I can no longer recall what began my immersion in 1927 but it’s sure a hard place to leave. The Roaring Twenties were really interesting, even at the little old Institute. The fads of the 1920s in particular were everything you hope for in a pointless craze. There was, of course, the great overalls fad of 1920, followed by the flopping galoshes a few years later. In 1927 bridge mania took over campus:
This is particularly interesting because unlike the short-lived rages for odd fashions the passion for bridge seems to have lasted, although in less virulent form, for many years. I can recall off the top of my head many photographs in the Woodson of students huddled around bridge tables, in the dorms, in the RMC, even in the library. Here’s one from the days when Sammy’s was in the basement of Fondren:
This one is even later, a familiar looking guy who seems to have drawn a bad hand:
I haven’t seen anyone playing bridge on campus for a long time but I really have no idea of what goes on inside the colleges. Maybe there are still holdouts somewhere.