The Victoria College, 1925-2000: A Tradition of Excellence

the first peacetime compulsory military training
law in United States history. 52
With the formal entrance of the United
States in World War II after the Japanese bombing
of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the
Victoria Junior College role in preparing individuals
for the military was enlarged. Under a
plan formulated by the Department of the Navy,
known as V-1, freshman and sophomore college
students 17 and 18 years of age could enlist as
apprentice seamen and remain in college “at
least until the end of their second year.” After
the completion of a year and a half of college
work, a competitive examination was administered.
The students who passed could elect to
become a naval aviator, deck officer, or engineering
officer. Those who chose to become
pilots were called to active duty at the end of
the second year. The students who elected to
become deck or engineering officers were
allowed to continue in college until they
received their bachelor’s degree, provided college
or university standards were maintained. 53
By 1943, special skills required for the
defense industry and preparatory work for military
service further altered the course offerings
at the college. Out of the need to meet the new
wartime challenges, classes in pre-nursing, fundamental
radio, and specialized training in
engineering drawing and industrial chemistry
were taught. To stimulate an increase in the
courses, the United States Office of Education,
through a cooperative arrangement with Texas
A&I College, paid the tuition and laboratory
fees for qualified students who enrolled in the
engineering, science, and management defense
training program. College credit for the trainee
was optional. Because the war seriously depleted
the number of males in the workforce,
women were especially encouraged to register
in the program “as many positions are open for
them in defense industries.” 54
Equally important to the war effort was a
cadre of educated military personnel. The federal
government expected this to be accomplished
under the Officer’s Procurement
Program, which granted two-year deferments to
young men who joined a branch of the military.
At the end of the second year, provided the
educational standards were attained, the eligible
candidate was “given an opportunity to
become a commissioned officer.” The college
was permitted to register eighteen students in
the program. 55
Victoria Junior College also became involved
in providing assistance on the home front. To
meet the federal government’s call for
18,000,000 Victory Gardens, courses were
offered in growing vegetables and canning.
Residents of the community were encouraged to
enroll in the classes with the slogan, “Grow your
own vitamins.” Tuition and fees were waived, an
indicator of the importance of Victory Gardens
to the nation. 56
Books added to the college library during
World War II reflected America’s participation in
the conflict. Works were purchased to supplement
the history, government, and economic
collection to foster “American ideas through dissemination
of authentic information.” Technical
and scientific books were a priority to support
the courses that were designed for “the nation’s
need for skilled technicians.” Mathematics,
radio, and pre-flight training volumes were
bought and widely circulated among the students.
It was “not surprising to see girls as well
as boys charge out such books.” 57
Besides different course offerings, the war
affected the college in other ways. Because the
military services consumed huge amounts of
petroleum products, gasoline rationing was
implemented throughout the nation. Charlotte E.
Kenell fondly remembers how the lack of gasoline
impacted her college classes. In the summer
of 1944, she took a psychology course, taught by
O. C. Stroman (Stroman High School was named
in his honor), which had a number of nuns in it.
Kenell, along with her fellow classmates, was
asked “to go to Nazareth Academy Convent each
morning for class, so that the Nuns…would not
have to be transported to the college.” She
remarked that “it was an interesting experience
for all of us, including the Nuns.” 58
College athletics were also touched by the
war. Budgetary restraints along with the scarcity
of transportation placed a limit on sports.
The only intercollegiate activity the college participated
in was track, and it revolved around
one person, Monroe Northcutt, a resident of El
Campo who moved to Victoria when J. D.
Moore became dean of the college. Even though
he was a student at Patti Welder, Northcutt was
Depression and War ✦ 39