PREPARING FOR COLLEGE

High School graduation had ended and it was time to think about starting classes at DePaul University. One of the problems was money. The $500 Youth Foundation Scholarship would help, but it covered a little less than one year’s tuition. I enrolled in the College of Commerce. The 4 year program required 18 semester hours for each freshman and sophomore semester and 15 semester hours for each junior and senior semester... The starting hourly tuition rate was $16 per semester hour and would go up each year. This did not cover books and supplies. To cover the continuing cost, I needed a job. The $500 gave me a jump, but money was needed to cover each coming semester.

In search of summer employment, I scanned the Tribune Want Ads. I was new to the hunt and had no clue on finding a job. Fast food chains were first developing and the opportunities were limited. In the 50’s employment agencies were used to find employment... I was not aware that Employment Agencies were shady. The fee was normally paid by the employer. I picked Monarch and explained my dilemma. They said they could place me, but I could not tell the employer that I would leave in September. I agreed. Monarch sent me on an interview, for a typing position, with a small coffee distributor located near Wrigley Field. My typing skills were minimal, 20wpm, but accurate. They agreed to hire me and pay the fee. My job was to back up a young fellow who did billing and steno work. I can’t remember the salary, but it wasn’t more than $50 a week. I didn’t mention school and they didn’t ask.

I would take the Damen Avenue bus to Irving Park were I jumped on the Ravenswood El to Sheridan. It was a short walk to a store front office. I learned to prepare invoices and purchase orders. In a week or two the other fellow quit. They relied on me to pick up his work. I learned to prepare letters from the Dictaphone. The Dictaphone was a cylinder onto which someone dictated a letter or memo. You would place earphones on your head and listen and type the letter. The desk I used had a slide out typewriter. I remember one day pulling out the typewriter and several roaches came running out. What an eerie, feeling. I got along well with the people, but the day arrived to tell them I was going back to school. They were upset at the actions of the employment agency and that the time had expired for them to get their money back. This was not my first, nor my last experience with employment agencies and job hunting.

September came and it was time to start class. The first two years of commerce were well defined. You knew what classes to take. The first semester classes were Philosophy, Religion, Accounting, Algebra, Economic History, Economics, English, and ROTC. Every male was required to take ROTC for the first two years... Classes normally ran from 8:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M... Every weekday morning I would walk to the Damen Avenue El Station and take the 15 minute ride to Lake Street. At that time DePaul was located at 64 East Lake in the Pixley Elhers Building. It was an old 16 story office building that accommodated the College of Commerce, Law, Music and Secretarial Schools. A small area was set aside on the 16th floor as a lunch room or lounge. There also was the Pixley cafeteria were the soroties and fraternities congregated. In the cafeteria you would find the pledges, with their funny beanies, catering to upperclassmen. I never joined a fraternity, I had enough problems studying and working, let alone getting someone coffee. In a year DePaul moved to 25 East Jackson.

I quickly found this was not going to be easy. I knew I was in trouble when our Algebra Professor. Barton McLain, on the first day of class, opened the door and threw open the windows. As the days got colder I would sit and shiver. He would write formulas on the board with one hand and erase them with the other. We sat stunned. No one said a word. Many of us paid for our silence by failing the class. The Professor’s philosophy was to weed out the men from the boys. He was successful, 50% of the class flunked, including me. English was another shocker when the assignments came back marked up. I never knew there were so many rules and how many I needed to learn. If it wasn’t for Philosophy, Religion and ROTC I would have been thrown out. The first thought was quit. Fortunately I didn’t quit, I stuck it out. I quickly learned that I was ill prepared. Students from the inner city schools had a disadvantage against the Catholic School students who were much better prepared.

The transition was tough; you had 18 hours of classes and had to keep up with 7 or 8 courses. On top of that I had to ensure there was enough money for tuition. Working through the DePaul Placement Center I quickly found a part-time job at a downtown insurance company. The job was short lived as the company moved to Rogers Park. After that I was hired as a part-time accounting clerk for the North American Accident, Life and Health Insurance Company. North American was located on the 8th floor of the Rookery Building at 209 S. LaSalle Street... I stayed with North American during my four years at DePaul. The schedule was hectic, it included a once a week trip to the uptown campus for ROTC. For lunch I’d walk up 16 flights of stairs to the 16th floor lounge. The elevators were slow and crowded. After class I’d walk to North American and worked 2-3 hours. After work it was off to the el and home. After supper it was study time. No games or TV.

I ended the first year with a 1.8 average. That was almost probation. After the first year I knew more about the professors and the courses. My original choice for a major was accounting, after the first year I reconsidered and changed to marketing... I felt better suited for management and/or marketing. The Professors varied in presentation and effectiveness. The one that impressed me the most was Marketing Professor Gus Economos. Gus brought the class to life with his stories and presence. He walked the room, sat on the desk; legs crossed, and used examples to make a point. He was to be my inspiration on how to teach and gain class attention. The Jesuits were most knowledgeable as they presented the classes in Logic, Religion and Philosophy. Economic Professor James Diamond gave the best advice: “when you graduate, forget everything you learned, the only thing you want to remember is how to think and reason, how to make decisions.” Economic Professor Giganti is remembered for his stories about Umbrella Mike. Umbrella Mike was known as a mob bag man who would go into the Chicago saloons and place his umbrella at the end of the bar where money was dropped. Umbrella Mike then proceeded to other collection spots. Barton McLain was a son of a gun for Alegra, but a completely different person in Business Math. Sometimes reputations are deceiving, both McLain and Economos were known as tough graders, but once you had them you found they were fair and great educators.. The worse professor I can remember was in Accounting 102. The man had a tremendous accounting reputation in foreign countries with all kinds of honors and degrees. When it came to teaching, he sat at the front desk and read from the book. What a waste. When the first year ended I had been transitioned to the world of higher education. It was a grueling experience that would prepare me for the next three years.

Starting DePaul was a new experience in meeting and making new friends. There was no one from Wicker Park or Tuley. The old friends were gone. It was time to make new friends. One of my first contacts was Gene Sit, we met in Accounting. Gene was a great person who dedicated his work to becoming a CPA. We would walk the stairs to the 16th floor for lunch. I doubled with Gene for the first Military Ball. Gene would eventually become a very successful financier with his own investment company in Minneapolis. After the first year I started to make friends with the fellows who would go through the ROTC Program. Charlie Stulga would be the most memorable for his drive and energy. Charlie was very ambitious and always wanted to be number one. In fact when we started ROTC, Charlie told me he would beat me for the top ROTC spot. I wasn’t as determined as Charlie, I just wanted to complete four years of college. One of my best friends was Ed Porlier who I worked with at North American Insurance.

After the first year and finishing the basic English and Math courses my grades started to improve. I did better with the business courses. During my 2nd year I enrolled in Dr. Norman Sigband’s Business Letters class. Dr. Sigband transformed my writing ability. He emphasized the need to be concise and clear. My grades started to go from D’s and C’s to B’s. My emphasis was on Military Science where I earned A’s. During the first year I learned to stay focused.. You work through the problems and learn to correct weaknesses. I regained my competiveness and desire to succeed. Part of the desire was to be stoked by my need to lead. In the next section I’ll discuss the role the ROTC played in developing my leadership and academic skills.