Class of 1952 Reunions HISTORY

A Little Reunion History . . .
All colleges encourage their graduates to maintain and demonstrate loyalty to their alma mater through return visits. However, no other institution welcomes all of its alumni and their families back for reunions on a yearly basis with the style and fanfare that is uniquely Princeton. Here is a short history of this ever-evolving annual tradition.

In the College of New Jersey's early years, alumni regularly returned to campus to attend Commencement exercises. Its 100th Commencement in June 1847 drew an impressive 700 graduates for a formal dinner, escalating the tradition into a larger event. Until 1859, all alumni gathered together, but in that year, Alfred Woodhull, Class of 1856, organized the first "class" reunion, a triennial. He astutely surmised reasonable attendance could be expected, because in that era, anyone who returned to campus for Commencement three years after graduation qualified for an automatic master’s degree (a practice lasting until 1892).

In 1861, a regiment bound for battle in the Civil War passing through Princeton captivated the College's students with its "skyrocket" cheer, which imitated the sound of fireworks—"sis" for the zooming rocket; "boom" for the explosion; and "ahhhh" as the crowd expressed its pleasure for the resulting light show. At Princeton, the "sis, boom, ah" skyrocket cheer evolved into Princeton's "locomotive," where word repetition and increasing speed emulates the sound of a train pulling out from a station. "Tiger" was likely added to the cheer in the late 19th century, when athletic uniforms began consistently using orange and black.

The P-rade officially began in the late 1890s but is actually the merged product of earlier traditions. Beginning in the Civil War era, alumni formally processed to Commencement Day dinner meetings. Then in 1888, Princeton and Yale University began scheduling one of their baseball games at Princeton on the Saturday before Commencement. Since this coincided with class dinners, alumni attendance was high and many classes formally marched to the game at University Field (located at the corner of Prospect Avenue and Olden Street). In October 1896, when the newly renamed Princeton University celebrated its sesquicentennial (150th anniversary), 800 Princeton undergraduates and 2,000 alumni took part in a mile-long procession through the campus and town; most carried an orange torch or lantern, and many classes wore coordinated costumes. Stimulated by the grandeur and organization of this parade, in 1897 all returning classes first joined to march in order to the baseball game. By 1906, a written description of the annual event said, "The Alumni Pee-rade on Saturday afterNoon was quite as spectacular as usual; the bands, banners, transparencies, uniforms, and vaudeville features encircling University Field with color and noise."

During early P-rades, the sole decoration worn by returning alumni was a small badge with class numerals on it. Gradually, classes began to distinguish themselves with creative hats, balloons, and parasols; before long, younger classes wore colorful costumes, carried humorous signs, and often performed comic stunts. In 1912, some of that year’s graduating class dressed in blue denim overalls and jackets to protect their regular clothes from spilled beer stains. One year later, the Class of 1913 adopted white beer jackets as their costume. By 1920, the jackets became a tradition with the addition of unique class logos. To this day, each graduating class designs its own class jacket, worn for the first time during Reunions weekend. Classes typically design new costumes for each "major" quinquennial reunion up until the 25th, when they receive a class blazer.

Reunions were cancelled in 1917 and 1918 for World War I, so the "Victory Commencement" of 1919 featured a throng of 5,000 alumni for the largest Reunions and P-rade yet. An even longer "Victory Reunion" P-rade in 1946 following World War II (and the cancelled Reunions of 1943, 1944, and 1945) brought back 7,300 alumni, with each class carrying service flags showing the number of classmates who served and were killed in the war.

In 1947, the Class of 1922 held its 25th Reunion in Holder Hall Courtyard, becoming the first on-campus reunion site. (Previous reunions were held in private homes and rented spaces in town.) But it was not until 1952 that liquor was permitted to be served at the on-campus sites.

Rain has put the occasional damper on the P-rade but only once—in 1953—did it force a cancellation. Even then, some classes insisted on marching anyway! Over time, P-rades and Reunions increasingly became a family affair, but it was not until the undergraduate body became coeducational in 1969 that women were officially welcome to participate in the P-rade.

From the early- to mid-20th century, the P-rade route began at Nassau Hall, moved across campus to 1879 Arch, then down Prospect Avenue and around University Field to pass the president in his reviewing box. Construction of the EQuad on the site of University Field in the late 1960s changed the end of the route to the new Clarke Field south of Ivy Lane. This era also marked the last Yale-Princeton Commencement baseball game (1966), so the P-rade ending changed to an Alumni Association meeting welcoming the graduating seniors into the alumni body. In the early 1990s, the route was altered again to keep the P-rade entirely on campus-—beginning at FitzRandolph Gate, going around Nassau Hall and Cannon Green, then down Elm Drive to finish on Poe Field.

Despite route changes, procession order remains traditional. At 2:00 p.m. on Reunions Saturday, the Nassau Hall bell tolls and the P-rade Grand Marshal and other dignitaries (including the University president) lead members of the 25th Reunion Class from front campus to Poe Field. The classes then process in descending class order, beginning with the "Old Guard" (classes beyond the 65th Reunion) who ride in golf carts or occasionally walk, always drawing the loudest cheers from spectators. In recognition for his commitment to Reunions, the eldest returning alumnus has the special privilege of carrying the Class of 1923 Cane—a black wooden staff topped by a leaping silver tiger. Graduate alumni march between the 24th and 26th reunion classes. Throughout, dedicated alumni known as Marshals maintain order in their distinctive orange "Da Vinci" hats and blue blazers. The P-rade ends when the senior class sprints onto Poe Field, charging past the Reviewing Stand.

In 1996, in celebration of the University's bicenquinquagenary (250th anniversary), a spectacular fireworks display was first held on Saturday night. The thousands of shells, custom soundtrack, and tailored choreography of the 25-minute display quickly became a highlight and annual tradition during Reunions.

Increasing student body size and the inclusion of family members in the P-rade has swelled turnout and lively participation in the ever-more-colorful spectacle. Today, well over 20,000 alumni, family, and friends participate in this annual gathering, and no other university comes close to the pageantry, magnitude, and ceremony of Princeton Reunions.

This summary was prepared by the Committee on Reunions and is adapted from the research and writings of Alexander Leitch '24, William K. Selden '34, Daniel N. White '65, J. T. Miller '70 and Liz Greenberg '02.