Residential Life

A staged photo provides a caricature of the CMC student during the early 1950s. Striking a balance between serious business-oriented academics and the life of a playboy, “Joe College” at CMC found plenty of time for sports, parties, and dating, in addition to his academic responsibilities.

"Joe College" Era

With the end of the Korean War in 1953, a new era of college life soon emerged. It was the era of Joe College–saddle shoes, khaki pants, crew cuts, horn-rimmed glasses, and V-neck sweaters. It was a fun-loving time at CMC, with William Alamshah, CMC’s dean of students, describing the dominant mood on campus as practical and pragmatic. It was also an increasingly affluent era, with most CMC students coming from upper-middle class backgrounds. As remembered by Hugh Gallagher ’56, “Everyone seemed to have an automobile and on top of most cars there was a rack for carrying skis or surfboards.” With a balance of academics and seemingly nonstop social engagements including parties, mixers, dances, trips, and club activities, the “Joe College” era ushered in a relatively care-free generation of undergraduates who made the most of their college years.

Ayer Yearbook

The Ayer yearbook was established in the fall of 1947, with early editions providing an impressive display of text and photographs documenting campus life. Over the next seven decades, Ayer remained an important annual publication documenting each year’s graduating class.

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The Analyst

Replacing the College’s first student publication, the mimeographed “CMC Memo,” The Analyst set high standards for a college newspaper, which included campus news, event coverage, student surveys and questionnaires. President George Benson described the Analyst as “sophomoric, but promising” in the annual report for 1947-1948, and the newspaper would grow into a more than credible publication for coverage of campus life. In the spring of 1955, The Analyst began publishing the jointly produced Analyst-Scripture with Scripps College. That September, The Analyst joined with Scripture to form The Associate, which further evolved into a three-college publication in 1957-1958 with the addition of staff from the newly founded Harvey Mudd College.

Dances

CMC’s culture and traditions established themselves early on, with themed dances emerging as a mainstay for social life throughout the 1950s. Both formal and informal, these dances provided an outlet for student socialization and entertainment and included such events as the Starlight Ball, Candlelight Ball, the Joe College Dance, Tri-College Ranch Party, Prohibition Prom, Boothill Stomp, and Beachcomber’s Ball.

During CMC’s first year, Board of Trustees Chairman Garner Beckett, who also served as president of the Riverside Cement Company, arranged for the installation of a dance floor adjacent to Story House. Here, members of the senior class help frame and pour concrete for the new patio.

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The spring Starlight Ball was the highlight of the social year. A formal occasion, men wore tuxedos and women wore formal gowns while music was provided by various orchestras for dancing late into the evening.

Each year at the Starlight Ball, a queen and her court were chosen to preside over the elaborate outdoor dance.

A group of students and their dates stand together in formal attire before a dance.

Students dance outside on the upper level of Balch Hall at Scripps College.

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Winter Weekend at Big Bear Lake

An annual event for outdoor winter sports in Claremont Men’s College’s early days, Winter Weekend in Big Bear saw CMC students and their dates taking over the slopes and such mountain rendezvous as the Pine Cone Café, the Totem Pole, the Wig Wam, and the Peter Pan Woodland Lodge.

Clubs and Organizations

ROTC

An Army man himself, President Benson vigorously backed the Reserve Officers Training Program (ROTC). Between 1946 and 1948, CMC students wishing to enroll in ROTC joined the Pomona College unit. The Department of the Army authorized a joint CMC-Pomona program in the fall of 1948 and by the following year, seventy-one CMC undergraduates, nearly a fifth of the student body, were enrolled in the ROTC program. Certain students used ROTC to resume their military careers on commissioned status.

Athletics

Despite being a new institution, there existed a rich and diverse athletic culture at CMC. Football, basketball, baseball, and swimming were prominent varsity sports in conjunction with Pomona College, and there was a full range of intramural activities. Students adopted the colors of maroon and white and selected the stag as the school mascot. The Pomona-Claremont athletic era ended in 1958 when CMC formed a partnership with Harvey Mudd College as the CMC-HMC Stags, entering varsity competition in the fall of 1959.

Siddons Club

Established in 1946, the Siddons Drama Club served both Scripps and CMC. The Siddons Club proved to be very popular across the CMC campus. The Club mounted major productions ranging from Greek drama to Shakespeare to Noel Coward.

KCMC

In the fall of 1954, the student radio station KCMC began broadcasting recorded music and interviews each evening from seven until midnight.

The Knickerbockers

One of two social clubs on campus, the Knickerbockers dressed in coats and ties and affected an Ivy League preppie orientation, seeing themselves as prime candidates for the urban corporate elite.

Tortugateers of Prado Dam

In contrast to the Knickerbockers, the Tortugateers of Prado Dam saw themselves as rebels, mocking the establishment and dressing in informal attire, based around assorted hats, T-shirts, vests, khakis, or shorts. Both social clubs, however, sustained a lively interest in beer parties, much to the chagrin of President Benson. Tortugateer alumni continue to gather to support an annual scholarship fund awarded to a CMC student.

The Mothers' Club

In 1950, The Mothers’ Club was established. It would prove to be a formidable social and fund-raising vehicle. The Club often hosted teas, dinners, and other social gatherings at which College faculty were invited to lecture, providing an element of social cachet for the College. The Mothers’ Club was the precursor to today’s CMC Parent Network.

Claremont Men's College Alumni Association

In the spring of 1948, members of the senior class met at the home of Professor de Haas to form the Claremont Men’s College Alumni Association. That same year, the Association began to issue an annual Bulletin, with alumni news, articles by faculty, alumni rosters, and a reading list from current courses. The Alumni Association held annual leadership retreats and was incorporated as a separate entity in 1956, assuming major responsibility for on-campus job counseling for seniors and alumni placement.

Student Recreation

Life at CMC, with its emphasis on highly organized dances and club activities, showed a remarkable civility–within the limits of young men in a largely all-male environment. Dorm parties, notwithstanding.

A large group of CMC students play a game of pushball, one of several early intramural events.

Students engage in a tug of war contest. The mood and the ethos of CMC were masculine, bold, and direct.

Stinky’s Diner was a popular student hangout and hamburger joint for less formal occasions. Located just off campus at the corner of Mountain Avenue and Foothill Boulevard, Stinky’s was open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to help satisfy CMC students’ midnight munchies.

"A Toast to CMC"

The Claremont Men’s College Glee Club was established in 1947, much to the satisfaction of President Benson, who cited the Glee Club as an example of how collegial traditions were building at CMC. Few things express the collegiate spirit more than choral music, and a number of people attempted to write a College song. Dean of Students Stuart Briggs penned the short drinking song, “A Toast to CMC,” in celebration of CMC’s establishment as a new and exciting member of Claremont College.

Please join us again in August, as we continue our monthly archival exhibitions celebrating Claremont McKenna College’s history. Our next exhibit will continue CMC’s story with a focus on the College's transition to coeducation, its first female students (the Pioneers), and its name change.