One of the things I enjoyed in Neil Brennan’s scrapbook is the careful depiction of the tidy dorm room he shared with one other guy. If you zoom in there’s a lot of interest. Here’s Brennan’s side:
And here’s Schreck’s:
Schreck could only be Henry (Hal) Schreck, a Navy man who later served in the Pacific. He graduated in 1944–in the February commencement ceremony–with a degree in Chemical Engineering, which may explain why he got matched with Brennan:
The room, according the the Rice Directory, was West Hall 218. Their phone number was L-1229.
Bonus:
218 West Hall would be the Old Section of Hanszen College, correct? Second floor: I lived there for three years in the early 70’s. A small world…
Yes, that’s right. Was your room that neat??
The pictures were taken in April 1942, based on the calendar (sponsored by Rust-Oleum Paint Corporation) in the second shot.
Good catch! As far as I can tell they only lived together during the 1941-42 school year. That may have been as long as Brennan was at Rice.
Note the radiator for heat in the first picture. The furniture is the same as I remember in 1953-1958 in South Hall.
Wow! Hal Schreck is my father. This is the second time he’s graced Melissa’s posts in the past year or so. He was so proud of his Rice degree and loved coming back to marvel at “all of the damn new buildings.” He and my mother retired to Rockport TX, and he died in 1999. Not a day goes by when I don’t think of him, and I truly appreciate these brief views of his life all those years ago. Thanks, Melissa!
I have to confess that I knew he was your father and I did it because I’d hoped it would make you happy. I’m so glad it did.
Oh yes, I remember spending three years in the old section of Hanszen College. They didn’t renovate that section until the summer of 1975, and accidentally burned down the Commons in the process. One item in the Schreck photo puzzles me. It looks like there is a ceiling fan in the upper left hand corner. But on the other hand, it looks like it might be a fraternity paddle. But to my knowledge, paddles weren’t used at Rice because of the restrictions on fraternities and hazing.
Hazing was winding down by the time I got there but ‘freshman guidance’ still existed (e.g. the polar bear races) so it is possible paddles came into play. (Or it could have been simply a nice decoration for the room)
I lived in the old section all five years and also remember the renovation. This was also the year the women’s room assignments included the old tower. The men decided to leave very explicit graffiti all over the old section most of which was not suitable for publication. Somewhere I am sure are photos of the effort. (Previously the women’s rooms were section three (east stairwell) and the new tower as I recall. Hanszen was one of the first coed colleges and the decision was made for the first years to strictly segregate by the stairwells
I lived on that floor for two years, rooming with John King. You’d think I would remember the room number. It was at the NW end of the hall, across from Malcolm Lovett and Robins Brice. John’s side of the room was more like Brennan’s and mine was probably even more disorganized than Schreck’s. It is indeed a small world.
Barney L. McCoy, Hanszen 67
Add me to the four-year Hanszen old-section chorus. Four years, same section, same roommate, which by the early ’80s was very rare.
I lived in the Hanszen old section, third floor, in the hall between the stairwell up from the office and the tower end. I lived in 4 rooms all on the same side, 319, 317, 315 and 313. The last was the single across from the bathroom. My side faced the Wiess Acabowl, and further, the RMC campanile. I lived there starting in 1976, just after the renovation, and during the co-ed “expermiment”.
I think the thing on Schreck’s side is mounted on the wall. I thought it was part of a propeller, but I’ve never seen a freshman paddle.
The shape of the item hanging on the wall looks too flat to be a propeller or fan blade. I notice that it bears a ChE marking (presumably referring to Chemical Engineering, matching Schreck’s degree), which would seem unlikely as a hazing paddle.
Melissa, do u have anything on the knight owl band or pics of Johnny Dyson, class Of 43, I tried to call you, he died on Friday
Michelle
Sent from my iPhone
>