Centenarians cheer CCNY Class of 2021 as it journeys into uncertain world

They are three of The City College of New York’s most active centenarians.

Alumni who lived through some of the most perilous times in the 20th Century – including the Great Depression and a world war – they went on to prosper professionally, largely, they say, because of the quality education they received at their alma mater. Now, as the latest generation of CCNY graduates embark on a new life in a world reshaped by the worst pandemic in a century, the stalwarts are urging the Class of 2021 to bank on its CCNY education as they did.

Between them, attorney Herbert Rubin (Class of 1938); retired mechanical engineer Milton Fechter (Class of 1943); and Abraham J. Small, an electrical engineer from the Class of 1949, can claim more than 300 years of life experience – including defining memories garnered at CCNY. 

A founding partner of the law firm Herzfeld & Rubin, and still litigating at age 102, Rubin lauded the Class of 2021 for prevailing against the odds. “You are the true achievers. On top of all the ups and downs of life and the pressures of a City College curriculum, which I know can be excruciating, you have survived the unprecedented major and minor incursions on your life, including the life-threatening pandemic,” he said.

Rubin drew comparisons between their challenges and what he faced as an undergraduate.

“I share with you some of my experiences, which may be parallel to those that you have undergone,” he said. “City College, in the years of 1934-1938, was no bed of roses. The Great Depression was exerting its fullest force and the world was teetering toward World War II.” 

At CCNY, he added, students were crowded on a campus half the size of today’s. The academic scene reflected the turbulent times with vigorous debates, student strikes and rallies. A sizeable number of students left to fight in the civil war against fascism in Spain. “Nevertheless, academic standards were high, and City College was known as the poor man’s Harvard. Somehow, we students not only survived but thrived and even found time for extracurricular work.” 

Armed with a BA in history, Rubin left CCNY in 1938 determined to find a full time job while attending law school at night. It wasn’t easy. “One interview which I had was for a stock boy at one of the city’s department stores. I was turned down with the comment, ‘we do not employ Jews,’” he recalled.

But he was finally able to find employment and attend, and graduate, from NYU Law School’s evening division. Then he went to war in Europe, emerging from the US Army four years later as a first lieutenant. 

“After that, I spent 80 years practicing law, primarily as an appellate lawyer. My chief triumph was a successful, important decision in the U.S. Supreme Court. I was married 75 years to an extraordinary woman and have a fantastic family of children, grandchildren, great and great-great grandchildren,” said Rubin.

His message to the Class of 2021: “Those experiences foretell the twists and turns that college graduates in my time had to encounter and are indicators of the nature of the experiences you can anticipate as you emerge from the pandemic in the next chapter of your lives. 

“You have every reason to feel proud of yourselves and confident as you leave the challenges of City College. Not only have you defeated the pandemic, but you have been strengthened by that experience. You will be meeting countless new challenges and will surely be recognized and credited for your accomplishments to date. I venture to provide some advice, which I hope will be helpful:

“Treasure your unique background and refer back to the college as you traverse the advances and obstacles of the outside world; and be optimistic - even as you encounter inevitable blank walls and barriers.”

Milton Fechter, who turns 100 on Sept. 14 and graduated five years after Rubin, echoed the veteran attorney’s sentiments about the empowering qualities of a CCNY education.

“I think we were well educated to come out into the world, and all I can say is that I was very happy that I went there,” said the life-long Lower East Side resident who entered CCNY from Stuyvesant High School. “So I had two good schools. I had Stuyvesant and I had the City College School of Technology (now Grove School of Engineering). I thought I was well prepared and I was. I had a good education and it served me well.”

It stood him in good stead upon graduation in 1943. 

Fechter was recruited as a senior by legendary Rear Admiral Harry E. Yarnell, whose his career spanned 51 years from the Spanish-American War in 1898 to World War II. Yarnell went to CCNY to encourage graduating engineers to work for the Navy. Fechter did and spent 18 months at the Brooklyn Navy Yard before joining a private company. He retired at age 60.

To the Class of 2021, Fechter said: “All I can say is that you have to apply yourself. That’s it. In a way you are the architect of your own destiny, but you are still subject to everything that goes on in the world around you.”

Abraham J. Small entered CCNY in 1940 and received his electrical engineering degree in 1949. There were a few interruptions between then, including World War II which he served in India and the Far East. 

“I don’t remember all of that upheaval,” he recalled. “The big thing was to finish the program, get your degree then go out and find a job because times were pretty difficult and earning a living was the biggest objective you could have. All I can tell (the) students today is that my education at CCNY turned out to be marvelous. 

“They must make the most of their City College education in these difficult times. A CCNY education in my time was wonderful and I am sure it’s still that way today. I had a marvelous education from CCNY and went and made the most of it.” 

Small knew how good it was when he took classes at Stanford University as a junior. “Because of my City College education and experience, and the assignments that we were given, I found the Stanford classes relatively easy and graduated at the top of my class,” he said.

After the war, which he ended as a second lieutenant and platoon leader, Small returned to CCNY to finish his degree. “What was interesting to me is that City gave me little credit for the courses I took at Stanford. I was working and I went back to the evening session and finished my degree.”

His BEE earned him a job with the US Army Corps of Engineers as an electrical engineer. After a couple of years, Small joined an electrical contractor that he and others bought in 1961. “Eventually, the group came down to just two of us – my partner and I – and in 1983, we sold the business.” 

Small, who turned 100 in April, stayed on for two more years before retiring in 1985.

About the City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.