Need for U.S. Diplomats Greater than Ever
Congratulations to Nancy Maes (WCAS61) on her excellent story on U.S. alumni diplomats [“On the Front Line,” fall 2002], and thanks for including me in the narrative. I hope that this article influences some of Northwestern’s young people to turn to diplomacy as a lifetime career. They will indeed be needed more than ever in the years ahead.

Eddie Deerfield (J50)
Palm Harbor, Fla.



Dating Game Revisited
We loved the article on the dating scene at Northwestern [“The Dating Game,” fall 2002]. I guess things have not changed much since we were there. Fortunately, we won the dating game — we met in the dining room at Sargent Hall over pork chops, and the rest is history.

Brian (WCAS97, FSM01) and Barbara Stephens (SESP98) Drummond
Yucca Valley, Calif.



In 1946 some of my male friends and I went to the Scott Hall Grill to enjoy milkshakes and conversation. Across the table was a line of girls chatting with each other and to some extent with us. One of the girls particularly impressed me, but all I could remember was that her name was Nancy and that she mentioned taking the Foster Avenue streetcar as part of her daily commute.

Believing that a chemical engineering student could do anything, I got a map of Chicago, a student directory and began a search. Every time I found a “Nancy,” I checked her home address against the map. Finally, I found a likely match in the M’s. Luckily, her name wasn’t Ziegler or Zysmanski.

I drove up to her house one Sunday morning. Nancy remembered me and invited me to stay for Sunday dinner. I accepted. Afterwards, I invited her to come for a swim in a lake by my grandmother’s house in the northwest suburbs. She accepted!

We dated on and off for five years, but we were never serious about each other. Well, I was serious about her, but she wasn’t serious about me.

Then I met Carolyn Staunton (WCAS51) at the engagement party for my brother, Byron (WCAS49, L52), and Carolyn’s sister. Not wanting to waste as much time with Carolyn as I had with Nancy, I asked Carolyn to marry me on our first date. She accepted.

Our four children and six grandchildren all live in Tulsa.

Tom Matthews (McC46)
Copan, Okla.



In the olden days, asking a girl for a Coke date at Scott Hall Grill took a nickel phone call and a buck’s worth of courage. Rarely did she do the asking. If things went well, it took a second call to ask her out again.

Getting ready for the occasion was monumental: a Dial soap shower, double brushing with S.T. 37 toothpaste, a pressed shirt, combed hair and a good dose of chivalry.

A 25-cent movie was a safe first date. Chitchat took the pressure off the two-block walk from her dorm to the Varsity Theater. After the flick it cost four bits for a great Cooley’s Cupboard hamburger, over which you discussed the pros and cons of the likes of Clark Gable and Myrna Loy.

All the folderol to which students today subject themselves — with seemingly only a modicum of pleasure — would discourage most red-blooded Americans from going out. And the blarney about not having time to date in college is just that.

As for the “John and Jim” part of the dating equation as well as slam dunk sex, most students should be able to endure dating frustrations without having to suffer through a social policy course such as Marriage 101, mentioned in the article.

Mickey McArthur (C49)
Sonoita, Ariz.



All Faiths Welcome at Northwestern
It was delightful to read [“Keeping the Faith,” summer 2002] about religion on campus.

I spent only two terms at Northwestern before getting married and moving to Dublin, Ireland.

Because I am Baha’i, it was wonderful to be so close to the Baha’i House of Worship in neighboring Wilmette. And I really valued Northwestern’s welcoming attitude toward people of all faiths.

Jane Moore O'Brien (J66)
London



In fall 1962 I took a short leave of absence from my appointment as a missionary in Congo. My family and I had been caught up in a general evacuation following the political turbulence when Congo became independent. We made our way to Evanston, where I enrolled in the Program of African Studies at Northwestern. With my focus on cultural anthropology, I soon encountered the legendary African anthropologist Melville Herskovits and anthropology department head Francis Hsu.

While the professors I had were all eminently qualified in their disciplines, it soon became apparent that in the anthropology department there was little sympathy for the cause of Christian mission.

I graduated with ambivalent feelings regarding my experience at Northwestern. On the one hand, I felt much better equipped to return to the African bush of south central Congo and the tribal folk living there. For this I was grateful. But I also left the University saddened by the apparent certainty of most of my professors and fellow students that man lived by bread alone.

All of this is simply to say that your summer issue came as a welcome surprise. It is heartening to know that in some sense Northwestern has come full circle and recognizes once again that the Creator endowed us not only with bodies and minds but also with eternal spirits. As Blaise Pascal once so aptly said, “There is a God-shaped emptiness in every human breast which cries out to be filled.”

Jim Bertsche (G63)
Goshen, Ind.



Keeping in Touch
I am not sure how you found me, but I am glad you did.

As a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer currently serving in Paraguay, I thought I had escaped the endless requests for donations and other collateral material from Northwestern. However, as I began to read the alumni publication, I realized what a treasure we alumni have in Northwestern magazine. Its quality of reporting, design and layout as well as the coverage of alumni make reliving the good old Northwestern days a pleasure. My wife, who is not even an alumna, eagerly awaits its arrival every quarter.

The next time I make a move, I’ll be sure to let you know where you can find me.

John Fazio (SESP96)
Asunción, Paraguay



Jazz Musician Wins Raves
Thank you for introducing me to Patricia Barber [“‘Indie’ Jazz Soul,” spring 2002].

Her CD Nightclub now resides in my collection, but I’m left with one problem: Should her works be shelved with the pianists or the vocalists? Now she sits with Marian McPartland and Bobby Short; she may move later to share vocal space with Peggy Lee and Lena Horne. She is at home in either classification.

Raymond A. Spong (WCAS49, G51)
East Lyme, Conn.



Name Changes
I agree with those who wrote to express their unhappiness with Northwestern for changing the name of the medical school from Northwestern University Medical School to The Feinberg School of Medicine, not only for current and future students but also for alumni.

I had a similar feeling when the Technological Institute (from which my father and I both received degrees) was renamed the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. All of a sudden, I started to see “McC82” next to my name instead of “Tech82.” While I am very appreciative of the gifts that led to the renaming of Tech, I certainly do not feel any sense of connectedness to a school that I never attended.

I wonder how many alumni do not give gifts to Northwestern because of the alienation that the renaming of schools has engendered?

Nickolas S. Jovanovic (McC, Nav82)
Little Rock



The Flying Trapeze
In browsing through my copy of the Sesquicentennial book, Northwestern University: Celebrating 150 Years (NU Press, 2001), I came across an article about the NU Circus, last held in 1932. I wondered if there was anybody else still alive who participated in that show?

I was a first-year student that fall. My brother, Howard (WCAS33, G34, 38), was a senior and part of the flying trapeze act put on by the Wranglers. He put me to work on the ground crew, rigging the equipment and the safety net. I was extremely disappointed when it was announced there would be no more circus. I always wanted to perform in it.

I believe 1932 was also the last year we had a “beaver,” or beard-growing, contest. If my memory serves, the winner that year was Forrest Dietrich, who grew such a luxurious black beard he refused to shave. Instead, he had it trimmed well and bought a pair of pince-nez glasses. Rumor had it his new scholarly appearance raised his grade average a whole point.

Ernest Campaigne (WCAS36, G38, 41)
Bloomington, Ind.



Editor’s note: Northwestern University: Celebrating 150 Years is available for purchase at the Norris University Center bookstore or can be ordered by calling 1-800-621-2736.


Distracting Design
While it’s impossible to cover all the news at Northwestern, the manner and presentation and the wide range of interests presented in the magazine make it very compelling reading.

However, I was somewhat distracted in the fall 2002 issue by the inclusion of extraneous materials, such as a large ball on page 18, letters on page 19 and the picture of a rose on page 21.

Morry Kaplan (WCAS35)
Highland Park, Ill.



Diverse Faculty?
I read with interest your brief article “Toward a More Diverse Faculty,” which appeared in News on Campus [fall 2002].

Efforts to further diversity are to be commended. Yet the diversity in this case is based upon ethnicity, which may have marginal value at best. Clearly, the heterogeneity of views imparted to your student body by the faculty is far more significant than variance in skin color. Especially important in the education of young people is the presentation of a genuine variation in political philosophy so they are enabled to make intelligent and rational decisions.

Accordingly, I write to inquire regarding the percentage of your faculty who characterize themselves as liberal, conservative or neutral.

Bruce W. Parker (GFSM60)
Albuquerque

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