The Sept. 14 “From PAW’s Pages” feature of the three P-rade elephants in 1949 deserves some add-on. When the 1944 fifth-reunion committee decided on clown costumes, I said, “that means animals.” We knew that George Hamid ’40 had a circus, and he agreed to let us have three elephants for $500.

The tradition at the time was for the fifth-reunion class baby to throw in the first ball on the baseball diamond before the game. Previous classes had the class babies (first born nine months after graduation) arrive in an autogyro (pre-helicopter) and a small circus car loaded with people. How to beat that? The elephants were the answer. After they tramped down Prospect Avenue, stepping on a Yale banner, up went the class baby to the middle elephant and onto the field in front of thousands of alumni.

Then the elephant gently deposited ’44’s class baby onto the mound. A short pitch was followed by roaring alumni approval. (At our 40th, we had two of the original pachyderms back again on Prospect Avenue, accompanied by a 35-year-old grownup “baby.”)

Herb Hobler ’44
Skillman, N.J.