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Our SUNY Canton

The email address for Our SUNY Canton, the weekly faculty/staff newsletter is oursunycanton@canton.edu

SUNY Canton is Collecting Memories

  Your memories of life at the School of Agriculture, the Agricultural and Technical Institute, or the Agricultural and Technical College can become part of SUNY Canton's history.

The SUNY Canton Office of Public Relations is seeking written and photographic submissions about the history of the College. In 2006, SUNY Canton will celebrate its centennial anniversary and is looking to alumni, emeriti, and members of the community to assemble their "My SUNY Canton" perspectives of the College's history.

One such submission was recently received from Mrs. Barbara Burnham, a 1946 alumna, who now resides in Sun City, Ariz. She shared some of her personal memoirs about her days at the School of Agriculture at Canton. Mrs. Burnham's recollections of what she called "Aggie School," ranged from her living situation and school activities in Canton, to the love and social lives of her and her fellow classmates. She even shared the story of how she met her husband, Bob Burnham.

World War II was affecting American life when Mrs. Burnham was attending college. She recalled several former soldiers as friends and neighbors and a shortage of goods often taken for granted by students in 2005. She said she and her classmates enjoyed adding sugar to their coffee, but resources were running low. "It didn't take long for us to decide to forgo the sweetened coffee and save our precious sugar to make a wonderful item called fudge!" Mrs. Burnham wrote.

Some of the things that Mrs. Burnham did were very similar to things that SUNY Canton students would do today, both good and mischievous. She recalled when she was caught with her feet up on the table. "Miss Mitchell was the Dean of Women and apparently had the responsibility to guide our conduct." Mrs. Burnham wrote. "She glared at me and said, 'Barbara, position in life is everything.'"

Mrs. Burnham recalled several popular hangouts in Canton including the Tick Tock Tavern; the Crumps, "a bar with a dance floor and on certain nights, a band," and the Evergreens, "a restaurant and bar on the far end of town, on the road to Potsdam," Mrs. Burnham wrote. "We delighted in removing labels from beer bottles and tossing them up to the ceiling where they would cling indefinitely. Apparently, the owners never objected to this action."

She recalled the nervous anticipation of pledging and the joy of becoming a sister of the Pi Nu Epsilon Sorority. She also recalled those who weren't as fortunate as her during her bid to become a sister. "Slowly it dawned on us that one girl had not gotten a bid," Mrs. Burnham wrote. "We each tried in our own clumsy way to explain to her that sororities were really not that important and that we didn't truly care if we got a bid or not. I fear that after all our shouts of joy and excitement, these statements were not readily believed."

While living in Canton and attending "Aggie School," a broken cigarette lighter led her to her husband, according to Mrs. Burnham. Bob Burnham was visiting another girl at the Pi Nu Epsilon Sorority house, and Mrs. Burnham asked him to repair her cigarette lighter. He claimed to be an expert repairman and brought it back to her a week later, with an invitation to go out with him. She immediately accepted, but later feared he may already be dating one of her friends. However, her fears were unfounded, and she dated and eventually married Bob.

As the College turns 100, stories and memories like Mrs. Burnham's are more important than ever. Please e-mail historic submissions to pr@canton.edu or mail them to SUNY Canton, Office of Public Relations, 34 Cornell Drive, Canton, NY 13617. You can also access the "Share Some College History with Us" link at the SUNY Canton website, www.canton.edu. To read Mrs. Burnham's entire letter to SUNY Canton, visit www.canton.edu/college_history/burnham.html.

September 2, 2005

Media inquiries should be directed to Gregory Kie, Media Relations Coordinator, or call 315/386-7527.

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