“The war is over!” read the headline under this Edward W. Rothe ’48 photo of the bonfire built on campus on V-J night in 1945. Rothe, a student photographer during World War II and founder of the Princeton Photo Agency, recently provided his original print to PAW, which published it in the Sept. 28, 1945, issue. According to the photo caption, the bonfire built “around the cannon” climaxed the day’s celebration while “relays of undergraduates, faculty, and townspeople tolled the Nassau Hall bell for nearly four hours.” Can any PAW readers remember participating in this event?
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1 Response
Ward O. Griffen ’49
8 Years AgoFrom The Archives
The Nov. 13 issue includes a picture of the end-of-the-war celebration on campus in 1945 (From the Archives) and asks if anyone remembers the event. I remember it well because, as a 17-year-old freshman, I was exposed to more alcohol than I had ever seen. The next morning there was a no-parking stanchion in the foyer of our suite, which I couldn’t even lift. Nevertheless, when the proctors came, my roommates convinced them that I had brought it home by myself the night before. I was summoned to visit Dean Livingston, who first warned me that I could be expelled for what I had done. He then gave me some fatherly advice about finding my alcohol limit and learning how to hold my liquor. He also said I had to inform my parents about the incident. It may have been the most important lesson I learned at Princeton, because I did graduate and have gone on to a successful career as a physician.