The Victoria College, 1925-2000: A Tradition of Excellence

THE VICTORIA COLLEGE 

1925-2000 

A Tradition of Excellence 

CHARLES D. SPURLIN

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1925-2000 

A Tradition of Excellence 

by 

Charles D. Spurlin 

Foreword by 

Jimmy Goodson, Ed.D.

✯ 

The Victoria College Administration 

Building, circa 1950. 

First Edition 

Copyright © 1999 Historical Publishing Network 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, 

including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to 

Historical Publishing Network, 8491 Leslie Road, San Antonio, Texas, 78254. Phone (210) 688-9008. 

ISBN: 1-893619-03-6 

Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 99-76696 

The Victoria College, 1925-2000 

author: Charles D. Spurlin 

Historical Publishing Network 

president: Ron Lammert 

vice president: Barry Black 

project manager: Joe Neely 

director of operations: Charles A. Newton, III 

administration: Angela Lake 

Donna Mata 

Dee Steidle 

graphic production: Colin Hart 

PRINTED IN SINGAPORE 

2 ✦ THE VICTORIA COLLEGE, 1925-2000

CONTENTS 

4 PREFACE 

5 FOREWORD 

6 CHAPTER 1 genesis 

26 CHAPTER 2 depression and war 

44 CHAPTER 3 adios, Patti Welder 

68 CHAPTER 4 the dynamic duo 

106 CHAPTER 5 turmoil and consistency 

144 CHAPTER 6 bingdom 

178 CHAPTER 7 a new chief, a new era 

210 CHAPTER 8 have I told you about the time… 

230 APPENDIX 

238 INDEX 

✯ 

The Student Union Building before the 

porch was added. 

Contents ✦ 3

PREFACE 

Writing this book was a unique and personally rewarding experience for me. The bulk of my publications 

have dealt with topics that were dependent on written materials. In this particular instance, 

I had the luxury of interviewing individuals who in one way or another were or are associated with 

the Victoria College. The verbal or written interchanges provided a far better insight and a more complete 

picture on an item than if I had to rely solely on archival holdings. Additionally, my research 

proved what I maintained during the 36 years that I was a full-time faculty member, namely, the college 

measures up to any two-year institution of higher learning in Texas. The historical record vividly 

demonstrates that the school has steadfastly maintained high academic standards and employed 

an exceptionally competent faculty who is unabashedly interested in the educational well-being of 

students. Furthermore, the college has been fortunate to have been led by boards of trustees and 

administrative officials who have provided an environment that has met the ever changing societal 

demands on education. Little wonder, indeed, that the Victoria College has been in the vanguard of 

the junior/community college movement. 

No author is an island. Invariably, there is a select group of individuals who play a part in bringing 

a production to fruition. Since I am not an exception to the rule; there are several people who I 

owe a debt of gratitude to for their encouragement, assistance, and cooperation during the composition 

of this book. President Jimmy Goodson, a person who was responsible for my involvement in 

this project, provided positive reenforcement throughout the writing process. Elizabeth Hoerster and 

Elizabeth Wagner, two competent student assistants, saved me an inestimable amount of time by carrying 

out critical microfilm assignments. I sincerely appreciate all the people who have shared with 

me their cherished stories and who have provided factual information. Bob Allen proved from beginning 

to end his quintessential photographic professionalism by taking, duplicating, and developing 

images in a timely fashion. I am exceedingly grateful to Richard Walker, C.F. Schneider, and Michael 

Hummel who gave up their leisure time to critique the manuscript. Their comments and suggestions 

spared me from making embarrassing mistakes. Any errors of fact or interpretation, of course, are 

entirely mine. A special kudos goes to Sandy Schramek. She was called upon to transcribe the data 

from longhand, make corrected copies, and eventually place the completed manuscript on computer 

disk. Sandy performed these tedious tasks, I might add, amiably and patiently. And finally, I wish 

to thank my wife Pat for her assistance and forbearance of my many hiatuses from family functions 

to research and to write in the “red room.” 

Charles D. Spurlin 

The Victoria College 


FOREWORD 

From its inception in 1925, The Victoria College has been a vital educational resource for Victoria 

and the surrounding area. Founded originally as part of the Victoria public school system and located 

on the campus of Patti Welder High School, Victoria College has grown and adapted to keep pace 

with a growing and expanding community. In response, the Victoria community has provided an 

exceptional level of local support for the College. 

Three significant concerns have guided the College over the years in its service to Victoria. First, 

a strong emphasis on quality has earned Victoria College a well-deserved reputation for excellence in 

its programs and services. Also, the College’s continued responsiveness to community needs has supported 

the social and economic development of the Victoria area. Finally, and perhaps above all, the 

College has provided its services at a relatively low cost, thus making higher education accessible to 

virtually all who seek it without regard to financial resources. 

Because of its accessibility, it is difficult to find someone whose life hasn’t been touched by the 

College. In the early days, it was the son of a farmer who was able to stay at home and still take college 

courses in business and agriculture. It was the secretary in the 1930s who received on-the-job 

training provided by the local junior college. In the decades to follow, it has been the student who 

needs a firm foundation before transferring to an upper level university…the single parent who 

wants to earn a degree to acquire a better job…the citizen who just purchased a home computer and 

needs training. Whether it be the health care worker who takes care of us, or the police officer who 

protects us, we are surrounded by those whom The Victoria College has served. 

Decade by decade, the College has responded to growth and changes in technology by developing 

new facilities. We began the nineties by providing personal computers for student access on site. 

Now, we are expanding our technology to accommodate distance learning, on-line courses, and 

multi-media presentations in the classroom. We have met the challenges of the past and now we are 

planning an expansion of facilities to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. 

As we celebrate our 75th anniversary, we recognize the College not only as an institution of learning, 

but also as a community of people. For “the College,” as it is affectionately called, is Victoria’s 

cornerstone of higher education academically as well as personally. May this collection of Victoria 

College’s history pay tribute to the administrators, faculty, staff, students and alumni, as well as the 

community. We all can be proud of the traditions established by The Victoria College and look forward 

with anticipation to the achievements in the years to come. 

Jimmy Goodson 

President, 

The Victoria College 

Foreword ✦ 5


CHAPTER 1 

GENESIS 

The junior college movement in America began in the early 1850s. The initial thrust came, as far as 

can be determined, from Henry Phillips Tappan, an admirer of the German education system and president 

of the University of Michigan. Prior to his becoming the chief administrator at the state university, 

he proposed in 1851 that in order to establish a distinct university, the first two years of higher 

education should be designed to emphasize material that is essential for the development of a literate 

person and to adequately prepare a student for the specialized studies taught at the university. Before 

the decade ended, William L. Mitchell, a member of the board of trustees at the University of Georgia, 

expressed the opinion of the board that too many of the all-male student body enrolled in that university 

were not properly prepared for the demands of scholarly study. He argued “that the foundation of 

failure, if not of ruin, is laid in the Freshman and Sophomore years of college life.” Mitchell therefore 

formulated a plan separating the first two years of study from the last two. Neither Tappan’s nor 

Mitchell’s innovative ideas became a reality, but their concepts were harbingers of what was to come. 1 

Sentiment for a two-year educational institution ebbed and flowed as the nation made its way to 

a new century. In 1851, the same year that Tappan made his unusual proposal, Lasell College, a private 

school at Arburndale, Massachusetts, “offered two years of standard collegiate instruction” for 

women. Four years after the end of the Civil War, the president of the University of Minnesota, 

William Watts Folwell, took up the battle cry. In his inaugural address, he called for a system where 

“a youth could remain at the high school or academy, residing in his home, until he had reached a 

point, say, somewhere near the end of the sophomore year…Then [he could] emigrate to the university.” 

Negative reaction to Folwell’s speech in the academic circles was nil, causing the president 

to remark that the reason the proposal “was not openly and vigorously denounced was due to the 

fact that it was not understood, or if understood, was not taken seriously.” 2 

By the 1890s, a wind of acceptance for reform blew across the educational landscape. In 1892, 

William Rainey Harper, first president of the University of Chicago, took advantage of the climatic 

change by placing the first two years of the university into the Academic College and the next two 

years into the University College. Four years later the respective designations became known as the 

Junior College and the Senior College. Harper’s reference to the first two years of higher learning as 

a junior college may have been the first use of the term. The University of Chicago also holds the 

distinction of awarding the first associate of arts degree to graduates of the Junior College. The university’s 

successful two-year educational scheme inspired the formation of private and public junior 

colleges throughout the nation. In 1901, the Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Illinois, was created as an 

extension of the high school, making it the oldest public junior college in the United States. 

Afterwards, the number of two-year schools rose sharply. By 1909, there existed 20 junior 

colleges. Thirteen years later the figure had increased to over 200. Two-year colleges, most of which 

were private, were located in 38 states. They were most numerous in California, a reflection of that 

state’s willingness to embrace the junior college concept. 3 

In his narrative, The Junior College, published by the United States Bureau of Education in 1919, 

F. M. McDowell suggested four principal reasons that motivated popularity of the junior college. 

First, universities encouraged the development as a means of reducing or eliminating their general 

courses required of all freshmen and sophomore students which allowed them to concentrate on the 

specialized upper division and graduate classes. Second, teacher colleges became junior colleges 

because of the perceived need to offer collegiate work and not limit themselves solely to pedagogical 

subjects. Third, colleges with small enrollments were not academically strong enough to offer fouryear 

programs that adequately met accreditation. Fourth, the junior college as a component of the 

high school was an evolutionary step of the public education system. The addition of grades twelve, 

thirteen, and fourteen allowed students who could not leave their communities to attend a four-year 

✯ 

On February 4, 1925, Frank H. 

Crain, Sr., made the motion to 

establish the Victoria Junior College. 

Genesis ✦ 7

✯ 

Virgil L. Griffin, superintendent of the 

Victoria Independent School District, 

also served as president of Victoria 

Junior College from 1925 to 1935. 

university to be able to at least obtain the first 

two years of a collegiate education. It was the 

latter factor that weighed heavily upon Frank H. 

Crain, Sr., a Victoria Independent School 

District board member and the son of William 

Henry Crain, a former Congressman. Because 

family financial considerations interrupted his 

higher educational studies, he empathized with 

students struggling to secure collegiate work. 4 

Crain was convinced that public education 

more than any other factor distinguished the 

United States from the rest of the world, and 

therefore, whatever could be done to assist its 

further development should be done. 

Consequently, he envisioned adding two additional 

years to the educational program at Patti 

Welder High School. Crain maintained that the 

cost would be minimal and the results profound. 

His enthusiasm for a junior college was contagious, 

infecting other board members. 

Superintendent Virgil L. Griffin, who had been 

superintendent of the Brownwood public schools 

for four years before moving to Victoria in 1918, 

did not need any encouragement. He was already 

a proponent of the junior college movement. On 

August 18, 1924, the board requested that Griffin 

invite Dr. Peyton Irwin, college inspector for the 

Texas Department of Education, to visit Victoria 

and discuss the prospects of creating a junior college 

at the public high school. No available 

records exist that indicate Irwin accepted the 

invitation. Nevertheless, the school officials proceeded 

to take the necessary steps to establish a 

junior college. 5 

When the board convened in the office of the 

People’s National Bank on February 4, 1925, a 

motion was made by Crain and seconded by 

Herman Fischer to create Victoria Junior College 

as an integral part of the Victoria Independent 

School District. Crain was given the honor by 

the board to make the motion because of his 

untiring zeal for a quality education program 

and his strong feeling that a junior college was 

an absolute necessity for a progressive public 

school system. 

A mitigating factor for the adoption of the resolution 

was a pending bill in the state legislature 

that would limit the establishment of junior colleges 

to high schools with five hundred students 

or more and a minimum assessed tax value of 

$15 million. The Victoria school district did not 

meet the proposed criteria. If, as the Texas 

Attorney General ruled, Victoria acted promptly 

and created a junior college, the legislation when 

passed would not affect the district. Crain’s 

motion carried by a unanimous vote. 6 

After the junior college proposal was adopted, 

Griffin was authorized to purchase the 

required equipment for the new two-year 

school. This was not as easy a task as it might 

have initially appeared. There were certain state 

educational standards that had to be met in 

order for Victoria Junior College to receive a 

first-class rating. Under the guidelines, the 

library had to have a minimum of 2,000 books, 

and the chemistry lab had to have equipment 

valued at $1,500 or more. From an organizational 

standpoint, the standards required at least 


five departments, three of which had to have 

instructors with master’s degrees or higher. 7 

To be a successful higher education institution, 

public support was critical. The backers of 

the two-year college took a positive message to 

the people to win their confidence. The 

rationale presented to the community for the 

establishment of a junior college was very modernistic. 

A lengthy editorial in the Victoria 

Advocate touted the unprecedented step taken 

by the Association of Texas Colleges, an organization 

that held Griffin in high esteem, when it 

admitted Victoria Junior College as a member 

even before the two-year school was operative. 

The newspaper also cited the benefits a junior 

college offered citizens. Among the advantages 

listed were a low-cost education, small classes, 

individual attention, experienced teachers 

rather than student assistants, and course offerings 

for adults “who desire the work for pleasure 

and culture.” 8 

The new junior college was housed in the Patti 

Welder High School building, and despite the 

board’s initial thought that only freshman college 

courses should be offered, a full complement of 

both freshman and sophomore courses were 

taught. The board members acknowledged that 

in due time a separate building would be erected 

for the junior college. Six thousand dollars were 

budgeted for the school’s first year of operation. 

The money was to be spent on salaries for new 

instructors, laboratory chemicals, library books, 

and other equipment required to satisfy the law 

providing for the establishment of a junior college. 

Superintendent Griffin was elected president 

of the college and was paid $3,600 a year for 

the dual role of superintendent and president. 

Tuition was set at twenty-five dollars a semester. 

Typewriter fees were an extra charge. 9 

The first instructors employed were characterized 

by the Advocate as being “men and 

women of mature years and experience in teaching 

and [who] possess those attributes in a high 

degree that aid in developing character in young 

people.” The original faculty consisted of E. J. 

Dysart, dean and instructor of education; 

✯ 

Initially, the Victoria Junior 

College Library had approximately 

2,000 books. 

Genesis ✦ 9

Sue Moore, history; Una T. Hunter, English; J. L. 

Dickson, mathematics; W. W. Ballard, Spanish; 

Theresa Klapproth, Latin; Clara W. Glass, commercial 

department; and A. C. “Coke” 

Williamson, science. All of the instructors 

except Dysart, Klapproth, and Williamson held 

master’s degrees. None of the females was married. 

Board policy prohibited employing 

married female teachers unless the governing 

body permitted otherwise. 10 

On September 14, 1925, the college opened 

with fifty-one students, a larger enrollment than 

was predicted by school officials. Perhaps the 

higher than expected number of students 

reflected the community’s high expectations for 

the college. Most of the local civic leaders anticipated 

it would become a leading educational 

institution and the city would emerge as an educational 

center. They were therefore very 

pleased to be informed of the initial figures. The 

students themselves were equally delighted. A 

festive atmosphere prevailed among the high 

school and college students as they attended 

their first day of classes. This was especially true 

for the collegians who heard praiseworthy 

speeches “delivered by representative citizens.” 11 

Prior to the start of the fall semester, on 

September 6, 1926, the first college sports team 

gathered at the Patti Welder High School football 

practice field under the guidance of Coach 

J. J. Sasser. The squad consisted of junior college 

students, ineligible players from the high 

school, and off-campus young adults. Included 

among its members were Sidney R. Weisiger, 

right end; Hugh Lowery, left tackle; Perry 

Larson, right halfback; William Henderson, left 

halfback; and Marcus Williamson, fullback. 

Practices were held, as Weisiger once remarked, 

whenever eleven players were present. Although 

the football team won its first game by beating 

Port Lavaca High School 6-0, it was usually outclassed 

by the opposition. 12 

Chester Evans, who was not associated with 

the original team but became a manager before 

the decade ended, recalled that when the club 

traveled to San Marcos for a game, two rather 

hefty Yorktown boys, who were not college 

students but eligible to play for the college, 

were picked up in Cuero. After the game, they 

were dropped off at Cuero. Evans also told the 

story that once when the team played in 

Beaumont, the weather was bitterly cold. 

Because of the freezing temperature, the football 

players “borrowed” pillows and quilts from the 

hotel they were staying in for cover so they 

could stay warm on the return bus ride to 

Victoria. When the vehicle arrived at the campus, 

law enforcement officials met it and sternly 

instructed the team, with no questions asked, to 

place the heisted items inside a large box that 

was in the center of the gymnasium. 13 

A significant innovation by the college which 

would be emulated by other Texas junior colleges 

was the establishment of a student council 

as a means of assisting the faculty in solving 

problems that arose within the college setting 

and serving as a mode for teaching democratic 

principles. The student organization was composed 

of four sophomores and three freshmen. 14 

During the first year of its existence, Victoria 

Junior College was officially recognized by both 

the State Department of Education and the 

Texas Association of Colleges, a feat unmatched 

by any other junior college in Texas. Most of 

the credit for this momentous achievement was 

due to Griffin, who actively sought the endorsement 

by the State Board of Education. He was 

determined that the college be accredited 

before the conclusion of the academic year so 

students could acquire teacher certification and 

courses could be transferred to senior institutions 

without a loss of credits. At the president’s 

spring meeting of the Texas Association of 

Colleges in Fort Worth, the faculty and students 

at the college, in appreciation for being 

accepted as a full member of the professional 

organization, presented each president with a 

box of Victoria roses. The gifts were acknowledged 

with a lively standing ovation. Four years 

later, in 1930, the college was admitted to 

membership in the American Association of 

Junior Colleges, thus entitling students the 

privilege of transferring to colleges and universities 

outside of Texas. 15 

Nellie Lee Kelley and George Thurmond hold 

the distinction of comprising Victoria Junior 

College’s first graduating class. Commencement 

ceremonies were held jointly by the high school 

and the college on Wednesday evening, May 26, 

1926, at Hauschild’s Opera House. The small 

auditorium was packed with well-wishers. 

Because of the lack of space to accommodate 


everyone who wanted to attend, numerous individuals 

were turned away at the entrance door. 

Dr. William W. Splawn, president of the 

University of Texas, was the guest speaker. In 

his address, he emphasized the various benefits 

of Victoria Junior College, such as reduced education 

expenses, the moral influence the college 

had on the town, and the economic value to the 

area. Diplomas were presented to the graduates 

by Dr. Fred B. Shields, a local physician whose 

son, George, is credited with being the first person 

to enroll at the college and the first Victoria 

Junior College graduate to attend a senior institution 

outside of the state. 16 

Kelley, who received her diploma before 

Thurmond, was startled when Reverend J. C. 

Felger, minister at the First English Lutheran 

Church, rose from his seat in the auditorium, 

jumped on the stage, and grabbed her hand. 

Felger remarked that he was “proud to be the 

first to shake the hand of the first graduate of 

the Victoria Junior College.” 17 

At the July 7, 1926, board meeting, Griffin 

was instructed to secure architectural drawings 

for a college building. Later, on July 28, the governing 

body, acting on a motion by Fischer and 

seconded by C. A. Schuchert, ordered a $70,000 

bond election for the construction of the edifice. 

Voting was held on September 4, and the issue 

passed 258 to 88, an impressive victory when 

one considers that only property owners who 

paid their poll tax could vote in the bond election. 

But since no tax increase was required, the 

proposed item was not controversial with this 

typically financially conservative group. 18 

William Ward Watkins, a Houston architect 

who designed buildings for Texas Technological 

College and Rice Institute, was employed to draw 

plans for a two-story brick structure. N. A. Evans 

of Columbus, Texas, with a bid of $53,928, was 

awarded the construction contract. The heating 

and plumbing work was done by John Wattinger 

of Austin. The new quarters for the college were 

to contain ten classrooms, a study hall, science 

room, “and all necessary conveniences.” 19 

Classroom space at Patti Welder and the college 

was at a premium when the academic year 

began on September 13, 1926. The shortage was 

so acute that two high school students were 

assigned to each desk, and the college was 

forced to limit enrollment. Since there was no 

public outcry, apparently few prospective students 

were denied admission. 20 

With an increased student population, an 

active pep squad was organized and social clubs 

were formed. And in an effort toward bonding 

students to the college and creating a feeling of 

togetherness, freshmen were required to wear 

green skullcaps. 21 

The first general catalogue was published in 

1926, and it provides an informative perspective 

on the society, culture, and educational 

attitudes of the mid-1920s, some of which 

have continued to exist. According to the publication, 

the college had three purposes—to 

offer transfer courses, to prepare students to 

✯ 

A page from the 1930 Buccaneer. 

Genesis ✦ 11

✯ 

A page from the 1930 Buccaneer. 

enter the professions, and to provide college 

work for teacher certification. 22 

Since Texas public schools consisted only of 

eleven grades, it was possible that a person 

could graduate from high school at sixteen 

years of age. Therefore, the college listed as 

one of its advantages that students could 

remain home “until they are more advanced 

in years and thus enjoy better instruction 

and training under school discipline and 

parental control than is now given in lower 

classes in colleges.” Nevertheless, despite 

the youthfulness of the students, the college 

pointed out that it considered anyone enrolled 


to have reached “the age of responsibility and 

discretion,” and it was expected that students’ 

conduct in school and off-campus be dignified 

and unquestionable. 23 

The catalogue also stressed that high school 

was not as challenging as college, and it was 

imperative that students be prepared to devote 

themselves to college work. It was further pointed 

out that students should understand their success 

depended upon themselves. The publication also 

stated, albeit as a warning to the students, what 

the college has consistently attempted to attain 

throughout its existence. According to the booklet, 

“The Junior College could not justify its existence 

if it did not require a high grade of work and 

demand the same degree of personal responsibility 

as do the higher institutions of learning which 

the students are preparing to enter.” 24 

Subject offerings were characteristically tilted 

toward the liberal arts. Courses were taught in 

English, history, economics, mathematics, 

Spanish, chemistry, Latin, education, stenography 

and typing, biology, accounting, and foods 

and clothing. College diplomas were awarded to 

students who passed ten college courses, 

including two in English, and possessed conduct 

and scholarship satisfactory to the faculty. 25 

An important component of the college curriculum 

was teacher certification. Students who 

wanted to go into teaching could receive an elementary 

certificate, valid for four years, by completing 

five college courses, including one 

course in elementary education and one in 

English. Not more than two courses could be 

taken in a single subject. A six-year elementary 

certificate required two years of college work, 

but the holder of the certificate was “eligible for 

a permanent elementary certificate after five 

years of successful elementary teaching.” 26 

Although the requirements for high school 

certification were similar to elementary certification, 

the documents varied in their length 

of validity and acceptability. Whereas an elementary 

certificate was valid for either four 

or six years, a secondary certificate was 

good for either two years or four years. 

Furthermore, a high school certificate unlike 

an elementary certificate earned at a junior college 

was not automatically accepted in all the 

school districts. 27 

At the beginning of the 1926 school year, the 

college and the high school formed a combined 

orchestra. In the preceding nine years attempts 

were made to create a musical group, but the 

✯ 

The Victoria Junior College Building 

was constructed adjacent to Patti 

Welder High School. 

Genesis ✦ 13

✯ 

The Pirates had a respectable football 

season in 1929 with five wins, three 

losses, and one tie. 

efforts failed, which is surprising considering the 

community’s rich musical heritage that included 

the highly regarded August Wagner’s Silver 

Cornet Band. John A. Clack, a University of Texas 

product and an accomplished violinist, was 

named director. The orchestra began with some 

30 students. Before the school year ended, however, 

only 15 members remained. After a few trial 

performances, the musical ensemble conducted 

its major public debut at Hauschild’s Opera 

House on February 11, 1927, and drew rave 

reviews from those who attended. 28 

The second graduation class was considerably 

larger than the first one. On May 23, 1927, 

18 members participated in the commencement 

exercise before a capacity crowd at Hauschild’s 

Opera House. The class members selected green 

and white for their colors and adopted the 

motto “Mens Agitat Molem,” or mind moves 

matter. Glenn K. Williamson was the first 

named valedictorian, and Gilbert Pritchard was 

the first salutatorian. 29 

When the students returned for the 1927 fall 

semester, they were greeted with a new Victoria 

Junior College building. On the previous 

May 17, the cornerstone had been dedicated, 

and before the end of June, the edifice was 

completed. The board officially accepted the 

home for Victoria Junior College on June 24. 

The two-story, tile roofed, brick building housed 

five classrooms, a gymnasium, lavatories, and 

the president’s office on the first floor. The 

second floor consisted of an additional five 

classrooms, an auditorium, a study hall, and 

science rooms. 30 

During the fall and spring semesters, the 

Dramatic Club entertained the community in 

the Victoria Junior College auditorium and at 

Hauschild’s Opera House with a variety of wellperformed 

plays to raise money to pay for a 

Miller grand piano. Among the cast members 

were Claude Mullins, Billie Smith, Bessie 

Kilgore, Margaret LeSage, Clover Dell Hill, Mary 

Catherine Curran, Charlotte West, Charles 

Copley, and Winston Zirjacks. 31 

In 1928, the commencement ceremonies 

unlike the previous years were held separate 

from the high school. Twenty students were 

awarded diplomas. The class valedictorian was 

Elena Tyng, and the salutatorian was Elizabeth 

Allen. Henry Paulus of Yoakum delivered the 

commencement address. 32 

On May 3, 1929, Victoria Junior College held 

its first homecoming. The activities were conducted 

in the college auditorium with Dean E. J. 

Dysart presiding as master of ceremonies. 

Winston Zirjacks, sophomore class president, 

gave a “ringing welcome” to the alumni. 

Speeches were made by Griffin and alumnus 

George Shields. After a piano solo by Charlotte 

West, a reading by Gaynelle Hays, and a violin 

solo by Rita Henry, the program concluded with 


a vocal duet by Odessa Robins and Sue McElroy. 

Dysart dismissed the audience with “a few well 

chosen words…that was [sic] inspiring and 

helpful to all in attendance.” 33 

After suffering through disappointing football 

and basketball seasons, the college in May 

1929 finally had something to cheer about. Jack 

Compton, a member of the Pirate track team, 

won high point honors at a track meet held by 

Schreiner Institute in Kerrville. Competing 

against athletes from Houston Junior College, 

South Park Junior College of Beaumont, 

Randolph College, Cisco Junior College, as well 

as the host school, Compton placed first in 

the high hurdles, pole vault, and high jump. 

He came in third in the discus and broad 

jump. Despite Compton’s individual achievements, 

the Pirate team came in second behind 

Schreiner Institute. 34 

Under the able leadership of first year head 

coach Vernon A. Adams, the 1929-1930 Pirate 

football and basketball squads enjoyed their 

best seasons since the beginning of the sports 

program. The seventeen Pirate pigskin gladiators 

played nine contests. They recorded five 

wins, three losses, and one tie. The roundballers 

lost only one game out of nineteen, earning 

them their first conference crown. 35 

On January 22, 1930, a group of former and 

current Victoria Junior College athletes met in 

the college auditorium and formed the “V” 

Association. Joseph “Dedo” Fagan, a member of 

the 1929 football team, was elected president. 

After agreeing to create the organization and 

choosing officers, the new association engaged in 

an intense discussion on the eligibility requirements 

for membership. The debate centered 

around the question of permitting the athletes 

who participated in sports but did not attend 

college to join the association. Eventually, the 

issue was resolved by limiting membership only 

to former or current athletes who lettered in at 

least one sport while enrolled at the college. 36 

During the spring of 1930, the college published 

its first annual, The Buccaneer. 

Throughout the school year, students conducted 

a variety of fund raising activities to help defray 

the cost of publication. The book was dedicated 

to Victoria Junior College President Virgil 

Layfayette Griffin. In the inscription, Griffin 

was recognized for “his capable organization, 

leadership, unsparing aid to each student and 

patient tireless efforts to make this [college] a 

progressive institution.” 37 

The 1930 Pirate football team was the hot 

news item during the fall semester. The Victoria 

Advocate carried articles throughout the season 

detailing the club’s exploits on the playing field. 

The newspaper billed it as “the greatest college 

eleven in history.” By far the most sensational 

football story around the campus was the installation 

of lights by the college at Patti Welder 

Stadium for a sum of $3,500. On October 10, 

the Pirates successfully battled St. Mary’s 

University’s reserves in “the first night football 

game ever played in the southwest.” A fan of the 

newly installed lights remarked that one could 

see “close play in the line far better than in 

the afternoon, when the glare of the sun is so 

much of a strain on the eyes.” Six grandstand 

sections were added for the St. Mary’s contest in 

anticipation of a predicted crowd of 1,500. 

✯ 

Hester “Stump” Evans, 1930 

Best Athlete. 

Genesis ✦ 15

✯ 

The 1930 “V” Association. The 

organization consisted of students and 

alumni interested in the improvement 

of athletics at Victoria Junior College. 

School officials expected spectators from the 

surrounding area to witness the “historic classic.” 

The turnout, however, was less than what 

was contemplated. The people who attended 

not only saw the Pirates leave the field victorious, 

but they were also entertained by the pep 

squad, which was composed of co-eds wearing 

“natty sailor uniforms” trimmed in the school 

colors—maroon and white. 38 

In anticipation of large throngs attending the 

fall pigskin contests, resulting in increased revenue, 

the college established an Athletic 

Association Committee. Previously, a committee 

of teachers and the student manager were 

responsible for overseeing athletic finances. 

The administration theorized that with the 

expected rise in funds, businessmen should be 

integrated into a committee “to further illustrate 

the financial affairs of athletics at the 

school are open and above board, as always has 

been the case.” Accordingly, six businessmen 

were selected by the board to serve on the committee. 

Other appointed members were a representative 

of the press, who had the responsibility 

of publishing an itemized list of receipts and 

liabilities “at convenient periods,” the college 

president, and the dean. With the formation of 

the Athletic Association Committee, accountability 

of sport events passed from college personnel 

to the community. Evidence is lacking as 

to the precise reason why the board took the 

action it did. One can only speculate. Was it 

because the community was concerned over the 

ability of teachers handling finances or were the 

residents caught up in the excited atmosphere 

resulting from the exceptionally good football 

season and the lighting of the stadium, and, 

therefore, wanted to be part of the sports program? 

Whatever motivated the expansion, the 

Athletic Association Committee became a viable 

component of college athletics as long as the 

junior college was an element of the public 

school system. 39 

The Buccaneer football squad finished the 

regular season undefeated. Post-season play 

was not as kind to “the greatest college eleven 

in history.” In the league championship game, 

the Pirates lost to Brownsville Junior College by 

the lopsided score of 52 to 0. Coaches, players, 

and the approximately 300 Victorians who 


traveled with the team on a special train to the 

border city did not have to do any deep thinking 

for an explanation of the rout. The local collegians, 

exhausted from the long trip, played the 

contest without making a single substitution. As 

the game progressed, the Pirates “became weary” 

and were unable to compete effectively. 40 

At the 1931 Texas Junior College Association 

spring conference, a statistical report on transfer 

students to the University of Texas was presented 

to the group. According to the survey, 

students who transferred from Texas junior 

colleges did excellent work and compared 

favorably with the students who began 

✯ 

The 1930 Pep Squad. 

Genesis ✦ 17

✯ 

Ruth Coffey, 1930 College Beauty. 

their college careers at the university. Victoria 

Junior College was cited as ranking “among 

the best institutions of Texas.” The 1932 

Buccaneer staff commented with pride that those 

“who are on our honor roll are usually on 

the honor roll of any institution of higher 

learning which they attend.” Members at the 

spring meeting reelected Griffin, a former Texas 

Junior College Association president, as their 

secretary-treasurer. 41 

There had been interest expressed by college 

officials for a dormitory almost from the establishment 

of the school. Apartments in Victoria 

were scarce, posing a serious problem for outof-town 

students. Especially hard hit were the 

parents who wanted to move to Victoria while 

their son or daughter attended the college. 

Community leaders envisioned Victoria becoming 

an educational mecca when Victoria Junior 

College was founded. One enthusiastic booster 

remarked that the college did “more good materially 

and morally for this town than any other 

progressive enterprise.” For the two-year institution 

to continue to grow and Victoria to 

become a recognized educational community, 

so the argument went, a dormitory was needed. 

Mrs. J. M. Brownson, one of the more civicminded 

individuals in the city, responded to 

this perceived need by offering the board two 

lots in the Brownson Addition, an area adjacent 

to the college, for the construction of a girls’ 

dormitory. The board accepted the donation on 

the condition that the school system be permitted 

five years to build the structure and that the 

edifice be a memorial to the donor. But the dormitory, 

for undetermined reasons, never 

became a reality and the property reverted to 

the Brownson Estate. 42 

Despite the nation’s severe economic difficulties 

brought about by the Depression, the 

college’s 1931 fall enrollment remained 

healthy. Although there is no known scientific 

study on the relationship between economic 

conditions and college enrollment, a survey 

of graduation records seems to indicate enrollment 

increases when it becomes tougher to find 

a job. On the other side of the coin, when work 

opportunities increase, enrollment stabilizes or 

decreases. A factor that undoubtedly had a positive 

effect on enrollment during the 1930s was 

the board’s policy of exempting students from 

paying tuition until grades were transferred to a 

senior college or until a teacher certificate was 

awarded or a diploma granted. 

In the spring of 1930, there were only 18 

graduates. This class was composed largely 

of students who began their college education 

before the stock market crash of 1929. By 

1931, the number of graduates increased to 29, 

and in 1932, at the height of the Great 

Depression, there were 35 graduates. The 

numbers thereafter fluctuated from 30 to 44 

until 1938. With an improved economy, the 

number of graduates skidded to 25 in 1938. 43 


Because of the hard economic times, individuals 

from the nearby towns who would have 

normally gone to a more distant college enrolled 

at Victoria Junior College. The Edna Herald 

mentioned that some 20 Edna High School 

graduates would register at the college, only five 

of whom were returning Victoria Junior College 

students. Before the academic year ended, the 

Edna congregation formed the Edna Club to 

promote their interests. 44 

Other communities represented in the student 

population were Angleton, Wharton, 

Farmersville, Stockdale, Yorktown, Ganado, El 

Campo, Boling, Bay City, Port Lavaca, Austwell, 

Refugio, Goliad, Beeville, Dayton, Seadrift, 

Schroeder, Houston, and Woodsboro. One of the 

reasons given for the out-of-town attendance 

was the good highways that led to Victoria. 

Margaret Hnatek commented that she and several 

others commuted from DaCosta. She stated 

that the surface of the road was gravel, and the 

car pool consisted of family vehicles with each 

person driving his or her automobile for a week. 

Hnatek stated the drive was enjoyable. Seldom 

was another car seen on the road with the exception 

of Monday mornings when the salesmen 

began their weekly routes. On one occasion the 

DaCosta commuters encountered a heavy rain, 

and the automobile became stuck in mud. By the 

time the students arrived at the college, they 

“were muddy from head to toe.” As for Hnatek 

and other students who lived outside of Victoria, 

the lack of personal automobiles and other “traveling 

difficulties” was not conducive to participating 

in the social activities at the college. 45 

To gain public support for the junior college, 

local journalists and college officials frequently 

proclaimed that the out-of-town enrollment 

benefitted the town’s economy. By their calculation, 

“each boy and girl while in Victoria spends 

at least two hundred dollars for living expenses” 

and “parents of the young people…make occasional 

visits to Victoria,” which produces additional 

income for the merchants. Dysart, dean of 

the junior college, estimated “that out-of-town 

college students here would leave more than 

$60,000 in the city during the nine months they 

are here.” 46 

Owners of local businesses were major supporters 

of the college largely because they saw 

the economic importance of having an educational 

institution of higher learning located in 

their midst. They were affected by the idle social 

talk pertaining to how cities derived extra 

income when senior colleges opened within 

their communities. It was no accident that 

✯ 

The 1931 Victoria Junior College 

Dramatic Club. 

Genesis ✦ 19

✯ 

The Victoria Junior College Physical 

Training Class of 1931-32. 

school officials, understanding the dynamics of 

support, consistently emphasized the benefits 

that out-of-town students and their parents provided 

to the local economy. 

Unlike several school districts in Texas during 

the Depression which found themselves 

hard-pressed for revenue, the Victoria 

Independent School District was able throughout 

the 1930s to raise sufficient income to meet 

its expenses. The college’s financial circumstances, 

of course, were not utopian, but neither 

were they fraught with economic perils. There 

were no pronounced cutbacks on teaching personnel, 

and there were even slight salary 

increases periodically. 

In the fall of 1931, vocational training for nontraditional 

students, authorized by the 1917 

Smith-Hughes Vocational Education Act, was 

relocated from Mitchell School to the college 

campus. The program was designed to instruct 

individuals who were full-time employees in 

improving their work skills. Classes were conducted 

in the afternoon from one to five o’clock. 

Gregg shorthand, the touch system in typewriting, 

and the McKinsey bookkeeping system were 

popular courses for enrollees, most of whom 

were permitted by their employers an hour off 

from work each day to take the courses. The large 

enrollments for the classes apparently indicated 

that the community approved of the program. 47 

The college curriculum in the fall of 1932 

was broadened to include zoology. The new 

subject was offered to attract pre-med students, 

specifically, and to accommodate those who 

needed a science course for their degree plan. 48 

At the request of Griffin, Una T. Hunter, head 

of the English department, formed a Journal Club 

during the fall semester. Membership in the club 

was limited to students with a grade of A in 

English. The principal purpose of the organization 

was to produce articles of interest about the 

college for publication in the Sunday edition 

of the Advocate. The stories that were printed in 

the first year were straightforward accounts 

of college activities and events. In the second 

year, the articles became lighter in tone. 

Humorous, gossipy items became common. 

Perry Satterwhite, Jr., and Ruth McMullen reported 

in their September 18, 1932, column how the 

sophomores, or seniors as the second-year college 

students were referred to, attempted to profit, 

in a good-hearted way, from the naive freshmen. 

The journalists reported that the sophomore 

boys for the first two or three days after 

classes began engaged in trying “to sell campus 

passes at the extremely low price…of only a 

quarter and trying to collect 10¢ for a water fee” 

from the first-year students. Satterwhite and 

McMullen noted that the freshmen were intelligent 

enough to recognize a scam when they saw 

one, “and consequently the bright sophs are still 

holding their passes and the right to collect fees.” 

In February, 1933, the college was the host 

school for the District Six Texas Junior College 


Basketball Tournament. The games were 

played in the Y.M.C.A. gymnasium. Adult 

admission prices were set at 75 cents for an 

all-tournament ticket. Students could attend 

all the games for 50 cents. A single game 

admission fee was 35 cents. Participating 

in the tournament, in addition to the local 

college, were San Angelo Junior College, 

Edinburg Junior College, Schreiner Institute, 

and Texas Lutheran College. A local sportswriter 

predicted the Victoria Junior College 

roundballers would be difficult to beat “if they 

[the players] should be fortunate enough to 

hit the basket.” The team did not and was 

knocked out of the tournament by Schreiner 

Institute, 54 to 41. 49 

Shortly before the tournament commenced, 

Governor Miriam A. Ferguson received a letter 

from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation 

suggesting that federal relief funds to the state 

were in jeopardy unless Texas provided more 

assistance to the unemployed. Consistently 

keeping its ear to the economic heartbeat, the 

South Texas Chamber of Commerce saw a window 

of opportunity in the threatening letter by 

urging South Texas communities to seek federal 

aid. The Victoria Independent School 

District Board responded on April 10, 1933, by 

instructing W. H. Smith, board president, and 

Herman Fischer, board secretary, to make a 

formal application to the Reconstruction 

Finance Corporation for financial assistance to 

construct a girls’ dormitory for the college and 

an auditorium that would serve both institutions. 

The board estimated the cost for the two 

buildings to be $100,000. Apparently, the 

response from the federal agency was negative. 50 

At the June board meeting, another attempt 

was made to attract federal dollars when 

the members unanimously agreed to apply for 

a loan from the National Industrial Recovery 

Board to construct the two buildings. The 

school district agreed to abide by the labor, 

wages, and working hours stipulated by the 

National Industrial Act codes. Furthermore, 

the trustees promised to relinquish “net revenues 

derived from the operation of the said 

buildings until such sum so advanced is repaid, 

and also to give unto the said Administrator a 

valid lien on the property upon which the said 

proposed improvements are to be placed.” 51 

As the school officials waited for a reply, the 

Marooners Club was organized at the college 

in October 1933, to complement the pep 

squad and to perform at social functions. Its charter 

members were elected by the student body 

whereas the cheerleaders automatically became 

honorary members. Initiates were required to 

carry their books on a designated day in a basket 

or bucket, wear oversized or undersized clothing 

✯ 

The Victoria Junior College football 

field under the lights in 1932. 

Genesis ✦ 21

✯ 

The Victoria Junior College 

Auditorium in 1932. 

to a football game, and “fulfill any order given by 

a charter or honorary member.” 52 

Action by the board and federal bureaucracy 

on the proposed buildings moved at a snail’s 

pace. There may have been, and probably was, 

considerable behind-the-scenes maneuvering 

by the parties involved. Nevertheless, the 

trustees in August 1934, decided the time had 

arrived to push forward on the construction 

project. They authorized Griffin to investigate 

the possibility of a bond election for a girls’ 

dormitory. The following October, the board 

appropriated $6,391.47 to purchase material to 

construct an auditorium/gymnasium. Why the 

board dropped the idea for a girls’ dormitory 

and only pursued the construction of an auditorium/ 

gymnasium is not known. Labor for the 

new structure was to be furnished by the federal 

government, and expenditures were to be 

under the direction of the Federal Emergency 

Relief Administration. Architect Kai J. Leffland, 

son of famed Victoria architect Jules Leffland, 

was employed for $300, and J. W. Kimbrough 

was hired as supervisor for construction. 53 

Construction of the auditorium/gymnasium 

began in early 1935. Measurements for the 

building were 94 feet by 150 feet with a seating 

capacity of 1,000 on the main floor and 700 on 

the sides. An additional 200 could be seated on 

the 31 feet by 40 feet stage. The ceiling spanned 

22 feet above the floor to meet the necessary 

requirements for basketball. 54 

Meanwhile, the Athletic Association purchased 

the uniforms and musical instruments 

of the Southern Pacific Drum and Bugle Corps 

of Houston. The acquisition consisted of 20 

snare drums, 2 bass bugles, 8 tenor bugles, one 

pair of cymbals, 20 helmets, 33 white serge 

suits, and one drum major’s outfit. Students 

jumped at the opportunity to become part of 

the college’s new musical organization. On 

November 1, 1934, only days after obtaining 

the equipment, the Victoria Junior College 

Drum and Bugle Corps made its debut at a football 

game between the Pirates and University of 

Texas freshmen. 55 

In an effort to stimulate public support for 

athletics at the high school and the two-year 

institution, an Athletic Committee was formed. 

It consisted of the coaches at the two schools 

and three Victoria citizens chosen by the head 

coaches from a list of nominees submitted by 


the board. The committee was given the responsibility 

of arranging game schedules and serving 

as the central agency to receive and to disburse 

all athletic revenue. 56 

Griffin was the object of a series of newspaper 

articles in the spring of 1935. Rumors circulated 

through the community that he was 

responsible for “irregularities” in an emergency 

education project and the student aid program. 

What the particular irregularities were is 

unclear. However, E. A. Baugh, assistant director 

of the Texas Relief Commission, in a scathing 

letter to Leopold Morris, editor of the Advocate, 

took exception to the unfounded charges. He 

asserted that Griffin was in no way involved 

with the handling of the public funds, and the 

“local reports are to the effect that Mr. Griffin 

was placed under arrest and that criminal 

charges were preferred against him” were 

absurd. Baugh went on to write that the remarks 

were “extremely derogatory to the character and 

reputation” of Griffin and such comments did “a 

rank injustice” to him. 57 

Baugh’s apparent admiration for Griffin was 

echoed in state education circles. The local college 

president was cited for his “production of a 

well-planned and painstakingly edited yearbook” 

for the Texas Association of Junior 

Colleges. The organization proceeded to reelect 

him as secretary-treasurer. When a committee of 

junior college presidents was formed to meet 

with state Superintendent L. A. Woods to discuss 

changes in the teacher certification program that 

were deemed unsatisfactory by the state’s junior 

colleges, Griffin was selected as a delegate. At the 

annual meeting of the Austin-San Antonio 

District Educational Conference in San Antonio, 

he was elected secretary-treasurer and was 

placed on the executive board. Griffin also 

appeared before the Committee on Classified 

and Accredited High Schools, considered to be 

the second most important educational unit in 

Texas, as a spokesman for the junior colleges. 58 

On July 1, 1935, an era for the college ended 

when Griffin “voluntarily” offered, and the 

board accepted, his resignation, effective immediately. 

His tenure as superintendent of the public 

schools and the first president of the college 

was noteworthy. He was superintendent of the 

Victoria Independent School District for a 

longer period of time than any other person, 

except for C. O. Chandler who held the position 

from 1955 to 1974. Griffin also advanced the 

standing of the district within the educational 

establishment by lending his support to and 

being directly involved in the state’s educational 

movement. Furthermore, he assisted in guiding 

the local public schools through the darkest 

days of the Great Depression without the financial 

turmoil that was experienced by other 

school districts. Moreover, Griffin was a major 

player in helping to establish Victoria Junior 

College and shepherding it into becoming a 

superb institution of higher learning. 59 

✯ 

A page from the 1936 O’ Pioneer. 

Genesis ✦ 23

ENDNOTES 

1 

Thomas Diener, Growth of An Invention (New York: Greenwood Press, 1986), 29-30; Arthur M. Cohen and Florence B. Brawer, The 

American Community College (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1982), 4-7; Leonard V. Koos, The Junior-College Movement (New 

York: AMS Press, Inc., 1970), 236-239. 

2 

James W. Thornton, Jr., The Community Junior College, 3rd Edition (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1972), 48-51. 

3 

Ibid.; Cohen and Brawer, American, 9-11. 

4 

Frank H. Crain, Jr., telephone interview with author, 17 August 1997. 

5 

Victoria Independent School District Board Minutes, 18 August 1924; The Victoria Advocate, 30 July 1918, 29 August 1924; Crain, 

telephone interview, 3 September 1997. 

6 

VISD Minutes, 4 February 1925; Crain, telephone interview, 17 August 1997. 

7 

Advocate, 8 February 1925; Odie Faulk, Hill College: An Illustrated History (Hillsboro: Hill College Press, 1996), 16-17. 

8 

Advocate, 3 May 1925. 

9 

Ibid., 8 February 1925; VISD Minutes, 19 March 1925, 16 May 1925. 

10 

Advocate, 18 August 1924. 

11 

Ibid., 14 September 1925, 20 September 1925. 

12 

The Jolly Roger, 18 January 1951. 

13 

Chester Evans, telephone interview with author, 17 August 1997. 

14 

Victoria Junior College Bulletin, 1928-1929, 8. 

15 

Advocate, 4 October 1925, 26 April 1926, 5 August 1926. 

16 

Ibid., 27 May 1926. 

17 

“Mrs. Nellie Hilmers: The First Graduate of the Victoria College,” The Victoria College Kaleidoscope (Spring 1976), 15. 

18 

VISD Minutes, 7 July 1926, 28 July 1926, 4 August 1926, 7 September 1926; Advocate, 5 September 1926. 

19 

Advocate, 3 September 1926, 1 January 1927, 14 January 1927. 

20 

Ibid., 13 September 1926. 

21 

Victoria College Files, Local History Collection, The Victoria College. 

22 

Victoria Junior College Bulletin, 1926-1927, 8. 

23 

Ibid., 8-10. 

24 

Ibid., 10. 

25 

Ibid., 11-12. 

26 

Ibid., 1928-1929, 33. 

27 

Ibid., 33-34. 

28 

Advocate, 8-9 February 1927. 

29 

Ibid., 25 May 1927. 

30 

Ibid., 16 May 1927, 26 June 1927. 

31 

Ibid., 1 February 1928, 6 February 1928, 12 February 1928, 25 May 1928. 

32 

Ibid., 29 May 1928. 

33 

Ibid., 6 May 1929. 

34 

Ibid., 5 May 1929. 

35 

Buccaneer, 1930. 

36 

Ibid.; Advocate, 23 January 1930. 

37 


38 

Advocate, 9 October 1930, 10 October 1930, 31 October 1930. 

39 

Ibid., 16 October 1930. 

40 


41 

Advocate, 24 April 1931, 27 April 1931; Buccaneer, 1932. 

42 

Advocate, 27 October 1930, 8 November 1931. 

43 

Registrar’s Records, The Victoria College. 

44 

Advocate, 28 August 1931, 4 October 1931; Buccaneer, 1931. 

45 

Advocate, 10 September 1930; Margaret Hnatek, interview with author, 13 May 1997. 


46 

Advocate, 8 September 1931, 8 November 1931. 

47 

Ibid., 11 September 1931, 8 November 1931. 

48 

Ibid., 28 August 1932. 

49 

Ibid., 22 February 1933, 26 February 1933. 

50 

Ibid., 11 April 1933. 

51 

VISD Minutes, 23 June 1933. 

52 

Advocate, 30 October 1933. 

53 

Ibid., 6 February 1935; VISD Minutes, 31 August 1934, 10 October 1934, 26 October 1934, 12 December 1934. 

54 

Advocate, 6 February 1935. 

55 


56 

VISD Minutes, 1 May 1935. 

57 

Advocate, 4 April 1935. 

58 

Ibid., 14 April 1935, 18 April 1935, 28 April 1935, 19 May 1935, 14 June 1935. 

59 

Ibid., 2 July 1935; VISD Minutes, 1 July 1935; Robbie Parkman, Victoria Schools, 1824-1980 (privately printed), 73. 

Endnotes ✦ 25


CHAPTER 2 

DEPRESSION AND WAR 

Within three weeks after accepting the resignation of Griffin, the board, on July 19, 1935, employed 

Porter S. Garner as superintendent of schools and president of the junior college. Garner was given a 

two-year contract and paid an annual salary of $3,900. The new president had 

been superintendent of the Robstown public schools for the past three years and was a highly regarded 

administrator. Robstown school officials made an effort to retain him, but the opportunity 

to be a college president was too attractive for Garner. His vita included membership on the Curriculum 

Commission of the State Teachers’ Association, a past president of the South Texas Division of the State 

Teachers’ Association, and a past president of the Gulf Coast Executive Club, a South Texas teachers’ 

organization. A special attribute of Garner which appealed to Victorians was his experience with the 

Texas Inter-Scholastic League, the supervising authority for the state’s interschool competition. 1 

Another significant change came to the college’s leaders when in that same year E. J. Dysart 

resigned as dean at the end of the spring semester to enter private business. He was replaced by B. F. 

Hardt, who had been at the college for several years and had served as interim president and superintendent 

after Griffin stepped down and before Garner was named as the chief administrator. 2 

Dedication ceremonies for the new auditorium/gymnasium, designated as Smith-Fischer Hall and 

vainly proclaimed by school officials as “the largest assembly hall in southwest Texas,” was held on 

Friday evening, September 15, 1935. Smith-Fischer Hall was named for former school board members, 

W. H. Smith, Sr., and Herman Fischer. The Victoria Municipal Band veered from its weekly concert at 

De León Plaza to provide the music for the occasion. During the festivities, all school employees at the 

high school and college were introduced as well as local dignitaries and presidents of the Parent-Teacher 

Associations. An open house was held, providing the Advocate an opportunity to urge Victorians “to 

inspect [the building] minutely.” 3 

That same year a bus was purchased by the Victoria Athletic Association with assistance from the 

Victoria Independent School District to carry athletes to out-of-town sports contests. The vehicle’s 

body was painted blue and white, and the top was aluminum. On each side was stenciled “Victoria 

Junior College The Friendly School.” It was used for the first time during the fall of 1935 by the college 

football team. 4 

Because the college did not have a dormitory facility, a house facing Moody Street between 

Goodwin and Forrest streets was rented and used as living quarters by the athletes who were not residents 

of Victoria. The structure, known as College Hall, provided adequate accommodations for athletes. 

James E. McCord, a football player from Victoria who lived with his parents a few blocks distance 

from College Hall, often walked to the athletes’ living quarters and studied with his fellow 

sportsmen. Although the players had limited supervision, McCord remarked that no lively parties or 

destructive behavior occurred. As he put it, the athletes knew the rules and understood that if any 

unacceptable behavior took place, the offending person would be promptly dismissed, a risk too 

great to take for individuals who counted on using athletic scholarships to complete college. 5 

Not all extracurricular activities were confined to athletics. Some students, such as McCord and 

Lela Welder Cliburn, engaged in speech competition. Cliburn’s chief interest was declamation. She 

was tutored by Mrs. V. L. Griffin, the former president’s wife, and was motivated to excel in the contests 

primarily because her friends at Nazareth Academy possessed medals they won for various 

events at that school. Cliburn was envious of these girls and was determined to be a winner in declamation 

so she too could have a medal. She attained her goal of winning a contest, but afterwards 

Cliburn was told by school officials, “Lela, there isn’t any money to purchase a medal.” What a letdown 

for her after all the hard work she put into being victorious. 6 

For most students, attending the college in the 1930s was uneventful. David Bianchi, a freshman student 

from Victoria who received the highest score on the psychology portion and second in the English 

✯ 

Porter S. Garner, president of Victoria 

Junior College from 1935 to 1940. 

Depression and War ✦ 27

✯ 

Ben F. Hardt, dean of Victoria Junior 

College from 1934 to 1940. 

section of the 1935 entrance intelligence tests for 

the fall semester, stated, “you went to class, and 

you studied.” College life, however, was not 

entirely drab. Although there were few social 

events sponsored by the educational institution, 

students found entertainment in the community. 

Bianchi periodically played bridge at Jewell 

Hudler’s home and frequently went with his 

friends to Pleasure Island, an entertainment 

establishment that served as a center of activity 

for Victorians for several decades. 7 

A crowd-pleasing feature at Pleasure Island 

was performances by live bands. Students on 

the weekends congregated at the entertainment 

center to hear the latest tunes, to socialize, and 

to take a few nips. James McCord remembered 

that he and some of his friends met at Pleasure 

Island, and afterwards, they would make a trip 

to the local bootlegger whose business was 

located east of town. The students bought a lot 

of “booze” for $1.00 or $1.50. He said the bootlegger 

stored his bottles in a well on his land, 

and whenever a customer wanted to make a 

purchase, he would draw a bucket laden with 

bottles of whiskey from the well. McCord further 

stated that under the rules the students 

established for themselves, those who made the 

trip could only take one drink before returning 

to Pleasure Island. 8 

Not only was the college without a dormitory, 

it also did not have a cafeteria. Out-of-town 

students either brought sack lunches or bought 

snacks at the E. Post Grocery located across the 

street from the school complex. When the intown 

students could, they went home for lunch. 

Eating at home could cause some problems if 

the distance to travel was extensive and the individual 

did not have a car. McCord was such a 

person without personal transportation. He, 

however, solved his dilemma by hitching rides 

to and from the college. 9 

During the lunch breaks and when classes 

were not in session, students would sit in fellow 

classmates’ automobiles and listen to the radio. 

George Filley, Jr., was one of the fortunate students 

who possessed a car to drive to school. 

After classes were dismissed for the day, Filley’s 

friends swamped his vehicle, invariably delaying 

his departure from the campus. Another pastime 

for students when they had free time from 

classes was playing basketball in the gym. 10 

A custom that was prevalent in Texas public 

schools during this era was a weekly assembly, 

most often referred to as chapel. In the 1935- 

1936 academic year, the junior college chapel 

was held each Thursday at 9:30 a.m. The programs 

were varied. They included the election 

of class officers, entertainment, pep rallies, guest 

speakers, and selection of individuals to represent 

the college at off-campus events, such as a 

queen for the community fair. 

Measles swept through the student body in 

the 1936 spring semester. It was estimated that 

some thirty students, representing about a fifth 

of the enrollment, were stricken. Fortunately, no 


deaths or severe complications were reported as 

a result of the illness. 11 

Victoria Junior College did not have a 1936 

yearbook of its own. The school, in a demonstration 

of community cooperation, chose to 

participate with Patti Welder, St. Joseph, and 

Nazareth Academy in a single volume, named 

O’ Pioneer, as a centennial project. Although, 

the junior college staff was given overall 

supervision of the annual, each institution 

selected its own editorial staff and was responsible 

for its respective section. To assist in its 

publication, an executive committee composed 

of representatives from the school 

board, the general public, and the various 

schools was formed. Grace Fossati, a junior 

college student, recalled that she was assigned 

the task of writing the essay on the Round Top 

House. When the narratives were assembled 

for publication, she was absent. Jewell Hudler, 

a faculty member working with the students 

on the project, signed Fossati’s name, causing 

several classmates familiar with the college 

student’s handwriting to be quizzical as to why 

Fossati signed her name as she did. They were 

amused when the reason for the strange handwriting 

was explained. 12 

In the spring of 1936, the University of 

Texas released figures on the success of transfer 

students at the institution. The study showed 

that Victoria Junior College was head and 

shoulders above the other junior colleges 

within the state in preparing students to attend 

senior colleges. Among the findings issued by 

the registrar’s office at the university, fifty 

percent of all transfers from the college earned 

either an A or B. Transfer students from 

the state’s other junior colleges were some twenty 

percentage points below the local college. 13 

The combined commencement of the 

Victoria Junior College and Patti Welder High 

School was held on May 26. The ceremony 

was different from previous years. Instead 

of having one principal speaker, two graduating 

students from each school made presentations 

on what made an educated man. The 

participants from the high school were Wilma 

Offer and Billy Murphy. The college representatives 

were Elenora Albrecht and Charles 

Carsner. James McCord, president of the sophomore 

class of the college, and Ella North 

Jordan, president of the senior class at the high 

school, presided over the students’ portion of 

the program. 14 

✯ 

Smith-Fischer Hall was a multipurpose 

building. 


✯ 

The 1936 Victoria Junior College ring 

depicted a fierce looking pirate. 

Because students did not pay their tuition the 

board, in the summer of 1936, discontinued its 

generous policy of permitting college students 

to attend and to graduate without paying 

tuition, unless a request was made to transfer 

grades to a senior college. The Advocate noted 

that “students who failed in their work or who 

withdrew from school before graduation have 

no use for their credits.” Garner lamented that 

several thousand dollars owed by former students 

“is not collectable.” 15 

Before the beginning of the 1936 fall semester, 

the college began a campaign to entice 

South Texas high school graduates to enroll. 

Garner appealed to the students by announcing 

that Victoria Junior College had a plan of 

instruction that was not duplicated anywhere 

else in Texas. He considered “formal impersonal 

group teaching” where students were “herded 

into large groups and forced to memorize accumulations 

of mechanical facts without thought 

of vocational preparation,” the approach used 

by most colleges, inadequate. The Victoria 

Junior College, on the other hand, was no 

longer going to teach in that manner. Hereafter, 

“each student is taught individually…and is 

given personal supervision from members of the 

faculty in an effort to help him recognize and 

develop his natural talents.” The president did 

not state how the new teaching methodology 

was to be executed. 16 

After the persistent efforts by the college Press 

Club to establish a newspaper, the administration 

relented. The Flunky Club, a group of journalism 

enthusiasts, assumed the responsibility of 

publishing a bi-monthly newspaper, The Corsair. 

Tom McCord was selected the editor-in-chief. 

The associate editors were Bob Shutt and 

Henrietta Ennen. Included among the newspaper 

staff were Dorothy Thames, advertising manager; 

Ella North Jordan, society editor; Louise 

Greer, feature editor; and Ed Mattox, sports editor. 

The first edition of the Corsair appeared on 

November 30 and sold for five cents a copy. A 

person could purchase a year’s subscription for 

30 cents. The newspaper published various 

innocuous items revolving around campus life. It 

informed the students that an upcoming feature 

attraction at the Uptown Theater was Gene 

Autry in “Ride, Ranger, Ride,” and the price of 

admission was fifteen cents day or night. In the 

Epigram Column, the newspaper noted that 

“Bachelor girls live, and yearn” and…“the boy 

who is the bright spot in some girl’s life is usually 

taken to the cleaners.” 17 

On December 21, 1936, the board held a special 

called meeting at which time the decision 

was made, by a unanimous vote, to drop the college 

football program. The Victoria Athletic 

Association, the overseer of athletics in the public 

schools, endorsed the move. Reasons given 

for eliminating the sport were the difficulty in 


scheduling games with teams of comparable 

strength, the desire to place greater emphasis 

on intramural sports, and the burdensome 

expenses necessary to maintain “a reasonably 

strong junior college football squad in a town the 

size of Victoria.” 18 

In his Advocate column, the campus scribe, 

Ed Mattox, took exception to the board’s action 

and the lack of student interest in the subject. 

He remarked that he would have laughed at 

anyone who would have suggested before the 

event that the student body would not object to 

the move. Mattox, paraphrasing a comment by 

Dr. Edwin A. Elliott, a former economics faculty 

member at Texas Christian University, asked 

rhetorically “who an educational institution is to 

benefit, the student body or a bunch of men 

who had more than likely bought their way into 

the board of regents or trustees.” 19 

Morality was a hot issue on the campus during 

early 1937. Garner, when addressing a 

January 21 assembly, asked the students “with 

amorous inclinations to refrain from occupying 

parked cars.” It seems the president surprised a 

group of vice adherents playing “French Bridge” 

in the rear seat of a parked vehicle. His comments 

were criticized by some of the students 

who apparently condemned the college as being 

too righteous. The Corsair in an editorial disagreed 

with the latter position by noting “that 

there are very few restrictions placed on vices or 

other campus activities.” The newspaper 

observed that the student council was responsible 

for bringing about “the lax restrictions now 

in effect,” not the administration. To illustrate 

the point, the editorial writer stated that the student 

organization persuaded the administration 

to permit smoking on the campus. 20 

Besides “French Bridge,” Victoria Junior 

College students participated in other extracurricular 

activities. The Pirate basketball team, 

coached by Leo Dillon, won the District No. 2 

championship of the Texas Junior College 

Conference by crushing Blinn Memorial College 

on February 26, 1937, by a score of 51 to 14. The 

victory earned the college a spot in the State 

Junior College Basketball Tournament that was to 

be held in Victoria. In the game against Blinn, 

played before the largest crowd of the season, 

Pirate forward Doug Farrell with twenty-one 

points outscored the entire Blinn team. 21 

While the college basketball team was 

preparing to engage Blinn, the Dramatic Club 

was taking second place at the District 8 one-act 

play contest in Corpus Christi. The lead players 

in the production were Margaret Crouch, 

Dorothy Thames, and Eddie Stark. 22 

Victoria Junior College hosted the State 

Junior College Basketball Tournament on March 

12 and 13 to the delight of local partisans. The 

Athletic Association was largely responsible 

for “securing such a carnival of entertainment” 

for the city. Despite coach Leo Dillon’s pronouncement 

that his team was “ready, willing 

and able,” the Victorians fell short of his expectations. 

In the first game of the round-robin 

tournament, they lost to Schreiner Institute 40 

to 20. In the second contest, the local heroes 

were defeated by Jacksonville Junior College 46 

to 27. The Jacksonville squad won the tournament 

and remained state champions. 23 

Winning intercollegiate contests was not 

confined to the basketball team and the 

Dramatic Club. The tennis duo of David 

Bianchi and Frederick Ennen defeated Marshall 

Junior College for the local institution’s first 

tennis championship. 24 

As a gesture to reflect an educational concept 

of Garner’s, the college adopted a motto, “Every 

Student an Individual,” and emblazoned it on 

the cover of the new 1937-1938 catalogue. As a 

manifestation of the changes that had taken 

place within the student body, the publication 

included additional reasons for attending 

Victoria Junior College. Two of the new advantages 

cited in the catalogue were that the college 

was an agency for adult education, and class 

schedules were arranged to benefit students 

who needed to work part-time to “enable them 

to pay their own expenses.” 25 

Hoping to offset a drop in enrollment because 

of the elimination of football, the board 

employed W. E. Eckles for the expressed “purpose 

of contacting prospective students.” The 

endeavor to bolster the school population was 

supported by the Booster Club, an organization 

consisting of local merchants and college supporters. 

The club sponsored the production of a 

one-reel film that highlighted the institution’s 

facilities and showed it in some 36 South Texas 

towns. The concerted recruitment efforts were 

successful. The enrollment did not decline. 26 Depression and War ✦ 31

✯ 

Patti Welder High School was 

separated from the Victoria Junior 

College by the “arches.” 

With the advent of the football season, some 

students began to bemoan the lack of the sport at 

the college and revisited the decision to drop 

football. A popular co-ed, Grace Leggett, commented: 

“A football team is the life and making of 

the school.” “A college team,” opined fellow classmate 

Lucille Steele, “would provide more pep 

and school spirit for the student body as a 

whole.” Despite the misgivings and vocal exercise 

by these disgruntled students, the administration 

took the position that the college was too small to 

properly finance the football program. In January 

1938, basketball was axed, largely for the same 

reason that football was scrapped—finances. 27 

After a year’s absence, basketball, albeit nonscholarship, 

was resumed at the college. School 

officials found sufficient funds in the budget to 

purchase twelve uniforms and three basketballs. 

Coach Aubrey Reece assumed the responsibility 

of “developing a team from whatever material he 

could gather from the college and from boys 

in high school who had already played out 

their high school eligibility.” Virtually every 

member of the squad worked off-campus, causing 

Coach Reece some anxious moments. In the 

first game of the year, the contest was delayed 

thirty minutes “in order that two of the boys 

who didn’t get off from work until game time 

would be there for the opening.” In what proved 

to be a laughable exercise for the Pirates, the 

college won, defeating Corpus Christi Junior 

College 47 to 11. Alfred Fernandez led the local 

hoopsters with twenty-four points. 28 

The nonscholarship basketball team enjoyed 

a winning season. Apparently a sufficient number 

of players were able to get away from their 

jobs to participate in the games. Their success 

on the court earned them the right to play 

Temple Junior College for the regional title in 

Victoria. The local hoopsters emerged victorious, 

capturing two out of three games. Their 

basketball fortunes came to an end at the state 

tournament in Gainesville. Coach Reece’s squad 

was humiliated in the first game of the double 

elimination tournament by falling to 

Jacksonville Junior College 65 to 25. In the 


Pirates’ second contest, they fared no better, losing 

to Gainesville, 45 to 28. 29 

Mary Crouch was extended kudos by the college 

community after her successful venture at 

the district one-act play tournament in Corpus 

Christi. She won top honors as the lead actress 

in Cassandra. 30 

Students skipping classes became a minor 

annoyance for the editor of the Corsair. In 

the March 30 edition, the newspaper castigated 

the students who were habitually cutting class. 

The student publication noted that “When a 

student who is making poor grades in his or her 

work deliberately takes cuts instead of going to 

class—that student fails before he wakes up!” 

The comment apparently had no salubrious 

impact, cutting classes remained a viable option 

for the students—then and today. 31 

The 1938 fall term opened with 117 

students. There was a slight increase in the 

size of the sophomore class. Among the social 

activities for the students and faculty at the 

beginning of the academic year was a reception 

at the home of President Porter S. Garner 

and a dinner sponsored by the Victoria 

Ministerial Association. 32 

In October of that year, the college business 

office was robbed. The thieves took $265 from 

the vault after entering the building by way of a 

window and knocking off the combination knob 

on the vault door. The sheriff’s investigators, 

who considered this a professional job, reported 

that no fingerprints were found, “not even those 

of school employees.” 33 

During the Forty-Sixth Legislative Session 

which convened in January 1939, a bill was 

introduced that proposed paying public junior 

colleges fifty dollars per student per year. An 

education committee was formed by the Victoria 

Chamber of Commerce to mobilize community 

support for the measure. The civic leaders theorized 

that the passage of the bill would increase 

enrollment at the college and boost the local 

economy. In a front-page editorial, the Advocate 

bolstered the prevailing economic view by declaring 

that every student at the college pumped 

$500 per year into the community. The increased 

revenue generated by the institution, the newspaper 

stated, would permit the local school board 

to develop vocational training “for local consumption,” 

a primary goal for the college. 

The editorial closed with the comment that the 

people of Victoria and the surrounding area had 

the “good fortune to have within their midst an 

institution of the present caliber and future possibilities 

of the Victoria Junior College.” The supporters 

of partial state funding for public junior 

colleges did not succeed and had to wait two 

years before the legislature passed such a measure. 

In June 1941, Governor W. Lee O’Daniel 

signed it into law even though he considered the 

✯ 

J. H. Bankston, president of Victoria 



ill to be imperfect. The state’s chief executive 

expressed the hope that “the plan can be greatly 

improved by succeeding legislatures.” 34 

Fall classes in 1939 were originally scheduled 

to begin on September 5, but because the 

new science building was not completed, registration 

was postponed until September 11. 

Classes were convened the following day. An 

open house and the formal dedication of the 

Science Building were held on Thursday 

evening, September 14. State Superintendent of 

Public Instruction, L. A. Woods, gave an inspiring 

address to an audience of several hundred 

curious and proud visitors. 35 

A change of leadership in the school system 

occurred in the fall of 1939. On November 2, 

Garner, who purchased the Nehi beverages franchise 

located in Laredo, tendered his resignation 

to the school board. The board of trustees 

demonstrated their satisfaction for the president’s 

education leadership in Victoria by adopting 

a resolution expressing “their regret” that 

Garner was leaving the district. 36 

At a special called meeting on December 15, 

the trustees selected J. H. Bankston to replace 

Garner, beginning on January 1, 1940. The new 

president held degrees from North Texas State 

Teachers College and Colorado State Teachers 

College. He completed additional college work 

at Chicago University, the University of 

California, and the University of Texas. His 

résumé included a successful stint as school 

superintendent in Crane, Texas, for ten years. In 

1938, he was employed as deputy state superintendent 

of public instruction for District 23 and 

stationed in Victoria. 37 

Victoria Junior College became a recipient of 

an aviation plan formulated by the federal government 

in the fall of 1939. Under the proposal, 

there were to be twenty thousand trained 

pilots nationwide with private certified licenses 

within six years. To accomplish this ambitious 

goal, the training was provided free of charge. 

The fee, ranging from $270 to $290 per student, 

was paid by the year-old Civil Aeronautics 

Authority, the sponsoring agency. “Ten physically 

fit students well qualified,” the college allotment, 

registered for flight instruction under the 

watchful eye of the veteran aviator Lieutenant 

Harold Kindred at the Victoria Airport, currently 

known as Ball Airport. In May 1940, four of 

the students enrolled in the civilian pilot training 

course (J. B. Beams, Jerome Elledge, Billy 

Easley, and Delasso Loos) completed the program 

and passed the private pilot examination 

with “good grades.” 38 

In January 1940, KVIC, a 250 watt station, 

went on air, making it Victoria’s first commercial 

radio station. On March 19, the college became 

a rarity among state junior colleges when it 

began a twice weekly series of radio programs 

that were designed to benefit the students in 

radio script writing and broadcasting. Broadcast 

times were set at 3:15 p.m. Tuesdays and 7:00 

p.m. Thursdays. The first radiocast featured 

Clarence Felger, a music teacher, and Raymond 

Manning, a business administration instructor, 

presenting organ selections. Most of the broadcasts 

were not as culturally uplifting as the first 

one. The spots were generally filled with topics 

such as “The Advantages of the Junior College,” 

“Trends in Educational Philosophy,” and a plug 

for summer school at the college. In 1943, the 

programs originated from the campus after 

KVIC established a remote control studio in the 

Victoria Junior College Building. 39 

At the junior college regional one-act-play 

contest in March 1940 at Edinburg Junior 

College, Edward Stuart, Mary Halepaska, 

Wallace Heaner, and Mary Fern Hawkins won 

second place with their presentation of “Miss 

Fannie’s Bomb.” Third place honors for individual 

actors were awarded to Hawkins and 

Stuart. Later, at the district speech meet in 

Victoria, the college vanquished the opposition 

and captured the district championship. 

Winning laurels for the local speech team were 

Clarence Durham, first in boys’ extemporaneous 

speaking; Fredaline Schneider, first in 

girls’ extemporaneous speaking; and Valerie 

Hartman, first in girls’ oratory. 40 

Schneider considered her victory in girls’ 

extemporaneous speaking as another joyful 

moment in a year filled with happy times. She 

and classmate Magdalene Ley smilingly recounted 

how the students at the college meshed 

together for social outings that included dances 

at Smith-Fischer Gymnasium and local private 

clubs. Ley remarked that whoever in the group 

had an automobile would make the rounds, 

pick up the other members, and away they 

would go for a fun-filled trip. During lunch 


eaks at the college, Schneider, Ley, and friends 

crossed North Street to a Mrs. Evans’ house for 

a quick home prepared meal. The front rooms of 

her residence served as a dining area for the students 

who sat around small round tables and 

engaged in small talk, occasionally being interrupted 

by the rumble of a noon passenger train 

as it steamed by the school complex. 41 

The civilian pilots training course that began 

in the fall of 1939 was expanded during the 

summer of 1940 as the Franklin Roosevelt 

administration accelerated the nation’s involvement 

in world affairs. Victoria Junior College 

was authorized by the Civilian Aeronautics 

Authority to enroll fifteen students who had 

attained their eighteenth birthdays. This number 

was increased to nineteen by the time of fall 

enrollment, and the maximum age grew to twenty-six. 

Preference was given to applicants who 

possessed a degree or graduation certificate from 

a university, a technological institute, a four-year 

teacher college, or junior college. The minimum 

education requirement was one year of college 

during the 1939-1940 academic year. 42 

William S. Fly, grandson of G. W. L. Fly of 

Civil War fame, and a state senator after World 

War II, was among the 1940 summer flight students. 

His interest in becoming a pilot was longstanding. 

He was fascinated with the planes that 

landed in the valley between Main and Vine 

streets, north of Red River Street. For years he 

kept a propeller from a damaged plane at his 

house as a memento of his burning desire to fly. 

After flying five to six hours in the air in a 

Taylorcraft with an instructor, he was told to 

“take it around three times” alone. The first solo 

flight was the highlight of the course for Fly. 

When he landed the plane, the tail of his shirt 

was cut off, thus becoming a new pilot, “a shirttail.” 

An important element in the course was 

navigation. Since there was no sophisticated 

equipment in the training plane, the pilot in 

cross-country flight learned to navigate by following 

railroad tracks and highways. After completing 

the Victoria Junior College course, Fly did 

advanced flight training in Austin while attending 

the University of Texas Law School. In World 

War II, he received his wings as a naval pilot. 43 

✯ 

Victoria Junior College began to offer 

pilot training in the fall 1939 under a 

program sponsored by the Civil 

Aeronautics Authority. 


✯ 

A clothing laboratory. 

Beatrice Rangow was one of seven females 

in a class of 28 who enrolled in the February 

1941 flying class. She was prompted to take 

the flight course because of her daredevil 

inclination and her desire to follow in the 

footsteps of Amelia Earhart, the famous 

woman aviator who mysteriously disappeared 

as she attempted to make a round-the-world 

flight in 1937. Rangow noted that she and the 

other girls were treated the same as the males 

during the training. One of her more memorable 

experiences was when the airplane she 

was flying stalled. The instructor took control 

of the plane and succeeded in restarting 

the engine. Shortly after Rangow completed 

the course, she married. When the federal 

government requested that she ferry a military 

plane to the east coast, her husband was 

emphatic in telling her she could not make the 

flight. Thus, Rangow’s short-lived flying career 

came to an end. 44 

In August 1940, B. F. Hardt, college dean for 

the previous five years, resigned to become 

principal of the oil wealthy White Oak School 

west of Longview. He was succeeded by W. E. 

Eckles, the dean of men and an education 

instructor. Eckles earned his bachelor’s and master’s 

degrees from Texas Agricultural and 

Mechanical College where he taught summer 

courses the previous four years. The new dean 

did not complete the academic year. Military 

service beckoned, and in the spring of 1941, he 

entered the army. Since his position was not 

immediately filled, his administrative duties 

were divided between Jewell Hudler and J. N. 

Crawford. In April, the board elected J. D. 

Moore, a native of Mineral Wells and principal of 

El Campo High School since 1936, as the dean. 

After graduating from high school, he entered 

North Texas Teachers College and earned his 

bachelor’s and master’s degrees. While in college, 

Moore was a standout in several sports, and 

because of his athletic prowess, he was installed 

in the University of North Texas Hall of Fame. 45 

With only one day remaining to register for 

the fall 1940 semester, enrollment reached 171 


students, “a hundred percent increase” from the 

preceding year. The noticeable gain was in part 

contributed to the new transportation policy 

which provided private bus service from Pierce, 

Palacios, Beeville, and Moulton. The buses left 

their respective locations at 7:30 a.m. and 

arrived at the college in time for the 9:00 a.m. 

classes. The students returned to “their home 

centers by 5 o’clock.” Cost per student, at least 

from Goliad, was six dollars a month. 46 

Part-time jobs for students were at a premium 

with such a large enrollment. Especially 

hard-hit for employment were the girls who 

were limited as to what type of jobs were available 

to them. In an attempt to assist the co-eds 

in finding gainful occupations, the college 

appealed to residence owners for part-time 

housework for the young ladies. 47 

During the 1940 fall semester, Victoria 

Junior College made another stab at competing 

in intercollegiate basketball with non-scholarship 

players. Hester “Stump” Evans, an assistant 

coach at Patti Welder and an alumnus of 

the college, was named head coach. Evans 

received his nickname, according to long-time 

president of the board of trustees at Victoria 

College Winston Zirjacks, when he broke his 

arm hitting the wall while playing basketball in 

the closely confined basement of the Patti 

Welder building. Thereafter, Evans was known 

as “Stump.” 48 

Frank Diebel played on the 1940-41 basketball 

squad. As a standout player at Patti Welder 

High School, the University of Texas showed 

interest in him and suggested that he enroll at 

Tyler Junior College to sharpen his basketball 

skills. Evans intervened and persuaded Diebel 

to attend Victoria Junior College. As an inducement 

for him to remain in his hometown, the 

local coach secured Diebel a job at Groce- 

Wearden Wholesalers, which allowed the 

roundballer to earn enough money to pay 

for his tuition and books. Ed Stuart and Diebel, 

characterized by the Advocate as having “to 

duck to prevent his head from scraping the 

rafters,” led the team in scoring. Other starters 

on the squad were Bob Rushing, Cecil Hill, 

and “Tricky” Bully Greeson. Unfortunately, the 

Pirates did not win enough games to make 

the playoffs. 49 

Traditionally, societal changes occur slowly. 

A case in point was VISD’s antiquated policy 

that prevented faculty members from purchasing 

a product on the installment plan or on 

✯ 

The girls’ lounge at Victoria Junior 

College offered co-eds of the 1940s a 

place to relax. 


✯ 

The Victoria Junior College Library 

had been expanded by the outbreak of 

World War II. 

borrowed money. They were relieved of this 

limitation when the board at its October 1941 

meeting, on a motion by Hugh Stanly, seconded 

by D. E. Blackburn, waived the provision. 50 

World War II impacted Victoria Junior 

College in various ways. Victoria Field, renamed 

Foster Field in January 1942, was opened in 

1941 as an advanced single-engine flight school 

for fighter pilots. The influx of military personnel 

into the county made an immediate difference 

in the enrollment and class offerings at the 

college. A total of 260 students registered for the 

fall semester, 120 of whom attended evening 

classes. Servicemen from the air base accounted 

for seventy-six of the enrollees. In order to 

accommodate the educational needs of the military 

personnel and individuals interested in 

taking a “preparatory course leading to an 

exemption from mental examination for flying 

cadet work,” the college created additional 

evening classes, the largest of which were in 

mathematics with sixty-four students. The 

emphasis on mathematics was thought to be a 

necessity “for the national defense effort.” 51 

As the nation inched closer to participating 

in World War II, all of the colleges and universities 

in South Texas that fell within the San 

Antonio Recruiting District were enlisted to 

establish special courses “to enable more young 

men, ambitious to become Aviation Cadets, to 

qualify themselves to meet the increased 

demands for pilots.” Recruiting officials suggested 

that a student should consider borrowing 

money to pay for a year’s college. These 

recruiters maintained that upon entering the 

Air Corps, the student would become a second 

lieutenant and be paid from $205.50 to 

$245.50 a month, plus a bonus of $500 for 

each year served. The money that could be 

saved, the recruiting officer stated, would permit 

a person to “easily finish his college education, 

go into a small business, or pay on a 

home” after being released from the military 

service. The recruiting pitch undoubtedly had a 

positive result as the country’s young men 

looked for an alternative to the army which 

awaited them should they be drafted under 

the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, 


the first peacetime compulsory military training 

law in United States history. 52 

With the formal entrance of the United 

States in World War II after the Japanese bombing 

of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the 

Victoria Junior College role in preparing individuals 

for the military was enlarged. Under a 

plan formulated by the Department of the Navy, 

known as V-1, freshman and sophomore college 

students 17 and 18 years of age could enlist as 

apprentice seamen and remain in college “at 

least until the end of their second year.” After 

the completion of a year and a half of college 

work, a competitive examination was administered. 

The students who passed could elect to 

become a naval aviator, deck officer, or engineering 

officer. Those who chose to become 

pilots were called to active duty at the end of 

the second year. The students who elected to 

become deck or engineering officers were 

allowed to continue in college until they 

received their bachelor’s degree, provided college 

or university standards were maintained. 53 

By 1943, special skills required for the 

defense industry and preparatory work for military 

service further altered the course offerings 

at the college. Out of the need to meet the new 

wartime challenges, classes in pre-nursing, fundamental 

radio, and specialized training in 

engineering drawing and industrial chemistry 

were taught. To stimulate an increase in the 

courses, the United States Office of Education, 

through a cooperative arrangement with Texas 

A&I College, paid the tuition and laboratory 

fees for qualified students who enrolled in the 

engineering, science, and management defense 

training program. College credit for the trainee 

was optional. Because the war seriously depleted 

the number of males in the workforce, 

women were especially encouraged to register 

in the program “as many positions are open for 

them in defense industries.” 54 

Equally important to the war effort was a 

cadre of educated military personnel. The federal 

government expected this to be accomplished 

under the Officer’s Procurement 

Program, which granted two-year deferments to 

young men who joined a branch of the military. 

At the end of the second year, provided the 

educational standards were attained, the eligible 

candidate was “given an opportunity to 

become a commissioned officer.” The college 

was permitted to register eighteen students in 

the program. 55 

Victoria Junior College also became involved 

in providing assistance on the home front. To 

meet the federal government’s call for 

18,000,000 Victory Gardens, courses were 

offered in growing vegetables and canning. 

Residents of the community were encouraged to 

enroll in the classes with the slogan, “Grow your 

own vitamins.” Tuition and fees were waived, an 

indicator of the importance of Victory Gardens 

to the nation. 56 

Books added to the college library during 

World War II reflected America’s participation in 

the conflict. Works were purchased to supplement 

the history, government, and economic 

collection to foster “American ideas through dissemination 

of authentic information.” Technical 

and scientific books were a priority to support 

the courses that were designed for “the nation’s 

need for skilled technicians.” Mathematics, 

radio, and pre-flight training volumes were 

bought and widely circulated among the students. 

It was “not surprising to see girls as well 

as boys charge out such books.” 57 

Besides different course offerings, the war 

affected the college in other ways. Because the 

military services consumed huge amounts of 

petroleum products, gasoline rationing was 

implemented throughout the nation. Charlotte E. 

Kenell fondly remembers how the lack of gasoline 

impacted her college classes. In the summer 

of 1944, she took a psychology course, taught by 

O. C. Stroman (Stroman High School was named 

in his honor), which had a number of nuns in it. 

Kenell, along with her fellow classmates, was 

asked “to go to Nazareth Academy Convent each 

morning for class, so that the Nuns…would not 

have to be transported to the college.” She 

remarked that “it was an interesting experience 

for all of us, including the Nuns.” 58 

College athletics were also touched by the 

war. Budgetary restraints along with the scarcity 

of transportation placed a limit on sports. 

The only intercollegiate activity the college participated 

in was track, and it revolved around 

one person, Monroe Northcutt, a resident of El 

Campo who moved to Victoria when J. D. 

Moore became dean of the college. Even though 

he was a student at Patti Welder, Northcutt was 


not eligible for high school athletics because of 

his age, but he could run track for the college. 

Since there was no money appropriated for athletics, 

the dedicated Northcutt hitchhiked to 

track meets. Moore did, however, find money 

in the budget for his hotel expenses. At the state 

meet for junior colleges in Arlington, Northcutt 

won the 880 and placed fourth in the 440. 

When he completed high school, Northcutt 

entered the navy and was assigned to a physical 

education program. After his discharge from 

the military service, he received a track scholarship 

from the University of Texas and was cocaptain 

of the team in 1948. 59 

While some students took advantage of various 

military plans and ultimately became officers, 

others, bulging with patriotic fervor and 

wanting to take a crack at the Axis, opted to 

enlist even before a semester terminated. Two 

students who left the college ranks before completing 

their courses of study were Rex Easley 

and Albert Joost. The pair, in 1942, were sitting 

under one of the trees that dotted the college 

campus chatting about nothing in particular 

when Joost said, “Let’s join the Air Force.” 

Easley with alacrity answered, “O.K. When?” 

The two Victorians spent the next three years 

in the military with contrasting assignments. 

Joost served as a general’s aid, whereas Easley 

performed duty with a bomber flying out 

of Guam. 60 

Elton Spiegelhauer was another Victoria 

Junior College student who went into the military 

during World War II. But, unlike Easley and 

Joost, the University of Texas beckoned before 

his tenure began in the armed forces. 

Spiegelhauer’s drafting instructor at the college, 

C.A. Moore, was so impressed with the student’s 

analytical mind (Spiegelhauer ranked first in a 

class of three that began with twenty-three), he 

assisted his prized student in enrolling at the 

university by writing a letter of endorsement to 

the school officials in Austin. Spiegelhauer 

received a letter of acceptance on September 6, 

1943, and within two days he had quit his job, 

packed, and matriculated at the University of 

Texas. After the war, Spiegelhauer worked at 

DuPont for thirty-four years. His long career as 

a draftsman was, as he said, “because of Claude 

Moore,” an inspiring instructor at Victoria 

Junior College. 61 

In September 1942, hurricane force winds 

hit Victoria, causing considerable damage to the 

school complex. Among the destruction left in 

the wake of the storm was the loss of the Smith- 

Fischer Hall roof, warped wooden floors caused 

by torrential rain, and windows that were shattered 

by flying debris. Instructors at the college, 

such as Hester Evans and C. A. Moore, volunteered 

their services to ready the school for the 

fall semester. While the hurricane was playing 

havoc on the city, airmen from a local base took 

refuge in the Patti Welder and college buildings, 

making themselves literally at home. The servicemen 

broke into the cafeteria and, utilizing 

school supplies, prepared breakfast. They also 

filled the hallways with their litter. It goes without 

saying, therefore, that the administration 

was upset with the airmen’s stay. 62 

Coming as no surprise to the college authorities, 

the war took its toll on the number of 

full-time students. Jobs were plentiful for those 

who wanted to work, and the demands for military 

personnel cut a swath into the ranks of 

the male students. By January 1943, there were 

only 69 students enrolled, of whom 17 were 

sophomores. Consequently, with such a small 

student body, the spring graduating class consisted 

of nine individuals, most of whom were 

female students. 63 

Meanwhile, at the January 5, 1945, board 

meeting, the trustees broke virgin ground by 

adopting a sick leave policy for the teachers. 

Under the new plan, an instructor was permitted 

three days personal sick leave. Teachers claiming 

time off for illness were required to sign a certified 

statement. If the instructor remained absent 

for twenty-one days, employment at the college 

was automatically terminated. 64 

Throughout American history, the central 

government has been magnanimous in providing 

benefits to veterans of the various wars. Initially, 

land grants were parceled out to qualified ex-servicemen, 

but by the twentieth century, the territorial 

holdings were drastically reduced to the 

point that land was no longer a viable option for 

the nation’s veterans. In 1924, over President 

Calvin Coolidge’s veto, Congress passed the 

Soldiers Bonus Bill, providing 20-year annuities 

for veterans below the rank of major. Prior to the 

conclusion of World War II, in 1944, out of gratitude 

for the duty performed by the service 


personnel and the potentially high voter turnout 

by veterans, Congress passed the Servicemen’s 

Readjustment Act, commonly known as the “G.I. 

Bill of Rights.” The law stipulated, in part, that 

eligible returning servicemen and servicewomen 

would not be charged tuition, fees, books, and 

supplies for academic classes. Furthermore, 

single veterans were allowed $50 a month living 

expenses, and married veterans received $75 

each month. 65 

Victoria Junior College, like other colleges 

and universities throughout the United States, 

profited from the generous legislation for veterans. 

Enrollment for day school in the fall of 

1946 almost doubled the number from the previous 

year. Whereas in 1945 there were 82 students 

registered, in 1946 the figure was 159. 

More dramatic was the difference in summer 

school enrollment between 1946 and 1947. 

According to the college records, in 1946 there 

were 51 students registered for summer classes, 

and in 1947 the number was 147. 66 

Veterans were especially interested in the 

college’s Vocational Training School under the 

direction of V. T. Kallus, an ex-serviceman and 

graduate of Texas A&M University. The veterans 

who were enrolled in the vocational program, 

which consisted of agriculture, business, 

and mechanics courses, received subsistence 

pay of ninety dollars a month if they were married. 

Single students, on the other hand, 

received $65 a month. In the spring of 1946, 85 

students enrolled in the academic courses, 

while there were 75 individuals, fifteen of 

whom were black, taking vocational agriculture. 

By the fall of 1946, veterans, both in academic 

and vocational courses, dominated the 

enrollment figures. 67 

B. F. Harbour, who replaced Clark C. Wilkes 

as dean in 1945, observed in May 1946 that the 

veterans “are just as normal as any students I 

have ever seen in my teaching experience. If 

they didn’t wear their discharge badges [referred 

to by the ex-service personnel as ruptured 

ducks], you nor anyone else could tell them 

from any of the other students.” On the surface, 

the comments appeared to be on target, but 

behind the facade, there was disrelish by some 

of the veterans toward what they considered to 

be shallow teaching methods. Herman J. 

Krehmeier, who entered the military service a 

few months after he graduated from high school 

in 1943, was astounded that an English instructor 

“was trying to teach like the college was a 

junior high school or high school.” Particularly 

galling to Krehmeier was when the students 

“had to sing happy birthday.” The faculty, he 

further stated, “hadn’t quite caught up. They 

didn’t know the veterans’ frame of mind.” 

“Overall,” Krehmeier recounted, “I enjoyed the 

classes. It was a good experience, one that I will 

always remember.” The preceding remarks were 

made by a 20-year-old who entered the military 

as a boy, and exited as a man. Wars have a way 

✯ 

G. V. Prichard was business manager 

and registrar of Victoria Junior 

College during World War II. 

of doing that. 68 Depression and War ✦ 41

ENDNOTES 

1 

The Victoria Advocate, 19 July 1935, 28 July 1935; Victoria Independent School District Board Minutes, 19 July 1935. 

2 

VISD Minutes, Ibid.; Advocate, 27 August 1935. 

3 

Advocate, 10 September 1935, 12 September 1935, 15 September 1935. 

4 

Ibid., 24 July 1935. 

5 

James E. McCord, tape interview with author, 27 March 1998. 

6 

Lela Welder Cliburn, telephone interview with author, 27 March 1998. 

7 

David Bianchi, letter to author, 28 March 1998; Advocate, 31 October 1935. 

8 

McCord, tape interview, 27 March 1998. 

9 

Ibid. 

10 

Ibid. 

11 


12 

Ibid., 12 January 1936; Grace Fossati, interview with author, 30 March 1998. 

13 

Advocate, 1 May 1936. 

14 

Ibid., 27 May 1936. 

15 

Ibid., 7 July 1936. 

16 

Ibid., 7 August 1936. 

17 

Ibid., 17 November 1936; The Corsair, 30 November 1936. 

18 

VISD Minutes, 12 December 1936; Advocate, 22 December 1936. 

19 

Advocate, 10 January 1937. 

20 

The Corsair, 14 February 1937, 22 February 1937. 

21 


22 

Ibid., 9 March 1937. 

23 

Ibid., 11 March 1937, 12 March 1937, 14 March 1937. 

24 

Ibid., 12 May 1937. 

25 

Victoria Junior College Catalogue, July 1937, 6. 

26 

VISD Minutes, 2 June 1937; Advocate, 25 June 1937, 19 September 1937. 

27 

The Corsair, 29 September 1937; Advocate, 4 January 1938. 

28 

Advocate, 21 December 1938. 

29 

Ibid., 1 March 1939, 2 March 1939, 3 March 1939, 5 March 1939, 10 March 1939, 12 March 1939. 

30 

The Corsair, 23 March 1938. 

31 


32 

Advocate, 18 September 1938; Victoria Junior College Bulletin, 1938-1939. 

33 


34 

Ibid., 1 March 1939, 12 June 1941. 

35 

Ibid., 18 August 1939, 3 October 1939, 13 October 1939, 15 October 1939. 

36 

Ibid., 3 November 1939; VISD Minutes, 2 November 1939. 

37 


38 

Ibid., 10 May 1939, 7 July 1939, 12 September 1939, 29 October 1939. 

39 

Ibid., 14 March 1940, 17 March 1940, 21 March 1940, 22 August 1943. 

40 

Ibid., 10 March 1940, 31 March 1940. 

41 

Fredaline Schneider Krueger, interview with author, 15 May 1998; Magdalene Ley Johnston, interview with author, 15 May 1998. 

42 

Advocate, 5 June 1940. 

43 

William S. Fly, interview with author, 16 May 1998. 

44 

Beatrice Rangnow Marth, telephone interview with author, 16 May 1998. 

45 

Advocate, 18 August 1940, 8 September 1940, 9 March 1941, 27 April 1941. 

46 

Ibid., 24 June 1940, 19 July 1940, 3 September 1940, 4 September 1940, 22 September 1940, 10 October 1940. 

47 


48 

Ibid., 13 December 1940; The Jolly Roger, 23 February 1968. 


49 

Frank Diebel, telephone interview with author, 16 May 1998; Advocate, 13 December 1940, 18 December 1940. 

50 

VISD Minutes, 2 October 1941. 

51 

The Handbook of Victoria County (Austin: The Texas State Historical Association, 1990), 28; Advocate, 21 September 1941, 

12 October 1941. 

52 


53 

Ibid., 12 April 1942, 15 May 1942. 

54 

Ibid., 9 July 1942, 16 August 1942, 20 August 1942. 

55 


56 


57 


58 

Charlotte E. Kenell, letter to author, 30 May 1997. 

59 

Monroe Northcutt, tape interview with author, 16 May 1998. 

60 

Rex Easley, interview with author, 18 May 1998. 

61 

Eldon Spiegelhauer, interview with author, 20 May 1998. 

62 

Advocate, 6 September 1942; J. D. Moore, interview with author, 8 May 1995. 

63 

Advocate, 14 May 1943; VISD Minutes, 5 January 1943. 

64 

VISD Minutes, 5 January 1945. 

65 

Advocate, 25 July 1944. 

66 


67 

Advocate, 3 January 1946, 12 May 1946, 12 September 1946. 

68 

Ibid., 5 May 1946; Herman Krehmeier, telephone interview with author, 19 May 1998. 

Endnotes ✦ 43


CHAPTER 3 

ADIOS, PATTI 

WELDER 

Immediately following World War II, the board and administration dealt with a variety of issues 

and made decisions that had a long-term impact on education in the community. Before the decade 

ended, Victoria Junior College was disassociated with the Victoria Independent School District and 

Victoria College was a reality. 

At its regular meeting on August 14, 1946, the board made a major decision on how the faculty 

were to be paid, adopting for the first time a single salary schedule. The base pay for a teacher with 

a bachelor’s degree was set at $1,800 a year. An instructor holding a master’s degree received a base 

salary of $2,800 a year. There was no mention of a salary schedule for a doctor’s degree. Increments 

of $25 a year were given for three years’ teaching experience outside the district and ten years’ within 

the district. The board reserved the right to make an exception to the proposed scale in order that 

it might employ a “capable teacher” who would not otherwise accept a position in the district. 1 

Winds of change, brought about by an all-time high enrollment, blew across the school complex 

on North Street. A notable factor in the rise of the school population was 165 veterans in vocational 

training. The combined population of the junior high, the high school, and the junior college was 

over 1,200 and placed an enormous strain on the school facilities. Furthermore, the age span from 

junior high through junior college posed an additional dilemma for the community and school officials 

who considered the freer lifestyle of the college students a corrupting influence on the secondary 

and middle school students. 2 

Recognizing there was an acute shortage of classroom space, the board authorized President J. H. 

Bankston to approach the federal government on the acquisition of Aloe Field for “the pursuit of 

training or education under Title II of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944.” Although the 

deliberations did not produce an agreement on the abandoned airfield, the negotiations were fruitful. 

The Federal Works Administration assented to provide the school system a grant to construct a 

“one-story frame structure containing 5,200 square feet of floor space” and to purchase “the necessary 

furniture and equipment such as saws, lathes, etc.” William Offer, president of the school board, 

gleefully assessed the award with the community by remarking, “All we have to do is furnish the site 

and connect up the utilities.” The structure was built in the rear of Smith-Fischer Hall. 3 

Meanwhile, with the end of World War II, extracurricular activities were rejuvenated. During the 

conflict, the publication of the school newspaper had been suspended because of a shortage of materials. 

In October, 1946, journalism students from Patti Welder High School and the college revived 

the practice by producing a weekly publication, The Victorian. Thirty-eight high school and college 

students comprised the staff. Johnny Goldsum was named the junior college editor. 4 

Football as an intercollegiate sport was also resurrected at the college. The last season for the college 

to play football was 1936. In February, 1947, the board unanimously decided to field a team to 

compete in the South Texas Junior College Conference. The new league was to be comprised of junior 

colleges located at Corpus Christi, Laredo, Brownsville, Edinburg, and Seguin. Players were not 

to be given scholarships, a policy that was welcomed by some of the local fans. Chester Evans, 

Advocate sports writer and an alumnus of the college, wrote that “Victorians have found out in past 

years that the game won’t be a success here if you do have to import players by paying their room 

and board, etc., as the larger colleges now do.” Another concern of Evans for a successful program 

was scheduling. He expressed the opinion, “The teams must be as evenly matched as possible or the 

project will not succeed.” Hester “Stump” Evans, Chester’s brother and an assistant coach at Patti 

Welder, was employed as the college’s head coach. 5 

Under the sponsorship of Lois Parker, college librarian, the Zeta Gamma Chapter in early 1947 was 

awarded a charter from the national junior college honor society Phi Theta Kappa. The initials of the 

society came from the Greek words phronomon (wisdom), thuemos (aspiration), and katharotes (purity). 

✯ 

T. A. Roach has the distinction of 

being the last president of Victoria 

Junior College. He served in that 

capacity from 1947 to 1949. 

Adios, Patti Welder ✦ 45

✯ 

B. F. Harbour was dean of Victoria 


Membership in the organization was open to students 

who ranked in “the upper 10 percent of the 

student body scholastically and also showed 

good qualities in character and leadership.” 

Fifteen members were installed by the Gamma 

Sigma Chapter of Corpus Christi Junior College 

in ceremonies held in the Victoria Junior High 

School Library. Alfred Stern was selected president. 

The other officers were Johnny Goldsum, 

vice president; Jimmie Lee Stubbs, secretary; and 

Shirley Krenek, treasurer. A pre-initiation ritual 

required students to periodically sing the club 

song and to wear beanies inscribed with the 

Greek letters Phi, Theta, and Kappa for a week 

prior to induction into the organization. 6 

President Bankston was informed by the 

board in March 1947 that his contract would 

not be renewed when it expired on June 30. The 

door was left open, however, for Bankston to 

reapply for the position, but he declined to do 

so “under present conditions.” No explanation 

was given by the president or the board as to the 

reasons for their difficulties. The board’s action 

prompted a community movement to retain the 

ousted president. A petition was circulated and 

was ultimately signed by 310 individuals. The 

document was presented to the board by a quartet 

of residents that included the civic and social 

leader Mrs. Ruben Frels. The board rejected the 

petition and voted to proceed in the employment 

of a new superintendent. 7 

Meanwhile, public sentiment in the county 

developed for separating the college from the 

Victoria Independent School District. As early as 

July 1946, the Advocate had suggested, which 

probably reflected the public’s attitude, that the 

college “facilities could be of a much greater 

value, if it were expanded on a countywide 

plan.” The newspaper pointed out that six colleges 

were recently organized in Texas “and all 

of these except one is a countywide plan.” 8 

Aloe Army Air Field was given the highest 

priority by school officials as the location for a 

new junior college. Situated on a 1,820-acre 

tract five miles southwest of Victoria, the military 

complex was opened in 1943 as an advanced 

single-engine training base for fighter pilots. 

Soon after the conclusion of World War II, on 

October 31, 1945, Aloe Field was closed. 

Bankston who had previously discussed the 

transfer of the government property to VISD was 

instructed by the board in April 1947 to resume 

negotiations. Partly as a result of “a letter of 

intent” sent by the lame duck president to the 

War Assets Administration and the U.S. Office of 

Education, a meeting was held between representatives 

of the two federal agencies, and school 

personnel. County officials who sought the land 

for an airport were also present. At the gathering, 

school authorities proposed the acquisition of 

the abandoned airfield and a variety of its facilities, 

including the hospital building, the gymnasium, 

a cafeteria, a recreation building, the football 

field, the tennis courts, and a theatre, which 

was to be used as an auditorium. No action was 

taken by either federal agency. 9 


Victoria Junior College students held mixed 

views on the separation issue. Johnny Goldsum, 

in an editorial published by the Victorian, wrote 

that in an informal poll of students and teachers, 

the overwhelming majority wanted a separate 

campus. The supporters of this position 

maintained that a division of the schools would 

reduce congestion in the halls at Patti Welder, 

diminish criticism from high school students 

who did not have the same privileges as college 

students, and create a better teaching environment 

because instructors would not have to 

split their duties between the high school and 

the college. Goldsum, infected with the current 

trend, suggested a countywide college along the 

line of Wharton County Junior College. In this 

way, he wrote, the college would have a larger 

tax base, permitting an expansion of facilities 

and the purchase of better equipment. 10 

Goldsum’s comments were reenforced by 

Hilary Matthews, a freshman, who wanted to 

get away from high school teenagers. Wayne 

Duncan, another freshman, also held a 

jaded attitude toward the high school confines. 

He remarked that taking classes at Patti Welder 

did not produce a collegiate atmosphere. A 

similar position was taken by freshman 

Leslie Fuhrman. 11 

A segment of the student body expressed 

contrary statements. Freshman Earl Truman 

maintained that Aloe Field was “too far to go.” 

Distance was also a concern to Truman’s classmates 

Roy Othold and Mike Crawford. 

Although Othold agreed that Aloe Field posed a 

traveling problem, he hedged somewhat by 

adding “it would be awfully nice at Aloe.” 12 

In the meantime, after reviewing the applications 

for the superintendent’s position, the 

board announced on June 24, 1947, the selection 

of T. A. Roach of the El Campo school district 

as the new school system’s chief executive. 

He was awarded a three-year contract. 13 

Before Roach was firmly settled in his office, 

he found himself involved in the middle of a 

controversy that stemmed from students, teachers, 

and administrators who disliked what they 

perceived to be the elitism and snobbishness of 

fraternities and sororities. At a Rotary luncheon 

in August 1947, Roach bluntly stated that sororities 

and fraternities “were not in keeping with 

the true principles of democracy” and should be 

banned. On another matter, concerning a suit 

attempting to eliminate the segregation of 

Mexicans in public schools, the superintendent/president 

remarked, “I have no patience 

with any parent who demands that their children 

be separated from the Mexicans. So long as 

I am superintendent, there will be absolutely no 

racial discrimination.” He obviously was not 

addressing the state Jim Crow laws. His comments 

aroused the Rotarians to the extent they 

gave him “resounding applause.” 14 

On September 4, 1947, the board, by a unanimous 

vote, banned “fraternities, sororities, 

secret clubs and similar organizations” for students 

in junior high, high school, and junior 

college. The trustees based their position on the 

belief “that such organizations have a tendency 

to destroy good order, discipline and scholarship 

in the schools and further that they tend to 

disrupt student life generally, and that they foster 

rivalries and jealousies which have a deleterious 

effect upon practically all of the usual 

extracurricular activities, athletic and otherwise, 

sponsored by the school system.” 15 

Students were required to sign a pledge card, 

attested to by parents or guardians, that they 

were not current members of a “secret” organization, 

that they would not join an unauthorized 

organization, or that they would not attend a 

meeting held by an unauthorized association as 

a “visitor, guest, or in any other capacity.” If a 

student did not sign the pledge or broke the 

pledge after signing, a host of sanctions could be 

applied, the most extreme being expulsion from 

school. The bulk of the penalties denied the student 

from extracurricular activities, holding 

offices, and receiving honors. 16 

Criticism of the board’s decision was immediate. 

Supporters of fraternities and sororities held 

a public rally at De León Plaza and orchestrated 

a “coffin dance” at the National Guard Armory. 

Although the issue originated in the high school, 

college students, particularly those who were 

either in a sorority or fraternity while in high 

school, got caught up in the affair when they 

defended the organizations. Representatives 

from the college football team visited the 

Advocate and requested that the newspaper publish 

“several statements of objections to the ban.” 

C. A. Bielstein and Jack Qualls, veterans of the 

recent world conflict, were quoted as saying, 


✯ 

The 1947-48 Victoria Junior College 

Cheerleaders were (left to right) 

Mary Gladys Bauer, J. T. Swope, 

Bettye Jean Snead, Aubrey Breed, 

and Boydene Griffin. 

“We came to school to get an education, not 

looking for a chaperone to take care of us after 

school hours. Now that we fought for freedom, 

is this an example of what we’re going to get. 

Now that we’re home and in our own country, 

we feel that we should be free to do as we please 

in our spare time.” Ossie Farrer, an interior lineman, 

remarked, “It seems as if junior college 

should issue a baby bottle to the students. 

We are being led by the hand and told what we 

should do with our spare time.” 17 

A petition drive designed to sway the board 

to reverse itself was launched. The petitioners 

mounted loud speakers on a truck and broadcast 

their appeal for signatures throughout the 

town. They also canvassed neighborhoods 

soliciting support for their cause. Their exercise 

of a democratic principle produced 1,400 

signatures. Undeterred, the board and chief 

executive held their position. At the school 

year’s opening assembly, Roach explained to 

the students that the only organizations 

banned were those that had constitutions 

or bylaws that permitted new members only 

“by vote of active members of the group.” 

Excluded from the ban, Roach pointed out, 

were the Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, “school 

groups in which membership is attained by 

merit, and religious organizations.” 18 

Adrian Brandes, a college student and 

spokesman for the student opposition, was 

introduced by Roach and was asked to present 

the counter viewpoint. After giving the outline 

of the ban, as he saw it, Brandes admitted that 

the prohibition against fraternities and sororities 

did “not encroach upon social activities of 

the students” although the ban and pledge 

themselves were “pretty rough.” Brandes hesitated 

in recommending to the students that 

they should not sign the pledge. He remarked 

“that each student would have to make up his 

own mind.” 19 

Opposition to the ban and pledge evaporated 

after the assembly. Some students were misinformed 

as to the board’s action and thought all 

social activities were to be eliminated. When 

they discovered otherwise, these students had a 

change of heart. Teachers who supported the 

ban also convinced students to shift their position. 

Furthermore, students were unwilling to 

buck state legislation banning secret societies 

from public schools. With little public support, 


the opponents of the ban withdrew the petition 

and never presented it to the board. 20 

Enrollment continued to soar, reaching a 

dizzying height. Daytime registration for the fall 

1947 semester closed at 257 students. There 

were an additional 116 evening students, bringing 

the overall academic enrollment to a total of 

373. The number did not include the 250 veterans 

in the vocational agricultural cooperative 

program. Because the enrollment was larger 

than school officials expected, additional classes 

in the evening were added. 21 

Hester Evans’ debut as head football coach in 

the fall of 1947 was inauspicious. In this first 

Victoria Junior College football season since the 

1930s, 28 prospective gridders reported for 

practice. Since there were no scholarships 

awarded to the players, Evans had to rely upon 

local talent. During conference competition, the 

college won two games, lost five, and tied one. 

Sixteen players lettered, a respectable number 

when considering that team members played 

both offense and defense. 22 

In a 1998 interview, Jerry Lenz, a former 

member of the 1947 football squad, vividly and 

colorfully remembered the coach and players. 

He considered Coach Evans as a generous, kindhearted 

man who inspired and directed the lives 

of the young men, but who never received the 

recognition he so richly deserved. As in the case 

of Lenz, a former Patti Welder football player, he 

was approached by Evans after football practice 

began and was asked why he had not come out 

for the squad. Lenz told Evans that he was too 

small to compete for a position on a college 

football team. The coach responded that Lenz 

could play center and be the long snapper. 

Whenever a squad member was out of cash, 

Lenz recalled, Evans would pull a dollar or five 

dollars from his pocket and lend it to the financially 

strapped player. 23 

The football team, Lenz recollected, was a 

mixture of the past spring’s graduating classes 

and ex-servicemen. One of the veterans 

was Felix “Big Doc” Bianchi who knew virtually 

nothing about football. The more knowledgeable 

players even had to instruct him 

on how to wear his uniform. He invariably 

placed his football helmet on backwards. But, 

Bianchi was a mountain of a man and could 

play football. 24 

Coach Evans, Lenz recalled, found it difficult 

to control the veterans. Since they were not on 

scholarship, if he pushed them too hard, the exservicemen 

would walk away. Lenz remarked 

that in every game there seemed to be a fight, 

either brought on by the older players or football 

fanatics who came out to watch the games. 

At a game with Del Mar in Corpus Christi, the 

police were summoned to break up a tussle. 

During the contest at Brownsville, a Victoria 

Junior College player made a long run, causing 

the “beered up” crowd to take action against the 

Victorians. The Cameron County Sheriff’s 

Department intervened before the disturbance 

turned into a riot. Also, in one of the games, 

✯ 

Mary Gladys Bauer was the 1948 

Victoria Junior College Sweetheart. 


✯ 

Members of a home economics class 

doing laundry. 

a team had a player of Japanese ancestry, causing 

two of the veterans with a strong dislike for 

anyone or anything Japanese to viciously attack 

him. The most talented player on the team was 

Mason Butler, a first team Junior College All- 

American selection as a center. 25 

Whenever the football squad made a 

lengthy out of town trek, it rode in style. 

Truman Belcher, owner of the city bus line, 

purchased a blue and white Trailways bus to 

assure the players were comfortable on the 

trip. He installed a radio on the bus for their 

enjoyment and on most occasions Belcher 

drove the vehicle himself. 26 

By 1947, segments of the community that cut 

across the socio-economic strata concluded that a 

real possibility existed that the Victoria Junior 

College would close because of a lack of funding. 

The school district with a bulging scholastic population 

was using its limited financial resources 

on grades one through twelve, which was considered 

the district’s primary responsibility. This left 

little revenue for the college. Informal conversations 

on the district’s financial dilemma at barber 

shops, clubs, restaurants, and street corners by 

the pillars of Victoria helped fuel the momentum 

for a countywide junior college. Much of the talk 

centered around personal and community economics, 

themes that were inherent in the establishment 

of Victoria Junior College twenty-two 

years earlier. Figures were invariably quoted as to 

how much money was generated in Victoria by 

having the college located in the county, and how 

much money a family might save by having a son 

or daughter stay at home and attend a quality 

local college. The time had definitely arrived, so 

the advocates of the junior college agreed, to 

move forward and establish a first-class countywide 

junior college. 

A preliminary step was taken by the board 

when it approached the State Department of 

Education for approval of a new college. On July 

16, 1947, the chairman of the Victoria 

Independent School District’s junior college 


committee, Dr. Roy Lander, reported at a special 

board meeting that the state agency accepted the 

establishment of a Victoria County junior college. 

The trustees agreed to a motion by Cody 

Lentz that a petition be circulated calling for an 

election establishing a countywide junior college, 

setting a tax, and publicizing the needs for 

such a college. Lander and Albert York were 

charged with handling the publicity, Frank 

Guittard was responsible for arranging public 

meetings, and Lentz was given the task of circulating 

the petition. All four of the men carried 

out their responsibilities admirably. 27 

Lander, in announcing to the public the 

board’s decision to push for a countywide junior 

college, enumerated the reasons why there 

should be a separation of the college from the 

public school district. He cited the “needs and 

interests” of college students could not be properly 

met when the ages of students on the same 

campus ranged from eleven to over twentythree. 

Also, a county college “would be more 

attractive to rural students.” Furthermore, a separate 

campus would end “overlapping faculties, 

overlapping time schedules, overlapping use of 

rooms, auditoriums, rest rooms, tennis courts 

and gymnasium.” Moreover, a separate facility 

would create better school spirit, “a great asset to 

any educational institution.” Finally, the school 

district’s small tax base could only finance twelve 

grades whereas a county college “would provide 

a much stronger tax base and that a nominal tax 

rate levied on the valuation over the entire county 

would bring an adequate revenue and would 

not at the same time prove too much of a burden 

on any individual taxpayer.” 28 

The Advocate allied itself with Lander and the 

board. In an editorial trumpeting the benefits of 

a different arrangement for the college, the newspaper 

reiterated some of the points the committee 

chairman made but added that over the years 

the college had been successful; however, “the 

time is here, if not already passed, where plans 

must be made for the future, else it might die.” 

The Advocate went further. It prophesied that 

with “a proper physical plant adequately 

financed” the college will develop into a large 

educational institution and one day will have “a 

thousand young men and women…attending 

the school, which will become the pride and joy 

of 99 percent of the people of the county.” 29 

Meanwhile, anticipating the passage of the 

bond issue, the board drafted a second petition 

that called for electing a college board of 

trustees. The process for gathering and verifying 

the legally required number of signatures and 

final board approval was to be completed in time 

for Roach to present the college proposal to the 

State Board of Education on November 10, 

1947. Anticipating a positive vote by the state 

agency, the president planned to return from 

Austin on “the same day to present the petition 

to the County Commissioners” who, in turn, 

would call for an election. Since there was to be 

a road bond election in December, school officials 

expected December 2 to be the date set by 

the county. Having the two elections on the same 

day saved the school district and county money. 30 

Lentz who was in charge of circulating the 

petitions placed copies at the Man Shop, 

Manhattan Cafe, Krueger’s Restaurant, and the 

Victoria Typewriter Company. Neighborhoods 

were canvassed by Jewell Hudler and other volunteers. 

By October 26, the petitions had been 

signed by 909 city, county, and school district 

taxpayers. Eventually, there were over 1,000 signatures. 

This number exceeded the figure necessary 

to hold a bond election by ten percent. It 

also met the two percent requirement needed 

for the election of a board of trustees. 31 

On November 5, the board acted swiftly to 

verify the petitions and agreed to present them 

to the State Board of Education for approval. To 

sweeten its chances of securing consent from the 

state agency and enhancing the prospect of a 

favorable vote from the county’s electorate, the 

board proudly proclaimed “that if the election 

carries, no attempt should be made to collect 

the College tax on 1947 tax rolls.” The State 

Board of Education approved the application for 

a countywide college with alacrity on the morning 

of November 10. Roach hurriedly returned 

to Victoria from Austin and met with the 

Commissioners Court that afternoon. The local 

county officials set the election date for 

December 2. Now, it was the voters turn to 

express an opinion. 32 

As the countdown commenced to that all 

important date in December, no ascertainable 

opposition developed. Nevertheless, the supporters 

of a countywide college, taking nothing 

for granted, conducted an aggressive campaign. 


✯ 

Jewell Hudler, history and government 

instructor, used her personal influence 

to persuade individuals to vote for a 

countywide junior college. 

Roach opened the drive for the public’s vote. 

He cited the usual arguments—a countywide 

college would be good for the local economy 

and would alleviate the overcrowded facilities. 

Roach elaborated on the difficulties of 

having such a wide range of ages on a single 

campus. The president stated that the “different 

age groups in junior high, high school, and 

junior college require different environments, 

different school facilities and different 

regulations of their school life which cannot be 

properly achieved when all are housed 

together.” He also raised the terrible specter 

of lowering “the educational level” of Victoria 

by two years. Roach eloquently asserted that 

annually “50 to 65 percent of Victoria high 

school students go on to college here, while 

in areas with no local college only 20 percent 

of the high school graduates ever attend any 

higher school.” 33 


Individuals and civic organizations threw 

their support behind the bond election. Dave 

Calliham, a representative of the Junior 

Chamber of Commerce, appeared before the 

Victoria City Council and received permission 

for the organization to stencil on the sidewalks 

“get out and vote” signs as a means of motivating 

the taxpayers to cast a ballot in the 

December election. 34 

Jewell Hudler used the personal influence she 

built up over the years to persuade her friends 

and acquaintances to cast their ballots. 

Contributions were made by other instructors 

like Una T. Hunter who had her students write 

pro-college letters in longhand on notebook 

paper to businesses. The speech/drama students 

took the opportunity on college radio broadcasts 

to do promotional skits. Student Council members 

distributed posters and handbills and visited 

communities in the county asking for voters 

to support the establishment of the College. 35 

Leona Jones, business administration instructor 

and future Victoria College registrar, released 

in a timely fashion the results of a survey conducted 

by college students under her direction. 

According to Jones, the average Victoria Junior 

College student spent $64 a month in the community 

while attending the local college. The 

findings also indicated that one-third of the academic 

students were working “in the city or 

county and are earning an average of $45 a 

month.” The poll verified the statements that 

the college elevated the educational level of 

Victoria when 60 percent of the respondents 

answered, they would like to remain “in Victoria 

after finishing school.” 36 

At the request of the board, Dr. C. C. Colvert, 

consultant in junior college education at the 

University of Texas, made a whirlwind tour in 

Victoria on November 25. He was interviewed 

on KVIC at noon; spoke to an assemblage 

of women, arranged by the Victoria Council of 

Parent-Teacher Associations, at the high school 

auditorium in the afternoon; and addressed a 

joint session of service clubs which included 

Lions, Kiwanis, Rotary, and Junior Chamber of 

Commerce along with their special guests in the 

evening. His message was the same wherever he 

went in Victoria—the voters should establish 

a countywide junior college. Colvert argued that 

a junior college was essential for a community to 

have educated residents, be they academically 

prepared or technically trained. He was quoted 

as saying, “Out of every 500 students of college 

age, only 25 ever see the third year of college and 

still fewer ever receive the bachelor’s degree. It is 

up to the junior colleges to see that the other 475 

are prepared to make a living in this highly technical 

world.” Colvert challenged Victoria County 

“to equal the record made in Laredo last year 

when only three dissenting votes were cast 

against a county junior college.” 37 

A promotional rally, featuring free barbeque 

paid for by Albert York and sponsored by the 

board, was held in front of Smith-Fischer Hall on 

✯ 

Florine Bielstein and Ted Shields were 

popular sophomores in 1948. 


✯ 

Joseph Wearden was the first 

president of the board of trustees and 

a strong, enthusiastic supporter of 

the Victoria College. 

the Saturday preceding the Tuesday, December 2, 

election. F. S. “Ted” Shields, an active participant 

in college social activities, and two friends, 

including Adrian Brandes, were enlisted by York 

to travel around town in a car mounted with a 

“bull horn” on the day of the barbeque announcing 

the mass meeting and “get out the vote” for 

the college election. Shields recalled that he 

“went to Vogt’s Radio Shop and had the system 

attached to the top of my car. We then proceeded 

to drive all around town for about four 

hours…We also had a record machine in the car 

on which we would intersperse the talking with 

‘jitterbug’ and other popular music. I remember 

passing some places where employees or home 

people came out to the curb dancing and cutting 

up to the music, then we gave them our spiel. 

They raised their arms and yelled, ‘Yeah’ or ‘Yes’ 

or the like, then we let them have the music back 

and they would be dancing when we rounded the 

corner, only to be greeted by the same.” 38 

An opponent to a countywide college emerged 

and made a last-minute appeal to rural voters to 

cast ballots against the proposal. Unsigned post 

cards were received by the electorate living outside 

the city asking them to vote no on the countywide 

college issue. Using an inflated figure as to 

the cost of the college, the postcard stated that “A 

$3,000,000 Junior College is not needed in 

Victoria at this time as the present college is large 

enough to take care of the students now attending 

Victoria Junior College.” This limited negative 

vote campaign proved to be inadequate to stem 

the tide for a positive college vote. 39 

Few individuals in the county were surprised 

as to the outcome of the election. The voters 

approved the proposal 935-548. As expected, 

the proposition did exceedingly well in the city 

and poorly in the rural areas. A factor in the outcome 

was rain which began the night before the 

election and continued throughout the day the 

votes were cast. Because of the inclement weather, 

the rural turnout was lower than it would 

have been otherwise. The road bond issue, on 

the other hand, passed with a better than twothirds 

margin. Roads were obviously more 

important to rural voters than education. 40 

A seven-man board of trustees was elected to 

office with the passage of the college proposal. 

Receiving a plurality of votes from a slate of ten 

candidates were Dr. W. T. DeTar, Arvle Elliott, 

Joseph Wearden, Fred Proctor, Raymond Hill, Dr. 

C. P. Montier, and Winston L. Zirjacks. Also, with 

the adoption of the college issue, a tax of 20 cents 

on each $100 valuation of taxable property was 

accepted 895 to 565. 41 

Four days after the election, trustees of the 

Victoria Independent School District met with 

the newly elected college board in the high 

school homemaking laboratory. The school officials 

were served a lunch that was prepared by 

the homemaking students at Patti Welder High 

School and Victoria Junior College. The students 

were supervised by Mrs. Ollie Key and 

Mrs. Edith Moore, teachers in the public school. 

During the session, Gilbert V. Pritchard, college 

registrar and a notary public, administered the 


oath of office to the recently elected Victoria 

Junior College Board of Trustees. Afterwards, 

the college board adjourned and reassembled in 

another area of the school building and elected 

officers. Joseph Wearden, a businessman and a 

strong advocate for the creation of the college, 

was selected president. Winston Zirjacks, an 

employee of the Victoria National Bank and an 

alumnus of Victoria Junior College, was chosen 

vice president. Fred Proctor, an attorney, was 

the trustees’ preference for secretary. 42 

Although the college now had its own distinct 

governing board, the educational institution’s 

infrastructure remained the same. The college 

continued to be housed at Patti Welder, Roach 

retained the presidency, and Harbour remained 

the dean. What had changed was the way in 

which its financial matters were to be conducted. 

To that end, the board’s first major decision was 

to choose someone to handle the college’s business 

affairs. On January 12, 1948, the trustees 

met at 7:00 P.M. in the home of Dr. W. T. DeTar 

and appointed J. D. Moore, former Victoria 

Junior College dean, as business manager. Moore 

was given an office in the Victoria National Bank 

Building, and operated it without a secretary 

until Mrs. D. K. Harrel was employed in August. 43 

When the board made arrangements with the 

Victoria Independent School District to conduct 

the academic affairs of the college district, a 

stipulation agreed upon was that the school district 

was to operate a bus to and from Port 

Lavaca. Billie Rogers, a Port Lavaca resident who 

began her Victoria Junior College career in 

1948, was one of the passengers on the bus, 

which she described as a “touring car” affectionately 

referred to as the “Blue Beetle.” The vehicle 

was driven by a student who kept it overnight at 

his home. The riders, most of whom were nonscholarship 

football players, met at the Shell 

Fish restaurant and motored to Patti Welder. On 

the way to Victoria, a stop was made at Placedo 

to pick up students from Bloomington. 

Apparently, the trips were filled with joviality 

and all the riders had a terrific time. 44 

Moore’s immediate concern was to manage 

the tax revenues, monies that were to be used to 

pay the Victoria Independent School District for 

operating the college for the 1948-1949 academic 

year. The board interpreted the results of 

✯ 

The “Blue Beetle” made daily 

runs from Port Lavaca to the 

college campus. 


✯ 

Billie Rogers commuted from Port 

Lavaca in the “Blue Beetle.” 

the December election as a mandate to establish 

a Victoria County Junior College “as expeditiously 

as sound fiscal practice will permit.” To 

the trustees, when all of the financial considerations 

were weighed, “expeditiously” meant having 

a new campus complex in place by the 

beginning of the 1949 fall semester. The board 

emphasized its intent by adopting the slogan 

“Ready For September.” 45 

Since the trustees were determined to have a 

fully operational college by the end of the contract 

with the local public school board, the 

selection of a site for the college was intensified 

in the spring of 1948. There was considerable 

interest among members of the college board to 

acquire Aloe Field from the War Assets 

Administration for the agricultural program. 

There was also some consideration given to purchasing 

and removing the former air base’s hospital 

to a site in town and using it for classrooms. 

The board members, however, never 

seriously viewed Aloe Field becoming the permanent 

site for the primary campus. 46 

Meanwhile, several local college students 

were victorious at the District 9 junior college 

intercollegiate contest that was held in Victoria 

on March 25. Clarence Simon and Mary Ethel 

Wagoner placed first in the radio speech 

division. The two contestants were required 

to read a commercial, “a newscast and an original 

three-minute current events discussion.” 

Undoubtedly, involvement with the college 

radio broadcasts over KVIC were an important 

factor in their triumph. Virginia Taylor and 

Etta Lou Gentry won the girl’s debate competition. 

The topic was, “Resolved that a world 

federal government should be established,” 

an apropos subject for 1948. Betsy Wright 

was the winner in poetry interpretation. Merry 

Cadden picked up the winning trophy for 

girls’ oratory with a splendid presentation on 

“The Supreme Sacrifice.” Extemporaneous 

speech was won by Adrian Brandes. His talk was 

on Finland. 47 

As the speech competition and other extracurricular 

activities at the college went forth, so did 

the planning for the future of Victoria Junior 

College. In an attempt to secure community support, 

the board invited educators from Victoria 

and the surrounding counties to a banquet at the 

Denver Hotel. The affair was held on the evening 

of March 31, 1948, and was presided over by 

Wearden and Moore. Wearden in his opening 

remarks stated it was “imperative that the new 

college be ready to operate as a separate institution…at 

the beginning of the 1949-50 school 

year. To this end a bond issue is inevitable and it 

will be submitted to the voters of our county for 

their action at the earliest possible time.” To 

cultivate support for the college, a variety of committees, 

composed of faculty members and leading 

citizens from the Victoria region, were formed 

to assist with the college development program. 48 

Affirmation of Wearden’s comments on a 

bond election came quickly from the trustees. At 

its regular scheduled meeting on April 12, the 

board came out in favor of a bond issue of 

approximately $750,000 to purchase a site, 

finance the construction of buildings, and pay 

for the necessary furnishings. To hold a bond 

issue required a petition signed by 250 qualified 

voters. To be eligible to vote, an individual had 


to be a resident of Victoria County and to have 

paid a poll tax and a tax on property within the 

county. When the board commenced the petition 

process, it gave the county electorate some food 

for thought. The trustees expressed the opinion 

that the establishment of a countywide educational 

institution would distribute the financial 

costs over the entire county, and the educational 

programs offered by the college would provide 

students exposure to academic and vocational 

opportunities they would not otherwise have. 

Furthermore, the demand for junior colleges 

throughout the state was so great that if the 

county did not provide “adequate facilities one 

or more of the adjoining counties will assume 

leadership on the junior college level.” 49 

Signatures on the petition were hastily collected. 

In less than two weeks the number of people 

affixing their name to the proposition exceeded 

the minimum number required. When the board 

convened on May 10, 1948, it was presented a 

petition signed by 401 individuals. The trustees, 

thereafter, in an exuberant mood, set June 2 as 

the date for a bond issue of $750,000 and an 

increase of the tax rate from 20 cents per $100 

valuation to 50 cents. The supporters of the 

propositions had to act quickly, for they had less 

than a month to sell the bond issue and tax 

increase to enough voters to win the election. 50 

Wearden and Moore collaborated in their 

efforts and made the “mashed potato” circuit, 

speaking at civic club luncheons. When the two 

appeared at the Kiwanis Club, the president of 

the board spoke on the economic advantages 

the college provided the community. He further 

stated that the voters mandated that the trustees 

establish a college separate from the public 

school. In order to do this, Wearden remarked, 

the board suggests “a 30 cent additional 

tax…that will be required to build for them the 

kind of junior college we think they want, a college 

with the plant, the faculty, and the curriculum 

to adequately serve the needs of our community 

including vocational as well as academic 

training.” So convinced was the president that 

the proposals were proper ones, he commented 

✯ 

Making a recording in the late 1940s 

for “The Junior College On the Air” 

program, which was broadcast each 

Monday and Wednesday over station 

KVIC, are (left to right) Etta Lou 

Gentry, Betty Lou Glass, Darrell 

Patrick, and Lillian Miori. 


✯ 

Who said “Cheese?” 

that he could “see no logical basis for opposition 

to this issue.” When Moore’s turn came to speak, 

he gave a breakdown on how the funds were to 

be spent. The business manager “stressed the 

need for the right site, and for one large enough 

to take care of future growth.” 51 

As before in the first election, the Student 

Council extended a helping hand by holding at 

the college a round-up designed principally for 

alumni, but the public was welcome to attend. 

Johnny Goldsum, Student Council president, 

and members of the organization received 

donations from the business community to provide 

free barbeque and proper trimmings for 

the guests. V. T. Kallus, one of the finest cooks 

who ever graced an apron, was in charge of 

preparing the food. Gibb Gilchrist, president of 

Texas A&M College, was the invited speaker. 

Prior to making his presentation to those in 

attendance on May 26, Gilchrist qualified his 

remarks with a disclaimer of taking sides in the 

bond issue. He did admit that his comments 

tilted toward junior colleges in general. In his 

presentation Gilchrist elaborated on the growth 

of junior colleges in Texas; the need for twoyear 

colleges, especially with the trend toward 

specialization at the senior universities; and 

financial assistance from the state to the junior 

colleges. At one point during the speech, the 

Texas A&M president turned toward Wearden 

and remarked in a serious tone, “I believe that 

the junior college movement is going to succeed.” 

Gilchrist closed his talk with a statement 

aimed directly at the college officials and 

endorsed the junior college concept. He said, 

“There can be no greater service to the community 

and the state than such a move.” 52 

So that the taxpayers would have some visual 

relationship as to how their money was to be 

spent, the board employed architect Kai J. 

Leffland and structural engineer Jordan C. Ault 

to come up with a proposed college campus. 

The architectural firm, with input from Moore, 

who had visited junior college campuses 

throughout Texas, designed a smartly laid out 

campus, the centerpiece being a two-story 


administration building that was to house 

offices and classrooms. Other buildings included 

a 400-seat auditorium, a gymnasium, a cafeteria 

that was also to function as a student 

union, a domestic science cottage, a farm and 

mechanical shop building, and a structure for 

the caretaker. An athletic field and tennis courts 

were also neatly arranged on the grounds. When 

the suggested campus was made known, 

Wearden proudly announced that all facilities 

would be available for use by the public. With 

the rural voters in mind, he chose to mention the 

“FFA boys, 4-H boys and girls, home demonstration 

women and other city and farm groups” 

who could take advantage of the buildings. 53 

Voter turnout was lighter than the trustees 

and the media expected. Unlike the inclement 

weather during the preceding year’s college election, 

June 2 was a remarkably nice day. A total 

of 1,228 votes were cast. The Advocate in disgust 

noted that “At a regular primary election, almost 

this number voted in the large Precinct 5 box 

alone.” Nevertheless, the outcome was favorable 

for the college supporters. The margin of victory, 

however, was razor thin. The proposition to 

increase the tax carried by only twenty-four 

votes, 615 to 591. A somewhat better differential 

was reserved for the proposal to issue bonds, 

passing 621 to 574, a margin of forty-seven 

votes. As in the previous college election, the 

majority of rural precincts voted against the tax 

increase, and most of the city voters supported 

the proposition. Wearden was convinced that 

the figures were misleading. He was positive the 

college had greater support than the election 

reflected. To reassure the supporters they had 

voted properly and to allay concerns of those 

who opposed the college, the president commented, 

“It is our ambition to so administer the 

funds we are entrusted with as to obtain maximum 

value for every dollar expended and to 

make the college serve the best interests of all 

the people.” His statement set the course that 

college officials have navigated over the years. 54 

At its July 12, 1948, meeting, the board made 

a monumental decision. The trustees unanimously 

selected J. D. Moore as president of the Victoria 

Junior College. He retained the position of business 

manager. Their choice of Moore was wise 

and prudent. The simple fact being they could 

not have found a more qualified person to organize 

a first-class educational institution in the community. 

Moore’s academic and civic credentials 

were impressive. He received a bachelor of arts 

degree and a master of arts from North Texas 

State College. His master’s thesis title was “The 

Insuring of Public School Properties.” Moore’s 

teaching career included a year’s stint as principal 

at Salesville, a three-teacher school in Palo Pinto 

County. His next stop was at Dublin, Texas, 

where he was principal of the public high school. 

He stayed in Dublin for a year before moving to 

El Campo High School as principal and athletic 

director. Moore spent six years in El Campo. He 

left the school in 1941 for employment as principal 

of Patti Welder High School and dean of 

✯ 

Betsy Wright has just told 

Philip Tibiletti some interesting 

campus gossip. 


✯ 

The Best Looking Freshmen for 1949 

were Dudley Jordan and Everette 

Schmidt. 

Victoria Junior College. Moore resigned that position 

to become secretary-manager of the Victoria 

Chamber of Commerce. He later entered business 

with Ed Dysart, a former Victoria Junior College 

dean. Moore served as president of the Victoria 

Rotary Club, campaign chairman of the Victoria 

County United War Chest of Texas, chairman of 

the district Boy Scout Committee, and campaign 

chairman for the Victoria County Red Cross. 

Moore developed strong personal ties with the 

members of the various organizations that were 

invaluable during his presidency. 55 

Standing over six feet tall and with an athletic 

physique, Moore’s presence in a room was 


immediately noticeable. He was stern, domineering, 

sometimes curt and opinionated—yet fair. 

Although he was a fiscal conservative, the new 

president was not an ideologue, making at times 

bold financial judgments. Always in tune with 

local public opinion, he anticipated what policy 

decisions were acceptable and valuable to the 

community. His demand for a day’s work from 

college employees matched his own 

work ethic. Astute at recognizing his personal 

limitations, seldom admitting that any existed, 

he hand-picked knowledgeable associates. 

Although he was a delegator, Moore invariably 

had an understanding of what was transpiring 

✯ 

Merry Cadden and Robert Blanar 

appear to be dressed to go to the 

nearest malt shop. 


✯ 

Hilary Matthews and Mary E. 

Wagoner ponder life after Victoria 

Junior College. 

on the campus. He was a loving father and husband 

and considered the college employees as an 

extended family, with himself as the patriarch. At 

a time when benefits were virtually non-existent, 

he saw to it that yearly contracts were honored if 

an employee died before the academic year 

ended. Moore accepted squabbling among the 

faculty so long as it was confined to the campus. 

The president was tolerant provided the deviations 

did not require compromising his principles. 

Uppermost in his actions was the college 

itself. The question he continually asked himself 

and the faculty was, what can be done to make 

the educational institution top-flight? 56 


Also of utmost importance to the board was 

the selection of a site for the college. Aloe Field 

kept cropping up in the trustees’ conversations. 

The closed airfield seemed at first to be the logical 

location. However, at the suggestion of 

Moore, the base was dropped from the list of 

prospective locations. The junior college president-elect 

pointed out that the college would be 

stuck with old buildings that would retard or 

prevent the development of a quality educational 

institution demanded by the board and community. 

It was the opinion of Moore that the taxpayers 

would not support a bond issue to 

replace “run down” buildings. Other drawbacks 

to Aloe Field were that it was too far from town, 

and the War Assets Administration reserved the 

right to regain ownership of the property. 57 

The board also considered, at the suggestion 

of Fred Proctor, land owned by Tom O’Connor, 

Sr., that faced Laurent Street and was between 

Airline Road and Mesquite Lane, presently the 

site of Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church 

and the Town Plaza Shopping Center. Proctor 

looked into the possible purchase and received 

information that thirty acres were available. 

However, the board did not follow up with an 

offer. Instead, the trustees turned their attention 

to an area that lay southeast of the 

O’Connor land. 58 

Vice president Winston Zirjacks brought to 

the attention of the trustees that the Brownson 

Home, a charitable organization, possessed 

property located north of the old Edna Highway, 

a half mile east of the city limits and north of the 

Boulevard Addition, it would sell. Thereafter, 

the board was consumed in buying the 

Brownson Home land. On August 27, 1948, the 

governing body adopted a motion to purchase 

forty acres of the 160 acre Brownson Home tract 

for $500.00 per acre. Moore reported to the 

board on September 28 that the transaction with 

the seller had been completed on September 25. 

The arrangement provided for the purchase of 

40.023 acres at a cost of $20,011.50. 59 

After securing the site, the board next ventured 

into the construction of an administration 

building. The architectural firm of Leffland and 

Ault was hired to draft a plan for the building 

that contained approximately 24,000 square 

feet “and will provide space for administrative 

offices, library, science and mathematics departments, 

business administration, art, social science 

and language arts departments.” When the 

drawings for the structure were completed, they 

were placed out for bids. On November 9, E. J. 

Gerdes of Victoria was awarded the contract to 

construct the building. His bid of $208,980 was 

the lowest of the seven that were submitted. The 

work was to begin immediately. 60 

Anticipating the construction and the eventual 

annexation of the college property, the city 

laid a six-inch water main to the campus. Since 

the building program was on a fast tract, V. E. 

Atkinson, city water superintendent, used “all of 

the city water department crew” to lay the pipe. 

Subsequently, August Grath, Victoria County 

Commissioner, prepared the adjoining streets 

for paving. 61 

As soon as the board awarded the contract 

for the construction of the administration building, 

it commenced the process to construct the 

student union/gymnasium, reviewing blueprints 

drawn by Leffland and Ault. At a special board 

meeting on February 10, 1949, Baass Brothers 

Concrete Company received the right to build 

the student union/gymnasium for $136,000. 

The structure was to be completed before school 

opened in September. 62 

The board planned to construct two additional 

buildings, an industrial arts shop and a 

homemaking cottage. The industrial arts building 

was to house “a drafting room, wood shop, 

metal shop, lecture room and offices for the 

director of the veterans vocational program 

and the dean of the evening and adult school.” 

Low bidder on the project was D. W. Marshall 

who submitted a figure of $74,500. The last of 

the original four buildings to go out for bids 

was the homemaking cottage. The structure 

was to consist of some 3,000 square feet of 

floor space and was to “house clothing and 

food labs, dining room, living room, two 

porches, office space and storage facilities.” 

Baass Brothers Concrete Company with a bid 

of $54,000 became the general contractor to 

construct the cottage and erect covered walkways 

connecting the four buildings. The covering 

shielded students and faculty from the torrential 

rains that occasionally visited the area 

and became closely identified with the educational 

institution. As the years went by and the 

campus grew, these protected walkways 


✯ 

The 1949-50 Victoria College Board 

of Trustees were (left to right) Dr. C. 

P. Montier, Raymond Hill, Joseph 

Wearden, Arvle Elliott, and Winston 

Zirjacks. Not pictured are Fred 

Proctor, Jr., and A. D. Magruder. 

became relics of a bygone era. They eventually 

began to show the effects of time and were 

viewed as aesthetically unappealing by the 

administration. The covered walkways were 

razed in the summer of 1998, to the vexation 

of faculty members who had come to appreciate 

their existence. 63 

Because the site for new buildings was unimproved 

coastal prairie, some type of landscaping 

was a must to beautify the grounds. 

Wearden took the lead in enlivening the campus 

by donating six live oak trees from his 

Jackson County ranch. Three of the trees were 

placed near the location of the proposed student 

union, another was planted in the proximity 

of the cottage, and “one at each end of the 

administration building.” Later, 29 one-inch 

Virginia live oaks were planted. 64 

Meanwhile, at Patti Welder, college and high 

school industrial arts students under the supervision 

of William H. “Doc” Steele, and vocational 

students in the veterans program, which 

was directed by P. J. McEnroe, Jr., constructed 

classroom equipment for the college campus. 

Physics and chemistry tables, shelving, and 

miscellaneous furniture were produced by the 

students at a substantial saving of money for the 

college district. Steele was contracted by the 

board “to paint, repair, and redecorate school 

equipment during the summer months.” The 

furnishings to be repaired and painted included 

“facilities received from the War Assets 

Administration and desks, tables, shelves, etc. 

to be bought for the opening of the college in 

September.” The new or refinished furniture 

was stored in the administration building before 

being moved to the offices and classrooms. 65 

During the board meeting on January 10, 

1949, the trustees selected The Victoria 

College as the new name for the junior college. 

The name change gave the institution a separate 

identity and recognized that it represented 

the entire county rather than the limited area 

of the Victoria Independent School District. 

The word “junior” was dropped from the name 

because of objections from some of the board 

members who thought “junior” was often 

defined to mean “little, small, or of inferior status,” 

and, thus, projected the wrong image for 

the college. Why the trustees placed “The” 


efore Victoria remains unclear. A story that 

circulated among the faculty for years was that 

“The” distinguished the two-year college from 

a beauty school referred to as Victoria College. 

Administrators at the junior college gave no 

credence to the rumor. 66 

With the building program underway, 

Moore turned his attention periodically to the 

employment of a faculty. From the outset, the 

president was determined to bring to the campus 

the best qualified individuals he could 

find, a trademark of the college since its inception 

in 1925. He did not look far. Moore 

dipped into the talented pool of teachers at 

Patti Welder who possessed a wide-spread reputation 

for their professionalism, were heralded 

by former and current students as outstanding 

educators, and were teaching college 

courses. Jewell Hudler was tapped as dean of 

women and social sciences teacher. The suave, 

friendly Ed C. Shinn was appointed dean of 

men, head track coach, and assistant football 

coach. Leona Jones was employed as student 

personnel director and business administration 

instructor. B. F. Harbour, dean of Victoria 

Junior College and an esteemed school administrator, 

became dean of adult education and 

the evening school. The Industrial Arts 

Department was entrusted to William H. “Doc” 

Steele, a man who had more bark than bite. 

Employed to teach biology was Lucille Adair. 

The Art Department was placed in the hands of 

the gentle, soft-spoken Ethel Thurmond, a 

member of a pioneer Victoria family and who 

held the distinction of being listed in Who’s 

Who in American Art. She was commissioned by 

Moore to do a large size painting to hang in the 

foyer of the Administration Building. Una T. 

Hunter who had taught language arts classes 

for several years at the junior college was hired 

to continue her teaching at the new location. 

Mathematics and physics courses were to be 

taught by the overly possessive Roland Beard, 

an outstanding lay archeologist who assisted in 

the restoration of the Presidio La Bahia in 

Goliad County. The energetic Esther Etzel 

accepted the position of recreation director 

and instructor of physical education. Hester W. 

“Stump” Evans who was coaching football and 

basketball at Victoria Junior College continued 

in that capacity at the Victoria College. The 

personable Lois Parker was selected as the 

librarian to oversee the 5,000 volume collection. 

Rounding out the initial faculty, were J. D. 

Howell, Mrs. Roy G. Browne, Roy Browne, V. T. 

Kallus, Jewell Sockwell, Broyles Hall, W. A. 

Routt, Allen Self, Harold Gardner, and Mary 

Ann Williams. 67 

What Moore needed to complete his grand 

design for a pace-setting junior college was a 

dynamic individual who possessed impeccable 

educational and personal credentials, who 

understood how to develop a curriculum that 

would meet the demands of transferability, who 

could, through his leadership, quickly gain the 

confidence of the faculty, and who could be 

relied upon to manage the academic demands 

of the college. He found such a person in Dr. 

John W. Stormont who was then dean of 

Schreiner Institute. 

Stormont, the son of a Presbyterian minister, 

was reared in Robstown. He received a 

bachelor of arts degree from Austin College, an 

M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas. 

His educational career included a stint as principal 

and coach at Edna High School, high 

school principal and superintendent in 

Yorktown, principal of Robstown High School, 

and assistant professor of history at the Texas 

College of Mines, now known as University of 

Texas at El Paso. Stormont was head of the 

Social Studies Department at Schreiner prior to 

his entry into the Army Air Corps in 1943. 

After his discharge from the service in 1946, he 

returned to Schreiner as dean. While Stormont 

was employed in the Edna school system, he 

met a local girl, Mary Claire Fenner, who 

became his bride. 68 

Instrumental in acquiring the services of 

Stormont was Joseph Wearden, president of the 

board at Victoria College. Wearden and 

Stormont were acquaintances and held mutual 

respect for each other. He drew upon his personal 

influence with the dean to persuade 

Stormont to accept a position at the college. 

After Stormont agreed to become the dean of the 

day school, Moore remarked, “The college 

administration is highly pleased to have a man 

of his caliber and experience.” The presidentelect 

further stated, “He will be a definite asset 

to the school.” Stormont, without a doubt, was 

an asset to the college. 69 Adios, Patti Welder ✦ 65

ENDNOTES 

1 

Victoria Independent School District Board Minutes, 14 August 1946. 

2 

Registrar’s Records, The Victoria College; The Victoria Advocate, 11 August 1946, 9 September 1946, 12 September 1946; The Victorian, 

27 November 1946. 

3 

VISD Minutes, 24 August 1946; Advocate, 4 November 1946, 26 November 1946. 

4 

The Victorian, 17 October 1947; Advocate, 27 November 1946. 

5 

The Victorian, 30 January 1947; Advocate, 20 January 1947, 23 January 1947; VISD Minutes, 5 February 1947. 

6 

Advocate, 19 February 1947; The Victorian, 5 February 1947, 19 February 1947, 14 April 1947. 

7 

Advocate, 6 March 1947; VISD Minutes, 16 April 1947. 

8 

Advocate, 18 July 1946, 23 July 1946. 

9 

The Handbook of Victoria County (Austin: The Texas State Historical Association, 1990), 1; Ibid., 26 March 1947; VISD Minutes, 

7 April 1947; The Victorian, 30 April 1947. 

10 

The Victorian, 16 April 1947. 

11 


12 

Ibid. 

13 

VISD Minutes, 24 June 1947; Advocate, 1 July 1947. 

14 


15 

VISD Minutes, 3 September 1947; Ibid., 4 September 1947. 

16 

Advocate, 4 September 1947. 

17 


18 

Ibid., 7-8 September 1947. 

19 


20 


21 

Ibid., 29 August 1947, 7 September 1947; Registrar’s Records, Victoria College. 

22 

Advocate, 4 September 1947, 4 March 1948; The Pirate, 1948. 

23 

Jerry Lenz, interview with author, 29 May 1998. 

24 

Ibid. 

25 

Ibid. 

26 

Ibid. 

27 

VISD Minutes, 16 July 1947. 

28 


29 


30 


31 

Ibid., 15 August 1947, 26 October 1947, 6 November 1947. 

32 

VISD Minutes, 5 November 1947; Ibid., 6 November 1947, 10-11 November 1947. 

33 

Advocate, 16 November 1947. 

34 

Ibid., 18 November 1947. 

35 

Ibid., 24 November 1947, 26 November 1947; Lenz, interview. 

36 


37 

Advocate, 26 November 1947; VISD Minutes, 16 July 1947. 

38 

Ted Shields, letter to author, 21 January 1996. 

39 


40 

Ibid., 4 December 1947; Victoria County Clerk’s Election Return Records. 

41 

Advocate, 23 November 1947, 4 December 1947; Victoria County Clerk’s Election Return Records. 

42 

VISD Minutes, 16 December 1947; Advocate, 17 December 1947. 

43 

Advocate, 13 January 1948, 10 August 1948. 

44 

The Victoria College Board Minutes, 11 February 1948; Billie Rogers Slotnick, interview with author, 28 January 1997. 

45 

Advocate, 13 January 1948, 30 January 1949; VC Minutes, 11 February 1948. 

46 

Advocate, 5 March 1948, 1 April 1948. 


47 


48 

Ibid., 31 March 1948, 1 April 1948. 

49 

Ibid., 13-15 May 1948, 22 April 1948. 

50 

VC Minutes, 10 May 1948; Ibid., 11 May 1948. 

51 

Advocate, 17 May 1948, 27 May 1948. 

52 

Ibid., 25-27 May 1948. 

53 

Ibid., 30 May 1948. 

54 

Ibid., 3-4 June 1948, 6 June 1948. 

55 

Ibid., 13 July 1948. 

56 

Ibid. 

57 

J. D. Moore, interview with author, 12 June 1998. 

58 

Ibid. 

59 

VC Minutes, 27 August 1948, 28 September 1948; Advocate, 26 September 1948. 

60 

Advocate, 26 September 1948, 10 November 1948. 

61 

Ibid., 17 October 1948, 11 January 1949. 

62 

Ibid., 11 February 1949. 

63 

Ibid., 24 March 1949, 8 April 1949, 28 April 1949, 13 May 1949. 

64 

Ibid., 11 January 1949, 30 January 1949, 15 March 1949. 

65 

Ibid., 15 February 1949; William H. Steele, telephone interview with author, 16 June 1998. 

66 

Advocate, 11 January 1949, 23 October 1949. 

67 

Ibid., 30 January 1949, 21 August 1949. 

68 

Ibid., 8 May 1949. 

69 

Ibid. 

Endnotes ✦ 67


CHAPTER 4 

THE DYNAMIC DUO 

Victoria College presidents come and Victoria College presidents go. Victoria College deans come 

and Victoria College deans go. That is the way it has been, and that is the way it will be. Yet, one 

Victoria College president, J. D. Moore, and one Victoria College dean, John W. Stormont, shall forever 

occupy a preeminent place on the college’s historical landscape. It was these two paragons of 

virtue who laid the foundation for the college to become an esteemed institution of higher education 

and who left lofty administrative standards for their successors to emulate. 

When the college was initially organized, it had two deans. But, in July 1949, B. F. Harbour 

resigned as dean of adult education and evening school. At the suggestion of Moore, the board eliminated 

Harbour’s position and combined it with Stormont’s, thereby producing a singular dean, a 

framework that served the college well for some forty years. 1 

During the spring of 1949, a survey was conducted which indicated that 26 African Americans 

were interested in taking academic courses. Because racial segregation was mandated by state law, 

Moore and Stormont held meetings in the F. W. Gross School auditorium and discussed with prospective 

black students a branch campus to accommodate their educational needs. The findings convinced 

college officials that sufficient enthusiasm, primarily from veterans, existed to offer classes at 

Gross. At the end of registration, nineteen black students were enrolled. 2 

As Stormont went about the job of establishing class schedules, he designated a period that was 

to be set aside each week for club activities. The dean thought clubs were a good vehicle to build 

school spirit. Such groups also compensated for the board’s decision to forbid “fraternities, sororities, 

and all types of secret organizations” because they were “contrary to democratic principles of education.” 

After the college moved to its new location, with support from the administration, the formation 

of student associations expanded. Included among the clubs established were the Aggie Club, 

the Art Club, College Forum, Baptist Student Union, and Newman Club. Although interested in 

politics himself, Stormont was not receptive to the idea of creating political clubs and, therefore, 

discouraged their establishment. He thought partisan groups might lead to divisiveness within the 

student body. 3 

To cultivate a semblance of harmony with the local business community, Moore forbade the student 

organizations from soliciting funds that could be construed as a competing activity. The edict included 

selling ads for the newspaper or annual, conducting a bake sale, or wrapping holiday packages. Moore 

insisted that adequate operating funds for clubs would be provided in the college budget. 

College officials expanded their enrollment horizons by establishing additional bus routes to the 

surrounding communities. Accommodations were made with Victoria County School Superintendent 

R. C. Pickett to transport students living within the county on buses operated under his authority. A 

contract was awarded to the Port Lavaca Transportation Company, owned by William Fly, James 

Loyd, and Billy Murphy, which gave the company exclusive right to operate buses over three designated 

routes. One bus departed each morning from Yoakum, picking up students from Cuero and 

Hallettsville. A second bus ran from Edna with stops at Vanderbilt and Inez. The third bus left from 

Port Lavaca and picked up students at Placedo and Bloomington. The terminus of the bus routes was 

the east side of the Administration Building. Stormont arranged the schedule of classes in such a 

manner that the students riding buses began classes at 9:15 a.m. and ended them by 3:25 p.m., permitting 

the students to be at home by 5:00 p.m. Whereas Victoria County students rode free, the 

charge from Edna, Port Lavaca, and Cuero was four dollars a month. Yoakum students were assessed 

five dollars per month. 4 

Work, work, hustle, hustle could have been words spoken by William H. “Doc” Steele to the county 

prisoners he supervised prior to the beginning of classes on September 15, 1949. Furniture had 

to be placed in rooms, terrazzo waxed, restrooms cleaned and supplied, and glass windows shined. 

✯ 

J. D. Moore, first president of the 

Victoria College. 

The Dynamic Duo ✦ 69

✯ 

Dr. John W. Stormont served as dean 

of the Victoria College from 1949 

to 1964. 

Moore would not tolerate any excuses. He 

expected an orderly opening of the college. 5 

A major component of the campus was the 

library. The first library director was Lois Parker 

who served as librarian at Patti Welder. She 

applied for the position at the college because 

“the possibility of building a new collection and 

a library service organized more specifically for 

the needs of college students seemed an exciting 

challenge.” After being elected to the Victoria 

College faculty, Parker and the high school 

teachers divided the existing library materials 

between the two educational institutions. “It 

was agreed,” she remarked, “that the new college 

district could select such books and other 

library materials as had been purchased primarily 

for college courses.” Most of the periodicals 

at Patti Welder were considered best suited for 

high school students; the college, therefore, 

chose to claim “relatively few files of bound 

periodicals,” such as Foreign Affairs. The decision 

was also made “not to purchase reference 

sets, preferring to purchase the most recent editions 

from other sources,” assuring “an up-todate 

reference collection in the beginning.” After 

the weeding process was finished and new 

books were bought, the college library began 

with fewer than 1,000 volumes. 6 

Parker insisted that the major constraints in 

readying the library for opening day were time 

and personnel. “The library staff,” she recalled, 

“consisted of one professional librarian and student 

assistants, and the weeks were flying by. 

The shelves were by no means filled that first 

September.” Compared to the surroundings 

from whence Parker came, the new college 

library was undeniably an improvement. It was 

located on the west end of the first floor of the 

Administration Building, making it conveniently 

located for students. The library room was 

furnished with “tables, comfortable chairs to 

match, special magazine shelving, newspaper 

racks, a browsing table and occasional arm 

chairs…And it was designed for college students!!! 

The seating capacity was about 54…An 

adjoining alcove afforded space for a quiet conference, 

a work area with running water—luxuries 

not previously available!” 7 

A bookmark distributed by the library for several 

years embodied the library’s ideals. It stated: 

While you are a student in The 

Victoria College, we hope that 

you find in this library: 

…a collection of resources 

which will supplement the content 

of your course of study. 

…an environment in which 

you can study effectively. 

…a stimulating encounter 

with the ideas set forth in books. 

Not all of the buildings were ready for use 

when the college formally opened. Days and 


weeks would pass before the Industrial Arts 

Building, the Home Economics Cottage, the 

Student Union, and the Gymnasium were available 

for student use. The parking lot and driving 

area were graveled until asphalt was laid. 

The Student Union posed a particular problem 

for the college personnel. The building’s equipment 

had arrived before the exterior doors were 

hung. There was uneasiness among the college 

officials over vandalism should the edifice be 

left unattended. Moore was the least perturbed 

over the issue. He handled the matter himself by 

becoming the night watchman and “spent the 

entire night in the Student Union.” 8 

Day enrollment figures surpassed Stormont’s 

prediction of 250. When registration ended, 

there were 287 enrolled in the day classes, seventy-seven 

in evening school, and nineteen at 

the Gross branch. The number of students 

attending day classes represented an increase of 

seventy-six from the preceding fall semester. 

Enrollment in the night classes doubled. In 

1948, there were thirty-eight students whereas 

in 1949 the figure was seventy-seven. To say the 

least, the numbers caused the college officials to 

break into smiles. 9 

Classes commenced promptly at 9:00 a.m. 

on September 15, 1949. Stormont was a stickler 

for classes beginning and ending when scheduled. 

The first day, however, was abbreviated. A 

college assembly was held at 11:00 a.m. in the 

library, and afterwards the students were dismissed. 

As what would become custom for 

assemblies and faculty meetings, Stormont welcomed 

the students and faculty before relinquishing 

the floor to Moore. The dean began the 

assembly with Psalm 127:1 which deeply 

touched Lois Parker. Stormont’s remarks proved 

her impression of the dean was correct: “Here is 

a man of faith whose hope for this institution is 

that it be developed upon sound principles and 

with absolute integrity.” 10 

The program itself was not lengthy. The 

Reverend Charles Hill, pastor of the Trinity 

Episcopal Church, gave the invocation. Moore 

made a few statements inviting each student “to 

✯ 

Lois Parker, librarian, checks out a 

book to Edith Harrell. The library was 

located on the first floor of the 

Administration Building. 


✯ 

The Home Economics Cottage 

had the most complete and 

modern furnishings. 

feel just as much a part of the college program 

as the teachers, Mr. Stormont, and myself.” The 

dean made the perfunctory announcements, J. 

D. Howell gave his typical energetic pep talk, 

the head football coach, Hester “Stump” Evans, 

introduced his assistants, and a rally was conducted 

by the preceding year’s cheerleaders 

(Lillian Miori, Betty Lou Glass, Mary Gladys 

Bauer, Billy Mullen, and Rudy Duran). 11 

Excitement abounded among the students 

and the community sports fans with the return 

of scholarship football in the fall of 1949. In 

what was a rare public demonstration of boosterism 

for Evans, the coach at a noon meeting of 

the Kiwanis Club stated, “We’ve got a good college 

out there, and we’ve got a good football 

team to go along with it.” His comment was 

undoubtedly accurate. The team won seven 

games and lost two. The squad was a title contender 

until the closing moments of the final 

game against Wharton Junior College, losing the 

contest 26 to 20. 12 

Since there was no campus housing available 

for the athletes, a surplus barracks building near 

Will Rogers Terrace, an area west of Laurent 

Street between Red River Street and Airline Drive, 

was rented from Henry Matchett. Although not a 

resident in the structure, Kemper Williams, Jr., a 

former St. Joseph High School football player 

who received an athletic scholarship at Victoria 

College, recalled that “it was an animal house.” 

The players who lived there, needless to say, 

enjoyed their stay. 13 

Playing football for the college was a 

delightful experience for Williams. His inaugural 

year was 1948-1949. He was 17 years 

old and weighed 165 pounds. Williams “got to 

play in most games that first year primarily 

because…[the team] had many veterans of 

World War II who would lose their tempers 

and get thrown out of games.” He was introduced 

to plastic helmets, an advance over the 

leather headgear that Williams was accustomed 

to at St. Joe. In the 1940s, helmets were 


not fitted with face guards and there were no 

teeth protectors. Williams and his team mates 

“had scabs on the bridge” of their noses 

“because the helmet would crash down…nearly 

every time” a player was involved in a collision 

with another player. 14 

Extracurricular activities, such as football, 

club news, and other items of interest to the 

student body were printed in the new school 

newspaper, The Jolly Roger. The name for the 

newspaper was selected by the Student Council 

from a list of more than twenty-seven names 

suggested by the students. Submitting the winning 

entry was Billy Mullen who thought that 

since the college was using the nickname 

“Pirates,” the Jolly Roger was appropriate. 

Mullen received as a prize a year’s subscription 

to be sent to an individual of his choice. He 

designated Mike Marlin, a friend, as the benefactor 

of the award. The editor of the inaugural 

publication was Joe Heiling and Jimmy Morris 

was the managing editor. By the spring semester, 

Pat Terry was installed as the editor. 15 

Campus improvements continued into the 

fall. Central Power and Light erected a flagpole 

that was donated by Charles Jacobson, superintendent 

of Barnsdall Oil Company. Eleven date 

palms, each eight feet tall, were placed in the 

esplanade that was in front of the Administration 

Building. An area between the esplanade and the 

building was hard-surfaced for parking. The 

main paved parking lot for the campus was 

located between the Administration Building 

and the Student Union. 16 

In March 1950, the board decided to construct 

a two-story boys’ dormitory. Moore gave as 

reasons for the building a shortage of living quarters 

for men, and the need for on-campus housing 

for athletes. The president remarked, “There 

is a demand for facilities. And none are available.” 

The rate for room and board at the new dormitory 

was initially set at sixty dollars a month. 17 

The highlight of the spring semester was the 

official inauguration of Moore as president on 

April 14. The event had been planned earlier in 

the year but was postponed, partly because the 

campus buildings and landscaping had not been 

completed. Stormont was placed in charge of 

putting together this historic affair. Invitations 

were sent to administrative officials at all the 

colleges and universities in Texas, United States 

Representative Clark W. Thompson, selected 

individuals at the private and public schools in 

the area, and parents of the college students. To 

maximize attendance at the inauguration, the 

public was invited through press releases. 18 

Afternoon classes on Friday, April 14, were 

dismissed. An open house was held on the campus 

preceding the 5:30 p.m. inaugural dinner at 

the Denver Hotel. Instructors and students 

served as guides as the crowd meandered among 

buildings all of which were decorated with 

exhibits that emphasized student activities. 19 

✯ 

Above: Dan Kubola (left), standing 

alongside Robert Weisiger, waits for 

the outcome of the coin flip at the 

beginning of a game in 1949. 

Below: Pirate cheerleaders for 1949-50 

were (left to right) Betty Lou Glass, 

Lillian Miori, Barbara Banks, and Billy 

Mullen. 


✯ 

Top: The first Victoria College 

Basketball Team, 1949-50. Kneeling 

(left to right): Dalphard Coleman, 

Buddy Brock, Billy Evans, Bobby Van 

Zant, and Glenn Warren. Standing 

(left to right): Gene Hutchins, James 

Friedel, Robert Capps, Ken Jarratt, 

Richard Kinsel, and Dan Moody. 

Below: Bus service was provided to 

students from Port Lavaca and 

other communities. 

At the evening banquet, Winston Zirjacks, 

vice president of the board, welcomed the 

guests and the Reverend Avery Rogers, pastor of 

the First Baptist Church, gave the invocation. 

The featured speaker at the evening banquet 

was Dr. E. L. Harwin, president of Del Mar 

College. He was introduced by toastmaster 

Joseph Wearden, president of the Victoria 

College Board of Trustees. In his presentation, 

Harwin discussed what he considered to be the 

qualities of a good college president. The Del 

Mar president remarked that among the various 

attributes was being a good businessman, and if 

Moore was not one, “he won’t succeed with 

Victoria College.” Harwin also stated, “Your 

leader must lead the community in its thinking, 

but very gradually, because all communities 

move gradually. In educational philosophy, they 

move slowly.” The educator from Corpus Christi 

cited several other qualities and closed with the 

observation, “I think J. D. Moore meets all these 

requirements.” True, indeed. 20 

The banquet ended at 7:00 p.m., allowing the 

guests time to travel to the college gym for the 

7:30 p.m. inaugural program. A crowd estimated 

at 500 attended the ceremony. The proceedings 

for the evening were reminiscent of an old-time 

camp meeting without the “jerks” or the verbal 

outbursts. T. A. Roach, superintendent of the 

Victoria Independent School District, was master 

of ceremonies. Stormont was scheduled to provide 

the welcoming comments, but he became ill 

on Friday afternoon, leaving the task to Arvle 

Elliott, a member of the board. The inaugural 

address was made by Dr. Clyde C. Colvert, professor 

and consultant in junior college education 

at the University of Texas. His presentation, 

broadcast by KNAL and a rebroadcast two days 

later, was entitled “The Community College—An 

Investment by the People.” In his speech, he 


praised communities for creating junior colleges, 

maintaining that they were “an investment of 

the people which will bring great returns 

for each dollar spent.” Colvert proceeded to 

explain how the investment in a junior college 

brought about financial rewards. He stated that 

a two-year education at Victoria College cost 

the student $700, but “during the next 30 or 

40 or 50 years of a young person’s life, he will 

earn many more thousands of dollars…That 

means that he spends more money in the community, 

buys more clothes, lives in a better 

house, buys a better car, subscribes to more 

magazines, and better telephones are used. All 

of this money is money right back into the 

community…It literally lifts a community by its 

own bootstraps.” 21 

After those Horatio Alger remarks and a version 

of The Lord is my Shepherd by The Victoria 

College Choir, directed by Broyles Hall, 

Wearden inducted Moore into office, declaring 

“We dedicate the institution to the fatherhood of 

God and the brotherhood of man.” In accepting 

the presidency Moore commented that he was 

“fully aware of the responsibilities” expected of 

a president, and “he would do his best to live up 

to them.” His inaugural remarks included praise 

for the absent Stormont. Moore stated that the 

dean “has been a key man throughout. He has 

done a wonderful job. He is perhaps the best 

junior college dean in the State of Texas.” Most 

of his talk, however, dealt with the college’s 

present status and his projection for the fall 

enrollment which was in part based on the 1949 

graduates of the local public and private schools 

who were attending the two-year institution. 

The program concluded with the college choir’s 

rendition of The Lord Bless You and Keep You. 22 

Immediately following the inauguration, a 

reception was held in the Home Economics 

Cottage for Moore and his wife Edith. The 

evening’s activities concluded with a formal 

dance in the Gymnasium. Music was provided 

by Ray Spoor and his orchestra from Houston. 

Frolicking amid the dancers were students representing 

the high schools in Victoria and surrounding 

counties. Everyone had a grand time. 23 

The academic year ended with commencement 

exercises in St. Mary’s Hall on May 29, 

1950. Texas Attorney General Price Daniel, the 

commencement speaker, pointed out in his 

remarks some of the challenges the forty-nine 

graduates faced, and he expressed the hope that 

some of the them would “become leaders in politics 

and government.” After the address, Joseph 

Wearden handed out the diplomas, the first one 

going to valedictorian, Walter Wayne Hodges. 

Following Hodges were Clifford Pickett and 

Harold Hampton, corecipients of the salutatorian 

honors. The other honor graduates were 

Grace Rigamonti and Mrs. Margaret Alkek. 24 

Band scholarships were extended to students 

at the July board meeting. Moore told the governing 

body that “all the colleges that I know of 

are granting the scholarships.” Wilbur Collins, 

the recently appointed band director, was given 

the responsibility of selecting uniforms for 

✯ 

The plaque is located on the front of 

the Academic Building. 


✯ 

The rooms in the Boys’ Dormitory 

were cozy. 

band members. He hit upon the idea of “having 

something unique that nobody else has.” The 

uniforms were designed as pirates’ clothing, 

consisting of “turbans with dangling glass rings 

that the metal shop cut out,” sashes, shirts with 

“sorta baggy sleeves and tight at the wrist and 

open throat.” The 1951 edition of the Pirate, the 

college yearbook, noted that the costumes were 

“slick uniforms.” Whatever views the annual 

staff and Collins may have had, they did not 

coincide with Stormont’s. The dean had not 

been enthusiastic to the band director’s proposal 

to purchase the uniforms but, nevertheless, 

gave his approval. When the band made its first 

appearance during a football game between the 

college and Allen Academy, someone in the 

stands exclaimed, “Who are they? They look 

like Aunt Jemimas.” “That did it,” Collins 

remarked. “Dr. Stormont decided we would 

have military uniforms.” 25 

The band director also came up with the idea 

of having a pirate ship for the band members. He 

remarked that “since we were so small, instead of 

marching on the field, we would come out on 

this ship.” “However, the coaches,” Collins said, 

“were reluctant to let any vehicle on the field.” 

They were concerned that the contraption would 

tear up the playing field. Collins dropped his 

notion and “settled for the uniforms.” 26 

Because the college administration did not 

wish to rely solely upon media advertisements 

as a recruiting tool, Collins was hired during the 

summer months “to get the word out.” He 

recalled that on such an outing Sweet Home was 

on his itinerary. Collins “drove out in the field 

and there was a prospect whose grandfather was 

working in the field, and he was sorta in charge 

of whether she went to college or not.” When 

the young lady was approached about entering 

Victoria College, the grandfather said, “Oh, that 

girl doesn’t need to go to college. Why she will 

end up getting married, and it will just be a 

waste.” Collins typically encountered such an 

attitude on his sojourns in the rural areas. 27 

Traditionally, colleges and universities in 

Texas have homecoming activities during the 

football season. Victoria College was no exception. 

On November 9, 1950, the college held its 

first homecoming, a daylong affair that included 

an evening tilt with Laredo Junior College. As 

usual, a pep rally was conducted at the college 

assembly. Frank H. Crain, Jr., a former Victoria 

Junior College student who went on to become a 

state district judge, gave an exhilarating speech 


to the student body prior to the “yell practice.” 

At halftime of the game, as the college band 

formed in the shape of a heart to play Let Me Call 

You Sweetheart; Barbara Banks was escorted by 

co-captains Walter Meier and Richard Kinsel to 

the center of the heart. Banks was greeted by 

Moore, Grace Vogt, Student Council president, 

and Bruce Miller, freshman class president. The 

president crowned her as Queen of Victoria 

College. Banks was given mums and a bracelet, 

the latter a gift from the student body. 28 

In December, the board accepted the 

$83,555 Boys’ Dormitory. Originally scheduled 

for occupancy on August 27, the late delivery of 

millwork for the interior delayed completion 

until October 10. There was “no monetary loss 

due to the late completion,” Moore told the 

board, “since dormitory residents were able to 

move in on time.” 29 

Fighting broke out on the Korean Peninsula 

on June 25, 1950, when North Korean forces 

invaded South Korea. Five days later, United 

States ground troops entered the conflict. The 

American military found itself woefully unprepared 

to meet the new challenge. A shortage of 

personnel was a particular problem for the 

armed services. To remedy the deficiency, 

the U.S. government in July 1950 rejuvenated 

the draft. College students and the high school 

students enrolled in college who were eligible 

for the draft could receive a deferment by passing 

a Selective Service College Qualification 

Test. Local students wishing to take the tests did 

not have to travel very far. The Victoria College 

became a draft qualification test center, and J. D. 

Howell, assistant registrar, was designated as 

test supervisor. A qualifying score on the tests, 

described by some students who took the exams 

as being similar to freshman psychological tests, 

was 70 or above. 30 

By January 1951, the Korean War began to 

take its toll on enrollment. Victoria College, like 

state institutions of higher education, offered 

credit to students who were passing their courses 

at the Christmas break (the fall semester did 

not end until the middle of January), withdrew 

from school, and enlisted into the military. 

Thirty-four Victoria College students took 

advantage of the opportunity. All of the enlistments 

were in services other than the army and 

navy. After the local collegians withdrew, an editorial 

in the Jolly Roger quipped that if students 

continue to drop out of school at the current 

rate, “VC will probably be known as Victoria 

College for Women.” During the spring semester, 

the earliest a student could withdraw from 

college and receive credit for course work was 

March 31. 31 

Individual and team performances by 

students in extracurricular activities during 

✯ 

The gym was the scene for formal 

Christmas dances in the 1950s. 


✯ 

Estelle Evans waits for the next order. 

the 1951 spring semester were fruitful. 

“Stump” Evans’ Pirate basketball team was 

the South Texas Conference co-champs. At the 

South Texas speech contest, Victoria College 

won three first place awards. The Reverend 

Don Youngblood was tops in the men’s extemporaneous 

speaking, Martha Truman captured 

the women’s extemporaneous speaking event, 

and Ann Mikulenka was the winner of the 

women’s radio speaking contest. Other individual 

honors went to Pat Sunkel who placed second 

in poetry interpretation, and Glenn 

Warren took third prize in the men’s radio 

speaking. Carroll Pickett won the conference 

tennis singles championship, while Glenn 

Warren and George Pickering walked away 

with the doubles championship. Eddie Shinn’s 

track team did exceptionally well and established 

the foundation for the Victoria College 

track and field program that was draped with 

laurels in the 1950s and 1960s. 32 

Pirate speedsters set a junior college record in 

the sprint medley at the Texas Relays and established 

five new records on their way to winning 

the South Texas Conference at Laredo. The team 

won the junior college division in the Border 

Olympics, the Ft. Worth meet, and the Del Mar 

Invitational. Although the three-man contingent 

came in fifth at the National Junior College 

Track and Field Meet at Hutchinson, Kansas, 

Bill Walters was the event’s high point man. His 

achievement was boosted by winning first place 

in the broad jump. 33 

Enrollment figures were down for both the 

1951 fall and 1952 spring semesters. The registrar’s 

office reported 285 students attending 

classes in the fall, and Stormont reported a figure 

of 228 for the spring semester. In an assessment 

of the reason for the drop in enrollment, 

the dean commented that “if it hadn’t been for 

the international situation, our enrollment 

might not have dropped at all. The international 

situation has caused an 8 percent drop in junior 

college enrollment all over the country.” 34 

In December 1951, Moore, by plane, and 

Stormont, by train, traveled to St. Petersburg, 

Florida, and attended the Southern Association 

of Colleges and Secondary Schools convention to 

learn if the sought-after admission into the 

accreditation organization was granted. The two 

administrators were not disappointed. The college 

was accepted as a member. After the Victoria 

College applied for membership, the association 

sent a committee to visit the campus in April 

1951 to determine if the college was suitable for 

membership. The delegation, chaired by J. M. 

Godard, executive secretary of the association, 

was specifically interested in how transfer 

students did at the senior colleges and universities. 

The committee found that Victoria College 


sufficiently prepared its transfer students. 

According to the visiting team’s final report, 60 

percent rated good or excellent, 33 percent fair 

or average, and only seven percent poor. 

Stormont credited the findings as “the main 

thing that got us into the association.” On the 

downside, the committee made three major recommendations—“more 

student government, a 

better student health program and a slightly 

higher standard of grading.” Victoria College 

became the twelfth junior college in Texas to 

become a member of the association. 35 

The third annual Western Week, sponsored 

by the Aggie Club, was held on February 18-21, 

1952. Students and faculty were encouraged to 

wear three items of western clothing. If an 

infraction occurred, and the offender was a good 

sport, the individual was placed in jail and 

“forfeited a possession—such as a knife—and 

to redeem it he must do something at the 

dance…such as singing or putting on a skit.” 

College officials generally frowned upon lengthy 

student facial hair except during Western Week 

when a beard growing contest was conducted as 

one of the student activities. Among the other 

events were donkey rides, horseshoe pitching, a 

dangerous barrel ride, greased pig competition, 

a girls’ cow milking event (only test tubes could 

be used to hold the milk), and goat roping. 

Sometimes, the Aggie Club conducted a trail 

ride as a kickoff for the activities. The week’s festivities 

ended with a barbecue and a dance featuring 

western music. 36 

By the 1970s, Western Week degenerated to 

a one-day event. Students in the 1960s became 

too rowdy for the taste of certain administrators 

and faculty members. On one occasion, an outhouse 

was placed on a covered walkway, and at 

other times, students fortified themselves with 

forbidden beverages. But, for the most part, the 

event was enjoyed by the college community. 

Student participants in intercollegiate functions 

shined again in the spring of 1952. At the 

South Texas Conference Speech Meet at Del 

Mar in Corpus Christi, Dorothy Franz placed 

first in the girls’ division of radio speech and 

Eddie Harvey matched her feat in the boys’ 

division. When the conference held its tennis 

tournament in Laredo, Carroll Pickett won the 

men’s single crown. In the men’s doubles competition, 

Glenn Warren and George Pickering 

placed first. The men were not the only winners 

✯ 

Barrel riding was a regular activity 

during Western Week. 


✯ 

The 1952 National Junior College 

Track and Field Champions. First row 

(left to right): Glenn Hoffman, George 

E. Auld, Jerry House, Bobby Eklund, 

Joe Netarlus, Ben Wayne Boehnke, 

Duane Mullenix, and Norval Black. 

Second row (left to right): Leslie 

Belken, Kenneth Farrow, Ynacensio 

Cantu, Billy Taylor, Victor Rodriguez, 

Henry Bullock, Ronald Koss, and 

Charles Carpenter. Third row (left to 

right): Charles Schultz, Glen 

Patterson, Mike Trcka, Richard 

Thurman, Myron Fougeron, and 

Bill Yeager. 

at the tournament. Grace Gisler was crowned 

the conference women’s tennis champion. 

Glenn Hoffman, Dennis Williams, Pat Bell, and 

Bill Holzapfel entered the junior college livestock 

judging contest at the San Angelo Fat 

Stock Show and, to the pleasure of agriculture 

instructor V. T. Kallus, came in second. The 

Pirate roundballers enjoyed a good season by 

winning the conference basketball title when 

the team defeated Wharton Junior College in a 

play-off game. “Stump” Evans’ boys beat their 

opponent 65 to 55 on a neutral court at 

Vanderbilt and earned the right to compete in 

the National Junior College Athletic Association 

regional tournament at Tyler. The local basketball 

club lost in the first round to eventual 

regional champion Lon Morris Junior College. 37 

Unquestionably, the best of the best among 

Victoria College’s intercollegiate athletes was 

Eddie Shinn’s outstanding track and field squad. 

During the regular track season, the extraordinary 

thin clads finished ahead of their competitors 

at the Border Olympics, the Southwestern 

Recreational Meet, and the conference meet. 

The team’s greatest accomplishment came at the 

1952 spring National Junior College Track and 

Field Meet at Hutchinson, Kansas, when it ran 

away with the national championship. When 

the results of the events were finalized, 

Ynacensio Cantu was high point man for the 

tournament. He won individual honors by 

breaking the tape in the mile and two mile runs. 

Personal accomplishments were also achieved 

by Glenn Hoffman, pole vault; Kenneth Farrow, 

low hurdles; Ben Boehnke, 100 yard dash; 

Ronald Koss, 440 yard dash; Jerry House, broad 

jump; and Victor Rodriguez, 880 yard run. 

Members of the group captured top honors in 

the mile relay and 440 yard relay. 38 

Beginning with the 1952 fall semester, the 

college discarded the practice of contracting 

with private firms to operate buses. Instead, the 

two-year institution purchased three new vehicles 

and employed drivers. The move was 

prompted for financial considerations. The lowest 

bid submitted by a private transportation 

company was 35.2 cents a mile. Moore, ever 

the frugal individual, informed the board he 


estimated that the college could operate the 

vehicles “for a maximum of 20 cents a mile and 

possibly as little as 15.” The actual operating 

cost after the first year was 13.8 cents a mile. 39 

James Simons, who attended the college during 

the middle of the 1950s, rode the bus from 

Edna. The driver was a lady from Ganado who 

took classes at the college. He remarked that he 

was picked up and dropped off at the drugstore 

in downtown Edna. There were some ten Edna 

students riding the bus, and they almost drove 

the driver crazy. “We hollered,” he said, “and 

played games. Some of us studied.” Simons said 

that on at least one occasion the bus broke 

down, “but nothing major.” Simons smiled and 

remarked, “We had a lot of fun.” 40 

Business instructor Leona Jones acquired a 

more prominent role in 1952 when the board of 

trustees, at the request of Moore, adopted a 

motion elevating her to assistant dean and 

registrar. Up to this point, Stormont held the 

dual position of dean and registrar. However, 

the dean’s responsibilities had expanded significantly 

since the fall of 1949, necessitating a division 

of labor. Further changes in duties 

occurred in the spring of 1953. Jones assumed 

the title of registrar and Roy Browne, instructor 

of business, became the business manager. 

Under Jones and her successor, Louise Hume, 

the registrar’s office was an influential administrative 

element, especially when it came to 

teaching assignments. 41 

The Victoria College Pirate Saberettes made 

their debut in the fall of 1952. The drill team 

was organized to provide half time entertainment 

at the college football games. The first 

group of Saberettes was led by captains Shirley 

Burda, Alma Jecker, Betty Ann Traber, and Anita 

Tyng. The drill team’s uniforms included “a 

short reversible maroon and white skirt, white 

satin long-sleeved blouse, white leather belt 

with three-inch gold buckle and white boots.” 

In 1953, “a white felt hat with skull and crossbones 

insignia on the front” was added to the 

wardrobe. The group fared significantly better 

from sport spectators than the band’s “Aunt 

Jemima” uniforms. There are no reported 

derogatory remarks about their garments from 

fans who watched them perform at football 

games. When football was dropped as an intercollegiate 

sport by the college in 1961, the 

organization was also eliminated. However, at 

the end of the 1960s, another group, the 

Saberette Shipmates, was formed to support the 

basketball team. Its existence was short-lived. 42 

During American Art Week, November 1-7, 

1952, art instructor Ethel Thurmond’s oil painting 

she was commissioned to do for the college 

was unveiled. After being displayed in the 

Student Union, the painting was permanently 

placed in the foyer of the Administration 

Building. The artwork, twelve feet wide and 

four and half feet high, depicts a scene on the 

Guadalupe River near Victoria. Thurmond 

worked on the piece during her spare time for 

three months. She remarked, “It was quite a job. 

✯ 

Ethel Thurmond was a noted artist 

and compassionate art instructor. 


✯ 

Jim Lehrer working on an article for 

the Jolly Roger. 

But I enjoyed doing it. It was for the students of 

the college and I wanted to paint something 

they’d enjoy seeing. I hope I succeeded.” 43 

Larry Shook admiringly recalled Thurmond 

as an accomplished artist, dedicated to teaching, 

who “took a special interest in students.” 

He found himself a recipient of her attentiveness 

during a spring semester Ping Pong tournament 

that he was playing in at the Student 

Union. Shook remembers he “felt a sharp pull 

on my ear and heard ‘young man, I think you 

are supposed to be in my art class.’ I turned 

around and saw my art teacher, Miss Ethel 

Thurmond. She kept hold of my ear as she led 

me all the way across the campus and upstairs 

to class.” He further remarked that when “Miss 

Thurmond retired, I took her place as art 

teacher at Victoria College and taught for 27 

years. Thanks, Miss Thurmond.” 44 

After being scrutinized for a year, the college, 

in December 1952, was fully accepted into the 

Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary 

Schools. The organization’s committee charged 

with reaffirmation of the two-year institution 

reported at the annual convention in Memphis, 

Tennessee, that Victoria College conformed to 

the scholastic and other required standards. 

Stormont, representing the college, was present 

when the announcement was made. 45 

The regional accrediting association’s pronouncement 

that the college met the academic 

criteria came as no surprise to individuals who 

knew Stormont. The dean insisted that course 

work offered at the college be on par with those 

taught at transfer senior institutions. His unwavering 

principle of equivalence was put to the 

test by the University of Missouri in the early 

years of his Victoria College deanship and 

emerged triumphantly. 

Jim Lehrer, a Victoria College student who 

later became the anchor on the highly acclaimed 

public television program, the NewsHour with 

Jim Lehrer, decided to attend the School of 

Journalism at the University of Missouri after he 

graduated from Victoria College in 1954. When 

he applied, an admissions official at the 

Columbia-based university refused to accept all 

his credits. Lehrer brought the matter to 

Stormont’s attention. The dean became disturbed 

and asked how badly he wanted to 

attend that university. When Lehrer responded 

that it “was a life-or-death” situation, Stormont 

replied, “let’s take ‘em on.” The dean sent a letter 

to the admissions official criticizing him and 

the University of Missouri “for their elitism and 

shortsightedness.” He told the person to send 

“examinations for every subject you have doubts 

about,” and they would be administered “to this 

kid, and you can see for yourselves the kind of 

person he is and what kind of education we provide.” 

The university complied and the exams 

(English grammar, basic math, Spanish, and 

typing) were administered by J. D. Howell on 

four consecutive afternoons. Lehrer “did well 

enough not only to be admitted as a full-fledged 

junior” but his “English grammar and foreign 

language requirements were waived.” 46 

In the 1953 state legislative session, the 

legislators passed a loyalty oath and made it 

an annual requirement for anyone receiving 


state money. The passage of the measure was a 

product of McCarthyism, the country’s second 

Red scare, when fear of communist subversion 

of the government was widespread throughout 

the United States. The loyalty oath, many patriotic 

Americans thought, would identify communist 

elements in the teaching field and prevent 

fellow travelers from undermining the fundamental 

democratic principles by brainwashing 

impressionable young people with Marxist- 

Lenin doctrines. The same rationale applied to 

the state requirement that students in public 

colleges and universities take six hours of 

American history. State employees, including 

teachers in public educational institutions, were 

asked to study a list of between 300 and 400 

subversive organizations, as determined by the 

Attorney General of the United States, and 

swear they were not a member. Before the college 

instructors received their April paychecks, 

they were administered the oath. 47 

Victoria College won its second straight 

national championship at the National Junior 

College Track and Field Meet at Hutchinson, 

Kansas, in the spring of 1953 after winning the 

conference crown at Corpus Christi. At the 

national finals, Ben Boehnke placed first in 

the 100 and 200 yard dashes; Jerry House outdistanced 

his opponents in the broad jump; 

George “Scooter” Auld finished ahead of the 

field in the 440 yard dash; Joe Tanecka took the 

880 yard run; and Ynacensio Cantu, the track 

sensation from El Campo, won the 2 mile run. 

A quartet of Pirate runners comprised of Allen 

Jank, Boehnke, Joe Zambrano, and House were 

victorious in the sprint relay and the 880 yard 

relay. First place honors in the mile relay went to 

the local team composed of Ronnie Koss, 

Tanecka, John Starnes, and Auld. 48 

The student enrollment record was shattered 

in the fall of 1953. There were 362 registered for 

the first day of school, 389 in the evening 

school, and 34 at the Gross branch. 

Contributing to the increase were veterans and 

airmen stationed at Foster Air Force Base. Out 

of the thirty-four students attending Gross, at 

least fourteen were veterans. A common sight 

in town was the wives of veterans working to 

help put their hubbies through college, or as 

the women said, they were earning a “Ph.T.” 

✯ 

The 1954-55 Majorettes pose in 

front of the Administration Building. 

They are (left to right) Sue Turk, Jo 

Ann Uhlar, Geneva Boysen, and 

Lois Hubbard. 


✯ 

Vollie Williams prepares for his next 

track meet. 

The influx of returning service personnel to the 

college campus led to the formation of an active 

veterans club. Enrollment figures for most of the 

remainder of the decade showed a steady rise, 

though there was a slight dip after Foster Field 

closed at the end of 1958. 49 

A goal of the college from its inception has 

been service to the community. Numerous programs 

have been offered to accomplish that end. 

During the 1953 fall semester, the Victoria 

College Film Center was established, and it 

offered more than 200 educational movies to 

school districts in the area. Lois Parker, college 

librarian, supervised the operation. The participating 

schools contributed money and selected 

representatives to serve on a committee that set 

policies and chose films. “Mrs. Marion Howell, 

the efficient library secretary,” Parker related, 

“scheduled the films according to requests from 

member schools and supervised the distribution 

and maintenance of the films. At that time the 

college operated buses to transport students 

from nearby towns. The bus driver delivered 

films to the schools and returned them to the 

library. The film library was operated until 

Region Three Educational Service was formed. 

At that time the films were transferred to the 

Service Center.” 50 

At its February 1954 meeting, the board of 

trustees adopted the first sick leave policy for all 

employees. A teacher was granted up to forty 

days sick leave with full pay. An employee could 

accrue leave credit up to six days per year until 

the maximum number of days was reached. 

Should a teacher be ill longer than the accrued 

leave credit, the college deducted “the cost of a 

substitute from his salary.” 51 

On March 3, the college hosted its initial 

Career Day. Some 550 high school seniors from 

the area attended the four-and-a-half-hour program. 

The students were given an opportunity 

to attend two sessions that were designed to 

familiarize the seniors with careers or useful 

occupations. Each session was conducted by a 

faculty member. Representatives from the professions, 

the military, vocations, and at least one 

university made presentations. Dr. C. C. 

Colvert, professor of education at the University 

of Texas, was the featured speaker at the general 

assembly. Box lunches were provided the high 

school guests while school administrators, 

faculty, and the presenters ate at the dormitory 

dining hall. The assemblage was entertained 

after lunch with the college’s Dixieland Sextet, 

the Saberettes, and a performance by a duet. 

Moore remarked that the event was a success, 

and “the programs were completed as smooth as 

clockwork.” The college discontinued Career 

Day in the 1960s. 52 

The Pirate track squad missed winning the 

1954 National Junior College Track and Field 

Meet at Hutchinson, Kansas, by fewer than five 

points. Hutchinson Junior College won the 

championship with 76 1/2 points to runner-up 

Victoria College’s 72. The person with the most 

points at the affair was Buccaneer J. P. Neely who 

took top honors in both the low and high hurdles 

and the 220 yard dash. Teammate Pete Sardelich 

placed first in the 440 yard and 880 yard runs. 53 

Vollie Williams, a graduate of Yoakum High 

School, was a member of the 1954 and 1955 

track teams. At one of the national meets, the 

movie “Picnic” was being filmed, and he and 

several members of the squad came face to face 

with Kim Novak and found her to be a “regular 

person.” The Victorians “nearly got into the picture, 

missed it by one car!” 54 

Williams enjoyed his relationship with Shinn 

and the team. The “guys” were “a close bunch.” 

They went to the Jet, a drive-in restaurant on the 


Houston Highway, and “the hang out place for 

the college, high school, and the ‘fly-boys’ from 

Foster Air Force Base. There were always conflicts, 

incidents, etc. going on at the drive-in!” 

Williams and his fellow tracksters brought the 

wrath of Shinn on them one day after practice. 

He stated that “We were returning from a workout 

at Patti Welder late one afternoon, and 

there was a man working in a flower bed, close 

to the street, with his back to the street…Well, 

someone in the car leaned out the window and 

fired off several blanks…Needless to say, the 

track team heard about that from the Coach. I 

don’t believe we ever got to carry the starting 

pistol again.” 55 

State Jim Crow laws segregating the races in 

public education took a dramatic and long overdue 

hit when the United States Supreme Court 

in May 1954 ruled by a unanimous vote in Brown 

v. Board of Education of Topeka that segregation in 

public education violated the equal protection 

clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision 

prompted African Americans to enroll in 

several all-white public education institutions. 

Victoria College was such a school and the focal 

point for integration in the area. 

Businessman and millionaire C. R. Callis, as 

head of the Citizens’ Committee in cooperation 

with the Progressive Voters’ League and the 

National Association for the Advancement of 

Colored People, approached Moore on the subject 

of integrating the college. According to 

Callis, the group decided, shortly after the decision 

was handed down, to integrate the Victoria 

public schools starting with Victoria College. He, 

Dorothy Mae Hobbs, an honor graduate of F. W. 

Gross High School, and Leeta Hobbs, mother of 

Dorothy Mae, went to the college and spoke with 

Moore on the admittance of the younger Hobbs 

in the college. The president was cordial as Callis 

explained to him that the Gross branch was not 

an equal institution and no distinction in the 

races was made when the college taxes were collected. 

After patiently listening to Callis’ rationale, 

Moore responded by telling the delegation 

that he would bring the matter before the board 

and get back with Callis in a couple of days. The 

following day, Callis said, radio station KVIC 

announced the college was integrated. 56 

When the matter of Hobbs’ admission was 

placed before the board, the response was 

positive. The governing body in a formal 

announcement stated, 

In view of the recent decision of the Supreme 

Court of the United States holding that compulsory 

segregation of the races in the field of 

public education was in violation of the rights 

✯ 

Marlene Schoenig and Caroll Young 

share a soft drink. 


✯ 

Bill Baldwin patiently waits for Lois 

Hubbard to make a selection. 

guaranteed citizens under the 14th Amendment, 

and, in view of the recent statements of leaders 

of various religious faiths to the effect that such 

policy is contrary to the tenets of Christianity, it 

is the unanimous decision of the Board that 

qualified Negro students should be admitted to 

Victoria College beginning September 1, 1954. 57 

Four blacks enrolled in the fall. That was it. 

No demonstrations. No protests. No white outrage. 

No verbal confrontations. The college fully 

accepted the Supreme Court decision as the law 

of the land and took steps to implement it with 

the understanding that the program at the Gross 

branch be continued until that date. 

Even though the board changed a long standing 

entrance policy, there existed some apprehension 

among the governing body and the administration 

as to how the faculty and the students 

would react. The concerns proved to be 

unfounded. When Chadbourne Whitmore, who 

was employed to teach English, beginning in the 

1954 fall semester, was asked by Moore what he 

was going to do if a black student was in his class, 

Whitmore’s response was that he “was going to 

do what he always did—teach.” Esther Etzel, 

biology instructor, thought there might be an 

incident if she paired a white student with a black 

student in lab class. She did and to her delight 

the two lab partners carried out their assignments 

without any difficulties. Mary Doughtie, English 

and Spanish instructor, put the episode in perspective 

by remarking that integration of the college 

went so smoothly it was a nonevent. 58 

Brown v. Board of Education only addressed the 

issue of segregation of public education. Its 

broader impact on society was yet to come. 

Separation of the races largely remained intact 

when it came to public facilities, and this posed 

a problem for sponsors of college activities who 

wanted to utilize such accommodations. In 

every known instance where barriers were 

encountered, the faculty and white students rallied 

behind their African-American classmates. 

When the sophomore class in 1955 made its 

annual spring trek to a recreational area outside 

of Victoria, a black female student was denied 

permission to use the swimming pool. The 

white female students gave up their opportunity 

to swim and remained with their fellow classmate 

until the time came to return to Victoria. 59 

Lois Rowland, formerly Lois Parker, sponsor 

of Zeta Gamma Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, a 

junior college honor society, encountered 

rebuffs from Victoria eating establishments as 

she prepared for the annual initiation ceremony. 

Nedra Jennings, an African American, enrolled 

at the college in the fall of 1955 and eventually 


“qualified for membership in Phi Theta Kappa 

and was invited to join. She accepted the invitation 

and was welcomed by the students.” What 

happened next was a heart warming experience 

for Rowland. She stated: 

It was customary to plan an initiation banquet 

which was usually held at the hotel or one 

of the restaurants in Victoria. The students made 

plans and asked me to make reservations for the 

dining room. There followed three phone calls 

and three polite but forth-right explanations: 

management had no objections but other guests 

would not understand. The cafeteria in the Town 

and Country Shopping Center was relatively 

new and had a nicely furnished small banquet 

room. I called the manager. Without hesitation 

he agreed to schedule our group. 

The banquet room at the rear of the building 

was entered by the front door of the cafeteria. 

After that. . .a long walk through the dining area. 

As I stood at the door of the banquet room greeting 

students and guests, Nedra entered the front 

door alone. With all the dignity, poise and grace 

of a queen she walked through the dining room 

filled with white diners, smiling as she joined 

her friends who greeted her warmly. It was a 

lovely evening.! 60 

Integration had no appreciable affect upon 

enrollment. The day school showed an increase 

of sixty-six students from the previous year. The 

evening school enrollment, which consisted of 

some 150 airmen, decreased by eighty-three, 

but there is no evidence that the drop was due 

to integration. The increased day figure caused 

Moore to reevaluate the college’s capacity to 

accommodate the rising number of students. He 

estimated that by 1956 the day enrollment 

would be greater than 500. Moore was on target. 

In 1956, the number was 544. 61 

The president presented the board with two 

choices to resolve the perceived enrollment problem. 

One was to limit the college only to residents 

of Victoria County. The other alternative 

was to hold a bond election to construct new 

facilities. Moore further suggested that enrollment 

could be reduced “by increasing tuition, 

discontinuing bus service and eliminating intercollegiate 

football.” These options were unacceptable 

to the board. The governing body stated that 

the college was “good advertisement for the 

community and attracts customers for local merchants 

by drawing students from nearby counties” 

and, therefore, “limited registration would 

hurt Victoria.” The board did agree with Moore 

“that the present facilities are nearing capacity.” 62 

✯ 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 


✯ 

Pep rallies were frequently conducted 

in front of the Administration Building 

during the 1950s. 

Within a year and a half, the board found a 

temporary solution to the escalating enrollment 

by boosting out-of-county tuition by a modest 

ten dollars a semester for a regular load. 

Students that were not from Victoria County 

had been paying the same tuition as county students. 

In announcing the new tuition fees, the 

board recognized the growing shortage of facilities 

and “felt that there should be some differentiation 

in tuition rates between out-of-county 

and county students since Victoria County residents 

pay taxes to support Victoria College.” 63 


As the trustees wrestled with the issues 

brought about with increased enrollment, they 

applied to the Texas State Department of Public 

Welfare to oversee an election to determine if 

the employees wanted to enter the Social 

Security program. A referendum was conducted 

and by a vote of 33 to 3, the college personnel 

voted to join Social Security. 64 

Another policy change that affected the faculty 

in 1955 was the board’s adoption of a 

salary schedule for teachers. Under the new pay 

scheme an instructor with a master’s degree and 

no teaching experience received $3,600 a year; 

with a master’s degree and thirty additional 

hours, $3,700; and with a doctor’s degree, 

$3,800. An annual increment of $150, to a 

maximum of 12 years, was permitted. When 

instructors were employed, they could receive 

up to 5 years credit for previous teaching experience. 

However, the “increments allowed for 

prior service are $100 per year.” The salary 

schedule provided no incentive for an instructor 

to earn additional graduate credit or pursue 

a doctor’s degree. Over the following decades, 

the salary schedule underwent meaningful 

change to encourage and reward faculty for 

acquiring additional graduate hours or earning 

a doctor’s degree. 65 

In the Spring of 1955, Shinn’s track team 

regained the national junior college championship 

after a stellar performance at the national 

meet in Hutchinson, Kansas. The squad 

accumulated 91 points, doubling the points of 

their nearest opponent, McCook, Nebraska. The 

Pirate 880 yard relay team of John Mozisek, 

George Gillar, Danny Fritsch, and Lewis 

Hutchinson established a new record. Victoria 

College tracksters who finished first in their 

respective contests were Fred Reuter, 100 and 

200 yard dashes; Vollie Williams, 120 yard high 

hurdles and 220 yard low hurdles; Pete 

Sardelich, 440 yard dash; and Marvin Machac, 

shot-put. 66 

Marshall McCleary’s first year as the college 

tennis coach was a memorable one. The astute 

English instructor as mentor of the team guided 

the squad to the 1956 Longhorn Conference 

championship. In fact, the Pirates completely 

dominated the conference meet. Ken Pickett 

beat his teammate Ralph Gilstrap in the men’s 

singles. Pickett and Gilstrap in turn defeated 

their college cohorts, John Swoboda and David 

Patrick in the finals of the men’s doubles. The 

women’s single finals was an all Victoria College 

affair as well. Jenell Kolle won her match against 

Merle Overgoner. Kolle and Helen Urban captured 

the women’s doubles from Del Mar, the 

only other entrant to win points. 67 

The Pirate track squad successfully defended 

its national championship in the spring of 

1956. Shinn’s team, whom he considered to be 

his finest track group, won the Border 

Olympics, Blinn Relays, and Longhorn 

Conference meet before taking the national 

✯ 

The Aggie Club’s ship S. S. Pirate 

“floats” down Main Street in a 

Homecoming Parade. 


✯ 

Soft drink vending machines were 

popular with the students in 

the 1950s. 

junior college crown for the fourth time in five 

years. The Victoria College tracksters won the 

440 yard relay, 880 yard relay, and the mile 

relay. Individual winners were Fred Reuter, 100 

yard dash; Danny Fritsch, 440 yard dash; 

Bobby Singleton, low and high hurdles; Herbert 

Wuthrich, broad jump; and Marvin Machac, 

shot-put. 68 

Guest speaker at the 1956 commencement 

ceremonies was Joseph Wearden, president of 

the board since 1947. When he finished with 

his presentation, Wearden “dropped his bombshell.” 

The board president announced to an 

astonished audience that he was giving up his 

position because his doctor advised him to 

reduce his civic activities. Winston Zirjacks, 

board vice president, who along with Moore 

knew beforehand that Wearden was going to 

resign, stepped forward, made a brief comment 

and motioned toward the college president. 

“Moore brought forth a cap and gown—the 

same black gown and cap with white tassel that 

the regular graduates wore.” The regalia was 

donned by Wearden, whereupon Zirjacks stated, 

“This board hereby confers upon you, 

Joseph Wearden, the highest honor it can 

bestow. The honorary degree of Associate in 

Arts.” This was the only time in Victoria College 

history that an honorary associate of arts degree 

has been awarded. With Wearden’s retirement, 

Zirjacks assumed the presidency, a position he 

held for 40 years. 69 

Football absorbed the attention of the college 

community during the fall of 1956. At long 

last, the pigskin program, under legendary 

Coach H. N. “Rusty” Russell, was on course of 

having a winning season. Co-captains Ezra 

Gordon and Floyd Dellinger understood the 

feelings of the victory-starved students and 

alumni as the Pirates, who were ranked by the 

Associated Press as seventh in the nation, 

plunged into their schedule. When the lye from 

the gridiron settled, Victoria College had 7 wins 

and 3 losses, a record good enough for the team 

to be crowned Longhorn Conference co-champions 

with Kilgore Junior College. Because of 

his outstanding performance throughout the 

season as quarterback, Floyd Dellinger from 

Waco was the unanimous choice by the Los 

Angeles Times and The All-American Grid Index 

for the All-American Junior College football 

team. He was also selected to the Longhorn 

Conference’s first team and was a second team 

All-American selection by the Wigwam 

Wisemen of America. A teammate of 

Dellinger’s, James Sestak from Gonzales, transferred 

to McNeese State in Louisiana and went 

on to have an illustrious professional career 

with the Buffalo Bills. 70 

Growing pains continued to plague the college, 

causing the school officials to make several 

adjustments in the fall of 1956 to cope with 

crowded facilities. Activity and assembly periods 

were eliminated to better utilize the time 

slots for classes, and faculty offices were created 

out of the living room of the Home Economics 

Cottage, eliminating its use by the community 


for social affairs. These steps were only stopgap 

measures. After careful consideration, the 

trustees finally came to the conclusion that a 

building program funded by a bond issue was 

necessary to eliminate overcrowding. 71 

Financially, the college was in good shape. 

County valuations had increased as new businesses, 

such as DuPont, established themselves 

in the area and new homes were constructed to 

meet the demands of a rising population. As the 

county valuations rose, the trustees cut the tax 

rate in successive years to forty-one cents per 

one hundred dollars valuation from the 50 cents 

per $100 authorized by the electorate in the initial 

vote. New college construction, however, 

would, as the supporters pointed out, lead to a 

tax increase. This was a concern. Would the 

voters be willing to increase their college tax? 

The board and administration thought that a 

majority would. 

In December 1956, the board gave notice 

that it was going to submit a $700,000 bond 

issue to the county electorate for the erection 

of a natural science building and a library 

building. Bond money was also to be used for 

converting the existing library facilities and 

science laboratories into classrooms. When the 

announcement was made, the board stated 

that the bond issue would probably necessitate 

a 48 cent tax rate, up from the current 41 

cents, but below the 50 cent rate which had 

already been authorized. 72 

Moore pointed out to the community that the 

current facilities were inadequate for an expected 

expanded enrollment. “If the college is to 

continue to grow and to serve the community,” 

he said, “we must have new buildings.” The 

president further enunciated that the overcrowded 

laboratories might lead to a loss in 

accreditation. Moreover, he remarked, “at a time 

when we are inviting industry to locate in this 

area and at a time where the very future of the 

nation seems to be jeopardized by a shortage of 

adequately trained scientists, it would seem that 

we are obligated to our youth to establish adequate 

scientific training facilities.” Convincing 

arguments, indeed. 73 

Supporters of the college rounded up signatures 

on the required petition to conduct 

the election. By the time the board met in 

✯ 

The football coaching staff for 1954 

were (left to right) H. N. “Rusty” 

Russell, Eddie Shinn, Hester “Stump” 

Evans, and Jack Thomas. 


✯ 

Mary Nell Schiwitz leads the Victoria 

College Band in downtown Victoria. 

January 1957, they had secured more than 250 

names on the document, enough for the election. 

The trustees set January 29, 1957, as the 

date for the referendum. 74 

Stormont and former board president 

Wearden were in the vanguard at local civic 

clubs touting the benefits that would accrue 

from a favorable vote. The two men emphasized 

that the new buildings and the conversion plan 

would double the college capacity of 500 fulltime 

students. They reiterated the points that 

earnings increased for anyone who attended 

even one year of college, and families saved 

money when their children enrolled in the local 

educational institution. 75 

Faculty participation in the election was 

enlisted by Moore. He called upon the instructors 

to remind their acquaintances to vote, and provided 

each faculty member with sheets torn from 

the Victoria telephone directory marked with the 

names of individuals believed to be friendly 

toward the college. The faculty was instructed to 

call these residents between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 

p.m. on a given date. The president advised the 

employees to be prepared to answer questions. 76 

To Moore, giving the right responses to what 

were likely inquiries was critical to the success 

of the passage of the bond issue. Based on conversations 

with people at civic, religious, and 

social functions, the president anticipated the 

questions that would be raised. He was sure that 

the instructors would be asked if the college was 

going to become a senior institution. The reply, 

Moore said, should be there are no current plans 

for this happening. The purpose of the bonds 

was to build a first-class junior college. Another 

likely query, the president remarked, would 

center around spending taxpayers’ money to 

operate buses out of Victoria County. The reply 

should be that out-of-county students pay twenty 

dollars more per semester, and the college 

receives from the state $200 for these students 

per semester. Of course, Moore said, the faculty 

members could expect that voters would ask 


about the tax rate increase. This should be 

addressed by assuring the public that the rate 

would go up seven cents but not go over the 

established 50 cents. 77 

The result of the election was what Moore 

and Stormont expected. The bond issue passed 

1,163 to 501. The president was disappointed 

there was not a greater turnout, but he blamed 

the low voter participation on the inclement 

weather. The urban voters, as before, were disposed 

to back the college while the rural electorate 

was generally against the issue. After the 

outcome was announced, the board employed 

Jordan C. Ault and Robert Rick as architects to 

plan and supervise the construction of the two 

proposed buildings. 78 

Coach Eddie Shinn’s 1956-57 track team had 

another superb season. Under his tutelage, the 

squad won the Border Olympics, Victoria 

Invitational Track Meet, Blinn Relays, and made 

respectable showings at various other college 

track contests before ending the year in May 1957 

with a fifth national junior college championship. 

79 Overcoming flood detours in Oklahoma 

that delayed the train’s arrival at Hutchinson, 

Kansas, food poisoning among several of the athletes, 

and a slow start at the track meet, the team 

blew away the opposition, racking up 94 points. 

The nearest competitor was Weber Junior College 

of Ogden, Utah, with 42 points. Bobby Singleton 

put-on an outstanding display of track talent and 

became the meet’s high point man. He won the 

220 yard low hurdles and the 120 yard high 

hurdles, tying the meet record in the high hurdles. 

The 440 yard dash was won by Anton Smajstrla. 

George Harris finished first in the 100 yard dash 

while Hoy Rogers out dueled his competitors 

from the shot-put ring. The 440 yard relay quartet 

of Herbert Wuthrich, Thomas Mendez, Jack 

Gilliam, and Smajstrla was flawless in crossing the 

finish line ahead of the pack. The mile relay foursome 

of Johnny Orsak, Gilbert Gerdes, Gilliam, 

and Smajstrla was also victorious. 80 

Construction of the natural science and 

library buildings pushed forward in the fall of 

1957 and into 1958, despite the delays caused 

by shortage of materials and bad weather. While 

the building program progressed, work began 

on expanding the Student Union by sixty percent. 

By increasing the size of the existing structure, 

dances, school administrators thought, 

could be held in it rather than the gym. Changes 

to the edifice included enclosing a porch, 

adding a wing that was to be used for a bookstore, 

and covering the terrace with tile. 81 

The football team took it on the chin in the 

fall of 1957. The squad was unable to duplicate 

its preceding year’s performance. Nevertheless, 

Johnny Orsak, the leading scorer for the Pirates, 

was honored by being selected to play in the 

All-American Junior College Football Classic in 

Jackson, Mississippi. 82 

While the football players fared poorly, this 

was not the case for all the college’s intercollegiate 

participants. The tennis team emerged as 

Longhorn Conference champions, and the 

✯ 

A rare snowfall draped the campus in 

1958. 


✯ 

Graduation ceremonies and faculty 

dinners were held in the Library 

Building for several years after it 

opened in 1958. 

New to the campus at the start of the 1958- 

1959 academic year was Lamar Fly, a former 

assistant principal at Cuero High School. Fly 

was named director of student activities and 

taught business administration. After a tenure 

of a couple of years at the college, he pursued 

and earned a doctor’s degree from the 

University of Texas. Fly would become the 

president of Hill Junior College when it 

reopened in the 1960s. Dr. Rex Whiteside, 

who became dean at Victoria College in 1975, 

was a faculty member at the Hillsboro school. 

He told the story that when Fly put together 

the Hill Junior College catalogue, the president 

used the Victoria College catalogue as a reference. 

In so doing, he incorporated in his bulletin 

a phrase that stated in effect that to be eligible 

to graduate from Hill Junior College, the 

student must meet the graduation requirements 

at Victoria College. Fly apparently had 

some embarrassing, but good humored, 

moments for this blooper. 85 

In January 1959, the board proclaimed that 

student bus service would cease as of 

September 1. When queried as to why the 

action was taken, Moore responded by giving 

two reasons. In the first place, the president 

stated the cost of funding the buses fell upon 

Pirate tracksters in the spring of 1958 again Victoria County taxpayers while the majority of 

won the junior college national championship. students who used the service lived outside the 

The track team did so, however, in an unusual college district. A second reason, Moore said, 

manner. The squad placed first in only one was the buses were old and replacement vehicles 

would be very expensive. 86 

event, the mile relay. Shinn remarked, “This 

was by far the strongest competition we’ve had Attesting to the age of the buses, and in particular 

their mechanical unsoundness, was stu- 

here.” He added, “We’ve had lots of firsts in the 

past, but we had to do it with seconds, thirds dent driver Joel Tanner of Port Lavaca. His bus, 

and fourths this time.” The Victorians who affectionately referred to as the “Victoria 

placed highest in the events were Hoy Rogers, Meteor” by staff members of the Jolly Roger, on a 

second in the discus; Bob Campbell, second in run to the college from the port community 

the low and the high hurdles; and Anton stalled at a railroad crossing. Tanner and his 

Smajstrla, second in the 440 yard dash. Billy passengers spied a train coming at them. 

Weiler tied with two other contestants in the Consequently, “Some headed out the back door, 

high jump. 83 

cleared away the back traffic, and let the bus roll 

Stormont received another appellation from backwards to safety. Others calmly remained on 

the college as the 1958 fall semester rolled the bus, commenting that they would rather be 

around. He accepted the appointment as vice hit by a train than have to take the tests that 

president along with his position as dean. Dr. were due that day.” 87 

Roland Bing, employed in 1954 to supervise On April 24-25, 1959, the college held its 

student publications and teach economics, first University Interscholastic League event for 

became assistant dean and director of the Region IV Conference A and AA high schools. 

evening school. 84 School facilities throughout the city were used 


to accommodate some 92 schools from 16 

districts as they competed in track, tennis, 

golf, and literary activities. Impetus for conducting 

the event was to help boost the local 

economy. There were an estimated 2,000 

persons who would visit the city for the twoday 

affair and spend money in the town. 

Another factor in holding as many contests as 

possible on the campus was to expose prospective 

students to Victoria College. In time the 

faculty became weary of its involvement in the 

event, citing the loss of classroom time and 

questioning the affair’s promotional value. 

Eventually, in the early 1990s, at the behest of 

the instructors, the administration ceased the 

college’s involvement. 88 

Wilbur L. Collins, music instructor, was honored 

in the spring of 1959 when his Psalm 25, 

an original composition, was selected for performance 

at the Creative Music Festival sponsored 

by San Jose State College in California. 

The work was written in 1953 and received an 

outstanding choral music award in 1954 from 

the Southwestern Symposium of Contemporary 

Music supported by the University of Texas at 

Austin. Psalm 25 was Collins’ fourth composition 

published. The other three were He Showed 

Me The River of Life, Now As We Stand, and Sing 

To The Lord. 89 

During the 1950s and into the 1960s, it 

became customary for the sophomore class to 

present a gift to the college. The president of 

the class of 1959, Cecil Durham, selected a 

committee chaired by Roger Van Rekom to 

choose an appropriate gift. Van Rekom “came 

up with the idea of getting a flag or banner, primarily 

a flag…so that they could fly it up on the 

flag pole, but it didn’t seem to be very practical.” 

The committee “decided to go ahead and 

get a banner.” The design was chosen from proposals 

submitted by the student body. Each 

sophomore was asked to contribute twenty-five 

cents to pay for the gift. The banner was oblong 

and made of white canvas with a maroon border. 

A maroon Victoria College logo was placed 

in the middle. 90 

Victoria College’s intercollegiate athletes 

again scored some noteworthy accomplishments 

in the spring of 1959. Bobby Coffey shot 

a two under par at Riverside Golf Course to 

win the Pioneer Conference individual golf 

title. Billy Pickett, in a tennis match that lasted 

✯ 

The 1959 Victoria College Saberettes. 


✯ 

The campus in 1959. 

three hours, defeated his opponent from 

Tarleton State for the Pioneer Conference’s 

men’s singles championship. Pickett and Larry 

Doig teamed up to capture the men’s doubles at 

the conference tournament. Unlike previous 

years, the college had only one representative at 

the National Junior College Track and Field 

Meet, Sam Ketcham. The Pirate thin clad was 

eliminated in the 100 yard dash and placed 

fifth in the 220 yard dash. 91 

Beginning with the 1959 fall semester, sixteen 

tuition scholarships were awarded for 

choral music as a “counterpart of the scholarships 

in Instrumental Music.” In general, choral 

music was “considered sort of second fiddle to 

instrumental music as a college subject” prior to 

the appointment of Ruth Williams as choral 

director in 1954. Under her direction, however, 

the choir received worldwide recognition. The 

decision by college officials to grant the scholarships 

in 1959 was a testimonial to the progress 

the choir made in the five years Williams was 

director and to the positive impression it had on 

the local community. 92 

Another endeavor the college undertook with 

the commencement of the 1959 fall semester 

was a vocational nursing program, the “first 

of its kind in Victoria.” A mounting shortage of 

nurses in the region and a desire “to provide 

qualified women with an opportunity to prepare 

themselves for a vital occupation” were the two 

key factors influencing the establishment of the 

program. Marguerite Weeks was employed as 

coordinator. Out of the twenty-five students 

who began the course, twenty-one were capped 

by Dorothy Swickheimer, administrator of 

Citizens Memorial Hospital, on January 7, 1960, 

at a ceremony held in the library. The first to 

receive the honor was Bessie Perry. After completing 

their college work, the students entered 

a thirty-three week regimen of clinical training 

at the county supported hospital. 93 

Nineteen of the vocational nursing students 

graduated on August 12 in the Student Union. 


The featured speaker at the ceremony was Dr. 

Heaton Smith. The entire group successfully 

passed the State Board Examination. Two of the 

graduates, Lessie Fay Wilson and Patricia 

Buckley, were ranked among the state’s top ten 

students. Overall, the first vocational nursing 

class at Victoria College placed ninth scholastically 

in a field of seventy-four schools that took 

the examination. 94 

Faculty members took an extraordinary step 

at their 1960 fall meeting by agreeing to form a 

committee to draft a resolution of appreciation 

for the recently retired long-time social sciences 

instructor Jewell Hudler. Stormont stated that 

she had a greater impact on the community 

than any administrator and her presence 

was “imponderable.” Wilma Felger, Chad 

Whitmore, and Lois Rowland were appointed 

by the dean to compose a formal statement “in 

appreciation of a teacher who has served the 

community and the cause of education long 

and well.” The three member committee were 

diligent and thoughtful in writing a resolution 

that recognized Hudler’s “many years of service 

that have contributed immeasurably to the 

growth and development of The Victoria 

College.” The resolution was passed unanimously 

by the faculty on October 30 and 

was placed in the minutes. A typed copy was 

framed and sent to Hudler. 95 

For some reason, perhaps because of a query 

from an academician who expressed a dislike for 

nontransferable courses, Stormont, during the 

faculty meeting in September 1960, made strong 

uncompromising comments as to the role of the 

local educational institution. He pointed out in a 

slow, meticulous, and forward manner that the 

transfer function was very important, but when 

the overall student body was considered, less 

than fifty percent of those attending Victoria 

College will enroll in a senior college. Therefore, 

as long as Victoria College had an open admissions 

policy, Stormont remarked, it has an obligation 

to do something for the terminal student, 

such as providing post high school educational, 

recreational, and social experiences. 96 

Tragedy struck the Pirate football team in the 

fall of 1960. In the first half of the game against 

Cisco Junior College on October 23, Gene 

McCann, a nineteen-year-old, 240-pound tackle 

from Lacawanna, New York, hurt his leg. The 

team doctor diagnosed the injury “as a torn 

✯ 

Dorothy Swickheimer, Citizens 

Hospital administrator, fits Bessie 

Perry with the first cap of the 

vocational nursing program as 

President J. D. Moore looks on. 


✯ 

Darlese Thomas (left), Sharon Kern 

(center), and Marie Frerichs (right) 

give Gwen Foutz advice on how to 

make a poster. 

muscle, a bruised artery and a tear in the vein.” 

Later that evening in the Boys’ Dormitory, his 

leg became swollen and throbbed unmercifully. 

At 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning, a doctor was 

summoned. The physician ordered him rushed 

to the hospital for emergency surgery to remove 

a “blood clot that had formed.” In what the surgeons 

thought would be a routine operation to 

repair the damaged limb, McCann’s heart 

“stopped for four crucial minutes.” Physicians 

immediately opened his chest and massaged the 

heart until it began functioning. McCann lapsed 

into a coma that lasted twenty-two days, during 

which time he flailed “wildly about until his 

hands had to be tied.” Special duty nurses 

attended to him “round the clock,” and at least 

one male faculty member was assigned to his 

room at night “to help handle him during 

convulsive fits.” 97 

Alfred “Al” Allen, mathematics and chemistry 

instructor, offered his assistance at the hospital. 

He stated the injury was “one of those tragic 

things. When the administration asked for volunteers, 

I said I would. He [McCann] did all 

right during the day, but at night he became 

wild. He was so strong that the nurses could not 

hold him. I stayed until midnight when somebody 

relieved me.” 98 

McCann’s mother lived in the dorm while her 

son was in Citizens Memorial Hospital, and 

his father spent as much time in Victoria as his 

work would permit. A fund was established for 

the injured player, and money was raised to 

bring the “younger McCann children” from New 

York for the Christmas holidays. Unfortunately, 

McCann never fully recovered and remained 

with physical and mental disabilities. 99 

College officials made headlines when they 

announced on December 14, 1960, that football 

was to be discontinued. In an official statement, 

adopted at a special meeting, the board 

commented that the move was made “because 

of the rising cost of the program and difficulty 

in arranging a satisfactory playing schedule.” 

The governing body pointed out that revenue 

produced from ticket sales in some of the 


games with freshmen of “B” teams from senior 

colleges “have not been enough to pay 

even the operating expense of the game (officials, 

tickets, field rental, travel).” As evidenced 

by the gate receipts, there was little 

community interest in the senior college clubs 

and certain junior colleges would not compete 

against a school that admitted “Negroes.” 

Incidentally, Booker T. Carter, a Pirate halfback, 

and Victor Marshall, a pole vaulter, hold 

the distinction of being the first black athletes 

at the college. Scheduling games also became 

more difficult when Arlington and Tarleton 

became senior colleges. 100 

A rumor circulated among the students and 

the community that the real reason for the elimination 

of football was the debilitating injury 

suffered by McCann. Moore emphatically 

denied the assertion. He continually reemphasized 

the board’s position that the cost was too 

great, and “the interest among the people in the 

city was not enough to keep it going.” Allen 

agreed with Moore’s assessment. He recalled 

that “Victoria College didn’t draw anybody. I 

told the business manager at the time that by 

dropping football the college could give the 

teachers a $500 raise. He said it could be a lot 

more than $500.” The move may have been 

coincidental, but the following year after the 

elimination of football, the board lowered the 

tax rate. 101 

In October 1957, Sputnik, the first satellite 

to orbit the earth and a product of the Soviet 

Union, shattered the nation’s belief that the 

United States was scientifically and technologically 

invincible. To recoup lost ground and 

regain scientific and technological supremacy, 

the country responded by supporting policies 

that accentuated student participation in 

biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. 

The Victoria College emulated the mood of the 

nation. When the football program was 

dropped, eliminating over twenty scholarships, 

the college established ten academic scholarships 

and strengthened the entrance requirements 

for math and science. 102 

Caroline Summers, speech and drama 

instructor, escorted her speech students to Big 

Spring, hoping to be competitive at the State 

Speech Meet in the spring of 1961. The students 

measured up to the task and captured the speech 

sweepstakes. Her team, reminiscent of the college 

days at Patti Welder, won three firsts, three 

seconds, and one third. The first place victors 

were Peggy Tolbert, poetry; James Wallace, oratory; 

and Ada Jackson, dramatic interpretation. 103 

Victoria College track and field athletes 

and the tennis players in the spring of 1961 

✯ 

There were few empty chairs in 

the Student Union Building in 

the mornings. 


✯ 

Coach Eddie Shinn, builder of 

champions. 

performed superbly and took the Pioneer 

Conference titles in both sports. The thin clads 

at the conference track meet won nine first 

places. Meanwhile, the tennis squad won six out 

of seven matches on the first day of play. They 

were so successful that the girl’s singles final was 

an all Victoria College affair. Although the golf 

team did not duplicate the feat of the track and 

tennis athletes, Bill Power won laurels for himself 

and the college by winning the conference 

golf title. 104 

The National Junior College Track and Field 

Meet at Big Spring in May 1961 proved to be 

Eddie Shinn’s finale as a coach. Although the 

local contingent experienced moments of joy, 

the Pirate competitors overall did not fare well. 

A rather inauspicious ending for a man whose 

teams dominated junior college track and field 

during the 1950s. 105 

Hurricane Carla, the largest in Texas history 

with estimated wind gusts of 175 miles per 

hour at Port Lavaca, savagely roared into the 

Coastal Bend area on September 11, 1961. 

Property damage along the Texas coast exceeded 

$300 million. Because of advanced warning, 

people on the coast fled inland. The college 

gym was turned into a refuge for individuals 

and families seeking shelter from the torrential 

rains, and the flying debris that carried a 

wallop strong enough to kill a human or a 

beast. Out of concern for the safety of students 

and college personnel, classes were postponed 

until the danger from the wind and flooded 

roads was irrelevant. The college suffered 

about $5,000 in damage from the hurricane, a 

minor figure compared to losses elsewhere in 

the region. 106 

Moore became actively involved in the local 

campaign promoted by the Victoria Chamber 

of Commerce to build a new civic center on a 

twenty acre tract of land east of the Science 

Building. He maintained the new complex 

would satisfy the college’s most immediate 

need, an air conditioned auditorium. As envisioned 

by the backers of the civic center, the 

college would cede the twenty acres in 

exchange for Brownson Home property that 

adjoined the northeast section of the campus, 

which presumably was going to be purchased 

from bond funds. The president called upon 

the student body, as well as the faculty, to take 

a role in getting the electorate to the polls on 

the bond election day. Moore’s efforts were in 

vain, the Victoria County voters rejected the 

bond issue. The setback, however, was temporary. 

Before the decade ended, the college had 

an auditorium. 107 

Ever since the Library and Science buildings 

were opened in 1958, “there had been some 

consideration given to installing a campus 

marker.” This goal was accomplished when the 

1962 sophomore class, as a departing gift, voted 

to install a sign. The college accepted the offer 

and agreed to subsidize it. The marker was 28 

feet long, 5 feet high, made of hollow tile faced 


with brick with “15-inch-high aluminum letters 

spelling out ‘Victoria College.’” It was placed at 

the corner of Ben Jordan and Red River streets. 

Floodlights were added and directed toward the 

sign so it could be seen at night. The marker 

became a college landmark. 108 

In 1962, the college conducted a self-study 

for reaffirmation by the Southern Association 

of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Dr. Roland 

Bing served as chairman of the self-study committee. 

The result of the hard work put in by 

the faculty was a report that Bing dubbed “the 

little red book” because of its scarlet cover. 

Since a majority of the faculty were not around 

when the initial study was made in the early 

1950s, apprehension as to what to expect from 

the organization was rampant on the campus, a 

malady that has afflicted those involved in succeeding 

self-studies. Moore was unperturbed, 

but not wishing to appear too overconfident, 

he remarked that “the administrative staff 

and faculty will be on their respective toes for 

the visit.” 109 

Chairing the three member reaccreditation 

committee was Dr. J. L. Ashmore, president 

of Pensacola (Florida) Junior College. The 

educators spent April 8-11, 1962, on the 

campus analyzing college policies, checking to 

see if the educational institution measured 

up to the organization’s standards, and visiting 

with the faculty and students. At the conclusion 

of the visitation, Ashmore and his associates 

met with an assembled faculty in the Student 

Union. The chairman made a number of 

humorous statements, praised the quality of 

education at Victoria College, and then commented 

that the college would be reaccredited 

even though a few recommendations were 

made, a typical move by reaffirmation committees 

no matter how thorough the educational 

institution is in compiling its report. One of 

the recommendations was a college incentive 

policy for instructors. The administration 

addressed this issue the following year. 110 

The first 13 years the college was at the Red 

River Street site were, to say the least, remarkable. 

Not only had the educational institution 

gained the confidence of the community by 

providing a quality education at minimal 

expense, but it was also recognized as one of 

the best two-year colleges in the state. Even 

though there was not an appreciable rise in the 

cost of attending the college throughout this 

period, the campus experienced an expansion 

of facilities and faculty to meet the ever 

increasing demands of a rising enrollment. 

From the outset, the college insisted that student 

academic proficiency be equal to, if not 

better than, the first two years at senior colleges. 

Consequently, Victoria College students 

who transferred to upper level educational 

institutions performed admirably. Whatever 

financial and academic accomplishments the 

college enjoyed during the thirteen-year span 

can be attributed to two men—J. D. Moore and 

John W. Stormont. 

✯ 

The name marker was a gift from the 

1962 sophomore class. 


ENDNOTES 

1 

The Victoria Advocate, 20 July 1949, 9 August 1949; The Victoria College Board Minutes, 8 August 1949. 

2 

Registrar’s Records, The Victoria College; Advocate, 28 July 1949, 9 August 1949, 11 August 1949, 18 August 1949. 

3 

VC Minutes, 12 July 1949. 

4 

Advocate, 9 August 1949, 21 August 1949. 

5 

VC Minutes, 13 June 1949. 

6 

Lois Lunsford, letter to author, 7 September 1997; The Jolly Roger, 15 January 1965. 

7 

Lunsford, letter to author. 

8 

The Jolly Roger, 23 February 1968; J. D. Moore, interview with author, 8 May 1995; Advocate, 13 September 1949. 

9 

Registrar’s Records, Victoria College. 

10 


11 


12 

The Pirate, 1950; Advocate, 19 September 1949. 

13 

Kemper Williams, Jr., letter to author, 22 September 1997. 

14 

Ibid. 

15 

Billy Mullen, interview with author, 8 August 1998; Advocate, 2 November 1949. 

16 


17 


18 


19 

Ibid., 10 April 1950, 16 April 1950. 

20 


21 

Ibid. 

22 

Ibid. 

23 

Ibid. 

24 

Ibid., 30 May 1950. 

25 

Ibid., 18 July 1950, 20 August 1950; Wilbur Collins, tape interview with author, 12 August 1997. 

26 

Collins, tape interview. 

27 

Ibid. 

28 

The Jolly Roger, 15 November 1950. 

29 

VC Minutes, 4 December 1950; Advocate, 5 December 1950; Ibid., 19 December 1950. 

30 

The Jolly Roger, 18 April 1951. 

31 

Ibid., 18 January 1951. 

32 


33 

Pirate, 1951. 

34 

Registrar’s Records, Victoria College; Advocate, 12 February 1952. 

35 

The Jolly Roger, 11 January 1952; Advocate, 15 January 1952. 

36 

Pirate, 1952; The Jolly Roger, 29 November 1950. 

37 

Pirate, 1952; The Jolly Roger, 7 May 1952. 

38 

Pirate, 1952. 

39 

Advocate, 10 June 1952, 15 June 1952, 14 July 1953; The Jolly Roger, 13 October 1952. 

40 

James Simons, interview with author, 14 July 1998. 

41 

Advocate, 12 August 1952, 13 May 1953. 

42 

The Jolly Roger, 13 October 1952; Ibid., 1 October 1953, 3 December 1969. 

43 


44 

Larry Shook, letter to author, 23 May 1997. 

45 


46 

Jim Lehrer, A Bus of My Own (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1992), 28-29. 

47 

Advocate, 10 May 1953, 13 May 1953. 

48 

Pirate, 1953. 


49 


50 

Advocate, 8 November 1959; Lunsford, letter to author. 

51 

Advocate, 15 February 1954; The Jolly Roger, 19 February 1954. 

52 

Advocate, 4 March 1954. 

53 

Ibid., 16 May 1954. 

54 

Vollie Williams, letter to author, 28 July 1998. 

55 

Ibid. 

56 

Advocate, 7 June 1954; San Antonio Register, 18 July 1954; C. R. Callis, tape interview with author, 9 January 1996. 

57 

Advocate, 15 June 1954, 14 September 1954; VC Minutes, 14 June 1954. 

58 

Chadbourne Whitmore, telephone interview with author, 7 October 1996; Mary Doughtie, interview with author, 14 July 1998. 

59 

Whitmore, telephone interview. 

60 


61 

Registrar’s Records, Victoria College; Advocate, 14 September 1954. 

62 

VC Minutes, 13 September 1954; Advocate, 14 September 1954. 

63 

Advocate, 13 March 1956; VC Minutes, 12 March 1956; The Jolly Roger, 28 March 1956. 

64 

Advocate, 15 February 1955, 14 June 1955; VC Minutes, 13 June 1955. 

65 

VC Minutes, 13 June 1955; Advocate, 14 June 1955. 

66 

The Jolly Roger, 25 May 1955. 

67 

Pirate, 1956. 

68 

Ibid. 

69 

Advocate, 26 May 1956, 10 July 1956. 

70 

Pirate, 1957; The Jolly Roger, 18 January 1957. 

71 

Advocate, 11 September 1956; The Jolly Roger, 24 October 1956. 

72 

VC Minutes, 10 December 1956; Advocate, 11 December 1956; The Jolly Roger, 17 December 1956. 

73 

Advocate, 11 December 1956; The Jolly Roger, 17 December 1956. 

74 

VC Minutes, 7 January 1957; Advocate, 8 January 1957. 

75 

The Jolly Roger, 18 January 1957. 

76 

The Victoria College Faculty Minutes, 28 January 1957. 

77 

Ibid., 14 December 1956. 

78 

VC Minutes, 4 February 1957; Advocate, 30 January 1957. 

79 


80 

Advocate, 18-19 May 1957. 

81 

The Jolly Roger, 1 November 1957, 27 November 1957. 

82 

Ibid., 27 November 1957, 14 April 1958; Pirate, 1958. 

83 


84 

Ibid., 17 June 1958. 

85 

Ibid., 15 July 1958. 

86 

Ibid., 13 January 1959; The Jolly Roger, 30 January 1959. 

87 

The Jolly Roger, 11 March 1959. 

88 

Advocate, 10 February 1959; Ibid., 20 February 1959. 

89 


90 

Roger Van Rekom, tape interview with author, 7 June 1997; Ibid., 11 March 1997. 

91 

Pirate, 1959; Advocate, 17 May 1959. 

92 

Advocate, 15 June 1954, 14 April 1959; The Jolly Roger, 24 April 1959. 

93 

Advocate, 14 July 1959; The Jolly Roger, 5 February 1960; Pirate, 1960. 

94 

The Jolly Roger, 9 December 1960; Advocate, 12 July 1960. 

95 

VC Faculty Minutes, 2 September 1960, 3 October 1960. 

96 


97 


98 

Alfred Allen, interview with author, 27 July 1998. 

99 

Advocate, 15 November 1960; VC Faculty Minutes, 12 December 1960. 

Endnotes ✦ 103

100 


101 

Ibid., 15 December 1960, 10 July 1961; J. D. Moore, telephone interview with author, 24 July 1998; Allen, interview with author. 

102 


103 


104 

Ibid., 12 May 1961. 

105 


106 


107 

Ibid., 10 July 1961; The Jolly Roger, 27 October 1961. 

108 

Advocate, 14 November 1961, 13 March 1962; The Jolly Roger, 6 April 1962. 

109 


110 

Ibid. 


✯ 

A mid-1950s Victoria College 

Women’s Sports Association, 

sponsored by Esther Etzel, the fifth 

person from the right. 

Below: Ronald Koss, Coach Eddie 

Shinn, and Ynacensio Cantu stand 

behind Victoria College’s first national 

track trophy. 

Bottom, left: FORE! 

Endnotes ✦ 105


CHAPTER 5 

TURMOIL AND CONSISTENCY 

During the 1960s, students across the nation took issue with what they considered the inhibiting, 

materialistic society of their parents. Crew cuts gave way to long hair, unkempt attire replaced neat 

dress, disrespect for authority became commonplace, openness in sexual relations punctured the firewall 

that kept intimate relations from becoming a public spectacle, minorities insisted on their rightful 

share of the American pie, cynicism toward political figures permeated the campuses, and bad 

manners rewrote the book on etiquette. Social historians continually explore and search for causes of 

the societal transformation and its long term results. 

Even though the overall campus atmosphere was passive, the college was not completely 

untouched by the momentous events of the decade. With the conservative social and political environment 

of the community, any challenge to the status quo was often looked upon as an extension 

of the tumultuous occurrences elsewhere. To many at the college, support for the Civil Rights Act of 

1964, skepticism as to the validity of the Vietnam War, calls for a new student dress code, political 

activism, or the slightest verbal nourishment for controversial items cast a suspicious light upon a 

student or a faculty member. Consequently, divisiveness, albeit minor except for personal differences, 

developed among the faculty. Aspersions were cast against those who were viewed as coddling 

deviant attitudes that threatened the very existence of society. A running joke among the faculty was 

that if two or more instructors were standing and talking in the hall, there was some sort of conspiracy 

afoot, or as one senior faculty member remarked, “a cabal.” 

Victoria College never came close to replicating the student unrest at the major college campuses, 

such as the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Texas at Austin. David 

Urbano, a Victoria College alumnus and a keen observer of Mexican-American social and political 

behavioral patterns in Texas, provides an explanation as to why, at least, there was not the Mexican- 

American upheaval at the college that was experienced elsewhere. He maintains that “Victoria was 

a very conservative community and that conservatism is still ingrained in the community’s ethos, 

numerous parents admonished their children never to engage in activities that would tarnish the 

family name,” and “the lack of minority representation at the city, county, and school boards made 

many feel politically powerless to challenge the existing system.” Urbano further observes that 

“some Mexican-American parents felt that if their children participated in radical politics the representatives 

of the economic and political power structures could have unleashed a severe backlash 

that would have wreaked havoc on families already struggling to pursue the American dream.” 

Moreover, he argues that “the goals and aspirations of many of the social activists were commendable, 

many were in high school and their youth and inexperience necessitated a community leader 

to step forth and offer guidance and direction.” Finally, Urbano points out that an insensitive media, 

which sometimes equated protest with communism, did not “disseminate the movement’s goals and 

aspirations to a community.” 1 

Despite the verbal warfare over social and political issues, the faculty was united in the basic goals 

and missions of the college—to put forth challenging course work to prepare transfer or terminal students 

for their future endeavors and to serve the community’s broad educational needs. From the 

administration down to the classroom instructor, there existed a sincere cooperative spirit to achieve 

these desired ends. The administrators provided the tools for academic development, the necessary 

resources for classroom settings, and, to their credit, they did not enter the teacher’s classroom 

domain. Pride in being a member of the Victoria College family and dedication to producing quality 

course work at nominal cost to the student and to the taxpayer has never been lacking among the 

faculty and administration. 

The college took significant steps to upgrade the physical plant in the 1960s. Although faculty 

offices were already air conditioned, classrooms in the Administration Building, currently the 

✯ 

Richard Walker presents a lecture to 

his history students. 

Turmoil and Consistency ✦ 107

✯ 

V. T. Kallus managed the bookstore 

and taught classes in agriculture. 

Academic Building, were not climate controlled 

until the summer of 1962. Because the administration 

deemed a central air system as too costly, 

a small unit was installed to cool down every 

two rooms. The air conditioners, located in the 

classrooms, were extremely noisy, and one room 

was usually warmer than the other, causing friction 

between faculty members who wanted their 

room colder than hotter or hotter than colder. 

The units were unreliable and frequently quit 

working, thus causing instructors either to 

move their classes to vacant rooms with functioning 

air conditioners or to open the windows. 

Although there were problems with the cooling 

systems, the classroom environment was, nevertheless, 

greatly improved. 2 

Prior to the installation of the air conditioners, 

windows were opened for ventilation. 

Invariably the shrubs that lined the outside of 

the classroom buildings, and the ivy that draped 

the exterior facade, housed nests of yellow jackets. 

These insects invaded the classrooms and 

buzzed the students and instructors, making 

education secondary as students and teachers 

dodged and swatted, sometimes blindly, at the 

intruding yellow jackets. As a matter of self protection, 

alertness was the order of the day. 

Because the number of classes were limited 

and central air conditioning was available, summer 

school was conducted in the Science 

Building for most of the 1960s. There was, however, 

a certain problem associated with teaching 

in the Science Building. The cooling system was 

cut off on Friday afternoon to save money. Over 

the weekend the building warmed. Early 

Monday morning, the unit was turned on. 

When the cool air collided with the heat, moisture 

collected on the desk tops, resulting in student 

note pads and books becoming damp. 

Besides installing the air conditioners in the 

Administration Building in 1962, construction 

of a metal maintenance building began and in 

October the edifice was completed. The new 

building was designed to replace a frame structure 

the college purchased in 1948 for $500. 3 

Salary schedules, effective for the 1963-1964 

academic year, were revised in the spring of 1963 

by the board in response to a Southern 

Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools 

recommendation that the college develop an 

incentive program to encourage faculty members 

to acquire additional college hours. Basic starting 

salary for an instructor with a master’s degree was 

increased from $4,800 to $5,000 and for a doctor’s 

degree from $5,000 to $5,600. Incorporated 

in the scale was a new category—master’s degree 

plus 30 semester hours—which had a beginning 

salary of $5,300. Yearly increments of $150 


up to a maximum of 12 years were permitted. 

President Moore stated that the college goal 

was to have 40 percent of the instructors holding 

a master’s degree or better and 20 percent 

with an earned doctor’s degree by 1966. The 

college had little difficulty attaining the 40 percent, 

but fell woefully short of reaching the 20 

percent figure. 4 

Monroe Northcutt’s track team in the spring 

of 1963 enjoyed its best season since the glory 

days of the national championships. The squad 

won first place at the San Antonio College 

Invitational, Blinn Invitational, Pirate Relays, 

Harlandale Relays, and Alamo Heights tournament. 

At the national track meet in Big Spring, 

the Howard County tracksters proved to be 

unbeatable, producing four records and tying 

two. Victoria College finished third at the meet. 

Phoenix, Arizona, edged the Pirates for second 

place by a single point. An outstanding performance 

was made by Victoria College thin 

clad Roger Kirkwood. He established a record 

for the mile run and won the 880 yard dash. 

Victorians also captured the sprint medley 

relay. Participating on the relay team were 

Kirkwood, John Brandon, Timm Mikulenka, 

and John Kiesling. 5 

Troubled by societal changes that were often 

blamed on the new music craze of rock and roll 

and long hair, the administration, ever sensitive 

to cultural modifications, issued a Student 

Union membership card. The privilege of using 

the facility was denied to any student who 

engaged in a public demonstration of affection, 

spoke or laughed too loudly, played domino 

games before 11:14 a.m., or played card games 

anytime. Also, male students were not allowed 

to wear hats or caps inside the building. Faculty 

members were assigned to police the Student 

Union and to ask any offending student to leave. 

Furthermore, shorts, culottes, pedal pushers, 

blue jeans, and slacks were considered inappropriate 

apparel for coeds to wear on the campus. 

When an instructor brought up the dress code 

at a faculty meeting, pointing out that the outlawed 

attire was not as revealing as the permissible 

mini skirts, he was ridiculed by the administration 

for questioning the dress policy. 6 

So as not to leave the impression that the college 

was a drab, lusterless place, let it be noted 

that there were considerable student activities 

sponsored by the college that permitted students 

to enjoy lively social experiences. The 

types of social affairs ran the gamut from formal 

dances to country/western entertainment. While 

a live band played the appropriate music, students 

did the twist, Cotton-Eyed Joe, waltz, or 

two-step. Loud, ear-shattering music vibrated 

the walls of the Student Union, often irritating 

the faculty members who were required to 

chaperone these social gatherings. Normally, 

when a dance was in progress, instructors and 

administrators sat at a distance and played 

cards, dominoes, scrabble, or some other game, 

leaving their chairs every so often to tell the 

band to reduce the volume. 

✯ 

Carolyn Toalson adjusts her PTK cap. 


✯ 

Top, left: Dr. John W. Stormont 

recognizes Glenn Hackstedt as winner 

of Western Week’s Best Beard Contest. 

Top, right: Charles Spurlin, history 

instructor, serves a hot dog to a 

student at a freshmen picnic. 

Other social affairs sponsored by the college 

included the annual freshmen picnic, either at 

the Student Union or local public park, and an 

out-of-town sophomore trip. At the picnics, hot 

dogs with all the trimmings were served, while 

the students enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere in 

their slacks, pedal pushers, or blue jeans. With 

music pouring from the radios, the young ladies 

and men demonstrated how light of foot they 

were. The sophomore excursions often involved 

similar activities and occasionally a playful 

adventure at a swimming pool. Naturally, the 

students wore bathing suits. Even the faculty 

who disliked the college dress code frowned 

upon skinny dipping. 

Let it not be forgotten that Western Week, 

later Western Day, gave students a lively outlet 

for their energies. This was the extracurricular 

event that linked the students of the 1950s with 

those of the 1960s. Harmless pranks by students 

were commonplace in both decades. Vollie 

Williams, an athlete in the mid-1950s, remembered 

how he and some of his friends caused a 

commotion with a four-legged animal in the 

boys’ dorm during Western Week. He remarked 

that “a bunch of us put a donkey in an upstairs 

room…while the guys were gone. They were 

quite shocked when they came in…face to face 

with a donkey, early the next morning…The 

donkey was not ‘house-broke’…[It] did mess up 

the room!!!” 7 

Dr. C. A. Talley who came to the college in 

1961 to teach economics was imminently associated 

with the Western Week activities after he 

became director of student personnel. He 

recalled the progressive extinction of the event 

in the 1960s. Talley noted: 

About twenty ‘Mafiosos’ from Port Lavaca 

came dressed in black with derby hats and carrying 

violin cases. They gathered at a large table 

in the Student Union. The Sheriff’s deputies and 

many ‘cowboy’ members of a posse attempted to 

arrest and put the ‘city slickers’ in jail. In the 

scuffle the glass of the door of the Student Union 


was broken out. The mafiosos left with a threat 

to return with real guns. As Director of Student 

Personnel, and an ‘O.K. Corral’ in the making, I 

decided to call in the police who stopped the 

Port Lavaca men at the campus entrances. The 

next day the iron-barred jail was missing. It was 

later retrieved from the Guadalupe River where a 

fisherman had encountered it. ‘Western Week’ 

was reduced to three days the next year. 

During a city-wide western parade a flat-bed 

truck moved down Main Street with an old 

wooden outdoor toilet with ‘VICTORIA COL- 

LEGE’ painted on it. Someone inside was hollering 

and beating on the walls. Viewers were 

amused but the Victoria College administration 

was not. Western Week was again shortened for 

the next year. 

Vehicles came onto campus loaded with beer 

and other such beverages. The hallways became 

clogged with boisterous ‘cowboys’ who were 

noisy and discourteous. One faculty member 

who apparently thought he was being accosted 

nearly ‘ran down’ a ‘Sheriff’ who had decided to 

arrest him. The Sheriff jumped to avoid being 

hit, landed on the hood and crashed into the 

windshield, breaking it. Another student was 

found in a stupor on the floor of the men’s restroom. 

The student became very uncooperative 

and had to be arrested. Several other such events 

occurred. Western Week was shortened to one 

day for the next year. 

An attempt was made to place a faculty member 

in jail for not wearing western clothes. 

Unknown to the ‘lawmen’ the faculty member 

had clinical claustrophobia. The faculty member 

fled the campus for the day. Other irregularities 

occurred and Western Week was shortened to 

✯ 

Top: Students at a Western 

Week dance. 

Below: Dr. C. A. Talley lectures to an 

economics class. 


✯ 

Dr. Roland E. Bing is busy at his desk 

in the Administration Building. 

one afternoon for next year. Eventually, Western 

Week rode off into the sunset. 8 

In the meantime, freshman Gayle Wagner 

won the 1963 4-H Dress Review held in Dallas. 

Her award winning dress was a sheer wool flannel 

with a mohair matching coat. Wagner wore 

a mohair pillbox hat to go along with her 

ensemble. She was given an all-expense paid 

trip to the National 4-H Congress in Chicago for 

her achievement. 9 

Dr. John W. Stormont decided the time had 

come to step down as dean and vice president 

in 1964. Before officially presenting his resignation 

to the board, he informed the faculty of 

his intent. Stormont stated that he wanted 

more time to pursue private interests. He often 

remarked, in jest, that whenever the student 

daytime enrollment reached 1,000, it was 

time for him to step down. The college was 

on the verge of breaking that mark. The 

board reluctantly accepted his request to resign 

on January 13. After his resignation, which 

took effect on July 1, he assumed the responsibilities 

as director of the Evening School and 

part-time government instructor. 10 

As an instructor, the former dean carried his 

notes, textbook, handouts, and tests to class in a 

cardboard box. He walked into his room, placed 

the box on the teacher’s table, took out a pocket 

watch that must have cost at least two or three 

dollars, set it on the table, and began teaching. 

When Stormont finished, he placed his notes 

back inside the cardboard box, the watch in his 

pocket, and left the room. 

Replacing Stormont as dean was Dr. Roland 

E. Bing, assistant dean and director of the 

Evening School and an individual well-liked by 

the faculty and the community. One of Bing’s 

personal characteristics was a distinguishable 

giggle that caused everyone in hearing distance 

to take notice. He was bright, current on educational 

matters, a booster of the faculty, a fiscal 

conservative, and a hands-on administrator. The 

new president was on occasion socially crass 

and a distributor of nicknames to faculty members 

(e.g., Audley Dry was “Prohibition” and 

Blake Farmer was “Progressive Farmer”). 

William F. Buckley, Jr., a syndicated columnist, 

compared him to author Truman Capote in 

social habits and looks. 11 

Ruth Williams served as the College Choir 

director for thirty-seven years. During her 

tenure, she sought to achieve four goals: to 

“attain better vocal habits for the future of 

each student; to teach basic literature for 

their education; to utilize contemporary music 

for their enjoyment and social lives; and to tour 


to the max to produce the most finished 

performance level.” 12 

In 1963, Williams formed the Victoria 

Corraliers. These “select voices” were given the 

high honor of performing in the Texas Pavilion 

on May 28-29, 1964, at the New York World’s 

Fair. The eighteen singers left Victoria for the 

Big Apple on May 23 in three vans. They “sang 

each night on the way to and fro to earn their 

dinner, bed and breakfast,” presenting programs 

at churches and colleges. When the troupe 

reached the nation’s capitol, it stopped long 

enough to have breakfast and visit with 

Congressman Clark Thompson. When the 

Corraliers arrived at Senator Ralph Yarborough’s 

office, the Senator “asked them to sing and 

opened the door so his neighboring salons 

could hear.” Among the vocalists were three students 

(Linda Pennington, Kathleen Hummel, 

and Joan Horton) known as the Victoria College 

Girls Trio who performed special renditions. 

Exhausted but satisfied with their performances 

on the tour, the local group arrived back in 

Victoria on June 6. Frank Deaver, history 

instructor and publicist for the trip, summed up 

the general feeling of the students and accompanying 

faculty members when he remarked, 

“Everybody’s happy to be back in Texas.” 13 

Because there was a need for additional classrooms 

and intercollegiate athletics was downsized, 

the Boys’ Dormitory was converted into a 

Language Arts Building during the summer of 

1964. The basketball and track students on 

scholarship who normally resided in the dormitory 

were provided room and board off campus, 

a move that proved to be undesirable for the 

college. Whereas the athletes living in the dorm 

had adult supervision, the apartments where 

they lived were undersupervised. To the chagrin 

of the administration, parties and midnight 

swims were not out of the ordinary for the funloving 

young men. 14 

The board decided at its September 1964 

meeting to follow the recommendation of Moore 

and authorized the construction of a much 

needed auditorium. Seating capacity for the 

building was projected to be slightly over 1,000, 

ample space for the college according to the 

president. Moore told the board that he had visited 

with college officials in the state and was 

informed that Victoria College did not “need a 

big auditorium” because “it doesn’t seem practical 

to build a large one when this size will be 

good for 20 to 25 years.” 15 

Payment for the auditorium was made possible 

by a new state law that permitted the college 

✯ 

Corraliers Linda Pennington and 

Mickey Regen visit with Senator 

Ralph Yarborough on their way to the 

1964 New York World’s Fair. 


✯ 

The Final Grades Are Posted! 

to assess students a building use fee. The board 

was enthusiastic over the manner of raising new 

revenue without having to go to the taxpayers 

for a bond issue. Dr. C. P. Bauer, considered a 

leading authority on acoustics and a professor at 

the University of Texas at Austin, was employed 

as a consultant. Unfortunately, cost overruns 

caused a scaling back on the original plans. The 

auditorium, as envisioned by Moore, was to 

house the art department, but, because construction 

expenditures eclipsed the budget, the 

plans were altered, and the art classes continued 

to be taught in the Administration Building. 16 

In 1965, Louise Hume was appointed registrar, 

replacing Leona Jones, who retired after 

having been associated with the college for 

over twenty years. The new registrar had been 

employed by the college in 1957 as a business 

instructor and in 1962 became dean of women. 

As the registrar, she was a dominant force in 

the daily management of the educational institution. 

Hume oversaw the transition from 

manual record keeping to computers. Her 

duties included developing schedules, recruiting, 

consulting students on classes, handling 

public relations, assisting in generating the college 

catalogue, and carrying out certain graduation 

responsibilities. 17 

Duties of the Registrar’s Office changed drastically 

by the early 1990s. Martha Watts, assistant 

to Hume, succeeded to the position in 

1991. Her functions became more specialized 

and highly refined. Counseling of students by 

the registrar was eliminated and, following a 

trend developed by the Social Sciences 

Department, scheduling of classes was turned 

over to the divisions. One casualty of the change 

in counseling procedure was less student interaction 

with the faculty. Another change in the 

Registrar’s Office was brought about by the 

Coordinating Board’s directives becoming more 

restrictive, requiring the assignment of a staff 

member to concentrate on the compilation of 

reports for the state agency. 18 

Victoria College students performed 

admirably in intercollegiate and other extracurricular 

activities in 1965. In sports, Harold 

Gardner’s linksters won the Gulf Coast Junior 

College Athletic Conference championship for 

the fourth consecutive year. Coach Monroe 

Northcutt’s thin clads won numerous events 

throughout the season but fell short of a national 

championship, placing second to a “powerhouse” 

squad from Phoenix, Arizona, at the 

National Junior College Track and Field Meet in 

Garden City, Kansas. Pirate Donnie Coker 

received special recognition in Kansas by being 

named the outstanding individual performer. 

And, perform he did. Coker set a new 220 yard 

dash record; came in second to teammate Larry 

McCartney in the 100 yard dash; and ran with 

Norman Borth, McCartney, and Arthur Jackson 

on the first place 440 yard sprint relay team. 19 

Impressive also were the journalism students 

who received accolades for their quality work 

under the sponsorship of Frank Deaver during 

the 1964-1965 academic year. At the Texas 


Junior College Press Association convention at 

Texas A&M University in the fall of 1964, the 

college newspaper was awarded the first place 

trophy and was presented the sweepstakes 

award for accumulating the most points in 

spring competition. Furthermore, three staff 

members (Larna Gregory, Mary Streetman, and 

Linda Tipton) were elected officers of the organization. 

In the spring of 1965, the Jolly Roger 

journalists won the association’s sweepstakes 

honor for the second consecutive year. First 

place awards went to Bruce Spinks for editorial 

writing and Gary Smith for cartoons. 20 

The Singing Corraliers were chosen by the 

Alamo Mission Chapter of the Daughters of the 

Republic of Texas to perform during the spring 

1965 chapel procession at the annual Fiesta San 

Antonio. Their performance was part of a special 

ceremony paying homage to the fallen 

defenders of the Alamo. Among the other participants 

at the observance were military leaders, 

city and state officials, patriotic and civic 

organizations, and personnel from the San 

Antonio schools. The dignitaries led a floral 

laden procession from the Municipal 

Auditorium to the Alamo. 21 

Two significant policy changes effective for 

the fall semester were made by the Victoria 

College to conform to practices at other colleges. 

Prior to 1964, all classes at the college 

were 50 minutes long and met three times per 

week. That meant that an instructor might have 

one day with two classes and another day with 

four or five. Other colleges and universities got 

around this disparity by conducting Saturday 

morning classes. By the 1960s, weekend sessions 

were eliminated and all Tuesday-Thursday 

lecture classes were lengthened to an hour 

and 15 minutes. Not all the Victoria College 

faculty were pleased with the new policy. 

✯ 

Coach Harold Gardner gives 

instructions to his golf team. 


✯ 

Ronnie Jones performs at a college 

assembly. 

The main argument expressed against the 

change was that the longer classes could work to 

the disadvantage of the students who had short 

attention spans. The other policy alteration 

adopted by the college involved going from a 

three point grade system to the more common 

four point system. 22 

Ten acres were added to the campus in the 

fall of 1965 when the board agreed to purchase 

land from the Brownson Estate for $50,000. 

Moore was told by board members that “we had 

better acquire the property while we have the 

opportunity.” The acquisition increased the college 

land holding to 50 acres. 23 

Day school fall enrollment at Victoria College 

climbed from 702 in 1961 to 1,554 in 1966. 

Baby Boomers and accelerated United States 

participation in Vietnam had a conspicuous 

impact on the college’s increased enrollment 

during the 1960s. The bulk of children born to 

World War II era parents reached college age 

during the decade, sending record numbers of 

students to higher education institutions. 24 

The Vietnam War also played a role in the 

increased number of college students. Many college-age 

males disdained the thought of being a 

casualty in this highly unpopular conflict and 

avoided military service by attending college. 

Deferments from military service were granted 

for four calendar years to students making satisfactory 

progress toward a bachelor’s degree. The 

draft-eligible males had to take and pass at least 

twelve semester hours each semester. If a student 

was placed on scholastic probation or was 

not taking the required minimum hours, the 

college notified the local draft board. To ward 

off criticism from parents whose children did 

not meet the standard, Bing commented that if a 

student was drafted “it’s the draft board’s decision 

and not that of the college.” 25 

When the college was created in 1925, it was 

under the supervision of the Texas State 

Department of Education and after 1949, the 

Texas Education Agency; thus, state laws that 

governed the junior colleges were generally the 

same as those applied to independent school 

districts. In 1965, the legislature, acting on a 

proposal by Governor John Connally, established 

the Coordinating Board, Texas College 

and University System. All public junior colleges 

in the state were placed under the supervision 

of the Commissioner of Higher Education, 

an appointee of the Coordinating Board. An 

objective of the new arrangement was to make it 

less difficult for two-year college students to 

transfer to senior colleges by creating regulations 

that would permit junior colleges and senior 

institutions to work together harmoniously. 

Whether or not the Coordinating Board has 

accomplished that goal remains debatable 

among educators. 26 


In the spring of 1966, journalism students 

were thrilled to learn that Victoria College was 

the first two-year institution to be accepted as a 

participant in a new intern plan sponsored by 

The Texas Daily Newspaper Association. The 

program was designed “to train and encourage 

students who plan to obtain a journalism degree 

and enter the newspaper profession.” Student 

interns worked during vacations at one of the 

seventy-two state newspapers that were members 

of the organization. 27 

Grand opening events for the new Fine Arts 

Auditorium were conducted on October 11, 

1966. A morning assembly, featuring foreign 

service officer T. Patrick Killough as the speaker, 

kicked off the day’s festivities. That evening 

“an exciting musical act,” the nationally 

renown Four Freshman, performed before an 

estimated audience of 700, most of whom were 

faculty and community residents. A capacity 

crowd of 1,019 was expected, but the entertainers 

were passé; students were not inclined 

to purchase a $1.00 ticket for the “slow” music 

played by the group. 28 

History instructor Robert W. Shook, who 

possessed an enormous interest in local history, 

took the profound step in 1966 of collecting 

photographs and slides that were relevant to 

the history of Victoria County. He and Frank 

Deaver, utilizing their spare time, set up a camera 

in the Industrial Arts Building and copied 

images from the 1934 historical edition of the 

Victoria Advocate. Within weeks, they produced 

an estimated 450 slides, a humble start for a 

collection that in the 1990s exceeded 10,000 

slides and photographs. In developing the photographic 

holding, Shook was “especially interested 

in old pictures of street scenes, public 

buildings, wildlife recreation resources, and 

pioneer homes and families.” He contemplated 

that the photos and slides “could be used by 

civic groups, historical meetings, and interested 

individuals.” Little did Shook realize that his 

deed to preserve images of the past would 

develop into a photographic collection that is 

heralded by countless individuals as one of the 

best in the state. 29 

Hurricane Beulah moved into South Texas in 

September 1967. Thousands of coastal Texans 

fled inland from the advancing storm, as they 

had done during Hurricane Carla, to safer surroundings. 

An estimated 7,000 evacuees arrived 

in Victoria. To accommodate the refugees, the 

gym and Student Union were put into service by 

the Red Cross. Classes were dismissed for three 

days because of the uncertainty as to how 

destructive the hurricane might become and the 

unpredictability that torrential rains might have 

on classroom attendance. Some students, however, 

braved the miserable weather and high 

water to assist the Red Cross by serving meals to 

refugees and entertaining children either by 

playing games or by reading to them. Included 

among the college volunteers were Margaret 

Ferguson, Patricia Hodge, David De La Rosa, 

Juan Bazan, Royce Milberger, Barbara Hyak, 

Steve Yarbrough, and Roysteen Hodge. 30 

✯ 

Cathy Benge, copy editor of the Jolly 

Roger in 1966, reads an edition of 

the college newspaper as it comes off 

the press. 


✯ 

Hurricane Beulah sweeps across 

the Victoria College campus on 

September 20, 1967, bringing rain 

and high winds. 

Although the college’s student population 

rose throughout most of the 1960s, the 1967 

fall enrollment figure was a major exception. 

This decline in 1967 was attributed to the 

opening of Bee County College, a decrease in 

nursing students, a reduced number of returning 

Victoria College students due to a large 

spring graduating class, and an exceptionally 

high dropout rate that increased from 13 to 20 

percent. The latter factor, according to Moore, 

was at least in part because the college enrolled 

a larger number of students who were incapable 

of doing college work. Instead of “dumbing 

down” academic course work, remedial courses 

were introduced and additional vocational 

courses were developed. 31 

Charles S. Stone, Refugio county judge in the 

1990s and a product of Victoria College’s high 

academic standards, attested that the courses he 

took prepared him for his upper division classes 

at Southwest Texas State University. Initially, 

he was not a serious student at Victoria College 

and paid little heed to the demands of his 

instructors. Stone remarked: 

My first college course, first period during 

my first semester was in Mr. Jack Edward’s 

English class. Mr. Edwards was an excellent 

instructor and he had a subtle way of encouraging…his 

students to excel. My second period 

class that first semester happened to be a break 

period during which time I studied the fine art 

of table tennis at the Student Union. 

I evidently played more table tennis than I 

studied because my first test grade in college 

which was also in Mr. Edward’s class was ‘D.’ I 

was very much dejected and discouraged but by 

the time I made it to the Student Union I was 

really mad at myself. I slammed so many balls 

with so much energy that several were cracked 

and my opponents were ducking everywhere. 

From then on the friends that I played with 

knew pretty much how things were going in my 

English class when they saw how I played. By 

the end of the semester…I had earned a solid ‘A’ 

in Mr. Edward’s class and also had become a 

pretty good table tennis player to boot. To this 

day I still tell people that when I went to college 

I ‘minored’ in table tennis but they just wouldn’t 

understand that my English teacher was the 

motivation behind it. 32 

The former county judge’s Victoria College 

academic experience would cause him to be 

hard pressed to place in his vocabulary the derisive 

title, “Pirate High,” the nickname a few students 

gave the college. 

President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society 

programs were a factor in expanding federal 

funding for public education. However, Victoria 


College, reflecting the politically conservative 

attitude possessed by the majority of the community, 

refused to accept any federal financial 

assistance. When the college was given the 

opportunity for student loans, Moore took the 

position that they were not needed since the 

educational institution had funds available for 

short term loans and local jobs were available 

without using federal monies. 33 

The college finally acquired its first Xerox 

machine in the fall of 1967, and it was greatly 

welcomed by the students. The Jolly Roger 

noted with glee that the machine was capable of 

copying two pages at a time from a book. 

Instructors were permitted to use the copier for 

class material at no charge, otherwise they paid 

the normal ten cents per page. A major benefit 

the college derived from the machine was the 

reduction in the number of books and magazines 

mutilated by students to secure information 

for classroom assignments. 34 

An additional ten acres of land was purchased 

from the Brownson Estate in December 

1968 at a cost of $6,500 per acre. Although the 

board recognized that the land was “not needed 

for any immediate development,” the members 

maintained “that it is better to purchase the 

property now than to wait until it becomes difficult 

to add acreage to the campus.” The ten 

acre tract was located east of the college along 

Red River Street. 35 

W. R. “Dede” Matthews of Matthews and 

Associates from Bryan, architects and engineers, 

in the employ of the college presented the first 

master plan for the campus. Included among the 

proposals were the construction of a new health 

and physical education building and a technical 

building by 1970. Matthews further recommended 

that the college build new library and fine arts 

buildings by 1975. The architect also suggested 

that the current Library Building be used for 

administrative offices, that the Science and 

Administration buildings be renovated, and that 

a new classroom building be constructed. The 

master plan called for placing the main entrance 

to the college on Ben Jordan, and locating the 

library northeast of the old Library Building, “giving 

it somewhat of a central position on the campus.” 

Total cost for the new buildings and renovation 

of the existing ones was projected to be a 

little over 2.7 million dollars. 36 

Sensitive to faculty demands that employment 

and the exercise of academic freedom be protected 

from administrations and boards who possessed 

contrary viewpoints, the Coordinating 

Board issued an order that all public colleges and 

universities in the state adopt policies on academic 

freedom, tenure, and responsibility. When 

the edict was explained to the board members, 

the ever self-confident Moore remarked “there’s 

not a thing in here I’m afraid of.” 37 

A committee comprised of Stormont, as 

chairman, Wilma Felger, Carl DuBose, Chad 

Whitmore, and Robert W. Shook was chosen by 

the faculty to study faculty compensation and 

✯ 

Marie Frankson, librarian, 

demonstrates how to use the new 

Xerox machine to Bill Moody. 


✯ 

Victoria College Cheerleaders for 

1966-67 were (left to right) Cathie 

Zirjacks, Lydia Serrata, Bea Bauer, 

and Judy Knowles. 

compose a policy on academic freedom, tenure, 

and responsibility. The discussions among the 

group entered a contentious stage when Frank 

Deaver addressed the committee and requested 

that a professional ranking system be established. 

Among the advantages of rank, the college 

newspaper sponsor pointed out, were 

enhanced community respect, prestige at professional 

meetings, avenues to publications and 

public lectures, academic motivation, professional 

recognition, and recruitment and retention 

of faculty. On a motion by DuBose that the 

committee consider its mandate to draft a statement 

on academic freedom, tenure, and responsibility 

before considering professional rank, the 

committee, by a three to two vote, chose to 

ignore Deaver’s item. Shook and Whitmore, 

after expressing support for professional rank, 

quickly discovered, if they did not know beforehand, 

they were a distinct minority on this matter 

and other details that arose in the meetings. 38 

Deaver’s proposal set off a campus fire storm 

as the faculty debated its pros and cons at the 

coffee table in the Student Union and in the 

hallways between classes. The opposition 

thought the idea posed a threat to the pay 

schedule, arguing that all instructors doing the 

same teaching assignment would be paid 

differently because one had a higher professional 

rank. Another reason given against professional 

rank was that instructors would be pressured 

to obtain a doctor’s degree even though at 

the junior college level such a degree was 

unnecessary since a two-year educational institution 

did not require research. Moreover, the 

opponents maintained, the entire concept of 

rank had the hideous odor of academic elitism. 

Moore, never hesitant to speak his mind to 

the faculty, became involved in the dispute 

when he emphasized that rank was an administrative 

matter. If the faculty wanted to create a 

committee to study rank, he asserted, so be it, 

but all the instructors were to understand that 

the final decision, regardless if a majority 

favored professional rank, was to be made by 

the administration. 39 

Bing was adamantly opposed to rank at the 

college. He embraced the notion that the faculty 

stating that the faculty was employed without 

rank, the rights of everyone should be considered, 

and that rank was not to be forced upon 

any single faculty member. The dean stressed 

that teaching and counseling, not research or 

writing, were the primary functions of the college. 

Bing’s stance prevailed. Although a policy 

on professional rank has never been adopted by 

Victoria College, it does exist presently for the 

Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences. 40 

Stormont’s committee completed its work and 

presented a “Statement of Academic Freedom 


✯ 

Left: Dr. Wayne McAlister explains 

the importance of science in a 

person’s life. 

Below: Gasping for air, Richard Wier 

beats his competition across the finish 

line in the Border Olympics. 

and Tenure” to the faculty in May 1968. There 

were some minor adjustments made by the 

instructors, but overall the document as submitted 

remained intact. The proposal suggested that 

all faculty members with four years of service at 

the college be automatically tenured, a provision 

that made it palatable to skeptical faculty members 

and, thus, avoided a floor fight. When the 

board next convened, the trustees endorsed the 

recommendation thereby establishing the college’s 

first tenure policy. 41 

At the National Junior College Track and 

Field Meet in Garden City, Kansas, in 1968, the 

track team finished third. 42 The event at Garden 

City was the last for Pirate track teams. On the 

recommendation of Moore, the board dropped 

the program at its July meeting. The president 

attributed the decision to budgetary considerations 

and “lack of support from both townspeople 

and student body.” Moore remarked that 

“track is not a spectacular sport…and [there 

are] very small turnouts at any of the events.” 

He also maintained that attendance at local 

track meets were affected by the lesser quality of 

athletes competing at the college. Moore stated 

that the most sought-after track prospects 

attended senior colleges “with smaller schools 

being invariably the loser when a student is 

offered a four-year scholarship.” 43 


✯ 

Above: Dr. Ben Burdine, economics 

instructor, finds time to read the Wall 

Street Journal between his classes. 

Below: Otto Knudson, psychology 

instructor, discusses a memory test 

with Julius Cano. 

Looking forward to expanding the technical/vocational 

program, the board approved 

the construction of a new technical building. 

The structure was designed to house a computer 

system and kindred courses. Business 

administration classes were to be removed 

from the second floor of the Administration 

Building to the new building. Matthews and 

Associates, the architectural firm that drew up 

the plans for the auditorium, was hired to 

oversee the estimated $485,000 construction 

project. The building was to be ready for occupancy 

by 1970. 44 

Faculty emotions again sizzled in the fall of 

1968. Insistence by instructors advocating a creation 

of a faculty senate led to the formation of 

a temporary committee to review the issue and 

make a recommendation. Ben Burdine, Marshall 

McCleary, Charles Spurlin, Michael Hummel, 

Wilma Felger, S. T. Boykin, and C. F. Schneider 

were elected by acclamation to comprise the 

constitutional committee. In a brilliant procedural 

maneuver by opponents of a faculty senate, 

a naive Spurlin was nominated and elected 

chairman of the ad hoc committee when it convened 

in the library conference room on 

October 3, 1968. The tactic was employed to 

prevent Spurlin, viewed as too liberal by a certain 

member of the committee, from voting on 

items except in case of a tie. 45 

There was limited interest among some of 

the committee participants. One suggested 

that the current World Series was more important. 

Nevertheless, useful meetings were held, 

albeit with tempers reaching the brink of 

exploding, demonstrating a deep division 

between those who were satisfied with the status 

quo and those who desired a greater faculty 

participatory role. To Moore’s credit, he did 

not exercise his authority to silence the critics 

of the status quo. His inaction was dictated by 


his overall trust in faculty decision making and 

his self-assurance that he could handle any and 

all situations that might arise. 

After intense discussions, flavored with the 

chairman being called a psychotic, and 

Hummel being accused of trying to take over 

the presidency, a majority report emerged by a 

three to two vote with one abstention. The 

document created a Faculty Advisory Council 

composed of the entire faculty. It was chaired 

by the dean and convened at the call of the 

president, dean, or at the request of four or 

more faculty members whenever the matter 

related to two or more academic departments. 

In effect, the instrument maintained the status 

quo. A minority report was drafted, calling for 

the formation of a committee comprised of 

seven to fifteen members that met periodically. 

The second document further stated that an ad 

hoc committee be elected to determine the 

proposed committee’s structure and function. 

Presentations of the two plans were made to 

the full faculty. Felger took the lead in describing 

the majority report, and Spurlin gave a less 

than articulate explanation of the minority position. 

After discussing the propositions, a secret 

ballot was taken. The majority report was 

approved thirty-one to twenty-one, a smaller 

margin differential than the spokesmen for the 

minority report expected. In the twenty-odd 

years the Faculty Advisory Committee existed, it 

was used on one occasion. 

From time to time, departments initiated 

specific-interest publications. In the spring of 

1969, English instructors Jessica Warnlof and 

Jack Edwards, co-sponsors of the Prism Club, a 

creative writing organization, coordinated the 

creation of a new literary journal, The Prism, 

containing student poems, essays, and short stories. 

Ronald Sloan was chosen the first editor. 

The next year Dill Starr was selected as the editor. 

In order to accommodate the number of 

items submitted by students, a welcome development 

for the sponsors, the publication of the 

journal was increased to twice a year. 46 

During the spring of 1969, the local chapter 

of the Texas Student Education Association was 

selected as the outstanding organization in the 

state at the annual TSEA convention in Fort 

Worth. The Victoria students also received the 

Emphasis ‘69 Honor Award for membership 

involvement. As an added bonus, Leon Bazar, 

president of the chapter, was elected national 

delegate for the South Central States Region. 47 

Faculty spirits were lifted when the board, at 

the administration’s suggestion, agreed to adopt 

a developmental leave policy in the fall of 1969. 

The faculty elected a five-member committee to 

✯ 

Gavel Club members at the 

Halloween Whoopie in 1969 are (left 

to right) Judy Frederick, Larry Bauer, 

and Judy May. Eddie De La Rosa is in 

the foreground. 


✯ 

Michael Hummel is the center of 

attention during registration. Seated 

(left to right): Kenneth Greenhill, 

Geraldine Talley, Hummel, Ricky 

Webb, and E. F. “Pete” Gummelt. 

compose the eligibility requirements and procedures 

for selecting the recipients. Initially, two 

instructors were permitted to pursue a doctor’s 

degrees or additional hours above the master’s 

for a year at half salary. The first two faculty 

members selected by the faculty committee were 

Wilbur Collins who attended North Texas State 

University to study music and Jessica Warnlof 

who enrolled in Texas Tech University to take 

English courses. Warnlof seized the opportunity 

and earned a Ph.D. In the early 1970s, the policy 

was scaled back to one instructor a year. The 

program was sound and aided several faculty 

members who could not have otherwise earned 

a terminal degree. Included among the instructors 

who were granted leave and earned a doctor’s 

degree were Ben Burdine, C. A. Talley, 

Michael Hummel, Richard Walker, C. F. 

Schneider, and Mary Lee Archer. 48 

Without appearing to be too restrictive, yet 

trying to avoid the “Yippie” dress on the campus, 

administrators in the late 1960s again 

printed recommendations for student dress. The 

suggestions stipulated that a student could be 

dismissed from class “and other activities” if in 

the opinion of a faculty member the student’s 

appearance was offensive or disruptive. Among 

the list of what could be considered unacceptable 

were shorts, except for P.E. classes and 

intramural competition, bare feet, women with 

ungroomed hair, men with hair extending below 

the normal dress collar line, men with sideburns 

extending below ear lobes, and women dressed 

in extreme mini-skirts. 

Objections by students, and a few outspoken 

faculty members, resulted in a modification of 

the recommendations. In December 1969, 

females were permitted to wear slacks on campus 

without concern of repercussions. Kathy 

Newberry summed up the student reaction to 

the change when she remarked, “It’s great.” 

Frances Workman, a college secretary, reflecting 

the viewpoint of many faculty members and 

staff, commented that she “would personally 

rather see girls in a pair of slacks than a dress 

that is inches too short.” 49 

There was not an immediate relaxation in the 

recommendations for men’s dress. However, recognizing 

that campus life was definitely not the 

same as in the 1950s, and a dogmatic stand 

opposing any alterations in student dress was 

counterproductive in recruiting prospective students, 

and that court decisions more and more 

struck down dress codes, the administration 

sought a compromise. Searching for the appropriate 

middle ground, graduating sophomores 

and the faculty were surveyed as to their opinions 

on a male dress code. A majority of the 

students responded in favor of long hair, beards, 

sandals without socks, and wearing shirttails 

out. They were against wearing shorts to class. 

The faculty reaction was the same as the 


students except for long hair. The administration 

responded to the changing times and tempered 

its opposition. As a result, the controversy 

surrounding a dress code subsided to the 

point that little if anything was said about it by 

the end of the 1970s. 50 

College basketball enthusiasts suffered a serious 

setback in 1970 when the board terminated 

the intercollegiate basketball program. Moore 

remarked that the poor attendance at the games 

did not justify the cost of carrying the sport. He 

stated that a survey of five games indicated that 

the average student attendance was less than 

eighty. By dropping the program, the president 

noted, the college saved $16,000 a year. 51 

While the statements by Moore were accurate, 

the basketball games at the college were better 

attended during the period that Harlon Gerhold 

was head coach than the preceding three or four 

years before he came to the college. He did an 

excellent job leading the team. His style of play 

was at a faster tempo than previous years and the 

spectators enjoyed the change. An added attraction 

at the games during the 1969-1970 season 

was the Saberette Shipmates comprised of 

Jacquelyn Duke, Sandy Phillips, Sherry 

Farquhar, Alice Pozzi, and Shirley McMurray. 

The group was formed to assist the cheerleading 

corps of Jo Nell Arnold, Shelley Ann Schauer, 

Judy Lynn Frederick, and Karen Brucene Smith 

and to draw more students to the basketball contests. 

Ruben Pena even helped to organize a pop 

band to provide pregame and half time entertainment. 

But, alas, attractive young ladies, 

music, and Eddie and David De La Rosa in their 

✯ 

Above: Coach Harlon Gerhold 

explains to David Barnes the proper 

way to run a play. 

Left: The 1968-69 Pirate cheerleaders 

were (left to right) Judy Frederick, 

Mary Thweatt, Alannah Spinks, and 

Carole Haines. In the foreground are 

Eddie De La Rosa (left) and David 

De La Rosa who gave spirited 

performances at basketball games 

dressed as buccaneers. 


✯ 

Above: Caroline Summers, speech and 

drama instructor, produced speech 

and drama teams that were successful 

in intercollegiate competitions. 

swashbuckling attire, and a court-wise coach 

were not sufficient to attract people to the games 

in the numbers to keep the program afloat. An 

exasperated cheerleader sarcastically commented 

after one of the games, “What is it going to take 

to get students to come to the games? Do we 

need to take off our clothes?” Realistically, commuter 

schools like Victoria College cannot 

expect students to return after they leave for the 

day because of jobs and the unacceptable travel 

time for out-of-county students. 52 

Caroline Summers’ speech students made an 

impressive showing in competition during the 

spring of 1970. At the Texas Speech and Drama 

Contest for Junior Colleges tournament on the 

campus of North Texas State University in 

Denton, Dianne Ulman won the state championship, 

and Ronnie Williams placed third in the 

original oratory category. 53 

A law enforcement education program was 

offered for the first time in the fall of 1970 to 

meet the need of individuals who wanted to 

make a career of law enforcement. The classes 

also afforded those currently in the profession an 

opportunity for personal development. Bing 

noted in justifying the program that “many agencies 

require a basic two years of college education 

and investigative agencies at the state and 

federal levels usually have qualifications including 

four years of college work.” Apparently referring 

to the United States Supreme Court decisions 

of the 1960s that had law and order advocates 

in a tizzy, he further stated, “Today’s society 

demands that the law enforcement officer be 

an educated, trained and skilled specialist in 

crime detection and law enforcement. To be successful, 

he must have certain qualities of character, 

dedication, training and education in the 

basic skills of this profession.” 54 

In addition to the new law enforcement program, 

students were offered a computer course 

for the first time during the 1970 fall semester. 

The college leased an 1130 IBM computer, 

enabling students to complete a curriculum in 

computer science technology. Prior to leasing 

the computer, only data processing courses 

were taught. 55 

In November 1970, Wilma Felger, chairman 

of the Department of Social Sciences, was 

awarded a plaque during one of her history 

classes by a representative of the Texas State 

Teachers Association. Making the presentation 

was Johnny Peacock, elementary school principal 

in Goliad and past treasurer of TSTA’s Region 

III. Felger was recognized for her many contributions 

to the history sections at the organization’s 

regional meetings. Peacock acknowledged 

her professional dedication and the giving up of 

her time unselfishly. 56 

Performances by the speech students at the 

Southwest Texas State University Speech Festival 

at San Marcos on November 20-21 were exceptional, 

resulting in several awards for the 

contestants. They received three superior ratings, 

six excellent, and six good. The superior ratings 

were received by Dianne Ulman, persuasive 


manuscript; Kay Burns, poetry interpretation; 

and Sylva Shroyer, persuasive manuscript. 

Excellent ratings went to Karen Huegele, original 

poetry; Twinkle Johnson, dramatic reading; 

Roy Mark, extemporaneous speaking; Shelly 

Lee, poetry; and Huegele and Bill Wright, 

duet reading. Good ratings were awarded Sherry 

Farquhar, Sally Aman, Burns, Shroyer, Mark, 

and Turner Mooneyham. 57 

Another award winning group was the 

Victoria College Chapter of the Texas Student 

Education Association, sponsored by faculty 

members LeRoy Pahmiyer and Jean Dabney. In 

the spring of 1971, the chapter earned a first 

place for its scrapbook at the annual TSEA 

Convention at Dallas. The local organization 

also received the Emphasis Award and was 

named first runner-up for the Outstanding 

Junior College in Texas. Shirley McMurray was 

president of the chapter. 58 

V. T. Kallus ended his distinguished career at 

the college in 1971 on a high note. The Victoria 

District of the Soil and Water Conservation 

Society recognized him as the most outstanding 

agriculture teacher in the field of soil conservation 

management. Furthermore, he was cited by 

the Texas Conservation Society as the outstanding 

business professional man in Texas in the 

field of conservation for 1970. Kallus came to 

the college after his discharge from the military 

service at the end of World War II. He assumed 

the responsibility of running the veterans program 

which involved agriculture, distributive 

education, and mechanical arts. When he 

retired, Kallus was teaching agricultural classes 

and managing the bookstore. 59 

✯ 

Top: Al Allen, math instructor, gives 

a demonstration on the latest 

computer technology. 

Left: Wilma Felger, chairman of the 

Social Sciences Department, discusses 

her visit to the Mid-East with the 

Newman Club. 


✯ 

Above: Members of the 1971 debate 

team were (left to right) Roy Mark, 

Cynthia Bielee, David Bissett, Dianne 

Ulman, and Coach James Gleason. 

Right: Aggie Club sponsor V. T. Kallus 

discusses a film with (left to right) 

Don Wieland, Janice Fanning, and 

Dennis Lala. 

Changes in the selective service law and roaring 

inflation rates spilled over to the college, 

impacting fall enrollment figures throughout the 

1970s. From 1971 to 1982, the number of students 

who registered for course work was relatively 

flat. While the head count increased from 

1,711 in 1971 to 2,439 in 1981, full-time equivalency 

rose only from 1,649 to 1,760. In 1972, 

there was a drop of 145 in enrollment from 

1971, and in the same period, full-time equivalency 

decreased from 1,649 to 1,480. In 1975, 

the number of full-time students increased 

(2,180) and so did full-time equivalency 

(1,831). However, the head count rose the next 

two years, but the full-time equivalency 

remained the same. By 1979, the number of 


full-time students expanded to 2,276 while the 

full-time equivalency grew to 1,690, a figure 

comparable to 1973. Since the fall of 1982, the 

enrollment tables indicate a steady rise in both 

head count and full-time equivalency, except for 

minor aberrations. 60 

The college annual, The Pirate, which was 

first published in 1930 and intermittently thereafter, 

was discontinued in 1971. Reasons cited 

by the administration for its demise were: the 

college was a commuter school without “a sustained 

loyalty as a senior college,” only onefourth 

of the students bought the book in 1970 

or even had their pictures taken, and the 

college decided to produce a more cost effective 

college magazine, the Kaleidoscope. 61 

“Wow! I know her” was a common refrain on 

the campus in the fall of 1971. Victoria College 

graduate and former Pirate cheerleader Brucene 

Smith from Port Lavaca, after having been chosen 

Miss La Bahia Downs and Miss Texas World, 

won the Miss USA-World contest, earning her 

an opportunity to compete in the Miss World 

International Pageant in London. Although the 

crown eluded her, Smith was selected as one of 

the seven finalists. Ironically, her entry into the 

world of beauty pageants was unplanned. The 

odyssey began when Smith’s name was placed in 

the La Bahia Downs contest over her objection; 

but once she was entered, Smith nevertheless 

competed. She enjoyed the experience and 

entered other beauty events. 62 

Speech students continued to perform at an 

exceptional level in competition with college 

students from other campuses. At the 1971 fall 

speech festival at Southwest Texas State 

University, Twinkle Johnson and Cynthia Woehl 

received superior ratings. Excellent ratings were 

awarded Kay Burns, dramatic literature reading; 

Shelly Janota, poetry; Charlene Goodman, poetry; 

and Rufus Diggs, original poetry. Receiving 

good ratings were Shelly Lee, poetry; Linda 

Ruddick, entertaining speech; and Woehl, 

entertaining speech. 63 

In the spring of 1972, a reaffirmation committee 

from the Southern Association of 

Colleges and Schools made its decennial visit to 

the campus. Since the fading weeks of 1970 and 

throughout 1971, the administration, faculty, 

and staff engaged in preparing a self-study 

report under the chairmanship of Stormont. As 

the college personnel went about their assigned 

tasks of gathering data, attending committee 

meetings, and evaluating distinct elements of 

the college; personal, philosophical, and issueoriented 

differences caused vocal eruptions. The 

bickering was over such things as types of university 

degrees, faculty participation in areas 

considered administration prerogatives, and 

alleged closed committee meetings. Stormont 

was undeterred by the grumbling and steadily 

moved forward to complete a satisfactory document. 

When he compiled the final report, the 

former dean crafted responses that disregarded 

viewpoints and conclusions that were contrary 

to his, leaving no guesswork as to what he 

✯ 

Brucene Smith, Miss USA-World, 

with escort. 


✯ 

Donnell Cole (right), math instructor. 

thought of the critics’ opinions. As most of the 

faculty and administration expected, the 

Southern Association of Colleges reaccredited 

the college with a few recommendations. 

Off and on, from the time Victoria College 

was established, there were community discussions 

over the two-year institution becoming a 

four-year college. Moore and other college 

authorities, whenever they were brought into 

the conversations, steadfastly maintained that 

the sole aim of Victoria College was to become a 

first-class junior college and “serve the needs of 

the community.” The president predicted in the 

mid-1960s that the college might add junior 

and senior years sometime in the 1980s when 

the population grew enough to warrant a senior 

institution. Considering such a possibility, the 

1967 college master plan was prepared in such 

a way that it was “adaptable enough to take care 

of even greater growth that would result if a senior 

college program were required.” 64 

Although the board and Moore were not 

attracted to the idea of the college becoming a 

four-year institution, they supported civic leaders 

in the Coastal Bend region who were seriously 

inclined to pursue the creation of a senior 

college in Victoria, the hub of the area. 

Standing in the way of the proponents was the 

Coordinating Board’s opposition to the formation 

of a new senior college. The state agency 

maintained that Texas currently had enough 

four-year institutions, but if one were to be 

approved, it would be located in San Antonio, a 

major city without a state-supported college. 65 

Optimistic that the state legislature would be 

receptive to their solicitation for a senior college, 

the Victoria Chamber of Commerce influenced 

the district’s state representative, Richard 

H. “Dick” Cory, to introduce legislation in 1969 

establishing Victoria State University. Morris 

Shattuck, president of the local chamber and a 

board member, felt positive about the bill and 

stated that he had not encountered any opposition. 

Winston Zirjacks, president of the board 

and a bank executive, remarked that a university 

would significantly boost the Victoria economy. 

After the Victoria College trustees endorsed 

the proposal, Moore asked the faculty to discuss 

the matter with the public and stress that the 

establishment of the university was ten or fifteen 

years in the future because of the opposition 

from the Coordinating Board. 66 

Determined to change the position of the 

higher education supervisory body and to 

secure a favorable vote in the legislature, the 

Victoria Chamber of Commerce composed a 

report outlining the need for Victoria State 

University and gathered testimonials from city 

and school officials, business executives, farm 

organizations, and spokesmen from professional 


societies within the 15 counties the university 

was to serve. Two points were emphasized by 

the chamber. One of them being financial savings 

for both the state and the students. A second 

advantage in having a local senior institution 

would be the overall educational benefits 

for a growing population in the region. The 

chamber predicted that the university would 

have an enrollment of 1,309 by 1973 on a 200 

acre site it was “prepared to supply.” 67 

Sadly, the action taken by the chamber 

did not sway the Coordinating Board. Without 

the blessing of the college supervisory body, 

support in the legislature was insufficient 

to secure the necessary number of votes for 

Cory’s bill. Although their first meaningful 

attempt to establish a senior institution in 

Victoria failed, advocates of the objective 

were determined to push forward for an upper 

level college. 

Even though partisans for expanded higher 

education opportunities for people living in a 

radius of 75 miles around Victoria continued to 

give some thought to Victoria State University, 

✯ 

Daniel Potcinske and Kay Robinson 

perform a special ballet. 


✯ 

Dominoes were a daily routine in the 

Student Union. 

their primary attention shifted to enticing a senior 

university to locate a branch on the Victoria 

College campus. It was thought, based on 

hearsay, that this approach would be greeted 

warmly by the Coordinating Board. Victoria 

College trustees C. P. “Pete” Montier and R. E. 

“Earl” Cliburn in their reelection bids in 1970 

embraced the concept by publicly supporting 

“a separate upper level institution located here 

by the state in the future to supply needs of 

students from Victoria College and other area 

junior colleges.” 68 

Vigorous lobbying of the Coordinating Board 

by local community leaders finally paid dividends. 

The state agency on April 23, 1971, 

opened the door for the establishment of an 

upper division college branch by recommending 

that the legislature permit a senior institution to 

locate a branch at the Victoria College. Moore’s 

response to the step was short and to the point. 

He said, “We are very well pleased with the 

board’s action.” Sam D. Young of El Paso, a 

Coordinating Board member, stated, “The off 

campus center…will permit utilization of facilities 

for instructional purposes at considerable 

savings to the state. In point of fact, the Victoria 

plan is the most economical way we have available 

to expand educational opportunity, at the 

upper division level, and into those communities 

showing need.” 69 

Which university would place a branch at 

Victoria College? How would a branch affect 

the Victoria College? These were questions that 

dominated faculty conversations. Moore 

addressed the queries by remarking that he 

thought Texas A&M University was favorably 

inclined to establish an extension on the campus. 

He said that Texas A&M President Jack 

Williams had demonstrated a keen interest “in 

pursuing the possibility.” Southwest Texas State 

University had also made an inquiry. Moore 

also commented that should an upper level 

branch be placed on the campus there would be 

no loss of investment by the college because 


any additional buildings constructed to meet 

the needs of the senior university would be utilized 

by the college. 70 

Showing the greatest amount of enthusiasm 

for the placement of a branch campus in Victoria 

was the University of Houston. Because the 

University of Houston Board of Regents was convinced 

there was an educational need in the area 

and the community supported the enterprise, in 

1972, it authorized Dr. Philip Hoffman, president 

of the university, to proceed with plans to 

create a branch on the Victoria College campus. 

Under the auspices of Hoffman, a preliminary 

study was conducted to prioritize the courses of 

study. The findings of the survey indicated that 

the teaching field was the greatest demand, a 

master’s program in engineering was second, and 

business administration placed third. 71 

In June 1972, the Coordinating Board, by 

unanimous vote, gave the green light for the 

University of Houston to open an upper level 

center in Victoria. State funding of some 

$161,200 was allocated to plan for the establishment 

of the branch. Meanwhile, the college 

✯ 

Sherry Pavlica (left) and Adela 

Sanchez compete in a table tennis 

tournament. 


✯ 

Victoria College began teaching 

classes at Warm Springs in 

September 1973. 

received numerous calls from prospective students 

inquiring as to when the classes would 

begin and what courses would be offered. 72 

Dr. Reginald Traylor, who served as chairman 

of the University of Houston’s Math 

Department, was named as director of the 

University of Houston Victoria Center. The 

director, from his office in the Victoria College 

Administration Building, proceeded to prepare 

for the offering of course work in January 

1973. Initially, the center, which rented classroom 

and office space from the college, intended 

to schedule four courses the first semester 

and a full complement in the fall of 1973. 

Enrollment and demand for classes, however, 

were greater than projected. Consequently, 

twelve courses were offered to accommodate 

105 students, most of whom were taking 

education courses. 73 

In the meantime, the college proposed a 

building program to satisfy the projected needs 

for both institutions. Accordingly, the board 

called for a $2,750,000 bond election to be 

held on October 14. The funds were to be used 

to construct a library building, an office and 

classroom complex for the center, an additional 

gymnasium, an allied health structure, and 

more covered walkways. A portion of the 

money was to be used to convert the existing 

library into a college administration building. 

Since the bond issue would not be sufficient to 

pay for the entire proposal, $100,000 was to be 

used from the college operational budget. 

Matthews and Associates of Bryan were 

employed as the architects. Don Krueger 

Construction Company of Victoria won the bid 

to become the general contractor. 74 

Soon after the bond issue was accepted by 

the county voters, the original gymnasium blueprint 

was altered so a three-story library building 

could be constructed that would meet 

the projected book space requirements for the 

University of Houston Victoria Center. The most 

important changes in the gym were the elimination 

of bleachers and the reduction in size of the 

basketball courts. Initially, Moore anticipated 

leaving the third floor of the library vacant, but 

even before the structure was completed, it was 

apparent to the president the entire building 

was going to be occupied to satisfy the unexpected 

demand for space. 75 

Meanwhile, in the fall of 1972, Victoria 

College speech and drama students competed 

in the Southwest Texas State University Speech 

Festival and placed fifth in a field of 35 colleges 

and universities from Texas, Arkansas, and 

Louisiana. Local participants receiving superior 

ratings at the festival were Georganne Joseph, 

original poetry; Cynthia Woehl, dramatic 

literature; and a nine member cast of the Reader’s 

Theatre for their presentation of “Prophets 

Write on Subway Walls.” 76 Included in the 

entourage from the college was the Black Readers 

Theatre which was founded the previous year. 


The group offered a program in which members 

Rufus Diggs, Wilfred Burns, Shelly Green, DeTar 

Drinkard, Virlece Ellison, and Vicky Lott performed 

songs and read poetry and prose written 

by blacks. 77 

For the first time in its history, the college in 

early 1973 sought a federal grant to assist in the 

construction of the new library building. 

Traditionally, college officials were opposed to 

federal assistance on the grounds that the funds 

came strapped with burdensome regulations. 

But ultimately the lure of lower local taxes 

brought a change of heart. 78 

In February 1973, the Gonzales Warm 

Springs Foundation sent a letter of inquiry to 

seven South Texas junior colleges to ascertain 

their interest in providing academic instruction 

at their facility for the severely handicapped. 

Victoria College’s response was immediate and 

the only one that demonstrated an enthusiastic 

willingness to establish a program. The offering 

of course work by the college, however, was 

subject to the approval of the Coordinating 

Board. On March 26, the state supervisory 

agency gave its consent, and soon afterwards an 

agreement was negotiated between the college 

and the Warm Springs Foundation. The intent 

of the project was to “provide students with 

saleable skills for self-employment or employment 

in the business community” and offer 

“transferable credits for continued study at 

other colleges and universities.” Jerry Zavesky, a 

graduate of Southwest Texas State University 

and a resident of San Marcos, was employed by 

the college as the instructor and chairman of 

the program. Classes began on September 14, 

1973, with 19 students. 79 

Dr. George Taulbee, who taught courses at 

Warm Springs after Zavesky moved to the 

main campus in Victoria, attempted “to make 

the experience of going to school here as 

comparable as possible to what the student 

would experience if he or she were attending 

a four-year university.” He tried “to maintain 

the quality of grading as well as work study 

that a university would have to prepare the 

students for their future studies.” Taulbee 

was impressed with the students, considering 

them to be “extremely courageous and 

motivated individuals.” 80 

✯ 

Jerry Zavesky was the instructor and 

chairman of the college program at 

Warm Springs. 


✯ 

Mary Ann Wright (left) and Marilyn 

Powell want their students to know 

they are not heartless! 

Caroline Summers’ speech and drama students 

again demonstrated their theatrical talents 

in the fall of 1973. In the junior college 

division at the Southwest Texas State 

University Speech Festival which was composed 

of 648 students from forty-one schools 

in five states, the Victoria College Readers 

Theatre received an outstanding award for its 

performance of “Searching In, Reaching Out.” 81 

The Lyceum has become a major feature of 

Victoria College life. Its origins are found in the 

old class schedules when special periods each 

week were assigned to club activities and assemblies. 

The new schedule established in the mid- 

1960s eliminated the special periods, but occasionally 

classes were canceled or rearranged to 

accommodate particular programs. Because the 

affairs did not attract many students, in 

February 1969, Bing appointed an ad hoc 

assemblies committee, chaired by Chad 

Whitmore, to suggest programs more appealing 

to the students. Whitmore’s committee was to 

present its recommendations before the end of 

the spring semester so funds for the assemblies 

could be budgeted. At the May faculty meeting, 

Whitmore reported the committee had reached 

the conclusion that only evening events should 

be held, maintaining that assemblies did not 

warrant the loss of class time. The committee 

also suggested that a student activity fee of 

$2.00 per semester per student might assure 

higher quality programming. It further recommended 

that the administration bow out of the 

selection process and a standing committee 

composed of faculty members and students, but 

primarily students, be formed to select the 

speakers or entertainers. 82 

The advice was duly considered and a sevenmember 

Assemblies Committee, comprised of 

elected faculty members, emerged. Acting on 

the recommendation of the ad hoc committee, 

evening programs were conducted, but, as with 

day assemblies, student turnout was sparse. 

Even Geoffrey Holder, a national television and 

radio personality, drew less than 500 people, a 

respectable but not an impressive figure. 83 

New members were elected to the Assemblies 

Committee in 1973, and a different approach 

to programming was advanced. The committee 

decided to bring a nationally known speaker 

to the campus for a morning presentation. 

Moore was approached with the idea, and he 

concurred. The president requested that the 

committee recommend the names of three 

nationally prominent individuals, and he would 

select one. A list was compiled, and Moore 

chose Roger Mudd, a CBS congressional correspondent 

and an occasional replacement for 


Walter Cronkite, anchor of the network’s popular 

evening news. 

Mudd made his appearance on the campus at 

9:30 a.m. on March 27, 1974. He was originally 

set to speak in the fall of 1973, but because the 

television correspondent underwent oral surgery 

during that period, his program was rescheduled. 

When Mudd made his presentation, the 

Fine Arts Auditorium was filled to capacity. In 

his speech, he gave an update on current events 

in the nation’s capital and predicted that 

President Richard Nixon would leave office early 

as the result of the Senate Watergate hearings. 

When the session was opened to queries from 

the audience, Mudd was very adept at fielding 

questions. His address proved that with the right 

personality a morning event would draw more 

students than an evening performance, and the 

faculty would accept loss of class time if the 

speaker possessed a national reputation. 84 

Because the morning assembly programs featuring 

speakers such as Mudd became extremely 

popular with the students, faculty, regional high 

schools, and the community, they were expanded 

✯ 

Chad Whitmore, English instructor, is 

surrounded by admiring students. 


✯ 

Kenneth Peery and Nancy Nillen in 

the foreign language lab. 

from once a year to once each semester, and 

eventually to five per year. At least one event was 

conducted at night, even though the crowds were 

smaller, to give residents whose work prevented 

them from attending the morning sessions an 

opportunity to hear nationally recognized speakers. 

Also, since the programs evolved into something 

different from a mere assembly for students, 

and literally became the envy of colleges and universities 

throughout the state, the Assembly 

Committee adopted a new name, the Lyceum. 

The change came about at the suggestion of committee 

member Richard Walker who thought it 

necessary because the committee was performing 

functions other than arranging assembly programs, 

and it needed a distinct identity. 

Victoria College choir members were given a 

once-in-a-lifetime experience in the summer of 

1974. They became one of ten American 

singing groups to make a month long tour to 

Romania. In preparation for the trip, Ruth 

Williams rehearsed the chorus for several 

months before taking them to Westminster 

Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, for 

seven days of intense rehearsal. The party spent 

three weeks in the communist country with 

some interesting results. One of the Victorians 

met and married a student of another American 

choir, and a second Victorian “had his passport 

lifted from his hip pocket,” causing the group 

to spend “four days in fear” before they “arrived 

at a location where he could obtain a replacement.” 

Williams remarked that she and the students 

“were handed flowers on the street, 

watched over by plainclothes men everywhere, 

hounded for encores and allowed to view some 

of the most beautiful scenery and rural sights I 

will ever be permitted to see.” 85 

Another attempt was made in the fall of 1974 

to create a faculty senate. At the September 19 

faculty meeting, Michael Hummel made a 

motion that a faculty committee be elected to 

investigate the possibility of establishing a faculty 

organization. After the motion passed, James 

Gleason, a government instructor, proposed an 

amendment that called for a special meeting in 

two weeks to discuss the 1968 faculty senate 

resolution. Gleason’s motion was accepted. Bing 

asked Charles Spurlin, the chairman of the 1968 

faculty committee, to make the report. 86 


When the faculty convened on October 4, 

Spurlin presented a brief account of the events 

that revolved around the committee in 1968. 

He reviewed the faculty’s reaction to the majority 

and minority recommendations, and the 

subsequent passage of the majority suggestion 

to create an advisory council. When Spurlin 

finished with his remarks, Jerry Duren, agriculture 

instructor, moved that the existing 

arrangement be kept. Gary Underwood, biology 

instructor, seconded the motion. A lively, 

animated discussion followed before Audley 

Dry, dean of men, called for the question. By a 

show of hands, Duren’s proposal was approved 

28 to 22. The status quo remained intact to 

the satisfaction of Bing and the misinformed 

faculty members who were concerned of a 

“liberal” takeover. 87 

Interestingly, Dr. Reginald Traylor of the 

University of Houston Center played a role in 

the eventual reunification of the Victoria College 

faculty. Appearing before the college faculty in 

1974, he related his thoughts on the merger of 

Victoria College and his institution, suggesting 

it would be beneficial to the community. In 

response to an inquiry by James Franz, English 

instructor, as to how many college faculty would 

be retained if there were a consolidation, Traylor 

commented that the faculty members would 

have to apply for employment. The decision 

would then be left to UHC to assess the teaching 

qualifications of the applicants. Traylor gave 

no assurances whatsoever that the college faculty 

would be absorbed by the upper-level institution. 

The faculty members interpreted his comments 

to mean there was a strong possibility 

they would lose their jobs. He also provided 

unsatisfactory answers, at least to the college 

instructors, on tenure, organizational structure, 

and salary. The supporters of the UHC were 

aghast at Traylor’s remarks. Without a doubt, he 

did more to bring about the end of Victoria 

College faculty factionalism in the 1970s than 

any other person. At the conclusion of the meeting, 

the instructors left the room all but united 

in opposition to the merger. 88 

On a more pleasant note, Monroe Northcutt, 

who was employed by the college in 1961, was 

recognized with a special award by the National 

Junior College Track and Field Association for 

his many contributions to national junior college 

track and field events. While he was the 

track coach, his teams placed in six of the seven 

years they competed at the national meets. In 

1970, he was selected as referee of the national 

meet, a distinctive honor in itself. The association 

acknowledged further respect for Northcutt 

by choosing him to serve as chairman of the 

Rules Committee. 89 

On March 17, 1975, Moore surprised the 

trustees and college community when he read 

to the board his letter of resignation, effective 

✯ 

Listening to comments being made by 

President J. D. Moore at a capping 

ceremony are (left to right) Harold 

Nichols, business manager, and allied 

health instructors Mary Ann Wright 

and Marjorie Patek. 


✯ 

Dr. C. F. Schneider reviews a student 

article for the Jolly Roger. 

July 1. Trustee Leo Welder made a motion to 

accept the letter “with regret.” Bing, on Moore’s 

recommendation, was named unanimously to 

succeed him as president. At the time the president 

announced his resignation, he stated 

“that there were a number of things he wanted 

to do.” For one thing, Moore expressed a desire 

to take some trips with his wife Edith, “assuming 

that gasoline is available.” Furthermore, he 

wanted to achieve his goal of beating the 

eighty-year-old Sandy Santleben, a friend and a 

retired railroad worker, in a round of golf at the 

Riverside Golf Course before Santleben 

reached ninety. 90 

Accolades from throughout the state were 

showered upon Moore as word spread of his 

impending retirement. San Marcos Baptist 

Academy presented him with the school’s highest 

award, the Exemplary Service Medal, for his 

contributions to Christian and public education. 

The Texas Public Junior College Association 

gave him an award of appreciation at a luncheon. 

Making the presentation of the TPJCA 

plaque was Tom Spencer, a friend and long-time 

associate of Moore. Spencer praised the retiring 

president and jokingly remarked, “There are 

some stories about J. D. Moore that I could tell 

here today, but I won’t because the statute of 

limitations on them is not yet up.” 91 

Local recognition of Moore’s civic and public 

achievements was expressed in diverse ways. 

The college chapter of the Texas Association of 

College Teachers sponsored a dinner on May 16 

at the Victoria Country Club honoring him. 

The organization purchased, without Moore’s 

knowledge, the desk he used at the college. 

During the festivities, economics instructor 

Ben Burdine, on behalf of the faculty, informed 

the outgoing president that the desk was his 

to keep. He also presented Moore with a plaque 

that was to be affixed to the desk. The evening 

event was enlivened by humorous comments 

by Dr. John W. Stormont, Monroe Northcutt, 

and Burdine. Entertainment, if the term is 

used loosely, was provided by the Moribund 

Quartet, a surprisingly harmonious group. The 

quartet was comprised of Moore’s daughter, 

Cora Jo Hummel and her husband Michael 


Hummel, Ruth Williams, and Don Cole with 

Donna Cole providing piano accompaniment. 

The City of Victoria and Victoria County 

declared June 15, the date the college conducted 

an open house of its new facilities, as J. D. 

Moore Appreciation Day. 92 

After interviewing prospective candidates, 

Bing, with the board’s unanimous approval, 

tapped Dr. Oscar Rex Whiteside, dean of Hill 

Junior College, as his replacement. Whiteside, a 

veteran of the Korean War, received an undergraduate 

degree from Texas A&M University, a 

master’s degree from Texas Christian University, 

and a doctorate in education from Baylor 

University. He taught in the Fort Worth public 

schools and Arlington State College before his 

employment at the Hillsboro junior college. 

While at the two-year school in Hill County, 

Whiteside served as registrar prior to being elevated 

to the dean’s position. 93 

A favorite story of the students at Hill Junior 

College had to do with Whiteside. It seems that 

while he was dean, Whiteside taught a math 

class, a practice he briefly continued at Victoria 

College. One day he was uncustomarily late to 

class. After waiting some twenty minutes, his 

students left the room. At the next class session, 

Whiteside took them to task for leaving 

because they knew he would be there. A student 

politely stated, “I thought we had to wait 

ten minutes for an instructor with a master’s 

degree”…which Whiteside had “and 15 minutes 

for one with a doctorate.” Whiteside 

quickly retorted, “That’s right, but you wait all 

day for the Dean!” 94 

Whiteside had his first opportunity to visit 

with the faculty at a July reception in the 

Student Union honoring Bing as the new 

president. Reaction from the faculty who met 

him was positive. When Whiteside was 

introduced at the general faculty meeting on 

August 25, Bing, as expected, gave an emphatic 

endorsement to the dean. The president 

said, “If you do not please Dr. Whiteside in 

instructional matters, you will not please me.” 

Whiteside in his segment of the meeting provided 

a ray of light as to his role at the college. 

He remarked that the dean’s position was 

strictly to help the faculty, and the instructor’s 

position was to create an atmosphere in which 

learning took place. His words were comforting 

to the faculty, but there remained a dash of 

apprehension. Whether the new leadership 

combination would be as successful as the preceding 

one was anyone’s guess. Only time 

would tell. 95 

✯ 

Kenneth Greenhill and Doyle 

Christian await the arrival of the 

next group of students to register 

for classes. 


1 

David Urbano, letter to author, 5 October 1998. 

ENDNOTES 

2 

The Victoria Advocate, 10 July 1962; The Jolly Roger, 28 September 1962. 

3 

Advocate, 10 July 1962; The Jolly Roger, 26 October 1962. 

4 


5 

Ibid., 19 May 1963. 

6 

The Jolly Roger, 27 September 1963. 

7 

Vollie Williams, letter to author, 28 July 1998. 

8 

C. A. Talley, letter to author, 4 September 1998. 

9 

The Jolly Roger, 25 October 1963. 

10 

Advocate, 14 January 1964; The Jolly Roger, 14 February 1964. 

11 

Advocate, Ibid. 

12 

Ruth Williams, letter to author, 26 August 1998. 

13 

Ibid.; Advocate, 14 February 1964, 28-29 May 1964, 6 June 1964; Corpus Christi Caller-Times, 6 May 1964. 

14 

Advocate, 14 January 1964, 12 May 1964; The Jolly Roger, 14 February 1964. 

15 


16 

The Victoria College Faculty Minutes, 21 January 1965; Ibid., 27 January 1965; The Jolly Roger, 21 May 1965. 

17 

Louise Hume, interview with author, 8 April 1995; Advocate, 26 May 1965. 

18 

Martha Watts, interview with author, 8 April 1995. 

19 

Pirate, 1965. 

20 

Caller-Times, 7 October 1964; San Antonio Express News, 7 October 1964; Advocate, 7 October 1964, 8-9 May 1965. 

21 


22 

VC Faculty Minutes, 22 May 1964, 21 January 1965. 

23 


24 


25 

The Jolly Roger, 14 January 1966; Advocate, 9 November 1965. 

26 

Victoria College Self-Study and Evaluation Report, 1972, 7-8. 

27 


28 

Ibid., 11 October 1966; The Jolly Roger, 30 September 1966. 

29 


30 


31 

VC Faculty Minutes, 21 January 1965; The Jolly Roger, 25 September 1967; Registrar’s Records, Victoria College. 

32 

Charles S. Stone, letter to author, 24 June 1997. 

33 

VC Faculty Minutes, 20 January 1966. 

34 


35 


36 

Ibid., 11 July 1967. 

37 


38 

VC Faculty Minutes, 17 November 1967. 

39 

Ibid., 3 May 1968. 

40 

Ibid. 

41 

Ibid., 30 May 1968. 

42 


43 

Advocate, 11 July 1968. 

44 

Ibid., 19 November 1968, 12 May 1970. 

45 

VC Faculty Minutes, 19 September 1968. 

46 

The Jolly Roger, 28 March 1969, 14 November 1969. 

47 


48 

VC Faculty Minutes, 12 September 1969, 7 October 1969. 


49 

The Jolly Roger, 19 December 1969. 

50 

Ibid. 

51 

Advocate, 12 March 1970; Ibid., 20 March 1970. 

52 

Advocate, 19 October 1969, 20 November 1969, 3 December 1969. 

53 


54 

Advocate, 26 April 1970; Ibid., 23 October 1970. 

55 


56 


57 


58 


59 


60 


61 


62 


63 

“Gavel Club Scrapbook 1971-1972,” Local History Collection, Victoria College Library; Advocate, 23 November 1971. 

64 

Advocate, 14 March 1967; The Jolly Roger, 24 February 1967. 

65 

The Jolly Roger, 24 February 1967. 

66 

Ibid., 28 March 1969, 5 May 1969. 

67 

A Proposal for Victoria State University, 21 April 1969. 

68 


69 


70 

VC Faculty Minutes, 21 January 1971; Advocate, 19 February 1971. 

71 


72 

Advocate, 10 June 1972, 18 July 1972. 

73 

The Jolly Roger, 6 October 1972, 19 February 1973. 

74 

Ibid., 6 October 1972; VC Faculty Minutes, 21 September 1972, 8 August 1973, 6 June 1973. 

75 


76 


77 


78 


79 

Robert Jerry Zavesky, “Description Of A New And Unique Junior College Program Which Provides Special Aid For Handicapped 

Learners,” unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1976; VC Faculty Minutes, 13 May 1973; Ibid., 11 

October 1973. 

80 

Judy Moore, “College for the Handicapped,” The Victoria College Kaleidoscope (Spring 1980), 6. 

81 

The Jolly Roger, 9 November 1973. 

82 

VC Faculty Minutes, 4 February 1969, 5 May 1969. 

83 


84 


85 

Ruth Williams, letter to author. 

86 

VC Faculty Minutes, 19 September 1974. 

87 


88 

Ibid. 

89 


90 


91 

Ibid., 30 May 1975, 16 June 1975. 

92 

Ibid, 18 May 1975, 16 June 1975. 

93 

Ibid., 20 May 1975. 

94 

Odie B. Faulk, Hill College: An Illustrated History (Hillsboro: Hill College Press, 1996), 128-129. 

95 

VC Faculty Minutes, 25 August 1975. 

Endnotes ✦ 143


CHAPTER 6 

BINGDOM 

When Dr. Roland E. Bing assumed the presidency of Victoria College on July 1, 1975, the conversion 

of the old Library Building into an administration complex, which began before J. D. Moore 

retired, was yet to be completed. It was not until October that the structure was sufficiently remodeled 

and furnished. Meanwhile, Bing moved from the dean’s office in the Administration Building 

into the existing presidential space across the hall and remained there until his new quarters on the 

second floor of the renovated structure became available. 

When the trustees met in September 1975 in the newly finished boardroom on the second floor 

of the old Library Building, the board members voted to rename the old Administration Building 

the Academic Building. Furthermore, they designated the old Library Building as the 

Administration Building. It was at their meeting that Bing presented his first report to the board as 

president. Being a strong advocate of allied health education, he used the opportunity to provide an 

assessment of the nursing program. Assisting him in this endeavor were Ruth Constant, director of 

Associate Degree Nursing, and Mary Ann Wright, director of Vocational Nursing. Constant pointed 

out that the new two-year nursing program had received accreditation, and its inaugural classes 

were filled to capacity. She remarked that a total of forty students were enrolled and the average 

composite on the American College Test scores was 20.5 out of a possible 36. Wright provided a 

similarly upbeat report on the one-year vocational nursing program. She stated that about 75 percent 

of the nurses in the Victoria hospitals were graduates of the college. Wright emphasized the 

importance of the training of nurses for the community when she said, “we have calls from doctors 

at graduation time every year wanting our nurses.” 1 

The appearance of Constant and Wright before the board signaled that the meetings were going 

to be different under Bing. When Moore was president, very few faculty members or students ever 

attended a board meeting. It was not that they were discouraged from doing so, but the atmosphere 

seemed uncomfortable. Bing, on the other hand, regularly asked individuals within the college community 

to give reports. During the first year of Bing’s presidency, Student Council president Debbie 

Spurlin made a presentation on the activities of student organizations, and Carl DuBose, Evening 

School director, commented on vocational courses. As the years passed, students and members of 

the faculty, either cheering the college or complaining about a problem, were presented to the board 

by Bing. 

A Constitutional Review Forum entitled “Community Forum: A New Constitution for Texas?” was 

conducted in the Fine Arts Auditorium on October 13, 1975. In 1974, the state legislature had met 

as a constitutional convention and failed to approve a new state constitution. At the following legislative 

session in 1975 the legislators resolved to place before the voters a proposed constitution in 

the form of eight propositions. If approved by the electorate, each proposition in the form of an 

amendment would replace an existing feature of the constitution. State officials made numerous presentations 

throughout Texas on behalf of constitutional reform. Included on the forum panel at the 

college were Speaker of the House of Representatives Bill Clayton, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court 

of Texas Joe R. Greenhill, state representative Joe Wyatt, Jr., and state representative Tim Von Dohlen. 

On November 4, the voters had their say on the matter and by landslide proportions defeated the 

propositions; only 4 of 254 counties accepted the items. 2 

On February 6, 1976, the first graduation ceremony was held for students who completed course 

work in the college’s emergency medical services program. Carl DuBose, director of the Evening 

School, remarked the program was established to prepare unemployed low income individuals to 

find jobs. 3 

Two faculty members became presidents of their respective professional organizations in the 

spring of 1976. Robert Meeks, geology instructor, was elected head of the Texas Division of the 

✯ 

Dr. Roland E. Bing was president of 

Victoria College from 1975 to 1989. 

Bingdom ✦ 145

✯ 

Debra Spurlin, 1975-76 Student 

Senate president. 

National Association of Geology Teachers, a 

group that included over 200 geology 

researchers in higher education. Louise Hume, 

college registrar, was chosen to lead the South 

Texas Association of Registrars and Admission 

Officers, an organization composed of 30 South 

Texas colleges and universities. 4 

Among the college student community 

receiving special recognition during the spring 

of 1976 were the Circle K Club and the intramural 

basketball team. Circle K, a student 

service organization, was awarded first place 

for achievements in its division at the Texas- 

Oklahoma District Convention in Dallas. The 

club was specifically applauded for its contribution 

in the District Huntington’s Disease 

Fund Drive. The intramural basketball team 

was crowned champion at the Texas Intramural 

Athletic Association South Zone Basketball 

Tournament. Howard Terrell led the squad 

in scoring. 5 

By a margin of 255 votes, Dave Lack, owner 

of a chain of furniture stores, defeated incumbent 

board member Dr. C. P. “Pete” Montier for 

a place on the college board of trustees. Montier 

was an original board member and was seeking 

his fifth full term. Although there had been previous 

contested elections, Lack, who won the 

election by virtue of capturing the city polling 

boxes, was the first person to unseat a sitting 

board member. 6 

A noticeable expansion of vocational and 

technical courses occurred in the fall of 1976. 

Carl DuBose, who assumed the position of 

director of Vocational/Technical Education, stated 

that the increase was due to local industrial 

expansion and the growing job market. He 

remarked, “Parents and students alike are more 

interested in this type of training than ever 

before.” Among the new courses offered during 

the academic year were floral design, structural 

steel drafting, air conditioning and refrigeration, 

basic emergency training, medical and surgical 

nursing, backhoe operation, farm and ranch 

management, and heavy equipment operation. 7 

In December, the board was approached by 

the Brownson Home trustees on the sale of 19.1 

acres east of and adjacent to the campus for 

$479,000. The board jumped at the chance to 

purchase the land since the price was considered 

a bargain, and there was concern that an 

opportunity to expand the campus to 80 acres 

would be lost if the college did not act immediately. 

Consequently, the board called for a 

$400,000 bond election to be held on March 5, 

1977, with the promise that should the bonds 

be approved, there would not be a tax increase. 8 

Skepticism over the no-tax pledge was 

expressed by some of the voters in the county. 

The disbelievers argued that taxes would have 

to be raised, “if not to pay directly for the land,” 

to pay for the higher costs of operations and 


maintenance brought about by soaring inflation 

and projected enrollment increases. To emphasize 

their position, the critics pointed out that 

the college raised the tax rate six cents within 

the last year “to meet higher operating costs.” 9 

Without denying the possibility of a future 

tax increase, Bing and the board members made 

persuasive public statements to rally support for 

the bond issue. The president remarked, “It’s a 

good deal for the college and a good deal for the 

public. Land isn’t going down in price.” Leo 

Welder noted, “The bonds can be retired over a 

12-year period without an increase in the tax 

rate.” Jack Wood said, “It would be extremely 

short-sighted to fail to seize the opportunity to 

obtain this last vacant tract of land adjacent to 

the college campus.” Thomas M. O’Connor took 

a similar stand by releasing a written statement 

proclaiming, “Now is the time to buy the land. 

If we wait any longer, the land may not be available 

and the only solution for extra land to take 

care of the college’s growth would be the condemnation 

process, which is slow, expensive 

and fraught with controversy.” Morris Shattuck 

justified the purchase by emphasizing the land 

was needed to accommodate “the role of a community 

college.” He remarked, “We furnish the 

freshmen and sophomores a highly professional 

faculty that is not available to beginners at the 

big universities. We are filling a very special 

need in higher education.” 10 

Opposition to the bond issue emerged shortly 

before the election from an unexpected source. 

An anonymous group called the Organization for 

Concerned Students attempted to drum up votes 

against the proposition. In a flyer distributed by 

this disgruntled element, criticism was leveled at 

the college for spending money on land when the 

funds could be used to expand vocational, technical, 

and adult education programs, to repair the 

roof of the Student Union Building, and to support 

the library book budget. 11 

Bing quickly refuted the statements. He 

punctuated the fact that the organization was 

✯ 

A college float was a component of a 

parade held in downtown Victoria 

during the 1970s. 

Bingdom ✦ 147

“composed largely of students at the University 

of Houston Victoria Campus that banded 

together to prevent cutbacks in programs and 

faculty at UHVC.” The president noted that the 

roof of the Student Union Building was repaired 

and declared that “more money was spent on 

books this year than last year.” He acknowledged 

that budgets were “trimmed across the 

board” to satisfy higher utility bills, therefore, 

the library took a financial hit the same as other 

areas of the college. 12 

When the ballots were tallied after the polls 

closed on March 5, the bond election passed by 

a three-to-one margin. College officials were 

jubilant that the county electorate concurred 

with their decision to purchase the land. The 

passage of the bond issue was a testimonial to 

the majority in the community that the college 

was a sound financial investment. This attitude 

first developed under Moore’s leadership and 

carried over into Bing’s presidency. 13 

Relations between the college and the 

University of Houston Victoria Campus 

improved significantly in the spring of 1977. In 

January, Dr. Reginald Traylor resigned as 

chancellor and was temporarily replaced by 

Dr. George Taulbee, an administrator at UHVC. 

Taulbee, to the elation of the college faculty 

who considered him a friend, announced that 

all talk of a merger of the two schools would 

end immediately and that UHVC would no 

longer teach courses which duplicated the ones 

being taught at Victoria College. The upperlevel 

institution, by using different course terminology, 

had been offering classes that were 

essentially the same as some courses at the college. 

This maneuver had been a source of serious 

tension between the two institutions. 

Within seven months of Taulbee’s appointment, 

the cooperative atmosphere became apparent. 

Bing was invited to attend a University of 

Houston Board of Regents meeting and, afterwards, 

at the request of Bing, Taulbee appeared 

before the college board. In the presence of the 

trustees, the interim chancellor remarked, “It’s a 

pleasure to meet with such warm and understanding 

people. It’s been kind of cool out 

there.” He further stated that for the first time 

the two educational institutions could “offer a 

program which enables us to tell a freshman if 

he follows a definite program, then he can graduate 

on the same campus in four years.” 14 

A videotaped weekly television series, 

“Higher Education in Victoria,” produced by the 

college and UHVC and carried by KXIX-TV, was 

launched in July 1977. A total of 78 programs 

✯ 

Dr. E. F. “Pete” Gummelt prepares for 

a college television presentation. 


were generated and aired Saturday evenings at 

10:00 o’clock. In what was likely a unique public 

relations enterprise for a junior college, the 

programs ranged from student musical productions 

to special interest faculty areas, such as 

local archaeology and world travel. The first two 

broadcasts revolved around the purposes, programs, 

and relations of the two institutions. The 

initial installments were followed with presentations 

by faculty members. Among the college 

participants were Dr. Robert W. Shook, history 

instructor, and Colonel Lorne Black, government 

instructor, who discussed President Jimmy 

Carter’s controversial Panama Canal Zone 

Treaty; and Drs. Ben Burdine and C. A. Talley, 

economic instructors, who voiced their views on 

✯ 

Wilbur Collins and Ruth Williams, 

music instructors, prepare for 

a rehearsal. 

Bingdom ✦ 149

✯ 

Audley Dry’s hat is a bit smaller than 

the one the student is wearing. 

the energy crisis. The series was developed by 

Dr. C. F. Schneider, English instructor and director 

of Public Relations. 15 

On October 26, 27, and 28, the college hosted 

the Texas Junior College Choral Festival. 

Ruth Williams, choral director, coordinated the 

event. Some 200 singers from junior colleges 

throughout the state took part in the festival. 

Included among the vocalists from Victoria 

College were Elaine Mayer, Gary Newman, 

Eileen Pickle, Peggy McLaurin, Ed Vogt, Scott 

Wilkinson, Janet Cheshire, and Noble Gray. Dr. 

Charles Hirt, an internationally known leader of 

choral music, conducted a group composed of 

representatives from the junior college participants 

for the festival concert. 16 

The Social Sciences Department held its first 

annual Social Sciences Symposium on February 

4, 1978, in the lecture room located in the 

library basement. Initially, the affair was directed 

at public school teachers from the area who 

could use the conference to fulfill their in-service 

obligations. A factor in the creation of the 

symposium was to illustrate that Victoria 

College flourished with professionally motivated 

faculty members who desired to do more for 

the community than meet their perfunctory 

obligation of teaching classes. The conference 

provided area residents an opportunity to attend 

scholarly presentations that were generally limited 

to gatherings at larger colleges and cities. 

Speakers at the symposium, all of whom were 

members of the department, were Charles 

Spurlin, Dr. James Gleason, Burdine, Black, 

Richard Walker, and Doyle Christian. As an 

added feature, Dr. Robert Shook displayed the 

S. R. Weisiger Collection and other resource 

materials housed in the Local History Room. 17 

Until the mid-1980s, the symposium’s annual 

programs consisted of varied topics. 

Beginning in 1986, the sessions began to 

address a specific theme, the first of which was 

the Texas Revolution. Also, in 1986, the conference 

acquired funds through the effort of Bing 

from the Kathryn Stoner O’Connor Foundation 

to present an annual Kathryn Stoner O’Connor 

Distinguished Texas History Lecture. The first 

O’Connor lecturer was Dr. Archie McDonald, 

professor of history at Stephen F. Austin State 

University, who made a presentation entitled 

“Travis: One Chief Rol’d Among the Rest.” 

As the symposium evolved, it went through 

name changes. In 1990, the sessions began to 

focus on South Texas and were referred to as 

the Conference on South Texas Studies. It 

was renamed the John W. Stormont Lectures 

on South Texas five years later when the 

former dean’s family, in a generous move 


to honor the distinguished gentleman, funded 

the symposium. 

One of the splendid by-products that 

emerged from the conference was the establishment 

of the Victoria College Press, an 

accomplishment limited to only a handful of 

colleges and universities in Texas. The press 

was created in 1986 when the college took the 

modest step of publishing McDonald’s presentation. 

The following year all the papers given 

at the symposium were printed, and in 1990, 

when the decision was made to concentrate on 

South Texas, the Social Sciences Symposium 

periodical was renamed South Texas Studies. 

The new publication’s cover featured a distinctive 

cactus as a logotype. The symbol was 

selected by a committee composed of Spurlin, 

Walker, and Hummel. 

On Valentine’s Day 1978, the Fine Arts 

Auditorium was filled to capacity for a lecture 

by folksy, strict constructionist Senator Sam 

Ervin of North Carolina, who acquired national 

prominence as chairman of the Senate 

Watergate Committee which investigated the 

improprieties associated with President 

Richard Nixon’s administration. In a lackluster, 

canned presentation, he denounced the 

Panama Canal Treaty as the result of a guilt 

complex and opposed the Equal Rights 

Amendment as unnecessary. Ervin explained 

what he considered the five basic rights found 

in the United States Constitution: economic, 

personal, intellectual, political, and religious. 

At the end of the program Karen Hoefer, president 

of the Student Senate, presented the 

speaker with a heart-shaped box of candy. 

Ervin’s appearance on the campus was sponsored 

by the Assembly Committee. 18 

After a prolonged study, the board of trustees 

in March established an educational foundation 

that was authorized “to solicit, encourage and 

otherwise obtain gifts, grants, loans and contributions” 

which would “contribute to the academic 

and physical growth and development of 

Victoria College.” Bing suggested that the foundation 

would serve as “a vehicle whereby people 

who want to give a tax-free gift can do so.” 

Board member Leo Welder remarked “that 

under the endowment, persons could donate 

buildings, machinery or land, etc.” Gifts and 

contributions did not flow into the foundation 

as its founders envisioned, due to the lack of 

any organized fund drive or sustained effort to 

solicit grants. It was not until Dr. Jimmy 

Goodson became president of the college that 

the foundation became effectual. 19 

Results of the college nursing students who 

took the Board of Nurse Examiners test in 

✯ 

Karen Hoefer, president of the Student 

Senate, presents Senator Sam Ervin 

with a heart-shaped box of Valentine 

candy after his Lyceum presentation. 

Bingdom ✦ 151

✯ 

Coach Monroe Northcutt stands 

behind trophies won by his 

track teams. 

February 1978 were impressive. Thirty-one of 

the 36 students passed with average scores 

higher than the state mean in the five fields 

examined and, except for psychology, greater 

than the national mean. Victoria College nursing 

graduate June V. Cook received the highest 

grade in the state on the medical nursing exam 

and tied for the best score on the surgical 

nursing exam. 20 

Construction projects received considerable 

attention in the 1978-1979 academic year. One 

was prompted by Federal disability regulations. 

Bing announced that elevator access to the second 

floors of the Science and Academic buildings 

was necessary or the “feds are going to get 

us.” Instead of installing an elevator in each 

building, the college constructed a two-story 

hallway, including an elevator, linking the two 

structures. This structure soon became known, 

outside of Bing’s hearing, as the “Bing Wing.” 

The second project was an expansion of the 

Allied Health Building to meet the space requirement 

for a new operating room technology 

course. A large share of the funds for this addition 

to the latter structure was provided by the 

M. G. and Lillie A. Johnson Foundation, Inc. 21 

Dr. James D. Gleason, government instructor, 

noticed one day as he observed the construction 

of the enclosure between the Science 

and Academic buildings, the concrete ramp on 

the south side was too precipitous for wheelchair-bound 

students to open the entrance door. 

He brought the matter to the attention of college 

officials and “a less steep ramp with guard rail 

and a flat landing was provided.” After the addition 

was finished and opened to traffic, Gleason 

and his students found that in order to use the 

elevator, a key had to be secured from the secretary 

in the Science Building. “Several times my 

students were unable to locate anyone with a 

key,” Gleason stated. “The final straw” came 

when he had to carry his daughter, Heather Kay, 

who “was injured in cheerleader practice at 

Victoria High [School] up those steep steps in 

the Academic Building” to reach his office on 

the second floor. Gleason stated, “I was mad. I 

finally got a key but then the college administration 

changed its mind and let all students and 

faculty use the elevator without a key.” 22 

As 1978 came to a close, Dr. Julia Riggs, 

biology instructor and former dean of women, 

was elected to serve as an at-large member on 

the eighteen-member board of directors of 

the National Association of Biology Teachers. The 

organization was composed of over 6,000 life science 

and biology teachers dedicated to promoting 

better teaching at all education levels. Each 

year the NABT selected from every state, the 

District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico an 

Outstanding Biology Teacher. Riggs as director atlarge 

was appointed an ex-officio member to the 

Committee of Excellence in Biology Education. 23 

In the spring of 1979, special recognition 

was bestowed upon Douglas Kidder, a Victoria 

College student, for his positive involvement 

with the Circle K Club. He was elected lieu- 


tenant governor of Circle K Division 9, an area 

that included the junior and senior colleges in 

South Texas. In this post, he published a division 

newsletter, “Kidder’s Kaller,” three times 

a month. 24 

Rampant double digit inflation in the 1970s 

took its toll upon the college. Escalating operating 

costs, largely due to rising utility bills, 

placed a hardship on the budget. In an effort to 

control expenses, classroom thermostats were 

lowered in the colder months and raised during 

the warmer months. The administration 

requested that faculty turn classroom lights off 

between classes and ordered the reduction of 

hall lighting, resulting in a dull, eerie appearance. 

To further reduce utility expenses, Bing 

distributed a memo citing the United States 

Department of Energy’s proper use of portable 

heaters and ventilating equipment. Although it 

never came to pass, a faculty member suggested 

that instructors be assigned to each building to 

monitor energy usage. 25 

Of particular importance to the faculty during 

these high inflationary times was the slippage 

of real income for college employees. The 

Richard Nixon administration responded, 

unsuccessfully, to the economic crisis by temporarily 

freezing wages. When Gerald Ford 

assumed the presidency after Nixon resigned, he 

kicked off a “Whip Inflation Now” campaign 

whereby the nation was asked to restrain spending. 

In an effort to gain public support, his 

administration distributed round WIN buttons 

and stickers. A few of the labels turned up on 

classroom lecterns used by the faculty to mock 

the anti-inflation drive. The inflationary spiral 

went unabated and dogged the Jimmy Carter 

presidency. A partial solution to the critical economic 

problems, so his administration thought, 

was to limit salary increases to seven percent a 

year, a decision that ruffled the faculty. 

On May 10, 1979, a committee selected by 

the faculty consisting of economic instructors 

Dr. Ben Burdine and Dr. Claude A. Talley and 

history instructor Richard Walker composed a 

letter to Alfred E. Kahn, chairman of the 

Council on Wage and Price Stability, requesting 

an exemption to the restriction. The trio 

stressed the “insidious depletion” of the faculty’s 

real income and noted that an exemption would 

prevent “further income erosion.” Attached to 

the letter was a chart illustrating the decline of 

real income for selected faculty members along 

with pertinent statements and sections from the 

✯ 

Dr. Robert W. Shook looks through 

materials from the Local 

History Collection. 

Bingdom ✦ 153

✯ 

Before the computer age, card 

catalogues were the vogue in 

the library. 

government’s Fact Book: Wage and Price 

Standards. Before the end of June, the committee 

received a response from the Council on Wage 

and Price Stability rejecting the request for an 

exception to the pay standard. Fortunately, for 

the faculty and the nation, inflation was shackled 

in the 1980s during the presidency of 

Ronald Reagan. 26 

When James Ross, a college custodian, 

opened the door of the Administration Building 

around 7:30 a.m. on November 7, 1979, he discovered 

the structure was filled with heavy 

smoke. Sometime during the preceding night 

hours, a thief or thieves entered the building, 

smashing in “the front door…allowing the perpetrators 

to either crawl through or reach 

through and depress the panic bar door opener 

to open the door.” Filing cabinets and desks 

were ransacked in the intruder(s) fruitless 

search for valuables. The trespasser(s) tore a 

hole through the sheetrock wall of the registrar’s 

safe and set two fires which destroyed a 

few old grade books and documents. Despite 

Bing’s public statement that the college was prepared 

for a loss of the records, in reality, if the 

fire had spread, all the documents would have 

been lost. 27 

Once again, burglars entered the 

Administration Building on December 4, 1980. 

Entry was secured by the careful removal of a 

large pane of glass from the edifice. Several 

offices were ransacked and a candy machine was 

broken into. The thieves, oddly, selected only 

one variety of candy to remove from the vending 

machine. The purloiners also made an 

abortive attempt to open a vault. Bing was not 

surprised that the would-be safecrackers were 

unsuccessful and smiling said, “Getting into that 

particular vault is difficult enough when you 

know the combination.” 28 

During March 1980, college maintenance 

workers removed the ivy that covered the 

exteriors of several campus buildings. Over 

the years, the roots of the vegetation had 

grown into the brick mortar and sewer lines, 

causing damage to the structures and pipes, 

and harbored doves and occasionally snakes. 

Furthermore, the ivy attracted yellow jackets 


which endangered the work crews assigned to 

trimming the climbing plants and distracted 

students when the insects invaded a classroom, 

compelling Bing to comment, “I’m afraid we’re 

going to get somebody killed.” A less important 

consideration for removing the ivy was the distraction 

the cutting caused when the work was 

carried out while instructors were conducting 

classes. Frequently, the attention of the students 

and faculty was interrupted when they heard the 

clank of an extension ladder on the outside of 

the building and saw a smiling maintenance 

employee peering through the window gently 

moving his lips, expressing a cheerful hello. In 

the meantime, first floor classes were amused as 

the cut leaves fluttered to the ground. 29 

Stating that he was not retiring but “wanted 

more time for other activities,” Harold J. 

Nichols, college business manager since 1956, 

officially submitted his resignation in May 1980. 

The board members accepted it “with regret” 

and proceeded to name Robert E. Gaines as 

Nichols’ successor. Before relocating to Victoria, 

Gaines was registrar and director of admissions 

at Southwest Texas State University. 30 

Bing was notoriously known as a very poor 

driver. The faculty knew it. His friends and associates 

knew it. Gaines did not know it. The business 

manager had been in Victoria a short time 

when Bing took him to a local bank to meet the 

officials of the business. On the return trek to 

the college, the pair traveled north on Bridge 

Street and turned east on Rio Grande Street. 

They came to the stop light at Main Street. Bing, 

oblivious to the red signal, drove across the 

thoroughfare without stopping. Fortunately, for 

all concerned, no cars were traveling in either 

direction on Main Street. After crossing the 

intersection, Gaines asked Bing, “Do you do that 

often?” Bing replied, “What do you mean?” To 

which Gaines responded, “Drive through red 

lights.” Bing did not answer. Some time later, 

when the two men were walking to the president’s 

car located in the parking lot between the 

Library Building and the old Industrial Arts 

Building, the business manager extended his 

hand with palm up toward Bing. Without a 

word being spoken, the president placed the car 

keys into the open palm. From that time forward, 

Gaines was Bing’s chauffeur. “But,” the 

business manager fondly remembered, “he 

would never buy me a chauffeur’s hat.” 31 

On September 23, 1980, syndicated columnist 

and advocate of politically conservative 

causes William F. Buckley, Jr., addressed the 

largest crowd ever to hear a speaker in the Fine 

Arts Auditorium. Students from area high 

schools were bused to the campus, posing a 

serious seating problem for the Lyceum, the 

sponsor of the program. To accommodate the 

✯ 

Engrossed with Phi Theta Kappa 

matters are (left to right) Melanie 

Holland, Charles Stone, Mary 

Kilgore, Linda Heinrich, and 

Shirley Thigpen. 

Bingdom ✦ 155

overflow crowd, folding chairs were set up on 

the stage, the first and only time for a Lyceum 

program. Buckley’s polysyllabic vocabulary and 

speaking style entertained and delighted the 

mostly conservative throng by skillfully orating 

upon the key issues of the day and taking verbal 

swipes at President Jimmy Carter. 32 

In the spring of 1980, Dr. S. Joe McCord, 

library director, received a letter from C. A. 

LaBarre, superintendent of documents for the 

United States government, stating that the 

library had been given an excellent rating 

for its depository collection. LaBarre commended 

him for “achieving standards of excellence 

in all depository library groups,” which 

placed the library “among a select vanguard of 

pace-setters serving as creative models for 

depository documents.” 33 

During the 1980 fall semester, the Victoria 

College Library was ranked first among Texas 

community colleges in the number of books per 

student and faculty. Statistically, there were 78.66 

books per student while the number of volumes 

per faculty member was over 1,000. This notable 

accomplishment was made possible by placing 

volumes of Victoria College and the University of 

Houston Victoria Center into a joint collection. 34 

Dr. Richard C. Allen, Jr., Victoria physician, 

was the commencement speaker for the first 

graduates of the nursing attendants program, a 

course of study designed to provide assistance 

to registered nurses and licensed vocational 

nurses. The ceremony for the twenty-nine graduates 

was held on November 13, 1980, in the 

Fine Arts Auditorium. The highlight of the 

evening’s event was the presentation of a bronze 

plaque by the students to Rose Pustka, RN, 

director of the program. Inscribed on the gift 

was a statement of appreciation dedicated to 

Pustka and the names of the graduating class. 35 

Under the able advisorship of Jerry Zavesky, 

business instructor, a team of Victoria College 

students won the Business Case Competition at 

Corpus Christi State University at the beginning 

of the 1981 spring semester. The contest was 

conducted by the senior institution to provide 

community college students an opportunity to 

refine their business skills. The local college 

aggregate was composed of Norma Martinez, 

Reuben Salone, Cindy Kaiser, Kenneth Cykola, 

and Lou Talbott. 36 

In April 1981, the board adopted a resolu- 

✯ 

Did someone say flag football 

was nonphysical? 


tion conforming to a state plan for higher education 

that was designed to satisfy the United 

States Department of Education. The statement 

reaffirmed the college’s “long standing commitment 

to operate on a totally desegregated basis 

and to provide equal educational opportunities 

for all, without regard to race, color, religion, 

sex, national origin, or handicap.” The resolution 

committed the two-year institution to 

increasing “the proportion of black and 

Hispanic students enrolled at the Victoria 

College.” The board emphasized that the action 

it took did not establish quotas or lower the 

college’s academic standards. 37 

Taxing authorities found themselves in 

unfamiliar territory in 1981 as they prepared 

their upcoming year’s budgets. A new state 

law required the taxing districts, including 

Victoria College, to calculate tax rates on an 

assessment ratio of 100 percent of the property’s 

market value. Previously, tax rates were 

based on an assessed value determined by the 

taxing authority; the assessed value was generally 

the purchase price of the property. 

Consequently, severe inequalities developed 

between someone who had owned a home for 

several years and a new neighbor who had 

paid a higher price for a comparable dwelling. 

To eliminate the inequities, the measure stipulated 

that county appraisal districts were to 

be created to set the market value for each 

piece of property. 

Acting upon a recommendation by Bing, the 

board established the district’s tax at ten cents 

per $100 on 100 percent of the assessed market 

value. The tax rate represented a decrease from 

the preceding year’s 33 cents per $100 assessed 

value. Alert to the possibility the suggested figure 

might turn out to be inaccurate, Bing 

remarked, “I just hope and pray the tax roll on 

which our levy is based proves to be correct. I 

think we can live with little mistakes. But a big 

one might cause us problems.” 38 

Pulitzer Prize winning writer Alex Haley was 

✯ 

Elmer Outlaw stands ready to answer 

questions from students in his 

computer class. 

Bingdom ✦ 157

✯ 

The welding program offers 

students an opportunity to learn 

a profitable trade. 

one of the Lyceum speakers for the 1981-1982 

academic year. Haley, author of Roots and a marvelous 

storyteller, spoke to a packed crowd in 

the Fine Arts Auditorium. In a captivating presentation, 

he related his background and provided 

insight into the events that produced his 

major work. When asked by a member of the 

audience why he accepted the speaking engagement 

in Victoria, the author remarked that barbeque 

was a favorite food of his, and Texas had 

some of the best barbeque found anywhere. To 

satisfy his craving, Haley was taken by some 

members of the Lyceum Committee to Leo’s 

Feed Lot, located at the regional airport, the 

evening prior to his lecture. Afterwards, in a 

most gracious manner, he commented that Leo’s 

barbeque was the best he had ever eaten. 39 

Following the Lyceum program, Haley was 

escorted to lunch by several faculty members. 

During a conversation at the meal, Mary 

Doughtie, a member of the Lyceum Committee, 

remarked how lovely San Antonio was with the 

Alamo and the Riverwalk. Mike Hummel and 

others from the college confirmed the comment. 

Haley was so impressed with the descriptive 

statements he canceled his travel plans to fly to 

Senegal, drove to San Antonio, and leased an 

apartment. In explaining his impulsive act, he 

said, “It was the ambience that got to me. I just 

got charmed like hell. The next morning I woke 

up and said, ‘…I’d like to have an apartment in 

this city.’” The author commented that his 

Alamo City residence would be a hideout when 

wanted to work. 40 

Recognition came in triplets for Marylyn 

Underwood, English instructor, during the fall of 

1981. Her superb research and writing on science 

fiction were rewarded with an invitation to participate 

in the 19th International Festival of 

Science Fiction Films at San Guisto Castle in 

Trieste, Italy. Underwood was one of 300 journalists, 

writers, film producers, and directors from 

throughout the world who were invited to attend 

the event. Although she was unable to make the 

trip, the Victoria College English instructor was 

permitted to cast a vote for the eight films she 

considered classics worthy of saving. Meanwhile, 

Underwood was also notified that two of her 

essays were accepted for publication. 41 

An unflattering report on the nation’s community 

colleges was released by a wire service in 

December 1981. The article stated that a threeyear 

study headed by David W. Breneman, a 

senior fellow at Brookings Institution, concluded 

that standards at the two-year colleges were 

grossly diluted to assure increased enrollments 

and budgets. Bing rose to the defense of Victoria 

College, and forcefully argued the study’s findings 

did not apply to the local community college. 

The president proudly proclaimed, “We 

have standards higher than many four-year 

institutions in Texas, and we intend to keep it 

that way.” He further emphasized that the faculty 

took pride in its work. In response to a statement 

in the report that belly dancing, poodle 

grooming, and Christmas caroling had “prolifer- 


ated” in community colleges, Bing indignantly 

remarked, “We will not teach you how to trim 

your poodle or decorate a cake. We feel you can 

learn that by yourself.” 42 

Merging Victoria College and the University 

of Houston Victoria Campus became a torrid 

topic of discussion again in 1982. At the 

University of Houston Board of Regents meeting 

in January, Dr. Ed Bishop, University of Houston 

System president, presented a six-year plan in 

which he suggested “The institutions should 

make a study of the potential advantages and 

disadvantages of merger.” Without giving his 

own personal feelings on the issue, Bishop 

remarked, “Naturally, we would be keenly interested 

to see if a single four-year approach would 

put the Victoria higher education picture in a 

better light as far as state funding is concerned. 

I would suspect there would be some financial 

advantages to us both through merger.” 43 

The Victoria College faculty and administration 

were not impressed with Bishop’s 

comments. Unlike the 1970s when a division 

developed among the faculty over merger, there 

existed a singular attitude among the instructors 

and administrators: the two institutions of higher 

education should remain apart. This view was 

vigorously articulated by Bing. He remarked that 

unification of the college and UHVC “would be a 

far piece down the road.” “We’re not ready,” Bing 

commented, “to do any serious thinking in that 

direction.” The college president acknowledged 

that the UH president had broached the subject 

and left the impression that it did not matter if 

Bing or the board members thought the idea was 

or was not sound. As far as Bishop’s suggestion 

that the merger should be studied, Bing dismissed 

it and said the college had to concern 

itself with the current self-study required by the 

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. 

He stated, “We’ve got plenty of things going on 

around here right now to keep us quite busy. I 

don’t think we will be too receptive to spreading 

ourselves too thin in the area of unwarranted 

studies.” The foray into merger discussions 

proved to be brief, becoming dormant by the 

end of the year. 44 

Heedful of UHVC’s lack of space as expressed 

by Bishop and Dr. Martha Piper, UHVC interim 

chancellor, the Victoria College board in 

February 1982 authorized that bids be advertised 

for the construction of a new upper-division 

building. After the specifications were 

modified to bring the overall cost of the structure 

closer to what architect W. R. Matthews 

estimated, construction began. The general contractor 

for the 3,645 square foot classroom and 

office building was Main Construction 

Company of San Antonio. 45 

Jim Lehrer, Victoria College alumnus and former 

editor of the Jolly Roger, returned to the 

campus in February 1982 and addressed the 

student body, faculty, and residents of the community 

in the Fine Arts Auditorium. The coanchor 

of the PBS news show, MacNeil-Lehrer 

Report, reminisced about his years at the college. 

Parenthetically, Lehrer, who had assisted his 

father as a ticket agent at the Trailways Bus 

Terminal, admitted publicly he had a crush on 

his Spanish instructor Mary Doughtie when he 

was a student. Winston Zirjacks, president of 

the Victoria College Board of Trustees, presented 

him a Distinguished Alumnus Award, and 

the city of Victoria declared February 4 as Jim 

Lehrer Day. A vase of roses sent to him by his 

staff in Washington, D.C., decorated the stage 

during his lecture. 46 

Previous to Lehrer’s visit, he was socializing 

with his friend Roger Mudd, the college’s first 

nationally known speaker. When he told the 

CBS news correspondent about his upcoming 

trip to Victoria, Mudd smugly told him that he 

had already spoken at the college. Lehrer 

quickly retorted, “But, did the city declare a day 

for you?” 47 

Special recognition was extended to Victoria 

College students for their academic and 

extracurricular activities at a banquet held at the 

Community Center on February 3, 1982. Cheryl 

Brown was the recipient of the first Victoria 

College Faculty Scholarship, a product of a recommendation 

made by history instructor, Dr. 

Richard Walker. At the event, which featured 

veteran referee for the National Football League 

Dr. Jim Tunney as the principal speaker, more 

than $10,000 in scholarships were awarded. 

Brown, Candy Marie Brown, and Rebecca Robles 

were co-recipients of the prestigious Victoria 

College Academic Excellence Scholarship. 

The idea for and the impetus behind an 

annual dinner to honor the students originated 

with Audley Dry, dean of men. He thought there 

Bingdom ✦ 159

✯ 

Victoria College students have 

many talents. 

was a real need for some type of awards program. 

Freshman students, according to Dry, had 

been rewarded for their outstanding academic, 

sports, and service related performances at special 

high school ceremonies, but the sophomores 

were not being acknowledged for their 

academic and extracurricular achievements. Dry 

was convinced a dinner would attain the objective 

desired by recognizing the deserving students 

and at the same time paying tribute to 

their parents. By the mid-1990s, the dinner concept 

gave way to an awards program held during 

an evening in the Fine Arts Auditorium. 48 

The 42nd edition of Who’s Who in America 

included Bing in its biographical sketches. His 

citation in the esteemed publication was the 

first and only occurrence for an employee of 

Victoria College. 49 

Hoping to reduce electrical use and to provide 

better control of temperatures in the 

rooms, the college installed a computerized air 

conditioning system for the campus buildings 

before the end of 1982. Electrical usage did 

decline but temperature control in the classrooms 

was not satisfactory. Academic Building 

room 205 was the worst because since the early 

1960s, the thermostat had been located close to 

the window where it was exposed to the sun’s 

heat, causing the room to be too cold. Under the 

new system, instructors could not set the thermostat, 

but they could turn it off and they did. 

This upset the maintenance director who moved 

the thermostat to an adjoining room only a few 

inches from the Art Department’s kiln. Needless 

to say, when the oven was turned on, the room’s 

temperature declined drastically. Accordingly, 

without access to the thermostat, instructors 

opened windows to warm the classroom. 50 

In February 1983, the faculty united with students 

to produce a slate of programs during 

Victoria College Week. A lecture series featuring 

various instructors ran from Monday through 

Friday. Jack Edwards, English instructor, spoke on 

“James Bowie and the Bowie Knife;” Charles 

Spurlin made a presentation on “Texans in the 

Mexican War;” Dr. James Gleason addressed 

“Pornography in the Court;” Jim Franz, English 

instructor, discussed “183 Ways to Simplify Life;” 

Gary Underwood, biology instructor, gave a talk 

on “How to Make a Million Dollars in Six Days and 

Other Lies;” Marylyn Underwood reviewed 

“Creative Writing;” and Kenneth Greenhill, 

English instructor, lectured on “Winston 

Churchill: The Coming of the War.” Members of 

the Baptist Student Union and the Victoria College 

choirs provided entertainment. Students compet- 


ed for prizes in backgammon, video games, and 

photography. Displays in the Student Union 

included pottery exhibits, computer art, and welding 

projects. Contests in pool, Ping Pong, chess, 

and basketball were conducted. The week’s festivities 

were topped off with a spaghetti supper in the 

Student Union served by Phi Theta Kappa. 51 

Although the Southern Association of 

Colleges and Schools took the unusual step of 

asking the college to delay its institutional selfstudy 

report until 1983, Bing, nevertheless, proceeded 

to name Mary Doughtie as chairman and 

Dr. C. F. Schneider as vice-chairman, to head a 

Self-Evaluation Committee. Normally, a selfstudy 

report as part of accreditation reaffirmation 

is completed at ten-year intervals and, 

therefore, a college or university steering committee 

to coordinate subcommittees is created 

two years before the final document is due. In 

this instance, the process began three years 

in advance. Unlike the 1972 self-study process, 

there was less internal rancor. 52 

On March 21, 1983, a nine-member accreditation 

team from the Southern Association of 

Colleges and Schools, having reviewed the college’s 

self-study report, began a three-day visit at 

the college for the evaluation of the school’s programs 

and policies. The self-study report noted 

that Bing did not delegate responsibilities well 

and that there were no clear-cut lines of authority. 

Not surprisingly, the comments were completely 

ignored by the accreditation group, leaving 

the existing system intact. Bing, therefore, 

justifiably declared at a faculty meeting that the 

college remained a president-and-dean institution. 

Official confirmation that the college was 

reaffirmed came at the December 1983 

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 

annual meeting in New Orleans. Bing and 

Whiteside were at the conference when the 

announcement was made. 53 

During the visitation, Dr. Blake Farmer, 

director of Student Personnel, was interviewed 

by a member of the accreditation team. The visitor 

informed Farmer of the high value the 

Southern Association placed on alumni organizations, 

the implication being that if a college 

did not have one, it should. Farmer, a pleasant 

and thoughtful man who delivered his comments 

slowly, responded that Victoria College 

did not have an ex-students’ organization, but to 

comply with the Southern Association’s criteria, 

an alumni association would be formed. He 

then asked the gentleman to send him a copy of 

the alumni bylaws at his college. Sheepishly, the 

inquirer said his school did not have such an 

association either. Farmer chuckled and the two 

men turned to another issue. 

Audley Dry received a vote of confidence 

from the Junior College Student Personnel 

Association of Texas when he was selected by the 

organization to serve on its board of directors. 

The association represented two-year institutions 

across Texas and was composed of more 

than 400 members. 54 

Flight training reoccurred as a course in the 

✯ 

Jack Edwards, English instructor, gives 

a talk on one of his favorite subjects, 

the Bowie Knife. 

Bingdom ✦ 161

✯ 

Warren Nichols (far left) was the first 

director of the Police Academy. 

fall of 1983. The last time the college offered a 

class to train pilots was during the World War II 

era. Victoria Aviation Services, Inc., at Victoria 

Regional Airport was authorized by the college 

to instruct the students in single-engine and 

multi-engine planes. Cost of the program, 

which held enrollment to ten students, was 

funded by the two-year institution to the tune of 

$44,540 for the first two years. If the course 

succeeded, Bing expected the state to appropriate 

the money required to continue the flight 

instruction. Insufficient interest and excess cost 

doomed the program, and it was dropped from 

the class schedule after only a few years. 55 

More successful than the pilot training was 

the new Victoria College Police Academy. Basic 

law enforcement training for the region had 

been handled by the Victoria Police Academy, a 

division of the Victoria Police Department, 

through a cooperative arrangement with the 

Golden Crescent Regional Planning 

Commission. Victoria County Sheriff “Dutch” 

Meyer and Victoria City Police Chief Kenneth 

Rosenquest approached Bing and recommended 

that the college become the training agency for 

a seven-county area. Rosenquest suggested that 

the training under the control of Victoria 

College would give students an opportunity to 

obtain “10 to 12 semester hours” of academic 

accreditation and the utilization “of the college 

teaching personnel…would improve the standard 

of training somewhat.” He also noted, 

along with Victoria City Manager James J. 

Miller, the college would receive funding for the 

program through the Texas Education Agency. 

After careful consideration, college officials 

went along with the request and employed 

Warren Nichols, a ten-year veteran of the 

Arlington Police Department who held a graduate 

degree from the University of Texas at 

Arlington, as the director of the academy. 56 

Establishment of the Victoria College Police 

Academy was not free from controversy. The 

college charged regular tuition whereas under 

the previous arrangement small fees, about 

$25, for incidental costs had been collected. At 

least one GCRPC director, Jackson County 

Judge Sam Seale, objected to reserve officers 

paying tuition. Bing became adamant and 

“objected to implications that the college was 


getting paid too much to provide the service.” 

He was emphatic in making the point that 

tuition was necessary to pay a director of the 

academy and instructors. Michael O’Connor, a 

member of the academy advisory board, 

remarked that the reserve officers “really have 

just had it too good in the past,” and they 

should anticipate paying “at least a part of the 

cost” of the training. Another bone of contention 

was that the students did not receive 

college credit for the courses. Patrick Kennedy, 

executive director of GCRPC, raised the issue of 

college credits for the students. He remarked it 

was the understanding of the regional planning 

organization that the trainees would receive 

credit toward an associate of arts degree. 

Rosenquest replied there were discussions with 

college officials on the matter and “we’re working 

toward that, but we’re not there yet.” By the 

time the parties involved in the dialogue aired 

their views, most of the questions addressed 

were satisfactorily resolved. The principal individuals 

agreed that the dispute was due to an 

absence of communications, and they were 

“going to have to keep this from happening in 

the future.” 57 

Integration of the faculty became a reality in 

the fall of 1983. African-American educator 

Agnes Jewett was employed by the college as a 

counselor, an administrative position. Jewett 

recalled that she was told that she would not be 

in the classroom but “ended up teaching psychology 

and reading.” She remarked that at the 

1983 fall faculty meeting an acquaintance of 

hers, Dr. Michael Hummel, said, “Agnes, you are 

not the first black faculty member.” She was surprised 

and replied, “I thought I was.” He commented, 

“No, Lorne Black was.” The two had a 

hearty laugh. She further stated, “I was welcomed 

with open arms. My colleagues are the 

best in the world.” 58 

Admiral Hyman Rickover, the father of 

America’s nuclear navy, was the Lyceum’s inaugural 

speaker for the 1983-1984 academic year. His 

address was presented on September 27 in the 

Fine Arts Auditorium and centered on the importance 

of individual responsibility, excellence, creativity, 

and ethical and moral conduct. During the 

question and answer session, Rickover made 

abrasive and insulting remarks. He characterized 

one question as stupid and berated the person 

who made the query. Before the admiral finished 

his campus visit, the brilliant, cantankerous 

octogenarian had managed to ridicule almost 

✯ 

Agnes Jewett was the first African 

American employed by the college as 

a faculty member. 

Bingdom ✦ 163

everyone he encountered. His objectionable 

behavior seemed to be calculated to reenforce| 

the public perception that he was a difficult 

and obnoxious person. If that was Rickover’s 

goal, he succeeded. 59 

Damage from a hailstorm on March 21, 

1984, was extensive in Victoria County. Roofs 

on all the college buildings, except one, were so 

badly damaged they had to be replaced. The 

roof that did survive was sufficiently harmed 

and needed considerable repair work. The 

tower on the Fine Arts Auditorium, screens, 

walkways, and air conditioning equipment suffered 

varying forms of destruction from the ice 

pellets. Cost for the required repairs was 

estimated to be over $250,000. Fortunately, 

the college was insured and only paid the 

obligatory $1,000 deductible. 60 

Audley Dry, in April 1984, released the findings 

of a survey he and his colleagues administered 

to first-year students during the initial week 

of the 1983 fall semester. The study was part of a 

larger inquiry on student views conducted on 

358 college and university campuses across the 

nation. There were 61 two-year institutions 

included in the survey. The purpose of the 

inquiry was to compare 1973 student attitudes to 

1983 collegiate opinions. Dry noted that the survey 

was made when the students were “green and 

raw” and unaffected by anything they may have 

learned in college. Victoria College students, 

according to the survey, were more conservative 

than the national average and less confident in 

government protecting consumers and the environment 

than their counterparts in 1973. Only 

23.9 percent in 1983 thought women were better 

off remaining at home as compared to 35.7 percent 

in 1973, and 43.2 percent in 1983 considered 

it necessary to develop a philosophy of life, 

a drop of 21 percentage points since 1973. 61 

Expansion of the Fine Arts Building to provide 

space for art classes was given the green 

light by the board in the spring of 1984. Coastal 

Construction Company of Victoria with the low 

bid of $807,921 was awarded the contract to do 

the work. To pay for the addition and other 

improvements, $870,000 was transferred from 

the college building fund. 62 

An unusual request was made at the board 

meeting in September 1984 by Bruce Spindler, a 

petroleum land lease operator for the Jane 

Hoffman Land and Minerals Company. He proposed 

that Exxon Corporation be permitted to 

lease a drilling site on the campus. Spindler presented 

“two lease agreements, one for three 

years and one for five years.” The three-year 

arrangement would produce $10,000 for the 

college and the five-year lease would yield 

$22,400 in revenue. Both agreements included a 

three-sixteenths royalty. Spindler said Exxon 

was particularly interested in the college property 

because “it is a large single tract.” The suggestion 

was tabled and was never rekindled. 63 

On October 29, 1984, a closed session consisting 

of Victoria College board members; Dr. 

Charles Bishop, president of the University of 

Houston System; and Dr. Martha Piper, 

Chancellor of the University of Houston- 

Victoria, convened to discuss a proposed purchase 

of college property by the University of 

Houston System. UHV was interested in acquiring 

twenty-five acres of the college campus that 

extended along Ben Wilson Street as a first step 

of a ten-year plan “to build facilities that will 

adequately best serve the students of the area.” 

Once UHV took title to the acreage, the next 

move would be to construct a three million dollar 

three-story communication center. Piper 

noted that if all went well with the college, it 

would be at least four years before any building 

could actually take place, and “we still have to 

get approval of the…coordinating board.” 64 

Ultimately, the land purchase transaction 

envisioned by Bishop and Piper never materialized. 

Negotiations between officials from the two 

educational institutions were conducted off and 

on until 1986 when an offer was made by the 

University of Houston to purchase 11.7 acres 

for $571,830. Weighing heavily on the minds 

of the college board as it considered the request 

was the future of UHV. They asked themselves, 

how would the closure of the upper level institution 

affect the property purchased? The land, 

of course, would revert back to Victoria College, 

but at what price? University of Houston officials 

insisted that any repurchase agreement should 

stipulate the college would pay the fair market 

price in the event UHV did not manage to 

construct a building on the property within 

ten years. This proposal was unacceptable to 

the board. Trustee David Lack expressed the 

sympathy of the governing body on the matter 


when he said, “I don’t see how we can obligate 

the college to buy back land ten years from now 

at an unknown price.” Deadlocked and with no 

acceptable solution on the horizon, the college 

trustees and the University of Houston Board of 

Regents issued a press release announcing the 

postponement of further discussions on the land 

purchase. The joint pronouncement stated that 

“in view of the state’s difficult economic situation 

and the current state governmental crisis, it 

would not be prudent to continue the land sale 

and purchase process at this time.” 65 

The Victoria community was given a treat on 

Halloween in 1984 when the Lyceum hosted a 

debate on Reaganomics between syndicated 

columnist William F. Buckley, Jr., and former 

U.S. ambassador to India, John Kenneth 

Galbraith. Kenneth Ashworth, commissioner of 

the Higher Education Coordinating Board, at the 

invitation of Bing, served as the moderator. 

College faculty members Colonel Lorne Black, 

Dr. Ben Burdine, Dr. James Gleason, and Dr. C. A. 

Talley were seated on the stage and posed questions 

to the internationally known guests. The 

capacity crowd in the Fine Arts Auditorium 

chuckled, hissed, and cheered whenever a 

debater made a salient point. Buckley and 

Galbraith, long-standing friends, filled the program 

with “good humored personal jibes.” If one 

of the speaker’s viewpoint prevailed, it would 

have been Buckley’s because his comments were 

more receptive to the politically and economically 

conservative audience. 66 

Excitement reverberated across the campus on 

the day of the Buckley-Galbraith debate. On the 

afternoon of the event, Indira Gandhi, prime minister 

of India, died from an assassin’s bullet. 

Galbraith who was a close friend of the slain 

leader was urgently sought after by news media 

across the globe for an interview. The college 

switchboard operator, Wanda Gilstrap, was inundated 

with messages to pass along to the former 

ambassador. Billie North, the college information 

officer, received so many calls that for her to count 

them “would be impossible.” She passed the notes 

to Galbraith who placed them in his pocket. 

North fielded questions from all major television 

networks, “and there was even a call from the 

CNN cable network news.” When phone calls 

came in during the debate, they were received at 

the night desk in the Academic Building and were 

relayed to Galbraith by a student. 67 

Meanwhile, Galbraith had received a message 

from the White House, via the Victoria 

Police Department. Jane McConathy, crew 

leader dispatcher, was on duty when a message 

✯ 

When the Lyceum-sponsored debate 

between John Kenneth Galbraith 

and William F. Buckley, Jr., was held 

on Halloween in 1984, the Fine 

Arts Auditorium was filled to 

capacity. Participants on the program 

were (left to right) Galbraith, 

Dr. James Gleason, Dr. C. A. Talley, 

Dr. Ben Burdine, Buckley, and 

Dr. Kenneth Ashworth. 

Bingdom ✦ 165

✯ 

Verifying the correctness of class 

schedules are (left to right) Carl 

DuBose, Mary Jo Kinghorn, and 

Audley Dry. 

from an operator at the White House who stated 

that “they needed to get some information to 

Mr. Galbraith.” “Even though it was Halloween 

night…she didn’t think it could be a Halloween 

prank.” McConathy transferred the message by 

radio to Police Officer Julia Catchings, who 

then gave it to the Harvard economics professor 

when he arrived on campus after a private dinner 

at the Victoria Country Club. Galbraith was 

taken to the Academic Building, where he 

called an aide in President Ronald Reagan’s 

office. The White House official attempted to 

persuade the former ambassador “to take an 

immediate flight out.” The request was rejected. 

Galbraith stated that people were “waiting for a 

lecture, and he wasn’t going to disrupt it and 

leave them.” 68 

Because of the White House call, the debate 

did not begin on time. The audience was 

unaware of the transpiring events and became 

restless. Dr. C. F. Schneider, director of public 

relations, detected the uneasiness and stepped 

to a microphone at one of the podiums. He said, 

“Mr. Galbraith is on the telephone to the White 

House, so we decided to give that priority.” His 

words had a soothing affect upon the audience. 

After the program ended, Burdine took 

Galbraith to Victoria Regional Airport, where 

the former ambassador caught a flight to 

Houston on a chartered plane so he could 

appear on an early morning television show. 69 

The October 31 program was the first of what 

was hoped to be a permanent string of speakers 

in the John W. Stormont Distinguished Lecture 

Series. Funds for the presentation were provided 

by the Stormont family as a means to acknowledge 

the former dean’s multitude of civic and 

educational contributions. Stormont unselfishly 

devoted much of his time to causes he deemed 

worthy. Bing spoke for many people when he 

referred to him as “a giant among men.” Former 

Victoria College President J. D. Moore credited 

Stormont for the high academic standards that 

“have been responsible for the excellent reputation 

of the college and for the acceptability of 

programs by the senior colleges and universities.” 

Although the lecture series was not officially part 

of the Lyceum, the committee was charged with 

recommending speakers to the president and 

making all arrangements for the guests. However, 

the series was discontinued for lack of funds, 

Charlton Heston being the last speaker. 70 

Meanwhile Victoria College campus facilities 

continued to expand. In January 1985, the Allied 

Health Building was renamed the M. G. and 

Lillie A. Johnson Building in recognition of the 

$600,000 donated by the M. G. and Lillie A. 

Johnson Foundation for health education. A portion 

of the funds was used for the construction 

of the main complex and the remainder for a 


wing that was designed for associate degree and 

vocational nursing programs, emergency medical 

training, and the Police Academy. Bing 

remarked that the addition was necessary 

because “Medical science is moving so fast that 

we have to plan ahead to keep in step.” 71 

In 1985, Victoria Mayor Ted Reed declared 

February 17-23 as Victoria College Week. The 

five fun-filled days included basketball and 

table tennis tournaments; a performance by the 

Victoria College/University of Houston-Victoria 

Choir; a “chalk in” for students; displays in the 

Student Union; and literary, photographic, and 

art contests. Among the winners were Diane 

Bush, painting; Pat Soward, drawing; David 

Locher, three-dimensional; Lori Immenhauser, 

best overall photography; Carol Tippins for her 

essay “Down at the Dump;” and Mia Jones for 

her poem “Butterflies.” 72 

On May 30, 1985, exhausted and weary from 

lack of sleep after a two-week excursion to 

China, the Victoria College-University of 

Houston-Victoria Choir was thrilled to be home. 

The tour which included performances in 

Beijing, Hong Kong, and Honolulu, produced 

life-long memories and opportunities to experience 

cultural diversity. Melissa Thiele found 

“adjusting to the food was difficult because it 

was so unusual.” She remarked, “One time 

everyone decided to try something, and it turned 

out to be jellyfish tentacles.” Although the choir 

members were apprehensive over how they 

would be received in China, the entourage discovered 

the people were exceedingly friendly. 

When the Victorians sang the Chinese national 

anthem, which they learned phonetically, the 

audience untraditionally “stood up through 

theirs, and then through ours.” Roel Padilla commented 

that the Chinese “went crazy for the 

‘chicken’”. . .and “tried dancing to ‘Cotton Eyed 

Joe,’ and they even picked up the schottische 

pretty fast.” Billie North, Victoria College information 

officer, noted, “We gave a good impression 

of the American people, and Victoria. We 

did a good job of creating good will.” 73 

During the early 1980s, the Texas oil industry 

witnessed a sharp decline. In drafting its 

budget for higher education, the legislature 

failed to make adequate adjustments for 

increased enrollments and inflation, and it distributed 

funds later than usual. Victoria College, 

a financially conservative bastion, was impacted 

less than other colleges and universities. 

Fortunately for the college, local taxable property 

values showed increases, partially offsetting 

the state shortfall. 74 

Bing, an astute observer of the poor economy, 

assured the faculty and staff there would be no 

salaries cut or positions terminated, but he took 

other steps to address the problem. The administration 

continued to assign biology instructor 

Harvey Spies agriculture classes, rather than hire 

a new agriculture teacher; eliminated the career 

pilot program because enrollment in the class was 

✯ 

Kemper Williams, Jr., (left) of the 

Victoria Civic Chorus listens to 

comments by Governor Bill Clements 

who handed Victoria College 

Choral Director Ruth Williams a 

proclamation making the Victoria 

singers the official Texas ambassadors 

to the 1988 Australian World’s Fair. 

Also present at the ceremony are (left 

to right) Dr. Glenn Goerke, UHV; 

Rosamund Haynes of New Zealand; 

and Dr. Roland E. Bing. 

Bingdom ✦ 167

✯ 

Luther Troell (left) and Dr. Rex 

Whiteside await the results of another 

University Interscholastic League 

track and field event. 

never high enough to create enthusiasm for it; 

declined to spend $52,000 for desired computer 

drafting equipment; and asked the instructors to 

reduce the amount of Xeroxed material they were 

distributing to the students. As an added step to 

better the college finances, tuition was raised two 

dollars per credit hour in 1985. Even though the 

economic circumstances were bleak, Bing still 

managed to secure moderate salary raises for the 

faculty and staff. 75 

For the audience in the Fine Arts Auditorium, 

the Lyceum program on the evening of October 

22, 1985, was something for them to remember. 

As the speakers Rowland Evans and Robert 

Novak, Jr., syndicated columnists, were concluding 

their presentations on national and international 

issues, they were interrupted by the 

Lyceum Committee chairman, Charles Spurlin, 

who announced that word had been received 

that a bomb was planted in the building. The 

lecturers were extremely reluctant to end the 

program. They were convinced there was no 

explosive device and did not wish to give in to a 

terrorist. Nevertheless, at the insistence of college 

officials, Evans and Novak left the stage, and 

the auditorium was quickly vacated in an orderly 

fashion. Local law enforcement officers made 

a thorough search of the premises but did not 

find a bomb. 76 

This was the first time the college encountered 

a bomb threat. It was not, however, the last. In 

the fall of 1995, classes were temporarily dismissed 

on a couple of occasions because of 

anonymous telephone callers uttering that explosives 

were hidden in campus buildings. In none 

of the occurrences was such a device uncovered. 

The threats did, however, lead to the college 

developing a bomb evacuation and search policy. 

In the 1985-1986 school year, Victoria 

College received some very good news. First, 

results of a pre-professional skills test that was 

taken by students in the state’s colleges and universities 

were released in November 1985. When 

he announced the results of the Victoria College 

students, Dean Rex Whiteside said, “It shows 

that our students were adequately prepared for 

the test and the first two years of college.” How 

correct he was. Victoria College’s pass rate of 

77.3 percent surpassed the state average of 57 

percent, placing the local school eighth overall in 

Texas and first among the community colleges. A 

good showing for the local students, indeed. 

Additionally, the Victoria College campus at the 

Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital of 

Gonzales was lauded for its exemplary program 

by the Regional Rehabilitation Exchange, a federally 

funded project based at the Southwest 

Educational Development Laboratory at Austin. 

The RRE examined 52 rehabilitation programs 

and selected the Warm Springs campus as one 

of the seven best for the disabled in the United 

States. The college was applauded for “providing 

a high quality of service related to the delivery 

of support services to disabled students in a 

college environment.” 77 

After 30 of dedicated service as a board 

member, Leo Welder resigned on November 18, 

1985. His announcement coincided with the 

installation of Ron B. Walker as a trustee. Welder 

remarked, “You have one young man now. 

Perhaps you can get another young man or 

woman to serve on the board.” His replacement, 

co-owner of the Victoria Advocate, Catherine 

McHaney, was a distinguished, well-qualified 


lady, and the first woman in the college’s sixtyyear 

history to be a board member. She was at the 

time of her appointment serving on the Executive 

Committee of the Texas Research League, the 

Citizens Medical Center Board, the Warm Springs 

Rehabilitation Hospital Board, and the Victoria 

Fine Arts Association Board. 78 

On April 15, 1986, at the 66th annual banquet 

of the American Association of Community 

and Junior Colleges in Orlando, 

Florida, Jim Lehrer, a 1954 graduate of Victoria 

College, received the 1986 Alumnus of the Year 

award. He was chosen for his “outstanding contribution 

at the national or international level.” 

Lehrer was co-anchor of the MacNeil-Lehrer 

Report on the Public Broadcasting System. He 

and his associate, Robert MacNeil, had received 

over 30 significant awards for their superb journalism. 

Whiteside attended the event and 

accepted a $2,500 check presented by John 

Wiley & Sons, a publishing firm, for the creation 

of a scholarship at the college in the name 

of Lehrer and Wiley. 79 

Two instructors were singled out for special 

recognition during the spring semester of 1986. 

Mary Doughtie, a member of the faculty for over 

30 years and chairman of the English 

Department for 23 years, was made a life member 

of the Conference of College Teachers of 

English for her dedicated service to the organization. 

She was the first person in the organization’s 

history to be so honored. Ruth Williams, 

director of the college choir, was chosen by her 

alma mater, Beaver College in Glenside, 

Pennsylvania, for the 1986 Golden Disc Award, 

an annual offering presented to a deserving 

alumnus. She was the first music major at 

Beaver College to receive the award. 80 

The possible merger of the Victoria College 

and the University of Houston-Victoria again 

attracted the attention of the area in May and 

June of 1986. The first salvo fired on the merger 

issue was by Dr. Michael C. Gallagher, UHV 

interim chancellor. At his initial news conference 

after taking the reins from former chancellor 

Dr. Martha Kimper Piper, he remarked, 

“At some point of time, we may merge next 

door.” Gallagher did add that the union was 

more than ten years away and then only after 

“a thorough study and debate.” Afterwards, 

Bing refused to comment on the merger but 

did say that the college “stands ready to cooperate” 

on activities that were of mutual benefit 

to the two institutions. Later, Gallagher, who 

may have received negative feedback from 

his earlier comment, stated, “Right now, there 

are two strong institutions of higher education 

in Victoria. Changing the system as it now 

✯ 

Joyce Miller receives instructions on 

registration from Louise Hume, 

registrar. 

Bingdom ✦ 169

stands may weaken one of them (referring to 

UHV).” He further remarked, “It will be up to 

the people of Victoria if they want the college 

and university to merge.” 81 

Less than two weeks passed after the interim 

chancellor’s news conference when Bing 

received a memo from the Select Committee on 

Higher Education asking for a response to its 

suggestion that the two schools unite. The committee 

was charged with recommending ways 

the state could streamline and reorganize public 

colleges and universities. One of the options 

that developed from the committee was the 

merger of Victoria College and the University of 

Houston-Victoria. Another option was to convert 

UHV into a branch learning center. Bing’s 

immediate reaction to the memo was to call for 

a special meeting of the board members, a group 

that was not a proponent of merger. Influential 

trustee Thomas M. O’Connor commented, “I 

don’t think a change is necessary. We want a 

strong junior college and a strong university.” 

Catherine McHaney concurred. She said, “I feel 

what we have is the best.” Trustee Ron Walker 

proposed that an assessment be made as to how 

any modification in higher education would 

affect Victoria and the college. He was concerned 

that any alterations, especially if UHV 

was converted to a branch learning center, 

“would change the delivery of higher education 

in Victoria.” 82 

After deliberating the issue, the board drafted 

a letter to the state committee that carried 

the signatures of Winston L. Zirjacks, board 

president, and Bing. Reacting to Walker’s recommendation 

of considering higher education 

in Victoria as a whole, the missive rejected the 

committee’s suggested option of converting 

UHV into a branch study center, stating, “We 

think that it would be detrimental to the best 

interest of the University of Houston-Victoria 

because it would lessen its credibility and 

would lessen its public esteem and materially 

effect enrollment.” Moreover, the board rejected 

the merger option, noting, “We recommend no 

change in the current structure.” Five reasons 

were given for the latter position. The board 

listed among its explanations that the instruction 

at the community college was less costly 

than a four-year institution, the college has an 

open door policy which allows more students 

to enroll and advance their education, and 

merger might lead to the elimination of allied 

health programs which would deprive commu- 

✯ 

Sweating to the “oldies.” 


nities “of trained medical personnel.” In the 

end, the Select Committee on Higher Education 

listened to the ground swell of opposition to its 

suggestions and dropped the ideas of the college 

and UHV merging or UHV converting to a 

branch studies center. 83 

Only one Lyceum program has ever been presented 

on a Sunday. That was on October 12, 

1986, when actor Charlton Heston was the featured 

speaker. His visit was set for a weekday 

but was changed to accommodate the popular 

performer who would have otherwise canceled 

his visit to Victoria. Even though the lecture was 

on a Sunday evening, usually a poor time for 

any type of event, the Fine Arts Auditorium was 

packed. Heston mesmerized many in the audience 

as he related his thoughts on several 

extraordinary historical figures and expressed 

his views on freedom. The actor was eloquent in 

reading an excerpt from Thomas Wolfe’s Of Time 

and the River. 84 

At the close of the 1986 fall semester, the Jolly 

Roger, after thirty-six years of continuous publication, 

ceased being circulated as a student 

newspaper and became a college newsletter. Bing 

stated that the decision to drop the student publication 

was based on the declining enrollment in 

journalism classes and the need to reduce expenditures. 

Billie North, college publicist and composer 

of the Victoria College Newsletter, assumed 

the responsibility of editor of the new formatted 

Jolly Roger. Later, there was an attempt made to 

revive the student-driven newspaper, one edition 

was published in 1988 and another in 1989, but 

the new versions were not in the same league as 

the earlier paper. 85 

Enrollment for the 1987 spring semester was 

lower than expected, showing a drop of one percent 

from 1986. Robert Gaines, business manager, 

was unconcerned, pointing out the reduction 

was “not significant because there are several 

variables that can affect registration.” Bing 

attributed the decline directly to elimination of 

courses at Warm Springs where only one class 

made the previous fall. 86 

College participation at the Gonzales facility 

took a downturn when the Warm Springs 

Rehabilitation Hospital closed its live-in quarters. 

John Davis, live-in facility director, gave as 

a factor for decreased enrollment the increased 

availability to senior institutions for physically 

challenged students. He stated that since 1973, 

when the facility opened, state colleges and universities 

had made their campuses accessible to 

handicapped individuals. Davis commented 

that in the early 1970s “there were not many 

facilities open to the disabled.” “But due to mandates 

and legislation,” he said, “students with 

✯ 

Gary Underwood slices a cabbage 

for instructional purposes in his 

biology class. 

Bingdom ✦ 171

handicaps can now have their choice of which 

institution of higher learning they want to 

attend.” The college continued to maintain a 

presence at Warm Springs by offering basic academic 

courses and a licensed vocational nursing 

program. Prior to the elimination of the live-in 

quarters there were 60 to 70 students regularly 

enrolled at Warm Springs, but in the fall of 

1986, the first semester without resident students, 

four of the five classes offered did not 

have sufficient enrollment to make. 87 

Dedication ceremonies were conducted on 

March 11, 1987, for the official opening of the 

Johnson Symposium Center, an auditorium 

with a seating capacity of over 200. Dr. Charles 

L. Borchers, a Victoria physician, was the principal 

speaker. In his remarks, he praised the 

M. G. and Lillie Johnson family for their benevolent 

contribution, funding that was essential 

for the construction of the facility. In recognition 

of her financial assistance, a resolution was 

presented to Mrs. Johnson by Debbi Rader, 

president of the Victoria College Nursing 

Student Association. Presiding at the ritual was 

Winston Zirjacks, president of the Victoria 

College Board of Trustees. 88 

Economic doldrums in the state continued 

to plague public higher education, preventing 

the legislature from appropriating monies necessary 

to offset rising education costs. For the 

1986-1987 fiscal year, state funding to the college 

was reduced $323,000. Compounding the 

financial crunch for the college was the depreciation 

of local property values. When Bing 

was informed of the cut in the state appropriation, 

he took the news in his customary unperturbed 

stride and quipped, “We’re going to 

pull in our belts and we are going to have 

school.” To compensate for the loss of revenue, 

major improvements to campus buildings were 

sidelined, the tax rate was increased, the 

tuition was hiked, and a variety of austerity 

programs were implemented. During this period 

of financial juggling, Bing, ever vigilant to 

the pecuniary comfort of the faculty, secured a 

modest raise for the college employees in the 

1987-1988 budget. 89 

Academic enrollment cracked the 3,000 barrier 

in the fall of 1987 with a head count of 3,168. 

The overall figure which included vocationaltechnical 

courses was 3,494, a 7.5 percent 

increase from the fall of 1986. Bing was especially 

delighted to see the growth in the “good old 

basic academic areas: English, government, history, 

mathematics and computer science.” He also 

noted that the allied health programs were at 

capacity. The president stated, “Medical lab technician 

training, full; respiratory therapy, full; and 

surgical technology, they’re full too.” Bing added, 

“I cannot leave out the sciences. They’re full too. 

✯ 

Mark Keathley (left) shows his latest 

creation to art instructor Larry Shook. 


We have had trouble trying to get students to take 

organic chemistry. The enrollment in that course 

right now is double what it has been.” 90 

The excellent enrollment figures eased the 

college’s budgetary pressures. With classes “full 

to the brim and bursting at the seams,” the 

board authorized the extension of the parking 

lot located next to the Technical Building. 

Because of strong opposition from residents in 

the Brownson Terrace addition to an outlet on 

Loma Vista Drive, Bing made it clear that the 

parking lot would not be extended to the residential 

street. He stated, however, “The next 

time we expand parking, we may have to have it 

empty into Loma Vista. And if we ever do, we 

should have them just turn left.” 91 

Spanning the years, Victoria College offered 

courses and programs to fulfill its obligations as 

a community college, but none was more 

important than the college’s assault upon 

regional adult literacy. In November 1987, the 

board approved the implementation of the 

Phonetic Alphabet Learning System (PALS), an 

IBM computer program designed for individuals 

with less than a fifth grade reading level. 

Supposedly, any person who spent an hour a 

day, five days a week for sixteen to twenty 

weeks, would be able to read and write at a 

higher level. Counselor and psychology instructor 

Agnes Jewett was given the assignment of 

directing the computer literacy system housed 

in the Academic Building. Her fervor to assist 

the functionally illiterate was abundantly plain. 

Jewett remarked, “We are creating a stimulating 

environment that enhances pride and learning.” 

“On a college campus,” she said, “they are solving 

their problems with dignity. These learners 

have endured years of failure and frustration, 

and they have developed a cover for a fragile 

self-concept. It takes tremendous courage for 

the adult non-reader to come forward and admit 

there is a problem.” After a couple of years, the 

program was assumed by the Victoria 

Independent School District, but was later 

returned to the college. Jewett was content with 

what she accomplished as director stating that 

“the program was very successful.” 92 

Dr. S. Joe McCord, director of the VC/UHV 

Library, was honored by the Texas Library 

Association when the organization named him 

Librarian of the Year for 1988. At the time he 

was presented the award, McCord was chairman 

of the Texas Council of State University 

Librarians. He was acknowledged for his role in 

legislative issues important to the Texas Library 

Association, the unification of the VC/UHV 

staffs, numerous publications and presentations, 

implementing of grants to improve library services, 

and the establishment of the only hospital 

library circuit housed in a nonmedical library. 93 

In March 1989, the board employed the 

architects Warren Young and Rawley McCoy of 

Victoria to draw plans for a vocational building 

and a classroom/office building. To keep from 

✯ 

Three members of the Business Office 

are poised to collect donations for a 

scholarship fund established for the 

outgoing Victoria College President 

Dr. Roland E. Bing. They are (left to 

right) Joanie Lytle, Becky Payne, and 

Rosalie Hutcherson. 

Bingdom ✦ 173

✯ 

State Senator Kenneth Armbrister 

(left) and Victoria County Judge 

Norman Jones chat with guests at the 

reception on August 4, 1989, honoring 

Dr. Roland E. Bing. 

pushing for a tax bond referendum to pay for 

the structures, college reserve funds and revenue 

bonds were used. Because approximately 

$500,000 had been donated to the college 

by the William A. Wood Family Foundation, 

the new vocational building, located north 

of the tennis courts, was to be named in honor 

of William A. Wood. The classroom/office 

complex, designated as the Language Arts 

Building, was placed between the Library and 

Technical Building where the razed Industrial 

Arts Building had been located. Total cost 

for the two structures was estimated at two 

million dollars. 94 

From spring of 1972 to spring of 1989, the 

Victoria College Kaleidoscope, provided a chronicle 

each semester of the college’s development 

and activity. Originally a replacement for the 

more costly yearbook, it was mainly a record of 

student functions edited by journalism students. 

Eventually, under the editorship of journalism 

instructor and public relations director 

Dr. C. F. Schneider, it became a medium, not 

only for student activities, but also for features 

on the college itself, a pictorial series on Victoria 

County history by Dr. Robert Shook, and special 

professional interest articles by faculty members. 

After seventeen years of continuous publication, 

it was discontinued in favor of a more 

diverse approach to public information. 

Because of his distinguished contributions 

to the teaching profession, the positive ways he 

influenced his students, and his invaluable 

service to the community, Dr. Wayne McAlister, 


iology department chairman, was named a 

Piper Professor for 1989, the first such award 

given to a Victoria College faculty member. The 

honor was bestowed upon him by the Minnie 

Stevens Piper Foundation, which selects ten 

Piper Professors a year from the state’s colleges 

and universities. On May 1, 1989, in recognition 

of his receiving this prestigious award, a 

reception was held for McAlister in the 

Holidome at the Holiday Inn. Bing presented 

the recipient with a plaque and a check for 

$2,500 that accompanied the award. McAlister’s 

numerous academic achievements include the 

publications Trees of Victoria, Common Spring 

Wildflowers of the Victoria Area, and A Guidebook 

to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Clearly, he 

was an outstanding instructor and well-respected 

by the entire faculty. The honor could not 

have gone to a more deserving individual. 95 

By legislative mandate, individuals enrolling 

in the 1989 fall semester were required to take 

the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) test, a 

measurement of student skills in mathematics, 

reading and writing. Anyone failing the quiz or 

parts thereof would be required to enter remedial 

classes. An exception was made for any student 

who had earned a minimum of three college 

credit hours prior to the fall semester. To circumvent 

TASP, recent high school graduates enrolled 

in the 1989 summer term in record numbers, 

smashing the previous all-time high. Over 1,700 

students registered for classes the first term, a 30 

percent increase from the preceding year’s 1,316. 

Bing responded to the sharp rise in enrollment in 

his characteristically nonchalant manner by 

remarking, “That’s a pretty good jump.” 96 

In the summer of 1989, the Bing presidential 

era came to an end. On January 16, the 

board, to the surprise of most faculty and staff 

members, announced it intended to establish a 

presidential search committee. The trustees 

further stated that as soon as a replacement 

was employed, Bing was to be designated as 

president emeritus and contractually permitted 

to teach two years, at which time he would 

turn seventy. Board member David Lack 

praised Bing for his dedicated service to the 

college by remarking, “Dr. Bing has done an 

admirable job over the years in steering 

Victoria College, and we’re glad to see he has 

the opportunity of continuing with us for 

awhile.” Comforting words to a man who most 

faculty and staff thought would remain at the 

helm of the college until he was carted off on 

a stretcher. 97 

✯ 

The Victoria College has had only 

three presidents since it was 

established. They are (left to right) 

Dr. J. D. Moore, Dr. Roland E. Bing, 

and Dr. Jimmy Goodson. 

Bingdom ✦ 175

1 

The Victoria Advocate, 16 September 1975. 

2 


3 


4 


5 

Ibid. 

6 


ENDNOTES 

7 

Ibid., 1 August 1976; “Technical-Vocational Education,” The Victoria College Kaleidoscope (Fall 1976), 10-11. 

8 

Advocate, 7 December 1976, 24 December 1976, 4 March 1977; The Victoria College Faculty Minutes, 10 December 1976. 

9 


10 


11 

Victoria College Files, Local History Collection, Victoria College Library. 

12 


13 

Ibid.; The Jolly Roger, 8 April 1977. 

14 

VC Faculty Minutes, 10 January 1977; Advocate, 19 July 1977. 

15 

The Jolly Roger, 11 November 1977; 14 December 1979. 

16 

Ibid. 

17 

Ibid., 9 December 1977; Advocate, 5 February 1978. 

18 

The Jolly Roger, 24 February 1978. 

19 

Advocate, 17 January 1978, 7 March 1978. 

20 

Ibid., 2 May 1978. 

21 

Ibid., 19 September 1978, 21 November 1978, 27 January 1979, 22 May 1979. 

22 

James D. Gleason, letter to author, 5 October 1998. 

23 

Advocate, 16 December 1978; The Jolly Roger, 2 February 1979. 

24 


25 

Richard Walker, interview with author, 29 September 1998. 

26 

Victoria College Files, Local History Collection, Victoria College Library. 

27 

The Jolly Roger, 21 November 1979; Advocate, 8-9 November 1979. 

28 


29 

Ibid., 4 March 1980; The Jolly Roger, 31 March 1980. 

30 

Advocate, 6 May 1980; Robert E. Gaines, telephone interview with author, 1 October 1998. 

31 

Gaines, telephone interview. 

32 

Ibid. 

33 

Ibid., 2 May 1980. 

34 


35 

Ibid. 

36 


37 


38 

Ibid., 21 July 1981, 24 September 1981; The Jolly Roger, 2 October 1981. 

39 

The Jolly Roger, Ibid. 

40 


41 

Ibid. 

42 


43 


44 

Ibid. 

45 

Ibid., 4 February 1982, 16 July 1982, 20 July 1982. 

46 


47 

Jim Lehrer, interview with author, 4 February 1982. 

48 

Audley Dry, telephone interview with author, 15 October 1998. 


49 


50 


51 


52 


53 

Ibid., 16 March 1983, 22 March 1983, 15 December 1983; The Jolly Roger, 23 March 1983. 

54 


55 

Advocate, 8 March 1983, 17 May 1983, 21 August 1983. 

56 

Ibid., 31 August 1982, 21 August 1983; Eva Easley, “New-Victoria College Police Academy,” The Victoria College Kaleidoscope (Fall 

1983), 6-8. 

57 


58 

Agnes Jewett, interview with author, 14 October 1998; The Jolly Roger, 6 October 1983. 

59 


60 

Advocate, 6 May1984, 5 June 1984. 

61 


62 

Ibid., 6 March 1984, 5 June 1984. 

63 


64 

Ibid., 24 October 1984, 28 October 1984. 

65 

John Cordary, telephone interview with author, 22 October 1998; Advocate, 3 June 1986, 25 July 1986, 9 August 1986. 

66 

The Jolly Roger, 13 October 1984; Advocate, 1 November 1984. 

67 


68 

Ibid. 

69 

Ibid. 

70 


71 

The Jolly Roger, 11 February 1985; Advocate, 21 November 1984, 22 January 1985. 

72 


73 

Ibid., 15 May 1985, 31 May 1985. 

74 

VC Faculty Minutes, 27 August 1984; Advocate, 16 July 1985. 

75 

VC Faculty Minutes, 17 January 1985; Advocate, 16 January 1985. 

76 


77 

Advocate, 7 November 1985, 20 December 1985. 

78 

Ibid., 12 December 1985; Victoria College Newsletter (December 1985). 

79 


80 

The Jolly Roger, 7 March 1986; VC Newsletter (April-May 1986). 

81 

Advocate, 30 May 1986, 10 June 1986. 

82 

Ibid., 10 June 1986, 17 June 1986. 

83 

Ibid., 27 June 1986. 

84 

VC Newsletter (October 1986). 

85 

The Jolly Roger (February 1987). 

86 


87 

Ibid., 20 August 1986, 3 February 1987. 

88 

The Jolly Roger (April 1987); Ibid., 10 March 1987. 

89 

Advocate, 12 August 1986, 16 September 1986, 26 September 1986, 18 November 1986, 19 May 1986, 19 May 1987, 28 July 

1987, 18 August 1987. 

90 

Ibid., 3 September 1987, 17 September 1987. 

91 


92 

Agnes Jewett, interview with author, 28 October 1998; Ibid., 17 November 1987, 8 April 1988. 

93 


94 


95 

Ibid., 2 May 1989; VC Faculty Minutes, 16 May 1989. 

96 

Advocate, 7 June 1989. 

97 

Ibid., 17 January 1989, 4 April 1989. 

Endnotes ✦ 177


CHAPTER 7 

A NEW CHIEF, A NEW ERA 

Soon after Dr. Roland Bing’s public announcement of his “retirement,” the entire board of trustees 

assumed the role as a search committee. Winston Zirjacks, board president, served as its chairman. 

Trustee David Lack provided pivotal insight as to the type of individual the search committee was 

looking for to assume the presidency. Bing’s successor, he stated, would have to be three dimensional. 

The candidate should be sensitive to “the need for higher education in this community to serve 

the students who graduate from the high schools, as well as those people who didn’t attend college 

and want to further their education;” be willing to assist in the training of personnel for the petrochemical 

industry “that we hope will come to this area, as well as other down-stream companies we 

believe will come to this area;” and be disposed to “look at the quality of life that will be improved” 

by college classes which will bring about the “enhancement of minds to seek enjoyment and pleasure 

in books, music and other activities.” Lack’s ideal president was a tall order for the search committee, 

but one that was filled. 1 

Candidates throughout the state who held creditable educational credentials sought the presidential 

position. Guided by Bing through the search process, the board interviewed four impressive finalists. 

Ultimately, Zirjacks, on June 30, 1989, announced the appointment of Dr. Jimmy Goodson, 

president of Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde, as the new Victoria College president. 

Goodson received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Sam Houston State University and his 

doctorate from East Texas State University. He began his association with the Southwest Texas Junior 

College in 1968 as an instructor of history and political science, and eventually assumed the school’s 

presidency in 1981. 

In declaring the selection of Goodson, Zirjacks stated that the board was influenced in its choice 

by the appointee’s experience with Sul Ross State University’s extension center at Southwest 

Texas Junior College, similar to the type of arrangement Victoria College had with the University 

of Houston-Victoria. The board president remarked, “This (experience) is a rare thing. This will 

help him be knowledgeable of the relationships we have (with UHV).” Goodson was just as charitable 

in his comments when he accepted the position. “I am delighted,” he said, “to have been 

named president of Victoria College…Victoria College enjoys a reputation throughout the state as 

an outstanding two-year college with a superb faculty and strong commitment to academic excellence. 

It also has enjoyed a solid tradition of sound administrative leadership at the presidential 

and trustee levels.” 2 

A public reception to honor Bing was held on August 4, 1989, in the dome area of the Victoria 

Community Center. One of the highlights of the day’s festivities was when Mayor John Blackaller and 

County Judge Norman D. Jones proclaimed August 4 as Roland Bing Day. Invitations were sent to 

residents from the eleven counties served by the college. Some 500 friends and acquaintances 

responded, including local and state dignitaries who presented the retiring president with certificates 

of appreciation or offered accolades. Dr. Marvin Felder, president of Temple College, delivered a document 

adopted by the Texas Public Community Junior College Association acknowledging the many 

contributions Bing made to the two-year college movement. State senator Ken Armbrister, a former 

Victoria College instructor, gave the outgoing president a certificate of recognition from the Texas 

Senate. Former congressman and state legislator Joe Wyatt took the microphone and remarked, “I 

did receive an education from Dr. Bing. He educated me on how I should vote on education.” Wyatt 

was followed by Texas Railroad Commissioner John Sharp who commented to the assemblage that 

“for the first six years I was in the State Legislature I thought my first name was ‘Now.’ Dr. Bing would 

call me up and say, ‘Now, John—.’” The UHV interim president, Dr. Don Smith, commended Bing 

heartily to the group saying that “I have been serving with Dr. Bing for two years. It has been at times 

an honor, at other times a pleasure and sometimes it has been an education.” Joe Ferguson, 

✯ 

Dr. Jimmy Goodson became president 

of Victoria College in 1989. 

A New Chief, A New Era ✦ 179

✯ 

Chitchatting before a board meeting 

are (left to right) Thomas M. 

O’Connor, Dr. Rex Whiteside, 

and Dr. Jimmy Goodson. 

a graduate of Victoria College and an employee 

of UHV, good naturedly said to the group that 

when he received his diploma from the college, 

it was not signed. He took it to Bing and the 

president “looked at the diploma and then 

called for my records.” Ferguson noted that 

“After he was satisfied I really had graduated he 

signed the diploma.” Most of those present at 

the Community Center thought the evening’s 

affair was an apt balance of seriousness and joviality 

to laud a man who had devoted an enormous 

amount of energy to Victoria College. 3 

On August 15, Goodson officially assumed 

the presidency. Six days later he addressed an 

assembled faculty in the Johnson Symposium 

Center. As was the custom, the meeting was 

called to order by Dean Rex Whiteside who 

immediately stepped aside and turned the session 

over to the president. Goodson’s opening 

remarks, intended or not, eased any apprehensions 

the group might have possessed with 

a new leader who was relatively unknown 

among its ranks. After expressing his delight 

to be given an opportunity to work at the college 

and praising the faculty, he reaffirmed a 

practice that was an important centerpiece in 

the relations between the college employees 

and administrators by emphasizing that his 

office was accessible to all faculty members and 

students at anytime. These were welcome 

words, indeed, to those seated in the symposium 

room. 4 

Although Goodson continued the practice of 

presidential accessibility, he veered away from 

the concentration of administrative authority 

used by Bing. Within a year after his selection 

he steered the college down the path of 

inclusion whereby the faculty materialized as 

an element in the decision-making process. In a 

gesture to reduce to a minimum issues that 

interested the campus community from falling 

through bureaucratic cracks, Goodson began to 

meet with faculty elected representatives at a 

monthly luncheon. Faculty committees were 


also formed to provide directional advice on 

long-range planning and to review the faculty 

policy handbook. Goodson also changed the 

time-honored system of certain courses and 

instructors not being assigned to any department. 

The new president instructed the dean to 

assign every teaching faculty member to one of 

the newly created divisions. Furthermore, the 

division chairs were given responsibilities and 

authority much beyond the minor roles of 

department chairmen under the previous modus 

operandi. Chosen by Whiteside to present to the 

president for confirmation as the first division 

chairs were Dr. Ben Burdine, Social and 

Behavioral Sciences; Dr. C. F. Schneider, 

Humanities and Fine Arts; and Bennie 

Schramm, Science and Math. Additionally, two 

individuals remained in their posts but were 

placed on par with the divisions. They were 

Tom Walton, director of Vocational and 

Technical Programs, and Marilyn Morris, director 

of the Associate Degree Nursing Program. 5 

An administrative overhaul took place as 

well. Goodson reduced the number of administrators 

who reported to him and renamed 

positions to better reflect his viewpoint that 

two-year colleges were providers of services. 

Whiteside assumed the title of dean of 

Instructional Services and Bob Gaines was 

named dean of Financial and Administrative 

Services. A dean of Student Services was also 

established under the new administrative 

arrangement. The person who probably would 

have been appointed to fill that spot, Director of 

Student Personnel Dr. Blake Farmer, announced 

his intent to resign at the end of the academic 

year. To fill the vacancy, a nationwide search was 

initiated. At the end of the interview process, 

which included applicants from the college, 

Goodson selected Dr. Alice Ann Isaac, director 

of School Relations and Academic Development 

at Hartnell College, Salinas, California, to round 

out the dean positions. 6 

How to resolve the issues associated with 

deteriorating buildings, inadequate classroom 

and science lab space, a new facility for UHV, 

and landscaping was near the top, if not at 

the top, of Goodson’s agenda when he moved 

into his office on the second floor of the 

Administration Building. He tackled the questions 

by appointing a sixteen-member planning 

committee comprised of administrators, 

faculty, and staff. Goodson charged the group 

with the responsibility of reviewing the existing 

infrastructure and recommending a building 

program. What the committee initially 

suggested in the way of new structures was, 

perhaps, more ambitious than the president 

✯ 

Dr. Alice Ann Isaac, dean of Student 

and Information Services. 


✯ 

Dr. Steve Thomas, dean of 

Instructional Services. 

had in mind. The group’s proposal called for 

a $19 million outlay to construct new buildings 

and to renovate the existing ones that 

evaded the bulldozer. Goodson characterized 

the plan as “frightening” and observed that the 

college could not realistically accept it in its 

entirety. The board agreed. David Lack 

remarked, “I think we all know it’s not within 

our reach.” Nevertheless, the president recognized 

that a few of the more expensive items 

needed to be immediately addressed because 

some of the buildings were in such poor condition. 

As he put it, “We just don’t have an 

option.” The board concurred and instructed 

the president to trim the improvements program 

to $12 million. 7 

Acting upon the board’s directive, Goodson 

teamed with the planning committee and 

devised an acceptable alternative. The governing 

body approved the proposal and set 

December 9, 1989, as the date for a bond 

election. The $12 million expansion and 

improvements program was to be accomplished 

over a three-year period. The first stage 

was to be the construction of a science lab 

complex, a UHV classroom and office complex, 

a student center building, and improvements 

to building sites. Later, the Science Building 

was to be renovated, the physical education 

facility expanded, the current Student Union 

and old Language Arts buildings razed, and 

asbestos-contaminated soil removed. Last on 

the campus enhancements list was the remodeling 

of the Academic Building. 8 

An orchestrated campaign was conducted by 

boosters of the college improvements to persuade 

voters to support the bond issue. The 

Victoria Advocate ran a series of five articles illustrating 

the sad condition of the Student Union 

and Industrial Arts buildings. In a show of solidarity 

with the college, UHV officials, whose 

campus would be a beneficiary, expressed 

strong support for the plan. UHV President Dr. 

Glenn Goerke stated that the current upperlevel 

institution’s building was “bursting at its 

seams” with students. He further noted that, 

“[The new building] is critical to us if we’re 

going to continue to grow and to bring new programs 

on line. We’re getting to the point now 

where I don’t know what we’ll do if the bond 

issue doesn’t pass. There’s no more room.” Dr. 

Don Smith, UHV’s dean for Academic Affairs, 

envisioned the day “we’d be able to have all of 

our faculty and staff together under one roof.” 

Even Victoria College students went to bat for 

the proposal. Kari Perry was direct and succinct, 

but, yet, understated the situation when she 

remarked that the Student Union Building was 


“falling apart,” and “it’s not very nice.” The 

structure was more than “not very nice.” It had 

been in need of replacement for years. The 

building’s interior floor had subsided and separated 

from the walls. To hide the deterioration, 

maintenance employees during Bing’s presidency 

placed wooden benching over the crack. 9 

Never knowing for sure how any election 

will turn out, especially because bond issue 

elections offered by other public entities had 

failed, there were anxious moments for the 

proponents. Such anxiety was unwarranted. 

The county’s voters gave a resounding 

approval, favoring the bond issue 1,323 to 

446, a three-to-one margin. When the results 

were finalized, Zirjacks stated, “today has been 

one of the most important days in the life of 

Victoria College and the University of 

Houston-Victoria.” Goodson was gratified that 

the county residents continued to have confidence 

in the college. The passage of the bond 

package, the president maintained, assured 

students continued low tuition. Analyzing the 

results, Goodson commented that “educational 

opportunity will be made available to all 

Victoria County residents without undue 

regard to economic circumstances and that’s a 

very proud achievement for the county.” The 

results were largely a testimony to the school’s 

excellent reputation and the people’s confidence 

in the administration, faculty, and staff. 

In terms of money and space this project was 

much larger than the original campus or bond 

issues of the subsequent building projects. 10 

While waiting in the Administration Building 

for the precinct election judges to bring in the 

voting packets, Goodson and two senior faculty 

members, one of whom was Bennie Schramm, 

chair of the Science and Math Division, engaged 

in idle conversation about the election. The 

chief executive expressed the opinion that he 

thought that the bond issue would prevail but 

realized there existed the possibility the vote 

could go the other way. The president was not 

going to relax until a final tally was announced 

approving the proposition. Schramm and his 

colleague were more presumptuous and assured 

Goodson the bonds would be accepted by 70 

percent of the voters. Startled by such a forecast, 

the president stated he would buy lunch for the 

two faculty members if the prediction proved 

correct. The three men enjoyed their meal at the 

Golden Corral. 

In typical fashion, Goodson turned to the 

faculty and staff for advice in developing plans 

for construction and renovation. By involving 

✯ 

The Victoria College Choir under the 

direction of Ruth Williams entertain 

the audience at a commencement. 


✯ 

Police Academy students learn to take 

down a suspect. 

those who would actually be using the structures, 

a partnership was created, resulting in a 

friendlier teaching and working environment. 

Clearly, not all the advice given the president 

was accepted. There was enough, however, 

that a true collaborative relationship existed. 

The beneficiaries of the alliance, without their 

realizing it, were the students passing through 

the portals. 

Demands for qualified registered nurses in 

the region contributed to the expansion of the 

college nursing program by sixty percent in the 

fall of 1990. The move was prompted by a 

survey that found that 111 budgeted RN 

positions were vacant in Victoria and the surrounding 

counties. Marilyn Morris, director of 

the Associate Degree Nursing Program, said the 

students “will have no difficulty in securing 

employment.” She further remarked that 

recent follow-up studies showed that “100 percent 

of the graduates are being employed 

immediately upon graduation.” Affirming 

Morris’ comments were Dorothy Miller, assistant 

administrator at Citizens Medical Center, 

and Jean Herman, assistant administrator at 

DeTar Hospital. Miller noted that “the bottom 

line is, recruiting from Canada to outer 

Mongolia has proved unsuccessful. We have to 

rely heavily on Victoria College to supply our 

RNs.” Herman argued, “We simply have no 

resource for RN recruitment other than the 

Victoria College program.” The three allied 

health specialists were on sound footing with 

their statements. According to figures produced 

by the three Victoria County hospitals, 

fifty-two percent of their full-time registered 

nurses were graduates of Victoria College. 11 

In May 1990, jubilation reigned among the 

47 graduates from the Associate Degree 

Nursing Program when they learned the entire 

group had passed the state licensing exam. 

This was the sixth time since 1975 that a 

Victoria College graduating class enjoyed a 

100 percent pass rate. Morris attributed the 

achievement to the students’ “dedication to 

learning, a supportive administration, and 

excellent nursing and general course teaching 

faculty.” Furthermore, “our students,” she stated, 

“are also fortunate to have quality health 

care facilities in the area that play a major role 

in their clinical experience.” 12 

The nursing students were not the only ones 

to demonstrate that Victoria College graduates 

received quality preparation. Spring graduates 

of the Emergency Medical Technology Program 

earned the second highest scores on the state 


EMT licensing test. Mark Reger, director of the 

local program, pridefully proclaimed that his 

former students’ exam scores averaged 91.45, 

a shade behind the highest average of 92.06 

but conspicuously higher than the state average 

of 84.3. 13 

Equally excited were Alan Baker and 

Richard Evan, instructors of the EMT intermediate 

programs. Their students in Gonzales and 

Victoria ranked first and second, respectively, 

on the state’s certification test. The students 

who attended Baker’s class in Gonzales averaged 

93 percent while Evan’s students in 

Victoria posted an average of 92.5 percent, 

well above the state medium. 14 

Data was released by Dr. Luther Troell, director 

of Institutional Research, that signified former 

Victoria College students who transferred 

to senior universities performed competently. 

The grade point average for the students at the 

two-year institution was 2.76 while their average 

GPA at the transfer schools was 2.71. 

Universities used in the study were Texas A&I, 

Texas A&M, North Texas State, Sam Houston 

State, Southwest Texas State, Texas Tech, 

University of Houston, University of Houston- 

Victoria, and the University of Texas. Troell, 

after analyzing the data, sagaciously stated, “At 

Victoria College students receive quality academic 

instruction in a supportive atmosphere. 

When the time comes to transfer, the foundation 

for success is there.” 15 

Students again competed for top honors in a 

variety of contests during Activities Week in the 

spring of 1990. When the event concluded, 

first place winners were Tria E. Airheart, poetry; 

Cathy Fleska, essay; Bob L. Morgan, Jr., 

short story; Rachel Thomas, ceramic; Eric Ross, 

three-dimensional; Stephen Hyde, drawing; 

Darla Rhodes, painting; Vicky Speed, nature 

photography; Nancy Bruns, people photography; 

Mary Fricke, typing; and Valerie Novian, 

word processing. 16 

Trustees at the May 1990 board meeting 

revived the drama program, dormant since the 

1970s, by employing Charles “Chuck” Root, an 

adjunct teacher at Dallas Community College 

and Collin County Community College, as a 

speech and drama instructor. The action taken 

by the governing body was a bona fide effort by 

it and the administration to improve the quality 

of life on the campus. Under the direction of the 

✯ 

Harry Wagner, geology instructor, 

comments on a fossil to (left to right) 

Linda Wagner, Matthew Morrison, 

and Andrew Cande. 


new instructor there were to be two major stage 

presentations each year and scholarships for 

student actors. The chief goals for Root were “to 

prepare Victoria College theater majors to continue 

their education in drama and to train students 

who want to go into acting school and 

become professional actors.” 17 

Classes were held for the first time in the new 

William A. Wood Vocational Building in June 

1990. The design of the latest campus structure 

was largely the handiwork of Chris Warren, 

welding instructor. As Warren envisioned, the 

building was furnished with the finest equipment 

that could be purchased to accommodate 

welding, drafting, electronics, and air conditioning/refrigeration 

courses. Among its state-of-the 

art features was a self-contained welding lab 

which provided “students with a near perfect 

learning environment.” 18 

Charles Spurlin, head of the Social Sciences 

Department, was surprised in the fall of 1990 

to learn that he was one of 20 Texans selected 

to receive the Texas House of Representatives 

Certificate of Citation Award. The award 

acknowledged his “generous gift of talent 

and effort to enrich” the community. 

Presentation ceremonies were conducted in 

the Texas Senate Chamber by Mack Wallace, 

a state representative, from the Houston 

area. Afterwards, a reception was held in the 

lieutenant governor’s quarters adjacent to the 

Senate Chamber. 19 

Concluding that the time had come to step 

down as dean while his health was good, Dr. 

Rex Whiteside at the beginning of the 1990 fall 

semester announced his resignation, effective 

December 31. Recognizing that the dean’s 

responsibilities had changed over the years, he 

remarked, “The Dean of Instruction now needs 

to work with the division chairmen and department 

heads rather than with student counseling.” 

Goodson appointed a search committee to 

screen and to recommend a replacement for 

Whiteside. After interviewing several hopefuls 

and submitting a pool of names for the president 

to choose from, Goodson selected Dr. Steve 

Thomas, dean of Academic Affairs for Lexington 

Community College, Lexington, Kentucky, as 

the new dean of Instructional Services. 20 

Retiring with Whiteside at the close of the 

fall semester was Louise Hume. Since assuming 

the position of registrar in 1965, she had been 

a potent element during the two decades that 

spanned Bing’s years at the college as dean and 

president. Stating a truism, she commented in 

an interview prior to her retirement, that as registrar, 

“I was able to watch and help with each 

student’s progress, all the way from registration 

to graduation.” Hume was succeeded by Martha 

Watts, assistant registrar. 21 

✯ 

Louise Hume, registrar, checks to 

see if the form is completed with 

black ink. 


When the faculty members convened in 

January 1991 to start the spring semester, they 

were told that the college had ended its association 

with the University Interscholastic League. 

The announcement brought cheers from the 

assembled faculty who, for years, had campaigned 

for the college to drop its sponsorship. 

Instructors criticized the loss of critical class 

time and dissatisfaction with being put into a 

position of “volunteering” their free time to 

judge events. If a tear was shed by a single faculty 

member over the loss of the college’s participation, 

it was not evident. 22 

Preparations for the decennial reaffirmation 

visit by the Southern Association of Colleges 

and Schools began in earnest in January 1991. 

Dr. Ben Burdine, chair of the Division of Social 

and Behavioral Sciences, was picked by 

Goodson as chairman of the Self-Study Steering 

Committee. In a presentation at a faculty meeting, 

Burdine informed the assemblage that the 

process would take two years, and he provided 

each member a performance time line. In addition 

to Burdine, the steering committee was 

composed of Morris Azbill, Audley Dry, Vera 

Johnson, Marilyn Morris, Dr. Dale Pigott, Dr. 

Julia Riggs, Dr. C. F. Schneider, Dr. Joe Sekul, 

Dr. Geraldine Talley, and board member 

Catherine McHaney. 23 

Open house was held for the new Language 

Building on the evening of April 18. The $1.7 

million, two-story structure offered an “up-todate” 

teaching and learning facility for both students 

and faculty members. Recognizing the 

necessity for the building, Goodson commented, 

“We are getting some badly needed classroom 

space. Our college has had steady growth 

and the University of Houston-Victoria has also 

had substantial growth. The Language Building 

will provide immediate relief to the overcrowding 

problems of both schools.” 24 

Stating the obvious in introducing the Tech- 

Prep Cooperative Program to the public in 

August 1991, Tom Walton, director of 

Technical-Vocational Education, remarked, “A 

lot of kids leave high school without any preparation 

for what lies ahead of them. Not all will 

be going off to college and all too often they 

have had no vocational or technical training to 

prepare them for a job.” The new program was 

✯ 

Victoria College’s Marie Alaniz 

addresses a question at a financial aid 

seminar in Goliad. 


✯ 

Children and their parents have fun 

at a Halloween carnival in the 

Student Center. 

designed to remedy the deficiency by focusing 

on industrial and technical, business and office, 

and health and protective services. “Instead of 

students being trapped in [high school and college] 

courses that lead nowhere,” explained 

Carrie Nelson, state project director for Tech- 

Prep, “they are put in courses where they have 

many options that can allow them to go on and 

directly earn a baccalaureate degree or get a 

job.” Under the course of study, students could 

take general education and technological classes 

and “at the end of the two years in high school,” 

said Melonie Wade, Tech-Prep coordinator at 

the college, “you have to be sure the kid has a 

salable skill—one in which they could find a 

job.” She stressed that the goal was “to assure a 

good solid foundation of marketable skills [so] 

secondary students would get a head start and 

would be ready to enter the labor market with 

employable skills.” 25 

Students returning to the campus for the 

1992 spring semester found the scenery had 

changed for the better. There now existed a new 

Student Center and a Science Building. The 

Student Center officially opened on January 15 

in time for spring registration. A few weeks later, 

the Science Building became available for occupancy. 

By April, the University of Houston- 

Victoria Building was completed. To give the 

local taxpayers an opportunity to see the results 

of the 1989 bond package, the public was invited 

to an open house on April 11. Meanwhile, 

demolition of the old Student Union and 

Language Arts buildings was embarked upon. 26 

After thirty-seven years teaching voice, 

piano, organ, and choir at the college, Ruth 

Williams announced her retirement, effective 

at the end of the spring semester. In jest, she 

remarked, “I know in a couple of years, I’ll 

probably want to come back. I’ll miss a lot 

about this job. I love being in the big middle 

of everything.” Under her direction, the choir 

was recognized throughout the state as exemplary. 

At the May faculty meeting, state senator 

Ken Armbrister presented the retiring instructor 

with a Senate Proclamation praising her 

for the contributions she made to the college 

and the community. Armbrister also conveyed 

to Williams a congratulatory letter from 

Governor Ann Richards. The governor 

applauded the choir for being “one of our 

state’s musical treasures” and complimented 

Williams by stating, “you have proven your talent 

and audiences around the world have been 

touched by your music.” 27 

Within two months after receiving accolades 

from the state senate and the governor, 

Williams was on the road again for one final 


trip with the college choir. The group was 

appointed by Governor Richards as the Texas 

representative at the World’s Fair in Seville, 

Spain. Some thirty students, faculty, civic chorus 

members, and area residents embarked for 

Spain on July 8 via Morocco and Portugal. On 

July 16, the choir made its scheduled performance 

at the United States Pavilion in Seville 

before an appreciative crowd composed of people 

from around the world. 28 

Victoria College’s countywide election system 

was brought into question when a federal 

lawsuit was filed against the community college 

by Alex Rojas, a local businessman and 

former Victoria College student. Rojas claimed 

the litigation was necessary because “the 

method of electing board members discriminates 

against the minority community.” His 

attorney, Roland Rios, contended that the legal 

action should not be viewed as a hostile move. 

The litigants, Rios said, were “not saying that 

the present board is doing a bad job (of representing 

minorities). But this will just make the 

board a little more democratic.” He further 

stated, “With minorities comprising approximately 

34 percent of the population served by 

the Victoria College district it is clear to me 

that minorities should have the opportunity to 

elect officials of their choice.” 29 

Winston Zirjacks, board president, held a 

dissimilar view. He stated the lawsuit came as 

a surprise to him for there was “no reason for 

minorities to be objectionable to anything 

we’ve done.” Maintaining that any eligible individual 

could seek election to the board, he 

commented that “they just have to run.” The 

board president further remarked, “Truthfully, 

I don’t know if anything needs to be changed.” 

Zirjacks did say, however, that the board would 

discuss the legal action “before officially replying 

to the suit.” Goodson concurred with the 

board president that no public statements 

should be made until he and the trustees conferred 

with an attorney. The president did 

point out that the board had “always tried to 

represent the interests of all citizens of Victoria 

County in providing the best educational 

opportunities possible.” Goodson’s assessment 

was correct. On the other hand, the plaintiffs 

were dead-right by insisting “a change in the 

election process is needed.” 30 

Of utmost concern to the board and 

Goodson was how the lawsuit could be 

resolved “to save taxpayers money that would 

be lost during a prolonged court battle.” To 

assist them in reaching a satisfactory solution, 

the trustees employed Bob Heath of the Austin 

law firm of Bickerstaff, Heath and Smiley. After 

wrestling with the issue for six months, an 

acceptable understanding between the two 

sides was agreed upon. Goodson announced 

that “the board felt it was in the interest of the 

✯ 

Jack Warren (far right) discusses 

career opportunities with 

prospective students. 


college and the population of Victoria County” 

to adopt a new method of electing its members. 

He added that to do otherwise “would 

have been expensive to pursue the matter in 

court.” The settlement agreed to provide that 

four board members be elected from singlemember 

districts, two from super districts (a 

combination of two single-member districts) 

and one at-large from the entire district. 

Boundaries of the single-member districts were 

drawn to coincide with county commissioner 

precincts. As structured by the board, Super 

District 3 was composed of precincts 1 and 2 

while Super District 7 comprised county commissioners 

precincts 3 and 4. Another stipulation 

of the arrangement obligated the college to 

pay Rojas’ lawyer $9,000. 31 

At the end-of-the-year faculty meeting on 

May 19, 1992, Dr. Michael Hummel once again 

placed before the group a recommendation to 

establish a faculty senate. Contrary to past 

attempts to create such an organization, the 

motion passed with no dissenting votes. A 

seven-member ad hoc committee was elected to 

draft a constitution and bylaws and present it to 

the faculty for consideration. Chosen to perform 

that duty were Dr. Ben Burdine, Morris 

Azbill, Hummel, Marilyn Morris, Dr. Dale 

Pigott, Dr. Richard Walker, and David White. 

The members of the committee elected 

Hummel as chairman. 32 

Working persistently through the summer 

months of 1992, the ad hoc Faculty Senate 

Committee drafted “a policy defining the structure, 

composition, responsibilities, and authority 

of a faculty senate.” Immediately following 

the adjournment by Dean Steve Thomas of the 

regular faculty meeting in the Johnson 

Symposium Center on August 24, the instructors 

reassembled in Room 213 of the Allied 

Health Building to consider the proposed faculty 

senate constitution and bylaws. The initial 

issue discussed was the ad hoc committee’s recommendation 

that a faculty organization be 

established. After a brief dialogue, a secret ballot 

was taken. The proposal passed 84 to 14. 33 

Following the adoption of the motion to 

establish a faculty organization, the instructors 

turned to the committee’s recommendation to 

approve the proposed constitution and bylaws 

and “to expedite the implementation of the documents.” 

During the discussion on the motion, 

minor changes were embraced. An attempt was 

made by some overly concerned faculty members 

to table the recommendation, but they 

failed to sidetrack the process by a vote of 39 for 

✯ 

Amused by Dr. Jimmy Goodson’s 

comment are (left to right) Catherine 

McHaney, board president, and 

Victoria College’s first lady, 

Michelle Goodson. 


and 55 against the motion. When the faculty 

finally got around to deciding on the constitution 

and bylaws, the documents, as amended, 

were adopted by secret ballot 77 to 20. 

Afterwards, the new senate appropriately selected 

Hummel as its president. 34 

The Faculty Senate quickly became a positive 

force for the college because both the senate and 

the administration conscientiously avoided an 

adversarial relationship in favor of a collaborative 

one. While most of the formal senate recommendations 

to the administration emanated from the 

faculty, the administration also actively solicited 

the senate’s input on a number of key issues. 

Certainly there were differences of opinions, 

sometimes strong differences, but they were 

resolved in a spirit of cooperation. Among the 

accomplishments of the senate were revisions to 

the tenure policy, salary schedule, faculty evaluation 

by students and administrators, creation of 

faculty development grants, and guidelines for 

experimental or innovative teaching. 

After two years of acute self-evaluation conducted 

by the faculty and staff, the college was 

ready for the Southern Association of Colleges 

and Schools Reaffirmation Committee’s visit that 

began on February 22, 1993. Burdine, chairman 

of the college self-study, had exercised exceptional 

leadership in supervising the preparation 

of a final report to present to the regional 

accreditation team. The revisitation, to say the 

least, went prosaically for the four days the 

group was on the campus. When the obligatory 

junket concluded, the committee made a minimal 

number of recommendations. No matter 

how exhaustively a college self-study has been 

conducted and recorded, reaffirmation committees 

apparently think their work is not complete 

unless recommendations are produced as evidence. 

At its annual meeting on December 15, 

1993, SACS reaccredited Victoria College for 

another decade. The college was required to 

respond to five minor recommendations in a follow-up 

report. Acting upon the directive, Dean 

Thomas compiled a reply that was accepted by 

the board and submitted to SACS. 35 

Doors of the new Sports Center were opened 

in August 1993. Featuring an assortment of athletic 

equipment, the facility, designed with individual 

utilization in mind rather than team 

sports, offered the students, faculty, and staff 

opportunities to stay physically fit. Each segment 

of the college community quickly took 

advantage of the accommodations. Harlon 

Gerhold, kinesiology department head, noted 

that “students are really enjoying using the 

Center during their off hours.” Kelly McKay, 

kinesiology instructor, remarked that “the faculty 

and staff enrolled in the wellness program 

were having a great time.” She added, “Everyone 

✯ 

Cindy Bedwell (left), manager of Food 

Services, and her assistant, Kim 

Reger, arrange decorations in the 

Student Union. 


✯ 

Elaine Marcinkowska (left), dean of 

Administrative Services, and Patti 

Sagebiel, purchasing director. 

leaves with an overall great workout.” Bob 

Leach, kinesiology instructor, pointed out that 

the faculty and staff involved in the wellness 

program had a participation menu that ranged 

from group tennis to shooting hoops.” 36 

Decision making had been relatively easy 

for the board when it came to the construction 

of new buildings, but with the Sports Center 

in place, the trustees had to tackle the thorny 

issue of whether to tear down the existing 

Academic and Science buildings or to do 

major renovation work on the two facilities. At 

its March meeting, the governing body discussed 

the options and concluded that some 

additional information was needed. The matter 

was passed to the board’s building committee 

and architect Rawley McCoy of 

Young/McCoy Architects of Victoria. When the 

assigned parties reviewed their charge, they 

concluded the taxpayers would best be served 

by refurbishing. McCoy stated that the cost of 

razing the structures and constructing new 

ones would cost the college over ninety percent 

more than it would cost to renovate them. 

Another factor that entered into the decision 

for restoration was historical preservation. The 

Academic Building is the last surviving structure 

of the original campus and is representative 

of 1940s architectural style. Wisely, the 

board chose renovation. 37 

Bids submitted by prospective contractors 

were not exactly what Goodson and the trustees 

expected. Approximately $2 million was dedicated 

from revenue bonds and private foundation 

donations for the restoration work. 

However, the lowest quotation received by the 

college was $2.165 million. A consideration for 

the increased cost was the removal of window 

and room air conditioners from the Academic 

Building and replacing them with a central heating 

and cooling system. Because the bids were 

higher than anticipated, the suggested improvements 

were postponed. The board’s building 

committee in consultation with the president 

and architect McCoy commenced exploring 

ways to reduce the expenses. By reevaluating the 

original proposal, McCoy pared the specifications 

sufficiently enough to reduce the costs. On 

February 11, 1994, the trustees awarded a 

$1.97 million contract to Alvarez and Associates 

Construction Company of Victoria for renewal 

of the two buildings, replacement of the connecting 

hallway’s glass windows so they conformed 

to state requirements, and the cleaning 

of the stone and brick at the Fine Arts Building. 

The Academic Building was carefully restored to 


preserve the extensive woodwork and to maintain 

the “feel” of the old building. 38 

Concluding that “the time is now” and that he 

was “old enough to start smelling the roses,” 

David Lack, a veteran of the board for 18 years, 

resigned in February 1994. “After lamenting 

how much they’ll miss David Lack, Victoria 

College trustees wasted no time” in naming 

Arnold Galindo Davis as his replacement. The 

new board member, the executive director of the 

Victoria Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and 

manager of Casa Ole, was the first Hispanic in 

college history to serve on the board. He represented 

a redrawn district that emerged from the 

Alex Rojas lawsuit. Davis served the remaining 

three months of Lack’s term and was elected 

without any opposition to a full term as trustee. 39 

What many individuals who were acquainted 

with him considered an overdue honor, Wesley 

Aldis, bookstore manager, was selected as a 

member of the National Association of College 

Stores Board of Trustees at the organization’s 

April 1994 meeting in Orlando, Florida. The 

association consisted of approximately 3,200 

college and university bookstores in the United 

States and Canada. Six board members were 

elected by store members to represent regional 

districts and there were also two at-large places. 

Aldis was chosen to represent the Southwest 

region which was composed of Texas and four 

surrounding states. 40 

Wesley Aldis, or “John Wesley” as Bing 

referred to him, had been associated with the 

college since the 1960s, first as a student and 

later as an employee. While he attended college, 

he wrote a sports article for the college newspaper. 

As bookstore manager, a position he 

assumed when long-time employee V. T. Kallus 

retired in the early 1970s, Aldis witnessed 

changes in its operation and the items sold. The 

most striking difference was in technology, ranging 

from electric cash register to computer. Aldis 

has “sold everything from slide rules to calculators 

that run a space ship.” He recalled that Al 

Allen, math instructor, purchased an early 

“hand-held calculator, which he had to assemble 

for something like $300.00, now that same [calculator] 

can be bought for only $6.99 assembled.” 

His prescription for operating a bookstore—“adjust 

and be flexible.” 41 

Interactive video was introduced on the campus 

during the spring of 1994. The movement to 

employ its use at the college was led by Marilyn 

Powell, coordinator of vocational nursing, after 

she observed its application in January 1994 

when a medication administration lecture was 

beamed from Houston to Victoria. From her 

point of view, Powell noted the “technology 

✯ 

Wesley Aldis, bookstore manager. 


✯ 

Gladys Bolting, student employment 

coordinator, gives instructions to 

Mandi Wallace on the proper way to 

complete a job application. 

allows us to better utilize faculty and support 

service resources, and to offer educational 

experiences to individuals who now have 

distance as a barrier to accomplishing their 

educational goals.” Dean Thomas expressed a 

similar opinion when he said, “this state-of-theart 

technology not only creates access for rural 

students, but also can be utilized for conferencing 

and staff development.” The responsibility of 

teaching the first academic interactive video college 

credit courses fell to Dr. Stephen Hardin, 

history instructor, and Dr. Jerry Novosad, 

psychology instructor. During the first session of 

the 1994 summer term, courses were offered, 

with mixed success, to students in Hallettsville 

and the main campus. Television monitors were 

set up in the Victoria College Library Building 

and the hospital in Hallettsville. Hardin taught a 

course in Victoria, and his lectures were simulcast 

to the Hallettsville site, whereas Novosad 

conducted a psychology class in Hallettsville and 

his presentations were transmitted to Victoria. 42 

Another historical event took place at the 

college in the spring of 1994. On May 14, Dr. F. 

Benton Burdine, retiring chairman of the 

Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 

delivered the address at the college commencement, 

thus becoming the first faculty member 

to be the principal speaker at a graduation ceremony. 

The idea to have Burdine make the 

presentation came from Goodson. The affable 

speaker, who was held in high esteem by his 

colleagues, told the Victoria College graduates 

they had “the right to make their own mistakes—just 

don’t repeat ours.” He counseled 

them to “be productive citizens” for they owed 

it not only to themselves, but “to your children 

and to your country.” 43 

Heeding a directive by the state for community 

colleges to increase their activity in workforce 

development, the local college responded 

by offering “customized training and education” 

to Union Carbide and Formosa employees 

in August of 1994. Working closely with 

the ABC Merit Shop Training Program, established 

in 1987 by Formosa and five other companies, 

the classes were initially held at Union 

Carbide, but they were expanded to Formosa 

employees. College credit was earned for 

“real-world subjects like carpentry, welding, 

pipe-fitting, electronics, instrumentation, and 

industrial mechanics.” 44 

Consummate Texas historian and Victoria 

College instructor Dr. Stephen Hardin walked 

off with virtually every major historical book 

award for 1994 with his work, Texian Iliad: A 

Military History of the Texas Revolution. Among 

the laurels he received were the Texas Historical 


✯ 

Left: Dr. Steve Thomas awards 

a scholarship to a delighted Betty 

Jean Bland. 

Bottom: Jerry Dvorak, director of 

Media Services, catches up on his 

office work after delivering 

audio/visual equipment for 

classroom use. 


Commission’s T. R. Fehrenback Book Award, the 

Summerfield G. Roberts Award, and the 

Certificate of Merit from The American 

Association for State and Local History. 

Furthermore, the Victoria College instructor 

was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters. 

His exhaustive study on the Texas Revolution 

made him a much sought-after person by the 

news media. He made appearances on the TV 

series “The Real West” and gave interviews on 

radio talk shows. When the controversial 

José Enrique de la Peña diary, With Santa 

Anna in Texas: A Personal Narrative of the 

Revolution, was to be auctioned in the fall of 

1998, Hardin was interviewed in New York on 

NBC’s Today show. 45 

Funding for technological resources by the 

board rose dramatically in 1994. The trustees 

authorized $650,000 to implement a five-year 

plan that permitted faculty, staff, and students to 

access Internet from any building on the campus 

and thereby provided instructors new 

opportunities for classroom instruction. 

Another $80,000 was spent to develop a drafting 

program that was compatible with area 

industries. Jody Muschalek, director for drafting 

technology and instructor of the classes, accurately 

remarked that it was “important to keep 

students up to date.” Cognizant of how rapidly 

computer technology changes, he astutely stated 

that “you can graduate from college and five 

years later, be behind the times.” 46 

Student accessibility to technology on the 

campus was hastened during the fall of 1995. 

The college received a portion of a grant from 

the National Science Foundation awarded to the 

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to 

connect to Internet. When the grant was 

announced, Dr. Kenneth H. Ashworth, commissioner 

of the Coordinating Board, stated that the 

Internet “capability will improve the college’s 

ability to play an even larger role in workforce 

and economic development by providing stateof-the-art 

opportunities to students, faculty and 

administrators.” Internet quickly became an 

instructional tool for some of the faculty. The 

Allied Health Division downloaded material 

from medical libraries and the world for distribution 

to students, and psychology instructor 

Dr. Karen Hoblit assigned research papers 

requiring Internet sources. Furthermore, students 

were provided with e-mail addresses, thus 

permitting them to send and receive electronic 

mail from various campus locations. 47 

Because of the financial assistance the M. G. 

and Lillie A. Johnson Foundation contributed to 

the college for allied health facilities and equipment, 

the board renamed the renovated Science 

✯ 

The covered walkways may 

not have been aesthetic, but they 

did provide protection from 

inclement weather. 


Building the M. G. and Lillie A. Johnson Hall. 

Monies from the foundation were the principal 

source of funding for remodeling the structure. In 

another gesture of the college’s gratitude for the 

foundation’s financial contributions, Goodson 

dedicated a classroom in the renewed building 

for Lewis Allen, Jr., the Johnsons’ nephew. 48 

In the spring of 1996, Winston Zirjacks 

retired after serving on the board for 49 years, 

forty of which as the president. He was elected 

to the Victoria College Board of Trustees in 1947 

when the two-year institution became a separate 

entity from the Victoria Independent School 

District. His connection to the college in 1927, 

two years after it was established. While a student 

at Victoria Junior College, Zirjacks was 

president of the student body and participated 

in extracurricular activities. At the May 6 board 

meeting, he was made president emeritus, and 

Catherine McHaney, the new board president 

and the first woman to hold that position, read 

a laudatory proclamation for his service to the 

college, and Goodson presented him with an 

official state judge’s gavel that was manufactured 

by the Texas Department of Corrections. More 

than 200 people attended a public reception for 

the retiring board president in the Student 

Center. During the festivities, Zirjacks was presented 

with a congratulatory letter from 

Governor George W. Bush, proclamations from 

the state senate, city, and county, and Dr. 

Michael Hummel, president of the Faculty 

Senate, presented him with a gift, purchased 

with money raised by volunteer contributions, 

on behalf of the faculty. 49 

History instructor, head of the Social 

Sciences Department, and teacher at the college 

for thirty-five years, Charles D. Spurlin was 

selected as a 1996 Piper Professor, an honor 

given by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation 

to ten Texas college and university educators a 

year to recognize excellence in teaching. Only 

one other Victoria College instructor was a 

recipient of the award, Dr. Wayne McAlister in 

1989. On May 1, at a luncheon in the Student 

Center sponsored by the college, Hummel, with 

Spurlin’s wife, Pat, and five children in attendance, 

presented him a framed Piper Professor 

Award certificate. Goodson, in turn, gave the 

recipient a $2,500 check from the Minnie 

Stevens Piper Foundation and a Piper Professor 

Pin. The college president suggested the honoree 

should take a well-deserved trip with the 

money. Spurlin, tearfully, thanked his colleagues, 

students, and friends. He remarked, 

“When you’re selected from a faculty of over 

✯ 

Lines can be long at registration. 


✯ 

In November 1996, two live oak trees 

were dedicated in memory of former 

board members Leo Welder and Tom 

O’Connor, Jr. At the podium is Board 

President Catherine McHaney. 

100 to be the nominee, that in itself is an honor, 

because there’s a lot of fine people out here who 

teach.” How true. 50 

Spurlin was further complimented in the 

spring when members of the Texas State 

Historical Association elected him to the 

Executive Council, a position seldom held by a 

person from the ranks of a community college. 

Another faculty member who received recognition 

during the spring of 1996 was Caroline C. 

Garrett, instructor of accounting and office systems 

technology. She was named to Who’s Who 

Among America’s Teachers. Garrett was actively 

involved in the Texas Community College 

Teachers Association by serving as the organization’s 

local campus representative. 51 

In November 1996, live oak trees were 

planted and plaques were placed in front of the 

Academic Building in memory of two staunch 

supporters of the college, Leo Welder and 

Tom O’Connor, Jr., both of whom had died 

the previous summer. Approximately 100 people 

attended the ceremony and heard commendable 

remarks by Catherine McHaney, 

board member Robert J. Hewitt, Sr., and 

Goodson. The plaques were unveiled by board 

members Mark Zafereo and Ron Walker. 

Afterwards, a reception was held in the 

Academic Building. 52 

A major highlight of the 1997 spring semester 

was a February 11 presentation by the world 

renown poet Maya Angelou. Before a packed 

house in the Fine Arts Auditorium and people 

watching closed circuit television broadcast in 

the Student Center and the Johnson Symposium 

Center, she mesmerized the audience by her 

captivating demeanor and dramatic poetry reading. 

The program attracted the second largest 

number of persons to ever attend a Lyceum 

sponsored event in the Fine Arts Auditorium. 53 

On April 23-25, a peer review team 

representing the Texas Higher Education 

Coordinating Board conducted a site visit. 

Although not as intense as an evaluation by a 

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 

Reaffirmation Committee, the group reviewed 

the college’s programs and interviewed faculty 

and staff for an overall assessment of the 

services provided by the local two-year institution. 

The visiting team was generally 

impressed with the college. It declared the 

Licensed Vocational Nursing Program an 

Exemplary Program and praised a number of 

other courses of study. 54 


University of Houston-Victoria’s dream of 

having its own property and buildings finally 

became a reality in 1997. Serious discussions 

between Victoria College and UHV officials on 

the sale of college land to the upper division 

university had transpired periodically for the 

preceding three years. When the negotiations 

reached the point that a sale-purchase agreement 

appeared certain, the college in 1996 

employed local attorney Munson Smith as a 

negotiator. Throughout the discussions, the college 

officials wanted to devise an offer that was 

fair to UHV and did not jeopardize in any way 

the college’s educational capacity nor its constituents. 

In a gesture to bring the matter to an 

end, state Representative Steve Holzheauser succeeded 

in attaching a rider to education legislation 

authorizing $10 million of state funds for 

UHV expansion if the University of Houston 

System rejected a purchase proposal. 55 

On April 21, the college board met and agreed 

to sell the UH System the building that was currently 

being used by UHV and fifteen adjacent 

acres for $5.05 million. Three days later, the 

University of Houston System Board of Regents 

convened in Houston and approved the purchase. 

Kay Walker, a regent from Victoria, commented, 

“It’s a new era for wonderful opportunities for 

Victoria.” UHV President Karen Haynes remarked, 

“We can now begin to plan for initiatives and 

implementations of those.” Obviously, both ladies 

were ecstatic over the regents’ decision. 56 

In the summer of 1997, Victoria College once 

again became the primary agency within the 

community for adult education, assuming the 

responsibility from the Victoria Independent 

School District. The adult education program 

was originally established “to reach out into the 

community and help those adults needing to finish 

high school requirements.” Transfer of the 

responsibility was mutually agreeable to the college 

and public school officials. Goodson noted 

that the state legislature in 1973 “added a literacy 

mission to our general adult mission,” and Dr. 

Jack Clemmons, VISD superintendent, stated, 

“Philosophically it belongs with the college. 

They’re in that line of business.” The center was 

housed in a building at 802 East Crestwood 

Drive leased from Central Power & Light 

Company. As a practical matter, to accommodate 

students in need of adult education, the college 

provided the Victoria Adult Literacy Council 

space in the new facility. Unification of the two 

programs at a central location was placed in perspective 

by George Alexander, director of 

recruiting and marketing. He remarked that 

“area adults who need help can come to one 

place and receive a range of services.” 57 

✯ 

Dr. James Gleason (right) has the 

attention of John Sharp (left), state 

comptroller, as Dr. Joe Dahlstrom, 

library director, stands ready to enter 

into the conversation. 


A study released in the fall of 1997 by the 

Institutional Research and Planning Office 

comparing the performance of Victoria 

College transfer students with first-year transfer 

students from other community colleges 

once again illustrated that the local two-year 

institution offered excellent higher education 

course work at a fraction of the cost at a senior 

institution. The data was compiled on 

transfer students to the University of Texas at 

Austin, Southwest Texas State University, and 

Texas A&M University and indicated that former 

Victoria College students earned higher 

grade point averages than other community 

college transfer students. The GPA for Victoria 

College students at UT-Austin ranged from 3.0 

to 3.5 whereas the GPA for transfer students 

from the other community colleges was 

between 2.5 and 3.0. Former Victoria College 

students also performed better than their 

counterparts from the other two-year institutions 

at Southwest Texas State University and 

Texas A&M University. Remarkable findings, 

indeed. The Institutional Research and 

Planning Office also noted that 3,822 students 

were enrolled for the 1997 fall semester, the 

all-time high for the college. 58 

With only $203 remaining in the Victoria 

College Foundation, the board of trustees, on 

Goodson’s recommendation, reorganized the 

foundation in the fall of 1997 to include nonboard 

members. As it was originally designed, 

the foundation was established to accept large 

donations to be principally used for building 

projects, but there now existed other important 

needs for funds. The foundation was an ideal 

solution, so the trustees thought, as a means of 

paying for programs because its monies were 

less restricted than contributions placed in the 

general funds. The board and the president 

reasoned that in order to attain the new funding 

goals, individuals in addition to board members 

should be involved in foundation activities. On 

November 17, 1997, after revamping the 

foundation, the trustees initially appointed 

Catherine McHaney, Mark Zafereo, John 

Vasquez, John Brimberry, David Gaddis, Lee 

Swearingen, Zac Lentz, Gene Moreno, and 

Dennis Broughton as directors. The members in 

turn elected Gaddis as president. Penni Gietz, a 

new appointee, was chosen secretary, and 

Zafereo was selected as the treasurer. 59 

During the spring of 1998, Police Academy 

Director Herman “B. J.” Roe was named to the 

✯ 

In 1998, Jim Lehrer presented the first 

“Jim Lehrer Award for Print 

Journalism” to Russell Gold. 


State Testing Committee for the Texas 

Commission on Law Enforcement Officer 

Standards and Education, the state’s law 

enforcement governing body. His appointment 

signified the high esteem that he and the 

Victoria College Police Academy had earned in 

law enforcement circles. According to the commission, 

the local program ranked as one of the 

state’s exemplary regional police academies. 60 

Of equal significance to Roe’s selection were 

Karen Hoblit’s and Wes Aldis’ accomplishments. 

Hoblit, who began teaching an on-line 

psychology course in the fall of 1997, became 

one of only eight psychology instructors across 

the nation to be given the opportunity to scrutinize 

an interactive web-based online program, 

CourseNet, that was created by Russ 

Whitehurst from the State University of New 

York at Stony Brook and distributed by Worth 

Publishing Company. Additionally, a biographical 

sketch on her was included in the 1998 

edition of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. 

Aldis, on the other hand, was featured in 

ShelfTalk, a newsletter sent to booksellers by 

Springhouse, a publishing firm. The article on 

the efficient Victoria College bookstore manager 

was titled “Meet the Pied Piper of Book Fairs 

and Learn How He Draws ‘Em In.” The item 

was especially complimentary of the way he 

conducted a “medical book and career fair” on 

the campus. 61 

Meanwhile, two faculty members were recognized 

for their professional achievements. 

LeAnn Wagner in August 1998 became the 

chairperson of the Texas Nurses’ Association 

Council on Education. A couple of months 

later in El Paso the college’s venerable Director 

of Counseling Services Audley D. Dry was 

conferred the 1998 Distinguished Service Award 

by the Junior/Community College Student 

Personnel Association of Texas. The honor 

was presented to him at the association’s 

annual meeting for his consequential statewide 

and local service and for the numerous 

contributions he made to student development 

in community colleges and to the organization. 62 

In the summer of 1998, the college was 

notified that it was awarded a $1.7 million, 

five-year federal Title III Strengthening 

Institutions Project Grant. The grant had the 

purpose of improving the “infrastructure 

(other than buildings) in colleges and universities 

to provide assistance to institutions in 

reaching their full educational potential.” 

Victoria College intended to use the money in 

two ways. One was to improve the academic 

programs by the implementation of multimedia 

presentations in the classroom. Secondly, 

there was to be a gradual expansion of off-campus 

or distance learning courses. To fulfill the 

objectives, a Faculty Resource Center was created 

in the Student Center to train the faculty 

✯ 

Left to right are Joseph Lara; Dr. 

Keith Kilpatrick, sociology instructor; 

Dr. Karen Fritz, history instructor; 

Kelly Picha; and Leslie Finster. The 

picture was taken at the beginning of 

the 1999 fall semester. 


in the utilization of multimedia. The first 

remote learning center was established in 

Cuero and became operational in 1999. The 

college administration predicted that by the 

year 2000, remote centers would be functioning 

in Hallettsville, Refugio, and Gonzales. 

Each site is to have an interactive television, a 

minimum of ten computers, Internet access, 

and a phone connection to the main campus. 

Dr. Dale Pigott assumed the position of Title III 

grant coordinator, relinquishing his post as 

chair of the Mathematics and Science Division 

until the conclusion of the grant period. 63 

Calling its initiative the “Tradition of 

Excellence,” the Victoria College Foundation 

commenced the first annual giving campaign on 

November 1, 1998. Although pledges were previously 

sought from businesses and charitable 

organizations, the foundation’s newest effort was 

to reach out and tap contributions from the 

entire community. In announcing the fund 

drive, Gaddis stated that “the gift-giving 

campaign would allow the college to improve its 

services and help more students.” Goodson 

added that since the public was sensitive toward 

taxation, the “annual giving campaign will allow 

the community a choice in supporting the college 

in reaching its goal of providing even higher 

levels of excellence.” Money raised in the 

drive was earmarked as matching funds for a 

Telecommunications Infrastructure grant from 

the state and to fund scholarships, faculty and 

staff development, and technology. 64 

In what was the largest nonfoundation donation 

to the college, the board accepted $180,000 

from the Ruby A. Nelson estate for scholarships 

that were to be awarded to students from 

Goliad, Karnes, Bee, Refugio, DeWitt, and 

Victoria counties. The scholarship fund was 

named for Jake A. Nelson, Jr., the benefactor’s 

brother. Ruby Nelson “believed in children,” 

remarked the executor of Nelson’s estate, Darrel 

Cooper. He added that “she would do anything 

she could to help them…With this, she backed 

up her commitment to children.” Cooper further 

stated “the estate plans to add another 

$40,000 to $50,000” in future years. 65 

As a means of making transfer of courses 

between higher educational institutions easier, 

the state legislature in 1997 required all public 

colleges and universities to formulate a core curriculum 

consisting of a minimum of forty-two 

credit hours. The local college’s response was to 

create a curriculum, effective for the 1999-2000 

academic year, that was composed of 45 to 47 

credit hours, a more stringent requirement than 

✯ 

Gayle Hardcastle, library assistant, 

announces that all is well with the 

computer hook up. 


the state’s mandated minimum. The additional 

requirements imposed by Victoria College were 

a computer science course and up to two physical 

education courses. 66 

Band instructor Jonathan Anderson was recognized 

for his musical skills in Downbeat magazine. 

In the publication’s May 1999 issue, 

Anderson was cited as a Jazz Combo winner. The 

college instructor was a member of musical 

groups who recorded and released CDs entitled 

“Kentucky Roastup” and “Stinkin’ Up the Place.” 67 

President Goodson in the spring of 1999 presented 

a ten-year master plan, produced with 

the assistance of the faculty and staff, for the 

construction of new buildings on the campus. 

Under the proposal, a general services building, 

a technology center, and another allied health 

building would be added to the college complex. 

All of the structures were to be funded by 

revenue bonds. Top priority was given to the 

construction of the maintenance/general services 

building behind the Student Center and east 

of the Wood Vocational Building. After the completion 

of this structure, a multi-story technology 

edifice would be placed on the site of the 

metal Maintenance Building. The allied health 

edifice is not to be constructed until the close of 

the 2000-2010 proposal. 68 

On May 7, 1999, the board authorized six 

million dollars in revenue bonds to fund the 

construction of both the general services and 

the technology buildings. Goodson commented 

that work on the general services building 

would begin by the end of 1999, whereas the 

construction of the technology edifice should 

begin in 2001. He noted that the revenue bonds 

would not require a tax increase or an increase 

in student fees. Goodson remarked that the new 

buildings would allow “Victoria College to grow 

and expand.” Completion of the general services 

building is projected to be December 2000 

and the technology structure December 2002. 69 

While college officials planned for the construction 

of the two new facilities, steps were 

✯ 

Dr. Joe Sekul (left), director of 

the John W. Stormont Lectures on 

South Texas, visits with speakers 

Dr. Rosario Torres-Raines and 

Dr. Jose Hinojosa. 


✯ 

In attendance at a John W. Stormont 

Lectures on South Texas luncheon are 

Mrs. John W. Stormont (left) and 

Janet Stormont Miller. 

being taken to convert Administration 

Building I into a museum to collect, preserve, 

exhibit, and interpret the history and heritage 

of the region. Administration Building I had 

originally served as a library, but when the 

current Library Building was opened in the 

mid-1970s, the structure was converted to 

house administrative offices. The facility, however, 

proved to be inadequate as an office 

building. A high ceiling, for example, prevented 

the construction of satisfactory work areas. 

Consequently, unsightly portable partitions 

were erected. With the construction of new 

buildings and the renovation of older ones on 

the campus, the first floor of Administration 

Building I was vacated by the fall of 1999 

except for the president’s office, the development 

office, and the boardroom. 

Since the Administration Building I was 

not suitable for offices and razing it was not in 

the cards, Goodson concluded the structure 

was ideal for a museum, an item of interest for 

the community that fell within the scope of 

the college mission. The president formed an 

informal committee composed of himself; Dr. 

Joe Dahlstrom, library director; Catherine 

McHaney, president of the board; Louise 

O’Connor, an interested citizen; and Charles 

Spurlin, director of the Local History 

Collection. After the initial meeting, John 

McLean from Jarrell, Texas, became a member 

of the committee to represent the interests of 

O’Connor. Larry Francell, a museum consultant 

from Fort Davis, Texas, was employed to 

assist in formulating a museum policy and to 

provide advice on the conversion of the facility 

to a museum. Under Francell’s guidance, 

the group chose a name for the museum, 

Museum of the Coastal Bend, and a policy 

was adopted. The museum was projected to 

open in the spring of 2000. 

Stress on technological usage at the college 

continued unabatedly in 1999. First, the library 

pushed forward its involvement in areas of 

technology that began in the early 1980s. 

Electronic subscriptions were improved to permit 

“access by students and faculty from home, 

and access for students taking classes at offcampus 

sites and students enrolled in online 

[courses].” According to Dr. Joe F. Dahlstrom, 

library director, “the library’s vision is for 

students to be able to access the information 

they need whenever and wherever they need 

it.” Also, in May 1999, the first students to 

complete the process technology program 

received the associate of applied science degree. 


The course of study was designed to train individuals 

as entry-level process operators at 

petrochemical plants. Third, an online psychology 

course was taught by Dr. Karen Hoblit, psychology 

instructor, as one of the interim courses 

offered in May 1999. By the fall, online 

courses were expanded to include math, 

accounting, art, business, and computers. 

Hoblit noted that students taking the classes 

“have to be very self-disciplined…self-motivated.” 

Furthermore, the college, in the fall of 

1999, utilizing recently purchased video 

conferencing equipment, taught courses from 

a renovated classroom in the Academic 

Building to 283 students who were enrolled in 

distance education classes at sites located in 

Cuero, Hallettsville, Refugio, and Shiner. Mary 

Hall, English instructor, placed the interactive 

television courses in perspective when she 

remarked, “We are reaching people who would 

not have otherwise enrolled in college.” Dr. Joe 

Sekul, government instructor, added that “the 

goal of teaching distance education is to make 

it as natural as possible.” He further stated that 

this could be done by providing the distance 

learning students “the same course they’d get in 

a normal setting.” 70 

During the summer of 1999, registration 

for course work became easier for students, 

and a creative approach to teaching Spanish 

was launched. Computer-based registration, 

known as EZREG, allowing students to selfregister 

for academic and workforce credit 

courses commenced with the second summer 

term. Moreover, the program, written by 

Victoria College programmers Allen Brotze 

and David Barth, permits certified students “to 

review their course grades, check stops, print 

unofficial transcripts, and perform degree 

audits.” Following the introduction of EZREG, 

the college through the efforts of Spanish 

instructor Rafael Venegas signed an agreement 

with the Universidad International-Center for 

Bilingual Multicultural Studies in Cuernavaca, 

Mexico. Victoria College, therefore, became 

the first community college in the United 

States to enter into an arrangement with the 

Mexican educational institution in which 

students are eligible to receive college credit 

after spending two weeks enrolled at the 

Center. Under the terms of the accord, which 

takes affect in May 2000, students start their 

course work on the local campus and finish 

their studies in Mexico. An elated Venegas 

remarked that the program “is a wonderful 

opportunity for VC students and residents to 

participate in a complete immersion into the 

Spanish language and culture.” 71 

✯ 

Dr. Stephen Hardin (left), history 

instructor, stands alongside a guest to 

the campus, Stephen Harrigan. 


✯ 

Dr. Jimmy Goodson (right) listens to 

Governor George W. Bush’s proposal 

to reduce state taxes. 

Victoria College scored another first on 

August 31 when nine students became the first 

graduates of the firefighters certification program. 

Instructor Jode Zavesky commented 

that the course the college offered was different 

than those found at other community colleges 

because the local program was designed 

to permit students to take the training and 

hold full-time jobs. He said, “There are other 

firefighting schools in the state, but most of 

them are 8 to 5.” Zavesky added that this 

poses a hardship for those who want to 

become a firefighter but find it difficult to give 

up their employment. “This one,” the instructor 

noted, “has filled the gap.” 72 

At its meeting on September 20, the board 

adopted a ten-year master plan designed to 

give “the College direction in construction and 

layout for about the next 25 years.” Among the 

proposal’s features are “enhancing the entrance 

off of Red River Street leading to the Student 

Center to create a main campus entrance and 

focal point,” developing the quadrangle area in 

the rear of the Academic Buliding, and relocating 

“parking to the exterior of the campus 

which provides space future construction.” 73 

There have been many changes at Victoria 

College over the past seventy-five years. When 

Victoria Junior College was established, course 

offerings were minimal, class enrollment 

was small, the college shared a campus 

with Patti Welder High School, students were 

nattily dressed, walking to school was commonplace, 

and racial segregation was the order 

of the day. As the first decade of the new millennium 

approaches, students have a wider 

array of courses to choose from; class sizes 

have mushroomed; males as well as females 

wear earrings; the students dress less formally; 

automobiles of all descriptions are driven on 


campus by students; and students of all races 

are, without reservation, welcomed as part of 

the college community. 

Yet, despite the variations, there has been a 

profound consistency of fundamental values 

throughout the years. From 1925 until today, 

the college has provided high-quality educational 

programs to fulfill the needs of individuals 

and the community. The college from its 

inception has had an exceptionally well-qualified 

faculty who have had a sincere interest in 

the educational well-being of the students. 

From the beginning there has existed an attitude 

among the various administrations and the 

governing bodies that the physical facilities be 

technologically current and conducive to a 

higher education learning environment. 

Beginning in the 1930s, the college has engaged 

in programs that effectively fulfill business and 

industry needs. Albeit the delivery method has 

not remained the same, counseling has been a 

mainstay to ensure that all students have the 

maximum opportunity to pursue their higher 

educational goals. Finally, the college has been 

led by individuals over the past 75 years 

who have been conscious of their financial 

stewardship and have prudently managed the 

financial resources. 

What about the next 25 years for the college? 

Will the scribe who pens the centennial 

history of Victoria College, most likely a current 

faculty member, note a dramatic shift in 

the college’s mission, or will the study show 

continued continuity? A partial answer to 

the questions is provided by Dean of 

Instructional Services Steve Thomas. He foresees 

“a more ethnically diverse population” 

enrolled in “a variety of flex courses” that are 

designed “to accommodate students’ needs.” 

Thomas also expects competition between 

institutions of higher learning to “become 

more of an issue due to distance education 

technology” and Victoria College, therefore, 

will find itself “competing in a global society.” 

In this changed environment, the dean is confident 

that the college will continue its “long 

standing tradition of academic excellence,” 

maintain the time-honored practice of employing 

a faculty of “experts in subject matter and 

pedagogical methodology,” and remain “a valuable 

educational resource for Victoria and the 

surrounding region.” 74 

✯ 

The Victoria College Board of 

Trustees, 1999-2000. Standing (left to 

right): Robert J. Hewitt, John E. 

Vasquez, Thomas M. O’Connor, and 

Ernest G. Guajardo, Sr. Seated (left to 

right): Ronald Walker, secretary; 

Catherine McHaney, president; and 

Mark E. Zafareo, vice president. 


1 

The Victoria Advocate, 4 April 1989. 

2 

Ibid., 1 July 1989. 

3 

Ibid., 4-5 August 1989. 

4 

The Victoria College Faculty Minutes, 21 August 1989. 

5 

The Victoria College Newsletter (March 1990). 

6 

Advocate, 23 January 1990, 22 May 1990. 

ENDNOTES 

7 

Ibid., 9 September 1989; The Victoria College Files, Local History Collection, Victoria College Library. 

8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 

Campus Communicator (August 1990), 6. 

14 

The Experience (November 1990), 4. 

15 

Ibid., (August 1990), 2. 

16 

VC Newsletter (March 1990), 4. 

17 

Advocate, 22 May 1990, 6 December 1990. 

18 

Campus Communicator (May 1990), 1. 

19 

The Experience (December 1990), 2. 

20 

Ibid., 1. 

21 

Ibid., 1, 4. 

22 

VC Faculty Minutes, 7 January 1991. 

23 

Ibid. 

24 

Advocate, 16 March 1991, 8 April 1991; The Experience (April 1991), 1, (May 1991), 2. 

25 

Advocate, 9 August 1991, 28 September 1991; The Experience (September 1991), 4. 

26 


27 

Ruth Williams, letter to author, 26 December 1998; Ibid., 16 March 1992; VC Faculty Minutes, 19 May 1992. 

28 

Williams, letter to author; “Victoria College Choir Scrapbook 1991-1992,” Local History Collection, Victoria College Library. 

29 


30 

Ibid. 

31 

Ibid., 31 May 1992, 2 June 1992, 21 July 1992, 17 November 1992. 

32 

VC Faculty Minutes, 19 May 1992; Michael Hummel, “Memorandum to All Benefit Eligible Faculty,” 10 August 1992. 

33 

Victoria College Special Faculty Session Minutes, 24 August 1992. 

34 

Ibid. 

35 

Self-Study Newsletter, 27 February 1991, 8 April 1992, 8 February 1993; Steve Thomas, “Memorandum to Academic Council,” 3 

February 1994; Charles D. Spurlin, “Memorandum to Social Sciences Department,” 2 March 1994; The Board Report, 21 September 

1993; 1993 Self-Study File, Local History Collection, Victoria College Library; Advocate, 21 December 1993. 

36 

Advocate, 29 June 1993; VC Today! (Spring 1994), 2. 

37 

The Board Report, 22 March 1993; Advocate, 30 March 1993. 

38 

Advocate, 21 December 1993, 12 February 1994. 

39 

Ibid., 19 February 1994, 22 February 1994; The Board Report, 9 May 1994. 

40 

VC Today! (Spring 1994), 6; Wesley Aldis, letter to author, 14 December 1998. 

41 

Wesley Aldis, letter to author, 15 December 1998. 

42 

Advocate, 21 April 1994; VC Today! (Spring 1994), 1, 3. 

43 

VC Today! (Spring 1994), 4. 

44 


45 

VC Today! (Spring 1995), 7, (Spring 1996), 8. 

46 

Advocate, 20 August 1994; Ibid., (Fall 1994), 1. 


47 

VC Today! (Fall 1995), 1; Measure of Success: 1995-1996 Report to The Community, 8. 

48 

Board Report, 18 September 1995; VC Today! (Spring 1996), 4. 

49 

Board Report, 6 May 1996; VC Today! (Spring 1996), 1. 

50 


51 

Ibid., (Fall 1996), 7. 

52 

Ibid. 

53 

Ibid. 

54 

Strategic Insight (Spring 1997), 5, (Summer 1997), 5. 

55 

Advocate, 20 April 1997; Board Report, 26 November 1996. 

56 


57 

Ibid., 18 June 1997; VC Today! (Winter 1997), 4. 

58 

Strategic Insight (Fall 1997), 1; VC Today! (Winter 1997), 2. 

59 

Advocate, 16 September 1997; Board Report, 17 November 1997; VC Today! (Winter 1997), 5. 

60 


61 

Ibid. 

62 

Ibid., (Fall 1998), 10; Advocate, 15 November 1998. 

63 

Strategic Insight (Summer 1998), 1; VC Today! (Fall 1998), 1. 

64 

VC Today! (Fall 1998), 6; Advocate, 2 November 1998. 

65 

Advocate, 19 January 1999; Board Report, 18 January 1999. 

66 

Ibid. 

67 


68 

Board Report, 15 February 1999; Advocate, 16 February 1999. 

69 

Advocate, 8 May 1999; Strategic Insight (Spring 1999), 1. 

70 

Board Report, 15 February 1999; Joe F. Dahlstrom, letter to author, 4 January 1999; Advocate, 14 May 1999, 6 October 1999. 

71 

Strategic Insight (Summer 1999), 2, 6; Advocate, 3 September 1999. 

72 

Advocate, Ibid. 

73 

Ibid., 21 September 1999; Board Report, 20 September 1999. 

74 

Steve Thomas, letter to author, 8 June 1999. 

Endnotes ✦ 209


CHAPTER 8 

HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT THE TIME… 

…Robert E. Gaines, registrar at Southwest Texas State University, was interviewed by Dr. Roland 

Bing to replace the retiring business manager Harold Nichols. During the meeting, a conversation 

developed over how many weeks vacation would be allotted to Gaines. At Southwest Texas State 

University, he was granted three weeks, but Bing offered only two weeks. This was unsatisfactory to 

Gaines, but by the time the discussion ended, the university registrar was promised four weeks. 

About a year later, Gaines was in Dr. Rex Whiteside’s office chatting. The dean asked the business 

manager when he was going on vacation. Gaines remarked that he “couldn’t take four weeks.” The 

best that he could do “was ten days or two weeks,” Whiteside was astonished and his face turned red, 

and he exclaimed, “What! You get four weeks?” Come to find out, the dean didn’t. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Mary Ann Wright taught nursing in a section of the Homemaking Cottage when another part 

of the building was used as a faculty lounge. It was not uncommon for LeRoy Pahmiyer, William 

Miller, and Jerry Zavesky to arrive “with barbecue wrapped in butcher paper…and use totally contaminated 

pocket knives for utensils.” There was also the time that William “Doc” Steele was summoned 

to open the jaloused windows. As he was carrying out the task, lightning hit the transformer 

causing yellow jackets to swarm into the classroom during a lecture, creating a chaotic scene as students 

scattered to safety. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Earline Grizzle was moved from office to office. During her first year at the college, she and 

Marylyn Underwood shared Jessica Warnlof’s office in the “English Building” while Warmlof was on a 

leave of absence working on her doctor’s degree. At the end of the first semester, Dr. Roland Bing, the 

dean, said, “Mrs. Grizzle, Dr. Warnlof would like to have her office back.” She questioned Bing as to 

where he wanted her to take her things. He remarked that “we’d find you a place.” Since there was 

nowhere else to put them, she stored all her personal belongings from the office in the trunk of her car. 

Grizzle was finally assigned the outer office in Dr. John Stormont’s complex in the Administration 

Building, a space previously used by the former dean’s secretary. Before she took up residence, Stormont 

approached her and asked if she was a good speller. Grizzle informed him that she was and had medals 

to prove it. He commented that the instructor had to pass a spelling test before taking up residence. 

“Mrs. Grizzle,” Stormont queried with a twinkle in his eyes, “can you spell asafetida?” She responded, 

“I can spell it two ways. Which way would you like it?” Her comment startled him, and he said, “Mrs. 

Grizzle, can you spell idiosyncrasy?” She did, and Stormont remarked with a sheepish smile, “Mrs. 

Grizzle, you may move in.” After a short stay in this office, she was relocated in a room down the hall. 

Grizzle remained there for a short time before moving into the Science Building to share an office with 

Harvey Spies. 

In an attempt to make the room more attractive, Grizzle brought a Persian rug from her home and 

laid it on the floor. Because of the height of the rug’s fiber, the office door would not close. She asked 

William H. “Doc” Steele, maintenance director, to cut a portion of the door off so it could be shut. Steele 

said he would but not immediately. Eventually, he appeared at the office and began removing the door. 

Spies, who was alone at the time, asked him what he was doing with his door. Steele curtly said it was 

not his door. Spies, good-humoredly, queried, “Who’s door is it?” Steele replied, “Mrs. Grizzle’s door.” 

When Caroline Summers retired, Grizzle was moved back to the Administration Building and given 

a cubicle that was constructed within a classroom that was formerly used by the drama department. 

✯ 

Michael Hummel, history instructor, 

wears appropriate attire in the 1970s 

in an effort to relate to his students. 

Have I Told You About The Time… ✦ 211

✯ 

Top: Hazel Johnson and Robert 

Gaines, dean of Administrative 

Services, partake of refreshments at a 

retirement party. 

Below: Mary Doughtie, English 

instructor, finalizes her semester 

grade sheet. 

Shortly thereafter, computers were placed in 

the area adjacent to her office for an adult learning 

program. When Bing informed her as to why 

the computers were in the room, she said, “Dr. 

Bing, how about my office?” He quickly 

remarked, “Oh, you won’t bother them.” She did 

her best not to do so. Grizzle was relocated one 

additional time before settling down in the 

Language Arts Building. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Mary Doughtie shared an office during the 

1950s with Louise Browne, Chad Whitmore, 

and Marshall McCleary in the college mailroom 

located in the Administration Building. The 

administration expected faculty members to 

drop by the college post office each morning 

and pick up their letters and packages, and 

especially the daily bulletin which contained 

brief campus information that was to be read to 

an instructor’s first two classes. 

One morning, Browne, feeling extraordinarily 

lively, entered the office. With her back to the 

door, she began to read in dramatic fashion the 

bulletin to her colleagues. While giving her spirited 

reading performance, Dr. John Stormont 

walked into the room without Browne seeing 

him. Doughtie, Whitmore, and McCleary sat 

dead still at their desks and did not call to the 

English teacher’s attention the dean’s presence. 

When Browne finished her animated demonstration, 

she turned, saw Stormont, became 

embarrassed, and quietly sat down. The four 

instructors waited to hear a disparaging comment 

from the dean, but he didn’t utter a remark 

to the relief of the quartet. 


✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Louise Hume shared an office with J. D. 

Howell and Lucille Adair when she began teaching 

at the college in 1957. Invariably, when 

Hume returned to the her office after a class, 

“there would be Lucille’s dead pig” on Hume’s 

desk and Howell “smoking those cigars!” Under 

the circumstances, Hume could do little but 

find a vacant space in her office to put her books 

down and leave. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Donnell Cole and Michael Hummel, feeling 

rather spry one day, disassembled the scaffolding 

which had been left in the hallway and reassembled 

it across the instructor’s desk and lectern in a 

room used by Richard Walker. When Walker 

arrived in the classroom, he saw the temporary 

platform, became highly irritated, and immediately 

exited the room. When he saw his two professional 

associates standing nonchalantly in the hall, 

Walker angrily asked, “Who put that scaffolding in 

there?” He also wanted to know where James Ross, 

the custodian, might be. Hummel told him that he 

and Cole were unaware of the rearranged room 

and speculated that Ross was downstairs. Away 

Walker went to find the custodian. Meanwhile, 

Cole and Hummel tore down the scaffolding and 

put it back together again in the hall. What was 

Walker’s reaction when he saw the temporary platform 

in the hall? His colleagues could not answer 

the question. They had vacated the scene before 

Walker returned. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Mary Doughtie was caught off-guard by 

remarks made by a student. During the spring 

of 1961, a banquet was given by the college to 

honor Rusty Russell, the retiring football coach. 

Invited as a special guest was the legendary 

Doak Walker who played for Russell at 

Southern Methodist University. Word of Walker 

coming to Victoria spread rather rapidly 

throughout the campus. A student approached 

Doughtie and excitedly informed her of the 

approaching visit by the former college All- 

American football player. Doughtie unaware of 

Walker’s acceptance of the invitation to attend 

the banquet jokingly said, “Yea, and I’m 

Marilyn Monroe.” 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Ben Burdine was embarrassed at a faculty 

meeting. An issue that received an “inordinate” 

✯ 

Earline Grizzle (left) and Marilyn 

Morris (right) welcome poet Maya 

Angelou to the campus. 


✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Louise Hume interviewed an interestingly 

dressed applicant for a job. As college registrar, 

Hume was responsible for hiring the individuals 

who worked in her department. There came a 

time when she needed to employ a secretary. A 

very buxom young lady applied for the job and 

was interviewed by Hume. The applicant wore a 

tee shirt with the word “boo” that ran across the 

breast portion of the garment. Hume attempted 

to avoid looking at the woman because every 

time she did, her eyes saw the “boo.” The young 

lady did not get the job. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

✯ 

Above: Martha Watts, registrar, has 

witnessed numerous technological 

changes in her office over the years. 

Below: Morris Azbill, English 

instructor, was assigned to work in 

the bookstore during spring 

registration in 1983. 

amount of the faculty’s time when Burdine first 

arrived on the campus was the girls’ dress code. 

At a faculty meeting, he addressed the issue and 

remarked that the dress code was like a newspaper 

story, “the women’s skirts should be short 

enough to be interesting and long enough to 

cover the subject.” President J. D. Moore looked 

him “square in the eye” and asked, “Mr. Burdine 

what is the subject?” The instructor’s “only 

response was to shut up and blush.” 

…Morris Azbill was arranging his office after 

being hired by the college to teach English. 

When the football program was dropped, the 

Boys’ Dormitory was converted into a classroom 

and office facility, primarily for English instruction. 

In the reconfiguration of the interior of the 

building, the kitchen area was turned into faculty 

offices. Azbill was assigned accommodations 

that were shared with C. F. Schneider and 

Kenneth Greenhill. To liven up his allotted area, 

he decided to place an 8” x 10” cartoon on the 

wall. The item featured a man with a funny 

expression on his face with a large screw sticking 

through him. The original cartoon had a 

caption that stated “work diligently with integrity 

and you will get your just reward.” Azbill 

removed the statement beforehand. Being a new 

instructor and having been told by acquaintances 

that the college was very conservative, he 

asked Schneider and Greenhill if they thought 

President J. D. Moore would object to his displaying 

the cartoon. The two men responded 

that to their knowledge Moore had never been 

in the office, and “they didn’t think it would 

bother him anyway.” Azbill proceeded to attach 

the sketch to the wall “and within five minutes 

the door opened,” and Moore entered the room, 

looked at the picture, “never said a word, 

turned, and walked back out.” Although 

Moore’s visit didn’t phase Azbill, Schneider and 

Greenhill were “pole axed.” The three English 

teachers searched the office looking for a listening 

device because they just “knew it had to be 

there.” Finding none, Azbill hypothesized that 


Moore was standing outside the room “waiting 

to come in to see how things were going and 

overheard their conversation.” 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Jim Franz told Otto Knudson that if you 

spelled his name inside out, it was toot. 

Knudson was speechless, an unusual condition 

for him. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Geraldine F. Talley, history instructor, had 

an interesting, but personally rewarding experience 

with a male student who professed to hold 

a liberal philosophy. This particular individual 

originally attended Texas A&M University after 

graduating from high school. His attitude at the 

university was “there was no need to take tests” 

since “he should be able to merely sit in class 

and learn with no tests required.” This approach 

to an academic education led to his dismissal 

from Texas A&M and subsequent colleges and 

universities he attended. Finally, the student 

entered Victoria College and enrolled in Talley’s 

history class. He disliked the local college’s dress 

code and expressed his opinion in her class. She 

“suggested that [if] he continued to do 

well…that his efforts would culminate in a 

Ph.D. Then, inferring that he should return to 

tell the ‘Administration’ his proposals, he would 

be qualified to be heard.” He responded, “Dr. 

Talley, if I take that long then I will be as conservative 

as you are.” The student became a 

medical doctor and a lawyer, “specializing in 

medical court cases.” 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…C.A. Talley and Ben Burdine had offices in 

the Technical Building and learned they were to 

be relocated by reading about it in the local 

newspaper. The preceding day the trustees met 

and decided that the faculty in the building 

were to be moved. The item was placed in the 

newspaper by the reporter covering the board 

meeting. The two economics instructors were 

surprised by the story since they were not given 

any previous notification by a college official. 

Thus, Talley and Burdine became the only 

known faculty members in the history of the 

college to be informed in a newspaper article 

they were being moved from their offices. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Morris Azbill helped influence the demise 

of the faculty beard code. During the summer 

months, some of the male faculty who did not 

✯ 

James Franz, English instructor, 

proudly displays a sign he carved. 


✯ 

April Nunley (left), director of 

development, and Susan Windwehen, 

administrative assistant to 

the president. 

teach grew beards. To comply with the college 

policy prohibiting beards, the men shaved them 

off at the start of the fall semester. On one occasion, 

however, Michael Hummel challenged the 

code by attending the beginning-of-the-year faculty 

meeting with a beard. Hummel was sent 

home by the administration to remove it. Which 

he did. A summer or so later, Azbill and Wayne 

McAlister wearing their summer growth by 

chance met in the mail room. The two instructors 

exchanged compliments on the other man’s 

beard. As Azbill and McAlister chatted about 

their facial hair and the beard code, they decided 

to approach Dr. Roland Bing and ask him if 

he would approve the retention of their beards. 

After they pleaded their case, Bing said he 

would look into the matter. A short time later, 

Bing told them they could keep their beards if 

the facial hair was neatly trimmed. 

Consequently, the beard code became a thing of 

the past. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Steve Spurlin worked during the summer 

at the college assisting the maintenance workers. 

Because the days were extremely hot, whenever 

Spurlin, Chuck Zavesky, and the other 

employees had an opportunity to get in the 

shade, they did so. Vincent Terrell, a regular 

maintenance worker, was given the responsibility 

of cutting the grass on the back part of the 

campus. At lunch one day, he parked the tractor 

under a shade tree and went to sleep. After it 

was time to go back to work, there was no activity 

from the resting driver. Bob Schramek, the 

maintenance supervisor, yelled at Terrell to go 

to work, but there was no movement. By this 

time, Schramek became concerned, thinking 

that the employee was dead. He leaped into his 

pick-up, and at an above normal speed, jumped 

the curbing and raced to where Terrell was 

located. To Schramek’s relief, he found the grass 

cutter was in a deep slumber. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Susan Windwehen was a student and she 

dropped by the Student Union for relaxation. 

She recalled that Conway Twitty seemed to be 

the only singer on the juke box as the students 

“gathered around the vintage 1950s chrome 

tables with matching red vinyl chairs.” 

Windwehen considered it “a really big deal 

when the lunch counter started offering sandwiches 

on wheat bread.” A person had to be 

quick of feet to buy one because whenever the 

sandwiches were “sold out, they sold out— 


no making extras!” The Student Union was the 

site of the spring dances, including the formal 

occasion when Pirate Belles were introduced 

under the watchful gaze of the male students 

who were “‘stylin’ in their baby blue polyester 

tuxedos with ruffled shirts.” 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Audley Dry assisted the faculty cooks at a 

barbecue. The college for a number of years had 

a spring barbecue for the families of the faculty 

and staff. On one of the occasions, the affair was 

held at the Central Power & Light Park. When 

the faculty who were doing the cooking arrived 

on the morning of the barbecue, they found an 

almost full keg of beer left from a party the night 

before. By noon, the contents of the container 

had been consumed by the cooks and other faculty 

members who dropped by during the 

morning to visit. Everyone had a great time! 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Wayne Dierlam demonstrated his skill as a 

basketball player. In the early 1960s, ten intramural 

basketball players were selected to play 

the Pirate team. Dierlam was chosen and at 5’4” 

was by far the shortest person on the court. As 

he put it, “When you are 5’4” everybody is tall.” 

Dierlam’s performance was fantastic. Although in 

a losing cause, he scored twenty-two points. 

Players on both teams were thrilled to see such a 

gutsy little guy do so well. The game was the 

“highlight” of Dierlam’s college career. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Chris Rivera and Gloria Trevino Cano were 

the key figures in a tournament never played. As 

part of the recreational entertainment for students, 

intramural Ping Pong games were held in 

the Student Union. Both Rivera and Cano were 

exceptionally skilled players, dominating their 

opponents throughout the year. When a tournament 

was scheduled, they were placed in different 

brackets. The two students played their normally 

good games, but in the end Rivera and 

Cano, for reasons beyond their control, did not 

square off against each other in the championship 

game, thus the two best players throughout 

the year and the tournament missed the 

opportunity to officially determine who was the 

better Ping Pong specialist. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Ben Burdine was having coffee with 

Kenneth Greenhill in the Student Union. The 

ultra-patriot English instructor Greenhill was 

very amused at a sketch of an “Andy Gump” 

looking, toothless character who was dressed in 

an Air Force uniform decorated with an overabundance 

of medals. A caption stated something 

to the effect that “I sleep a little better 

knowing that the person was an officer in the 

Air Force.” Greenhill thought Dr. John 

Stormont, who was at the adjoining table, 

would also be titillated. When he showed 

Stormont the drawing, Greenhill discovered his 

perception was incorrect. The stately Stormont 

pointedly remarked, “Mr. Greenhill, I think you 

are supporting something here that you don’t 

intend to support.” The message was loud and 

clear, leaving Greenhill in a withered state. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Lydia Serrata entered Victoria College after 

attending a Presbyterian boarding school. When 

she arrived at the local campus in 1966, Serrata 

“felt liberated” as a “college girl.” Yet, the college 

produced a “secret tension” for her. Serrata 

“marched, yelled, whined for equal rights as a 

woman—on the other hand,” she “thanked God 

that the sheer fact” her gender eliminated her 

from being drafted. Serrata renewed her friendships 

from the days she was a Patti Welder 

Termite and made new ones. She and her friends 

“did everything together: school, dances, athletics, 

Riverside Park, Magnolia Beach, dates, and, 

of course, V.C. Library.” The library gave her a 

“nightly way out of the house and doing dinner 

dishes because ‘we had to study.’” 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Charlotte E. Kenell attended Victoria 

Junior College during World War II. There were 

few males registered because of the war. They 

“had left to join the Military Service or work in 

defense plants.” Kenell and the other girls in her 


class thought they were “special” because of the 

greater amount of personal freedom they had as 

college students. She was one of the seven allgirl 

graduating class of 1945. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…David Bianchi applied for admission to 

Texas A&M University in 1938. For some 

unknown reason, Victoria Junior College 

gave him credit for a semester of integral 

calculus that he had not taken. Bianchi did 

not complain. At the university, he took the second 

semester of the course and earned a grade 

that exempted him from the final. He has 

often wondered if he could have passed the 

final examination. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Chad Whitmore, chairman of the English 

Department, sought approval of textbooks by Dr. 

John Stormont. The chairman was asked if he 

“had looked at this and that in the various 

books.” Whitmore said that he had. Again, 

Stormont was queried by the chairman about the 

books. After the discussion, Whitmore returned 

to his office “placed all the textbooks on a hand 

truck and took them to Dr. Stormont to review.” 

Afterwards, whenever he approached the dean 

about a textbook, Whitmore received an “okay” 

without having to go through the torturous 

inquisition of selecting textbooks. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Marilyn Morris and other nursing instructors 

held a social event and invited Dr. Roland 

Bing. For the occasion, Lee Zawadzki baked a 

rum cake. “She apparently reasoned that if 1/4 

cup of rum was good, 1/2 cup would be better.” 

Before the guests arrived Zawadzki heated the 

cake up, and “the entire Allied Health Building 

exuded this aromatic fragrance of rum.” All 

those in attendance, including Bing, had a 

splendid time. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Lela Welder Cliburn gave a student a ride 

home in her car. “He rode in the rumble 

seat…and played his tuba the entire trip.” The 

driver was not amused. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Mrs. Charles Baass was a Pirate 

cheerleader during the Depression. She had a 

✯ 

William H. “Doc” Steele, director of 

the Maintenance Department. 


great time interacting with other members of the 

squad and rooting for the football team that was 

composed of several players “who paid their 

tuition by doing janitorial work.” 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Mark Zafereo gave a thumbs up to Eddie 

De La Rosa and David De La Rosa for their spirited 

participation at college activities. At basketball 

games the two brothers dressed as buccaneers 

and displayed a life-sized pirate they constructed. 

Many students considered the De La 

Rosas as mascots for the roundball squad. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Mary Ann Wright’s stressed-out vocational 

nursing students decorated a skeleton “that was 

gender-specific with baubles.” The 

students decorated the skeleton immediately 

prior to a Christmas break as a lark. Starley 

Boykin, math instructor, “with pipe in 

mouth, lit of course, stood in front” of the 

room and seemed completely oblivious to it. 

Oh, well! he was probably too absorbed with 

a math problem. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Gloria Espitia received a bomb threat. On 

Tuesday evening, October 22, 1985, the Victoria 

College Lyceum was featuring Rowland Evans 

and Robert D. Novak. It just so happened that 

she was the librarian at the reference desk that 

night. Espitia was experiencing a routine 

evening until the “call” came through. 

During the mid-1980s, the VC/UHV Library 

was able to afford a student assistant specifically 

to answer phones and do some clerical work. 

The “lucky” student assistant answering the 

phone that night was Michelle Perez. Sometime 

before 9:00 p.m., Perez received a call informing 

her that a bomb had been placed inside the Fine 

Arts Auditorium earlier in the day, and the 

building should be immediately evacuated. 

Espitia recalled: 

Michelle who was well-versed in her role 

as a student assistant, calmly told the caller 

that she was going to have to transfer him to 

the librarian on duty since she did not have 

the authority to follow up with the call. At 

first when she told me about the call, I 

thought it was a joke, but after speaking to 

✯ 

Gloria Espitia, librarian, gives 

instructions to her student assistant, 

Michael Moore. 


✯ 

Psychology instructor Dr. Karen 

Hoblit (left) and Dr. Martha Jones, 

reading instructor, participated in the 

1996 John W. Stormont Lectures on 

South Texas. 

the caller I could see that it was not. Since the 

topic of ‘bomb threats’ had never been discussed 

in my library science courses, I had to 

really do some serious thinking as to what 

immediate action I should take. The first step 

that I took was to call the police department. 

After what seemed like an eternity, the dispatcher 

said they would send a police car to 

the auditorium. After hanging up with the 

dispatcher, I called the auditorium lobby 

phone to see if somehow I could get a message 

to Dr. Roland Bing about the bomb 

threat, but of course no one was going to 

answer since everyone was inside listening to 

the speakers. 

So many thoughts raced through my head 

after I placed the calls. Would the auditorium be 

blown up like the caller had said? Should I get 

everyone out of the library in case the bomb was 

quite powerful? Should I try to contact some of 

the other buildings and inform them of the 

bomb? Why did I have to be the one on duty 

that night? 

About forty-five minutes after I called the 

police department, a police officer came into 

the library. He asked Michelle and I numerous 

questions for his report and then said that the 

auditorium had been evacuated and that a 

bomb had not been found. Never had the 

library had so much excitement like that night. 

Oh, what a night! 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Victoria Moreno found a piece of lingerie 

in the ladies’ restroom on the third floor of the 

library. When she entered the restroom to clean 

it, Moreno “found a slip laying on the counter.” 

The undergarment “was no good, and it had a 

huge hole and a large silver safety pin on it.” 

Since she thought whoever owned it had decided 

to dispose of the slip, Moreno threw the tattered 

item in the trash. Later that day, a student 

assistant approached her and asked about it. She 

told Moreno that the slip was left in the restroom 

“because it kept falling down.” When the 

young lady was informed that the undergarment 

had been thrown into the trash, her response 

was, “Oh, no! I need that slip, that was the only 

one I had.” 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Erma Gutierrez and other library personnel 

had to contend with bats that had taken up 

residence in the library. The nocturnal flying 

mammals zoomed throughout the building, and 

on one occasion a bat flew straight at a librarian 

causing her to “hit the floor” and run “to the 

back room as soon as she was able to get up.” In 

another incidence, a reference librarian took 

refuge under a desk to escape a pesky flying animal. 

Throughout the bat ordeal, “students 


thought it was exciting.” Whenever the librarians 

arrived for work in the morning, they took 

caution not to “spook” the bats that “hung from 

the walls or ceilings.” Eventually, maintenance 

workers “figured out how the bats were getting 

inside the library and closed the entrances.” 

Ever so often a bat finds “a way to get into the 

building and hangs out for awhile to keep” the 

staff aware “that they are still around.” 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Richard Walker was caught with his zipper 

up and his mouth open. Walker had an office 

that was located directly across the hall from 

Michael Hummel’s on the second floor of the 

Administration Building. All of the office doors 

at the time were required to have plain glass 

windows because the administration thought 

visibility offered some protection to faculty 

members against possible student charges of 

molestation. A female student one day dropped 

by Walker’s office to discuss class work. 

Hummel, sitting at his desk across the hall, saw 

Walker talking to the student and phoned to tell 

him that he was unzipped, causing Walker to 

glance down at himself. 

Walker, who had been embarrassed by the 

episode, decided to reciprocate. At what he 

thought was the opportune moment, Walker 

placed two cigarettes in the nostrils of his nose 

and sneaked to the door of the classroom that 

was supposedly occupied by Hummel. Walker 

rapidly rose from his kneeling position, peered 

through the glass of the door, and made a babbling 

sound. To his astonishment, he discovered 

that Hummel was not teaching in the classroom, 

Dr. Roland Bing was. The chagrined Walker 

quickly slithered away. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Brenda Fisseler and other members of the 

library staff helped Vera Johnson celebrate a birthday. 

“One year, very early on the morning of Vera’s 

birthday, the pages met in the library and proceeded 

to fill Vera’s office, from floor to ceiling, 

with balloons, confetti, signs and other items… 

deemed appropriate for the occasion.” The student 

assistants “used shaving cream to write birthday 

messages on the windows” of Johnson’s office. 

Because there was ample glass to write upon, the 

well-wishers extolled her “virtues” and extended 

birthday wishes. When Johnson arrived for work, 

she was surprised and graciously thanked the students 

for the “many good wishes.” Afterwards, a 

sufficient number of balloons were deflated “so 

she could get to her desk and went to work, 

✯ 

Erma Gutierrez, library assistant, 

looks at the call numbers to make 

sure the books are properly shelved. 


✯ 

Top: Vera Johnson, librarian, was 

responsible for the initial indexing of 

the Victoria Advocate. 

Below: Dr. C. F. Schneider, English 

instructor, hosted the college’s Fourth 

of July picnic for over a decade. 

leaving her office decorated the entire day.” 

Fisseler extended a special thank you to Johnson 

“for being such a good sport.” 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Martha Everman Jones mentioned the time 

that her brother-in-law Norman Jones was a student 

at Victoria College. As often was the case, 

Norman Jones in 1965 went to the library to 

study with his friends. When he sat down at a 

table with his study group “and prepared to open 

his books, the librarian and long-time friend of 

the family, Lois Rowland Lunsford, dutifully 

walked over and quietly told him he had to leave 

because he was not properly dressed.” It seems 

that Jones was wearing a tee shirt, Bermuda 

shorts, and flip-flops, a clear violation of the college 

dress code. Jones left the library as requested. 

“A short time later, he returned, making a 

grand entry through the library’s main doors 

fully attired in a dark suit, starched white shirt, 

tie, his dad’s dress hat, and carrying a matching 

umbrella.” Lunsford “looked up from her desk 

and burst out laughing, accompanied by everyone 

in viewing distance.” 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…C. F. Schneider hosted the annual Fourth of 

July picnic at his home on the Lower Mission 

Valley Road. The “flag-waving celebration” lasted 

“nineteen years for the faculty and staff and families.” 

It had a modest beginning with a limited 

number of participants, but before the social 

affair ceased to exist, it “had grown to one hundred 

thirty-five.” Initially, only watermelons and 

cookies were served. Later, hot dogs with chili 

and corn-on-the-cob were added. “A hay wagon 

and a 1952 Ford tractor provided hay rides to 

the river for kids, in addition to romps in the 

creek, and early on a hay ride for adults was 

petitioned with success.” Inclement weather 


conditions did not interrupt the picnics. “Shelter 

was always found in the barns, or the shop, or 

the house.” Ultimately, “the activity outgrew 

itself and was relegated to the scrapbook of 

unique events for the college.” 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Vincent Terrell found himself in “hot 

water” with Dr. Roland Bing. Chuck Zavesky, 

Steve Spurlin, and Pat Erskine were working 

with the maintenance employees during the 

summer. As Terrell and the summer employees 

were walking by the tennis courts they saw 

another regular employee, Boo, at a distance. 

They began to yell loudly, “Boo, Boo.” A lady 

was playing tennis and thought the group 

was shouting “Moo, Moo.” Thinking the men 

were disrespectful, she turned them in to Bing 

who was very upset over the perceived employees’ 

remarks and “jumped them.” When Terrell 

and the others explained to him they were 

saying “Boo” not “Moo,” Bing calmed down 

and grinned. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Debra Spurlin was a student at Victoria 

College. Frequently, she and her classmates 

met in the temporary structure that was placed 

at the entry of the library when the new facility 

was under construction. Her family didn’t 

think she was doing much studying under the 

circumstances, but apparently there was considerably 

such activity. There was, however, a 

great deal of laughing and socializing among 

the students. The hilarity did not please the 

librarians, but there was little said to discourage 

the collegians. 

Spurlin was involved in a number of college 

extracurricular activities, including playing on 

the intramural volleyball team. The first day 

she went to the gym, there was a talented black 

girl spiking a ball against the wall. Spurlin recognized 

quickly how good a player the spiker 

was and muttered to herself, “I sure hope she is 

on my team.” The young lady was and the 

two became companions. The girl’s name— 

Florence Grant. 

When Spurlin was elected president of the 

Student Council, she possessed limited knowledge 

on how to run a meeting and she found 

herself “making some embarrassing mistakes.” 

However, with assistance from Caroline 

Summers, a speech instructor, the errors were 

gradually reduced. By the end of the academic 

year, Spurlin had “learned a few things about 

the proper way to conduct a meeting.” 

✯ 

Taking time out from a busy work 

schedule are (left to right) Victoria 

Casas Moreno, Dolly Holmes, and 

Vincent Terrell. 


✯ 

Sandy Schramek is thinking how 

elated she will be when this book 

is completed. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Eddie Shinn commented to a reporter 

about how barren the Victoria College site was in 

1949. The area was so underdeveloped that his 

track squad did not have a “track to work out 

on” so the thin clads “worked out in the street.” 

discovered the female gender.” Williams enrolled 

in a government class taught by Jewell Hudler. 

The instructor had the habit of snapping 

“her garter belt with her left hand while lecturing.” 

Some of the students in the class would 

“guess how long it would take for her to snap the 

garter belt.” 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Chester Evans assisted in putting up a 

fence at Patti Welder Stadium in the 1930s to 

keep spectators off the football field during 

games. Invariably, during a football contest, fans 

roamed “the sidelines following the progress of 

the game.” Occasionally, the crowd would walk 

on the field. To prevent this, a barrier of cedar 

posts and wire was erected. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Kemper Williams, Jr., was a freshman 

at Victoria Junior College in 1948. A favorite 

meeting place for the students was the Student 

Union room located between the high school 

and college buildings. The area was generally 

filled with tobacco smoke “because everyone 

smoked in those days.” During his first 

semester he “learned to play pinochle and 

…David Urbano had a class under sociology 

instructor Doyle Christian. During the semester, 

the Chicano movement was addressed. As a 

device to stimulate class involvement, the 

instructor played the devil’s advocate, causing a 

heated debate “that made an hour class seem 

like five minutes.” Urbano and some of his 

classmates took the position that the movement 

“was basically an attempt by an ethnic community 

to get the nation to live up to its democratic 

principles.” By contrast, “Christian, by design 

or accident, rallied around the American flag 

and that motivated class discussion.” 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Lois Rowland Lunsford described the 

library when it was located on the second floor of 

the Victoria Junior College Building. “The room 


was light and airy, thanks to tall window along 

the south wall. At one end of the room four locally 

constructed, double-faced book cases comprised 

a stack area which was separated from the 

reading room by a waist-high locally constructed 

counter which served as a check-out desk. 

Admittance to the stacks was through a swinging 

door—kept in constant motion! The reading area 

seated 25 or 30 students at small tables and nononsense 

straight chairs. Reference books and 

periodicals were on built-in wall shelving.” 

Because the library was dreary, the “Victoria 

Art Guild…placed several paintings by local 

artists on loan in the room to make the area 

‘attractive’.” Also to spruce up the library someone 

added, “a small bronze of a young Susie 

Maud Ward…playing croquet. She wore long 

braids, a ‘middy-blouse’ and a pleated skirt, turnof-the-century 

style. Every detail was charming.” 

Lunsford “was tempted to kidnap her” when the 

college was relocated “but thought better of it!” 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…when the faculty was expected to go by the 

college post office in the Academic Building every 

morning to fetch their mail and, in particular, 

the daily bulletin. If a member of the faculty 

failed to do so, the administration sent someone 

looking for that person. Each faculty member was 

to retrieve his or her mail in person. During her 

first semester as an instructor, Earline Grizzle 

found it more convenient to go by the mail room 

after her first class, but quickly learned to get 

the mail before classes began. It seems that 

Grizzle failed to deliver a note to a student in her 

first period class and was brusquely informed by 

an administration official to pick up her mail 

before class! 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Monroe Northcutt helped with registration. 

Northcutt was employed by the college in 1961 

to replace the retiring Eddie Shinn as track coach. 

During the first semester, registration was held in 

the library. Pencils were placed on tables for the 

students to use to fill out class schedules. 

Afterwards, the students went to various stations 

to complete their enrollment. Some of them, 

however, inadvertently carried the writing instruments 

with them. “Leona Jones, the registrar,” 

Northcutt recalled, “gave me the job of retrieving 

the pencils before the students left the building.” 

✯ 

Jim Lehrer tells Elizabeth Wagner, 

student assistant, a story about the 

time he was a student at Victoria 

College. 


✯ 

A happy trio during intermission at a 

John W. Stormont lecture are (left to 

right) Clare Brice, Pat Spurlin, and 

speaker Donaly Brice. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Ben Burdine, Louise Hume, Morris Azbill, 

Richard Walker, Joy Walker, Mary Doughtie, and 

Earline Grizzle attended the beginning of the 

year dinners in the 1960s and 1970s. 

Traditionally, the affair is held on the first 

evening after the faculty reported to duty at the 

start of the fall semester. Generally, socialization 

before the meal has been minimal. The faculty, 

staff, and, in recent years, maintenance personnel, 

and their spouses arrived at the facility 

where the dinner was to be served and stood in 

a buffet line. Periodically, there was a speaker. In 

the mid-1960s, the library was the site of the 

evening event. One night, the speaker did not 

arrive on time. While waiting for the honored 

guest, each faculty member, at the request of 

J. D. Moore, was asked to recite what they did 

during the summer. Ten years or so later, the 

dinner was held at the Holiday Inn. The speaker 

at one of the events was an official with the 

Coordinating Board who was considered an outstanding 

orator. That particular evening Joe 

Wyatt, a state representative, was invited and 

was presented an attaché case for his support of 

the college. The speaker, to the surprise of the 

faculty, cited a series of statistics on the history of 

the state’s community colleges. The talk was 

extremely boring. Azbill and Michael Hummel 

amused each other by folding their dinner napkins 

into different shapes. Pat Spurlin and Wyatt 

cast humorous glances between them to pass the 

time. Virtually everyone in the room could not 

wait to leave. The presentation was undoubtedly 

the worst the dinner guests had ever endured. 

In the 1960s and early 1970s, evening 

gowns were frequently worn by the ladies to 

the affair. The tradition waned when wives of 

the younger faculty members began to attend in 

their short skirts. A custom emerged among 

some of the faculty to meet after the dinner at 

one of their homes where a lively, friendly get 

together occurred. The party was justification 

for the social attire worn by the faculty members 

and their spouses. The after-dinner 

episodes were also a means of bonding among 

those who attended. 


✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Donnell Cole’s clothes were mysteriously 

padlocked in a gym locker, along with the key to 

open it. Cole had placed his street clothes in the 

locker before donning his workout attire. He 

went to the restroom, and when he returned, the 

locker door was closed and secured with his 

lock. Michael Hummel offered to drive Cole 

home if the nude instructor would buy the gas. 

Since Cole did not at the moment have any ready 

cash, Hummel went about his business, leaving 

the bare instructor “stuck in the locker room for 

two hours.” Eventually, Harry Wagner arrived 

and found Cole naked and offered assistance. 

Wagner located bolt cutters and cut off the lock, 

allowing Cole to roam the campus again. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Richard Walker had a student enrolled in 

his geography class who thought it was a geology 

course. The student was not doing well on the 

tests, and he kept referring to Walker as “Mr. 

Wagner.” A slip of the tongue, Walker thought. 

At mid-term, the geography instructor asked the 

class to bring their textbooks to the next meeting 

because he wanted to go over some maps and 

other items in it. The students dutifully did so, 

and at the conclusion of the session, the particular 

student in question came up to Walker and 

said that the pictures in his book were not the 

same as the ones being described. Walker asked 

to see the book. When the student showed it to 

him, the instructor discovered that it was a geology 

textbook. Walker told the student that it was 

the wrong book to which the reply was, “Isn’t 

this Mr. Wagner’s geology class?” The student 

had thought all along he was in a geology class, 

and obviously did not know the difference 

between the words “geology” and “geography.” 

He had been reading the assigned pages from the 

wrong textbook for the entire semester. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Nancy Bandy’s workroom was so cold that 

it felt as if she were in a meat locker. Because of 

difficulties in maintaining adequate climate control 

in the Academic Building room 205, William 

“Doc” Steele reinstalled the thermostat in the 

adjoining workroom. However, he placed it in 

close proximity to the kiln. Whenever the oven 

was in use, it produced heat that rose to about 

2200 degrees. Consequently, the room temperature 

plummeted. 

✯ 

Richard Walker seems to be looking 

for a razor. 


✯ 

Mark Zafareo (right), board member, 

visits with Lech Walesa, former 

president of Poland. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Morris Azbill thought he was going to be 

frostbitten because of the sub-zero temperature 

in his office. The heating system was not functioning 

properly due to a filter problem. During 

a particularly cold day, the temperature dropped 

to 23° in the room. President J. D. Moore was 

notified, and he brought “his personal heater” 

that served as a foot warmer. Azbill turned it on 

and let the heater run while he was in class. 

When the instructor returned, the temperature 

had risen two degrees. The heater was obviously 

not a solution. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…John and Judy Clegg were students at the 

college during the 1960s. John lived in Port 

Lavaca and commuted to the campus, “making 

many of the trips…in record time.” One day 

when he and his companions were returning 

home, they tied “a rope to the back of their car 

and skied home in the ditches” that were filled 

with water from an exceedingly heavy rain. 

Judy found the college to be “an educational 

center” and “a meeting place for all the surrounding 

area students.” She “became friends 

with fellow students from Edna, Hallettsville, 

Cuero, and most of all Port Lavaca.” Judy had 

a great time in the Student Union Building, 

“the social center for students.” The facility 

served as “a domino hall and social club 

all rolled into one.” It was the site for such 

entertaining games as moon and forty-two, and 

the dances that were held “about every six 

weeks with a different theme for each one.” She 

was a lively participant in campus activities. In 

1967, Judy was elected along with Lydia 

Serrata, Cathie Zirjacks, and Bea Bauer to the 

cheerleading squad. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Betsy Mynette Wright, the first female 

Student Council secretary-treasurer at Victoria 


Junior College, collected coins from the soft 

drink machines that were located in the “junior 

college lounge.” As treasurer, she had the 

responsibility to “clean out the money” at least 

once a week. Wright took the cash to Gilbert V. 

Pritchard, registrar, who “locked it up.” Later, 

when sufficient funds were accumulated, a picnic 

was held for the students in the area behind 

the junior college building. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Donnell Cole attended his first faculty 

meeting. When he walked into room 202 of the 

Science Building where the meeting was being 

held, the new instructor found the faculty segregated 

with the women and administrators 

seated on the west side of the room and the science 

and math instructors on the east side. “The 

further back one sat, the more radical the faculty 

member was considered to be.” Cole found 

that the people who spoke to him were in the 

rear of the room. At the meeting, he was 

“shocked” when J. D. Moore told the faculty that 

“if anyone stayed past 3:30 p.m. everyday, he 

may have hired the wrong person.” 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Ben Burdine’s office was next to Dr. John 

Stormont’s in the Administration Building. One 

afternoon Burdine was sitting at his desk when 

Stormont opted to call it a day. The two instructor’s 

rooms were configured in such a way, that 

Stormont, in order to exit his office, had to pass 

through Burdine’s. The former dean, oblivious 

to Burdine, turned out the lights as he left the 

room and locked the door. 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Mark Zafereo, an active member of the student 

body and later a member of the college 

board of trustees, recalled a presentation he 

made in a speech class he had under Caroline 

Summers. He noted, “I once dressed up like a 

butcher, whipped out a whole chicken, head and 

all, out of a bag, chopped off the head and proceeded 

to demonstrate how to properly cut up 

the bird for frying. Several of the girls in the front 

row passed out. Mrs. Summers gave me an A!” 

Zafereo, when he was not in class or working 

in the meat market at Dick’s food store on 

Crestwood, spent much of his off time with the 

Student Council. The sponsor of the group was 

Iris Baillio, a physical education instructor. To 

Zafereo she was “a no-nonsense kind of person,” 

an individual “you had to work really hard to 

make her depart from the agenda or to make her 

laugh.” Of course, he remarked, “We often succeeded 

in accomplishing both.” Duties the students 

performed on the Student Council were 

varied, but not necessarily heady. 

Zafereo remembered that the members dealt 

with such things “as fending off gripes about 

parking and Student Center food selections.” 

He also said the Student Council was “allowed 

major input on the Western Day activities (such 

as where to buy the eggs for the egg toss), and 

the intricate details on Student Council 

sponsored campus elections, All-College and 

Class Favorites, a get-acquainted dance at the 

beginning of each year (in other words, scope 

out any new talent), a Christmas dance and the 

Spring Formal.” 

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ 

…Richard Walker confessed to his involvement 

in an episode that took place in the 1970s. 

He, his wife Joy, and two children went into 

Michael Hummel’s office on a Sunday afternoon 

and “turned everything backwards,” including 

books, desk, file cabinet, and pictures. Even a 

“mirror that had a logo on it was turned upside 

down.” The family afterwards “went into his 

classroom that he taught in that next morning,” 

placed the lectern in the back of the room by 

the windows, and turned the chairs backward. 

“The no smoking sign was turned upside down 

and backwards.” 

When Hummel arrived on the campus the 

next day and spied his office and classroom in 

disarray, he “never said a word about it.” As a 

matter of fact, the history instructor did not 

mention that anything had happened for about 

three months so that his colleagues would not 

know he was disturbed. For years, Hummel 

blamed Donnell Cole. Walker never corrected 

Hummel’s charges because, as he said, “Cole 

takes blame so well.” Finally, the rest of the story 

has been told. 



APPENDIX 

The Victoria College Alma Mater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 

The Victoria College Fight Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 

Victoria Junior College Administration, 1925-1949 . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 

Victoria Junior College Board of Trustees, 1925-1949 . . . . . . . . . . 235 

The Victoria College Administration, 1949-2000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 

The Victoria College Board of Trustees, 1949-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 

✯ 

Using blackboard diagrams, Dr. John W. Stormont points out the organization of various types of government. 

Appendix ✦ 231


ALMA MATER 

To Victoria we pledge our hearts 

To evermore be true. 

For everything she stands for, 

Maroon and white to you. 

The friends we’ve made while going here 

Will last our whole lives through. 

To the Pirates and our school 

We pledge ourselves anew. 


FIGHT SONG 

Pirates bold we’re loyal to you 

Faithful through all the years. 

When Maroon and white is unfurled 

We will rise and proudly cheer 

Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! 

Bold and fearless we will remain 

Add more laurels to your name. 

Take this as a tip you’ll never 

sink our ship so go you Pirates 

Win this game! 

To the left to the right 

Fight you Pirates fight 

Hit ‘em high, hit ‘em low 

go you Pirates go—OH! 


✯ 

Top: Jose Rodriguez attended 

Victoria College before becoming 

a DuPont engineer.. 

Middle: Willie Brooks, criminal 

justice instructor, promotes The 

Victoria College to prospective 

students at College Night in 1999. 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF KEVIN JORDAN. 

Bottom: Dustin Keane and 

Erika Timpoine browse a 

reading assignment. 

Appendix ✦ 233

✯ 

Top: Shannon Anderson, recruiting/ 

marketing assistant, with George 

Alexander, recruiting/marketing 

director. 

Middle: Left to right are Billy Blevins, 

John Winkenwerder, Allen Schoener, 

Harold Ballenger, and David Hagan. 

Bottom: Left to right are Chris Kallus, 

respiratory therapy instructor, 

Shuvonne Pennell, Rubi Guajardo, 

and Mickey Lange. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF KEVIN JORDAN. 


VICTORIA JUNIOR COLLEGE ADMINISTRATION 

1925-1949 

PRESIDENTS 

Virgil L. Griffin 

Porter S. Garner 

J. H. Bankston 

T. A. Roach 

DEANS 

E. J. Dysart 

B. F. Hardt 

W. E. Eckles 

J. D. Moore 

C. C. Wilkes 

B. F. Harbour 

REGISTRARS 

Mae J. Kohleffel 

Stella Rice Collins 

Lillian Pierce Lewis 

Margaret DuPre 

Louise Stromberg 

Nan Proctor 

Avis Adcock 

G. V. Pritchard 

BUSINESS MANAGERS 

Margaret DuPre 

G. V. Pritchard 

DIRECTOR OF 

INSTRUCTION 

J. W. Edgar 

VICTORIA JUNIOR COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES 

1925-1949 

A. Theo Andersen 

Ed. L. Atzenhoffer 

D. E. Blackburn 

Ralph Calhoun 

W. B. Callan 

Frank Crain 

R. L. Daniel 

C. O. Durham 

Herman Fischer 

Frank Guittard 

G. H. Hensley 

George E. Hofmann 

J. V. Hopkins, M.D. 

P. H. Keefe 

Roy S. Lander 

H. A. Lawrence 

Cody Lentz 

Jules Meyer 

Dennis O'Connor 

William Offer 

P. P. Putney 

Morris Roberts 

Fred Schneider 

C. A. Schuchert 

Allan Shields, M. D. 

W. H. Smith 

Hugh Stanly 

T. L. Sterne 

J. H. Tolson, M. D. 

T. P. Traylor 

J. E. Weatherly 

Albert York 

Appendix ✦ 235

THE VICTORIA COLLEGE ADMINISTRATION 

1949-2000 

PRESIDENTS 

J. D. Moore, L.L.D. 

Roland E. Bing, Ph.D. 

Jimmy Goodson, Ed.D. 

DEANS 

John W. Stormont, Ph.D. 

Roland E. Bing, Ph.D. 

O. Rex Whiteside, Ed.D. 

DEANS OF 

INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES 

DEAN OF STUDENT & 

INFORMATION SERVICES 

DEANS OF 

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES 

O. Rex Whiteside, Ed.D. 

Steve Thomas, Ph.D. 

Alice Ann Isaac, Ph.D. 

Robert E. Gaines 

Elaine C. Marcinkowska 

THE VICTORIA COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES 

1949-2000 

E. A. Brinkman 

R. E. Cliburn 

Arnold G. Davis 

Webb T. DeTar, M.D. 

Gerald Dubose 

Arvle Elliott 

Ernest Guajardo, Sr. 

Robert J. Hewitt 

Raymond W. Hill 

David B. Lack 

Mary Logan 

A. D. Magruder 

Roy McFaddin 

Catherine McHaney 

William F. Moeller 

C. P. Montier, D.D. 

Thomas M. O’Connor 

Tom O’Connor, Jr. 

F. C. Proctor, Jr. 

Morris Shattuck 

John Vasquez 

Ronald B. Walker 

Joseph Wearden 

Leo J. Welder 

Jack Wood 

Mark E. Zafereo 

Winston L. Zirjacks 


✯ 

Top: Dian Denker, 1999-2000 

Student Government president. 


Middle: Student assistants 

Maria R. Hernandez (left) and 

Stephanie M. Grewe. 

Bottom: The benches in the rear of the 

Academic Building are used by 

students between classes. 


Appendix ✦ 237

INDEX 

A 

Adair, Lucille, 65, 213 

Adams, Vernon A., 15 

Airheart, Tria E., 185 

Alaniz, Marie, 187 

Albrecht, Elenora, 29 

Aldis, Wesley, 193, 201 

Alexander, George, 199, 234 

Alkek, Margaret, 75 

Allen Academy, 76 

Allen, Alfred, 98, 127 

Allen, Elizabeth, 14 

Allen, Lewis, Jr., 197 

Allen, Richard C., Jr., 156 

Aloe Army Air Field, 45, 46, 47, 56, 63 

Aman, Sally, 127 

American Association for State and Local 

History, 196 

American Association of Community and Junior 

Colleges, 169 

American Association of Junior Colleges, 10 

American College Test, 145 

Anderson, Jonathan, 203 

Anderson, Shannon, 234 

Angelou, Maya, 198, 213 

Archer, Mary Lee, 124 

Armbrister, Ken, 174, 179, 188 

Arnold, Jo Nell, 125 

Ashmore, J. L., 101 

Ashworth, Kenneth H., 165, 196 

Association of Texas Colleges, 9 

Athletic Association Committee, 16, 22 

Atkinson, V. E., 63 

August Wagner's Silver Cornet Band, 14 

Auld, George, 80, 83 

Ault, Jordan C., 58, 93 

Austin College, 65 

Austin-San Antonio District Educational 

Conference, 23 

Autry, Gene, 30 

Azbill, Morris, 187, 190, 214, 215, 216, 226, 228 

B 

Baass Brothers Concrete Company, 63 

Baass, Mrs. Charles, 218 

Baillio, Iris, 229 

Baker, Alan, 185 

Baldwin, Bill, 86 

Ballard, W. W., 10 

Ballenger, Harold, 234 

Bandy, Nancy, 227 

Banks, Barbara, 73, 77 

Bankston, J. H., 33, 34, 45, 46 

Baptist Student Union, 69 

Barnes, David, 125 

Barnsdall Oil Company, 73 

Barth, David, 205 

Bauer, Bea, 120, 228 

Bauer, C. P., 114 

Bauer, Larry, 123 

Bauer, Mary Gladys, 48, 49, 72 

Baugh, E. A., 23 

Baylor University, 141 

Bazan, Juan, 117 

Bazar, Leon, 123 

Beams, J. B., 34 

Beard, Roland, 65 

Beaver College, 169 

Bedwell, Cindy, 191 

Bee County College, 118 

Belcher, Truman, 50 

Belken, Leslie, 80 

Bell, Pat, 80 

Benge, Cathy, 117 

Bianchi, David, 27, 28, 31, 218 

Bianchi, Felix, 49 

Bielee, Cynthia, 128 

Bielstein, C. A., 47 

Bielstein, Florine, 53 

Bing, Roland E., 94, 101, 112, 116, 120, 126, 

136, 138, 139, 140, 141, 145, 147, 148, 150, 

151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 157, 158, 159, 160, 

161, 162, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 

172, 173, 175, 179, 180, 183, 186, 193, 211, 

212, 216, 218, 220, 221, 223 

Bishop, Charles, 164 

Bishop, Ed, 159 

Bissett, David, 128 

Black, Lorne, 149, 150, 163, 165 

Black, Norval, 80 

Blackaller, John, 179 

Blackburn, D. E., 38 

Blanar, Robert, 61 

Bland, Jean, 195 

Blinn Memorial College, 31 

"Blue Beetle," The, 55 

Boehnke, Ben, 80, 83 

Bolting, Gladys, 194 

Borchers, Charles L., 172 

Borth, Norman, 114 

Boykin, Starley, 122, 219 

Boysen, Geneva, 83 

Brandes, Adrian, 48, 54, 56 

Brandon, John, 109 

Breed, Aubrey, 48 

Breneman, David W., 158 

Brice, Clare, 226 

Brice, Donaly, 226 

Brimberry, John, 200 

Brock, Buddy, 74 

Brooks, Willie, 233 

Brotze, Allen, 205 

Broughton, Dennis, 200 

Brown v. Board of Education, 85, 86 

Brown, Candy Marie, 159 

Brown, Cheryl, 159 

Browne, Louise, 212 

Browne, Roy, 65, 81 

Browne, Mrs. Roy G., 65 

Brownson Addition, The, 18 

Brownson, Mrs. J. M., 18 

Brownsville Junior College, 16 

Bruns, Nancy, 185 

Buccaneer, The, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18 

Buckley, Patricia, 97 

Buckley, William F., Jr., 112, 155, 156, 165 

Buffalo Bills, The, 90 

Bullock, Henry, 80 

Burda, Shirley, 81 

Burdine, F. Benton, 122, 124, 140, 149, 150, 153, 

165, 166, 181, 187, 190, 191, 194, 213, 214, 

215, 217, 226, 229 

Burns, Kay, 127, 129 

Burns, Wilfred, 135 

Bush, Diane, 167 

Bush, George W., 206 

C 

Cadden, Merry, 56, 61 

Calliham, Dave, 53 

Callis, C. R., 85 

Campbell, Bob, 94 

Cande, Andrew, 185 

Cano, Gloria Trevino, 217 

Cano, Julius, 122 

Cantu, Ynacensio, 80, 83, 105 

Capps, Robert, 74 

Carpenter, Charles, 80 

Carsner, Charles, 29 

Carter, Booker T., 99 

Carter, Jimmy, 149, 153, 156 

Catchings, Julia, 166 

Central Power & Light Company, 73, 199 

Chandler, C. O., 23 

Cheshire, Janet, 150 

Chicago University, 34 

Christian, Doyle, 141, 150, 224 

Circle K Club, 146, 153 

Cisco Junior College, 15, 97 

Citizens Memorial Hospital, 96, 98 

Civil War, 7, 35 

Civilian Aeronautics Authority, 34, 35 

Clack, John A., 14 

Clayton, Bill, 145 

Clegg, John, 228 

Clegg, Judy, 228 

Clements, Bill, 167 

Clemmons, Jack, 199 

Cliburn, Lela Welder, 27, 218 

Coffey, Bobby, 95 

Coffey, Ruth, 18 

Coker, Donnie, 114 

Cole, Donna, 141 

Cole, Donnell, 130, 141, 213, 227, 229 

Coleman, Dalphard, 74 

Collin County Community College, 185 

Collins, Wilbur, 75, 76, 95, 124, 149 

Colorado State Teachers College, 34 

Colvert, Clyde C., 53, 74, 75, 84 

Committee on Classified and Accredited High 

Schools, 23 

Compton, Jack, 15 

Conference of College Teachers of English, 169 

Connally, John, 116 

Constant, Ruth, 145 

Cook, June V., 152 

Coolidge, Calvin, 40 

Cooper, Darrel, 202 

Copley, Charles, 14 

Corpus Christi Junior College, 32, 46 

Corpus Christi State University, 156 

Corsair, The, 30, 31, 33 

CourseNet, 201 

Crain, Frank H., Jr., 76 

Crain, Frank H., Sr., 7, 8 

Crain, William Henry, 8 

Crawford, J. N., 36 

Crawford, Mike, 47 

Cronkite, Walter, 137 

Crouch, Margaret, 31, 33 

Curran, Mary Catherine, 14 

Cykola, Kenneth, 156 

D 

Dabney, Jean, 127 

Dahlstrom, Joe F., 199, 204 

Dallas Community College, 185 

Daniel, Price, 75 

Daughters of the Republic of Texas, 115 

Davis, Arnold Galindo, 193 

Davis, John, 171 

de la Peña, José Enrique, 196 

De La Rosa, David, 117, 125, 219 

De La Rosa, Eddie, 123, 125, 219 

Deaver, Frank, 113, 114, 117, 120 

Del Mar College, 49, 74, 78, 79, 89 

Dellinger, Floyd, 90 

Denker, Dian, 237 

Denver Hotel, 56, 73 

DeTar, Webb T., 54, 55 

Dickson, J. L., 10 

Diebel, Frank, 37 

Dierlam, Wayne, 217 

Diggs, Rufus, 129, 135 

Dillon, Leo, 31 

Don Krueger Construction Company, 134 

Doughtie, Mary, 86, 158, 159, 161, 169, 212, 

213, 226 

Downbeat, 203 

Drinkard, DeTar, 135 

Dry, Audley D., 112, 139, 150, 160, 161, 164, 

166, 187, 201, 217 

DuBose, Carl, 119, 120, 145, 146, 166 

Duke, Jacquelyn, 125 

Duncan, Wayne, 47 

DuPont, 40, 91, 233 

Duran, Rudy, 72 

Duren, Jerry, 139 

Durham, Cecil, 95 

Durham, Clarence, 34 

Dvorak, Jerry, 195 

Dysart, Edward J., 9, 10, 14, 15, 19, 27, 60 

E 

Easley, Billy, 34 

Easley, Rex, 40 

East Texas State University, 179 

Eckles, W. E., 31, 36 

Edinburg Junior College, 21, 34 

Edna Herald, The, 19 

Edwards, Jack, 118, 123, 160, 161 

Eklund, Bobby, 80 

El Campo High School, 36, 59 

Elledge, Jerome, 34 

Elliott, Arvle, 54, 64, 74 

Elliott, Edwin A., 31 

Ellison, Virlece, 135 

Ennen, Frederick, 31 

Ennen, Henrietta, 30 

Erskine, Pat, 223 

Ervin, Sam, 151 

Espitia, Gloria, 219 

Etzel, Esther, 65, 86 

Evan, Richard, 185 

Evans, Billy, 74 

Evans, Chester, 10, 45, 224 

Evans, Estelle, 78 

Evans, Hester W. “Stump”, 15, 35, 37, 40, 45, 

49, 65, 72, 78, 80, 91 

Evans, N. A., 11 

Evans, Rowland, 168, 219 

Exxon Corporation, 164 

EZREG, 205 

F 

F. W. Gross High School, 85 

Fagan, Joseph, 15 

Fanning, Janice, 128 

Farmer, Blake, 112, 161, 181 

Farquhar, Sherry, 125, 127 

Farrell, Doug, 31 

Farrer, Ossie, 48 

Farrow, Kenneth, 80 

Federal Emergency Relief Administration, 22 

Federal Works Administration, 45 

Felder, Marvin, 179 

Felger, Clarence, 34 

Felger, J. C., 11 

Felger, Wilma, 97, 119, 122, 123, 126, 127 

Fenner, Mary Claire, 65 

Ferguson, Joe, 179, 180 

Ferguson, Margaret, 117 

Ferguson, Miriam A., 21 

Fernandez, Alfred, 32 

Filley, George, Jr., 28 

Finster, Leslie, 201 

First English Lutheran Church, 11 

Fischer, Herman, 8, 11, 21, 27 

Fisseler, Brenda, 221, 222 

Fleska, Cathy, 185 

Flunky Club, The, 30 

Fly, G. W. L., 35 

Fly, Lamar, 94 

Fly, William S., 35, 69 

Folwell, William Watts, 7 

Ford, Gerald, 153 

Fossati, Grace, 29 

Foster Air Force Base, 38, 83, 85 

Fougeron, Myron, 80 

Foutz, Gwen, 98 

Francell, Larry, 204 

Frankson, Marie, 119 

Franz, Dorothy, 79 

Franz, James, 139, 160, 215 

Frederick, Judy Lynn, 123, 125 

Frels, Mrs. Ruben, 46 

Frerichs, Marie, 98 

Fricke, Mary, 185 

Friedel, James, 74 

Fritsch, Danny, 89, 90 

Fritz, Karen, 201 

Fuhrman, Leslie, 47 

G 

Gaddis, David, 200, 202 

Gaines, Robert E., 155, 171, 181, 211, 212 

Galbraith, John Kenneth, 165, 166 

Gallagher, Michael C., 169 

Gandhi, Indira, 165 

Gardner, Harold, 65, 114, 115 

Garner, Porter S., 27, 30, 31, 33, 34 

Garrett, Caroline C., 198 

Gentry, Etta Lou, 56, 57 

Gerdes, E. J., 63 

Gerdes, Gilbert, 93 

Gerhold, Harlon, 125, 191 

Gietz, Penni, 200 

Gilchrist, Gibb, 58 

Gillar, George, 89 

Gilliam, Jack, 93 

Gilstrap, Ralph, 89 

Gilstrap, Wanda, 165 

Gisler, Grace, 80 

Glass, Betty Lou, 57, 72, 73 

Glass, Clara W., 10 

Gleason, Heather Kay, 152 

Gleason, James D., 128, 138, 150, 152, 160, 165, 

199 

Godard, J. M., 78 

Goerke, Glenn, 167, 182 

Gold, Russell, 200 

Goldsum, Johnny, 45, 46, 47, 58 

Goodson, Jimmy, 151, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 

186, 187, 189, 190, 192, 194, 197, 198, 199, 

200, 202, 203, 204, 206 

Goodson, Michelle, 190 

Gordon, Ezra, 90 

Grant, Florence, 223 

Grath, August, 63 

Gray, Noble, 150 

Great Depression, The, 18, 20, 23 

Green, Shelly, 135 

Greenhill, Joe R., 145 

Greenhill, Kenneth, 124, 141, 160, 214, 217 

Greer, Louise, 30 

Greeson, Bully, 37 

Gregory, Larna, 115 

Grewe, Stephanie M., 237 

Griffin, Boydene, 48 

Griffin, Virgil L., 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 18, 20, 22, 

23, 27 

Grizzle, Earline, 211, 212, 213, 225, 226 

Guajardo, Ernest G., Sr., 207 

Guajardo, Rubi, 234 

Guittard, Frank, 51 

Gulf Coast Executive Club, 27 

Gulf Coast Junior College Athletic Conference, 114 

Gummelt, E. F., 124, 148 

Gutierrez, Erma, 220, 221 

H 

Hackstedt, Glenn, 110 

Hagan, David, 234 

Haines, Carolyn, 125 

Halepaska, Mary, 34 

Haley, Alex, 158 


Hall, Broyles, 65, 75 

Hall, Mary, 205 

Hampton, Harold, 75 

Harbour, B. F., 41, 46, 55, 65, 69 

Hardcastle, Gayle, 202 

Hardin, Stephen, 194, 196, 205 

Hardt, Ben F., 27, 28, 36 

Harper, William Rainey, 7 

Harrel, Mrs. D. K., 55 

Harrel, Edith, 71 

Harrigan, Stephen, 205 

Harris, George, 93 

Hartman, Valerie, 34 

Hartnell College, 181 

Harwin, E. L., 74 

Hauschild's Opera House, 10, 14 

Hawkins, Mary Fern, 34 

Haynes, Karen, 199 

Haynes, Rosamund, 167 

Hays, Gaynelle, 14 

Heaner, Wallace, 34 

Heath, Bob, 189 

Heiling, Joe, 73 

Heinrich, Linda, 155 

Henderson, William, 10 

Henry, Rita, 14 

Herman, Jean, 184 

Hernandez, Maria R. 

Heston, Charlton, 166, 171 

Hewitt, Robert J., Sr., 198, 207 

Hill, Cecil, 37 

Hill, Charles, 71 

Hill, Clover Dell, 14 

Hill Junior College, 94, 141 

Hill, Raymond, 54, 62 

Hinojosa, Jose, 203 

Hirt, Charles, 150 

Hnatek, Margaret, 19 

Hobbs, Dorothy Mae, 85 

Hobbs, Leeta, 85 

Hoblit, Karen, 196, 201, 205, 220 

Hodge, Patricia, 117 

Hodge, Roysteen, 117 

Hodges, Walter Wayne, 75 

Hoefer, Karen, 151 

Hoffman, Glenn, 80 

Hoffman, Philip, 133 

Holder, Geoffrey, 136 

Holland, Melanie, 155 

Holmes, Dolly, 223 

Holzapfel, Bill, 80 

Holzheauser, Steve, 199 

Horton, Joan, 113 

House, Jerry, 80, 83 

Houston Junior College, 15 

Howell, J. D., 65, 72, 77, 82, 213 

Howell, Marion, 84 

Hubbard, Lois, 83, 86 

Hudler, Jewell, 28, 29, 36, 51, 52, 53, 65, 97 

Huegele, Karen, 127 

Hume, Louise, 81, 114, 146, 169, 186, 213, 214, 

226 

Hummel, Cora Jo, 140 

Hummel, Kathleen, 113 

Hummel, Michael, 122, 123, 124, 138, 141, 151, 

158, 163, 190, 191, 197, 211, 213, 216, 221, 

226, 227, 229 

Hunter, Una T., 10, 20, 53, 65 

Hurricane Beulah, 117, 118 

Hurricane Carla, 100, 117 

Hutcherson, Rosalie, 173 

Hutchins, Gene, 74 

Hutchinson, Lewis, 89 

Hyak, Barbara, 117 

Hyde, Stephen, 185 

I 

Immenhauser, Lori, 167 

Irwin, Peyton, 8 

Isaac, Alice Ann, 181 

J 

Jackson, Ada, 100 

Jackson, Arthur, 114 

Jacksonville Junior College, 31, 32 

Jacobson, Charles, 73 

Jane Hoffman Land and Minerals Company, 164 

Jank, Allen, 83 

Jarratt, Ken, 74 

Jecker, Alma, 81 

Jennings, Nedra, 86, 87 

Jewett, Agnes, 163, 173 

John Wiley & Sons, 169 

Johnson, Hazel, 212 

Johnson, Lillie, 172 

Johnson, Lyndon B., 118 

Johnson, Twinkle, 127, 129 

Johnson, Vera, 187, 221, 222 

Joliet Junior College, 7 

Jolly Roger, The, 73, 77, 82, 94, 115, 117, 119, 

159, 171 

Jones, Leona, 53, 65, 81, 114, 225 

Jones, Martha Everman, 220, 222 

Jones, Mia, 167 

Jones, Norman D., 179, 222 

Jones, Ronnie, 116 

Joost, Albert, 40 

Jordan, Dudley, 60 

Jordan, Ella North, 29, 30 

Joseph, Georganne, 134 

Junior College, The, 7 

Junior College Student Personnel Association of 

Texas, 161 

K 

Kahn, Alfred E., 153 

Kaiser, Cindy, 156 

Kallus, Chris, 234 

Kallus, V. T., 41, 58, 65, 80, 108, 127, 193 

Kathryn Stoner O'Connor Foundation, 150 

Keane, Dustin, 233 

Keathley, Mark, 172 

Kelley, Nellie Lee, 10, 11 

Kenell, Charlotte E., 39, 217 

Kennedy, Patrick, 163 

Kern, Sharon, 98 

Ketcham, Sam, 96 

Key, Mrs. Ollie, 54 

Kidder, Douglas, 152 

Kiesling, John, 109 

Kilgore Junior College, 90 

Kilgore, Bessie, 14 

Kilgore, Mary, 155 

Killough, T. Patrick, 117 

Kilpatrick, Keith, 201 

Kimbrough, J. W., 22 

Kindred, Harold, 34 

Kinghorn, Mary Jo, 166 

Kinsel, Richard, 74, 77 

Kirkwood, Roger, 109 

Klapproth, Theresa, 10 

KNAL, 74 

Knowles, Judy, 120 

Knudson, Otto, 122, 215 

Kolle, Jenell, 89 

Korean War, 77 

Koss, Ronald, 80, 83, 105 

Krehmeier, Herman J., 41 

Krenek, Shirley, 46 

Krueger's Restaurant, 51 

Kubola, Dan, 73 

KVIC, 34, 53, 56, 57 

KXIX-TV, 148 

L 

LaBarre, C. A., 156 

Lack, David, 146, 164, 175, 179, 182, 193 

Lala, Dennis, 128 

Lander, Roy, 51 

Lange, Mickey, 234 

Lara, Joseph, 201 

Laredo Junior College, 76 

Larson, Perry, 10 

Lasell College, 7 

Leach, Bob, 192 

Lee, Shelly, 127, 129 

Leffland and Ault, 63 

Leffland, Jules, 22 

Leffland, Kai J., 22, 58 

Leggett, Grace, 32 

Lehrer, Jim, 82, 159, 169, 200 

Lentz, Cody, 51 

Lentz, Zac, 200 

Lenz, Jerry, 49 

LeSage, Margaret, 14 

Lexington Community College, 186 

Ley, Magdalene, 34, 35 

Locher, David, 167 

Lon Morris Junior College, 80 

Loos, Delasso, 34 

Los Angeles Times, The, 90 

Lott, Vicky, 135 

Lowery, Hugh, 10 

Loyd, James, 69 

Lunsford, Lois Rowland, 222, 224, See also 

Parker, Lois and Rowland, Lois 

Lytle, Joanie, 173 

M 

M. G. and Lillie A. Johnson Foundation, Inc., 

152, 166, 196 

Machac, Marvin, 89, 90 

MacNeil, Robert, 169 

Magruder, A. D., 64 

Man Shop, The, 51 

Manhattan Cafe, 51 

Manning, Raymond, 34 

Marcinkowska, Elaine, 192 

Mark, Roy, 127, 128 

Marlin, Mike, 73 

Marshall Junior College, 31 

Marshall, D. W., 63 

Marshall, Victor, 99 

Martinez, Norma, 156 

Matchett, Henry, 72 

Matthews and Associates, 119, 122, 134 

Matthews, Hilary, 47, 62 

Matthews, W. R., 119, 159 

Mattox, Ed, 30, 31 

May, Judy, 123 

Mayer, Elaine, 150 

McAlister, Wayne, 121, 175, 197, 216 

McCann, Gene, 97, 98, 99 

McCartney, Larry, 114 

McCleary, Marshall, 89, 122, 212 

McConathy, Jane, 165, 166 

McCord, James E., 27, 28, 29 

McCord, S. Joe, 156, 173 

McCord, Tom, 30 

McCoy, Rawley, 173, 192 

McDonald, Archie, 150, 151 

McDowell, F. M., 7 

McElroy, Sue, 15 

McEnroe, P. J., Jr., 64 

McHaney, Catherine, 168, 169, 170, 187, 190, 

197, 198, 200, 204, 207 

McKay, Kelly, 191 

McLaurin, Peggy, 150 

McLean, John, 204 

McMullen, Ruth, 20 

McMurray, Shirley, 125, 127 

McNeese State University, 90 

Meeks, Robert, 145 

Meier, Walter, 77 

Mendez, Thomas, 93 

Meyer, Dalton G. "Dutch", 162 

Mikulenka, Ann, 78 

Mikulenka, Timm, 109 

Milberger, Royce, 117 

Miller, Dorothy, 184 

Miller, James J., 162 

Miller, Janet Stormont, 204 

Miller, Joyce, 169 

Miller, William, 211 

Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation, 175, 197 

Miori, Lillian, 57, 72, 73 

Mitchell, William L., 7 

Montier, C. P., 54, 63, 146 

Moody, Bill, 119 

Moody, Dan, 74 

Mooneyham, Turner, 127 

Moore, Claude, 40 

Moore, Edith, 54, 75, 140 

Moore, J. D., 36, 39, 40, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 

61, 62, 63, 65, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 

80, 81, 84, 85, 86, 87, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 97, 

99, 100, 101, 109, 113, 114, 116, 118, 119, 

120, 121, 122, 125, 130, 132, 134, 136, 139, 

140, 141, 145, 166, 175, 214, 215, 226, 228, 

229 

Moore, Sue, 10 

Moreno, Gene, 200 

Moreno, Victoria, 220, 223 

Morgan, Bob L., Jr., 185 

Morris, Jimmy, 73 

Morris, Leopold, 23 

Morris, Marilyn, 181, 184, 187, 190, 213, 218 

Morrison, Matthew, 185 

Mozisek, John, 89 

Mudd, Roger, 136, 137, 159 

Mullen, Billy, 72, 73 

Mullenix, Duane, 80 

Mullins, Claude, 14 

Murphy, Billy, 29, 69 

Muschalek, Jody, 196 

Museum of the Coastal Bend, 204 

N 

National Association for the Advancement of 

Colored People, 85 

National Association of Biology Teachers, 152 

National Association of College Stores, 193 

National Association of Geology Teachers, 146 

National Industrial Act, 21 

National Industrial Recovery Board, 21 

National Science Foundation, 196 

Nazareth Academy, 27, 29, 39 

Neely, J. P., 84 

Nelson, Jake A., Jr., 202 

Nelson, Ruby A., 202 

Netarlus, Joe, 80 

Newberry, Kathy, 124 

Newman Club, 69 

Newman, Gary, 150 

Nichols, Harold J., 139, 155 

Nichols, Warren, 162 

Nillen, Nancy, 138 

Nixon, Richard, 137, 151, 153 

North, Billie, 165, 167, 171 

Northcutt, Monroe, 39, 40, 109, 114, 139, 140, 

152, 225 

Novak, Kim, 84 

Novak, Robert D., Jr., 168, 219 

Novian, Valerie, 185 

Novosad, Jerry, 194 

Nunley, April, 216 

O 

O. C. Stroman High School, 39 

O’ Pioneer, 23, 29 

O'Connor, Louise, 204 

O'Connor, Michael, 163 

O'Connor, Thomas, Jr., 198, 207 

O'Connor, Thomas, Sr., 63 

O’Connor, Thomas M., 147, 170, 180 

O'Daniel, W. Lee, 33 

Offer, William, 45 

Offer, Wilma, 29 

Officer's Procurement Program, 39 

Orsak, Johnny, 93 

Othold, Roy, 47 

Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, 63 

Outlaw, Elmer, 157 

Overgoner, Merle, 89 

P 

Padilla, Roel, 167 

Pahmiyer, LeRoy, 127, 211 

Parker, Lois, 45, 65, 70, 71, 84, 86, See also 

Rowland, Lois and Lunsford, Lois Rowland 

Patek, Marjorie, 139 

Patrick, Darrell, 57 

Patrick, David, 89 

Patterson, Glen, 80 

Patti Welder High School, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 29, 

32, 37, 39, 40, 45, 47, 49, 54, 55, 59, 64, 65, 

70, 85, 100, 206 

Paulus, Henry, 14 

Pavlica, Sherry, 133 

Payne, Becky, 173 

Peacock, Johnny, 126 

Peery, Kenneth, 138 

Pennell, Shuvonne, 234 

Pennington, Linda, 113 

Pensacola Junior College, 101 

People's National Bank, 8 

Perez, Michelle, 219, 220 

Perry, Bessie, 96, 97 

Perry, Kari, 182 

Phillips, Sandy, 125 

Picha, Kelly, 201 

Pickering, George, 78, 79 

Pickett, Billy, 95, 96 

Pickett, Carroll, 78, 79 

Pickett, Clifford, 75 

Pickett, Ken, 89 

Pickett, R. C., 69 

Pickle, Eileen, 150 

Pigott, Dale, 187, 190, 202 

Piper, Martha Kimper, 159, 164, 169 

Pirate, The, 76, 129 

Pleasure Island, 28 

Port Lavaca High School, 10 

Port Lavaca Transportation Company, 69 

Potcinske, Daniel, 131 

Powell, Marilyn, 136, 193 

Power, Bill, 100 

Pozzi, Alice, 125 

Prism Club, The, 123 

Prism, The, 123 

Pritchard, Gilbert V., 14, 41, 54, 229 

Proctor, Fred, Jr., 54, 55, 63, 64 

Progressive Voters' League, 85 

Pustka, Rose, 156 

Q 

Qualls, Jack, 47 

R 

Rader, Debbi, 172 

Randolph College, 15 

Rangow, Beatrice, 36 

Reagan, Ronald, 154, 166 

Reconstruction Finance Corporation, 21 

Reece, Aubrey, 32 

Reed, Ted, 167 

Reger, Kim, 191 

Reger, Mark, 184 

Regen, Mickey, 113 

Reuter, Fred, 89, 90 

Rhodes, Darla, 185 

Rice Institute, 11 

Richards, Ann, 188, 189 

Rick, Robert, 93 

Rickover, Hyman, 163, 164 

Rigamonti, Grace, 75 

Riggs, Julia, 152, 187 

Rios, Roland, 189 

Rivera, Chris, 217 

Roach, T. A., 45, 47, 48, 51, 52, 55 

Robins, Odessa, 15 

Robinson, Kay, 131 

Robles, Rebecca, 159 

Rodriguez, Jose, 233 

Rodriguez, Victor, 80 

Roe, Herman, 200, 201 

Rogers, Avery, 74 

Rogers, Billie, 55, 56 

Rogers, Hoy, 93, 94 

Rojas, Alex, 189, 190, 193 

Roosevelt, Franklin, 35 

Root, Charles, 185, 186 

Rosenquest, Kenneth, 162, 163 

Ross, Eric, 185 

Ross, James, 213 

Round Top House, 29 

Routt, W. A., 65 

Rowland, Lois, 87, See also Parker, Lois and 

Lunsford, Lois Rowland 

Ruben Pena, 125 

Index ✦ 239

Rushing, Bob, 37 

Russell, H. N. "Rusty", 90, 91, 213 

S 

S. S. Pirate, The, 89 

Sagebiel, Patti, 192 

Salone, Reuben, 156 

Sam Houston State University, 179, 185 

San Angelo Junior College, 21 

San Jose State College, 95 

Sanchez, Adele, 133 

Santleben, Sandy, 140 

Sardelich, Pete, 84, 89 

Sasser, J. J., 10 

Satterwhite, Perry, Jr., 20 

Schauer, Shelley Ann, 125 

Schiwitz, Mary Nell, 92 

Schmidt, Everette, 60 

Schneider, C. F., 122, 124, 140, 150, 161, 166, 

174, 181, 187, 214, 222 

Schneider, Fredaline, 34, 35 

Schoener, Allen, 234 

Schoenig, Marlene, 85 

Schramek, Bob, 216 

Schramek, Sandy, 224 

Schramm, Bennie, 181, 183 

Schreiner Institute, 15, 21, 31, 65 

Schuchert, C. A., 11 

Schultz, Charles, 80 

Seale, Sam, 162 

Sekul, Joe, 187, 203, 205 

Selective Service College Qualification Test, 77 

Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, 38 

Self, Allen, 65 

Serrata, Lydia, 120, 217, 228 

Servicemen's Readjustment Act, 41, 45 

Sestak, James, 90 

Sharp, John, 179, 199 

Shattuck, Morris, 147 

ShelfTalk, 201 

Shields, F. S. "Ted", 53, 54 

Shields, Fred B., 11 

Shields, George, 11, 14 

Shinn, Ed C., 65, 78, 80, 84, 85, 89, 91, 93, 94, 

100, 105, 224, 225 

Shook, Larry, 82, 172 

Shook, Robert W., 117, 119, 120, 149, 150, 153, 

174 

Shroyer, Sylva, 127 

Shutt, Bob, 30 

Simon, Clarence, 56 

Simons, James, 81 

Singleton, Bobby, 90, 93 

Sloan, Ronald, 123 

Smajstrla, Anton, 93, 94 

Smith, Billie, 14 

Smith, Don, 179, 182 

Smith, Gary, 115 

Smith, Heaton, 97 

Smith, Karen Brucene, 125, 129 

Smith, Munson, 199 

Smith, W. H., Sr., 21, 27 

Smith-Hughes Vocational Education Act, 20 

Snead, Bettye Jean, 48 

Sockwell, Jewell, 65 

Soldiers Bonus Bill, 40 

South Park Junior College, 15 

South Texas Association of Registrars and 

Admission Officers, 146 

South Texas Chamber of Commerce, 21 

South Texas Junior College Conference, 45 

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, 

159, 161, 187, 191, 198 

Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary 

Schools, 78, 82, 101 

Southern Methodist University, 213 

Southern Pacific Drum and Bugle Corps, 22 

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 

168 

Southwest Texas Junior College, 179 

Southwest Texas State University, 118, 126, 129, 

132, 134, 135, 136, 155, 185, 200, 211 

Southwestern Symposium of Contemporary 

Music, 95 

Soward, Pat, 167 

Speed, Vicky, 185 

Spencer, Tom, 140 

Spiegelhauer, Elton, 40 

Spies, Harvey, 167, 211 

Spindler, Bruce, 164 

Spinks, Alannah, 125 

Spinks, Bruce, 115 

Splawn, William W., 11 

Spoor, Ray, 75 

Spurlin, Charles D., 110, 122, 123, 138, 139, 

150, 151, 160, 168, 186, 197, 198, 204 

Spurlin, Debra, 145, 146, 223 

Spurlin, Pat, 197, 226 

Spurlin, Steve, 216, 223 

St. Joseph High School, 29, 72 

St. Mary's University, 15 

Stanly, Hugh, 38 

Stark, Eddie, 31 

Starnes, John, 83 

Starr, Dill, 123 

State Junior College Basketball Tournament, 31 

State University of New York, 201 

Steele, Lucille, 32 

Steele, William H. “Doc”, 64, 65, 69, 211, 218, 

227 

Stephen F. Austin State University, 150 

Stone, Charles S., 118, 155 

Stormont, John W., 65, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 

75, 76, 78, 79, 81, 82, 92, 93, 94, 97, 101, 

110, 112, 119, 120, 129, 140, 150, 166, 211, 

212, 217, 218, 229, 231 

Stormont, Mrs. John W., 204 

Streetman, Mary, 115 

Stroman, O. C., 39 

Stuart, Edward, 34, 37 

Stubbs, Jimmie Lee, 46 

Summers, Caroline, 99, 126, 136, 211, 223, 229 

Sunkel, Pat, 78 

Swearingen, Lee, 200 

Swickheimer, Dorothy, 96, 97 

Swoboda, John, 89 

Swope, T. J., 48 

T 

Talbott, Lou, 156 

Talley, Claude A., 110, 111, 124, 149, 153, 165, 

215 

Talley, Geraldine F., 124, 187, 215 

Tanecka, Joe, 83 

Tanner, Joel, 94 

Tappan, Henry Phillips, 7 

Tarleton State University, 96 

Taulbee, George, 135, 148 

Taylor, Billy, 80 

Taylor, Virginia, 56 

Temple College, 179 

Temple Junior College, 32 

Terrell, Howard, 146 

Terrell, Vincent, 216, 223 

Terry, Pat, 73 

Texas A&I College, 39, 185 

Texas A&M University, 41, 58, 115, 132, 141, 

185, 200, 215, 218 

Texas Academic Skills Program, 175 

Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College, 36 

Texas Association of College Teachers, 140 

Texas Association of Colleges, 10 

Texas Association of Junior Colleges, 23 

Texas Christian University, 31, 141 

Texas College of Mines, 65 

Texas Community College Teachers Association, 

198 

Texas Council of State University Librarians, 173 

Texas Daily Newspaper Association, 117 

Texas Historical Commission, 194, 196 

Texas Institute of Letters, 196 

Texas Inter-Scholastic League, 27 

Texas Junior College, 179 

Texas Junior College Association, 17, 18 

Texas Junior College Conference, 31 

Texas Junior College Press Association, 115 

Texas Library Association, 173 

Texas Lutheran College, 21 

Texas Nurses' Association, 201 

Texas Public Community Junior College 

Association, 179 

Texas Public Junior College Association, 140 

Texas Relief Commission, 23 

Texas State Historical Association, 198 

Texas State Teachers Association, 27, 126 

Texas Student Education Association, 123, 127 

Texas Tech University, 11, 124, 185 

Thames, Dorothy, 30, 31 

Thiele, Melissa, 167 

Thigpen, Shirley, 155 

Thomas, Darlese, 98 

Thomas, Jack, 91 

Thomas, Rachel, 185 

Thomas, Steve, 182, 186, 190, 191, 194, 195, 

207 

Thompson, Clark W., 73 

Thurman, Richard, 80 

Thurmond, Ethel, 65, 81, 82 

Thurmond, George, 10, 11 

Thweatt, Mary, 125 

Tibiletti, Philip, 59 

Timpoine, Erika, 233 

Tippins, Carol, 167 

Tipton, Linda, 115 

Toalson, Carolyn, 109 

Tolbert, Peggy, 100 

Torres-Raines, Rosario, 203 

Traber, Betty Ann, 81 

Traylor, Reginald, 134, 139, 148 

Trcka, Mike, 80 

Trinity Episcopal Church, 71 

Troell, Luther, 168, 185 

Truman, Earl, 47 

Tunney, Jim, 159 

Turk, Sue, 83 

Tyler Junior College, 37 

Tyng, Anita, 81 

Tyng, Elena, 14 

U 

Uhler, Jo Ann, 83 

Ulman, Dianne, 126, 128 

Underwood, Gary, 139, 160, 171 

Underwood, Marylyn, 158, 160 

United States Bureau of Education, 7 

Universidad International-Center for Bilingual 

Multicultural Studies, 205 

University Interscholastic League, 94, 187 

University of California, 34, 107 

University of Chicago, 7 

University of Georgia, 7 

University of Houston, 133, 134, 139, 148, 156, 

159, 164, 165, 167, 169, 170, 179, 183, 185, 

199 

University of Michigan, 7 

University of Minnesota, 7 

University of Missouri, 82 

University of North Texas, 34, 36, 59, 124, 126, 

185 

University of Texas, 11, 14, 17, 22, 29, 34, 35, 

37, 40, 53, 65, 74, 84, 94, 95, 107, 114, 162, 

185, 200 

Uptown Theater, 30 

Urban, Helen, 89 

Urbano, David, 107, 224 

V 

"V" Association, The, 15, 16 

Van Rekom, Roger, 95 

Van Zant, Bobby, 74 

Vasquez, John E., 200, 207 

Venegas, Rafael, 205 

Victoria Adult Literacy Council, 199 

Victoria Advocate, The, 9, 15, 20, 23, 27, 30, 31, 

33, 37, 45, 46, 47, 51, 59, 117, 168 

Victoria Art Guild, 225 

Victoria Athletic Association, 27, 30, 31 

Victoria Aviation Services, Inc., 162 

Victoria Chamber of Commerce, 33, 100 

Victoria College Kaleidoscope, The, 174 

Victoria College Nursing Student Association, 

172 

Victoria Corraliers, 113, 115 

Victoria Council of Parent-Teacher Associations, 

53 

Victoria County United War Chest of Texas, 60 

Victoria Field, 38 

Victoria Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 193 

Victoria Independent School District, 8, 20, 21, 

23, 27, 37, 45, 46, 50, 54, 55, 64, 173, 199 

Victoria Junior Chamber of Commerce, 53 

Victoria Junior College Dramatic Club, 14 

Victoria Junior College Drum and Bugle Corps, 

22 

"Victoria Meteor," The, 94 

Victoria Ministerial Association, 33 

Victoria Municipal Band, 27 

Victoria National Bank, 55 

Victoria Typewriter Company, 51 

Victorian, The, 45 

Vietnam War, 107, 116 

Vogt, Ed, 150 

Vogt's Radio Shop, 54 

Von Dohlen, Tim, 145 

W 

Wade, Melonie, 188 

Wagner, Elizabeth, 225 

Wagner, Gayle, 112 

Wagner, Harry, 185, 185 

Wagner, LeAnn, 201 

Wagner, Linda, 185 

Wagoner, Mary Ethel, 56, 62 

Walesa, Lech, 228 

Walker, Doak, 213 

Walker, Joy, 226, 229 

Walker, Richard, 107, 124, 138, 150, 151, 153, 

159, 213, 221, 226, 227, 229 

Walker, Ronald B., 168, 170, 198, 207 

Wallace, James, 100 

Wallace, Mack, 186 

Wallace, Mandi, 194 

Walters, Bill, 78 

Walton, Tom, 181, 187 

War Assets Administration, 46, 56, 63, 64 

Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital, 134, 135, 

168, 169, 171 

Warnlof, Jessica, 123, 124, 211 

Warren, Chris, 186 

Warren, Glenn, 74, 78, 79 

Warren, Jack, 189 

Watkins, William Ward, 11 

Wattinger, John, 11 

Watts, Martha, 114, 186, 214 

Wearden, Joseph, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 64, 65, 

74, 75, 90, 92 

Webb, Ricky, 124 

Weber Junior College, 93 

Weeks, Marguerite, 96 

Weiler, Billy, 94 

Weisiger, Robert, 73 

Weisiger, Sidney R., 10 

Welder, Leo, 140, 147, 151, 168, 198 

West, Charlotte, 14 

Western Week, 79, 110, 111, 112 

Westminster Choir College, 138 

Wharton County Junior College, 47 

Wharton Junior College, 72, 80 

White Oak School, 36 

Whitehurst, Russ, 201 

Whiteside, Oscar Rex, 94, 141, 161, 168, 169, 

180, 181, 186, 211 

Whitmore, Chadbourne, 86, 97, 119, 120, 136, 

137, 212, 218 

Who's Who Among America's Teachers, 198, 201 

Who's Who in America, 160 

Who's Who in American Art, 65 

Wieland, Don 

Wier, Richard, 121 

Wilkes, Clark C., 41 

Wilkinson, Scott, 150 

William A. Wood Family Foundation, 174 

Williams, Dennis, 80 

Williams, Jack, 132 

Williams, Kemper, Jr., 72, 73, 167, 224 

Williams, Mary Ann, 65 

Williams, Ronnie, 126 

Williams, Ruth, 96, 112, 138, 141, 149, 150, 

167, 169, 183, 188 

Williams, Vollie, 84, 89, 110 

Williamson, A. C., 10 

Williamson, Glenn K., 14 

Williamson, Marcus, 10 

Wilson, Lessie Fay, 97 

Windwehen, Susan, 216 

Winkenwerder, John, 234 

Woehl, Cynthia, 129, 134 

Wolfe, Thomas, 171 

Wood, William A., 174 

Woods, L. A., 23, 34 

Workman, Frances, 124 

World War II, 35, 38, 39, 40, 45, 46, 116, 127, 

217 

Worth Publishing Company, 201 

Wright, Betsy Mynette, 56, 59, 228 

Wright, Bill, 127 

Wright, Mary Ann, 136, 139, 145, 211, 219 

Wuthrich, Herbert, 90, 93 

Wyatt, Joe, Jr., 145, 226 

Y 

Yarborough, Ralph, 113 

Yarbrough, Steve, 117 

Yeager, Billy, 80 

York, Albert, 51, 53, 54 

Young, Carroll, 85 

Young, Sam D., 132 

Young, Warren, 173 

Youngblood, Don, 78 

Z 

Zafereo, Mark, 198, 200, 207, 219, 228, 229 

Zambrano, Joe, 83 

Zavesky, Chuck, 216, 223 

Zavesky, Jerry, 135, 156, 211 

Zavesky, Jode, 206 

Zawadski, Lee, 218 

Zirjacks, Cathie, 120, 228 

Zirjacks, Winston L., 14, 37, 54, 55, 63, 64, 74, 

90, 159, 170, 172, 179, 183, 189, 197

The Victoria College, 1925-2000: A Tradition of Excellence

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