Lift the Chorus

Issue 2, 2022

Book smart

Thank you so much for the recent alumni magazine and the great article about Danny Caine and The Raven Book Store [“Danny and Goliath,” issue No. 1]. It is so good to know that the store is still there and that Mr. Caine has made such a difference for local booksellers. Now I know to order books online from The Raven.

Just as I have never bought from Walmart because of their wiping out of small-town businesses in the ’80s, so too I never shop with Amazon. The Raven story is another good reason why. The same week I got my alumni magazine, I found an article in the business section of the Sunday New York Times that described the floating pricing of Amazon.

Good job to both Kansas Alumni and Danny Caine.

—Constance Tanis, d’66, Columbia, Missouri

Positively grateful

The Winter issue of Kansas Alumni was one of your best! My congratulations and appreciation to the editorial team for the selection of feature stories and the quality of the writing.

From The Raven’s Danny Caine to Audrey Coleman’s “Lessons in Leadership” to “‘Everybody Has a Story,’” about Lt. Harrison Manlove, I was uplifted by the caliber of individuals associated with the University of Kansas. I also was grateful for stories that are about building up our society versus tearing it down and blaming others in a posture of victimhood.

Not that I need reminding that KU is solidly anchored in the best values and tenets of our country, but the Winter issue was genuine and contemporary affirmation.

—Lindalyn Hutter, j’85, Alexandria, Virginia

A good man

One fact left out of Glenn McCubbin’s story [“‘Everybody Has a Story,’” issue No. 1] was that he was a member of Acacia Fraternity and is missed by his many friends and fraternity brothers. The article did provide a couple of points of which I was unaware. Thank you for recognizing Glenn. He was a good friend and a good man.

—Tom Linn, d’64, Niceville, Florida

Editor’s note: Retired Lawrence attorney David Richards, l’72, who grew up with Glenn McCubbin, informed us that, contrary to our statement that Maj. McCubbin had no known surviving family members at the time of his burial in Norton, he had a brother, Harold, who graduated from the School of Law. Further research revealed no family links between the two brothers noted in either’s official alumni records. We reached Harold McCubbin, l’71, now a retired attorney in Littleton, Colorado, who was excited to learn of Lt. Harrison Manlove’s research and expressed interest in returning for the ceremony that one day will honor the second star to be added to the KU Vietnam Memorial in recognition of his brother no longer being missing in action. Due to weather delays and renovation contracting hurdles, work on the memorial had not begun as of press time, but it remains a KU priority.

In Memory

When I received my Winter alumni magazine, I, a Life Member, class of 1964, went first to Class Notes and then to In Memory. (Let’s face it: I’ll be 80 in May, as will most of my cohorts educated at KU in the early 1960s.)

That’s when I realized the value placed on our family’s lifetime devotion, as I read the abbreviated In Memory—just name, graduation year, place of death, age and date of death. Period.

My 10-year-old grandson, Ariya Hebroni, proudly wore his favorite Christmas gift, a Jayhawk sweatshirt from me, every day I visited his family home in Beverly Hills, California.

His grandpa, John J. Williams, c’63, g’66, is also an alumnus and a walk-on member of the KU basketball team from 1960 to ’63. Great-grandpa, Dr. Homer J. Williams, c’28, m’31, would have been delighted with his great-grandson and the three-generation connection with our University.

I would suggest that editors rethink the reasons we honor alumni when they die, the support for KU, the pride we express all our lives, and the memories and friendships we recall when reading Class Notes or In Memory.

—Marilyn Murphy, d’64, Scottsdale, Arizona

I appreciate the reasons for your new “lite” format [KU Voice, issue No. 1], but the circumscribed notes for former faculty members do not recognize the sweep of their impact on your readership.

Alumni like me will be recognized by, perhaps, a few dozen fellow alumni this many years later. However, in my decades of college teaching, I had over 5,000 students, and in random encounters I still have people pleased to say, “I had your class.” My fellow students at KU were important to me, of course, but I am keen to know news of my erstwhile teachers, who had such lasting impact.

—Ron Rarick, c’75, g’80, g’84, PhD’87, Muncie, Indiana

Here’s a plea to restore the obits of In Memory to their slightly longer original format.

Those few more bits of information added considerably, over many years, to my memories and appreciation of friends and acquaintances who have taken up residence on the Hill Eternal. Definitely worth the additional editorial effort.

—John Smith, c’65, l’68, Lake City, Colorado

I am very disappointed with what you have done with the In Memory section. It now tells nothing other than the place and date of death. How sad.

—Kenneth Fligg, c’55, l’57, Kansas City

I do not like the new format of In Memory. The notices are too cut-and-dried and impersonal.

For example, Dennis Moore, who passed away last year, was not identified as a U.S. Congressman. Many alumni should be recognized for their achievements, not just their name, city and date of death.

I will not miss the listing of relatives who were KU alums. There has to be a happy medium worked out.

—Cindy Whitton, b’79, l’82, Southlake, Texas

Changes a hit, mostly

Kansas Alumni looks amazing. Nice job by the staff in reimagining the magazine.

Your magazine has also become a book source for me. I am now reading Gravedigger’s Daughter [“Book brief,” Rock Chalk Review, issue No. 1], a delightful book of growing up in Kansas, and have read a sample of The Education of Corporal John Musgrave [“Always faithful,” Rock Chalk Review, issue No. 1], which I am going to order and read in full. It looks to be an outstanding book. Thanks for the reviews and information on the authors—a good service.

I will sound off on the decision about obits. I think you did the right thing, especially with the numbers you are facing, along with limited magazine issues. I suppose that eventually the magazine may be forced to go totally online. I am old enough to treasure magazine and newspaper pages in my hand, but I understand that the audience is changing fast and you must keep up with the way people get information.

My only complaint would be with the University Community listings. There I think the department that the person was affiliated with is important information for the reader and the jogging of memories.

A big thank-you to all the staff for the great job writing, editing and designing the magazine. It’s still the best one in the USA!

—Peter Haggart, g’63, Moscow, Idaho

Action Jackson

Thanks for Michael Pearce’s article in the Winter 2022 issue about Kent Jackson, c’85, l’88, and his participation in Formula One Air Racing in an attempt to satisfy his need for speed [“Pilot savors speed, tactics that air racing demands,” Always Jayhawks].

I was one of Kent’s first students when he became a licensed flight instructor. Though I no longer fly, I will always be grateful for his assistance in helping me become a pilot and experience the exhilarating freedom of flight in a small aircraft, even though it was at a much slower speed than his hobby now takes him.

—Stephen Kessler, j’71, l’74, Topeka

A fitting honor

I recently read a book that Bob Dole wrote about being a student and playing basketball at KU after being recruited by Phog Allen.

Mr. Dole graduated from Russell High School, where he was a star athlete. He left KU to enter the service during World War II. He always wanted to return to KU to play sports again, but after being severely injured in Italy just three weeks before the war in Europe ended on May 8, 1945, his hope of playing sports was over. Since his recent death, my husband and I have thought that retiring his basketball jersey would be an appropriate honor.

I am also from Russell County and remember well meeting Sen. Dole, in my hometown of Luray, at the 1961 commemoration of 100 years of Kansas statehood. He shook the hands of even those too young to vote, like myself, as he possibly foresaw a long career in politics. It stood out that he shook hands with his left hand, as his right hand and arm were too severely injured from the war. He went on to serve our government for many years.

It is notable that he helped to save Social Security, pass the Americans with Disabilities Act, and raise funds for the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. In his 90s, he visited all 105 Kansas counties to thank them for their support over the years.

To honor such a hero who gave so much to our country, I propose that Sen. Dole’s basketball jersey be raised to the rafters of Allen Field House. He was a great Jayhawk, a great Kansan, and a great American who honored himself as public servant and war hero.

—Neva Bender Allison, c’69, g’70, Palm Desert, California