• Friday, 15, 1963
THE BATTALION
Pag-e 3
Forerunner to Commentator
Was Battalion Magazine
By JON KINSLOW
Forerunner to the present Arts
and Sciences magazine, The Com
mentator, a monthly Battalion
Magazine was started in 1930.
Under the editorship of The Bat
talion newspaper staff, the maga
zine was substituted for one of the
weekly issues each month. How
ever, it was sold separate from The
Battalion on a subscription basis.
The brightest years for the mag
azine came in 1941 and 42 when
Pete Tumlinson was editor. In ad
dition to his editorial duties, Tum
linson was also staff cartoonist.
His original comic strip, Fish Blot
to, still lives in the minds of Ag
gie-exes here during the first years
of World War II.
Cover Creations
Covers for the magazine in 1941-
42 were also Tumlinson creations.
Combining excerpts from Aggie
life with scantily clad women, his
covers had a special appeal for the
students.
The Battalion Magazine func
tioned as the campus humor maga
zine, since very few of its articles
were of serious nature. Often,
half of the issue was devoted en-
tii’ely to jokes and anecdotes per
taining to campus life. The last
page was usually reserved for an
editorial on some problem facing
the students. An eloquent style
of writing flourished in these edi
torial, which commended or criti
cized everything from the corps to
the administration.
The publication of this magazine
marked the beginning of student
magazines at A&M.
In 1943, with the loss of much
editorial talent, the magazine died
and was forgotten. Besides the
loss of talent, two other factors
contributed heavily to the maga
zine’s death. First was the paper
shortage brought about by the war.
Second and more noteworthy, how
ever, was the opposition of the
Board of Directors to the maga
zine. Although it has never been
definitely confirmed, it has been
said that one member of the Board
in 1943 felt that the jokes were
not of the proper moral quality.
It was not until 1947 that the
magazine as we know it today was
started anew. Published by the
Schopl of Arts and Sciences, The
Commentator has since been the
campus humor and literary publi
cation.
; 1
The Tumlinson Boy
A Pete Tumlinson Creation
Military Test
Came for A&M
In World War !
In 1917 came the first real test
for A&M as a military college.
During the first forty years of
the school’s history, the gx-aduates
had been eligible for commissions
in the Army if they enlisted im
mediately after graduation.
Quite a number of these had
fought in the Spanish-American
War, and a few of them withdrew
from school to join the Boer War.
Aggies were fighting on both sides
in the latter.
In answer to the call which Un
cle Sam issued, the enth’e senior
class enlisted as a body in 1917.
They were sent to Leon Springs
training camp in April, where they
were given their diplomas in spec
ial commencement exercises.
After the war, the Reserve Of
ficers Training Corps was estab
lished and A&M became an integ
ral part of that system.
Those 55 who died in World
War II are commemorated in sev
eral ways around the campus. One
way is the East Gate marker, and
another is the Memorial Student
Center. However, the MSC also
honors all Aggies who have died
while in the service.
Another commemoration to these
men is the flags which are flown
over Kyle Field dm-ing each foot
ball game.
The trees and markers around
the main drill field which extend
east to Hart Hall are another re
minder of these heroic war dead.
risn BLOTTO
By Pete Tumlinson
Wanted To Go To TSCW
Fish Blotto Imitated Aggies
By BOB HENDRY
In the fall of 1941, a small,
chubby, saucer-eyed freshman
named Fish Blotto made his way
into the pages of The Battalion.
Except for being a cartoon, a fig
ment from the imagination of Pete
Tumlinson ’42, Fish Blotto was
drawn to characterize a typical
A&M freshman.
Fish Blotto did not want to come
to A&M; he wanted to go to
TSCW. After giving up hope of
attending TSCW because of phy
sical!?) reasons, he decided that
he would like to go to the Uni
versity of Texas. However, since
his dad was an Aggie-ex, he found
himself hitch-hiking toward Bryan.
Being a typical Aggie freshman,
a series of beautiful women offer
Fish Blotto rides. Fish Blotto ac
cepts and soon becomes more in
terested in what is in the car than
out, however, and finds he has
turned himself around and is back
where he started.
Finally, he gets another ride,
but this time ends up at UT. See
ing the beautiful buildings. Fish
Blotto is convinced that at long
last he has arrived at A&M. He
discovers later that he is actually
at the University when the tower
bell rings and everyone runs for
a cup of tea.
Escaping from UT, Fish Blotto
hitch-hikes a ride with an A&M
sophomore. When they reach the
college, Fish Blotto starts to leave,
but the sophomore, a man by the
name of Blurts, stops* him, tells
him to “Hit a brace!,” and de
mands that he call him “Mister”
henceforth.
Blotto, not knowing the A&M
traditions, says, “Say, what do you
think you are? This is a free
country. I’ll do as I please!”
“Freshman!” barks Blurts, “Shat
up! You ain’t in the Newnited
States anymore! You’re at A&M
an’ you’ll act accordingly!”
Blotto immediately wants to
fight, but ends up in the usual
manner with hours on the bull
ring.
That was the beginning of Fish
Blotto. Back in ’41 and ’42 the
escapades of the chubby little hard-
luck guy earned his creator high
acclaim on the campus. Blotto’s
trails and tribulations exemplified
those of a typical freshman and
became as familiar to Aggies as
rain at a football game.
Some of Tumlinson’s strips be
came classics, and were printed
over and over again. Tumlinson,
talented originator of the rotund
freshman is also remembered for
the Tumlinson boy, Aggie counter
part of the Petty and Varga girls.
Member of the class of ’42, Tum
linson was editor of The Battalion
magazine, now defunct, which
achieved national recognition under
his editorship. He left A&M in
1942 for the Air Corps, where he
served for four years. He was
discharged from the service in the
spring of 1946.
He returned to A&M that year,
and, after his graduation in 1947,
traveled to New York, where he set
up shop as a commercial artist.
"PISH” BLOTTO
By Pete Tumlinson >
Exchange Papers Keep Batt Informed
To keep in touch with happen
ings in other colleges across the
country, The Battalion exchange
papers with 250 colleges.
This includes almost all Texas
colleges, as well as Harvard, the
University of Minnesota, all the
California college papers, the two
large Oklahoma colleges and many
other colleges and universities.
Professional papers are also on
the exchange list.
Besides The Battalion receiving
these papers, each of these other
papers, both school and profes
sional, receive The Battalion daily.
SHEET MUSIC
— Order From — * •
Southern Music Co.
1100 Broadway
SAN ANTONIO 6, TEXAS
Tool Killer’ Is
Topic of Letter
A fool-killer was suggested
for the state and national gov
ernments by Sam Ford ’78 in
ft letter to the editor of T h e
Texas Collegian, now known
as The Battalion.
“I am in favor of reform that
will lay in the shade all that was
accomplished by the Fifteenth Leg
islature. My reform,” said Ford,
“is to have a constitutional conven
tion to alter the organic law and
to provide for a fool-killer and to
recommend that this action be tak
en by all the states.”
He also said that when a fool-
killer shall have been chosen in
each of the states there shall be a
convention of state fool-killers who
shall elect a national fool-killer to
have jurisdiction over the District
of Columbia and over federal offi
cials.
“No state need wait for the ac
tion o fany other state, but it is
in the interest of each to call a
convention as early as possible and
pi-ovide for this important officer.”
Student Directory
Covers All College
|
The A&M Student Directory is I
compiled and published by Student
Publications.
The directory contains a com
plete list of all students, with their
classification, major, room number,
school address and home address. |
It also has a list of the faculty
and staff members of the college,
with their telephone numbers and |
addresses.
A listing of the departments and
their phone numbers is included in
the back of the directory.
The directory is issued in the
fall of each year, as soon as the
list of students can be completed
accurately. It is sold to the stu- j
dents for 50 cents.
C/3
K
QC
C/3
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