Léo F. Laporte, class of 1971, had the following trivia about RI Hall to contribute to the collection of memories:
"In the 1960s, I pointed out to a visiting geologist that the building dated from 1840. He said, "Oh yes, that's how you find the geology department on most campuses: it's always in the oldest building."
Prof. Quinn routinely measured the water level in a pipe located in the basement floor. He was monitoring the fluctuating water table. Perhaps he graphed the changing local hydrology?
I rescued a piece of the old tree outside the entrance on the quadrangle side that was being removed because of elm disease. I still have it: it makes a nice door stop for our garage.
When I left Brown in 1971, I was able to track down some of the old classroom chairs that had been warehoused elsewhere. I bought four of them for five dollars each and refinished them. We still use them here in California. I had seen identical ones in Thomas Edison's laboratory in N.J., dating from early 1900s."
