back when mandolins were cool

Banjo, Guitar and Mandolin Club, 1892

Yes, that’s right — mandolins were all the rage from about 1894 to 1924.  Mandolin clubs popped up at high schools, colleges and cities all over the country.  The club at RPI evolved out of the Banjo and Guitar Club in 1892 –  it was called the Banjo, Guitar and Mandolin Club.

When mandolins outnumbered the other instruments it was renamed the Mandolin Club. The RPI club performed concerts on campus and at area churches. In later years, they performed along with the Glee Club. The performers were always presented in formal attire.

The height of popularity appears to be 1908-1909.  An article from 1908 stated that:

There has been a notable increase in the membership of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Mandolin Club this year, several new men being secured from the junior and sophomore classes when rehearsals were commenced last fall, as well as from the incoming class.  So that while the strength and musical quality of the club has been improved there is every indication that it has become one of the permanent organizations of the Institute.

Mandolin Club, 1909

There were twenty-one students in the club that year and over half of them played the mandolin. The remaining members played guitar, violin or banjo. They also let in a flute player.  The number of members remained fairly stable until 1921.  The Mandolin Club became dormant around 1922.  Not so permanent, but a good run nonetheless.

The Moustache Club

The Moustache Club was a student club that appeared briefly in the 1870s.  The officers consisted of president, assistant to the president, treasurer and inspector general.  Here are some excerpts from the club’s constitution as detailed in the 1877 Transit:

The purpose of this organization is for the mutual cultivation of the “fuzz”.  The eligibility of membership is dependent upon the color and profuseness of prospective moustaches, the same to be determined by spectroscopic and microscopic analyses.  No gimlet-color need apply.  Each member shall ignore “side-boards” and “chinners” and devote himself exclusively to the production of a moustache.  The club’s razor shall be at the service of all members, but shall not be monopolized by any one member.  Honorary membership shall be conferred upon those who shall succeed in making their productions visible to the naked eye.

A club razor? Really?

Morley Harison

George Nelles

I found photos of a few of the 1877 members. It’s quite interesting that George Nelles, who occupied the office of Assistant to the President, is sans moustache in his student portrait! Morely Harison, an “active member” let the facial hair get out of control later in life. The poor guy looks like he trimmed his beard without the benefit of a mirror.

I also selected some students who definitely deserved honorary membership. These guys were serious about their ’staches.

Various moustache and facial hair formations were stylish during the Victorian era.  Moustaches of the Nineteeth Century is an interesting blog devoted to the subject.

former club & curious artifact

This topic combines two of my archival curiosities — RPI artifacts and former RPI clubs.  The artifact is a molded plastic triangle with circuit symbols in relief and a black inset triangle with the gold letters L/R/C.  The former club is LCR.

This is a description of LCR found in the 1948 Transit:

LCR was founded in 1922 to promote better fellowship among the student Electrical Engineers at Rensselaer and to effect a closer understanding between the students and faculty of the department. For the benefit of those persons unfamiliar with electrical notations, the letters “LCR” stand for inductance, capacitance, and resistance. During the week of initiation candidates are required to wear a sign bearing these letters around campus and to carry with them a crystal set in various stages of assembly. At the end of the initiation week the sets are supposed to be completed – and it’s said that some of them actually work. Members of LCR may be identified by their charms, which are in the shape of a triangle, with the letters LCR set in a background of black. Twice each year new members are selected from those men having a good scholastic standing, active in extracurricular activities, and who will promote the interests of the club.

The initiation rite amuses me. LCR became inactive around 1967 — this is when it was last listed in the student handbook. Some club records and the object pictured above were transferred to the Archives in 1984.  The object is basically an enlarged replica of the LCR charm.  I can’t show you the charm because, well, we don’t have one.  (Donations of such items are always welcome and you know where to find me. )

I plan to write more blog posts about dormant RPI clubs in the future. Stay tuned!

Mystery Image #16

Once again, the individual and the apparatus are both mysteries to me.  If you know the info., please leave a comment!

campus buildings designed by alums

I’ve been immersed in the history of campus buildings lately and, being saturated with lots of interesting information, I feel compelled to share some with you! Here is something that  I find quite striking:  at least fifteen buildings on the RPI campus were designed by alumni or their firms. I wonder if any other university can make such a boast? Joseph M. Lawlor gets the prize for “most favored” architect.  P.C. Ricketts established a relationship with Lawlor and Haase beginning with the construction of Russell Sage Laboratory in 1908. They completed eight more projects, including the entire Quadrangle Dormitory complex. Their last building was, fittingly, the Ricketts Building.

Click on the name of the building to learn more.

Joseph M. Lawlor, Class of 1888

• Russell Sage Laboratory
• 87 Gym
• Amos Eaton Hall
• Green Building
• Quadrangle Dormitories
• Ricketts Building
• North Hall
• E Dorms
• Lally Hall

W. G. Wilkins, Class of 1876 – Pittsburgh Building

Frederick M. Cummings, Class of 1886 – Troy Building

Peter Levatich, Class of 1955 – Jonsson Engineering Center

Stephen Voorhees, Class of 1939 – Science Center

Al Krause, Class of 1952 – Folsom Library

Peter Bohlin, Class of 1958 – Biotech Center

In addition to this list, Charles Blitman, Class of 1914 and Howard Blitman, Class of 1950 were part of the general contracting firm that built the Freshmen Dormitories.  If you know of any others, please share.

the Commencement Hop

For several decades a hop (informal dance) was held right after commencement.  The hop was sponsored by the junior class in honor of the graduating seniors and it was typically held at a hall downtown.  Since commencement was held at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, it was convenient for graduates and their guests to walk or take a carriage over to Harmony Hall on Third St.  A light “supper” was provided for the crowd. The earliest record we have of the hop is an 1877 dance card (it was called the Farewell Hop at that time).  We have several dance cards up to 1912 when the dance was held at the Pittsburgh Building.  In 1913, when commencement was held on campus for the first time, the event was changed to a more formal  Commencement Ball.  In subsequent years, it was called the Senior Ball.

selection from a poem in the 1885 Transit

new look

Regular readers may notice some changes with RPI History Revealed. I guess I’m inspired by spring changes and thought it was time for some sprucing up. This theme has a cleaner look. I want readers to be able to get comment feeds and now there is a handy button (or widget) for that. The search box is also more visible above the header. I’m undecided about the green font and may tweak the color in the future. The purpose for the blog remains the same and I look forward to revealing more RPI history!

big name concerts

I’ve been working on a compilation of big name concerts held at RPI.  People occasionally ask questions about bands that played here and it’s useful to have a quick reference to that information. So far, I’ve covered the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s.  I thought I would share some interesting tidbits from my research.

Peter, Paul & Mary played here three times.  They appeared during Soiree Weekend in 1963 and 1965, then did a fall concert in 1966.  Also appearing in 1966 was Ray Charles in the spring and Simon & Garfunkel in the fall.  Ray Charles was on probation and kicking the heroin habit that year.  Simon & Garfunkel only played on the weekends at college campuses.  Art Garfunkel was still a student at Columbia.

We often get asked about The Doors — yes, they were here December 8, 1967.  A reviewer for The Poly stated that they “like true showmen gave not quite their all for 45 minutes.”  At the end of the concert Jim Morrison shouted  “If this is Troy, I’m with the Greeks.”  He was arrested on stage the next night in New Haven, CT for attempting to incite a riot.

Jimi Hendrix stopped by in 1968 and was one of a just a few shows held in the Troy Armory.  It didn’t seem to matter that the Armory had really bad acoustics, Jimi’s music thrilled the crowd anyway.

UPAC teamed up with the American Bureau of Arts to promote big name concerts in 1972.  The relationship was short lived, but they produced a jam packed schedule of concerts that year.  Chicago played back to back concerts at the Armory in 1972 — both sold out.  They were the only band to stick it out in Troy for two straight nights!  Bette Midler had just released her first album and was relatively unknown when she played at the Field House.  She called Troy “the pits,” a phrase she used over and over in an interview after the concert.  J. Geils, Isaac Hayes and Melanie also played at RPI that year.

Tickets for The Grateful Dead concert on May 7, 1978 sold out within a few hours.  People started lining up for tickets before the concert date was even set.  They were told to go home because the line interfered with Ice Capades shows going on at the Field House.

The 80’s were all about rock and 1986-87 was the most ambitious concert year — Judas Priest, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bon Jovi and Motley Crue.  In their midst was a concert by the Monkees, who one reviewer defended as being “legitimately rock and roll.”  I was a little puzzled about The Monkees being here, but learned that they were on their 20th anniversary tour in 1986.  The Poly didn’t review concerts in the late 80’s so details of these concerts are lacking.

If you attended any RPI concerts, please share your memories!

Mystery Image #15

Here is another mystery image for your consideration.  The record is now 13-1.  Mystery Image #14 still lacks identification — and I had such high hopes. 

Can you identify this gentleman?  Do you know where the photo was taken?

the mascot with a short life

The  “Engineers” moniker for athletic teams goes back to the 1920s. It was a good idea when the name summed up RPI quite well and an “image” of athletics was unnecessary. Marketing athletics can be tricky and fan support fickle, however, when there is no mascot to relate to. An attempt to fix this problem came about in 1953 when the Student Council announced a mascot contest. The five finalists were:  Bachelors, Scorpions, Falcons, Red Devils and Cardinals. Students voted for their favorite during the Grand Marshal Week elections. The winner? — Bachelors – The entry stated that the name implied the B.S. degree and a men’s school. A humor magazine of the same name was a popular campus publication at the time. It was a name that “can be easily characterized by a cartoon figure which can be applied to any activity.” The Bachelor character was created by Dick Becker, Class of 1954.

Athletic teams were referred to as the “Bachelors” from 1953 to 1958. 

During the 1958-1959 academic year, the name gradually lost favor to the “Engineers.” I have not been able to ascertain exactly why this happened. I wonder if  it had something to do with the fact that five female co-eds entered RPI that year?

It would be great to hear from alumni who remember the Bachelor mascot. Leave a comment!

More on RPI Mascots