Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History

Sauer, Anne

Branco, Jessica

Bennett, John

Crowley, Zachary

2000

Tufts Mountain Club, 1939-3000

 

The Tufts Mountain Club was founded in December of 1939 to allow students to experience outdoor sports and activities year-round.

In December of 1939, with the backing of the Tufts Ski Club, an effort was made to purchase a shelter for student use in northern New Hampshire. At the same time, student Bill Ballard, a former president of the Tufts Ski Club, called a meeting to judge interest in a group that organized and participated in outdoor activities for every season.

Finding strong campus interest, Ballard formed a group and named it the Tufts Mountain Club (TMC). After approval from the university, Ballard began advertising around campus. Membership costs were set at three dollars a year, with the stipulation that members could use the lodge at all times.

The first membership role included President and Mrs. Carmichael, Dean Bush, Professor Houston, and a large group of undergraduates. In order to accommodate interested Jackson students, a female chaperone was hired to stay at the lodge on the first and third weekend of every month.

During the winter of 1940, TMC laid plans for spring expeditions to the new lodge, and in March, the group merged with the Tufts Ski Club. This not only increased TMC membership, but also facilitated wintertime use of the lodge.

In 1944, a lack of interest due to the war forced TMC, previously one of the most popular student groups, to disband. Only one year later, however, four students revived the club, and in May 1945 the reformed TMC organized a trip to clean the lodge and prepare it for active use.

TMC continued to sponsor activities from their New Hampshire lodge until New Years Day, 1962, when the lodge burned to the ground. No one was injured, but the lodge was destroyed. Soon after, plans for a new lodge were drawn up, and Tufts agreed to help pay for its construction.

TMC has continued to offer numerous activities through the past four decades. Since 1978, the club has had a permit allowing members to climb campus buildings during the daytime, and every Halloween, members place pumpkins on the top of Goddard chapel and at various other locations around campus. In 1983, TMC sponsored its first annual Elbow Pond Cross-Country Ski Race, and in 1986, TMC members secured their place in Tufts history by unearthing the famed gravity stone.

As of 2001, TMC continues to be one of the most popular student organizations, and still offers and arranges various climbs, hikes, skiing expeditions and canoe trips.

Source: TW

 
 
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  • The encyclopedia seeks to capture more than 150 years of Tufts' achievements, societal contributions and outstanding alumni and faculty in concise entries. As a source of accurate factual information, the Encyclopedia can be used by anyone interested in the history of Tufts and of the people who have made it the unique institution it is.
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 Introduction
 Content
Numeric Entries
A
B
C
D
Dame, Lorin Low, 1838-1903
Dana, Charles A., 1881-1975
Dana Laboratory, 1963
Daniel Ounjian Prize in Economics,
Davies, Caroline Stodder, 1864-1939
Davies House, 1894
De Florez Prize in Human Engineering, 1964
de Pacheco, Kaye MacKinnon, ca. 1910-ca. 1985
Dean Hall, 1887-1963
Dean, Oliver, 1783-1871
Dearborn, Heman Allen, 1831-1897
Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, 1893
Department of Anesthesia, 1970
Department of Art and Art History, 1930
Department of Biochemistry, 1893
Department of Chemistry, 1882
Department of Community Health, 1930
Department of Dermatology, 1897
The Department of Economics, 1946
Department of Medicine, 1893
Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology
Department of Neurology, 1893
Department of Neuroscience, 1983
Department of Neurosurgery, 1951
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1893
Department of Ophthamology, 1893
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, 1906
Department of Otolaryngology, 1895
Department of Pathology, 1893
Department of Pediatrics, 1930
Department of Pharmacology, 1915
Department of Physics and Astronomy, 1854
Department of Physiology, 1893
Department of Psychiatry, 1928
Department of Radiation Oncology, 1968
Department of Radiology, 1915
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, 1955
Department of Surgery, 1893
Department of Urban and Environmental Policy, 1973
Department of Urology, 1910
Dental Health Sciences Building, 1969
Dewick, Cora Alma (Polk), 1875-1977
Dewick/MacPhie Dining Hall, 1959
Dickson Professorship of English and American History, 1913
Dirlam, Arland A., 1905-1979
Dog Cart, 1900
Dolbear, Amos Emerson, 1837-1910
Donald A. Cowdery Memorial Scholarship, 1946
Dr. Benjamin Andrews Professorship of Surgery, 1987
Dr. Philip E. A. Sheridan Prize, 1977
The Drug Bust, 1970
Dudley, Henry Watson, 1831-1906
Dugger, Edward Jr., 1919-75
Durkee, Frank W., 1861-1939
Durkee, Henrietta Noble Brown, 1871-1946
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
U
V
W
Z
 List of Sources