This Week in Texas Methodist History July 18

 

Methodist Colleges Do Their Part for War Effort, July 1943

 

 

Students of Texas Methodist history know that the Civil War devastated Methodist colleges. 

Students went to war and financial support dried up.  The case of World War II was different.  World War II actually increased the student population and helped institutions financially.

 

By World War II SMU was the leading denominational institution of higher education not just in Texas but in the Southwest.  It was very young school, having opened its doors in 1915 so it celebrated its 25^th anniversary in 1940.  The decision to plant a university in Dallas was fortuitous for helping the war effort.  The city’s transportation, banking, insurance, and manufacturing sectors made it ideal for helping stock the “Arsenal of Democracy>”   The main contribution of the Dallas Fort Worth area was in the field of aviation.  Military aircraft were vital to the war effort and had to run twenty four hours per day.   SMU responded by offering classes to accommodate the shift workers at those plants.

 

It’s hard for us to imagine today but SMU offered classes at 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 a.m.   The courses were in the engineering department and designed to teach the technical skills useful in the aviation industry.

 

Southwestern University in Georgetown was situated in a bucolic agricultural area rather than a thriving metropolis, but it also contributed to the war effort.  In July 1943 President Score announce that 384 prospective naval pilots had enrolled for the ground school portion of their training.   The legend of these naval pilots is well known in Southwestern lore since many of them were recruited from the UT, A&M, and SMU football programs and while at Southwestern led SU to consecutive Sun Bowl victories.  

 

Concentrating on the football exploits of the naval pilots at SU obscures many other interesting aspects of the program.  For example, where would the student pilots be housed? 

Women students were moved out of Laura Kuyendall.  That building was commissioned as the U. S. S. Kuykendall and the Navy moved in its own kitchen equipment, infirmary, etc.  My uncle, who was a civilian student at the time, told me of the trouble he and some of his classmates got into when they raided the U. S. S. Kuykendall’s mess for some hams (federal property).  The civilian dining hall did not have access to as much meat. 

 

Women students were moved into Mood Hall which had formerly been a men’s residence.  Since women were now occupying those rooms, the university repainted the rooms in pastel shades of peach, ivory, blue, and buff.  They even added crystal light fixtures.  The fancy tile bathrooms I used when I lived there in 1965-66 were installed at this time.  I always wondered why there were so many fancy bathrooms in Mood Hall.  Now I know.  They were put in for the women.

 

The men who had formerly lived in Mood Hall were sent to Snyder Hall (a predecessor of Sneed Hall, a women’s honor dorm,) fraternity houses, and private residences.

 

The fine arts department was moved to First Methodist Church where remodeling for art studios and rehearsal space was added.   The college catalog reflects new courses in aviation, meteorology, and navigation.

 

The addition of almost 400 tuition paying students provided an economic lifeline to SU which had been struggling to make financial ends meet.  They were fortunate that Georgetown was in the 10^th Congressional District and that the young U. S. Representative representing the 10^th, Lyndon B. Johnson, had been assigned to the Naval Affairs Committee.  It was LBJ who guided the bill through Congress.