Alumni returning to the College to participate in Winter Carnival activities say they remember days past when women were only visitors and snow sculptures provided fraternal entertainment.
Nancy Lebowitz '78 particularly recalls the snow sculpture of her sophomore year, a large Viking named Thor, on a ship.
"I was on my way to a party at Heorot with some guys from Bones Gate," Lebowitz said. "There were guys getting drunk on the Viking boat and every time they saw a coed, they kidnapped her and took them on the boat."
"I was kidnapped on the way to the party and sacrificed to Thor," Lebowitz said. "It was funny at the time."
Lebowitz's first year at the College was less eventful.
"For me it was kind of boring," Lebowitz said. "The ratio of men to women was seven to one and the guys were bringing up women from other colleges."
"I felt out of place, but by the time I was a senior, the ratio was three to one," Lebowitz said.
Snow sculptures have proven to be common sources for interesting alumni stories concerning Winter Carnivals during their undergraduate experience at Dartmouth.
Douglas Leigh '46, a member for Delta Tau Delta, now known as Bones Gate, was responsible for the fraternity's snow sculpture in the winter of 1947.
Leigh is a member of the reunion Class of 1946 but graduated in June of 1948 due to time served in World War II.
"By the front door, I had envisioned an Indian leaning against the house welcoming people to the house with a mug of beer," Leigh said.
Leigh took pine timbers and one tall slender tree from the river area and secured them into the ground to produce the shape of the figure.
"It was quite an undertaking," Leigh recalls.
The sculpture ended up being disqualified from the contest for the best winter carnival sculpture because it was not free standing.
"I didn't even know [that it had to be free standing] at the time," Leigh admits.
"Some people also thought he looked a little inebriated which didn't help things," Leigh said.
In past years, the luge run from the top of the Theta Delta Chi fraternity was a common source of fun for College students and visitors alike.
Douglas Fulton '85, a brother at Theta Delt remembers one specific time when a student from another college felt he could beat the brothers in the luge run.
"There was a weenie from Harvard who thought he could break the track record," Fulton said.
The Harvard student flew up about 80 feet in the air and ended up in a snow pile, he said.
"Luckily we got him to the hospital in time," Fulton said.
Richard Liesching '59, an international student from England who was a brother at Beta Theta Pi fraternity, recalls one story that brought all of the brothers together to reach a common goal.
"I remember one particular guy who had a girlfriend who we always heard about," Liesching said.
Liesching said the brothers decided to each chip in two dollars for a flight to bring their brother's girlfriend up for Carnival.
"He came with me to the airport to meet my date, but his date walked off the plane," Liesching recalls. "I thought he was going to die."
Liesching believes that the couple ended up getting married, but that he was not invited to the wedding.
"If I ever see him, I am going to get him." Liesching said.
Ronald Olmstead '32, a brother at Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity said that his Winter Carnival memories were not very exciting.
"Parties were fairly quiet," Olmstead recalls. "After skiing all day and the going to the races outdoors for a long time, we didn't have much ambition for partying."
Times changed between Olmstead's relaxed days at SAE during Winter Carnival and when Bill Grigsby '56 partied as a brother at the same fraternity house.
"In retrospect, the parties centered around the consumption of alcohol and the treatment of the young women wasn't very good," Grigsby said.
Grigsby commended College trustees and administrators for implementing coeducation at Dartmouth.
"I think having women on campus has civilized the place," he said.
Even prior to coeducation, women visiting the Dartmouth campus for Winter Carnival forced many College men to rearrange their "normal" behavior.
Earnest Rice '44, president of the Dartmouth Sarasota Club in Florida, recalls one winter carnival when all of the brothers of his fraternity, Sigma Nu, evacuated the house for the weekend to accommodate female guests -- well, all except one.
"One fellow fell asleep on the third floor in one of the bedrooms," Rice said. "When he woke up there were two girls asleep in the other beds."
Rice said that the brother had to sneak out of the house before anyone noticed what had happened and called the police.
"We all got a big laugh out of it," Rice said. "He fell asleep very innocently."
