Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-08-27
Jack Pickering
Here
and
Now

MAYBE TODAYS column
ought 10 be called Then and
There" instead Of Here and
Now" I'm just back from a
brief trip 10 Ithaca. ~. Y, the
horne Of Cornell University.
Ithaca is quite a Jump away
from Detroit: still, anybody who
likes 10 treasure memories OF a
sleepy college town, and par
ticuiarly If Ithaca happens TO be
the town in mind. might be
interested. The war Is doing
things 10 the college towns.
There are planes in the air
oftener than not. and oCassion-
ally a big plane is sighted. The
war production of Buffalo.
Rochester and Syracuse Is more
talked about. but the muscles OF
war weave all through the state.
New factories are going MP,
and military depots are being
built. Cornell University itself
Is part of the big plan. It's n
training point for the navy. The
campus, Of course, overiooks
Cayuga Lake but that II a minor
consideration. Cornell's Job In
teaching men to operate DIESEL
engines.
II happened almost overnight.
A telephone call from Washing
ton 20 one of the deans started
n. "Can YOU" said the voice.
"set up n school 10 train engt-
neers?"
without thinking much about
II, the college man said. why,
yes" 1t pretty well fioored him
when Washington replied:
"Fine. VIII you come here day
after tomorrow with complete
plans:"
The university came through
very nicely, even on such short
notice. There are now about 900
enSigns there. living in the DOR
mitories that used TO house
students. They march, in precise
ranks, from class 10 class, and
they get so used 10 marching
that when you see three or four
of them going for walk. or
over 10 College Town for a
sundae in their free time, the
enSignS form ranks. two or
three abreast, and march like a
miniature parade.
Lawyers, statesmen, musicians
all kinds Of men-learn the
complicated work OF engineering
in short order because they are
heart and soul In IL.
One Of the ensigns at Ithaca
Is q big-time bandleader. Last
time he was In Detroit ut hap
pened to be Eastwood Gardensl
we were busy conjecturing
about his coming split-up with
his vocalist, Bonnie Baker, be-
cause they refused to autograph
photographs jointly. The band
leader. as you now have guessed,
Is Orrin Tucker. Maripe engines
are more important In him than
swing music now, although he
has organized glee club In
what little spare time a navy
man gets.
BY ones. twos and tens, the
students are departing for serv-
ice in the army or navy. / had
occasion TO meet young gradu-
ate in chemistry who will re-
port for service in three weeks,
one Bob Percy, who is more
interested in bio-chemistry than
anything else.
He's been in government
laboratory since his graduation.
studying food. but the war has
-iHtruded there, too.
They've been studying butter,
and have discovered that by re-
moving certain fats from IT, they
could keep il for months, even
up 10 two years-without spoil
ing. and without losing any
vitamins or other valuable con-
tents.
Now the army Is working
along the same lines so that
fighting men can have butter
that will STAY fresh whether in
the jungles or deserts.
Egou Patri, known In the
music world as one Of the half
dozen finest pIanists, II. there.
He Il little known In this coun-
try. having spent his life in
Europe. Musicians talk of him
in the same breath with Pad
erewski.
He's n war exile, but pupils
find him 1000 miles from his
home on the continent. One is n
young lady named Claire James.
She's from London. Her home
was bombed and her aunt was
blinded by q schrapnel splinter.
Miss James isn't here TO escape
bombs. She was sent TO Canada
10 tutor English refugee chill
dren, English parents being
afraid that their youngsters
might come home rs young
Canadians instead of young
Englishmen. Hearing that Patri
was I'm Ithaca, Miss James got
permission TO move down for
while.
Ii = LLL