Good morning! Two weeks ago in Hinsdale, N.H., my grandkids Chase and Carter were playing baseball against other young’uns when I noticed a sign that said, “Please remember… These are kids. This is a game. Coaches are volunteers. Umpires are human..
Bates in the 1950s was a “well-ordered community,” said the preface of the
Blue Book, the student-conduct booklet of the day.
With rules like “no coeducational canoe trips,” the seeming intent was to keep the student pulse shallow.
So it’s not surprising that a pent-up Bates student might find it delightfully sublimating to drive a fast car through hot flames. Luckily, the College provided a few sanctioned events like Mayoralty permitting just that.
A Mayoralty “spectacular” takes place in 1953 along Bardwell Street, where Ladd Library now stands. In the background is the rooftop of the original Central Heating Plant and smokestack, built in 1909. Roadside at right appears to be a can of accelerant. (Photograph courtesy of Bill Laird ’54)