Social Life
Marjorie Brockman
— We schmoozed. We yakked. We washed our hair. We certainly didn't go shopping 'cause there was no place to shop, which was good. And mostly we just socialized.
Frances Koral
— My friends, as far as I remember, were all Jewish. There were a lot of Jewish women at Brooklyn College in '43.
Elliot Levine
— I was very much interested in music. My first instrument was the harmonica and I was inspired by Larry Adler. He was the pioneer of the harmonica as a classical instrument. But when I heard what he was doing with classical music I immediately saved my nickels and dimes and bought a monochromatic harmonica and learned to play all the different keys. I made my debut as a harmonica player in Morrisville. We used to have a weekly assembly program at Madison Hall. They had a fine auditorium with a Steinway grand piano that was kept in good condition and there was a lot of talent. Mind you, a hundred and thirty girls and twenty boys— two of whom dropped out so we had around eighteen boys. Every Friday or Saturday, whenever we had these assembly programs, local talent from the Farm Project would perform. And I got together with one of the girls and we rehearsed the slow movement of Tchaicovsky Violin Concerto, and I played that with her and it went over very big.
Phyllis LeShaw
— Wherever we were we sang because we all could harmonize by ear. I took the melody though and they all did harmony. And Rose in California, she happens to be a musical genius who never went into the musical field— she devises harmony out of the top of her head that you just don't hear anywhere. It was incredible. Margie and Vera did usual harmonies, a third up or a sixth down, which was also very nice. Millie played piano. With Rose's input of her intricate harmonies and my melody line, we auditioned when we got back to the city for an agent, I remember, and he felt we were pretty good. We called it the only five-girl quartet in captivity.
Frances Koral
— The woman teacher lived in one of the dorms. And we really kind of tortured her. One night we put in a red light in the front door. And then we did such a stupid thing. We started a rumor that she was pregnant with Mr. Benedict who was in charge. This was outrageously ridiculous. But I think that's what sets the period 'cause I don't think any college woman today would do such a stupid thing,— would care. I mean, it wouldn't be a scandal today.
Marjorie Brockman
— I had a crush on one of the guys who was going, Bob Pines, and I don't remember whether the crush developed while I was up there or before I went. But in any case I do remember one thing and for fifty-five years ago this is really something. I helped him study for his geology exam. Professor Booth who was the geology professor was up there so most of the guys were involved in geology. And I will never forget volcanism, diastrophism and igneous intrusion because that's what he had to remember for his geology exam.
Frances Koral
— We learned how to climb. Now, I don't know where anybody went, but we used to climb out of one of the lower floor windows.
Phyllis LeShaw
— Ruth was with me. She lives in Florida now. She married my cousin. We wrote a gossip column in the newsletter that came out every week called "Ricky's Column." I don't know why we named it that but we did all the gossip. We had a lot of fun writing the gossip column. And we did some poetry, put some in rhyme. Oh, we had Bean Festivals, you see, so that's how Vera got crowned I guess. Al was made the king of the beans and Vera was the queen. King and queen of the bean festival. Al, Stan, Milt, Gerry and Abe, morale builder for a hundred and twenty-two girls— morale builders, all the guys.