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Robert Bontrager was the only professor at Kansas State University to teach the course "The Black Press in America." He sought to open the minds of students concerning the "struggles and achievements of the Black minority."
Bontrager received his Ph.D. in Mass Communications in 1969 from Syracuse University with a dissertation titled An Investigation of the Black Press and White Press Use Patterns in the Black Inner City of Syracuse, New York: A Field Survey. He then became a professor in the journalism department at K-State until 1989. Other departmental duties included being the Journalism and Mass Communications acting department head in 1972-1973 and 1979-1980, chairing the journalism school's graduate studies program from 1971 to 1989, and serving as the associate director of the journalism school from 1986 to 1989. He was the Cruise Palmer professor of Journalism and Mass Communications for the 1984-1985 academic year.
Other duties outside the university included serving on the board of directors of Laubach Literacy International, being a judge in the national Unity Media Awards, and serving in various capacities with the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.
In the 1970 fall term, Bontrager began teaching the first Black press course at K-State. While teaching this course, he primarily focused on Black press materials from the Kansas City Call, particularly the editorials, and two titles from the Johnson Publishing Company, Ebony and Jet.
Bontrager retired in May 1989 and later moved to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1992.
He was born in 1922 and was a 1945 graduate of Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, where he met Mable Busch, whom he married the following year. Between 1948 and 1965, the Bontragers were missionaries in the Congo, after which they adopted two boys, Thomas and Timothy. Mable died in Lewisburg in January 2011.
Mary Elsie Border was born in Strasburg, OH, on March 6, 1901. She earned a Bachelor's degree from Ohio State University in 1924, moved to Manhattan, KS, and joined Kansas State Agricultural College, Division of Extension in 1927. In 1937 she was made an honorary member of Clovia. She was promoted to assistant professor in 1940 and associate professor in 1944. Border took sabbatical for graduate study, 1948-1949, and leave without pay in 1953-1954 to work as an Extension Home Economics Advisor in Pakistan with the Point Four Program, a U.S. foreign aid program. She resigned from KSU in 1957 and returned to foreign service, serving in Turkey until 1961, when she transferred to Liberia and Libya. She retired from foreign service and returned to the U.S. in 1963. Mary Border died May 25, 1994.
McDill "Huck" Boyd was born April 17, 1907. He was a firm believer in the values, lifestyles and resources of that part of our nation known as "rural." He grew up in the small-town newspaper business, attended Kansas State University, and returned to a career with the family newspaper -- the Phillips County Review. He published a weekly newspaper in a western Kansas county seat town of 3,000 people, yet his voice was heard and heeded in the halls of Congress and the White House. He saw the need for jobs and economic development in his community. He was instrumental in seeing that the world's first cooperatively-owned oil refinery was built in his hometown of Phillipsburg, Kansas. Huck helped solve the doctor shortages in rural areas by obtaining legislative approval for funding the first family practice residents in Kansas, legislation copied elsewhere in the U.S.
He worked on issues to benefit the elderly, youth, and the needy. When the Rock Island Railroad declared bankruptcy in the late 1970s, it appeared that more than 400 miles of track would be abandoned, and this vital service to farmers, businesses, and communities in the region would be lost. Against the odds, Huck Boyd led the fight to continue service. He helped establish the Mid States Port Authority which bought the track. Today, through his efforts, there is a private sector, short-line railroad operating on what would have been abandoned track. Huck was an advisor to governors, senators, and presidents.
Twice a gubernatorial candidate, he represented Kansas on the Republican National Committee for 20 years until his death in 1987. In these national circles, he was known as an advocate of rural people and rural values. Huck was awarded the "Kansan of the Year," the "First Kansan of the Decade," "Distinguished Kansan for Citizenship," "Man of the Year for Forestry," and the KSU Alumni Association's most prestigious Medallion Award. He received the highest awards of the journalism profession, including the William Allen White Award for Journalistic Merit, the first Victor Murdock award for Distinction in Journalism, and the Eugene Cervi award from the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Publishers for public service through community journalism. In 1956, Huck Boyd served as president of the Kansas Press Association.
In 1990, he joined his father Frank, mother Mamie, and brother Bus in being inducted posthumously into the Kansas Newspaper Hall of Fame -- making the Boyd’s the only family in history to have four members so recognized. He was chairman of the Kansas Board of Regents and a delegate to the United Nations Economic and Social Council in Geneva, Switzerland -- but he also found time to lead the fund drive so the local high school band could go to a bowl game.
After his death on January 9, 1987, his friends joined in establishing the Huck Boyd Foundation to continue his legacy. The Foundation, office in Phillipsburg, sponsors three projects: 1) the McDill "Huck" Boyd Community Center in Phillipsburg; 2) the Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media, in the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Kansas State University; and 3) the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at KSU. On September 21, 1997, the Huck Boyd Foundation dedicated the new Huck Boyd Community Center in Phillipsburg. The 21,000 square-foot building includes a 500-seat auditorium for fine arts performances and group meetings; a state-of-the-art teleconference facility for seminars and training meetings; and an operating model railroad museum with railroad memorabilia. The Huck Boyd Center is at 860 Park Street in Phillipsburg. You can call the Huck Boyd Foundation for information at (785)543-5535.
Mamie Alexander Boyd was born on December 13, 1876, near Humbolt, Allen County, to parents Joseph McDill and Hester Ann (Scott) Alexander. Boyd worked her way through college at Kansas State Agricultural College (now Kansas State University), selling her two-year-old heifer calf for $18 and working other jobs. She worked at the college printing press where she met Frank Boyd. They became engaged before graduation in 1902. After Boyd contracted tuberculosis, doctors recommended climate change and she moved to Colorado. Her fiancé visited on weekends. Her condition did not improve there and she eventually moved back to Kansas. She and Frank married on August 1, 1905.
The Boyds published the Phillips County Post in Phillipsburg and added several weekly newspapers from neighboring towns. Mamie became involved in many local, state, and national organizations. She was president of the Kansas Press Women, chairman of American Women’s Voluntary Services, Inc., a charter member of the National Federation of Press Women, a delegate to General Federations of Women’s Clubs, and was the first woman to lead the Kansas State Alumni Association. She was a featured speaker at the National Editorial Association and served as state president of the Woman’s Kansas Day Club and Native Daughters of Kansas. She is an honorary life president for both the Kansas Press Women and the Kansas Press Association.
Five Kansas governors appointed her to positions. Governor Alfred Landon appointed her to the Kansas State Park Board, Governor Payne Ratner to the State Textbook Commission, Governors Frank Carlson and Edward Arn to the State Advisory Commission on Institutional Management, and Governor William Avery to serve on the Committee on Status of Women.
She received many awards such as the Newspaper Woman of the Year in 1954, Distinguished Service Award from Kansas State University in 1957, Kansan of the Year from Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas in 1958, Kansas Mother of the Year in 1965, the gold medallion for 50 years in the journalism industry by Theta Sigma Phi, the McKinney Award from the National Newspaper Association in 1966, and she was the first woman to receive the William Allen White Award for Journalistic Merit.
Three annual scholarships are presented in her memory to women in journalism at Kansas State University, University of Kansas, or Wichita State University. A residence hall is named in her honor at her alma mater, Kansas State University. The Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas present an annual student essay award in her honor, “Kansas! Say It Above a Whisper.”
Her autobiography, A Heifer Calf through College, was published in 1972.
She loved knitting and was often spotted with yarn and needle in hand even at K-State basketball games.
She died on October 15, 1973.
Richard Mason Boydston was born on February 4, 1917 in Randolph, Missouri, the youngest of four boys. Richard ("Dick") attended Kansas City, Missouri public schools and graduated from Central High School in 1934, after which he attended Kansas City Junior College. At this time, Richard was employed by Skelly Oil Company in Kansas City where he worked in the service station, advertising department, and as a retail sales district manager and division manager.
Richard enlisted in the United States Army after Pearl Harbor in 1942, and was assigned to the Quarter Master Corps. After being stationed in Skagway, Alaska, he went to Officer's Candidate School at Fort Francis E. Warren in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Following his time at Fort Warren, he was stationed at two Army posts in California, the last of which being San Bernardino for desert training (which he continually refers to as San Berdu. in letters to his wife). During the month of June 1943, Richard spent his leave at home with his mother in Kansas City before being deployed overseas.
On June 16, 1943, he had a blind date with Marion Elmer, the future Mrs. Richard M. Boydston, from Manhattan, Kansas. Marion was a chemist for General Mills in Kansas City. On July 7, 1943, Marion and Richard were married at Mission Inn, Riverside, California; one month later Richard left for overseas assignment. While overseas Richard was stationed in North Africa, southern Italy, and finally southern France, where he was stationed in Marseilles for a year and promoted to the rank of Major. After Marseilles he went to Rognac, about thirty miles away, where he stayed until redeployment for the states was issued in October 1945, 29 months after leaving for overseas duty.
Upon leaving the U. S. Army, Richard rejoined Skelly Oil Company and worked in the following locations: Butler, Missouri; Topeka, Kansas; Kansas City, Kansas; Chicago, Illinois; Des Moines, Iowa; and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Richard retired in 1977 and he and Marion moved to Marion's hometown of Manhattan, Kansas. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church, Manhattan Rotary Club, Kansas State University President's Club, and the Manhattan Country Club. Richard and Marion had two children and four grandchildren. Their son Rick, and his wife Susan, had three children, while their daughter Anne, and her husband Will, had a son. Richard Mason Boydston died on May 18, 1998 in Manhattan, Kansas.
Richard Mason Boydston was born on February 4, 1917 in Randolph, Missouri, the youngest of four boys. Richard ("Dick") attended Kansas City, Missouri public schools and graduated from Central High School in 1934, after which he attended Kansas City Junior College. At this time, Richard was employed by Skelly Oil Company in Kansas City where he worked in the service station, advertising department, and as a retail sales district manager and division manager.
Richard enlisted in the United States Army after Pearl Harbor in 1942, and was assigned to the Quarter Master Corps. After being stationed in Skagway, Alaska, he went to Officer Candidate School at Fort Francis E. Warren in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Following his time at Fort Warren, he was stationed at two Army posts in California, the last of which being San Bernardino for desert training (which he continually refers to as San Berdu. in letters to his wife).During the month of June 1943, Richard spent his leave at home with his mother in Kansas City before being deployed overseas. On June 16, 1943, he had a blind date with Marion Elmer, the future Mrs. Richard M. Boydston, from Manhattan, Kansas. Marion was a chemist for General Mills in Kansas City. On July 7, 1943, Marion and Richard were married at Mission Inn, Riverside, California; one month later Richard left for overseas assignment.
While overseas Richard was stationed in North Africa, South Italy, and finally South France, where he was stationed in Marseilles for a year and promoted to the rank of Major. After Marseilles he went to Rognac, about thirty miles away, where he stayed until redeployment for the states was issued in October 1945, 29 months after leaving for overseas duty.
Upon leaving the U. S. Army, Richard rejoined Skelly Oil Company and worked in the following locations: Butler, Missouri; Topeka, Kansas; Kansas City, Kansas; Chicago, Illinois; Des Moines, Iowa; and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Richard retired in 1977 and he and Marion moved to Marion=s hometown of Manhattan, Kansas. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church, Manhattan Rotary Club, Kansas State University President=s Club, and the Manhattan Country Club.
Richard and Marion had two children and four grandchildren. Their son Rick, and his wife Susan, had three children, while their daughter Anne, and her husband Will, had a son. Richard Mason Boydston died on May 18, 1998 in Manhattan, Kansas.
Brad Logan specializes in Great Plains archaeology and is Research Associate Professor Emeritus. He obtained his doctorate in anthropology with honors at the University of Kansas (1985) and his M.A. at the University of Nevada, Reno (1977). He has 45 years of research experience including field work in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Wyoming, southern France and lower Austria. From 1985 to 2003 he was Director of the Office of Archaeological Research, Museum of Anthropology at the University of Kansas and from 1998 to 2003 was Senior Curator at KUMA. He has conducted more than 40 major research projects and many smaller projects in the Great Plains and Europe with support from the Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Park Service, and Sigma Xi. His experience includes the curation of museum exhibits, direction of volunteer excavations, and public education through numerous lectures, open houses, and workshops. He has served as president of the Association of Professional Archaeologists of Kansas (2003-2006), book review editor for Plains Anthropologist (2005-2009), on the Board of Directors of the Plains Anthropological Society (2009-2011), and as vice-president of the Nebraska Association of Professional Archeologists (2012-2014).
Daniel M. Braum was born on February 1, 1896, in Jackson County, Kansas. He graduated from Denison High School, Denison, Kansas in 1913 and attended Prep School in Agriculture at Manhattan, Kansas from 1913 to 1915. After prep school, Braum attended Cooper College in Sterling, Kansas. In 1918, he was pulled into military service and served in World War I. On December 20, 1920, Braum married Roberta M. Myers. For the next two years, he was a farmhand for his father, John Henderson Braum, south of Denison, Kansas.
Braum graduated from Kansas State Agriculture College with a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture in 1924. After college, he worked as a County Farm Bureau Agent in Burlington, Kansas until 1927, when he moved to northeast Kansas and began operating his own farm. In 1930, Braum moved to Iola, Kansas, where he served as the County Farm Bureau Agent for five years. From 1935 to 1940 he worked as a Soil Conservation Service Training Specialist for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) where he directed training in at least fifty-nine camps in the Central Plains including the camp at Salina, Kansas and Amarillo, Texas.
Between 1940 and 1950, Braum worked with the Training Division of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D. C. He helped to install the National Farm Work Simplification Laboratory at Purdue University. During this time he began using principles of Scientific Management to develop a method of construction training programs and delivered two papers regarding this method.
In 1947, Braum was the delegate to International Management Congress in Stockholm, Sweden. While there he delivered his paper entitled “Progress of Scientific Farm Management.” His second paper was delivered in 1949, at the Third General Semantic Congress, Denver, Colorado, entitled, “Peaceful Approach to Work.”
Braum’s international experience landed him the job of Chief of Training for the General Services Administration where he served as a consultant in Public Administration to the Philippine government between 1950 and 1952. Simultaneously, he served as a delegate to the International Management Congress in Brussels, Belgium in 1951. His work garnered him a fellowship to District of Columbia (D. C.) Chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Management.
Braum’s familiarity with the Philippine government furthered his career when he accepted a professorship on the faculty of the University of Philippines as Director of In-Service Training in the New Institute of Public Administration from 1952 to 1955. He directed the training of supervisors, executives, and bureau chiefs, and conducted government-wide conferences in budgeting, personnel management and records management. Braum assisted Dr. Lillian M. Gilbreth in organizing the Philippine Council of Government when it was given membership in the International Committee of Scientific Management. With Philippine officials, he developed training policies and plans for the Philippine government. His work led to the publication of his book, Thousand Questions on Supervision in the Philippine Government.
The next ten years found Braum back in the United States working as a training officer of Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service of the USDA in Washington, D. C. There he developed training policies and plans for the Service which was responsible for price support and management of surpluses for the United States. In 1957, he was assigned for three-and-a-half months to the Indonesian Government to demonstrate management training where he prepared dual language flip charts for instruction that were published.
In 1959, Braum was a delegate to the International Management Conference in Paris. This same year he participated in the American Society for Public Administration Management Institute at the University of Colorado and he received the USDA superior service award. Braum served as a member of the Board of Governors for the planning of the International Industrial Engineers Conference in New York City in 1963. That same year he was a delegate to the International Management Conference also held in New York City. In 1964, he was awarded life membership to the D. C. Chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Management.
In 1965, Braum’s retired from USDA Commodity Stabilization Service. He became a part-time consultant for the Agriculture International Development Foreign Training Division within the USDA until 1980. During this time he developed and conducted the management program for foreign trainees. In 1966, Braum received the Gilbreth Medal for his contributions to the application of time and motion studies. He was recognized in 1978 by the National Republican Committee from President Ronald Regan for his generosity and service to the Republican Party.
Daniel M. Braum died on October 26, 1981, in Rockville, Maryland. His body was brought home to Denison, Kansas for burial at the Denison Cemetery.
Helen Brockman was a fashion designer and professor whose work focused on pattern making for skirts and slacks. She taught at Kansas State University for nine years, and continued to publish after she retired with the Kansas State University Research Foundation.
Brockman was born in Palo, Iowa in 1902 to parents Levi Lewis and Ida Mae Ashworth. After obtaining her B.A from University of Iowa, she taught in Schenectady, New York for seven years. She moved to New York City and worked as a pattern designer during World War II. She also taught at New York City's Fashion Institute of Technology, and published The Theory of Fashion Design in 1965.
After retiring and leaving New York in 1968, she accepted a position at Kansas State University in the College of Human Ecology's Department of Clothing and Textiles teaching fashion design. In addition to her academic career, she served as a social host for visiting scholars at The Brockman House, which she established in 1990. She remained with the department until her second retirement in 1974.
Helen Brockman passed away in 2008, at the age of 105.
Thomas Brooks, a professor of Family Economics and Management at Southern Illinois University. The collection consists of materials Brooks assembled to write a biography of consumer leader, Colston E. Warne.
George was born in Vienna, Austria, and immigrated to the United States with his family when he was a young man. George enlisted in the army and fought in North Africa and Italy. After returning from the war, George Brunn attended Stanford University receiving a bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1947 and a juris doctorate in 1950. George then became a judge for the County of Alameda and worked as a trial judge for twenty years. He was extensively involved in professional and community service. His ties to the Consumer Movement include service on the Pacific Bell Telecommunications Consumer Advisory Panel from 1990–1992, the Consumers Union of the United States Board of Directors from 1966–1978 and the California Attorney General Consumer Fraud Task Force from 1969–1973.
After retiring George continued working as an arbitrator and mediator. He spent much of his time writing handbooks for judges both on search and seizure and the death penalty. To George's family and friends, he was known for his wit, smarts, limericks, jokes, and poems that he had made up over the years. On his 90th birthday, he had a small gathering of family and friends over, as he did for many years. The room was filled with joy and laughter. George was preceded in death by his loving wife Ruth. They had been married for 54 years. George was survived by his daughter Tracy, son Scott, niece Nancy, nephew David and cousin Trudy.
George Burgoyne (1834-1923) was the first professional photographer to operate a studio in Manhattan, Kansas. Born in England, Burgoyne established residence in Kansas Territory in 1857. Two years later he founded his photographic studio, specializing in Carte de visite portraits. His business flourished for 31 years, until his retirement in 1890.
The earliest extant views of Manhattan have been attributed to Burgoyne.
"Early Days in Riley County." Manhattan Nationalist 29 November 1923.
1890, he sold his studio to George F. Dewey and retired to a fruit farm that he owned in California. See "Reduction in Prices." Manhattan Mercury 5 June 1890 and "George Burgoyne has sold his photograph gallery." Manhattan Mercury 6 June 1890.
Born in 1938, Jane Anne Franz Butel would grow up to be known as the mother of Tex-Mex, being credited with bringing the regional culinary style into popular demand. Graduating from Soldier Rural High School as Valedictorian put Butel on the path to success. She enrolled at Kansas State University with a double major in Home Economics and Journalism with a four-year scholarship from Sears Roebuck for all of her tuition.
In 1958 Butel married Donald Allen Butel and by the next year had graduated K-State and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where she began her expansive career. By 1961 Butel was already making a name for herself in southwest cuisine. She was promoted to Head of the Department of Home Service, won seven national awards from programming and overall achievement and been elected president of New Mexico Home Economics Association and Chairman of the Women’s Committee of Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce. She also had a weekly television news segment from 1967-1969 as well as appearing frequently as a guest on several radio programs. In 1968, Butel self-published her second cookbook, Favorite Mexican Foods.
From 1969-1973, Butel was employed by Consolidated Edison of New York as the Director of Consumer Affairs where she developed 15 programs and decentralized the staff to eight boroughs. In 1971, Butel was appointed to develop the world’s first energy conservation program. It was successful and was later copied by 65 other utility companies. Butel’s radio and television success continued as she hosted a weekly radio program, “All About Energy,” in New York City. In 1973 she was hired by General Electric to head their Consumers Institute with responsibility for consumer education worldwide. She also had a national radio consumer show which distributed to 431 radio stations nationwide. Leaving GE, Butel was hired by American Express in 1976 to be their first female Corporate Vice President of Consumer Affairs and Marketing, a position she kept until 1978. After resigning from American Express, Butel incorporated Pecos River Spice Co (later known as Pecos Valley Spice Co.) and Jane Butel Associates (JBA).
Pecos Valley Spice Co. Launched its first product line in September 1979 at a Spice Sampler trade show in which Butel had the first woman-owned company. Also in 1979, Jane Butel’s Tex-Mex cookbook was published and was met with immediate success, staying in print until 2008. This publication was credited with starting the rise in popularity Southwestern cooking that came in the 1980s. Published a year later, Chili Madness also became a best seller and has sold nearly a million copies to date. This sparked a rapid expansion of the Pecos Valley product line and for Bloomingdales to order the product line to be hosted in stores. Unfortunately, Butel faced business difficulties from 1983 to 1991 citing sales of shares, poor funding and the hiring of an incapable managing partner as the cause. Ultimately, Pecos Valley Spice Co. switched to a mail order direct business, where the company is still operating.
During this time, Butel published Tacos, Tortillas and Tostadas, The Best of Mexican Cooing and Woman’s Day Book of New Mexican Cooking. In July of 1983, Butel developed the concept of a week-long cooking school which she then operated as sold-out sessions from 10 years in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As a new corporate venture, Butel opened a New Mexican/Southwestern upscale restaurant in New York City’s Upper East Side called Pecos River Café. The café was quite successful until personal and managerial problems led to its closing in 1990. February of 1993 found Butel building the first hotel-based cooking school, naming it Hotel Albuquerque. From 1993 to 2006 Butel worked to centralize and streamline both Pecos Valley Spice Co. and her cooking schools, opening another hotel called the Andaluz and redesigning the Pecos Valley line and packaging. Throughout this time Butel published five other cookbooks to add to her collection, these include Fiestas for Four Seasons, Jane Butel’s Quick & Easy Southwestern Cookbook, and Real Women Eat Chiles as well as a revised edition of her previous book, Hotter than Hell.
From January of 2010 to present, Butel has been developing proposals to sell her combined business in a Culinary Institute concept, but it is still a work in progress. Currently, Jane Butel is still conducting both the cooking classes and operating the spice business. She also has the intention to write more books and an autobiography.
James C. Carey was professor of history at multiple universities, including Kansas State. Carey earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Nebraska State College in 1937 and his Masters from the University of Colorado in 1940. From 1941 to 1945, he was director at Colegio America del Callao in Peru. Carey worked as an instructor at the University of Colorado from 1946 to 1947, while also earning his PhD from Colorado in 1948. From 1948 to 1981, Carey was a faculty member of the Department of History at Kansas State, specializing in Latin American history and U.S.-Latin American relations. Throughout this time, Carey also served in various other positions, including as professor from 1954 to 1955 at Colegio Pan-Americano in Monterrey, Mexico, as President of the Riley Co. Historical Society from 1964-1965, as President of the KSU Faculty Senate in 1966, and as a professor from 1968 to 1969 at the University of Oklahoma. In 1969, he became President of the Kansas Association of Teachers of History and Social Science. He was designated University Historian of KSU in 1973, as well. Carey received the Fulbright-Hays award in the fall of 1979, which allowed him to teach at the National University of Tucuman in Argentina. Carey retired from teaching on July 31, 1981.
Velma Lenore Carson was born in Kansas on April 30, 1896. The daughter of Edward Lincoln Carson and Viola Belle Petty Carson, she grew up on a farm southwest of Morganville, Kansas. During World War I, Carson attended Kansas State Agricultural College, now Kansas State University. She majored in journalism and was involved in plays, literary societies, and oratory. While at K-State, she was involved in Theta Sigma Phi Journalism Society, the Ionian Women’s Literary Society, the Young Women’s Christian Association, Prix Leadership Honorary, and XIX outstanding Women Honorary. Carson also served as the editor of the Royal Purple yearbook, staff writer for the Collegian, and as president of her class. She did not receive her degree until April of 1982 due to missing requirements. An honorary degree was awarded to her at that time.
In 1922, she married Homer Cross, an electrical engineer and former class president at KSU. They moved to Pennsylvania where Cross had a job with Westinghouse. Later, they moved to New York City where Cross worked for the electric railway. Carson was a writer, authoring everything from advertising copy to short stories and poems. Carson also worked with Margaret Sanger, a family planning advocate. Carson helped distribute unionizing information to Pullman porters during her travels, risking jail time for her involvement.
Carson’s daughter Cynthia was born in 1928. Carson claimed Cynthia was adopted, and documents always listed her name as Cynthia Carson. Her marriage with Homer Cross ended in divorce in 1931.
Carson continued her journalistic career and later remarried. Second husband, Leonard Rennie, was a painter who worked for the federal government during the Depression. The couple eventually separated.
Velma's daughter, Cynthia, attended school in Morganville, and later Kansas State Teachers College - now Emporia State University. She graduated in 1950. Cynthia taught for a year in Hoxie, Kansas before moving on to New York.
Velma Carson died in 1984.
Dan D. Casement was an involved man, he spent time as student at the Western Reserve Academy from 1884-1886 and owned and operated his father's ranch (Juniata Ranch) from 1889-1953, during which time he graduated from Princeton University in civil engineering, obtained a Master's degree from Columbia University, married his late wife Mary Olivia Thorburgh, spent 6 years in Costa Rica, and was the correspondence editor for Breeder's Gazette for 6 years.
Casement and his family spent six years in Costa Rica after Dan was given the task of overseeing the construction of a railway in the country by Gen Jack, Casement’s father in 1887. Jack accepted a contract to build 55 miles of track from San Jose to the coast and spent much of his time in New York trying to raise funds. During this time, Costa Rica tottered as a result of revolution and bankruptcy and therefore what was thought of being a sporting adventure turned into the extremely difficult task of laying track in a mountainous, tropical country. Yellow fever and insurrection did not help matters. The circumstances made the construction of the trans-continental railroad across in the American prairie seem like a Lionel train on Christmas morning. For example, on chasm to be bridged was 652 wide and 310 feet deep which, at the time, had only one counterpart in the world, that in Africa. Although the project was deemed profitable for the Casements, they could only complete 30 of the 55 mile line before the Costa Rican government suspended funds after six years. By contrast, it took less time for General Jack to build the eastern leg of the transcontinental railroad than it took to construct 30 miles of track in Costa Rica. Only once during the six year span (1887-1903) did the Casements visit the United States. Dan and Olivia’s daughter, Mary, was born in Costa Rica and though their task was difficult and frustrating, they developed lasting friendships during their time there.
During his ownership of Juniata Ranch, it was the location of Kansas State University’s original grass utilization research that was conducted by the Agricultural Experiment Station in 1915. Casement also was appointed to review an appraisal of the grazing value of the national forests, and his report recommended a fee related to the price of livestock, which was in force when he died. He was also involved in politics and attended several National Republican Conventions, including the one in 1952 in where he was an avid supporter of General Douglas MacArthur for the nomination. For his contribution to the cattle industry, The Saddle and Sirloin club in Chicago had his portrait hung in its gallery of leaders of the U.S. livestock industry. Additionally, he contributed immeasurably to the betterment of American agriculture by his leadership in animal breeding and feeding, with cattle, sheep, horses, and hogs.
Upon Casement’s death in 1953, tributes were given in his honor. Tributes include those from Governor Edward F. Arn, Senator Harry Darby, and Frances D. Farrell. Representative Howard S. Miller read a tribute to Casement on the floor of the House of Representatives, and in an editorial in the Manhattan, Bill Colvin shared his memory of Dan. At the Cowboy Hall of Fame 1958 annual meeting in Oklahoma City, Casement was one of 11 elected at large from across the U.S to be inducted, just five years after his death.
Chronology:
1868 Dan Dillon Casement born near Painsville, OH (Jul 13)
1878 John S. Casement acquired Juniata farm near Manhattan1884-1886 Student, Western Reserve Academy
1889-1953 Owned and operated Juniata Ranch
1890 Graduated from Princeton (Civil Engineering)
1891 Obtained masters degree from Columbia University; Charles A. “Tot” Otis, Jr., roommate
1891-1896 Range cowhand with Otis is Unaweep Canyon, CO
1891-1896 Farmed in western Kansas
1897 Married Mary Olivia Thorburgh
1897-1903 Railroad construction in Costa Rica with father
1906 Moved to Colorado Springs
1909 John S. Casement died
1915 Brought rustlers to trial in Colorado
1915 Took up permanent residence in Manhattan
1917 Troop ship, Tuscania, torpedoed and sunk off coast of Ireland
1917-1919 U.S. Army (Ft. Sheridan, 1917; AEF, France as head of second battalion of 27<emph render='super'>th</emph> Field Artillery)
1920-1926 Correspondence editor for <emph render='underline'>Breeder’s Gazette</emph>
Charter member of American Quarter Horse Association
1924 Republican candidate for U.S. Congress from Kansas 5<emph render='super'>th</emph> District
1926 Appointed by Secretary of Agriculture William M. Jardine to review appraisal of grazing value of National Forests
1935 Became president of Farmers’ Independent Council of America
1939 Honored by Saddle & Sirloin Club in Chicago
1942 Mary Casement died
1952 Attended Republican National Convention
1953 Dan D. Casement dies on March 7, 1953
1958 Elected to Cowboy Hall of Fame
Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is a food safety and nutrition advocacy organization. CSPI was founded in 1971 by Michael F. Jacobson, a microbiologist, James Sullivan, an oceanographer, and Albert Fritsch, a chemist.
In the 1990s CSPI advocated for the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act which led to Nutrition Facts labels mandatory for packaged foods. CSPI advocated to label and eventually eliminate artificial trans-fat found in partially hydrogenated oils. Their work led to businesses such as KFC (World Famous Fried Chicken, food chain), and the city of New York eliminating artificial trans-fat from their restaurant food. In 2015 based on a petition filed by CSPI, the FDA made a final determination that partially hydrogenated oil was no longer “generally recognized as safe” for use in food.
CSPI worked to advocate for multiple food safety and nutrition related legislation, including ‘Food Safety Modernization Act’ in 2011, and ‘Health, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010.’
The Academic Affairs Committee of the Kansas State University Faculty Senate appointed a committee in 1986 to address administration and faculty concerns about a lack of understanding among undergraduates of core competencies. This committee reviewed the current general education standards at K-State, and the following year another committee defined what skills and knowledge students should have at graduation. A third committee was formed in 1988 and used data gathered by the previous committee to propose changes to the Common University Degree Requirements.
In 1991, Provost James Coffman, with the support of the Faculty Senate, began a project to create a University General Education (U.G.E.) plan for K-State students based on the 1988 committee's proposal. This plan was approved and implemented in 1994 with planned assessments to the program occurring periodically.
By the mid-2000s, the University General Education program needed to be revised. The General Education Task Force was set up in 2006 to address these needs. In 2008 a proposal was given to the Faculty Senate, in 2009 the proposal for K-State 8 was approved, and in 2011 K-State 8 was implemented.
Donald Christy was a leader in Kansas soil and water conservation for nearly three decades. Christy earned his B.S. in Agricultural Engineering from Kansas State College in 1933 and his M.S. from Texas A&M in 1934. After his graduation, Christy worked for one year with the Soil Conservation Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture after which he was a professor of Agricultural Engineering at Texas A&M until 1942. In 1951, he became a member of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, which he would serve on until 1962. Christy was also chairman of the Kansas Soil Conservation Committee from 1952 to 1954 and the Governor’s Watershed Review Committee of Kansas from 1955 to 1956. He served on various other committees and managed multiple large estates throughout the 1960s. In 1980, Christy received the Distinguished Service Award from the KSU College of Engineering, and in 1989, he was inducted into the Engineers Hall of Fame. Christy died on March 15, 1990.
Joel Climenhaga was a writer and playwright, as well as a professor of theater at Kansas State University. After being born in Zimbabwe in 1922, Climenhaga’s family moved frequently throughout his childhood. Climenhaga began his writing career in 1937 by writing short stories and poems, many about his childhood in Africa. From 1939 to 1941, he attended Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, but he did not graduate. In 1942, Climenhaga moved to California to work at Upland Lemon Growers Association. He entered the U.S. Army in 1945 as a conscientious objector and was discharged in 1946. From 1948 to 1950, Climenhaga attended Chaffey College in Ontario, California, earning his A.A. in Theater Arts, Art, and English in 1949. Climenhaga then attended UCLA from 1950 to 1956, earning his B.A. in Theater Arts in 1953 and his M.A. in Theater Arts in 1958. While at UCLA, Climenhaga wrote the play “Marriage Wheel,” which won the Samuel Goldwyn Award, and in 1956, he published his play “Heathen Pioneer: a comedy in one act.”
After completing his studies, Climenhaga was a visiting professor at Wilmington College and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. From 1963 to 1968, he was an Associate Professor of Speech, Drama, and English at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri, where he was also the chairman of the Department of Speech and Drama from 1964 to 1968. In 1968, Climenhaga became an Associate Professor of Theatre, as well as a member of the graduate faculty, at Kansas State University, a position he would hold until 1987. Climenhaga also served at K-State as the Director of Theatre from 1968 to 1987 and the coordinator of the New Play Program from 1972 to 1987.
Climenhaga continued to publish his plays and writings while at K-State. This included the works “Hawk and Chameleon” in 1972, and the “One Man’s Frontier” column in the “Flinthills Journal” based in Wamego, Kansas from 1979 to 1980. Other works of his published throughout the 1970s include “Awakening,” “The Back Shelf Dispatch,” “Below Ground Level,” “Counsel for the Offense,” and “Greenage.” From 1981 to 1987, some of his newspaper columns were broadcast over K-State’s radio station, KSAC, in a bi-monthly program entitled “One Man’s Journey.”
Climenhaga left K-State in 1987 to become a professor of Theatre Arts and English and the coordinator of the New Play Program at Tarkio College in Tarkio, Missouri. He worked at Tarkio until 1991. Throughout this time, he published multiple collections of poems, as well as the newspaper column “Dear Good People.” After briefly working for one year from 1991 to 1992 as professor of Theatre Arts and coordinator of the New Play Program at Teikyo Westmar University in LeMars, Iowa, Climenhaga retired in 1992 and moved to Bisbee, Arizona. In retirement, Climenhaga remained active in theater and writing, including serving on the Board of Directors of the Bisbee Repertory Theatre. Climenhaga died in 2000, and his work “Eighty Six Thousand Five Hundred and Fifty Three: a Sequence of Journey Poems” was published posthumously in 2001.