First-year Marching 97 members don their “1972” dinks at the 1968 Rally. You can watch the Class of 1972 officially welcome the Class of 2022 at the 2018 Rally LIVE on August 25!
With this year’s Rally approaching, I was reminded of my own experience some 46 years ago…
At the 1968 Freshman Rally, we were welcomed into the Lehigh family by the Class of 1922, and some of the members of that class might very well have fought in “The War to End all Wars” — World War I. After doing some very quick arithmetic, I realized the Class of 2022’s presence at the 1968 Rally created a connection to one of most seminal events of the 20th Century. In my mind and the mind of others in our class, here we are, passing the baton to the Class of 2022 and continuing a legacy that directly connects to world history made a century ago.
But enough of the deep thoughts — let us think about the lighter side of the upcoming Rally.
Back in early September 1968, the incoming Class of 1972 was ushered into Grace Hall, with dinks on our heads and a corncob pipe and pouch of tobacco in our hands, to learn and celebrate the Lehigh Spirit. The masterful ring leader for this event was none other than the inimitable Professor John “Steck” Steckbeck. With an auditorium of college freshmen full of piss and vinegar and ready to take on the world, Steck brought together approximately 800 almost total strangers and molded them in the course of about an hour.
The chants of “Who are you?” and replies of “72” are still vivid in my memory. It was like Steck gathered a group of strangers and organized the beginning of a four-year “road trip” to our graduation some 46 months in the future. We were all on board or “all in” as is the expression today. We could not have had a better send off for our years at Lehigh. Some may have not lasted the entire trip, but I am sure that all members of the Class of 1972 remember that night. How could we forget?
So, we want to pass on to the Class of 2022 that same spirit of camaraderie with classmates, the sense of belonging to the Lehigh Family, and feeling that when you are back here “On the breast of Old South Mountain…” you will always feel at home.