International House Berkeley

68 by the Department because he was Black. The Department had had an unsatisfactory office "girl" who was Black, and shortly after they declined to employ Emmett Rice. As a consequence, he became Berkeley's first Black fireman. He later went on to teach economics at Cornell and serve on the Federal Reserve Board. Since I studied economics, I made friends with many Canadian economists: George Break, Don Bailey, Jim Harvey, Ed Safarian, Marjorie Smith, and Wilma Smith. Ed and Joan (nee Shivers, another marriage made in I House) returned this summer with one of their sons and his family to acquaint them with, in Ed's words, "Where it all began." Oh, and then there was the European crowd – mostly English people. They sat together in the dark dining room. Then, of course, there was the law-school contingent; they did not like anybody else to sit with them. They were impossible! But Wilma Schulz (later Horwitz) – she came later, she didn't come until '48 or '49 – she was not a part of that arrogant group, but mixed with everyone. Elliott Castello also started out as a lawyer. I always wanted him to go into local politics – he would have been perfect, in my view; he had the charm to persuade people. I also remember Wendell Lipscomb. He had learned to fly as a teenager. When the first all-Negro flying unit was created by President Roosevelt in World War II, it was named the Tuskegee Airmen for their base in Alabama. Wendell trained these men. After earning his medical degree from UCSF, he moved through various medical posts as director of California drug rehab programs, eventually becoming a psychiatrist in private practice. He also served on the I-House Board. What type of activities did we pursue? Well, the singing group was Bob Brewer, Bob Hacker, Elliott Castello, and Doug Powell. Some had special songs. Geoff Wilkinson sang the defiant miners' song, "Not a Penny off the Pay, Not a Minute on the Day" [miners' motto during the United Kingdom General Strike of 1926]. I took part in the folk dancing. We had an instructor – oh, wasn't she grand! Her name was something like Toposki. The long-term director of I-House was Mr. Blaisdell. Somebody has done his oral history; it's big! [Golden-Ager Joanne Dietz Ariff completed a UC authorized Blaisdell oral history, and it is available on the Regional Oral History Office's web site.] Mrs. Blaisdell was a charmer; she was also beautiful. Did anybody tell you about the Blaisdellisms? We had Sunday Suppers every Sunday night, and there would be ethnic dances, etc. Mr. Blaisdell is remembered for announcing that the next Sunday Supper would be devoted to the Canadians and their culture, "That is if they have one." O-o! Actually, there is a murder mystery book written by a Berkeley author, which is based on I-House. Mr. Blaisdell is depicted in it, just barely disguised, making these absolutely terrible, terrible faux-pas! He was very straight-laced, very starchy – he had been a minister – but he was a man of principle.

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