Like many of my classmates, I have vivid memories of my first days in Golden 50 years ago.

I made the jump from high school to college when I was only 17.

I was away from home for the first time and living in a very small town. I also was trying to adjust to a different country, language, food and weather.

What an experience it was to meet new classmates, quite a few from other countries, and, of course, new professors: E.B. Jacobs in chemistry, J.R. Everett in mathematics, Dr. LeRoy in geology, J.L. Attebery in English, G.W. Salzer and W.M. Mueller in descriptive geometry, and Joe Davis in P.T.

The old tramway was close to Golden and the silhouette of Table Mountain and the "M" on the opposite hill appeared in the horizon.

My father and I had arrived in Denver the day before after a 2,000 km bus ride from Monterrey, Mexico.

 As we walked across Washington Street, the first thing we saw was the sign "Howdy Folks! Welcome to Golden, where the West Remains."

We walked three blocks uphill to Guggenheim Hall where William Burger, director of admissions, welcomed us with a smile and a handshake.

Registering was easy. What was difficult was finding a room in Golden, a small town with around 5,000 inhabitants.

September 1949, brought a record enrollment to Mines: 1,200 students. Many were World War II veterans studying on the G.I. Bill.

I had to sleep the first three nights on the top floor of Stratford Hall. Two dozen bunk beds were set up temporarily in the basketball court and we used the gymnasium shower.

Luckily, I soon found a room that I shared with three other boys at 918 14th Street, just across from Berthoud Hall.

It was the home of the Hartmans, a couple who had converted their house into a sort of international lodge. The cafeteria was only two block away and for my entire stay at Mines, breakfast was 35¢, lunch was 55¢, and dinner 65¢.

As freshman, we had to wear green caps and when ordered to "sound off," we had to put our books and hands on top of our heads and shout "Beat D.U." or whatever football team Mines was playing next.

I had hardly settled in Golden when I found myself following the crowd to board the streetcar to the Denver University stadium.

It was there I saw my first football game.

I didn’t understand much, except that neither the shouting of the freshmen nor the enthusiasm of the cheer leaders helped. D.U. beat Mines 48-0. But the following week, Mines beat Colorado State 12-0 at the local Brooks Field.

I remember most of my freshmen classmates: Paul Bacca, Sergio Baez, Leon Borgman, Carlos Carrol, Jorge Castillo, Art Chew, Bill Cooke, George Freeland, Richard Huston, Luis Isaza, Gordon Judge, Gene Kaefer, Bob Kerwin, Alain Lipton, Rikitu Mako, Don Miller, George Mitchell, Francis Mueller, Tony Nogales, Stan Ogawa, Ray Peluso, Bento Ribeiro, Tom Reagan, Eugene Rumph, Michael Russell, Sao Seng, John Siltanen, Mortimer Sullivan, Guy Towle, Isao Uchi, John Underwood, Aldo Vidali, Dick and Bill Williamson (twins), Roger Woodbury and Tom Wyman.

What we all had in common was a firm commitment to succeed.

We had promised our parents and ourselves. What we didn’t realize was that we would have to work so hard for the the next four years. Most of us made it and graduated in 1953, but that’s another story…

Mines Magazine, September/October 1999
By Abelardo Treviño Met E '53