With little fanfare, what began as one of the College’s more unusual student activities celebrated its fiftieth anniversary this winter.
The Rathskeller opened at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2, 1949, the improbable result of the dreams of a few energetic students and the quiet encouragement of the College president.
The tale of the “improbable” Rathskeller begins in November, 1948, with a conversation between Robert Hartwell ’45 and Bill South, the College steward. South discussed the problems he had keeping a large dining hall open all day just to provide snacks to students; Hartwell talked of his desire to see a place with atmosphere, a German-style Rathskeller that would serve beer and sandwiches to students in the evening. (Hartwell, who now lives in Sherburne, N.Y., had interrupted his Union career to serve in the Army in Europe for more than three years.)
Inspired by the conversation, Hartwell crawled through a basement window into Old Chapel, which was being used for library storage. He recalls, “As soon as I found a light switch and saw the groined arches, I saw my dreams of a Rathskeller beginning to come true.”
Hartwell quickly enlisted other students — Dave Platt ’52, Al Martin ’50, Roland Baldwin ’46, Tom Elliott ’50, and Andy DeHont ’51 (along with a Skidmore student, Cathy Hoyt, who was to become Mrs. Hartwell). All were enthusiastic about the idea, but wondered how the College would feel about beer in the basement of Old Chapel. At a faculty-student conference, Hartwell and Elliott asked, “Who is standing in the way of the Rathskeller?” President Carter Davidson surprised them when he calmly replied that the faculty had proposed the idea years ago and were still willing to discuss it. (Hartwell recalls that Helmer Webb, the College’s librarian, hinted he had plumbing installed in the Old Chapel basement with the idea that it could be used for a student gathering spot.)
The next few weeks were frantic ones. Elliott had volunteered to lead the Rathskeller effort. Carl Luther ’49 investigated building codes and drew a plan; Art Kean ’50 drew a sketch to sell the idea to students; Marty Mandel ’50 and Chuck Lindstrom ’50 handled finances; and DeHont rounded up all the student labor he could find.
In the next few months, $3,278.30 was raised from students, faculty, and staff. All during 1949 volunteers worked away, constructing bars, booths, and tables; painting walls; installing equipment; and even doing electrical work. The College constructed the front entrance and installed toilet facilities and storm sewer pumps.
Not all went smoothly, of course. One snag involved getting permission to sell beer. Some elements of the College community — and some local residents — feared that the Rathskeller would be little more than a “beer parlor.” Supporters insisted that it would be a gathering place for evening study breaks and a place where students could entertain guests. President Davidson sided with the latter, and eventually he obtained permission from the Board of Trustees for the sale of beer.
Another obstacle — perhaps a more surprising one — was a lack of universal support from students. The Rathskeller was going to be student-operated (it eventually was under the legal control of the Union College Student Council, Inc.), and students were expected to contribute “sweat equity” as well as a few dollars. But at least twice in 1949 the Concordiensis was moved to comment on “a lack of student cooperation” in doing the needed volunteer work.
Finally, on Dec. 2, the Dutchman’s Rathskeller (its official name) opened. Hundreds came that first night, and the establishment turned a small profit immediately. Profits were reinvested in furniture and equipment. Contrary to some worries, beer sales never exceeded twenty percent of the total sales in a given month.
Cal Schmidt ’51, who as a student had done the electrical work on the Rathskeller, returned to the College in 1954 as an admissions officer. In 1958, at the urging of Bill Ketz, the Rathskeller’s original “faculty advisor,” he assumed that role, eventually serving as the administrative ombudsman for ‘skeller until his retirement as Registrar in 1984.
“For years, the Rathskeller was a daily business, running its own books, maintaining its own bank account, paying its own employees,” Schmidt recalls. “I believe there were only two other colleges in New York that sold beer in a student snack bar — Cornell and Columbia.”
In 1984-85, when Schmidt retired, the student corporation disbanded, giving the College $65,000 — the accumulated net revenue from thirty-six years. Part of the funds were used to create the Calvin Schmidt Prize, given annually at Prize Day to the member of the junior class who has contributed the most to the betterment of student life. Today, the Rathskeller is operated by the College’s Dining Service, continuing to specialize in sandwiches and ambience, occasionally startling passersby with a blast of underground music, and offering visiting alumni a place to sit and say, “Do you remember….”