Word: porcellian
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...Roosevelt's doing, rather than hers, that Miss Lee has the distinction of being the first woman over admitted into the Porcellian clubhouse. The incident, which almost cost Roosevelt his membership, came after a walk through the Yard in the spring of 1879. Halfway through the Yard, Roosevelt noticed it was time for lunch, and promptly took her to the club, where, amidst scandalized whispers, they had luncheon...
...Khan]." But the days of ancestor worship are more or less over, and in point of prestige, the Harvard clubman has become the vanishing American. Once, Theodore Roosevelt, 1880, could happily blurt to the Kaiser that his son-in-law was Porcellian ("A mighty satisfactory thing to be in the Pore"). In 1954, such fathers-in-law are rare...
...members gather at the club to discuss all the candidates who have survived the punching. Since there are no quotas, the clubs invite as many or as few as they wish. The average is about 15 invitations in those clubs which get a majority of the sophomores they invite. Porcellian, however, will sometimes take only four or five in what members call a "lean" social year. Clubs not so well-endowed financially must send out greater numbers of invitations and must invite more members throughout the year since dues are essential for club up-keep...
While there has been occasional friction between members and non-members in recent years, the incidents have not been serious ones. At worst, some clubs have been targets for snowballs, and a few broken windows have resulted. More often, any resentment takes a quiet, sardonic tone, as when Porcellian was plastered with signs by non-members during a convention: "American Legion Welcome--Free Beer Upstairs...
...half a century later, Gardiner's observation is at last accurate.Outwardly less attractive than the isolated clubs of Mt. Auburn Street, but more profitable financially, are the buildings on Massachusetts Avenue. S.A.E., the non-final remnant of the fraternity system, has rooms over the Bick. In the next building, Porcellian rents its first floor to J. August...