One Coat,
Many Memories

By William Sansalone ’55G

In mid-September 1953, I was a first-year graduate student at UNH, and foliage on campus had just started to change. In my native New Jersey, tree foliage remained green until late October. Clearly, a longer, colder winter was in the offing.

My sole means of transportation was a three-speed English “wheel.” (The word wheel was commonly used for bicycles on campus then.) I rode it to Nesmith Hall every morning and, during the day, to a building off-campus to check on research animals. Fellow graduate students who had experienced New Hampshire winters kept joshing me: “Just wait until December, Bill, when temperatures drop below zero. You’ll feel chilled to the bone.” The jacket and London Fog topcoat I had brought from home were going to be inadequate.

In addition to my studies, I worked for the university as a part-time research assistant. The late Professor Richard Ringrose, a nationally recognized nutritionist, was my mentor. I assisted him in testing the efficacy of the amino acid methionine (a building block of protein) in supporting healthy growth in cockerels (young male chickens). My monthly stipend was $120, with $80 paying for room rent and weekly meal tickets at the dining hall. From the remaining $40, each dollar I spent had to count!

But I was content. The university was paying my tuition, and I had the camaraderie of other “lean-and-hungry” graduate students. None of us had sufficient cash to buy clothes at Brad’s, the local shop with top brands such as Southwick and Hart, Schaffner & Marx.

By October, the Boston Globe was already carrying ads for winter clothing. Filene’s, a leading department store, had a subsidiary called Filene’s Basement. The latter ran an ad that was especially appealing: “Here, the astute buyer will find solid bargains.” I became persuaded that a trip to Boston would be worth the train fare.

The train arrived at Boston’s North Station, and it was a short walk to Filene’s. The store occupied a five-story, sturdy-looking stone building. As I was debating with myself whether to go into the main entrance, an elderly woman said to me in a kind, Boston-accented voice: “Son, if it’s Filene’s Basement you are looking for, it’s just around the corner.” A glance at my well-worn khakis and white bucks enabled her to identify me as another college student in search of a bargain.

Once in the store’s lower level, an experienced salesclerk served me. He listened to my needs and had me try on several duffle coats constructed of double-faced wool. In addition to the scent of new wool, I could immediately feel the greater bulk of these coats compared to my London Fog. I was also impressed by the coats’ removable hood, toggle buttons (made of rams’ horns) and large flap pockets. The one in navy blue attracted me; I bought it and happily returned to campus.

During the winters between 1953 and 1955, that duffle coat kept me toasty warm, even while riding my wheel in below-zero temperatures. Furthermore, it served me well for the ensuing 16 years: three in Wiesbaden, Germany; three in New Brunswick, New Jersey; and 10 in Brooklyn, New York.

In 1971, a new position brought my family and me to Bethesda, Maryland, where winters are milder. My duffle coat was showing its age, so we gave it to Goodwill. Had we brought it with us and hung it in the hall closet, that trusty companion would have been a constant reminder, for the past 53 years, of my cherished student days at the University of New Hampshire.

After completing his studies at UNH, William Sansalone received a Ph.D. in biochemistry at Rutgers in 1961. He served on the faculty at three medical centers, retiring from Georgetown University as an adjunct professor in biochemistry in 2007.