Prattling Before the Pratfall

Fifty years ago I was in the process of applying to colleges and deciding where to go after graduating from high school. The family’s firstborn was completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin, and she had been accepted at the university’s medical school. When I began considering colleges my mother sat me down and explained the financial facts of life. Mom finished by saying, “you’re on your own, kid.”

I applied to Boston University, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Westfield State College. I was accepted at all three institutions of higher learning, but sticker shock eliminated BU from the running immediately. UMass was do-able, but it would take every cent I had, and to have any spending money I’d need a part-time job. Having worked up to 25 hours/week in high school at my restaurant job, I wanted the option of limiting work to summer vacations.^*

Westfield State invited me to visit the campus, and with only six months of driving experience I drove the 180-mile round-trip in my father’s car. He was out of work at the time, which weighed heavily in my mother’s financial facts of life. The size of the campus was more to my liking than sprawling UMass, so between that and affordability, I made my decision for Westfield. My first year’s tuition was covered by a $500 scholarship from the Lion’s Club in my town, awarded at the high school graduation ceremony. Five hundred bucks is equivalent to about $3500 today.

Four years later, after graduating with a BA in Economics, I stayed in Westfield for another four years, until returning to eastern Massachusetts to begin what became my life’s work. Dr. Robert Brown, a retired WSC history professor, provides some historical background about Westfield in this video.

Dr. Brown was an outstanding lecturer. He challenged students to think about history, rather than merely remembering facts. My understanding of the philosophical origins of the United States came from a course taught by Dr. Brown. I learned about America in the context of the Age of Enlightenment, and that Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s ideas influenced Thomas Jefferson’s writing of the Declaration of Independence.

On the day of the final exam, Dr. Brown had quite a surprise for me. He announced that, “Mr. Pratt’s work has been exceptional, so I already know the grade he would receive on this test. Therefore I see no point in him taking it. Mr. Pratt, you have earned an A and are excused.” The resentful glares of my classmates followed me out of the room. If I had attended BU, I’m sure my work wouldn’t have been considered so exceptional.

^* During the first semester of my freshman year I worked a restaurant job Friday and Saturday nights, just long enough to earn the money for a pair of Dynaco A-25 speakers, after selling my Realistic MC-1000 speakers.