THURSDAY AFTERNOON, OCTOBER 10, 1946
THE BATTALION
Page 3
Town Hall Calendar Features 12 Programs
Mona Paulee, Mezzo-Soprano
Will Appear on Town Hall
After only three seasons as an ai’tist of the Metropolitan Opera
Association, lovely Mezzo-Soprano Mona Paulee, appearing on Town
Hall, November 22, has become one of the most valuable members
of that famous company.
Born in Alberta, Canada, Miss Paulee’s family moved to Portland,
Oregon when she was four years old. In Portland, Mona attended
school, took piano lessons and led the life of any other small girl of
comfortably established parents—until she was ten. And then, her
father purchased a moving picture
theatre and Mona became the best
informed child in Portland on Hol
lywood’s output of the late twen
ties.
In the pre-talkie days some
slides of current hits were flashed
on the screen for the audience to
sing. The public x#as reluctant but
10-year-old Mona was not. Stand
ing in the darkness of the pit next
to the organist she sang lustily and
to this day can run through the
sentimental lyrics of former fav
orites like “Charmaine” and
“Diane” without missing a word.
Mona’s family was unim
pressed with her talents as a
singer and she herself did not con
sider her voice seriously—singing
was simply something that she
enjoyed doing . . . until one night
when with some of her ’teen-age
friends, she attended a picture
show in another Portland theatre.
The manager, to enliven the even
ing, was sponsoring an amateur
singing contest with a prize of ten
(See PAULEE, Page 4)
Mona Paulee
Donald Dickson is
One of America’s
Popular Baritones
Donald Dickson, sensational
young Ameiican baritone, will ap
pear on the Town Hall program,
February 20.
Music has been liis whole life
and today Dickson name is syn
onymous with the very best. Sen
sational and versatile are two
adjectives which there can be no
doubt as being his.
Married at seventeen, a father
at eighteen, he made his debut as
symphony soloist at nineteen, his
first network broadcast at twenty-
one, his first transcontinental con-
Donald Dickson
cert tour at twenty-three and his
Metropolitan Opera debut at twen
ty-five. Last spring at thirty-one
Mr. Dickson made his screen debut
in Samuel Goldwyn’s technicolor
production “Up in Arms”.
As versatile as any performer
before the public he has sung the
melodies of Jei’ome Eern and
“Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesel-
len” of Mahler with symphony;
in opera the tried and true dra
matic role of Rigoletto and the
modern title role of Garrick in its
world premiere. On radio Mr. Dick
son has sung everything from Pag-
liacci to boogie-woogie.
In the amazingly brief period of
his career, Donald Dickson has be
come one of the most popular at
tractions today.
MAYBE YOU NEED A PIANO LESSON
When you look inside a piano you see a harp
shaped metal plate on which the strings are
strung. Even in a spinet it ordinarily weighs
well over 100 pounds.
“Too heavy!” thought Winter & Company,
who make pianos. (If you’ve ever moved a
piano, youTl agree.) “Let’s have Alcoa make
an aluminum plate.”
So, Winter’s piano designers and Alcoa en
gineers put their combined experiences together
to develop an aluminum plate. First, a strong
aluminum alloy had to be found because the
strings put an 18-ton pull on the plate. A
special alloy was produced, but...
As the strings don’t pull in the same direc
tion or with the same force, in time the plate
would creep, cause distortion, and the strings
get out of tune.
Alcoa engineers found a way to tell exactly
where and how great the strains were . . .
figured out how to balance the stresses and then
stabilize the plate by an Alcoa-developed heat-
treating process.
The result: The first successful aluminum
piano plate, weighing only 45 pounds instead
of 125, with tone quality enhanced.
That piano plate offers this lesson for young
engineers to remember when they step from
college into industry: Take a look at aluminum
—with Alcoa engineers at your side—when you
want strength with lightness in anything you
are designing. Ideas click when men with
imagination plus engineering—“Imagineering”
as we like to call it at Alcoa—work with this
versatile metal and with the greatest fund of
aluminum knowledge in the world—Alcoa’s.
Aluminum Company of America, Gulf Build
ing, Pittsburgh 19, Pennsylvania.
mrst in ALUMINUM
Patricia Travers, Famous Violinist,
Town Hall Feature for Jaunary 28
Patricia Travers, outstanding violinist who will appear on Town
Hall January 28, has been soloist with practically all of the major
symphony orchestras in this country. Miss Travers has given recitals
from coast to coast in innumerable cities.
Besides her concert and orchestral activities, Miss Travers spent
eight weeks in Hollywood when she made her first moving picture
for Paramount entitled: “There’s Magic in Music”.
She has played for service men at the New York Stage Door
Town Hall Presents
Dr. Franz Polgar,
Famous Hypnotist
Dr. Franz J. Polgar was the
surprise star of the 1945 Town Hall
program.
Dr. Polgar, who is a world fam
ous hypnotist, mental telepathists
and memory feat exponent, returns
to Town Hall on January 15 by
popular request.
His “Miracles of the Mind” show
has won him a reputation as one
of the most perplexing personal
ities of our time. His performances
are always the subject of much
discussion and controversy. Spec-
tators with the “show me” atti
tude marvel at Dr. Polgar’s per
formances.
Give Dr. Polgar a book or a
magazine for a few minutes to
look over and he will repeat it ver
batim seconds later.
Those who saw Polgar in 1945
will not miss seeing him again
and those who are fortunate
enough to see him perform in Jan.
will never forget it.
Town Hall tickets are still
available for students for the 1946-
47 school year at the Student Ac
tivities Office in the Administra
tion Building, from the first ser
geants in ROTC units or through
the house masters in veterans’
dormitories.
Whittemore-Lowe,
Duo-Pianists, Will
Appear November 6
Two ex-GIs with no reconversion
problem are Arthur Whittemore
and Jack Lowe, gifted young duo-
pianists, who will be heard at the
November 6 Town Hall program.
Released from the Navy after
three and a half years’ service on
January 6, Whittemore and Lowe
spent the next three weeks arrang
ing and recording for Victor eight
numbers for the first album ever to
be made by two pianos with or
chestra of danceable music; then
they embarked on a concert tour.
Young and personable, Whitte-
Whittemore and Lowe
more and Lowe have a bobby-sox
following that a Sinatra might
envy. But it is not only with the
younger feminine element that the
duo-pianists are a success. During
their Navy period, in addition to
their regular blue jacket duties,
they gave more than 500 concerts
before half a million service per
sonnel here and in the Pacific—at
one time they played 241 perfor
mances in more than 40 Army,
Navy and Marine hospitals in 88
days, a concert record that may
stand for all time. The first Navy
men to entertain officially in the
Pacific, they were credited with
being the most popular artists
wearing the uniform of their serv
ice, are about to receive a certi-
(See PIANISTS, Page 4)
Canteen, at the Philadelphia
Naval Hospital and at many local
bases and hospitals while on tour.
In the last two successive seasons,
the violinist has appeared seven
times with the Philadelphia Or
chestra, one appearance being a
radio broadcast.
Miss Travers was born in All
wood, Clifton, New Jersey. She
started the study of violin at the
age of four. For three years she
worked with Jacques Gordon of the
Gordon String Quartet, and then
with Hans Letz of the Juillard
Graduate School of Music in New
York.
Her first public concert was at
the age of six at Music Mountain,
Connecticut. At nine her formal de
but on the Ford Sunday Evening
Hour with the Detroit Symphony
established Miss Travers as an ar
tist of the highest rank. At ten
she appeared with the New York
Philharmonic Symphony for the
first time.
Miss Patricia Travers
New Plastic Resists Heat, Acids, Electricity
"Teflon/' Product of Group
Research, is Solving Diffi
cult Problems in Radar,
Television and Industry
A group of Du Pont research men
were looking for a new refrigerant of
a particular type. These men found
what they were after; but, as so often
has been the case, they found some
thing more—this time an industrial
plastic whose unique qualities make
it invaluable in many fields.
During the study, the chemist in
charge proposed a route to the syn
thesis of HCF 2 CF 2 C1 via tetrafluoro-
ethylene, CF 2 =CF 2 . In working with
the latter, a chemically reactive gas
boiling at -76.3C./760 mm., it was
learned that it polymerized to form
a resin having unusual properties.
After evaluation by organic and
physical chemists, physicists and
electrical experts, a suitable process
for the difficult manufacture of this
product was worked out by the chem
ists in collaboration with chemical
and mechanical engineers.
Structure and Properties
"Teflon” is made by polymerizing
gaseous tetrofluoroethylene to give
a solid, granular polymer:
Controlled at this one panel is all the equipment for
producing the polymer from which is made "Teflon.”
F F F F
C-C-C-C ...
F F F F
The fluorine atoms in the molecule
impart exceptional properties of re
sistance to heat and chemicals.
"Teflon” has unusual heat resist
ance. Having no true melting point,
"Teflon” decomposes slowly to give
the gaseous monomer and a few
other gaseous fluorine derivatives at
around 400°C. Under certain condi
tions small amounts of fluorine-con
taining gases have been observed at
temperatures above 230°C. Because
of its heat resistance, gaskets and
wire insulation for jet engines are
now made of this plastic. It is also
used in aircraft ignition systems near
sparkplugs and in high-temperature
heating systems.
The chemical resistance of "Tef
lon” is such that it withstands the
attack of all materials except molten
alkali metals. Boiling in acid (aqua
regia, hydrofluoric acid or fuming
nitric acid) will not change its weight
More facts about Du PonT—Listen to “Cavalcade of America," Mondays, 7 P.M. CST, on NBC
or properties. For this reason it may
have wide use in such applications as
tubing and piping for chemical plants
and acid-distillation equipment.
Because the dielectric loss factor
is extremely low, even at frequencies
up to 3000 megacycles, it is an ex
cellent insulating material for cur
rents of ultra-high frequency. Its
heat-resisting and aging qualities
suggest immediate uses as a dielectric
in coaxial cables for color television,
and in radar and power fields.
Forms of "Teflon" Available
By use of special techniques the new
plastic can be extruded as rods,
tubes or wire coating. In general, its
extrusion rates are low in compari
son to other thermoplastics because
of its resistance to softening.
More facts about "Teflon” are in
Du Pont Plastics Technical Service
Bulletin No. 13. Send your request
to 2521 Nemours Bldg. Wilmington
98, Del. "Teflon” is one of the many
products which represent the work
and skill of Du Pont men, who, work
ing as a team, contribute toward a
better America for you and all of us.
Questions College Men ask
about working with Du Pont
"WILL I STAY IN ONE FIELD
AT DU PONT?"
The first position of a new man at
Du Pont is based on his expressed prefer
ence and an estimate of his aptitudes and
abilities. Subsequent work may be in the
same or other fields, as openings present
themselves in research, production or
sales divisions. Keynote of Du Pont per
sonnel policy is promotion from within
on a competitive merit basis.
L y
R EG.U.S.PAT.OfE
f
BETTER THINGS FOR BETTER LIVING
... THROUGH CHEMISTRY
E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS & CO. (INC.)
WILMINCTON 98, DELAWARE