bearcatroar
I remember when ...
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Bill Elam’s 1928 Whippet, aka “Li’l Hilda,” caught the attention of Northwest’s president, J.W. Jones.
BEARCAT ROAR Please submit remembrances along with your name, year of graduation, address and telephone number to Mitzi Lutz, editor, Northwest Alumni Magazine, Alumni House, Maryville, MO 644686001 or by e-mail to mitzi@nwmissouri.edu.
remember when Dick Palmer and I bought this 1928 Whippet in 1946. We painted the car a bright yellow with red trim and went out to register as Northwest Missouri State Teachers College freshmen. One evening at dusk, one of my sisters was riding with me and dared me to drive down the “long walk” – the sidewalk that connects the president’s house and the Administration Building. I turned out the lights and did just that and out onto Fourth Street. The next morning I was summoned to President Jones’ office. He advised me that, while sitting on his front porch the previous evening, he observed a yellow and red vision go by and concluded by saying, “Bill, that is called the long walk – not the long drive. Please keep your car off of it in the future.” That was the mildest scolding I ever had, but believe me, I did not drive down the long walk again, which is not to say there were no other escapades involving our “Li’l Hilda.” Bill Elam ’50
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remember Dr. Leon F. Miller was dean of instruction in the 1960s and a very fine gentleman. Educated in the classics at the University of Chicago, he believed that a student demonstrated his or her education by quoting authority,
especially on examinations. In preparing for teaching a graduate course, he held a small undergraduate class in educational philosophy my senior year. We met in his office in the Administration Building. It was one course for which I had to do my homework because I was the only student in the class. I also remember that Dr. Miller was an accomplished tennis player. In the early 1960s, he could stay with John Bregin, the legendary Bearcat Hall of Famer. Although his professional obligations did not permit much time on the courts, it was a rare treat to join him there. Recalling Dr. Miller is a pleasure. John Roy Kelley ’63
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hen I attended Northwest, I remember the last day before I graduated. My roommate, Nicole, and I had lived in Roberta Hall together for a year and a half. Neither one of us could bear to tell the other one goodbye, so we just left messages on the bathroom mirror for each other. I made the most amazing relationships at Northwest. Another fond memory that really sticks out in my mind is when I was co-chair of Homecoming. So many people lined the streets during the parade, and the atmosphere was amazing. It was like the air was popping with excitement and anticipation. That evening, as all of the groups gathered in Bearcat Arena, I was able to present my sorority, Phi Mu, with Homecoming supremacy. Shannon Foster Harris ’96
Do you remember these events?
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1957 Northwest confers its first master’s degrees. Transitions: A Hundred Years of Northwest
1967 A revamped constitution is presented to the students by the student government. The Northwest Missourian
Ninety women join the Sophisticats, a group formed to help lead school spirit at Northwest football games. The Northwest Missourian
The 54-year-old Dairy Barn is destroyed by a fire thought to be caused by faulty wiring. Livestock, equipment and records are lost. Towers in the Northwest
SPRING 2007
1977 Dr. B.D. Owens, a 1959 Northwest graduate, becomes Northwest’s eighth president, succeeding Dr. Robert P. Foster, who had led the institution since 1964. Transitions: A Hundred Years of Northwest
NNOORRTTHHW WEESSTT AALLUUMMNNI I MMAAGGAAZZI N I NEE
1987 Boxer shorts are worn by women students throughout campus as an odd but popular new fad. Tower yearbook An early snowstorm blankets Maryville on Homecoming morning, but it doesn’t stop the annual parade or football game. Transitions: A Hundred Years of Northwest
1997 Northwest receives its first Missouri Quality Award. Transitions: A Hundred Years of Northwest Students rejoice because a Burger King is added when the J.W. Jones Student Union undergoes reconstruction. The Northwest Missourian