Father Leo Schmid, SJ, laid the foundations for Seattle College’s fine biological sciences program in occasionally spectacular fashion. Chronically short on funds, he had to beg for supplies from local doctors, and getting them to the university sometimes led to gruesome mishaps. Schmid once caused a near panic when the wrappings fell from a human skeleton he was transporting on a street car. Another time, his students lost hold of a cadaver, and it fell down the stairs of the Garrand Building, offering an impromptu anatomy lesson to a group of horrified coeds. And when his stock of animal specimens ran low, the college’s student newspaper, perhaps in jest, put out the word: “Neighbors warned to keep pets on leash!” For all that, Schmid’s efforts allowed the college to launch pre-med courses and eventually paved the way for its School of Nursing, which opened in 1935. Neighbors, lock up your pets, Father Schmid is looking for more specimens. In February, 1942, Seattle College stepped in to help the government reactivate Army Base Hospital 50, a reserve combat medical unit that had been inactive since the First World War. Col. Hubbard Bruckner, a long time supporter of the college's pre-med program, was named commander. Coralee Steele then took charge of the 120 women recruited from the college and nearby Providence Hospital. The 50th trained in Colorado and shipped off to England. It landed in Normandy shortly after D-Day 1944 and established a 1,500-bed hospital just behind the front. The unit eventually earned the Citation of Merit for its care of tens of thousands of wounded soldiers. Chaplain James Gilmore, SJ, on the front lines. In 1940, Seattle College was in possession of a ragtag jumble of houses and buildings it had purchased or rented on an ad hoc basis. To bring some order, Father Francis Corkery, SJ, launched a $200,000 funds drive for a new Liberal Arts building. Once ground was broken, excavators discovered a strange group of bones and archaeologists and homicide investigators rushed to the scene. The mystery was solved when biology professor Father Schmid sheepishly admitted that they had stumbled onto the burial ground for his dissection specimens. The building, with its streamlined Gothic style and Garrand-inspired octagonal belfry, was dedicated on June 22, 1941 and opened in time for registration. Still serving the university today, it is known as the Administration Building. The Administration Building (formerly called the Liberal Arts Building) during construction in 1941. The first significant numbers of African Americans began to enroll just after the war. Among them were two who would rise to prominence. The first, Sam Smith would become one of Seattle’s longest-serving city councilmen. And Millie Russell, who early aspired to be a nun, would be named a junior delegate to the NAACP national convention in 1946. It was the beginning of a lifetime of work in minority affairs that would establish her as one of Seattle’s civil rights leaders. Millie Russell. (Courtesy of Millie Russell) Sam Smith. In all, more than 1,000 Seattle College students and graduates served in the armed forces. 60 earned commendations for bravery and 27 gave their lives, including Anthony Burr, who had been student body president in 1942. Students buy defense savings stamps. (JOPA) For years, the Seattle College basketball team was known as the “Maroons,” which prompted catcalls of “morons” and tiresome newspaper headlines about being “marooned.” In 1938, students demanded a new name, and sports editor Ed Donohoe, the future editor of the Washington Teamster, came up with “Chieftains,” in honor of the college’s namesake, Chief Seattle. The name was changed to Redhawks in 2000, out of sensitivity to the Native American community. Can you blame them? The 1937 “Maroons” grew sick of being called “morons.” Ordinary college life was largely suspended during the war, giving way to a kind of grim humor. In 1943, for example, the ASSC presidential election wallowed in parody. John Ayres campaigned as "Dependable, Loyal, Honest." His opponent, Jim Layman countered with “Honest, Loyal, Dependable.” Layman triumphed, probably because of his slogan: “Elect a man who will be here next year.” Layman, it turns out, was exempt from the draft. Students crowd into “The Cave” on the eve of the war. Skiing in 1941, just before the college went on a “war footing.” Students bowl in 1941. Softball players mug for the camera in 1948. A student dance in 1946. The 1948 cheerleading squad.