From the Saint Rose Archives student publication collection
Saint Rose students can pick up the latest edition of The Chronicle every week. But years ago students had to wait for a quarterly student publication to read stories, essays and poems written by their fellow classmates. Rambler was one of the many student publications over the years and it ran from 1928 to 1973. Rambler’s magazine like style was causal yet sophisticated. Saint Rose students contributed art, music, poetry and social calendars to the publication.
Flipping through the pages of the Fall 1945 edition of Rambler the reader gets a sense of the time. World War II had just ended and Saint Rose students were clearly reflecting on the changing times. Two poems featured in Rambler: Remembering and Forgetting both mourn the deaths of loved ones. On the next page is an essay that includes a series of letters exchanged between a Saint Rose student and her father who served in the army. In one letter to his daughter her father says, “The American soldiers, in spite of war, remain funny Joes. They pick up a high hat out of a heap of debris and set it on their head at a jaunty angle and march along singing some crazy song. Thank God they are still able to grin and take it…” While this story about war is funny and optimistic, soldiers are still smiling and having fun, the final sentence reminds the reader that times were tough and soldiers had to march on. The author of the essay, Rena Carr, ‘48 ends the essay with the uplifting return of her father.Even though it’s a personal essay, specific to Rena Carr and her Dad, their story was relatable to everyone.
On the lighter side of Rambler are fun poems and jokes. In this edition Barbara Showman, ’47 compiles some of her favorite quotations and poems, everything from Emily Dickenson to Shakespeare. Almost half way through the semester if you feel like you’re losing steam. You are not alone! Check out the poem “Effort” by Mackay (click on the image to get a closer view).
Quotations featured in the Fall 1945 Rambler. From the Saint Rose Archives student publication collection
– Stephanie Clowe, Archives Intern
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