Brown, Francis W.

From GWUEncyc

Alumni

Francis W. Brown, B.A. 1924. LL.B. 1926, LL.M. 1927 contributed memories of his time at GW in an article for the "GW Times" in 1985:

I entered GW in the fall of 1920, fresh out of high school, to become a full-time day student. There were not many of us, with most of the students being older and attending evening classes. Many of them were servicemen returning from World War I. I was enrolled in the combined course under which my first three years were in Columbian College. The fourth year was in the law school, after which I received a B.A. degree. Two more years resulted in an LL.B. degree. The school of that time was a cluster of redbrick former residences on G Street between 20th and 21st Streets. The most imposing building was 2023 G Street, a former school given the name Lisner Hall. This building housed the library and the chapel. As I recall it, religious services were conducted there every Wednesday by Dean Wilbur.

I lived at home and drove to school in the family Model T Ford. There were not many cars on G Street in those days, and my Ford was a major mode of transportation. The school provided no eating facilities. The only thing available was a small tea room known as the Rabbit Hole, which was operated by two former students. This was located in the basement of a house across from Lisner Hall. Then, of course, at the corner of 21st and G there was Quigleys, a popular gathering spot. There was a small yard in front of Lisner, paved with bricks as was the sidewalk. It was not too safe to loiter in the yard because the engineers on the third floor had a nasty habit of dropping water bombs on the unwary. Informal dances were held in Lisner Hall and were generally well attended. We always had live music, furnished by three-to five-piece bands. There also were freshman and sophomore mixers, which were quite popular. On one of these occasions we were entertained by a sixteen-year-old high school student named Kate Smith, who gave a swinging rendition of "Margie." Of course, that singer went on to great fame.

There was quite a bit of class rivalry in those days. On one occasion the freshmen kidnapped the sophomore class president and shaved his head. On another occasion during a sophomore mixer, some of the freshmen removed the tire valve stems from cars parked on G Street. Unfortunately, these efforts were not limited to students' cars, and some of the local residents took a dim view of this activity. It was during these days that the Ghost was born. This was a monthly humorous publication, featuring jokes, drawings and cartoons. We had some very talented artists and writers, including Dick Vidmer, later a writer with the New York Tribune, Winnie DeBoe, and Jim Berryman, later a cartoonist for the Washington Star. One issue of the Ghost had some material which Dean Hodgkins (acting president) found offensive. In today's world this material would be too mild for the Ladies Home Journal, but the magazine was suppressed. This action made the local papers and the suppressed edition became a collector's item.

Football was restored to GW after a hiatus during the war. In that day, any student could "go out for the team," and I joined a number of kids as a candidate. Many members of our squad were former servicemen returned to college after the war. Our "home" field was located in a public park on the Tidal Basin. Our dressing room was a public bath house serving a swimming beach located on the site now occupied by the Jefferson Memorial. The bath house was not closed in and there was no hot water. By late October and November it took a rugged soul to brave the icy water of those showers. As a "training table" we were given dinner tickets for seventy-five cents, good at the Monmouth Cafeteria on G Street between 17th and 18th Streets.

Our line averaged about 170 pounds, and one of our quarterbacks weighed 122 pounds dripping wet. We took some pretty good beatings in 1920, including an 88-0 loss to West Virginia and a 101-7 loss to West Virginia Wesleyan. The local papers were very kind and the headlines read "GW Scores on Wesleyan." It was Al Richmond (recently deceased, retired Coast Guard admiral) who threw the pass and John Loehler, later an architect, who caught the ball for the score in that game.

In basketball we played and practiced in a big barn of a place called the Coliseum, which was located above the Center Market at the corner of 9th and Pennsylvania Avenue. The Coliseum also was used for roller skating, for professional wrestling and for poultry shows. These activities had a seriously adverse affect on our practice sessions. Basketball was a vastly different game in those days. I earned letters in 1922 and 1923 as center; at 6'1 " I was the tall man on the squad. We only won one game in 1923 but it was a big one to us. In a "free scoring" game, we beat Maryland 20-19. I also played in the first game in the Tin Tabernacle in 1924. After that game I retired from competition because of the pressure of work and law school.

I met my wife, Abby, on the back campus. During our days and nights at GW, we enjoyed the social life. There were the Lisner Hall mixers, the numerous fraternity dances and the large formal proms held at ballrooms throughout the city. Those were the days of big bands, program dances and stag lines. It was also the prohibition era, with bootleggers, speakeasies and bathtub gin. After these parties it was our general practice to gather at Child's Restaurant for hotcakes and coffee.

Although we had a lot of fun at GW, I like to think we also got a good education, with such dedicated educators as Dean Wilbur and Croissant for English, Elmer Louis Kayser for history, Prof. Hill for political science and Dean Hodgkins for math.

In June 1924 Abby and I received BA degrees at the old Poli Theater on Pennsylvania Avenue. We were married in May 1925, before I received my law degree. The organist at our wedding was GW librarian John Russell Mason.

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Soon after receiving his law degree, Mr. Brown was admitted to the D.C. Bar and entered government service. He had a long and distinguished career, first with the Interstate Commerce Commission and later with the Civil Aeronautics Board. He joined the CAB as an examiner (now titled administrative law judge) in 1938, soon after its inception, and in 1945 was named chief examiner, in which capacity he served until his January 1968 retirement. He and his wife continue to live in their Washington, D.C., home, and they retain their interest in GW. Mr. Brown is a past president of the Colonial Club. The Browns are the parents of two married children and have eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Document Information

Images: 1
Photographic Credit: Francis Brown/RG2130
Author or Source: GW Times, Spring 1985; 1991 oral history with Brown/MS0371
Document Location: University Archives
Date Added to Encyclopedia: December 21, 2006
Prepared by: Lyle Slovick, Assistant University Archivist

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