Story by Huron

Submitted on 10 March 2010

Remembering Huron - Residence Life

Doug Hammar lived at O'Neil-Ridley soon after it was built in 1951. Those were the times when the London Hunt Club was across the road instead of the Social Sciences Centre and the D. B. Weldon Library.

Doug lived at Huron as a Western student, as so many others have done who have retained their association with the College.

"My daughter lived in another residence when she eventually went to university," says Doug, "but she never had the same kind of positive community experiences that I did at Huron."

A tradition at the College in the '50s was for the frosh class to make sure all other members of the residence were in chapel at 7 a.m. to celebrate the Christmas service. This usually meant rousing a few sleepy heads.

One year, on the eve of the Christmas service, the senior students loudly proclaimed at dinner in the refectory that the frosh were "wimps" and wouldn't get them out of bed. Simply locking their doors would do the trick.

The frosh had a better idea; they simply lifted the doors off the hinges of a few selected seniors while they were away after dinner.

The senior class showed up for the Christmas service.

Doug also recalls "creating havoc at Brescia," but was reluctant to go into details. Some secrets are forever sealed.

Doug recalls a 'work hard, play hard' approach to life at Huron. Everyone would agree to study weeknights between 6:30 and 11, reserving Friday nights for bridge or chess or a trip to the movies.

Study time broke down only once. That was in 1956 during the Hungarian Revolution. One student was convinced "we're all going to war tomorrow' so didn't see the point of study. That night off was the exception.

Doug's only brush with injury came while dodging golf balls while crossing the Hunt Club. "We snuck in a few rounds," he says. "We were kicked off only once."

"We were a really close knit community at Huron," Doug says. "We were a wonderful association of people pursuing different academic interests. When I see some of those people today, they're the same buddies now they were back then."