Tom Toohy MIT '49 - Remembering Winston Churchill at MIT's 1949 Convocation

[MUSIC PLAYING]

TOOHY: Well, of course you know that I was involved only because I was the president of the senior class that year. And we were all surprised. All of us in the class were surprised when we heard about the convocation and the fact that we would have Winston Churchill visiting us.

It was sort of a last-minute thing with Winston Churchill because Harry Truman, the then president of the United States, was supposed to be the featured speaker. And there was a problem about his being available. And obviously, everybody was delighted that Winston Churchill was the one selected.

So we were looking forward to it. And of course, at the same time, we had the convocation. I'm sorry, that's not the right word. We had the inauguration for our new president, Dr. Killian-- James Rhyne Killian. And both of those events occurred on succeeding days. So it was a really big weekend at MIT.

Now, the Winston Churchill event was first. And there were a number of us who were chosen to be "student guides," I'll call them-- four or five of us who were active in student government and that sort of thing at MIT that year. And I can recall that the director of that event was the head of the Naval Architecture Department, Admiral Cochrane.

And we were fundamentally assigned to be hosts, if you will, for the ladies-- for Mrs. Churchill, Mrs. Winston Churchill, Mrs. Randolph Churchill, and some other ladies of the party. And we would guide them up and down the stairs, if you will, and bring them out to their car and that sort of thing. It really wasn't much more than that, quite frankly. But it gave us an opportunity to be a part of the operation.

There were other things, as well. Obviously, the night of the event in Boston Garden was a momentous occasion. Boston Garden is no more today. But it was the main arena in Boston, and indeed in New England at that time. The capacity was 13,000. And it was filled to capacity that night that Winston Churchill spoke.

I'm reminded that I was one of the eight people that was sitting up on the stage behind Winston-- actually, seven, if you don't include Winston Churchill. But it was very interesting to be sitting behind him. Obviously, everybody else-- all of us-- had our eyes focused on Winston Churchill. And I was over his left shoulder, so to speak, watching him deliver the speech, which was a very, very impressive thing. It was an impressive speech, of course.

But he's an impressive man. And it was just interesting to watch him and the little movements that he would make and his handling of the speech itself.

One of the key points was certainly the walking in, if you will. An occasion like this, obviously, with seven or eight people up on the stage, they all walk in at the same time. So the sequence of people sitting at the stage, even though I was furthest away from Winston Churchill, in order to walk on the stage, I'm the first one to walk in.

So they indicated that this is how it's to go and that it would be in this sequence. And I was the first one to walk in and walk up the steps and walk across the stage and sit down at one of the eight seats that were there.

And so, actually, I took a deep breath and started walking. And the rest of the other seven followed me. And obviously, when they saw the people on the stage walking in, there was a tremendous applause. And obviously, the applause was for Winston Churchill, not for any of the other of us. But it was sort of interesting to hear that roar as you walked across the stage.

And I just, of course, walked over very modestly and stood at my chair until the other seven people arrived and stood at their chair. And then we sat down, and they began the festivities.

The other thing that I can recall about it is that, obviously, I was listening to the speech as best I could, trying to keep my mind on his speech and also the magnitude of the event. But it was sort of interesting to see how he handled his speech, just from an administrative standpoint, if you will.

He had yellow pieces of paper with his notes on it. It was hard to tell that he was reading, quite frankly. But he was reading. And it was not a pad. It was not a loose leaf binder. It was simply sheets of paper.

And as he finished one sheet of paper, he would just let it fall to the floor. And so towards the end of the speech, there was sort of a pile of yellow paper at the left side of the rostrum, which was a little interesting. I don't know whatever happened to that paper, obviously. I was considering picking up some on my way out. But just wouldn't have been the thing to do.

The atmosphere at the Boston Garden was exciting. People were talking. I mean, before it all happened, before the speech started, everybody was excited, waiting for him, wondering where he was, et cetera, et cetera. People were there early, I'm sure.

Tickets were very scarce. You couldn't get in there unless you were invited or an alumni. I don't think very many students were able to get in. But it was electrifying, if you will. And of course, his speech was very well-received-- standing ovations, as you can imagine.

When it was all over, we went back to our routine of guiding the ladies on our arm up the hotel stairs and that sort of thing. It was one of the things that sort of delayed the next event. There was another event afterwards-- a reception at the Statler-- a post speech reception, I guess you'd call it at the Statler for MIT alumni. And I guess they expected about 2,000 people there.

And so that was the next stop for Winston Churchill. And we went to the Statler and once again with the ladies on our arms, bringing them up the stairs to the lobby. That was before they had escalators in a lot of the hotels in downtown Boston.

And Winston Churchill found that he was at the wrong hotel. He had expected to be at the Ritz, which was where he was staying. And so he had left some things back at the Ritz. So he asked if we could go back. He asked the man that was in charge of marshaling everybody around-- I'm not sure it was the FBI or whatever-- but he asked if he could go back to the Ritz before we went any further because he had some things that he wanted to pick up back there.

So we marched everybody down, ladies on our arms again. And they got in the cars and went back to the Ritz, picked up whatever he wanted at the Ritz-- somebody said it was a hairbrush or something, but I'm not sure that was exactly true-- and returned to the Statler again, where he relaxed a few minutes and then came down to the ballroom and made his address. Unfortunately, he was a little late for the reception. But people didn't mind. They were having a good time.

INTERVIEWER: What were the ladies like?

TOOHY: Well, Mrs. Churchill was delightful. She was an American and appreciated America very much, I'm sure. And she was just a very friendly, lovely woman. She didn't strike you as being the wife of the prime minister, quite frankly. But she was a very lovely woman.

I did also have the opportunity to meet her daughter-in-law. Mrs. Randolph Churchill was there with Randolph Churchill, Winston's son. And one of the times I was escorting her up the stairs or down the stairs-- I've forgotten which-- you'd be interested to know that she was the ambassador to France later on in life. I've forgotten exactly what the circumstances were.

But she did marry Averell Harriman. And he died sometime after that. But she was a hostess in Washington for some time, and then was appointed ambassador to France. And it was Pam Harriman was her name.

But at the time I met her, she was a 25-year-old wife of Winston Churchill's son and an interesting young lady. She was five or six years older than I was. So she was interesting. Let's put it that way.

INTERVIEWER: [CHUCKLES]

TOOHY: Well, it was a little awe-inspiring. And obviously, you're a little nervous on something like that. I was particularly nervous for the speech that I had to give at the inauguration. And that was the next day. As I recall, that was in Rockwell Cage.

And I was to give the address representing the student body, welcoming or congratulating Dr. Killian and welcoming him to MIT as a representative of the student body. And so I rehearsed that quite a bit. But it went off well. I was happy with it.

So that was the biggest chore that I had. Being the escort on the night of Winston Churchill's speech wasn't a problem because it was sort of a fun thing to do, obviously. And there wasn't a lot of pressure on me preparing for a speech or anything of that nature.

Well, I was very fortunate to be in that position, obviously. And I look back on it, and it was a tremendous experience that you wouldn't do without.

There was some little things about Winston Churchill that were sort of interesting as I look back on these things. He liked oysters. And it would seem that wherever we were, he would have called for oysters because there'd be a cart coming up the elevator and rolling down the hall to his suite where he was. And he would have ordered oysters and whatever else he takes with is oysters. I don't know. I know he smokes cigars, because we had cigar smoke all over.

INTERVIEWER: Oh.

TOOHY: Yeah. But he certainly loved oysters. And Boston is a good place to be if you like oysters.

INTERVIEWER: [CHUCKLES]

TOOHY: Well, I guess the convocation was planned first. I'm sorry. I guess the inauguration was planned with the convocation. But at that time, we had no idea Winston Churchill would be coming. It was simply an inauguration of the new president of MIT, and then a Mid-Century Convocation. And the principal speaker was to be Harold Stassen, of course. And he came and did a wonderful job.

But then they were trying to keep the major speaker-- they didn't disclose him until further down the time frame. And it was to be Harry Truman. And he was not able to make it. We didn't know that at the time. We found out later that the original speaker-- or prime speaker, if you will-- was to be President Truman. And then he was not able to come, for whatever reason.

And so it was announced that Winston Churchill was coming. And I think that announcement must have been within days of the event. I can't recall. Maybe a week or so. I can't recall precisely.

But we knew about the inauguration. And I knew personally that I had been asked to be the representative of the student body at the inauguration and that I was asked to give a short speech of welcoming. So I prepared for that. And that was probably a couple of months ahead of time. So it was plenty of time to prepare and make sure I remembered everything.

Well, yeah. I suppose that's the case. Let's see, I've got to think how to respond to that one. I was very fortunate to have been selected to do that. I can't say that either. I don't know if they were jealous or not. Let's put it that way. I don't think so. I think they realized it was something that had to be done. Although, I don't think you want to use this part of it here.

INTERVIEWER: [LAUGHS]

TOOHY: Yeah. But there weren't that many students around, let's put it that way. There weren't that many students around at the time, because it was spring break.

And indeed, one has some mixed emotions. Do you want to take advantage of spring break? Or do you want to participate in this? Obviously, I wanted to participate in this. It was really a lifetime opportunity. So I was delighted to do that. But many of my friends were off somewhere else or relaxing or that sort of thing.

The inauguration, as you know, was held in Rockwell Cage. Rockwell Cage had just opened at that time. Indeed, there was some concern that the Cage might not be ready for the inauguration. But of course, it was the inauguration of the new president. And so I'm sure they worked overtime and got it ready.

But it was literally the first event that was held there. I don't believe they even had the normal sports activities there until this event was over. And that was, of course, packed with both students and faculty and alumni.

As we all walked in, we had caps and gowns on, as I recall. And as we all walked in, there was a student section for seniors and a special place for them to march in with the parade. And of course, with inauguration, many university presidents are invited to the inauguration. And so there was a lot of men with doctors hoods.

That part of the parade was very colorful as you saw all the presidents of universities from all over the world marching with their very colorful hoods. And each one, as you know, is distinctive for the university that they represent. And so that was very impressive.

And then up on the stage, and once again, I had a favored seat. And I was called upon, as I say, to make my speech, which I did and got through it satisfactorily. So I was happy with that.

Oh, yes. This was our president. Our former president, Karl Compton, had been there for 25 years. And he had done a magnificent job of, all during the war, he was the president of MIT and the Radiation Lab, with the big contribution that it made to the war was all very well-appreciated.

And at that time, people were just realizing how important radar was, and sonar. And the basic research was done right at that Radiation Lab and at the Lincoln Labs under the direction of MIT. And, indeed, the staff at MIT-- Vann Bush, who was the vice chairman, I think, at the time, made a very significant contribution to the war effort with his work at the Radiation Lab.

So it was an exciting time. And, indeed, it was an honor for Dr. Compton, as well. Because we were honoring him as a retiring president and, of course, the inauguration of the new president. And that was very well-attended, I think, by the students.

INTERVIEWER: [INAUDIBLE]

TOOHY: No, I don't recall the speech. And I don't know whether I thought there was a book that Dean Burchard, who was the chairman of the convocation, wrote a book. It was sort of a collection of all of the speeches at the Mid-Century Convocation, as well as of the speech of Winston Churchill that night.

And I looked through the copy of the book, but I didn't see my speech in there. So I'm sure it's around somewhere. Actually, the book was mainly for the speeches for the convocation. The book was about the Mid-Century Convocation, not about the inauguration. So we really shouldn't have been in the book anyway.

Well, I mean, of course we knew him, because he was the vice president at the time. And then when we graduated-- this was in April, of course, and so our graduation was in June. And obviously, by that time he was present. So many of us had an opportunity to know him and meet with him.

During graduation week, the president has a reception at his home. And so we had an opportunity to meet him there, and his wife and family. And then, of course, he remained as president for quite some time.

So during alumni affairs, I would always renew my acquaintance with him. And he remembered me as the student who gave a speech on his inauguration day. And, indeed, his wife remembered too, I think. Because she was a very alert individual who knew the students and remembered them.

Well, I think at the end of the day-- of course, it's the end of which day? I mean, there were really two big days there-- the day of Winston Churchill's speech and then the day of the inauguration. And I believe the day of the Winston Churchill speech preceded the inauguration. So I really wasn't going to do a lot of celebrating the first night because I had to get a good night's sleep so I'd be in shape for my speech on the second night.

So but then when it was over, obviously, I felt quite relaxed and it was all behind me. But that's a lot of pressure on a 21-year-old, I would say. But it was fun. And I enjoyed it. And I look back on it with a deep sense of pride.

Well, I expected it to be in the newspapers. But it was really a surprise to see that it was front page headlines in The Herald and The Post. And so I was certainly interested in that and read his speech.

I couldn't remember very much. Sitting there on the stage behind him, you had your mind on 100 things. But it gave me a chance to understand what he was saying a little better. So that was interesting.

And all of the pictures-- that they had some really great pictures, indeed. There's a picture of Mrs. Churchill and I walking down the stairs. And that's a delightful picture that I have hanging on my wall at home. You don't get pictures like that every day.

Of course, I guess I should answer that question by indicating that Winston Churchill was such a remarkable man that it's just a pleasure to reflect back on that whole experience. The man had tremendous foresight-- obviously, a world leader. He appreciated the United States very, very much. Obviously, he was one of the best friends the United States have had. And of course, I like to think that the United States was one of his best friends. I'm sure he would say that, too.

INTERVIEWER: [LAUGHS]

TOOHY: In fact, the main headline in The Boston Post, I guess, at the time, was, Winston says the Russians would be in the UK if it were not for the US. And, indeed, I think he's right.

He was a man who had vision. I mean, obviously, as a young man, I didn't appreciate this. But as we see all that's happened in the last 50 years, Winston Churchill had vision.

Well, of course, people my age just sort of missed World War II. Some of us had to go in at the very end. We entered MIT while the war was still on. I entered MIT in June of '45. And that was obviously three months before the war was over.

And we all expected to be called in at the time we entered MIT. And they had the ROTC. We were all privates in the ROTC that first year or two that we were there. But then, as it worked out, I didn't have to go in until the start of the Korean War.

So my vision of World War II was not the same as somebody in our class, for instance, who had been a veteran or had been to MIT earlier and then went in the war and then returned. And we have many of our classmates in the class of '49 who are of that age. So my vision was not the same as theirs, where they participated in the event.

But as I look back on it, I realize what a tremendous challenge Winston Churchill had during World War II, beginning with the onslaught of the Germans and the V-2 rockets and the possibility of invasion of their islands. And then I realized the great moves that were made by the United States with Lend-Lease and Liberty Ships and, indeed, the eventual joining of the armed forces. And, indeed, the United States did make the difference and did bring peace back to world.

As I look back on that 50 years, I realized some of the things that Winston Churchill was saying at the time, some of the things that he was warning us to look out for in the future. And so I reread his speech every once in a while.

I was very fortunate to be elected senior class president in 1949. And I had been somewhat involved in the student government. But I never dreamed that I'd be involved with Winston Churchill, or Dr. Compton, or Dr. Killian to the extent that I was. And that was a real surprise. Obviously, it was a delightful one, and I enjoyed it very much. The Winston Churchill opportunity was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to observe that man very closely.

Well, as a student, I came to MIT in June of 1945, fresh out of a public high school in Rye, New York, and was wondering what it was all going to be like. And I worked hard my first year, I think. But my grades were just average.

It's somewhat of a shock to come from a school and your grades are considered pretty high, and then you get to MIT and you're just run-of-the-mill average. But there were a number of us. And we handled it as best we could and went on and learned. It was an excellent education, obviously-- not just the courses themselves, but the discipline that was necessary to handle four years in MIT.

I changed courses, like many people did. I started out in mechanical engineering and then went into industrial management. But many of the courses were similar. I began to get into more of the business courses and was interested in marketing. I began to be interested in marketing in my junior year, I guess.

But it was a great experience. I look back. I come to MIT from time to time for alumni events. And although I don't live around Boston, I get to Boston regularly, and so have a chance to keep track of what's going on in MIT. And I like what I see.

Well, I was living in the dorm for a while. I had the dorm experience. And then I was in a fraternity, as a matter of fact, for most of my four years. And that was a nice experience. There was advantages and disadvantages to living in a fraternity. We were further away, obviously. But it allowed you to get to know people a little more easily. And it was fun-- gave you something to do when you had some free time. And I met a lot of really nice people.

But I think that the whole MIT experience is the important phase of the education. It gave all of us a great start to a life. And of course, this is my 50th year, and back for my 50th reunion with many of my classmates. And as we look back on our 50 years, it's been very rewarding. And we've got a lot to thank MIT for.

I do have an opportunity from time to time to walk down the halls and see what's going on at MIT when I'm here for a meeting of some kind. And MIT hasn't changed that much. We still have the same notices on the bulletin boards. There are some new buildings, obviously. The new library wasn't there when I was here. And many of the athletic facilities are improved.

I think probably the dress code is less than it was when we were there. But that's the way it is all over. I mean, young people are changing. And they change at MIT as well as they change any other place. But they just look like regular students, as far as I'm concerned.

I did have a chance to interact with some of them. I was fortunate enough to be invited to a dinner at Dr. Vest's house a month or two ago. And they bring seniors in there on a rotating basis to sit down and have dinner with him and chat with him. And they bring some of the alumni that are in town or in the area to join them.

And so I had the pleasure of sitting with 8 or 10 of the seniors and chatted with him. And they seemed like regular people. Two of the boys play lacrosse. And I played lacrosse at MIT, as well. So we had a lot of things in common to talk about.

And of course, there are more ladies now at MIT than there were when I was there. I think we had four in our class at the time-- four in our freshman class, as a matter of fact. There were more that finally graduated because a number transferred in, fortunately. But that's a change that we see in all universities. And a happy change. Yeah, a happy change, to be sure. So that's certainly one difference.

But I found the students not basically different from the students that were a part of my own class.

INTERVIEWER: Though they didn't have the Winston Churchill (LAUGHING) experience.

TOOHY: Well, they didn't. But they may have had other experiences, I'm sure, that were almost as grand. Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: Yeah.

[INAUDIBLE]?

TOOHY: No, I don't think they were. No. My parents weren't there. Of course, my family-- I'm one of five children. And so there were five of us within six or seven years. So the other four children were at home. And my father, at the time, I believe was working in Washington for the OPA. Well, wait. The war was over though. Excuse me. Let's back off on that and just give you an opportunity to cut a little bit here.

INTERVIEWER: [LAUGHS]

TOOHY: No, my parents weren't able to come up for the inauguration. They did make my graduation, I'm happy to say. But they had lots of thing to do, and there's four kids at home to take care of-- all younger than I. So I didn't really think it was necessary to urge them to come.

And I'd really had no knowledge, I think, when we talked about it-- I didn't really know I was going to be participating with Winston Churchill. I mean, I just knew at that particular time that I was going to be talking at the inauguration. And the Winston Churchill operation sort of followed along.

And there was, I think, about six or eight seniors that were involved in being ushers, if you will, for the ladies. And I think that we just really got into that about the week before, I think. So it really wasn't a thing to-- it didn't make sense to extend invitations at that particular time. Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: Did it make your hometown newspaper?

TOOHY: I don't believe it made the hometown newspaper. Of course, our hometown just has a weekly paper. But I didn't see the hometown newspaper. But when I graduated, it did make the hometown newspaper.

INTERVIEWER: And did they mention about--

TOOHY: No, they didn't mention about Winston Churchill or anything. I don't think they picked that up in the hometown newspapers.

Oh, yes. Indeed, some of them will be coming to the reunion. And so we're looking forward to talking about that. But generally speaking, it's something that's happened in the past. And while I'm pleased with the opportunity to participate, it's not a subject I bring up myself.

Well, when I look back on the opportunity that I had, it was a magnificent opportunity and one that I could not have foreseen when I entered MIT or, indeed, when I began my senior year. To have shared the platform with Winston Churchill as a 21-year-old was a dream that simply one does not get normally.

And I look back on it. And I was a very fortunate person at the time, to be sure. I try to be modest about it when I bring the subject up. But I'm certainly very proud that I was a participant at that event.