Letters

Mock Convention Memories

The Summer issue is the best I remember; it provided an extensive and interesting inside look into Oberlin. Particularly for us oldies, your article on mock conventions was terrific. But did Senator Morse really ride an elephant in 1952? Perhaps I was too busy to observe. As chair of the Virgin Islands delegation, I was one of a dozen delegates pulling our float, on which sat a little girl dressed in white with a sign reading VIRGIN! Watching us, Senator Morse reportedly remarked: “This is the damndest float I have ever seen.” Now, I am looking forward to reading about new, unconventional ideas developed for Oberlin by President Dye and the Board of Trustees.

Peter C. Schliesser ’53
New York, N.Y.

I was pleasantly surprised to find myself in the 1936 picture of the Alf Landon float (page 25); I am the little guy at the rear of the cow in the milking position. The cow, a purebred Jersey from a dairy herd on West Hamiliton Street, was my brother Raymond’s 4-H project and had won first place at the Ohio State Fair. I remember the slogan and float and have often mentioned it to my two girls. And while I have memories of the conventions and parades as a young boy, I was too young to understand what was going on. I went into the service in 1943, returned in 1945, and went on to graduate from Oberlin with the Class of 1950.

William A. Grills ’50
Bella Vista, Ariz.

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