Just reading my quarterly Alumni Review – always so interesting and informative, great work all!
Alysson Storey, ArtSci’99
Tony Atherton’s story of the group of engineering students living at 73 Nelson St. brought back a flood of nostalgic memories. I lived at number 73 for five years (1961 to 1966), and my brother James Armstrong (Sc’58) lived there for three years before I did.
At that time, the house was owned by Mrs. Ella Hazelton, who rented out two rooms on the second floor. Kingston landladies were notorious for being penny-pinching and rule-obsessed, but Mrs. Hazelton was very different. She went out of her way to make her students feel comfortable and at home. The house was always warm, she left her newspaper out for us to read, and we could watch TV (there were only two channels) as long as it didn’t interfere with her soaps or game shows.
We would bring special dates around to meet her – presumably to gain her approval. And at 11 o’clock every night, she would call up the stairs – “Boys!” – as her invitation to join her at her kitchen table for a half hour of conversation, coffee, and goodies. (On days when she had entertained her ladies’ group in the afternoon, the goodies were especially good.)
For all this, I paid $6.50 rent per week – the same as she had charged my brother. The “new” boys paid $7.
I regret that I never learned much about her personal life, but in those days young people did not probe adults for details unless given permission. I often wondered what had become of 73 Nelson. I drove by a few times on visits to Kingston but never went up to the door.
But thanks to Olumide Joseph’s memories, I had a glimpse into the modern-day version of 73 Nelson – quite different from 50 years ago, but still welcoming Queen’s students.
John A. Armstong, Arts’64, MBA’66
I was pleased to read the article about blasting and the late Alan Bauer. I knew Alan quite well. We both worked for the Iron Ore Company of Canada, which did a lot of blasting.
Later, I became one of his students. As a licensed blaster on three continents, I still like to see things go bang – although my hearing is not what it was.
As I frequently remind people, “If you don’t grow it, you have to mine it.”
W. Derek Bullock, M.Sc. (Mining)’69
I very much enjoyed the article “Big Bang Theory” in the recent Alumni Review about the Alan Bauer Explosives Laboratory.
I have fond memories of piling into a van on cold Saturday mornings with a bunch of second-year miners for the long ride out of town to have our explosive technology lectures put into practice. That the miners had no interest in ever holding and distributing the blasting caps – so that the job invariably fell to me, a third-year chemical engineer (taking Explosives as an elective) – always amused me.
Christopher Fosmire, Sc’78
Correction
Arnold Birnie, Sc’72, is alive and well
Arnold Birnie was understandably surprised the day his brother called to check up on him last November – more specifically, to check on whether he still had a pulse.
“It’s a funny sensation when your brother phones to inquire if you are dead,” says Mr. Birnie.
The concern, it turns out, was not entirely misplaced – Mr. Birnie had been mistakenly listed in the In Memoriam column of the Alumni Review’s fall issue.
On the contrary, we are pleased to report that Mr. Birnie is, in fact, alive and well and his untimely “passing” was the result of human error. Mr. Birnie had helpfully forwarded information regarding the death of a former classmate, which he hoped could be shared with other alumni. This was then forwarded to the editor who compiles the death notices. Although he doesn’t remember doing so, in transcribing the name of the individual who passed away, the editor inadvertently also copied Mr. Birnie’s name to the file that was ultimately published. Multiple editors and employees reviewed the In Memoriam list, but Mr. Birnie’s name didn’t jump out at anyone … and the error slipped through unnoticed until Mr. Birnie’s eagle-eyed brother called his sibling, which prompted Mr. Birnie – in a call no editor wants to receive – to contact the magazine.
The Alumni Review regrets the error but is grateful that Mr. Birnie received the explanation of the error in good humour – and good health.
“Whew, I am not dead,” he said when contacted. “Just be sure to correct in the next edition. I hope I don’t receive too many condolence cards in the interim.”