VMI Cadet. January 17, 1955

              VOLUME XLV VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE, LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA, JANUARY 17, 1955 NUMBER 14
Eugene List^ Famous Pianist
To Concertize In Lexington
For Rockbridge Concert Series
One of the most widely Itnown'
and praised of American pianists
is young Eugene List, who accord-ing
to international critical ac-claim,
is destined for music's per-manent
"Who's Who." He will ap-pear
here in concert on February
3 at Lexington High School unde^
the auspeces of the Rockbridge
Concert Series.
Although born in philadelpphia,
Eugene List spent his boyhood on
the west coast with his family,
where his father taught school. Ai
an early age he exhibited such a
prodigious talent that he made
bis debut when only ten with the
Los'Angeles Philharmonic under
Arthur Rodzinski. He played the
Beethoven Third Piano Concerto.
At thirteen his parents put him on
a btis and sent him across the
country to compete for a scholar-ship
to study with Olga Samaroff
Stokowski, the great pianist and
teacher in Philadelphia. It was
worth the trip, for Madame Stokow-ski
immediately took him as a
pupU. Three years later, she enter-ed
him in another competition
sponsored by the Philadephia
Orchestra. The prize for this was
an appearance with the orchestra
in the premiere of a new work, the
Shostakovich Piano Concerto.
Young List's debut in this provo-cative
work was a "musical occa-sion."
He was hailed as one of the
most brilliant young pianists to
come on the music scene in de-cades,
and the result of this en-thusiastic
reception—an invitation
to perform with the New York
Philharmonic Symphony under
Otto Klemperer. This was the be-ginning
of a career which was
deaching its peak when Pearl Har-bor
interrupted.
In March 1942 Eugene volunteer-ed
for duty and as a special ser-vices
sergeant later added a color-ful
note to the history of World
War H when he won fame as the
"Potsdam Pianist." He was sum-moned
to play privately for the
Big Three-Churchill, Truman and
Stalin. He won standing toasts.' for the course. Topping off the re-from
Stalin, warm congratulations fresher will be a banquet meeting
from Churchill, and the lasting on the evening of January 27.
Surveyor Course
To Be Held At VMI
The sixth aimual r e f r e s h er
course for surveyors from throu^-
out the State will be held January
34 - 29 at Virginia Military Insti-tute.
The five-<lay course, conducted
by VMI's Civil Engineering Depart-ment,
will be confined this year to
classroom work and will be devoted
to basic mathematics, especially
directed toward surveying work.
Prior courses have covered actual
surveying problems, photogram-metry,
and theory of curves and
sijpMlar projects.
Approximately 60 private sur
veyors, public works engineers,
town engineers and State Highway
Department field men will attend
the school. The Highway Depart'
ment's Division of Location and De.
sign will have a large representa-tive
at the refresher.
Examinations will be given at
the close of the course and certifi-cates
will be awarded to those suc-cessfully
completing the school. No
college credit, however, is allowed
Two '53 Grads
To Be Air Tacs
Two 1953 graduates of Virginia
Military Institute have been select-ed
for duty on the tactical staff
of the new Air Force Academy,
according to an announcen\ent by
Colonel Robert M. Stillman, Air
Force Academy Commandant.
They are Lieutenants Harry C.
Gornto, HI, of Norfolk, and Charles
R. Steward, of Coolidge, Ariz., both
of whom entered the Air Force
pilot training program following
graduation from the Institute.
At VMI Steward was regimental
commander of the Corps of Cadets
and a member of the VMI Honor
Court, de was co-editor of the '53
Bomb and was listed in the 1952-
53 edition of Who's Who Among
Students in American Colleges and
Universities. He received a bache-lor
of arts degree in history upon
graduation from VMI.
Like Steward, Gornto majored
in history at the Institute and was
awarded a bachelor of arts degree.
He was a first lieutenant in the
Corps of Cadets.
Captain Harold L. Hitchens,
assistant professor of Air Science
at the Institute, already has been
notified that he will be assigned to
the Academy staff next Summer.
Roach And Barker Are Elected
President, Vice-President Of OGA
On Lee's Birthday
Seven score to an added eight
Years bence, was upon this date,
A Virginian bom on the creat of
fate.
The South has cause to
commemmrate.
Conmemorate and dedicate.
To Memory and to Memorjr's sake;
His name and the deeds that make.
The mention of Lee forever great
The name rings to spite tiie years,
Mutter Lee; promote flie dieers.
Recall his love; arouse the tears.
Echo his faith; erase the fears
That:
our sacred cause was fought in
vain;
Lifeblood split in endless shame,
a senseless fight; the price insane;
All depart Whisper his name.
Lee is a symbol; Lee is a light,
That beckons us to meet the fii^t,
And guides the South from the
path of night,
Into the s u n l i t into the right
Clayton Malcolm Thomas in
Class of '57
Dunn To Be Chairman Of
'57 Ring Figure Committees
friendship of Harry S. Truman. Be
fore the conference was over he
Joining VMI in sponsoring the
course are the Virginia Association
was asked to play four more times of Surveyors, the Virginia Depart-and
has been asked to the White | ment of Highways, the League of
House many times since as one of) Virginia Municipalities and the
President Truman's favorite ar-' state Board of Education,
tists. Lieutenant Colonel S. W. Dobyns,
List's post-war career started in I associate professor of civil engin-the
radio spotlight of Harvest of J neering at VMI, is registrar for the
Stars, which recreated the Potsdam! course and he will be assisted in
incident. Along with a flurry of I instruction by Major Taylor and
concert dates and orchestral ap-^ Captain Hartiss. Colonel Robert A.
pearances, came an offer from j Marr, head of the VMI civil engi-
Hollywood — a leading part in; neering department ,is director of
(continued on page 8) th0 course.
Witti the New Year stiU in its
infancy, work has already been
started on the '57 R i n g Figure.
Committees have been organized
and Dave Dunn has been appoint-ed
chairman of the complete set-up.
Men begtti signing up for thcf
eleven different committees short-ly
after Dunn spoke to the class
at a meeting before Christmas
where he explained the purpose
and activities of- each conunittee.
Most of the members of the class
have signed up to work on at
least one of the different commit
tees if not several. Work on the
designing of the ring is well under
way under the leadership of Fran-cis
Shield and under the special
guidance of Mr. William Simpson,
noted sculptor and artist.
Figure Committee
Perhaps the most important com-nuttee,
the Figure Committee, is
under the head of co-chairman J.
F. Vaughan and Van Sessoms. This
committee is responsible for the
planning and operation of the ac-tual
figure. The Little Gym Com-mittee
in charge of decorating the
Little Gym, is under the leadership
of Charley Schwendinger. The Ban-quet
Committee, which is to take
care of the Class Banquet in Roa-noke
after the V.P.I, game, is head-ed
by co-chairman Bill Draper and
Last Tuesday evening, immediately following the Corps
Meeting, the Officer of the Guard Association met for the
purpose of electing new officers. Bill Maddox, the Retiring
President, announced his decision to relinquish his position
because of his desire to apply him-self
more diligently to his studies.
"Basically, we hope to have the
same objectives as before: first of-all,
to enforce the Class System;
secondly, to correct minor infrac-tions
of the Rat Line; and last, to
try to effect a few material
changes and improvements around
barracks which will benefit the
whole Corps." These were the
words of Joe Roach, newly elected
Law Would Deepen
Army Reserves
There is at present a proposal
before Congress which is of un-usual
interest. This proposal will
possibly affect all men who are
subject to reserve duty in the
ground forces.
The present draft laws wiU be in, President, who during his stay at
effect until July of this year. This, the Institute has been a Corporal,
proposed amendment to replace sergeant. Intramural manager for
this law will provide an increase of
the Reserve Corps, and an overall
decrease of men on active duty. la
A Company, sports writer for the
CADET, and is now serving as Stu-dent
President of the American In-cluded
is an article providing for stitute of Electrical Engineers. He
short tours of duty of flrom four to served as Vice-president of the Or-six
months active duty and a firm I ganization last term, a post which
obligation to the reserves for pos-j jg hgij n^^ ^y u^yg Barker. Dave
sibly six years. The reserve status
(continued on page 8)
has also been a Corporal and
Sergeant in E Company, has play-ed
Intramurals, and is a cadet
waiter. "We are trying to work
hand in hand with the General
Committee as a brother organiza-tion,"
said Dave. "The OGA is com-
Washington & Lee Students Plan To Revonate
Ante - Bellum Rockbridge County Homestead
"This Old House" has a special
meaning for 14 Washington and
Lee University students who have
taken on the task of restoring a
weather-worn Rockbridge county
home to its original 1700 condition.
Members of a class in American
art and architectures, the students
spend several afternoons each
week at the post-revolutionary
period structure, working o n
masonry, fireplaces, mantles, and
walls—all of which are remark-ably
well-preserved but still show
the marks of over 164 years' pass-ing.
Dr. Fishwick, associate professor
of fine arts, is supervising the re-storation,
but the students are do-ing
all the work. Participation in
the project is the equivalent of re-search
for a term paper in the
course. Dr. Fishwick says.
Located some three miles south-east
of Lexington on a dirt back
road, the house stands on the farm
of Bruce McCoAle, a Rockbridge
farmer. Mr. McCoride and his wife
Uv« in • "modem" wing of the
•truetuif, b«U«v«d to have b«en
added to the original house around
1820.
Dr. Fishwick, who discovered the
house while exploring county by-ways
in connection with his course
on American regionalism, has made
an agreement w i t h McCorkle
through which his students can
work on the building, and the owiv
er will receive the "rent" of having
a restored home. *
Mr. McCorkle knows very little
about the history of the building.
He purchased the property rela-tively
recently and its former own-er
passed along no historical data,
if he had any to offer.
Dr. Fishwick says the design of
the house is mid-Georgian with
early Christopher Wrenn influ-ences.
The craft and material how-ever,
is distinctiy Rockbridge Coun-ty.
The frontier craftsmen who
erected the house were master
builders. Hand - wrought c e d ar
beams, each six by ten inches thick,
provide the framework at each
floor level and the attic. i'>olid brick
walls, 18 inches thick, are as strong
as they were in 1700, a date ap-pearing
on one of the outer bricks.
All metalwork is hand-wrought,
including beautiful b u t t e r f ly
hinges on several comer cabinets.
Wooden pegs were used in many
places instead of the handmade
nails of that time.
"The class will renovate the
basic form, then reconstmct the in-terior
in proper colors and furnish-ings,"
Dr. Fishwick explains. He
says his students are attempting to
duplicate the techniques of the
early craftsmen in their restoA-tion.
The students are enthusiastic in
their work, and some are showing
real skill in their pet projects, Dr.
Fisl)wick says. They hope to have
most of the work completed before
winter weather sets in.
And in the meantime, they are
trying to find out more about the
people who erected and once own-ed
this home, remarkably well-built
and displaying what Dr. Fish-wick
calls highly-developed sense
of artistic balance and proportion.
Bob Wood.. The Publicity Commit-tee
is responsible for newspaper
write-ups, etc. is headed by Phil
Peters while Chuck Walters is
chairman of the Flowers Commit-tee.
At ^ e present time Scott Hay-iSie
is llie Art Cbn^ttee whfle
Doug Talbot and Jerry .Harden are
in charge of procuring the Mess
Jackets.
Class Party
The Class Party after the Friday
night dance is being planned under
the head of G. C. Murray. Harry
Huneycutt is in charge of issuing
the invitations, while Pete Shipley
is heading the Pictures Committee.
The committee which is respon
sible for securing a band for the
dances is led by co^hairman Lou
Diuguid and George Niedermayer.
Several bands are being considered
at the present with respect to the
amount of money the Hop Commit-tee
will allot the Class for a band.
If a higher price band is desired,
the Music Committee will collect
a certain amount from each mem-ber
of the class to meet the extra
cost.
It is the expressed desire of
Dunn that any members of the
class who might have some con-stmctive
ideas should contact one
Bowen Presented
Chemistry Award
Lawrence H. Bowen, of Lynch-^
burg, a second classman, has been POsed of one representative from
selected to receive the James Lewis ^ company, as well as the offi-
Howe Award for chemistry majors. | cers. We feel that OGA tours bene-
The award is presented to the, fit a Rat more than Penalty Tours
top students majoring in chemistry, do", remarked Joe. "Regardless of
at each of the colleges and univer- ^ the change in administration, the
sities in the Blue Ridge Section of basic principles and objectives of
the American Chemical Society.
Bowen was selected to receive the
award at .VMI. The awards were
presented at a dinner meeting held
at Hollins College Saturday even-ing.
Cadet Bowen, who is scheduled
to be graduated in 1956, is an offi-cer
of the student chapter of the
ASC at the Institute. He has also
been selected as a co-editor of the
'56 Bomb.
A graduate of E. C. Glass High'
School, Larry hails from Lynch-burg.
the organization will remain the
same."
New Waiter Setup
Four new cadet waiter positions
have been created in the f i r st
phase of a plan which will eventu-ally
utilize cadets in numerous
other mess hall positions.
The new jobs concerns dishing:
the food for carrying waiters. Pete
Haake. Ed Rojas, Don Lawrence.
Ted Barker, and Frank Walters
(continued on page 8)
of especial interest to cadets is be-ing
brought to the State Theater
Sun. - Tues., the 23 - 25 of Janu-ary.
"This Is Your Army," a documen-tary
film produced by Edmund
Peck of Fox Movietone News under
the supervision of the army, was
originally intended to be a training
of the above mentioned chairmen, film. However, the Council of Mo-
Army Documentary News Film
Soon To Be Featured At State
A motion picture that should be I tion Picture Organizations decided
"Dean'' of Mid-Winters
Dean Hudson of "Lead The Band" fame will be on hand at
Mld-Winten to provide music uid merriment at the Hops
on the 4th and 5th of February.
to make available to the public a
55-minute version of the original
film on a non-profit basis because
of its educational qualities.
The motion picture deals with
two major aspects of the army:
first, the training and organization
and second, the responsibility of
the army today in various parts of
the world.
The training of men in the dif-ferent
branches of the army is
shown — infantry, armored, artil-lery,
the specialized branches, Eash
is covered actually as it takes place.
Scenes of Fort Benning's ofiBcer
candidate school, West Point, and
R.O.T.C. training are shown. One
sequence shows the research test-ing
done on new weapons, clothing,
and equipment. In a vivid scene
the new guided missile Nike strikes
and destroys a B-17 drone plane.
The functioning of the Pentagon
is shown. General Ridgeway has an
actual telecon discussion with Gen-eral
Hull and his staff in Tokyo.
Then, realistic front-line shots
show the activities of the army at
war in Korea. Sequences shot all
over the world show the array's
function in Germany, Turkey, Italy,
Formosa, and the vast problem of
supply and transportation.
"This Is Your Army" was filmed
in color. The photography is top-notch,
and besides b e i n g an in-formative
picture of the U. S.
Army, it also has some very excit-ing
shots, particularly of the new
atomic cannon firing an atomic
missile.
"This Is Your Army" w i l l be
shown at the «tate along with a
regular feature. The R.O.T.C. de.
partment recommends it highly to
any cadet interested in the army.