08/28/1947 Letter from Lewiston Playgrounds

Letter from Pauline Marcous, Playground Director of Lewiston Playgrounds, to Louis-Philippe Gagné.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/fac-lpg-1947-07-09/1027/thumbnail.jp

The Pine Needle, May 1947

Libraries and archives collect materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. As a result, materials such as those presented here may reflect sexist, misogynistic, abusive, racist, or discriminatory attitudes or actions that some may find disturbing, harmful, or difficult to view. Both a humor and literary magazine, The Pine Needle was a University of Maine student-produced periodical that began publication in the fall of 1946, the first post-World War II semester that saw GIs returning to campus. The Needle reflected an edginess and rebellion not found in previous student publications. While past student publications relied on euphemisms for alcohol and dating on campus, The Needle openly promoted the sexualization of co-eds and the use of drugs, tobacco, and alcohol by students who experienced war. In response to Alumni complaints that The Needle was ...filled with sex and drinking, the University Publications Committee instituted stricter controls. In this issue, the editorial staff announce that starting in Fall 1947, the publication would publish only four issues of the magazine each year—Fall, Christmas, Spring, and Graduation among other changes. Cover art for this issue is an unsigned ink illustration of chatting university students lined up outside a shop bearing a sign that reads Jifty Cleaners-Dyers. Signs in the shop window reads We Specialize in Grass Stains. 24 Hour Service