the Walker Assembly, a white tie affair.

In the spring of 1957 there was a student 'riot' in which some participants set up a burning barricade across Memorial Drive in front of Baker House to protest a hike in tuition and plans to expand graduate education at the expense of undergraduate education. This event contributed to the start of a campus police department in the fall of 1957 or 1958.

Hot plates were banned as Baker was not sufficiently wired. But most everybody had a refrigerator ca 1940's that had no freezer. These were rented out for $5 a month. Many students had radios and simple high-fidelity systems. I can recall only one had a TV set. The campus radio station, Technology Broadcasting System, WMIT was connected to Radio Radcliffe. Studios were in East Campus. This was before Ted Turner bought the rights to WTBS from MIT. Every room in Baker house was equipped with a TBS audio jack. There was a pay phone booth on each floor and three in the lobby.

I was a member of the Baker House Committee for one year. Members were elected and served as student representatives. One spring there was a Jungle Dance, As a door prise, the dance committee gave away a monkey which it bought from a Baker resident. The winner did not want the monkey, so the committee bought the monkey from the winner paying for it a second time.

The basement of Baker had a billiard table and two washing machines and two dryers. There was one lounge with a TV set. Bridge and Hearts were played.

We were all budding scientists that worked and studied alone. Fraternities did collect previous exams and coached their members, We were GDI. There were no floor tutors.

Regards,

Ed Talley