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1919 Track Guy and a Vanished Campus

When I was going through the scrapbook that held the deeply confusing memorabilia of the two Heavy Underwoods, I ran across this picture. I have no real idea who the guy in the sharp track outfit is, but the view behind him is just great. (He’s another handsome fellow–maybe a bit knock-kneed, but what the heck–and a contemporary of the earlier, heavier Heavy Underwood. I feel sure that I can figure out his name with a little effort. Just not today.)

This is a view of the dorms that I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before, but that the students back then must have seen all the time. The tree line behind him is Harris Gully, and there’s a footbridge somewhere over there that let them cross the water for the walk along a well-worn path to the residence halls.

I love pictures like this. Views that were completely ordinary for years sometimes simply vanish–nothing left but glimpses in old photographs. Here’s another lost view, one that I find very beautiful.

I think it’s hard to appreciate how lovely the Chemistry Building is without being able to get some distance away from it.

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