Physics Department

Eric Monier emailed re my Daily Eagle post about 50th anniversaries. Apparently Dick Mancuso had t-shirts made up some years ago for the department with the date 1974 on them, and Eric wanted to reconcile that date with the c1967 date in my post. I checked, and in the '67-68 catalog there was a department of physics, so that supports my post, and the schedule from the '66 plan I sent with it. Not sure what the '74 date meant for Dick. Checked that catalog, and nothing special for physics there that I saw, I thought like some other departments they might have had a masters in the works, and just no longer do, but I didn't see that.

50th anniversaries

Nicole Dumbleton called from Advancement, asking about 50th anniversaries of departments, something we and others there have discussed in the past. I'd said before I'd do some sort of list or statement on that, and said I would do it now.


It's one of those things where I had a general idea of the story, but not all the details. After a few hours digging I had a better idea, the 1966 academic plan was especially helpful. As it said there the college for many years had been a "one-purpose" school, to train teachers, but when President Brown came in 1965 we got the nod to move from Teachers College to College of Arts and Science, to expand from having essentially two massive departments, one for "GE" and the other for "PE," and to go to something very much like what we have today, a wide range of autonomous departments offering many different subject degrees.


In that same era, 1965-68, many other long standing groups came into being. It's when the old Faculty Student Association was broken up into the Faculty Senate and the Brockport Student Government, when we went from having a small group of "watchmen" to having a professional police force etc. It is really when the college of today first took shape.

More old Normal

Gordy had some more questions about the layout of the old Normal school. I scanned some pictures from the first Saga yearbook, 1929, and the one time effort from 1899. Some interesting images there, wish I had the original prints, or even the negatives!


I sent him those, along with the map from the inside of the 1934 Saga. I wish years ago when starting this work I had sat down with some of the surviving Normal school grads and gone over some photos of the building, getting a better feel for it. It did come up incidentally in oral histories, but I never thought to focus on it so.

The Port

For next issue, am doing two little pieces, one on establishment of the BCI by local people, and another on where students lived over the years.

Color of the old Normal school?

From Gordy Fox, who is building the model BSNS "little library." I sent him a color post card of the building c1907. Said from what I know it was built of Medina sandstone, some quarried on Canal Rd where Holley goes across Redman. That stone is a greyish color with hints of red.

Mary Jane Holmes

Email from local teacher and Morgan Manning House board member who is researching MJH for a presentation and wanted to know some things, including whereabouts of any of her physical possessions. Gave him Sarah Cedeno's email, said the MJH room in the village museum has the most of whatever survives of her things.

Cathy Craft, history school

She's a media specialist here, works with Dave, was looking for material on the earlier history of the school, so to start sent her email outling BCI history, links to some docs in DC, images like those from the MacVicar photo set and so forth.