Remember that time when professors and faculty entered in engineering BOAT races? Neither do we, which is why this week’s article is a little gem we discovered while digging in the archives:



[Photo caption: Engineering Nite’s winning boat-race team, mechanical-engineering class of ‘69, proudly hold out their trophies. What else but silver beer steins? See story on page 4.]



Class of 69 Wins boat races

By Bob Verdun - Chevron staff



An enigma: a hot night – a lot of cold beer – good stand-up humor – formal presentations – a buffet dinner – boat races. Only the engineers could combine them all and be successful.



A record turnout of over 350 at Caesar’s Forum for Engineering Nite included 35 faculty members and 10 co-ordinators.



The hot humid atmosphere was soon forgotten when Jim Pike, the organizer, began to introduce Sandy Baird, with taunts about Sandy’s rise from newsboy to almost-editor of the K-W Record.



Baird stepped to the mike amid good-natured booing, but quickly had the audience in loud laughter with his fire-fire humor: “I feel like the guest of honor at a crucifixion”.



He remarked that he and Al Adlington, university vice-president, got some of their best education while attending Western down at the CPR Hotel.



The speech was pun-laden and the wit continued: “About my column (in the Record) – don’t think I’m going to waste all this material just on an audience like this”.



His theme turned to the local residents and their inability to appreciate the culture and money brought into the community by the universities. “The old core of Twin City people and fat, dumb and happy. They think that this is where God would make his home – if only he had the money to buy a house.”



Kicking some of his favorite dogs, he continued: “There’s Galt – it’s so poor that all a kid could get is one measle. The Twin Cities are the home of industrial and industrial slums… Waterloo’s not so much a city as a state of mind.”



Baird concluded on the theme that U of W’s cooperative programs come very close to giving students the human contact and experience they need. It was a hard act to follow.



Next, society president Steve Russell quite effectively expressed the appreciation of all the engineers for the guest of honor, A. S. Barber, director of the coordination and placement department. In making him an honorary member of Engineering Society A, recognition was given for his work in developing and expanding cooperative programs.



Then boat-race time! The scores (disqualifications are for spilling too much):

Class of ’71 38.0 seconds

Chemical 2B Disqualified

Faculty 50.8 seconds

Civil 2B Disqualified

Electrical 4A Disqualified

Class of ‘69(B) 88.2 seconds?

Out-term Disqualified (31.8 seconds)

JAPS 48.8 seconds

(Journalists, administrators, professors)

Class of ’69(a) 24.5 seconds

Class of ’68 29.2 seconds



The winners were a well-practiced group. The captain, Brian Tait, said after the victory: “We’ve got the five best drinkers in the university.” And that’s apt to be disputed until the next Engineering Nite.



In a grudge match, Lynn Baxter and Janet Brown, the two women engineers, easily outclassed Al Adlington and Sandy Baird in sculling.



In a closing statement, chairman Jim Pike expressed delight over the large turnout of faculty and coordinators, and apologized to anyone who had a long wait in the buffet line.



- The Chevron, Friday June 16, 1967