Navy Pier brought public education to thousands of Chicagoans when it opened its doors in 1946. Any UI alumni with fond memories to share of their time at The Pier, The Circle, The Medical Center or UIC are encouraged to use the link above ('Submit Your Memory').

This memory book will remain online through February 2006.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All those submitting entries agree to abide by the UIAA Web Site Policies and Terms and Conditions of Use. For the UIAA policy statement specifically related to forums, which includes these Virtual Memory Books, please refer to the Posting Rules section.

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Boy what a long walk to class.

Thomas Freeman '81 UIC
Navy Pier Attendee

Here I learned that there were not two, but three sexes. The doors were marked men, women, and in-between was the door marked janitors.

I also spent many pleasant hours bird-watching in addition to studying.

Ralph M. Eiseman '57, MS '59 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee

I remember my first accounting course with Dr. Sam Fox. His wisdom and humor inspired me to become a Certified Public Accountant.

I remember carrying a large barbell from the west end of the building to the classroom on the east end where I gave a short speech (public speaking class) for Mrs. Olesky (?) on how to lift weights.

My two years of tuition (9/56-6/58) cost about $400.

Howard Serlin
Navy Pier Attendee

The wonderful ballroom dances on Friday nights.

Yolanda Lee '56, MS '57 UIUC
David Lee '57 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendees

I will always remember the fruit flies of biology class, rail cars running by the windows, sitting in the sun on the east-end of the Pier outside the gym area studying, eternal card games in the cafeteria where food floated in the vats of grease, the restaurant show on the other side of the classrooms, and the experience of going to school with Korean war vets and their "Indie" politics.

Carlene Blumenthal '59 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee

The first ship came into Chicago through the St. Lawrence Seaway - fall of 1959 I think. There was a big welcome with the mayor and everyone, and naturally the students were there as well. After it was all over and everyone had left, my friend and I thought it would be fun to go on the ship - after all, no one was there to say "no." So we did - only to be discovered by the crew who chased us all over until we found our way off. It never occurred to us that it had to be cleared by customs, etc. We hid the whole day, expecting to be arrested.

We were P.E. majors and we liked to gather in the "front lounge." We were also the skinniest people in school because we had to walk a mile back to the girls' gym (now the ballroom) several times a day.

Putting 25 cents in the juke box in the back cafeteria and playing "La Bamba" five times in a row.

Ralph Hegener '63 UIUC
Rosemary Hegener '62 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendees

My wife Barbara and I didn't meet until the Circle Campus was opened, but we both attended Navy Pier. I was there from February 64 until the opening of the new campus, and Barb began Navy Pier in the fall of 1964.

What I remember the most was the walking and the fact that the Pier was still a working port. It was interesting to watch the ships come and go and load and unload cargo. Cargos of felt smelled the worst!! We were both glad when the Circle Campus opened because we could continue our education right here in Chicago.

John Shaw '68 UIC
Barbara Shaw '68 UIC
Navy Pier Attendees

Freshman year with classes full to the brim at the start of the semester and one quarter to one half full at the end.

Walking around the Pier in winter and taking exams in the heat without air conditioning.

Gym classes in the metal hut near the Pier entrance.

Taking chemistry lectures in the Grand Ballroom and having strange test scores (no wrong from no right).

Many more!

Pascal A. Gerard '53 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee

I was discharged from the Army in late September 1949 and started attending the Pier in February 1950. In those days, first year accounting was taught from the same book for two semesters.

I was recalled in September 1950 for the Korean War and did not get back to school until February 1952. I ended up with the same accounting teacher. I don't remember her name but she was a very thin redhead, I was told she had failed the CPA [Certified Public Accountant] test a number of times.

I went up after my first class, explained my lapse in studies, and asked if she could give me any advice. She answered, "Read fast."

William J. O'Brien '54 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee

Oh yes - I do remember! Many memories flash back but the ones that stand out most are:

The KA-chunk! Ka-Chunk! Of the pile drivers driving the pilings for the "new filtration plant. Constantly!!!

The wonderful "stroll" from the men's gym on the "shore" when you had 10 minutes to get to the east side of the Pier for an English class.

Probably one of the most memorable, however, and one that has helped me to make instant decisions ever since was marching with the ROTC on the end of the Pier - it really hasn't changed out there at all - the pillars and steps are still there. Imagine a platoon of 40 men or so trying to march out there! A platoon leader had to really think fast: Left face - forward march - to the rear march - column right - march, etc, etc - you could barely take five steps in any one direction. Talk about being quick in mind, speech and foot - learned a lot in those brief few years! Thanks!!

Tom Smith '57 UIUC Attendee
Navy Pier Attendee

Taking fishing for physical education; the freezing showers in the men's gym; the endless walk down that long hall; seeing trucks rumble outside our classrooms on the second floor; and our crazy car pool experiences, six to eight kids in a small two-door car.

Jack A. Marks '59 UIUC; '61, DDS '63 UIC
Navy Pier Attendee

I remember in 1949 Martin and Lewis did a show in the big gym next to the Pier. I was in Mr. Miller's economics class that afternoon. To our surprise, Jerry and Dean came to the room and kidded around with Mr. Miller, who was a comic on his own. It was a show in itself. That day sticks out in my memory.

Lawrence Tepper '52 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee

Working on the school newspaper —"Pier Illini"— in the small building under the street car ramp. Also recording radio shows in the same area.

Watching the men's gymnastics team take the national championship behind Bill Roetzheim and Irv Bedard.

Walking from the gym back to the main building in zero degree weather and winds of 20-30 miles an hour.

Recognizing the three sexes in our hallway restrooms - "men," "janitor," and "women."

Donald M. Goff '52, EDM '56 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee

I attended U of I campus at Navy Pier from 1950-52. There were six of us who would commute from the South Side of Chicago. We took the Illinois Central train for the first year. Then one of the girls bought an old car and we'd all pile in. I always had a gym class at 8 a.m. at the old gym at the back of the Pier. I remember running the length of the Pier to get there on time every day. Everyone was always in a hurry. You usually didn't really see anyone because of the posts in the middle of the Pier that held it up. We had a wonderful time. Everyone was in the same situation.

Eleda Fenn Brenner '53 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee

The only memory I have of Navy Pier is the feeling of coming out of the gym (at the west end across the plaza) with wet hair after taking a shower in zero degree winter weather and having to get to a class at the very other end of the Pier (I mean the lake end on the east).

Otherwise, my one year there was very uneventful. I got married, and that was the end of that.

Eve R. Morgen (Chaim)
Navy Pier Attendee - 1948

As an architecture student, I was required to take art classes. I remember sitting on the steps at the end of the Pier on a warm, sunny spring morning sketching the vistas of the Pier and city skyline, just enjoying the whole experience.

Everyone remembers where they were when President John F. Kennedy was shot. I was in my architecture lab class at the Pier. I remember it was a cold cloudy day. I remember leaving the classroom, going home, wondering what the future held for us all.

I was able to finish my studies at the new Circle Campus, graduating in the first class in 1967. During the big snowstorm of '67 I remember taking the subway downtown, walking down the middle of the Eisenhower Expressway. A small group of us had made it down; but the old "bra" factory (ARCH Building) was locked. We got in to work on our projects by walking up the fire escape.

Donald Johnson '67 UIC
Navy Pier Attendee - 1965

I began classes at Navy Pier in January 1959 after three years in the U.S. Army Paratroopers (Japan, Korea). My fondest memory of the Pier, among many, is Mr. Dempsey's biology class.

Ralph Troll '58 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee - 1959

Although I finished my degree at Urbana, I am so very grateful for the Navy Pier campus. We had great instructors! Yes, there were some distractions, but I was never late to class because of rain or snow. I can still see that long hallway to pass from class to class. Thanks for being there for me U of I at Navy Pier!

Charles F. Geiger, Sr. '66 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee - 1964

Just a couple of "pleasant" memories that immediately came to mind:

• The closing of the northern half of the campus when the temperature was below zero and the wind out of the north.

• Football practice/conditioning in the Grant Park "Bowl"

• Giving blood when my foundry class professor was in the hospital. I did receive an A for the course, but I'm sure this had nothing to do with the donation.

  Edwin A. Homolka '64 UIUC
  Navy Pier Attendee

For awhile I rode the L, subway, and Grand Avenue trolley to get to Navy Pier. The trolley part invariably fell off and the driver would have to get out, walk to the back of the bus and reconnect it. Later a friend and I drove down the Outer Drive and parked in a crummy gravel lot at the end of the Pier. Getting to school was in itself an adventure.

I had a class at the front end of the Pier and immediately after, a gym class called Boating and Fishing, which left from the other end. I had 10 minutes to get there and had to run through the halls carrying a canoe paddle. Once I missed the bus. Being a naive and scared little freshman, I started to cry. The gym teacher was very sympathetic and explained that if I waited in the correct place, the bus would actually pick me up at the front end. I ended up passing Boating and Fishing.

Patricia Breitzer '64, AM '65 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee

The 5/8 mile walk from the gym to my next class at the end of the Pier and to make it in 10 minutes between classes and through the crowded halls. A gym class on canoeing and getting into the canoe from the sea wall.

We had a great tumbling team in 1948. Some students fished when they had time to kill.

It got really cold during the winter.

William L. McNulty '51, MS '52 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee

I remember attending summer school at the Pier, taking a chemistry class when the Aquarama tour ship crashed into the side of the Pier not far from my classroom.

Alan Cash '61 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee

I attended the University of Illinois at Navy Pier from September 1947 to June 1949, and the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana from September 1949 to June 1951. I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering, and became a registered architect.

Being in the architectural school, I will always remember the long walks to the end of the Pier where most of the architectural classes were located. It seemed that on most days my first and last classes were always located there.

The Pier gave me an excellent start in obtaining a thorough education and I was most fortunate in having practicing architects in the Chicago area as design instructors.

Al Anderson '51 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee - 1947-49

While studying architecture in the early 1950s I also worked for the Engineering Department. I was therefore in the building at odd hours when classes were not in session. During the cold winter months I noticed the building engineers often adjusting the room thermostats but couldn't determine why they needed adjustment so often. It was explained to me that the exterior windows and wall panels leaked so much air that the thermostats were adjusted every time the wind direction changed to try to make up for the cold air infiltration from the wind buffeting that long expanse of building out into Lake Michigan.

Roland A. Braasch '62 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee

When the U of I at Navy Pier opened its doors in October 1946, I was in that initial student body. My guess is that it consisted of World War II veterans and teenagers - equal in numbers and equally tense. A 23-year-old Navy veteran five years out of high school (from which I graduated much closer to the bottom of the class than the top), I faced the prospect of getting a college education saddled with a ton of trepidation.

What stands out almost 60 years later? I learned to walk fast - which you had to do if you had one class at one end, the next at the other end, and then back. In the main, the instructors were first rate. An exception was the speech teacher who had nothing but praise for the fellow who spoke on such "lofty" themes as "What Fun I Had at Summer Camp" and How to Make a Really Nice Meatloaf." But, this guy grandly believed he'd change the world by speaking on such subjects as the vital need for labor unions and the terrible threat to democracy of racial bigotry. As I spoke, she sat in the back of the room scowling and wagging her head from side to side. Somehow, I concluded she didn't approve. But then there was red-headed Miss Johnson who taught accounting. She stands out as nothing short of excellent. She even recommended me for a tutoring job, income which supplemented the GI Bill, perhaps the greatest social legislation in U.S. history. And in my first semester, I signed up for a five-hour algebra course. Reckless, because in high school I grasped as much about algebra as I did about Einstein's Theory of Relativity. The instructor who taught the Pier course - I do wish I could recall her name - turned out to be one of the marvels of my lifetime. No, that's not sentimental claptrap. For the first time, I really understood algebra. As we teen-seniors say, she was "awesome." When I married and helped raise four daughters, I worked with them countless evenings and weekends for 25 years solving word problems. And that is an all-capital FACT.

To top it off, I stunned myself by making the freshman honorary society, Phi Eta Sigma. We honorees were bused to Champaign for the ceremony. When we received our keys - which I proudly wear on my key ring to this day - the presenter whispered a "secret" word into the ear of each society member: "Success." Once more - say it with feeling - "awesome." After those two years at the Pier, I migrated to the Urbana-Champaign campus feeling well-prepared. Do I have good memories from my time at the Pier? An inappropriate question! I have great memories.

John I. Prikopa '50, AM '51 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee - 1946-48

Navy Pier was one of those rare "it sprung up at the right time at the right place" happenings. My time there was from 1949-51 with continuation in Urbana where I received a BS in electrical engineering in '53. The Pier was affordable and accessible via public transit, which kept overall costs down. The class was a wonderful mixed bag of 20- and 30-something veterans and fuzz faced high school graduates. My older brother was one of the vets and I one of the fuzz faced, though five years older we graduated at the same time.

I can't say enough about the quality of teaching in all my classes. My advanced algebra teacher was apparently recruited from my high school where she taught me beginning algebra and other math classes. Based on my studies at Navy Pier, I would say that non-politicized and basic/objective teaching was at its zenith. Sadly to say, we have raced to the bottom in most areas except in the technical areas where math-based sciences can't be fudged or historical facts distorted.

An experience that nobody will remember is an "ad-hoc" marching band representing Navy Pier that made an entrance to the beginning of one of the football games in Urbana. There were maybe 10 of us and I played clarinet. It was my first experience at a big game and created a lifetime football fan.

Alfred K. Higashi '53 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee - 1949-51

Among my fondest memories of the Pier are the times I could get away from the rigors of the classrooms and relax in the plaza outside the ballroom at the extreme end of the Pier. The view was magnificent, and it was a place where you could think, dream, plan and free your mind of the troubles of the day.

George Petroff '53 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee

My first day at the Pier was almost my last! Registration took place in the gym. The 1/4 mile around the building was jammed with bodies. Each registration table had long lines that sometimes circled around other lines. It was HOT - No AC - and it took four-plus hours. After about three hours I was going home, but my three buddies convinced me to stick it out. I'm glad as I was the only one of that four to last two years.

As an inexperienced freshman I had no idea how to schedule classes. I just took whatever was written by the people behind the tables. I would have one class at the west end, then try to negotiate the halls during passing period to make it on time to another at the east end and then get to the gym for P.E. Whew!! I really didn't need P. E. after all that running.

But I'm glad I did as I became a PhysEd major, wrestler and returned as wrestling coach for '62-67.

George D. Jurinek '62, EDM '65 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee

I walked the 5/8 mile many times - front to back of the Pier's classrooms to gym. A friend and I used to sing Martin Luther's hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," as it was terrific to march to. Now, anytime I sing it in church or hear it sung, I am immediately back at the Pier, singing and walking its length.

Carol H. Peters Compton Klossner '71 UIC
Navy Pier Attendee

I attended U of I at Navy Pier throughout 1957 and 1958. It was a very unhappy time for me because the atmosphere was not conducive to developing a social life, particularly in finding girls to date. At that time I was dating two neighborhood girls I had known since third grade and was yearning to date someone different. Because of my commitment to getting an education, I did not have the time to make social contacts in other venues and computer dating was not available.

There were only two social activities I enjoyed that I can attribute to attending the Pier. The first was a Coke dance I attended in the spring of '58. Finally, that summer, I dated one time. She was a girl I met at the dance.

There were two reasons why the Pier was not conducive to developing a social life. First, it was a time when not many girls went to college, giving them their pick of the men. Second, most of the women who attended the big dances, even the "stag or drag" affairs, had escorts that made them "off-limits" to stag men. I had to wait until a later time to develop a social life and date a variety of women, after I completed my education and military service.

Robert Zlotow
Navy Pier Attendee

The Pier Illini was an excellent preparation for my work experience at Encyclopaedia Britannica and later as a language teacher. It enhanced my writing skills as well.

That walk across the "breezeway" to the Health Service helped to sustain me during a sick spell at school.

Post-admissions-testing counselors were quite reassuring that the challenge of "college life" would not be a formidable issue. They were very encouraging! Further, they made my transfer to the Urbana campus effortless.

I truly appreciate the rigors of academic life at the Pier. They suitably paved the way to success throughout further study and life.

Ethel Person Reed '59 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee

I was at the Pier 1952-54, so my memory is a bit taxed. My recollections include getting there by the "L," the "temporary" appearance of the classrooms and the interesting view of things from the end of the Pier. My best recollections are of being on the varsity wrestling team and of Coach Dean Ryan.

Jack Waaler '56, JD '59 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee

My Navy Pier memories are of grey dingy halls, stark classrooms and crowded labs. However, my BS in nursing has been rewarding ally in my professional life. My grateful thanks to U of I and my professors that gave me the knowledge and skills to be an influence in my community.

Vera Ruth Kezar '53 UIC
Navy Pier Attendee

Riding the Grand Avenue trolley bus from the Ravenswood "L" and waiting while the driver reconnected the trolley, which frequently came off under Michigan Avenue.

Swimming at the small (almost private) beach at the west end of the Pier.

Running breathlessly from labs near the west end to lectures near the east end and cutting through a classroom which had the stairs to the second floor at the back of the classroom.

Enjoying the cool breeze and fresh air outside the women's gym at the east end while watching the freighters, fireboats and sailboats go by.

Susan E. Breitbarth Bekiares '67, MS '70 UIUC
Navy Pier Attendee

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