Dear Editor:

I was in the hospital having a bone marrow transplant for leukemia when the request for articles on favorite professors was issued. I missed the opportunity to honor two professors who deeply touched my life. The first is Dr. Carling Malouf in anthropology. He was an expert in Native American cultures and opened my mind to the non-white solutions to many of the basic questions every culture addresses. The second is Ulysses Doss, first teacher in the African-American Studies program. His personal experiences in the Civil Rights Movement and his acquaintance with the leaders and participants in this movement added to the value of those courses. He encouraged open - and sometimes heated - discussion about the black experience in America.

An editorial by John Lewis, black Congressman from Atlanta, in [a recent] Newsweek brought back to my remembrance Dr. Doss's enlightenment about the price that was paid to win the vote for minorities. I am grateful to both of these men for opportunities to see things from a new perspective.

Sincerely,

Maureen L. Goering '69
Agency, Iowa

Dear Editor:

As a 1976 graduate (B.A., English) I enjoyed reading alumni recollections of their favorite teachers. Professor Walter King was one of my favorites. I'll never forget the terse comment he penned on one of my papers - "Evidence of an active mind." And, like Michael Oke, I, too, played tennis with Father Wang.

All the best.

John B. Dwyer '76

Dear Editor:

Thank you for your outstanding article "Teachers Who Change Lives." Professors are the heart and soul of a university; yet they often labor in seeming anonymity, uncertain whether their work matters. But I face a dilemma other UM graduates may share: how to isolate one or two professors out of many who challenged, stretched and inspired me. Here's my list of teachers who made a difference: Gerry Brenner, Bill Bevis, Gerald Fetz, Horst Jarka, Bruce Bigley, Michael McClintock, Coburn Freer, Harry Fritz, Cynthia Schuster, John Madden, John Hay, K. Ross Toole, Bob Hausmann and Lois Welch. I thank them all for their enthusiasm, rigor and care.

Sincerely,
Ken Egan Jr. '78
Professor of English
Rocky Mountain College

E-mail to Bill Johnston, Director of Alumni Services:

I am sending my dues by U.S. Postal Service, stimulated by the always good Montanan and by the especially fine Winter 2000-01 issue. I cannot resist praise for the photo of the 1950 football team. Some will recall that the Kingsford-to-Bauer passing combination was one of the best in the PCC. What a team!

I was also moved by the "Teachers Who Change Lives" feature. H.G. Merriam, a glaring omission, and Leslie Fiedler, of course, defy encomia. In addition to those English professors named in the article (bless Nan Cooke Carpenter!), Edmund L. Freeman, a gentleman, Walter Brown, who nursed graduate teaching assistants with erudition and encouragement, and Rufus Coleman, who, we were sure, knew Walt Whitman personally, deserve enduring praise.

Louie W. Attebery M.A. '51

Dear Editor:

It was especially rewarding to read through the Winter 2000-01 edition of the Montanan. I enjoyed the perceptions of former students about various professors. These titillated me to sit down and write this letter.

1936 - I started out as a journalism major. I wanted to be a reporter. Spring quarter, 1937, wooden building just at the base of Mount Sentinel, second floor, sunshine through several open windows, 1 to 2 p.m. class and Dean Stone expounding (in his quiet voice), bless his heart.

So then I tried forestry, Dean Spaulding in command. I skipped a few classes. Silver-culture [sic] was not my bag. Surveying was sort of fun. The Foresters' Ball was my event.

So then I tried wildlife technology. I now had squeezed through six quarters of college and [was] on my third major. Basketball was my major; tennis my minor. Not far behind were golf, bowling, softball, fraternity interests, Bear Paw....

Year three. Mainly zoology and botany courses. Wonderful teachers and administrators. Dr. Gordon Castle, zoology - thoughtful, perceptive and much admired by his students. Ludvig Browman, zoology, enjoyed good students with a modicum of a sense of humor. He also taught a few anatomy courses. He once asked me in a laboratory practical oral exam, "What muscles does a cat use to defecate?"

Dr. "Smoky Joe" Kramer - a wonderful teacher, providing you paid attention. He loved the soil - anywhere - and what grew from it. "Oh look, look, look; a brand new find, a new grass. Glory be - way out here!" Philip Wright taught mammology and ornithology. I showed up a couple of times in his ornithology class and once on a field trip to the biological station at Flathead Lake. He asked me, "What are you doing here?" I reminded him I was enrolled in his class.

Burly Miller, dean of men. He probably spent ten percent or more of his time getting guys out of jail! Usually nothing really serious; partying on the street outside Jock's Gym; reviewing our football team win over Montana State at 2 a.m. somewhere in downtown Missoula; a fight or two here and there. Guys loved Burly. He always came to your aid and never [with] follow-up words about your dumb actions.

Dr. Reuben Diettert was a wonderful teacher and very much of a gentle person. I took a course from Professor J.P. Rowe, called something like the Geography of Montana. Professor Rowe sometimes would rapidly tap his fingers together and say, "All right, class, today we are going to talk about rivers. Yes, the rivers, oh the rivers, the wonderful rivers of Montana."

Arthur W. Merrick '50
Columbia, Missouri
(Unfortunately, Merrick's letter, full of rich reminiscences of his time at UM, had to be edited due to space limitations. - JM)

Montanan:

Please accept this small amount to help cover next year's publications. As I grow older, your magazine gets better.

Joe Clemow '37